Cars Show Up: February 2012

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Hyundai's New Elantra GT and Elantra Coupe Make their Video Debuts

So you want to see the newest additions to Hyundai's Elantra range on film, do you? If the answer is yes, follow the break to watch the first videos of both the Elantra GT, which is the North American version of the European market i30 hatchback, and the Elantra Coupe that is based on the sedan model sold in select markets around the world.

For more information regarding the two newly introduced Hyundai models that premiere at this week's 2012 Chicago Auto Show, visit our previous posts on the Elantra GT here and the Elantra Coupe here.

When oil prices go up, car sales, especially those of gas-guzzling models, go down. There's one place, though, where the exact opposite is happening right now: it’s the Middle East where new car sales are booming.

Sure, many countries in the region, like Bahrain and Syria, are facing severe political turmoil, but on the other hand, since oil prices are on the rise with crude oil having gained 6.7 percent over the last 12 months, revenues of local governments have increased accordingly.

Said governments, wanting to avoid uprisings, are injecting cash into the economy increasing their citizens’ income.

If you're into cars, then it's very likely that you're also into racing games like the PS3's Gran Turismo, the Xbox 360's Forza or online sims like iRacing.

Since most auto enthusiasts / gamers want to play in an environment as close to reality as possible, they usually end up swapping the regular controller for a steering wheel, pedal and gearbox set and the couch for a racing seat - chassis combo.

However, some gamers take the idea to far more extremes, like YouTube user "NBJAG" who is currently in the process of creating a real life simulator using the interior and parts of the exterior of a first generation Opel Astra from the 1990s with the Thrusmaster T500 RS steering, pedal and TH8 gearbox bundle.

Toyota has released pricing on its new Prius C, which is the third hybrid model to join the Prius range in the States after the original liftback and the new minivan.

The subcompact hatchback will arrive at Toyota dealerships in March 2012 with prices starting from $18,950, not including a $760* destination, processing and handling fee that puts the total to $19,710.

The Nissan NV200 compact cargo van made its North American debut today at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. The commercial version of New York City's NV200 Taxi joins Nissan's expanding lineup of professional vans that includes the full-size NV Cargo and Passenger variants.

Even though the NV200 Cargo is making its first appearance on U.S. soil, the compact van is already available in more than 40 countries around the world. However, the North American NV200's body has been extended 7.9 inches (200 mm) compared to the regular models sold elsewhere.

The "shoot first ask questions later" approach of some police officers from Henderson City in Nevada resulted in the cruel beating of Adam Greene who was suffering from a diabetic shock at the time.

The incident took place more than a year ago but the video footage from a Highway Patrol vehicle was released on Tuesday after Green reached a settlement in his federal lawsuit against the Henderson police department.

According to the police report, a patrol car spotted a Honda Accord weaving among lanes at about 4 a.m. on October 29, 2010, before it came to a stop near Lake Mead Parkway and Boulder Highway in Henderson. More Nevada State Troopers and Henderson police cars soon arrived to the scene.

It surely came as no surprise to General Motors executives that their European division is once again, bleeding cash. After all, they knew that Opel and Vauxhall had already lost US$580 million in the first nine months of 2011.

However, as the Wall Street Journal reports, they weren’t prepared for the “horrendous” fourth quarter losses. Therefore, despite declaring last week that it is determined to turn around Opel, GM is now seriously reconsidering its options.

According to the report, an unnamed GM official said on Tuesday that the U.S. group is almost fed up with its European brands’ inability to make progress: “There is an increasing frustration with Opel and a feeling that the cuts two years ago did not go deep enough. If Opel is going to get fixed, it is going to get fixed now and the cuts are going to be deep.”

After the new Mokka shots [pun intended], Opel's Geneva Motor Show presentation continues with some fresh pictures of the brand-new Astra GTC, which will be marketed as the Vauxhall Astra VXR in the United Kingdom.

The most powerful (regular production) Astra ever is based on the sporty-looking Astra GTC three-door hatch and features a 2.0-litre turbocharged direct injection engine developing 280PS (276hp/206kW) and a maximum torque of 400 Nm (295 lb-ft).

