DAMD…They Did it Again: Japanese Tuner Mods Suzuki Wagon R

If anything else, you must admit that the folks over at DAMD have a vivid imagination when it comes to styling up small city cars like the Suzuki Wagon R. The aftermarket tuning house treats the Japanese mini -literally- van Wagon R with a new bodykit that comprises of a gaudy grille matched to a new front bumper that comes with an integrated lip spoiler and aluminium accents, side skirts, roof spoiler and a new rear bumper with an aluminium center piece that houses the new dual exhaust tips.

The vehicle’s exterior appearance is rounded off by a set of Crimson alloy wheels in a black finish with orange colored rims that are wrapped in 165/40R 17 tires.

Other available options include a sport suspension that lowers the Wagon R’s ride height, specific floor mats and black leather seats with contrasting orange stitching.

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Popular Mechanics doles out its Top 10 Cars of 2011

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time for different publications to start dishing out the numerous “car of the year” awards that highlight the best and brightest offerings for each new model year. The folks at Popular Mechanics have just released their Top 10 Cars for 2011, with American manufacturers (Ford, specifically) taking away the vast majority of top honors. Add General Motors and Chrysler to the mix, and the Big Three account for six of the ten vehicles on Popular Mechanics‘ list.

Ford’s Mustang, Fiesta and F-250 Super Duty were all recognized as class-leaders for the 2011 model year. Across town, the new Cadillac CTS Coupe and Chevrolet Volt were given a hat tip from the editors, as was the Jeep Grand Cherokee, one of parent company Chrysler’s big comebacks for the year 2011. The remaining awards were given to the Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Sienna, Lotus Evora and Infiniti M, all of which are fantastic cars in their own rights.

To see which cars were honored for each category, you can scroll through our image gallery of the winners, or hit the jump to read the official press release. Look for the full story in Popular Mechanics’December issue, which hits newsstands on November 12.

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Mooted Cadillac flagship could be mid-engined sports car

Car and Driver is reporting that the often-reported Cadillac flagship is at a crossroads. There have been many rumors that the planned range-topper will wind up as a rear-wheel drive, high-end luxury sedan slotting above the production version of the XTS Platinum (the concept version of which is shown above). Now C/D has apparently been hearing whispers that it may in fact show up as a mid-engined sports car.

While the thought of a luxurious, mid-engined ZR1 sounds appealing, we’ll file this in the don’t-hold-your-breath category. Although, if the company is brassy enough to build the ultra low-volume CTS-V Sport Wagon, then perhaps anything is possible.

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GM may let Euro drivers switch Opel Ampera to gas power to save batteries

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt made major media waves when it was first revealed that its engine could power the drive wheels independently under certain circumstances. According to a report from HeadlineAuto in the UK, though, General Motors’ European division is actually considering adding a switch for the Opel Ampera (the Volt’s more attractive European cousin) that would allow the driver to control how the drivetrain operates.

For instance, when driving longer distances, such as when traveling from city to city, the driver could potentially switch the car into its so-called charge sustaining mode so that the gasoline-powered engine would run constantly in order to maintain a full charge of the battery. Then, after the speeds slow back down and the driver re-enters an urban area, the car could be put back into its normal battery-first mode.

At this point, this report appears to be little more than speculation based on statements made by GM’s Lars Peter Thiesen, who is overseeing the process of tuning the Opel Ampera for the European market. There’s currently no reason to believe that GM would make such a modification to the U.S.-spec Volt.

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Top Gear Award winners announced

As we said before, it’s that time when everyone starts rolling out their year-end “Best of” lists and revisits their favorite rides of 2010. Top Gear is in on the action, naming its annual award winners. Its list, as you can see, is diverse and loaded with forbidden fruit (at least for those of us in the U.S.)

• Hypercar of the Year: Koenigsegg Agera
• Cabrio of the Year: Maserati GranCabrio
• Grand Tourer of the Year: Bentley Continental GT
• Hot Hatch of the Year: Volkswagen Golf R
• Family Car of the Year: BMW 520d Touring
• Engine of the Year: Fiat TwinAir
• Coupe of the Year: Peugot RCZ
• Luxury Car of the Year: Jaguar XJ
• Small Car of the Year and Car of the Year: Citroen DS3

Besides the standard categories, the three hosts also picked their favorites of 2010. Jeremy Clarkson is in love with the Pagani Zonda R, James May goes with the Bugatti Veyron Supersport and Richard Hammond is quite fond of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.

Though we’ve given you the list, it’s still worth a trip over to the Top Gear website to read the reasons behind each choice.

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