Volvo V60 Caught Completely Naked

Volvo has recently announced that starting in 2011, the V70 wagon would no longer be sold in the United States. Although they have not confirmed the same fate for the V70 in our market yet, it is also expected to get the axe. Volvo only sold 1800 units in the States last year. The XC70 on the other hand has been doing much better and it will try to fill the V70′s shoes. The V70 will continue on in Europe.

But those who prefer their wagons to be at a normal height, i.e not jacked up like the XC70, don’t need to fret as the V60 is going to take the V70′s place.

For the first time ever, Volvo has let the V60 out and about without any comouflage whatsoever – very unusual for any automaker, but especially unusual for a European automaker. They tend to be quite secretive about new upcoming models.

Anyway, we can see that the V60 is basically going to be a wagon version of the S60 sedan. The lines are quite nice for a wagon. It’s very sleek, it has a high belt line and and classic Volvo tail lights.

The V60 is expected to get the same 300 horsepower and 325 pound foot torque that the  S60 T6 will get, and other engine variants are rumoured.

Check the jump for a rear view shot.

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It’s the Car’s Fault, Officer

Full disclosure: I have been pulled over for speeding before. Three times, if I’m honest, but I only managed to get a ticket for one of those times.

Now, a lot of times, I am aware of my lead foot. So when I get caught, I don’t usually put up a fuss.

But there are certain times when you really are not aware of how fast you’re going. Some cars in particular are very difficult to drive slowly. My personal vehicle for instance is one of them (full disclosure again, I drive a 2008 BMW 128i).

A friend of mine just purchased a 2006 Mini Cooper S, and after some time behind the wheel, I have decided that his car is also a difficult car to drive slowly. The BMW 550i GT that I tested is also hard to tame, and now comes word from the folks at European Car Magazine that the 335d is hard to drive slowly as well.

See the pattern? All those cars mentioned are BMW’s (or made by BMW).

European Car was pulled over for going 93 mph in a 70 zone and the reviewer tried to explain the characteristic that is seemingly a trait with all BMW’s.

“It’s not my fault, this car wants to go 120 mph all the time… it’s the car’s fault.”

Needless to say, that didn’t work. The reviewer got a ticket anyway. But it’s good to know that I’m not the only one who seems to have a hard time driving BMW’s slowly. Their engines are so smooth and responsive

It’s also worth mentioning that European Car was able to get 6 l/100 kms out of the 335d despite the inability to drive the speed limit. It’s one of the reasons why we chose it for Canadian Car of the Year for 2010.

In any event, our tip of the day is: if you ever find yourself behind the wheel of a BMW, mostly any BMW,  make sure you keep a close eye on your speedometer.

Henney Without the Coke

AKA only for the hardcore.

This is Hennessey Performance’s latest creation: the Venom GT.

It has the hardcore looks, and is based on the Lotus Elise. But wait until you hear the numbers.

The Venom GT will use the same 6.2 litre V8 found in the Chevy Corvette ZR1, which means there will be 725 horsepower and…..

…..Wait, what’s that?

This just in: Hennessey is also planning on producing a twin turbo V8 as well which will make 1000 horsepwer and 1200 horsepower as well! Combine that with a curb weight of less than 2,400 pounds and you’ve got yourself a car that is guaranteed to make you shit yourself. There’s no other way of saying it.

Only ten will be made, and four are already spoken for, so if you’ve got $600,000 laying around and want to have the thrill of your life, then you should probably pick up the phone.

Volkswagen Golf Best Selling Car in Canada for February

Watch out Honda, zee Germans are coming!

The Civic has been the best selling car in Canada for over a decade – they even have a television commerical boasting about the Civic’s longstanding success.

But that commerical may turn out to be a bit embarrassing now that VW’s Golf took top selling honours for the month of February for the first time ever.

Apparently we have all but forgotten about high gas prices because the Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado and Ford F-150 were also among the top sellers last month.

Porsche Looking for CAFE Exemption

Even though they have somehow managed to come up with a sports car that gets 3 L/ 100 kms, Porsche still isn’t convinced that they will be able to meet the new, more stringent CAFE standards that will come into effect in 2016.

As a result, Porsche is petitioning the U.S Department of transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency to give them a partial exemption from the new rule.

The new fleet averages will be set at 35 mpg, or 6.7L/100 kms in our lingo, but Porsche will have to average 42 mpg (5.9L/100 kms). The reason is the fleet average combines both that of cars and trucks. Since Porsche doesn’t make trucks, it’s being forced to meet more stringent standards.

