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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

European Car Magazine Firstlook

European Car Magazine features the highest quality performance imported coupes and sedans.

Audi TT RS – First Drive Tuesday, 31 January 2012, 12:01 am

Audi TT RS – First Drive

Audi doesn’t expect to sell a whole bunch, but for now the American arm is satisfied with just bringing a new TT RS west.

The sun bears down hot and bright on the tightly wound road course at Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club in the desert just outside Pahrump, Nevada. You’re in Third gear, winding a high-strung turbocharged five-cylinder engine to its 7000-rpm redline. You careen toward Turn 3, a tight, decreasing radius number with a really late apex.

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2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class – First Drive Saturday, 28 January 2012, 12:01 am

2012 Mercedes-Benz M-Class – First Drive

Third generation is the charm.

Sport utility vehicles ain’t what they used to be. Thank goodness. Most of us really don’t need an old-school, body-on-frame, gas-guzzling galoot. Mercedes-Benz knows this and has given us the M-Class midsize crossover, made with a unibody construction. Sorry to use the cliché “car-like” but that’s exactly what it is.

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2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe – Seat Time Wednesday, 25 January 2012, 1:01 am

2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe – Seat Time

The 1 M loves a mountain road. With its abbreviated wheelbase, it’s much pointier, “dartier” as one colleague put it, than the longer and heavier M3.

We’re nearing a historic moment in automotive history. As a new BMW 3 Series platform looms on the horizon, and with it a new M3—which, it’s speculated, will be powered by a turbocharged version of the BMW inline six-cylinder engine—the naturally aspirated BMW M car as we knew it will have ceased to exist.

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2011 BMW 535i – Seat Time Tuesday, 24 January 2012, 1:01 am

2011 BMW 535i – Seat Time

Time to uncork the 300-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline six of the 2011 BMW 535i. Read more about how well it performs here.

I needed to be reminded what it’s like to have a totally carefree, relaxed motoring experience. Bought new nearly 14 years ago, my car has developed a few nagging noises and personality disorders. Lucky for me the rest of the staff was committed to other vehicles or trips so into the 2011 BMW 535i sedan I went.

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2012 BMW M5 – First Drive Wednesday, 18 January 2012, 12:01 am

2012 BMW M5 – First Drive

Kinder and gentler—But still a beast.

Knott’s Berry Farm started as a family restaurant and morphed into a sizable theme park, complete with Wild West shows, roller coasters and assorted “spin and hurl” rides. My college girlfriend was the lead operator on an attraction that would send its screaming passengers to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, terminating with a 90-degree incline that briefly headed skyward until coasting back to the start. Although the entire sequence took 20 seconds, folks would wait half an hour under the hot SoCal sun to become the equivalent of human slingshot ammo.

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2012 Audi A7 – Seat Time Wednesday, 16 November 2011, 1:11 am

2012 Audi A7 – Seat Time

Sitting in the driver’s seat of the 2012 Audi A7 feels like sitting in something out of Star Wars.

I’d like to think the bit of extra work I’ve put in over the last few weeks is partially the reason why editor Bidrawn tossed me the key fob to the 2012 Audi A7 and said I could use it for a few days.

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MINI Coupe – Web Exclusive Tuesday, 15 November 2011, 10:11 pm

MINI Coupe – Web Exclusive

Just when some onlookers thought MINI had lost the plot and gone all soft on us with the Countryman, along comes the MINI Coupe to shovel a generous helping of spice back into the brand.

Just when some onlookers thought MINI had lost the plot and gone all soft on us with the Countryman, along comes the MINI Coupe to shovel a generous helping of spice back into the brand.

Photo Gallery: MINI Coupe – Web Exclusive – European Car Magazine

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