Next Scion xA?

The Hollywood Extra has a few artist renderings of what the next Scion xA (Toyota Ist elsewhere in the world) will look like.

They also mention a rumor that the next xB will be getting a much larger engine and the xA will get a 1.8l 4-cylinder with more power than the barely over 100hp that it has now.

Not that the Scion hipsters are staying away due to lack of power anyway.

Check it out at:

The Hollywood Extra - Next Scion xA

VW kills the GX3

The German Car Blog is reporting that VW has officially killed the GX3 3-wheeled car/motorcycle that was expected to go into production within the next year.

Based on a concept shown at the last Los Angeles Auto Show with two front wheels and a single rear wheel, making it technically a motorcycle - the GX3 would have had sports car acceleration (5.7 seconds 0-60), incredible cornering (close to 1.25 lateral g's), mid-40's fuel economy, and no roof.

It appears that concerns about liability have made VW abandon the project.

Read about it at:

The German Car Blog - VW GX3: Dead!

It's official - Challenger is a go!

Chrysler Group President and CEO Tom LaSorda announced today at the Pepsi 400 that the Dodge Challenger has been approved for production, as was predicted yesterday.

The Challenger will come to market as a 2008 model year vehicle on sale in 2008 (which translates into 'early 2008'). This means we could be seeing Challengers in a little over 18 months from now.

Yahoo Finance - Chrysler Group President and CEO Tom LaSorda Says Dodge Challenger is a 'Go'

Euro Honda Civic 3-door

Honda has unveiled the 3-door version of their Euro-only Honda Civic hatchback, the Civic Type-S.

To our eye, this appears to be a great replacement for the long departed Honda CRX that we haven't had in the US since the 90's.

While Honda has a fairly full line of Civics in the US already (from 4-door sedan, coupe, hybrid sedan, and the sporty Si), I can certainly see a sector of the auto buying public that would love a big brother to the Fit that this 3-door Civic hatchback (and its 5-door sibling) represents. They could even make an Si version similar to the Euro Type-R high performance hatch for those who want more power and room for all their stuff that won't fit in a Civic coupe.

Take a look at more pictures over at Eurocarblog:

Eurocarblog - Honda Civic Type-S

New Honda CRV

The Hollywood Insider has posted some really nice, undisguised pics of the next Honda CRV.

Is it just me, or has Honda finally re-discovered their styling sense? First we get the new Civic that wouldn't have had to do much to look better than its predecessor - but knocked it out of the park with its rakish profile. Now we have this new CRV that actually has a certain sporty flair.

Now if we could just see how nice the interior and powertrain turn out to be...

Hollywood Extra - 2007 Honda CRV

Dodge expected to announce Challenger has been approved

The Detroit News is reporting that DaimlerChrysler will officially announce that the Dodge Challenger is approved for production at this Saturday's Pepsi 400.

One expected surprise is that the Challenger might see showrooms in late 2007 or early 2008 - 2-3 years earlier than the most conservative estimates. Unknown is if the Challenger will be built on the current LX chassis that underpins the Dodge Magnum/Charger as well as the Chrysler 300 or if it will be the first product built on the upcoming LY replacement for these cars.

It is likely that the Challenger will be both more expensive than the Mustang, V-8 only, the only version of the LX/LY available with a true manual transmission, and significantly larger than the Mustang - due to the fact that the LX/LY were built to be a large-sedan chassis.

Read the Detroit News article here:

Detroit News - Muscle car is reborn

Transformers movie teaser trailer now available

Due to a leaked version of the trailer, the Transformers movie folks have released the teaser trailer a few days early (it was supposed to be available on July 4, 2006 - 1 year before the release of the movie).

Check it out over at http://transformersmovie.com

Volvo C30 spied

Is anyone honestly surprised anymore when a car comes out looking just like its concept? With the current trend to 'debut' 'concepts' that are nothing more than dressed up prototypes, it certainly doesn't surprise me.

Now we have pics of the new Volvo C30 coupe undergoing cold weather testing.

It is obvious from these shots at Auto Express that the C30 we'll get early next year is the spitting image of the 'concept' Volvo recently showed us.

Put some serious turbo horsepower in this and it could make a nice counter-point to its Mazdaspeed3 platform-mate.

See more pics at:

AutoExpress - Volvo C30 Spy Shots