Nik J Miles

Posts Tagged ‘2012’

“Acura’s RDX Crossover continues as ‘Right-Sized’ SUV for 2012” 

Since its introduction, Acura’s RDX has become one of the biggest players in the compact premium CUV market segment. For the 2012 model year, the RDX continues to evolve, still offering two drivetrains: a Two-Wheel Drive model for those consumers who have no need for Four-Wheel Drive, and a Super-Handling AWD model. The 2012 RDX manages to retain its core features which include: aggressive, modernistic styling cues; a sporty driving dynamic and intuitive technology in an efficient and more personally sized compact package, while displaying Acura’s bold signature grille, along with, integrated fog lights, futuristic headlight and taillight treatments, Black and Satin trim garnishes, aggressive alloy wheel designs and sporty, bright exhaust finishers.

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 “Volvo’s C30 T5 R-Design Platinum Polestar”

 Volvo’s 2012 C30 is the smallest vehicle in the Swedish carmaker’s lineup. But don’t let its diminutive stature fool you – it also may well be the most expressive car in the Volvo stable. Power is courtesy of a 2.5-liter DOHC, 20-valve Turbocharged inline 5-cylinder engine with Variable Valve Timing.  The transversely mounted front engine produces 227 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm, and 236 pound feet of torque @ 1,500-5,000 rpm. It mates to either a standard 6-speed manual gearbox or a 5-speed “Geartronic” microprocessor-controlled automatic with “Auto-stick” function. Both transmissions meter power to the front drive wheels.

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“CODA: A classically styled all-electric zero emission sedan” 

If you happen to be in the market for a sensibly designed, all-electric vehicle (no spaceship styling here folks) then a CODA sedan may well be in your future. Coda artfully blends form and function in a no-nonsense packaging approach.

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“Honda’s 2012 Rebel CMX250C: A Rebel with a Cause”

The Rebel delivers stellar fuel economy at 84 mpg

If you suddenly have the desire to embrace the romance of the open road (or street for that matter) via two-wheeled transport, but lack the confidence and/or ability or, if you’re already a motorcycle rider and would like to introduce someone close to you to the freedom offered by the sport, have I got a bike for you.

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By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

Not too many years ago, it was popular to brandish the famous advertising slogan, “It’s not your father’s Oldsmobile”.  However, buyers must have liked their father’s Oldsmobile better, because they did not buy enough of the new ones and of course, a few years later the 107-year old brand was buried.

Buick was on similar shaky ground in the 1990’s and 2000’s  but for some reason, the brand found a home in the Chinese market and the brand was revised, upgraded, polished, molded and remade into a remarkable brand with, a still limited, but very impressive offering – Enclave, LaCrosse, Regal and Verano.  Now Buick is having a renaissance in the U.S. market. Read the rest of this entry »

“2012 Fiat 500 Abarth: An affordable Italian performance car”

By Arv Voss

Las Vegas, Nevada – What’s in a name? In the case of Fiat, the Abarth moniker, with its iconic scorpion logo, is a highly recognizable symbol not only in Italian performance circles, but worldwide. The name comes from Karl Abarth – a man, a brand, and a name that is synonymous with a host of racing victories – 10,000 individual race victories, 10 world records and 133 international titles are part of the rich racing heritage of the Abarth marque.

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“ Honda’s CR-V for 2012 gains refinement and new look”

Honda has long made it a practice to not rush into anything unless it shows a great deal of promise, and even then, the road to development is one of measured restraint. There are several cases in Honda’s past history to illustrate this fact, but simply stated, Honda rarely makes wholesale changes to vehicles that they manufacture, employing an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary philosophy in their approach to development.

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“Jaguar’s 2012 XKR-S Duo: The pinnacle of British exclusivity”

I would be willing to bet the Queen’s castle that Sir William Lyons never imagined that his automotive creation would reach the level of exclusivity and performance capability that is represented by the extremely limited production 2012 Jaguar XKR-S Coupe and Convertible. Only 25 XKR-S Convertibles were scheduled to come to market on our shores, but all sold out within one week of the debut at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, and the Coupe version, which was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show, and had an allocation of only 100 vehicles slated for the U.S. has already sold out as well. Fortunately, even though all of the 2012 examples have been sold, this special iconic sports car is a halo vehicle for Jaguar, and is scheduled for a three year production run at this point, so if you missed out this year, 2013 models will total 200 vehicles, with an even split between coupes and convertibles, and the 2014 production run is currently calling for 75 convertibles and 100 coupes to be built.

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“Toyota Prius c brings Hybrid Synergy Drive to subcompact market”

Since the first generation Prius made its appearance just over fourteen years ago, more than two million Prius vehicles have been sold globally,986 percent of which are still on the road, and Toyota has continued to evolve the iconic hybrid by introducing significant new model variants, while ever improving and enhancing existing models.

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“BMW’s Sixth Gen 3-Series: All new – but pleasingly so”

Familiarity Breeds content

                                                            328i

Monterey, CA.- As usual, BMW has gone and improved an existing series to the point where it seems to surpass, or at the very least, to equal, the Series lineup above it. If that’s confusing, simply stated, the 6^th generation 3-Series is all-new, yet is on a par with, if not better than earlier 5-Series models. Technically, the 2012 stable of 3-Series vehicles might well be termed the 61/2 or seventh generation, if one were to include the iconic 1600 and 2002 models.

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