Hatchback

With a heavily refreshed Mercedes-Benz E-Class in showrooms and the introduction of the 2014 Cadillac CTS just  a few months out, BMW isn't messing around with the mid-cycle refresh it's giving its 2014 5 Series. New for the 2014 BMW 5 ...    Read more

When Fiat took over Chrysler back in 2009, there were rumblings that the Italian automaker would bring the Pentastar back to Turin. Now, as Italy's economic turmoil rages on, it appears that Fiat is kicking around the idea of ditching its home of more than 100 years in Lingotto--and its ...    Read more

Newsflash: For the first time ever, Chevrolet has a fleet of small cars that are all pretty good. Capitalizing on the fact that everyone likes them for once--us included--Chevy felt apt to give the 2014 Chevrolet Spark and larger 2014 ...    Read more

Today, Honda announced that it will be investing $470 million into a new transmission facility in Celaya, near Guanajuato, Mexico. This new transmission facility will be built next to another new production facility that's slated to begin building the Honda Fit in the spring of 2014. This new transmission facility ...    Read more

Electric and hybrid vehicles are the way of the future, or a passing fad, depending on who you ask. For the Chrysler Group, electric and hybrid vehicles have always seemed to have fallen into a gray area. That is, until the 2013 Fiat 500e showed up. Fiat and Chrysler Group boss ...    Read more

It's been an uphill battle for General Motors ever since it released the Chevrolet Volt into the wild back in late 2010. From being a political punching bag to a few batteries that ...    Read more

Imagine that you've landed a job with Chrysler Group as a product planner or engineer. Your first task on the job is to help improve upon the Fiat 500 Abarth, which has already to help reshaped the Italian brand after it received a less-than-warm welcome back to North America only ...    Read more

Honda is recalling 43,782 2012-13 Honda Fit Sport models for an issue with the vehicle's Vehicle Stability Assist system software. The Honda Fit Sport is the automaker's entry-level hatchback five-door model. Issue Honda Fit Sport models equipped  with certain tires do not meet U.S Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards ...    Read more

The Ford Fiesta is the automaker's entry-level offering, and it has added new engine options of late to make for a very diverse range. It appears Ford is at least exploring future possibilities of expanding that range, partnering up with German tech supplier Schaeffler to produce an ...    Read more

It all comes down to personal preference. Do you want a beefy V-8 engine? Or are you more concerned with your carbon footprint? Do you want smartphone integration? Or do you like left being left alone while you drive? According to a recent report by J.D. Power and Associates, when ...    Read more

If you'd believe it us auto journalists, the 1989 BMW M3 was the high watermark of sports coupes. Everything for the last two and a half decades since then has just been wheezing hard as it struggles to catch up. Or has it? Motor Trend writer Mike Febbo partnered with European Car's ...    Read more

The Frankfurt Auto Show is still months away, but we're already anticipating the debut of the next Volkswagen Golf R hot hatch. When we drove the 2012 Volkswagen Golf R, we were immediately taken in by the R's no nonsense approach: an excellent all-wheel-drive system that provides exceptional ...    Read more

America hasn't made a good sport compact in a few years. The last one worth remembering was the Chevrolet Cobalt SS. Before that, the SVT Ford Focus was something we could have pride in, complete with a 170-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Its life was cut short in the U.S., but ...    Read more

Chances are that if you've been in a major metropolitan area or a college campus lately, you've seen Zipcars parked on city streets. Bedecked with vinyl "Zipcar" graphics, the cars are short-term rentals that provide personal transportation for those who may not otherwise have such mobility. If you're in the Los ...    Read more

The term "four-door coupe" made nearly as much sense at its inception as champagne made from grapes harvested in the Midwest (champagne only comes from France), so Kia's rather liberal definition with the Kia Cub shouldn't detract too much from its overall purpose. Anyhow, the four-door coupe hatchback Kia Cub is ...    Read more

V70R. 850R Sport Wagon. 780 Bertone. 262C Bertone. 123 GT. Amazon 122S Rally. These are all model names of Volvos. But they’re not your librarian neighbors' standard, boxy wagon. These are the names of the most limited and iconic Swedish automobiles ever made. They are the exclusive, the limited, and the ...    Read more

We've seen the commercials with the dancing hamsters, but it may be time for the new 2014 Kia Soul to dance across the international stage, possibly making its debut at the 2013 New York Auto Show. Kia's keeping most of its cards close to the chest, but the new Soul ...    Read more

Did you know Fiat makes cars other than the 500? We certainly wouldn't blame you if you didn't; none of those other vehicles are sold in the U.S.--at least badged as Fiats. But that's likely to change in ...    Read more

Far and away, the Mazda3 has become the best-selling car in the Mazda portfolio, showing that a compact car can be both efficient and fun to drive in this era. Accord to Automotive News, the next-generation car is set to arrive at dealerships this fall, citing an anonymous source within the ...    Read more

While a bit brutish for a sport compact car, there's something endearing about the 2013 MazdaSpeed3. Mazda has programmed it to limit the torque--pulling force--going to the front wheels in first and second gear because it's simply too much grunt for the car. It has a little but of understeer--front-end ...    Read more

About a month ago, Kia previewed its Geneva-bound compact concept car. We thought it was intended to be a Nissan Juke competitor. We were wrong. But even better, it's an all-wheel-drive hybrid sports coupe, which Kia says shows off the evolved look of the brand and could foreshadow an upcoming model ...    Read more

General Motors is set to build up to 36,000 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrids and other hybrids for delivery this year, which is up 20 percent from 2012. To accomplish this, GM must build 1,500 to 3,000 of the fuel-efficient vehicles each month. Last year, GM sold 30,000 Volt and European ...    Read more

What hasn't been said about the Ford Fiesta already: It's fun, practical, fuel-efficient, and among the cheaper new cars available. But it's moving up the price ladder just a little bit. In receiving a significant update with a new Aston Martin-style grille highlighting the biggest exterior change, the 2014 Ford Fiesta ...    Read more

The 2014 Volkswagen GTI is among the most important new cars debuting at the Geneva Motor Show next week, not because the world needs another sport compact--and not even because the GTI is the oldest nameplate in its segment, having first debuted in 1976. No, the GTI gains its significance ...    Read more

The Chevrolet Volt has officially been put on watch. Debuting at next month's Geneva Motor Show is the 2014 Audi A3 e-tron, a plug-in hybrid version of the next-gen premium hatchback slated for the U.S. While the ...    Read more