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A U.S. version of the tiny Mazda2 goes into showrooms in 2010.
(Credit: Mazda)
A burgeoning small car market in the U.S. convinced Mazda to finally sell its tiny Mazda2 here. The car, available around the world since 2007, will be shown in U.S. spec at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show. It joins the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Scion xD, and Kia Soul in a subcompact market that has seen increasing sales.
The U.S. spec Mazda2 will get a 1.6-liter four cylinder engine mated to a five speed automatic transmission. Cabin tech offerings will be minimal, although a Bluetooth phone system should be present, along with audio controls on the steering wheel.
The 1.6-liter engine is the biggest offered in its world-wide marketing, with smaller powerplants also available starting at a 1.3-liter engine. Diesel engines are also in the mix, along with manual and continuously variable transmissions. In Japan, the car can also be optioned up with navigation, something that won't be available here.
Check out our upcoming coverage of the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show for full details on the U.S. Mazda2.
As a preview to the 2009 Los Angeles auto show, Honda sent out some tantalizing words--but no photos--of a new concept it will display. The Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT) concept is described by Honda as an "ultra-compact, aggressively designed coupe". Given the word "personal" in the concept's name, though, we're assuming P-NUT will be less CRX and more Batcycle, probably with some electric drive technology thrown in.
When our coverage of the 2009 Los Angeles auto show starts on December 3, we will post photos and answer the question, what is P-NUT?
Squint your eyes and its easy to see how this Kia Koup resembles the Scion tC.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)
Is Kia the new Scion? That's the question I kept asking myself over and over again as I tested the 2010 Scion xB, all the while comparing it to the 2010 Kia Soul. (Although to be fair, the Soul is closer in size to a tall xD than the xB.)
At the 2009 SEMA Show, I was able to get a closer look at the way Kia is embracing the aftermarket and its array of Kia-branded dealer-installed mods. What I saw reminded me of Scion's first years, which featured partnerships with well known tuners and an array of TRD-branded dealer-installed options, so I don't think its a stretch to draw parallels between the two brands' paths.
Take a look at a selection of the custom Kias at the 2009 SEMA Show, then let us know what you think in the comments.
(Credit:
Antuan Goodwin/CNET)
Last year, Scion's booth at the SEMA Show was jam-packed with some of the craziest cars at the show. 2009 saw the continuation of that grand tradition.
This year, Scion brought out an xB with a built-in kitchen (sink and all!), another with its own dancefloor, and yet another that had been stretched into a pickup toting a matching custom scooter. Scion's other models also got some modding love in the form of a rally-prepped xD and a loud-and-low tC that seemed to have forgotten its roof.
Check out some of the wildest Scions of 2009 in our gallery.
The big car audio companies chose to sit this round out. Fortunately, there was still a lot of cool tech at the 2009 SEMA Show.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)With the absence of the major car audio OEMs at the 2009 SEMA Show, it would be easy to assume that car tech has taken a backseat to tuning and muscle. However, the more compact electronics section allowed smaller companies with truly innovative products to shine. We found ourselves spending more time learning about cool products like the PowerSafe jumper cable, instead of rushing from booth to booth looking at amplifier after amplifier.
For example, On-Board Diagnostics (OBD-II) interfaces were a major part of the tech scene at SEMA. From add-on modules for your GPS device to standalone OBD-II devices to Wi-Fi dongles that transform your iPhone into a handheld diagnostics station, there were dozens of different devices that allowed users to listen in on what their vehicle used to only share with a mechanic. These devices allow tuners to search for more power, greenies to eke more miles out of a gallon, and regular consumers to feel more confident when they take their cars in for maintenance.
Other cool technologies that picked up awards were rearview camera interfaces, off-road iPod cradles, and a funny little device that actually makes all of those cupholders useful.
Check out our gallery of award-winning new products at the 2009 SEMA Show for more details and pics.
The GReddy Genesis Coupe is pretty heavily tuned and it wasn't even the craziest Coupe at Hyundai's booth.
(Credit: Hyundai)Last year, Hyundai was all about the Genesis sedan at the 2008 SEMA Show. For 2009, the newer and sportier Genesis Coupe steps to the forefront for its share of the spotlight. Hyundai had no fewer than four Coupes in its booth and there were dozens more scattered across the rest of the show floor. If that's not enough to convince your that Hyundai's got a hit on its hands, we're not sure what will.
Among Hyundai's offerings were the wild midengine V-8 RM460 Genesis Coupe and the mild Hennessey Tuning School Coupe. Also in the mix was Hyundai's Genesis Coupe 2.0T R-Spec, which we've already taken a look at, and a Genesis sedan that received custom hand painted graphics live during the show.
Check out our photos of Hyundai's assortment of Geneses for even more details.
The Lexus LF-A looked good enough to lick in matte black.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)
Lexus' booth at the SEMA show was very small and very hard to find, but it was well worth seeking for one very good reason: the $400k, 550-horsepower Lexus LF-A.
We've already had a look at Lexus' official photos and perused the stats and details, but we just couldn't turn down another opportunity to take a peek the world's most expensive Toyota. Check out our photos of the Lexus LF-A from the 2009 SEMA Show.
The EcoRoute ESP will connect your Garmin Nuvi to your vehicle's diagnostics port.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)We stopped by Garmin's booth at the 2009 SEMA Show expecting a new GPS device or news of another OEM integration deal, but we stumbled upon something even better. Sometime next year, Garmin's Nuvi GPS devices will gain the ability to communicate with your car through ESP. In this case, we're not talking about psychic extra-sensory perception, but the EcoRoutes ESP module for Nuvi navigation devices.
The ESP module is a small hideaway box that communicates with Nuvi units via Bluetooth.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)The ESP module is a hideaway box that connects to (and is powered by) your vehicle's OBD-II diagnostics port. The device gathers information about your vehicle's performance and relays that info via a Bluetooth data connection to your Garmin Nuvi GPS device atop your dashboard.
Using the Nuvi's touch screen, users can view a set of customizable gauges, view and clear fault codes when the Check Engine light comes on, and monitor real-time fuel economy and emissions data. The unit also provides data logging for users who want to track their performance and interfaces with the EcoRoutes software that's already present on current Garmin devices.
Garmin's representatives were happy to give us a quick demo of the system in action at their booth on the show floor and it looks pretty slick. Pricing and availability were unavailable at the time of publication, but we're told to expect more information at CES in January 2010, so stay tuned.
The already light Lotus Elise loses a few more pounds with even lighter carbon fiber.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)Most car guys know that carbon fiber is lightweight (and very cool-looking), but most don't know much past that. We stopped by well-known carbon fiber manufacturer Seibon's booth at the 2009 SEMA show to get the skinny on this miracle material.
The term "carbon fiber" can be used to describe microscopically thin fibers composed mostly of carbon atoms, the yarns composed of those fibers, or the fabric woven from that yarn. For our purposes, the term will be used to describe composite materials created from carbon fabric suspended in resin or plastic.
Carbon fiber parts are considerably more lightweight than similar parts made of metal but can be just as strong (or stronger). Low weight plus high strength makes carbon fiber a good material for aerospace and racing applications. Since most good racing technologies eventually trickle down to consumer applications, we're seeing more and more carbon on the road today.
According to Seibon, there are two major types of carbon fiber, wet and dry.
Wet carbon fiber is the glossy type that most consumers are used to seeing. It's made by hand laying sheets of carbon fabric onto a mold between brushed-on layers of resin, which is then cured.
Dry carbon fiber is preimpregnated with resin (and is also known as prepreg carbon). The carbon sheets are formed in a vacuum mold under high heat and pressure, which causes the resin to flow evenly and completely through the formed part with little or no waste. Dry carbon parts are both lighter and stronger than their wet counterparts because they contain less excess resin with fewer imperfections. However, because of the complex vacuum molding required in their creation, dry carbon parts are also more expensive.
Carbon fiber is lighter, but what's the point? Well simply put, removing weight (or more accurately removing mass) from a vehicle also means that the vehicle's inertia has also been reduced, which means better acceleration, braking, and handling. If you can keep your foot off of the right pedal with this improved performance, this can also mean better fuel economy and less wear on parts such as brakes and suspension components.
If carbon fiber is so great, why not just make all cars out of it? The most obvious reason is that carbon fiber is expensive and more difficult to mass produce than sheet metal or plastic. Replacing all of the sheet metal on a vehicle the size of, say, a Toyota Yaris with carbon fiber would probably double the price of the car. Secondly, while carbon fiber is as strong as metal, it's usually only strong when stretched or bent progressively. When compressed or exposed to the shock of sudden impact, carbon fiber becomes brittle and can splinter unpredictably. A dent knocked into a metal or plastic bumper could probably be hammered out, but a carbon fiber bumper would most likely need to be replaced, which can be pricey.
For many, these cons are but minor speed bumps on the road to ultimate performance (or style). Check out our tour of the Seibon booth at the 2009 SEMA show for a closer look at some vehicles that feature heavy use of this lightweight material.
(Credit:
Antuan Goodwin/CNET)
If you can't tell by our coverage of the GoPro Hero and the ContourHD camera systems, we're big fans of capturing video of our automotive excursions. The ChaseCam system takes things a bit further than simple video capture by also recording GPS position, accelerometers, external vehicle sensors, and OBD2 data, all of which can be synchronized and overlaid onto the video using ChaseCam's software. However, to get these benefits, you need to purchase a camera, a solid state recorder module, and the data acquisition module.
At this year's SEMA Show, ChaseCam is simplifying its system with the unveiling of its latest generation video/data capture device, DIVA (Data Integrated Video Acquisition). DIVA basically combines the solid-state recorder and data acquisition modules into one box, with a few new features that aid in usability.
Captured data can be overlaid onto the video.
(Credit: ChaseCam)
ChaseCam's SEMA booth was home to a very cool 500-horsepower racing Volvo S60R.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)
