Volvo has also added a strut tower brace under the hood and shortened the front and rear springs. Spring stiffness is also up 15 percent. Volvo is also including its Corner Traction Control system with torque vectoring. The system essentially brakes the car’s inner driven wheel when cornering and at the same time transmits more power to the outside wheel. The system is supposed to reduce understeer.

The S40 sedan and V50 wagon have failed to appeal to American buyers, which is shown by the double digit sales decreases in year-over-year sales.

“The S40 and V50 are great cars,” says Volvo spokesman James Hope, “[but] our focus, however, needs to be on our volume vehicles, specifically th

Volvo is still going to offer the C30 hatchback and C70 convertible despite the fact that neither model is in high demand in the

Volvo has upped the performance of the S60 T6 R Design. The horsepower has been increased to 325-hp and the S60 Performance Project also gets unique 19-inch Heico wheels and a new exhaust system. It also gets a lowered sports suspension with stiffer springs and bushings.

Matt Braid, Volvo Car Australia Managing Director stated, “The S60 T6 already boasts excellent performance credentials and the S60 Performance Project takes that even further. With the extra power, torque and unique wheels and exhaust system the S60 Performance Project really is a very special edition S60

In an interview with AutoCar, a source said: “We haven’t made any firm decision, however, the X6’s success shows there is a continued demand for sporty off-roaders.”

It’s possible that the next X4 will share the platform with the X3 with a design inspired from both the Coupe concept and the X6.

Under the hood, the X4 will feature the same engines as the X3, but with a few power improvements. There will be a 2-liter diesel engine that will deliver 177 hp, a 3-liter diesel that will deliver 231 hp, and the turbo version that will deliver 300 hp. The petrol engine will start from a 2-liter four-cylinders engine that will deliver 163 hp and will go up to a 3-liter turbo engine that will deliver 306 hp

The winning Phoenix Racing R8 LMS Ultra, driven by a German quartet of Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock, managed to complete 155 laps of the Green Hell free of technical issues or crashes, and finished over three and a half minutes ahead of the second place R8 run by Abt. A Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 claimed the final place on the podium.

“We are absolutely delighted about this long desired victory,” said Dieter Gass, Head of Racing Commitments at Audi Sport, after the race. “For three years the Audi R8 LMS was always the best GT3 car at the Nürburgring. Now we have taken overall victory in the fight with seven other brands.

Even if fewer than 5,000 Focus Electric models find buyers this year, Alan Mulally won’t be disappointed. While Ford ultimately expects electrics and hybrid vehicles to account for up to 25 percent of its sales volume by 2020, the company is moving deliberately. Rather than develop and tool an entirely new platform, Ford’s move to modify the Focus for electric propulsion is said to allow some semblance of a profit margin, but it’s going to take time for consumers to warm to the idea of a $40,000 Focus, even if a third of that price is the battery, and Ford appears to be keeping this in mind.

After the initial 350 or so cars are delivered to the pilot stores, the rest of the Ford dealers across the nation will start getting the Focus EV before spring turns into summer.

To wit, Willisch told F30Post.com that a V6 was under consideration for quite some time, and the original thought was to use a chopped version of the S65 4.0-liter V8 found in the current car. But plans for a V-configuration have indeed been ruled out, and all that’s left to speculate on is exactly how much help the new inline-six will get from forced induction.

In order to be more powerful than the current M3, no less than two turbochargers will likely be bolted to the new six-cylinder powerplant. In fact, we’ve even heard rumors of a tri-turbo setup being engineered for use in the M3. In any case, expect about 450 horsepower to be on tap

The final word is out! BMW of North America CEO, Ludwigh Willisch, has shared with BMWblog.com the news that ends all the speculations. The upcoming BMW M3 Sedan and M4 Coupe will get an inline-six engine fitted with a turbo producing around 450hp. It is unknown if they will use the twin-scroll or twin-turbo technique.

The engine is expected to be mated to a dual-clutch transmission. BMWblog.com also released that a V6 unit was on the table and tested by M, but for like balance and weight distribution, it never made it to the production car. The next M3 and M4 will also get an electronically controlled differential as used in the M5 and M

Numbers may not tell an entire story, but they do help build a business case. When it comes to looking at the figures associated with the fourth-generation Acura TL, which launched in 2009, the luxury sports sedan was a success. The model remains Acura’s second best-selling model (eclipsed only by the MDX crossover), and remains the brand’s best-selling passenger car. Almost 3 years after its launch — and even in the shadow of a global economic shakeup — nearly 34,000 customers ponied up to bring a TL home in 2010.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Contrary to popular belief, product planners do listen, and Acura has heard both customers and critics grumble over matters ranging from fuel economy to frumpy exterior styling. Fortunately, the refreshed 2012 TL, which debuted earlier this year at the Chicago auto show, promises to address several of those issPerhaps the most controversial aspect of the previous TL was its exterior design. Not only was the car considerably larger than its successor, but its angular form — billed as Emotion Advanced by marketing folks — was perhaps a little too advanced for buyers. The chunky front and rear fascias, along with an ungainly grille aperture, puzzled pundits and, according to Acura marketing vice president Steve Center, may have been “too bold” in a conservative luxury market.

