Report: Honda Americas to develop next-gen Civic from start to finish

MotorTrend reports on a prediction made by the AAA, which believes that nearly eight million cars will be equipped with start-stop systems by 2017 in North America. This apparently comes from the system being so popular.

Popular? The last time I remember, most of us in the automotive world shunned start-stop systems for their simple annoyance. That’s also the case here at egmCarTech, as none of us are very fond of it. Maybe popular as in, a lot of companies are doing it.

And looking around, a lot of cars are coming with the system to help increase fuel economy by eliminating the idle time of an engine. From something as basic as a Kia Rio, to the midsized Chevrolet Malibu Eco family sedan, and of course, the luxury cars as well.
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Amidst the already big news of Alfa Romeo’s much anticipated mid-engined 4C sports car—a car that will also kick off the Italian brand’s reentry into the North American market—AutoCar reports that Alfa Romeo will also launch a convertible version a year after the coupe’s launch. This also comes after bigger news that the 4C coupe is ahead of schedule and will be ready for sale in early 2014.

So far, AutoCar reports that Fiat’s chief Mauro Pierallini set very specific guidelines for the 4C. It had to cost around  €45,000 or about $ 55,330. It’s also supposed to only weigh 900kg or 1,984 for us Americans. Not to mention, the engine sits in the middle. So yes, it sounds like Alfa Romeo is building their own little Lotus Elise.

Click here for more news on the Alfa Romeo 4C.

Speaking of which, that engine will be Alfa’s direct-injected internally designated  1750 TBi turbocharged four-pot. But combined with the lightweight, the 4C should be able to crack 100 km/h or 62mph in just 4.5 seconds. The engine’s block will be composed of aluminum instead of an iron block to help with that 900kg weight target. That engine will be mated to a dual-clutch automatic complete with paddle shifters.
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It’s common to think that those that live in some of the wealthiest zip codes in America, probably drive the most expensive cars in the world. Well you would be surprised.

According to a study by TrueCar.com, half of the vehicles in wealthy zip codes are non-luxury brands and only two vehicles on the list are over $ 50,000.

“Among the top 10 most popular vehicles in America’s wealthiest neighborhoods, half are non-luxury vehicles,” TrueCar said in a statement. “And in a demographic where a car budget doesn’t seem to be much of a concern, all vehicles are priced less than $ 50,000 – with the exception of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW X5.”

“Luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus are the top choice for the well-off, but with wealth often comes freedom of choice. The data demonstrates, that wealthy consumers of today make value a top priority as half the vehicles purchased are from mainstream brands including Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen that offer the best in vehicle amenities and comfort that near those of some luxury models,” said Kristen Andersson, Senior Analyst at TrueCar.com.

Hit the jump for the list.

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Now that NASA has landed its Curiosity Rover on Mars, the agency expects to have a manned mission on the Red Planet in the 2030s.

Check out more news on the 2013 Nissan Altima.

But what if instead of flying to Mars, an astronaut drove there? Obviously that’s not a serious question, but just imagine with us for a second. Nissan has put together a little chart of what it would cost to drive to Mars in one of the popular mid-size sedans and of course – the Nissan Altima takes the crown.

Based on gasoline prices of $ 3,645 per gallon it would cost you about $ 33 million to drive the new 2013 Altima to Mars and around $ 37 million to drive a Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata or a Kia Optima.

Refresher: The 2013 Nissan Altima is available with a 2.5-liter QR25 4-cylinder engine producing 182-hp and a peak torque of 180 lb-ft. Buyers can also opt for the 3.5-liter V6 VQ35DE, which keeps its 270-hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Prices start at $ 21,500.

Working in the automotive industry and meeting some of the top executives of automakers, I’ve always wondered what do they park in their garages every night.

Thanks to Ralph Gilles’ recent tweet, we now now what Chrysler / Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne drives on the weekends. Gilles posted a photo of a black-on-black-on-black Dodge Challenger SRT to his twitter account with the following tweet:

Source: Twitter (via Jalopnik)

Canada’s Conquest Vehicles has launched its first unarmored SUV called the EVADE. The Toronto-based company is well know for its handcrafted, fully armored luxury KNIGHT XV.

The Conquest Evade features a new body style and design with new headlamps taillights, narrower fender flares, a redesigned grille, hood scoop, a third tandem sunroof and a wider backdoor to accommodate EVADE’s wider body frame and more.

The Conquest Evade is based on the Ford F550 Super Duty Chassis and its massive unarmored skin will be made from an aluminum-mild steel blend, which makes it significantly lighter than the Knight XV.

The first EVADE is scheduled to roll off the production line in Fall 2012 and will carry a price tag of $ 579,000. Sure is priced like an armored vehicle.

Suzuki has revealed a teaser sketch of what it calls the S-Cross Concept that will make its debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. The Suzuki S-Cross COncept hints at a feature C-segment crossover from the brand.

“Suzuki’s crossover concept S-Cross embodies an ‘Emotion x Quality x Aerodynamics’ design theme, which is typified by distinctive dynamic lines that start on the front bumper, sweep across the doors, and continue to the rear of the body,” Suzuki said in a statement. “Design elements which suggest stability and solidity also help create a cutting-edge crossover look.”

We’re guessing a production version will hit roads sometime next year.

Jaguar has confirmed that its new F-Type two-seater sports car will make its global public debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show on September 27th.

Check out more news on the Jaguar F-Type.

“The unveiling of the F-TYPE in Paris will be a truly significant day in Jaguar’s history as it will mark the company’s return to the sports car market, a market it originally helped to create,” said Adrian Hallmark, Global Brand Director, Jaguar Cars. As its sporting forebears did in their era, the F-TYPE will break new ground by delivering stunning sports car performance while vividly demonstrating Jaguar’s cutting-edge engineering technologies and world-class design excellence. The next step in Jaguar’s sporting bloodline is about to become reality.”

The Jaguar F-Type will debut in convertible form with a choice of three gasoline engines including a 335-hp and a 374-hp version of the brand’s new 3.0 liter supercharged V6. The third engine will be a new version of the existing 5.0 liter supercharged V8.

The Jaguar F-Type will be available as a rear-wheel-drive sports car mated to an 8-speed transmission and stop/start technology.

After Subaru dropped the bomb that there will be no 4wd or turbo for its BRZ’s STI variant, there were some mixed reactions. While the automaker is still managing to pack plenty of punch under hood of the BRZ, the STI variant seems to be loosing its essence with no turbo or AWD. This is where tuning companies come into play, who prefer to take these matters into their own hands.

Check out the Top 10 things you need to know about the Subaru BRZ.

In this case, it is John Visconti, the owner of Accelerated Performance. Visconti took his own BRZ and developed a turbo kit for the 2.0-liter, 200hp boxer engine that results in a 78-hp boost that is not to be overlooked. Accelerated Performance took his dyno results over to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club to show that it is the first to turbocharge the model.

Rated at 278-hp and 215 lb-ft of torque, the owner says the first time it was dynoed it peaked at 286hp, but this run was focused on ‘reliability’. Either way, it’s pretty quick, and the Ohio-based tuning house is offering the kit for $ 5,000, with another, larger turbo kit soon to follow.

Take that, Subaru.

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Lexus’s GS F Sport model has a new kit out from Wald International that leaves out the power mods and focuses on the exterior.

A body kit has been assembled that fits a set of revised side skirts, a front lip spoiler and a rear bumper insert to the model. In addition, Wald offers the option of 19- or 20-inchs wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza rubber, and carbon fiber reinforced plastic spoilers.

As previously mentions, there are no performance mods for this kit so power still comes from the stock version’s 3.5-liter V6 that makes 306-hp and 277 lb-ft of torque mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. This makes for a 0-62 mph time of 5.7 seconds.

Nice and subtle, but it would’ve been good to see just a touch more, maybe some interior upgrades?

- By: Alexandra Koken

Source: WorldCarFans