Detroit 2011: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is not an Aveo
General Motors seems intent on banishing all memories of the unloved Aveo – so much so that it’s gone and renamed its entry-level fighter in the States. While we’re still not 100-percent in love with the name (we can’t get visions of spiky-haired hedgehogs out of our heads…), all three flavors of the Sonic do appear to be vastly improved over the machine they replace, though one of them, the Z Spec, is still in the concept stage.
More than anything else, they look vastly better both inside and out, but until we get a stint behind the wheel we’ll hold off final judgment. According to Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet marketing, “The all-new Chevrolet Sonic blends the practicality of a small car with the passion for driving that Chevrolet vehicles like the Corvette are known for.” That won’t be the only time you’ll ever hear someone mention the Sonic in the same sentence as the Corvette. In fact, Chevy tells us that Corvette engineers are responsible for the ride and handling of the sub-compact.
Categories: Auto Show, Chevrolet, Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Hatchback, Sedans/Saloons Tags: Detroit Auto Show
Report: Nissan Leaf demand forces dealers to give up demo cars
Nissan may have underestimated the demand for its all-electric 2011 Leaf. The company had originally planned to supply its dealers with two demo cars each, but with buyers essentially beating down doors to be among the first to hop behind the wheel, Nissan has decided to cut that number by half in order to free up supplies. That may mean as many as 1,000 additional Leaf EVs will be in stock when the car goes on sale in December. Nissan USA has only been given a total of 20,000 Leaf vehicles for sale on our shores in 2011, and the company hit that many reservations months ago.
Why so few? The real hang up is having enough batteries to go around. While Nissan is working closely with its supplier in Japan, the company is also building a new battery facility in Smyrna, Tennessee that should help crank out 200,000 battery packs per year when it goes online in 2012. At that point, Nissan says that it should be able to produce somewhere around 150,000 Leaf units per year.
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General Motors unveils Chevrolet Aveo show car ahead of Paris Motor Show
General Motors is continuing its small-car onslaught by showing off the next-generation Chevrolet Aveo at this year’s Paris Motor Show. According to the company, the show car on display will be the spitting image of the actual production version, though we can expect a few small changes to show up as dictated by each market. GM says that the new Aveo borrows heavily from the Spark, complete with plenty of “hot hatch” styling. It’s true that the forward-leaning shoulder line and aggressive headlights help give the Aveo plenty of menace for a vehicle this size, and judging from the powertrain lineup, there’s a chance that this little sucker might scoot along with the best of them.
GM says that it will be offering a range of engines in the Aveo globally, from an anemic 70 horsepower, 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine to a variety of diesel mills and a 115 horsepower 1.6-liter gasoline four. We aren’t engineers by a long shot, but 115 horsepower in a tiny tin box like the Aveo is bound to be at least somewhat entertaining.
Categories: Auto Show, Chevrolet, Hatchback, Paris Motor Show Tags: Chevrolet, Paris Motor Show
Audi S7 likely headed for Paris Motor show, TT RS for U.S. decision imminent
Autoblog is driving the stunning new Audi A7 Sportback at its international media launch this week in Sardinia, and the scuttlebutt around the hotel bar is that a hotter performance variant, the Audi S7, will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show in the coming weeks.
With garden-variety U.S. A7 five-door powered by the latest evolution of Audi’s supercharged 3.0-liter TFSI six-cylinder engine backed by a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic, it will be interesting to see what the higher-performance S7 brings to the party. As is often the way with such things, Audi representatives here on the Mediterranean island are stopping just short of confirming the debut altogether, and they certainly aren’t telling us what will lurk under in the engine bay of the all-wheel drive hatchback.
Categories: Audi, Auto Show, Hatchback, Paris Motor Show, Sedan Tags: Audi, Paris Motor Show
Report: Lotus bringing a pair of front-engine hybrids to Paris Motor Show
In addition to the pair of Evoras being introduced at this year’s Paris Motor Show, Lotus will also be unveiling two front-engine hybrid vehicles, in keeping with the automaker’s promise to offer more gasoline/electric sports cars. Edmunds’ Green Car Advisor reports that one of these hybrid cars will be a four-door hatchback and the other will be a two-door coupe.
Lotus debuted its hybrid concept earlier this year in the form of the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid (pictured), but unlike the mid-engine concept, the two front-engine models will utilize a 47-horsepower 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine specifically designed to provide power to electric-drive hybrids.
We’ll have the full details direct from the Paris show later this month, so stay tuned.
Categories: Hatchback, Lotus, Paris Motor Show Tags: Lotus, Paris Motor Show
First Drive: 2011 Porsche Panamera conceals a V6 but gives up little else in the transplant
We’re the lone vehicle in the far left lane of the Autobahn outside of K?ln, Germany. The traffic has lightened, so we mash the accelerator to the floor. While we pull strongly up to about 200 km/h (about 125 mph), the speedometer counts much more slowly as it spins around the right side of the dial. Moments later, the digital indicator on the cluster passes 250 km/hr (155 mph). The late-model BMW 5 Series trailing in our wake has met its electronic speed limiter, so it slowly falls away in our rearview mirror. It takes another ten seconds for the display to stop counting and hover at 261 km/hr (160 mph). Bringing our fun to an end, traffic on the horizon forces us to drop back down to more reasonable speeds just a few seconds later.
Northern Europe is the ideal venue to drive Porsche‘s latest Panamera models, each fitted with new 300 horsepower 3.6-liter V6 powerplants. We spent time driving both the rear- and all-wheel drive models in crowded cities, the open countryside and unrestricted highways. Where did the new V6 come from and what makes it unique? Where does the powerplant position the Porsche Panamera in relation to its competition and what is its new price point?
Categories: Auto Review, Car Review, Hatchback, Porsche, Sedan Tags: Porsche
Audi S5 Sportback tuneathon begins with Senner AG
First, Audi debuts the A5 Sportback and says that it won’t be coming to America. Then the automaker goes and gives it the S5 treatment and reminds us that, no, it isn’t coming to America. Fine. But now the onslaught of aftermarket S5 Sportback tunings have started, and this first one from Senner Tuning AG is pretty darn hot. We surrender.
Senner starts by upping the output from the S5′s 3.0-liter supercharged V6 to 375 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque – gains of 42 and 41, respectively. A new sport exhaust system was also created specifically for this S5, and it now uses quad-exhaust tips out back. We’d love to hear what this thing sounds like at full throttle, especially since we’ve noted on many occasions that the current supercharged S5 could stand to be a bit more vocal out on the street.
2010 Beijing Motor Show Preview: BMW adding all-wheel drive to Gran Turismo line
BMW has just announced that its 5-Series Gran Turismo will soon be available with the company’s xDrive all-wheel drive system. The Bavarian automaker plans to show off the new running gear at the Beijing Motor Show at the end of this month. Eventually, you’ll be able to order the xDrive option with any engine combination your heart so desires.
Starting in June, European buyers will have a shot at the 550i xDrive Gran Turismo and the 530d xDrive Gran Turismo. Shortly thereafter, in September, the 535i xDrive Gran Turismo and the 535d xDrive Gran Turismo will follow suit. BMW has also announced that its diesel-powered 740d sedan will receive available xDrive, but that particular model is confined to markets outside of North America, and it’s likely to stay that way.
Categories: Beijing Motor Show, BMW, Crossover, Hatchback Tags:
Reader Spy: 2011 Scion tC caught on New York show stand ahead of reveal, looks much the same *Updated
We have always thought that the Scion tC was a pretty tidy looking little hatchback, but as it’s been on sale since 2004, well, it’s gotten a bit tired, even though there are very few inexpensive front-drive sport-ish coupes to choose from these days. With that in mind, we’ve been looking forward to the introduction of the long-awaited 2011 model, expecting a fairly radical step forward. Judging by this new spy shot from an anonymous tipster, perhaps we ought to temper our expectations a bit.
While the single snapshot in question is blurry and blown out, it does show what appears to be a new lower fascia, grille, wheels, and side mirrors. The headlamps are too washed out under the showstand’s high-power lights to tell if they’ve been altered (it appears that the photo was taken during a presentation rehearsal ahead tomorrow’s New York Auto Show reveal), but it’s reasonable to assume that the tC will receive new lights both front and rear, as they’re a hallmark of almost any vehicle refresh.
As for what lies underneath the reskin, we’re not yet sure, as the only thing to have slipped out about the new model that appears credible are a few official-looking detail shots that reveal items like a new manual shift mode for the automatic transmission and revamped HVAC controls.
We’ll have more on the 2011 tC after Scion’s press conference tomorrow, but in the meantime, you can play a game of “spot the differences” from the outgoing car by checking out our high-res gallery of Scion’s latest special edition model below.
Categories: Auto Show, Hatchback, New York Auto Show, Scion Tags:
Geneva Motor Show 2010 Preview:Lexus drops the curtain on CT 200h
Earlier this week, we got a sneak peek at the new Lexus CT 200h from a brochure that somehow leaked out onto the Interwebs. Now, Lexus has seen fit to pull the curtain back all the way on its new premium hybrid hatchback ahead of its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. A worldwide launch is promised later this year, but we can’t confirm whether that includes the United States.
From what we can tell, the car retains some of Lexus’s L-finesse design philosophy as seen on the LF-Ch concept that debuted in Frankfurt last year, except in a somewhat more production-ready (read: toned-down) state. Inside, Lexus employs an asymmetrical dash design that’s split into what Lexus refers to as an upper Display Zone that includes an eight-inch LCD multi-display screen and a lower Operation Zone, which includes the shift lever and other controls such as Lexus’s Remote Touch multi-function controller.
Categories: Auto Show, Geneva Motor Show, Hatchback, Hybrid, Lexus Tags:
