Car Moon

The Genesis sedan has only been out in the market for two years, but Hyundai is getting ready to present the 2011MY with some barely noticeable styling upgrades in its home market.

Scooped here in South Korea completely undisguised, the 2011 Genesis sedan appears to get a reworked front bumper with newly styled air ducts and trim, more prominent side skirts, a chunkier chrome strip above the license plate and a new rear bumper with reshaped exhaust tips.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Suzuki's U.S. division is recalling a total of 5,701 Kizashi sedans manufactured from October 13, 2009 through May 31, 2010. The reason? The safety agency said that the center-lower glove box on the dashboard may open during a crash and possibly cause injury if it comes in contact with the front passengers.

Here's another spy video of the A7 Sportback, Audi's upcoming, low-roofline hatchback [sic]. Based on the architecture of the next-generation of the A6, the A7 will slot into the Audi lineup above the A6 and below the A8, in the same way that the A5 Sportback fits between the A4 and A6 models.

The upscale five-door model will compete with the new Mercedes-Benz CLS, and if the rumors turn out to be true, with the BMW 6-Series GT (or whatever else the Bavarian firm's decided to call the production Gran Coupe) also, when it goes on sale next year.

A special version of Ferrari's California will make its first public appearance at this week's Goodwood Festival of Speed. Set to race in the Sunday Times Supercar Run, the California special features a two-tone finish with the body painted in Argento Nurburgring (metallic silver) and the roof and A-pillars in Nero (black), a theme that the company claims echoes its bi-colore berlinettas of the 1950s and 1960s.

At this year's edition of the Busan Motor Show in April, Hyundai gave us our first look at the rakish new Elantra sedan, known as the Avante in its home market. However, the South Korean company only showed us its outer parts as the display model's windows were all blacked out.

Now, Hyundai is teasing us with a conceptual rendering of the Elantra's interior that, like the exterior, promises a dramatic revamp relative to the current model Judging from the sketch, the 2011 Elantra's cabin design will continue the same "sculpted" theme seen on the new Sonata's interior.

The upcoming McLaren MP4-12C will make its first public outing at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place from Thursday 1- Sunday 4 July 2010. Event goers and enthusiasts alike will also get the chance to see McLaren's new supercar in action as reigning F1 champion Jenson Button and 2008 F1 champion Lewis Hamilton will drive the MP4-12C up Goodwood Hill on Saturday and Sunday respectively in the Supercar Run

The first real-life photos of the 2011 BMW 5-Series sedan [F10] spiced up with the new M Sports Package were leaked on the web today. Previously seen on the 5-Series Touring through some brochure shots, the package adds numerous bits such as a typical M style front bumper, more aggressive side skirts a subtle boot lid spoiler, rear diffuser finished in a dark shade, chrome tail pipes and satin-finished chrome door sills.

Here's a spy video of the redesigned (and not all-new, as some reports suggested) for the 2011 model year, Volkswagen Passat that will break cover at the Paris Motor Show in October and arrive in dealerships early next year.

Caught here in both four-door sedan and estate body styles while trailer testing, the new Passat is expected to receive a new front- and rear-end design that will bring it more in line with the automaker's latest products such as the Scirocco and more recently, the 2011 Jetta.

Land Rover will lift the covers and announce the name of its all-new compact Range Rover model based on the LRX concept car at a special event held in partnership with VOGUE magazine [sic] for the Range Rover's 40th birthday in London on Thursday, 1st of July, the British automaker announced today.

The production version of the LRX will go on sale in 2011 and will be offered in both 2WD and 4WD configurations - a first for the company. According to Land Rover, the front-wheel drive model will emit less than 130g/km of CO2 making it the 'greenest' and most fuel efficient Range Rover ever.

If you believe that the Ferrari F430 isn't spicy or powerful enough for your tastes, then you may want to take a look at this tuning package from Russian tuning firm, Status Design. Named after a Russian jet fighter, the SD SU35 kit comprises of a styling package and performance upgrades.

The F430's 4.3-liter V8 powerhouse receives a recalibrated engine control unit and a high-performance exhaust system, plus new air filters. Output climbs from 490 horsepower to 525HP. According to the company, the massaging has nudged top speed to 325km/h or 202mph. For those that want more power, Status Design offers an optional supercharging kit from Novitec that boosts output to 700HP.

Obviously Mazda has embarked on a journey to teach Japanese to British buyers. After the MX-5 Miyako limited edition series - named after a Japanese island, Mazda is now introducing the 'Takuya' special edition range, available on the Mazda2, Mazda3 and Mazda6 models. The name 'Takuya' – pronounced 'tah-koy-yah' – is taken from the Japanese for forerunner or pioneer. Changes on the special edition models are limited to cosmetic and equipment upgrades.

