Daily Car

2012 Audi A6

Audi is on a roll. Need proof? Who doesn’t overtly or secretly lust after an R8 Spyder? Would any of us kick anything with an RS badge out of our garage? Didn’t think so. Audi’s sales are growing because of its products. The German automaker recently broke the 100,000 unit sales mark in the States, with 2010 calendar year sales up 23 percent over 2009. The all-new 2012 Audi A6 – due in U.S. showrooms in September – continues the manufacturer’s aggressive product expansion and portfolio revitalization plan. Now we want to know if it’s good enough to bring even more buyers into the Audi family. Read more…

Jaguar bringing 550 hp XKR-S super coupe to Geneva

We’ve heard rumblings of a more-powerful XKR. We saw spy shots of the rumored two-door as it blew through the English countryside wearing a dash of camouflage. And now it’s official: Jaguar is bringing a more powerful XKR to the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, and goes by the name XKR-S.

We can only assume Jaguar is sticking with the supercharged 5.0-liter V8 as a motivational tool because the full details won’t be unvieled until next week’s shindig in Switzerland. However, we have been given a few numbers: 550 horsepower, 502 pound-feet of torque, a top-speed of 186 miles per hour and the ability to run from zero-to-60 miles per hour in just 4.2 seconds. Read more…

2011 Dodge Durango

Two years ago, on a lark, my girlfriend and I clambered aboard a new Dodge Durango Hybrid and motored from Detroit to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to take in the kitschy phenomenon known as Groundhog Day. The idea was to do a combined road trip story and vehicle review, but Chrysler didn’t even wait for us to return home before it killed off production of the gas-electric SUV. In fact, it wasn’t much more than two months after its initial announcement that production was cancelled at the truck’s Delaware plant.

Blame Chrysler’s then-dire financial condition, but the hybrid Durango barely made a dent on the Pentastar’s production charts, lasting one model year and moving just 224 copies. Hold your belated “Who Killed the Electric SUV?” shrieks, though. Despite a nearly 25-percent increase in claimed fuel efficiency, the Durango Hybrid wasn’t a particularly good vehicle. This wasn’t wasn’t really its fault, of course, as the already aging second-generation Durango upon which it was based wasn’t a terribly refined piece to begin with. Read more…

Aston Martin releases details on 2012 Virage Coupe and Volante

Aston Martin has taken the wraps of its new Virage Coupe and Virage Volante. Both models are based on the automaker’s VH architecture – so they’re “all-new”… kinda – and are meant to slot in between the DB9 and the DBS in the lineup. The bonded aluminum chassis, with aluminum, magnesium and composite body panels, receives the familiar 6.0-liter V12 rated at 490 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. The standard transmission (a rear transaxle) is a six-speed automatic “Touchtronic 2″ gearbox, helping to deliver a 0-60 time of about 4.5 seconds and maxing out at a top speed of 186 miles per hour.

The suspension is double-wishbone on all four corners, with Aston Martin’s Adaptive Damping System (ADS) with Sport mode as standard equipment. Wheels are 20-inch alloys, mounted over carbon ceramic disc brakes at all four corners (six-piston calipers up front, four-piston units in the rear), with Pirelli P Zero tires standard. Read more…

2012 Honda Civic launches in five flavors

That’s right, this is the 2012 Honda Civic in all its glory. Though it might be difficult to tell with just a casual glance, this Civic is brand-new, sharing practically nothing but its moniker with the previous generation. As much as we may have liked some additional visual flair, it seems Honda is being conservative and aiming right for the heart of the market with five separate and distinct flavors of its compact offering.

We’ll start with the all-new HF model, which, as you may have guessed, is the most fuel efficient of the non-hybridized Civics that will be available in the United States. Honda expects the HF, with its 1.8-liter i-VTEC engine, to earn EPA-estimated fuel economy of 41 miles per gallon on the highway. The HF will share its aerodynamics package with the returing Civic Hybrid, which manages a combined rating of 45 mpg (a four-mpg improvement over the outgoing Civic Hybrid) thanks to its lithium-ion battery – a Honda-first – and 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine and CVT transmission. There’s also a natural gas-powered Civic GX. Read more…

Ford submits Mustang for 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup approval

Forget the Fusion, Ford is making a move to bring the Mustang to Nascar’s Sprint Cup Series. Ford has informed NASCAR decisionmakers that it wishes to begin racing the Mustang in the highest level of left-turning motorsports.

Replacing the Fusion is a process that could take all year, and Ford is required to show that the Mustang is a competitive equal to the cars it will race against. The reason behind the move is that Ford wants to show fans they can buy a car right off the showroom floor that mimics the one they watch every weekend on TV.

As fans of the roundy round are already aware, the Blue Oval already races a Mustang stock car in NASCAR – in the Nationwide Series. The pony car shown above made its competition debut last July during the Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Read more…

Video: Lexus uses the LFA to teach a swimsuit supermodel about donuts

Nissan may choose to use its Juke to square off with swimsuit-clad supermodels but Lexus takes a different route to interact with the pretty ladies… a circular one. Photographer Yu Tsai wanted a shot of a Lexus LFAperforming a donut around model Rianne Ten Haken. He could’ve simply spent some time playing in Photoshop, but instead decided to capture the real thing.

Performing a perfect donut without bumping into the scanitly clad star of the photo shoot requires serious skill. Rhys Millen, son of Rod and nephew of Steve, lends his talented hands and feet so this stunt goes off without a hitch. You can tell that Millen has serious skills because they say a car will follow your eyes… and somehow Rhys was able to avert his gaze from Ten Haken. You, on the other hand, can stare wherever you like when you watch the clip posted after the jump. Read more…

Dodge brand to ditch cross-hair grille?

Now that Dodge and Ram are seperate groups under the Chrysler umbrella, Dodge plans to phase its trademark cross-hair grille out of its product lineup. The cross-hair nose will remain a part of the Ram truck lineup for the foreseeable future, but Dodge vehicles will get a new identity that has not yet been revealed.

Ralph Gilles, Dodge CEO and Chief Designer for the Chrysler Group, recently spoke to Automotive Newsabout this decision. Gilles stated that this move will take time but the products will evolve and go in a different direction. In other words, no matter what direction Dodge takes its styling, don’t expect to see any wholesale changes until well after the 2011 model year. Read more…

GM to launch special edition Camaro every six months

You think there were a lot of special editions of the Bugatti Veyron? The Europeans ain’t got nothin’ on muscle cars when it comes to low-volume derivatives. And for its part, Chevrolet doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Just the opposite, in fact… at least, that is, according to the latest reports.

Word has it that Chevy is planning on rolling out a new special edition Camaro every six months for – hold on while we take out our trusty old Autoblog abacus – two each year! The new ZL1 that debuted in Chicago is said to be the first in a long line that is expected to be followed by a new Transformers edition for the upcoming sequel Dark of the Moon. After that we should see run of 500 replicas of the Camaro SS Convertible that’s set to pace the Indianapolis 500, and then a limited-edition Camaro Synergy that’ll offer buyers a V6 with all the performance bits you’d expect from the V8.

If the reports prove accurate, that ought to take us through the end of next year. Beyond that, Chevrolet reportedly plans on tapping in to other historic Camaro variants for future specials. Have a thought or two on the subject? Tell us what special Camaro you’d like to see next – you never know who might be listening. Read more…

Toyota FT-86 coupe to be named Scion FT-S?

We know the Toyota rear-wheel-drive coupe will wear a Scion badge, and now we might finally know what it’s going to be called. The just-make-it-already Toyota FT-86 concept has evolved into the Scion FT-86 and word on the web is that the production version will be known as the Scion FT-S.

Look for the Scion FT-S coupe to make its debut at the 2011 New York Auto Show. Rumor has it that a 2.5-liter engine, not a 2.0-liter, will power the rear wheels and that Toyota plans a heavy marketing push aimed at the drifting crowd.

The Subaru version is slated for a Geneva debut, and the rumormill now suggests that all-wheel drive is planned for the Subaru coupe, which should easily differentiate it from the Scion FT-S and help keep the two cars from cannibalizing each other’s sales. If anyone’s listening, we’ll take an AWD Subaru coupe in full STI trim, please. Read more…