Thursday, 30 July 2009

Review: 2010 Mazda3

We can't talk about the new Mazda3 without lovingly gushing over the old Mazda3. Introduced in 2003 and produced until this year, the first generation was a segment buster. For about the same coin as its competitors, the Mazda3 gave you more: More sportiness, more refinement, more space and, being a Mazda, more reliability. The Mazda3 was just a better car. And of course there was the beloved MazdaSpeed3 – aka lightning in a reasonably-priced bottle....

Ferrari 458 Italia Spyder rendered

Now that the Ferrari 458 Italia has been let loose to glare at the world, it is only a matter of time before it's followed by a 458 Italia Spyder sibling. While we wait for Ferrari to provide us images of that car, computer rendering artist Jon Sibal has gone ahead and created his version of the newest droptop stallion.It will be interesting to see how Ferrari intends to fit all of that roof into the severely tapering rear end. If they can keep it...

2010 Suzuki Kizashi unveiled!

We've gone to some unusual places for new product unveilings, but today's reveal of a new mid-sized sedan from Suzuki may be one of the most ironic. For some reason, the small automaker of mostly small cars chose a World War II memorial in suburban Detroit for the global reveal of its most aggressive attack yet on the heart of the U.S. car market.Suzuki has always been a bit of an outlier in this market, although the company has been a strong player...

2010 Subaru Impreza pricing announced, Premium model $1,000 cheaper

Good news for you folks in Colorado. Subaru has released pricing for the 2010 Impreza, and while most of the new models are the same price as the '09s, one model gets a price cut. Not only that, but all Imprezas now feature Symmetrical AWD badges (woohoo!). The base car's price remains unchanged at $17,495, however the big news is the Impreza 2.5i Premium gets its price slashed by $1,000 to $18,495. Not too shabby. Also of interest is that pricing...

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

First Drive: 2010 Subaru Outback

Before there was such a thing as a CUV, there was a jacked-up four-wheel drive wagon called the Subaru Legacy. A few special editions later, the Legacy Outback edition birthed the stand-alone Subaru Outback in 1995. The precedent was set, establishing the wagon as polymath, master of numerous disciplines: durability, capability, wide range, ease of use and maintenance on-road and off. The styling, however – well, you weren't really buying a Subaru...

Schumacher to return to Ferrari F1 for remainder of season

Yesterday's rumors have been confirmed: Michael Schumacher will take Felipe Massa's place for the remainder of the 2009 Formula One season.A Ferrari spokesperson said Schumi's return hinges on the seven-time F1 champion's ability to pass the FIA's physical (we doubt that'll be a problem) and he'll be back in full-force on August 23 at the European Grand Prix in Valencia.Schumacher has been under the employ of Ferrari as an advisor to the team since...

Electric Toyota iQ to get bespoke body

Earlier this year at the Detroit Auto Show, Toyota surprised the audience by showing off a fully electric version of its diminutive iQ city car called the FT-EV. According to Autocar, a production version of the EV should be on the market by 2010, which, if true, would be an impressive feat indeed. We're not sure how these plans to along with Bill Reinert's assertion that electric cars "just aren't plausible right now," but we're happy to see EV...

Tuesday, 28 July 2009

Review: 2010 Bentley GTC

The Bentley Continental GT has been lauded and derided for being too much: too powerful, too fast, too easy, too big, too ubiquitous, and yes, too good. The convertible version, the Continental GTC, dismissed its roof but retained the excess. Now, Bentley has worked its "Speed" hocus-pocus in order to create a new variant of everyone's favorite over-the-top drop-top and Crewe's mad scientists have taken a vehicle that's already cranked to eleven...

Officially Official: Ferrari 458 Italia announced!

After months of speculation and spy shots, Maranello has finally revealed the mid-engined V8 replacement for the Ferrari F430. The all-new Ferrari 458 Italia won't be shown in public until September's Frankfurt Motor Show, but the official details were released early this morning. A new direct-injected 4.5-liter V8 ups the ante underhood, pumping out 562 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque. The redline? A screaming 9,000 rpm. Eighty percent of the...