2012 Audi Q3

According to sources cited by WorldCarFans, the German automaker Audi has presented three new models to its dealers located in the United States, cars that will be exhibited next month at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The cars mentioned are the A3 Sedan Concept, a bright orange Q3 and a hybrid version of the Q5.

The most important one would be the A3 sedan which will most likely be intended for the United States market where customers prefer small sedan body styles rather than hatchbacks. The new A3 will probably be available in five different body styles, as follows: a 2-door cabriolet, a 3-door coupe/hatchback, a 4-door sedan as well an Avant version and a Q3 crossover. The 3-door coupe/hatchback will borrow the styling design of the A5 Coupe.

Most likely, the new A3 will be a scaled-down version of its bigger brother, the A4. The new car will be wider, longer and lower in comparison with the current generation and the sedan version will offer more legroom than the current A4.

As far as the engines are concerned, the new A3 will be available with a 1.2-liter, a 1.4-liter as well as an all-new 1.6-liter which will replace the twin-charged 1.4-liter. The more powerful 2.0 TSI will deliver 230 hp (233 PS / 171 kW) and 300 hp (304 PS / 224 kW) for the high-end A3 models. Most likely, the 300-hp engine will be available for the S3 model. A possible next-gen RS3 might get a 2.5-liter TFSI power unit that will most likely output approximately 350 hp (355 PS / 261 kW).

Diesels will also be available, the current 1.6 TDI and the 2.0 TDI, as well as a new more powerful 2.0 TDI that will produce about 210 hp (213 PS / 157 kW).

The same source said that the new generation of the Audi A3 will be presented this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Source: WorldCarFans

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Rumor – Audi Bringing A3 Sedan Concept, Q3 And Q5 Hybrid To Geneva

Lamborghini Aventador Monocoque Chassis

The Lamborghini Aventador saga continues today with the presentation of the monocoque chassis. After many rumors and spy shots, the Italian automaker announced that the car will be officially unveiled next month at Geneva. The car will be built on the carbon fiber composite monocoque pictured above. The Italian automaker said that they have used CFRP (carbon fiber-reinforced polymer) technology throughout the car.

Thanks to the fact that the Italian engineers over at Lamborghini used a bunch of low weight materials, the Aventador (700-4) has a body-in-white weight of only 505 lbs (229.5 kg). The car's torsional rigidity is 35,000 Nm per degree of twist which means that it will offer exact wheel control, a high level of steering precision and sensitive feedback – some of the most important ingredients for a supercar.

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Lamborghini Aventador Preview – Monocoque Chassis

According to Dodge, if there will ever be a "snowpocalypse", you should be behind the wheel of the 2011 Journey, Charger or the Durango thanks to their AWD system that can transform this epic winter weather into mild flurries.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Dodge's Snowpocalypse Ad Is Cool

Kia Soul Facelift

Frankly, I never liked the Kia Soul because of its rather peculiar design. It seems that the Koreans are working on a facelifted version of this model which will most likely be just as odd as before. AutoBlog's photographers spied the Soul in Germany, covering a mild updated exterior look.

Kia Soul Facelift

The new Soul will feature the now mandatory (in Europe) daytime LED running lights along with turn-signal indicators in the mirrors (a feature that I for one don't like very much).

Kia Soul Facelift

Both the front and rear bumpers will be revised and according to AutoBlog's sources, the mouth of the new Soul will resemble to the one on the recently launched Picanto model. The rear bumper cap will most likely see the fog lights pushed further to the outside edges for the European-spec model.

Source: AutoBlog

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Facelifted Kia Soul Spied

The World Car of the Year award was given for the first time in 2005 when the Audi A6 grabbed it. One year later, the BMW 3-Series took the big prize home. In 2007, the beautiful Lexus LS460 received the title. In 2008 the international panel of 66 automotive journalists picked the Mazda 2 as the best car of the year and the same guys gave the VW Golf 6 the award in 2009. Last year another Volkswagen model grabbed the grand prize, this time it was the new generation of the Polo.

This week, the ten finalists for the 2011 World Car of the Year Award were announced: Audi A1, Audi A8, BMW 5-Series, BMW X3, Jaguar XJ, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Mercedes SLS AMG, Nissan Leaf, Porsche Cayenne, Volvo S60 and the Volvo V70.

These cars were chosen based on the jurists' experience with each model through their course of their professional work, and each of the 66 journalists will have to reevaluate these ten finalists before casting their final ballots to be tabulated by KPMG.

The top three finalists will be announced next month at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show and in April, at the New York Auto Show, the big winner will be announced.

Taking into consideration the fact that the Nissan Leaf managed to grab a lot of awards lately, including the one for the European Car of the Year, it shouldn't come as a surprise if the Leaf will grab this one too.

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World Car Of The Year Finalists Announced

Volvo C30 Mule

WCF's photographers have spied a Volvo C30 mule during some winter testing in Sweden. The car was spied refueling at a gas station located several hundred kilometers north of Volvo's headquarters and although it is a mule, we can see some of the car's new features. The bonnet looks a little bit modified and the rear bumper has a sportier appearance. The exhaust system will probably be a new one as it looks different from what Volvo used in the past.

Volvo C30 Mule

Stefan Jacoby, Volvo's CEO, said that he plans to make the Swedish car manufacturer a volume brand, dropping its near-premium / premium aspirations. A few months ago he said that Volvo will introduce a 5-door hatchback based on the C30. The current C30 model is available exclusively in a 3-door hatch variant.

