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Geek Fun Tesla announces 'revolutionary' lease option for Model S starting at $1,050/month
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors Just how "revolutionary" you think the just-announced lease option is for the Tesla Model S will depend on a lot of factors, like how much gas costs where you live and whether or not your current car drinks premium or not. The promised "exciting" news from Tesla Motors is what the company calls a "revolutionary new finance product." It's not really a lease, but it is claimed to combine the "best aspects of car leasing and ownership." As with everything...
AutoblogOfficial: Peugeot returning to Pikes Peak with Sébastien Loeb [w/video]
Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Peugeot In spite of troubles in other areas - and there are plenty of them - sales of the Peugeot 208 are a bright spot for the French carmaker. Attempting to grab that light and make sure it shines everywhere, the company is returning the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 30 with a specially prepared 208 driven by nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb.Citroën has loaned Loeb to its PSA/Peugeot-Citroën sister company so that he could contest...
March 2013: Records Are Made To Be Broken Edition
Filed under: Car Buying, By the Numbers They say records are made to be broken, and the auto industry broke more than a few last month. Sales for the month of March added up to a number of all-time best months for automakers, like Nissan (+0.39 percent to 126,623) and Subaru (+13.32 percent to 36,701). General Motors reports it had its best March in five years (+6.45 percent to 245,950), Audi (+14.4 percent 13,253) achieved its second-best sales month ever, and some individual models like the...
Nissan looks back at 1947 Tama EV, the cutest electric van in postwar Japan
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan, Videos When it comes to the first Nissan electric vehicle, necessity really was the mother of invention. Nissan restoration team's Masahiko Isobe explains exactly why in a new video posted by the Japanese automaker. Built in 1947, Nissan's Tama EV, a progenitor of sorts for the Leaf, was a direct result of Japan's recent wartime loss and the Allied Forces' efforts to limit gasoline supply to the country. With electric power plants in the mountains, what was then...
Quick Spin: 1910 Benz 21/80 Prinz Heinrich [w/video]
Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Mercedes-Benz, Racing As many invitations that I receive to drive the latest and greatest the automotive industry has to offer, my ears always perk up just a little bit more when the invite specifies a ride in a particular vehicle. Normally, I'd be expecting to ride shotgun in some sort of development mule or prototype, but during the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance last month, Mercedes-Benz offered to give me a ride in a fully restored 1910 Benz 21/80...
Report: Volkswagen's De Silva says next Scirocco will be 'completely different'
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Europe, Hatchback, Volkswagen, Design/Style From our perspective, the reborn Volkswagen Scirocco is a handsome (if squat) little thing. Yet design-wise, it's always struck us as uncomfortably close to the Golf three-door hatchback with which it shares its basic underpinnings. That aesthetic kinship may be part of the reason why Volkswagen has steadfastly refused to import the Scirocco to North America, seeing as how the Golf doesn't regularly set the company's...
Spy Shots: BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe caught again
Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, BMW, Luxury It's been a while since we've seen the upcoming BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe out testing, but we're sort of inclined to ask "Why?" yet again. After all, the 4 Series is what the new 3 Series-based coupes and convertibles will be called, so the idea of another four-door version just sort of seems redundant. In other words, just how different will a 4 Series Gran Coupe be from a 3 Series sedan, aside from perhaps a more rakish roofline or a four-passenger...
Video: Forza offers Top Gear car pack for April [w/video]
Filed under: Videos, Toys/GamesForza Horizon fans will be pleased to read that a new car pack is available for download today, this latest one selected by the editors at Top Gear magazine. True to the Top Gear image, the selection of rides is both worthwhile and pretty quirky, too. A 2012 Aston Martin Vanquish and the legendary Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK GTR would seem to lead this class in terms of performance metal, though the utterly lovely Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Zagato is no slouch, either. You...
First Drive: 2014 Fiat 500L [w/video]
Filed under: Budget, Europe, Crossover, First Drives, Diesel, FiatPracticality From The Italian Ministry of Cute As seen in the correct Italian/European light, Fiat is rightly dubbed a small car kingdom. This is not the marque's whole story, though, and it's certainly not a way Fiat appreciates being pigeonholed. But even the brand itself sort of has to admit that, in the end, without clever and right-priced smaller cars in its lineup, it might not even exist today. Between the early 1980s and...
Report: Toyota sees Camry share loss despite predicting increasing sales
Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, ToyotaToyota may be set to lose share the midsize sedan market. While speaking with Automotive News, Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz said that if his company kept pace with the current swell in the market for family four doors, Toyota would need to sell around 500,000 Camry models. "I'm not sure we can do much more than 400 [thousand] today," Lentz said. But that doesn't mean Camry sales are shrinking - on the contrary, Lentz thinks Toyota will likely sell...
