The folks over at Autofans.be have the scoop today on the all-new BMW M6. According to the Belgian site, BMW will first launch the M6 Convertible in June 2012. The M6 Coupe version will follow three months later, in September 2012. But there is more. The first four-door M6, alas the M6 Gran Coupe, will come to market in March 2013. The B MW M6 Gran Coupe will built atop the next year release of the 6 Series Gran Coupe, a four-dour coupe vehicle that will come to market to compete with similar offerings from Audi (A7) and Mercedes-Benz (CLS). The new M6 Gran Coupe will eventually replace the M5 and M6 at the top of the M family. But how many horsepower will the high-end Ms carry under their hood? Sources close to the aforementioned publication will use a 4.4 liter V8 turbocharged engine with horsepower around the 600 mark, 40 more ponies than the recently launched F10 M5 . The engine will be mated to a 7-speed M double-clutch gearbox. With this much power increase, we expect the M6 vehicles to run from 0 to 62 mph in less than 4.5 seconds. The 2013 BMW M6 will feature an aggressive front end with a redesigned apron that includes vertical air intakes for the air curtains, for improving the aerodynamics, especially at high speeds by reducing turbulence and therefore less air resistance on the front wheel arches. At the rear, the typical M four tailpipes are present, along with a diffuser framing. The redesigned M6 will have its own attributes and characteristics in order to challenge the established rivals from Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. We expect the base price of M6 Coupe and Convertible to jump over the $100,000 mark in the U.S., with the M6 Gran Coupe adding a premium price as well. See the rest here: Rumors: New BMW M6 to launch June/September 2012 with 600 hp

This squat crossover previews future VW styling—and maybe even future hybrid tech. Following a rich automaker tradition of building concept cars targeting the millionaire entrepreneur/weekend decathlete market, Volkswagen has unveiled the Cross Coupé concept at the Tokyo auto show . Keep Reading: Volkswagen Cross Coupé Concept – Auto Shows Read the original: Volkswagen Cross Coupé Concept Debuts, Previews Future VW Styling Original post:  Volkswagen Cross Coupé Concept Debuts, Previews Future VW Styling

Prior to the Tokyo auto show , Honda showed us a number of its upcoming technologies (including its new direct-injection engines ), and one of the most promising is Electric SH-AWD. To review, SH-AWD stands for Super Handling All-Wheel Drive and, on current Acura products that bear the label, it signifies a four-wheel-drive powertrain that can route engine torque to either of the rear wheels to improve cornering. Electric SH-AWD operates on a similar principle, and will be found on at least one upcoming Acura in the near future (pay no mind to the fact that the demonstration vehicle pictured here is an Accord). Instead of sending a driveshaft to the rear wheels and proportioning the power via clutches in a differential, the rear wheels simply use two electric motors. It’s a deceptively simple idea, and one that’s popped up in one form or another from various automakers (the Porsche 918 Spyder and RSR concepts feature something similar, for example). We’d have thought of it ourselves but were too busy looking for Asimo, Honda’s walking robot. He never showed. The rear electric motors are only part of an overall hybrid powertrain concept. Up front is the latest development of Honda’s 3.5-liter V-6, now with direct injection and an output of at least 308 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a Honda-built seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with a 40-hp DC electric motor integrated into the housing. Unlike Honda’s current IMA hybrid system , this new setup allows the engine to decouple from the electric motor. The benefit is that, during electric regeneration, all of the energy can flow through the motor (acting as a generator) into the batteries; no energy is used to spin the gasoline engine. Similarly, no battery power is wasted spinning the engine during EV-mode stints, which currently is the case with Honda’s hybrids. Interestingly, EV mode actually uses the rear motors to propel the car, which brings us back to SH-AWD. Connected to each rear wheel is a 27-hp DC motor, either of which can deliver torque to its respective wheel or create drag through electric regeneration. The system works just like a mechanical torque-vectoring system but with much less hardware and, incidentally, less weight. When the car enters a corner, the...

