Odds and ends

One of the more interesting features of the new Clubman is its rear-opening third door but, according to Mini’s engineering Chief Ulrich Kranz, it wasn’t part of the car’s original design. The door is located only on the non-driver’s side and makes getting in and out of the...

Out of the 11 or 13 cars Audi of America has delivered, two have already turned up on eBay. Such is the power of the online auction house that car companies have begun using it as a way to gauge the prices they can charge for future models. One executive revealed to Automotive News how he had to...

Top Gear will be back for another season, with the entire team, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, returning for the new series. The opening episode, which airs on October 7, will see the trio compete in a race using diesel production cars running on biodiesel fuel sourced from a crop...

In the lead up to next year’s Beijing Olympic games, the Chinese government is organizing a ‘no-car day’ in 108 of its cities scheduled for tomorrow to help clean its smoggy air. It won’t be a complete blanket ban. The ban will be in force for only a few select streets in...

Americans - like their cars - are getting heavier every year. Unfortunately, it seems the tested passenger capacities of the cars they drive are not keeping up. Two-seaters like the Mazda MX-5 and the Chevy Corvette aren't rated to carry two 200lb (91kg) adults - and some, like the Cadillac XLR are...

German weekly Der Spiegel recently sat down with Dieter Zetsche, CEO of DaimlerChrysler, to discuss hybrids, the environment, the split from Chrysler, and cooperating with BMW. No punches were pulled in this ballsy interview, and Zetsche did an admirable job of actually answering each question...

Already arguably the coolest automotive brand on the planet, Aston Martin has won the coolest brand period for the second year in a row. The title was bestowed by CoolBrands, an initiative operated by the Superbrands organization that presents expert and consumer opinion on the UK’s strongest...

With the help of a lawyer, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson managed to get out of paying a speeding fine because the owner of the car, Alfa Romeo, couldn’t prove it was Clarkson behind the wheel. The car was a V6 Brera coupe on-loan to Clarkson and was clocked doing 82mph in a 50mph zone by...

Car companies spend millions of dollars trying to improve the fuel efficiency of their cars but one of the simplest and most effective methods often overlooked is the addition of low-rolling resistance tires. Designers are just waking up to the fuel-saving tire, with brands like Volkswagen, Audi...

Increasing automobile safety concerns around the world are leading to new airbag rules and improved crash safety standards. Now, German rental company Sixt is moving safety forward in a different manner: by removing all Porsches from its lineup. Citing numerous high-speed accidents sustained by...

At its recent TechDay 2007 seminar in Germany, Audi talked up a new system under development that’ll analyze driver behavior and give fuel saving driving tips to help curb fuel consumption. Some of the initiatives include plans for a satnav system that records “consumption-relevant...

A man in the UK has recorded the fastest ever speeding offence in the nation’s history with a 172mph (277km/h) run in a Porsche 911 Turbo. Timothy Brady, 33, was travelling on the A420 roadway near Oxfordshire at more than 100mph (161km/h) over the 70mph (113km/h) posted speed limit. The...

A new study conducted in the UK by an insurance company has found Porsche to the brand of choice among the nation’s wealthiest for the second straight year in a row. SwiftCover insurance has released a list of the ten car brands wealthy people would most likely buy as well as a list of the...

Russia’s recent economic boom has seen the number of ultra-luxury vehicle sales in the country skyrocket, but as the demand for these cars has risen so has the demand to steal them. This past week alone, two Bentley Continental GTs were stolen in Moscow. The most recent car to be stolen was a...

Racing enthusiast and avid car collector Steve McQueen’s 1963 Ferrari Berlinetta Lusso has sold at auction for $US2.31 million, smashing the estimated sales price by more than a million dollars. The car was bought by an anonymous buyer over the phone at the Monterey Jet Center auction, which...

The two Brits that set out to conquer the 10,000-mile trek from Tokyo to London in an Aston Martin V8 Vantage have reached the end of the epic journey, arriving at the UK capital earlier today after traveling for 49 days. In doing so, drivers Richard Meredith and Phil Colley have entered the record...

The results of a new survey conducted in the US shows that the nation's new car buyers were largely satisfied with their purchases, although quality levels for some Asian brands actually dropped. The survey, run by the University of Michigan, showed that overall vehicle satisfaction rose 1.2% this...

Germany’s Loremo will unveil a fully working prototype of its super-efficient LS Concept car at next month’s Frankfurt Auto Show, a car that was co-developed to be entered into the upcoming Automotive X-Prize competition. The new prototype, dubbed ‘L1’, will also be used to...

Eighty years ago the first Volvo car, the ÖV4 ‘Jakob’, left the factory in Gothenburg, and to celebrate the anniversary Volvo in the UK will be hosting an event showcasing more than 120 classic models. Founded in 1927 in the city of Gothenburg, Volvo started off as a subsidiary of a...

Land Rover is extending its carbon offsetting scheme to cover customers of its older cars as well as owners of newer models who’ve traveled more than 45,000 miles. Under the original program set up in September last year, Land Rover enabled new-car buyers to offset carbon-emissions for the...