Ford has officially unveiled the 2011 Ford Transit Connect Electric, which features an all-electric powertrain that will be available for fleet customers.

The 2011 Ford Transit Connect Electric will use a Force Drive electric powertrain manufactured and integrated by specialty upfitter Azure Dynamics. It has a range up to 80 miles on a full charge and will be rechargeable using either 240-volt or standard 120-volt outlets.

"Transit Connect Electric exemplifies how we are leveraging our relationships as well as our hybrid and advanced powertrain programs to bring energy-efficient technologies from the laboratory to the street," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. "Not only is this an ideal vehicle for eco-conscious fleet operators, it is an important part of Ford's future."

In addition to the Transit Connect Electric, Ford is also planning on introducing the Focus Electric in 2011, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in 2012 and a next-generation hybrid in 2012.

Continue reading "2011 Ford Transit Connect Electric Brings All-Electric Driving to Fleet Customers" »

Toyota has officially announced the voluntary recall of 133,000 2010 Prius and 14,500 2010 Lexus HS 250h vehicles to update software in the vehicle's anti-lock brake system.

Some owners have complained of inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady application of brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the ABS is activated in an effort to maintain tire traction. The recall will allow Toyota to update the software in the affected vehicles. Toyota claims that this recall does not affect the first and second generations of the Prius.

"We're committed to doing everything we can - as fast as we can - to restore consumer trust in Toyota, and these recalls are part of this effort," said Jim Lentz, President and Chief Operating Officer, Toyota Motor Sales. "We regret the inconvenience this recall will cause to Prius and HS 250h owners, and will do our best with the support of our dealers to make sure that it is conducted in the most trouble-free manner possible."

In addition to the Prius and HS 250h, Toyota has also announced a voluntary recall of some early 2010 Toyota Camry models to inspect inspect for a power steering hose that may be in contact with a front brake tube. This contact could lead to a hole in the brake tube and cause a brake fluid leak, increased brake pedal stroke and greater vehicle stopping distance.

Continue reading "Toyota Announces Voluntary Recall of 2010 Prius and Lexus HS 250h Models" »

Following the introductions of the more powerful Mustang and Mustang GT, Ford has unveiled the 2011 Shelby GT500, which benefits from a new aluminum engine and improved handling.

For 2011 the Shelby GT500 is powered by a 550-hp 5.4L V8 with 510 lb-ft. of torque. IN addition to the increased horsepower, the new engine is 102 pounds lighter than previous cast-iron engine. The new lighter engine improves fuel economy (15 city/ 23 highway), therefore the gas guzzler tax has now been eliminated.

"The SVT team continues to push the performance standards of the Shelby to even higher levels and better refinement," said Jost Capito, director of global performance vehicles and motorsports business development. "All the changes we made reflect a desire for even better handling and outstanding driving dynamics - from weight savings to improved balance."

The addition of Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS), a new optional SVT Performance Package, enhanced convertible rigidity and a lowered ride height contribute to improved driving dynamics and handling.

Continue reading "2011 Ford Shelby GT500 Loses Weight and Gets More Power" »

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Challenger, Dodge is going to release 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T Classic and Challenger SRT8® Furious Fuchsia editions.

The Dodge Challenger R/T Classic Furious Fuchsia edition features dual throwback A-line body-side R/T stripes in Matte Black or Bright White, Challenger" fender badges in classic script, large 20-inch polished-aluminum heritage wheels, a body-color rear spoiler, functional hood scoop and bright racing style fuel-filler door.

The 425-hp Dodge Challenger SRT8 Furious Fuchsia edition features white leather SRT performance seats with Furious Fuchsia accented stripe, unique 20-inch SRT forged-aluminum wheels with Satin Black accents, serialized dash plaque indicating the limited production series of 400 and retro-inspired chromed quad-exhaust tips.

The pricing for the 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T Classic in Furious Fuchsia Pearl Coat is $35,140, while the high-performance SRT8 model is $45,150 (both prices include $725 destination).

