Car Throttle News Bites: 14th December 2011

In order to keep you, our reader, more abreast with current news without taking up an inordinate amount of your time, I'm introducing this column - "News Bites."  One paragraph and picture per topic of today's automotive news.  One article.  If we were a paper publication, we'd say we were going green.  Let us know what you think!

Fiat has dropped a load of new photos of the 3rd-generation Panda supermini today.  This pint-sized product (which I still believe Fiat should be selling in the US pitched against the Fit, etc) debuted at the Frankfurt show in September, and is going on sale next year.  Engines are all tiny, ranging from an 800cc TwinAir 2cyl up to a 1.3L diesel.  Full high-res gallery here.

Dodge's replacement for the Caliber, the Dart, is less than a month away from it's official reveal.  Dodge has been playing the teaser game the best they can with a fuel-sipping compact car, and now we've got a full CGI teaser shot of... the dashboard.  You can't see the shifter, which will surely display "P-R-N-D-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1"  - right?  Anyway, we can see a push-button start, a small display between the speedo/tach, the touch-screen HVAC/stereo display, and that odd glowing ring around the instrument panel.  It actually looks pretty nice - but I'll wait for pictures of the real thing to judge it first.

Infiniti, Nissan's luxury brand, apparently wants to add a smaller hatchback to their lineup.  This is likely in response to cars like the Lexus CT200h, Audi A3, and BMW 1-series hatch - and perhaps the upcoming Acura ILX (see below.)  Styling will likely be based on the Etherea hatchback from the Geneva show this year (above), but the underpinnings will be from... the front-drive Mercedes Benz A-class.  The world is indeed getting smaller.  Although, the A-class's clever DI/Turbo four cylinder and 7-speed DCT with an Infiniti (read: attractive) body and interior doesn't sound like a bad combo.  Apparently a design should be signed off on by January, and a fall debut is the target.

Acura is apparently planning a big booth at the Detroit show this year, and there's a lot of news.  Sadly, being Acura, none of it's interesting.  First of all, there will be blood: something with four doors in the Acura lineup is getting an axe to the neck.  One of the models Acura will be introducing at Detroit is called the ILX (about which I could launch an hour-long rant on the stupidity of acronyms.)  It will be an Acura-ized version of the 9th-generation Civic (much like the CSX, pictured above, strangely only sold in Canada) and will likely take the place of the TSX.  The ILX will widen the size/economy gap between the small (TSX) and medium (TL) Acura sedans - the TSX being a European Accord, the TL being an American Accord - and should come with 1.5L Hybrid, 2.0L 16v DI, and 2.4L engine options.  More Acura news?  A redesigned RL sedan, a facelift (likely a move to the new CR-V chassis) for the RDX mini-ute, and the debut of a 2nd-generation NSX Concept car.  Which will be a 4WD electric-hybrid with a twin clutch automatic.  Acura... sigh.

Mini has apparently realized that everything can benefit from more power.  When I reviewed the Countryman S a while back, I was impressed by it's interior flexibility and capable chassis.  I was nonplussed by the odd styling, and disappointed by it's lack of power - even in it's fastest form, the FWD turbo Countryman S with a manual.  177bhp is enough for a regular Cooper hardtop, but it struggles a bit to move the Countryman's additional 400lbs of mass.  Praise be to JCW!  No, not JC Whitney, the people that will almost always send you the wrong parts in the mail.  John Cooper Works.  Mini is rumored to be bringing a Cooper Works version of the Countryman to Detroit, likely with the same 208bhp turbo engine that graces the rest of the JCW range.  With AWD and a manual, the Countryman JCW should blast to sixty in less than seven seconds.  A proper AWD hot hatch, then?  We shall see.  You know how I love test driving Minis.

Ford Focus related news of two varieties today!  First up is the Focus ST-R pictured above, which Ford announced today will be priced at... wait for it... $98,995.  What?  The ST-R is a stripped-out, track-ready version of the Focus ST that is soon to arrive on our shores.  The ST-R is a turnkey, ready-to-go racecar that can run in Grand Am ST, SCCA World Challenge TC, and a number of other touring-car series.  It's got a full roll cage, track suspension and brakes, a track-ready 2.0L turbo engine, and a bunch of other race goodies.  Less exciting Focus news?  The Focus Electric has been rated at 100 MPGe, which is a confusing electric mileage rating you can read more about here.  That makes it the highest MPGe-rated five-seater, which must be exciting to some people.  Apparently the main benefit of the Focus Electric is that it will take a full charge on 240v in about half the time needed for a Nissan Leaf.  I still don't want an electric car, though.

And finally, via the Daily Mail UK, here's a picture of actor Richard Dean Anderson peering under the hood of his (C5) Audi Allroad Quattro while he waits for roadside assistance.  Now, I'm not one for celebrity news - I don't care what magazine Lindsay Lohan is posing as a Marilyn Monroe wannabe for.  And a broken-down Allroad is not surprising - what with the twin-turbo 5-valve V6, 5-speed automatic, torsen AWD, variable ride-height air suspension, and all the other various mechanical malarky Audi shoved into that car, it's not reliable.  At all.  But Anderson is best known for his role as MacGyver.  The TV hero who was known for fixing things with a paper clip and a stick of gum?  Hell, MacGyver has become a verb these days - meaning "fix a complex problem with a simple solution."  If any car needs MacGyver-ing, it's an Allroad Quattro.  I am so disappointed.  To make this more relevant: Audi is going to be selling the current A4 Allroad Quattro here next year, with the 2.0T/8-speed auto/Quattro drivetrain.

If you like News Bites, let me know in the comments section below.  If you have ideas for how to improve it, I'd like to hear those too!  Till next time.