Car Trends Magazine

The Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class will kick off model year 2007 with three newly developed engines, even better safety and a more extensive range of standard equipment. The four-door Coupé is powered by the world’s first petrol engine featuring piezoelectric direct injection and spray-guided combustion. The 215 kW/ 292 hp six-cylinder engine of the CLS 350 CGI consumes about ten percent less fuel than a comparable V6 petrol engine with port injection. The CLS 500 will be equipped with the new V8 engine...

Fiat 500 officially coming in late 2007. New interactive site where you can build your personal Fiat 500 According to Fiat, in 500 days –or about 1 ½ years, the new Italian mini which will be based on the Trepiuno concept will go in production. The “500”, will also base Ford Europe’s Ka successor, as the two companies signed last year a agreement to co-operate on the joint development and production of a small car (sub-B segment). The outcome of this project will be the delivery to market...

Volkswagen AG's supervisory board unanimously decided to extend the contract of Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, Chairman of the Board of Management, for another 5 years, until April 16, 2012, ending speculation that the German automaker would change leadership. In the past two months, Pischetsrieder's future as the Chairman of the VW board was said to be unsafe, as the labor representatives who hold 10 of the 20 board seats, where against his aggressive cost-cutting plan which among others, included...

The Volvo S60 is being further refined, with the sights firmly set on sharpening the sedan model’s already sporty profile. “We’re making the S60 even sportier in every respect,” says Gerry Keaney, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Customer Service “We’ve both spiced up the design and fine-tuned the chassis to create a car with even greater driving appeal.” The front spoiler (option) has been redesigned to get a more pronounced and protruding contour at the bottom. On optional variants...

Almost a year exactly since the idea was first put on paper, the FIA GT3 European Championship will take to the track for its inaugural races on Saturday, May 6th With a grand total of 51 cars having signed up for the season, a grid of up to 46 cars is expected to line up on the Silverstone grid on Saturday, May 6th, for the first one-hour round. The remaining cars should be ready in time for the second event in Oschersleben. Eight manufacturers will be represented in this first race : the Ascari...

THESE ads of the new generation Miata / MX-5 roadster are said to have been cut by Mazda officials. Both follow Mazda’s parent Ford, SportKa ads in philosophy, showing the bad side of the Japanese roadsters character. Enjoy! Technorati Tags: Mazda+Miata, Mazda+MX-5, commercials, video, Bad+Attitude, ads, autos, auto+news, automobile, cars,...

According to European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, Franco Frattini, the Chinese have “managed” to produce a fake Ferrari model. In the video (click here to see the video in Reuters), you can see Frattini holding a picture of a Ferrari, but unfortunately we can’t see which model. ''A car of this model, Ferrari has produced only 6 cars of this model. This is the seventh one, produced in China'' says Frattini. The European Commission has announced it's going to crack down on counterfeiting...

GM’s Korean subsidiary unveiled the G2X roadster at the Busan International Motor Show (April 28 until May 7). Besides the name, the G2X is identical to the Saturn Sky Roadster & the Opel GT Roadster. Like its American brother, the two-seater G2X features a 177 horsepower, 2.4-liter engine. Equipped with a five-speed manual transmission, the G2X hopes to attract urban drivers in the 21-35 age bracket, a marketing official at the auto show said. Pricing details were still being set and...

Dodge is promoting its new compact Caliber by organizing a cross country road trip challenge aimed specifically to college students from Boston, Chicago and Dallas. Three teams of three college students from Boston, Chicago and Dallas will compete in a five-day, cross-country road trip to Miami in Dodge Calibers equipped with a Chill Zone beverage storage bin, MusicGate Power liftgate speakers, MP3 jack and self-charging flashlight. Members of the winning team each win a 24-month lease on a 2007...

One of the world’s most modern eight-cylinder engines is now available for the Audi A6 and A8 model lines. The 4.2 FSI, closely related to the high-revving V8 in the Audi RS 4, develops considerably more power than its 335 bhp predecessor. With the aid of petrol direct injection, it now generates 350 bhp (257 kW). And at the same time, its fuel consumption is around 10 percent lower. The immense power of the eight-cylinder engine is transferred via 6-speed tiptronic transmission and quattro permanent...

GM, DaimlerChrysler & BMW Team up and Present a new Hybrid Technology that promises to put an end to Toyota's "monarchy" The state-of-the-art full hybrid system, whose components are being co-developed by General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler and the BMW Group for production beginning next year, represents a major automotive industry milestone due to the unprecedented fully integrated combination of electric motors with a fixed-gear transmission. As a result of its low- and high-speed...

World presentation of Russo-Baltique Impression A resurrected Russian brand, Russo-Baltique made its first public appearance at the Villa D'Este Concours d'Elegance over the weekend. In 2005, German Gerg GmbH became involved in the building of the Impression coupe bringing in the capabilities of its Munich-based production facility. Russo-Baltique Impression is ready for a limited-series production – 10-15 cars – starting from Spring, 2006. Each car production, including the preparation and...