1962 Morgan Plus 4 on 2040-cars

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New Skoda Octavia, cast in the same mold, arrives full of new features

There's no reason a one-trick pony can't be an entertaining success - you've just really got to like that one trick. And while we're not saying that the new offerings from Škoda are one-dimensional, we are saying that it's a good thing we like the Czech brand's new design language; line up the new Octavia next to the Rapid and you'll need to know the details or the sizing chart to tell them apart.
The Octavia is the compact segment offering, but this larger third-generation comes packed with lots of new features. It is 90 millimeters longer and 45 mm wider than the previous car, with a wheelbase 108 mm longer, so it offers what Škoda says is more interior length, knee room and rear headroom than any other car in the segment. The hatchback opening at the rear hides a trunk that can hold 590 liters. For all that, it is up to 225 pounds lighter than the second-generation Octavia.
Four gasoline and four diesel engines will litter the options sheet, the most powerful of them the 1.8 TSI with 177 horsepower, the most frugal among them the 1.6 TDI GreenLine with 109 hp that gets 69 miles per gallon. All but the entry-level engines can be fitted with stop/start and brake regeneration, and a natural gas powerplant will be coming later. A hotted-up Octavia RS is also down the line.

Skoda makes us hungry for some Yeti with new Urban edition

As a European auto giant with a strong presence in the North American market, there are some products that the Volkswagen group doesn't offer on this side of the pond. Like the entire Skoda and Seat brands, for example. With the exception of the Scirocco, there aren't many that we really feel like we're missing over here. That, and perhaps the Skoda Yeti.
Highly praised by a publication so performance-oriented as Evo (among many others), the Yeti is said to be an excellent little sport-ute, and a cost-effective one at that. And no, there are no plans we're aware of to bring it Stateside. But as if to rub salt in the wound of its absence from American showrooms, Volkswagen's Czech brand has announced a new version of the capable soft-roader in the UK.
Called the Skoda Yeti Urban, the special edition is based on the SE trim level but features a number of special touches and optional extras bundled in. Two-tone black and chrome 17-inch alloys, fog lights, flared fenders, and an interior with black or red sports seats and a whole mess of electronics are all part of the package, available with either a 1.2-liter TSI with 104 horsepower or (for a premium) a 108hp 2.0-liter TDI.

Watch Skoda's Mikkelsen get quizzed while running a rally stage

If there's one trait all motorsports drivers have, it's an excellent ability to multitask. Sure, the pilots need to be able to keep an eye on the course and keep their vehicles pointed in the right direction. But that's not all.
Drivers also need to be in constant contact with either a navigator, a spotter or a pit chief while simultaneously making sure their car doesn't go supernova on the course. Skoda recently put driver Andreas Mikkelsen's multitasking skills to the test by giving him a pop quiz while he was slinging his IRC rally car around the Millbrook race track.
With questions covering topics ranging from rally history to import/export trivia, Mikkelson had his work cut out for him, but he handles the rapid-fire Q&A like a champ. Well, except for that question about Ukrainian pork. You can check out the video for yourself below.