Topicfire Auto News

Official: 2014 BMW 5 Series starts at $50,425* and gets a new diesel, 5 Series GT starts at $60,925*

2013-05-19T22:15:35+00:00

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Performance, Wagon, BMW, Diesel, Luxury BMW itself says it is making "Precise modifications to the design" of the facelifted, sixth-generation 5 Series, and this is the result. The 2014 5 Series will come in four flavors - sedan, Touring, Gran Turismo and ActiveHybrid 5 - the...

Opinion: CO2 credits: The ultimate rebate?

2013-05-19T20:16:01+00:00

Filed under: Government/Legal, Earnings/Financials, Tesla, ElectricTime For Buyers To Have Some Skin In The EV Game Politicians know that $8- or $9-a-gallon gas like in Europe would end their careers. The back-and-forth between those writing the fuel economy rules and auto manufacturers is designed to see how far the CO2 regulations...

This Is It: Aston’s One-Off CC100 Centenary Special

2013-05-19T19:38:27+00:00

Aston Martin has lifted the veil off its CC100 Speedster concept car that marks the company’s 100th birthday. The CC100 Speedster, which stands for Concept Car 100 years, is also a tribute to the Le Mans-winning 1959 Aston Martin DBR1 racecar, from which it adopts the classic two-seat speedster shape....

Video: WTCC drivers try to get pole position by going... slower?

2013-05-19T18:31:16+00:00

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Humor Question: When does the desire to win dictate that a racing driver try to drive slower than everyone else? Answer: When those drivers are attempting to qualify for the opening of the World Touring Car Championship at the Salzburgring track in Austria. And now for the why....

BODACIOUS BEATERS (and road-going derelicts): REALLY VALIANT!

2013-05-19T18:29:06+00:00

Typically, when you’re talking in antique vehicle terms, one might consider spotting something like this early ‘60’s Plymouth Valiant; a rare sighting in ANY circumstance. To find one largely intact, still operational, and out on the street—well, that puts it on another level! As with other U.S. vehicles from this period,...

Official: Aston Martin CC100 Speedster is a 180-mph centennial celebration

2013-05-19T14:19:09+00:00

Filed under: Concept Cars, Convertible, Performance, Aston Martin, Design/Style Generally speaking, today's Aston Martin is known more for its beauty and power than for its minimalism or lightness. But that could change if it decides to produce a version of this CC100 Speedster concept, designed to celebrate the company's...

Study: Autonomous cars found trustworthy in global study

2013-05-19T13:31:19+00:00

Filed under: Safety, Technology "Consumers Desire More Automated Automobiles." That's the title of one page of a new study published by Cisco Systems as part of its Customer Experience Report, which focuses on the "automobile buying and driving experience." The study specifically targeted technology and its integration into the cars and...

ETC: Lego Caterham Seven does Chapman proud

2013-05-19T07:45:53+00:00

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Toys/Games A chap who calls himself "Sheepo" has a habit of making custom creations out of Lego bits. These aren't kits, these are the expressions of his own automotive imagination using traditional Lego and Lego Technic parts. His year so far seems mostly devoted to suspension builds...

Autobiography Of BS© : How I Harmed Sundry Animals

2013-05-18T22:19:14+00:00

� While a minor shit storm erupted the other day over the use of a word denoting short-haired women who love women, and, allegedly, certain cars, I did a little of the required soul-searching and self-reflection, and I thought about all the scandals I may have caused in my life, and...

Teased: Aston Martin teases "very special concept" to be unveiled May 19

2013-05-18T22:17:03+00:00

Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Convertible, Videos, Aston Martin We knew Aston Martin was taking three cars to the N�rbrurgring 24-Hour race this weekend, they being a V12 Vantage GT3 car, the Rapide S Hybrid Hydrogen concept and a V12 Vantage N24 that is close to road-legal. We've just discovered that...

Hyundai Tucson Vs. Nissan Rogue: Compare Cars

2013-05-18T21:18:24+00:00

In a few short years, what difference. Now, the set of compact crossovers is superior, and some of the compromises associated with going compact have diminished. With brand-new versions of the Ford Escape, Subaru Forester, and Toyota RAV4 just out for 2013, and the excellent Honda CR-V carried over just...

Report: Honda could halve its US lineup without crimping its sales much

2013-05-18T20:21:02+00:00

Filed under: Car Buying, Honda Taking a detailed look at the Honda lineup in the US, it isn't hard to see the strength of some models and the weaknesses of others. A recent report on Autoline Daily points out that its five core models - the Accord, Civic, CR-V, Odyssey and...

Report: Of course, Dubai Police add Bugatti Veyron to fleet

2013-05-18T18:30:27+00:00

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., Government/Legal, Bugatti, Police/Emergency, Middle East Well, now it's official: Nobody in Dubai is going to be able to outrun the police. You see, in addition to the Aston Martin One-77, Ferrari FF and Lamborghini Aventador that were already part of its stable of police cars, the...

ETC: Costco offering this $115,000 full-size F1 simulator in UK

2013-05-18T16:00:57+00:00

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Toys/Games, Racing For video game enthusiasts who can't stand the thought of playing a racing game on a single television screen, using a standard controller and (gasp!) sitting on a couch, there are plenty of realistic racing simulators out there. While better simulators usually include a trio...

Report: Why BMWs are cheaper than Hyundais in Korea

2013-05-18T13:15:28+00:00

Filed under: Car Buying, Hyundai, Kia, Earnings/Financials, Luxury, South Korea Bloomberg reports shifting tariff regulations have upended the traditional automotive pecking order in Korea. Thanks to cheaper import taxes, foreign brands have seen market share jump from 28 percent to 41 percent over the last two years. BMW, Mercedes-Benz and...

TRD Tries to Make the 2014 Lexus IS F Sport Look Even Sharper

2013-05-18T01:16:03+00:00

Some would say that the 2014 Lexus IS hardly needs a styling upgrade, which is even more true if we’re talking about the factory-offered F-Sport package. However, you will always have people wanting more, which is why Toyota Racing Development (TRD) has released a styling and performance kit for the...

Report: Visteon working on creepy artificial intelligence for your car's infotainment

2013-05-18T00:19:16+00:00

Filed under: Technology, Videos Those that hanker for the days when automobiles were generally simple machines - responsive only to the will of their human masters - probably don't work in R&D at Visteon. The Michigan-based automotive supplier, with a track record in climate control and electronics manufacture, has released some...

Best Used Luxury Cars, 60-MPG Civic, Hybrid Porsches: Car News Headlines

2013-05-17T23:45:06+00:00

Today at The Car Connection, Porsche is preparing hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of each of its models, and we drove a Volvo S60 prototype with a KERS hybrid system. North Carolina is trying to make it illegal for Tesla to email its customers and we made a country playlist...

Official: Toyota begins shipping Le Yaris to America

2013-05-17T23:19:24+00:00

Filed under: Budget, Europe, Plants/Manufacturing, Hatchback, Toyota Our tiniest Toyota (Scion iQ notwithstanding) is about to get a little French flair. The Japanese automaker announced Thursday that its Toyota Motor Manufacturing France facility would begin building Yaris models destined for North America - specifically, the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada....

Official: Ford Fiesta ST orders off to strong start

2013-05-17T22:15:02+00:00

Filed under: Car Buying, Performance, Europe, Hatchback, Ford We at Autoblog love the new little Ford Fiesta ST, and apparently, folks in Europe are pretty impressed with it, as well. According to Ford, the automaker's European arm has already logged 3,000 orders for the new hot hatch since it hit dealerships...

Video: Portland police pursuit quack down caught on dash cam

2013-05-17T21:33:13+00:00

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Videos, Police/Emergency, Humor One driver in Portland, OR should make a hefty donation to his or her local wildlife conservation group after a family of ducks got the person out of a speeding ticket. A Portland police officer clocked a car going 52 miles per hour in...

Malaise Era All-Stars

2013-05-17T21:20:33+00:00

Filed under: Classics, Audi, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche A few weeks ago, we bid a fond happy 40th anniversary to the automotive dark ages of 1973-84 that have come to be known as "The Malaise Era" - the performance ice-age when 160 horsepower was a lot and a 0-60 time of...

14 Generations of Big Luxury Sedans from Mercedes-Benz

2013-05-17T20:30:41+00:00

Nowadays, you might have a hard time telling apart two automobiles from the same marque, unless you have a tape measure in your hand (Audi, we're primarily looking at you, though, the same applies to some extent for all German premium brands), but there's no such problem when it comes...

Hunter S., Rambler

2013-05-17T20:30:05+00:00

Report: 2014 Jeep Cherokee facing production delay

2013-05-17T20:28:04+00:00

Filed under: SUV, Crossover, Jeep Jeep's bold-faced new direction spearheaded by the 2014 Cherokee is facing some teething issues. According to a report by the Detroit Free Press, production start-up of the controversial new utility vehicle at its Toledo North facility is running about a month behind schedule "due to a...