Car News

Australian drag-racing driver Troy Critchley, who was the centre of a media furore recently following the death of six spectators at a charity motoring event in the U.S., will avoid incarceration following consent from the victims' families to lower felony criminal charges to misdemeanor assault...

The 2008 Audi Q7 luxury SUV has won the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) Top Safety Pick award in the Institute's latest round of testing. To qualify, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of 'good' in the institute’s front, side, and rear tests and also be fitted with...

Toyota is now well-recognized as the world’s biggest and most profitable carmaker but even it cannot afford to see its closest rivals go out of business. Given the tightly interlinked ties between carmakers, suppliers and regulators, even if one major company goes under it could spell serious...

Despite its M3 moniker, the BMW M3 Cabrio isn't the pure-performance beast its hard-top brother is. This is mostly due to the chassis stiffness disadvantage spawn from its roofless design as well as the necessary weight gain from the added reinforcements that attempts to overcome this. Still an...

A report released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that the vehicles produced during the first half of 2008 have set the record for the most fuel efficient to date. Including both cars and light trucks (meaning both pickups and SUVs), the national average...

Lotus and Jaguar have joined forces to produce a unique engine architecture capable of operating on either alcohols, such as ethanol or methanol, or petrol. Codenamed Omnivore, the engine project uses several techniques to maximize performance and compatibility with the differing fuel types...

The Woodward Dream Cruise, Detroit's annual rolling car show, has spawned a fifth special edition of the PT Dream Cruiser. The fourteenth special edition of the PT Cruiser, the PT Dream Cruiser Series 5 is a purely cosmetic tweak of the standard vehicle, with production limited to 1,750 units for...

The struggle to save energy is forcing businesses and governments alike to rethink their energy usage from every angle. Chrysler has come up with a proposal for the UAW that would see both the Detroit company and all of its employees using less energy every day during production by switching to a...

General Motors is building on the segment-leading fuel economy of its full-size pickups and SUVs with new XFE (eXtra Fuel Economy) versions of its 2009 Chevy Silverado, Chevy Tahoe, GMC Sierra and GMC Yukon models. Following on the success of the carmaker’s first XFE model, the Chevrolet...

So far Mazda has taken a somewhat unconventional route to improving fuel efficiency of its vehicle fleet, focusing on lighter materials and new designs instead of rebuilding its powertrain lineup. It has done the company well, but to move to the next level of efficiency the carmaker is also...

Update: Acura's plans for its future lineup are ambitious and bold - two necessary qualities for a Japanese company seeking to enter the luxury car market and beat the Germans at their own game. To do so the carmaker has its sights set on a radical revamp of its current lineup as well as the...

Brand loyalty is a highly-sought after attribute in a customer base, from the carmaker's perspective, and according to data compiled by Experian Automotive, American hybrid buyers are among the most loyal car shoppers around. Fully 47% of hybrid buyers buy the same make (brand) of car when shopping...

Fans and owners of Carroll Shelby's creations in the Shelby American Auto Club (SAAC) have come to a resolution with the man himself, ending the battle that started earlier this year. The basis of the disagreement was over Shelby's perception of the club's use of his image and likeness for profit...

Nodding off at the wheel is one of the chief hazards facing drivers, especially during long trips and during late-night jaunts. To counteract the threat of falling asleep while driving, Mercedes Benz developed the Attention Assist system, shown late last year in near-production form. The company...

Update: Originally targeted at the youth market and intended to have an ever-changing line of new models that didn't resemble those of the previous generation, Scion has instead ended up producing a series very similar vehicles at a fairly slow pace. Now pundits and the company itself are...

Volkswagen's Jetta TDI is already eligible for a $1,300 tax credit courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service, thanks to its clean diesel engine. Now, the IRS has also extended this to certain Mercedes-Benz models. Previously the federal alternative-powertrain tax credit only applied to hybrid...

Ford is already touting its segment leading fuel-economy for vehicles such as the 2009 Flex crossover and North American Focus, but now the carmaker is also boasting that it will be the leader in quality for compact vehicles when its all-new Fiesta range goes on sale later this year. In a direct...

Sales of Toyota’s large SUVs and pickups may have tanked in the U.S. but the carmaker’s luxury division, Lexus, is doing even worse, with July sales levels diving 25% from levels just one year ago. Part of the problem is that Lexus’ sales are heavily skewed towards its luxury SUV...

Despite a lack of heavy incentives, new models or ‘green’ cars such as hybrids and diesels, Subaru's sales continue to rise while many of its rivals struggle to stay afloat - especially in the volatile U.S. market. The carmaker has experienced sales growth of close to 4.5% for the first...

Last week saw Toyota announce its first profit drop in nine years, with the carmaker revealing a 39% decline in its global operating profit the quarter ending in June this year. The industry juggernaut has now revealed an even worse result in percentage terms for its North American unit, with...