Buying Guides
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Last month we brought you news of a car controlled by nothing but the brain, through use of a "neuroheadset." Today, we have two videos of Google's self-driving robotic car in action, at speed. The BrainDriver car is a cutting-edge concept, and interesting for potential mobility solutions for people with limited physical motion. But Google's robotic autonomous car could push mobility in an entirely different direction. Imagine hopping into the back seat of your car, telling it to take you to work, and actually getting something done on the commute--without risking your life or those around...
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Ferrari FF, Lamborghini Aventador: Sold Out Until 2012
Priced at a whopping 260,000 euros (or about $360,000 US) the Ferrari FF might not strike you as a quick seller, but you'd be wrong. All 800 of the first-year production run have sold in pre-orders. Likewise, the $370,000 Lamborghini Aventador has already pre-sold its first year run as well. The...
Nelson Ireson -
2011 Hyundai Equus iPad Owner's App Gets Rage Digital Treatment
We've known for many months that the Hyundai Equus would get an iPad (perhaps even an iPad 2 now that the release of that model is looming) in the glove box, pre-loaded with the owner's manual and an app to handle service and other customer interaction. Today, Hyundai released a little detail about...
Nelson Ireson -
Is The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Dead?
We already expected the next Lancer Evo to appear in a hybrid, not-really-a-sports-sedan form, but now it looks like it might not appear at all. The latest news out of Geneva comes via Autocar, from the mouth of Gayu Eusegi, Mitsubishi's global product director, who says there will be no Evo beyond...
Nelson Ireson -
2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Mega Gallery
A history that includes Parnelli Jones, Trans-Am racing, and one of the largest escalations in the muscle car arms race is just the tip of the iceberg with the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302. This gallery will give you a sample of what it's like in person. A top speed of 155 mph, over 1.0g of lateral...
Nelson Ireson -
Video: Ferrari FF Blasts Through Snow Banks, Hammers Dirt Roads
This is, without doubt, the best Ferrari FF video yet. Revealing its interior, engine note, and showing it hammering at speed in almost every condition imaginable. Would you drive flat-out through a snowbank? Ferrari does. The official footage also shows the car bombing down dirt roads, flogging...
Nelson Ireson -
Power, efficiency, luxury--you can have it all, and the entry price is just $53,700. That's the price of the 2012 Infiniti M35 Hybrid, announced today ahead of the start of retail sales March 16. Infiniti bills the M Hybrid as the only car in America to offer 350 horsepower in combination with a 30-plus highway mpg rating, and it looks secure in that title for the present. Only Porsche's brand-new Panamera S Hybrid looks poised to challenge it in the near future, and it costs about $40,000 more than the M. Competition from Lexus' GS450h hybrid, which is $5,000 dearer, 10 horsepower weaker...
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Porsche CEO Mueller Plans A New Model Each Year Through 2018
Purists bemoan Porsche's rapid expansion into non-traditional segments, while buyers eat the cars up with ravenous glee. It's a no-brainer for the people looking to make Porsche into the strongest, most profitable company they can, and CEO Matthias Mueller is at the head of the charge. His plan? To...
Nelson Ireson -
2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid Priced From $95,000
Earlier today Porsche took the sheet off its 2012 Panamera S Hybrid, revealing a 333-horsepower, supercharged V-6 powerplant supplemented by a 47-horsepower electric motor in the familiar long-back sedan shape. Now we have its starting price: $95,000. That's a steep point of entry, but considering...
Nelson Ireson -
Report: Jaguar's Roadmap For the Next 12 Years Leaked
Rumors are spreading on a number of topics today, the latest being Jaguar's planned model revision/addition scheme over the next 12 years. While we take such far-reaching prognostication with a heaping spoonful of salt, it's an interesting bit of speculation. Why doubt the roadmap? Because so much...
Nelson Ireson -
Next BMW M5 To Be Automatic Only?
Performance cars are all about performance, except when they're not. In the case of luxury-performance sedans like BMW's M5, there are numerous concessions made to comfort and civility that cost ultimate speed and handling. But the next M5 may make a big concession: no manual transmission, not even...
Nelson Ireson -
Mercedes-Benz Taking Over Smart Distribution In U.S.
Penske Automotive Group has, until now, been the exclusive distributor of the Smart brand (consisting entirely of the Fortwo minicar and its new electric variant) in the U.S. But it won't be for much longer, as Mercedes-Benz is taking over operation of the brand's sales by the end of the second...
