While at an event in Palm Springs, Autoblog had the chance to take a test drive in the new 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander GT CUV., which was previously seen at the NY Auto Show. They also tested other vehicles, but it was the Outlander GT that they were more interested in, and for good reason.

Autoblog goes on to explain that this latest CUV has plenty of ground clearance, and offers a refreshed feel over previous models. The GT has a number of feature changes, such as its trim level, interior and exterior, engines and gadgets.

The 2009 Outlander was good, but good does not sell well so Mitsubishi wanted to make the 2010 version exiting. There is a problem though, this has not been achieved, but it still is a vast improvement over the 2009 model.

The first change that you will notice is with its nose, looking a lot like the Lancer Evolution X. Not sure why they would do this though, it is not as if the younger generation will but the Outlander GT.

For an in-depth review of the 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander GT, visit Autoblog

Every week there seems to be another recall, if it is not a toy it is a car or SUV. We have recently had recalls from Ford and Toyota and the latest recall is the Jeep Wrangler, models built from 2007 to 2008. The reason that Chrysler is recalling these vehicles is the fact that its transmission could overheat.

Chrysler who is working closely with the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) over potential transmission overheating problems has said that 161,450 of these SUVs will be affected by the recall.

The NHTSA said that if these vehicles were not fitted with a transmission fluid temperature warning system, then the transmission oil could overheat and in some cases boil over. If this hot oil was to come in contact with the hot exhaust system, then a fire could occur.

When you take your vehicle to your nearest dealer, they will inspect and then install an oil warning light in the instrument cluster. The dealer will also fit an audio warning chime, warning you if the oil begins to get too hot.

The recall will begin in December and is free of charge, get more information from AutoBlog.

The recent Toyota recall issue still has a long way to go until the problem is resolved. An accelerator pedal issue caused by the mat sticking on it affected more than four million vehicles. There have been reports that Toyota could make the pedals shorter to solve the problem.

According to Inside Line, Kyodo News reports that Toyota has set aside $5 million to cover the recall; this will be free for those who own an affected Toyota vehicle in the U.S. However, according to Brian Lyons, the Toyota safety and quality communications manager said that Toyota is “not ready to announce anything.”

He added that the Japanese car giant are still working closely with the NHTSA to come up with a remedy for the problem, and that they were still open to discussion.

The vehicles that are affected by this problem are the 2007-’10 Camry, Tundra and Lexus ES 350; the 2004-’09 Prius, the 2005-’10 Avalon and Tacoma and finally the 2006-’10 Lexus IS 250.

There were reports that one fatal accident occurred because of the sticking accelerator issue. For more on this story, visit Inside Line.

Black Friday 2009 is going to be different for a number of reasons, but one of those is the inclusion of car deals. Normally these Black Friday sales are reserved for products such as TVs, Laptops, Toys, Clothing and Accessories, Video Games and Consoles and so much more. With the auto industry in the mess that it is in, this could be a huge boost for automakers. GM are offering deals on their entire 2009 range.

If you are in the market for a new car, truck or SUV, then you had better get yourself down to your local car dealer on November 27. Not certain if you will have to get there early to queue up like you have to do at Walmart, Target or Best Buy.

CNN Money have been looking at reports from Truecar.com, who state that deals on Black Friday are normally greater than any other time of the year, revealing that dealers offer huge discounts to customers.

However, when you go to a car dealer, you will not have had a Black Friday Ad informing you of what deals are going on. The deal that you get on a vehicle will be different for each customer, as well as which car you will purchase and trade in against.

It is thought that the average discount on a new car will be around 7.5%, but if you shop around there are greater deals to be had. There are some models that have almost 30% off the sticker price. For full details of these deals, visit CNN Money

When you think of Audi, the first thing that pops into your mind is Quattro. The two of them go together like burger and chips, it is just meant to be. However, we have just learned from Autoblog that the new Audi A1 mini car will not come with the famous Quattro AWD system.

AutobildNote: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. is a bit confused by this latest news, considering that the concept model has the Quattro in its name, “Audi Metroproject Quattro Concept”. There are those hardcore Audi fans that will be upset with this news, but was we really surprised.

The thing is, the Audi A1 is all about economy, and the decision not to include the All Wheel System helps to keep the weight down as well as its price. The new smaller Audi will come with just one gearbox type, a seven speed S-Tronic automatic transmission.

The Audi A1 should be available in August or September 2011 in Europe, a sportback version is to follow later the following year. Audi do not plan to stop there, there is to be a cabriolet version ready for production by early 2012.

There are no price details and we are not certain if Audi plan to launch the A1 in the U.S.

