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Video: 2011 Kia Cadenza – How Very… German?

Say goodbye to Kia’s hackazoarus E-Class poseur, the Amanti, and say hello to the Cadenza (which looks remarkably like the KND-5 concept we saw in April). If you’re wondering why it looks so sharp, so Teutonic, look no further than Kia’s current design director Peter Schreyer. On this man’s back alone, Kia is poised to reinvigorate the inexpensive car segment. Together with parent company Hyundai’s supreme powertrain development (most notably with GDI), Kia is doing what Honda did in the early 70’s.

For those self-loathers in need of an Amanti memory refresh, see below.

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For Sale: 1988 BMW M6

Just look at the size of that greenhouse! You could fit Rita McNeil through that window!

Uninterested in the 500 hp 5.0L V10 underhood of the current E63 BMW M6? Think that the current model is too bloated, too complex, and too expensive? Me too, me two, and me three. Thankfully, in the late 80’s BMW’s M division had their Bavarian mitts in more than just the E30 M3 (with its pitiful little four-pot), they also produced the E24 M6 for those looking for a more stately and refined BMW coupe experience. Powered by the M88 3.5L inline-6 from the M1, the M6 made 256 hp in North America, a full thirty less than the Euro models on account of the castrating catalytic converter. Still, this was enough oomph to make the M6 one of the 10 fastest cars in North America at the time with a 0-60 mph of just over 6 seconds.

The lines of the E24 embody the classic “shark nose” philosophy of being more aggressive and purposeful than Mercedes, a design element that BMW’s current design director Adrian Van Hooydonk is currently re-imagining, starting with the F01 7-series and continuing with the F10 5-series.

Price and gallery below.

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Pic of the Day: Steve McQueen Is Cooler Than You

True Story. Ten points to the first one to identify the car.

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Is Saab Done?

As we all know, GM’s been anxious to get rid of Saab for some time. The Swedish car manufacturer has been hemorrhaging dollars and Swedish crowns since GM took it over. A deal had almost come through when Koenigsegg, backed by the Chinese company BAIC, made what seemed a fairly solid bid. However, that’s now fallen through as well…and currently, no one else is in line waiting for a swipe at the Saab piñata.

Does this mean Saab’s done? Follow the jump for more info. Read the rest of this entry »

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Parts Cars I Have Known – My Life With BMWs

People who know me know I have a problem. I collect old BMWs, specifically the models fewer people care about. I have had E3 (the Bavarias) and E12 (the first 5 Series) sedans, as well as one garden-variety 1985 535i. Anything with an ‘M’ prefix? Nope. A beautiful CS coupe? Not yet. The iconic 2002? One, briefly, in ‘tii’ form though I never drove it because the burning oil fumes would get sucked into the cabin through the rotted spare tire well.

I don’t care, because the cars that have stuck around are like family members. Like Max the 1972 Bavaria and Chuck the 1981 528i, owned 12 and 10 years, respectively.

Relatively recently, we shipped the 528i from California to its new home in Minnesota. While it is straight and rust-free, and sports a freshly-rebuilt 3.5-litre engine, Chuck has lots of needs. And those needs, apparently, required a donor. Enter one 1976 530i, also known as Sam the rusty parts car, purchased over the summer and driven around since.

Recently, however, Sam shuffled off his mortal coil due in no small part to the liberal application of wrenches and sockets. Yes, it was time for him to donate his remaining worthy bits for the potential betterment of the other children. Kind of like the Donner party, but with a transmission and dashboard instead of legs and a spleen.

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I Bet You Regret Bad-Mouthing Chris Bangle Now…

Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.

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Audi R8 V10 vs. Nissan GT-R

Autoweek.nl, those crazy diplomatically-neutral Dutch guys, have pitted the two most competent, all-around-usable AWD supercars hoofd-aan-hoofd. I don’t know why they didn’t include a Spyker. That’s not very patriotic of them, especially since we all know that the Top Gear model (i.e. the only model) of televised car programs must be inherently biased towards home-grown autos. If we were doing a review of supercars, we’d include the Locus Plethore faster than you could say “double-double”

The results of the R8 V10 vs. GT-R battle royale? While not definitive, it’s hella fun to watch them try to sort the two out. Personally, this is almost an impossible choice. Thank god for real auto journalists. And subtitles.

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Van Hooydonk Explains New 2010 BMW 5-Series

By now, you’ve undoubtedly cast your gaze upon Bavaria’s latest mid-size sedan, the 2010 5-series internally known as “F10″. If not, go here. You’ve also surely come to your own conclusions about the styling, but one thing is undebatable: the conservatism of the design. Whereas the previous 5-series looked entirely unlike its predecessors or other models in the range, it had a presence and a freshness that is still head and shoulders above the rest of the class. The new 5 looks so much like the current 3 it’s absurd. With a quick glance, even a hardcore car-spotter would be hard-pressed to tell the two apart.

So maybe talking to BMW’s Chief Designer, Adrian Von Hooydonk, will set us straight about BMW’s post-Bangle return to conservatism. Autocar’s Ed Keohane finds out below.

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Cadillac Coupe Confirmed: CTS Goes 2-Door

BMW, Audi and Infiniti have compact coupes in their lineup so it seemed reasonable to assume that Cadillac would make a production version of its CTS coupe concept.

Confirmation of production was going through an off and on phase as the restructuing at GM carried on, but now it’s official. The new coupe will join the sedan and wagon in the CTS lineup.

GM calls it Cadillac’s “most radical design”, whereas I call it the best you can do only having a ruler at your disposal. Too many sharp edges. But hey, that’s the new design direction, and there is definitely no mistaking it for anything else on the market.

More below.

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My Mystery Find At The Junkyard

Since I had a sadisticly evil final exam on Thursday and no class Friday, I chose Edmonton’s Pick ‘n’ Pull for my Friday afternoon recovery session. I had only been once before, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I brought a wrench and a screwdriver with me, just in case I found something I wanted to take home. There wasn’t anything in particular that I was looking for because my current cars are probably too new to find parts for, so I was just going down to get my hands dirty and look for obscure relics of bygone eras.

As I made my way over to the import section of the yard, I found a veritable ocean of early 90’s Corollas, Integras, an odd Audi or BMW, early 80’s Golfs, and a selection of Mazda MX-6s so complete that I longed for the ‘88 MX-6 that was my first car.

In betwixt and between all these 80s and 90s wares was something more unique, something altogether rustier than anything else in the yard. I realize that in the grand scheme of things, I don’t know as much about 20th century cars as I might hope, but that’s a product of my age, not my curiousity. So before allowing myself to cheat and look at the scrawled ink on the left rear fender, I tried to guess what exactly it was that I was looking at.

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