2013 Honda Accord Coupe Concept Photos and Info: Previewing the Ninth-Gen Accord

2013 Honda Accord Coupe Concept Photos and Info: Previewing the Ninth-Gen Accord:

We like our Honda Accords around here, having awarded the car no fewer than 26 10Best awards, including in all five model years of the current generation. And so it was with keen interest that we watched Honda preview the ninth generation of the Accord at the 2012 Detroit auto show in the form of this coupe concept. Rendered in a gorgeous deep satin red with lots of glitzy chrome, the Accord coupe concept was not driven on stage but rather hurled like a curling stone toward the audience on a rotating platform, providing a 360-degree look at the car that will go on sale by the end of the calendar year.

Keep Reading: 2013 Honda Accord Coupe Concept – Auto Shows

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Toyota NS4 Advanced Plug-In Hybrid Concept: Look at Future Technology

Toyota NS4 Advanced Plug-In Hybrid Concept: Look at Future Technology:

As we continue our march into the age of reduced fuel consumption and increased connectivity, Toyota is making a bid for leadership in the car-as-communications-support-system derby. Providing a preview of Toyota’s next horizon of telemetric sophistication and fuel miserliness is the NS4 concept. That’s shorthand for New Sedan 4, and it describes a car that’s long on swoop and short on specifics.

Keep Reading: Toyota NS4 Advanced Plug-In Hybrid Concept – Auto Shows

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Maserati Kubang SUV Details: Engine by Ferrari, Assembled in Detroit

Maserati Kubang SUV Details: Engine by Ferrari, Assembled in Detroit:

Maserati used the 2012 Detroit show to reconfirm its plan to produce an SUV—something it has been considering since the original Kubang concept was shown here in 2003. The brand’s first off-roader will also use that name; it was previewed at last year’s Geneva show and brought out again in the Motor City along with a few details.

First and foremost is confirmation that it will be built just down the road at Chrysler’s Jefferson North assembly plant. This confirms, if not overtly, that the Kubang will share its platform with the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Dodge Durango, which in turn share theirs with the newest Mercedes M-class. So this Masereep-Benz is somewhat of an automotive turducken. Maserati assures us that it will have its hand in the recipe, as its engineers will be responsible for the steering, brakes, and suspension. A next-gen Maserati V-8—likely a revision of the brand’s current engine family—will be built by Ferrari and paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The Kubang is likely a year or so away from production, and should arrive for the 2014 model year.

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Volkswagen Considering VR6 Replacements; Audi’s Turbo Five a Possibility

Volkswagen Considering VR6 Replacements; Audi’s Turbo Five a Possibility:

Volkswagen’s powerful, refined VR6 won us over in the new Passat—helping it beat the Honda Accord in a recent Car and Driver comparison test—but it won’t stay in production, as-is, forever. Speaking with Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, a member of the Volkswagen board of management who oversees research and development, we learned that the company is facing a decision on what to do for an engine that can provide V-6 levels of power in its U.S. cars.As it stands, the VR6 is expensive to build and import, and doesn’t sell in many vehicles: In addition to the new Passat, it’s also offered in VW’s Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne. Hackenberg tells us that the company may decide to use the VR6 in more U.S.products—though precisely which cars is unclear—or ditch the mill altogether. If the latter, Hackenberg is particularly interested in replacing it with “a turbo five, as we just used in the Audi [TT RS].” In the U.S.-spec TT RS, the engine makes 360 hp and 343 lb-ft of torque; the Audi Q3, which was just announced for the U.S., will be offered here with a 314-hp version of the engine.

If the turbo five does get the green light for VW products, it’d be produced here in North America. Possible applications include the Passat and the Touareg. We’re eager to see what Hackenberg and his colleagues decide in the coming months.

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GM to Replace 2.4-liter Fours with 2.5-liters Across the Range

GM to Replace 2.4-liter Fours with 2.5-liters Across the Range:

General Motors will upgrade one of its workhorse four-cylinder engines. The news comes straight from GM’s North American president Mark Reuss at this year’s Detroit auto show. The 2.4-liter four—which currently does duty in the Chevy Equinox, Buick’s Verano and Regal, and the GMC Terrain—will hit the road; it’s replaced with a new, direct-injected 2.5-liter inline-four.

The new engine will debut in the 2013 Chevy Malibu with slightly north of 190 hp and 180 lb-ft of torque, and we expect it to offer similar power in other applications. This will be a nice bump from what the 2.4-liter engine offers today: 169 hp with port injection and 182 hp from the direct-injected version.

