Auto News 5

Fiat released teaser images of the Viaggio, a new compact sedan for the Chinese market. The car will debut at the upcoming Beijing auto show and will go on sale in China toward the end of the year.

Volkswagen Group increased global vehicle sales in March by 12.5 percent to 862,700, helped by strong growth in North America and China.

Volkswagen Group increased global vehicle sales in March by 12.5 percent to 862,700, helped by strong growth in North America and China.

BMW has revealed images and initial details of the first long wheelbase bodystyle for a 3 Series sedan. The new Li, to be built exclusively in China, will have its world premiere at the Beijing motor show on 23 April.

Lada-branded vehicles have ruled the Russian car market for over four decades, so it may be a bitter pill to swallow for some Russians to learn that a model from a foreign automaker could soon become the country's best-selling car, for the first...

The World Bank's lending arm will lend a key Fiat supplier in Serbia 20 million euros ($26 million) to help revive the Balkan's country's automotive industry.

Some of the world's leading suppliers contribute to the improved safety features in the new Ford Focus. Autoliv Inc. supplies the car's passenger airbag, side airbags and seat belt system for the front seats.

Volvo will celebrate its 85th anniversary April 14 by a new V40 through the gates at its Göteborg plant, just like they did at 10 a.m. on April 14, 1927.

Volvo ÖV4 rolls off the production line on April 14, 1927. (Photo: Volvo Cars)

Sales manager Hilmer Johansson drove the first mass-produced ÖV4 model through the gates of Volvo's Lundby plant; Volvo Car Corporation president and CEO Stefan Jacoby and Volvo Group president and CEO Olof Persson will re-enact the company's historical moment with the newest V40, which was unveiled in Geneva. They'll follow up with a parade of new and vintage vehicles to the city centre.

In 1999, the Volvo group sold its car business. Volvo Car Corporation now markets premium autos in 120 countries, with the US as its largest market; The Volvo Group produces trucks as Volvo, Renault Trucks, Mack and UD Trucks, as well as buses, construction equipment, drive system for marine and industrial applications, and components for aircraft engines. The Volvo Group is the world's second-largest truck producer and Sweden's largest company.

Volvo sold 300 models in its first year of production, and now sells nearly half a million each year.

Vintage Volvo ÖV4 re-enacts historic moment (Photo: Volvo Cars)

Fiat is teasing fans with snap-shots of its new Viaggio sedan, which they plan to unveil in Beijing later this month.

Viaggio (voyage in English) or Fei Xiang (flying) in China is the first Fiat-Chrysler twin project, a four-door, five-passenger sedan based on the Compact US Wide architecture, which also provides the basis for the new Dodge Dart. The platform was originally developed for the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

Fiat Viaggio (Photo: Fiat S.p.A.)

The Viaggio will feature exclusively two turbocharged engines, a 1.4L with either 120 or 150-hp output mated to a 5-speed manual or Dual Dry Clutch Transmission developed by Fiat.

Fiat hopes the Viaggio will take a bite out of the lucrative, biggest-selling compact sedan segment in China.

The Viaggio was styled in Torino, Italy, and will be the first car produced at the new Gac-Fiat World Class manufacturing plant in Changsha, Hunan province. The first cars will be produced starting in July and go on sale in China in the third quarter of 2012.

MILFORD, Michigan - Call me a Luddite if you will, but in-car technology has always been something that incenses, rather than excites me. All of my vehicles pre-date "connectivity," and never once has my phone enjoyed an automotive hookup - because it's generally turned off while I'm driving.

That grinding noise overheard during a recent press event announcing a vehicle's Facebooking capability was probably me; gritting my teeth in annoyance and frustration. As one of the unfashionable minority that believes driving is a privilege requiring all of one's attention - I'd much rather see the billions spent on gadget development put toward more driver training.



But unfortunately, unlike Europeans who are joyously engaged at the wheel, the majority of North Americans see driving as drudgery: to be endured rather than enjoyed. Due to the vast amounts of territory many cover in their daily commute, there are hours to be filled with distracting activities to satisfy short attention spans - and an arsenal of "nanny technology" to keep them safe while doing it.

As Alan Taub, VP of General Motors Research and Development team says, "people are already behaving as though their cars are semi-autonomous."

Up until now, safety technology has centred around the assumption that cars will eventually crash, and has focussed on keeping occupants as safe as possible. But recent strides in sensor integration systems have brought us closer to a "world where cars simply do not crash."

And so, I recently found myself a passenger behind the wheel of a Cadillac SRX at GM's Milford Proving Grounds, lapping circuit after circuit of a highly-banked test track while my fingers dug denim furrows in a desperate attempt to keep from grabbing the wheel. Equipped with what Cadillac has dubbed "Supercruise," the SRX is able to stay within its lane, slow down to keep a safe distance from slower vehicles ahead, and accelerate again once the coast was clear.

