Autos

Skoda may be an unfamiliar vehicle brand on the North American shores but it’s a different story over in Europe. Skoda Octavia made its debut in 1996 and went on sale in the UK in 1998 quickly becoming a popular family vehicle due to its practicality and affordability. The all-new 2013 Skoda Octavia uses Volkswagen’s MQB platform which is also used on vehicles such as the Audi A3 and the VW Golf MK7. At first glance, the Octavia does look very “VW Jetta’ish”.

The third-generation Octavia is a bit bigger than the previous generation and is now wider and longer which translates into more interior space as well as leg room for the rear passengers. The vehicle now also offers more head room making it a class-leading vehicle in the C-Segment (compact) when it comes to interior space. The larger interior also has updated look and feel featuring soft touch materials.

We’ve been writing about the refreshed E-Class cars over the last few weeks and it was only natural to save the best for last.  Today we bring you the most powerful E-Class cars, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Sedan and Wagon.

The 2014 E63 Sedans and E63 Wagons get the same facelift as the less powerful coupes and sedans, but get a different front bumper with bigger air-intakes and a lip spoiler.  Mercedes is also offering an E63 AMG 4MATIC version this year.

My eyes are still sore from the hideous BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo and now the company has officially unveiled the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo which is the same thing but on a smaller scale. It seems like the ugly genes just keep on spreading in the German automakers world like an out of control disease. It’s a bit surprising to see this variant of the 3 Series being released considering the 5 Series GT isn’t exactly a hit in the market place. We’ll see how the sales are when the BMW 3 Series hits the US show room floors later this year.

The overall length of the 3 Series Gran Turismo is 7.9-inches longer than the BMW 3 Series Touring (which is a far better looking vehicle) and the GT’s wheelbase is 4.3-inches longer while standing 3.2-inches taller than the Touring model. The only useful thing about the 3 Series GT is the additional cargo space this design has to offer. The GT variant features 18.36 cubic feet of space which is almost one cubic foot more than the 3 Series Touring.

The Ferrari Enzo supercar was one of the most technically advanced cars when it was first introduced, over a decade ago.  Over the years a lot of the “lesser” exotic cars have caught up to the performance figures of the Enzo and that only means one thing; time for a new Ferrari supercar.  The Enzo replacement is called the Ferrari “LaFerrari”, in other words, the car is called “The Ferrari The Ferrari”… hmm… kind of reminds me of “The La Trattoria” from one of my favorite movies, Mickey Blue Eyes.

Fans of the iconic sports car, the Porsche 911, know 2013 is a special year for the car; this year marks the 50^th anniversary of the rear-engine car from Germany.  To celebrate, Porsche will be releasing a special edition 911 Carrera S 50 Years Edition; the car will be showcased at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

These special edition cars will be limited to 1,963 units, an appropriate number since the car was first introduced in the year 1963.