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Citroen has had a fantastic run in the World Rally Championship in the last few years, first with the Xsara Picasso and now with the stunning C4 WRC which is proving to be an enduring rally car. But even though it has proven itself time and time again, the 2010 season will be the last in which the model will serve Sebastien Loeb and his teammates.

Next year, Citroen will introduce the smaller DS3 WRC model, in an effort to change things up and to promote the brand new car, in which it has placed high hopes for the regular market. As is natural, the French company has already begun seriously testing the DS3 race car, in order to ensure peak performance for its rally team.

Now, this new video popped up, showing the Citroen DS3 WRC undergo some tough testing stages. For any rally fan, this footage will be a real treat. Hit the jump to see how the smaller race car performs and then share your thoughts about the switch the French company will make next year.
Read More: “Video: Citroen DS3 WRC begins testing”

The new Volkswagen Polo looks great. It’s much more aggressive style is what makes it stand apart from its fellow B segment hatchbacks and also helped it earn the 2010 European Car of the Year award.

But JE Design thought its looks can use some improvement, and has released a new body kit package for the small German model. The kit itself is made out of a front spoiler, a set of more aggressive side skirts and a restyled rear bumper with a faux carbon fiber diffuser, all for $2,000 (€1528). If you want a set of wheels to go alongside it, JE Design offers either a 17-inch or an 18-inch set, both finished in shadow silver and costing $2,475 (€1809) and $2,600 (€1929) respectively.

Other accessories for the Polo V include a center-mounted exhaust system from stainless steel, LED daytime running lights, lower springs and a new KW coilover suspension. For the inside, the tuning company offers options like leather upholstery, heated or massaging seats.

Performance upgrades aren’t available just yet, but according to JE Design, they are in development and an announcement will arrive soon enough, hopefully before the Polo GTI gets here.

Last weekend was filled with motorsport activities, all of them coming from the famous Daytona track in the USA. This edition of Motorsport Weekend will cover the Daytona ARCA rage, the Budweiser Shootout and the qualifying sessions for the Daytona 500 Nascar race, which will take place this week.

So without further delay, hit the jump to find out the results from these competitions, including how Danica Patrick faired in her first non-Indy Car race.
Read More: “Motorsport Weekend 5-7 February: Arca, Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500 qualifier results”

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in USA, gathering millions of viewers for the great football game and even greater ads which are aired during the breaks.

One carmaker which paid big money for some ad space was Volkswagen, which featured the Punch Dub game, where anyone would playfully punch the person next to them when seeing a Volkswagen model. Originally thought of during the 1970s due to the popularity of the VW Beetle model, the game is now coming back, as the German company now has 13 models on US streets.

The ad also features cameos from famous musician Stevie Wonder and comedian Tracy Morgan. Hit the jump (pun not intended) and prepare to punch your friends the next time you see a Volkswagen car.
Read More: “Video: Volkswagen Super Bowl 2010 Punch Dub ad brings the violence”

Ferrari has recently revealed more details about its hybrid endeavors, including the 599 hybrid prototype it will be showing next month at the Geneva Motor Show and the future plans for implementing such a technology into production models.

First off, company boss Amedeo Felisa revealed that the hybrid 599 has been used for almost a year, and has improved the fuel average of the stock 599 GTB Fiorano by 25%. Sadly though, such an improvement came with a price, as the hybrid setup added another 176 pounds (80 kg) to the curb weight of the sportscar, something which Ferrari always wants to avoid.

But even though the prototype will be showcased next month, don’t expect production hybrid models to roll off the Maranello assembly line at least for another five years, according to Felisa.

“The technology is not ready,” he said. “The suppliers are not ready. Everything is underdeveloped. There is a lot of work to so. It is not for tomorrow. We haven’t decided when [it will be introduced]. It will be around 2015, but not before five years.”