If you visit this week's Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, make sure you stop by Cummins' stand to check out this one-of-a-kind Austin Mini with a unique engine-swap. In case you didn't notice, there's a colossal engine sitting just behind the passenger compartment on the classic Mini's stretched platform.

Cummins, an independent maker of diesel engines, fitted its biggest powerplant on one of the smallest cars around. The QSK78 diesel engine, which is used to power mining industry dump trucks capable of carrying 360 tonnes, is a 78-liter, 18-cylinder monster with 12 turbochargers producing 3,500HP (take that Veyron) at 1,900 rpm and 10,157 lb-ft / 13,771Nm of peak torque at 1,500 rpm.

Weighing in at over 11 tonnes (24,912 lbs), the V18 unit measures an astonishing 3,327mm (131-in.) in length, 1,633mm (65.5-in.) in width and 2,429mm (95.6-in) in height.

Found on Youtube, is this video of a Corvette Z06 losing control and ferociously crashing into a BMW M3 E36 parked on the side of the road during the amateur "Robin Hood Rally" in Tuxedo, NY on June 25/26, 2010.

According to the poster, even though there were plenty of spectators at the scene, and despite the fact that the driver of the BMW was inside the car at the time of the crash, no one was seriously injured. End of story? Not quite, as there is more to this story than what meets the eye.

First of all, the rally is pitched by the organizers as a reality show with amateur racers driving "on closed public roads in the heartland of America", which will air on television in Fall 2010.

A search on "The Robin Hood Rally [website]" returned some very interesting findings, including another serious crash during the first race of the series in May, and more intriguingly, a report from NBC stating that promotional material from "Robin Hood Rally" falsely claimed that the series would air on NBC...

BMW is continuing the development of the new 3-series sedan, internally called the F30. Captured here by our spy photographers near the Nurburgring race track in Germany, the four-door prototype is still under heavy camouflage, thus revealing little about its exterior styling.

However, buyers should expect an evolution of the current design sprinkled with styling cues from all the latest BMWs, including a protruding kidney grill similar to that of the new 5-Series and 7-Series saloons.

Our man with the long lens managed to snag a few shots of the prototype's interior giving us a glimpse of the new dashboard design with the 1-Series-esque air-vents.

Here's a nice find for all you classic car lovers; a fully restored 1970 Nissan Fairlady Z 432 with only 12,000km [7,462 miles] on the odometer - and it's up for grabs at an undisclosed price by a Japanese dealer.

For those wondering, the Z 423 was a Japan-only version of the Fairlady Z [sold as the 240Z in the States] equipped with the same 2.0-liter inline-six S20 engine producing 160-horsepower and 177Nm as the Skyline GT-R (PGC10). It was built in limited number of units for homologation purposes. The name '432' refers to the 4 valves [per cylinder], 3 carburetors and 2 camshafts.

Along with the GT-R's straight-six that was coupled to a five-speed manual gearbox, the Z 432 featured many other upgrades including Magnesium wheels and a unique exhaust system with dual vertical tail pipes. More photos after the break.

These are some of the new print ads that General Motors will use to hype its all-new 2011 Buick Regal [a.k.a. the N.A. version of the European Opel Insignia] to U.S. buyers. The Detroit automaker agency has readied several messages, including one that says "Listen Closely and You May Detect a German Accent" and another one stating "We Didn't Start With a Clay Model. We Started With the European Car of the Year" - both hinting at the Regal's German roots.

Ford has dropped some new teaser footage of a camouflaged 2011 Explorer, with the vehicle's Program Manager, Julie Levine, describing how the new SUV is being put to the test in various on and off-road tests. The new unibody Explorer will be unwrapped in July and go on sale in the States later this year.

It will be offered with the company's new 2.0-liter Ecoboost turbocharged four-pot and a 3.5-liter V6 engine in both naturally aspirated and twin-turbocharged versions.

This just in from the patent office; General Motors has filed these drawings of an unnamed Chevrolet single-cab pickup truck with a Cruze-like split-grille. We're not sure what to make of it since there's no additional information on the filing, but there's a chance it might be a successor to the South American market Chevrolet S10 compact pickup truck.

Another -though less likely- guess is that it's a replacement for the North American Chevrolet Colorado. Of course, we could be wrong in both cases. Either way, follow the break to check out the rest of the drawings and tell us what you think in the comments section.

