Car And Driver: 2013

Thứ Hai, 15 tháng 4, 2013

Renault Releases Laguna Collection 2013 with Subtle Updates

After six years in the market, the Renault Laguna has reached that point where a replacement is due, but for the time being, the French carmaker has given the entire range (liftback, estate and coupe) a mini makeover and a splash of new technology features for 2013. Read more »

BMW Group Creates New "Zinoro" Brand to Build EVs – Debuts in November

Since China as a country, and its road networks along with it, underwent a drastic process of modernization, and most of the work was done with innovative methods, EVs seem to have also found their place in the People’s Republic. Used by government and city officials, the police and taxi drivers, all-electric vehicles are already seeing active duty, and their numbers are only set to grow. Read more »

Rolls-Royce Creates One-of-a-Kind Pink Ghost FAB1 for Charity

When individual buyers opt for an eye-popping pink paint job for their luxury ride, it's usually a statement of opulence and occasionally…bad taste, but when automakers do it, most of the times, it has something to do with breast cancer awareness, which is the case of the pink-colored Rolls-Royce Ghost Extended Wheelbase special featured in these photos. Read more »

Scoop: Lincoln Filmed Trying Out 2016 MKS Test Mule

The question that seems to be lingering on the lips of anybody working at Lincoln for the past, well, let's just say few decades, is "are we there yet?" The Blue Oval's sole premium or near premium brand has tried to rejuvenate itself over and over again, but without any success.

No thanks in part to the botched launch of the all-new MKZ, Lincoln's sales in 2013 are down 23.7 percent to just 15,899 units (January through March) over last year, when at the same time, Ford recorded a 12.4 percent increase to 582,584 deliveries.

Perhaps it's a German thing, but while the Renault Kangoo never really caught up with the tuning industry, its re-badged and slightly more premium Mercedes-Benz Citan-offspring has, with a second company releasing a styling and performance kit for the van since it launched at the end of last year. Read more »

You can Now Buy a Certified Pre-Owned car Directly from McLaren

If you want a McLaren but you can't quite make the asking price for a new example, there is now an alternative. The British supercar maker has just launched its own official and certified pre-owned program, called "McLaren Qualified", through which prospective buyers can choose from a selection of approved second-hand examples that have been given the once-over, and which also get a two-year unlimited mileage warranty, for peace of mind. Read more »

Ford and General Motors to Jointly Develop New 9- and 10-Speed Automatic Transmissions

They may be archenemies when it comes to sales, but General Motors and the Ford Motor Corp. can put their differences aside occasionally when it comes to cutting costs and benefitting from joint ventures. The two largest U.S. carmakers announced today that they have signed an agreement to work together to develop a new generation of fuel-efficient, 9- and 10-speed automatic transmissions. Read more »

Fake or Real? Bikini-Clad Woman Goes Berserk on Man's Truck

Have you ever been so mad at someone that you took your frustration on an object in a very violent manner? I guess the answer is yes, as no doubt, we all have reached the tipping point at which reason and logic takes a back seat…or more appropriately in this case, the passenger side of a pickup truck. Read more »

Kit Transforms 1990s Porsche 964 to 1973 911 Carrera RS Classic

The Porsche 911 series has a remarkable history stretching back five decades, and perhaps one of the most impressive feats is that the Stuttgart-based company essentially managed to produce the same car for 35 years until it presented the completely new and water-cooled 996 generation in 1998.

You only need to put the classic 911 (1963-1998) next to the revised 964 (1989-1994) and 993 (1993-1998) to see the similarities and the common architecture between the three generations. If you want more proof, then check out what DP Motorsports has to offer owners of the 964 series of the 911.

One direction cars of the future are going towards is modularity. Sure, everybody talks about platforms nowadays, but we still have a long way to go before the you'll be able to jump to the garage, and turn your pickup into a coupe, by lifting off the body and putting on a different one. The chassis could be adjustable in wheelbase and track, and therefore different handling characteristics could be obtained.

However, before we get there, we must first advance the technology for in-wheel electric motors. Without them, all of the above would be considerably more complicated. Thankfully, work is being done, and this rear-wheel drive Ford Fiesta, which was modified by Schaeffler, in Germany, is among the most advanced of its kind.

