Car News
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Becoming a professional race car driver is a lot like becoming a rock star: talent can only get you so far, and then you need to be discovered. For every Michael Schumacher, Jimmie Johnson or Sebastian Loeb, there are probably dozens of equally-skilled but anonymous racers taking to tracks around the world each weekend. In today’s competitive motorsports environment, being fast is only the first step of a multi-tiered path to employment. Equally important is marketability, since no one wants to back a driver who can’t sell products and services. Worse, few teams are willing to...
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Ford Developing Cost-Effective Methods Of Carbon Fiber Production
Shaving pounds and even ounces off new vehicles helps to improve performance while simultaneously boosting fuel economy. While materials like aluminum, titanium and carbon fiber are both strong and light, their inherently high cost has generally excluded or limited their use in mainstream vehicles...
Kurt Ernst -
In Five Years, 25 Percent Of Cars Sold In The U.S. Will Be Turbocharged
Last year, Americans purchased some 12.8 million new vehicles. Of that number, 1.3 million vehicles, or roughly 10 percent, came with turbocharged engines. In just five years, however, turbo supplier Honeywell expects that total to climb to four million turbocharged vehicles, representing...
Kurt Ernst -
Rare 1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Heads To Auction
Only 11 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertibles were ever built, making them among the rarest and most desirable of Mopar muscle cars. Among Hemi ‘Cuda convertibles, it doesn’t get any more exclusive than one of one built, like the 1971 Hemi ‘Cuda convertible seen here. The only...
Kurt Ernst -
Porsche’s 962C, The Ultimate Street Car: Video
There’s a reason that race cars go fast on the track, and that street cars (generally) don’t. Cars built for racing are constructed without regard to ride comfort, with the primary focus being on weight savings, handling and driver safety. Cars built for the road are generally focused...
Kurt Ernst -
2014 Infiniti G37 Spied, Porsche 918 Spyder, James Bond: Car News Headlines
It's been 50 years since the release of the first James Bond movie, and today we celebrate by taking a look at all the classic Bond cars. From the BMW Z3 in GoldenEye to the Aston Martin DBS in Casino Royale, Bond always seems to roll in style with more gadgets than one could possibly imagine. We...
Joel Feder -
UPDATE: The 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series has been revealed. Click here for all the details. Since 2009 we've been chasing talk of a Black Series version of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, and in 2010 our own Marty Padgett confirmed with Tobias Moers, AMG's head of vehicle development, that the SLS AMG Black Series is a "must do" car for the brand. Since then we’ve seen a handful of prototypes testing all over Europe, from the icy Arctic Circle to the scorching mountains of Southern Spain. The latest shots show a prototype conducting some high-speed testing on the Nürburgring...
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Jay Leno Drives The 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302: Video
The story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears applies equally well to the Ford Mustang. To those of us who use our cars for track days, the Mustang GT is a bit too soft (although it’s still very good with the optional Track Package), while the 662-horsepower Shelby GT500 is a bit too hard for...
Kurt Ernst -
Cadillac Launches New Entertainment Pack On 2013 SRX, More Models To Follow
Cadillac will offer an upgraded entertainment package on its 2013 SRX crossover, which features some of the latest technologies including a Blu-Ray DVD player and a cordless remote control. The new package will be linked with Cadillac’s CUE interface system and be accessible from every seat...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Celebrate 50 Years Of James Bond With This List Of The 10 Best Bond Cars
It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years since the release of the first James Bond movie, 1962’s Dr. No, though admittedly the fictitious secret agent is somewhat older, with writer Ian Fleming having published the first James Bond book (Casino Royale) back in 1953. Nevertheless...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Electric Drive To Be Sole Mercedes-Benz B Class Model In U.S.
While Mercedes-Benz has confirmed the regular A Class and B Class models won’t be offered in the U.S., there’s a chance an electric version of the B Class, previewed recently at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, might just arrive. In fact, there are reports claiming the electric B Class, whose...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2014 Infiniti Q50 Spy Shots
UPDATE: The 2014 Infiniti Q50 (G37 replacement) has been revealed. Click here for all the official details and photos. The current Infiniti G37 sedan will soon be replaced by the new Q50, pictured here in prototype form ahead of its world debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show next month, arrives...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
At the recent Paris Auto Show Mercedes-Benz showed of a three-dimensional sculpture said to preview its next-generation S Class, a car due out next year as a 2014 model. Called the Aesthetics S, the sculpture was accompanied by a dynamic lighting show and was created completely in-house by the automaker’s own design team. In this latest video, Mercedes design chief Gorden Wagener explains the details of the sculpture and how it ties in with the automaker’s actual models. In particular, the Aesthetics S hints at the future design of Mercedes’ large cars, starting with the new...
