Report: Audi R8 to spawn sportier model, dual-clutch gearbox cometh
Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Audi
Audi R8 V10 - Click above for high-res image gallery
We already know that Audi plans to fit the standard R8's 420-hp, 4.2-liter V8 into its all-new Spyder variant early next year, and now comes word that at least one more version of the R8 is in the pipeline and that the R tronic sequential automatic might not be long for this worl...
Report: California to amend 'Cool Cars' legislation over... criminal activity?
Filed under: Government/Legal
Is CARB backing down on its so-called "cool cars" regulation? On May 7, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will have to turn in its final draft of the controversial regulations, which calls for automakers to build cars and trucks with windows that prevent 45% of the sun's energy from entering a vehicle by 2014 and 60% by 2016. Vehicle manufacturers ...
Report: Daimler dumping stake in Tata Motors
Filed under: Mercedes-Benz , Tata
Daimler has been hit hard by the weakening global demand for luxury automobiles, as evidenced by the German automaker's larger than expected 2009 losses and the company's decision to cut its dividend for the first time in 14 years. Automotive News reports that Daimler is looking to raise money to rebuild its business in developed regions by selli...
IIHS releases latest round of safety scores for Infiniti M, Lexus HS and Toyota 4Runner
Filed under: Hybrid , Sedan , SUV , Safety , Infiniti , Lexus , Toyota , Luxury , Off-Road
First the Oscars and now this! The envelope please! The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has released a bevy of scores for the Infiniti M , Lexus HS 250h and Toyota 4Runner and it was nothing but "Good" all around. The Infiniti and Toyota were tested for frontal offs...
Autoblog Podcast #169: Wagons and SuperDuty and NASCAR, Oh My!
Filed under: Motorsports , New York Auto Show , Podcasts , Safety , Acura , Cadillac , Ford , Honda , Toyota , Rumormill
Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!
Episode #169 of the Autoblog Podcast has arrived, and it's Chris, Sam, Alex, and Dan again this week. As usual, the Autoblog Garage starts us off, this time with a couple Suzuki Kiz...
Report: Toyota continues to work on floormat fix for 2004-09 Prius
Filed under: Hybrid , Recalls , Safety , Hatchback , Toyota
In the wake of yesterday's "runaway Prius" in San Diego , Toyota says it's still working on a fix for the thousands of hybrids included in the 4.36 million vehicles recalled last November. The source of the unintended acceleration on these affected Prius models is the same as the other vehicles involved in the recall:...
Video: Running the 'Ring in reverse in a VTEC'd Mini
Filed under: Videos , Mini
Click above to watch the video after the jump
The Nurburgring is the gold standard for any track not comprised of a banked oval, and it's a blast to watch dashboard-mounted video of various vehicles taking on the best the Nordschleife has to offer. We typically share with you videos of ZR-1s and GT-Rs , but this time we have something a...
Spoon developing parts for Honda CR-Z
Filed under: Aftermarket , Hybrid , Japan , Hatchback , Honda
Spoon Honda CR-Z - Click above for image gallery
With Honda 's in-house parts department in the game and Mugen developing it's own line of kit for the CR-Z , the tuner trifecta is almost complete with the release of Spoon's performance parts for Honda's hybrid hatch.
While we thought bright blue wheels we...
Mazda reportedly adding brake override systems to all future models
Filed under: Safety , Mazda
2010 Mazda6 - Click above for high-res image gallery
According to a recent report, Mazda will be installing brake override systems on all of its models in the near future. Whenever that happens, the brake will automatically get priority over the accelerator in a situation where both of them are simultaneously depressed. Nissan already has such a ...
Video: Honda execs talk up historical link between CR-Z and CRX
Filed under: Hybrid , Videos , Hatchback , Honda
Honda execs relate CR-Z to the original CRX - Click above to view the video afte r the jump
Looking at the 2011 CR-Z , it's hard not to think back to the original Honda CRX. The two-seat configuration, double-paneled glass hatch and sport compact styling are what made the CRX a huge hit for Honda buyers some two de...
