Car and Driver Blog

Automotive News Blog at CARandDRIVER.com – Car News Resource

Next Mitsubishi Outlander Debuts in Europe, Arriving Here Later [Geneva Auto Show] Thursday, 9 February 2012, 10:27 pm

Still rather sharp looking, the current Mitsubishi Outlander will be seven years old this spring. That’s about average for an automotive life cycle, and it will come to a close when the company introduces the third-generation Outlander at the 2012 Geneva auto show. (Remember that the Outlander is not the same as the smaller Outlander [...]

Car and Driver Blog | Justin Berkowitz

Chevrolet Cruze Wagon Announced, Could Come Here But Hatch Is More Likely [Geneva Auto Show] Thursday, 9 February 2012, 10:04 pm

Chevrolet is showing a Cruze wagon at the upcoming Geneva auto show. It will be the third Cruze variant, joining the sedan that we do get here and the hatchback we don’t. Its mission is to snag more customers for Chevrolet in wagon-friendly Europe. As is to be expected, the Cruze wagon wears longer bodywork [...]

Car and Driver Blog | Alexander Stoklosa

Name That Exhaust Note, Episode 123: 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR Thursday, 9 February 2012, 10:03 pm

On Tuesday, we posted an audio recording of a mystery car’s exhaust note. To hear it again, click play above. This week’s sound came from a 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR. Although many of you identified the sound as a turbocharged four-cylinder’s exhaust note, only one commenter guessed that it was from an Evo. Like [...]

Car and Driver Blog | Car and Driver

2013 BMW 640i Gran Coupe Starts at $76,895; It’s the Most-Expensive Six-Cylinder BMW Thursday, 9 February 2012, 9:42 pm

BMW has announced that the entry-level iteration of the 2013 6-series Gran Coupe, the six-cylinder 640i, will start at $76,895. That means the Gran Coupe’s extra style relative to the 535i sedan—with which the 640i shares its turbocharged inline-six and a lot of DNA and componentry—will cost buyers an additional $23,000. That princely sum buys [...]

Car and Driver Blog | Alexander Stoklosa

Nissan Returning to Australian V8 Supercar Series in 2013 Thursday, 9 February 2012, 9:06 pm

Nissan today confirmed its re-entry into the Australian V8 Supercar series for the 2013 season. It’s the first manufacturer to announce a new entry under the 2013 Car of the Future rules intended to open the series to a wider variety of makes. Nissan did not specify which model it will field, confirming only that [...]

Car and Driver Blog | Andrew Wendler

Opel Astra OPC Debuts, Could Spawn a Three-Door Buick [Geneva Auto Show] Thursday, 9 February 2012, 7:59 pm

Opel is launching the ultimate Astra at the Geneva auto show, the Astra OPC. OPC stands for “Opel Performance Center.” U.K.-market models, which will be sold as Vauxhalls, will swap OPC with the VXR moniker. As we predicted earlier, the top Astra will be powered by a version of GM’s 2.0-liter direct-injection, turbocharged Ecotec engine; [...]

Car and Driver Blog | Jens Meiners

Koenigsegg to Deliver First U.S. Agera in June, Working on Camless Engine Thursday, 9 February 2012, 5:44 pm

Koenigsegg expects to deliver its first Agera to the U.S. this June, more than two years after the 940-hp supercar was introduced, according to a company executive. Bags of Air and “Financial Hardship” The Swedish automaker is awaiting approval for a second exemption from federal regulations requiring smart airbags, the same exemption the National Highway [...]

Car and Driver Blog | Clifford Atiyeh