The French are coming to this year's edition of the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (June 30) with Peugeot and nine-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb who will be driving the newly developed 208 T16, the first full pictures of which were released today along with a short promotional video that also features the 405 T16. Read more »

New Volkswagen Golf GTD with 181HP Priced from £25,285 in the UK

A little over a week after VW released UK pricing for the new generation Golf GTI, the German carmaker did the same for the diesel-version of the sports hatch, the Golf GTD that is available to order now in Britain, with prices starting at £25,285 on the road (OTR).

The starting price is £310 more than the previous GTD, with VW stating it comes better equipped, while it's £560 less than the base 217hp (220PS) version of the gasoline-powered Golf GTI Mk7.

Mitsubishi is heading to the Auto China 2013 in Shanghai, which kicks off this Saturday, April 20 and runs through April 29, with the local premiers of the Concept G4 and CA-MiEV small sedans, while also showcasing its production range.

The Concept G4 made its world premiere last month at the Bangkok International Motor Show. It is a near-production study for a sedan version of Mitsubishi's no-frills supermini, the Mirage. In fact, if you take out the blue-tinted lights and grille, spoilers and alloy wheels, what you're left with is the actual production model that could follow as early as within the next year.

There are so many examples of manufacturers breaking their regular mold of vehicles they are familiar with, and start doing something new and different on the side, to boost profits and sustain a solid growth figure – this is contradictory, though, because growth, by definition cannot be endlessly sustained…

Still, that thought hasn't stopped Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar (with the X-Type), Audi, Porsche, and well pretty much all premium carmakers in trying, and being fully confident of the success of their strategy each and every time.

Valet Employee Will Likely Be Looking for a New Job After This

Someone ought to give this guy a…brake, but seriously now, while we've seen much worse like the Hyatt Hotel parking employee who was doing burnouts with customer cars and then…uploading the videos on YouTube, the valet will have some explaining to do to his boss and of course, the owner of the car. Read more »

Designers Pays Homage to BMW Z8 and 8-Series Models with MZ8 Concept

Two of the most recognized sport models to come out from BMW's factory in the past quarter century are the 8-Series, built from 1989 to 1999, and the Henrik Fisker-designed Z8 roadster, offered from 1999 to 2003.

These two cars stimulated a design thesis from Christophe Jourd'hui, a graduate in transportation design management at the International School of Design (IDS) in Valenciennes, France, for a new BMW sports car named the MZ8.

The electric car family has welcomed a new member, the Fiat 500e, official pricing information for which has just been released for the US state of California, where it will be exclusively sold and leased. First deliveries of the all-electric 500 will begin in the Golden State this summer, but it is now available for order. Read more »

Thứ Sáu, 12 tháng 4, 2013

Split-Second Decision Saves Florida Woman from Being Crushed Under Overpass

If you've ever been behind a truck carrying a massive load which you didn't think was fastened properly, then you will definitely know the kind of images that pop up in one's head in those instances. Well, a Florida woman materialized this scariest of driving fears, and was almost killed in the process. Read more »

Tata Nano Too Cheap for Its Own Good, Improved But Pricier Models Planned

The world’s cheapest new car, the Tata Nano, has not enjoyed the success the Indian carmaker envisioned when it introduced it in 2008. Since deliveries began in July 2009, only 229,157 Nanos were sold in India, although the plant that makes it has a capacity of 250,000 units a year. Furthermore, in March 2013, sales dropped by a staggering 86 percent from a year earlier. Read more »

400HP Dacia Logan STCC Racer Takes to the Track, Does 0-100 Km/h in 3 Seconds

Not long ago, we wrote about the Dacia Logan STTC racecar, entered by the Dacia Dealer Team in the Swedish Touring Car Championship. Now we present to you a video of the monstrous Logan-lookalike (more on that below) that has begun testing ahead of the series’ first season race on May 3-4. Read more »

Scoop: GM Begins Testing Mule for New Opel Antara and Chevrolet Captiva SUVs

As modern as it may still look on the outside, after seven years in the market, the five-seater Opel / Vauxhall Antara compact SUV (sold as the Saturn Vue Mk2 before GM shut down the brand in 2010) is showing its age and is in need for a replacement.

