Magic wands don’t exist, at least not outside Hogwarts. Progress has to be fought for and won. This is especially true in the field of automotive engineering. But what if there was one thing you could do that just made everything better for cars – one act that instantly conferred superior acceleration, higher cornering speeds, better handling, improved braking, lower fuel consumption and fewer emissions of every single kind? And what if, as it did so, it also used far less of the world’s finite natural resources? Would that not be as close to a wand fit for a wizard as can exist? Well, it does exist and it has been known about for as long as people have been making cars. It can be defined in three simple words: make it lighter. Lotus founder Colin Chapman was by no means the first to understand the concept, but he pursued it with greater vigour than anyone up until that time. His maxims such as ‘Simplify, then add lightness’ and ‘Adding power … [Read more...]

Autoweek in review is where we bring you the biggest stories in the car world that you might have missed this week. Whether you were actually getting some work done or you stepped away from your computer for a moment, here's your chance to catch up and have something cool to talk about over the weekend. 2017 BMW 530i review: Redesign or big refresh? After spending the weekend tooling around in the new, seventh-gen BMW 5-Series, I really don’t know if I like it. I need to think about it more. According to BMW, compared to the outgoing model, ... Here's the first 'Top Gear America' trailer "Top Gear America" is just a month away from airing, no small feat given the demise of "Top Gear USA" exactly a year ago, and the BBC has just released the first brief teaser ... … [Read more...]

My job as an official for the 24 Hours of Lemons race series takes me to exotic destinations such as Loudon, New Hampshire, or Willcox, Arizona, and I find that these trips provide excellent opportunities to see how a vehicle performs under real-world conditions. That means hauling plenty of coworkers and their stuff over potholed back roads full of mutant wildlife and then trying to look cool when cruising through a paddock full of opinionated car-expert racers. In March, I drove a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime to work at Sonoma Raceway in California, achieving staggeringly good fuel economy while attracting exactly zero interest in the car from anybody. In May, the Lemons Traveling Circus rolled into Thunderhill Raceway for the Vodden the Hell Are We Doing race, and I opted for a car I figured would attract some notice: a bronzo magnetico titanium 2017 Fiat 124 Spider Lusso. Here's how that went. I … [Read more...]

Audi will field a factory team in the next Formula E season, taking control of front-running squad Abt Schaeffler. The deal effectively turns Abt, already backed by Audi, into the German firm's works outside. The team will be renamed Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler for the 2017/2018 Formula E season. “We’ve been supporting the Formula E commitment with increasing intensity in recent months – on the race days, in the development of the new powertrain and in numerous off-track activities as well,” said Peter Mertens, Audi’s technical development boss. “That Audi will be the first German automobile manufacturer to be actively involved in the racing series starting next season is also a clear commitment of our brand to electric mobility, on the race track as of December and next year on the road as well with the new Audi E-tron.” Like Jaguar and DS with their Formula E teams, Audi has said its racing outfit will benefit the … [Read more...]

Munich prosecutors arrested an Audi employee on suspicion of fraud and false advertising in connection with the carmaker's emissions scandal, the first arrest in Germany related to Volkswagen's diesel scandal. The Audi employee was arrested on Monday, at the behest of Munich prosecutors, a spokeswoman for the Munich prosecutors office said on Friday. When asked if the arrest was at the request of US authorities, the spokeswoman said it was not. She did not give the name of the person. Munich prosecutors declined to comment on whether the arrested person is a current or former Audi employee. Audi and parent Volkswagen both declined to comment. On Thursday, the US Justice Department said it charged former manager Giovanni Pamio with directing Audi employees to design software to cheat US emissions tests in thousands of Audi diesel cars. Audi is a division of Volkswagen Group. The Munich prosecutor's office said the Audi employee was brought before a judge on Tuesday and was now … [Read more...]

