BMW has a reputation for offering dynamic handling, great engines, nice interiors, and complicated controls. These traits are all present in the X5 , an updated SUV that faced off against the Mercedes-Benz ML350 in the June issue of Consumer Reports. The X5 steps up the game by replacing its naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine with a 300-hp, 3.0-liter turbocharged six mated to an eight-speed transmission. This new engine delivers smooth, powerful acceleration, but it drinks premium fuel at a modest rate of 18 mpg. You can also opt for a diesel that delivers 4 more mpg. Sporty to drive, the X5 has quick and communicative, though heavy, steering. Excellent body control and low body lean instill confidence and make it fun to drive, belying the X5′s weight and size. But an overly firm ride that feels choppy may limit its appeal to some drivers. The interior is nicely finished, though the controls remain complicated. Even the shifter demands more attention than those in most vehicles. The front seats are very supportive. The second-row seat is roomy enough for three adults, but the optional third-row seat is tiny and best suited to small children. Equipping the X5 with the third-row seat means sacrificing a spare tire, and cargo space is extremely limited when it’s in use. BMW doesn’t recommend child seats be used in the third row, and we found that LATCH connectors can be difficult to access for the second row. At $62,675, our X5 was pricey. While it delivers in many regards, there are better luxury SUVs available and for less money. See our SUV buying advice and Ratings . Read the original post: BMW X5 delivers sporting edge, but with compromises

Another China-only car debuted at the Beijing auto show this week, although this one didn’t feature dragons or extra space between the wheels. Shanghai Volkswagen introduced the New Lavida to maintain its position on the top of the very competitive A-segment in China; this model’s predecessor has sold more than 700,000 units since its introduction in 2008. Shanghai Volkswagen isn’t quite the same as Volkswagen. VW entered into a partnership with SAIC in 1984 as a way to negotiate China’s tight vehicle-importation restrictions. The relationship has proven very successful for both parties ever since. Comparison Test: 2011 Chevy Cruze vs. 2012 Ford Focus and Three More Compacts Comparison Test: 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco vs. 2012 Honda Accord EX-L, 2012 Hyundai Sonata SE, 2012 Kia Optima EX, 2012 Toyota Camry SE, 2012 Volkswagen Passat 2.5 SE Comparison Test: 2010 Kia Forte SX vs. 2010 Mazda 3 s Sport, 2010 Volkswagen Golf The New Lavida, which is more or less a Chinese Jetta (they share the same platform), will be offered with three different engine options and four trim levels, although no specifics were released. However, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Jetta’s new 1.8-liter turbo-four as an option. Read more from the original source: Volkswagen Launches China-Only New Lavida [Beijing Auto Show] Read the rest here: Volkswagen Launches China-Only New Lavida [Beijing Auto Show]

Everyone knows that Lamborghini was founded by a bitter Ferrucio Lamborghini after being snubbed by Ferrari. Few know that Škoda got its start the same way. More » Original post: COTD: The Škoda That Was A Lamborghini Edition [Commenter Of The Day] Read more here: COTD: The Škoda That Was A Lamborghini Edition [Commenter Of The Day]

It appears the Chevrolet Volt is finally gaining some steam. Last month was the Volt’s best-selling month since launch. Chevrolet moved 2,289 units, the most ever for an electric vehicle. While demand was expected to be very strong, last year Chevrolet missed its target of 10,000 units. That is thanks to enduring some bad publicity. A strong contrast can be found in Europe, where the Opel Ampera is doing very well. BMW and Mercedes-Benz buyers are trading in their cars for the Ampera, and dealers are having trouble keeping them in stock. With gas prices going up and some of the detractors being silenced, Chevrolet is hoping sales for the Volt in the United States will see a similar upswing. March was a strong sign of improvement. GMInsideNews has the scoop on updates to the 2013 Volt. One of the features of the Ampera that have thought is very useful is a mode called EV Hold. In Europe, penalties can be incurred for driving a gasoline vehicle in city centers during peak hours. If you’re in an electric vehicle, you can escape that. With high-speed freeways in between many of these city centers, the battery pack can be quickly drained at these speeds, leaving the engine to kick on during traffic. This is counter intuitive, and why the feature was developed for the Ampera. Now, given buyer feedback, the feature has been expanded to the Volt for 2013. Brilliant move given our freeway usage as well. It enables the car to be used in the most efficient way. Also new for 2013 is the addition of a body-color rear lift gate and roof. The Volt, up until now has had this painted in black, giving a unique appearance. Technology wise, forward collision alert, lane departure and Chevy’s MyLink infotainment system have been added. Tweaks to be sure, but we think EV Hold will have big implications for the Volt’s efficiency if buyers use it right. Automoblog.net – A Car Blog for Auto Enthusiasts See the original post here:  2013 Chevrolet Volt Adds EV Hold Mode From Opel Ampera

