The Top 10 Most Read New Car Stories of the Year

 

Yesterday, we brought you our most popular offgate Stories of 2011 (to be clear, not the most read overall, but the most viewed spy shot-related piece) and now it's time to tell you which new car presentationsdrew the most attention from readers this year.
To be honest, while we expected certain cars like the brand-new Volkswagen Beetle and BMW 3-Series sedan to make it on the top 10 list, some of the vehicles and especially the most read single post on a new vehicle even surprised us.
Just goes to show you than you can never be 100 percent sure what kind of stories/vehicles will prove to be the most popular. Curious to find out which new model gathered the most views this year? Sure you are, so just hop over the break and let the countdown on the most read "New Car" stories of 2011 begin…


#10: 2012 Volkswagen Beetle: All-New Bug Grows up




#9: Volkswagen Officially Reveals 2012 Tiguan SUV Facelift Prior to Geneva Motor Show




#8: BMW Reveals Sixth Generation of 3-Series Sedan




#7: 2013 Lexus GS Officially Unveiled at the Pebble Beach Festival




#6: Chevy Rolls Out Bad Boy 2012 Camaro ZL1 with 550HP Supercharged V8




#5: All-New 2012 Honda CR-V: First Official Photos of Production Model




#4: 2012 Honda Civic: No Really, it's the All-New 9th Generation Civic Sedan and Coupe Models




#3: 2012 Hyundai Azera: New Photos Plus Technical Specs




#2: New Range Rover Evoque: First Official Photo of Compact SUV




And the most visited New Car article of 2011 is…

#1: 2012 Toyota Fortuner: SUV Version of Facelifted HiLux Makes Asian Debut

Read More

Why You Shouldn't Put a Lexus to do a 4x4's Job

The Lexus RX is a competent crossover on the road but it's not the kind of vehicle that will excite you with its off-road capabilities nor will it get you out of trouble when nature gets tough. Then again, it wasn't designed as a thoroughbred 4x4. A group of men, possibly from Russia or one of the surrounding countries of the former Soviet Union, found that the hard way when what appears to be a Lexus GX was stuck in the mud and an RX came in to help.
See what happens next in the video that follows right after the jump. 

VIDEO

Read More

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 Crash Landing on Christmas Day Captured on Film

This past Sunday, on Christmas day, a chartered flight operated by AMC Airlines with 72 passengers aboard flying from Saudi Arabia to the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, was forced to make an emergency landing at the Jinnah International Airport (JIAP) in Karachi, Pakistan, after the pilot experienced a problem with the McDonnell Douglas MD-83's nose gear. Several people captured the life-threatening crash landing on film. Amazingly, the experienced pilot was able through skill and a whole lot of luck to bring the plane down without a single person being hurt.
“All the 72 passengers onboard the chartered aircraft which made an emergency landing at Karachi Airport remained safe as luckily the plane escaped any disaster or major damage,” a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority told local newspaper "The News".
Scroll down to watch the videos.

VIDEO

Read More

Firefighter Truck Plunges into the Deep Like a Boss

The city of Melbourne is one of the best cities to live in, not only in Australia but in the world. Nevertheless, it can also drive you crazy with its variable weather conditions; one minute it's nice and warm and the other you get pounded by rain or even severe hail storms, as happened on Christmas day this year. In fact, aside from the huge hailstones that damaged around 10,000 vehicles, the ferocious Christmas Day storms that hit Melbourne and northwest Victoria sparked some heavy flash flooding in certain areas.
But the flooded roads were no match for some Aussie firefighters who didn’t even blink an eye when their Isuzu truck plunged into very deep waters of what looks like a street somewhere in the Melbourne suburb of Eltham. Still here? Just go and watch the video we've got after the break.

VIDEO

Read More

A Year's Worth of Nissan GT-Rs at the Nürburgring

If you live within the European Union or at least in a neighboring country like Russia or Turkey, and you happen to own a Nissan GT-R (or any sports car, for that matte), the best place to thrash your car is without doubt the world famous Nürburgring race trackin Germany.

