2011 VW Phaeton

Volkswagen recently released official details for its facelifted Phaeton, the most luxurious model sold by the german carmaker. Although it may look like a recent model, the Phaeton came out in 2002, and VW only updated the front and rear designs, giging it the brand's current "identity."

Since it is a reasonably expensive car, the costumer is able to customize it the way he/she wishes. There are two wheelbase options (normal or extended), two backseat options (two seats or three seats) and four engine choices, three of them are petrol-fuled and one of them is diesel-fueled. The "basic" petrol engine is a V6, which delivers 280hp. The second petrol option is a V8, which delivers 335hp. The top-of-the-range petrol engine is a W12, which delvers 450hp. The only diesel option is a V6, which grants its driver with "only" 240hp, but plenty of torque.

VW's main objective when redesigning this car was not only to make it look like the other VW models, but also to mak it more efficient. All engines have direct fuel injection, which helps to increase fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. They also paid attention to small details, such as the headlights, which had their conventionsl lightbulbs replaced by LEDs, which consume less battery power and illuminate more. Prices and trim levels haven't been announced yet, but they should be kept the same as the current Phaeton's, which starts at 52'000 euros for the desel model. Official details will appear close to the car's debut, which should occur in August 2010.

2011 Chevrolet Camaro

This week, Chevrolet announced the small changes it made to the 2011-mode-year Camaro. It is a muscle car which came out in 2009, as a 2010 model. Now in 2010, Chevrolet made some minor changes, so that the Camaro can confront (and defeat) ts biggest opponent, the Ford Mustang, in a better way.

The first update it did was announce an extra 8-horsepower for the V6 engine, with a total of 312 hp. The Mustang has 305 hp in its V6 version, and before the change, the camaro had 304. Now, GM can claim that their car is more powerful, even though they only made changes on the elctric unit that controls fuel injection. This difference will also probably not be felt by most drivers, since 8hp isn't much to consider a car much faster or slower than another.

The second change, and the one I most like, is the new color that is available, the Synergy Green, just as is seen in the first picture. My favorite color is green, and I would love to have a Synergy Green Camaro, may it be the V6 or the V8 model. However, GM has announced that it will only be a limited-run, so there will only be a limited number of Synergy Green Camaros on the streets. What a shame.

Sources: World Car Fans and Carscoop

2011 Kia Forte 5-Door Hatchback

Once again, Kia has surprised everyone by releasing an astonishing-looking model. They've already shown they can design good looking cars with the Kia Soul and the saloon version of the Forte. Now it's the time for the Hatchback version of the Forte to please our eyes, and it manages to do so much better than many of the cars in its class.
In the United States, its main opponent is the VW Golf, and its secondary opponent would be the Saturn Astra. Both of them are good cars, I must admit, but each of them has its own issues. The Golf is a brand-new model, but rather expensive, while the Astra is considerably cheap, but based on a car that came out six years ago. The Forte merges both car's qualities in one, offering a very good looking design along with Kia's accessible price range and 5-year unlimited warranty.People still hesitate in buying a Kia, claiming the brand isn't reliable. However, the items this car offers as standard is better than most of its opponents'. The engines will be the 2.0 and the 2.4 liter ones already available in the Kia range, and the transmissions will be either manual or automatic, both with six gears each.

André's Opinion

This car has to come to Brazil! Most of the current options we have here aren't that great, and the ones that are cost too much! Kia needs to release this car here, because if it comes with prices between the saloon Forte and the Soul, it will be a best-seller in its class.

Note: Kia has not yet released pictures of the interior of the Hatchback Forte, so I took the liberty of taking a picture of the saloon version's interior.

Sources: World Car Fans 1 and World Car Fans 2

Video: Smart Fortwo

This is quite an old video, but I always liked it, since I'm a huge smart car fan. This was made as the car came out, in 2007, and the presenter had to stay for 12 hours in the car, driving around to see if it is any good for long journeys. I would not mind (at all) to spend 12 hours in a car, especially a smart, if I got to drive it around the whole time.

TAC Campaign Against Drinking and Driving - Video

WARNING - this video contains strong images.

The TAC corporation has been tracking traffic accidents since 1989. This video came out last year, and it is a campaign to celebrate the corporation's 20th anniversary. Since 1989, the numbers of accidents where drivers were drunk has reduced considerably, but there is still a long way to go to eradicate them.

Geneva Car Show Special: Porsche Cayenne

Not long ago, Porsche introduced its first four-door car. The avid Porsche fans didn't like it much, but the rest of the people did. It is the dream car of many people, both rich and poor. The old generation was built on the Touareg's platform, and so is this one, but on the new Touareg's platform instead.

This new generation has new engines, a new platform and new fit'n'finish. Basically, an all-new model. The base model (Cayenne) comes with a V6 engine with 300hp, the higher model (Cayenne S) comes with a V8 engine, delivering 400hp. The higher model (Cayenne Turbo) comes with the same V8 as the Cayenne S, but with two turbochargers instead.

The Cayenne S Hybrid comes with the same V6 engine as the entry model, but with 333hp, and an additional electric engine, delivering a total of 375hp. Prices, in Germany, start from €46,400 for the Cayenne version, and can go all the way up to €96,900 for the Cayenne Turbo trim level.

André's Opinion

I always wanted to have a Cayenne. But even when I lived in Europe, we weren't able to, because it is too expensive. The new generation isn't any cheaper, and to make it worse, at least in my opinion, the rear end looks absolutely horrible!

Source: World Car Fans

Geneva Car Show Special: VW CrossPolo

It seems like the pseudo-off-road fever is not only affecting the cars in Brazil, but in Europe as well. The CrossPolo already existed as the old generation polo's adventurous brother, and as its relative has been redesigned, it decided to do the same.
The CrossPolo hasn't got many mechanical differences from the regular Polo. The suspension is a couple of centimeters higher, but the engine choices are the same for both. They can opt for a 1.2 liter or 1.4 liter petrol engines, or a 1.6 diesel engine. They have 105hp, 85hp and 105hp, respectively. It seems weird that the 1.2 liter engine has more power than the 1.4, but that is due to the fact that it has a turbocharger, while the 1.4 doesn't
Sales will start in May, and the buyer will be able to choose from a range of 6 different colors, which caven't been announced yet. But if it follows the old CrossPolo's recipe, it will only be avaliable in bright, flashing colors. For the ones who want a little more comfort, a six-speed DSG automatic transmission is available.
André's opinion

The CrossPolo never came out in Brazil, which I found a shame. There is a huge market for this type of car here, much more than there is in Europe When I lived there, it was really hard to see a CrossPolo. But this new generation, in my opinion, looks much better than the last one.

Source: World Car Fans

Old CrossPolo pictures: Google