Latest Cars Reviews Blog

U.S. Senate Approves Tax Breaks for New Car Shoppers

Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted to make car loan interest and sales taxes on new vehicle purchases tax deductible. The proposal was brought forth by the National Automobile Dealers Association and received a 71-26 vote.

The proposal, which would mark the first time since 1986 that you will be able to write off the interest on your car loan has been added to the economic stimulus bill. The proposal was devised as a way to generate more new car purchases.

If the plan goes through buyers will be able to write off about $1,500 a year on a $25,000 loan.

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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Takes a Break for 2009

Slow sales of 2008 models and remaining inventory have forced some automakers to not release certain models for the 2009 model year.

Last week it was announced that GM was not going to release a 09' Saturn Astra due to high inventory levels and now Mitsubishi is going to do the same thing with its Lancer Evolution.

According to Mitsubishi spokeswomen Christine Jew, there were no changes planned for the 2009 model year and there are enough 2008 units available to last until the 2010 model is released later this year.

Although there is still a significant number of 2008 Lancer Evos available sales were up 50.9% in 2008.

There are a few minor changes in store for the 2010 Lancer Evolution.

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Detroit 2009: Post-Bailout Booth Tour - GM

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Etc., Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, HUMMER, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn

Click above to start the GM booth tour

Seeing as this is the first post-bailout Detroit Auto Show, we figured it might be interesting to take a look at the display areas for the two automakers that are now taxpayer-subsidized. Would we find extravagant layouts, visible signs of austerity, or pretty much business as usual? First up is General Motors. For now, it's still eight brands. But who knows what that number will be a year from now. Jump into the gallery below for photos and accompanying observations. And note that some of the cars shown here (like the Cruze and Beat concept above) are likely to be relocated when the show opens to the public.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: GM Post-Bailout Booth Tour

Detroit 2009: Post-Bailout Booth Tour - GM originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Pics of The Chevy Orlando Hit The Internet: Neon Blue Awesome

Next month, at the Paris Motor Show, Chevy will finally release their seven-seat family concept car, the Orlando. Unfortunately for Chevy, some snapshots made it to the internet pre-launch. They look like pictures from backstage during a promotional shoot. Either way, here they are.

The Orlando, based on the Chevy Cruze platform, is supposed to be this sporty MPV in a small package. It has a GM turbo diesel putting out 150 horsepower, five doors, seating for seven and home theater style setup in the back, which makes it a modern alternative to the big bulky gas eaters that large families need today. I quite like it, but for more that just those reasons.

Check out the pics after the jump:

You RideLust readers may or may not be aware, but I’m an EPCOT freak. EPCOT Center is the greatest place on Earth and if I had my way I’d live there on it’s magical technological paradise grounds and never step foot back in the “real world” again. So having a vehicle named after the Mecca of all things fantastic and wonderful, Orlando, Florida…well, Chevy just needs to make this a production car.

Really, I liked the name when I heard it, I liked the look when I saw it, and now, after seeing the blue lights all around that fit perfectly with the EPCOT theme I had in my head, I love it.

So without further blahblahblah…PICS:

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UAW Losing Millions On Michigan Golf Course Retreat [Carpocalypse Now]

While congress made a huge stink about auto execs and their private jets, they didn’t do their research on the UAW’s $6.4 million golf course retreat in Michigan.

While the Carpocalypse looms over the heads of many in the Detroit area and beyond, the UAW apparently isn’t feeling the same kind of heat. While companies are struggling to survive and cutting costs wherever possible, the UAW is spending millions to maintain their golf resort in Black Lake, Michigan.

The $6.4 million golf course is merely a small piece of the larger $33 million retreat center that is costing the UAW millions of dollars every year, totaling $23 million in the last five years. According to the UAW, the Reuther Family Education Center hosts important seminars and classes on leadership and political action, but we’re guessing they’re spending a lot of time on that finely trimmed grass on the 5th tee.

According to Justin Wilson of the Center for Union Facts, a union "watchdog group" (we're not entirely certain where funding for such a group comes from, but we're assuming it's from some sort of biased source):

“It’s their members’ money that they’re spending on this thing. The union has bigger issues at hand than managing a golf course.”

The attached golf course at the Reuther Family Education Center was designed in 2000 by famous course architect Rees Jones for a paltry $6 million. UAW members receive a 20% discount off of the normal green fee of $85, though we don’t think many of them will have the money to play golf in the upcoming season.

[via SportsbyBrooks]

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2009 VW Jetta TDI Reviewed By Budding 13-Year-Old Fan-Boy [Jalopnik Reviews]

Mr. Wes,
My name is Andrew and I am a 13 year old Boy Scout whose parents have just purchased a 2009 VW Jetta TDI.

I love this car so much it really forces you into the seat because it accelerates fast which is really cool. Just because my mom just bought I don't know how much she has gotten on one full tank and its bugging me so much. This cars interior is really cool and it smells good. My mom also loves it so much but its a little close to the ground. Mom used to drive a ford expedition so its a big change but she used to have a jetta before my baby sister was born. My favorite features on the car I would say would be definitely the engine, the ipod adapter, and all the room in the back seats and the trunk space.