Despite Honda’s reputation for building great engines, the Japanese automaker has been slow to adopt direct injection (DI). The technology is now commonplace in all segments of the market, and allows for higher compression ratios and therefore improved efficiency. At an event surrounding the Tokyo auto show , Honda has told us that it is finally ready to add this feature to its engines. Besides DI, the engines also will feature a stop/start system. At the top of the line is a redesigned 3.5-liter V-6, which features cylinder shutdown and a two-stage oil pump. With at least 308 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque, this engine delivers more power than Honda’s existing 3.7-liter engine and should yield a fuel-economy improvement of about 10 percent. Another highlight of the lineup is a new 1.6-liter turbo-diesel, which is meant to replace the current 2.2-liter oil-burner found in markets outside of the United State. It’s claimed to be as light as a gasoline engine; the all-aluminum design features an open-deck block, which shaves pounds but is less stiff than the closed-deck design normally seen on diesel engines. Still, Honda claims the weight savings come without any long-term reliability concerns, thanks to new high-strength aluminum alloys, a stiff head design, and optimized cooling. Output figures of 118 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque are impressive for the downsized displacement. Alas, Honda executives are silent on whether or not we’ll ever see this engine in North America. We also saw a 2.4-liter inline-4 that makes at least 181 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. Compared to the current, port-injected 2.4-liter four in the new CR-V , those numbers represent a drop of 4 hp but an increase of 14 lb-ft; the differences are negligible enough, however, that we’d expect similar performance with better fuel economy. The outputs of Honda’s DI-equipped 1.8-liter and 1.5-liter fours are likewise similar to their current port-injection equivalents. You Can’t Spell Continuously Variable Transmission Without Three of the Letters in “Honda” Honda also announced a new series of continuously variable transmissions that supposedly reduce the annoyances we expect of this type of gearbox. The new CVTs—one is intended for mid-size and compact cars, the...

Starting now, expect to hear more from Nissan’s performance division. Nissan’s performance division has had a fairly narrow scope in the U.S. of late—a NISMO-badged 370Z here and a few upgrade parts there, but little else. Nissan wants that to change, and plans to expand NISMO’s influence to more road cars in the future. To show the performance potential hiding in its everyday products—and to signal its intent to broaden its NISMO offerings—the automaker brought this Juke concept to the Tokyo auto show . Keep Reading: Nissan Juke NISMO Concept – Auto Shows Here is the original post: Nissan Juke NISMO Concept Revealed, Points to More Factory-Tuned Models Continued here: Nissan Juke NISMO Concept Revealed, Points to More Factory-Tuned Models

Hit play for an audio recording of a mystery car’s exhaust note, and then share your guesses or get a few hints from other visitors in the comments below. Be sure to check back on Thursday for the answer! Read the original post: Name That Exhaust Note, Episode 115 Read the original:  Name That Exhaust Note, Episode 115

Click to enlarge It’s Tuesday, and that means it’s time to present this week’s shifter. You’ll have until mid-day Thursday to identify the make and model of the vehicle from whence this shifter came. The first person to respond correctly in the Backfires section below will win a Save the Manuals button and sticker. Good luck! See more here: Name That Shifter, No. 52 Read the original here: Name That Shifter, No. 52

This is the first of four behind-the-scenes looks at our 2012 10Best Cars competition. Don’t forget to come back next Tuesday, December 6, to see the list of this year’s winners. Since 1983, the end of summer at C/D has meant gathering at an undisclosed location in the hinterlands of Michigan to determine the 10 best cars available for purchase in a given year. To choose the 2012 winners, we spent four days performing what’s become ritual: flogging dozens of cars—some in several different trim and powertrain combinations—over twisty, hilly, and pockmarked roads, and in weather that ranged from sunny and splendid to gray and soggy. How well a car performs its intended task is just as important as how well it handles, goes, and stops on our 14-mile loop, and drives always end with the editor fiddling with gadgets, testing the back seat (if one is present), and poking around in the trunk. On the first day, we’re confronted by a couple of acres of brand-new cars—68 in all—which we have to evaluate in a relatively short time. It requires a Zen-like clearing of the mind, a conscious effort to purge any preconceived notions, and the utmost professional detachment. It also takes a lot of coffee, as well as doughnuts from Washtenaw Dairy. On the first day, the sustenance is late—“I thought you were getting it!?”—and we get rather cranky. What’s more important, however, is that every car is at the test site, fueled and clean, and ready to hit the loop, thanks to our indomitable road warriors. This year’s field is large, but not unusually so compared to previous 10Best sessions. The stack of metal includes the 2011 10Best winners (among them the BMW M3 and 335i coupes , Cadillac CTS-V , Chevrolet Volt , Ford Mustang GT , and Honda Fit ); models that were substantially updated for 2012 (including the Audi TT RS , Hyundai Genesis sedan , and Mercedes-Benz C-class ); and all-new cars such as the Audi A7 , Buick Regal GS , Fiat 500 , Hyundai Veloster , and Toyota Camry . (The full list of nominees will be published with the winners next week.) The 2012 test sees a larger-than-typical representation in two major categories: economy cars and family sedans. Neither segment generally raises our pulse rates very much; we are, of course, performance enthusiasts....

