Nelson Ireson, Senior Editor
Articles
-
Concerned parents use it to keep an eye on their kids. Government conspiracists think it's tracking our every move. Insurance companies want to use it to make more money. Drivers follow it blindly.... -
UK buyers swap clunkers for Nissan GT-RsIn a move that can only be described as brilliant by anyone with a love of all things four-wheeled and fast, at least two buyers in the UK have swapped their clunkers in for cash, and used that cash to buy Nissan GT-Rs. They were among the very first to take advantage of the new scrappage...
Nelson Ireson -
Toyota design chief gives insight into future lineupGauging the future of automotive design is a tough and tricky business. Anyone that's ventured through the winding courses of Disney's famed Autopia knows exactly how easy it is to get things wrong. But Toyota is charting its own course to the future, and it's using efficiency as its North star. A...
Nelson Ireson -
Nick Heidfeld nabs Schumacher's record for most Grands Prix completed in a rowTo finish first, you must first finish. It is an adage as old as racing, but it is no less true for the passage of time. And Nick Heidfeld has apparently taken it to heart, setting a new record for the most F1 races completed successively, taking the title from the legendary Michael Schumacher...
Nelson Ireson -
Chrysler dealers fire back at proposed franchise rejectionsJust a couple weeks into the nascent Fiat-Chrysler partnership, trouble is already brewing. The American carmaker's 3,188 dealers, upon hearing that 789 of their number will be let go by June 6, banded together to prepare for a legal fight. The dealers are contesting Chrysler's incredibly short...
Nelson Ireson -
UK's nanny state goes a step further: trialing in-car GPS speed limitersAlready the UK is known as one of the most intrusive nations in the world when it comes to surveillance and speeding, but apparently they're not quite satisfied yet. Now Transport for London (TfL) is launching a trial of a GPS-based in-car speed limiter which will forcibly slow a speeding car. The...
Nelson Ireson -
When carmakers start tossing around terms like 'mischievous' and tapping into online markets for their cars, it's clear they're targeting a younger audience. And that's exactly what Lexus is doing... -
Nismo to begin renting upgraded GT-R electronics to customers in JapanEarlier today we told you how Nissan is now offering to upgrade original-spec GT-Rs with a host of better parts including suspension upgrades and engine mounts. Now Nissan's racing and tuning arm, Nismo, has decided to release upgraded engine and transmission management software, but in a novel...
Nelson Ireson -
Ferrari will mark end of F430 production by auctioning final model for charityStaking out a very safe place as Ferrari's highest development of the production mid-engine V8 berlinetta - thus far, at least - the F430 has seen a five-year lifespan, and will soon be replaced. When the final car rolls off the line later this year, it will be auctioned off to support the people...
Nelson Ireson -
Better Place shows off its automated EV battery switching stationShai Agassi's ambitious Better Place project has been rolling out plans for test-market EVs around the world for over a year now, and today the project took a huge leap forward with the demonstration of its first automated battery swapping station. The proof-of-concept facility was demonstrated in...
Nelson Ireson -
2010 Camaro the first of 28 GM models to get Zune connectivityThe age of MP3 players is fully upon the automotive industry, and consumers now expect - even demand - such connectivity in even the most basic of vehicles. But getting more than basic input-output functionality for the more complex devices on the market isn't quite so easy. The Apple iPod has...
Nelson Ireson -
AEV making Jeep J8 MILSPEC available for U.S. civiliansImagine it: the sheer irony of a Jeep - the quintessential American military vehicle - being available only to foreign militaries and governments. Until American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) stepped in to supply the Jeep J8 to regular people, that's exactly how things stood. But now American civilians...
Nelson Ireson -
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has often been praised for his job turning around the two companies nearly a decade ago, and since then Nissan has shown nothing but profits. But in 2008, Nissan... -
Nissan GT-R ends five-year streak for Porsche at One Lap of AmericaThe 2009 TireRack One Lap of America challenge saw everything from an Ultima GTR to the winning Nissan GT-R hit tracks all across the U.S. in a modern-day homage to the legendary Cannonball. The win by the Nissan puts an end to a five-year stint at the top by Porsche 911s, and kicks the...
Nelson Ireson -
GM says Camaro is 'core model', Solstice, Sky may live onThough bankruptcy is looking more and more like the way General Motors will go, the company is fighting to preserve its most adored models - one way or another. In the case of the Camaro, the car will live on within GM as a 'core model' says CEO Fritz Henderson. The Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky...
Nelson Ireson -
First Lamborghini LP560-4 Spyder raises $270,000 for charity auctionAuctioning off hot cars for good causes never gets old, and further proof of that fact came this past weekend as the 16th Annual Race to Erase MS charity event in Los Angeles auctioned off the first Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder. The car, a unique Spyder ordered especially for the even six...
Nelson Ireson -
American launch of Fiat 500 may pave way for Ford KaAs Wall Street tumbles and Americans deal with the tough times, Ford is eying its global minicar, the Ka, for U.S. sale. The car had previously been rejected as incompatible with the American taste for large, powerful vehicles, but with the signing of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance earlier this month a...
Nelson Ireson -
Report: Tata Nano to hit U.S. streets by 2011In late March Tata finally launched its Nano in India, instantly taking the title of "world's cheapest car" with its sub-$2,000 price tag. Then word emerged that the company has its sights set not just on India and Europe, but the U.S. as well. Today a report confirming the Indian carmaker's plans...
Nelson Ireson -
Everyone is watching with bated breath as General Motors teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, wondering if Chrysler's 'surgical' run through the courts isn't a practice session for GM's own. The... -
ASC transforms fifth-gen Camaro into Pontiac Trans AmThere are many behind-the-scenes players in the automotive industry that few on the outside ever hear of, despite their huge contributions. ASC Creative Services is one such company, designing and building some of the most cherished cars on the streets, including all 547 examples of the Buick GNX...
Nelson Ireson -
Obama administration moves to boost biofuels with $787 million packageAs the U.S. struggles to bootstrap itself out of one of the worst economies in decades, the federal government continues its spending spree, earmarking $787 million to biofuels. The goal is ostensibly to meet a target set by former President George Bush of 36 billion gallons of biofuel in the...
Nelson Ireson -
GM CEO Henderson says Corvette is safe despite restructuringWhen General Motors disbanded its High Performance Vehicles unit in February, a ripple of fear shot through the automotive press over the future of the Corvette. GM was quick to quell the concerns, however, and today GM's CEO Fritz Henderson has again spoken directly on Corvette's secure future...
Nelson Ireson -
Renault releases new photos of Clio RS ahead of UK launchRenault just unveiled the brand-new Clio in February and barely a month later it was out with the hotted-up Renaultsport (RS) variant in Geneva. The car features many of the same performance upgrades found on bigger brother the Megane RS, but in a more compact and peaky package. Now we have a new...
Nelson Ireson -
Study: teens kill virtual pedestrians when texting while drivingWe all know someone who's fused to their cell phone, texting, talking, twittering and incessantly updating their calendars - even when behind the wheel. The problem is rampant among teens, and a new study confirms the obvious: it's dangerous to text behind the wheel. It's equally dangerous to use...
Nelson Ireson