Car News

Mercedes Benz sells a greater percentage of its 4Matic all-wheel-drive models in the US than any other country. The company now wants to increase the popularity of its AWD range in other markets. In an interview with Automotive News, Mercedes' development chief for 4Matic cars, Gunter Fischer...

Audi’s highest product chief has confirmed that the Shooting Brake concept shown at the 2005 Tokyo Auto Show will not enter production. In an interview with Netherland’s AutoVisie magazine, Ulrich Hackenberg said that the shooting brake model would only serve to eat market share from...

Ford is developing a new global design theme for future models, a move that ties in with the company’s “one Ford” vision strategy. The design chiefs for Ford’s North American and European divisions have combined their respective development teams to create a common design...

Harmon Kardon has released the second generation of its popular Drive + Play music controller for the car. The device integrates a portable MP3 music player with the car’s stereo and allows drivers to manage multiple portable devices with a single screen and controller, giving them full...

Italy’s Fiat wants its new Bravo model to sell in more diverse markets than its Stilo predecessor, which failed to make a significant impact on the company’s bottom line. Reuters is reporting that Fiat exec Luca De Meo stated last week that the Bravo five-door hatchback would be sold in...

General Motors has earned a lot of brownie points with its Volt plug-in hybrid, which showed that the world’s largest carmaker is serious about building electric vehicles again. Ford has now upped the ante by combining the latest trend of plug-in technology with a zero-emissions hydrogen fuel...

Though the updated version of the current BMW 5-series was just revealed last week, the all new model is due to arrive by late 2009 for the 2010 model year. Test-mules have already been caught by spy photographers in Munich resembling the current model, but with pumped fenders to accommodate a...

Mugen has displayed two more highly-tuned vehicles to join its previous Open-Top Pure Sports Concept as part of its “Exciting 2007” promotional program. Featuring at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon, the Honda tuning arm presented a kitted up Civic sedan but remained very tight-lipped about...

A 1966 Shelby Cobra "Super Snake," once owned by Carol Shelby himself, was sold at auction for $5.5 million. Bidders competed in front of a packed house at the 36th Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction on Saturday, with two keen buyers pushing the price upwards to create a brand new record for an...

Update: Porsche is rejecting the claims made by Germany’s B&D Forecast, pointing out that the computation used is misleading. Porsche cites that part of its profit came from special one-off events that have nothing to do with its core business of building cars. As already reported, a...

Italian carmaker Fiat is rumored to be developing a rescue plan for struggling coachbuilder Bertone that would see the creation of an all new company. Fiat would enter into a €200 million contract with the new company to build a low-volume coupe convertible to be sold under the Lancia brand...

Cadillac will be launching a diesel powered version of the all-new CTS sedan aimed at European markets. Automotive News is reporting that the engine will be sourced from Italy's VM Motori, with the diesel variant appearing in showrooms several months after the gasoline version. "We expect at least...

Toyota is planning an ultra-low cost vehicle for sale in emerging markets, which would sell for less than Renault's Logan budget car. Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe has told reporters "the focus will be on low-cost technology," something that will require a reform of current design and...

Industry experts are predicting that Jeep will drop its full-size Commander SUV after the 2009 model year despite only being introduced just over a year ago. Forecasting analysts at California-based J.D. Power and Associates have stated “we have removed the Commander from our forecast”...

Land Rover engineers have been spied recently testing a new Range Rover Sport with a whopping 5.0-litre V8 strapped to it. The current model only uses a Jaguar 4.2-litre V8, but it seems that the range topppers for Range Rover will be getting this new larger engine. The test models were spied by...

The first Volkswagen vehicle to feature new Bluetec clean-diesel technology in the US will be the 2008 model-year Jetta sedan. The company announced at last year’s L.A. Auto Show that it too would offer its own range of Bluetec diesels, sharing technologies with DaimlerChrysler and sister...

Researchers at Purdue University are experimenting with ‘smart’ tires designed to warn the driver of weak points in the tire that may lead to a blowout or flat before they occur. The technology differs from current air-pressure measurement systems as the entire tire becomes a sensor...

Diesel powered cars already rival regular hybrid-electric gasoline cars in the economy stakes, and it’s only a matter of time until manufacturers combine the two fuel-saving technologies to build the ultimate fuel-miser. The limiting factor currently is the high costs involved but that may...

Mercedes Benz has finally released the next-generation of its best selling model during a function in Stuttgart today. The new C-Class saloon is replacing a model that sold over two million copies in various guises since the previous version’s launch in 2000, so this new model has a lot...

A recent study has shown the use of aluminum in cars manufactured in Europe is on a steady rise and has also grown substantially over the past two decades. In 1990, cars on average used about 50kg of the lightweight metal. By 2005, this figure had grown to 132kg, and is expected to grow another...