Auto blog

Those lucky Oprah fans who were fortunate enough to be given a 2012 Volkswagen Beetle all those months ago now know what their new set of wheels will look like. Volkswagen has officially yanked back the sheets on the latest take on the 2012 Beetle. Longer and wider than its predecessor, the German automaker says that the vehicle’s designers were inspired by the lines of the original Beetle. As a result, there’s more than a little Ragster Concept thrown into the mix with a longer roof line and a more aggressively-raked windshield.

The look isn’t quite what we expected after seeing spy shots of the car frolicking around in the sun. It would seem VW pulled a fast one on us by fitting the 2012 mule with last-generation taillights at the time, as the new one features larger magnet-like units that give the 2012 model’s rump a radically different look.

The production vehicle boasts seating for four, though the back bench can be folded to allow for more cargo room in a pinch. European buyers will have their choice of four engines ranging from an efficient 1.2-liter gasoline mill to a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and a 1.6-liter turbo diesel. At this point, it isn’t yet official which exactly which of those will make their way across the Pond, but we’re guessing all three, as VW has previously stated that it will bring a TDI to the States – and even offer it in a Cabriolet model.

BMW has released official pricing for its latest foray into the world of electric vehicles, and compared to the rest of your EV options, the Active E is a screaming deal.

Lease pricing for the 1 Series-based Active E is set at $499 a month for 24 months, with a downpayment of $2,250 due at signing. BMW isn’t citing exact output figures yet (we’re hearing something around 190 hp), but it’s quoting a 0-60 time of under nine seconds and a range of 100 miles with its specially developed, liquid-cooled lithium ion battery pack. Reservations will begin this summer and you can get in on the action at BMWActivateTheFuture.com. Full details in the press blast after the jump.

Between me and Editor-in-Chief John Neff, Autoblog has racked up 3,500 miles on our long-term 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate since its arrival in March. Now that the initial honeymoon phase is over, we’re getting a very good feel for how the Big Korean handles day-to-day tasks.

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First and foremost, I continue to be impressed with the sheer number of compliments the Equus receives, most of which are from women. This car really turns heads, possibly due to the fact they’re scarce on the road – I have yet to see another one in metro Detroit. I wasn’t too keen on the Hyundai’s design when it first arrived, but am now finding the Equus to be a very regal beast, especially in white. Even the guys at my local car wash, who don’t usually say much about the test cars I bring through, could not hold back their positive praise. Neff even took the Equus on a high-end house hunting trip and found its presence was enough to convince real estate agents he could afford the top-dollar listings.

I’ve had the chance to take the Equus on a couple of longer road trips, and while it’s comfortable and quiet for the most part, these long-distance drives also brought out some complaints with our long-term tester.

It is time for enthusiasts to embrace hybrid powertrain technology. A few short years ago, the mention of “hybrid power” conjured up images of low displacement engines, tiny electric boost motors and lethargic performance. Sure, the vehicles were environmentally-friendly (on a local level, at least) and they spanked their pure-combustion counterparts when it came to fueling stops, but they were also absolutely boring to drive. No, make that numbing.

Of course, there are always a few exceptions to the rule. Vehicles including the Lexus LS 600h L, Lexus GS 450h, BMW ActiveHybrid 750i and BMW ActiveHybrid X6 deliver spirited performance, but only mediocre improvements over their gas-only siblings when it comes to efficiency. And, we don’t need to remind you that these vehicles are always very complex, excessively heavy and hardly inexpensive – there were simply few compelling reasons to put one in the garage.

Infiniti, a brand in itself almost embarrassing late to the hybrid game, seems to be in a position to change all that.

The domination of racing teams and the factories that support them wax and wane across countless motorsports disciplines around the world from year to year. But arguably none has continued to dominate like Audi at Le Mans. Since the turn of the millennium, Audi has won the iconic French endurance race every year but two: In 2003 when its own sister company Bentley took top honors, and in 2009, when its chief rival, Peugeot took the win.

Audi has introduced a succession of sports prototype racers to uphold its honor, from the original R8 through the R10 TDI and the R15 TDI that won last year. The latest is the closed-cockpit R18 TDI, which the German automaker has yet to field in an actual race but which has now undergone its first test sessions in the full battle livery you see here.

The trio of silver and black racers will again be differentiated by the red, yellow and black highlights, and feature a number of body parts crafted from carbon fiber, giving the R18 TDI a lightweight form on which Audi is banking to fend off Peugeot, which started off the season strong by defeating the outgoing R15 at Sebring.