Mercedes-Benz is giving the world the first glimpse at its upcoming X-Class pickup via an exceedingly dramatic video that looks like it took many months and many dollars to render. The 2018 X-Class will share components with the Nissan Navara pickup and use the NP300 platform courtesy of an agreement with Renault-Nissan. The midsize X-Class pickup was last previewed by two concepts at the Geneva motor show this year, named Stylish Explorer and Powerful Adventurer, that indicated what a Mercedes-Benz pickup could look like.Billed as the "world's first premium pickup," the X-Class will actually skip our pickup-friendly market entirely, aiming for the likes of the Volkswagen Amarok and the Toyota Hilux in other regions. The teaser video demonstrates that the production design has been watered down a bit from the concept, with the X-Class featuring a GLS-style grille with prominent horizontal bars, a tall hood and a front bumper with an integrated skid plate. The rear … [Read more...]

Those of you who read our 2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack review, and who are in possession of a very sharp memory, might recall another VW wagon review we did a little while back. No, we’re not talking about the Golf Sportwagen we drove in 2016 -- we mean the Quantum Syncro we wrote about, oh, 31 years ago this week.Now, the wagon that appeared in the July 7, 1986 issue of Autoweek isn’t the direct predecessor of the longroof Golfs we know today; the Quantum was the U.S.-market name for the Passat. But model bloat being a very real phenomenon, the old Quantum probably maps more closely to today’s Golfs than it does to the upsized modern Passat.Even when we wrote our drive review, we knew the Quantum Syncro was going to be a rare sight on American roads. The Syncro, in this case, referred to its all-wheel-drive system (pinched from Audi), and that alone made it something of a specialist offering. There were a few non-truck vehicles built AWD back … [Read more...]

America has spoken, and we are now the land of the SUV and crossover. Whether or not they're our preference as enthusiasts, we’ll still drive them all and report back to you with our findings. Halfway through 2017, these are the most popular SUV and crossover reviews we've posted. 2018 Toyota C-HR first drive: When does a car become a crossover? It’s no secret that we live in a world where everything from hate groups to Fruit Loops can be rebranded to become more or less appealing to a particular audience, and the auto industry is no ... 2018 Volkswagen Atlas first drive: American-style family hauler done right Volkswagen, at last, has a serious midsize SUV player: The new Chattanooga, Tennessee-built Atlas has learned the lessons of the two generations of the … [Read more...]

Audi is considering the launch of another electric supercar to follow its previous limited-run R8 e-tron. “You can very well imagine that at some point in time we will have an electric supercar,” said Peter Mertens, Audi’s new R&D boss, at the Formula E race in Berlin earlier this month. First mooted as far back as 2009, the R8 e-tron had a tortuous development, one that became mired in Audi’s internal politics. It was cancelled by Audi’s then development boss Wolfgang Dürheimer back in 2013 on the basis that battery technology was insufficient to deliver the targeted performance. Then Dürheimer’s replacement, Volkswagen’s engineering supremo, Ulrich Hackenberg, ordered that the e-tron be put into very limited production, with sales lasting just 19 months until the death of the first-generation R8 last year. Audi E-tron electric SUV to arrive in 2018 with 310-mile range Hackenberg has since departed, following the Dieselgate … [Read more...]

A new £8 million Advanced Emissions Test Centre (AETC) has been opened at Horiba MIRA’s automotive testing site in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The 12,000 square foot facility, opened by Horiba chairman Atsushi Horiba today, has been created in response to increasingly stringent emissions limits in the automotive industry. London and Paris announce real-world emissions testing for cars It is able to test vehicles against global compliance limits including Euro 6d, as well as the new Real World Driving Emissions levels. Using a four-wheel drive dyno and featuring climatic soak rooms that can simulate temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius, the site can asses cars for a variety of global locations. The facility’s opening has created several engineering jobs, with several more due as the workforce expands into 2018. Horiba’s £8m investment into the centre also brings the Japanese brand’s total input up to almost £25m since it took … [Read more...]

