Automotive Trends

      People all over the world get to buy juicy, delicious cars that we Americans aren’t allowed to sample. Sometimes that’s because other countries’ regulations will allow cars that don’t meet America’s standards for safety and eco-cleanliness. But more often than not it’s because an automotive overlord smartly decides that Americans probably wouldn’t buy many of them. Read more…

 Diesel Power and 28-MPG

      Much the same as many ground breakers, the first generation Volkswagen Touareg sought to set the world on fire with its 5.0-liter 310hp and 553 lb-ft of torque V10 turbodiesel. But it didn’t. The price of entry was too high, $64,565, and then of course there is the fact that most American’s don’t like diesels, unless it’s under the hood of a Golf or Jetta. No matter, because Volkswagen is trying again. Read more…

      Design Editor Gernand takes a ride in the 2011 Nissan Murano to discuss that while the design is bold and compelling, the vehicle itself rides down the middle of the road.

BMW’s Popular Coupe Loses a Turbo But None of its Charm

     We’re sorry if a certain subset of our readers are tired of hearing the automotive enthusiast press gush about how great the BMW 3-Series (pick a body style, any body style) is. We maintain that if you don’t understand why the 3 earns our endless praise you’ve either never driven one, or are economically relegated to something far less German and far more Gremlin-esque. Either way we feel obligated to remind you that the 3-Series has been around a long time making used examples relatively affordable. Also, life is too short to drive something mundane. The rest of you already know how this review is going to end and just want us to get on with how the newly installed single turbo straight-six engine improves the breed. The quick answer is fuel efficiency. The 841 word answer is below. Read more…

      Over the past fifteen years or so, automakers seem to have struggled to develop compelling forward thinking concept cars. Those concepts that were not retro in nature seem to be simply too bizarre to be attractive, or are overly obvious predictions of production models that are just around the corner. We should celebrate, then, the Chevrolet Mi-ray Concept. Read more…

Value and Style In a Right Size Package

     There is no shortage of luxury crossovers. From Lincoln to Lexus any self-respecting automaker with their head in the game is trying their darnedest to combine luxury sedan dynamics with “I’m not a wagon” styling. Audi got into the midsize crossover game in 2009 with the Q5 and we liked what we saw. Apparently consumers did too since the Q5 is now Audi’s second bestselling vehicle behind the ubiquitous A4. Lately we’ve driven our fair share of these oh so vogue vehicles including the Lexus RX and the Cadillac SRX and decided to take a closer look at Audi’s offering. We were secretly hoping we’d get to plant our curious keisters in the newly available for 2011 2.0-liter turbo and 8-speed automatic model, but because beggars can’t be choosers we didn’t complain when Audi delivered a V6-powered Q5 for our evaluation. Read more…

      It’s diesel week here in Automotive Trends land, and the boys have rounded up a pair of oil burning German SUV’s to mark the occasion. Join editors Gernand, Dye and Muxlow as they discuss the latest in Autodom and argue over where the BMW 335d belongs on the Design Wall.

Audi’s Entry Level Hatchback Struggles to Earn its Premium Price

      Americans don’t like hatchbacks. Automotive journalists do. These are automotive truths that are as universally understood as the need for frequent oil changes, regular tire rotations and the belief that the Pontiac Aztek fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Possibly just as well understood is that Americans definitely don’t want to pay a premium for said hatchback while automotive journalists seem to embrace the idea. Why then is Audi still offering the A3 to North American consumers?  Read more…

      Spring has sprung (albeit there is still snow on the ground) and to celebrate the occasion Senior Editor Jason Muxlow takes a BMW 335i coupe out to the Automotive Trends’ Test Track.

      Senior Editor Jason Muxlow seeks a vehicle that returns great fuel efficiency and yet will haul along all the trappings of life. He finds the 2011 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTEC. Read more…