From the Passenger's Seat

For the next few months or so, you'll be able to select a new package on the SE trim level of the 2012 Toyota Camry. It's called the Sport, but it doesn't add anything sporty to the already-sport-minded SE trim besides 18-inch wheels.  The Sport's only engine will be the standard 178-horsepower four-cylinder, and not the 268-horsepower V-6, which is at odds with the package's name. It also comes only with a 6-speed automatic transmission. For $2775 on top of the base SE, you get the aforementioned 18-inch wheels, a power tilting and sliding glass moonroof, an 8-way powered driver's seat, and the 6.1-inch touchscreen Entune multimedia system with navigation. The Special Edition is limited to three metallic exterior paint colors (red, black, white) and a two-tone black/taupe interior. The grand total is $26790, which is already added in with a $795 destination fee. The Camry SE Sport will be manufactured until early November.  

The 2013 BMW X1 with rear-wheel-drive and a 240-horsepower, 2-liter four-cylinder engine nets 24/34 city/highway miles per gallon. All-wheel-drive 2-liter X1s get 22/33 city/highway miles per gallon. Those numbers are impressive for a crossover/SUV, but then again, the X1 is smaller than most crossovers.  More powerful is the 3-liter, 300-horsepower six-cylinder the X1 can be opted with. This engine can only be paired with all-wheel-drive, and it is rated at 18/27 city/highway miles per gallon.  In its class, the X1 is favorable to the concept car-like Range Rover Evoque, which gets 18/28 city/highway miles per gallon with standard all-wheel-drive. Ironically, the Evoque also uses a 240-horsepower, 2-liter turbo four-cylinder, but its engine is sourced from Ford.  The base X1 starts at $31545, and all-wheel-drive adds $1700 to the price tag. The 3-liter X1 is priced from $39345. The three prices listed include an $895 destination charge. If you're looking to buy a...

In the past, the Mazda 6 has never been a dominant player in its segment. Mazda is always seeking to change that, and with the 2014 redesign, Mazda doesn't stray on its quest to pumping up its sales dramatically.  Though the side windows are shaped similarly to the outgoing generation, the new 6 is significantly more angry-looking than before. The aggressive shapes translate to a .26 drag coefficient, meaning air resistance is minimal. For reference, the Prius has a .25 drag coefficient while a Camry has a .28 drag coefficient. Plus, the new 6 is a lot sexier than a Prius.  The car itself should be sportier as well. 220 to 375 pounds have to dropped on the new 6, depending on trim level. A Mazda 6 with all the goodies is said to only weigh 3109 pounds, less then a Chevrolet Cruze. Combined with new SkyActiv four-cylinder engines, gas mileage shouldn't disappoint. Other markets get a 2-liter four-cylinder with horsepower in the 150s, but our market wil most likely be gift...

As all-wheel-drive 911s accounted for approximately a-third of the previous-generation 911s, Porsche didn't waste much getting getting the new all-wheel-drive 911s out. They come for the 2013 model year in the names of Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S in both coupe and convertible form.  You can tell an all-wheel-drive 911 from the rear-wheel-drive 911s from a slightly wider rear and a light strip connecting the two taillights. You can also cheat and read the badge on the rear, of course. But other than those details, there's basically no other differences. Both the 350-horsepower flat six, 400-horsepower flat-six and 7-speed dual-clutch automatic and manual transmissions, and all other bits carry over from the rear-wheel-drive 911.  The new all-wheel-drive 911s are up to 143 pounds less heavy than the previous-generation all-wheel-drive Carreras. Light weight contributes to an EPA-estimated 20/28 city-highway miles per gallon fuel economy rating the Carrera 4 coupe.  Ada...

The mostly underwhelming Land Rover LR2 gets a refresh for the 2013 model year, bringing a new front fascia, new wheels, more exterior color options, and a revised interior.  However, the more important thing about the 2013 Land Rover LR2 is the 2-liter, turbocharged, 240-horsepower 4-cylinder engine. It's used in many new Ford products, the Range Rover Evoque, and the new Jaguar XF. It is mated exclusively to a 6-speed automatic transmission. There aren't any fuel economy ratings for the 2013 LR2 as of now, but the Evoque gets 18/28 city/highway miles per gallon. To help fuel economy, kinetic energy normally wasted while braking is captured to power the battery, like hybrid cars. Also worth mentioning is that the LR2, as with all Land Rovers, comes standard with the engine powering all four wheels.  To get the new LR2, you'll need at least $37250. The new LR2 will make its first in-person debut at the Moscow Motor Show this month. 