Cadillac distancing itself from parent GM to elude bankruptcy stigma?
Filed under: Etc.
Cadillac XTS Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery
There's no way to misunderstand Cadillac spokesman Nick Twork on this: "The Cadillac brand is best communicated as Cadillac without GM." For proof of his intent all you'll need to do is swing by a Cadillac showroom where soon you'll be unable to find any trace of the words " General Motors " or any...
Video: C/D takes the Lotus Evora Hybrid for a virtual spin
Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupe , Hybrid , Geneva Motor Show , Technology , Videos , Lotus
The manufactured sounds of the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid - Click above to watch video after the jump
Two years ago, we wrote about Lotus ' Safe and Sound hybrid technology which added a V8 soundtrack over the quietude of a hybrid's electric motor. That demonstrator was a Toyota ...
Report: BMW working on new FWD model below 1 Series
Filed under: Hatchback , BMW , Luxury
Rumors of a front-wheel drive model to slot in below the 1 Series have been circulating for some time, with the most recent report coming last October . Now, Autocar has confirmed with BMW 's chairman, Norbert Reithofe, that an all-new model is coming from the automaker, designed to compete with the recently introduced Audi A1 and built a...
Video: Promolicious clips of the Audi RS5 meeting its Ãœr Quattro brother
Filed under: Classics , Coupe , Performance , Marketing/Advertising , Videos , Audi , Luxury
2011 Audi RS5 promo footage - Click above to watch video after the jump
In what is currently raw footage but what will soon undoubtedly be slickly produced promotional material, the brutalicious 2011 Audi RS5 growls around a track and on various European roads. For a brief spel...
Video: Promolicious clips of the Audi RS5 meeting its Ur Quattro brother
Filed under: Classics , Coupe , Performance , Marketing/Advertising , Videos , Audi , Luxury
2011 Audi RS5 promo footage - Click above to watch video after the jump
In what is currently raw footage but what will soon undoubtedly be slickly produced promotional material, the brutalicious 2011 Audi RS5 growls around a track and on various European roads. For a brief spel...
Video: Gran Turismo 5 "Nights" trailer has it all
Filed under: Videos , Toys/Games
Gran Turismo 5 "Nights" trailer - Click above to watch video after the jump
Perhaps Polyphony Digital should just go into the commercial rendering business. Gran Turismo 5 remains stuck behind a palisade of silence, but new trailers for the game are thrown over the barriers to the salivating hordes every couple of weeks.
A few days ago, Po...
Review: 2011 Jaguar XJ is indisputably British and not afraid of a storm
Filed under: Sedan , Jaguar , Reviews , Luxury
2011 Jaguar XJ - Click above for high-res image gallery
Xynthia ripped into France merely hours after our arrival. Packing gale-force fury, the ruthless wind and rain battered the coast before moving inland with its crushing blow - sadly, it was the country's deadliest storm in more than a decade. While we were spared most of its...
Rendered Speculation: Ford Taurus SHO wagon is the apple of our eye
Filed under: Performance , Wagon , Ford , Design/Style
Many of us who sit around the Autoblog campfire every day are fans of station wagons. We love cars and love the idea of having some extra utility without giving up the generally superior driving dynamics of cars versus SUVs or crossovers. We also like the idea - if not necessarily the execution - of the Ford Taurus SHO .
...
Hummer plant coming back online to fill 849-unit order?
Filed under: SUV , Plants/Manufacturing , GM , Hummer , Off-Road
Hummer H3T - Click above for high-res image gallery
Unless a buyer for Hummer materializes in the next few months, General Motors will continue to wind-down its environmental group dart board. The slow death of Hummer has actually been in process since before The General announced that the sale of the brand to ...
Video: San Diego 'runaway Prius' has media buzzing
Filed under: Hybrid , Government/Legal , Recalls , Safety , Videos , Hatchback , Toyota
Runaway Prius in San Diego - Click above to watch the video after the jump
Both the second- and third-generation Prius are part of Toyota's massive recall - the former for floormat problems , the latter for braking issues - but a new incident from California has the automaker l...
