| Wrecked BMW X5 Turned Into a Post-Apocalyptic Flame-Spitting Beast Posted: 29 Mar 2013 04:45 PM PDT  It all started when the owner of a wrecked BMW X5 E53 4.4i requested aftermarket specialists at Fluid Motor Union (FMU) to bring it back to life. Shortly after, however, the customer abandoned the car with the people at FMU, who took possession of the X5 and decided to do something special with it. They called it Project X. Their briefing was simple: "We settled on creating a vehicle that oozed the aesthetic of urban assault, with the typical Fluid goal of launching fireballs." Sounds like fun, right? First thing they changed on the car were the wheels, fitting huge Cragar's steel rims shod in Dick Cepek rubber. Not your everyday tires, we should mention, as they are covered in skulls and bones. Read more » |
| Ford Leads the Way in Customer Loyalty – GM and Chrysler Are Close Behind Posted: 29 Mar 2013 04:05 PM PDT  Ever since Japanese automakers began selling their endlessly-reliable and durable cars in the US (and around the world), domestic manufacturers began losing millions of sales. The trend had been going on for many years, but it seems that the Big Three US automakers are on the rebound in their home market. Read more » |
| GM Talks About and Shows Running Footage of the New 2014 Cadillac CTS Posted: 29 Mar 2013 03:22 PM PDT |
| Dacia Workers Want Bigger Wages After Strike Ends Posted: 29 Mar 2013 02:58 PM PDT  We previously reported that production at the main Dacia plant, in Mioveni, Romania, stopped last week, as workers from the paint shop section of the factory flooded the courtyard demanding higher wages and better work conditions. We also reported, that according to a local source from the country, they were demanding a 25 percent pay raise. Read more » |
| In and Out in 007 Minutes: Daniel Craig Pockets $1Million for Range Rover Gig Posted: 29 Mar 2013 02:28 PM PDT  As you've probably seen from one of our earlier reports, actor Daniel Craig (better known as the face of James Bond), was the surprise celebrity that unveiled the new Range Rover Sport at a VIP event in Midtown Manhattan on the eve of the 2013 New York Auto Show. You will say that this is just another PR exercise in which an automaker uses a celebrity to unveil a new model. Well, yes and no. Yes, it is a PR stunt, but it's not "just another" endorsement. Read more » |
| Pininfarina Turns a Profit for the First time Since 2004 Posted: 29 Mar 2013 01:59 PM PDT  Being a world-renowned name, which is inextricably-linked to the Italian car design scene like few others, you'd expect Pininfarina to bask in the glory of their 83-year history, and not have any financial troubles. However, that would not be a fair assumption, because the company has actually been struggling for the past decade. Read more » |
| The Black Daimler C63 AMG Coupe by KTW Tuning Posted: 29 Mar 2013 01:25 PM PDT  The top dog of the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe family is the factory 510hp (517PS) Black Series edition, and if you want us to be more specific, the same model fitted with the extra Aero and Track packages, in which case, you've ticked all the available boxes on the options list making some salesperson, extremely satisfied in the process. Read more » |
| Toyota Wants to Follow in VW Group's Footsteps and Build its Own MQB Modular Platform Posted: 29 Mar 2013 12:29 PM PDT  Nowadays, the automotive industry is driven mainly by profits and the pursuit of higher sales figures. The character a car and its individuality are placed on the side, in an effort to have more of them to sell and cover as many niches as possible. Volkswagen is doing it and doing it well, so is Ford and now even Peugeot is taking steps to cut costs considerably with their new EMP2 platform. They do it by sharing as many bits as they can in and among their cars, to minimize development and manufacturing costs. Toyota is the next manufacturer to adopt this theme. Read more » |