Hummer have not been able to focus on its future models since GM begun its plans to sell the brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong. It is assumed that the sale could be completed by December 1, giving some hope to the Hummer H4 and H5 models.

The first thing that the new owners will have to do is try and stop the fall in Hummer sales. Sales are down by 64 percent over the same period last year, so far only 8,500 units have been sold, but Tengzhong plan to sell at least 25,000 units in 2010. Engadget learned from Automotive News that the way that they plan to do this is by some aggressive marketing as well as making plans for the release of those new models.

The new owner of Hummer will be getting the plans for the new H4; this smaller model is based on the HX Concept shown at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. It is rumored that this new smaller vehicle could be ready for production within three years.

The Hummer H5 looks as though it will be going ahead, this is even smaller than the H4 and will allow Hummer to meet its future CAFE requirements. It is the production of these smaller Hummer’s that could secure the success of the SUV brand.

There is one hurdle that the new owners have to overcome, who will build their vehicles once GM stops building them at the end of 2010?

The new Fiat Doblo is all about space and with Chrysler involved, it is assumed that the vehicle will make it to the shores of the U.S. If this were true, then the Dolbo will be in direct competition with the Ford Transit Connect. The battle will be great and interesting to see how Fiat will fair stateside.

First of all the Doblo will be launched in North Korea as the Ppeokkugi and is said to be a vehicle that you share with your friends and family who travel a lot. According to Autoblog, the Fiat Doblo is the perfect vehicle for leisure or work.

The vehicle makes the most out of the interior space that it has, which can accommodate up to seven passengers. They will all be happy in the knowledge that they will be in a top-class safety environment, something that is very important for families.

The previous version of the Fiat Dablo sold more than one million units, and the revamped model hopes to do even better. The new models will come with revised engines and improved specifications and features. For more information, visit Autoblog.

Retail stores have been getting in the early Black Friday mood by offering great deals for their customers. Who would have thought that General Motors (GM) would be getting into the Christmas sprit? The automaker is to reduce the price on its entire range of vehicles.

According to Autoblog, Susan Docherty, Vice President of sales over at GM has been telling Automotive News that they will be trying to sell their reaming stock of 2009 cars by January 2010. The big sales have already begun; all models will get their own special sale name.

Chevy will have the Red Tag Sale, while Buick-GMC will be called the Holiday Event. Cadillac will have the Seasons Best sale. All three sales will all have the same goal; shift all remaining 2009 stocks at any cost. This could even mean that prices will fall even lower the closer they get to January 2010.

Pontiac and Saturn are all set to drive off in to the sunset soon, with 10,000 Pontiac’s and 8,000 Saturn’s left it will not take dealers that long to shift the reaming stock. Docherty said that stocks of these vehicles have gone down far quicker than GM had imagined.

Let us know if you are seeing any of these sales yet.

Details regarding General Motors latest figures and plans to pay back their loans have recently shown up on MotorTrend, and by the look of things the plans could be good for both the U.S. and Canadian government.

At the moment it is thought that the plan is to repay the U.S. government back their $6.7 billion loan within two years. GM also owe the Canadian government $1.2 billion, GM plan to pay back this loan within two years aswell.

Times have been pretty hard for General Motors lately, they have also reported a “managerial net loss” of $1.2 billion, this loss occurred between July 10th and September 30th.

If your a reader that loves to get the full details and figures, then I would recommend checking out MotorTrend’s article for a good read. Let us know what you think of this GM loss, and how the government bailed out the auto industry in the comments below.

The mystery Audi has been spotted yet again, it seems that this camouflaged car is showing up more and more and this has certainly got many people talking. Black not Black reports that the most recent sighting was in Southern California, but what is it?

We know that Walter de’Silva would have designed the new vehicle, but that is all we know for now. Autoblog are working hard to try and solve this mystery, they have three models in mind, the A6, A7 or A8, so let us look at the evidence here shall we.

Looking closer at the images that have been made available we can see that the C-pillar looks much like it does on the current A8, but the glass in this model is radically sloped. The size of the vehicle has been masked by that tape job, so this could be something a little smaller, such as the A6.

However, there seems to be a problem with that, the design is nothing like any A6 we have seen before, the design is too daring, these are the words that Autoblog used. So that just leaves the Audi A7, this vehicle is all set to compete with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLS.

The design certainly fits the profile, just look at the C-pillars and the tail lights. This mule starts to look a lot like the blurry shots of an A7 that has been spotted before. So what model do you think this mule is?

There could be a possible recall of 3 Million Jeep Grand Cherokees from 1993-2004 if the Center for Auto Safety has their way. It seems that these vehicles have a problem with their plastic fuel tanks, as they are prone to catching fire when they are involved in a road accident.

The fuel tank is located behind the rear axle and hangs just below the bumper. If a short vehicle hits the Cherokee, they will be able to hit the fuel tank. Autoblog have learned from AutoWeek that in some cases, the fuel filler neck has sheared off, this has lead to fuel being spilled, again a potential fire hazard.

The Center for Auto Safety has now started a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; they are asking that they begin an investigation into these three million Jeep Grand Cherokees. The center have also said that the NHTSA have files showing that Jeeps built from 1993-2004 have been involved in 172 crashes with fires; this has sadly left 254 dead.

The petition was started on November 6, so is in its early stages. This will take some time for the NHTSA to have a look at all the evidence; this could take just a few short months, but could take years. This is something that the Center for Auto Safety will find unacceptable.

Ferrari are now hinting that they are thinking of using turbochargers in their future cars, but a number of improvements needs to be made first. The first is trying to eliminate turbo lag, which has been dogging turbo engines for years.

Jean-Jacques His, a Ferrari engine developer has said that it has been the turbo lag that has stopped them from using the system, but they know that they are up for the challenge. He told Autocar, “Turbocharging will come eventually, but we need to solve the issue of turbo lag.”

The engine designer said that any delay in the power arriving is something that Ferrari find unacceptable, Ferrari engines are meant to be smooth and seamless through the powerband. The Italian car maker has said that they will not be using Fiats Multiair variable valve technology.

Ferrari have tried in the past to implement a turbo to a V8 engine from a F430, but the automaker struggled to get the system to produce the power outputs that they had hoped for. We will let you know more as soon as more information becomes available.

We love it when we come across something so weird yet brilliant. When I was younger I used to love playing on the arcade game Sega Outrun, it was so cool to sit inside a car and then think that you were actually driving it. Well who would have thought all those years later that someone would try and make this happen.

The project will need a few components for the job, firstly the Sega Outrun Cabinet-Car, second an EVT America Electric Trike, and finally an iPhone. Garnet Hertz is the guy that has attempted to make this happen; the drivable arcade game is able to reach speeds of 20 mph.

A few pieces of up-to-date technology are needed to make this possible, such as the GPS software. This helps to find a vanishing point of the road, the software in question is Google Maps in Hybrid mode. This software manages to bring the Outrun Testarossa on the road in a live setting.

The sensors built in to the Apple iPhone are able to keep a progress of you on track in real-time. We are not certain if the guy ever got the system to work, as the video that Engadget have just shows a guy walking around with a laptop, come on Garnet Hertz please give us more.

Full details and a gallery of images can be found over at http://conceptlab.com/outrun/

We had heard rumors of the Arash AF-10 some time back, but now the British supercar has now had an official announcement. The AF-10 will go head-to-head with the likes of the Noble M600, but will have a higher price tag than the Nobles £200,000. The price for the Arash AF-10 is a staggering £320,000.

Car Magazine Online has some of the first early pictures of what the new supercar will look like. The car certainly looks awesome; I am salivating as I write this article, so please forgive me. So what do you get for such a high price tag?

The main reason for the £320,000 price is because of its body and chassis, both are made from carbon fiber, this material may be light, but it is very strong, making it the perfect combination for any supercar. Arash is thought to only build a handful of these AF-10s each year.

There are three version planned for the AF-10s, the first to be released in the standard 7.0-litre V8 version, then engine has been taken from a Corvette Z06. There is a huge increase in its power though; the engine will now push out 550bhp through its six-speed manual Graziano gearbox.

A future more powerful version is already being planned a 7.0-litre V8 that will push out 800bhp. We have also learned of a special 1001bhp version, does this sound like it want to battle the Bugatti Veyron.

For the full details and more photos, visit Car Magazine Online.

Porsche AG is no stranger when it comes to them fighting to safeguard its intellectual property, they would have had many cases where they would have had to protect its trademark in the time that they have been building vehicles. We recently learned that Porsche AG is suing Crocs, Inc for use of the name Cayman.

Autoblog have learned from Deadline Watch that Crocs have used the name Cayman on a brand of their sandals. We have to wonder out of all the names that the manufacturer of these injection-molded sandals could have chosen, they decided to choose Cayman.

The problem is, Porsche have already trademark registered the name Cayman as this is the name of their popular two-seat sports coupe. Porsche sent a little to Crocs back in May, informing them of this copyright infringement. Then at the end of July, Porsche then took the matter to the German courts to take out an injunction on the company.