Thanks for the reviews that helped my mom get this awesome car and I wish to see the new car review and road test for the Jetta and the Touregard TDI, I'm going to try to convince them to buy one.

Thank You,

Andrew

Andrew,

Thanks for the review and great timing. Although Matt Hardigree reviewed the 2009 VW Jetta Sportwagen for us, and I did report on the 58.82 MPG record set by a Jetta TDI as it drove across the lower 48 states, Volkswagen’s not been nice enough to send us a Jetta TDI for review yet. Sounds like your mom bought a great car.

Not long ago, I was also a 13-year-old Boy Scout dreaming about cars. Stick with both, they’ll serve you well.

Mr. Wes

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VIDEO: 2010 Buick LaCrosse Hits the Track

Yesterday GM officially took the wraps off the all-new 2010 Buick LaCrosse.

Here are two videos of the new LaCrosse. One is of the designers and engineers discussing the new LaCrosse and the other shows the LaCrosse in action.

The 2010 LaCrosse is powered by either a 255 horsepower 3.0L V6 or a 280 horsepower 3.6L V6. Both engines are mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive is available.

The LaCrosse will be officially unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in a few days.

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Video Leak: Knight Rider Series Premiere, A Knight In Shining Armor

The full episode of the Knight Rider series premiere has been posted on video-sharing website Hulu [which we came across via MuscleCarBlog], and we’ve embedded it below for your viewing pleasure. Although the new Shelby Mustang GT KITT is definitely hotter than ye olde Trans Am, KITT’s witty repartee loses its comedic effect when it’s filtered through his automated, Microsoft Windows-ish voice. When KITT dryly suggests to Michael that he could probably run faster if he didn’t spend so much time drinking and casually screwing, KITT winds up sounding more like a school guidance counselor desperately trying to be hip than he does a wise cracking sidekick.

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What's Going To Happen In 2009? [Carpocalypse Now]

Know what will happen in 2009? Tell Phil Lebeau. [CNBC]

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Car Art of the Day: Jack Vettriano’s Bluebird at Bonneville

The Bluebird in the painting is the car that Sir Malcolm Campbell broke the land speed record in on September 3rd, 1935. The specially built Campbell-Railton Bluebird was powered by a supercharged Rolls-Royce R V12, and it broke 300 mph out on the Bonneville salt flats.

Bluebird at Bonneville recently sold for almost $860,000 dollars at a Sotheby’s auction, making it the most expensive Vettriano painting ever sold.

Why do some art critics hate Jack Vettriano? Because he gained popular appeal within his lifetime. That’s the only reason. He’s a skilled, self-taught artist, he sells prints and makes money that way. Art critics are generally failed artists, trying to pass off their opinion as something of value, like art. But it’s not. Critics want art to be an elite affair, where they can have more influence, so when they see a self-taught artist with wide popular appeal, they automatically dismiss him. That’s just how it works.

So don’t worry, it’s ok to like Jack Vettriano’s art, no matter what the art critics say.

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2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class revealed ahead of Geneva

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

After various reports and some leaked images, M-B took the wraps off the the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class at a private event in Detroit. While the new E won't make its public debut until March at the Geneva Motor Show, we were on hand in Motown to get the details straight from the company that Karl Benz built.

We've said plenty about the E's new conservative sheetmetal and exterior elements, including the ConceptFASCINATION-inspired front-end and sedate, uninspired rump. Depending on spec, the new E-class will feature either twin foglamps or angular LEDs, trapezoidal or oval exhaust tips and a host of wheel options. The overall length has been stretched by half an inch to just under 16 feet, while the width has grown by 1.26 inches, the wheelbase is up 0.8-inches and height is half-an-inch taller than the outgoing model. Torsional rigidity is up by 30% and the new E is more aerodynamic, along with packing 11 standard airbags.

The 2010 model shows considerable promise inside, with an interior that evolves the C-class and GLK's angular aesthetic and attempts to bring more of that bomb-proof feel that Benz was known for in the past. The transmission selector can be had on either the console or the steering column, ala S-class, with the COMAND controller placed on the center divider and some of the seat controls moving to the sides, next to the transmission tunnel.

The new E features enough gadgetry to sooth even the most weary CES attendee, beginning with a new standard system called Attention Assist that keeps track of steering angle and alerts the driver if they're getting drowsy with an audible alert and a coffee-cup icon on the dash. Lane departure warning is optional, along with adaptive high-beam headlights that dim when oncoming traffic is approaching, radar-based cruised control, blind-spot monitoring and infrared night vision.

When the 2010 E-class goes on sale this summer, buyers can choose from either a direct-injected, 292-hp 3.5-liter V6 (E350) or a 388-hp 5.5-liter V8 (E500), both mated to a standard seven-speed automatic gearbox. 4MATIC models will arrive later, along with the E63 variant, and the 211 hp, 3.0-liter Bluetech diesel variant with urea injection is slated to go on sale at the end of the year.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E Class