The change will be applied across GM’s U.S. range, with the switchover taking place within the next 12 months. GM hasn’t yet confirmed whether the 2.4-liter engine used in its EcoAssist hybrids will remain in use, or if the 2.5 will be adapted to do service there.

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Chrysler 700C Minivan Concept Quietly Appears on Detroit Show Floor

Chrysler 700C Minivan Concept Quietly Appears on Detroit Show Floor:

It’s not too often that we stroll around an auto show (outside of maybe the bizarre SEMA event), stop in our tracks and say, “Um, that exists?” But that’s exactly what happened with Chrysler’s 700C concept at this year’s Detroit auto show. Apparently, that was the plan. No fanfare, no mention at a press conference, no press release or info, just a vehicle on a rotating plate. So what’s that deal? Actually, that’s what Chrysler wants to know from you.

A Chrysler spokesperson told us that the 700C is purely a design study. It has no powertrain and was created simply to gauge the reaction of consumers who stumble across it on Chrysler’s stand. The past several generations of the company’s minivans have all been clearly associated with the Dodge and Chrysler brands, and the automaker wants to know if it could get away with more of an aesthetic departure when it launches a new Town & Country. (The Dodge Grand Caravan will disappear and be replaced by a crossover based on the same platform.)

The 700C is very European-looking—we see a good deal of French design here—and is certainly a big break from the conservative styling of the company’s current people haulers. We won’t exactly call this concept attractive—or hideous, for that matter—but it is unique. Check out the gallery below and let us know what you think—Chrysler will certainly be listening.

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2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Gets Big Power Upgrades, Face Lift

2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Gets Big Power Upgrades, Face Lift:

Given that Hyundai’s 2013 Veloster Turbo coupe-hatch will pack 201 horses, it makes perfect sense that the rear-drive Genesis coupe would get more muscle of its own. The intra-lineup pecking order must remain undisturbed, after all.

Keep Reading: 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe – Official Photos and Info

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2013 Buick Encore Photos and Info: The Smallest Luxury Crossover

2013 Buick Encore Photos and Info: The Smallest Luxury Crossover:

Encore? Encore to what, exactly? Buick is touting its new luxury crossover as the first of its size to be sold in America. Debuting at the 2012 Detroitauto show, the 2013 Encore will be the brand’s fifth new entry in five years and perhaps the most precariously positioned.

Keep Reading: 2013 Buick Encore – Official Photos and Info

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Lincoln MKZ Concept: New Platform and New Look for the Upcoming 2013 Model

Lincoln MKZ Concept: New Platform and New Look for the Upcoming 2013 Model:

Lincoln’s MKZ has never stood out visually—it has always looked every bit the dressed-up Ford Fusion that it is. If the MKZ concept is a faithful preview of the 2013 production model, all that changes. Curvy, swoopy, and a bit odd-looking, the MKZ concept is a definite visual departure from both the old car and the 2013 Ford Fusion, with which it will again share a platform and which debuts just across the aisle at the Detroit auto show.

Keep Reading: Lincoln MKZ Concept – Auto Shows

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Shelby American at 50

Shelby American at 50:

Anniversary edition GTS, GT350 and Super Snake models bow.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Cobra, Shelby American is launching a limited edition of post-title modified Shelby Mustangs that feature a wide range of upgrades, from suspension changes to engine packages. Only 100 of each (50 white, 50 black) will be offered in the GTS, GT350 and Super Snake ranges. The black paint scheme, which features gold striping in honor of Shelby American’s 50th anniversary, is reminiscent of the fabled Mustang GT350 H models built in the 1960s for Hertz.

The top of the line is the GT500 Super Snake, which will be available in 650, 750 or 800 bhp trim in either a coupe or convertible. This package, which will retail for $59,995 plus car, features upgraded brakes and suspension as well as its own unique styling, thanks to a revamped hood and other aerodynamic body parts. Next down the line is the GT350, which features a supercharging package that boosts stock Mustang performance to 525 or 624 bhp, along with suspension and brake modifications. Stock GT350s with normally aspirated engines will retain their 430 bhp of output. This package is also priced at $59,995 plus car. The Shelby GTS, which starts at $19,995 for V-6 models and $24,999 for V-8 GTs plus car, features suspension and brake upgrades as well as appearance pieces. GTS models can also be upgraded with optional supercharger packages.