Autoblog have tried to make a joke of the current situation, saying that why would Porsche take this stand. They do have a good point here, it is not as if the two products are the same, and Porsche have to remember that the Cayman Islands have been around a lot longer than their two-seat sports coupe.

When you think about how far cell phones have come in its short life, it is truly mind boggling. Well now the technology of mobile communication is about to become fully integrated in to our cars that we drive, as we have just learned that there is a prototype “LTE Connected Car”.

According to Engadget, this is part of the ng Connect Program and will allow the car to connect to 4G mobile broadband, the car will then be able to offer a host of cloud-sourced facilities. These could include audio libraries, multiplayer gaming as well as video on demand.

The guinea pig car is to be a Toyota Prius and will serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot, which you can see a video of below. The idea of an LTE Connected Car would bring potential for a source of new revenue for not only network operators and application providers, but for automotive suppliers as well.

For those who wondered where mobile communication would go next, I bet none of you ever thought of an LTE Connected Car. However, when you think about it, the concept has potential. We spend a great deal of time in our vehicles, so having it as your mobile platform makes perfect sense to me.

For more information on this, visit Business Wire

The LA Auto Show begins on December 4 to 13 and we have already learned of some awesome new vehicles coming to the show. It is no secret that most of us will be hanging around to see a preview of the Porsche Boxster Spyder, but you need to have a lot of sun to appreciate the car.

Porsche have been working hard and have managed to shave off 176 pounds from the sports car, which now weighs just 2,811 pounds. The engine is a 3.4-liter boxer six with direct-injection; this has 10hp more than the standard Boxster S, so now pushes out 320 horsepower.

The Porsche Boxster Spyder with its seven-speed gearbox can go from standstill to 60mph in 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 166mph, and that is with the roof down. The car managed to offer a combined 25.3 mpg (US), not bad for a car with that kind of performance.

The new Porsche Boxster Spyder is due to go on sale in February 2010; the base model will cost $61,200. If you are not too bothered with adding an extra couple of pounds to your Porsche, then you could add a few optional extras.

Visit Autoblog for images and two videos of the Porsche Boxster Spyder in action.

According to the latest data, the recent Cash for Clunkers program set up to rid gas guzzling cars from our roads did not do as good a job as first thought. It had been hoped that more fuel-efficient vehicles would take the place of a number of old vehicles, but the new models only have slightly better gas mileage figures.

The biggest swap was recorded to be old Ford 150 pickups being traded in for newer models, the old pickups used to get 15mph whereas the new models achieve 17mpg, many trucks averaged between 1 to 3mpg differences, not much in the grand scale of things.

The government admitted to spending $562,500 in rebates for new cars that offered worse mileage figures than the old cars being replaced, this was a violation of the requirements of the program. The government is now in the process of investigating the issue.

According to the Associated Press, more than 95,000 new vehicles purchased under the program got less than 20mpg. This certainly goes against the intended plan of the program, it seems that the government was not strict enough and should have set stronger guidelines.

Do you think that the recent Cash for Clunkers program was a failure or success?

When automakers take a concept vehicle to a motor show, they offer all kinds of information about what the future production model would come with. However, every so often a car maker, let’s say Honda shows off a concept vehicle with no details, such as the Honda Skydeck Concept.

This vehicle was on show at the recent Tokyo Motor Show, but Honda said that this six-seat MPV Hybrid is theoretical. So what do we know about the vehicle so far, well we know that the front doors have a swing-open design, much like a Lamborghini.

The interior of the car looks like something from the future, the first two rows are cantilever mounted to a center tunnel, the second row of seats are able to slide forward and can be stored under the front seats.

Autoblog reckon that the front styling of that shovel scoop grille looks a little like the one found on the CR-Z coupe. Visit their website now to see more photos of the Honda Skydeck Concept.

General Motors have been making a number of plans over its Opel unit in recent months; the most recent was GM deciding to keep the European outfit and not sell it to Canada’s Magna, which is backed by a Russian group. This has come as a huge shock after months of negotiations.

We had learned yesterday that Opel’s labor force agreed to offer 265 million Euros of their annual savings if GM was to go ahead with the Magna deal, but this was not enough to change General Motors mind. This did come as a shock as Opel’s Spanish plant had already accepted plans laid out by Magna.

According to Forbes, Rainer Bruederle, the German Economy Minister said that he hopes GM to present to them their new restructuring plans from Opel and Vauxhall following the pull out of the deal. Bruederle said that he wants this plans as soon as possible.

Bruederle has also criticized General Motors’s decision to pull out of the deal and not sell a 55 percent share of the company. Germany had agreed to pump 4.5 billion Euros ($6.6 billion) into the deal; this will certainly be good news to the German tax payer.