Car News
-
Integrating smartphones with in-car vehicle technology is nothing new. Bluetooth connection for making calls, and playing music and plugging in via USB has been around for years. Full integration of smartphones into a car's systems hasn't really been seen yet beyond the concept stage. One of the main issues is the much slower model cycle of a car. A flashy integrated phone at a vehicle's launch quickly becomes out of date as the phones themselves are replaced year-on-year. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), BlackBerry, Denso and RealVNC have been working on a new integrated infotainment system. The new...
-
Dodge To Revive Super Bee Label For Charger: ReportChrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has confirmed that one of Chrysler's upcoming products will be a "Super Bee" version of the Dodge Charger. There are no details on what a Super Bee Charger would consist of, but the last one was basically an appearance package. While we could see Dodge making a...
Tim Healey -
Classic Recreations Creates Shelby GT500CR VenomClassic Recreations is in the business of building Mustangs that look like the cars of yesteryear with modern underpinnings. Their newest creation is the Shelby GT500CR Venom. The car uses a supercharged 427 cubic-inch V-8 (the hardware is a ProCharger F1-R centrifugal supercharger) to put out 790...
Tim Healey -
Extra Media Storage Turns VWs Into Rolling Movie TheatresKids these days don't know how good they have it. The most entertainment many of us could muster on a long journey was playing I-spy, or maybe kicking our siblings and getting away with it when they complained. In-car DVD has made long trips a much quieter experience for parents, and now a deal...
Antony Ingram -
2012 BMW M5 All-Wheel Drive Rumors Build SteamLast month we brought you some of the first reports of plans for an all-wheel drive version of the upcoming 2012 BMW M5. Today the rumors coalesce with supposed confirmation from an unnamed source within the company. This move isn't really surprising, though it is out of form for the M Division...
Nelson Ireson -
2012 Audi S5 Sportback Spy ShotsFacelifts, revamps, mid-cycle updates--call them what you will, they usually bring minor tweaks and mild upgrades. These spy shots of the upcoming Audi A5 Sportback update hint that larger changes may be afoot, particularly for the S5 variant. With a face that looks decidedly more A6-like and a...
Nelson Ireson -
We've long lamented the fact that Peugeot's exotic-looking, relatively high-performance EX1 Concept electric car won't be seeing production. The latest feat, a 9-minute, 1.338-second lap of the Nurburgring's Nordschleife just makes the pain worse. The time is nearly a minute quicker than the previous EV lap record, and on par with many current production combustion-powered cars, though short of true sports car performance. If you're the doubting type, you can catch the official video of the run below. The EX1 is a 340-horsepower all-wheel drive EV with an unconventional narrower-in-the-rear...
-
Flavio Briatore’s Jaguar XJ220 Supercar Up For SaleIt’s been a while since we last heard about Flavio Briatore, the Italian businessman made famous in the automotive world as the manager of two Formula 1 teams, and for having been forced to resign from his most recent team involvement with ING Renault F1 due to alleged race fixing at the 2008...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Homer Simpson Squeezes Into TomTom's App For iPhone, iPad, iPod TouchGiven the vast number of free navigation apps available for Apple, Android, Blackberry, and Windows handsets, we've been more than a little skeptical about the future of satnav makers like Garmin and TomTom. After all, why should consumers shell out for a fairly limited piece of hardware when they...
Richard Read -
This Week In DUIs: Rick Springfield Isn't So Hard To Hold (In Jail)First, they called him Bruce, now they call him jailbird: the former pop star and soap star known as Rick Springfield was pulled over in Malibu, California Monday night and hauled in for driving under the influence. Law enforcement agents saw Springfield speeding down the Pacific Coast Highway...
Richard Read -
Mercedes: A-Class Concept Is Nearly Production-ReadyMercedes showed it was serious about its A-Class at the 2011 New York Auto Show, but now it's clear it's more than serious about turning the concept into reality. According to one Mercedes source, the A-Class concept that debuted in Shanghai and New York last month is quite close to the final...