Continue reading "Dodge Celebrates 40 Years of the Challenger with the Challenger Furious Fuchsia Editions" »

Porsche has unveiled the 2011 911 Turbo S, which builds upon the 911 Turbo, but adds even more power thanks to two exhaust gas turbochargers. Power has been bumped up to 530 horspower adn 516 lb-ft of torque. The 3.8L engine is mated exclusively to the seven-speed Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) dual clutch transmission.

In addition to the increased horsepower, the 911 Turbo S gets all high-tech components available only as options on the "regular" 911 Turbo, standard.

The 911 Turbo S reaches 0-62 mph in 3.3 seconds, 0-124 mph in 10.8 seconds, and has a top speed of195 mph. Porsche also claims that even though the 911 Turbo S has more power than the 911 Turbo, it doesn't consume more fuel.

The 2011 911 Turbo S will go on sale in the US later this year.

Continue reading "Geneva 10' Preview: 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo S Puts Out 530-HP" »

We're still waiting for the introduction of the Chevy Cruze in the US, which will happen in the third quarter of this year, but new reports are coming out that GM is considering introducing other models based on the Cruze's platform.

The Cruze is based on GM's Delta platform and according to Motor Trend, GM is thinking about creating a four-door coupe based on the same platform. Think of it as Chevy's version of the Mercedes CLS or VW CC. It would share the same wheelbase and powertrains, but with a sleeker roof that would sacrifice some rear headroom. It would also be priced higher than the regular Cruze.

In addition to a four-door coupe, GM is also considering an SS version of the Cruze, which would be powered by the turbocharged 2.0L Ecotec engine.

Continue reading "GM is Considering a Four-Door Cruze Based Coupe and Cruze SS" »

BMW has unveiled the refreshed 2011 X5, which gets new gas powered engines and a small facelift. Both of the gas engines in the X5 are new. The xDrive35i is now powered by the same single turbocharged N55 six-cylinder that is also available in most of the BMW range. It reaches 0-60 mph in 6.4 seconds. The xDrive50i is now powered by the 400-hp twin-turbocharged 4.4L V8. It reaches 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds. Both the gas engines are now mated to a new eight-speed automatic transmission. The diesel xDrive35d doesn't get any changes under the hood for the new year.

On the outside the lower front fascia has been restyled with larger air intakes. The rear bumper also gets a slight restyle.

The 2011 BMW X5 will debut at the New York Auto Show in April and sales will start shortly after that.

Continue reading "2011 BMW X5 Gets Turbo Power and a Facelift" »

GM's upcoming rear-wheel-drive model plans were recently unveiled to the Automotive Press Association Thursday afternoon, which outlines GM's plans to move to more common, global platforms. GM most likely preferred that these plans were not made public, but too late...

The next Camaro, due out in 2014, is going to switch to the global Alpha platform that GM is developing for the new BMW 3 Series fighter, codenamed Cadillac ATS. The new Alpha platform is also going to be the basis for the next Cadillac CTS, which is due out in 2013 as a 2014 model. What's interesting is that at this time the CTS coupe and wagon will be discontinued. The next CTS is also expected to grow in size as it becomes Cadillac's mainstream luxury car.

Continue reading "Next Camaro and Cadillac CTS to Move to Alpha Platform...CTS Coupe and Wagon Dead" »

Ford is going to officially unveil the 2011 Shelby GT500 on Monday, which will get a new SVT performance package and a more powerful V8 engine.

The 2011 Shelby GT500 will still be powered by the same 5.4L V8, but with an extra 10 horsepower, for a total of 550. A new lighter aluminum block should help improve handling and fuel economy numbers. The SVT performance package includes visual changes such as skinnier hood stripes and a solid body stripe on the side. It also features 19-inch wheels in the front and 20-inch wheels out back and upgraded springs and shocks. The final drive ratio has been upgraded to 3:73 from the the base GT500's 3:55.

