Report: Scion iQ Minicar In Showrooms By 2011

Toyota's new iQ minicar is already on sale in Japan and most of Europe but there are now indications that the diminutive hatch could make its way to the United States. A Scion badged version of the car was displayed in concept form at this year's New York Auto Show and now there are reports that a production version will be available by early ..[Lees verder]

Porsche Scrambling To Secure Financial Future, Rejects VW Offer
The bravado necessary to run a company like Porsche well has so far been one the of the strengths of the company's current leadership, in particular Wendelin Wiedeking, as it attempts to acquire Volkswagen AG. But that brave move was caught in the unfortunate timing of the current economic crunch, and things have soured.Instead of securing a ..[Lees verder]

Videogame Brought To Life: Street Fighter's Ryu Mauls Car With Bare Hands
Ever fantasized about ripping up a car with your bare hands? Ever fantasized about doing that while dressed as a Ryu, a popular character from the old-skool Capcom videogame, Street Fighter? You're not alone. Anymore.[Buzzfeed][Lees verder]

SI-Drive Loved But Underappreciated...And Gone From The 2010 Subaru Legacy
In the more upscale models of the outgoing Subaru Legacy, there was a controller that bore a strong resemblance to the one used for BMW's iDrive.For 2010, it's gone. That elegant controller, for a feature called SI-Drive, looked like it was meant for navigation functions, while in reality it helped fine-tune powertrain performance.SI-Drive ..[Lees verder]

D-I-V-O-R-C-E: GM Calls it Quits with Toyota, NUMMI
General Motors is washing its hands of the joint venture it operates with Toyota in California--the NUMMI plant in Fremont, Calif., where the companies teamed to build the Pontiac Vibe, and where Toyota builds the Tacoma pickup and Corolla sedan.We've been telling you for months that GM probably has more money to make selling off its NUMMI ..[Lees verder]

Test Run: Solar-Powered Plane To Go Round-The-World
In 2012, a Swiss adventurer by the unlikely name of Piccard plans to go boldly where no one has gone before--namely, around the world in a solar-powered airplane. To be sure, we've seen solar employed in concept vehicles and in limited ways by consumer autos like the 2010 Toyota Prius. However, that's a far cry from hitting 27,000 feet in a ..[Lees verder]

2010 Saab 9-5 Preview
Â Â Â What is it: A long, long overdue replacement for the Saab 9-5 luxury sedan and wagonÂ Â Â Key facts: Built from GM's Buick LaCrosse/Chevrolet Malibu platform; V-6 and turbo V-6 engines; all-wheel drive optionÂ Â Â On sale: Late 2009 in EuropeÂ Â Â Price: $40,000 (est.)Has the Saab 9-5 has been with us forever, at least in car years? ..[Lees verder]

July 4 Tailgating Must-Have: Deluxe Mini Fridge And Warmer For Your Car
We've got a big holiday weekend coming up in the U.S., so it's time to start thinking about party gadgets. TCC's fave so far: this deluxe mini-fridge that doubles as a warming oven, with a range of 36 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. AND it plugs into your car's cigarette lighter. We're sad that Billy Mays isn't around to give this the pitch it ..[Lees verder]

The Coolest Car In Draganesti-Vlasca
Ah, Romania: home of quirky mid-century art, bloody communist repression, gypsies, and Dracula. Just like the textbooks say, it's a land of contrasts. Case in point: this unholy, Frankensteinish alliance of a Volkswagen and an Opel, billed as "the coolest car in Draganesti-Vlasca". We're not sure if we want to give it a spin or kill it before ..[Lees verder]

Spy Shots: 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML-Class
The 2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class has been on the drawing boards for a while--and now, the German automaker is running tests on prototypes spotted by the spy photographers over at Motor Authority.The new ML-Class sport-ute is due to arrive in 2011 as a 2012 model. These first photos of test mules show what could be a slightly shorter body, on an ..[Lees verder]

Tesla Goes Tony With New London Showroom
Tesla has officially set foot on European soil, with the opening of the company's flagship showroom in the Knightsbridge area of London. (That puts it very near Harrods and also close to the Victoria and Albert Museum, so tourists have no excuse for not stopping in.) This is great news for the 1,300 European citizens who have put in orders for ..[Lees verder]

Dean Kamen's Hybrid Scooter Runs On Almost Anything
Acclaimed (and ridiculed) Segway inventor Dean Kamen has developed an intriguing hybrid scooter. Similar to, say, the Chevy Volt, the scooter is powered by electricity, but Kamen has added an external-combustion Stirling engine to keep the batteries fully charged. Although a Stirling wouldn't be ideal as a primary power source, it ought to do ..[Lees verder]

Aston Martin 'Cygnet' Concept Works Over The Toyota iQ
No, that's not an exercise in Photoshoppery you see at left: it's the Aston Martin "Cygnet" concept--a city car based directly on the fuel-efficient Toyota iQ (potentially known in America as the Scion iQ). Says Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez:Â "The offeringÂ of a 'Cygnet' with a DBS, DB9 or Vantage is a unique combination of ..[Lees verder]

2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged Spins Bigger V-8 Power
There's more power coming from Coventry: Jaguar confirms that the 2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged edition's getting a big power boost for the new model year.With last year's XF Supercharged turning in 420 horsepower from its boosted 4.2-liter V-8, 0-60 mph times of 5.1 seconds came easily. This year, Jaguar's switched the Supercharged edition ..[Lees verder]

Volkswagen Ranks Tops In Ownership Experience
Many of Volkswagen's new vehicles continue to be rated worse-than-average by Consumer Reports in reliability, below the industry average in J.D. Power's annual Initial Quality Survey (the latest just released last week), and near the bottom in post-sales service, as gauged by Power's latest annual Customer Service Index (CSI).Yet, as the ..[Lees verder]

Posted by The Car Connection on 30-06-2009 in Auto