Culture|Garage

Oops. More leaked pictures prior to the big car show. You are looking at the Lancer Prototype S, that wasn’t supposed to be showed off until next month’s Geneva Car Show. Everything looks great until you get to the rear of the car… then well, that hatch thingy happened. And here’s the thin, I love hatches and wagons, but this just a Lexus RX ass was grafted onto a Lancer Raliart. Supposedly, this will be hitting the European market later this summer.

More pictures of this thing after the break.

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Wow. Korea is really turning out some pretty cool automotive products. We have Hyundai coming at us with the Genesis and now Kia is looking for some SOUL.

The above shot is a teaser of what Kia will be showcasing at Geneva.  The concept model can be found after the jump.

Their aim is squarely at those looking to personalize their car.  The market will be young and young at heart.  If I were to wager a bet, the pricing will probably come in at or under the Scion xB pricing.

Looking forward to seeing the full shots.  Until then, enjoy the previously released concept shots

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Baller. This Hummer Blindado is pimped out by Security Pro USA (fyi, they are currently running their “Big Sale” and have great prices on stun guns and katana swords) and comes in a variety of bullet proof versions. This one was spotted in Moscow (more pictures after the jump).

It’s technically classified as a limo. But realistically classified as ridiculous.

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Geneva, Switz., Ford Motor Company will be unveiling the new and improved Fiesta at this year’s Geneva motor show. Something close to the Ford Verve concept vehicle, this is one new Ford that will actually see U.S. shores.

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It appears the Dutch version of TopGear has a picture of the “draft” Saab 9-1. While my Dutch is terrible, rather the free online translation, I can gather that this is certainly a 9-1 and is apparently a draft/pre-pro model. They mumble that it will be offered as a 3 or 5 door.

They also mentioned that it will have 320hp and AWD and cost under $30k. Ok, I lied about that part. The whole shoddy translation, post jump.

Edit: one of our commenter’s confirmed that this is as CGI as a Michael Bay film. And another helped out with the translation.

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I am publishing this at the risk of pissing off Jim, our resident domestic/retro/hodrod intern writer. But it’s something that has to be said. Is going retro a wise move for a car manufacturer?

Initial thoughts, are “well, yeah, if it kicks ass.” Well, what if it only kicks ass for a short time? How do you evolve something that is retro? As sales stagnate, what do you do?

Retro is a great brand boost, it may act as a halo for your entire vehicle line, but is it always worth the risk? My thoughts, are… well it depends.

If your brand is in the shitter coughGMcough, then maybe doing a Camaro isn’t a bad idea. But then what do you do in three years after it is back to boring and everyone and their sister is driving a v6 automatic Camaro.

I have a whole slew of retro themed vehicles after the jump. Let me know, what you think… retro, wise or not?

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Chicago Auto Show-Well, in case you have been waiting with baited breath to hear about Ford’s vehicle launches at the Chicago Auto Show, go ahead and breathe. The Ford Transit Connect has been the only real launch so far at this year’s show, although the Bullitt Mustang and 2009 F-150 were “officially” launched, those models have seen a lot of exposure in the media already. Read the rest of this entry »

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The burgeoning crossover market has another product to offer- but how attractive is it? The Chevrolet Traverse, based on GM’s Lambda platform, is the cheapest crossover in GM’s arsenal, and there’s a good reason for that- and it ain’t the Chevelle-style grille. Read the rest of this entry »

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