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Sunday, 31 July 2016
Friday, 29 July 2016
Mercedes-Benz and Tesla See a Future in Electric Self-Driving Buses
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People are moving toward the urban cores of our cities in record numbers. And while cities are pushing inward, it’s becoming harder than ever to have a car—or multiple cars—in a household. Meanwhile, new subways and rail lines require deep pockets and often controversial funding sources. The solution, as some see it, is the automated (or semi-automated) city bus. A bus ticket is hardly an aspirational purchase for...
Bristol and the Blue Sky: England’s Most Eccentric Sports-Car Maker Launches the Bullet
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It’s been two years since we first told you about the plans of Bristol, arguably Britain’s most eccentric low-volume sports-car maker, to build a new model. Back then, we were told that the company was planning its relaunch for 2015, and that the new car would have a hybrid powertrain.
Neither of those things has happened, and although development of the gasoline-electric version is said to be still underway,...
Mercedes-Benz Pulls E-class Ad over Autonomous Confusion
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In an advertisement introducing its new E-class sedan, Mercedes-Benz touted the car as “a self-driving car from a very self-driven company.”
Well, not exactly.
Though the German automaker’s new sedan contains some automated-driving technology, it’s not a car capable of driving itself in all scenarios. Under pressure from consumer groups that said the advertising campaigns overstated the capabilities of the actual...
Obama Plugs Into an EV Legacy, Funds National Plan for Fast Charging, Battery Research
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Barack Obama may see his automotive legacy forever enmeshed in the once-unpopular automotive bailout of 2009 (though it was President George W. Bush who signed the bill for the program in the waning days of his tenure), but taking a longer view, he might be seen as the Plug-in President. From the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which allowed various incentives and credits for electric vehicles and...
Baby’s Got The Bends: 2017 Hyundai Sonata Adds Dynamic Headlights
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The 2017 Hyundai Sonata enters the new model year with the modest addition of dynamic headlights. The headlights, which turn their beams when cornering to help drivers see more of the road around the bend, are only available on the top-of-the-line Sonata Limited. Hyundai also adjusted pricing and equipment levels across the Sonata range.
As last year, the Sonata is offered with one of three four-cylinder engines:...
Make Tracks on Your Fridge Instead of Cooking Dinner or Whatever Else with Blipshift’s Racetrack Magnets
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How often do you visit your fridge on a weekly basis, really? You go, you grab some snacks or some soda/beer, and you move on with your life. Just think of the togetherness time you’re missing out on with your food cooler! If only there were a way to draw you in for some intimate refrigerator action that involved cars . . . Now there is, courtesy of Blipshift’s new Formula Fridge magnet sets, which include a...
Four Squared: BMW M4 GT4 To Start Racing in 2018
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Welcome BMW’s latest GT4 racing entrant, the BMW M4 GT4. Set to start testing before the end of the year, the GT4 will draw heavily from the production M4, going so far as to use the hood from the water-injected M4 GTS.
Under that hood, expect to find the same basic 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six as found in the M4, as GT4 rules note that the basic engine—including its position, location, and...
Thursday, 28 July 2016
(Q) Sixty Dollars: Infiniti Announces 2017 Q60 Pricing
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Nissan’s luxury division has made quite a bit of noise about its nearly here Q60 sports coupe. And with good reason: the thing’s an absolute looker and a necessary step in the brand’s return to relevance. Today, Infiniti released initial pricing for the Q60 2.0t and 3.0t models in both RWD and AWD trim. Act in the near future, and the company promises to throw in extra goodies in an attempt to make it worth your...
BMW Just Can’t Wait to Show Off the New 2017 5-series
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BMW would like you to know that development of the next-generation 5-series sedan is coming along nicely. Scheduled to make its debut within the next few months, the G30 generation of the Bimmer mid-size luxury sedan is the subject of a new press release about 3D modeling technology—but the real story is the quick glimpse we have of the new 5er’s bodywork, admittedly under camouflage.
Like the spy shots we published...
Up to 472 HP: Ford Performance Unveils Power Packs for 2015–2017 Mustang GT
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With 435 horsepower onboard, Ford’s Mustang GT isn’t exactly a blubbering puddle of automotive sadness. It’s a swift coupe—or convertible—with a sweet-sounding V-8 that, in our testing, is capable of hitting 60 mph in as little as 4.4 seconds. That’s all fine and well, but for those who must have more power and quicker acceleration, Ford Performance has released a trio of “power packs” that kick the...
You Can Buy the Lotus Elise in the U.S. Again, But You Can’t Drive It on the Street
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For the first time in five years, you’ll be able to buy a brand-new Lotus Elise in the United States. But there’s a catch: it’s for track use only. Yep, American Lotus freaks will soon be able to head to their local dealers to order this, the Elise Race 250—as long as they trailer it home.
Lotus announced the Elise Race 250 on Wednesday, and, as the name implies, it’s a track-only version of the magnificent...
Toyota Supra and BMW Z5: Everything We Know
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The BMW Z4 has reached the end of its life cycle, which means it’s time for a replacement, and Toyota inexplicably forgot to conceive a successor to the iconic Supra when that model was discontinued a decade and a half ago. It’s good, then, that both the automakers have teamed up on new sports cars—but they won’t exactly be Japanese or German.
BMW and Toyota have remained admirably officially silent on the...
Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Trick Out Your Lamborghini Huracan with a New Aero and Graphics Kit
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Sometimes, you may feel the need for more downforce on the Lamborghini. Other times, perhaps you just want the Lamborghini to upstage all the customized 2005 Shelby Mustangs at your local Cars and Coffee. Gosh, those guys can be annoying. That must be why Huracán owners can now ask their dealers for official bolt-on aero pieces and adhesive racing stripes.
Lamborghini just announced three new After Sales packages,...
Urban eTruck: Mercedes Wants to Make All-Electric Semis for In-Town Deliveries
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Elon Musk recently announced Tesla’s plan to produce an all-electric semi truck, but it looks like Mercedes-Benz might beat him to it. Daimler’s new Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck prototype is a fully electric, three-axle heavy truck meant for distribution and delivery within cities. It has an estimated range of 124 miles, supposedly enough for most daily delivery routes (at least in Europe), and Mercedes says it could...
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Lather, Rinse, Repeat: VW 2.0-Liter TDI Remedy Clears Another Hurdle
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It’s been rough going for the past 10 months—not just for Volkswagen, as it struggles to extricate itself from the diesel emissions mess of its own making, but for owners of the affected models.
Those owners of VW models with the 2.0-liter TDI four-cylinder engine have had to deal with the knowledge that they’re polluting many, many times the legal EPA test limit of NOx—and decide whether in...
Streak’s Over: Fiat Chrysler Admits to Overstating U.S. Sales Reports
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Since the year started, Fiat Chrysler has faced a lawsuit alleging it padded monthly U.S. sales reports by paying dealerships to report unsold cars as sold. In a lengthy statement this afternoon, FCA said it has committed to “new methodology” in analyzing sales data and admitted its 71 consecutive months of year-over-year increases should have never occurred.
While FCA did not admit wrongdoing in the face of multiple...