| Buick Says 40 Percent of First-Generation Enclave Owners Choose the New Model Posted: 29 Mar 2013 11:54 AM PDT  Buick's redesigned 2013 Enclave luxury crossover is the brand's best-selling model in the first quarter of this year, with retail sales almost 40 percent up. According to GM, many of the new model's buyers are former owners of the previous-generation Enclave, with statistics showing that four in 10 owners trade-in their first-generation Enclave for the new model. Read more » |
| Watch Cars Battle it Out With Waves While Exiting and Entering a Ship Posted: 29 Mar 2013 11:33 AM PDT  Kimolos is a small and quiet Greek island located in the south-west part of Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, which can be extremely rough at times for ships trying to dock at its port. However, ships are the major means of transportation of people and every day goods for the islanders, so often times, captains and port workers put reason and fear aside, and work in very challenging and testing conditions. Whether this is always appropriate and safe for passengers and workers is another story. Read more » |
| Scoop: Virtually Undisguised 2014 Porsche Panamera Nabbed at the 'Ring Posted: 29 Mar 2013 10:29 AM PDT  With winter retreating and the weather starting to warm up in the Northern Hemisphere, the 2013 test season at the Nürburgring has officially opened and one of the first automakers to hit the world-famous track is Porsche, which trotted out its upcoming Panamera facelift with minimal camouflage. Read more » |
| Fresh Rumors Emerge About Alfa Romeo Sale, Audi Tipped as a Buyer…Again Posted: 29 Mar 2013 09:28 AM PDT  Audi is reportedly negotiating with Fiat for the acquisition of Alfa Romeo, sources close to both Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and Audi CEO Rupert Stadler told Wards Auto. It's a not new story, but it's also one that refuses to die… The two executives are in talks over a major deal, the sources say, with the main topic being the sale of the Alfa Romeo brand, but also of Fiat's Pomigliano d'Arco assembly plant, which currently builds the Fiat Panda supermini. Audi's plan is to use the plant to make Alfa Romeos under its leadership, as the facility was built in the late 1960s specifically for Alfa Romeo production. Read more » |
| Hennessey-Tuned Ford GT Takes Texas Mile Record [w/Video] Posted: 29 Mar 2013 08:38 AM PDT  Last year, Hennessey Performance took their highly-modified Ford GT out on an empty piece of tarmac, at the Texas Mile, and they managed to push the custom twin-turbo supercar all the way up to 257.7 mph or 412.3 km/h. This year, they've tried again, and with several improvements to the car, the speed achieved was higher, as the GT crossed the mile marker at 267.6 mph (428.1 km/h), rivaling the Bugatti Veyron SS for sheer speed. Read more » |
| Rich Russians Hire Phony Ambulances to Beat the Traffic Gridlock Posted: 29 Mar 2013 07:37 AM PDT  Aside from buying a helicopter and using it for short journeys within city limits, there is really no way to avoid heavy traffic, especially in the gridlocked urban centers of the world. Moscow is one such city, but it seems that the crafty Russians have found something much cheaper than a helicopter, in order to quickly get through any tough traffic situations. It appears that ambulances in the Russian capital have been outfitted with plush, luxurious interiors, so that they can then be used as special transportation, for important people! Read more » |
| Cheaper Fiat 500L for Serbia Following Subsidies Deal Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:32 AM PDT  Serbia and Fiat have struck a deal to produce a cheaper version of the 500L compact MPV for the domestic market. According to the agreement, Fiat Serbia will receive state subsidies to produce a version of the 500L for €10,900 ($14,200), about €3,000 less than its regular price, said the country's finance minister Mladjan Dinkic. Read more » |
| Renault's New Zoe Electric Hatch Video Reviewed Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:08 AM PDT  The two main downsides of buying and owning an electric vehicle are still the high acquisition cost and limited range, and while the Renault Zoe is not a perfect car, it at least crosses one of those negatives off the list. We are talking about the price, which, at least in the UK, is very reasonable, and after factoring in the hefty government rebate, the all-electric Zoe is yours from £13,650 (€16,040). Read more » |
