New Four-Cylinder Honda Crosstour Costs $2,685 Less than V6, Starts at $28,465

Honda is expanding the range of its Accord-based Crosstour model with the addition of a four-cylinder, two-wheel drive version that goes on sale today priced from $27,655, or $28,465 if you include an $810 destination and handling charge. That's $2,685 less than the equivalent V6 model. The new entry level Crosstour sports a 2.4-liter i-VTEC inline four-cylinder engine that develops 192 horsepower matched to a standard 5-speed automatic transmission, delivering 21 mpg city and 29 mpg highway, an improvement of 3 mpg and 2 mpg respectively over the V6 model.
Speaking about the new model, John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda said: "The new four-cylinder Crosstour offers sleek design, unmatched passenger comfort and ingenious functionality now with four-cylinder pricing and fuel economy. With four-cylinder and V6 options and a long list of standard features, Crosstour should be on every CUV buyer's shopping list."
Along with the launch of the new four-cylinder Crosstour, Honda announced the addition of several standard features across the entire range, which include an automatic dimming rearview mirror, a rearview mirror back-up camera display (non-Navigation models), convenient auto-on/off headlights, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink and USB audio interface.

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Fiat to Launch New Strada Small Pickup Truck in its Home Market

Starting from next week, Fiat will offer its new Strada pickup truck in its home market of Italy. The Strada is Fiat's second best-selling commercial vehicle after the Ducato with 127,800 units sold worldwide in 2011. It is built at the company's FIASA plant in Betim, Brazil. The revised light commercial model comes in three flavors named Working, Trekking and Adventure plus three body styles, including short cab, long cab and the four-seater crew cab for a total of six different variants.
The most distinct model is the Adventure crew cab with its 4x4-esque looks thanks to a raised suspension and extensive body cladding. This version also features a new standard electronic locking differential called E-Locker and 205/65 R15 off-road tires.
Fiat says that the new Strada's overall dimensions are unchanged over the previous series with a length of 4,409 mm (4,457 mm for the Adventure), a width of 1,664mm (1,740mm for the Adventure) and a common wheelbase for all versions of 2,718mm.
The payload, including the driver, ranges from 630kg to 705 kg (1,388 to 1,555 pounds) depending on the version.
Power comes courtesy of a 1.3-liter Multijet 16v Euro5 diesel engine that delivers 95-horsepower and 200Nm (147.5 lb-ft) at 1,500 rpm and consumes 5.3lt/100km (44.4 mpg US) on the combined European driving cycle.
In Italy, prices before tax range from €12,900 (US$16,700) for the Working Single Cab model to €16,000 (US$20,700) for the flagship Adventure Crew Cab version.

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TRD Suits up the New 2013 Lexus GS F Sport Sedan in Japan

As soon as Lexus rolled out the new 2013 GS sedan in Japan on Thursday, its parent company's performance division, Toyota Racing Developments (TRD), came out with a selection of upgrade parts for the F Sport model.

We'll remind you that the F Sport package for the new GS already includes an aero kit with different front and rear bumpers, a mesh front grille, side skirts and a rear spoiler along with 19-inch wheels and a tuned suspension.

So what does TRD's package add on top of that? Well, namely a pair of splats for the front bumper, an add-on part for the side skirts, a larger boot lid spoiler, a rear apron and quad tailpipes with a blue outline.

Performance upgrades are limited to a sportier suspension kit and exhaust system and a set of lightweight 19-inch alloy wheels in a dark finish.

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New Details Emerge on Fiat's 500L Wagon that will Debut in Geneva and go on Sale in the U.S. in 2013

We had heard earlier this month that Fiat was preparing a new five-door variant of its 500 city car but we didn't know much else about the Italian firm's plans.

Today, Autonews has the inside scoop on the new model reporting that it will allegedly be called 500L with its world premiere to take place at the Geneva Salon in March.

We also learn that while it will keep the 500s familiar face and styling cues, it will be based on the same architecture as the larger Punto to improve passenger and luggage space.

