The re-designed Mazda5, the smallest minivan available for sale in North America, will go on sale with a base price of $19,990 starting in January of 2011.

The Mazda5 will come in three trim levels, with the base trim being Sport, Touring being the mid-level and Grand Touring acting as a top of the line car. All models get Dynamic Stability Control , traction control, anti-lock brakes , tire-pressure monitoring, and a multitude of airbags. Luxury features like Bluetooth start to appear on the Touring model, but the good news for the certifiably nutty is that a 5-speed manual is available on this sliding-door equipped van! It doesn’t get much better than that, as far as we’re concerned.

[Source: Carscoop]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently implemented a revised test procedure for it’s 5-star New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) vehicle safety rating system and now, has issued results conducted with four 2011 model year pickup trucks – the Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra 1500,  Ram 1500 and Toyota Tacoma.

NHTSA’s new NCAP test results are calculated using the probabilities of injury in determining frontal, side and rollover ratings, but now incorporate different sized dummies for more ‘accurate’ measuring and a new side impact ‘pole test’ as part of the program. The results of the crash tests are awarded ‘stars’ based on the ‘level’ of injury risk related to a defined average from those individual front, side and roll-over tests – five stars being the best above average, one star being the worst.

And based on those ratings, among the four trucks tested, the Silverado/Sierra scored the highest overall rating – earning an average ‘four-stars’ for occupant safety – including a 5-star award for driver frontal crash protection on extended cab models and five-stars for side impact testing – including the new pole test that simulates the impact of hitting a pole or tree at 20 mph, just behind the A-pillar. Rollover ratings were 4-stars on both trucks.

The  Toyota Tacoma also received an overall ’4-star’ rating but didn’t fare as well as GM twins in frontal and side impact testing.

The 2011 Ram 4×4 garnered a 3-star safety rating largely due to average ratings in frontal driver and passenger protection and just a one-star rating in the new pole test, though interestingly, two-wheel drive Rams tested were awarded an overall NCAP rating of 4-stars.

NHTSA is the first to indicate that because of the changes in the new tests, like adding different sized dummies and the pole test, direct comparison between the 2011 and 2010 NCAP tests can’t be drawn, though it will be interesting to see how some of other pickups on the market will fare in the tests, particularly the current F-150 and the compact Ranger.

[Source: Pickuptrucks.com]

The McLaren MP4-12C will go on sale in the UK with a base price of £168,500, narrowly undercutting the Ferrari 458 Italia by £1,045. But due to new UK tax laws, the McLaren’s “on the road” price, including taxes and registration, will actually be £5 more than the 458 Italia.

A price increase is expected for the 458 Italia to account for the new taxes, but the car features ceramic brakes as standard, while they remain optional on the McLaren. The MP4-12C will be sold through three retail stores in the UK, in London, Manchester and Birmingham. McLaren’s last supercar, the F1, sold for £635,000 when released in 1994.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Good news for the economy, not-so-great news for BMW and Mercedes-Benz factory workers who had travel plans over the holiday season. In order to meet the growing demand for new models, these two automakers have decided to shorten Christmas breaks this year.

This shortened vacation policy applies to BMW’s German plants in Dingolfing and Leipzig, as well as Mercedes-Benz’ Hamburg factory. The BMW factory is where the recently overhauled 5-Series and the X1 are made, and the Mercedes plant supplies parts to vehicles including the Mercedes E- and S-Class sedans.

While workers might be grumbling about there shortened holidays, this is great news for the automakers and the economy. It shows that luxury-vehicle demand is back – in fact, BMW and Mercedes each target sales growth of more than 10 percent this year. Business is also booming for Audi as well (the luxury unit of Volkswagen AG), as they have plans to add shifts next month to address a record number of orders.

As for sales, BMW increased sales worldwide by 13 percent to 1.19 million vehicles through October (this includes Mini and Rolls-Royce models, which the company manufactures), while deliveries of Mercedes and the Smart city car rose 12 percent to 1.04 million.

It’s nice to get some good news about the economy for a change, and the experts remain optimistic as well. “This is the first strong signal that the boom over the last few months can continue into next year,” said Juergen Pieper, a Frankfurt-based analyst with Bankhaus Metzler.

[Source: Automotive News]

General Motors is hoping that their next Chevrolet Impala, due in 2014, will be looked at as more than just fodder for the rental car lot. With a new platform shared with the Buick Lacrosse, the next Impala, due in 2014, should represent a significant jump in both style and performance – although based on the current car, that’s not saying too much.