The Ferrari exec added that the team which worked on the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) setup for last year’s Formula 1 race car has been moved into another department, in order to develop other technologies to make Ferrari models greener. It is expect, according to Felisa, that the current hybrid systems his company is working on will be easily fitted to all of the current car setups, front or mid-mounted engines, and all types of units, be it V8 or V12.

As we all know, yesterday the Super Bowl was held, and with the great football match came some great and very expensive ads.

One of them was dedicated to the Audi A3 TDI model, which was awarded at the LA Auto Show, at the end of the year, the 2010 Green Car of the Year.

In order to promote such a car, Audi brings forth a very sensitive issue: a special type of police enforcing “green” living and eco-friendly attitudes, even though they might be pushing it quite a few times.

Hit the jump to watch the ad and then share your thoughts below.
Read More: “Video: Audi A3 TDI Super Bowl 2010 ad shows the Green Police”

Subaru is preparing a big European announcement at next month’s Geneva Motor Show: the Impreza VX crossover, which will take the successful hatchback and give it a more off-road look.

Included in this new edition are things like a redesigned front grille and wheel arches, special roof rails and a spoiler in the rear. Power, as is traditional these days for Subaru, will come from a choice of 2.0-liter Boxer engines, either petrol or diesel, which will send power through the symmetrical all-wheel drive system.

While some voices say that this might just be a Euro-spec edition of the Subaru Outback Sport which is currently marketed in the US, no official photos have been revealed, so we must wait it out until March.

Another carmaker which bought ad space during last night’s Super Bowl was Kia, which opted to showcase its 2011 Sorento, which is completely made in the USA.

In order to do such a thing, the ad blends in a rather interesting way last summer’s “The Hangover” movie with an old marketing campaign aired for the Opel Corsa a few years ago (the one with the puppets and the “C’mon” tagline).

The result? Five toys having some fun in Vegas, thanks to the all-new Sorento. Hit the jump to watch the ad.
Read More: “Video: Kia Sorento Super Bowl 2010 ad evokes “The Hangover””

The Chevrolet Cruze is another big bet from GM for the international market, one which it hopes will pay off and result in increased all around the world, not just in Europe or North America.

In order to do such a thing, Chevrolet is currently pondering two high end options for the Cruze sedan. The first is a four-door coupe variant, similar to how Volkswagen did with the Passat, which would come at an elevated price, but with a more aggressive appearance, sacrificing rear-passenger head room in order to appeal to a whole new audience.

Another possibility, which has been rumored for quite some time, is a high performance SS-badged variant, which will use a 2.0-liter turbocharged unit, and might get the all-wheel drive system from the Epsilon platform in order to cope with the increase in power.

Will these attempts to take the Cruze more upmarket be successful or will they fail and damage the current car? Leave your thoughts in a comment below.

The Super Bowl took place yesterday, but besides seeing a great game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, we were also treated to quite a few great ads.

This one, dedicated to the Dodge Charger and titled: Man’s Last Stand, is a very interesting one, showing that even though men aren’t what they used to be (something along the lines of Neanderthals, at least according to Dodge), they can still escape thanks to the Dodge Charger.

Hit the jump to see this ad, narrated by Michael C. Hall from the Dexter TV series on Showtime.
Read More: “Video: Dodge Charger Super Bowl ad shows man’s last stand”

In case you’re an automaker which needs to cut costs left and right, one of the first things you need to do is to share as many platforms among your models. For General Motors, which desperately wants to cut any big spending, this means that new models will begin using less and less platforms.

One major car set to arrive in the following years is the Cadillac ATS, which will use an all-new rear-wheel drive platform, presumably called the Alpha. Besides plans of adapting it and using it for the next generation CTS, which will aspire to more BMW 5 Series-like dimensions, it seems that the regular Alpha will also constitute the base for the next Chevrolet Camaro.

The current Chevy uses the Zeta platform, alongside the Holden Commodore from Australia and the late Pontiac G8. Although it has been praised, the lack of support for other systems and new technologies is extremely apparent, so GM will definitely change it with the next generation.

