A few days ago, Motor Trend reported that Cadillac was putting its ATS Coupe on the shelf for the time being, and that the convertible and wagon variants were going to be dropped completely.

But now it appears as though Cadillac may have a thing or two to say about its ATS plans – even as vague as they may be. David Caldwell, Cadillac spokesman, was recently quoted saying “There has been no recent radical shift in strategy,” in regards to the ATS. That either means the ATS Coupe hasn’t gotten anywhere on the table, or GM is still working hard at developing the variant. See what Caldwell did there?

As for those who have been reporting different variants on the ATS, including the convertible and wagon versions, Caldwell left the door open again saying “On either end of the spectrum the reporting is inaccurate.” But here’s the real statement that makes us believe that Cadillac hasn’t quite shelved the idea of ATS variants altogether: “We do plan to do variants,” Caldwell said. “We haven’t yet called our shot of how we’re going to execute that.”

What’s it all mean? To us it appears that Cadillac will play it safe by seeing how well received (or not) the ATS is in the marketplace before determining whether it’ll be ripping into variants of the model for public consumption.

[Source: Autoblog]

Collectively this has resulted, not only in maintaining the one-fifty’s position as sales leader in the segment, but also in a truck that consistently stands apart from the herd.

This is something Motor Trend magazine duly noted, during it’s annual truck of the year test for 2012 models. When all was said and done, the F-150 scored a solid lead over rival contenders, including Nissan’s new full-size van, the NV, the Ram HD Laramie Longhorn and Toyota Tacoma.

And a big part of that had to do with the truck’s 3.5-liter twin turbo EcoBoost engine, which today, is accounting for around 40 percent of all F-150 sales in the US. Said Motor Trend‘s editor-in-chief Ed Loh of the EcoBoost. “It mastered every task we subjected it to, acing our instrumented tests at the proving grounds and swaying opinions during our real world evaluations.”

Upon the announcement of the 2012 MT Truck of the Year, Mark Fields, Ford’s President of the Americas remarked, We are proud to receive this award and even more pleased that our F-150 customers have additional validation of their top choice.”

Ford’s F-150 has previously garnered Motor Trend Truck of the Year honors in 1997, 2004, and 2009.

While Volkswagen was displaying their “new” Beetle R “concept” and freshened 2012 VW CC at the Los Angeles Auto Show, there was also a new Passat sitting there which we have seen even more than the other two cars. Old news we were thinking… until Angus MacKenzie from Motor Trend stepped on stage.

Taking most of the assembled media members aback, Angus announced that the 2012 Passat had been chosen as this year’s Car Of The Year. From the largest field ever in the award’s 60-odd years of existence, the guys at MT picked the Passat. If we challenged you to name the 35 or so cars that were in the running this year, chances are you might have forgotten the Passat. But as Mr. MacKenzie pointed out, the new Passat was the best at meeting the magazine’s six judging criteria. We don’t have anything against the Passat, mind you, but we have to say that this selection was a big surprise.

Congrats go out to the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, the winner of the 2012 Motor Trend SUV of the Year.

The Evoque was up against some stiff competition this year. Other contenders up for the award included  BMW X3, Dodge Durango, Dodge Journey, Ford Explorer, Jeep Wrangler, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, MINI Countryman, Saab 9-4x and Volkswagen Touareg.

According to Motor Trend, the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque passed each of its six criteria for the distinction (Advancement In Design, Engineering Excellence, Efficiency, Safety, Value and Performance Of Intended Function) with flying colors.

Based on the Land Rover LR2, the Evoque is an evolutionary leap over its predecessor, says Motor Trend. Even though it shares a platform with the LR2, the Evoque performs considerably better in every way. “The Evoque is meant to appeal to the buyer who ranks style, content, and fuel efficiency above approach and departure angles,” says Motor Trend.

Just a few of Evoque’s perks that wowed the judges included its Terrain Response handling and AWD system, its stylish design, roomy cargo area, emission reduction, improved fuel economy and impressive value (it has a price tag of $43,995 – not too shabby when you see all the great features it comes with).

Discuss this story at RREvoqueForum.com

What really grinds your gears when you’re out on the road? Motor Trend has asked that question to frustrated drivers and came up with an annoying list of pet peeves that drives us to distraction.

Coming up with the top five irritations for drivers, the number one is being stuck behind slow drivers, taking the top spot with more then 40 percent of us clenching our steering wheels in rage. And we don’t just sit there and take it – the Motor Trend poll found almost 90 percent do something about it. Out of that 90 percent, 13 percent say it moves them to varying degrees of frustration and anger.