| Ferrari Pays Three Extra Salaries Plus a €4,000 Competitiveness Bonus to Employees Posted: 29 Mar 2013 05:50 AM PDT  Working for a luxury car manufacturer certainly has its advantages. Not only do you get to brag about your contribution in making some of the world's most desirable cars, but you also benefit from the company's generous pay and bonus schemes. As we all know, luxury carmakers have the largest profit margins in the industry and therefore can afford handing out hefty bonuses. Read more » |
| Hyundai Gets Glitzy with Equus Stretch Limo Designed by Hermes [w/Video] Posted: 28 Mar 2013 05:53 PM PDT  While Hyundai premiered its restyled 2014 Equus in New York, at the Seoul Motor Show today, the Korean carmaker unveiled a special edition of its limousine, designed in collaboration with Hermes French fashion house "Hermes". Based on the 2012 model year version, the "Equus by Hermes" is a more luxurious edition of the long-wheelbase model, with the exterior tweaks and the cabin styled and customized by Hermes designers. Read more » |
| London Company Hires "Van-Sitters" to Double Park Its Cars and Run from Traffic Wardens Posted: 28 Mar 2013 04:31 PM PDT  In most of Europe's biggest cities, the lack of parking spaces is probably the most stressful aspect of being a driver. Not to mention the cost of parking or the fines for illegal parking, which can amount to £120 (€142) in London. The UK's capital has to be one of Europe's most driver-unfriendly cities – huge parking fines aside, there's also the congestion charge, traffic cameras that follow your every step, 20 mph speed limits (32 km/h) – and we're sure Londoners can add many more to this list. Read more » |
| After Pikes Peak and the Andros Trophy, Dacia Tries Sweden's Touring Car Championship Posted: 28 Mar 2013 04:06 PM PDT  Dacia has been one of the most stably growing automakers in Europe in recent years, and in 2012, they managed to sell 360,000 cars around the world. Along the line, they decided to add a bit of zest to the Dacia name, and ended up with a monster Duster which raced at Pikes Peak, and another Duster, specially-designed to be driven on ice, which competed in the Andros Trophy. Read more » |
| Renault Pranks Customers with "Va Va Voom" Button that Brings Paris in Front of Their Eyes Posted: 28 Mar 2013 03:27 PM PDT  Following Pepsi's Jeff Gordon commercial, in which a salesman was (supposedly) punk'd by the NASCAR driver, we now have another test drive prank, this time organized by Renault UK. However, there's a different scenario here, as the salesman is the one pranking customers, not the other way round. Read more » |
| Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and i-MiEV's Li-Ion Battery Fires Linked to Grounded Boeing 787s Posted: 28 Mar 2013 03:04 PM PDT  Mitsubishi said on Wednesday that a an Outlander plug-in hybrid's batteries melted at a dealership before it was delivered to a customer, while a i-MiEV's batteries caught fire at its Mizushima Plant in Okayama prefecture in Japan during testing. In both cases, the battery pack is made by GS Yuasa Corporation, in Japan. Now, what makes this story interesting is that, according to reports, GS Yuasa Corp. is the same company that supplies batteries for the latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner, all of which have been grounded since January after battery fires. Read more » |
| VW Golf Mk7 Wins 2013 World Car of the Year Award at the New York Auto Show Posted: 28 Mar 2013 01:31 PM PDT |
| Listen to the 7.0-liter V8 Soundtrack of the New 2014 Camaro Z/28 [w/Video] Posted: 28 Mar 2013 12:46 PM PDT  Billed as the most track-focused production model in the Camaro's history, the spanking-new Z/28 is the poster child of the redesigned 2014 model of Chevrolet's muscle car series that was released at this week's New York Auto Show We've seen the new Camaro Z/28 and read the preliminary specs, so how about we give you a taste of what its C6 Corvette Z06-sourced and hand-built 7.0-liter V8 sounds like? If that…sounds interesting, make the jump over the break to watch the video. Read more » |
