#2014

Last year AutoGuide crowned the Scion FR-S with our inaugural Car of the Year award. In the coming weeks we will be announcing our 2014 Car of the Year winner, but in the meantime it is time to introduce a new award; the AutoGuide.com Utility Vehicle of the Year.

Time flies. It seems like just yesterday we picked up our long-term Mazda CX-5 with a little over 600 miles on the odometer. But it is now nearly half a year later, our three-month evaluation period turned into four months during which time we drove nearly 8,000 miles behind the wheel of the CX-5.

Plenty of great vehicles around the world skip American showrooms. For various reasons the business decision is made that selling vehicle “x” in the U.S. doesn’t make sense and it’s never offered.

Withholding powertrain details, Kia announced plans today to sell the electric version of its Soul hatchback in the U.S.

Zoom-Zoom, it’s what sets Mazda apart from other car companies. The small Japanese manufacturer focuses on driving dynamics far more than other mass-market automakers. The result of that relentless toil is a lineup of cars and crossovers that are more entertaining than their competition. Paraphrasing one of the company’s TV commercials, if it’s not worth driving it’s not worth building.

Like a Broadway premiere the 2014 Mazda3 will take a bow in New York City today. Mazda’s best-selling compact car has received a bumper-to-bumper redesign along with some significant improvements. The company’s latest C-Segment offering brings a healthy dose of style, performance and technology to an extremely competitive slice of the market.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Toyota Corolla is receiving a complete overhaul for 2014.

After impressing us during a comparison test earlier in the year, we get our hands on a 2014 Mazda CX-5 for an extended test drive. Over the next three months we will put this vehicle through a barrage of tests and situations to see how well it stacks up during everyday life.

The AutoGuide family is constantly growing and we would like to welcome our newest family member. No, we haven’t hired another caroholic into our ranks. This new addition is a little more mechanical, it is the 2014 Mazda CX-5.

For the past few decades, the Corolla has been as exciting as watching grass grow in real time. But this hasn’t hampered sales one bit. Most new car buyers don’t care about exciting style or an engaging drive. They just want an efficient vehicle that is as reliable as beer kegs being found at a frat party.

Mercedes will integrate pure EVs into its compact line by 2014 and it previewed te product to come today at the Paris Motor Show in the B-Class Electric Drive.

If you’re wondering how to sell the controlling stake in a major car company for 4.5 billion euros and leave the tax collector hanging without legal worry, just ask Porsche.

Note: After publication this story was revised to accurately reflect the Volt’s drivetrain.

Anyone thinking about switching to a Chevrolet Volt should consider waiting, at least if inside information leaked today about the 2014 model year is true.

Audi‘s future hybrid drivetrain plans became much clearer today when it debuted the A6 L e-tron concept at the Beijing Auto Show.

Based on the A6 platform, but with a longer wheelbase (designated by the “L”), we’re getting a taste of what Audi’s advanced e-tron drivetrain system will look like as it is fitted to cars starting with the 2014 model year.

Mercedes-Benz unveiled its second-generation B-Class at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show along with a concept for an E-Cell version of the front-wheel drive compact sport tourer.

The new B-Class is almost two inches shorter than the previous version yet has more leg room thanks to a lowered floor. The seats are also more upright but still offer a lot of head room.

European customers will have the choice of two new gasoline and two diesel options, all with ECO start/stop. The turbocharged 1.6 liter B 180 offers 122 hp while the B 200 version offers 156 hp. The 1.8 liter diesel options include the B 180 CDI with 109 hp and the B 200 CDI with 136 hp. B-class models will come with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a new 7-speed dual clutch transmission.