The same applies to its more conservatively styled seven-seater Chevrolet sibling, the Captiva, and of course, Holden Australia's versions of the two models, the Captiva 5 (Antara) and 7.

Epic EV's TORQ Roadster is currently one of only a handful of electric vehicles on sale which genuinely appeal to keen drivers. It's partly down to its racy looks, but the main point of attraction is the performance on offer – zero to sixty in under four seconds, and a massive torque figure of 600 lb-ft or 812 Nm, which should come in handy for both the drive to the track, as well as on it. Read more »

Report: Next Generation BMW X6 to Be Even Larger, More Aggressively Styled

Launched in 2008, the BMW X6 is not exactly what one would call an old model. However, BMW plans to replace it next year, right after the market launch of its new, slightly smaller X4 Sports Activity Coupe.

The all-new X6 will be based on the same platform as the third-generation X5, which will be the largest X5 yet. While the future X6 will have a similar silhouette to the current model, the difference will be in details, which are expected to be more aggressive.

One would believe that with the wide availability of the internet and all those videos from dashboard-mounted cameras circulating around the web, people living in Russia and the surrounding countries would be a bit more careful when it comes to playing the macho-man in front of a car. Read more »

Maserati GranCorsa Design Study for a Sleek Looking Coupe

We can't remember the last time that Maserati launched two completely new models in such a short time frame - we're talking about the new generation of the full-size Quattroporte displayed at the Detroit Auto Show in January, and the upcoming world premiere of the mid-size Ghibli sedan at next week's Auto China 2013 in Shanghai.

And there's more to come as Maserati's product plan calls for the debut of the Levante crossover that is the production version of the 2011 Kubang Concept. Is there room for more presentations? Well, of course there is, but it all depends on how well the Ghibli and the Kubang are received by the public.

After killing some cones in an old Ford Sierra, in Hungary, Ken Block goes much further east, in order to shoot a promo clip for action camera manufacturers GoPro, who call themselves the makers of "the world's most versatile camera." The aim of the video was for Block to "kill" as many cameras as he could, while driving his custom rally Ford Focus through the frozen woods of Russia. Read more »

Peugeot Releases Photos of the 208 T16 Pikes Peak, Announces Drivers for the Nürburgring 24H

Peugeot Sport has released the first teaser photos of the 208 T16 Pikes Peak, which will be driven in the “Race to the Clouds” by the nine-times world rally champion, Sebastien Loeb.

As expected, the 208 T16 Pikes Peak will be a very different machine from the rally-spec 208 T16. It has to be, in order to win the world’s most challenging hillclimb race. We can see from the photos that the car will be much wider that the standard 208 T16, with the huge wheel arches sheltering some fat tyres, especially at the rear. Which is normal, considering that the car is expected to be four-wheel drive.

Using a very fast sports or super car as part of the lineup of rides the police have at their disposal is not really all that new. The Italians, the Germans, the British and even the Romanians have really fast vehicles which you simply could not outrun, and now there's a new kid on the block, this time from the Middle East.

The Dubai police force has just put its hands on a brand new Lamborghini Aventador, which has been converted into a high-speed patrol car. We may be mistaken here, but isn't this the most expensive cop car in the world?

Cadillac today announced that the 2014 ELR battery-powered coupe will feature paddle shifters, but not the kind you get on a conventional car. Cadillac says the ELR’s paddle shifters have a different function than what we’re accustomed to and more specifically, they “enable the driver to temporarily regenerate energy and store it as electricity in the battery pack for later use.”

This new system is called "Regen on Demand" and will be an exclusive feature of the ELR, the brand’s first electric vehicle with extended range capability thanks to the petrol-powered 1.4-liter gasoline engine that acts as a generator.

They say, "A picture is worth a thousand words", but we also know that looks can be deceiving, which is certainly the case with this Google Maps image from Dukes Highway in Keith, South Australia, that was discovered by Reddit forum member Corncorn01. Read more »

This is How Alfa Romeo Plans to Triple its Sales in the Next Three Years

If Alfa Romeo keeps procrastinating and delaying the launch of their revised range of cars, we will be forced to start writing jokes and make fun of them for not being able to start the "brand revival", until our pointy pleasantries get the job done and force them to launch the models, out of sheer shame.

So what is the latest piece of news from Alfa Romeo? Well, it’s what we've been getting for the last two years: more future plans, of the very detailed kind.

Like all sports and premium carmakers with a long presence in the industry, Jaguar has created some models, which for one reason or the other, have withstood the test of time and become legends.

The D-Type is one such model. Produced between 1954 and 1957, the sports racing car with the distinct shapes and lines won the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race in 1955, 1956 and 1957. It is this classic model that inspired the creation of the Jaguar XK-I Concept by Mudit Gupta, a design student from the DSK ISD International School of Design in Pune, India.

Japanese magazine Motorhead released a video with the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport taking on Japan’s most scenic track, the Fuji Speedway, located at the foothills of Mount Fuji. Driving the 1,001-hp car is 2004 Le Mans winner, Seiji Ara, so expect to see the Veyron driven very fast on a twisty track - something we don’t get to watch very often.

The Veyron is more of a straight-line machine, and its speed records certify that - however, that doesn’t mean it can’t do corners.

The Toyota GT-86 is quite successful in its styling, and while some may criticize bits of it at a time, the consensus seems to be that it looks good. This poses a challenge for the engineers behind the car, when turning the coupe into the FT-86, which is the soft-top convertible version.

Keep in mind that aside from the roof having to be strong, durable, not leak and not take up much space in the trunk, it must also not upset the car's lines when it's deployed.

We're no army pilots - or any kind of pilots of airborne aircrafts for that matter, but common sense says that the highway isn't a place for an airplane to be flying above cars that are travelling at speed, at a low altitude.

While driving on the Belarusian M1 highway, the driver of the camera-equipped car was confronted by not one, but two jet fighters in a matter of minutes.

Convertible models based on four-door sedans never really caught up with mainstream consumers for a number of reasons, some of which have to do with aesthetic and others with practical reasons, but the smaller the niche, the better for the tuning industry that always jumps in to cover these special segments.

Drop Top Customs (DTC) is one such company, and as it name suggests, it specializes in transforming hardtop models into convertibles like the Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee featured in these photos.

Aston Martin and Alset Global, a technology and engineering company founded in 2005, have announced that they will be entering an Aston Martin Rapide S into the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race, which takes place May 19-20.

The car they will be using is a prototype, and it features a twin-turbo system, in addition to the fact that it can also burn both hydrogen and gasoline (in tandem or separately). The company whose name is "Tesla" spelt backwards says it plans to complete the first ever zero-emissions hydrogen-powered lap of the 'Ring, and "make history."

BMW Woos Japanese Consumers with New 5-Series Exclusive Sport Edition

The marketing division of BMW Japan is looking for select buyers, 300 of them, to be precise, for a new special edition version of its 5-Series sedan and Touring (station wagon) models dubbed "Exclusive Sport", which are offered with a choice of two four-cylinder engines, a 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol for the 523i and a 2.0-liter force-fed diesel for the 523d. Read more »

Consumer Reports Not Really Thrilled About New Mitsubishi Outlander

The Mitsubishi Outlander has never been the kind of car one buys because of burning desire, but it was always competent and one of the better vehicles to drive in its class. Now, the all-new model, which is radically different from its predecessor, takes center stage, as Mitsubishi tries to keep itself relevant in the current context of the automotive industry, both in the US and the rest of the world.

The new 2014 Outlander needs to be very good, but if we are to listen to Consumer Reports (CR), which recently took it for a drive, things aren't looking up.

In the UK, MG currently sells one model, the MG6, but they will also be adding the MG3 supermini and the VW Golf-sized MG5 hatch to their range, according to the automaker's official website. It also lists the Icon crossover concept under the Models section hinting at the fact that they're considering such a vehicle.

However, if a report from China's Autohome is to be believed, they've had a change of heart with the styling direction for it. The Icon concept was a retro-inspired vehicle, drawing heavily on the MGB, a car from the better part of the company's history, but now with the new CS crossover, they've gone for something completely different and much more modern-looking.