Other new options for the 2011 GT500 include the glass roof for the coupe and two new colors (Race Red and Ingot Silver Metallic).

The shot above is from a teaser reel.
Expect more details on Monday.

Continue reading "2011 Ford Shelby GT500 to be Unveiled on Monday" »

It's never ending. Yesterday it was reported that the current Toyota Prius is now under investigation after numerous complaints about its brakes. Today Toyota admitted that there was a design flaw with the brakes on models sold before the end of January. Apparently drivers were feeling a momentary lag in braking when traveling over uneven surfaces. Toyota has since fixed the issue, but did not notify owners about the problem.

It's not known if Toyota is planning a recall.

Continue reading "Toyota Admits Prius had Braking Problems" »

Toyota can't seem to get a break right now. The Japanese government has ordered Toyota to investigate a possible brake defect in the new third-generation Prius after receiving 14 reports of brake trouble.

According to Kenji Sato, a transport ministry official in charge of recall policy, owners have complained about momentary loss of braking power at low speeds. 10 of the 14 complaints occurred in January. In the US, NHTSA has received 111 complaints about the brakes on the 2010 Prius. The drivers have been complaining about their vehicles unexpectedly surging forward or losing braking power after driving over a pothole or other uneven surface.

The Prius is equipped with regenerative brakes, which significantly improve gas mileage on hybrids by recharging the car's batteries with energy from the wheels. It's unclear if there is a problem yet with the regenerative braking system. The third-generation Prius received an overhauled regenerative brake system, which is different from the previous Prius.

Continue reading "Japanese Government Tells Toyota to Test Prius Brakes for Defects" »

Infiniti has announced the pricing for the all-new 2011 Infiniti M. The 2011 Infiniti M37 starts at $46,250, which is powered by the 3.7L 330-horsepower engine. The all-wheel-drive M37x starts at $48,400. Both models come with Infiniti Drive Mode Selector, power-folding side view mirrors, Active Noise Control, RearView Monitor and
Enhanced Intelligent Key memory.

The V8 powered M56 starts at $57,550 and is powered by a 420-hp 5.6L V8. The M56x starts at $60,050. The M56 ad M56x come with the same features as the M37 models, but the $3,350 premium package is standard. This package includes, the Infiniti Hard Drive Navigation with 8-inch VGA color touch screen, Bose® 2-channel 10-speaker premium audio system, 9.3GB Music Box® hard drive, Streaming Audio via Bluetooth®, Climate controlled front seats and Heated steering wheel.

Continue reading "All-New 2011 Infiniti M Starts at $46,250" »

Kia has officially unveiled the third generation 2011 Sportage, which will be officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next month. Compared to the previous two generations, the new Sportage is finally a stylish crossover that borrows many styling cues from the larger Sorento.

The Sportage is built on the same platform as the Hyundai Tucson, so even though Kia has yet to release official specs for the Sportage, it is expected to be powered by the same 2.4L four-cyl. The 2011 Kia Sportage will arrive this fall.

Continue reading "Geneva 10' Preview: 2011 Kia Sportage Unveiled" »

The first month of 2010 is officially over and the final sales numbers have come in. It was a crazy month for Toyota since it was forced to stop selling eight models a few days before the end of the month, which definitely hurt its final sales numbers.

But enough about that. Here are the top ten best selling vehicles from last month. The Honda Accord took over the number one best-selling car spot from the Camry, which dropped to number 7 on this list. It's also interesting to note that with the exception of the two best-selling vehicles on the list, the Ford F-Series and Chevy Silverado the rest of the vehicles on the list are all sedans (the Accord Crosstour was lumped into the Accord's sales). Both the Ford Escape and Honda CR-V are missing from the list this time.

Check out the full list after the jump.

