Autos

2013 AUDI A3 REVIEW What's Hot: Stellar interior, generous equipment list in mid-grade models, grippy in corners. What's Not: No rear cupholders, options can get expensive X-Factor: Stylish, smooth drive and excellent value, the A3 Sportback is one of the best small luxos around. Vehicle style: Small luxury hatchback Engine/trans: 90kW/200Nm (1.4 TFSI), 132kW/250Nm (1.8 TFSI), 77kW/250Nm (1.6 TDI) Price: $35,600 (A3 Attraction 1.4 TFSI) to $42,500 (A3 Attraction 2.0... Read more The Motor Report is Australia's fastest growing auto website. Click through to read the full article.

If you want to combine your love of British motoring with your need to move small loads, then keep reading.What we have here is a plucky little Morris Minor; a 1959 Morris Minor Traveller, to be exact.From the ad:The powertrain consists of a Datsun A15 motor with a 5-speed synchromesh overdrive transmission (both completely rebuilt) for more reliable power and relaxed freeway cruising.  This is a close cousin to the original motor since Datsun originally built Austin motors under license from England.  The drum brakes have been replaced with disk brakes on the front and suspension has been converted to tubular shocks.  It looks completely stock, but these upgrades make it  reliable and able to keep up with traffic.  It has an alternator electrical system and modern, tri-bar  halogen headlights so you can rely on the electics.  Rebuilt SU-carburetors. So far, so good. As restomods go, this is one of the better ones. Other than the wheels, there is little indication that this is anything but a clean Morris. All the upgrades to the engine and brakes are for safety, not outright performance or show.That is a very clean engine bay. Every wire and hose in its place. I like the placement of the battery, up and out of the way.The price is not exactly exorbitant, but it’s not exactly cheap, either, is it? However, if you have $12,000 burning a hole in your pocket, you can put it in the bank and worry about it disappearing, or you can put it in a classic British machine, which will certainly turn heads and attract thumbs from all directions. What do you think of this little blue woody wagon? [Source: Seattle craigslist]Tweet#call_to_action h4{padding:0px 5px;}

Notes and quotes heading into this weekend's Superbike World Championship doubleheader at Donington Park.

If you’ve never seen a sidecar race, you’d be amazed at how different it is from motorcycle racing. Not only do you have some entirely different physics at work with the third wheel, you also have a passenger sprawled over the chassis behind the rider, sticking his body out to either side at lean angles that would make Marc Marquez break a sweat. Take a look under the fairing of a sidecar racer and you’ll see how radically different it is from most other forms of motorcycle racing. KTM’s official blog posted a feature on German IDM racers Josef Sattler and Stefan Trautner who are racing the 2013 season in a sidecar powered by a V-Twin engine from a KTM RC8 R. The post offers a rare look at the chassis and engine of their sidecar racer. Last season, Sattler and Trautner raced with a Suzuki GSX-R1000 inline-four engine, by far the most popular powerplant in the series, used by more than 70% of the field. This season, the team decided to switch to the RC8 R engine as the lone KTM-powered sidecar team in the series. Upgraded with parts from KTM’s superstock kit, the engine claims an output of 168hp, which KTM says should push the 533-pound sidecar to a top speed of between 155 mph and 168 mph depending on the track and gearing. The V-Twin engine is mounted in a riveted and bonded aluminum chassis from German firm RSR Sidecars (most other teams use the LCR chassis). Stripped of its fairing, Sattler and Trautner’s racer looks like a cross between a streamliner motorcycle and an open wheel racecar. The thick Formula 3 tires only heighten that impression. All of the other sidecar teams use inline four engines but Sattler says switching to a Twin wasn’t as difficult as originally thought. One benefit is the broader useable rev range from 4000-17000  rpm compared to 8000-13000 rpm with the GSX-R engine, though the team does lose a bit off the top end. “Actually, the twin fits even better than a four. The swap was done pretty quickly and we are totally satisfied with the performance,” says Sattler. “The power character of the engine is great and suits us very well; we are enjoying a bit of an advantage with acceleration! Although at the end of very long straights we bite off a bit … then you wish to have 10 to 15hp more.” Last season, Sattler and Trautner finished fifth in the IDM Sidecar Championship with a single podium in eight races in just their second year of competition. This season, the team is hoping to finish in the top three. [Source: Official KTM Blog] The post Under the Skin of a KTM RC8 R-Powered Sidecar Racer appeared first on Motorcycle.com News.

