2013 VW Golf Interior?

These are really weird pictures.
But they might be from some brochure or something,

I have seen others matching these, so they might well be the real thing.
Seems a bit busy in there. And at the same time, not very stylish.

We'll know more in just a few days....

2013 Nissan Sentra

At first I really though this was the new Altima.
But no. Just a smaller version of the same design.
It looks OK, but nothing special. I guess they want to convey an upscale feel by making it look like their larger and more expensive model.
(Some people might even think they don't really need to spend the extra cash on the Altima.)

It also looks a lot like last year's Infiniti LE EV concept. Which isn't that great for Infiniti.

New Mazda 6 Video

Actually not showing much more than the pictures.
The editing is way to quicks, the shots way too short to really get a good feel for the car.

It sure is fine. Except the CX-5 inspired dashboard. But fine isn't enough anymore. Unless you are Honda or Toyota.
In which case, you already have millions of repeat customers every year. No matter what your cars look like.

All new Mazda6

Finally. The real thing.

It looks really nice. But these days, most mid sized sedans do.
(I just saw a few of the new Altimas, and they do look really good on the road.)

Mazda desperately needs something that stands out. And I'm not sure this new 6 does that.

A2.0 Liter is available in some countries, with 148hp.
The engine of choice for the US will be a larger 2.5 Unit with 189hp.
With Mazda's Skyactiv technology.
Even though a diesel is coming to the US next year, it isn't sure yet if it will end up in the 6 or another car.
Maybe the redesigned CX-9 will get it first.

Mercedes CLA

This suposely the 1st picture of the production version.
We saw the concept a few months ago.

This basically a sedan version of the new A Class hatchback. Although a pretty slick one. More like a baby CLS.
Not sure if the hatchback will be coming to the US or not, but the sedan will be.
And by that time, it will be competing with the all new Audi A3 sedan.
As well as maybe a 4 door version of the new BMW 1 series.

2013 Honda Accord

Thanks to a reader, we have now a much better idea of what the all new Accord looks like in the real world.
Which is, boring of course. But not that bad.
A typical North American market mid sized sedan. With no surprises.
Most people have noticed the Hyundai rear end. But it also looks like the Sonata has been quite an influence on the profile of the new Honda.
Which isn't so bad since everybody is copying everybody these days...

Production starts today in Ohio, where these pictures were taken.

2013 Toyota Auris

Finally here, the second generation of Toyota's Euro compact.
Our next Corolla will share this car's platform. But not the design.

The Auris has always ben much more modern looking than the Corolla, so don't expect much from the next Corolla.
If this one is as modern as a Toyota can get.
Just like the current Euro Civic, this looks worse than the previous version.
It seems that the design is all over the place.

I just saw the new Elantra GT the other day, which looks 100 times better than this.

We'll see if they can make the Corolla look worse than the current one...

2014 Corvette Video illustration

This actually a really cool idea.
Trinity Animation decided to put together pretty much everything we know so far about the next Corvette, and build this video presentation of the car.
It does look like a video game intro. But also could give us a good idea of what the actual car might look like.
What a great idea. This is better than Photoshop.

And even though most of it looks like, well.. A video game. Some of the shots are really cool.

About the Corvette. I just hope it ends up looking a bit better than this.
The one pictured here looks like a blend of many styles that are jus trying a bit too hard.

We will know everything early next year when the real thing makes its debut in Detroit.

You can click on the title to find out more about Trinity.

New 2013 Honda Accord

This, besides being quite boring, actually can turn out pretty elegant in real life.
The interior seems to be a big improvement over the current plasticky mess.
And the whole thing seems much better looking than the 2012 Camry.

Although it faces tough competition from the Sonata/Optima cousins. And especially the upcoming 2013 Fusion.

We'll see if this is enough for Honda .

Hit the title to see more from the Temple of VTEC.net site.

Mc Gyver selling Mercedes Citan Cargo Van

Seems that Mercedes has hired actor Richard Dean Anderson to play his Mc Gyver one more time.
Not sure if this will be a one off episode long film, long form commercial or what.
But it is a little weird.
It's one thing to hire the guy to play the part, but they also had to get the rights to the character.
I guess reruns of the show is still popular enough in Germany.



The last Mc Gyver TV movie is from the 90's, and Anderson is now 62.
But is still seems to work. Kind of....

