At the recent Montreal International Auto Show, Kia Canada rolled out a new turbocharged version of the Sportage crossover.

Currently available in only LX and EX trim levels, this new SX model uses the same 2.0L turbocharged gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine found in the new Hyundai Sonata Turbo. No engine specifics have been provided, but in the Sonata it makes 274-hp and 269 lb-ft of torque, which should help this compact crossover really fly.

In the Sonata, that engine makes 22/33-mpg (city/highway) so we expect similar numbers in the Sportage SX.

Standard equipment on the SX trim includes items like a Smart Key Push Button start, Panoramic Sunroof, 18-inch wheels, Driver Ventilated Seat, EVO Infotainment System, 7-speaker audio system and SX Leather Seating.

Arriving at dealers soon, the Sportage SX is priced from $36,995 in Canada. We expect a U.S. version to arrive soon, and this also raises the possibility that the Tucson will get the 2.0T engine.

The next generation of the MINI Cooper will be the most dramatic change from the past since the new MINI was introduced in 2001.

Described as a, “bigger design leap than the last one,” by BMW Group design chief Adrian van Hooydonk, that’s not saying much with the current model and the original new MINI nearly identical.

Still, according to a report by AutoCar, MINI brand design chief Anders Warming says his team will start from scratch for the latest model. In addition, MINI is reportedly working on a new interior design that could see a move away from the highly-stylized, yet often criticized novelty-sized central speedometer.

The larger change, however, will come under the hood with reports suggesting the Cooper will be powered by a new turbocharged 3-cylinder engine.

[Source: AutoCar]

Porsche continues to roll out new special edition versions of its iconic 911 model, the latest being the new 911 Black Edition. Following the 911 Speedster and Carrera GTS, this not-so-special, special edition doesn’t get the wider Carrera 4 body or the more powerful 408-hp engine. Nope, it’s just a standard fare 345-hp model with black paint. Or to be more specific, your choice of two shades of black: Solid Black or Basalt Black Metallic. (Who said German’s were dull?)

OK, so there’s a little more to the package than that, like 19-inch Turbo II two-colored wheels and black-painted brake calipers. Inside there’s a sport steering wheel, with a black instrument cluster and much of the rest of the cabin is blacked-out in contrast to the aluminum trim. The rear center console even gets paint-matched to the exterior of the car while an upgraded Bose sound system is included. And of course, there’s ‘Black Edition’ lettering on the door sill, plus a Black Edition badge indicating what number of the 1,911 versions yours is.

Apart from the lack of creativity, the Black Edition is a classy looking package and it’s actually a ‘bargain’ says Porsche, priced $6,000 less than a comparably equipped 911. Plus, you still get the 911′s amazing driving experience and a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds when equipped with a 7-speed PDK transmission and the Sport Chrono Package.

Arriving in the Spring Porsche has priced the Coupe from $81,300 and the Cabriolet from $91,300. Roughly 30 percent of the 911 Black Edition models will be earmarked for sale in the U.S.

GALLERY: 2012 Porsche 911 Black Edition

Acura has officially announced it will debut the refreshed 2012 TL model at the upcoming Chicago Auto Show.

Following modest restyles of the TSX and RL, Acura is expected to minimize the ‘beak’ design of the front grille in order to attract more buyers.

The move shows a response by the automaker from consumers, who spoke out unanimously against the brand’s styling in the 2010 J.D. Power Avoidance Study with nearly half of all prospective Acura buyers citing the brand’s styling as their main reason for not purchasing an Acura.

Along with styling updates, expect a new six-speed transmission with improved fuel economy.

The official debut will take place on February 9th.

With the onset of the Great Recession in 2008, some pundits were predicting that automakers like Suzuki wouldn’t last much longer in the U.S. market.

Since then, the Japanese company’s auto sales have been virtually in a freefall stateside – plummeting from 101,884 vehicles sold in 2007 (it’s best ever record in the U.S. by the way), to just 23,994 last year. But according to official sources within the company, it would be unwise to count Suzuki out just yet.