And given the price of the GT-R, it shouldn't surprise anyone that many owners were indeed able to afford the trip and live the magic of the Nordschleife.
For the rest of us, we'll have to do with a four-minute long video prepared by a YouTube user, which includes many of the Nissan GT-Rs that were spotted on the 'Ring throughout the year. Enjoy the video right after the break.

VIDEO

Read More

The Worst Performing Auto Stocks of 2011

The year that is ending tomorrow night has certainly been a strange one for investors: while the Standard & Poor’s 500 will end flat, stock prices of the automotive industry have experienced a great fall.
After all that’s happened this year with the Euro debt crisis and the U.S. avoiding one at the 11th hour, this was more or less to be expected.
What is surprising though is that the worst performer in terms of stock price is the car company that has regained the number one position globally and rolled out many new competitive products. And yes, we are talking about General Motors, which saw its share price drop by 46 percent!
Despite GM’s amazing recovery after the 2009 bailout, the fact that the U.S. government is still a major stakeholder is a negative factor, since investors prefer to wait until the Treasury decides to sell – at which point, the price will most likely go down.
Furthermore, the brand's exposure in Europe, which has more than its share of problems, and GM’s loss-making operations in the Old Continent contribute to the low share price, which, if you’re willing to invest, looks quite attractive.
Like GM, Ford’s European operations have harmed its stock price that is down 37 percent. It is in better shape than GM, however, since all three major credit rating agencies are expected to upgrade Ford to investment-grade status, making it less expensive to borrow money and allowing many funds to invest in the company, thus increasing its share price.
The funny thing is that the two main U.S. carmakers that posted increased sales this year saw their shares fall far more than overseas competitors like Toyota and Honda, which were hit by more than one catastrophe.
In theory, the March earthquake and tsunami along with the October Thai floods, which seriously curtailed production, as well as the strength of the yen that made manufacturing cars in Japan unprofitable, should have hurt them the most.
Yet, while both Toyota (-27.1 percent) and Honda (-21.5 percent) lost some of their shares' value in 2011, it wasn't as bad as their U.S. counterparts.
Story References: The Motley Fool / S&P Capital IQ

Company - % Return in 2011

Tenneco - (29.7)
Tata Motors - (31.0)
Dana Holding - (31.1)
Autoliv (34.1)
Visteon - (34.9)
Magna International - (35.9)
Ford - (37.3)
TRW Automotive - (40.0)
Cooper Tire & Rubber - (41.7)
General Motors - (46.1)

Read More

2013 Dodge Dart Compact Sedan: First Official Shots of the Interior

Last week, the Chrysler Group gave us our first look at the exterior details of the brand-new 2013 Dodge Dart compact sedan with the promise of teasing the interior on December 13. True to its word, the Detroit automaker published a fresh batch of photos today giving us a sneak peek into the interior of the new Dart saloon, which will officially break cover at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in the second week of January.
The futuristic looking instrument binnacle houses an available 7-inch Thin Film Transistor (TFT) customizable cluster display with a light surround between the analog tachometer and fuel gauge.
On the upper side of the center console, we find the Chrysler Group's UConnect multimedia system sporting an 8.4-inch touchscreen that Dodge says is the largest of its kind in the compact segment.
According to the Detroit automaker, while the Alfa Romeo Giulietta-based Dart packages the footprint of a compact car, its interior space will be equivalent to that of a mid-sized sedan.
Dodge also makes claims about "materials and precision craftsmanship typically found in more expensive vehicle segments" while also highlighting the fact that it will offer "thousands of ways to personalize" the compact model through a choice of 12 exterior colors, 14 interior color and trim combinations, six wheel options, three engine options and three transmissions.
Mopar will also offer its own customization options and themed packages specifically developed for the Dart.
Standard features will include 10 airbags, while the Dart will also be available with the Blind-spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path Detection systems.

PHOTO GALLERY

Read More