Hatchback

With the recently introduced 2013 Dodge Dart bowing at the North American International Auto Show Chrysler is riding a rising wave of momentum, and the Dart is at its core. Today, the Detroit-based auto announced it will introduce a new mid-size sedan to replace the unloved Chrysler 200 and Dodge ...    Read more

Two steps forward, one step back. Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officially closed its investigation on the Chevrolet Volt. As reported for months, the federal agency had been investigating the Volt's battery system, which could catch fire under certain circumstances, all of which occurred under test ...    Read more

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a statement today that it has closed its investigation of battery fires in the 2012 Chevrolet Volt. The federal agency first became concerned late last year when one of its Chevy Volt test vehicles ignited at its Wisconsin testing facility. Subsequent testing revealed ...    Read more

Kia Motors is recalling 145,755 Kia Optima and Kia Rondo models to repair a faulty clock spring in the steering column that could potentially stop the driver's front airbag from working. The recall affects 2006 to 2008 Kia Optima sedans manufactured between Sept. 29, 2005 and Jan. 29, 2008 and model ...    Read more

“Comparing Volt to Prius v is apples to oranges,” said GM’s Rob Peterson in an email to Bloomberg. Not saying he’s wrong, but the 2012 Toyota Prius v, the tall-roof station wagon variant of the Prius hatchback, did outsell the Volt’s whole year of sales in a little more than ...    Read more

Because bringing out one Olympics edition Mini Cooper wasn't enough, Mini is sending out another pair of special editions to satiate our need for meat pies, tea and crumpets, jolly good motoring, and a bloody good time. Enter ...    Read more

If you were at Audi's 2012 Consumer Electronics Show display, you might think you were in Frankfurt instead of Las Vegas, as the predominant language spoken at the display was German. You might also wonder how Audi shifted its priorities into making CES its January venue of choice instead of ...    Read more

It isn't often we see cars here that were never meant to drive on our shores. But Kia Motors decided to bring over its Naimo concept that debuted at last May's Seoul auto show and 2012 Kia Ray EV micro car not to show us the U.S. needs more 60-horsepower ...    Read more

Late last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that one of its Chevrolet Volts had caught on fire during testing. The fire was later traced to the electric car's battery system. Neither the federal agency nor Chevy-owner General Motors issued any recall, both maintaining that the EV is ...    Read more

Today's car ads, which can be found in video , webpages , and yes, the lowly magazine or newspaper (remember those?) can be informative, but ultimately unsatisfying because you still have to trudge down to the local dealership to test drive said ...    Read more

The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, as well as the upcoming Chevrolet Spark, are General Motors' latest entries in the burgeoning compact/subcompact market here in the states. But although sales of the Sonic have just barely begun, GM has announced a recall on the Chevy Sonic due to possible brake issues. According to ...    Read more

In 2011, Automotive.com’s staff size increased 600 percent. We started our own revitalization, staking out where we were and where we are yet to go. To close out the year, we put together our picks for the high and low points that made up the automotive year that was 2011. From ...    Read more

We’ve already seen the new 2012 Kia Ray, the Korean market’s Honey-I-shrunk-the-Soul micro car. But just a month after we learned of that car, Kia has announced that it will be adding an all-electric version, perhaps foreshadowing technology we’re bound to see in the not-too-distant future. With just 68 horsepower from ...    Read more

Chevrolet is recalling 3150 rental-only Captiva crossovers over concerns of a glitch between its engine and power steering pump. Vehicles labeled as a 2011 or 2012 model year and assembled between October 9, 2009 and April 21, 2011 are believed to be the ones affected. Driving in manual mode and ...    Read more

Automakers face a daunting task catching the attention of consumers already distracted by television, radio, MP3 players, smartphones, video games, CDs, DVDs, the "information superhighway," social media, video, apps, and -- oh, yeah -- magazines, newspapers, and even books (remember those?) . While some automakers resort to the tired but ...    Read more

It's no secret that wagons are a much bigger hit in Europe than here in the U.S. That's why Alfa Romeo will be introducing the Giulietta wagon in Europe, but its stateside kin—the recently teased 2013 Dodge Dart—will ...    Read more

Toyota has released pricing today for two heavyweights its stable: the 2012 Toyota RAV4 and 2012 Toyota Prius Liftback. The RAV4 is offered in three models: RAV4 grade, Sport, and Limited and will be priced $100 higher than last year's model. Toyota's wildly popular compact SUV will start at $22,650 ...    Read more

General Motors decided to give car shoppers and enthusiasts an early holiday treat with details on the 2013 Chevy Sonic RS hatchback which is to debut next month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. From a driving perspective, the biggest change on the 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS ...    Read more

Skateboards and compact cars are very different modes of transportation. One is a low-powered, lightweight, maneuverable four-wheel device that's often the first mode of transport for young people. The other's a board with wheels screwed to the bottom. But it didn't matter to Rob Dyrder that the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is ...    Read more

Ford is recalling 16,091 F-Series pickup trucks over concerns of a defective brake transmission switch. This latest recall wasn't spurred by an investigation conducted by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration but internally by Ford. Some 2011 F-150 trucks and 2012 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550s with a steering column ...    Read more

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety announced 115 recipients of its Top Safety Pick award. With 18 new vehicles joining the list for 2012, it’s especially surprising that 10 of them happen to be Honda models that have all been on sale for years now, showing the brand’s willingness to ...    Read more

Ford has released a lightning storm of details on its 2012 Focus Electric. However, the automaker has not yet released what we consider the most important pieces of info on any electric vehicle: range on a single full charge and miles per gallon equivalent, or mpge. According to Ford, such information ...    Read more

It was only a matter of time until Mitsubishi was bound to find its first retail customer for its all-electric 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV. As it turns out, that customer, er, customers happened to be in Hawaii. “We currently spend about $70 a week on fuel,” says Bryson Nishimura, the proud new ...    Read more

The Chevrolet Volt may be in a little more trouble than General Motor's executives are willing to admit after all. A recent survey conducted by CNW research concluded that consumer interest in the gas-assisted plug-in hatchback is slowly dwindling. The main reason for decreasing interest can be solely pinned upon ...    Read more

Bad news for the 2012 Fiat 500, and possibly for those who own one. The small Italian hatchback was only able to muster three stars in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's crash testing. The lower rating was due to poor side impact test results, which only earned the 500 ...    Read more