The report in Automotive News also points to a possible rear-drive performance sedan for Chevrolet, which would almost certainly be based on the rear-drive Holden Commodore platform. The car would also be slated for a 2014 release, and one Chevrolet insider told Automotive News that “we are going back to the essence of what Chevrolet was and stood for — well-designed, beautiful, sculptured pieces, with lots of customer value.”  Chevrolet is selling a Holden model to police fleets as the Chevrolet Caprice, but sales to the public are not planned at this time.

[Source: Automotive News]

Patrolling the southern U.S. border with Mexico is a dangerous job. Not only do agents have to content with (sometimes dangerous) people trying to cross it illegally, but also all manner of wildlife, as well as vast expanses of  remote and rugged terrain.

To patrol successfully requires a suitable vehicle and in the past, rugged 4×4 pickups and proper sport utilities have been the mounts of choice. Today, perhaps the most suitable vehicle of all is Ford‘s F-150 SVT Raptor, but until now, there’s been one small problem – leather seats.

Given the searing daytime temperatures in parts of Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, cow-hide seating surfaces aren’t exactly practical – especially for long shift work out in the desert. As a result, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was able to pull some strings and special order a fleet of Raptors for the Customs and Border Protection division down in Arizona, without leather seats. It sure is nice to have friends in high places.

[Source: Autoblog]

Along with a hatchback, sedan and wagon, Ford will look to add one more variant to its Focus lineup: a coupe.

Set to debut as a concept at the Detroit Auto Show this January, AutoExpress reports that the concept car will take inspiration from the European Capri model, while sharing a great deal with the new Focus ST hot hatch. That means it will get the same 237-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder engine, as well as the ST’s torque vectoring system to provide optimum traction to the front wheels.

Many style items will be carried over from the hatchback (including the center exit exhaust), while a wider stance will give the car an even more aggressive look.

In Europe the car will fit as a suitable rival to the VW Scirocco, while in the U.S. it will compete against cars like the Honda Civic Si, as well as upcoming high-performance versions of the Chevy Cruze Coupe.

With the concept car set to debut in Detroit, look for a production model in 2012.

[Source: AutoExpress]

News that Lamborghini would send its Sesto Elemento concept into production surfaced several weeks ago, but new information indicates that even if Lambo does reproduce the car, we may never see it on the street.

Why you ask? Well, according to Lambo CEO Stephan Winkelmann, the car might be a track-only special, along the lines of the Ferrari 599XX.

“We are testing the Sesto Elemento at the moment and if it all goes well then we could look at a limited production run,” Winkelmann told AutoCar. “But it would not be homologated because there are complications with things like airbags. It would be for track use only.

Commenting that Lamborghini has no intention of just producing cars as museum pieces (obviously forgetting the recent Estoque sedan and Miura concept), Winkelmann hinted that were the car to get the official green light it would likely be even more rare than the Reventon, of which just 20 were produced.

GALLERY: Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

[Source: AutoCar]

Audi has set a goal to be the electric leader in the premium segment by 2020, with a plan that will include pure battery electric vehicles, hybrids and now plug-in hybrids. At a recent technical seminar Audi’s electric mobility manager Franciscus van Meel commented that Audi expects to bring to market its first EV by 2014.

No details were given on the car, but it’s likely to be an adapted version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder hybrid powertrain planned for the upcoming A8 Hybrid (above) and Q5 Hybrid. Audi recently unveiled the A8 Hybrid at the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year.

Also in the pipe is an A6 Hybrid, as well as the company’s flagship e-tron R8 electric sports car, which is set to debut in 2012.

Audi is also currently testing a fleet of e-tron A1 models in Europe, with a production date likely for the near future as BMW plans to launch its new MagaCity electric vehicle.

Audi’s EV plan will see electric cars make up 5 percent of total volume by 2020 with a larger plan to improve the efficiency of its gasoline and diesel models by 2020.

During that time, parent company Volkswagen will roll out its own electric and hybrid models, with the E-Up, E-Golf and E-Jetta due out by 2013. Hybrid Golf, Jetta and Passat models will also begin rolling out in 2012.

[Source: Automotive News]

Recently Ford announced that it would be retiring the Focus from WRC racing duty as new rules will see the switch to using the Fiesta and a smaller 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder.

To celebrate the car and honor its legacy Ford of Europe has put together a 5 minute tribute video, packed full of jumps, crashes and even the famous incident where the late Colin McRae kicked his Focus in frustration.

Check out the video after the jump and click here for more on the new Fiesta WRC car:

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