Nelson Ireson -
The MegaCity Vehicle (MCV) is BMW's soon-to-be-built all-electric urban wonder machine, if you buy the markting spiel. But it may be more than that. BMW's Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner recently told the German publication Focus Magazin that the MCV will offer an optional range-extending on-board generator. If you're thinking of the Volt right now, you're on the right track. In addition to its all-electric drivetrain, the MCV will be able to house a small combustion engine to recharge the batteries and extend the little car's range--presumably a desirable asset for sales here in...
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NASA Can't Find Unintended Acceleration Causes in Toyota's Electronic Throttle Control System
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) yesterday released the final results from NASA's Engineering and Safety Center's ten-month study into potential electronic causes of unintended acceleration (UA) in Toyota vehicles. As the DoT's press release states: "The National Highway Traffic Safety...
Motor Authority -
2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe: 2011 Geneva Motor Show
Two-doors are in vogue again, it seems, with every almost every major luxury manufacturer showing off a new coupe in recent months. Mercedes-Benz joins the rolls today with the 2012 C-Class Coupe ahead of its Geneva Motor Show debut. Replacing the last-gen CLC Coupe, the new C-Class Coupe rides on...
Nelson Ireson -
BMW ActiveE Electric Vehicle: New Details, Images
The future is electric, and BMW knows it as well as anyone despite the fact that the only EVs put out by the company have thus far been limited-distribution, lease-only development cars. The ActiveE doesn't change that, but it's another step down the path to a full-production BMW EV. The ActiveE...
Nelson Ireson -
EVO's Chris Harris Lambastes The Mazda MX-5, Makes A Few Fair Points
Calling the Mazda Miata MX-5 "a machine which drives with all the precision of a boneless limb" is a harsh, and, among owners, enthusiasts, and the automotive press, unpopular statement. But EVO's Chris Harris actually makes a few fair points. His overall sum-up, that the MX-5 is equivalent to...
Nelson Ireson -
2012 McLaren MP4-12C Enters Production
As we trace the slow but steady progress of the 2012 McLaren MP4-12C to market, today brings a milestone: the start of regular production in the company's Technology Centre (MTC). Full series production will take place at the not-yet-completed McLaren Production Center (MPC), but the first batch of...
Nelson Ireson -
After months of leaks, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG is finally official, complete with U.S. specs and imagery. Though European markets will also get a wagon, we'll only be getting the sedan from this latest release. The car will be shown officially at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. A coupe is also rumored, but remains, as yet, unannounced. But on to the specs: as predicted, the C63 AMG keeps the naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter (Mercedes/AMG insists on calling it a 6.3-liter) V-8 engine, rated at 451 horsepower base and 481 horsepower with the optional AMG Development Package. Power from the...
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GM's Akerson Says Cadillac SRX Plug-In Hybrid 'Likely'
Late last year reports of a plug-in hybrid version of the Cadillac SRX surfaced, and though GM did not confirm them, neither did it deny such a vehicle was in the works. Today GM CEO Dan Akerson, while talking about future EV and extended-range EV (EREV) strategy, revealed that the SRX plug-in is...
Nelson Ireson -
2011 Chrysler 200 Convertible Priced From $26,445
High Gear Media recently spent some quality time with the Chrysler 200 sedan and convertible during the first media drive in San Diego, revealing it's more than lipstick on the pig that was the Sebring, but still not quite a match for the competition from Subaru, Ford, or Hyundai. Today, Chrysler...
Nelson Ireson -
New Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger First To Get 8-Speed Automatic
Plans for an eight-speed transmission at Chrysler have been known since last summer, but we have a few new details from the first drive launch of the 2011 Chrysler 300. The ZF-built unit will first appear in the revamped 300 and the 2011 Dodge Charger , and it will feature some distinguishing...
Nelson Ireson -
2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio Coming Q2 2011, Abarth and EV In 2012
Fiat is poised to make its return to the United States, with the 500 Prima Edizione the forerunner of a flotilla of pint-sized hatches and convertibles. Already open for order and soon to start delivery, the manual-only Prima Edizione will be joined over the next year by the 500C Cabriolet, Abarth...
Nelson Ireson -
BMW USA Chief O'Donnell Confirms Multiple Four-Cylinders In U.S. By End Of 2011
We already know the new BMW X1 will be coming with BMW's four-cylinder TwinPower turbo engine later this year, but today at the Washington Auto Show BMW USA boss Jim O'Donnell announced that more than one is in fact coming before year's end. Other BMW models expected to get the four-cylinder...
Nelson Ireson