Articles by Karla Pincott

Fiat-Chrysler is the latest carmaker to reveal its 2013 SEMA concepts, ahead of the Las Vegas aftermarket expo’s official opening next week. The Italian/US partnership will unveil no less than 20 Mopar-equipped concepts from its suite of brands, matching the efforts of fellow US giants Ford and General Motors.Five of these concepts have been teased this week, representing the Jeep, Ram Trucks, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands.Jeep has created the 2014 Cherokee-based Trail Carver, which features a unique decal package and roof basket, mud-terrain tyres, and orange-coloured tow hooks. The interior is covered in Katzkin Amaretto leather, and includes several Mopar optional accessories such as a wireless phone charger.

Audi has created a miniature mongrel with a savage streak for their Super Bowl ad. The footage shows a couple trying to choose between a chihuahua and a doberman as a pet, and deciding to breed them together as a -- wait for it -- doberhuahua.This pocket-sized parcel of aggression, with a massive head on a tiny body, might have represented the idea of power in a small package. But it subsequently terrorises everything in its vicinity, and the message Audi is touting is that compromise is bad.The campaign showcases the new A3 launching in the US -- for which we've just test driven the sedan version that joined the line-up here last week.Read our review of the Audi A3 sedanBut the doberhuahua would have been a reasonable analogy for the model line-up in any case, with its light and frugal engines still delivering plenty of punch for the little sedan.The base model 103kW/250Nm 1.4TFSI -- which deactivates two cylinders when not required -- delivers a combined economy of 4.7l/100km while still offering a respectable 0-100kmh time of 8.4 seconds.The 132kW/250Nm 1.8 TFSI engine mated to the seven-speed dual-clutch auto is good for a combined fuel figure of 5.6l/100km and 0-100km/h time of 7.3 seconds. The Quattro version produces the same power but adds an extra 30Nm of torque to take the total to 280Nm.The 110kW/320Nm 2.0 TDI's 0-100km/h time is 8.4 seconds, meaning the six-speed dual-clutch auto equipped version is an accomplished overtaker while returning 4.5l/100km.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincottWatch the Audi doberhuahua video on our desktop site. 

The next season of Top Gear is just around the high-speed corner, and the hit car show has released an extended trailer to give us a taste of the action.It shows you can expect to see the stunning Alfa Romeo 4C facing off in one of the signature mismatch races, the completely insane six-wheeled Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6, the McLaren P1 supercar and a tank. For starters.Then there's a trek through Thailand and Burma with some luridly decorated trucks, plus there is tipped to be a segment featuring Australia's V8 Supercars. Garnish with some stars in a reasonably priced car, hot lap times from The Stig, and it looks like another recipe for vehicular viewing success.Watch the extended trailer to Top Gear season 21 on our desktop site. 

Home movies showing fails and pratfalls are the central theme of Hyundai's Super Bowl ad for the flagship Genesis sedan we'll get here later this year. The 'Dad's Sixth Sense' ad shows the parent rescuing his son from a series of falls and mishaps from infancy onwards -- but then the Genesis' auto braking saving him from a crash when he's distracted by a pretty girl during a driving lesson.Hyundai confirmed to Carsguide in 2011 that the Genesis coupe would be built in right-hand drive and reach the Australian market, and has since confirmed at the recent Detroit motor show that we'll get the sedan as well. Timing for the four-door is the final quarter of 2014, but the coupe's arrival is yet to be scheduled.The rear-wheel drive sedans will arrive here with a 248kW 3.8-litre petrol V6 mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. We'll miss out on the 5.0-litre V8 and all-wheel drive versions which are planned for now only in left-hand drive.Hyundai says the coming Genesis will have a stiffer chassis and raises the bar on the brand's driving dynamics, quality and features -- and will also get specific tuning on the redesigned multi-link rear suspension from Hyundai Australia’s own engineers to better match it to our local driving conditions.The new car will offer improved technology, including a choice of four driving modes, intelligent cruise control, blind-spot detection with heads-up display, lane-keeping assist and departure warning, and a 9.2-inch high-definition touscreen interface.Watch the 2015 Hyundai Genesis Super Bowl ad here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

You don't often see a Ferrari used as a camera car. In front of the camera, yes. But fitting one out with a camera rig to film other cars ... that's rare. But it's also one of the choices the production crew of Need for Speed is tinkering with, as they prepare to start shooting high-speed scenes.This footage takes you behind the scenes, where chase vehicles for the upcoming movie are being built. In addition to the Ferrari, they're modifying an Audi A6 and a Ford GT Mustang with a supercharger that boosts it to deliver 466kW of power, plus uprated high-performance gears and brakes.Because when you're filming something like a Bugatti Veyron at high speed, you have to rig up a vehicle that can keep pace without too much effort, and handle deftly, allowing the camera team to concentrate on getting the best footage. Or, as one of the production crew simply puts it: "you need a badass car".The only question we'd like answered is what happens to the chase cars after the filming is done. It seems like some of the crew would be volunteering to give them good homes.Watch the Need for Speed - the chase cars video here.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

