Yes indeed, the Saab saga isn’t over yet. General Motors is still deciding whether or not to sell Saab, although reports seem to think that a decision is near, and now GM is suggesting that they’re hopeful by beginning production of the upcoming 9-4X (Pictured in the spy shot above). Also, Ed Whitacre has become the CEO of General Motors.
After failing to post another category winner yesterday due to lack of time, we reveal our Family Car of the Year today. Lots of space and a clever interior is what we’re searching for, but good looks and proper handling are the really big pluses. And our Family Car of the Year is:
Continuing with Car of the Year nominees, here’s the second part. Family Car of the Year and Cheap Car of the Year are here.
Family Car of the Year
This is where we choose the ideal car for people with big families. Lots of space is an absolute must.
Fiat Doblo: Looks great, seats plenty of people, and it’s quite economical as well.
Toyota Sienna: The looks are a bit iffy in some places, but it promises sporty handling with a comfortable ride, great interior, and plenty of room.
Volvo XC60: A good looking car with a great, spacious interior. Very safe as well.
Vauxhall/Opel Insignia Sports Tourer: New Vauxhalls/Opels have said good bye to their old, conservative, ugly ancestors and buried them in the middle of nowhere. As a result they now make good cars and this good looking estate Insignia is one of them
Dacia Duster: A funky looking car with plenty of space, promising a low price tag.
Citroen C3 Picasso: Funky Citroen looks, with plenty of practicality and a reasonable price.
Cheap Car of the Year
These are cars for those of us who don’t want to, or simply can’t, spend too much money. Price range we set is $25,000 CAD and under.
Renault Twingo: A nice looking car with good handling and interior. Comes in a fantastic Renaultsport trim too.
Ford Fiesta: Ford has launched the new Fiesta hatch in 2008 in Europe but not in North America so we actually found an excuse to nominate it as it is a very, very good supermini.
Volkswagen Polo: This small, German hatchback has actually won the European Car of the Year Award, but that’s not important, as now it faces the most important test ever: Will it be our Cheap Car of the Year?
The 2010 International Car and Truck of the Year have been announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
It must be recall season, because there have been an insane amount of recalls lately, and here’s yet another one. Volvo is recalling their XC60.
There are 8,438 affected cars. The problem is that the driver’s seatbelt could become detached from the seat frame in a side impact crash, as was discovered during safety testing by the NHTSA.
The NHTSA say “The driver’s seat side cover panel (seat control panel) in certain driver-side impacts may release the attachment of the seatbelt to the seat frame. Should this condition occur in a crash, the seatbelt may fail to properly restrain the occupants, increasing the risk of injury.”
There have been no reports of this happening outside tests, but better safe than sorry, so they’re recalling them.
Dealerships will be modifying the inside of the driver’s seat side cover panel to fix this. The recall should begin on December 15th.
If you own a XC60, my advice would be to call up your local dealer, or Volvo directly (US number is (800) 458-1552), and schedule the fix as soon as possible. Try not to drive the car until the fix is installed, as it’s hard to say whether or not you’ll get into a crash which may trigger this problem.
Source: Inside Line