The Chevrolet Sonic RS is a sportier version of the regular Sonic, an already-sporty little hatchback within its subcompact class. It starts at $20995 with a standard 6-speed manual transmission, though you can get a 6-speed slushbox for $1285 on top of the base price. While over $20K might seem to be quite a bit of money for a subcompact, other sporty subcompacts are priced similarly, though most have to be optioned-up to the level of the base Sonic RS. The base Sonic RS is fairly luxurious, with leather seats, fake suede trim, the touchscreen MyLink multimedia system, aluminum pedals, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. An almost-indistinguishable body kit, stiffer suspension tuning, rear disc brakes (the regular Sonic comes with rear drum brakes), different gearing for the transmissions, and 17-inch wheels aim to make the Sonic RS more dynamically potent than the regular Sonic.  The Sonic RS will invade Chevrolet dealerships early autumn of this year. 

Maybach, the ultra-luxury brand meant to fight with Rolls-Royce and Bentley, is no longer existent in the car market. Of course, nobody likely cares, as sales have been lackluster in recent years. Originally, Maybach was supposed to shut down in 2013, but Mercedes-Benz, its owner, saw no more need for it. Maybach had two models before its plug was pulled, the Type 57 and Type 62, with the Type 62 being the longer sedan. Maybach was already dead for a long time until Mercedes-Benz revived it with old S-Class-based sedans.  Also, BMW's new M Performance Line is going to replace BMW's current is models. The is models are slightly more powerful and sportier derivatives of BMW's cars. Then there's M Performance Line, offering high-powered, body-kitted versions of BMW's vehicles. It's not to be confused with the legitimate M vehicles, those are harder-core sports cars. There are already some diesel M Performance cars in Europe, but only gasoline M Performance vehi...

The title of this post pretty much explains it all. For comparison, the Prius V, which Ford cites as the C-Max's main rival, has a range of about 450 miles. Plus, the C-Max gets better mileage by a few miles per gallon at 47 miles per gallon. It will start at $25995, which includes a $795 destination fee. 

2013 brings little to no styling changes to Jaguar, but there are some fairly important additions under the sheetmetal, as well as some drops in base price and some trim level additions.  The flagship sedan XJ gets a new 340-horsepower, 3-liter supercharged V-6 as the base engine, undercutting the still-available 385-horsepower 5-liter V-8. The XJ now starts at $74075 with the V-6, a $500 deficit compared to the 2012 base V-8. The 385-horsepower V-8 comes on with the XJL Portfolio, a new, long-wheelbase trim level between the base and Supercharged. That costs $82075, a $500 increase over the 2012 XJL. However, it does add more standard features. The other models get expected price increases with little to no change.  Other news for the XJ is the addition of a $3500 all-wheel-drive version. That lowers the fuel economy for the base engine from 18/28 city/highway miles per gallon to 16/25 city/highway miles per gallon. It can only be optioned on the base XJ and XJL Portfol...

At the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, McLaren this year has debuted a track-ready concept based on the MP4-12C, its only production car at the moment (a new F1 is coming soon).  Besides the awesome, yet fancy bodywork this Can-Am edition wears, it's also lighter with a dry curb weight of 2646 pounds, though that could go up significantly with all the fluid a car needs. A regular MP4-12C weighs slightly under 3200 pounds. Power from the turbocharged, 3.8-liter V-8 goes up by 12 horsepower compared to the base Mp4-12C. Total output is 630 horsepower. McLaren also played with the cooling system and engine calibrations to ensure that the V-8 won't be cooked after the track-lapping this car is likely to encounter.  This is a concept car, and McLaren hasn't said they would put this track-centric car into production. So if you want this car and have the money to pay for it, dream on. In a completely irrelevant statement, this is my 100th post on this blog! S...

The 2012 Lexus ES350, a weaker performers in this test. There was a record 115 new cars that got the IIHS Top Safety Pick award that are model year 2012, so IIHS thought it was necessary to make a new test for cars to pass. It is a frontal offset test that launches the car into a rigid barrier at 40 miles per hour with 25% of the front end on the driver's side hitting the barrier. It's names the "small overlap test ." The more traditional frontal offset test launches the car into a barrier at the same speed, but with 40% of the front hitting a crumpling barrier. The Volvo S60, one of the top performers in this test. The first 11 cars that went through the test are all 2012 model year premium sedans. Not surprisingly, most of the cars didn't so particularly well in this test. The ratings IIHS gives to each crash test are, in ascending order, Poor, Marginal, Acceptable and Good. The Mercedes C-Class, Lexus IS, Audi A4, and the previous-generation (2012) Le...

The Mercedes-Benz E400 Hybrid will start at $56705. That's $4800 more than the standard E350 with a 302-horsepower 3.5 liter gasoline V-6, and $3600 extra to the E350 BlueTec diesel. Of course, the hybrid version of the E-Class gets improved mileage compared to the regular version, at 24/31 city/highway miles per gallon, but the less-expensive diesel achieves better highway fuel economy at 32 miles per gallon, and only slightly worse city fuel economy. The hybrid E-Class uses the same system in the base S-Class with the same engine in the gasoline E350 and electric assistance.  In terms of pricing, the E-Class Hybrid is priced closer to the Infiniti M35h than the Lexus GS450h or BMW ActiveHybrid 5, both of which cost 5-6K more. The M35h and GS450h do get comparably higher gas mileage, though the ActiveHybrid 5's fuel economy ratings haven't been released. 

