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In a sign that Americans may truly be ready to embrace electric vehicles, including living with any shortcomings and paying a significant price premium, demand for BMW’s Mini E electric vehicle has outstripped supply by 4-to-1. Unfortunately, the plethora of applicants for the 450 available...

Australian Red Bull Formula 1 driver Mark Webber was still limping from a broken leg suffered just after the end of last season, but teammate Sebastian Vettel was hale and hardy for the launch of the 2009 Red Bull RB5 Formula 1 car today in Jerez, Spain. Powered by the Renault RS27 engine, the car...

Shifting into a higher gear in Audi A4 and A5 models for European drivers could take as little as 0.2 seconds from this month as the S tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission is now available in the base 2.0L TFSI quattro versions of the A4 Sedan and Avant models as well as the A5 Coupe. In Sedan...

Kia rolled out an oddly styled pickup concept based on its new Soul compact car at last month’s Detroit Auto Show as way to drum up excitement for the regular hatch model which is set to go sale in March. The concept, called the Soul’ster, was never intended to be produced but strong...

Nissan is the latest carmaker to succumb to the effects of the global economic crisis, with the company announcing today its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008 and a massive round of job cuts. In the third quarter, the consolidated net loss after tax came to ¥83.2 billion...

Having recently parted company from Mercedes Benz, hired a new design director and started work on a successor to the vaunted F1, the team at McLaren is busy as ever. But that hasn't deterred Ron Dennis, the man who guided Lewis Hamilton to an F1 World Championship win last year, from building up...

Bugatti's cars are today one of the most cherished in existence, whether old, like the Type 57S Atalante left by a British physician in his will this week, or new, like the Veyron Sang Noir, which is dedicated to that very classic. The incredible 1937 Bugatti left to the doctor's nieces and nephews...

Factory-upgraded versions of typically sedate sedans and hatchbacks have become de rigeur for most major carmakers. Mitsubishi's have been largely hit-or-miss, but the company's next trio of factory specials promise to be on target. The much-lauded Lancer Evolution X gets FQ400 treatment, pushing...

The current Seat Leon hatch has been in production for a little over four years and in that time we have seen the launch of a number of special edition models and even a TwinDrive hybrid concept. The Spanish carmaker has now revealed details about a facelifted version of the Leon, which will be...

If you can't wait for Land Rover to eventually launch its own coupe-crossover but are still burning with desire for a two door premium SUV, then tuning firm ARK ReDesign may have the solution. The British workshop currently has a two-door version of the Range Rover Sport SUV under development that...

The RX line of SUVs has been Lexus' best-selling luxury utility vehicle since its launch in 1998, and the new generation takes the vehicle into a larger, more powerful realm, while at the same time adding new efficiency-enhancing measures in the hybrid model. Launched in Los Angeles at last year's...

In the middle of last year, Ford decided to extend production of the Ranger beyond its expected 2009 sunset to help meet fuel efficiency targets. This year, the Ranger gets a range of upgrades to help it carry on until hopefully a redesigned model can take its place around 2011. The upgrades focus...

Audi first debuted its all-new Q5 midsized SUV as far back as the April 2008 Beijing Motor Show but now the vehicle is due to start rolling into U.S. dealerships next week. Audi has confirmed that it will be available with a 3.2L V6 FSI direct injection engine, quattro AWD, and a six-speed...

Last year Axon Automotive, creators of 2007’s Eco-M super lightweight speedster, entered the $10 million Automotive X Prize with a new hatchback aimed at city dwellers. The vehicle features a full carbon-fiber chassis and will likely be powered by a compact turbodiesel engine. Today the...

Scant imagery and even fewer details have been released regarding Kia's newest concept car, a Mini-MPV headed to the 2009 Salon de l’Automobile in Geneva this March. It does, however, claim that the vehicle will redefine the segment. In a press release announcing the new concept car, Kia...

Chrysler has come out with its second sales plea in as little two weeks, urging dealers to order more than 15,000 cars by Monday to keep the company viable. Not one to mince his words, Chrysler co-president Jim Press told dealers over a conference call that they basically have two choices: "You can...

Less than two days after Chrysler confirmed that it had received three offers for its Dodge Viper sports car business, the investors who just purchased most of the assets of specialty-car maker Saleen Automotive have revealed that they have also considered adding the Viper business to their...

Fast factory versions of frumpy family sedans are nothing new - they've been around almost as long as the industry has - but few really capture the mind of the auto enthusiast like the Ford Taurus SHO (Super High Output) did during the 1990s. Perhaps because it was one of the few American takes on...

Jim Morrisson sang what may have been the best driving advice in rock and roll history in the quintessential "Roadhouse Blues": Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. While that advice may have been aimed at keeping a half-potted rocker between the lines, it's equally apposite in...

The F-22 Raptor fighter jet uses about 1.7 million lines of software code, while Boeing’s upcoming 787 Dreamliner passenger jet is expected to use close to 6.5 million lines of code, but as extensive as this sounds it is nothing compared to the amount of software used in a modern luxury...