Porsche says that since it makes exclusively sports cars (which are low volume sellers to begin with) it’s hard to meet the new standards. Sports cars tend to chug gasoline. If they meet the new regulations, Porsche says it will tarnish its image as its customer base expects a certain level of performance.

No word yet from the other side, but rest assured, we will be watching this story very closely.

Oh Hi: 2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class

It’s funny. On my way to work this morning I was behind an R-Class and I thought to myself, ‘I wonder when Mercedes is going to come out with a mid-cycle refresh of this thing. It’s getting a bit long in the tooth’.

Little did I know that today was the day the R-Class refresh unofficially got revealed.

The new R-Class refresh sees a much cleaner front end design with reworked headlights, a new grille and a new hood. The rear gets the new signature LED turn signal lights and the interior gets a mild refresh as well.

The refreshed R is expected to retain the same V6 engine and diesel that it currently has, and there’s also a rumour of an R63 AMG version.

Here’s hoping that this new R-Class helps to boost sales, which haven’t been so great from the get-go.
More pics after the jump.

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Put it Back In, It’s Not Done Yet: 2011 Infiniti QX56

Well, we have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is this is Car Driven’s 100th post! Whoo!

The bad news is that it’s about the monstrocity that is the 2011 Infiniti QX56.

We had sort of been hoping that the QX56 would quietly just die off somewhere since the current generation is also ugly and does not sell nearly as much as its competition, which is mostly the Escalade and Navigator.

But Inifiniti figures if it makes it uglier, it will somehow sell? Who knows.

The bulbus forehead theme that seems to be finding its way on most new Infinitis is present up front along with G37 inspired headlights, which don’t work at all on the QX56. There is an apparant desire to make a boxy design swoopy, and more often than not, it doesn’t work out.

Under that huge bump on the head is a 5.6 litre direct injected V8 that the old QX56 had which makes 400 horsepower and 405 pound foot of torque. Everything in terms of interior and packaging  is pretty much expected to stay the same as well.

After the jump is a shot of the rear which carries on the awkward ugly theme

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Done Deal: Volvo Will Be Sold to Geely

Guess Li Shufu was just being over dramatic?

Ford announced at a press conference in Sweden today that that country’s biggest automaker will find itself with a new owner.  Chinese company Geely, had long been considered the front runner for the bid, and is now the official owner.

The deal sees Volvo going to the tune of $1.8 billion dollars as expected including other physical assets. Ford will also have no stakes left in the brand as Geely will take 100% ownership.

Any Ford technology that found itself into Volvo models will be licensed for use by Ford.

Shufu has promised to keep Volvo separate from Geely, so hopefully we won’t be seeing Volvos with any Geely technology in them.

The Chinese government has yet to approve the sale, however they are expected to do so shortly.

Oh Hi: 2011 BMW X3

Even though the overall lines of the new X3 are apparent, that irritating swirly comouflage is still doing its job.

Regardless, we can see that the X3 is likely going to go conservative in terms of styling like the newly introduced 5-series. Expect a familiar looking tail lights similar to those of the X1, as well as a higher belt line than the outgoing model.

Under the hood is an expected 4 cylinder turbo to keep the fuel chugging to a minimum, as well as a top of the line inline six, which BMW does particularly well.

Expect the new X3 to go on sale in the summer of 2011.

Next Generation S-Class Will Be Hybrid Only

Looks like Mercedes-Benz is actually serious about meeting CAFE standards and not paying any more fines anymore.

The next iteration of the benchmark setting S-Class is expected to switch up its game under the hood and go hybrid only. At least for the U.S. This would likely mean the same fate for the new S-Class in Canada as well.

Apparently S400 hybrid sales are currently doing so well that it seemed only logical to hybridize the S-Class lineup. The S400 hybrid has a 3.5-liter V6  for 295 horsepower along with a mild electric motor assist. This is good enough to get the big heavy executive sedan 9L/100 kms combined. Not bad considering the gas version of the S550 get a 15.8L/100 kms city rating.

There will be one exception to the hybrid only rule being enforced on the S-Class however. AMG versions are expected to keep performance purists happy as they will stay gas only and deliver the same or better numbers that we are all used too. Except for mileage that is. The AMG S-Class currently gets 19.3 L/100 kms city. Yikes.

Chrysler Counting on Canada

Of all the Amurrican manufacturers, it could be argued that Chrysler has the least competitive portfiolio save for the Caravan and the Ram. Ford and GM have recently stepped up their game and we’re patiently awaiting for Chrysler to do the same.

We have high hopes for the brand now that Fiat is at the helm, especially since they have promised to bring over the adorible and highly entertaining Fiat 500 to our shores.

But Fiat is apparently really depending on us Canadians specifically to help give Chrysler their boost.