Volvo C30 Mule

Source: WorldCarFans

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Volvo C30 Mule Spied

2019 Citroen DS

I remember that in the first season of Top Gear, Richard Hammond said that the Citroen DS is the most beautiful car in the world. Although I don't agree with his statement, I can however understand the reasons behind his choice. Indeed, the Citroen DS is a gorgeous car and one of the most technically advanced sedans of the 50s. The car's main rivals back then were the Austin A95 Westminster, the BMW 501/6 and the Alfa Romeo 1900 Ti, car's that didn't stood a chance in front of the revolutionary DS.

2019 Citroen DS

Why revolutionary? Because the Citroen DS had a fully independent and auto-leveling suspension, power steering, front power disc brakes, hydraulically operated clutch and transmission plus a gorgeous fiberglass roof.

2019 Citroen DS

For these reasons, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a DS revival is due to happen sooner or later. A design idea for a new DS was revealed by Ugo Spagnolo, a design student at France's Institut Superieur de Design.

2019 Citroen DS

With his drawings and the aid of his friends at the institute, the 3D animations and renders were produced. Sources say that it generated a positive feedback from Jean-Pierre Ploue, Citroen's Styling Director.

2019 Citroen DS

Ugo Spagnolo took the 64-year-old DS and introduced some of the styling features presented in Citroen's Survolt and Revolt concepts. This futuristic DS features sliding rear doors, aggressive haunches and a Corvette-like nose which looks awesome.

2019 Citroen DS

Needless to say that we won't be seeing a production model anytime soon but maybe the people over at Citroen will take this design study into consideration in the future.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Concept Design Study – 2019 Citroen DS

As of April this year, the BMW X6 will be available with a three-seat rear bench, an option that should have been available right from the start in my opinion. Up until now, the German crossover was available only with a four-seat layout and the new configuration will be available for all of the X6 versions, except for the ActiveHybrid. In addition, it will also be available for the X6 M model. Aside from the third seat that will replace the previous storage unit located between the two passengers, the five-seat X6 will also benefit from new leather options.

The German automaker revealed that the upcoming X6 models will get shift paddles on the steering wheel, similar to the M-badged models. These models will get the 8-speed Sport automatic transmission which will allow manual shifting with the help of the right paddle (upshifts) and the left one (downshifts).

Both the X5 and X6 will be available with a brand new set of Y-spoke design 20-inch alloy rims, wrapped in 275/40 front tires and 315/35 rear tires. In addition, these models will benefit from the Comfort Access system which will illuminate the car's surroundings. The updated ConnectedDrive services will also be available and one of the new features will be the BMW Apps option which will allow iPhone users to access Twitter, Facebook as well as international radio stations.

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BMW X6 Gets Three-Seat Rear Bench Option

Click here to view the embedded video.

The numbers of this year's Super Bowl edition were published and the winner for the most watched ad is General Motors with its ad "Miss Evelyn's Wild Ride" for the Chevrolet Camaro. According to the estimates made by Nielsen, the ad about two guys describing a woman's wild journey in a silver-painted Chevy Camaro was watched by 119,628,000 people, making it the most-watched ad ever made.

GM took down last year's record that was achieved by a Doritos ad which was watched by 116,231,920 people. More than that, General Motors managed to grab the second place also, with the ad for the Chevrolet Cruze, watched by 119.3 million people.

Despite all of these achievements, the favorite commercial aired during the 2011 Super Bowl was VW's little Darth Vader for the new Passat which according to Nielsen's liability index it rated 186 which is quite impressive taking into consideration the fact that the average score for the Super Bowl commercials is 100, making Volkswagen's ad almost twice as liked as the average commercial.

VW's second ad was for the new Beetle and ranked 6^th most favorite ad with a 146 score. The ad for Chrysler's 200 model which featured rap star Eminem got a 138 score, good for the 8^th place, while Audi's A8 ad ranked 10^th place with 127.

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Chevy’s Miss Evelyn Is The Most Watched Ad Ever

Ferrari named the F1 car for this season "F150" in order to commemorate 150 years that have passed since the unification of Italy. However, Ford had a problem with Ferrari's choice for the F1 car name as they said that it is similar to the Blue Oval's F-150 nameplate, which as a consequence causes "irreparable harm" to the trademark.

Ford initiated a lawsuit against Ferrari which also included the www.ferrarif150.com website, accusing the Italian automaker of trademark infringement and cyber theft.

The Blue Oval aimed to prevent Ferrari from using the F150 name in the US, and expected the Italian manufacturer to give up any profits or revenues earned through the usage of the nameplate in the United States.

In addition, Ford wanted $100,000 in damages under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act that protects against trademark infringement due to the use of confusing Internet domain names.

I for one was very surprised to find out that Ferrari gave up without a fight and they changed the car's name to "F150th Italia", a name that was first used in a routine F1 test report posted on the company's official website.

I'm really disappointed with both of the parties. First of all, I don't think that Ford would have suffered if Ferrari used this trademark for their F1 car – they've exaggerated more than a bit. Second, I don't understand why Ferrari simply gave up and changed the car's name.

Source: CarScoop

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Ford Not Happy With Ferrari's F-150 F1 Car Name