A 60-second spot that aired during the break in Sky TV’s Super Bowl coverage last Sunday was the opening shot in Chrysler’s new advertising campaign with which it re-launches the brand in the United Kingdom.

The commercial shows the 300C sedan cruising through Detroit and then emerging through a tunnel in the streets of London, where it is joined by the rest of the brand's UK line-up. It is very similar to this ad only now we see Chrysler's re-badged Lancia models as well.

Without doubt, the spotlights at this year's edition of the Chicago Auto Show are on the Koreans. Following the presentation of Hyundai's new Elantra GT and Coupe models, its sister company Kia has unveiled an impressive concept model for a sporty, three-door version of the Soul called the Track'ster

Of course, if you throw in a pair of round headlights and vertical tail lamps, the Track'ster could very well be a conceptual proposal for high-performance Mini model…

That's not to say the Track'ster hasn't got character but many details like the alloy wheel designs, the blacked out front pillars, the two-tone paint job and the prominent LED driving lights on the lower part of the front bumper do have a certain British flavor.

"The idea was to make the Track'ster tough looking, like a bulldog," said Tom Kearns, chief designer for Kia's Californian design studio, which was responsible for the creation of the Track'ster.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced several recalls in the first week of February.

Starting with Toyota, the Japanese carmaker has issued a recall on a total of 427 RAV4 vehicles manufactured from November 24, 2011, through December 19, 2011, because the curtain shield airbags may not deploy. Toyota said it would check the RAV4s and if necessary, replace the assemblies. The safety recall is expected to begin in early March.

At the 2012 Chicago Auto Show today, GMC lifted the wraps off its facelifted Acadia crossover that enters the new model year with a retouched exterior, higher quality materials inside and new safety features.

The exterior redesign brings a new front end with a more prominent and upright grille with three-bars that was previewed by GMC's recent concept models like the Sierra HD All-Terrain, along with LED running lamps, and new headlamp and bumper designs.

At the back, we find new taillamps, a re-sculptured bumper, a wrap-around rear glass and a new rear spoiler, while GMC also introduced a fresh set of 18-, 19- and 20-inch wheels.

According to GMC, the interior benefits from upgraded soft-touch materials, with French stitching and a red ambient light that flows across the dashboard.

If you thought Road & Track's comparo with the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and the Nissan GT-R was kind of a stretch given the huge price difference between the two coupes, we wonder what you'll have to say about Autocar's video test of the Nissan GT-R and the BMW M5 saloon.

The British magazine admits that the BMW M5 and Nissan GT-R "are not conventional rivals" but adds that both "have around 550bhp, cost nearly £75k and promise brutal performance" which it says, justifies a comparison.

We've already showed you the Mokka small crossover but today, Opel and its sister brand Vauxhall published a fresh set of photos including the first shots of the interior.

We'll remind you that the Opel Mokka and the Buick Encore that was revealed at last month's Detroit Motor Show are one and the same with the only differences concerning the design of the front grille, the interior trims and the available engine choices.

The GT hatchback isn't the only addition Hyundai is making to the Elantra's North American lineup as the South Korean automaker also revealed the sporty looking Coupe model at the Chicago Auto Show.

While pretty simple in its execution, the transformation from four-door sedan to a two-door coupe seems to work visually.

Aside from the elongated front doors, the Coupe also gets different fog lamp surrounds, black trim on the lower part of the rear bumper and a new trunk incorporating a spoiler in the design.

It's also half an inch longer than the sedan at 178.7-inches, while the rest of the dimensions remaine the same at 69.9-inches wide, 56.5-incnes tall with a 106.3-in. wheelbase.

Hyundai says that the Elantra Coupe's total interior volume of 110.2 cubic feet and 14.8 cubic feet trunk both exceed the 2012 Honda Civic Coupe and 2012 Kia Forte Koup by "large margins".

The compact hatchback that we came to know as the Hyundai i30 in Europe, Australia and other parts of the world was introduced in North America on Wednesday as the all-new 2013 Elantra GT.

Set to make its world premiere later today at the Chicago Auto Show, the GT expands the range of the Elantra offering Hyundai a direct rival to the Ford Focus, Mazda3, Subaru Impreza and Volkswagen Golf hatchbacks.

Some said it would be unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show while others that it was doubtful whether it would get the full 650HP V8 treatment of the tin-top model. All we know is that Ford proved them all wrong today with unveiling the 2013 Shelby GT500 Convertible that debuts at the Chicago Motor Show.

Ford says that it chose the Windy City show instead of a more high-profile show like Detroit because 20 years ago, it launched its Special Vehicles Team at the same venue. And to make sure that the car’s owners don’t forget it, it added SVT commemorative lighted sill plates.

First Official Photos of 2013 Acura ILX Sedan and RDX Crossover

We don't have to wait until Wednesday for the 2012 Chicago Auto Show to open its doors to the press to see what the production versions of Acura's 2013 ILX compact sedan and RDX crossover look like as the Japanese carmaker has just released the first official photos.

As we expected, the transition from concept to production didn't bring many changes on either model, just some minor tweaks to the bumper trims and the placing of smaller and less extravagant alloy wheels.

Starting with the ILX, while based on the current Civic, Acura has made considerable efforts to differentiate the compact model from its Honda sibling, both inside and out. Acura says that the primary target customers for the ILX are "Generation Y- successful 20 and 30-somethings moving into the luxury car ranks but looking for high-value propositions in their purchases."

Next up on Porsche's product menu for 2012 is the introduction of the all-new, second-generation Cayman coupe, which is the closed roof variant of the latest Boxster roadster.

Talking about the roof that is the primary difference between the two models, our latest scoop pictures give us a very clear view of its styling.

If you take a close look at the photos of the current and next generation of the Cayman that we've added below, you'll see that in the new model, the shape of the top looks more integrated into the car's design and less of an afterthought.

To answer our own question, probably a little bit of both, though the first thing that comes to mind upon viewing the clip is that the person driving the Hyundai Getz is reckless for zipping through traffic on a road with reduced traction due to the snow and ice.

Nevertheless, you cannot but admire the fact that the driver managed to get out of this hazardous situation without hurting anyone.

There's a good chance that the Getz didn't even touch the other cars on the opposite side of the road during its crazy slalom, but we're not entirely sure about that one. Pass the jump to watch the incident which starts at around 30 seconds into the video.

While President Obama’s initiative for a significant reduction in vehicles’ fuel consumption and CO2 emissions may sound very ambitious to some, a new study by the University of Michigan Transport Research Institute shows that car manufacturers have managed to improve their new cars’ fuel economy by 3 mpg in the last four years.

If this doesn’t sound a lot, then consider that according to the study, the average fuel economy of all 2012MY light vehicles available on the U.S. market is 21.5 mpg US (10.9lt/100km). That's a far cry from the 54.5 mpg US (4.3lt/100km) target set for 2025, but still an impressive 14 percent up or +3.0mpg from 2008MY’s average of 18.9 mpg US (12.5lt/100km).

Coinciding with the European market launch of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class, Brabus has released its first tuning take on the small MPV. For the time being, the German tuner's offerings include upgrades for the exterior, interior and the chassis with the engine kits to become available later in the year.

On the outside, Brabus has prepared an aero kit that comprises a front spoiler that attaches directly to the front bumper and a rear apron housing a diffuser and the new quad tail pipes.

To the dismay of Patriot fans, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl XLVI. But aside from the real game on the field, there was also another game taking place on television sets. We're talking of course about the advertising war.

According to Kantar Media Audiences’ commercial ratings analysis, Cadillac scored the highest audience, averaging a 43.5 average household rating with its “Green Hell” ad on the new ATS that aired at 9:37 EST.

The study also found that the ATS commercial was the most-viewed single advertising spot in U.S. television history surpassing the previous record holder, which was “Miss Evelyn,” a spot for the Chevrolet Camaro in Super Bowl XLV last year.

We're only a day away from the official presentation of the production version of the 2013 Acura ILX compact sedan at the Chicago motor show but we've managed to get our hands on the patent images providing us with our first look at what has changed and not over the concept model we saw in Detroit last month.

Acura had already told us that the Detroit show car was very close to the production model that will follow so it's overall styling don't come as a surprise.

Like all production models, the 2013 ILX stands a little bit higher and rides on smaller wheels, while Acura also simplified the design of the front bumper openings and replaced the concept's LED strips with regular fog lights.

The severe and long-lasting cold spell across Europe has led to many deaths and has been blamed for hundreds of motorway accidents around the continent including a massive pileup that took place on the Lahti highway located close to Helsinki in Finland, this past weekend.

According to media reports, the Lahti incident involved around 100 vehicles of all kind of sizes and resulted in many injuries, but thankfully, no fatalities.

In the video that follows, the passengers of one of the vehicles that lost control and ended up on a snow bank on the Lahti highway filmed some of the pileups. You can check it out after the jump.

Korean carmakers have made impressive progress in the last decade. From below-par products that were chosen by people who wanted a new car and couldn’t afford anything pricier, Hyundai and Kia models quickly become competitive in most segments.

And we're not the only ones who say this; even VW's boss is wondering why his company's products can't match Hyundai’s quality in certain areas.

No matter how good a car is, though, preconceptions die hard. For certain people, the badge on the hood says a lot about not only the car, but themselves as well; no quality survey, iPad manual, road-test review or 10-speed auto transmission is not going to change that in the foreseeable future

Bentley is giving a new twist to ski joring, which is a winter sport that usually involves a skier being pulled by a horse or dog(s), to promote the capabilities of its all-wheel drive Continental model series.

The British automaker took the 564bhp Continental GT to Switzerland’s Alpine passes at the Saanenland region and paired it up with 16-times ski joring world champion Franco Moro.

Watch how the odd pairing turned out in the video clip that follows after the jump.

Less than 24 hours before the grand opening of the 2012 edition of the Chicago Auto Show and Nissan has lifted the covers off its mildly updated 370Z sports car that goes on sale in the U.S. next June as a 2013 model.

The changes on all configurations of the 370Z including the Coupe, Roadster and the NISMO edition are extremely subtle.

Starting with the Coupe and Roadster, on the outside, you'll probably notice the revised front bumper that gains vertical LED daytime running lights in a similar position that the older 350Z featured reflectors.

Nissan's designers also added a red reflector to the rear fascia that replaces the previous black center cover. The regular coupe now rides on newly designed 18-inch wheels while the Sport Package equipped models gain revised 19-inch alloys, red-finish brake calipers, and what Nissan describes as "Euro-tuned" shock absorbers.

Nürburgring lap times are all good and well and a great marketing tool. However, for the vast majority of your average consumer, how fast a professional racing driver can lap the Nordschleife makes little to no difference at all when it comes to choosing a car.

Sure, it can be a measure of a car's handling abilities in extremes. In everyday driving, however, other things are much more important – unless your name is Walther Rorhl or you are a test driver.

Looks are important, and handling and ride even more so. Safety is, of course, paramount. Have you ever considered another aspect that is omnipresent whenever you turn on the ignition key?

We know that there are certain dangers involved when you're servicing a car but an explosion happening after an oil change is something you don't often hear about.

The accident occurred during a regular oil change on a 2001 Chevrolet Impala sedan and was caught on film by a security camera.

The two workers are seen completing the service with one of them entering the Chevy and turning on the engine presumably to circulate the oil, at which point we see flames shoot out and then an explosion in the engine bay.

The Scout moniker is for Skoda what the Allroad nameplate is for Audi. In other words, it is used to describe the mildly tweaked "faux off-road" versions of Skoda's regular passenger models.

With the exception of the Yeti, which is a crossover anyway, the only other model in Skoda's current range (the Citigo won't launch before May) that does not include a Scout version is the flagship Superb.

But that's about to change as the Czech manufacturer was spied out in the open testing a Scout version of the roomy Superb Combi.

One of the Fiat Group's most important new cars of 2012 has arrived in the UK. The first deliveries of the third generation Fiat Panda will begin at the end of this month with on-the-road prices starting from £8,900 for the base petrol model rising to £12,250 for the top-of-the-range diesel variant.

The new Panda is available at launch with a choice of three Euro 5-specification engines including a 69bhp 1.2-litre petrol, an 85bhp 0.9-litre TwinAir turbocharged two-cylinder petrol, and a 75bhp 1.3-litre MultiJet 2 turbodiesel.

The Dodge Challenger, even in SRT8 form, may not be the quintessential sports car, but it is one of those vehicles that will grab the attention of by passers on the road – especially if it's tuned to look like a real life Hot Wheels car.

This footage of the Challenger SRT8 was captured in London. The modified muscle car is said to be owned by the London Motor Museum. You can watch the video right after the break.

Fiat continues to churn out special edition variants of its 500 city car like there's no tomorrow. The latest one is called the 500 ID and it was created exclusively for the German market. Only 500 examples will be built each carrying a base price of €13,500 (about US$17,600).

The exclusivity of the 500 ID comes in the form of its two-tone exterior color theme with matching interior trims.

The 2013 model year brings some updates for the Buick Regal sedan, namely a new automatic transmission option and the discontinuation of the 2.4-liter base model.

The new Aisin AF40 six-speed automatic with Driver Shift Control will be available as a no-cost option instead of the existing six-speed manual gearbox on the 270HP Regal GS. Buick says that acceleration matches the manual with an estimated 0-60 mph sprint time of 6.7 seconds.

You may remember that at last year's Wörthersee fest in Austria, Volkswagen showed the Golf GTI Cabrio and Golf R Cabrio concepts. Today, we learn that there's a good chance that we'll see, if not both, at least one of the drop top models entering production.

The news comes from British car magazine Autoexpress that claims Volkswagen will introduce the production version of the Golf GTI Cabrio at next month's Geneva Motor Show.

If true, it could be the last version of the sixth generation Golf before Volkswagen lifts the covers off the new model at the Paris Motor Show this fall.

Following its presentation at the Frankfurt motor show last year, Fiat has published new photos and a video of its subtly tweaked Punto supermini as sales begin across Europe.

Perhaps the most important update for 2012 concerns the addition of the 85HP 0.8-liter two-cylinder TwinAir turbocharged gasoline engine. In addition, Fiat’s engineers have added two new technologies to the 85HP 1.3-liter MultiJet 2 diesel engine, the Intelligent Alternator and Intelligent Flow, both of which help lower CO2 emissions to 90g/km.

Honda Takes a Look at the Past and Future of the NSX Sports Coupe

Back in the early 1990s when the Japanese auto industry went sports car crazy churning out models like the third generation Mazda RX-7, the Mitsubishi 3000GT, the Nissan 300ZX and Skyline GT-R, and the Toyota Supra, one vehicle stood out from the rest and that was the Honda / Acura NSX.

The NSX taught American and European car manufactures a lesson or two on how to build a high-performance sports car that not only looked good but also was reliable and reasonably priced for what it had to offer.

The fact that it remained in production virtually unchanged for 15 years from 1990 to 2005 is a testament to the innovation of its original design.

The current economic climate being what it is in Europe, it’s no surprise that most car manufacturers see demand for their products waning. Mitsubishi is one of them, with its European sales dropping from 340,000 in 2007 to 218,000 units last year.

The Japanese manufacturer's only European assembly plant is the NedCar factory in the Netherlands. It was established in 1991 as a joint venture between Mitsubishi, Volvo and the Dutch government. It produced the Carisma and S40/V40 and, subsequently, the Space Star.

Further proof that Rolls-Royce is getting ready to revamp its entire Phantom lineup comes from our scoopsters in Europe who captured a very lightly camouflaged prototype of the Coupé model undergoing winter testing.

This will be the first facelift for the Phantom Coupé that was presented five years after the sedan version of Rolls-Royce's flagship line in 2008.

If Subaru's overemotional Japanese spot didn't touch a chord with you, then we'll have to assume you're the kind of person that prefers the sounds of screeching tires over the sounds of crying when it comes to cars.

If that's the case, you might want to take a look at what a pair of Toyota 86 sports coupes are capable in the hands of two talented drifters. Watch the video after the break.

The 57th United States presidential elections will take place on November 6, and naturally, Barack Obama is aiming for a second term. Politics being what it is, the automotive industry is pushing hard to get some things done.

One such issue is the inclusion of Japan on the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, which Obama hopes will create a free-trade zone between the U.S. and the Asia Pacific region.

Currently, apart from the United States, there are eight other countries negotiating the plan including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. But three others want to join the talks that will be held this March in Melbourne.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Monday, February 6, 2012