Honda is issuing a recall for 2008-2009 Odyssey minivans which will start around March 13th, for problems involving the gas-filled struts used to raise and support the rear liftgate of the vehicle.

This affects Odysseys equipped with the power liftgate system, for a total of 45,747 affected minivans. The flaw can result in a leak of the pressurized gas resulting in reduced strut performance. In other words, your liftgate might not stay up when you think it will, ultimately causing bodily harm. The Japanese automaker will replace both power liftgate gas struts free of charge. Concerned owners can contact Honda at (800) 999-1009.

The all-new 2013 Lexus ES was recently spotted in China. It looks like the luxury Japanese automaker will follow in its newly released GS footsteps with more aggressive styling in its entry-level model.

One quick glance at the above photo reveals that the new-generation ES will feature a much more prominent front-end design similar to what Lexus changed on their new GS model. The front grille and bumper features curves never seen before on the ES model.

The sleek roofline conjures up coupe-inspired styling and it’s a pleasant surprise to see Lexus change so much from their best-selling model, but we definitely agree that it’s all for the better. The interior has also got a huge refresh, giving it a much more luxurious look and doing away with the teardrop console we’ve seen in various current-generation Lexus models.

There’s no absolute guarantee that what we see before us will be what will make its way to the U.S., but chances are good that changes will be subtle. Either way, we’re excited at the direction Lexus is heading – first the GS and then with the ES model. Hopefully the IS gets a nice refresh soon. The current generation is getting a little outdated.

[Source: Lexus Enthusiast via MotorAuthority]

Volvo is hardly known for exciting automobiles, never mind ones that are meant to go fast. Though the Swedish automaker has been changing their models to be more hip and stylish over the recent years, the vast majority would still find the words “great looking Volvo race car” to be an oxymoron.

But that is exactly what the Volvo S60 TTA is – a great looking Volvo race car. Its mean low profile and perfectly executed widebody does the light blue paint justice. But more importantly, it just looks like a real race car despite obviously being a Volvo at the same time.

The S60 TTA will be competing in the Swedish Racing Elite League and features a carbon fiber body, vented hood, aerodynamically-tuned side skirts, and a race-typical rear spoiler. Four-piston calipers with 14.6-inch rotors up front and 14.2-inch rotors in the rear handle braking duties while the S60 TTA will race on 18-inch wheels.

Under the hood is a hybrid V6 powerplant with 420-hp mated to a six-speed sequential transmission. Two teams will be competing with the S60 TTA, Volvo Polestar Racing and Volvo Polestar Performance. The three drivers that are confirmed to pilot these magnificent race machines are Robert Dahlgren, Fredrik Ekblom, and Thed Björk.

The Chevrolet Cruze Diesel made a nice dent in the European, Asian, African, and South American markets last year selling 33,000 units. Now, the popular diesel option will make its way into the U.S., trying to ride on the success wave it is already experiencing worldwide.

The diesel engine that will power the Cruze is being developed at GM’s design center in Torino, Italy, with input coming daily from the GM engineers in Pontiac, Michigan. A truly global design team, GM engineers in Russelsheim, Germany are also working on building some specialized components for the engine like the accessory drive and acoustic cover.

The U.S. market has a different way of looking at diesels, with the notion that diesel motors are only meant for big rigs and tractors. The global design approach will help the new diesel powertrain excel in the American market says GM, as the Europeans know how to build a great diesel engine, and the Americans know how it needs to look, sound and smell to appeal to the U.S. consumer.

“The market for diesel cars in the U.S. is small at present, but is expected to grow due to Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements and expected increases in gas prices,” said Mike Omotoso, a powertrain analyst at LMC Automotive. “So far, the German automakers haven’t had any diesel car competition in North America. GM could do well with it, particularly with younger buyers who don’t have the old prejudices against diesel.”

The diesel Cruze will be available in 2013, and will be an interesting venture for GM, being the first of the big three to offer a diesel option in the USA in a family sedan. “In terms of outward appearances, the difference between the diesel and gasoline engine is going to be difficult to discern,” says Mike Siegrist, 2.0L diesel assistant chief engineer.

