Hatchbacks auto news

Report: Next Subaru WRX previewed by Advanced Tourer concept

There was nary a peep of discontent about the looks of the Subaru Advanced Tourer concept revealed at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. But when everyone was clamoring for Scooby to transfer the Advanced Tourer's looks to a production vehicle, never once did people ask for that transfer to be foisted on the WRX. A report in Motor Trend, though, says that's what's happening: the concept "was actually an early look at the next-generation Subaru WRX."

MT's sources said the front end Advanced Tourer's front end will go onto the WRX, with other aspects of the concept made more aggressive to suit the personality of Subaru's rally-ready racer. And if the concept also presages the next WRX's dimensions, then you can expect the next-generation sedan and hatchback to be larger (though in truth we don't anticipate a big gain in footprint).

Notice the name "Impreza" hasn't appeared anywhere in our discussion yet. Subaru is reportedly dropping the name in an attempt to get more 'Likes' for the WRX by making it more approachable, so the next model will relinquish its association with the Impreza line and be more performanced focused even as it is receives a better interior and is morphed into a "more-mature sporty grand tourer." Engine choices are still being debated for the car due in 2015; the rumored options include 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinders and a hybrid version of the 1.6-liter.

Official: How many rugby players can you fit into a Chevrolet Aveo?

How many people can you fit into a car? It's a question that's been asked about any number of small cars. They're usually Volkswagen models, and those determined to find the answer are most likely to be a group of relatively small and flexible individuals. But Chevrolet has taken a different approach.

The American automaker's British division wants to know how many rugby players can fit inside a new Aveo - one of its smallest vehicles, also known as the Sonic on this side of the Mayflower's journey. But rather than answer the question itself, it has launched a competition across the UK. With the rugby season about to kick off, whichever team fits the most of its players into an Aveo by the end of the year will win a whole mess of new equipment.

Our money's on the local grade school's team. Check out the press release below for more.

Continue reading How many rugby players can you fit into a Chevrolet Aveo?

Video: Nissan Leaf ensures high-quality whisky from Isle of Islay

The Bruichladdich Distillery has been making artisan single malt Scotch whisky since 1881 on the Isle of Islay in the UK. As the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, you may not expect the island's 620 square kilometers (239 square miles) to be the ideal habitat for electric cars.

Apparently, though, the Nissan Leaf works out quite well for Mark Reynier, managing director at the distillery. The island's inhabitants are also benefited, says Reynier, by Nissan's Power Control System, which allows the Leaf's high-capacity lithium ion battery to power other devices - important when a single storm can completely cut the island's link to the outside world.

Watch Reynier describe how the Nissan Leaf has improved his life and his distillery in the video below. And, if you're interested in other ways to use Bruichladdich's whisky as a biofuel, you can also watch James May run a Radical SR4 race car on the spirit in a separate video.

Continue reading Nissan Leaf ensures high-quality whisky from Isle of Islay

Official: Volkswagen interns roll into Worthersee with GTI Black Dynamic show car

Slammed Skodas, Seats, Audis and Polos are all well and nice, but at the end of the day, the annual gathering of Volkswagen performance enthusiasts at Lake Wörthersee in Austria is about the GTI. That much isn't lost on Volkswagen, so in addition to bringing the new GTI Cabrio along with all the aforementioned corporate cousins, the German automaker has rolled into the lakeside expo with the tricked-out concept car you see here.

Called the GTI Black Dynamic, the show car is the work of nine lucky (and apparently talented) student interns at Volkswagen. The team dropped the suspension 35 mm lower than stock, bumped the output up by 150 horsepower to a prodigious 360, upgraded the gearbox and brakes to cope with the extra power and fitted an 1,800-watt sound system.

Of course all that kit couldn't go unnoticed, so the Black Dynamic GTI was also treated to a deep black paint job with matte anthracite trim and red detailing. The team even went so far as to hand-craft the GTI letters on the lift-gate and gave the car a custom interior, too. You can read more about it in the pair of press releases below, or better yet see it from all the angles in the high-res image gallery above.

Continue reading Volkswagen interns roll into Worthersee with GTI Black Dynamic show car

Official: Seat bringing boatload of hot hatches to Lake Worthersee

GTI Treffen may have started out as a gathering for owners of Volkswagen pocket rockets, but by now it's blown into a full-on celebration of everything related to hot hatches and more. And though it remains a grassroots event by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, Volkswagen is wise not to ignore it. These days, it comes to the annual lakeside gathering in Austria with a handful of show cars in tow, and brings its sister-brands along for the ride, too.

Audi has already announced the Q3 Red Track concept destined for Wörthersee, and Skoda is coming with a pair of Citigo concepts - one made up as a DJ booth and the other as a rally car. Now their Spanish cousins at Seat have revealed the veritable motorcade of show cars it's bringing to the meet-up.

Seat will be showcasing the Ibiza Cupra Concept it unveiled in Beijing, but that's not all. It'll also display a customized Ibiza FR and Leon Cupra R, a Mii city car (that's the Spanish version of the Volkswagen Up!) imagined in sporty FR trim and, most enticing of all, a pair of racing models that are ready to hit the track.

The Ibiza SC Trophy packs a 180-horsepower turbo four with DSG, locking differential, upgraded brakes, modified oil sump and competition-spec suspension, available to aspiring racers for 31,500 euros (before taxes, or about $40K). The Leon Super Copa, meanwhile, is closely mirrored on the car that Seat ran in the World Touring Car Championship and packs a 300-horse 2.0-liter turbo four with all the trimmings, available for 63,000 euros (about $80K). Both can be fielded in spec-racing series across Europe and arrive at Wörthersee in grey with fluorescent orange accents.

