Audi A1

Not the steak sauce, surely Was it because we went into Iraq? That we voted W in for a second term? It sure can't be because we gave the world Justin Timberlake, because Audi has given him a gig in the marketing of its new subcompact A1 hatchback. So why will we not get this car in the USA? After all, MINI is a big success over here and the A1 would be a direct rival: big class in a small package. So Audi has either committed a rare misreading...

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Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid

Trickle, trickle, racing star It's called the trickle-down effect, where cutting-edge technologies forged in the crucible of Formula One end up in less esoteric cars. Last season's big hardware story was KERS, the kinetic energy recovery system that stores braking energy in a battery then gives a 10-hp jolt on the straightaway. It wasn't a generic third-party setup; each participating team produced its own system. And naturally, those systems...

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Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Romeo's Giulietta The notion of Alfa Romeos being sold Stateside again still feels like one of those mad dreams we dare not dream, but how can anyone not get all giggly when faced with the new Giulietta? The name itself conjures up wistful memories of beautiful cars with raspy exhausts. And also some pieces of crap from the '80s, but we can gloss over those. Could this be a return to the glory days, powered by a range-topping 235-hp gasoline engine?...

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Citroen DS High Rider Concept

Viva la DS Word from over the water is that Citroën, possibly the quirkiest of the big three French car companies, has resurrected those venerable initials: DS. But rather than making it the kind of wafty sedan General de Gaulle might recognize, the DS of the 21st century is a subcompact. However, Citroën's DS High Rider concept, made for the Geneva show, looks like it's trying to make people swear off neutrality and join the resistance. Although...

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2011 Volvo S60

Mixing Sensible With SensualIt's all new. It's (allegedly) the sportiest Volvo ever. And it has cool things like pedestrian-detecting radar with automatic braking. This handsome beast is the 2011 Volvo S60 premium midsize sedan. The range-topping model, the T60 AWD, will have a turbocharged, 3.0-liter straight six, cooking up 300 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque that turns all four wheels.Volvo recently stated its intention to make accident-free cars...

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Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder

In our first installment of the View Finder series we looked at a photo shoot of a perfect 1971 Lamborghini Miura. In that article I remarked on how incredible it is to shoot an older vehicle like a Miura. All the little details, all the intricately machined and assembled components not seen on today's cars. This time we are taking you behind the scenes at a shoot for a brand new Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. This much younger sibling of the...

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Carlsson SLK CB25 S - Escape Pod

In aesthetic terms, Mercedes aftermarket tuners tend to fall into one of two categories: mild or wild. Brabus and Carlsson support the former school of thought, while Lorinser, MAE Design and Asma Design are proponents of the latter. I expected no less than simple elegance when I came to see Carlsson’s take on the new SLK, and I was not disappointed. As usual, their designer, Rolf Schepp, has done a fine job of getting a feel for the standard...

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