Ward's Auto Announces the 10 Best Car Interiors of 2011

Like every year, Ward's AutoWorld magazine picks the best interiors the automotive industry has to offer. For 2011, the publication chose 10 the ten best interiors the offer after editors analyzed 51 vehicles that were all-new or featured significantly upgraded interior. Ward's Auto picked the 10 winners from all segments, with the finalists including three luxury brands, three economy cars, a sport sedan, a minivan, an SUV and a family sedan.

If you’re still with us, the top 10 winners for 2011, in alphabetical order, are:

Audi A8
BMW X3 xDrive35i
Chevrolet Cruze 2LT RS
Dodge Charger Rallye Plus
Ford Focus Titanium
Honda Odyssey Elite
Hyundai Elantra Limited
Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit
Kia Optima EX
Volvo S60

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2012 Hyundai Accent: #Pointless Sneak Peek of N.A-Spec Hatch on @Twitter

Unless Hyundai’s sneak peek has something to do with the interior décor of the 2012 Accent shown at the annual Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival, there’s really not much to say about the South Korean firm’s cropped photo-posting on Twitter.

True, Hyundai will premiere its new sub-compact for the first time in the USA at the upcoming New York International Auto Show, but it won’t be a first per se as we’ve seen the new car in Beijing, in Moscow with a different name and face and more recently, at the 2011 Montreal Auto Show in January (see the video after the break).

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2013 Chevrolet Malibu Sedan: China Edition

Another day, another photo of General Motors’ 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. This time, GM’s China site published a three-quarter view of the local market version of Chevy’s mid-size sedan finished in a blue hue. Blame the angle the picture was taken, but the new Malibu looks less dynamic, more plain here than it did on the previous image of the US-spec model. Of course, that’s our two cents worth, so feel free to express your thoughts in the comments section below. Read more »

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California Set to Slash Lawmakers' Vehicle Costs in Half, No More Freebies

In an attempt to help reduce California's $26.6 billion deficit, the state's Citizens Compensation Commission has decided that members of the Senate and Assembly who drive state-sponsored vehicles will have their annual vehicle costs cut from $7,453 to $3,600. That boils down to $300 per month for expenses (gas, insurance, etc.), and oh, they'll have to drive their own cars as of December…

California lawmakers average an income of $131,000 per year before retirement benefits, and reducing vehicle costs is one minor cut that's being made for the betterment of the whole. Some people thought the measure was a bit too broad, not taking into account lawmakers' locations.

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Nissan to Show New Versa and a Motorsports Concept in New York, Infiniti to Announce New Addition to Range

One by one, automakers are revealing their plans for the upcoming 2011 New York International Auto Show. This time we have news from Nissan and its luxury division Infiniti. Starting with Nissan, the Japanese firm will debut a “new compact sedan” and a “new, zero emission motorsports concept”. While we have don’t have any information yet on the concept study, from what we know, the compact sedan will be the next generation of the Versa that was teased in an official sketch back in late 2010.

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Saved by Antonov: Saab Sells Production Facilities to Russian Banker to Get Cash

The Swedish government offered Saab conditional backing for a deal to free up cash for the company (see previous story here), whose production lines have been stopped for two weeks as Saab didn't pay suppliers. "We have decided to allow the Debt Office to conclude an agreement with Saab," said enterprise minister Maud Olofsson during a news conference on Friday.

The government has approved a proposal from the Debt Office to allow Saab to sell real estate, including the production plant, to Russian financier Vladimir Antonov and then lease it back from him. The minister said this deal would bring €30 million to Saab in the first phase, although the real estate was worth much more than that.

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VIDEO: Indian Daredevils and the Well of Death

The ‘circle of death’ is neither new nor shocking, but it’s one thing to see a professional stuntman who follows the necessary safety precautions doing it and another a group of gifted but nevertheless amateur daredevils going at it in a shoddy well made out of wooden planks with the crowd only inches away….

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