Those were the days, my friends: LaSorda, Wagoner, Mulally Tom LaSorda,  formerly CEO of Chrysler and before that a key man at GM, will lose a lot of  money when Fisker goes down and/or bankrupt and/or is sold for pennies on the dollar. The man has a plan to recoup his losses: He started his own venture fund with racing and auto dealing magnate Roger Penske, as Reuters has it. LaSorda left Chrysler after its 2009 bankruptcy. He later started a venture capital fund called Stage 2 Innovations with Manoj Bhargava of 5-Hour Energy drink fame. That deal brought LaSorda to Fisker. LaSorda invested in the startup, only to become CEO of Fisker, tasked with reorganizing the already teetering company. Six months later, LaSorda was out, and Tony Posawatz of Volt fame was in. That didn’t help either. LaSorda’s new fund is called  IncWell LP, and it “will provide initial investments ranging from $50,000 and $250,000. IncWell has “strong interests” in the areas of clean energy, medical, healthcare, transportation and information applications,” says Reuters. In the VC biz, initial investments of $50,000 to $250,000 are seen as bupkis and barely cover the lawyers’ fees for the stockholder memo. A typical angel investment in a small garage-type technology startup is a few millions. Venture capital funds can be a great business. As my friend, who runs such a fund, and who invested a few million in a company which we then gloriously ran into the ground liked to tell me: “Don’t worry, Bertel, if it goes wrong. Typically, one out of 15 goes right. And that brings in a lot of money.” Also, the trick seems to be to find other people who invest into your fund. Then, you can’t lose at all.

Filed under: Sedan, Kia, First Drives, LuxuryKia's Second Effort At Luxury Finds More Love Than The Amanti The same recent global economic crises that have led luxury automakers to invade the small car market are also somewhat responsible for the influx of near-luxury sedans from mainstream automakers. As the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Audi are reaching down for new customers, automakers like Hyundai, Chevrolet and Toyota are reaching up to bridge the gap and fill in the white space between the industry's typical high-volume large sedans and established luxury sedans. Joining this emerging market, the 2014 Kia Cadenza is the latest sedan to blur the line between value and luxury. One of Kia's core focuses has been offering value to customers, and even with a starting price of $35,100, the Cadenza still represents plenty of that kind of thinking. Despite what might first come to mind, the Cadenza is not named after a piece of furniture. Instead, Kia notes the name for its new front-wheel-drive flagship comes from the Italian musical term that translates as 'cadence'. The name thus fits in nicely with the brand's other musically inspired model name, Forte. Much like the Hyundai Genesis, the Cadenza will serve as a test of sorts to see how much customers are willing to pay for a Kia, and despite recent reports indicating that Kia has confirmed the Quoris for next year, the reality is that the availability of the bigger rear-wheel-drive flagship will be determined in part by how well the Cadenza strikes a chord with buyers. This isn't Kia's first crack at mid-level luxury. That distinction goes to the bug-eyed, Amanti, which was killed off in 2009. The same basic recipe is still in place - V6 power, roomy interior and a lengthy list of standard features, yet this car seems altogether better outfitted to appeal to modern consumers than the baroque Amanti. We headed out to the great weather and even better roads near San Diego to test the 2014 Kia Cadenza to see for ourselves if it has the inner harmony and cadence to keep step with full-size luxury sedans or if it's just here to make a bunch of noise.Continue reading 2014 Kia Cadenza2014 Kia Cadenza originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 May 2013 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fast money, fast boats, fast food and fast… cars. You thought we were going to say women, din't you? This music video has that too, but what we really love about it is the really fast cars, two of them in fact, born from the same mother. When Ferrari wanted to make a cheaper car, they took the platform from a Maserati GranTurismo, chopped it and gave it more style. Without knowing it, they made the perfect car to use in a ... (continue reading >>)

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Chrysler, Earnings/Financials, Tesla In the same week that Audi said "not so fast" to some claims from Tesla, Chrysler has responded to a new press release from the California-based EV-maker by saying "not exactly, Tesla." The statement, released through the company's blog, comes in response to Tesla claiming it was "the only American car company to have fully repaid the government." Chrysler notes that it, too, recently paid back Uncle Sam from its 2008 bailout. Similar to Audi's recent press release, which was eventually and mysteriously deleted from the German automaker's site, Chrysler is both right and wrong in its statement. Tesla specifically said that it had paid back the Department of Energy loans that many automakers received - including Fisker and VPG Autos - while Chrysler's retort argues Tesla is "unmistakably incorrect" since it repaid the government in 2011 a full six years early. Technically, the statements from both automakers are correct, but Tesla's startup loan originated from the DoE, while Chrysler's loan came in bailout form from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Further, as The Detroit News notes, Chrysler's loan still cost taxpayers well over a billion dollars after all was said and done - those negative assets tied to "old Chrysler" in the bankruptcy did not require repayment.Move over Audi, now Chrysler has a beef with Tesla's claims originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 May 2013 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Japanese automaker Nissan has released pricing information for its new 370Z lineup in the United Kingdom. Starting from £26,995, six versions of the 370Z sportscar can be ordered as we speak, while deliveries are set to commence in July. £3,005 cheaper than the previous iteration, the 2013 370Z boasts 328 HP and 363 Nm of torque and promised to make similarly-priced rivals “look distinctly weedy”. P... (continue reading >>)

The Golf 6. It's not a bad looking car, but if a Mk7 pulls up, you suddenly get the urge to tar and feather mister Six for looking dull. But how have they done that? We remember when the new compact came out last year that we thought it looked exactly the same. Half a year has passed and it's like comparing 40YO whiskey and yesterday's stale beer. The changes that seemed subtle and insignificant at first have turn... (continue reading >>)