Consider the matter resolved for 2012. Designers made no changes to the car’s profile nor revised a single pane of sheet metal. They did, however, bless the TL with revised front and rear fascias, both of which help the car look wider and lower than before. Up front, the beak-like grille is replaced with a slender, more conservative aperture, which sports a body-colored surround and no longer stretches to the hood’s edge. New horizontal edges placed halfway down the bumper break up vertical surfaces, avoiding the shovel-nosed look that plagued the previous TL.

Similar measures were applied to the TL’s rear bumper. The car’s rear fenders are still quite tall, but by adding horizontal character lines, repositioning the license plate mount, and reshaping both the trunk garnish and reflectors, Acura has managed to craft a tail that is surprisingly proportionate and attractive.

Other exterior revisions include body-colored door handles, darker surrounds for both head- and tail lamp assemblies, and new 17- and 18-inch wheels. The optional 19-inch wheel design is unchanged, although it is now paired with a Goodyear Eagle RS-A all-season tire instead of high-performance summer rubbeues without usurping the TL’s successful foFewer visual tweaks were performed inside the cabin. 2012 TL models continue to use the same waterfall dashboard as before, but select accents, including door handles, volume and menu control knobs, speaker surrounds, and shift knob trim, are plated with a platinum finish. Buyers will continue to have their choice of ebony, taupe, and umber interior schemes, although the latter 2 options are now paired with black carpeting and floor mats.

In typical Acura fashion, the 2012 TL isn’t lacking when it comes to gizmos and gadgets. Base models receive dual-zone climate controls, a power moonroof, 2-stage heated front seats, a 276-watt audio system, a USB audio input, and Bluetooth phone connectivity as standard equipment. The optional Technology Package not only throws in Acura’s navigation system, but improved voice activated controls for both the navi and audio systems, a 440-watt ELS surround-sound system, and an enhanced Bluetooth system, capable of downloading call logs and phonebooks and streaming audio. New for 2012 is the Advance Package, which includes everything found in the Technology Package, but adds both ventilated front seats and blind spot detection.

The new features are welcome, but drivers are still presented with a maze of buttons on the center stack, particularly on cars equipped with navigation. Although we wish for an arrangement as elegant as that used in the larger RL, the TL’s interface becomes intuitive over time, and a new stand-alone button on cars built with the Technology Package does allow quick access to phone menus and controlsWe recently had a chance to sample the entire 2012 TL line over the back roads of Austin, Texas — and although the revised car drives much its predecessor, there are still some improvements.

Despite the fact that the entry-level TL sedans are sending almost 300 horsepower through their front wheels, handling remains remarkably balanced. Torque steer is surprisingly restrained, and mild understeer is only exhibited when the car is hustled into a corner — and hard. Even then, the electronic safety nannies, including ABS, traction control, and stability control — never reared their heads during our spirited driving session.

Quick jaunts through curvaceous country roads, however, are best sampled behind the wheel of the TL SH-AWD. Acura’s torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system continues to work wonders on the front-wheel-drive platform. In lieu of push, the car happily rotates into the sharpest of corners, all the while remaining planted. The 19-inch wheels incorporated into the Advance Package do provide extra grip, but slightly compromise ride quality over broken surfaces. The larger wheels also add some road noise, but thanks to extra insulation and improved body seals, the 2012 TL is notably quieter than the outgoing model.

Regardless of the driveline, we found Acura’s new 6-speed automatic a smooth, quick-shifting gearbox, which quickly responded to throttle inputs with an appropriate downshift without hunting for the proper gear. Over the extremely hilly terrain we sampled, we frequently opted for the automatic’s sport-shift mode (which holds gears longer) or controlled shifts ourselves via the wheel-mounted paddles.

Response time when using the latter is decent, but for those looking for the ultimate in transmission control, there’s no beating the slick shifting 6-speed manual available on the SH-AWD. In true Honda fashion, its shift travel is smooth and short, although the clutch take-up remains somewhat num
rmula

We always love unique tuning projects and cars like this Acura Integra will surely impress those who witness it first hand. This car was recently listed on eBay where it pulled a $19,000 bid with the 6.5-liter Chevy big block V8 sticking out of the engine bay. The GM powerplant is so large you can’t even fit a hood on the Acura Integra unless you did some extreme modifications to it.