Chris Weiss -
Experts Predict All-Wheel Drive To Feature On 30 Percent Of New Cars By 2015More and more cars are being offered with the added safety and performance of all-wheel drive, with the luxury segments in particular benefiting most from increased demand for the feature. Luxury brands typically offer rear-wheel drive as standard but in colder climates, such as in the Northern...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Almost exactly two years ago there were whispers Kia was working on a new rear-wheel drive flagship sedan that would share its underpinnings with the Hyundai Genesis and be offered in both V-6 and V-8 guises. Then, all of a sudden, Kia unveiled the stylish KND-5 sedan concept and raised hopes that the affordable rear-wheel drive sedan was about to hit the market. However, since then, little has been seen or heard about Kia’s new upmarket sedan. That was, until now. Speaking with Drive, Kia design boss Peter Schreyer praised the benefits of designing a rear-wheel drive model. "I think...
-
Rally Cars Crashing For Ten Whole Minutes: VideoRally racing is one of the world's more interesting motorsports endeavors, not least of which because of the crashes. Sure, we know most hard-core race fans claim not to watch racing for the wrecks, but it's hard not to look away sometimes. Especially when you can find ten minutes of pre-packaged...
Tim Healey -
Electric Mercedes-Benz S-Class Possible: ReportMercedes-Benz already has a number of electric prototypes out and about including the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, which is already available for lease and soon sale, as well as the SLS AMG E-Cell supercar, which has been confirmed for sale in 2013. Not only that but the automaker’s parent...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2011 Volvo C70: Quick DriveIt's spring, and what could be more pleasant than putting the top down in a stylish European four-seat convertible? We got the chance to drive the 2011 Volvo C70 recently, rediscovering the joys (and smells) of open-air travel in the spring sunshine. The C70 is a bit of an oddball in the Volvo...
John Voelcker -
Sirius XM Changing Lineups, Starting TomorrowStarting tomorrow, drivers who subscribe to SiriusXM in their cars are going to find a changed landscape on their tuners. Effective May 4, SiriusXM says they've "re-ordered our channels to make it easier for you to quickly find what you want to hear." The new lineups make better sense of the...
Martin Padgett -
Four-Cylinder Engines Filtering Across Cadillac LineupWe already know that the upcoming ATS will feature a four-cylinder engine but this will be just the start of Cadillac’s new four-cylinder onslaught as the downsized engines are also destined to appear in the XTS range and possibly even the next-generation CTS. This will be in stark contrast...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
General Motors is expected to announce a $100 million upgrade plan for its Chevrolet Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which like many of the automaker’s facilities across the country has fallen by the wayside due to recent bankruptcy proceedings. The information was revealed by people familiar with the matter who said GM’s North American chief, Mark Reuss, could make the announcement as early as tomorrow. The upgrades are most likely in preparation for the introduction of the redesigned ‘C7’ Chevrolet Corvette due either late next year or in early 2013. The...
-
Plug-n-Play LED Lighting On The Way, Gets Brighter, CheaperIf you spend a lot of time driving you won't have failed to notice the distinctive shape of high intensity LED daytime running lights on some modern vehicles. As for LED tail-lights, those are even more common. Only a small selection of vehicles features entirely LED-based headlights though...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Volvo S80 Executive Gets That Little Extra Touch Of LuxuryVolvo recently updated its S80 flagship sedan for the 2012 model year, with most of the updates centering on several new safety and infotainment upgrades. However, the automaker is also launching a new version of its S80 Executive special edition model, which has been revealed today in its latest...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
One-off Ferrari Superamerica 45 headed to 2011 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’EsteIn previous years we’ve seen wild supercars like the BMW M1 Concept and Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta (pictured) unveiled at Italy’s annual Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, and this year will be no different. Confirmed today by the event’s president, Karl Baumer, a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Is BMW's 'The Ultimate Driving Machine' Slogan Back?For reasons that still remain unclear, BMW chose to drop its hugely successful ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’ slogan and replace it with the new ‘JOY’ campaign when it launched its latest generation Z4 Roadster last year. In fairness, BMW never formally stated that it was...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2011 Ram Long-Hauler Concept Truck Makes DebutThey don’t get much bigger, have more range or more pulling power than the 2011 Ram Long-Hauler Concept Truck, which was rolled out by Chrysler this week and scheduled to make an appearance at a string of commercial vehicle events throughout the year. The vehicle is based on a Class 5 Ram...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran