Volkswagen keeps making it harder for their fanboys to defend their favourite carmaker. In the latest line of issues inflicting VW models as they drop out of warranty, the previous-generation Passat is under investigation in the U.S. over reports of engine fires. And for some reason, everybody disses Toyota for floor-mat recalls instead?
With the first info on the facelifted 2011 Land Rover LR2, also known as Freelander elsewhere, Land Rover is jumping full force into the crossover market. For the 2011 LR2 will be the second Land Rover ever to be offered in a front-wheel-drive version. The first one was, of course, the 2011 Range Rover Evoque.
The news of the day is that Ford has finally completed the sale of its Swedish Volvo division to China’s Geely for US$ 1.8 billion. Almost simultaneously, Volvo has announced a recall for all of the S80 sedans for the 2007-2010 model years.
A few weeks ago, Ferrari unveiled their newest iteration of the Challenge race-ready model, now based on the 458 Italia. The 2011 Ferrari 458 Challenge had its first test session with a production version at the Vallelunga race circuit in Italy, although it looks more like a test of Photoshop skills instead.
We honestly don’t have much of an interest in racing. Race cars rarely look like the cars we drive on the street. However, touring cars are always interesting, but usually consist of common European brands, so even that gets boring. However, the Italian Superstars series seems rather interesting, considering radical entrants such as the Chrysler 300C, the Maserati Quattroporte, the Cadillac CTS-V and the Chevrolet CSV CR8 do battle against the usual BMW M3, Audi RS4 and even BMW M5 teams.
With the new 5.5-litre supercharged V8 ready to make its way into every AMG vehicle, Mercedes-Benz hasn’t abandoned the “6.3” naturally-aspirated 6.2-litre V8 yet. The 2011 Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG has been given a bump up in horsepower as well as upgraded interior materials.
The Korean-built Kia Picanto was voted the most reliable new car in the United Kingdom in a survey by UK consumer watchdog magazine Which? Car. Incidentally, the UK-built Land Rover LR3 placed last in the list.
All 2010-2011 Jaguar XK and Jaguar XF models fitted with the 5.0-litre V8 are being recalled for a fuel starvation issue.
The 2011 BMW 5-Series sedan and the 2010 BMW 5-Series GT, both barely out on the streets yet, have all been recalled for a faulty fuel gauge that shows more fuel than is really there. We had a Gran Turismo for testing recently, and while we didn’t have this problem, it’s probably a good thing we didn’t let it hover too close to empty.
In their attempt to fill every possible niche with cars that looks pretty much the same, Volkswagen has launched the 2011 Audi A7 Sportback, a seemingly larger version of the A5 Sportback that is based on the A8 platform. The overall design is the usual copy-paste job that Audi is now famous for, with a slightly-distorted version of the A5’s rear end. And the engines are just the usual corporate VW fare.