Car News
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Chevrolet has created one raucous machine with its 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE. This is a world-beater of a car. A highly capable, massively powerful Camaro that looks the business and shouts its V-8 noise for all to hear. Few cars can compete with the Camaro ZL1 1LE. Chevy knows this, so it reached deep into the idea well for an end-of-year comparison. Chevrolet has decided to see how the Camaro ZL1 1LE stacks up against the sleigh that Santa Claus uses to bring joy and presents to girls and boys around the world once per year. That comparison is below. Sure, the Scrooges and Grinches of the world...
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BMW partners with US solid-state battery company
As electrification moves to the automotive world's center stage, automakers are quickly sorting out strategic partnerships with battery suppliers to solidify their futures. On Monday, Solid Power, a U.S.-based battery company, announced it would work with BMW on game-changing solid-state batteries...
Sean Szymkowski -
Jeremy Clarkson thinks the Ford GT behaves like a "mad Caterham"
A Caterham is one of the purest expressions of automotive driving heaven. The tiny, bare-bones British sports car is a nimble, open-air, lightweight machine that leaves you fully engaged in the act of driving. It's the sports car distilled to its basics. So, for Jeremy Clarkson to call the Ford GT...
Jeff Glucker -
Hennessey’s F-150-based VelociRaptor 6x6 enters production
Remember when Hennessey Performance revealed the utterly bonkers VelociRaptor 6x6 a year ago and announced plans to build it? Well, the company wasn’t kidding as it rolled out the first example in November at the 2017 SEMA show. And now customer examples are being built at Hennessey's...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW X7, Buick Regal Sportback, Honda Insight: Car News Headlines
BMW has given us our best look yet at its upcoming X7. The full-size SUV is now in pre-production at BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina and is due for a reveal late next year. We’ve just spent some time behind the wheel of Buick’s Regal Sportback. It offers space and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Toyota boss hints at Le Mans-inspired hybrid sports car
In announcing on Tuesday Toyota’s commitment to future seasons of the World Endurance Championship, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, company president Akio Toyoda dropped a major hint that Toyota might be working on a hybrid sports car utilizing technology derived from the company’s...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
With just 106 examples in existence, we can understand why it’s taken McLaren more than two decades to open up its first dedicated F1 service center in the United States. It means local F1 owners, of which there are believed to be 20 individuals, will no longer have to ship their cars to the United Kingdom to have major work done. Considering how much the cars have been changing hands for recently, we’re sure local F1 owners will appreciate their cars staying closer to home. The F1 service center is situated at an undisclosed location near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the...
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Class-winning Le Mans racer rolls into Jay Leno's Garage
If someone ever utters the phrase, "Do you want to see my class-winning Le Mans race car?" to you, the answer is always yes. It's unlikely that you'll hear such a phrase, however, unless your first name is Jay and your last one Leno. Such a phrase was said to Jay, and thankfully he answered...
Jeff Glucker -
New boss at Audi Sport as Winkelmann focuses on Bugatti
After leading Audi Sport since early 2016, Stephan Winkelmann will now relinquish his role as chief of the performance division in order to focus on Bugatti, whose leadership he was assigned after former boss Wolfgang Dürheimer stepped down in October. To replace Winkelmann, Audi has selected...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mini adds dual-clutch transmission
Mini is adding a third transmission option to its lineup in the form of a 7-speed dual-clutch unit that boasts faster gear shifts and improved efficiency compared to the manual and automatic transmissions currently on offer. Though yet to be confirmed for the United States, the DCT will be made...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW X7 pre-production starts at US plant, debut in late 2018
The BMW X7 has now reached the pre-production stage in its long journey to market. BMW originally announced plans for the full-size, 3-row SUV in early 2014, and now almost four years on near-production ready examples are rolling off the line at the automaker’s plant in Spartanburg, South...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Italian firm Lazzarini Design shows retro flying car concept
Most flying car concepts we've seen don't bear much resemblance to the traditional automobile. Instead, they forge a path forward with futuristic design and new ideas. Italian firm Lazzarini Design has bucked the trend with its conceptual flying car based on a 1920s Italian luxury vehicle. The...
