| 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Photos and Info: Turbo Four and Diesel Options |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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When the New Beetle was launched at the Detroit auto show in 1998, it was an instant hit, and became an important steppingstone for rebuilding VW’s tattered reputation in the U.S. market. A convertible was added a few years later, and the cute little retro car—conceived in VW’s California studio in the mid-’90s—soldiered on until [...]
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| 2013 Mercedes GL350 BlueTec 4MATIC: Mercedes Builds a Better School Bus |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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If the immediate success of the first ML-class in the late ’90s weren’t enough to justify Mercedes’ decision to start selling SUVs, the introduction of the larger, three-row GL-class for 2007 would have done the trick. Combining most of the practicality of a Chevy Suburban with the refinement of a Range Rover, the GL quickly [...]
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| 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid Priced from $25,790 |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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Volkswagen slightly confused us last year when it announced that it was putting a hybrid variant of its Jetta sedan on sale here in the U.S., not least because the brand already offers us Yanks the hugely efficient diesel Jetta TDI. We already reported on the Jetta hybrid’s particulars after it debuted at this year’s [...]
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| Tiny 2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive Priced Proportionally to Its Tiny Size |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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The 2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive's price is this big We admit that Smart-related news typically has us warming up our sass machines and reaching for thesaurus entries for the word “small,” but today we’ve been handed some information that had us sitting up at attention. Smart has announced pricing for its updated Fortwo Electric [...]
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| Mercedes-Benz Bringing B-Class to the U.S.—But Only as an EV |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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Philip K. Dick asked whether Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. We retort: Do fanboys dream of electric B’s? Specifically, Euro fanboys and B-class Mercedes-Benzes. We can confirm that the production version of the B-class Electric Drive concept, which debuted at the Paris auto show in September, is coming to the U.S. It’ll be the only [...]
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| 2014 Mercedes-Benz GLA-class Spy Photos: We Catch the New Crossover in Its Production Body |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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What It Is: Mercedes-Benz’s new GLA compact crossover undergoing testing in its production body. (We previously spotted its mechanicals under undisguised A-class hatchback panels.) We’ve known for some time now that Mercedes has been prepping a small, A-class–based soft-roader to slot below the GLK in the Benz lineup. As for the small ute’s name, it [...]
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| 2013 Dodge Dart R/T Spotted in Matte Gray, Might Reach Production [Spy Photos] |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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Dodge looks primed to join Hyundai in making matte-gray paint available to the masses. Present during the setup of a recent Dodge dealer event, our spy shooter rushed in for pictures of a lusterless Dart R/T, complete with a host of Mopar accessories. An employee who assisting the preparations told our snapper that this car [...]
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| Name That Shifter, No. 97 |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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It’s Monday, and that means it’s time to present this week’s shifter. You’ll have until mid-day Wednesday to identify the make and model of the vehicle from whence this shifter came. The first person to respond correctly in the Backfires section below will win a Save the Manuals button and sticker.* Good luck! (* Offer [...]
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| 2013 Honda CR-Z Updated for Europe with More Power, Changes Coming Here Soon [2012 Paris Auto Show] |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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As the hybrid and plug-in hybrid wars have begun to heat up during the past year, it’s easy to forget Honda’s sporty and impractical CR-Z hybrid even exists. When the two-seat CR-Z was introduced to our market for 2011, we found it to be reasonably engaging to drive, albeit slow and a car that tried [...]
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| Škoda’s Rapid: Econobox? Sure—But Really a Crystal Ball for VW’s Future [2012 Paris Auto Show] |
Oct 9th, 2012 |
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At the Paris auto show, Volkswagen’s wholly owned subsidiary Škoda rolled out a Golf-sized hatchback called the Rapid. The fastback five-door will be cloned for another VW vassal, Seat, and called the Toledo. Even though neither will be sold in the U.S., these two cars tell us a great deal about what’s happening inside VW [...]
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