It's a lightweight Boxster with more punch that gets its inspiration from the classic 550 Spyder of the 1950s. The newcomer is called the Boxster Spyder and will be revealed early next month

Nissan has been cautioned in a case with the US Federal Trade Commission over a commercial for the Frontier, sold in Australia as the Nissan Navara. Nissan North America and their ad agency TBWA Worldwide have settled the case with the commission with the admission that a stunt shown in a commercial for the popular ute was faked.The ad footage shows a Frontier tearing up a steep sand dune to rescue a bogged buggy, pushing it safely to the top. The case has now reached an official agreement that the ute -- even one with the 550Nm of torque delivered by the Navara's top-spec 3.0-litre turbodiesel -- could not push a dune buggy up such a steep slope.To shoot the slightly humorous ad, the production crew used cables to pull both vehicle up the dune. Nissan has not been fined over the representation of the stunt, but has agreed not to use potentially misleading footage in future commercials.Watch the Nissan Hillclimb ad hereIt's not the only time the Nissan Frontier has been shown with near super-vehicle powers. Another US ad filmed in a mock news broadcast style showed the Frontier coming to the rescue of an ailing passenger airplane with landing gear that had failed to properly deploy.In this case, the Frontier screams onto the runway and -- keeping pace with the plane -- lets it put its mangled front wheels into the ute's tray.Watch the Nissan Landing Gear ad hereLikewise, a current commercial for the Nissan Rogue -- the US version of our Dualis (soon to be called Qashqai) -- shows a woman getting her carpool commuters to work on time by dodging heavy traffic and jumping onto the roof of a moving train. Nissan has labelled the ad with warnings of 'fantasy' and 'do not attempt'.Watch the Nissan Commuter ad hereThis reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

Porsche have been making waves with their electric-hybrid 918 Spyder, and it seems the car's electric heritage goes back to the first Porsche ever built. The car that was first branded as a Porsche was the 1948 Type 356, but 50 years earlier -- aged just 22 -- Ferdinand Porsche had designed and built another car. And 115 years later, that vehicle has now been recovered for the Porsche Museum after being found in an old shed where it has sat untouched since 1902. It's known as the P1 (for Porsche number one) because the young engineer engraved that code onto every one of its key components. However the full name is 'Egger-Lohner electric vehicle C.2 Phaeton model', pointing to the car's propulsion from a rear-mounted electric motor. The unit produced just a little more than 2kW in normal running, but could edge just over a stonking 3.5kW for short periods in overdrive. A 12-speed control unit regulated the speed, with the peak a respectable 33km/h and a range of just under 80km. Mounted on a wooden chassis, the vehicle body was adaptable to transform into either a covered coupe or open phaeton car. Young Porsche first took it to the streets of Vienna, Austria, in 1898, and the following year tested it further at the Berlin international motor vehicle exhibition, which included an electric car race. Porsche won the race in the P1 with 18 minutes to spare ahead of the second place, and also won the efficiency award by using the least energy, despite having three passengers aboard. The P1 will now remain as part of the permanent display at the Porsche Museum, which is marking its fifth anniversary. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

The Toyota Highlander -- sold here as the Kluger -- has a strong family focus, and the car giant will underscore that by starring the Muppets in its Super Bowl commercial. The teaser video gives a glimpse, with a supporting role from former footballer and lately actor Terry Crews (The Newsroom and Arrested Development).He's driving a Highlander along a remote road when he comes across an abandoned -- and luridly painted -- bus. Crews is calling out to offer help when he hears something in the back seat of his SUV, and turns to find Rowlf the Muppet dog trying to open the child-proof door.The commercial ties the vehicle -- launching here within weeks -- into the roll-out for the coming Muppets Most Wanted movie, arriving soon after in March. If the ad resonates, it could set up some great pester power, of course, with indulged brats demanding the 'Muppet car' in the same practised way they tantrum-activate lollies, smartphones and whatever else is their latest need.Watch the desktop version of the Toyota taps Muppets and Terry Crews for Super Bowl video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Google is trying to map the globe, covering every possible street and road -- and lately getting inside shopping centres as well -- for their Street View mode. So it's about time they got around to one of the most-viewed bits of bitumen. In the woooorld. The Top Gear track that features in every episode with a reasonably-priced car and a Stig lap time test.And you can't hit the Top Gear track without some help from The Stig, so the Google maps car gets to face off against the mystery race driver -- in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series gullwing. Google loses that race but ends up with its Street View mapping, and a smokescreen set up by the jubilant Stig's donuts.Want to get around the Top Gear track yourself (albeit travelling by mouse or touchpad rather then wheels)? Log onto Google Maps -- and wave the starter's flag for the office lap time leaderboard.Watch the desktop version of the The Stig vs Google Maps car video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott