Compact sedan
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Never mind the Eminem "Imported From Detroit" Super Bowl ad. Ignore the freshened versions of Chrysler and Dodge models dating back to 2006 or before. The most important new car for Chrysler today--as crucial to its long-term survival as the legendary K-car line when it launched in 1980--is a compact 2013 Dodge sedan that will be unveiled at next January's Detroit Auto Show. This will be the first car to be designed, engineered, and built from scratch by Chrysler under the control of Fiat. Mission: Be best globally, or else And it will be the first of many, many models to use a new...
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Toyota Corolla Gas Mileage
The 2011 Toyota Corolla is one of the best-selling compact sedans in the U.S. market. But its gas mileage isn't necessarily anything to write home about. The most fuel-efficient model is the one fitted with the 132-horsepower, 1.8-liter engine and a five-speed manual gearbox, a transmission many...
John Voelcker -
2012 Honda Civic: Video Rundown Of The Complete 5-Car Lineup
Even in the sixth year of its life, the old 2011 Honda Civic frequently topped the chart in retail sales--meaning individual buyers--in the compact car segment. Now, there's a new 2012 Honda Civic lineup, launched to the world at the New York Auto Show two weeks ago. The version with the highest...
John Voelcker -
2012 Nissan Versa: New Compact To Launch At New York Auto Show
All we know so far is that Nissan will show a small car at the New York Auto Show, where media days kick off two weeks from tomorrow. But it's highly likely that the car will be an all-new 2012 Nissan Versa. It will be the latest entrant in a brewing battle among new and recently redesigned compact...
John Voelcker -
Buick’s New Compact Sedan Launched In China, Coming To U.S. In 2011
General Motors is yet to launch the local version of its 2011 Chevrolet Cruze sedan but instead of speeding up its arrival the automaker is working on a new Buick sedan based on the same platform. This platform is GM’s Delta II architecture, which in addition to the Cruze, also underpins the Opel...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Dead Before Arrival: Mercury Killed, Compact Tracer Vanishes
To the long list of dead U.S. car brands, you can now add one more: Mercury. The Ford Motor Company announced today that Mercury production would cease by the end of this year. That means that the widely anticipated compact Mercury version of the 2012 Ford Focus--named "Tracer" after the...
John Voelcker -
General Motors has been stringing out its publicity for upcoming cars--for three years in the case of the electric 2011 Chevrolet Volt--given its recent, ummm, challenges. But now we've finally had a chance to drive its crucially important 2011 Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan, which will hit dealerships this summer. It's a far more important car to GM's fortunes than the few Volts the company will sell over the next few years. Our colleague Bengt Halvorson spent part of his weekend at a press event where, for the first time, we were able to get behind the wheel of a 2011 Cruze. We've been...
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Best Green Car of the 2010 Detroit Auto Show: 2012 Ford Focus
We're back home from the mind-numbing madness of the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, unpacking, sorting press kits (well, these days they're just USB drives), and trying to work out what we thought of it all. This year, there's no question about the best green car there: It was the 2011 Ford Focus compact...
John Voelcker -
Preview: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
For the first time ever, U.S. automakers are getting ready to sell small cars that go beyond adequate to potentially great. Certainly the styling, specification, and safety equipment of upcoming compacts and subcompacts is a giant step above their predecessors. The latest example is the 2011...
John Voelcker -
2011 Chevrolet Cruze Compact Car Launch Delayed Til Next Fall
As U.S. carmakers get serious about building world-class compact cars, one of the most eagerly awaited entries is the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, which will face off against a totally new 2012 Ford Focus as well as revised models of the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, and Nissan Sentra. Now reports say that...
John Voelcker