Here are the top five list of aggravating driving habits:

1. Being stuck behind slow drivers – 43.5 percent

2. Inattentive drivers texting and talking on cell phones – 23.2 percent

3. Drivers that do not use turn signals – 16.1 percent

4. Aggressive drivers cutting through traffic – 10 percent

5. Drivers who refuse to turn right on red – 7.2 percent

“What we have here is a glimpse of the frustrations experienced by drivers who take driving seriously,” said Motor Trend editor-in-chief Angus MacKenzie. “It’s clear many drivers are thinking about almost anything other than driving when they are behind the wheel, to the irritation of others on the road. Poor situational awareness and a lack of concentration are probably the real cause of the majority of road crashes today.”

Did any of your top annoyances make the list? What ticks you off most about other dirivers? Let us know in the comments section below.

Car enthusiasts may have lamented its switch from a truck to a car platform, and magazines like Motor Trend and Consumer Reports have slammed it, but consumers have really taken to the Ford Explorer.

While sales figures weren’t available at the time of publication, Ford reports that 43.5 percent of Explorer sales are conquests, and demand has remained strong despite high gas prices and an 18 mpg rating. Criticism has been leveled at the drivetrain, handling and the MyFordTouch information system, but customers are clearly voting with their wallets. We’d be interested to hear why consumers ended up choosing the Ford in light of such criticism.

[Source: Automotive News]

Read AutoGuide’s 2011 Ford Explorer Review here

A few months ago the Granite concept, the darling of GMC’s display at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, was slated to enter production. But GM internal management never confirmed it, and the matter was dropped. Now, the GMC Granite has been given the go-ahead for production…again.

Motor Trend reports, from a source within GM, that the Granite will enter production—and will even keep the trick rear-hinged suicide doors from the 2010 concept. It rides on the same C-Segment platform that’s shared by the Chevrolets Volt and Cruze, the Buick Verano, and Opel Astra, and closely shares its floorpan (as well as its functionality and overall shape) with the Chevy Orlando, the too-hot-for-America mini-MPV that GM will sell in Europe, Asia, and Canada.

Except, well, the Granite is more “professional-grade,” which apparently means that the model will live on without a B-pillar, necessitating plenty of reinforcement from the quarter-panels to the roof. This might overwhelm the 138-horsepower turbo 1.4-liter four-cylinder and six-speed transmission, that the Granite will share with the Cruze. Hopefully there will be other engine options available (such as the Buick Verano’s 177-horsepower 2.4-liter inline-four, as MT suggests) to ensure that the Granite won’t be as slow as its namesake.

It’s not yet clear if GMC intends to also go ahead with the Granite Compact Pick Up.

[Source: Autoblog]

Just prior to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia over the weekend, Motor Trend‘s Editor-in-Chief Angus MacKenzie, presented General Motors CEO Dan Akerson with the coveted truck of the year award, in reference to the 2011 Chevy Silverado HD.

It marks the first time since 1979 that both a GM car and truck garnered MT‘s annual vehicle awards (the Chevy Volt was recently named MT‘s car of the year for 2011).

Introduced last summer the 2011 Silverado HD is highlighted by a new, improved chassis, better suspension and steering, plus a new Duramax diesel engine and Allison transmission. Said MT‘s MacKenzie, “on the outside the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD appears to have been given a subtle makeover, but it’s what’s under the skin that makes this truck a winner.”

“With more capability and technology than ever before, we believe the Chevrolet Silverado HD sets the bar for heavy-duty trucks,” said Akerson. “It’s a great honor to have such a respected authority as Motor Trend agree.”

Ready AutoGuide’s 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD Review by Clicking Here

The Chevrolet Volt has won two major magazine awards, becoming Automobile Magazine’s Automobile Of The Year and Motor Trend’s Car Of The Year.

Automobile called the Volt a “game changer”, and said that the car endured more scrutiny than any entry in recent memory, even devoting a ten page article to the car.

The Volt’s win at Motor Trend was also cause for a bit more good-natured ribbing, as several people, mostly Volt detractors, pointed out some of the past stinkers that have won the award, such as the 2002 Ford Thunderbird, 1997 Chevrolet Malibu and 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser along with many other less than stellar products.

The Volt is certainly a high stakes product for GM, and based on our own test drive of the Volt, we’d say the accolades are justified. Whether the market agrees is another matter.

[Source: Motor Trend and Automobile]

The 2010 One Lap of America – an 8-day cross-country motorsports bonanza covering 3500 miles (at legal speeds) with time trial competitions at some of America’s most famous racing circuits including Mid-Ohio and Road America – always attracts an eclectic mix of motorheads and machines. This year’s event, sponsored by Tire Rack and Motor Trend, was particularly intriguing, with some high dollar high horsepower beasts battling for top spot overall and some amazingly quick yet low budget teams cracking the Top 10.

