Car News
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Carbon nanotubes have been a hot topic in popular science culture for some time now, but so far few real-world products have benefited from the high-tech material. That could change very quickly thanks to the development of a thin sheet of carbon paper known as 'buckypaper'. When pressed together to form a composite, buckypaper could produce a material 10 times stronger but 500 times lighter than steel. The radical material isn't like carbon fiber at all, in that it conducts electricity like copper or silicon and yet disperses heat like steel or brass, reports theAssociated Press. This...
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Mercedes delivers the first GLK in GermanyThis is not the best year, or even the best quarter, to debut a new vehicle. Sales are slow and slowing further, the global economy is weak, and financing is hard to come by. That makes the vehicles that do make their sales debuts now all the more essential to their companies' success - cars like...
Nelson Ireson -
Scion confirms 2010 Canadian launchScion has been on sale in the United States since 2003 but only now has Toyota confirmed the youth brand for the Canadian market. Set to launch north of the border in 2010, three models will initially be available: the tC compact sports coupe, the boxy xB and the xD five-door hatchback. The cars...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM updates Duramax V8 to be lighter and more efficientGeneral Motors has finally taken the wraps off its new Duramax 4.5L V8 turbodiesel, with several innovative features that separate the new mill from the previous generation design. Last year GM showed off the top half of the engine, which showed the turbocharger positioned where the intake manifold...
Ralph Hanson -
Infiniti announces pricing for 2009 G37 Sedan and CoupeInfiniti today announced pricing on the 2009 G37 Sedan and G37 Coupe, which go on sale at Infiniti dealers across the United States on the fifth of next month. Both cars receive extensive revisions for the new model year, especially the G37 Sedan which picks up the award-winning 3.7L V6 that...
James Martinez -
Spy shots: Porsche Panamera shows its skin in San FranciscoPorsche released a revealing official teaser for its upcoming Panamera sedan less than a month ago, which coincided with the start of the company’s official marketing campaign for the car, and now we have new spy shots, courtesy of the guys at Jalopnik, which give us a further preview of what...
Ralph Hanson -
McLaren racing star Lewis Hamilton is just one GP away from possibly writing himself into the history books as the youngest-ever F1 champion, but when he’s not carving up the race track the 23-year-old-Brit is usually driving a much slower vehicle – a diesel SUV in fact. The vehicle is the Mercedes Benz GL320 CDI and it is the second GL SUV owned by Hamilton. It features a 3.0L V6 common-rail diesel engine with 224hp (167kW) and 276lb-ft (510Nm) of torque. His F1 car, on the other hand, has a 2.4L V8 engine with more than 800hp (596kW) and a 19,000-plus rpm limit. Explaining his...
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Modified Mercedes C63 AMG by Carlsson hits 565hpMercedes' C63 AMG is a ferociously powerful sedan, rated at a whopping 457hp (336kW) from the factory. But the tuners at Carlsson weren't satisfied, and decided to dump another 108hp (81kW) into the big V8 for an insanely powerful result, dubbed the CK63 S. Nearing the celebrated 100hp/liter metric...
Nelson Ireson -
HKS now offering add-on speed delimiter for Lexus IS FThe Lexus IS F is something of an enigma - at once an entry-level luxury sedan and a performance beast, offering legitimate power figures but hampered somewhat by its automatic transmission. Another of the problems those that ply their IS Fs on the track may have bumped into is the speed limiter -...
Ralph Hanson -
Canadian company unveils Energya three-wheeled performance vehicleThree-wheeled vehicles are a classic and quick way to get around the typical automotive certification standards, since such 'cars' are classified as motorcycles in many countries, including the U.S. In the case of the Energya, however, the three-wheeled design is also a performance feature, helping...
Nelson Ireson -
Mercedes changing more model names including CLK and CLCConfusing alphabet-soup names like CLK, CLC, CLS SLK, GLK, CL, SL and SLR have made it hard for customers to keep track of Mercedes-Benz's vehicle lineup, and to fix that the company is looking at returning to more traditional names based around the A, B, C, E and S-Class names. Among the first to...
Nelson Ireson -
Report: Toyota working on iQ roadster for Toyko Motor ShowCity cars like the Toyota iQ and Daimler's Smart ForTwo have been gaining in popularity lately, with more companies looking to offer similarly-sized cars. Now Toyota's getting ready to take the next step, with an iQ-platform based roadster possibly coming to the Tokyo Motor Show in 2009 as a new...
