10 Cars That Are New and Exciting for 2016 in America

New cars are introduced every year. Some of them are pretty lame such as the 2016 Toyota Prius. Others are exciting. Here are 10 cars that we should be excited about for 2016.

1. Ford Focus RS

Ford Focus RS
By Ford Motor Company

The Ford Focus RS was a front wheel drive beast. Until 2016, it was never available in the United States which made car guys in the US feel betrayed by their own motor company. Thanks to Ford, we now are able to obtain the Ford Focus RS. They weren't chicken with this car at all. It has a turbocharged 2.3 L 4 cylinder engine that makes a beastly 350 horsepower. They have added all wheel drive replacing the front wheel drive. The best part is the drift mode where it could let you drift in an all wheel drive car.

2. Chevrolet Camaro

Chevrolet Camaro SS

The Chevrolet Camaro is all new for 2016 and it sure is  amazing as it already won the Motor Trend 2016 Car of the Year. The smaller engines include a 2.0 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder that makes 280 horsepower and a 3.6 liter V6 that makes 355 horsepower. What car guys are really interested in is the Camaro SS with the 6.2 Liter LS1 V8 with 455 horsepower, the same engine as the Corvette. The Camaro will crush every Mustang and Dodge Challenger with the most mean looks and the interior that is cleverly designed. The climate control is controlled by 2 metal rings that twist to raise and lower the temperature. It also has the optional screen in the area where the gauges where you could customize it to display a variety of menus,

3. Tesla Model X

Tesla Model X
By Steve Jurvetson

I may hate the Tesla Model X but it is something new on the SUV market. You could either have the 70D, the 90D, or the performance P90D.  The 70D has 2 motors that combine to make a total of 518 horsepower and a 70 kilowatt batter that has 220 miles of range. The 90D has the same 2 motors and has a 90 kilowatt battery that has 257 miles of range. The P90D has 2 electric motors that make a total of 762 horsepower and a 90 kilowatt battery that has 250 miles of range. This SUV is quite unique. One of the most interesting features is the Falcon Wing doors that open up and have sensors so it won't the car next to you. Another cool feature is that all you do is push the handle and the door will open for you.

4. Bentley Bentayga

Bentley Bentayga
By Rijinatwiki

If you call a Land Rover Range Rover luxury, then you need to see this.  This is Bentley's luxury and fast SUV. It has a 6 liter W12 engine that makes 600 horsepower. It's not all road and no offroad. There are offroading modes that help you offroad, but who would want to clip their under body in 300,000 dollar SUV, This SUV has some of the most exclusive features. For example, there is an optional Bertling Clock on the center console that has diamonds embedded into them, while the dials are either rose gold or gold. It has an Android based entertainment system that you could take off and take it into you home.

5. Acura NSX

Acura NSX
ByLatvian98

The Acura NSX has been revived. However, it is an expensive hybrid this time. It has a base price of 150,000 dollars. However, it is worth it. It has a 3.5 liter twin turbocharged V6 that makes 500 horsepower and 2 electric motors. The total amount of power for this car is 573 horsepower. It has a 9 speed dual clutch automatic transmission. This car is amazing. For starters, it looks a lot like the concept car. The interior looks great, especially since it flows really well. Something that I find really cool is the screen for the speedometer. You can customize it to display what you want. It shows that Acura is catching up to becoming a maker of the modern supercar.

6. Honda Civic Type R

Honda Civic Type R
By Edvvc

The Honda Civic Type R is not like any other Honda Civic sold in America. First of all, it is a Civic hatchback, so it seems quite bulky. Second of all, it is turbocharged. The only other turbocharged Honda is the regular Honda Civic that has the optional 1.5 turbocharged 4 cylinder engine. However, this time it is a 2.0 L V-TEC and turbocharged 4 cylinder that makes 300 horsepower instead of the meager 176 horsepower.  Of coarse, You might be wondering what this front wheel drive car with that much power is up against.The Honda Civic Type R is a the Ford Focus RS. One of the key differences is that the Ford Focus RS is all wheel drive, but the Honda Civic Type R is front wheel drive (why???). Unless Honda has some fancy differential that eliminates understeer, it is useless around the corners since front wheel drive plus high speed plus cornering equals understeer.

7. Audi R8

Audi R8

The Audi R8 no longer has a V8. It only has a V10 and V10 Plus trim. The V10 makes 540 horsepower. However, the V10 Plus has some upgrades that allows it to make 610 horsepower. Like the Lamborghini Huracan LP-610-4, it has a V10 and all wheel drive. It also has Virtual Cockpit, which is an entire digital gauge clusters. However, thing that makes this different from the Lamborghini Huracan LP-610-4 is that Iron Man drives an R8.

8. Ford GT

Ford GT
By Car and Driver

This is the car that stile the Detroit International Auto Show back in January of 2015. No one paid attention to the NSX. It has an Ecobosst V6 (yes,V6) that makes 600 horsepower. Less that a thousand are going to be made. This is one of the most high tech Fords ever. The Ford GT's tub is made of carbon fiber. The spoiler has tricks such as turning into an airbrake and adjusting so it provides drag and down force when needed.

9. Lamborghini Huracan LP-580-2

Lamborghini Huracan
By Jakub Halun

The Lamborghini Huracan LP-610-4 is a V10 all wheel drive car. It is similar to the Audi R8 V10 plus. Lamborghini was nice enough to make a Huracan that is rear wheel drive that also has a V10. Instead of making 610 horsepower like the regular Huracan, it makes 580 horsepower. The best part is that it costs less than than the regular LP-610-4. The regular all wheel drive version costs around 240,000 dollars. The rear wheel drive wheel drive version starts at about 200,000 dollars. Now, more people could brag about having a Lamborghini.

10. Ford Mustang Shelby GT350

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350
By Tuner tom

The Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 is amazing. Before we get into why this car is amazing, we must discuss the engine. It has a 5.2 L V8 that makes a nice 526 horsepower. There is an available Magnetic Ride Damping system. This car will impress you. You might just think that this is another Shelby but it isn't. It sounds better and handles better unlike the other Shelby's thanks to this generation's independent rear suspensions. Finally, a Shelby that could handle and puts the power to the ground exists.

Thank you so much for reading. If you have any questions, comment them in the comments section below.

American Compact Sedans- A Buying Guide Pt. 2

Welcome back to part 2 of the American compact sedans buying guide. Now, let's get started with one of the only AWD cars in its class, the Subaru Impreza.

Subaru Impreza

The Suburu Imprezza isn't a bad car. First of all, base engine is in between the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic's. It is a 2.0 liter boxer engine that makes 148 horsepower. What is great about this car is that it has standard AWD. You cannot even get AWD on other cars in its class unless your are in the sorry Mitsubishi Lancer. Transmission options aren't great though. You can only get stick shift on the base 2.0i, or you can "upgrade" to the evil CVT. If you want a trim nicer than the base 2.0i, then you must have the CVT.

Suburu Imprezza

 For the interior, there is a Starlink system tat looks nice, but has touch sensitive buttons. The interior, like the Nissan Sentra, is logically laid out. However like the Nissan Sentra, the interior is also boring. However, the information screen between the gauges is nice and colorful, and the steering wheel feels great in your hands. In terms of safety, it is available with Subaru's amazing Eyesight system that got a Superior rating in the IIHS front crash prevention test and it aced all the tests for IIHS. In terms of driving, the car is noisy, but it has great visibility. How much does it cost to get this AWD beast? The Impreza starts at around 18,000 dollars.

Now, if the Impreza isn't for you and you want an AWD car, then take a look at the Mitsubishi Lancer.

Mitsubishi Lancer

The Mitsubishi Lancer is another AWD car. However, it costs less than the Subaru Impreza starting at around 17,000 dollars. Then again, AWD is an option. The base ES 2.0 comes with a 2.0 MIVEC engine making 148 horsepower. It could be hooked up with a 5 speed manual or a CVT. The ES 2.4 AWC, SE 2.4 AWC, and the SEL 2.4 AWC all have all wheel drive, CVT transmissions, and a 2.4 MIVEC engine that makes 168 horsepower, The top of the line GT 2.4 has pretty much the same specs as the other trim levels higher than the base ES 2.0, except it is available with a 5 speed manual. 

Mitsubishi Lancer

So, what's so great about the Lancer. It has available AWD, unlike most cars in its class. One neat thing about this car is that if you have AWD, then you can turn it off. That's about it. The rear seat space is decent. Cargo space is small at around 12.3 cubic feet. For the interior, it is logically laid out but boring, The information screen in between the gauges isn't even colored. Instead, it has this ugly orange tone to it. Now, me must talk about how dated this car is. It has been around since 2007. That's pretty old.

Now, if you don't want a Japanese car, why not look at the Koreans. Let's take a look at the Kia Forte.

Kia Forte

The Kia Forte is Kia's entry into the compact sedan game. The base LX trim sports a 1.8 L 4 cylinder that makes 145 horsepower which is okay for its class. It has a standard 6 speed manual and an optional 6 speed automatic. Step up to the EX trim and you get 2,0 L 4 cylinder with 173 horsepower and a standard 6 speed automatic. One of the top selling points of this car is the cheap base price. It starts at less than 16,000 dollars. 

Kia Forte Interior
By Shadiac

The Forte does what an average commuter car does. It drives fairly well but it isn't as sporty as a Mazda 3. It has sporty looks, which is something that is important in the compact sedan class. There is a fair amount of available tech. There is UVO, a system that could record where you parked your car and get road side assistance. However, like every other car, there are problems. Like many other cars in its class, the interior is not unique. It has the traditional tiny looking screen and climate control on the lower half of the dash. There is no floating screen like a Mazda 3 or curves like in a Honda Civic. However to be fair, both these cars are more expensive than the Forte.

If you don't want a Kia but want something Korean, then take a look at the all new Hyundai Elantra.

Hyundai Elantra

The Hyndai Elantra was recently redesigned for the 2017 model year. It may be one of the most advanced cars in its class. The 2.0 L 4 cylinder in the SE trim makes 147 horsepower. It comes standard with a six speed manual and is available with a six speed automatic transmission. The top of the line limited trim comes with the same 4 cylinders as the SE trim but has a standard 6 speed automatic.Even with the little power, don't be fooled. It does pull. This car starts around the same price as the other cars in its class. It starts at around 17,000 dollars. This car is fancy. There is available rear heated seats, memory seats, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, and many other luxury items in cars.

Hyundai Elantra
By Car and Driver

The Hyundai Elantra is filled with technology that helps tackle everyday problems. The Blue Link feature allows you to unlock and lock the car remotely, flash your lights remotely, remotely start your engine, and do many other things. The Elantra may be the newest car in its class but it sure doesn't feel like it. It looks similar to any other car in its class. It's not unique or different. It's more like it's just another sedan. The interior isn't unique either.  It has the traditional screen and climate control on the lower half of the dashboard. It also has the color display screen between the gauges. This car may not be amazing, but it does do what a commuter car should do.

Thank you so much for reading. If you have any feedback, corrections, requests, or questions, send me an email at edster.chen@yahoo.com.