Will the new R18 prove capable of shutting out its French rivals for the title event at Le Mans this coming June? We’ll have to wait and see, but with the preliminary test sessions at the Circuit de la Sarthe reinstituted this past weekend after a two-year absence, the Audis were on top of the time sheets, the Peugeots only narrowly beating out the third of them. Follow the jump for press releases from the Paul Ricard and La Sarthe test sessions and take a closer look in the high-resolution image gallery below.

Every year, more than 150,000 folks stroll through the halls of the Petersen Automotive Museum. The crowds have been coming to the Los Angles auto-institution since 1994, when the doors were first opened. And it looks like those doors will remain open for many years to come thanks to a very large donation by Margie Petersen and the Margie and Robert E. Petersen Foundation. When we say “large” we mean it, because Mrs. Petersen just handed over $100,000,000 to the Petersen Museum Foundation.

Now, before you jump out of your seat because of all those zeros, we have to explain a bit more about that figure. This $100,000,000 donation is comprised of the 300,000 square foot building, cars that were part of Robert E. Petersen’s personal collection, an undisclosed influx of cash (described as a “substantial unrestricted financial gift”) and a “matching challenge.”

We wanted to find out a little more with regards to just how this $100 million donation breaks down. A quick call to Buddy Pepp, Executive Director of the Petersen Automotive Musuem, helped shed some light on the matter. While Mr. Pepp could not disclose the exact amount of the cash gift they’re receiving, he did say that value is “enormous.” He went on to state that it’s “breathtaking” and will “enable us to do all the things we’ve wanted or need to do. It will catapult us to a world-renowned status. This donation will allow us to fulfill Bob Petersen’s vision.” Not only that, the “matching challenge” will make sure that the directing board keeps pushing to help the museum continue to grow.

We were hoping to get to the juicy details, and hear an exact figure, but it’s good to know that the Petersen Museum is going to allow people of all ages to get a glimpse of automobiles from all eras. In fact, the total number of vehicles being donated from Petersen’s private stock is 135, and that includes a handful of motorcycles as well. It’s an incredibly generous gift from a couple that already give to many other groups and charities.

There’s something deliciously old-school about the Land Rover Defender. The product of continuous development since 1948 and produced in its current form since 1983, the Defender is to SUVs what the Porsche 911 is to sports cars: unapologetically faithful to its original form. But while the iconic Land Rover is still the very embodiment of the go-anywhere vehicle, the company is reportedly preparing to give it a complete overhaul.

Initial reports pertaining to the development of a new vehicle typically come with few details because inside sources remain tight-lipped. In this case, it appears that there are no details to be divulged simply because Land Rover hasn’t decided what they’ll be yet. At this point, according to British reports, JLR is intensively studying what is needed before it goes ahead with development – which strikes us as a smart course of action when you’re dealing with replacing a vehicle as legendary as the Defender.

All we know at this point is that the new Defender is likely to feature a highly adaptable chassis on which will be built a wide variety of body types, from convertibles to wagons to pickups. After Land Rover does finally decide on the way forward, it is expected to unveil a concept sometime in early 2013 before it can begin production in 2015.

Ferrari has started offering a free, seven-year maintenance plan for customers in Europe. The plan covers all 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia, California Spyder or FF models bought at an authorized Prancing Horse dealership. For now, the program is only available across the pond, but will make it to these shores later in the year.

According to Ferrari, the plan is attached to each individual car, which means it’s transferable to different owners if the vehicle is sold within its first seven years. Coverage includes the cost of labor and original replacement parts, as well as oil and brake fluid.

When the program goes global, Ferrari says it will be the first maintenance plan of its kind to be offered around the world. With any luck, the new perk will help Ferrari gain back some consumer confidence after the the bad publicity surrounding the 458 Italia’s annoying propensity to burst into flames. Read the full Ferrari press release after the jump. Top tip, Don!

A staple product of General Motors’ overseas subsidiaries, the Opel Astra has been a long time in the making. The five-door hatchback was revealed back in 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which was then followed by the GTC show car that previewed the three-door version in concept form (along with the production Sport Tourer wagon variant) a year later at the Paris Motor Show. Another year after that, Opel will unveil the production three-door GTC in Frankfurt this coming September. The final product is still undergoing development, but while GM’s German division irons out the kinks, they’ve released these preliminary images showing us what to expect from the production version.

Although still months away from its public debut, the order books for the Astra GTC will officially open on June 7, when full details will be revealed. The Astra range, you’ll recall, is also offered a Vauxhall in the UK, as the Buick Excelle XT in China, and as a Chevrolet in Latin America. But while Saturn had a version of the more angular previous-generation model, now that the brand is shut, we’ll likely have to do without. That’s a shame, because we recently saw a five-door model out on the road while overseas and were struck by its fluid design. So we’ll just have to do with admiring from afar. Follow the jump for the brief press release, and scope out the pair of images in the gallery below.