Oops! Next Gen BMW M5 Gets By With a Little Help From Its Friend

Being the successor to any generation BMW M5 is a tall order. Each variation has been been bigger and better and the next generation M5 is no exception.

There are few details coming out about the next gen M5 other than it is expected to retain the big German V8 found in the X5 M and X6 M with little or no tweaking to the engine. As a result 555 horsepower will be the order of the day. Nothing to sneeze at. That’s 55 horses more than the outgoing model.

As you’d expect, the next generation M5 is going to be faster than the outgoing model as well. Most manufacturers tend to use the infamous Nurburgring as their base for a vehicle’s performance and the next gen M5 was caught doing a few laps. Unfortunately, the next gen M5 isn’t quite ready for any photo ops yet as maxing it out on the ‘Ring recently proved to be too much to ask. It actually broke down on the ‘Ring and had to be towed by a family member back to base to nurse it back to health. The previous generation X5 was happy to help, but embarrassingly enough, the whole mishap was caught by sneaky photographers.

Clearly the next generation M5 isn’t ready for production, but when it is, you can be sure that it will set yet another benchmark in the sport sedan world.

Sidebar, those rims on the M5 are absolutely sick!

[Autoblog]

Drool: BMW Releases Video of 1-Series M Coupe

Even though it is still fully camouflaged, BMW has released an official video of the upcoming 1-Series M. In the video, they do not give it an official name, but BMW has said that it will not be called the M1. That name is reserved for the original M1 and for a possible successor down the road.

Rumours of power have been all over the map, but the most consistant seems to be in the 320 horsepower range, about 20 more than a regular 135i. The 1-series M will also add two more air intakes, two additional ducts, wider fenders, a more pronounced ducktail shaped trunk spoiler, and of course drilled rotors are large brakes. Oh, and those sweet looking wheels will indeed make it to production as well.

No word yet on pricing, but BMW did say that the 1-Series M will only be available in limited numbers.

Oh Hi: 2011 Dodge Charger

Really? That’s it?

Way back since the inception of this blog we saw spy shots of the 2011 wearing a full camouflage suit. It wasn’t terribly interesting but it gave the impression that a fairly substantial redesign was in the works.

Well some fool over at Dodge left the front end of the 2011 Charger completely uncovered for prying eyes to see and it looks as though there isn’t much going on besides an evolutionary face lift. Yawn..  Then again leaving the Charger unmasked could be something done on purpose in order to hype up the car. It’s going to need all the help it can get.

We see that the new Charger is going to have a more douchy looking angrier face with more angular headlamp clusters while the grille has been redesigned to look taller and come with real fake chrome. Since Charger owners only care about raw power and nothing else (such as styling, handling, quality, fuel consumption etc) you can be assured that the new Charger will have plenty of power and that the HEMI engine will stick around.

God, I can’t wait until Fiat/Alfa Romeo gives Chrysler back its credibility.

Very Very Minor Mini Face Lift For 2011

Quick, name the differences between the current 2010 Mini Cooper and the face lifted 2011 Mini Cooper you see above!

Times up. Come up with anything?  They are so similar that hiding the Mini badge really wasn’t needed. In fact, there’s no mistaking it for anything by a Mini.

The first thing I noticed right away was the chrome lining on the intakes up front. The rear snap reveals more chrome lined intakes in the back. And uh, yeah that’s pretty much it. The light clusters are slightly refreshed as well. The rear tail lamp refresh is more obvious with a more pronounced circular theme all while keeping the classic Cooper shape.

The interior is expected to get an equally minor refresh as well. Some new rim styles would be nice.

Check out the rear snap after the jump.

[AutoExpress]

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Smart Move: Hyundai Sonata Wagon Spied

All the luxury automakers have their wits about them as most are offering or are about to offer more wagon variants for us to choose from.

Unfortunately for normal folk, the non-luxury mid-size wagon market is quite dry. There used to be lots to choose from such as the Ford Taurus wagon, Mazda6 wagon, the Camry Wagon and the Dodge Magnum. But all of those have bitten the dust and as a result the mid-size wagon segment has been mostly abandoned. If you want a mid-sized wagon these days without spending north of 30 grand, you are pretty much limited to the Subaru Outback or the Volkswagen Jetta Wagon.

Hyundai is apparently seeing the huge gap in the market, and thus lots of potential. Its newly redesigned Sonata is receiving high praise of late, so they figured they could pull off a similar trick with a wagon version. I’m willing to bet that they will. People won’t be forced into buying an SUV if they need versatility, but it will also serve as a good solution for many businesses and would take up the company car role nicely.

Expect the Sonata wagon to receive a 2012 release date.

[Autoblog]

Spied: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta

Don’t let that strange looking badge on the trunk hood fool you, it is very likely that this is the new Jetta caught tooling around in Michigan. Since the car is wearing nearly no camouflage, the badge is likely there to throw people off.

The dimensions of the car are a bit hard to tell, but as is the trend, it will likely be bigger than the current generation Jetta. Though the current gen Jetta is pretty big as it is (some say too big).

Front pic added after the jump.

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Oh Hi: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS

The CLS has sort of set up camp on the proverbial back burner of Mercedes’ stove, but not for too much longer as the big sedan that started the whole four-door coupe craze has been caught at a photoshoot.

The new CLS will get more eye catching tail lights, a reworked front end more in line with the rest of the Mercedes family and an assortment of LED’s to make sure people know just how flashy the car is.

Surprisingly, despite its size and weight, the CLS is quite competent in the performance department – it’s not all just about showing off to your neighbour. To ensure performance doesn’t take a back seat to styling the CLS  350 (pictured) will get a 3.5 direct injected V6 making 306 horsepower. A 4.7 litre V8 will also be offered making a rumoured 435 horsepoer and 516 pound feet of torque. This begs the question: what will the AMG version will have under the hood? We’ll just have to wait and see.

A few more pics after the jump.

[Inside Line]

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Oh Hi: 2011 Hyundai Accent

The new Accent has been caught completely naked by a sneaky photog.

So it looks like Hyundai really wants to have a recognizable look for the entire line up. This is what the new Hyundai Accent will look like and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the new Sonata at first. The rear end is very Toyota Yaris sedan to us. A little too much. The badge says ‘Verna’ which is what it’s called in other markets, so it’s pretty sure that this is indeed the new Accent that we’re seeing. Hit the jump for the rear snap.

No mention of engines or any other specs, but as is the new trend from Hyundai lately, expect a very competitive package.

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BMW 135is Spotted at the Nurburgring

BMW M135i? from MrBTG on Vimeo.

We’ve seen the spy shots, now we’ve got some video of the 135is in action. Check out that wide rear axle and wide tires! Even though the name of this new 1 is still up in the air, it definitely means business.

Oh Hi: Next Generation BMW 6-Series

The next generation BMW 6-Series has been caught oot and aboot in Germany. Escorted by an aray of Mini Coopers, the new 6 managed to make its way to a car wash which allowed us to see and hear the big coupe fairly well.

Rumours circulating around the internet were indicating that the new 6 would get the same engines from the new 7-series, and judging by the sound of the exhaust, those rumours would seem to be true. It’s likely that they could get tuned a bit differently however.

The overall design shows a much more conservative look than the current Bangled design. The front lights seem to be similar to those on the 5-Series GT. Let’s hope they do something a little nicer with those wheels.

Oh Hi: 2011 Lamborghini Jota

Ladies and gentleman, say hello to the replacement for the largest Lambo in the fam – the Murcielgo.

Obviously keeping the physical family genes, the Jota will be more powerful, but will incorporate less weight as expected.

The camouflage is pretty pointless since there is no mistaking it for anything but a Lamborghini, but it does cover up styling details such as the expected Reventon influence and most likely an aray of LED lighting.

A 7.0 litre V12 is expected under the hood making over 700 horesepower and about 520 pound feet of torque. That’s a lotta juice, so to keep the Jota planted, Audi’s superb AWD system will help out with traction. The Jota is expected to get a chasis made of carbon fiber to keep the weight down at around 3,300 pounds.

Just about the only unfortunate thing about the Jota is its name. What the hell does Jota mean? It doesn’t even sound Italian!

Oh Hi: 2011 BMW 135is?

Autoblog has managed to get their hands on a spy shot of the upcoming 135is that we reported on a while back.

Or is it going to be called the M1? That one seems unlikely as we’re betting BMW will want to revive the M1 name at some point for a true supercar. We think it should be called the 135is like the the 335is, and thus, we will call it that until we hear differently.

While the name is still up in the air, one thing is certain: there will be a more powerful version of the 135i and reports have it pegged for an early 2011 release date.

Those wheels are absolutely sick. And we mean that in the best way possible. On top of that, oversized drilled discs and widen fenders help the new 1 gain a muscular physique.

We heard rumours of 320 horsepower a while back, but now we’re hearing that the new 135is will be making horsepower in the 350 to 370 range from a twin turbo inline six. Torque is likely to be in the mid 300 range as well.

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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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.

Canadian Black Book Announces Best Retained Value Winners

If you want to get the most back from your car when selling it after four years, Canadian Black book has made it a bit easier for you to decide what to buy in the first place.

They have compiled a list of cars that best retain their value from MSRP four years later into 17 categories.

Find out who got the honours after the jump.

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