James Martinez, Author
Articles
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Not content with running your computer (Windows), your home (Xbox), your PDA (Windows Mobile), and your office (Office), Microsoft is now making a play for your car with the help of a new software... -
100 years of AWD for MercedesMercedes is celebrating 100 years of all-wheel drive cars this year with the Vision GL420 concept we recently covered. The first AWD car it built was the Dernburg-Wagen, which also featured all-wheel steering. Boy racer cars such as the Subaru Impreza WRX and the Mitsubishi Evo have made AWD...
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Video: Jaguar C-XF conceptThe only thing more stunning than the exterior of Jaguar’s new concept car is the interior. Check out the trick navigation display and various other features in this short teaser video, courtesy of our friends over at Autoblog.
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Chevy’s mid-size MalibuAfter a couple of teasers and even a premature leak, this is the first look at Chevrolet’s all-important Malibu midsize sedan before its unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show. The new Malibu will go head to head with best-selling rivals such as the Toyota Camry and GM has taken advantage of its...
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Updated: Toyota in discussions with FordTop executives from Toyota and Ford met last week to discuss a potential partnership. Both Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Toyota Chairman Fujio Cho were present at the meeting and discussed Ford’s use of hybrid and fuel-cell technologies, as well as combining their vast purchasing power to further...
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Toyota To Reveal FT-HS Hybrid Sports Car At DetroitToyota will be unveiling its latest concept at the Detroit auto show - the FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept. For everyone nodding off right about now, rest assured that this isn’t another one of Toyota’s incredibly bland mass-market offerings. The FT-HS is a 2-door sports coupe that will put...
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Car and truck drivers in seven states have filed a lawsuit against Big Oil alleging that service stations charge more for fuel that’s hotter than the industry standard. The class action lawsuit... -
Free Saab if you do 1m miles in your current oneSaab Automobile USA is announcing that it will offer a free new Saab to any U.S. customer who covers the distance of one million miles (or more) in a Saab that he or she originally purchased new. This announcement comes after Wisconsin resident and insurance salesman Peter Gilbert recently reached...
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Video: VW TiguanVW’s Tiguan is coming to showrooms by the end of next year, but you can see it here and now in this video. Designed as a baby Touareg from the get-go, the Tiguan measures 4.4m long, 1.85m wide and 1.69m high and is similar overall to the Touran compact MPV. Key features include a panoramic...
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Murcielago crashed in the UKOur sick fascination with damaged exotic supercars continues, this time featuring a Lamborghini Murcielago that was involved in an accident with two other cars. The big bull was involved in a smash with three other cars and a bus and the ensuing chaos shut down part of Wolverhampton, a city in the...
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Arden tuned XK produces 480hpJaguar’s new XK Coupe is one of the best GT cars around, but critics have claimed it lacks the power to compete with cars such as the BMW M6 and Mercedes CLK63. That’s why German tuning company Arden has modified the engine to develop 392hp naturally aspirated or a massive 480hp in its...
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Ford, Volvo, Mazda to get DSG-style transmissions in 2007Earlier this year we reported that Volvo would be getting double-clutch transmissions for some models by 2008. It now looks like Volvo will be getting the fast shifters a little earlier, with the transmissions making their way into vehicles from Ford, Mazda, and Land Rover sold in Europe by late...
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Skoda has taken the wraps off its next-generation Fabia hatchback, to be officially introduced at the Geneva Auto Show in March 2007. A total of seven engines will be available for the new Fabia... -
Audi investing €8.4 billion on new modelsAudi’s advisory board has agreed to spend 11.8 billion euros over the next five years in car development, with a massive 8.4 billion from that for brand-new models. The Audi brand intends to extend its range of vehicle models from the existing 22 to a total of 40 by the year 2015. From 2007...
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GM Confirms 2008 Saturn AstraThe recently launched Opel Astra will make its way stateside as the Saturn Astra, GM has confirmed. In a move that surprised no-one, GM said the hatchback would officially unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show in February. The Saturn Astra will be nearly identical to the 2007.5 Opel Astra, unveiled...
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European premiere for the Toyota AurisToyota’s new baby car, the Auris, has been launched in Europe at the Bologna Motor Show. The Auris is one of the most important cars in Toyota’s lineup because it replaces the Corolla nameplate in some regions. The reason behind the change is to alter perceptions about Toyota cars. The...
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Massive Essen Motor Show galleryThe Essen Motor Show has often been called the SEMA of Europe, so it’s no surprise that many of the European tuning houses you see featured in our stories announce new products. This year we’ve seen some great cars such as the Ferrari 599 by Hamann, Ruf’s RGT, Volkswagen’s...
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GM: Rollover airbags standard on all models by 2012The wraps will be taken off GM’s brand-new rollover testing facility in Milford today and it’s expected GM will use the occasion to announce that it will make rollover-enabled airbags standard on all retail vehicles by 2012. At the moment, only 43% of light trucks and SUVs have rollover...
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Mercedes has AMG. BMW has the M division. Toyota has its unfortunately named TRD tuning shop. And now Lexus will get it’s own go-fast division called “F.” Lexus filed a trademark... -
New Audi A1 could save Brussels plantVolkswagen Group’s new chief Martin Winterkorn has hinted that the company’s plant in Brussels could be used to build a new subcompact for Audi dubbed the A1. Germany’s Der Spiegel reports that Winterkorn is planning to meet Belgian Prime minister Guy Verhofstadt later this week...
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Hohenester’s HS 350 tuner TTCan’t wait for the TT-RS? German tuner Hohenester may have the car for you. Their HS 350 performance kit adds a pair of Garrett water-cooled turbos to the 3.2L V6, giving enough mumbo to let the stylish coupe reach 60mph from rest in 4.9 seconds all the way to an electronically controlled top...
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Blast from the past: Veritas RS3Veritas was a small German company formed towards the end of WWII by three employees of BMW, who wanted a brand to fulfill their dream of building and racing sports cars. Under the Veritas label, they managed to build 75 cars before the company went bust in 1952. Their most famous car is easily the...
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Possible production delays for Audi R8Any potential customers queuing up to get their hands on the Audi R8, one of the most anticipated cars of the year, may have to wait a little longer because of possible production delays. Germany’s Autobild reports that the problems stem from issues such as overheating and too much tire ware...
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Touareg TDI tugs a Boeing 747Volkswagen’s mighty V10 Touareg TDI managed to pull a Boeing 747-200 jumbo jet, weighing approximately 155 tonnes, across a runway at Dunsfold Aerodrome in the UK. Fitted with a special towing adaptor to connect it to the jet’s undercarriage, plus almost 4.3 tonnes of metal ballast, the...
James Martinez