Every time a new Volkswagen or Audi is released, German tuner ABT Sportsline can be relied upon to come up with performance and appearance packages to enhance them. The latest ride to get attention is the Audi Q5, and as you can see in the renderings ABT sent out, the body kit helps matters, because the showroom-trim Q5 is actually pretty vanilla-looking. The new visuals are backed up by a modified suspension, 20" wheels, more braking power, and performance upgrades for each available engine. Click Here for more details
Rolls-Royce creates special Peony edition Phantom for UAE
Wealthy customers in the United Arab Emirates seem to have a penchant for special editions of the most expensive luxury saloons. As if it wasn't enough to get the Maybach Landaulet revealed right there on their home turn, one Arabian customer recently ordered a custom gilded Rolls-Royce Drophead. Now Rolls-Royce has followed up with a special edition of its Phantom limousine targeted specifically for the UAE. Click Here for more details
Koenigsegg developing 700bhp four-door
We've seen stretched out exotics before, but Koenigsegg is reportedly planning on producing a model with four doors right from the factory. Carbon-fiber saloons from the Swedish automaker have been undergoing testing for the past two years, with the new model set to be debut in concept form at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010. Sales of the car are planned for 2011 with a sizable allocation destined for the U.S. Click Here for more details
GM releases official pics of 2011 Chevy Cruze
The Cruze will be a global car, and as such it's going on sale in Europe first. It will makes its global debut at the Paris Motor Show in October, where European customers will be the first to check it out in person before it goes on sale in March 2009 overseas. It will be available at launch with a 112-hp 1.6L engine, a 140-hp 1.8L and a 150-hp 2.0L turbodiesel. The North American version will likely get GM's upcoming direct injected 1.4L four-cylinder. The Cruze will also offer a five-speed manual and GM's first application of a six-speed automatic in a small car. Click Here for more details
Hyundai to sell 50,000 Genesis per year, Sonata hybrid coming in 2010
Hyundai's vice president for product development, John Krafcik, told reports that the automaker expects to sell 50,000 Genesis models annually in the U.S. – 20,000 sedans and 30,000 coupes. But the Genesis is only part of Hyundai's image makeover. The Korean manufacturer intends to launch its first hybrid model by 2010, equipped with a next generation lithium-ion battery pack. According to Krafcik, "Our first U.S. hybrid is going to be the Sonata," Click Here for more details
Nissan 240/Fairlady Z successor
Nissan's plans for an affordable, rear-wheel-drive coupe to slot in below the current Z have been rumored for years and we've been informed that internal politics have killed off at least one revival of an iconic Datsun. If work ever gets underway on another budget coupe, Nissan should seriously pursue Polish designer Iacoski and his interpretation of a 240Z/Fairlady revival. Click Here for more details
Honda unveils updated 2009 Civic
Honda makes it official by revealing all the changes made to its popular small car. As we've already learned, exterior changes include a new front bumper cover that reshapes the bottom curve of the grille and features three prominently placed. 2009 Civics will also offer Bluetooth for the first time on models equipped with navigation systems, and the EX, EX-L, Hybrid and Si get a new USB port to plug in digital audio players. Honda has also chosen to make stability control, or what it calls Vehicle Stability Assist, standard on these models only. Click Here for more details
2010 Cadillac CTS coupe coming to LA Auto Show
Cadillac invited a select group of journalists to see the production version of the CTS coupe. Naturally, cameras weren't allowed inside the Caddy tent to keep images leaking out ahead of the coupe's official unveiling this November at the Los Angeles Auto Show.Production will begin next summer. GM execs remain mum on engine choices, expect the same duo of V6s available on the sedan and sport wagon to carry over to the coupe, along with the CTS-V's 550 hp, supercharged 6.2-liter V8 later down the line. Click Here for more details
Infiniti G37 Convertible revealed ahead of L.A.
Infiniti, Nissan's BMW-hunting luxury brand, has unveiled the 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible, a retractable hardtop 4-seater that preserves the Coupe's good looks even with its 3-piece folding metal roof neatly tucked out of sight, as you can see here. Power from the 3.7L V6 will be in excess of 320 horses, and numerous comparos against the BMW 335i convertible are inevitable. Click Here for more details
2009 Ford Focus
2009 Ford is looking to continue the rebirth of the Focus with a new coupe version. The hatchback’s replacement is now on sale at a starting price of $16,875. The Coupe version will be powered by a 2.0-liter, Duratec 20 dual-overhead-cam (DOHC), and an inline 4-cylinder engine that delivers 143 horsepower when combined with a five-speed manual transmission and 140 horsepower when paired with a four-speed automatic transmission. Click Here for more details
Ford to officially announce Lincoln MKT today
We've been waiting for an official production announcement of the Lincoln MKT since the concept was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January, and according to Automotive News and the Wall Street Journal, that confirmation comes today. The Ford Flex-based crossover will give Lincoln a seven-seat CUV to compete with the Acura MDX and the Audi Q7, while providing customers a more fuel efficient alternative to the Navigator. The MKT will launch with either the 3.5L V6 from the Flex or the bored-out 3.7L version from the MKS sedan. Click Here for more details
Audi R8 Blackbird
Audi R8 owned by someone who insists he remain nameless. Codenamed Blackbird, the coupe is stuffed with enough gadgets to be a testbed for NASA's shuttle replacement, but don't for a second think the interior resembles a jungle of wires, screens and antennae: all the electronic gear is seamlessly integrated in a most impressive way. A sample of the wares in the blacked out supercar with the gunmetal gray blade include four GPS units,...Click Here for more details & Video
Cadillac unveils 2010 CTS Sport Wagon
The Sport Wagon takes the largely acclaimed styling of the CTS and adds a rear hatch allowing much more stuff to be carried. The design team led by Clay Dean has done more than just graft a longer roof onto the sedan. They extended the roof-line back and the tail-lights up to the roof, as well as adding hidden rails in the roof line. The V shape of the grille is also replicated in the contours of the tailgate. The wagon ends up with 25 cu. ft. of cargo space behind the seats. Cadillac expects about 60 percent of CTS sales in Europe... Click Here for more details
Cadillac Provoq concept evolves into 2010 SRX
It was seen on last January at CES and the Detroit Auto Show as the Cadillac Provoq concept. Replace the slatted grille with a standard Cadillac unit and the E-Flex fuel cell drivetrain with a conventional gas V6 and you have the new 2010 Cadillac SRX. The new SRX should be on the streets by this time next year replacing the current tall wagon that has only been marginally successful. Going forward, Cadillac has basically taking the first-gen SRX and split it into two vehicles, each of which is more focused on a particular segment. Click Here for more details
Audi reveals 2009 RS6 sedan, new A6 sedan and Avant
Audi has released all the details on its new four-door M5-eater, packing a direct-injected, twin-turbo'd V10 putting out 580 hp and 479 lb.-ft. of torque. The same mill that powers the Avant version allows the sedan to sprint to 60 in 4.5-seconds on its way to an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph. The duo of turbos huffs 1.6 bars of boost into the dry sump-equipped 5.0-liter V10, with peak torque arriving at 1,500 RPM and maximum horsepower available at 6,250 RPM. Click Here for more details
New Hyundai Coupe (Tiburon) coming to Frankfurt in '09
Hyundai's replacement for the Tiburon (aka the "Coupe" outside the U.S.) will make its official debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next September. As expected, the new Coupe will be inspired by the Velostar concept that debuted in Seoul last year and will be built atop the Hyundai i30/Kia Forte's front-wheel-drive platform. Hyundai insiders suggest that the Coupe will be approximately the size of the last generation Toyota Celica, smaller than the upcoming Genesis Coupe, and will feature a shooting-brake body style. Click Here for more details
2009 Acura TL fully revealed
The floodgates will open on the '09 Acura TL soon enough, but in the meantime, Inside Line has posted a set of press photos and confirmed the car's final specs. As has been previously reported, there are two versions: a base 3.5L front-drive car with 285 horses and the range-topping TL SH-AWD, which gets a 305-horsepower 3.7L V6. The Type S is history, replaced in essence by the SH-AWD. Both TL models are mated to 5-speed automatics. Click Here for more details
Porsche Cayenne Diesel finally confirmed
Various news outlets have speculated that Porsche's first-ever diesel engine would be installed in the Cayenne SUV for 2009, and now Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking has confirmed it. That means 240 horsepower and 406 lb.-ft. of torque. Instead of spending development money on a Porsche-specific diesel engine, Zuffenhausen has instead invested in a hybrid system, which will also see duty in the Cayenne around 2010.
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Cadillac prices Escalade Hybrid from $71,685
The launch of the world's first hybrid applied to a large luxury SUV, the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, begins this month. Achieving a 50-percent improvement in fuel economy in city driving, Escalade Hybrid arrives at Cadillac dealerships in the United States with an MSRP of $71,685. That represents a premium of only $3,600 over a comparably-equipped Escalade.
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Suzuki Maruti Alto to debut in Paris
Suzuki will bring its seventh-generation Alto to the Paris Motor Show this October, featuring stylistic and powertrain upgrades to compete with the best and brightest from the budget-oriented, compact class. Based on the A-Star concept introduced at last year's New Delhi Motor Show, the new model will be built in India by Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant, and will likely packing a 1.0-liter engine. Click Here for more details
Ł1million Aston Martin One-77
Aston Martin has released the first image of its newest flagship – the limited edition One-77. Details are scarce, but the One-77 will be powered by a hand-built 7.0-liter V12 nestled inside an aluminum and carbon fiber chassis. 0-60 times are estimated at 3.5-seconds, with a top speed cresting 200 mph. 77 examples of the Ł1 million coupe will be produced and customers will be able to customize the bespoke supercar to meet their individual tastes. Click Here for more details
Sources have suggested that, while Audi will be behind the game in bringing a four-door coupe in the Mercedes CLS mold to market in the first half of 2010, it's got another segment-busting trick up it's sleeve: a full four-door convertible. And according to Car's illustrators, the A7 cabrio will feature a full retractable hard-top.