Some might have expected a Nissan GT-R to claim the overall victory again this year, but German honor has been at least temporarily restored thanks to the rock solid effort of Douglas Wilks and professional racing driver Leh Keen in their 2003 TopSpeed-sponsored Porsche 911 GT2.

Wilks and Keen led from start to finish, followed closely by One Lap veterans Catesby Jones and Jose Collado in their Forged Performance/Alegra Motorsports/tangerine associates 2010 Nissan GT-R, finishing with 5980 points to Wilks and Keen’s 6040 points.

Third overall in their 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with 5745 points was Jeremy Herzberg, Todd Rumke, and well-known hotshoe Danny Popp (and yes, we’re wondering how three dudes fit into a Corvette too).

Although the Top 3 cars might seem fairly predictable given that they’re three of the highest performance sports cars money can buy, there were also some old school and less obvious choices running near the front. See how the rest of the competition fared after the jump:

Claiming the SSGT2 class victory along with 4th place overall was Anthony Maganoli and Kevin Kreisa in their turbocharged 1989 DTR Performance BMW 325i.

Mid Priced Sedan class winners Chris Wirth and Sean Caron ranked an impressive 7th overall in their 2008 Mitsubishi Evolution X, while Econo Class saw two teams finish in the top 10 with class winners Jon Weir and Will Chan placing 8th overall in their Enmo Racing 1993 Honda Civic and national autocross champions Andy Hollis and his wife Ann finishing second in class and 10th overall in their even older 1988 Honda Civic hatchback.

[Source: One Lap of America]

Source Interlink, the distribution company and publisher of magazines such as Motor Trend, Automobile and Hot Rod has filed for bankruptcy.

The publishing side of Source is focused almost entirely on the automotive sector with 70 magazines dedicated to covering the automotive and motorcycle industries. With the suffering auto industry (March sales down 37 percent from the same month a year ago) it’s no surprise that Source is hurting. Magazine ad sales were down 20 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to a year before.

Source can’t, however, entirely blame the economy. The company hasn’t posted a profit since the second quarter of 2007. Things have been getting progressively worse for Source as well, recently laying off 115 employees and cutting several of its magazines including Sport Compact Car and Modified Luxury & Exotics.

Recently the company also entered into legal action, suing several of its publishing house clients after a strong-arm tactic to raise distribution costs failed. Instead of folding the publishers rejected Source’s offer and stopped shipping magazines (including titles like People and Sports Illustrated) to the distributor. 

In retaliation, Source Interlink filed an antitrust suit against the publishers (and several competing distributors) claiming the group tried to force Source out of business. The suit has since been settled, however, the move by Source to sue its clients was seen as a desperate move by a desperate company.

[Source: Bloomberg]

As we’ve already brought you several stories about the ongoing shenanigans of Motor Trend’s publisher and distributor Source Interlink, so we feel compelled to carry through with the unfolding events.

The latest news, as reported in the Down Jones SmartMoney wire service, is that Source has filed an antitrust suit against several publishers and competing distributors, after several publishers stopped sending their magazines (like People and Sports Illustrated) to Source for distribution.

The suit alleges that the defendants’, “indisputable goal is to destroy Source’s business so that defendants – through Hudson and News Group, the two remaining wholesalers – will monopolize the wholesale market and use that monopoly power to shift to retailers and consumers – and away from publishers – the entire financial burden resulting from worsening market conditions and publisher-induced inefficiencies in the distribution system.”

Listed as defendants are American Media Inc., Bauer Publishing Co., units of Time Warner Inc., and Hachette Filipacchi Media, which publishes major Motor Trend competitors Car & Driver and Road & Track. (We suggest you dig up your copy of The Da Vinci Code and start dreaming up conspiracy theories right away).

Other defendants listed are the competing distributors Curtis Circulation Co., Kable Distribution Services Inc., Distribution Services Inc., as well as wholesalers Hudson News Co. and The News Group LP. (For the record, AutoGuide is NOT being sued, despite a post by one of the company’s employees on our last story that we should “get ready to be served by lawyers.”)

Source claims the publishers and distributors acted to cut off Source’s supply of magazines and to spread a campaign of lies about the company’s financial situation.

“The goal of that coordinated campaign was to… put Source out of business,” the suit claims.

Either way, the suit looks like a real Catch 22 for Source. Win or lose the company has burnt its bridges with its entire customer base of publishers.

[Source: Dow Jones Newswire]