This little electric car is being recalled for an incompatibility between the airbag sensors and the self-diagnostic software that could essentially "turn off" the front and side airbags. If this happens in a crash, then the airbags that are turned off won't inflate to protect the people inside the vehicle. The 261 affected i-MiEVs were assembles between November 4 to December 22, 2011. Concerned owners of affected vehicles can call Mitsubishi at 800-222-0037 or NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline of 888-327-4236.

The Buick Verano Turbo with its 250-horsepower four-cylinder engine will start at $29990 when it goes on sale. That's includes a $885 destination fee. When compared to a virtually identical regular Verano, it costs $2350 more. That 2350 extra dollars will get you 70 more horsepower more than the base Verano, twin exhaust outlets, a rear decklid spoiler, and sporty pedals. Buick's IntelliLink multimedia system is also standard, as are a heated steering wheel, a Bose premium audio system, leather upholstery seating with heated front seats, blind spot warning system, rear cross-traffic alert and a backup camera. Only a navigation system and sunroof are optional.  0-60 miles per hour comes in 6.2 seconds for the Verano Turbo. Both 6-speed automatic and manual transmissions are available. Both cost the same amount. Fuel economy ratings for the manual Verano Turbo are 20/31 city/highway miles per gallon. That represents a one miles per gallon deficit in each category against the ...

This is actually the C-Max Energi... The $25995 Ford C-Max got 47/47 city/highway miles per gallon in EPA testing. The compact minivan C-Max is only availible with Hybrid powertrains. The one that gets 47/47 city/highway miles pre gallon is the cheaper 188-horsepower version with a 2 liter four-cylinder engine and smaller batteries; there's also a plug-in Energi model with 20 miles of electric range. That starts at $33745. The mentioned prices include a destination charge.  Meanwhile, Ford claims the Prius V (vee) is the C-Max's closest competitor, and Ford brags that the Prius V only gets 44/40 city/highway miles per gallon and the C-Max is cheaper. However, cargo dimensions of the C-Max is matches the regular, cheaper, and 50-miles per gallon Prius better than the Prius V.  The Hybrid C-Max will go on sale this autumn. 

With a lineup of mostly aging vehicles, Volvo needs updates and redesigns to capture more buyers. Here's some things to expect for certain models' futures here in the United States. 2012 Volvo C30 We start with the sporty hatchback from Volvo, the C30. This premium, two-door hatchback is not selling in big numbers in America. It will live on, but with a redesign in the future. Little information is given about the next-generation C30, but you can expect the turbocharged five-cylinder of the current model to be replaced with a more efficient four-cylinder. The C70 convertible, based on the C30 (which in turn is based on the now-discontinued S40), will come back after it gets discontinued soon. It will be several more years, though.  The Volvo S60 The S60 sedan that is moving off dealer lots in reasonably high numbers might spin off a gas-electric hybrid version in 2014. Considering that the new Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA) platform on which the next-generat...

The current Beetle coupe Even people outside of Volkswagen don't even know what the Beetle convertible will look like when it goes on sale, official EPA fuel economy ratings have already been released for two drivetrain combinations. Manual TDI clean-diesel models get 28/41 city/highway miles per gallon, and manual Turbo models are rated at 21/30 city/highway miles per gallon.  All other trim levels' fuel economy ratings haven't been let go of yet, but considering that the two sets Beetle convertible fuel economy ratings we do have, you can expect the other convertible's drivetrains to be identical to the coupes'. Here's a breakdown of the regular Beetle's fuel economy ratings: The previous-generation Beetle convertible Manual 2.5 liter 5-cylinder: 22/31 city/highway MPG Automatic 2.5 liter 5-cylinder: 22/29  city/highway MPG Automatic Turbo: 22/30  city/highway MPG Automatic TDI: 29/39  city/highway MPG

These special editions for the Grand Cherokee SRT8 are only visually distinguishable by their glossy black accenting where chrome would've been and gloss-black "Black Vapor Chrome" wheels. The two special editions will $2495 more expensive than the base Grand Cherokee SRT8, which starts at $60920 (including a destination fee).  Features that come with the special editions other than the black stuff consists of blind-spot warning system, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-path detection, collision alert, leather gauge hood, center console, and door wrappings, and a powered hatch. As before, the 2013 Grand Cherokee SRT8s come with the 6.4 liter, 470-horsepower V-8. All-wheel-drive is standard.