The New York International Auto Show brought the debut of the new 2014 Chevrolet Impala, along with the 2013 Toyota Avalon. With the Ford Taurus being such a competent entry, the full-size sedan market has become a whole lot more competitive. And now, for the first time in years, Chevrolet will have a competent, top-notch full-size sedan. The current W-body Impala is very aged, but a hot-seller for Chevrolet thanks to its low prices and fleet sales. The 2014 model will command higher asking prices, and we’d be shocked if it sells in similar numbers – that is all part of its repositioning. With Chevy’s identity closely linked with performance vehicles, it makes sense that a sporting Impala would be in the works for the future. Autoblog caught an Impala with camo testing, indicating that one could be further along than most thought. The Impala’s chief competitor will be Ford’s luxurious, tech-laden Taurus. While most full-sizers aren’t anything exciting, the Taurus EcoBoost-powered SHO model is definitely the most appealing to enthusiasts. The current Impala had a V-8-powered SS variant that was ditched a few years back. After slapping the SS moniker on a host of vehicles unworthy of the name, Chevy reversed course and decided it could only be applied to true performance models. That is a good conclusion. It isn’t clear whether or not they would consider SS appropriate for the new Impala, but we’d think so. Autoblog speculates about the car’s engine, saying it could be powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 making around 380 horsepower. Talk about torque steer! At least, in a traditionally-engineered front-wheel drive vehicle. General Motors’ HiPer Strut Suspension would definitely come into play here. No more details are known more than this at the moment, but stay tuned. Given that the 2014 isn’t on sale yet, we doubt an Impala performance model will debut until at least next year. Automoblog.net – A Car Blog for Auto Enthusiasts More here:  2014 Chevrolet Impala Performance Model Spied

Today at High Gear Media, Lotus posted a rant on Facebook and we learned the cause of the explosion in GM’s battery laboratory. We spied the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte and GM recalled the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia. All this and more in today’s car news, right here on The Car Connection. Smart of Argentina gets creative on… See the original post: GM Lab Explosion, Lexus Supercar, Lambda Recall: Today’s Car News

General Motors has issued a recall for 2011 and 2012 models of the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia. However, the recall is limited to owners in northern states, since it’s associated with problems with snow and ice buildup. According to a bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall of the Enclave… View post: 2011-2012 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia Recalled

Today at High Gear Media, we spotted both the 2014 Toyota RAV4 and the 2013 BMW M6 Gran Coupe. A fire and explosion occurred at GM’s battery laboratory and Americans still don’t like the auto bailouts. All this and more in today’s car news, right here on The Car Connection. Ford pushed the 2013 Escape configurator online. We compared the Chevrolet… Originally posted here: GM Battery Labs Explosion, Tesla Model S, 2014 Toyota RAV4: Car News Headlines

When you think of companies that build truly exceptional interiors into their sports cars, who comes to mind? Chances are good that Audi and Ferrari are at the top of the list, Porsche is likely in the middle, and Chevrolet is at the bottom with the Corvette. Just above that is likely the original Dodge Viper, since the kindest thing we could say about its interior is that “Chrysler needed to save money by using common parts.” The original Viper wasn’t a luxury car and it wasn’t a grand tourer. If you wanted to go really fast on a reasonable budget and knew a thing or two about car control, the Viper was a solid choice for track days, club racing or time attack events. It was never a great choice for a street car, since driving any model of Viper required your full and constant attention. Perhaps it was a good thing, then, that the seats weren’t comfortable for long hours behind the wheel. That changes with the 2013 Viper, and the video below gives a good overview of the design process on the new car’s interior. Gone are the cheap, uncomfortable seats and “pulled from a Ram pickup” interior bits. Hard, squeaky plastic is replaced by leather and (presumably) vinyl-wrapped trim, accented by contrasting stitching. The new Viper looks like a more expensive car inside, partly because many high-end sports and luxury car interiors were studied during the Viper’s design process. Despite its shortcomings, we were fans of the old Viper. It did what you asked it to, and it was comfortable enough for its intended purpose. We expect that the new Viper will be improved in every way, and we can’t wait to get behind the wheel of one.   Excerpt from: SRT Talks Up The New Viper’s Interior: Video See original here:  SRT Talks Up The New Viper’s Interior: Video

