Our diminutive long-term Mazda 2, the least-powerful, least-expensive automobile in our fleet for quite some time, has finished its 40,000-mile stay. Few tears were choked back as, after 16 months in our care, it pulled away from our office for the last time. Sure, the minimalist Mazda was fun to toss around, but it illustrated the difficulty some manufacturers have faced in coercing Americans out of massive vehicles and cross-overs and into pint-sized hatchbacks. (more…)

We already knew that Chevrolet is working on a civilian automobile using the Zeta bones of the rear-drive Caprice PPV cop car, and that it will be called the SS. It also will serve as the basis for company’s 2013 NASCAR entry. Today, Chevy made the news official and released some details on both the production SS and the Sprint Cup race car. (We also already know that the next-gen SS sedan will move to Zeta II architecture; for more details, read our story here.) Read full story »

With its EcoBoost-branded engines, Ford feels it really has a substitute for cubic inches, and it’s taking the turbocharged, direct-injected concept to extremes. If you think that the naturally aspirated 1.6-liter engine in the subcompact Fiesta is, like the car, a touch on the small side, you will be amazed—maybe horrified—to learn that its replacement has just three cylinders and a displacement of less than one liter: 999 cc, to be precise. (This new EcoBoost engine also will soon find its way into the U.S.-market 2014 Fiesta.) (more…)

The moment that Malaysian carmaker DRB-Hicom took control of Lotus in April, rumors were born that Lotus’s fifth owner was looking for a sixth. Since then, DRB execs and British politicians have cooled the speculation with sobering comments that no changes are happening—”for now.” But their reassurances did nothing to address questions about Lotus: How far along is the Esprit? Why is the Elise dead in the U.S.? And with only the Elise, Exige, and Evora on the market, how is it that Lotus keeps the lights on and 1200 people employed? We went to Lotus’s headquarters in Hethel, situated on a former Royal Air Force site on England’s eastern seaboard, looking for answers. Read full story »

America was the first to recognize the creative and strategic potential of design and to create a system of brands, models and versions that set global standards. In this second volume of his series on the global automotive history, Paolo Tumminelli tells the story of American vehicle design as cultural history–from the Streamliner experiments of the 1930s up to the recent resurgence of the American vehicle industry–drawing intriguing parallels with the social developments of the time.

Without forgetting retro and the most recent designs, this book traces the evolution of American vehicle culture through the decades–both all-time classics as well as unique models. With over 400 original images from the manufacturers’ archives, Car Design America is an indispensable reference work for every vehicle enthusiast.


Binding : Hardcover
Creator : Paolo Tumminelli
EANList :
ISBN : 3832795960
Label : teNeues
Manufacturer : teNeues
NumberOfPages : 392
PublicationDate : 2012-06-15
Publisher : teNeues
ReleaseDate : 2012-06-15
Studio : teNeues

We first saw a Chevrolet bearing the Trax name as a concept at the 2007 New York auto show, riding on the bones of the Chevy Spark. Now Chevy has announced that something called the Trax will go into production for global markets. But the only thing this Trax has in common with the Trax of five years ago is its name. Read full story »