Autoblog

What if in an alternate universe Bugatti says, "We're not going out of business, we're doing a new model in the same market as the Veyron," but it doesn't know what that model will be? There's another luxury car company in the family called Porsche that's looking to get into the 4-door game. So Bugatti says, "Hey, we did this design study of a 4-door wagon-y thing a while back, have a look," and Porsche takes a peek and says, "Hey, maybe we can work with this," and then Bugatti says, "If it all works out, maybe, you know, since you own us now we can share things and stuff and stop losing so much money on each car," and Porsche says, "Be quiet, we're working..." and, well, you get the picture.

There's no reason to think Porsche had the EB112 concept in mind when it penned the Panamera. But if Porsche did happen to be inspired by Bugatti's long gone concept, it would provide some sort of rationale for why the Panamera looks like it does. And that would be a start, no? For more of your own comparisons, EB112 vs Panamera. Thanks for the tip, Mike S.!

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the ClubSport R8 Tourer

HSV's ClubSport R8 Tourer has officially arrived, giving our friends from Down Under the means to haul stuff, ass and any combination thereof as long as they part with $65K AUD. The super-duper Commodore SportWagon has got LS3 V8 power with 425 horses and 405 lb-ft of torque ready to transfer its rear tires to the ozone layer. To further underscore the undeniable awesomeness of this package, the standard gearbox is a six-speed manual. An automatic is available as an option, as are 20-inch wheels and a full-leather interior. Chances of us seeing this here? Essentially zero, since Pontiac is getting the Ute (G8 ST) instead of the wagon. That's just a shame. Sure, it's no Wagon Queen Family Truckster, but a hypothetical Pontiac G8 Safari GXP would deliver raucous fun for the whole family.


[Source: HSV]

We recently received a note from an anonymous source indicating that there's a mildly strained relationship between VW and some of its dealers. The source of the consternation seems to be the highly anticipated Jetta TDI, which was just recently released in the U.S. market. Apparently, Volkswagen of America has gotten complaints that some dealers are adding a significant markup on the new and desirable model -- a big problem for many automakers when a new model makes its initial introduction. The dealers are eager to make some money on the new cars while VW is concerned that customers may just look elsewhere because they feel they're being treated unfairly. What's more, some VW dealers may not be all that excited by the new model as there aren't that many available quite yet.

This is a situation that's frustrating for the dealers, VW and, most importantly, prospective customers. Volkswagen promises that the situation will improve, and we hope it does. If the clean diesel engine is truly capable of returning the kind of fuel mileage that VW says it can, the Jetta TDI sedan and Sportwagen may indeed offer an ideal alternative to gasoline-sipping hybrids, that is, if customers can put up with the buying process.

Click the image above for more renderings of the Seat Exeo

VW subsidiary Seat is, like The Jeffersons, movin' on up, rolling out a new range of vehicles that will push it into new market segments. The image above is one of a set of the automaker's Exeo sedan given to the trademark office in Spain. According to the company, "the new name stems from the Latin word 'Exire', meaning "to go beyond", "to go further", and "The name Exeo is advanced, forceful and technological, which signals excellence and is highly suggestive of driving pleasure." Ok...

Instead of creating something completely new to chart these unknown waters, Seat has taken a previous gen Audi A4 and given it front and rear clips in the Seat style. Seat will also use the A4 Avant body to create an Exeo wagon. The newish sedan is meant to compete with the Ford Mondeo, Renault Laguna, and Alfa Romeo 159 and will be launched some time next year as a 2010 model. It is expected to retail for £15,000 to £23,000 in the U.K. and we don't yet know which powerplants it will receive.


[Source: Autocar]

Click above to view a hi-res gallery of the B&B Audi RS6

A 580hp station wagon (or sedan, for that matter) seems like sheer lunacy in its own right, but it appears that the twin-turbo V10 in the Audi RS6 is capable of a great deal more. Following the release of the 702hp MTM-tuned RS6 M, fellow German tuning house B&B Automobiltechnik has an even more potent tuning package, boosting power up to a whopping 715.

So what did the power-hungry gearheads at B&B do to get a 120 horsepower boost out of the Gallardo-derived FSI? They didn't replace the turbos or fit a new supercharger, nor did they bore out the cylinder block for bigger displacement. They simply fitted a new intake, catalyst, exhaust and cooling system, and tinkered with the ECU. B&B are also offering an adjustable suspension and new springs that drop the ride height by 25mm. The result? A claimed 0-60 run in a scant 3.6 seconds. That's well into supercar territory, as many a Porsche and Ferrari driver are bound to discover when baited into an impromptu red-light drag race. Nice work if you can get it.