The Kizashi sedan, introduced in December 2009 is actually providing a welcome relief for dealers. American Suzuki Motor Co moved 6138 Kizashis off lots in 2010 and while that might seem like peanuts compared to the roughly 300,000 Toyota Camrys sold in the U.S. each year, Suzuki’s director of marketing and product planning, Steve Younan, doesn’t appear to be too concerned.

“We were in launch phase last year, so our sales were growing every month after we launched the car ,” he said. “As we launch some new advertising this year, we expect to continue that momentum.” In fact Younan says that Suzuki has recently been selling almost 1,000 Kizashis a month, a figure which is right in line for this year’s annual sales projections and almost double last year’s total.

And it’s a car that is apparently attracting a new type of buyer too, affluent males around 40, with a household income of $75,000 or more. That contrasts with Suzuki’s traditional U.S. audience which tended to be those on lower incomes, encouraged by heavy incentives to move metal off dealer lots.

But there’s still work to be done. A new marketing campaign, dubbed ‘Suzuki Kicks’ launched this past December, specifically targeted at the brand’s largest regional markets in the U.S., primarily in the South and North Eastern states is now gaining momentum.

In addition the company has made plans to handle increased capacity at the Sagara assembly plant in Japan where the Kizashi is built. Suzuki says that the factory is easily up to the task of handling double the current production levels, should total auto sales increase from around 12 million units today to 16 million annually.

With Volkswagen now owning a stake in Suzuki, there are also plans to possibly offer new powertrains in the Kizashi, designed to inject the car with even more sporting flair, including VW’s 2.0 turbo four.

Although Younan didn’t reveal any specifics, he did say all kinds of options being considered. But Suzuki is still airing on the side of caution, both as a strategy for the company as a whole and also it’s product lines, including the Kizashi.

When GM severed its ties to Suzuki in 2009, several powertrain plans for the Kizashi, including a hybrid were quickly scuttled, plus with the relationship with Volkswagen Group still in at the embryonic stage, the company has every reason to be treading carefully as it moves forward.

“Our whole product cadence got pushed back because of this relationship [with VW],” Younan said. “We had to slow down our process to see what we could take advantage of and what they could take advantage of. It’s taking longer than we thought.”

[Source: Ward's Auto World]

To continue promoting the sport of drag racing, GM Performance Parts will be putting on the LSX Challenge Series restricting entry to GM production-based LS and GM Performance Parts LSX engines and engine components.

The LSX Challenge Series will be a four-race points drag racing series, ending at the 5th annual LSX Shootout which will be held with NMCA’s World Street Finals on October 6-9 in Indianapolis.

The classes of drag racing will be LSX Drag Radial, LSX All Motor, LSX Real Street, LSX Rumble (Index) and 5th Gen Chevy Camaro Challenge (Index) – providing a little bit of everything for GM enthusiasts. Along with the drag racing, the LSX Challenge Series will feature a car show at each event. In order to compete for the championship, each racer much participate in three of the four events.

GMPP’s LSX Challenge Series’s schedule of events:

March 18-20 NMCA Season Opener at Bradenton Motorsports Park, Bradenton, Florida

April 14-17 NMRA / NMCA All-Star Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, Georgia

September 9-11 Holley LS Fest at Beech Bend Raceway Park, Bowling Green, Kentucky

October 6-9 NMCA World Street Finals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis

With all this new technology available to us, much of it thanks to Google, it was only a matter of time before the automotive manufacturers tapped into its potential. Audi may be one of the pioneers in this field integrating an Internet-based navigation system into the new A6 with plans to include it in the new A8, A4 and Q7.

The primary focus of the Internet-based navigation system is to deliver accurate traffic not just on the freeways and highways, but on the local streets as well. The navigation includes technology from Inrix and Google Maps with the latter providing quick searches for point of interests.

