2011 / 2012 Kia Rio teased

2011 Kia Rio Sketch Kia has come a long way in the last few years. Its cars continue to become more relevant, the designs more contemporary and the cars more appealing. But that only applies to the very newest stuff.

2012 Mazda CX-5 at Frankfurt

2012 Mazda CX-5 - Frankfurt Debut Mazda has been touting its SKYACTIV Technologies for some time now, and the new 2012 Mazda CX-5 – which Mazda will debut at Frankfurt next month – is the first Mazda to come endowed with a complete raft of SKYACTIV stuff. The clever stuff includes Mazda’s new modular platform that can be used for everything from the Mazda3 upwards, and which is said to give the CX-5 not just car-like handling but proper sporty and stable driving dynamics too. The SKYACTIV technology comes in to play with the engines too on the CX-5, with the new 2.2 litre diesel delivering 173bhp and a remarkably low 120g/km in standard guise.

GM stops Chevy Volt production to trim inventory

General Motors will idle the Detroit-area assembly plant that builds the Chevrolet Volt for more than a month to curb rising inventories of the plug-in hybrid. On March 1, GM told 1,300 workers at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in Michigan that it will shut down production for five weeks, starting the week of March 19. GM plans to resume production on April 23, spokesman Chris Lee said.