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Lincoln Hoping To Lure 'Cultural Progressives' With The 2013 MKZ
At a time when most automakers are going to extraordinary lengths to target Millennial buyers, luxury brand Lincoln is betting its fortunes on an entirely different demographic, one it’s calling “cultural progressives.” Per Lincoln’s own research, cultural progressives are...
Kurt Ernst -
Ermini And ATS Brands Set For Revival
In the years after World War II, Pasquale Ermini rose to fame building small, lightweight race cars (called “Barchettas,” Italian for “little boats”) with engines around one liter in displacement. Ermini’s cars were successful, frequently besting competitors from...
Kurt Ernst -
Radeberger Pilsner Wants To Give You A Vintage Mercedes
We always believed ourselves to be well-schooled in German beer available to U.S. consumers. From Stuttgart’s Dinkelacker CD Pils to our perennial favorite, Munich’s Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest, we thought we’d tried about every Reiheitsgebot-governed beer available on this side of...
Kurt Ernst -
Testing The Porsche 918 Spyder At The Nürburgring: Video
If the Porsche 918 Spyder were a celebrity, it would likely be Lindsay Lohan or Lady Gaga. That’s not commentary on the Porsche’s behavior, dress or after-hours habits, but instead recognition that few others spend as much time in the glow of the spotlights (and in follow-up media...
Kurt Ernst -
Forbidden Fruit: Honda CR-Z Mugen RZ
Ever since Honda launched its CR-Z “Sports Hybrid,” fans of the car and of the brand have wished for one thing: more power. Even in early 2011, less than a year after the car’s launch, there was talk about a new, more powerful version in the works. That car made its debut at this...
Kurt Ernst -
Frenchman Sébastien Loeb together with the aid of his co-driver Daniel Elena has won his ninth and final World Rally Championship title on Sunday, and in the process earned Citroen its eighth Constructors’ title. Competing in this weekend’s Rallye de France, Loeb was easily able to hold off Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala who also managed to show impressive form over the weekend. Loeb will be back in WRC next year, though will be tackling only a partial racing program due to start at the Rallye Monte-Carlo and likely to include races in Sweden, France, Germany and Argentina...
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Aston Martin Vanquish Driven, Tesla Cash Flow, Jaguar Small Car: Today's Car News
Aston Martin handed us the crystalline key fob to a 565-horsepower 2014 Vanquish and set us free on broken roads around Newport Pagnell. What did we learn? The Vanquish is a "super GT" that is beautiful inside and out. With the Vanquish, it's about the experience of the journey rather than the...
Joel Feder -
2013 Mercedes-Benz SL Class Recalled Due To Flammable Refrigerant
Following a recent investigation into the harmful effects of a new type of refrigerant used in the air conditioner in the latest 2013 SL Class, Mercedes-Benz has decided to issue a recall on the luxury convertible to replace the substance with a safer version. The refrigerant in question is...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Nissan Builds Its Own Leaf-Based Autonomous Car
While Google and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) may be the two names most closely associated with autonomous vehicles, they’re hardly the only organizations working on self-driving cars. Ceatec Japan is an annual conference highlighting the latest advances in...
Kurt Ernst -
NASCAR Recap: Matt Kenseth Escapes The Big One To Win In Talladega: Video
For a race that drew only a handful of yellow flags throughout much of its 188-lap scheduled distance, Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance Sprint Cup race at Talladega served up plenty of drama, much of it condensed into the final green and white flag lap. As the laps wound down, it looked...
Kurt Ernst -
U.S. To Get New Audi A3 Sportback As Well As A3 Sedan: Report
At the recent 2012 Paris Auto Show Audi took the wraps off its new A3 Sportback, the five-door version of the A3 three-door hatch we saw debut earlier in the year. So far neither of these models has been confirmed for the U.S. as Audi is waiting until the reveal of a new A3 sedan at...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran