by Henny Hemmes | Nov 29, 2012
Toyota helped define the “cute-ute” segment with its original RAV4. And it is hoping that the all-new crossover making its debut at this year’s LA Auto Show will help redefine the increasingly popular compact CUV segment. But there’s no question that competition is...
by Henny Hemmes | Nov 2, 2012
After years of struggling to revive the ailing brand, Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne appears ready to pull the Lancia brand off life support. “The brand will be reduced or eliminated,” the executive revealed during a conference call discussing plans to improve...
by Henny Hemmes | Oct 1, 2012
Suzuki may not mean much as a brand in North-America, but iit is a well-established name in the Old World. Hence, there was plenty of interest in the maker’s new S-Cross Concept debuting at this year’s Paris Motor Show. The new crossover is intended for city use,...
by Henny Hemmes | Jan 11, 2012
Carroll Shelby is the Energizer Bunny of the automotive world. He’s had his heart and any number of other vital organs replaced over the decades but keeps on ticking – his car company, Shelby American, continuing to roll out new products. A half-century after making...
by Henny Hemmes | Jan 10, 2012
Volkswagen bugged out on its Detroit Auto Show news conference, the maker introducing the Beetle-based E-Bugster concept car, along with a hybrid version of its popular Jetta model. Both are intended to show that despite its slow entry into the world of...
by Henny Hemmes | Jan 10, 2012
When Scion decided it wanted to take its new FR-S sports car out racing it decided it might not a few extra horsepower. About 400 more to be exact, which is what it’s likely to take to make the little FR-S competitive in the Formula Drift series later this year....
by Henny Hemmes | Dec 27, 2011
You’re likely to be halfway down the slopes by the time you can pronounce the full name of Mini’s newest – and fastest – crossover model, the Mini Countryman John Cooper Works. Take our word for it, as we had our first chance to check out the Countryman JCW during a...
by Henny Hemmes | Nov 17, 2011
Just a year after tiny little Fiat 500 made its American debut at the L.A, Auto Show, Olivier Francois, Global head of the Fiat Brand and chief marketing officer, stepped on the stage at the Los Angeles Convention Center to unveil the latest version of the Italian...
by Henny Hemmes | Nov 17, 2011
You think only the Chinese are good at copying? Well, take a closer look at what the Germans have in store, notably the folks up at Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, where they appear to be readying their own version of the vaunted BMW M series, shifting down the...
by Henny Hemmes | Sep 23, 2011
When the first BMW M5 was introduced, back in 1984, it was the fastest production sedan in the world, largely hand-built on the same chassis as the 535 but given the modified M1 engine under the hood. Time and again, each generation of M5 has gotten a bit more...
by Henny Hemmes | Sep 16, 2011
To check out the new offerings from most makers at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, reporters have had to squeeze in and wait for the requisite press briefings. But with Citroen’s newest model all they had to do was catch the shuttle. That’s because the French maker’s...
by Henny Hemmes | Sep 15, 2011
The Jaguar XJ has taken honors as the inaugural winner of the Women’s World Car of the Year. The news came as a surprise to many – including some of the WWCoTY jurors — who had assumed that the winner would be a much smaller car. But the first year’s awards were...