New, and scary, crash test results.

These are for what the IIHS call "Small over lap tests".
Where the car takes a hit on part of the front end. And it is, as you can see, much harder on the cars.


The S60 gets a good rating, although this still looks really scary.



These 3 cars above rated "poor".
Pretty scary considering that they all get really good results in other safety tests.

One thing is sure, no matter what, Volvo is staying true to its reputation of being a safe car.
Good for them.

More pictures of the 2013 Range Rover

The lights still feel a bit gimmicky to me. And they resemble the much cheaper Explorer as well.

The interior is obviously inspired by the Evoque. Which is just fine.

If you like what you see, you'll still have to wait until the end of the year to get yours.

2013 Range Rover

The big Range Rover is all new for 2013.
And looking a lot like the old one. Which in this case, might not be too bad.
Although the current model still looks good after all these years. This one doesn't seem such an improvement.
I hear a big reduction in weight is expected. Which is a good thing, and could help the horrendous gas mileage.
Plus the new V6 from the upcoming Jaguar F-Type might be available, even in the US.

More on this very soon.

Another Alfa Romeo Giulia illustration

And, another good looking car.
It seems that all the illustrations about that car are looking pretty fantastic.
Expectations about the real thing are really high.

And it will be the main model in the US bound lineup.
Competing with cars like the Audi A4, here in the US.

It will be related to the Chrysler 200 replacement, and might even be built locally.
the Chrysler version will be sold in Europe as a Lancia. Just like the current 300 is.

Next Citroen C4 Picasso

The Picasso has always been a really modern, almost futuristic looking car.
The current model, although now 6 years old, still looks great.

The next one looks like it is pushing the envelope a little bit more.
Especially in the front. Where the LED running lights are where you would expect the headlights to be.
(These are just bellow)
The whole idea seems to give a really modern and clean look to the front end.
I guess this will soon spread to other models in the brand.

And maybe someone else will even copy it...

VW Golf VII Illustration

Not sure this is new, but so far it might be the closest to the real thing.
Because it's the most boring.

I don't expect amazing looks for the next Golf.
But at least, let's hope they don't cheapen it like they did with the Jetta and Passat.
(What am I thinking. I'm pretty sure they did....)

2013 Honda Accord.

First. Is it too much to ask for good pictures anymore?

I mean, this is the 1st impression we get of Honda's most important model. And these 1st pictures are horrible.
The coupe especially. And who, at Honda, picked that color???

As for the car. It probably looks much better in person. Thanks to these assy pictures.

Although nothing is new. The whole thing seems like a combo between the current model, and bits of other cars.
But again, hard to tell on these pics.

Honda uses the usual PR BS when describing the styling. Words like "Expressive, sophisticated, premium, dynamic tension or sporty attitude" are thrown around while their meaning is cruelly distorted.

The sedan will probably be fine. Hoping the interior ends up better than the current one. Its main competition being the Camry, I am sure the new Accord will do OK.
And although I am glad to see Honda keeping the 2 door version around. I wish they had done something a bit sportier.
Even if it only "looked" sporty.
This is again, a 2 door sedan.


On another note, I was watching a 1979 film last week end called "Time after Time". Where Mary Steenburgen drives an "old" Accord Hatchback.
Made me realize how far in the wrong direction that car went. No more hatchback, too big. That late 70's Accord coupe seemed like a cool modern alternative to what else was available back then.
Over the years, the Accord has become one of the most conservative choice around.

Sad....

Something you don't see every day...

Somehow, I just felt compelled to take a blurry picture of the $500 000 car crossing in front of me...

All new BMW 3 series GT

For the 1st time, the 3 series will be soon available as a hatchback.
Something similar to the 5 series GT. Except, hopefully, better looking.

This is what Audi has been doing for years, at least in Europe, with the 4 door hatchback version of the A5. As well as the A7 being a hatchback version of the A6.

Let's hope the final product doesn't end up has clumsy looking as the 5 GT.

2014 Toyota RAV4

Finally we see something else than a totally covered up prototype.

It looks..Well, I'm not too sure.
The front end seems a bit complicated. And the interior, at least on this picture, looks like quite a mess of many different shapes that don't really go together.

But this is pretty early.
We will see much more soon...