[Source: B&B via World Car Fans]

Lovers of both fuel mileage and torque can finally rest easy; Volkswagen of America is now officially selling its 50-State-approved, clean diesel engine in either the Jetta sedan for $21,990 or Jetta SportWagen wrappers for $23,590. Equipped with the six-speed DSG transmission, both Jetta gets an EPA rating of 29 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on the highway. We expect to see better real-world numbers, though we're a bit wary of VW's advertising its alternate rating of 38/44 -- a number that is impossible to compare with anything else currently available. In any case, the $2,000 premium for the TDI engine will be lessened somewhat by the Fed's $1,300 tax credit which applies to either TDI model. Look for an early test of the oil-burner on these pages shortly.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon

Cadillac trotted out the 2010 CTS Sport Wagon here in Monterey and after seeing it in person, we're fans. It's edgy, smooth, finned (the roof rails) and sleek all in the right proportions. And for the States-siders, the 263 hp V6 will allow the wagon to hold its own off the line. While there's plenty of room in the back (note: it is a sport wagon) the car itself is quite compact. A 6'4" colleague couldn't fit in the front seat without bumping his head on the panoramic roof. And for folks at about the 6'0" mark, things get really cozy in the back seat. But you didn't buy a wagon because you wanted a full-sized sedan, did you? If you're in the wagon market, check it out when it comes to a dealer near you.

We've assembled two high-res galleries below and two videos after the jump of Cadillac design and product directors discussing the design of the CTS Sport Wagon.

Click above for high-res gallery of the Cadillac Sport Wagon

Please note the spelling, this a Cadillac and not a VW, therefore it's "Sport Wagon" rather than "SportWagen". What we have here is the result of a fission reaction on the Cadillac SRX. Seeing that the current "neither fish nor fowl" SRX crossover wasn't cutting it in the marketplace, General Motors' "Art and Science" brand has split its only CUV into two distinct vehicles. The old SRX was based on the CTS' Sigma platform but looked too car-like to be considered an SUV. At the same time it rode too high to be a car. Buyers who might have liked the wagon utility of the old SRX but are enamored with the style of the new CTS can now opt for the CTS Sport Wagon.

The Sport Wagon takes the largely acclaimed styling of the CTS and adds a rear hatch allowing much more stuff to be carried. The design team led by Clay Dean has done more than just graft a longer roof onto the sedan. They extended the roof-line back and the tail-lights up to the roof, as well as adding hidden rails in the roof line. The V shape of the grille is also replicated in the contours of the tailgate. The wagon ends up with 25 cu. ft. of cargo space behind the seats. Cadillac expects about 60 percent of CTS sales in Europe will be the wagon while only 20 percent of Americans will opt for the new body style when it goes on sale in the spring of 2009.


[Source: Cadillac]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer

The all-new Insignia is about to go on sale as a Vauxhall in Britain and an Opel throughout the rest of Europe, thereby replacing the Vectra sedan. It's a marked improvement over its predecessor in style, and we're eager for it to arrive in the States as the next-gen Saturn Aura. Vauxhall had the honor today of announcing the next version of the Insignia that will makes its debut at the Paris Motor Show in October: the Insignia Sports Tourer. That's a fancy way of calling it a wagon, or estate as they like to say in the old country. Being that the sedan and hatch are quite handsome, it's fair to say the Sports Tourer is as well, though its rear end looks like a lowered Audi Q7. GM Europe says that all the bodywork aft of the B-pillar is unique to the Sports Tourer, and that while the length of the wheelbase hasn't changed, a little over three inches was added to the overall length. Vauxhall also announced a more power turbodiesel engine and smaller turbocharged four-cylinder will be joining the Insignia's engine lineup, but are saving any details, including the wagon's capacities, until the Paris Motor Show.


[Source: Vauxhall]

Click to view the Alfa 159 in hi-res from Geneva '08

The Alfa Romeo 159 may be one of the most beautiful sedans on the market, but that hasn't been enough to make the model a sales success. As we learned after driving the new MiTo, Alfa isn't satisfied any longer to glide by on its name and looks alone, and so has started work on the replacement for the 159 even though the current model was only introduced in 2005.

The main reason attributed to the 159's poor market performance has been its dynamic performance, inhibited by an overweight chassis designed by Saab during Fiat's partnership with GM. Its successor is tipped to be based on the same platform as the upcoming 149, however, which still means front-wheel-drive. With the numeric designation running out of room to grow, the 159 replacement is widely reported to revive the classic Giulia nameplate, with styling cues borrowed from the curvaceous 8C instead of the angular Brera. Sources suggest that the new sedan, anticipated for debut in 2010, is being developed specifically with the American market in mind.

Photos Copyright ©2008 Noah Joseph / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Autocar]