New Audi engine

The new Audi 3.0 BiTDI engine is the most powerful six-cylinder diesel engine from Audi and now available for the A6 Saloon, A6 Avant and A7 Sportback. It will also be available in the A6 allroad later this year.

Also check out the new Audi S7 Super Bowl ad

New Honda CR-V ad

The latest Super Bowl ad.

The new 2012 Honda CR-V

Good quality spark plugs

One of the most important components of your car are the spark plugs. Many of us do not realise the important role that the spark plugs play in the the smooth running of our cars. I once tried to save money by insisting on some cheap brand spark plugs when I had my car serviced. It was OK for a while but after a few months the acceleration became poor, my fuel mileage went down drastically and I knew something was definitely wrong when there were rough vibrations while idling.

I took the car back to the garage and as I had suspected, the spark plugs were fouled. After changing the spark plugs to the brand and type recommended by the manufacturer, I felt like I was driving a completely new car.

There are several popular brands out there and the market but among the most popular are the NGK spark plugs. They are considered the leaders in spark plug technology. If you are in the US and looking for NGK spark plugs for your vehicle, visit the JEGS online store. They have a huge range of NGK spark plugs as well as other popular brands including Bosch, Champion and AC Delco among others. The prices are reasonable and they offer same day shipping.

Customise your own VW Beetle

If you are in the UK, you can now configure your own Beetle from engine, wheels, colour, trims and a range of accessories.

Configure your own Beetle on the VW site.

New Mini roadster at Detroit

Premiere of the MINI Roadster at Detroit Auto Show.

Must-Have New Car Features

You may think the only important car features are GPS and a good insurance quote. While a functioning satellite navigation system and cheap coverage are certainly sought after they are far from the only automotive accessories that can greatly enhance your life as a driver. The last decade has seen a startling number of technological improvements that have made cars much safer and significantly better at performing under stressful road conditions. Equipping your car with the following features will change the way you think about driving:

Anti-lock brakes
Anti-lock brakes are a great example of a popular technology that has evolved exponentially since its inception. While still ensuring that your vehicle will be able to stop on slippery or gravel-covered surfaces, newer prototypes allow your car to electronically control front-to-rear brake balance, known as electronic brake-force distribution or traction control system.

OnStar system
You may know it mainly from their prolific radio commercials but the popular General Motors funded road-side assistance service also offers hands-free calling, turn-by-turn navigation and a number of diagnostic and communication systems that make the premiere in-vehicle security service, with over 6 million customers (though they have recently seen a number of competitors).

Kinetic dynamic suspension
KDSS is an interconnected hydraulic technology that is available in a number of new models, including the Toyota 4-runner and several other sports utility vehicles. Very popular among off-road drivers.

Electronic Stability Control
This computerized system monitors your car's steering and reduces skidding, automatically correcting for poor turns. Your rear tires can compensate for over-turning among your front tires and vice versa. The quickly growing market for ESC should lead to lower prices and continued upgrades.

Side curtain airbags
Transportation officials claim that the inclusion of side curtain airbags could save nearly a thousand lives per year. Designed specifically to protect the head from the side window in the case of a collision, family-friendly side airbags drastically reduce the risk of brain injury.

Remote keyless entry
This technology is pretty common now (it's technically been around since the 80's) but recent improvements and upgrades have made RKS (remote keyless system) a wonderful way to get in and out of your car without dropping groceries or locking yourself out. How it works is the fob sends out a radio signal with a special identity code that only your car recognizes.

It seems there are as many car features out there right now as there are grains of sand on the beach, but many of them are superfluous. The best features are ones that will protect you and your family in the event of collision and assist your vehicle to avoid collisions in the first place.

It's a big, bad world...

...will 2012 ring in the red?...

It's a big world...but everyone is aiming to expand for a bigger world. Toyota of course intends to get back on track. Hyundai/Kia will hit 7 million units (see the Bloomberg story). GM will stay on top, with VW close behind, or maybe a bit ahead. Honda is simply hoping to recover, and awaits the performance of new models. Nissan is doing well, Chrysler is helping Fiat stay afloat. PSA (Peugeot) – well, because they're neither in the US nor in Japan, I tend not to hear much about them. Of course Mazda and Mitsubishi, dependent on exports from Japan, will be lucky to stay afloat in the face of a strong yen. Suzuki looks more and more like an Indian company, not important globally.

Of course the global market will expand in 2012 – we hope. Europe however is likely to see full-fledged recession, and I think it's optimistic that NAFTA won't feel a cold wind. (New England: brace yourselves for a nor'easter of historic proportions.) Japan – well, the economy will be slow and the number of licensed drivers continues to decline. China's growth will surely be slower than in 2011, while India remains small and (unlike India) has done little to improve the infrastructure that helps make car ownership functional. Brazil may do OK. All this means that the major markets will on the whole be stagnant or, in the case of China, slower but with much greater supply and hence softer pricing. (For the major economies in 2012, I find the December 15, 2011 prognosis of Morgan Stanley's Global Economic Forum thoughtful, particularly in its effort to integrate the projections for individual countries to provide a globally consistent story reflecting the integrating effects of trade and capital markets.)

Now we're not looking at a repeat of 2009. Indeed, on a total unit basis there will be growth.

I think the industry may face another shock, lower energy prices. After all, while emerging markets continue to emerge, if more slowly than in 2011, the developed markets will be moribund, depressing demand in what in the aggregate remains the biggest market for energy. Meanwhile, a period of high prices boosts investment in exploration and extraction / recovery. The output of those efforts takes a few years to start showing up in the market. Upon completion financial imperatives mean those projects will be hungry for revenue and will produce even if they face a soft market. Well, it's now been four years. That may be good news to the Detroit Three in the US, but it will mean that overall the market for energy-efficient vehicles will soften. Yet that's where the industry's players have poured their R&D. Sure, R&D is a long-run strategy that isn't expected to generate much of a short-term pay-back. However, it has short-run profit implications when it doesn't generate any up-front return.

It's hard for me to see 2012 bringing in more black; I can't tell a consistent upside story for the industry on a global basis. Single markets are less and less capable of driving results; we have entered an era where firms need more than their home market to generate profits. (A caution: for years the effective home market for Toyota and Honda has been the US, not Japan. That may also be the case for BMW.) However, I'm not (quite) pessimistic enough to say that 2012 will ring in the red.

Mike Smitka