Inrix’s XD Traffic service displays traffic flow information for 20-30 feet of covered roads as opposed to mile-to-mile that much of today’s navigation systems do. As a result, the Audi navigation system will use this accurate traffic information to provide up-to-the-minute routes to avoid traffic jams.

Currently in Europe, owners will be able to use a copied-SIM in the navigation in order to get data service while U.S. drivers will be able to use data through a Bluetooth connection from their smartphone.

[Source: Car Tech Blog]

Initially, Audi hadn’t planned to bring its baby crossover across the pond, but with market demand for luxury compact crossovers exploding, the German automaker is poised to reconsider that move.

The small luxury CUV segment grew 22.3 percent last year, causing several manufacturers to bring new vehicles to market, including BMW with its X1.

Another reason for Audi’s change of mind might be the sales performance generated by the Q5, which has become one of Audi’s hottest selling models – in the US. .alone it has recorded a 70 percent sales increase year over year.

But it’s also been a big player on the global stage too – traditionally, most auto manufacturers have struggled to have a single best selling car in multiple markets, though the Q5 appears to be defying that trend.

According to Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi’s global sales supremo “I don’t remember in my 25 years in the auto industry, one model that was successful in every country, but the Q5 was a huge hit around the world. We think the Q3 could write a similar success story.”

The possible North American introduction of the Q3 is part of Audi’s next phase of brand development, in which it hopes to sell around 200,000 units annually in the U.S. by 2018 as well as pushing into new segments, including higher price brackets and small cars. Audi of America CEO Johann De Nysschen says the brand is already drawing more affluent buyers than before thanks to the current A8; with additional movement in that direction expected in the foreseeable future.

He also hinted that the A1, Audi’s smallest vehicle, might eventually make it to the U.S., but that would have to wait until it’s redesigned once more, as the current A1 wasn’t conceived with North America in mind.

[Source: Ward's Auto World]

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was a rather special offspring from the marriage between a German auto giant and a British racing team. These carbon-fiber bodied supercars were fast and comfortable, making it the ultimate car to cross a continent in.

In the course of its life, there were a few models of the SLR that were offered, the coupe, the roadster plus the 722 editions of those two body styles which had more power. However, at the end of its production life, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren brought out a final version of this car called the SLR Stirling Moss edition (named after the famed racing driver who won the Mille Miglia race in 1955 in the original 300SLR).

This version has a unique speedster body that has no windscreen or roof and it features headlights and tail lights unique to this model (among many other things). Thanks to a 5.5-liter, supercharged V8, it produces 650-hp; enough to propel it from 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds and onto a top speed of 217 mph.

Only 75 examples of this extreme SLR were ever produced, but sadly none were destined to be sold in the U.S.A. because the D.M.V. did not classify it as a street-legal car.

However, one seems to have slipped through the net and is now up for sale in Miami, FL. According to the ad, this particular SLR Stirling Moss has just 50-miles on its odometer and comes with a showcar license, so it can be moderately used in America.

As for the price, its $1.75-million, but the owner is open to look at trade-ins. We’re only guessing but we don’t think he would be much interested in a beige Corolla. Too bad.

[Source: duPont Registry]

At the upcoming Geneva Auto Show, Fiat sub-brand Alfa Romeo is expected to debut a new sports car concept based on the underpinnings of the KTM X-Bow – a track machine similar to the Ariel Atom.

Called the 4C Concept, the name seems to indicate a more affordable version of the 8C flagship sports car. The machine is tipped to be powered by the company’s 1.750 TBi engine and making roughly 260-hp.

For the time being, Alfa is believed to have no production plans for the car, it merely hinting at a possible future sports car. Recently, another report indicated that Fiat would give its Abarth sub-brand its own high-performance model, based off the Lotus Elise.

For more on the 2011 Geneva Auto Show reveals, see AutoGuide’s complete show preview here.

[Source: Autoblog.gr]