Car News

With sales continuing to tumble in North America and profits sliding, Ford is looking to its successful European division for inspiration for its next-generation vehicle fleet. Ford’s current focus is to improve fuel-efficiency throughout its North American lineup and one of the easiest ways...

Mercedes-Benz first revealed its facelifted SLK range back in December but since then partially camouflaged cars have been spotted testing in both Europe and the U.S., suggesting that several updates are still planned for the car before the arrival of the next-generation model sometime early next...

Chrysler, together with its in-house parts and services arm Mopar, revealed its new Dodge Challenger Drag Race Package Car over the weekend at the 29th Annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals event at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado. The modifications revealed are nothing short of extensive, with...

Sales of the Lexus SC have dipped considerably for the Japanese luxury brand, with only 1,230 SC 430s finding a home in the U.S. in the first six months of the year, down more than 40% from levels just one year ago. The current generation has been in production since 2001 and is starting to show...

The newly updated Gallardo LP560 has only been out for a few months, but already the tuners are having their way with it. IMSA is one of the first, with its version gently massaging output of the car's V10 to add 24hp (18kW), bringing the total to 584hp (435kW). The modifications are, for the most...

Starting in October, smart's fortwo will get an update that includes a new micro hybrid drive (MHD) system to aid a pair of petrol engine variants. The micro hybrid system consists of start-stop technology, which the company says is good for an 8% reduction in emissions. Around the same time, the...

Troubles at home aside, General Motors' Chevrolet brand has blazed a path to the top of Europe's biggest market - and it's not Germany. Russia's 2008 first-half sales surpassed Germany's, rising 41% to a total volume of 1.65 million cars. The incredible increase is driven directly by consumer...

Specialist Ford tuner Roush has released a new supercharger package for the 2005-2009 Ford Mustang which can up power by up to 400hp (298kW) from the standard 300hp (224kW). Somewhat awkwardly dubbed the TVS2300 ROUSHcharger, it allows custom tuners to develop their own calibrations. Roush has...

Ford has started testing a new ‘smart intersection’ traffic system near its main R&D center in Detroit, which relies on GPS and wireless communication technologies to enable traffic lights and street signs to send warnings to approaching vehicles. Ford hopes the technology could...

Volkswagen may end up converting the New Beetle into a family of cars with a new report claiming a second, smaller Beetle based on last year’s up! concept car could be developed for the U.S. market. The second-generation New Beetle is expected to arrive in 2011 and will take over from the...

With the introduction of Ferrari's new California model, the Maranello company is planning to celebrate by showing off some of the new car's genetic predecessors, including the prototype that started it all at the Pebble Beach Concours this August. The range of California's spans half a century and...

The sporty Abarth versions of the Fiat 500 may still be in the midst of their first release phase, but already an even more powerful model dubbed the '500 Abarth SS' is in the works that will lift power output to 160hp (120kW) and make the car even more aggressive than the just-released Abarth...

The production version of the Jeep J8 (pictured) was revealed at Euro Jeep Camp 2008, a customer event in Northern Germany this week. The J8 marks the Jeep brand’s return to commercial and military vehicle production with a thoroughly modern vehicle designed to meet the needs of both...

Just last week we brought you renderings of Luso Motors' LM23 track-day special kit car. The company has followed that up with a design study for a GT, and it comes in three flavors: convertible, shooting-brake and speedster. Like the LM23 the car is being designed as a lightweight sports car...

Engineers at 9ff finally accomplished their goal of beating the Bugatti Veyron’s 407km/h (252mph) top speed back in April using their highly modified GT9 supercar, which posted a new top speed of 409km/h (254mph), and now the car is ready for sale. The world record for the fastest production...

German tuner Hamann is known for its extensive reworkings of BMW models, as well as other exotica such as the Porsche 911 Turbo and the Ferrari 430. Its latest project is a new-look design for the facelifted BMW 6-series range. Hamann is offering up two aerodynamic kits, including a basic package...

Peugeot has released the first set of images and details for its upcoming 308 CC, which is set to make its world debut at the Paris Motor Show in October. Based on the new 308 platform launched in standard hatchback form last year, the changes for the latest CC variant are significant. Both cars...

Tata may no longer be able to keep its promise of delivering the upcoming Nano minicar for $2,500 but the Indian carmaker may be able to offer customers another reason to buy the groundbreaking car. In addition to the 33hp (25kW) petrol version, Tata is expected to release an air-powered model...

They may be vintage rides with pristine paint jobs and immaculate interiors, or they may be beat-up jalopies held together with duct tape and hope, but the top 10 most stolen vehicles in the U.S. for 2007 include several cars that are 10, 15 and 20 years old. Older Toyota and Hondas are the prime...

The upcoming CAFE standards are making carmakers nervous, with most of the major players speaking out about the huge cost and difficult technical challenges they face. High-tech plug-in hybrids like GM's Volt and Toyota's recently confirmed car have been the central hope for getting fleet averages...