Blog Posts by: Eric Tingwall   GT

Audi is betting big on the 2014 A3 in the U.S. market, counting on the new sedan model to boost popularity, but also aiming to bolster sales with a convertible and S3 and RS3 performance models.  “I would certainly like to see a comprehensive ...    Read more

The manual-transmission Porsche 911 has just eight years left to live. At least that’s the personal prediction of Michael Schätzle, project manager of the new 911. At a media event for the 911 cabriolet, Schätzle gave the three-pedal, rear-engined Porsche until 2020, or “one or two generations,” before going the ...    Read more

With more than 220 models sourced from more than 90 production facilities, the Volkswagen Group has a lot to gain from even the smallest manufacturing synergies. So the new MQB architecture that will underpin the majority of the company’s front-wheel-drive vehicles is a massively important program. MQB (the acronym stands ...    Read more

Bentley’s 2012 Detroit auto show reveal of the Continental GT V8 presents a new, downsized reality for the exclusive British automaker, but this wasn’t our first time seeing the twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V-8. The same core engine is already under the hood of ...    Read more

The Internet rumor mill may have you convinced that a four-cylinder Mustang and a next-generation pony car with an independent rear suspension are a sure thing, but Ford has yet to officially confirm either. We took advantage of our seat at a dinner table with president and CEO Alan Mulally, ...    Read more

Ford’s next-generation Mustang will trade some of its retro styling cues for the company’s new Kinetic 2.0 design language. But it won't completely abandon its roots either, as Ford's executive director of global product programs told us the next Blue Oval pony car will retain enough heritage to be instantly ...    Read more

Following the introduction of several poorly received new models, CEO Takanobu Ito and the whole of Honda appear to have gotten sports-car religion much like Toyota has since Akio Toyoda took over the company in 2009. Admitting that the Honda has made missteps and let its reputation slip, Ito espoused ...    Read more

The next generation of Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive trades torque-vectoring differentials for electric motors, creating a gas/electric hybrid powertrain that is capable of pure electric driving and distributing torque between the right and left rear wheels. The electric SH-AWD system’s hardware includes three electric motors, a V-6 gas engine, ...    Read more

After years of showing limited interest in the fuel-saving technology, Honda has developed direct injection for its volume four- and six-cylinder engines for introduction in 2012. The trio of direct-injection powerplants covers everything from the compact Civic to the Ridgeline pickup truck. Honda hasn’t confirmed where the engines will appear ...    Read more

What is Skyactiv? Marketing speak, of course. It is the single word Mazda has invented to represent a diverse spread of technologies and strategies aimed at improving efficiency. As such, Skyactiv has a different meaning depending on whether you’re talking about engines, transmissions, chassis, or ...    Read more

The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will be more powerful than the Cadillac CTS-V with an output of 580 hp at 6000 rpm and 556 lb-ft of torque at 4200 rpm from the supercharged 6.2-liter V-8. Every one of those ponies will need to be working hard, though, to hurry the ...    Read more

Amidst the usual stream of crossovers, sedans, and two-doors passing through the Automobile Magazine garage, a heavy-duty truck is an anomaly. The slow steering, the graceless ride, and the hard-shifting transmission are strange qualities for a modern four-wheeled vehicle, even if they are the designed-in traits ...    Read more

Land Rover's smallest off-roader, the LR2, will swap its in-line six-cylinder engine for a turbocharged four-cylinder with the next model update. The LR2's gas-powered replacement powerplant is the same 240-hp mill that will arrive this October in the Range Rover Evoque. While our source wouldn't reveal the exact timing of ...    Read more

The Chevrolet Volt is an impressive and significant car, but there's still room for improvement. Personally, I'm amazed at how hard GM muffed the center stack. The jumbled heap of icons and abbreviations reads like a sequel to the children's ...    Read more

Designer Karim Habib has spent more than ten years with BMW, most recently holding responsibility for the 2010 7-series and the 2007 Concept CS. After a two-year stint with Mercedes-Benz, he’s back at BMW as the head of exterior design. We recently met with Habib to discuss the new 6-series ...    Read more

Say goodbye to the normally aspirated BMW engine. The Bavarian automaker is currently developing a new modular family of inline three-, four-, and six-cylinder engines with the intention of using turbochargers on every application. That leaves the M3's normally aspirated V-8 as the only BMW engine sucking air without assistance ...    Read more

BMW is developing an intelligent automatic transmission that downshifts earlier, before the car enters corners or encounters hills. Called Foresight, the predictive behavior delivers a sportier, more engaging driving experience by selecting gears more like a manual-transmission driver might. The technology is currently in development and should arrive in showrooms ...    Read more

These are scary times for the Volkswagen loyalist. To reach the highly ambitious goal of 800,000 annual American sales by 2018, U.S.-specific products are a must—and the brand’s European character appears to be at risk. I can’t help but feel uneasy about the future when the present is defined by ...    Read more

Jonathan Browning, president and CEO of Volkswagen of America, is keen to bring the subcompact Bulli to the United States. The Bulli concept, shown in February at the Geneva Motor Show, is the spiritual successor to the Microbus. "Bulli is number one on my unfunded projects list," Browning told ...    Read more

There's a lot of I-75 between Michigan and Florida, so the ZDX's cruise control has been on for hundreds of miles. Since our ZDX is an Advance trim, it's equipped with radar-based adaptive cruise control that will automatically slow the vehicle as it comes up on ...    Read more

Road test coordinator Mike Ofiara and I are on the road in our Four Seasons Acura ZDX headed to Florida for Saturday's 12 Hours of Sebring. It's just 30 minutes to Ohio from Ann Arbor, but we've got more than 20 hours in the car ahead of us. A Corvette, ...    Read more

Ford is working on a successor to the GT, the mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 550-hp supercar that the company built from 2005 to 2006. Or at least that’s the vibe I got from Derrick Kuzak, head of global product development, during the Detroit auto show earlier this week. The revelation came at an ...    Read more

Toyota has grown the Prius from a single car into a brand with the announcement of a small family vehicle, a plug-in hybrid, and a subcompact concept at the Detroit auto show. The Japanese auto giant is looking to cash in on the Prius’ celebrity, as Toyota has sold more ...    Read more

Chrysler’s brand revolution is nearing completion as the company unveiled a significantly revised 300 sedan at the Detroit auto show. On a stark white stage, Chrysler brand president and CEO Olivier Francois introduced the car with a melodramatic story recounting the uncertainty of bankruptcy last year, reciting Eminem lyrics and ...    Read more

Yesterday’s reveal of the 2011 Ford Explorer also uncovered the specs of the Blue Oval’s new turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder: 237 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque. That the Explorer will soon be available with four-cylinder power isn’t news. Ford has been talking about a turbocharged four-cylinder for its ...    Read more