Ford just announced that it will launch a new 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine which will power the 2014 Fusion in the U.S., among other models. Contrary to a report earlier this week from the website Fordinsidenews, the engine will not be a 3-cylinder, but a more conventional inline-four unit. Read more »

Watch Chevrolet Manager Point Out What's New in the 2014 Camaro SS

Recently introduced at the 2013 New York International Auto Show, the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS has been given a walk-around-style presentation by the carmaker’s marketing manager for performance cars, John Fitzpatrick.

What we find out from this video is that Chevrolet wanted to differentiate the V8 from V6 models with the restyled Camaro, so the SS received some styling tweaks inspired from the ZL1, including the hood extractor and the lower grille.

There's so much you can do to improve the looks of a car like the 5-Series Gran Turismo (GT), and judging by these latest spy photos, BMW isn't really in the mood for any extensive modifications for the car's mid-life update.

Instead, the exterior refresh simply tweaks the front and rear bumpers along with the respective light clusters, and possibly the grille, bringing all these elements in line with BMW's more recent presentations like the F30 3-Series and the F20 1-Series. Understandably, the same will apply to the rest of the 5-Series range, the sedan and Touring models.

Mercedes-Benz and Michael Schumacher today announced a new long-term partnership focusing on the development of the brand’s safety and comfort systems, united under the name “Intelligent Drive.”

The seven-times Formula 1 world champion, known for his previous work on road safety, will help develop those systems and represent them as an ambassador, supporting Mercedes-Benz’s involvement in this field. The carmaker says it will use Schumacher’s expertise to develop the best solutions for safety on the roads.

Just like kids who can't resist wearing an Iron Man's plastic mask, Audi too can't stop associating itself with the Marvel comics superhero and the third film in the Iron Man franchise that will see Tony Stark, played by actor Robert Downey Jr., using a battery-powered R8 e-tron coupe for his casual strolls around town. Read more »

Ford Simplifies UK Mondeo Range, Gives Entry Level Model More Kit

The Ford Mondeo is a firm favorite with British car buyers, and it is still a strong buy, despite the fact that it is long-overdue for a replacement in the form of the European version of the Fusion sedan. Now, Ford has announced that it will be simplifying the range, and will be offering two new spec levels in the United Kingdom. Read more »

Watch a High-Speed Police-Pursuit Through the Eyes of a Motorbike Officer

Now here's something you don't get to see every day. The Florence Police Department (in the U.S., not Italy) released footage captured from a helmet-mounted camera of an officer riding a motorcycle in pursuit of a motorist who failed to stop after being signaled by the police. Read more »

Bugatti Veyron GS Vitesse Sets New Open-Top Speed Record at 409KM/H (254MPH)

Following the 2010 world speed record achieved by the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport (431,072 km/h/267.8 mph), Bugatti has set a new benchmark, this time with the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse.

Driven by Chinese racing driver Anthony Liu, the convertible Veyron reached a speed of 408.84 km/h (254 mph), enough for the German organization for Technical Inspection and Certification (TÜV) to certify it as the world’s fastest open-top production sports car.

As is most often the case when a manufacturer announces a revolutionary new car, it is viewed with doubt, disbelief and trepidation. Trigger-happy motoring hacks around the world await for the first signs of trouble so that they can fire off a series of articles and follow-ups aimed at dissecting the problem over and over again.

However, there's nothing bad to write about the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell thus far, so we can stand back and take it all in with our minds unbound by negative projections.

Now that we've pretty much confirmed that a number of exotic supercars used in the filming of the "Need for Speed" movie in California are replicas from a detailed set of close-up shots, these fresh pictures from our new friends at Mendocinosportsplus (MSP) make a lot more sense – would you ever imagine any movie maker endangering so many rare, multi-million dollar vehicles?

In one scene, we see the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, of which only 20 examples were built in real life, chasing what we assume to be a clone of the all-new McLaren P1 and the a Koenigsegg Agera R in a very tight turn.

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Thứ Hai, 15 tháng 4, 2013

Thứ Bảy, 13 tháng 4, 2013

Thứ Sáu, 12 tháng 4, 2013

Thứ Năm, 11 tháng 4, 2013