Sean Szymkowski -
Nio, nee NextEV, launched its first production car for the masses this month with the ES8 electric SUV. With the vehicle's launch, Nio seems poised as a true threat to Tesla in China, where the Silicon Valley automaker's cars are not eligible for government subsidies and incentives because they're imported. The ES8 electric SUV starts at roughly $68,000 USD, which is about half the price of a Tesla Model X in China. Furthermore, the ES8 returns an estimated 220 miles of range with its dual-electric motors and battery pack. The least expensive Model X will go 237 miles. And Nio is forging...
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The Morgan EV3 will finally whir to life in 2018
Do you remember the Morgan 3 Wheeler? You should, because it remains a hilariously enjoyable machine that delivers far more fun than you might expect. From its buzzy S&S-supplied V-twin engine and cog-swapper swiped from the MX-5, the 3 Wheeler is an incredibly pure dose of heritage styling and...
Jeff Glucker -
Flat-lined? New Subaru WRX may ditch boxer engine
The next-generation Subaru WRX may skip one of its signature details when it's released in 2020, a report from Autocar suggested Monday. While all-wheel drive and horizontally opposed pistons are to Subaru what bad chili and worse pasta are to Cincinnati cuisine, it appears that tightening...
Aaron Cole -
The Grand Tour has its new driver in Abbie Eaton
Amazon's popular program The Grand Tour has been on the hunt for a new driver. When the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May were still on the BBC, they wound up having to sack their silent wheelman, called The Stig. In the new show's first season, we saw Mike Skinner step up for...
Jeff Glucker -
2018 Buick Regal Sportback first drive review: the crossover of cars
The decision to do away with a sedan shape and offer the 2018 Buick Regal as a hatchback (called Sportback) and a wagon (called Tour X) is an odd one at first blush. After all, mid-size sedans traditionally have been among the strongest selling vehicles, while hatchbacks and especially wagons have...
Kirk Bell -
2018 Volkswagen Touareg, 2019 Jeep Cherokee, Saleen S7 LM: Today’s Car News
An example of Volkswagen’s next-generation Touareg devoid of any camouflage gear has been spotted. The vehicle is set for a debut next April but sadly we’re unlikely to see it in the United States as VW is focused on the locally made Atlas here. Jeep has given us an early look at its...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW on Monday confirmed it secured the naming rights for potential vehicles ranging from an i1 to i9, as well as from an iX1 to iX9, with the iX-prefixed names indicating vehicles with an SUV body style. BMW also confirmed on Monday that its much-hyped iNext due in 2021 will be its “technology flagship,” as the vehicle will combine next-generation technologies in the areas of electric propulsion, self-driving capability and user interface systems. Being a flagship vehicle, it’s possible then that the iNext will be badged an i9 when it hits the market, or possibly iX9 if it...
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2019 Jeep Cherokee first look
Jeep’s revival of the Cherokee in 2014 was a joyous occasion for fans of the nameplate, though many were taken aback by the unusual, very un-Jeep-like styling of the vehicle. Rumor has it the vehicle, the fifth iteration of the Cherokee nameplate, was originally intended to be an Alfa Romeo...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Chevy Corvette ZR1 can shoot flames from its exhaust
When Chevrolet pulled the wraps off of the 2019 Corvette ZR1, a little nugget of information caught our attention. The brand claimed the 755-horsepower sports car would shoot flames from its exhaust, but it did not provide any evidence. Was it a quick puff of fire? A constant stream of fire spewing...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota to remain in World Endurance Championship, Le Mans
With Porsche’s July announcement of an exit from the World Endurance Championship, both Toyota and organizers of the series were left with the dilemma of there going to be just one manufacturer in the premier LMP1 class next season. The organizers, which include the ACO and FIA, have...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW Group delivers over 100,000 electrified cars in 2017
The BMW Group has reached its goal of delivering more than 100,000 electrified cars in 2017. The total includes hybrids and electric cars sold across the BMW and Mini brands. The 100,000th car was a BMW i3 finished in blue. It was handed over to its owner at the BMW Group headquarters in Munich...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Saleen S7 LM revealed with 1,300 horsepower, $1M price tag
Saleen doesn’t quite have the status of being a household name say, for example, like Shelby, but the company has been in the limelight on a number of occasions. In fact, its flagship product, the S7 supercar, has appeared onscreen several times, most notably in 2003’s “Bruce...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran