Beetle Mania!

2012 VW Beetle (New York)

It seems the new Bug has already made its way to the Big Apple. Today, VW officially revealed the all-new VW Beetle today in New York. A lot of Beetle fans turned up to look at the new Bug as it was presented by Klaus Bischoff, VW's head of design.

"We took the current Beetle and threw everything about it out the window and had the original Beetle in the studio when we started redesign in 2007" - Klaus Bischoff, VW's head of Design

It turns out a lot of people like the new Beetle. There were some people who said, "it doesn't look like a Beetle anymore." Yeah, that's what they said about the last one. But anyway, VW showed off two models of the Beetle, the standard model and the Turbo. It looks like the Turbo will carry VW's 2.0-liter 200 horsepower turbo-4 engine. And since it's a small car, expect it to be quite quick. VW's Global Marketing Director, Luca de Meo, says that thanks to the Beetle's new XDS electric front differential, it's more nimble and agile, it's like driving Herbie or a mosquito.

"the fact that the 200-horsepower turbocharged motor makes this a 'toy for a boy'; and the Fender audio that includes some first-time features such as the Panasonic technology in the tweeters." - Luca de Meo, VW Global Marketing Director

Basically what VW is trying to do is make the Beetle less feminine as it was back in Y2K. Of course, women may love it, but for men who love power, like I do, they hope that the new Beetle has enough to please them.

"We want to make a statement without making compromises, to get out of niche and into core demand in many markets, not just the States."- Luca de Meo, VW Global Marketing Director

So, all-in-all, the Beetle looks like it's one for the masses: a revolution of something that was ugly into something more streamlined. In my opinion, it looks like a bubbly Golf. There is some Golf-ness in this car that some people can't see. I'll take it for a test drive this fall. Top Gear so far says it's not half bad. The sporty styling they think is actually much better and the interior is top notch. I think Clarkson & Hammond have the deciding vote on this one. The all-new Beetle will come out this fall at a pretty decent price.

Black Betty

2012 VW Beetle

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the all-new 2012 VW Beetle. All those Oprah fans who received a key to one last year, well done. This car looks much better than the horrid trash created years ago, and even before that. What's strange is that VW say the design of this car was based on the original ugly Beetle. I do see some of that, but more of that awesome Ragster Concept a couple years back with the longer roof line and the aggressive windshield. Anyway, on to the car now. It's longer and wider than the old trash they've created. It features some Golf and Scirocco stylings so it is best believed that the car may be using a Golf chassis. There are new headlights with LED Daytime running lamps. Around the back, you'll see that this car has definitely gone through a serious makeover as it features new taillamps, a new spoiler, and an aggressive pair of exhausts, one on each side of the bumper.

Rear View

Inside, you'll find seating for four and some new amenities such as leather seats, navigation, an adaptive stereo system; they've even put in some carbon fiber on the dash for some models to make it a bit more aggressive. Not to mention, I'm delighted to say that they've removed the ugly flower that was standard on that last old trash that they had. No one needed that thing. Even men who bought one felt unmanly with that ugly flower on the steering wheel. Anyway, as far as power goes, VW has promised four engines for the Beetle, with three of them possibly coming over here. First, there's a 1.2-liter 104 horsepower inline-4 engine. Moving on up, there's the 1.4-liter 148 horsepower i-4 engine, the 1.6-liter 104 horsepower Blue Motion turbodiesel engine, and, you'll be excited to here, a 2.0-liter 200 horsepower turbo-4 engine like in the Golf GTI. All engines will be mated with either a 6-speed manual or 6-speed DSG transmission. The spoiler comes only with the TSI models (147 horsepower - 200 horsepower). Prices have not been announced yet, but soon will be as this car is set arrive here this fall. But, before it does, you'll be able to see it in person at the Shanghai Motor Show and New York International Auto Show this week, so I'll have some live pictures of this car for you this weekend.

Malibu Express

2013 Chevy Malibu

The Chevy Malibu wasn't always the best looking midsize sedan out there, but Chevy's done some tweaking and now, I think it looks great. This is just a leaked photo from GM. The real thing will be unveiled on Chevy's Facebook page tonight at 8:30 p.m., with its live debut happening at the Shanghai Motor Show this week. Chevy's only putting four-cylinder engines into this thing so expect either a 2.4-liter inline-4 or a 2.0-liter turbo-4 to come in the near future. As for now, this is Chevy, once again getting under the Toyota Camry's nose, and possibly licking it. Gross, but it's somewhat true.

They Keep Getting Smaller

2012 Audi Q3

First it was the Q7 back in 2005. Then the Q5 came in 2008. And now, we have this: the Audi Q3, Audi's take on making an entry level luxury SUV. This isn't really a bespoke Audi, though. Pull back the body, and you'll find the chassis from a Volkswagen Tiguan, which wasn't the best thing to come out of VW. Still, Audi is known for making their cars way better than their subsidiaries Porsche and VW. A perfect example of this is the new A7. Anyway, the new Q3 will feature a diesel and a petrol engine at production time with horsepower ranging from 140 to 211. The two most powerful models will feature Audi's Quattro™ All-Wheel Drive system and a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. There will be a 170 horsepower front-wheel drive model that will be available later. As for features, there are the traditional Audi LED Daytime running lamps, the Adaptive Light Technology, the Electronic Parking Assist, the hard-drive based MMI infotainment and navigation system, and, coming soon, the wireless hotspot integration. The Q3 will go on sale in Germany for €29,900, which is about $43,245 by current exchange rate. Hopefully, this price will be updated by the time it heads to our shores. The car will make its official debut at the Shanghai Motor Show. You can check it out there. 

Mini Roller

2012 Mini Goodwood

Commemorative cars are everywhere these days. Just look at Ferrari. They teamed up with Fiat to produce the Fiat 695 Abarth Tributo Ferrari, which is a Fiat 500 Abarth with some Prancing Horse labels on it. Another example, Maserati and Alfa Romeo teamed up to produce the Alfa MiTo for Maserati which is an Alfa Romeo MiTo with some silver crowns on it. Then, there's the best of them all; Aston Martin and Toyota worked together to produce the Cygnet, which as Jeremy Clarkson describes, is a Toyota iQ with Toyota crossed out and Aston Martin written in crayon. Well, it looks like we'll be adding one more to the list as Mini and Rolls-Royce have come together to produce this: the Mini Goodwood. Since both companies are owned by BMW, and both are based in England, it didn't really seem that bad for an elite compact car brand to work hand-in-hand with an elite luxury brand on a new Cooper. They gave it the name Goodwood after the town Goodwood in England, where Rolls-Royce is based. The car comes in either Diamond Black Metallic paint, a Rolls-Royce exclusive, or Mini's Reef Blue Metallic paint. The rims are multi-spoke 17-inch alloys with special badging. This might all sound luxurious, but the part of the car where Rolls-Royces are mostly praised for is the interior, and they've really done some work here in the Goodwood. When you sit in one of these, you'll feel at ease with the Cornsilk Leather seats, the Walnut Burr wood trim, and the black Nappa leather dashboard kit. Basically, everything you'd expect in a Rolls-Royce, only smaller. Underneath all this luxury and style is a Mini Cooper S with 1.6-liter 182 horsepower turbo-4 engine with 192 horsepower via overboost. So, in conclusion, this effectively is a Rolls-Royce for those who aren't into being a big shot. This car is for those who'd rather keep things compact, but still love the idea of riding in style. Check this car out at the Shanghai Motor Show starting next week.

2012 BMW Concept M5 (Photos)

[Source: BMW & AutoBlog]

German Rocket

2012 BMW Concept M5 F10

The original German rocket has returned with more power and a new face. Say hello to the all new BMW M5. The old 5.0-liter 500 horsepower V10 has been ditched for an all new 4.4-liter 580 horsepower Twin-Turbocharged V8 engine. BMW says it will do 0 to 60 in just about 4.2 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 155 MPH. With the limiter off, BMW project it will hit over 190 MPH. It will be quite exciting to see just how high the engine revs in the new F10. The old E60 revs all the way to 8,000 RPMs. Anyway, the car also features BMW's new 7-speed M DCT (Dual-Clutch Transmission) with Drivelogic to modify shift behavior and speed. Combine that with Auto-Start-Stop functionality and you've got a car that produces 25% less emissions than the old V10 E60. BMW didn't say much about the interior. In fact you can't even see through the blacked-out windows, even at the showroom in Germany. Looks like we're gonna have to wait til September when the production model gets revealed. As for now, the Concept M5 will hit the Shanghai Motor Show this month. What BMW did tell me is that they've gone back to the drawing board with this car, really churning out the beef and granite to produce a true monster. It looks good. I hope performs as well as it looks. Check out the car's big reveal below.