Check out the full spread in the high-res image gallery above and the press release below.

Continue reading Seat bringing boatload of hot hatches to Lake Worthersee

Official: Skoda racing Up! to Worthersee with Citigo Rally concept

If you thought the Volkswagen Group was about to wind down the endless stream of concept cars based on the new Up! city car, think again. Because not only is the Volkswagen brand itself keeping the train a-moving, so are its sister brands.

Skoda has its own version of the Up called the Citigo. But what racing fans know the Czech subsidiary for best is its rally program that has become a dominant force in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the basis for VW's own foray into the World Rally Championship. Now Skoda is bringing the two together with an exciting concept car previewed by the rendering above and confirmed in the press release below.

Following in the footsteps of the tantalizing Fabia roadster unveiled last year, the Citigo Rally concept is to be the centerpiece of the Skoda display at the Volkswagen Group's annual hot-hatch gathering at Lake Wörthersee in Austria. Details are scarce, but the show car will feature rally-inspired bodywork complete with 18-inch white alloys packed into aggressively flared wheel arches, a substantial rear wing and vents aplenty.

It will be joined by a second Citigo converted into a mobile DJ booth with a 100,000-watt sound system that will be scoring the Skoda booth at Wörthersee, but our eyes will be on the rally concept.

Continue reading Skoda racing Up! to Worthersee with Citigo Rally concept

Official: Volkswagen previews 220-hp Polo WRC Street special ahead of W"orthersee debut

The annual GTI festival at Lake Wörthersee in Austria has exploded over the years into a celebration of all things hot-hatch in the Volkswagen Group - including concept cars and new debuts from Audi, Seat and Skoda - but the event has always been about VWs at heart. And the brand central to the empire isn't about to sit it out.

At the heart of VW's motorcade for this year's pocket-rocket fest is the Polo WRC Street, a preview of a special edition modeled on the actual rally car which Volkswagen Motorsport will be fielding in the top-level rally series next year. The street version features a 220-horsepower 2.0-liter TSI four-cylinder - significantly more than the existing 180-hp Polo GTI and a whole lot of muscle for such a little car - with an aggressive aero package and of course the requisite decals. In other words, it is, for all intents and purposes, a Polo R with some stripes.

VW will also be showcasing the competition-spec Polo R-WRC. And Wörthersee being centered around the Golf GTI, is also bringing the GTI Cabriolet that debuted in concept form at the same location last year and in production form at the Geneva Motor Show just a couple of months ago, plus a pair of black and white GTI concepts. Keep reading for the full press release and scope out the trio of images previewing the Polo WRC Street for a closer look at what Wolfsburg is driving eastwards.

Continue reading Volkswagen previews 220-hp Polo WRC Street special ahead of W"orthersee debut

Report: Ford C-Max pricing to undercut Toyota Prius V

Ford dealers have started taking orders for the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, the company announced today.

The gas-electric hybrid will arrive later this year with a starting price of $25,995, undercutting its most direct competitor, the Toyota Prius V hybrid, which has a base price of $26,550.

"C-Max Hybrid offers better fuel economy, performance, technology and functionality than Prius V - and C-Max Hybrid customers will pay less at the dealership and at the pump," said Ken Czubay, vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service, in a press release.

More importantly, Ford will provide some stiffer competition for Toyota, which has ruled the hybrid market, selling 77 percent of all hybrids in the U.S. this April. The C-Max will only be offered in the U.S. as a hybrid, similar to Toyota's Prius strategy. There will also be an all-electric version, known as the C-Max Energi, that arrives this fall.

Ford sells the C-Max, which is built on Ford's compact car platform, in Europe as a gas powered model. Since introducing this utility vehicle in 2010, Ford has sold more than 150,000 C-Max vehicles in Europe.

Continue reading Ford C-Max pricing to undercut Toyota Prius V

Official: IIHS crowns three new Top Safety Picks [w/video]

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has crowned two sedans and a hatchback as Top Safety Picks: the 2013 Chevrolet Malibe Eco, 2012 Hyundai Azera and 2012 Toyota Prius c. The redesigned 2013 Malibu joins its 2012 model-mate as a Top Pick, and the 2013 earned a good side impact rating even without its optional side airbags.

The Prius c also has siblings that have won the award, the Prius and Prius v. The Azera had been rated in a few earlier tests, but in completing the testing regime with good marks all 'round it earned the accolade. The Top Pick moniker is given to vehicles that score "Good" in the IIHS's front, side, rollover and rear-impact tests.

Have a look below for video of the Malibu and Prius c going through their side-impact exams.

Continue reading IIHS crowns three new Top Safety Picks [w/video]

Report: Tata Nano to rub shoulders with priceless iron in Jay Leno's Garage

It looks as if Jay Leno has welcomed a Tata Nano to his Big Dog Garage recently. The comedian even went so far as to don traditional Indian garb and hire a troop of Bollywood dancers to mark the occasion.

Details are scarce at the moment, but judging from the photos that have shown up on Leno's Facebook page, it looks as if we'll see the machine on an episode of "Jay Leno's Garage" sometime soon. The car boasts a white paint scheme with the Indian tri-color laid over the rear doors and hood. Whether or not Leno actually bought the machine remains unclear.

The comedian took the time to bow for the cameras and place his hands together in the "Namaskar" greeting. We look forward to seeing the full episode. In the meantime, check out the behind-the-scenes photos in the gallery.