850 A4 Avant Front 01

Filed under: Spy Photos, Wagon, Volvo Volvo V70 - Click above for high-res image gallery We've just seen the 2011 Volvo S60 in all its production glory, and hot on the heels of that, we've got some snaps of the wagon version undergoing winter testing. Volvo's array of offerings have always included wagons. Safe, stolid Swedish Estates are a big part of what built the brand, and that's why the V50, V70 and XC70 are rockin' the two-box in Volvo's current lineup. Since the V70 moved up to share the S80's underpinnings, there's been a midsize-wagon shaped hole in Göteborg's showrooms. Sure, the V50 is there on the compact end of the spectrum, but it's often not quite big enough. The V60 snapped in these photos aims to change all that. Targeted directly at Audi A4 Avant and BMW 3 Series Touring, and likely carrying all the wily charms the Volvo has been showing off lately, Volvo's latest estate looks to be capable of heating up even a Nordic winter. Gallery: Volvo V60 Spy Shots Spy Shots: Volvo V60 spotted doing the cold weather thing originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Sedan, Audi Audi A3 - Click above for high-res image gallery Europeans go crazy for the Volkwagen Golf, but not so much for the Jetta. Like, not crazy at all. Americans, on the other hand, will give props to a hatchback, but what we really love is big butts and we cannot lie a trunk in which to put our junk. According to Inside Line, Audi has decided to stop letting its A3 hatchback be a whipping boy while trying to sway American tastes and instead it has committed to bringing us an A3 sedan. The small sedan is already in the development pipeline and will arrive in the U.S. - its only intended market - in 2012. It is reportedly going be the size of the first-generation Audi A4, the B5 model. That sedan was 178 inches long and 68.2 inches wide, whereas the current A3 hatch is 169 inches long and 78.5 inches wide. The question is whether the A3 only needs a trunk in order to lure more buyers. The current hatch starts at $27,270. If the Golf and Jetta are taken as examples, there is just $135 difference between the two cars, the Jetta being more expensive. This plan could theoretically work if the A3 sedan is similarly close to the hatch, but somewhere along the way we feel like it will need to shed its image as a gussied-up Golf for sales to really fly. Gallery: 2009 Audi A3 [Source: Inside Line]Report: Audi A3 sedan being developed for U.S. only originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments