The first generation Santa Fe was tying to be everything to everyone. The car wanted to be cute enough for the soccer moms while being aggressive enough to appease the off-road crowd. The resulting car may have looked a little odd, but it was a best seller for Hyundai over its five-year run. When the second generation hit the market last year, it showed that Hyundai figured out that the best way to make everyone happy was with a sleek design. This car is a step up in every way from the (...)

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Toyota today revealed official details on the 2009 Hilux (there are only minor differences between the Euro-spec Hilux and the U.S. Tacoma.) The pick-up gets a new trapezoid front grille, redesigned bumper and newly designed 15” alloy wheels on Double Cab SR models and new 17'' alloys on Double Cab SR-X. The biggest engine news for the 2009 Hilux are the two diesels: 2.5-liter and the 3.0-liter. The 2.5-liter engine, has 120 hp and 325 nm of torque, is available as two-wheel-drive or (...)

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It's official; Honda will call its Prius fighter the Insight. The company revealed the first official images of its new gas/electric hybrid ahead of its October 2nd debut at the Paris Auto Show. Sales of the production Insight should begin in the U.S. by the spring. The design of the five-passenger hatchback seems to share a bloodline with the FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle as well as the CR-Z concept hybrid. All three of these cars could possibly show the future of Honda's (...)

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Mazda will unveil at the Paris Auto Show the Kiyora, a lightweight, next generation, urban compact concept car. "Kiyora" means "clean and pure" in Japanese, and Mazda says it represents the harmony between driving pleasure and environmental and safety features aspired to in Mazda’s long-term technology development vision, “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom.” — whatever that means The Kiyora concept is powered by Mazda’s next generation four-cylinder direct injection engine and features the (...)

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Citroen will unveil at the Paris Auto Show the Hypnos concept car, a hybrid vehicle that is blurring the line of sports coupe and SUV (kinda like the BMW X6.) Citroen calls this car a hybrid, but has not yet indicated what technology it is utilizing. What is known, and a little exciting for a hybrid, is the engine will make 200 bhp. Citroen says that the Hypnos will still keep green by giving high gas millage and low emissions (4.5 l/100 km and 120 g/km of CO2). Press release after (...)

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It seems like Hyundai is looking to be the next new car for the boy racer. After reporting about the Rhys Millen Racing Genesis Coupe back in July, today is time to talk about a new tuner that will present a high-performance version of the Genesis Coupe for the 2008 SEMA show. The HKS plan for the Genesis Coupe includes a HKS GT Turbo upgrade to maximize horsepower and torque, HKS engine internals, HKS limited-edition turbo exhaust system, HKS Super Mega Flow Intake System, HKS Engine (...)

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Mugen, Honda's tuning partner, unveiled at the Moscow Motor Show its take on the Civic 5D. Even if we don't have any details about its specifications, you can see that the Civic 5D MUGEN concept features new front and rear bumpers, side skirts, hood and a new rear wing. Stay tuned for more details. .

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Honda revealed the redesigned 2009 Legened, European version of the Acura RL. The most noticeable change is to the exterior style of the Legend, with new lights, bonnet, front wings, boot lid, bumpers and the adoption of standard 18" wheels. Under the hood Honda placed a new 3.7 liter V6 engine that has VTEC added to the exhaust valves, joining the system already fitted on the inlet side. These realised a 20% increase in torque in the mid-range. The engine is coupled to an all-new 5-speed (...)

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HSV launced on the Australian market the ClubSport R8 Tourer, the company's first wagon since the all wheel drive Avalanche was released in 2003. A manual ClubSport R8 Tourer is priced from $65,990, which is just $1000 more than the equivalent ClubSport R8 sedan. Automatic transmission is an additional $2330. The Tourer is powered by the high performance LS3 engine producing 425 hp of power and 550Nm of torque, making this one of the most powerful wagons produced anywhere in the world. (...)

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Jeep revealed today details on the 2009 Patriot upgrades. The biggest news for this little Jeep is the interior revision that promises to give a much-needed quality look. For 2009, Jeep Patriot features an all-new redesigned instrument panel, center console with split lid for added storage space and door trim panels. The all-new instrument panel features a smoother look while chrome accents brighten the new round heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) vents, shift bezel, door (...)

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Rumors about a four-door model from Koenigsegg started to circulate last week. Today we bring you first TopSpeed rendering of the future sporty sedan that will make its official debut in 2010 as a concept model at the Geneva Motor Show and as a production model in 2011. The currently unnamed sedan will compete with models like Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera. The four-door model is supposed to have been under development for the past two years and will be made entirely out of (...)

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The second Ibiza version launched this week by Seat is Ecomotive, the most ecological car of its segment (CO2 emission is just 99 g/km). Official debut will be made at the Paris Auto Show. Available in both the 5-door and SportCoupé versions, the Ibiza Ecomotive is equipped with a three cylinder 80 hp 1.4 TDI with DPF particulate filter which not only allows the engine to reduce emissions under the 100 g/km mark, but also reduces fuel consumption. Press release after the jump. Press (...)

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There is nothing better than test driving a sports car. The manufacturer expects you to run it to the limits, so you can go home and write about how powerful/fast/nimble the car is. Our experience with the preview of the Cadillac CTS-V was no exception. As mentioned earlier in the week, we were invited to take a day putting Cadillac's 556 hp supercharged CTS-V through its paces at the Monticello racetrack in New York. The power was always there, from the moment I stepped on the (...)

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Seat today unveiled first images and details on the 2009 Ibiza Cupra. The car debuts the brand new 1.4 TSI engine that delivers 180 hp and is mated to a seven speed DSG gearbox with steering wheel shift-paddles. Although Seat is not available in the U.S., it nice to keep tabs on what the Volkswagen group is putting together. The new Ibiza CUPRA features an exclusive design with a spectacular front end where the “Arrow Design” concept lends maximum expressivity, especially due to the newly (...)

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In a press release revealing fiscal results, Spyker also revealed company's plans for 2008. This includes a C8 Laviolette ‘LM85′ special edition, limited to only 24 units. Also included for this year is a road version of the current GT2 race car and the production version of the C8 Aileron. In November, the company will reveal a pre-production version of the C8 Aileron at the Los Angeles Auto Show. (...)

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