Continue reading "Top 10 Best-Selling Cars in January 2010 Were..." »

We're only a few days away from the Super Bowl this weekend and Hyundai has released an announcement about what commercials it plans to show during the broadcast. This year marks the third year in a row that Hyundai has featured commercials for the event. This year one of the commercials will feature Vikings quarterback Brett Favre getting an MVP award ten years from now.

"The Super Bowl is not only a showcase for great football, but also for the most significant advertising, reaching an estimated 95 million viewers in the U.S.," said Joel Ewanick, vice president of marketing, Hyundai Motor America. "Following in the footsteps of our 2008 and 2009 Super Bowl focused on the new Genesis and Genesis Coupe, we are focusing this year's Super Bowl campaign on the all-new 2011 Sonata, the most significant new model introduction in our history."

Check out the commercial after the jump.

Continue reading "VIDEO: Brett Favre Featured in Hyundai's Super Bowl Commercial" »

It seems the media is having a field day with all of Toyota's problems related to the unintended acceleration recall. The January sales totals are finally trickling in and the news continues to not be good for Toyota, who was forced to stop selling eight of its models at the end of the month.

Thanks to the recall Toyota's best-selling Camry lost its title last month as the best-selling car in the US to the Honda Accord. Camry sales fell last month by 24 percent to 15,792 units. Meanwhile Honda managed to move 19,022 Accords (20,759 including the Accord Crosstour), which was a gain of 14.7 percent. Nissan also outsold the Camry with its Altima, which sold 18,636 units, a 31.8 percent increase. The Chevy Malibu had the largest gains last month with sales up 76.5 percent to 16,439 units.

It remains to be seen if the Camry will rebound from the disappointing month.

Continue reading "Honda Accord Steals the Top Sales Crown from the Camry" »

Next week Ford is going to unveil the new 2011 Ford Edge. Like the recently unveiled Lincoln MKX, the Ford Edge is going to get a facelift. According to the latest reports and spy photos the Edge will be new from the A pillar forward. But the big news is that the Edge will be Ford's first vehicle to get the new four-cylinder EcoBoost engine.

The new 2.0L EcoBoost four-cylinder is expected to put out the same power as a 3.0L V6, but get better gas mileage. The 3.5L V6 will still be offered.

In addition to the new EcoBoost engine, the Edge will also be the first Ford vehicle to feature the MyFord Touch system, which replaces most of the traditional gauges with computer screens.

Expect more details from the show.

Continue reading "2011 Ford Edge to Debut with Four-Cyl EcoBoost Engine in Chicago" »

Chrysler is working on a new larger crossover for the Dodge brand and the US patent drawings of the 2012 crossover have leaked. It's been speculated that Dodge may ditch the Durango name and use the retired Magnum name for the new crossover. The 2012 Dodge Durango/ Magnum is expected to use an extended version of the 2011 Grand Cherokee's platform. This also means that the Dodge version will likely get the same 3.6L V6 and 5.7L V8 engines as the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Continue reading "2012 Dodge Durango/ Magnum Patent Drawings Surface" »

The deal between Ford and China's Geely is almost complete. Geely is set to close the $2 billion deal for Volvo this month and Geely plans on running Volvo as a separate entity to protect its luxury image.

"We want to be careful not to damage the Volvo brand," said Freeman Shen, Geely's vice president for international operations. "We don't want the image of a luxury car made in a third world country. We want the image of a European luxury car, albeit owned by a Chinese owner."

Geely is planning on building a Volvo plant in China, but it's main operations will not be moved there.

Continue reading "Geely to Protect Volvo's Luxury Image" »

BMW has announced the pricing for the 2011 BMW Alpina B7, which is headed to the US this spring. The 2011 Alpina B7 starts at $122,875 and $126,775 for the extended wheelbase model.

The Alpina B7 is powered by BMW's turbocharged 4.4L V8 with 500 horsepower and 516 lb-ft. of torque. It reaches 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds.

The 2011 BMW Alpina B7 will debut at the Chicago Auto Show this month.

Continue reading "2011 BMW Alpina B7 Starts at $122,875" »