2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe configurator goes live, causes momentary consideration of kidney sale

The 2011 BMW 1M is a highly anticipated two-door said to be created to remind drivers of the 1988 M3. Though it weighs nearly 400 pounds more than the E30 M3, the new 1M does get 340 horsepower courtesy of a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six. If those numbers are intriguing, you may want to head to BMW and see how much it will cost you to own one.

We tested out the configurator for ourselves, and our Alpine White 1M is going to add $53,735 to our AmEx balance. The wife may throw a fit, but we’ll probably never see her again anyway… Time to start writing from the road.

Source:Autoblog

2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

We should have known better, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to believe the rumors. For over two years now, we’ve heard whispers of Nissan’s plan to introduce a convertible version of its Murano crossover, but the idea seemed so far-fetched that we just couldn’t wrap our gray matter around it. We managed to fall sleep at night by dismissing the notion as yet another silly bit of industry rumor-mongering, the sort of fodder serially dished out by British auto weeklies that splash absurd future product predictions on their covers (generally accompanied by fanciful artist’s renderings) to sell more paper at the newsstand.

We doubted it, but we should have known better. Nissan has shown real design bravery lately, as well as an unquenchable desire to fill any and all white space in its portfolio. Remember, it was Nissan’s product planners who conceived of a car designed exclusively with a T-square, throwing in a bit of asymmetrical glass and a patch of fake grass atop the dashboard – just in case anyone thought the resulting box was too boring. The automaker then announced that it was making a big bet on a brilliant but funny-looking $33,000 five-dooronly capable of driving 100 miles before having to have its e-umbilical cord reattached. It followed this up with a tiny yet oddly lovable space-age hatchback-crossovery thing wearing a Kabuki mask. In retrospect, we shouldn’t be questioning Nissan’s wisdom in lopping the top off its mid-size crossover to create a ragtop – we should be wondering what’s taken it so long.

As we stand around looking at the CrossCabriolet at its sun-drenched San Diego launch, we can’t help but be confounded. By all rights, the CrossCabriolet ought to look like a SEMA refugee. You know the type: four doors, shadetree roofectomy by Sawzall, a frumpy and ill-fitting top and a targa bar straddling the passenger compartment to keep the whole thing from collapsing in on itself. Amazingly, in person, the Murano convertible doesn’t look anything like this. Nissan has clearly expended a surprisingly large amount of styling and engineering resources on the project, and the resulting vehicle looks more cohesive than it has any right to.

Audi A3 sedan likely for U.S., Q3 crossover not in the cards

The Audi A3 Sedan Concept may not have been the Volkswagen Group’s biggest show-stopper at theGeneva Motor Show, but it still garnered a lot of high praise from those in attendance. Automotive Newsreports that if produced, the A3 sedan would likely be sold here in the United States – a no-brainer, really, especially since the German automaker has long considered offering a four-door bodystyle of the A3 here in America.

Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi AG board member for sales and marketing, tells Automotive News that, “If you look at this specific segment around the world, you come to the conclusion that this car is designed – but it is not yet decided – with the U.S. and China in mind.” Schwarzenbauer further states that these are two markets where “the [sedan] segment is quite big.” The A3 sedan could come to the U.S. as early as 2013.

However, when it comes to the smaller Q3 crossover that’s currently being developed, Audi has not yet decided whether it will be sold in the CUV-hungry U.S. Automotive News reports that if the Q3 is given the green light, it would not arrive for another 12 to 15 months – even though the European-spec crossover is scheduled to go on sale this year.

 

Source:Autoblog

Hyundai tops Brand Keys customer loyalty survey

Hyundai has been on an extended roll these last few years, and car buyers have apparently noticed. The Korean automaker’s sales have been steadily climbing, and new products like the Sonata and Elantra only help matters. Winning new customers is obviously a large part of Hyundai’s recent success, but it’s important to keep current owners in the fold as well.

Hyundai is apparently doing just that, as Brand Keys has named Hyundai the brand with the best customer loyalty. Brand Keys President Robert Passikoff pointed out Hyundai’s ability to meet customer expectations, adding that the car maker “scored the highest levels of loyalty when it comes to the Automotive category.”

After Hyundai, the top six automakers were Ford at number two, followed by a tie for Honda and Nissan and another dead-lock for BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Hit the jump to read over the press release.

Source:Autoblog

Toyota passes three million hybrid mark

Toyota has sold just over three million hybrids globally since it introduced its first, the Toyota Coaster Hybrid EV bus in 1997, followed that same year by the first-gen Prius. More impressive is the fact that more than a million of those sales have come since August of 2009.

Toyota offers 16 different hybrid models around the world, and it’s about to introduce several new variations of the Prius to our shores. Toyota’s Lexus luxury division has augmented the company’s hybrid movement, offering a gas-electric electric option on the RX, GS and LS models, and two dedicated hybrids, the CT andHS.

By the end of 2012, Toyota says it will add 10 more hybrid models to the global market. According to Toyota, hybrid vehicles had saved the nearly 18 million tons of C02 it would have produced building similarly sized traditional gas-powered cars.

