| Scoop: This is The New 2014 BMW X4 Crossover in its Production Form Posted: 28 Jun 2013 05:10 PM PDT  The funny thing about the BMW X4 is that, even though we knew about it for a long time, our spies hadn't captured a prototype model on the road. Of course, as most of you likely remember, BMW eventually came out with a concept version to preview the sporty crossover at the Shanghai Auto Show in China just this past April. Well, now we can add the X4 to our long list of upcoming cars that have been spied as pre-production test models. BMW engineers may have slathered a few layers of wraps with swirly shapes, but since there are no fake panels, they don't do much to hide the appearance of the actual X4 that will go on sale in the first half of next year.  To get an idea of what it will look like without the camouflage, the relation of the X4 Concept to the X4 production model is exactly the same as that of the 4-Series Concept to the 2014MY 4-Series Coupe presented about a fortnight ago.
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| U Spy: Hyundai Preparing the Elantra Sedan for its First Facelift Posted: 28 Jun 2013 03:50 PM PDT  Arguably, with the fifth generation of the Elantra, Hyundai took a big step forward on just about every front but in particular, the design and refinement departments, in its ongoing quest to become one of the most bestselling brands in the world. Proof of that was the North American Car of the Year title it snagged in 2012. Read more » |
| Pikes Peak-Ready Truck With 2,000 HP Can Drift Too… Posted: 28 Jun 2013 03:21 PM PDT  Drifting is a really spectacular display of vehicle control on the limit, especially when done by pros. In addition, the excitement and interest level for those watching definitely goes up the less likely they think the respective vehicle is to actually be slid around in a controlled fashion. Read more » |
| Don't Read This If You Don't Want Us to Spoil Top Gear’s New Reasonably Priced Car Posted: 28 Jun 2013 02:49 PM PDT  If you can't wait to see Sunday's Top Gear episode, the first one from the motoring show's 20th season, then let us spoil it for you…gently. This first paragraph can be read with the utmost confidence that we will not reveal anything, aside from the fact that they are changing their reasonably priced car, and getting one with a familiar badge from closer to home… Read more » |
| Production Version of New BMW i3 Revealed in Patent Drawings Posted: 28 Jun 2013 02:06 PM PDT  This ladies and gentleman, is what the production version of BMW's foray into the pure and extended range electric vehicle category, the all-new i3, will look like when the Bavarian carmaker presents it to the public before the end of the summer and ahead of its public premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. While these are drawings, they are official patents of the production i3 previewed by a concept of the same name some two years ago at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show. To see the differences between the conceptual and the actual i3, we placed pictures of the two cars side by side. Read more » |
| Jaguar Tells the Sad Tale of the Axed C-X75 Supercar Posted: 28 Jun 2013 01:32 PM PDT  It looks like Jaguar is having a hard time giving up on its C-X75 hypercar. As you probably remember, the company announced late last year it was going to axe the project due to difficult market conditions that would have made a £1 million Jaguar ($1.53 million) hard to justify. Read more » |
| GM Marks the Start of 2014 Corvette Stingray Production with Special Premiere Edition Posted: 28 Jun 2013 12:58 PM PDT  Chevrolet announced on Friday that it will build a limited run of 500 units of a special 2014 Corvette Stingray Coupe named the Premiere Edition, with all units being top-of-the-line 3LT models. With this model, GM will basically kick off production of the 2014 Corvette Stingray. All limited-run editions feature a Laguna Blue Tintcoat exterior with a Brownstone suede interior along with a suede-wrapped interior trim and carbon fiber packages. Read more » |
| Report Suggests Peugeot Family May Grant Complete Control Over to GM Posted: 28 Jun 2013 12:38 PM PDT  PSA Peugeot Citroen is the modern development of the coffee mill company founded by the Peugeot family in 1810. In fact, the same family still holds a 24.4 percent stake in the company as well as 38.1 percent of the voting rights – they still kind of run the automaker. However, that may soon change, as according to a Reuter's report, unnamed internal sources apparently suggested, "the Peugeot family has now accepted that they'll lose control, so this is no longer an issue." Read more » |
| Out of Control Russian Bus Smashes Into Four Vehicles Posted: 28 Jun 2013 12:13 PM PDT  A number of road users, including several children, received an unwanted surprise today (Friday, June 28) in the Russian city of Irkutsk when an out of control bus slammed into three cars and a small truck. As seen from the dash-cam of a car that was not involved, the bus veered onto the sidewalk and came crashing into the other vehicles at speed. According to a report from the local news station Irk, rather amazingly, everyone made it out alive and only a couple of motorists and passengers suffered some very minor injuries that were treated on the spot. Read more » |
| Gulf Oil-Livered 1967 Ford Fairlane 500 Prepared for SEMA Posted: 28 Jun 2013 11:30 AM PDT  Just because we're a very long way (news-wise) from this November's 2013 edition of the SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas, doesn't mean that there aren't any related stories to report on. Today, the folks from Morgan's & Phillip's Speed Apparel (M&P) sent us an email informing us about a project car they're working on for the upcoming SEMA event. Whereas last year, they went with a classic Mini Cooper, for the 2013 show, they've chose a 1967 Ford Fairlane 500 Coupe. Read more » |
| VW Advertises Its Side Assist Technology in Funny Commercial Posted: 28 Jun 2013 11:08 AM PDT  I'm pretty sure there is no driver out there that wasn't surprised at least once by a vehicle he or she didn't see in the car's rearview mirrors. It's called a blind spot and every mirror has it. This is why automakers have begun offering systems that alert drivers when a vehicle is in the blind spot. Read more » |
