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Currently sitting atop BMW’s X5 range is the 4.8is but recent news from the boss of BMW’s M division, Ludwig Willisch, has confirmed that performance variants of both the X5 and X6 SUVs are in development. A performance SUV doesn’t really fit in with the M philosophy of increased...

A 51-year-old man died in Germany this morning while behind the wheel of a prototype for the next-generation Porsche 911. The victim, a Porsche engineer, was driving the vehicle on the A5 autobahn south of Frankfurt at approximately 2:45am when he lost control and slammed into a guard rail...

Renault is the latest carmaker to succumb to the pressures of the global economic crisis, announcing this week a massive 78% drop in profits - down to $769 million - as well as a 4% drop in global sales. Speaking at the profit warning press conference, CEO Carlos Ghosn described the economic...

Before Chrysler was ever involved in alliance talks with Fiat, the Auburn Hills carmaker was already tied with Nissan over several platform swapping and production sharing deals. Both Chrysler and Nissan have now confirmed that two out of the three original product-sharing deals have been put on...

President Obama and his administration has made much political hay over the impending disaster that could befall the U.S. economy barring swift action. Today Obama called directly on the American auto industry for a clear plan for viability so the government could step up its aid. Speaking with...

The new Mark VI Volkswagen Golf may not look much different from its predecessor, but VW is already working on offering a range of accessories to help spice the new car up and make it unique for each owner. To that end, it has released images of its new Sport & Design appearance options today. Two...

Car-themed phones are nothing new, but phones designed by Porsche's Design Group are less common. Today Porsche Design announced a second phone in its 9000 series of communications products, the P'9522. The first Porsche Design Phone, the P'9521, was a flip-style phone, but the P'9522 is a...

Tesla's Roadster and Model S have garnered much of the hybrid and electric press of late, though new entries from Ford and Honda have also gathered some attention. Now Volkswagen is looking to share in the spotlight, announcing the signing of a letter of intent with Toshiba for cooperation on the...

The ongoing battle for the title of 'world's fastest production car' has seen the SSC Ultimate Aero TT dethrone the Bugatti Veyron for outright top speed, but now a new contender has entered the ring. The Maxximus G-Force, brain-child of David B. McMahan, hasn't made a top-speed run yet, but its...

Fresh from its de facto split from Ford, Mazda is moving forward with the final touches on its 2009 lineup. Most of the 2009 U.S. range was revealed in mid-2008, but the MX-5 facelift has been kept secret. Today Mazda has let the new car out into the open, with full specs, photos and pricing. The...

Just as Chrysler and Nissan plan to keep their previous platform and product sharing deals now that the American carmaker is on the verge of an alliance with Fiat Group, the Italian giant reportedly plans to keep its own dealings with BMW alive as well. While there was speculation that the proposed...

It's 2009, nine years into the new millenium. We were supposed to be driving anti-gravity cars and watching holographic television while kicking back in our ultra-high-rise space apartments. But alas, it turns out 2009 isn't so different from 1999. Except for the holographic part. Australian...

The Volkswagen Scirocco is proving to be popular with tuners, with famed Swiss performance shop Sportec also releasing its own hotted-up version of the svelte sports coupe. Sportec’s work on German cars has been well documented, especially some of its more outrageous creations based on much...

With all the excitement of this week’s Chicago Auto Show, it is easy to forget that just north of the border Canada is running its national auto show in Toronto. While the Canadian Auto Show is rarely recognized for its global debuts, Mazda has decided to use the event to unveil the 2010...

Lexus announced at today’s Chicago Auto Show that it will expand its F-Sport Performance Accessories line to include parts for the GS sedan, IS AWD, and the all-new IS C convertible. Previously the performance range was only applicable for the IS 250 and IS 350 sedans but Lexus has always...

Big, brawny work trucks often find another purpose on American roads - hauling big, brawny Americans around. Toyota's latest gladiator to join the big-truck arena is the 2010 Tundra, and it's packing an all-new 4.6L V8. The big engine may not stand up to the likes of the 6.7L Cummins turbodiesel or...

The past several months have been poor ones for the world of motorsports, with carmakers pulling out of such diverse venues as Formula 1 and rally racing. But Hyundai is bucking the trend today, announcing the launch of its Rhys Millen Racing Red Bull Formula Drift team. The team will compete in...

One of the harder things about designing a new car is making it sufficiently futuristic that it's actually current when it finally makes it to market. Then the struggle becomes keeping it fresh and relevant - in terms of not just design, but capability and features. Chevrolet thinks it has a winner...

Taking things to extremes is what car modification houses do best, so starting with the already extreme KTM X-Bow is, to a certain eye, an obvious thing to do. The tuners at ABT think it's not just obvious, but commendable, and have done just that, tweaking the track-day special to yield een more...

Though big, heavy trucks may not offer the road-going safety their image projects, they do offer utility that no other vehicle can approach. That's especially true of the larger, commercially-sized trucks like the new 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500, unveiled today at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. Key...