Car News
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MINI’s string of recent concept cars have a tradition of heading straight to production, except for perhaps the rugged Beachcomber, which was deemed too unsafe for the real world due to its lack of doors. With the unveiling of the latest MINI Rocketman concept, we could soon have yet another MINI variant on our hands if the words of BMW sales and marketing boss Ian Robertson are to be believed. Speaking with Autocar recently, Robertson pointed out that most MINI concepts do eventually end up in the showroom, strongly suggesting that the Rocketman will too. The concept is described as a...
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Video: MINI Goes In-Depth On MINI ConnectedAt the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) we brought you news of MINI Connected's first app: Pandora. Today, MINI expands on what Connected adds to the in-car experience with this detailed video highlighting its key features. Want to link your iPhone to Twitter, Facebook, Google Local Search, or...
Nelson Ireson -
Buick Beating Lexus In Luxury Car SalesQuick, what's the second-best selling luxury nameplate in the U.S.? BMW? BZZZT, they're in first place these days. How about Mercedes-Benz? Nope. Cadillac maybe? Closer, but no cigar. No, according to our friends over at Kicking Tires, Buick has outsold every other luxury brand in the U.S. in the...
Keith Buglewicz -
Video: Audi R8 Braves Blizzard, Asks For Your StoryAudi is looking to collect winter stories of its quattro all-wheel drive system in use, and let's face it: this winter probably provided ample opportunity with snow falling heavily from the North Pole clear into the Deep South. This video--which only briefly features the Audi R8, sadly--is a call...
Nelson Ireson -
Report: Vizualtech To Build Growler E E-Type ConceptIf you're one of the many longing for a redesign of Jaguar's aging XK platform, wait no longer: the Growler E, Vizualtech's latest re-interpretation of the E-Type, will be built, in very small numbers, according to a new report. Just a handful will ever be built, as each car is expected to take six...
Nelson Ireson -
Video: Hennessey Shows Off 2011 HPE600 Chevrolet Camaro ConvertibleAching for the sounds of some vicious, hotter-than-stock American V-8 action today? Hennessey has your fix: the 2011 HPE600 Chevy Camaro Convertible, previewed in this video. As you might guess from the car's name, the HPE600 packs 600 horsepower--602 to be exact--of supercharged, dyno-tuned fury...
Nelson Ireson -
Whether you're into ancient Andean gods or not, you'll enjoy this video: an official intro for the new Pagani Huayra, including some background on its unusual name. The name fits the look of the Huayra, which is also highly unusual. From the look and the legend, it's clear that Pagani was going after aerodynamics in new and sometimes as-yet-unpalatable, aesthetically speaking, directions. We're still astride the fence on the car's looks, but we hope it will grow on us, slow and fungus-like, over time, as there's a lot to love about the Huayra just beneath the surface.
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Google Shows Us Why We All Need Robot CarsWe're pretty familiar with autonomous cars around here, and we've even been treated to a ride in one of Stanford's robots at their automotive innovation lab, which they launched in partnership with Volkswagen. You might also remember Shelley, their autonomous Audi TTS, which autonomously raced to...
IEEE Spectrum -
Hyundai's New Nav System Asks: Do You Want The Shortest Route Or The Greenest?Today's navigation systems are great at finding the shortest route between Point A and Point B. Some even integrate traffic data to identify alternate paths if the shortest one is congested. But Hyundai's newest navigation platform will also tell you which route is the greenest, keeping CO2 out of...
Richard Read -
Video: Ferrari FF Four-Wheel Drive System ExplainedThe new Ferrari FF may not be to everyone’s liking but like most models from the Prancing Horse, it’s not only a technical marvel but also one of the fastest cars on the planet. With its latest supercar, Ferrari has introduced a controversial ‘shooting brake’ hatchback...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Jaguar Says Bertone B99 Concept Is: “Not For Us”It was one of the big surprises of last week’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the Jaguar B99 sedan concept that had nothing do with Jaguar whatsoever. What makes the concept’s gestation even more surprising was that it was developed by financial stricken Italian design house Stile Bertone, a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi A3 Sedan Likely For U.S., Q3 Crossover Less SoThe current range of Audi A3 hatchbacks--Sportbacks in Audi speak--is a very competent model line, and in 2.0-liter TDI guise offers highway fuel economy as high as 42 mpg. However, in the U.S., where the sedan is king, the A3 only musters around 6,500 sales per year. That should all change with...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
The De Tomaso Pantera is the car credited with putting the Italian marque on the map--if only briefly. Having been in production from 1971 all the way up to the early 1990s, the Pantera could be found in showrooms all across the globe and even ended up in the garage of rock legend Elvis Presley. In the U.S. the car was sold though Ford’s premium Lincoln dealerships and featured, at one point, the Blue Oval’s 351 Cleveland V-8 engine. Sadly, the oil crisis of the 1970s and the dismal quality of some earlier models led to Ford cutting its ties with De Tomaso and the Pantera ending...