Ralph Hanson -
Chrysler will drop its all-wheel-drive option for the 2009 Dodge Avenger, Caliber and Chrysler Sebring because of low demand. The information was confirmed by company spokesman Jiyan Cadiz, who said the option never really caught on since its introduction for those particular models late last year. “For the Avenger, the take rate was 1.5% for 2008, and for the Sebring it was at 0.7%.” Cadiz revealed during a recent interview with Wards. “So obviously the bottom line is people want fuel economy, and the AWD modules are not profitable for us. That’s something we can get...
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Hybrid costs expected to drop by two-thirds over next decadeOne of the biggest hindrances to the rollout of more hybrid vehicles is the high relative cost of their petrol-electric powertains over standalone internal combustion engines. A petrol-electric hybrid vehicle on average costs about $6,000 more than a comparable petrol model, but according to a new...
Jeremy Weber -
Honda supports U.S. loan packageHonda has endorsed the American government's decision to provide the Detroit 3 with a $25 billion loan, describing the aid package as “totally proper” and important for the development of more fuel-efficient models. According to the carmaker’s CEO Takeo Fukui, General Motors, Ford...
Ralph Hanson -
Chrysler cancels Getrag dual-clutch contractJust as Chrysler was preparing to begin bringing a dual-clutch transmission to its North American fleet, a dispute with Getrag has sent plans for yearly production of up to 700,000 of the units up in smoke. Earlier this month Chrysler brought a lawsuit against Getrag, and now the German gearbox...
Kenneth Hall -
Report: C7 Corvette put on indefinite holdThere are all manner of rumors concerning the next-generation C7 Corvette, with stories ranging from the possibility of a mid-engined platform to AWD powertrains and even the arrival of a dual-clutch version. Although there isn’t much substance to any of these rumors, one of them that’s...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango hybrids rated at 22mpg highwayChrysler’s new Dodge Durango and Aspen hybrid SUVs finally began rolling off assembly lines in late August at the company’s Newark plant in Delaware. The two SUVs are Chrysler’s first entries in the hybrid market and are now able to backup Chrysler's claimed fuel efficiency...
James Martinez -
Launching a come-back to sit among the world's best luxury sport sedans is no easy task, especially with the level of competition there is today from companies like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Lexus. But Cadillac appears to have done just that with its CTS, and now the CTS-V is poised to take the high-performance luxury sedan crown as well, doing it at a bargain price of just $59,995. Sales of the all-new 556hp (414kW) supercharged 6.2L V8 CTS-V kick off on November 1 in the U.S., but excited customers have likely already reserved their place in line. Production volume figures for the CTS-V...
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German tuner SKN modifies the Porsche 997 TurboPorsche is mid-way through updating it's lineup for 2009, though the Turbo hasn't yet received the new features that are expected to come with the facelift. SKN isn't worried, however, since its version of the 997-generation 911 Turbo comes in three flavors, even the mildest of which is sure to...
Alex Kaufmann -
Last Mercedes McLaren SLR Roadster destined for U.S.Mercedes Benz has confirmed that its longstanding partnership with British sports car manufacturer McLaren to build the SLR supercar will soon come to an end, and to celebrate production of the last SLR Roadster a special edition model will go up for auction. The car has been designed specifically...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volkswagen confirms diesel car production for U.S. plantVolkswagen has one of the widest and most interesting engine range in the automotive industry but in the United States its offering consists of a paltry line of four, five and six-cylinder units that are mostly petrol. That is set to change, however, as construction of a plant in Chattanooga...
Nelson Ireson -
Toyota reveals Modellista enhanced iQToyota’s iQ minicar officially went on sale in Japan this month and to coincide with the launch the company also revealed several new styling packs under the guise of its in-house accessories brand Modellista. Two different Modellista iQs are on offer - the Maxi and Mixture - and both are...
Ralph Hanson -
DriveAssist phone service keeps drivers from talking and texting at the wheelMobile communications devices are truly coming into their own with the BlackBerry, iPhone, Sidekick and more making it easier than ever to stay connected via the Internet, voice and text. But all that connectivity can be a major distraction behind the wheel, and so Aegis Mobility has developed a...
James Martinez