| Allegedly Real Photos of 2014 Honda Fit – Jazz Surface Online Posted: 28 Jun 2013 10:39 AM PDT  After the all-new Mazda3 came to life on the web before its official reveal, it's time for another Japanese carmaker to have one of its upcoming models pre-maturely released online – or so we believe, as we're not 100 percent sure yet. Today, we were tipped off from Shrawan Raja of Indiasautoblog about three screenshots of the next generation Honda Fit sub-compact, which is also marketed as the Jazz in other markets around the world, including Europe, purportedly sourced from an official brochure. Read more » |
| First Video Proof That Maserati Ghibli's Diesel-Fed V6 Will Sound Good Posted: 28 Jun 2013 09:53 AM PDT  Diesels have migrated in perception from being associated with clattery farm equipment, to sounding almost like their petrol counterparts, aside from at idle, when the difference is more obvious. In fact, with new direct-injected petrol engines, the idle noise is suspiciously diesely, so even if some modern oil burners still haven't done away with the characteristic small hammer quickly tapping on pipe sound, they should be given a chance and tried out, even (or especially) by those who thought they didn't like them before, simply to have an informed future opinion, if nothing else. Read more » |
| Nismo and Williams Agree to Develop High-Performance Vehicles Posted: 28 Jun 2013 09:03 AM PDT  Nissan's performance division Nismo and Williams Advanced Engineering have announced an agreement to collaborate on the development of high performance road cars. In a press statement, Williams Advanced Engineering says it will use its expertise of aerodynamics, simulation and material science to help Nismo develop future products that will launch from 2014. It is not clear on which models Nismo and Williams will collaborate, but a unique Nismo model shouldn't be written off. Read more » |
| Ram's Updated 2014 Truck Line Comes with a New V6 Turbo Diesel Posted: 28 Jun 2013 08:43 AM PDT  Not to be outdone by its chief rivals Ford and General Motors with their F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra respectively, the Chrysler Group has revealed its updated 2014MY Ram truck lineup, with the biggest news for the 1500 being the introduction of a diesel engine. Read more » |
| Who's at Fault Here in This Road Rage Curse Fest? [NSFW] Posted: 28 Jun 2013 08:08 AM PDT  Most of us spend a heck of a lot of time on the road behind the wheel of a car or the handles of a motorcycle. Sometimes we're not in the best of moods, which is when ugly things can happen. Filmed in the UK from the helmet camera of a motorcyclist, this video shows the squabble between the former and a driver of an older generation Honda Civic saloon on the road, which evolves into a lesson on British curse words (hence the NSFW tag). Read more » |
| Transformers 4 Casts Daimler's Freightliner Truck As Well, But Which Character Is It? Posted: 28 Jun 2013 07:33 AM PDT  Here's another one for the road; Daimler is joining the foray of car and truck makers that will be present in the upcoming 2014 Transformers 4 film with not one, but at least two vehicles. After the announcement on the custom-built Optimus Prime from Western Star, which is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America, director Michael Bay's show and tell for the movie continues with the release of a photo of a Freightliner truck. Read more » |
| Man Sells BMW Isetta, Buys It Back by Chance 20 Years Later [w/Video] Posted: 28 Jun 2013 07:03 AM PDT  It's hard to believe looking at the current BMW range, but the Isetta was once built and marketed as a BMW. Various companies built the Italian-designed Isetta under license in a number of countries, but to this day, the BMW version remains the best known. Powered by a single-cylinder engine ranging from 250cc and 12hp to 300cc and 13hp, the BMW Isetta was a cute-looking bubble car that had (and still has) a broad fan base. However, it is pretty rare to find the owner of an Isetta who bought the car new and still keeps it running. Read more » |
| James Bond's Lotus Esprit Series 1 Submarine Car Going Up for Auction Posted: 28 Jun 2013 06:38 AM PDT  Of all the cars featured in the 23 James Bond films, two stand out the most, beginning with the original Aston Martin DB5 used by Sean Connery in the now classic 1964 Goldfinger and 1965 Thunderball movies, which was sold for a paltry £2.9 million (US$4.4 million / €3.4 million at the current exchange rates) during its 2010 London sale. The other one is the Lotus Esprit Series 1 'Submarine' Car used more than a decade later in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, starring Roger Moore, and now, it could be yours – well, theoretically, that is. Read more » |
| 2014MY Nissan Pathfinder Brings Hybrid Version, New Equipment and a Small Increase in Price Posted: 28 Jun 2013 06:01 AM PDT  As a new model that's only been in the market for less than a year (sales started in November 2012), the Pathfinder is entering the 2014MY with only a few equipment changes, a small increase in price across the range, and most importantly, the addition of the new hybrid variant that was introduced at the New York Show in March. Read more » |
| Smart Makes Fun of the ForTwo’s Off-Road Capabilities in Brilliant Commercial Posted: 28 Jun 2013 05:38 AM PDT  The Smart ForTwo is a minicar that needs no presentation. It is a car only for the city, as any trip outside the urban environment shows obvious limitations: it has no space for luggage, only offers seating for two, it's unstable at high speeds and I'm pretty sure Smart ForTwo owners could easily fill in more blanks. Read more » |
| Surprising Success of Three Wheeler May Prompt Morgan to Make More Variants Posted: 28 Jun 2013 05:18 AM PDT  If you love driving in its purest form, as well as old-fashioned mechanical engineering, with little or no electronic aid associated, then the attraction exuded by the Morgan Three Wheeler is undeniable. Furthermore, you don't have to be an older gentleman to understand, appreciate and want one for yourself – this has even caught the company off-guard, as they were not expecting this much interest from younger people. Read more » |
