Industry

A little over six months ago BMW started trials of a new car-sharing program in its hometown of Munich that allowed virtually anyone to rent one of its cars on an hourly basis, including high-performance models like the M3 and even the M6 range-topper. Dubbed ‘BMW On Demand’, the pilot...

It looks as though Japan’s earthquake crisis won’t hamper deliveries of Nissan’s long-awaited 2012 model year GT-R supercar. As we all know the facelifted 2012 Nissan GT-R is substantially quicker and more powerful than the outgoing model, as well as being greener, and we...

We already know that Porsche is working on a fifth model series, a new compact SUV positioned below the Cayenne and its first to be designed under Volkswagen Group chief designer Walter de’ Silva’s watchful eye. Now we know where the model, which carries the working title of 'Cajun'...

The heads of Volkswagen and Fiat are currently in a battle of words over the future of Alfa Romeo, with both sides publicly boasting they know what’s best for the struggling Italian brand. At the recent 2011 Geneva Motor Show Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech proclaimed that he could...

We reported just this month that customers in the U.S. were holding off on buying the Nissan GT-R in the lead up to the arrival of the facelifted 2012 model, which has been trickling into showrooms this past few weeks. It now appears the wait for the new GT-R will be slightly longer as the recent...

Vladimiar Antonov, the Russian banker and businessman whose involvement in Spyker caused a delay in the sale of Saab from GM while investigations into rumored mafia ties were held, has said in an interview with Sweden's Dagens Industri that Saab could be bankrupt in as little as five days. Antonov...

Two-seat sports cars bought as weekend toys are often among the first things to go in an economic crunch, and as you know all too well, we've had a doozie over the last few years. The Chevrolet Corvette is no exception--since 2006, sales have been a fraction of their former tallies. But that looks...

Aftermarket tuner Saleen, a builder of some of the most insane modified Mustangs on the planet, will stop building cars at the end of the year and instead focus on its parts and accessories business. The information was revealed this week by Saleen’s parent company, Revstone, which is the...

It’s safe to say that 2010 was a bumper year for Audi. With a total of 1,092,411 sales under its belt, Audi managed to draw in a record $49.2 billion in revenue which resulted in a profit after tax of $3.6 billion. The same year also saw Audi break its annual vehicle sales record in the U.S...

The U.K.'s Bristol Cars may not be on the tip of every wagging social media tongue these days, especially here in the U.S., but it has produced some remarkable cars over the years. Unfortunately, unless it finds an angel to keep it going, it may be going under. Bristol has entered administration...

Volvo last week announced plans to build a new plant in Chengdu, China along with laying out its strategy for the Chinese market. As you may recall, Volvo is now owned by Chinese auto giant Geely and going into the future we’re almost certain to see the world’s most populace country...

With Saab in its fold for a little over a year, Spyker Cars as decided it's time to drop its own small-volume luxury brand, signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to sell it to CPP Coachbuilders in Coventry, England. Spyker will continue to hold Saab. The move is a bit of a surprise, but on...

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...

You might not think Jaguar--at least not first--when you think about luxury car brands, let alone luxury brand service. But you should. The brand with the leaping cat has scored a place among the top 40 companies across 20 industries as the leader in automotive customer service. It's no surprise to...

The common theme of late amongst the major luxury automakers is to form industry partnerships with experts in the field of advanced lightweight structures, with an aim to eventually build lighter cars that are still relatively safe in the quest for improved fuel economy. We’ve already seen...

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...

One of the key men behind the design of the new XJ and stunning XK at Jaguar will soon be designing Rolls-Royces for a living. Giles Taylor, a former Jaguar designer, has now been hired by Rolls-Royce as its chief of exterior design. Taylor has an industrial design background, with his talents...

If you live in the U.S., chances are pretty good that you've been affected by the winter storm currently swirling its way across the country. It's the latest in a string of snow and ice blasts that have caused travel delays, highway closures, traffic accidents, and, unfortunately, more than a few...

Exactly 125 years ago to the day, Carl Benz first registered his “vehicle with gas-engine drive” under patent number 37435 with the Berlin Patent Office, forever changing the way human beings would travel and establishing one of the biggest industries the world knows today. Back in 1886...

The rebirth of the MG brand in Chinese hands has hit no shortage of stumbling blocks over the last four years, but as sales heat up in China, talk of U.S. sales are surfacing. It's not the first time such plans have arisen. Even before Shanghai Auto (SAIC) bought the brand along with Nanjing...