We know the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta is more affordable than last year’s car, but really, $5995? That’s the price that three individual cars will be offered when sold through the Gilt Groupe as part of a special promotion.

The first car will be available for sale in a three-day flash sale program (December 15, 16 and 17).

On the first day, the sale will only be accessible via Gilt mobile phone apps on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices; from December 16th it will be made available on Gilt.com.

Volkswagen is the first automaker  to offer vehicles for sale on Gilt, ,a flash based website that peddles ‘premium’ products to its members. Perhaps it’s a sign of things to come.

German firm X-Raid is already preparing a MINI Countryman, a vehicle that’s been on sale for less than a month, for competition in the upcoming Dakar rally.

While most of the photos show a finished product, the vehicle prep shots show a pretty thorough re-working of the biggest MINI, as well as a gorgeous custom made rollcage. Sadly, specifications aren’t part of the article, and we’re left guessing on how much power the thing makes. A long travel suspension and skid plates are also visible to the naked eye.

Gallery: MINI Countryman Dakar

The outgoing Chrysler 300 was a great value thanks to a number of cost cutting initiatives, like sharing a platform with Mercedes-Benz’s old E-Class and using interior materials made out of melted down children’s toys. That might have been passable five years ago, but with even small cars boasting high quality interiors, the awful tortoise shell trim and cheesy analog clock isn’t going to cut it anymore.

With most of Chrysler’s new offerings getting substantially upgraded interiors, the 300 range wasn’t going to miss out, and the first officially released photo looks pretty good, echoing products like the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and the upcoming Dodge Charger and Dodge Durango. We’ll likely get our first look at the car during the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, and you can check back starting January 10th for live shots.

[Source: Automotive News]

You’ve heard of Groupon and LivingSocial, the sites where members group together to buy services at a significantly lower cost. But how’s this for a deal? DailyWish.com is going to be selling something a little fancier than a medi/pedi – two 2011 BMW 328i vehicles at 50 percent off.

On December 16 – that’s this Thursday – the American Express’ online marketplace DailyWish.com will have two 2011 328i BMW vehicles on sale at half-price or $17,262.50 (regularly $35,975).

DailyWish.com is American Express’ online marketplace and works just like Groupon.com and LivingSocial.com. The start times for the sales are usually announced the day before, but check DailyWish now to up a reminder for this sale using the “Remind me” button. The DailyWish.com deals can only be purchased by American Express card members.

The 2011 328i BMW for sale through DailyWish.com base models but additional options can be added. If you end up buying one, a representative will call a few days after the sale to give you all the pertinent information about your new purchase, including available interior and exterior colors, and to arrange for a dealer.

[Source: DailyWish.com]

Nissan and Mitsubishi announced a new joint venture today, notably involving a minicar project that will see Nissan’s engineering prowess and Mitsubishi’s small car expertise utilized in to give greater market share to both companies in markets outside North America.

The first salvo of products will include a Nissan-built van to be sold as a Mitsubishi in Japan, while Mitsubishi will build a Nissan badged SUV for the Middle East market. The upcoming minicar will compete in a segment that comprises a third of Japanese new car sales, and has increasing demand in many developing markets.

“In the global auto industry, cooperation on specific projects among automakers is becoming increasingly common,” Ghosn said at a press conference announcing the venture.”It is, in fact, a signal of how our industry is evolving to sustain success over the long term, by leveraging size, scale and investments more effectively to create more value.”

[Source: The Detroit News]

Hyundai is celebrating its first ever year in which it sold 500,000 vehicles, with the Sonata leading the charge, moving over 183,000 units. The Elantra and Santa Fe were second and third, respectively.

The company’s previous record  was 467,009 units in 2007, but Hyundai expects to sell about 537,000 units this year. The record year also coincides with the 25th anniversary of Hyundai’s entry into the American market, and we offer our congratulations on this occassion.

Hit the jump to read the official press release

[Source: Hyundai]

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MINI will return to its roots at the Geneva Auto Show next year, showcasing a new entry level model that will compete with cars like the Smart fortwo and Toyota iQ.

The long-rumored city car has one again been hinted at by MINI boss Wolfgang Armbrecht, reports AutoCar.

The new vehicle is likely to be based off the current MINI Cooper platform as MINI looks to introduce a new front-drive platform for the Cooper and other models, which will also be shared with the upcoming front-drive BMW 1 Series line.

According to the Financial Times Deutschland, MINI will also look to introduce a new, larger concept at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show.

Last year MINI took the wraps off its Beachcomber concept in Detroit and since then the project has been rumored to have changed direction. That being said, it’s possible the Detroit concept could be close-to-production version of the rumored two-door Canyon model, based off the Countryman.

[Source: AutoCar]

Porsche has just unwrapped its latest race car, the 2011 911 GT3 RSR GT, with more power, improved grip and a lot of letters.

Using a 4.0-liter flat-six and six-speed sequential gearbox, power is now rated at 449-hp at 7800 rpm, an improvement of 5-hp over the outgoing model.

Outside, the car gets wider front wheels (12-inches over 11-inches) for improved grip, while a new front lip spoiler adds downforce and a new rear spoiler and engine cover improve both aerodynamics and cooling – something that becomes particularly important in endurance racing.

In addition, the GT3 RSR also gets rear LED lights.

Weighing in at 2,690 lbs, the new RSR has just officially gone on sale in Europe for £346,000.

GALLERY: 2011 Porsche GT3 RSR GT

Official release after the jump:

Continue Reading…

You’d expect that with Bob Lutz signing on with Lotus as a consultant that he’d be endlessly spouting-off about the brand’s endless possibilities and bright future. Not so.

Instead, the always candid former head of General Motors is giving the British sports car maker’s plan for the future a 60 percent chance at success. That might sound skittish at first, but taking into account the ambitious plan to build five new models in the next five years and sell between 6,000 and 7,000 cars while competing directly with Ferrari and Porsche, Lutz might still be being optimistic.

Still, Lutz approves of the Lotus plan so far, commenting in an interview with AutoCar that the new plan has a better chance of survival than if they chose to stick to the same philosophy of ultra-niche market cars. And while a lot of cash is certainly being invested into the Lotus plan, it’s not being spent frivolously. “The engineering I’ve seen so far is very good, and they’re definitely going about it the right way,” he said. “The money they’re spending on each model is only a fraction of what we’d have spent at GM on similar projects.”

[Source: AutoCar]

We’ve all heard of social media, but how about social navigation? Waze is the first self-described “social navigation” app that uses a community of users to build and confirm mapping based on U.S. government map databases. This community also reports on things like traffic jams and accidents, and the location of speed cams and police activity.

Users can confirm routes and track traffic and road-speed patterns, but like any app that needs others to provide critical information, there will be gaps in map data and other information until enough people are recruited to fill it in.

What you’ll like about Waze is that the approach to building community and getting users where they’re going is done with a healthy dose of humor rather than a just-the-facts approach.

The Waze app is almost like a videogame. Its cartoon-like icon appears when a user drives a road that’s previously uncharted by the app. The icon noms on Pac-Man like dots to earn “points,” and features “Easter eggs” that can earn users bonus points. Users can also change the mood of their driver ID to “cool,” “happy” or “mad.” If you’re all about the social aspect of this app, you can view icons of other nearby Waze users and use the app to find Facebook friends on the road.

Other cool features that come with Waze include it voice-guided turn-by-turn directions and fast route recalculations, and it has a zooming feature and can be integrated with an iPhone’s contacts.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]