Counter to our neighbours down south, we Canucks love small cars, and we love our small hatchbacks even more. As a result, the sub compact segment here is expected to be the top segment to compete in, and there is definitely some tough competition from already established players like the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris. Ford will throw the Fiesta and Mazda2 into the fray very soon, Volkswagen is strongly toying with bringing the Polo over, and GM is promising that the new Aveo will be nothing like the old one (meaning it will actually be a decent car).

Therefore the Fiat 500 is imperitive for Chrysler.

The 500 was one of the most popular cars showcased at this year’s Toronto Auto Show, and Chrysler smells a winner by bringing it over.

“Chrysler Group LLC’s alliance with Italy-based Fiat Auto SpA likely spells payoff for the Pentastar company’s Canadian-market sales,” said Reid Bigland, Chrysler Canada’s CEO. If the 500 does well, it will set good precedent to bring over other Fiat models to Canada.

Expect the 500 at Canadian Chrysler dealers near the end of 2011.

Georgia Considering Outlawing Slow Moving Vehicles in Left Lane

Georgia, if you make this happen, we will officially call you our favourite state in America.

Possibly Definitely the most irritating part of any driver’s commute on the highway is when you are in the left lane and get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle who refuses to move over to let you by. There’s no problem with driving slower if that’s what you would like to do, but there is a lane for that, also known as the right line.

The left lane is used ONLY for passing, in fact, it’s illegal to use the lane for anything but. The problem is, this law is rarely enforced, if ever.

Georgia apparently feels everyone’s frustration with these left lane losers, and is going to start cracking down if they get Bill 1047 passed.

Says Republican Mark Butler “I don’t think I’m alone in saying this, but there are so many times when you’re alone on a four-lane road, and people will get over in the left-hand lane, which by law is supposed to be used for passing, and will just sit there and use it as their own personal drive-out lane, and they may be going 50 miles per hour. It’s slowing down traffic. It’s frustrating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Okay, we added in all those exclaimation points ourselves, Mr. Bulter didn’t actually yell that last sentence out, but we needed to drive the point home.

Canada needs to get on the ball for this problem too!

Volvo-Geely Deal Gets Rocky

For some reason, Ford is trying to get rid of Volvo right when they are starting to make interesting product. The new 2011 S60 has shown that it’s got some soul, their wagons and SUV’s are still doing quite well, and the C30 is expanding to get more people into the brand. Sounds quite promising, no?

Well the truth is, Volvo really hasn’t been too profitable for Ford even though they have benefited tremendously from Volvo platforms and safety technology.

Still, Volvo is leaving Ford with some bad indegestion like a Swedish meatball and as a result, the brand has been up for sale since 2008.

Chinese car company Geely, has been the front runner in the deal and it was though that the deal would become officially, uh, official back in February.

This obviously didn’t happen and now comes word that the deal has reached a bit of a snag.

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Are You Just Happy to See Me? 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX Starts to Buldge

The 2011 Subie WRX will get a sizeable shot of testosterone for the sedan.

The sedan version of the WRX will get much larger fenders, a newly restyled front lip, as well as larger blacked out grille and air intakes, helping to give it a much more agressive, robust look -something the WRX, and the Impreza in general, have been criticised for before.

The changes aren’t just cosmetic however, as new WRX will get a wider track (1.5 inches wider to be exact) along with firmer rear subfram bushings and wider 17 inch wheels. This should help the WRX stay more planted, along with that standard AWD.

The refreshed WRX will make its public debut at this year’s New York Auto Show.

2012 BMW 3-Series Starting to Hatch, M3 Gets Inline Six

Although we don’t have very many clear shots of what the 2012 BMW 3-series will look like, BMW has let us in on what it has in store for body styles.

All the usual bodystyles will carry over such as the sedan, wagon, coupe and convertible, but there will be yet another addition to the 3 series family. A hactch.

BMW is banking on the 550i GT (which we enjoyed immensely) as being a big success and it is putting its marbles on a GT version of the new 3 series as having similar results for them.

Okay, now that the practicality is out of the way, let’s talk about the big boy: The new M3.

The V8 will be reportedly replaced by a twin turbo inline 6 cylinder engine. BMW makes incredible inline six’s so, we’re not too disappointed. Plus this likely will result in slightly better fuel economy. The V8 is good enough to produce 420 horses, but BMW may be able to push 450 horses out of its tuned inline six.

Also the coupe in general will likely get a lower roofline, and a more vertical windshield. The convertible M3 may even make a return but will have a  hardtop instead of canvass. Expect the sedan version of the M3 to stick around as well.

We’ll keep you up to date as more details arise, but you already knew that. Just something you have to say.