Poll: Should GM give in and call the Volt a hybrid?

Apart from the humorous articles and the plethora of eBay finds we come up with, Carscoop’s bread and butter is automotive news straight from the manufacturer. And as such, we read a lot of press releases. In all the ones I’ve read, General Motors refuses to call the Chevrolet Volt a hybrid. It’s a range extended electric vehicle.I speculate that it might have something to do with hybrids being

Poll: Should Fiat Cut Loose Alfa Romeo and/or Sell it to Volkswagen?

Like Saab and countless other brands before, Alfa Romeo is at a tipping point. The famed Italian automaker, which once stunned the world with its gorgeous styling and motorsport victories, is now losing an estimate €200 million (US$265 million) per annum. It’s hard to believe that the company that brought us cars like the GTA, the Spider and the 158/159 Alfetta could be reduced to such a sad

My Top 10 Cars of All-Time - U.S.A.

In the past I’ve covered my picks for the best cars of the 1980s and ‘90s. Now it’s time for my Top 10 cars of All-Time, whereby I pit country against country. Our six contenders are the U.S.A., Britain, Japan, Germany, Italy and France. Will you side with American muscle or French flair? Can Japanese perfection trump Italian passion? Or do you choose German engineering over British ingenuity?

My Top 10 Concept Cars of 2010

In less than two weeks, 2010 will draw to a close. So what better time to look back at the real stars of this year’s motor shows: the concept cars! Enter into a world where considerations like practicality and profitability fall by the wayside and the world’s designers and engineers show us their true potential. Let’s count down...my Top 10 Concept Cars of 2010!Read more »

Quiz: How Much HP will the 2009 VW Golf GTI’s 2.0 TFSI Make?

As soon as Volkswagen released official pictures and details on the new Golf VI that’ll debut at the Paris Show in October, it was just a matter of time when car sites of all sorts would turn their attention to the forthcoming GTI. And while it is evident that the sixth generation Golf GTI will be equipped with the VW Group’s 2.0 TFSI engine, the million dollar question is how much horsepower it

Quiz: How Much HP will the 2009 VW Golf GTI’s 2.0 TFSI Make?

As soon as Volkswagen released official pictures and details on the new Golf VI that’ll debut at the Paris Show in October, it was just a matter of time when car sites of all sorts would turn their attention to the forthcoming GTI. And while it is evident that the sixth generation Golf GTI will be equipped with the VW Group’s 2.0 TFSI engine, the million dollar question is how much horsepower it

Design Poll: Fiat 500 vs Ford KA

Our first thought when we saw the 2009 KA was what an excellent job Ford did to disguise the minicar's Fiat 500 origins. Even though Ford’s designers were limited by the architecture of the car, the KA bears no resemblance to its Italian sibling. But different doesn’t necessarily mean better - or does it? What we want to know is if you prefer the Fiat 500’s retro looks or the Ford KA’s modern “

Design Poll: Fiat 500 vs Ford KA

Our first thought when we saw the 2009 KA was what an excellent job Ford did to disguise the minicar's Fiat 500 origins. Even though Ford’s designers were limited by the architecture of the car, the KA bears no resemblance to its Italian sibling. But different doesn’t necessarily mean better - or does it? What we want to know is if you prefer the Fiat 500’s retro looks or the Ford KA’s modern “

What’s Your Favorite Production Rally Car?

A lucky friend in Germany just bought a used Toyota Celica GT-Four Carlos Sainz and it made us wonder what production rally car we’d like to see in our dream garage. Since we wanted to keep it realistic, we sorted out any specialty cars like the Lancia Stratos HF and narrowed it down to two vehicles: the Lancia Delta HF Integrale (given that only a handful of Club Italias were produced, we’d take

What’s Your Favorite Production Rally Car?

A lucky friend in Germany just bought a used Toyota Celica GT-Four Carlos Sainz and it made us wonder what production rally car we’d like to see in our dream garage. Since we wanted to keep it realistic, we sorted out any specialty cars like the Lancia Stratos HF and narrowed it down to two vehicles: the Lancia Delta HF Integrale (given that only a handful of Club Italias were produced, we’d take

What’s Your Favorite “Ugly” Car?