Its shape isn’t very thrilling, but the new Subaru/Toyota rear-drive sports car has us plenty excited. Forty-eight months after first getting wind of the Toyota/Subaru/Toyobaru/Subayota sports car, we know more about the collaboration than we do Kim Kardashian’s marriage to and divorce from whatsisnuts. We know that it’s powered by a flat-four, it’s rear-wheel drive, and that it will offer six-speed transmissions—heck, we’ve already driven a prototype of the Subaru. We also know what both manufacturers will be calling their versions of the car. (The Toyota will be sold as a Scion in the U.S.; its name is still unconfirmed.) About the last thing to do is see officially released photos. At the Tokyo auto show , both Subaru and Toyota are finally unveiling the final, production-ready cars. Keep Reading: 2013 Subaru BRZ – Official Photos and Info View original post here: 2013 Subaru BRZ Official Photos and Info: It May Not Look Thrilling, But We’re Plenty Excited Here is the original post:  2013 Subaru BRZ Official Photos and Info: It May Not Look Thrilling, But We’re Plenty Excited

The wait is (just about) over for Scion’s first rear-wheel-drive sports car. No more spy shots , no more concepts , no more leaked brochures . A production version of the joint Toyota/Subaru rear-wheel-drive sports car has finally been revealed. The U.K.-market Toyota GT 86, which will be identical in the U.S. save for its Scion badges and correct steering-wheel placement, will be shown at the 2011 Tokyo auto show . Keep Reading: 2013 Scion FR-S / Toyota GT 86 – Official Photos and Info Read the original here: 2013 Scion FR-S: Production Sheetmetal and Details Finally Revealed via Toyota GT 86 Read the original post:  2013 Scion FR-S: Production Sheetmetal and Details Finally Revealed via Toyota GT 86

I recently learned that Peugeot, translated in Chinese, sounds an awful lot like “prostitute.” Now there’s a car name. The 2012 “-fill in the blank-” Peugeot. I advise you avoid driving your Peugeot along muddy Chinese roads, for fear it become dirty. And drive carefully, you certainly don’t want to bang up a Peugeot. In a socially conservative country such as China, the French automaker may want to launch a new sub-brand so as to increase their, shall we say, “social acceptance.” The name on the deck lid of our respective cars and trucks has greater influence over our ownership of said vehicles than you may believe. Most of us are quick to dismiss any superficial inclinations or biases we may have based on the badge – but the truth of the matter is that we are all innately aware of the image we project to others – be it by the clothes we wear, or in this case, the car we drive. Theoretically speaking, one could drive a car that is powerfully dominant on the road, while sporting a very lame badge. Enter new carmaker Panda and their flagship supercar, the “Cub.” These names are fictional, but just picture a 730 rwhp 232 mph seductive monster with a fury baby panda figurine affixed to the hood. Whatever – I would drive it: it has 730 rwhp. Carmakers spend millions of dollars in their marketing departments, stewing over nomenclature while downing countless cups of coffee. Names, in fact, do sell cars – and my apathy over the topic represents the exception in the market, not the rule. Whereas many drivers and I steadfastly search for substance in a vehicle, most car buyers start off with color selection, right after picking a suitable badge on the trunk-lid. In tonight’s Opposite Lock, we are not going to analyze the macroeconomics of automotive nomenclature – as interesting a topic as that may be. No, tonight we are turning our attention to the enthusiast crowd, and their response to the naming conventions of the automakers they adore. Let’s set a suitable bull’s eye: the forthcoming M3. BMWBLOG has learned that BMW is looking to launch yet another layer to their lineup: the 4 series. The 4 series is set to demand a premium price tag by one-upping the 3 series chassis with exterior, interior, and performance enhancements....

Mazda recently introduced a new kinetic-energy recovery system it calls i-ELOOP—a play on “intelligent energy loop.” i-ELOOP is very similar to BMW’s EfficientDynamics setup in that neither system sends recovered energy back into the powertrain for a small power burst, as do hybrid systems. What makes Mazda’s version different from BMW’s is how it stores energy. When a car equipped with i-ELOOP is decelerating, a variable-voltage alternator (12 to 25 volts) pumps electricity into an electric double-layer capacitor (also known as a supercapacitor). When the car comes to a stop, Mazda’s engine stop-start system—branded i-stop—takes over and shuts the engine off. At this point, all auxiliary vehicle functions (radio, HVAC, headlights, etc.,) are powered by the supercapacitor; its 25-volt output is stepped down to 12 volts by a DC/DC converter. There are times that the supercapacitor will recharge the 12-volt battery, too. Rather than a supercapacitor, BMW’s EfficientDynamics uses an expensive glass-mat battery; the glass-mat battery is used because it can be reliably discharged to a lower state of charge than regular lead-acid lumps. If there’s an argument against the i-ELOOP approach, it’s that supercapacitors self-discharge fairly rapidly and only store electricity temporarily, meaning that they must be topped off before each stop. But this isn’t actually much of a problem, as it takes just a few seconds to fully charge the capacitor. And, unlike batteries, supercapacitors have an extremely long life (millions of cycles) and likely will never have to be replaced. It sounds a bit complicated, but the payoff, we suspect, is that the air conditioning and other auxiliary devices won’t force the engine to run at idle as often, ultimately saving a few gallons of gasoline. For its part, Mazda claims i-ELOOP is good for a 10-percent fuel-economy improvement in stop-and-go traffic. As for i-ELOOP’s U.S. prospects, our understanding is that the system is likely to be offered here, but not for some time. Excerpt from: Mazda Introduces i-ELOOP Capacitor-Based Regenerative Braking System Read the original here: Mazda Introduces i-ELOOP Capacitor-Based Regenerative Braking System

Yesterday, Robert Acker wrote an article for Mashable about the five things that automakers must do in order to make web-connected cars attractive to mainstream consumers. Acker’s comments are insightful — we wouldn’t expect anything less from the GM of from Aha Radio — but we have a few more items to add to the wish list. In a nutshell, Acker… Read more:  3 More Things We Need Before Cars Are Fully Connected To The Web

“Small Buick” may sound as unnatural as “loose tights” given Buick’s long history of large cars. But the newly reconstituted General Motors has been gradually recasting Buick as a full-line brand, and the Verano is a building block toward that goal. It’s a small sedan using the same platform as the Chevrolet Cruze , but with longer overhangs, more sound-deadening materials, a nicer interior, and more available options. Prices start at $23,470 and top out just under $29,000. Initial impressions: The Verano handles responsively in everyday driving, but the steering feels rather vague. It’s not in the same league as the agile Regal. The 182-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is shared with the one-size-up Regal. It pulls well but despite the Verano’s lighter weight, acceleration doesn’t feel particularly quick. (A more powerful 2.0-liter turbo will be added for 2013.) The brand new six-speed automatic transmission (shared with the 2012 Cruze) shifts smoothly. The ride is compliant and less firm than the Cruze’s, but it is still composed. Some low-speed impacts could probably be chalked up to the standard 18-inch wheels and low-profile tires on our sample. The interior stays relatively quiet, with far less road noise than in, say, even the larger Honda Accord or Hyundai Sonata . Cabin ambience is a high point: Electronic amenities abound, from the electronic parking brake to a push-button start in high trim levels. Audio content can be streamed via smart phone, allowing the use of Internet music sites like Pandora and Stitcher. Fit and finish is good and rather attractive in “Choccachino” color scheme. Most surfaces you touch are soft, but some hard plastics and a few misfits are visible. I was struck by the lack of a power recline for the driver’s seat and the absence of an adjustable lumbar support. Any car with upscale pretensions should include those items. Personally, I found the front seats overly squishy, but Buick loyalists may like them. The rear seat is well shaped but, as in the Cruze, it’s pretty cramped fore-and-aft. I also missed an exterior trunk release. Overall, the Verano is an agreeable compact sedan with an upscale presence. When it hits the streets at the end of...

Today at High Gear Media, Subaru reveals the 2013 BRZ and we test Nissan’s next-generation CVT transmission. Acura might bring a new NSX Concept to the Detroit Auto Show and we review the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen. All this and more in today’s car news, right here on The Car Connection. We tested Nissan’s next-generation CVT transmission… View post: 2013 Nissan Altima, November Auto Sales, 2013 Subaru BRZ: Today’s Car News