The American variant of the Cruze diesel is targeting the 50 mpg mark, and will likely by named the Chevy Cruze Eco-D.

Discuss this story at CruzeTalk.com

Mazda has found a clever way of co-branding with a Hollywood blockbuster this year, teaming up with the children’s themed, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. While Acura has teamed up with the new Avengers movie, the Mazda CX-5′s appearance in The Lorax is not only more believable, but will surely have kids asking their parents why they don’t own a CX-5.

Mazda has launched a “Seuss-ified” advertising campaign to promote its partnership with Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s upcoming film which is set to hit theaters on March 2nd. The big selling point for Mazda with the partnership is its new Skyactiv Technology, geared towards increasing fuel economy without sacrificing performance.

In the new ad spots, the CX-5 is seen traveling through “Truffula Valley” and is “Truffula Tree Certified” as main characters in the movie talk about the new Skyactiv Technology, including Danny DeVito who voices The Lorax in the film.

“The Lorax character’s view of the environment fits in exactly with Mazda and SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY, so the two were a perfect match for a commercial,” said Illumination Entertainment founder and CEO Chris Meledandri. “By staying true to who the Lorax and other Truffula Valley animals are we were able to create a fun and engaging spot.”

This won’t be the only marketing we’ll see with Mazda and the upcoming film, as Garage Team Mazda will be creating a custom graphic icon of the “Truffula Tree Seal of Approval” to be used on stickers, buttons, and other collateral marketing material.

Mazda will also be donating up to $25 per test drive, up to $1-million in total to the National Education Association (NEA) from February 20th to April 2nd, as part of the organization’s Read Across America Program.

Watch the Dr. Seuss digitized version of the Mazda CX-5 after the break.

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AMG, the high-performance subsidiary for German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz, is poised to establish itself as a real player in the sports car industry by unveiling 17 new models and variants over the next four years.

Most noticeable of the upcoming models by AMG will be their SLC model which is slated to hit showrooms by 2014 with a roadster variant to come 18 months later. It is believed the SLC is a “baby SLS” but will still be powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine with 550 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque with an estimated price of $150,000 to $200,000.

In addition to the new models, AMG and Mercedes are working together for lightweight aluminum chassis and a new generation of powerplants for their models. The German automaker hopes to reduce the total number of platforms by sharing them across all segments. Their end goal is to have one platform for rear-wheel drive vehicles, one for compact front-wheel drive cars, and one for SUVs.

As for engines, AMG is currently working on a 2.0L, four-cylinder for the A-, CLC-, and GLC-Class models. They are hoping to squeeze out an impressive 340-hp out of the small powerplant. It is also rumored that AMG is working on a more powerful 4.0L V8, and a possible inline-six engine.

There are also rumors of an SLS successor floating around. A car that will pack plenty more carbon fiber than the current SLS AMG and will be powered by a 6.2L V8 with 650-hp. With the aid of plenty more carbon throughout the car and a new lightweight aluminum chassis, this successor could weight almost 600 lbs lighter than the current generation model. Now that would be a supercar.

And we are already well aware that AMG is working on a lightweight and Black Series variant of the SLS AMG. And upcoming is the new SL 63 AMG with a 571-hp V8, while the SL 65 AMG will see a 625-hp V12. Upcoming in the near future are AMG variants of the new S-Class and a V12-powered G-Class.

[Source: GT Spirit]

Earlier this month, electric car manufacturer Fisker Automotive laid off around 65 workers and it became public knowledge that they were renegotiating loan details with the US Department of Energy.

Now analysts (or at least one analyst) are predicting the inevitable death of Fisker as a company, especially since Fisker apparently did not meet certain loan conditions due to production delays. Up until now, Fisker has received less than $200-million of its $529-million loan from the DOE, and is currently negotiating for some if not all of the remaining balance of the loan.

But with the Obama Administration facing political pressure to reduce spending, there’s a real good chance Fisker will never see the remaining $336-million or so. And without that funding, Fisker could go under and perhaps along with it, A123 Systems, its lithium-ion battery manufacturer.

Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher has played down the issue saying that Fisker is simply enduring a “bump in the road.” Ormisher told The Wall Street Journal that the Karma hasn’t been impacted and Fisker has delivered about 250 vehicles and that the remaining DOE funds were strictly to help produce the Project Nina vehicle.

In a statement released around the same time as the lay offs were done, Fisker said that they were pursuing “alternative funding sources” and that they had raised $260-million in equity in late 2011. But according to the Orange County Register, the newspaper local to Fisker Automotive’s headquarters, Daniel Wray is suing Fisker Automotive for fraud. An investor into the electric automaker, Wray claims that he had invested $210,000 and that Fisker demanded another $84,000 or he’d lose the rights he gained from the original stock purchase.

GALLERY: Fisker Karma

[Source: Autoblog]

Inside Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse underground subway station, German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz launched one of the more clever advertising campaigns we’ve seen to date. Dubbed “Key to Viano”, commuters are able to use their own vehicle keys to control the digital advertising displays.

By recognizing car key signals through a radio receiver, a new film clip starts each time a signal is received. To set everything up for the interactive campaign, 12 digital advertising displays were installed and the underground station went through an extensive overhaul that was accomplished in collaboration with WallDecaux Berlin.

Basically, each time someone pushes their remote key near one of the displays, the side door of the digital Viano opens and different kinds of passengers come out, ranging from female body builders to sumo wrestlers to robots. The goal, of course, is to show off just how much room the Viano has inside.

Taking the “interaction” up a notch, if a person triggers the chauffeur clip, they are then escorted by the Mercedes-Benz promotional team on location to a Viano waiting outside the station for an all expenses paid trip to wherever they are heading.

Watch a video of the Key to Viano campaign in action after the break.

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Cadillac has released a dozen or so new photos of its upcoming 2013 ATS sedan along with a new video showing off its lightweight chassis, further teasing us about the new model that hasn’t even had its pricing announced yet.

The luxury American automaker also went so far as to compare the ATS 2.0L turbo variant against its German counterpart, the BMW 328i with a 2.0L turbo motor. The ATS will pack 270-hp and 260 lb-ft of torque compared to the BMW 240-hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. In addition, Cadillac wanted to remind everyone about their Magnetic Ride Control while the ATS will also have massive Brembo brakes with four-piston calipers while the BMW has a single-piston, sliding-caliper design.

The 2.0L turbocharged engine won’t be the only powerplant Cadillac will offer with their new ATS sedan; it’ll also get a 2.5L four-cylinder with 200-hp and 188 lb-ft of torque, and a larger 3.6L V6 with 318-hp and 267 lb-ft of torque.

Hopefully we’ll get pricing info soon on the new ATS sedan and we’ll have a clearer picture whether or not it’ll be a real BMW killer.

Check out a video of the 2013 Cadillac ATS below.

GALLERY: 2013 Cadillac ATS Sedan

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The BMW X1 is Europe’s best selling all-wheel drive vehicle, and due to that strong demand, Americans have been denied the privilege of seeing it on our shores. But now rumor has it that the BMW X1 M35i xDrive will make its way to America as the first M Performance vehicle for our consumption.

It has already been confirmed that we won’t be getting any of the already announced M Performance Diesel vehicles, but the X1 M35i xDrive would certainly be an acceptable consolation prize. And since the upcoming BMW M135i won’t be coming to America anytime soon, it certainly makes sense that the German automaker would find the X1 M35i the perfect vehicle to launch the M Performance brand in the US.

The X1 M35i xDrive will feature the same 320-hp performance seen in the M135i Sporthatch that will be making its way to Europe shortly. Along with that, the X1 will get an M-tuned chassis, reworked suspension, refreshed aerodynamic package, and M-specific wheels. It will easily become the flagship model for the X1 if and when it makes it to America.

Hopefully this rumor will pan out in being true, since America is certainly hungry to get their hands on some M Performance models.

GALLERY: BMW X1 with M Package

[Source: XBimmers]