Both the TourX and its Sportback sibling boast active hoods for pedestrian safety. For added toughness, the TourX's "blastic" cladding incorporates little mud-flap–like flares at the trailing edges of the rear wheel wells. From the July 2017 issue The station wagon has long faced extinction, but a counterpoint to the rise of the crossover and the decline of the sedan can be found in the current wobbly resuscitation of the wagon. Subaru has done its part to preserve an otherwise unfashionable style, recasting the wagon as an outdoorsy hiking shoe that isn’t an SUV. It sold nearly 183,000 Outbacks in 2016. The Audi A4 Allroad and Volkswagen Golf Alltrack, among others, now mimic that template. Latest to the party is Buick, which is getting in on the wagon-conservation effort with its new Regal TourX, the first wagon to wear the tri-shield badge in the 22 years since the Buick Roadmaster Estate wagon expired. Exterior It could be said that the Germany-built Buick … [Read more...]

U.S. light-vehicle sales dropped 2.9 percent in June behind another weak month for cars and lower fleet shipments. Toyota, Nissan and Honda chalked up modest June gains while the Detroit 3 slipped as the industry posted its sixth straight monthly decline.The advances at the biggest Japanese companies were all in the low single-digit range, fueled largely by truck sales. Ford retreated 5.1 percent after posting its first sales gain of the year in May. General Motors deliveries fell 4.7 percent while continuing to point to a reduction in lower-profit sales to daily rental fleets. Fiat Chrysler was down 7 percent.As has been the case throughout the year, the results were marked by steep declines in car sales -- down 14 percent for the month -- even amid rising incentives. Truck deliveries edged up 4.2 percent in June.The seasonally adjusted, annualized sales rate came in at 16.54 million, the lowest pace of sales of the year and slightly below the 16.6 million average … [Read more...]

What is it: The Volkswagen Golf Alltrack wagon uses a 1.8-liter turbo-four for power and comes with VW's 4Motion all-wheel drive using a Haldex-5 coupling and an electro-hydraulic oil pump.Key Competitors: Audi Allroad, Subaru Outback/Crosstrek, BMW 3-Series Sports WagonBase Price: $33,710 As Tested: $35,705Highlights: VW's four-wheel-drive system powers the front wheels, saving fuel, until a loss of traction is detected, after which it can send 50 percent of the power rearward. The Alltrack gets an extra inch of ground clearance over the Golf SportWagen and looks more rugged, too.Opinion: People are probably sick of me saying this, but I love Golfs. It’s their near-perfect ride/handling balance, exceptional body control, the interior quality and the logical way everything is arranged, the way the doors thunk shut, the excellent seats, the practicality (especially these wagons) … all good as far as I’m concerned. This car is no exception. … [Read more...]

Established brands and models dominate the top 10 list of best-selling cars in the UK and the hatchback rules supreme. However, the latest sales figures show that some newer additions to Britain’s roads are growing in popularity, despite an overall slowing down of market sales. The latest figures cover the year to the end of June and show that superminis and hatchbacks remain the most popular. Longstanding leader the Ford Fiesta continues to fly out of dealerships, but the Volkswagen Golf led the pack in June, selling in 8808 units to the Fiesta's 8601. This helped the Golf nab third place for the year so far, pushing the best-selling SUV, the Nissan’s Qashqai, down to fourth overall. 1: Ford Fiesta – 59,380 registrations The Fiesta has been a British favourite for decades and that shows no signs of changing, even though the latest incarnation is now eight years old and its replacement is soon to arrive. Its sales figures are well ahead of its closest … [Read more...]

The Ford Mustang's Euro NCAP safety rating has been upped to three stars, an improvement of one star after the addition of more standard safety equipment. Ford was criticised earlier this year when its muscle car scored poorly in frontal offset and full-width frontal tests. The Mustang's airbags also failed to inflate fully and seatbelt pre-tensioners and load-limiters didn’t work effectively enough. Ford has responded by giving the Mustang standard pedestrian detection, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane-keeping assist. It has also addressed the airbag issue. Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research, said: “Our advice to buyers is to always opt for a Euro NCAP five-star car, so a three-star rating is never a cause for celebration. “However, Ford’s rapid addition of a suite of standard safety tech and its prompt updates to improve the performance of the airbags and restraints is to be applauded … [Read more...]

