It looks like the Kia Optima might be done with its days as the Hyundai Sonata's slightly more boring twin brother. The first ever spy photos of the 2011 Kia Optima have come out, and boy, is there quite a change in store for the midsize older brother to the Forte.
More pictures and info after the jump: 2011 Kia Optima
Maybe dreams can come true after all. Autobild has a rendering of a BMW "Kleinwagen", or in English, small wagon/small hatchback. Whether this is the so-called relaunch of the iSetta, or this is another planned model (0-series?), I'm not sure.
One thing is for certain, though: It's a shot downmarket below the 1-series. According to the cover, two things will be true about this car. Continue here: BMW 0-series.
(source: www.germancarzone.com via Autobild)
None of this news is surprising to me, except for possibly one of the items. If Buick is to succeed and go anywhere, they need to get with the times - no longer do luxury cars have to be large cars, and their chief targets, Acura and Lexus, not only have smaller cars, but are going even smaller, what with Acura discussing resurrecting the RSX and Lexus bringing the LF-Ch. Buick's GM revealed some future plans for Buick over the GM FastLane blog, via webchat.
So what's the news according to Docherty?
First off, there will be two Buick sedans produced for market, both smaller and lower-priced than the Lacrosse. One, according to reports, will be based off the Chevrolet Cruze, and the other will be a straight-up rebadging of the Opel Insignia. The Buick Regal name is a likely candidate for resurrection, but don't look for the Buick Century name to come back any time soon (thank God).
Continue here: Buick's future plans.
No, they aren't diluting the brand. No, Lexus LS customers aren't going to be turned off that the "little people" are entering their precious dealership to buy a cheaper, smaller car. People feel the same way about the dealership whether the car is 15,000 dollars or 150,000 dollars: Treat me well, give me a fair deal, and take good care of my car, and I'll be happy. So shut your faces, vicarious-snobs.
Anyways, I am off my soapbox now. The Lexus LF-Ch. Continue reading about it here: Lexus LF-Ch.
We saw spy shots for what seemed like an eternity; now we have the real shots. Ladies and gents, this is the new 2010 Hyundai Sonata.
The Aston Martin Cygnet. Based off the Toyota IQ.
Yeah, you read that right. No, this isn't a joke for April Fool's.
What is the Cygnet? It's a genius business strategy, that's what it is.
Aston Martin's two concepts this year? The million-dollar monster One-77, and this. One has a 7.3 liter V12, the other, a 1.3 liter I-4.
First of all, this will only be made available for sale to people who already own another Aston Martin. Don't even try going to your local exotic dealership and attempting to buy one of these, when it comes out. You won't get one. Your best hope will be to search Ebay in a couple years.
It will be priced at 20,000 GBP, or around 33,000 US dollars. According to Ulrich Bez, it will be fully customizable right out of the factory, just like any other Aston Martin. It will be available in Europe first, and a US release is being very strongly hinted at by Bez (and considering that the Scion iQ is coming out here later this year, no extra work would be needed to make it US ready).
