2012

Recently, my April 2011 print edition of Car and Driver came in the mail and the cover article peaked my interest. Who wouldn’t want to know what the “25 Cars Worth Waiting For” are, especially given the new technology being incorporated into cars? It feels like it is just a...

AllSmallCars.com has been following the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, now know to the U.S. market as only “i,” for a couple of years now. However, it seemed as though the eagerness had cooled off when Nissan beat Mitsubishi to the punch by releasing its longer range and larger Leaf electric...

While Nissan and Chevrolet have slogged it out to become the champion of the plug-in vehicle sales in the U.S., Mitsubishi Motors is gearing up to join in the fight, with the imminent launch of a new customer reservation website for its 2012 Mitsubishi i. A fatter, wider version of the 2011...

It’s no secret that Audi has ambitious goals to become the world’s leading luxury auto brand within the decade and is planning to boost its lineup to 42 different models by 2015. Later this year we will see a new Q3 compact SUV, as well as the recently revealed 2012 Audi A6, but further...

The Boss name, as it relates to the Mustang, has a strong 41-year history that goes back to a championship SCCA racing steed. So whenever there is a resurgence of the name it is normal for enthusiasts (especially of the racing variety) to compare it to the vehicles hay day when it was produced from...

Gas prices got you all nervous? Figuring the days of cheap gas are over? Thinking about a new car with much better gas mileage? Well, just because the EPA rates a specific car at the magic 40-mpg mark doesn't mean you'll actually get 40 mpg. But the ratings are a good indicator of where cars stand...

If you were used to the Ford Motor Company ten years ago and how they marketed to the public and what they offered, then you have probably noticed the pendulum swing in a very different direction. It is hard to say what really started it, but a lot of people credit Alan Mulally, President and CEO...

Two weeks ago, the EPA rated the 2012 Infiniti M35h Hybrid at 27 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 29 mpg. That makes it the only car in its class, as Infiniti proudly trumpeted, with both 350 horsepower and a highway rating of 30 mpg or more. Now, the cost of that fuel efficiency...

It may be getting a complete redesign for the U.S. market, but the european version of Mitsubishi’s i electric car has obtained 4 out of a possible 5 stars in the european-wide car safety tests. In results announced yesterday by the European New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) the sub-compact...

The name Porsche has traditionally been associated with fast, rear-engine sports cars, and more recently with fast heavy SUVs and fast heavy four-door luxury sedans. But it all goes back to pioneering engineer Ferdinand Porsche. He also designed the prototype for what became the Volkswagen Beetle...

Last fall, GM executive Tom Stephens said the company would offer a passenger car with a clean-diesel engine in the U.S. market, its first since 1985. Now we know what that vehicle will be: a model of the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan. Workers at the Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant where the...

When people think of Texas, there’s always certain stereotypes associated with it: cowboys, twangs, conservative politics, boots, guns and big, gas-guzzling trucks. While some stereotypes are rooted in truth, Texas can surprise you. Like when people actually visit a major city and realize...

You heard the announcement, saw the artists’ sketches, speculated on its specifications and followed our live tweets from its pre-2011 Geneva Auto Show sneak-peek press day - but after a day in its presence here are 10 things we’d like to share with you about Nissan’s ultra-sexy...

Next year's Mazda3 models will deliver fuel efficiency gains over their 2011 counterparts, the company said today, as it unveiled refreshed versions of its popular compact hatchback and sedan, to go on sale later this fall. The 2012 Mazda3 will offer as an option what Mazda now calls the SkyActiv-G...

Silicon Valley startup electric-car maker Tesla Motors released its 2010 earnings report yesterday, and--as you might expect from a startup that has sold only cars for three years--it lost money. Investors apparently weren't fazed by the rising tide of red ink. Tesla shares closed yesterday at...

Ever wonder how your drive to the office might be effecting your fuel economy? The engineers over at Fiat have and to help educate drivers have introduced the BLUE&ME USB port in conjunction with Microsoft and the eco:Drive program. The program reads the car’s systems and stores the...

At last month’s 2011 Detroit Auto Show, the wraps came off the new 2012 Toyota Prius V, a bigger and more practical version of the Prius hatchback that treads the line between wagon and minivan. Despite the extra height, weight, and girth, however, the vehicle is still limited to five...

The budget that will be submitted to Congress on Monday by President Barack Obama contains cuts for two clean-vehicle programs: retrofits that reduce diesel emissions from heavy trucks and other commercial vehicles, and research funds for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Whether those cuts will survive...

MINI is always up for something new, especially when it comes to adding more people to the MINI community. Back in 2009 at the Frankfurt Auto Show we saw a coupe and roaster version of the popular MINI Cooper unveiled. At the time there was no confirmation as to whether this shortened Coopers would...

The BMW ActiveE, first unveiled at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, is BMW's second attempt at an all-electric vehicle. It follows the not-very-pleasant Mini E, of which 600 examples were tested in the U.S. and Europe during 2009 and 2010. Ahead of the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, BMW has now released...