In a recent interview at the New York Auto Show this year, Jonathan Browning, CEO of VW Group of America, said that he is lobbying to bring the VW Scirocco to the USA. “That’s a piece of the lineup that I would dearly love to see here,” Browning said. Some enthusiasts will remember that the last time the Scirocco was offered here in the states was back in 1988. Being that the Scirocco has been a hit overseas since its release in 2008, we would speculate that US buyers would be just as interested. Browning also added during the interview: “I think it would be a really good addition to our portfolio.” With many of VW’s new products such as the Passat diesel surpassing expectations, we would conclude that the Scirocco would keep that momentum in forward motion here in the U.S. Browning also hinted that the company could offer a production version of the Alltrack concept to compete with vehicles such as the Subaru Outback in addition to a mid-sized crossover slotted between the Tiguan and Touareg. With Volkswagens inspirations on becoming #1 around the world, we may very well see these ideas come to fruition very soon. Would you be interested in a new VW Scirocco? Maybe this time the R-version will allow you to fully disable the traction and stability control dethroning the Golf R’s initially perceived pocket-rocket status . [source: Autonews ]           Here is the original post: American Volkswagen CEO wants to Bring Scirocco to U.S. Read the rest here: American Volkswagen CEO wants to Bring Scirocco to U.S.

The EPA has released fuel-economy numbers for the 2013 BMW X3 with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo, and they’ll put the X3 xDrive28i at the head of the luxury crossover mileage table—well, not counting hybrids. The new X3 gets a combined 24 mpg with a 21 city/28 highway split. That combined number is 3 mpg better than the outgoing  naturally aspirated inline-six version that was good for 19/25/21. Certainly helping those numbers are the eight-speed auto that carries over from last year’s model and a  new stop-start system. The new numbers are also better than the competition. The current Audi Q5 , also with a 2.0-liter turbo four, trails the new BMW with 20/27/22. The outgoing Mercedes-Benz GLK ’s 3.5-liter V-6 and all-wheel drive was a bit thirstier and could manage only 16/21/18. We expect improvements for the new GLK , which debuted at the New York auto show , although no numbers have been released yet. Original post: 2013 BMW X3 xDrive28i Fuel-Economy Figures Released Here is the original post:  2013 BMW X3 xDrive28i Fuel-Economy Figures Released

“Buy a Corvette” was a line item on this guy’s bucket list. He’d been pining for the car since he was a child. Then came his diagnosis of cancer with the face and it was time for him to start crossing items off that list when doctors surgically removed part of his jaw. He walked into a Chevy dealership to try to buy his dream car, only to have his dreams dashed. More » Read more from the original source: Dealer Refuses To Sell Dream Corvette To Man With Face Cancer [Stealerships] Read more from the original source: Dealer Refuses To Sell Dream Corvette To Man With Face Cancer [Stealerships]

According to his Twitter account, Bubba Watson, recent winner of the Masters , is a Christian, a husband, a daddy, a pro golfer, and the owner of General Lee 1 . He bought the car in January at the Barrett Jackson auto auction in Scottsdale Arizona, shelling out $110,000 for the car form the iconic jump scene featured in “The Dukes of Hazzard” intro . More » View post: Masters Winner Bubba Watson Owns The Original ‘General Lee’ [General Lee] More:  Masters Winner Bubba Watson Owns The Original ‘General Lee’ [General Lee]

Chevrolet’s full-size crossover, the Traverse, gets a bit of a makeover, both inside and out, for the 2013 model year. The updates are evolutionary and tasteful, although shoppers expecting radical changes to styling are likely to be disappointed. On the outside, the Traverse now wears a front end that will soon be common to all Chevrolet… Go here to see the original: 2013 Chevrolet Traverse: Walkthrough Video

The Toyota Prius and the Chevrolet Volt are two of the greenest cars on the market, but which one meets your particular mix of needs the best? The answer turns out to be: Well, that depends. Entirely redesigned for the 2010 model year, the third-generation Toyota Prius liftback is the quintessential hybrid vehicle. Its 50-mpg combined EPA rating… View original here: Chevrolet Volt Vs. Toyota Prius: Compare Cars