BEIJING - General Motors on Wednesday said sales rose in China in June after two consecutive months of decline, and promised to rebuild momentum in the world's largest car market with 10 new or refreshed models in the second half of 2017. The automaker, China's second-largest foreign brand behind Volkswagen AG, sold 285,191 vehicles in June, 4.3 percent more than in the same month last year. For January to June, sales declined 2.5 percent to roughly 1.8 million vehicles. Overall sales in China's auto market surged by double-digits in 2016, helped by a tax cut on vehicles with engines of 1.6 liters or below. But that policy is now being phased out, leading to weaker sales. "We are pleased with the strong demand across our brands in June," Matt Tsien, GM's China chief, said in a statement. "Over the next six months, we will be launching 10 new and refreshed models to build on our momentum." The launches will include an all-new Buick Regal sport sedan and a station wagon under the … [Read more...]

ANGLESEY, Wales — Down by the sea near the Welsh port of Holyhead sits the Anglesey race track. It’s a great circuit, picturesque and challenging, with an enticing mix of fast and not so fast sections complemented by several climbs and descents. It isn’t the greatest day to be here, what with the heavy cloud cover, occasional drizzle, high winds, and chilly temperatures. But we’ve got a new Bentley to drive, and it’s a biggie — a prototype version of the all-new, 2018 Bentley Continental GT — so we’re not exactly complaining. In order to give us a better idea of what the new Continental is all about, Bentley also brought along the present-generation car, which has been on the market for some 14 years now. With 582 horsepower and 531 lb-ft of torque on tap, today’s 6.0-liter W-12-powered version of the GT is certainly no sluggard. But its road manners are decidedly old school, as you’d expect for a car that’s reached … [Read more...]

Hot hatches like the Volkswagen GTI and Ford Focus ST have long been regarded as a perfected blend of daily usability and accessible performance, but for some, they’re excessive both in performance and price. Lucky for them, automakers have stepped up and now offer sporty-ish compacts that are easier to live with – and easier to afford — and we recently spent a week with the segment’s freshest face, the 2017 Nissan Sentra Nismo.Visually, the Sentra Nismo is as subtle as a depth charge. Nismo went to work on Nissan’s popular compact, adding aggressive protrusions on the lower front fascia and sharp folds on the rear bumper. Thin red accents slice down the lower rocker panel portions of the doors, extending to larger crimson sectionals on the front and rear bumpers.You can’t mute these accents, either – this Sentra is only available in contrasting white, black, silver, and gunmetal. Nismo-exclusive black/silver wheels and a fat single-exit … [Read more...]

Volkswagen India has launched the Ameo compact sedan with prices starting from Rs 5.24 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). This makes the Ameo's base variant around 10 thousand rupees cheaper than its hatchback sibling, the VW Polo's base variant. The Volkswagen Ameo was originally showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo. It is based on the same platform that underpins the Polo hatchback, and has been given a length of 3995 mm to take advantage of the excise duty benefits of small cars. This has helped VW to price it competitively, thus placing it in the middle of its two rivals, the Maruti Suzuki DZire and the Honda Amaze. Continuing its inclination to occupant safety, VW India has equipped the Ameo with dual airbags and ABS as standard across the entire range. The Ameo also gets many features like cruise control, rain sensing wipers, anti-pinch power windows, front centre armrest, and static cornering lights. Other features on offer include rear camera with parking sensors, touchscreen infotainment … [Read more...]

Volkswagen India has started deliveries of the Ameo compact sedan. At present, the car is available only with a petrol engine, while a diesel version is expected to be launched during this year's festive season. The Volkswagen Ameo was unveiled in February this year, and was subsequently showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo in Greater Noida. Volkswagen announced the prices of the Ameo on June 6. With the base variant priced at Rs. 5.24 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Ameo is the most affordable product in the company's portfolio. The only engine option currently on offer with the Volkswagen Ameo is a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder, MPI petrol unit that churns out 74 BHP and 110 Nm of torque. This engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission, and boasts of an ARAI fuel economy of 17.83 kmpl. The Ameo Diesel, which is expected to be launched later this year, is expected to get a revised version of the company's 1.5-litre TDI engine. This engine is expected to develop 108 BHP and 230 Nm of … [Read more...]