The prototype vehicle is a precursor to semi-autonomous cars that GM claims will be available to the public within this decade. Using a barrage of sensory input called "sensor fusion", the vehicles have a 360-degree "awareness" of their surroundings.

After the initial squeamishness of relinquishing control, it's surprisingly easy to get comfortable with the semi-autonomous car.

Although it requires driver input to pull out onto the track and into its lane, it does a remarkable job of staying centred there. At 100 km/h, much like activating cruise control, I select the "supercruise" button, and a series of flashing lights on the steering wheel change from blue to green - indicating that the vehicle has taken control.

(Photo: General Motors)

The driver can nudge to the left or right within the lane either by using steering wheel located arrows, or by poking the right or left seat bolster with his elbow. Seriously.

When a CTS sedan pulls out in front of us at a slower pace, the SRX brakes until the other car changes lanes, then accelerates back up to cruising speed.

It's a bit creepy - yet thought provoking. Of course, the technology hasn't quite reached the point where we can climb in and switch off until we arrive at our destination. The system we tested can only work by reading well-defined lane markings; so gravel and snow-covered roads are out. But the day may come when there are sensors embedded in roadways, or even satellite controlled guidance markers.

So what does this mean to the average driver? Other than my gadget-loving friends who are speechless with delight and my fellow enthusiasts who are quivering in outrage? It means you'll be able to go ahead and check out that text message you're just dying to answer, turn around and chat with your passengers or finish up that overdue memo before you reach work.

And those of us who are still driving will be grateful that something's keeping you in your lane...and out of ours.

Ford has set the base price of the redesigned 2013 Escape crossover at $23,295, including shipping, which is $200 less than the outgoing model. A fully loaded 2013 Escape Titanium model will sticker for $31,195, including $825 shipping.

Official pictures have been released of the Numero 9 concept ahead of its debut at the Beijing Motor Show

2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550

This time, SL really does mean Super Light.

The great irony of the Mercedes-Benz SL is that, for decades, its name has stood for Sport Lightweight -- two characteristics attributable to not a single SL produced in the last fifty years. If Stuttgart would stop promising "sports car" levels of performance, we'd probably stop expecting Porsche 911 levels of involvement. If the engineers stopped calling the SL "light," we wouldn't criticize it for being nearly as heavy as an S-class sedan.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550 - First Drive - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550 - First Drive - Automobile Magazine

2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550 | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Maserati is adding three new models as it aims to boost annual production tenfold to 50,000 cars by by 2015.

2011 Nissan Juke SV FWD M/T - Back to Summer Rubber

April in Michigan means winter is essentially over.

April in Michigan means opening day for the Detroit Tigers, and the arrival of baseball season means winter is essentially over. No more winter means that the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 winter tires are now off of our Four Seasons Nissan Juke. Our Juke came from the factory wearing Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires, but last October we replaced them with Kumho Ecsta 4X performance rubber, which we found to be grippier and less prone to tire squeal than the stock Goodyears. The Michelin winter tires performed well (albeit in a remarkably mild winter), but we're definitely glad to have the Kumhos back on the Juke -- their excellent grip really helps emphasize the small, turbocharged car's fun-to-drive spirit.

Photo Gallery: 2011 Nissan Juke SV FWD M/T - Four Seasons Update - April 2012 - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2011 Nissan Juke SV FWD M/T - Four Seasons Update - April 2012 - Automobile Magazine

2011 Nissan Juke SV FWD M/T - Back to Summer Rubber | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

U.S. regulators today proposed a requirement that light vehicles have an override mechanism that enables a driver to stop a car or truck if the accelerator pedal gets stuck.

Prices have been announced for the new Golf-rivalling Volvo V40

2012 Subaru Impreza WRX

The WRX is all kinds of fun.

Driving the WRX brought me back four years to when the current generation was just making its debut and I was car shopping. Though the WRX was high on my list, I ultimately ended up buying a Mazdaspeed3 instead. Why? Because the kind of fun you have with a WRX is the kind of entertainment found best on unpaved, muddy, and/or snow-covered back roads where you blast past rows of trees, shoot up and down hills like a roller coaster, and go sideways as much as possible; it's the kind of fun where the distinctive note of the turbocharged flat-four rings out through open fields while you do your best impression of an stage-winning rally racer. When I left the office with the keys to the WRX, its dark gray paint was sparkling clean from the car wash; when I arrived home, the yellow light of my garage only helped to show off the more fitting coating I'd added onto the lower half of the WRX: dirt and mud, the product of sheer driving fun.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Subaru Impreza WRX - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Subaru Impreza WRX - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

2012 Subaru Impreza WRX | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Fleet Forum and Nissan have announced the launch of the Electric Vehicle Demonstrator Programme which provides free use of the new Nissan Leaf all-electric car to five organisational members of Fleet Forum.

Fiat Group's luxury sports car brand Maserati will build Alfa Romeo's new halo model, a rear-wheel-drive coupe that will likely lead Alfa's return to the United States next year, company sources say.