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Detroit Favorites…and Two of My Not So Favorites

Detroit Favorites…and Two of My Not So Favorites:

Acura NSX Concept

Our feet hurt and our senses are buzzing after two days at the Detroit show, so it’s time to sit back and evaluate what we saw. In order, my picks for the best:

Acura NSX—While some observers think the new NSX is too sharp edged, I don’t agree. Naturally the design will be changed somewhat before production in three years, but the direction is spot-on. The Sport Hybrid all-wheel-drive system is fascinating, the V-6 should have plenty of power and the dual-clutch automatic with its built-in electric motor sounds exciting. This could set a new mark for supercars just as the original NSX did.

2013 Ford Fusion

Ford Fusion—No need to wait for this one, which should be a winner out of the gate. It’s not unusual to find a design that pleases you for its front or side or back, but not all three areas. The Fusion works from the new face for Ford right back to its nicely shaped taillights. A winner outside and in, except for perhaps the tiny buttons on the center stack’s sound system/HVAC panel. Can’t wait to drive the hybrid version.

2013 Cadillac ATS

Cadillac ATS—I wondered how Cadillac’s sharp-edge design theme would work when condensed down to BMW 3 Series size. Well, it works just fine. Nice touch with the headlamps trailing back into the fender and with the CHMSL spoiler at the back. My only objection inside are the tiny buttons on the center stack. That new 2.0-liter turbo sounds tempting with its 270 bhp and 260 lb.-ft. of torque.

Lincoln MKZ Concept

Lincoln MKZ—As it struggles to reinvent itself, Lincoln needs a new identity right now. It seems to have done that with the MKZ. The newest interpretation of the classic Lincoln Zephyr split-wing grille is as effective as its predecessors weren’t. The MKZ’s shape flows smoothly along a distinctive greenhouse to a proud tail design. Please, Lincoln, we hope the MKZ concept isn’t just a tease—make it a reality.

And, now, two that don’t quite cut it:

Chevrolet Code 130R Concept

Chevrolet Code 130R—While its concept companion, the Tru 140S, is a sweet shape, the 130R doesn’t seem to have any shape at all. Simple can be nice, but not this simple.

2013 Buick Encore

Buick Encore—Can this be from the same GM division that has given us the desirable Lacrosse, Regal and Verano?

More:

Full Coverage: 2012 Detroit Auto Show >>

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Related posts:

1. Acura to Show NSX and ILX Concepts, Plus Next RDX – 2012 Detroit Auto Show
2. ATS – What Is, or Isn’t In a Name? – 2012 Detroit Auto Show Preview
3. Ford Goes to Great Heights (literally!) at the Detroit Auto Show

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Blistering Juke-R Performance

Blistering Juke-R Performance:

Nissan has confirmed the performance statistics for Juke-R – the supercar crossover concept that combines the power and handling of the legendary GT-R with the bold design of the Juke.

Created in the UK, the Juke-R has been developed by Nissan and built by leading motorsports outfit RML with advice from Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTC-E). Over a 22-week period two models have been created – one right-hand drive and one left-hand drive – with extensive performance testing now completing the final stage of the development project.

Juke-R’s 485 bhp 3.8-liter V-6 twin turbo engine propels the car from a standing start to 62 mph in just 3.7 seconds, before continuing on to a top speed of 160 mph.

Testing has proved that the Juke-R enjoys supercar handling from a compact crossover, thanks to use of the Nissan GT-R’s suspension and drivetrain as well as an FIA-specification roll cage and unique split rear wing. In a straight line, the GT-R’s more aerodynamic shape ensures that its top speed is higher despite the same power plant being used in each. GT-R also remains lighter than Juke-R due to the roll cage and extra chassis reinforcement that has been required to place the supercar’s components into a Juke body.

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Scion FR-S Race Car Debuts – 2012 Detroit Auto Show

Scion FR-S Race Car Debuts – 2012 Detroit Auto Show:

It certainly didn’t take Scion long to hollow out a FR-S, install a rollcage, bolt in a pair of Sparco seats and get on with all the detail work it takes to convert a street machine to a racer. In this case for the 2012 Formula Drift series, driven by Ken Gushi.

Toyota teamed with GReddy to build the FR-S racer and they are figuring on 600 horsepower to keep the car sliding.

And if you’re itching to get your hands on a FR-S, sign on to www.ScionFirst86.com. As of noon EST Thursday, January 12, Scion will be taking requests to be among the first 86 buyers to own an FR-S. Sticking with their numerology, Scion will take requests for 8 hours 6 minutes and the “First 86” will take delivery of their cars before they goes on sale to the general public.

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Full Coverage: 2012 Detroit Auto Show >>

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