Borrowing its name from a Japanese holiday island, the Mazda MX-5 'Miyako' is the latest special edition version of the successful roadster to make its way to British showrooms this year.

On sale from July 1 in a limited number of 500 units, the new MX-5 Miyako is available in two flavors, the 126HP 1.8i Miyako soft-top priced at £18,385 OTR and the more powerful 160HP 2.0i Miyako roadster coupe with a folding hardtop priced at £20,885 OTR.

The all-wheel drive Volkswagen Golf R is by no means a slow car, but the folks over at German tuning firm "Sport-Wheels" have decided to further enhance the performance credentials of Wolfsburg's hot hatch.

The tuning shop brings output from the standard 270-horsepower and 350Nm of peak torque to 330HP and 450Nm. The power boost comes from a recalibrated ECU as well as a custom sport exhaust system for the car's 2.0-liter TSI engine.

In Europe, Honda's CR-Z hybrid hot hatch isn't the only eco-friendly sports car available to buyers of average means. One of the most recent arrivals in the category is Peugeot's striking RCZ sports coupe that is offered with a frugal 2.0-liter diesel engine.

Two cars, two different approaches on the same topic. But which one is better? To answer this question, British magazine Auto Express took both sports cars and tested them to see which one comes on top in typical everyday use.

If you read between the lines - or in this case, the tester's words, the RCZ is a better car picking up the title in fuel economy, performance, interior styling and quality, as well as exterior looks. But -there's always a but, isn't there?- the entry-level RCZ Diesel costs £5,251 [about US$7,900 or €6,500] more than the basic CR-Z, which ultimately makes the comparison unjust.

Video and some quick facts we gathered on both cars after the jump.

If the Dark Knight ever wanted to ditch the Tumbler for something a bit more snazzy, Khalfi Oussama's BMW-badged X9 Concept would be a prime candidate for the job - preferably in a matter black finish. The 18-year old designer from Tunisia did not attach any information about the X9 Concept, but feel free to check out the rest of the pictures and have you say in the comments section after the jump.

Renowned Formula One race car and supercar designer Gordon Murray who gained fame for his involvement in the iconic McLaren F1 project, has finally taken the wraps off his latest creation [after more than two years of teasing], the T.25 city car.

Measuring 2.4 meters or 94.5-inches in length, 1.3 meters or 51.2-inches in width and 1.5 meters or 59-inches in height, the T.25 is smaller than Smart's minuscule Fortwo, yet Murray has managed to fit in three seats in a McLaren F1-style 1+2 layout with the driver sitting in the center of the car. The two passenger seats can be folded down allowing a luggage capacity of 720 liters.

Instead of using traditional doors, Murray opted to utilize the entire front section of the T.25 that pivots forward to allow entry into the car.

This has to be the best (as in funny) news title of the day: "Donald Duck Arrested for Driving Drunk". Suffice to say, the protagonist in this DUI incident isn't Disney's famous feathered cartoon character but a 51-year-old man from Massilon, Ohio, who happens to have the same name.

In sedan form, the Chevrolet Cobalt will soon be replaced in the U.S. by the not-so-new for most readers, Cruze, which was formally introduced in production guise at the 2008 Paris Show, and went on sale shortly after in numerous markets around the world aside from the States. But what about the Cobalt Coupe? Will we see GM presenting a successor to the two-door version of the compact model?

It's very likely as in a recent webchat on GM's Reinvention site, Mark Reuss, the man in charge of the automaker's core North American operations, strongly suggested that a coupe variant of the Cruze could be on the horizon.

And while most of us would assume that a coupe model would basically translate to a reshaped Cruze with two-doors less and perhaps a sportier roofline and other unique styling cues, independent designer David Cardoso has a different idea in mind.

We may not have heard the last of Bob Lutz yet. According to a report from Autonews, Lotus Cars is interested in hiring the former GM Vice Chairman together with ex-CEO of Rolls Royce, Tom Purves, as advisors to help the company on its five-year turnaround plan to boost worldwide sales from around 2,500 cars in 2009, to 8,000 in 2015.

Citing two people familiar with the matter, the report claims that Lutz, who left GM this past April at age 78, has been in talks with the British sportscar-maker but has not yet received an official offer.

With the exception of the newly introduced Countryman crossover, the rest of MINI's lineup that includes the hatchback, Clubman and convertible models has received a subtle facelift with styling updates and new diesel engines for the 2011 model year.

All variants of the MINI sport a new from bumper design engineered to improve pedestrian protection courtesy of larger deformation zones, new light elements in the headlamps, revised side indicators that sit in the redesigned side gill housings, restyled rear bumper and standard LED tail lights on all models. The five new paint colors and fresh alloy wheel designs complete the exterior upgrades.

[Update: Some of our readers pointed out that one or more workers seen in the video appear to talk in Russian, so it's obviously Renault's factory in Moscow]

Here's a short clip from Dacia's Romanian factory (unless we're mistaken and it's from one of Renault's other plants that also produce Dacia models), showing a worker on the production line trying to fix a problem with the passenger-side doors on what looks to be a Sandero hatchback.

The poor guy tries everything; from repeatedly tapping the locks with a hammer and slamming the doors in numerous ways to even trying to pull the door down, but nothing seems to be working as the doors simply refuse to close properly. Watch the video after the break.

Continuing the series of special edition models launched to celebrate its 75th birthday, Jaguar today announced the release of the XF V8 75th Anniversary for the Australian market. Set to arrive in dealerships in the fourth quarter of the year with a starting price of AUS$128,900 [US$111,500 or €90,650] - plus on road costs, the special edition XF boast some extremely mild cosmetic and equipment upgrades over the standard 5.0 V8 model.

Bentley has dropped a new batch of images and driving footage (strangely enough, audio-less) of the new Continental Supersports Convertible shot on location in Colorado.

Unwrapped at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March, the soft-top version of the E85-compatible Continental Supersports coupé is said to be fastest convertible ever to roll out of Crewe's factory going from zero to 60mph in 3.9 seconds and topping out at 202mph (325km/h).

Kia may soon follow the increasingly popular automotive trend that is alphanumeric naming and abandon product names in its U.S. lineup, according to a recent statement by Hyundai Motor Co. Vice Chairman, Chung Eui-sun.

The automaker is already using a mix of alphanumeric and product names in South Korea and some other markets. For example, the recently revealed 2011 Optima and Cadenza sedans are known as the K5 and K7 respectively in the company's home market, while the Forte is said to become the K3.

Only a few days after we showed you a set of spy pictures of the revamped DB9, Aston Martin went ahead and released the first photos and info on both the Coupe and Convertible (a.k.a Volante) versions of its best-selling sports car. For the 2011MY, the V12-powered DB9 gets a minor nip and tuck along with some mechanical and equipment enhancements.

The most prevalent changes have been made cosmetically to the front end with a new front bumper featuring a re-shaped lower intake, a bright finish radiator grille and reworked headlight bezels. The re-sculptured side sills, silver brake calipers, 20-spoke diamond turned alloy wheels and clear rear light lenses round off the external revisions.

What at first blush appears to be the current VW Golf, is in fact a test mule for the all-new, seventh generation of Volkswagen's best-selling model, which is planned to hit showrooms worldwide sometime in 2012.

Although hidden under bodywork from the current car, the blistered and wider wheel-arches are a clear indication that the test mule is running the next generation Golf's underpinnings.

More specifically, the Mk7 will be built on the VW Group's more space-efficient and, according to sources, substantially lighter, MQB platform that comes with a longer wheelbase and shorter overhangs. First seen on the new Sharan minivan, the flexible MQB platform will be used on a raft of VW Group models including the next Audi A3, which is expected to be revealed either in late 2011 or early 2012.

The special auction item of Elton John's White Tie & Tiara Ball on Thursday night (June 24), a brand-new Audi A1 art car painted by Britain's Damien Hirst, surpassed all expectations by fetching a whopping £350,000 or about US$522,500 / €425,000.

All proceeds from the auction will benefit The Elton John AIDS Foundation, which is said to be one of the 10 largest AIDS grant making organizations in the world, managing over £14 million in programmes across 15 countries.

Close to 300 Ford Thunderbirds from every year of production and their owners are making their way today [Saturday, June 28] to the automaker's headquarters in Dearborn, to honor the model's 55th anniversary with a special car show that will kick off at noon and run until 4 pm.

"The Ford Thunderbird is one of the most iconic products in the history of the automobile," said Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president of Global Marketing. "Each generation of the Thunderbird had a unique personality that ushered in a new generation of breakthroughs in design or technology."

Here are two new videos of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell, both shot in Norway, where the German firm presented the prototype model to the press. In the first clip you can see the all-electric 'Gullwing' E-Cell along with the new S63 AMG, which packs a new, twin-turbo, 5.5-liter V8, running up and down an airstrip at Kristiansund, while the second video shows the SLS AMG E-Cell on the 'Atlantic Road' on the west coast of Norway.