All in all, such a change, if it will actually happen, will definitely help GM’s rear-wheel drive cars, whether they are the Camaro, the ATS or the next CTS.

As most of you know, yesterday took place one of the biggest sporting events in the US, the Super Bowl, where millions of viewers tuned in to see the New Orleans Saints face off against the Indianapolis Colts.

But many of you also tuned in to see the great ads which are usually aired, for high sums of money, during the breaks in the game. We’ve rounded up almost all of the car-related ones, and we’ll be posting them over the day.

First off, let’s start with the Bridgestone ad, entitled Your Tires of Your Life, and, from what we can see, aims at revealing to anyone just how important these tires are. The punchline is a bit weird, and, at least for us, sparked just an awkward smile. Hit the jump and then share your thoughts about this ad.
Read More: “Video: Bridgestone Super Bowl 2010 ad is … interesting”

Usually tuning companies release their aftermarket packages with plenty of space in-between, but Wald International took a radically different approach and revealed not one but five new tuning projects.

The packages, all aimed at exclusive luxury sedans, are certain to make plenty of people excited. As such, BMW 7 Series, Infiniti M (Nissan Fuga in Japan), Jaguar XJ, Porsche Panamera and Rolls Royce Ghost owners should start saving up for when these packages will appear. Sadly though, the Japanese tuning group didn’t reveal any concrete details about what the kits will contain, but judging from these pics, new body kits as well as a few other cosmetic enhancements have all been added.

Hit the gallery below to see all of the modifications Wald International made to these luxury sedans.

Photo Gallery: Wald International Luxury Sedan Tuning

Hello and welcome to a special feature we will be running on our website every time a big facelift is announced. Most people, especially if they haven’t owned the model in question, can’t really tell apart the facelifted edition from the older one.

Luckily, we’re here with a handy before and after photo comparison. This time we’re talking about the recently announced 2011 BMW X5, which received quite a lot of new cosmetic enhancements and, most importantly, plenty of changes underneath its bonnet.

Interested to see a comparison between the 2011 BMW X5 facelift and the pre-facelift X5? Then hit the jump and find out.
Read More: “Before and after photo comparison: 2011 BMW X5 facelift”

BMW has finally unveiled the mid-cycle facelift for its X5 SUV/SAV. Even though a couple of pictures were leaked a few days ago, the 2011 X5 still has plenty of things to reveal to any SUV/BMW fan, and will definitely continue the strong sales it has been experiencing.

First off, let’s start with the cosmetic side of this facelift. The 2011 BMW X5 brings much needed changes to the front and rear fascias, which are now completely adorned with the color of the body work, instead of the old black finish, as well as restyled head and taillights, sporting LED technology. In the front, the air intakes are enhanced, bringing to mind the image of the X5 M performance edition, and the fog lights have been repositioned. In the back, customers will also find a new rear apron alongside the brand new LED taillights.

But one of the major changes brought forth by this facelift are the new, more powerful gasoline engines, taken straight from the X6 SAV. More specifically, the xDrive35i variant is now powered by the single-turbo 3.0-liter N55 unit, capable of 300 HP, while the xDrive50i gets the twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 engine, capable of 400 HP. The xDrive35d has remained the same, which isn’t a bad thing considering that a third of X5 models sold in the US sport this unit under their hood.

European customers, on the other hand, will receive two new diesels alongside this facelift, one being the xDrive40d, which has a 3.0-liter inline-six capable of 306 HP, and the other being the xDrive30d, which even though outputs just 245 HP, promises to be the most frugal in the lineup.

Overall, the new 2011 BMW X5 facelift is a very interesting one. Customers will be able to admire it at the Geneva Motor Show this March and at the New York Auto Show in April. Stay tuned for more details, include a side by side comparison made by us later today. Until then, enjoy the photo gallery below.

Photo Gallery: 2011 BMW X5 facelift