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Ford Police Interceptors official test driveFord Motor Company’s [NYSE:F] aging Crown Victoria, loyal servant to police forces around the country for the past several decades, is soon to be replaced by a new generation of cop cars such as the Carbon Motors E7, Chevrolet Caprice PPV and the Blue Oval's Interceptor duo. Presented here...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Artega SE Electric Coupe: 2011 Geneva Motor ShowThe last we heard of German start-up Artega and its Henrik Fisker designed GT sports coupe, the company had just started building and selling a limited run of its cars, which at the time were available exclusively with a 300 horsepower V-6. At this past week’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show, Artega...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Phillies Pitcher J.C. Romero's Porsche Panamera StolenSo you've spent over a decade the big leagues, you're a reliever for the Phillies, and you arrived at spring training camp in a $190,000 2011 Porsche Panamera Turbo. Life is good, right? It is until your car gets stolen from a local shop. Unfortunately for J.C. Romero, that's exactly what happened...
Nelson Ireson -
Don't Want The Mitsubishi Evo To Die (Or Go Hybrid)? Join The CauseThere are many great causes in the world. Causes to fight the many kinds of cancer, to help end hunger, to bring literacy and access to the Web to the poor. This isn't one of those causes. Instead, it's an entirely meaningless cause, but one we're half in support of: to save the Mitsubishi Lancer...
Nelson Ireson -
Ferrari Tweaks F1 Car Name One More Time As Ford Drops SuitThe Horse Whisperer, Ferrari's often acid-tongued official blog, tackled the whole Ford F-150/Ferrari F150 Formula 1 car naming dispute today. In its typical style, the sardonic commentary flowed forth, proclaiming the latest name change, "should make it clear even to the thickest of people that...
Nelson Ireson -
Last month we brought you news of a car controlled by nothing but the brain, through use of a "neuroheadset." Today, we have two videos of Google's self-driving robotic car in action, at speed. The BrainDriver car is a cutting-edge concept, and interesting for potential mobility solutions for people with limited physical motion. But Google's robotic autonomous car could push mobility in an entirely different direction. Imagine hopping into the back seat of your car, telling it to take you to work, and actually getting something done on the commute--without risking your life or those around...
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Video: BMW's Vision ConnectedDrive Has A StoryA pure concept car (a bit of a rarity in this age of production-bound "concepts") the BMW Vision ConnectedDrive, the latest in an iterative series of similarly-themed concepts since the GINA Light Visionary concept, has a story to tell. We just can't tell if it makes sense. Using lots of analogies...
Nelson Ireson -
Ferrari FF, Lamborghini Aventador: Sold Out Until 2012Priced at a whopping 260,000 euros (or about $360,000 US) the Ferrari FF might not strike you as a quick seller, but you'd be wrong. All 800 of the first-year production run have sold in pre-orders. Likewise, the $370,000 Lamborghini Aventador has already pre-sold its first year run as well. The...
Nelson Ireson -
VIDEO: Supercharged Mustang V-8 Makes 600 HP On DynoFor those of you out there who like watching engines on dynos, this is for you. The engine you'll see below is an Edelbrock-supercharged 5.0 V-8 that pounds out 600 horsepower and 524 lb-ft of torque. It's important to note that Edelbrock hasn't released official numbers, but this video from the...
Tim Healey -
Nissan GT-R Sales Dwindle In Lead Up To 2012 ModelThe new 2012 Nissan GT-R is not only more powerful--and therefore faster--than the outgoing 2011 model, it also handles better, consumes less fuel and some might say even looks better thanks to the addition of a new diffuser and daytime running lights. First shown at last year’s Los Angeles...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Chevrolet Cruzes To SXSW To Hype MyLink And New ModelsWhip out your backpack and groom your mustache: it's time for America's favorite festival for interactive, film, and music, South by Southwest. And just like last year, Chevrolet will be tagging along with lots of new goods, including Chevy MyLink. The company will also host a shuttle service, a...
Richard Read