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Here are a few of our automotive guilty pleasures

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. The world is full of cars, and just about as many of them are bad as are good. It's pretty easy to pick which fall into each category after giving them a thorough walkaround and, more important, driving them. But every once in a while, an automobile straddles the line somehow between good and bad — it may be hideously overpriced and therefore a marketplace failure, it may be stupid quick in a straight line but handles like a drunken noodle, or it may have an interior that looks like it was made of a mess of injection-molded Legos. Heck, maybe all three. Yet there's something special about some bad cars that actually makes them likable. The idea for this list came to me while I was browsing classified ads for cars within a few hundred miles of my house. I ran across a few oddballs and shared them with the rest of the team in our online chat room. It turns out several of us have a few automotive guilty pleasures that we're willing to admit to. We'll call a few of 'em out here. Feel free to share some of your own in the comments below. Dodge Neon SRT4 and Caliber SRT4: The Neon was a passably good and plucky little city car when it debuted for the 1995 model year. The Caliber, which replaced the aging Neon and sought to replace its friendly marketing campaign with something more sinister, was panned from the very outset for its cheap interior furnishings, but at least offered some decent utility with its hatchback shape. What the two little front-wheel-drive Dodge models have in common are their rip-roarin' SRT variants, each powered by turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines. Known for their propensity to light up their front tires under hard acceleration, the duo were legitimately quick and fun to drive with a fantastic turbo whoosh that called to mind the early days of turbo technology. — Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski  Chevrolet HHR SS: Chevy's HHR SS came out early in my automotive journalism career, and I have fond memories of the press launch (and having dinner with Bob Lutz) that included plenty of tire-smoking hard launches and demonstrations of the manual transmission's no-lift shift feature. The 260-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder was and still is a spunky little engine that makes the retro-inspired HHR a fun little hot rod that works quite well as a fun little daily driver.

VW Jetta and Golf family earn IIHS TSP+ [w/video]

Volkswagen is the latest manufacturer to add vehicles to the growing list of cars, trucks and SUVs certified as Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The non-profit has awarded its highest safety ranking on the 2016 Golf and Jetta families. Earning a TSP+ rating, while increasingly common, is still a challenge for automakers thanks to IIHS' strict testing regime. Vehicles must net "Good" ratings – the highest grade available – in the moderate overlap, front, side, roof, and head-restraint tests, while also scoring an "Acceptable" rating on the notoriously tricky small-overlap test. On top of that, the automated crash-prevention systems need to be rated as either "Advanced" or "Superior." For 2016, the Jetta, Golf, and their performance variants retained 2015's "Good" ratings across the board, while also receiving an "Advanced" crash prevention rating, thanks to the new-for-2016 Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking systems. "This year's Top Safety Pick+ awards demonstrate Volkswagen's longstanding commitment to vehicle safety and the development of innovative technologies," Mark Barnes, VP of Sales for VW of America, said in the attached statement. "Our available driver assistance systems and safety features show Volkswagen's commitment to introduce systems that were once only seen on high-end luxury and premium vehicles, such as Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Departure Warning." Scroll down for the official press release from VW and video of the crash test (and yes, that's a 2015 shown in both the lead image and video – the only difference between the two years was the availability of more advanced crash-prevention systems). This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2016 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, GOLF SPORTWAGEN, GOLF GTI AND JETTA EARN A 2015 TOP SAFETY PICK + RATING FROM THE INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY Aug 12, 2015 Herndon, VA — Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced that the 2016 Volkswagen Golf 4-door, Golf SportWagen, Golf GTI 4-door, and Jetta models, when equipped with the optional Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking (Front Assist) system, have been awarded 2015 TOP SAFETY PICK+ ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Skoda launching two new CNG-powered vehicles in Europe in June

Skoda's second- and third-ever production compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles aren't exactly speed burners, but they are efficient. The Czech automaker, which is owned by Volkswagen, will introduce its Octavia G-TEC and Octavia Combi G-TEC models to most of Europe next month. Skoda's first CNG model was the Citigo, which debuted in 2012. The Octavia models will have a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine that will deliver about 109 horsepower. Quickness isn't these cars' virtue, as their 0-60 mile per hour acceleration time will be almost 11 seconds. But they can go as far as 826 miles on their tanks of gas and CNG, enough to go from Prague to Rome in one shot, in case anyone was curious. Or nuts. The move by Skoda makes sense, as the CNG market in Europe has long been far further along than it is on this side of the pond, where CNG has primarily been used to move delivery trucks, but it's now available in pickups form Chrysler, Ford and General Motors as well as passenger cars from Chevy and Honda. The Skoda Citigo has moved almost 2,000 units since its debut, with 1,300 vehicles sold last year alone. That car can go as far as 385 miles on CNG and gasoline combined, which is impressive but not quite as bladder busting as the Octavia models. Check out Skoda's press release below. SKODA continues its CNG offensive with the new SKODA Octavia G-TEC Launch of the new SKODA Octavia G-TEC and new Octavia Combi G-TEC in June First SKODA Octavia with natural gas drive as standard; 97 g CO2/km High-performance technology: bivalent turbo engine 1.4 TSI/81 kW The ultimate in fuel economy: up to 1,330 km with natural gas and petrol SKODA Citigo G-TEC has enjoyed market success since 2012; only 79 g CO2/km Natural gas is the environmentally-friendly, cost-effective alternative Mlada Boleslav, 19 May 2014 – Expanding its environmentally-friendly model range, SKODA is renewing its emphasis on compressed natural gas vehicles. The new SKODA Octavia G-TEC and the new SKODA Octavia Combi G-TEC will be given their market premiere in June. This will increase the brand's CNG range to three models. Since the end of 2012, the little natural gas-drive Citigo has been successfully touring the European markets. "With the new Octavia G-TEC and the Octavia Combi G-TEC, our model range is becoming even more environmentally-friendly," says Dr Frank Welsch, SKODA Board Member for Technical Development.