Source:Autoblog

Lancia brings rebadged Chrysler models to join facelifted Delta in Geneva

Once upon a time, it used to be that an automaker would debut one, maybe two new products at a car show. Then Lotus came along and blew ‘em all out of the water with five new concept cars. Now Lancia is preparing to roll across the Alps and into Geneva with – how many? – six new debuts. Is the quasi-premium Italian automaker following the path set out by Lotus? Well, not quite.

In addition to the new Ypsilon – a genuinely new vehicle debut – Lancia is also lifting the veil on a subtly refreshed version of the Delta. But that’s not the end of it – they’ve also got the new Thema, Flavia, Flavia Cabrio and Grand Voyager. In case that last bit (or the title) didn’t tip you off, these four are little more thanChrysler models we already know (and in some cases love), albeit with Lancia grilles and badges.

The Flavia and Flavia Cabrio are Lancia-ized versions of the Chrysler 200 sedan and convertible, and are officially dubbed as “concepts” – a little backwards from how the usual path concept cars take to production, but globalization occasionally does strange things. The Thema is the Lancia version of the Chrysler 300sedan. And the Grand Voyager, well…we hope we don’t have to fill in the blanks on that bit.

2012 McLaren MP4-12C

Let’s see now. You’ve got your Ferrari 458 Italia, your Porsche 911 GT2 RS and 911 Turbo S and Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera 570-4. After all, if we’re setting the scene properly on the most important supersports car inauguration in quite some time – the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C – we should, in this first privileged go, at least be keeping our minds on sub-12-cylinder mid- and rear-engine road beasts. For now, that is. So if anyone brings up the 2012 Nissan GT-R or Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, that’ll be us snapping your back side with a wet towel at the health club. You’ve been warned.

Before we’ve dropped into the Recaro support-o-rama seats of the MP4-12C, one of the Queen’s lairds of the realm announces, “Be prepared to drive the best handling sports car in history.” What do you say to Sir Ron Dennis, boss of the newly formed McLaren Automotive Company (a.k.a. the MAC daddy), when he puts pressure on like that? It’s like Bill Gates looking at us and asking enthusiastically, “So, don’t you just love that Windows 7?” What happens if you don’t?

But as luck would have it, the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C is quite possibly the best handling supersports road and weekend track car in history. Yes, this will certainly take some ‘splainin’, but bear with us. We’re just pleased that no royal beheadings will now be called for, as Sir Ron is not renowned for his merciful treatment of dissenters.

Infiniti Etherea Concept bows ahead of Geneva debut

Infiniti has released the first few images of its new Etherea entry-level concept that’s set to debut at theGeneva Motor Show in March. The automaker says that the Etherea’s design “blends elements of coupe, sedan, hatchback and even crossover in one highly sculptural, near-mono volume form,” though we find the end result to be a bit awkward from some angles.

There’s plenty of throwback to the company’s showstopping Essence concept in the Etherea’s visuals, notably the wavy C-pillar design. At only 173.2 inches long, the concept is about four inches longer than aNissan Versa hatchback, and because of this, many of the styling cues – specifically the headlamps and that rearmost pillar – seem like they would be more at home on a much larger car. Still, we’ll withold judgment until we see the car in person on March 1 live in Geneva. In the meantime, click through our high-res gallery below to see a few shots of the new Etherea, and follow the jump for Infiniti’s official press release.

Kia Sportage tops small CUVs in Consumer Reports test

The 2011 Kia Sportage beat out both the Nissan Juke and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport in a recent CUV shootout conducted by Consumer Reports. According to CR, Kia has managed to more effectively straddle the line between a full-on SUV and a more civil hatchback with its offering. That’s thanks largely to the fact that the Sportage serves up plenty of interior room without falling on its face in the fun-to-drive department. While the Juke delivers unique styling and plenty of performance, buyers are forced to make major sacrifices in the cargo room department.

Meanwhile, Consumer Reports found the Outlander Sport to share too much DNA with the standard Outlander to take the title.

Everything wasn’t all roses and sunshine with the Sportage, however. CR noted that the vehicle has a planted highway ride, but that acceleration was “leisurely.” Additionally, the Korean CUV has a stiff ride and plenty of road noise at speed. The tester for this particular competition carried a $23,790 MSRP and the company’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with 176 horsepower. CR says that the vehicle managed 22 combined miles per gallon in its testing. Hit the jump for the press release.

Pentastar V6 models first to get ZF eight-speed autos at Chrysler

Chrysler’s LX platform cars will pick up a new eight-speed automatic transmission made by ZF for the 2012 model year. The Dodge Charger, Challenger and Chrysler 300 will benefit mightily from the new transmission that will eventually replace the older five-speed unit that’s currently available.

Allpar reports that a reliable source within Chrysler has disclosed that the new transmission will first become available in 2012 Dodge Charger and 2012 Chryler 300 models powered by the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. 2012Dodge Challenger SE models hang on to the five-speed for a little longer still.

Source:Autoblog