There’s ugly and there’s ugly; a Pontiac Aztec or a BMW 7-Series E65 are just plain hideous whichever way you see it while a 1990’s Alfa Romeo SZ or its roadster sibling, the RZ, are ugly in an alluring kind of way that’s hard to be explained in words. The best description that we’ve ever heard about the Zagato penned “beast” is from a 1990 issue of Car Magazine that stated, “Ugly as a sin and

What’s Your Favorite “Ugly” Car?

There’s ugly and there’s ugly; a Pontiac Aztec or a BMW 7-Series E65 are just plain hideous whichever way you see it while a 1990’s Alfa Romeo SZ or its roadster sibling, the RZ, are ugly in an alluring kind of way that’s hard to be explained in words. The best description that we’ve ever heard about the Zagato penned “beast” is from a 1990 issue of Car Magazine that stated, “Ugly as a sin and

Why the Corvette Z1’s Nurburgring Time Shouldn't be Compared with the Nissan GT-R

We’ll give GM plenty of kudos for creating a sports car that officially lapped the famous Nurburgring in a mere 7 minutes and 26.4 seconds as it puts plenty of supercars costing double its price to shame, but ultimately, its somewhat unfair to compare the Corvette ZR1 with the Nissan GT-R. True, in our article on the ZR1’s Nurburgring time we mentioned that GM’s sports car beat the Nissan GT-R (7

Why the Corvette Z1’s Nurburgring Time Shouldn't be Compared with the Nissan GT-R

We’ll give GM plenty of kudos for creating a sports car that officially lapped the famous Nurburgring in a mere 7 minutes and 26.4 seconds as it puts plenty of supercars costing double its price to shame, but ultimately, its somewhat unfair to compare the Corvette ZR1 with the Nissan GT-R. True, in our article on the ZR1’s Nurburgring time we mentioned that GM’s sports car beat the Nissan GT-R (7

GM to Merger with Ford? The Idea was actually thrown on the Table!

Some could see it as a “MegaMerger”, others as a “MegaDisaster”. Either way, BusinessWeek magazine learned from an unnamed source that at a few recent meetings, unammed General Motors executives shared their thoughts about the possibility of a merger with arch American rival, Ford Motor Company. However, some narrow minded fellow execs (before you start commenting, we’re being sarcastic now…)

GM to Merger with Ford? The Idea was actually thrown on the Table!

Some could see it as a “MegaMerger”, others as a “MegaDisaster”. Either way, BusinessWeek magazine learned from an unnamed source that at a few recent meetings, unammed General Motors executives shared their thoughts about the possibility of a merger with arch American rival, Ford Motor Company. However, some narrow minded fellow execs (before you start commenting, we’re being sarcastic now…)

GM to Merger with Ford? The Idea was actually thrown on the Table!

Some could see it as a “MegaMerger”, others as a “MegaDisaster”. Either way, BusinessWeek magazine learned from an unnamed source that at a few recent meetings, unammed General Motors executives shared their thoughts about the possibility of a merger with arch American rival, Ford Motor Company. However, some narrow minded fellow execs (before you start commenting, we’re being sarcastic now…)

U.S. vs Europe: Top 10 Selling Vehicles in 2008

We’ve gathered the sales figures from Europe and the U.S. during the first five months of the year (January through May 2008) and compiled a list with the top 10 best selling vehicles from each side of the Atlantic. Having lived on both continents, here are a few thoughts that came up to mind: If you’re an American, you’ll probably be surprised with these facts: A) 9 out 10 cars are subcompact

U.S. vs Europe: Top 10 Selling Vehicles in 2008

We’ve gathered the sales figures from Europe and the U.S. during the first five months of the year (January through May 2008) and compiled a list with the top 10 best selling vehicles from each side of the Atlantic. Having lived on both continents, here are a few thoughts that came up to mind: If you’re an American, you’ll probably be surprised with these facts: A) 9 out 10 cars are subcompact

U.S. vs Europe: Top 10 Selling Vehicles in 2008

We’ve gathered the sales figures from Europe and the U.S. during the first five months of the year (January through May 2008) and compiled a list with the top 10 best selling vehicles from each side of the Atlantic. Having lived on both continents, here are a few thoughts that came up to mind: If you’re an American, you’ll probably be surprised with these facts: A) 9 out 10 cars are subcompact