The 500L is said to measure around 4,150mm long (163.4-inches) or about 60mm (2.5-inches) more than the three-door 500 hatchback, while it will also be taller and wider than the original.

In Geneva, we'll see a five-seater version but the report goes on to say that in the following months, Fiat will launch a seven-seater variant with an additional 10mm (0.4-inches) in length (though we reckon this is probably a typo with the author meaning to say 100mm).

The 500L will effectively replace Fiat's aging Idea in the small MPV segment targeting the likes of the Opel Meriva and the upcoming Ford B-Max.

European sales of the 500L are expected to start as early as July while the five-seater model will be offered in the States from 2013. The report indicates that Fiat has no plans to sell the 7-seater variant in the U.S., as it believes American consumers won't buy such a small seven-seater model.

The 500L will be manufactured at the former Zastava site in Kragujevac, Serbia, that Fiat acquired back in 2008.

Toyota TS030 Hybrid Le Mans Racer Sounds Like the Batmobile when it Takes Off

The first thing that came to mind upon viewing the videos of Toyota's brand-new TS030 Hybrid Le Mans Racer as it was leaving the pits at the Paul Ricard circuit in France for its first test run was the Batmobile – well, that or Anakin Skywalker's podracer from Star Wars Episode 1.And no, we're not referring to the racecar's shape and styling but the sounds emitted by the hybrid powertrain which starts off with the electric motor before the V8 engine kicks in like an afterburner – yes, it's that cool.
After that, you get the usual screaming sounds produced by race-prepped engines.
Toyota's racing team is still developing the TS030 Hybrid as it has yet to decide whether it will combine the all-new 3.4-litre normally-aspirated V8 petrol engine with an electric motor from Aisin AW powering the front wheels or an electric motor from DENSO driving the rear axle (regulations stipulate that electric motors can only power two wheels).
The TS030 Hybrid will make its racing debut on May 5 in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps for the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L4LWgGMf18&feature=player_embedded 

New BMW ActiveHybrid 5 Priced from $61,845, Nearly $10k more than the 535i [130 Photos]

If you want a little more power (but slightly worse performance) and a little better fuel economy and don't mind paying US$9,345 over the price of a regular 535i, then you may want to take a look at BMW's new ActiveHybrid 5 sedan. If you live in Europe or in any other region where BMW offers diesel variants of the 5-Series, then you're probably better off with one of those models – we'll explain why later on.
BMW today announced that the ActiveHybrid 5 will go on sale in the States in March with a base MSRP of $61,845 (€47,800), which includes an $895 destination and handling fee.
The ActiveHybrid 5 brings together BMW's 3.0-liter turbocharged inline 6-cylinder gasoline engine with 300hp and 300 lb-ft (EU-spec: 306hp and 400Nm), an electric drive system producing 54hp and 155 lb-ft, and an 8-speed automatic gearbox.
The hybrid drive system generates a combined output of 335hp and 330 lb-ft (EU-spec: 340hp and 450Nm), which allows the car to be driven on electric power alone up to 37mph (60km/h) for 2.5 miles (4km), and accelerates the sedan from 0 to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds (0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds).
In comparison, the 535i completes the 0-60mph sprint in 5.6 seconds (0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds) and returns up to 31mpg highway EPA.
While BMW has not yet announced EPA estimates for the U.S. model, across the pond, the ActiveHybrid 5 is claimed to return between 6.4 and 7.0lt/100km on the combined European driving cycle (33.6 - 37.8 mpg US).
The European market 535d that's powered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six diesel delivering 313HP and 630Nm (465 lb-ft), does the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.5 seconds and returns a combined fuel consumption of 5.4-5.6lt/100km (42 - 43.6 mpg US) with CO2 emissions of 142-148g/km.
So basically, the 535d is not only faster, but also more fuel efficient and with lower CO2 emissions than the EU-spec ActiveHybrid 5 (149– 163g/km) – which is why we said before that the Europeans are better off looking at BMW's diesel range.
You can chip in your thoughts in the comments section below.

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