There are only a few tested cars that we’ve ever marked as major events in the history of this feeble website. There was the Nissan GT-R. There was the Bentley Continental GT. And this weekend, there was the Honda Civic Type-R, a car as overrated as this website, and yet so legendary. We indulge in making fun of Honda fanboys all the time, but this is one car that almost turned us into Honda fanboys.
The swoopy new 2011 Hyundai Sonata was officially launched in the UAE, at a launch party in Dubai. The launch comes four months after the model was shown off at the 2009 Dubai Motor Show, and two months after a media driving event in Oman that we weren’t invited to.
The new-for-2011 Nissan Juke is attracting attention at auto shows in Europe and the United States, and we figured we’ll also give it some attention. Simply another entry into the crossover genre, the Juke tries to stand out for the sake of standing out, with an outlandish exterior design that will either induce stares or puke.
The New York International Auto Show may be a secondary automotive event behind Detroit, but it has its own share of product launches during its 2010 edition this April. Introductions included the 2011 versions of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI Sedan, Chevrolet Cruze RS, Scion tC, Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, Infiniti QX56, Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon, Acura TSX Sport Wagon, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and a few more.
Subaru is now offering the 2011 Impreza WRX STI in two different body styles. In addition to the existing hatchback, the 2010 New York Auto Show played host to the revival of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI sedan, complete with a massive rear wing.
Scion showed off their latest creation recently, the 2011 Scion tC sports coupe. It features a new chassis with improved performance and looks.
Seemingly on a roll, Korean carmaker Hyundai has debuted two new versions of the redesigned Sonata, one a turbo model and the other a hybrid, at the 2010 New York Auto Show.
Kia Motors, the rapidly-rising profit-making Korean carmaker, has unveiled their all-new 2011 Kia Optima midsize sedan at the 2010 New York International Auto Show. Arriving in showrooms after this summer, the next-generation Optima continues Kia’s “design-led transformation while revealing a completely new and stunning design language” under the tutelage of ex-Audi designer Peter Schreyer.
Kia is putting a lot of faith into their all-new flagship model, the 2011 Cadenza. In fact, they are going all out to promote the full-size sedan. While even large outfits like Ford and VW cheap out at media driving events, Kia lined up close to 30 brand-new cars for the day in March. In fact, the fleet of Cadenzas was so big that most of the gathered GCC media scribes ended up one-person-per-car. I certainly enjoyed my privacy when pushing the limits of the car, instead of worrying about any aging passengers vomiting in the passenger seat.
The U.S. NHTSA safety agency has announced the recall of 4,038 units of the 2010 Nissan Pathfinder and Xterra models due to defective fasteners securing the passenger front airbag module and the steering shaft positioning bracket.