Report: GM says boosted resale values could save $200M
Filed under: Car Buying, GM, Earnings/Financials The average resale value of General Motors vehicles climbed to 44 percent last year, matching that of Chrysler and sitting one percent less than Ford, but still 7.5 percent less than Honda. It's a welcome increase from the post-bankruptcy days of 2009 when 36.5 percent was number upon which lease rates were based. According to Bloomberg, even though that puts GM in line with the overall market rate of 46.5 percent, the company figures it can save...
2014 Infiniti Q50 configurator comes alive
Filed under: Car Buying, Hybrid, Sedan, Performance, Infiniti, Luxury The G37-replacing 2014 Infiniti Q50 sport sedan launches in the not-too-distant future, and for those curious about how pricing and packages will shake out, the car's official online configurator has been launched. Here, you can build the Q50 or Q50 Hybrid of your dreams, with the cost of entry starting at $36,450 (plus $905 for destination). Selecting the hybrid model adds $7,250 to that bottom line - mostly because the...
Motorsports: LoveFab headed back to Pikes Peak with NSX-based heathen [w/video]
Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Videos, Acura, Specialty, Racing LoveFab had a rough run at Pikes Peak 2012. During qualifying on Day Two, owner and professional driver Cody Loveland launched his car off of the course at nearly 60 miles per hour. Never ones to be dismayed by a few bruised ribs and some busted body panels, LoveFab is headed back to the hill climb for 2013, and this year, it's bringing Garrett along as a title sponsor. Loveland's chariot of choice is officially dubbed "Turbo by...
Report: London firm hiring professional double-parkers to avoid fines
Filed under: Government/Legal, UKAutoblog sister site AOL UK reports that a company in London is hiring young drivers to sit double parked in the businesses vans, in an effort to avoid parking fines. As a traffic officer approaches, the drivers simply start up the van and drive away. Aspect.co.uk (a property management firm, as we understand) pays drivers around $12.15 per hour at current conversion rates to sit with the vehicles to avoid fines of up to $182 for illegally parking. Will Davies,...
NHTSA launching investigation into 2006-2008 Hyundai Sonata rust
Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Recalls, HyundaiThe Detroit News reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating almost 400,000 Hyundai Sonata models over rust complaints. So far, NHTSA has received six complaints that Sonata models, built between 2006 and 2008, have allegedly suffered rear control arm failures due to subframe rust. Three of those occurred at highway speeds, and two resulted in the actuation of the vehicle's stability control system, though no one was...
Watch Sergey Brin’s Mother-in-Law Freak Out in Google’s Autonomous Car
Autopiashared 1 month ago
Video: Country band shoots guerrilla music video via Google Street View
Filed under: Truck, Videos, Humor Or at least that's the claim. Grunnar and The Grizzly Boys have released a new video for their song Could Be Me, and the clip claims to have been made possible with the help of a Google Street View car. Instead of using seamlessly edited video, the band opted for what looks to be a rolling concert performed from the back of three pickups in front of a Street View car. There are a couple of issues with that notion, though. First off, the Street View software...
Video: This is not how you tow a Bentley convertible
Filed under: Convertible, Videos, Bentley In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy upwards of 250,000 vehicles may have been destroyed, but this particular Bentley Continental GTC may have had insult added to that injury as it was towed out of New York. While we don't know the exact details behind this vehicle being towed, the lack of concern for its well-being coupled with what appears to be water in the headlight of the $200,000-plus convertible, has us thinking this is a Sandy victim. While most...
Automotive April Fools' joke roundup [w/videos]
Filed under: Etc., BMW, Honda, Mini, Subaru, Volvo, Humor Happy April, everyone. And we all know what this first day of the month means: April Fools' Day. Today is a national holiday for pranksters with the Internet acting as a serious enabler, and it's always fun to see what kind of vivid imaginations exist out there in the automotive world. The abundance of fake news gets a little old as the day rolls on, but we did manage to get in a few chuckles thanks to a handful of major automakers and...
Report: Scion pondering move upmarket?
Filed under: Budget, Scion, LuxuryScion is simultaneously celebrating its ten-year anniversary with the 10 Series models and trying to figure out what to do with itself over the next ten years. Once a go-to consideration for young, first-time buyers who wanted something cool and different, in 2013 it has a model everyone is still talking about in the FR-S, a model few are still talking about in the iQ, and three models in between in the tC, xB and xD that make everyone wonder, "What...
Report: Hyundai exec admits company studying pickup, no foolin'
Filed under: Truck, Work, Hyundai, South KoreaAutomotive News reports Hyundai may be considering jumping into the US pickup market. Lee In-cheol, ice president of international sales, says the company's product planners and engineers are currently trying to determine what size pickup would be best for our market. Currently, the automaker has no plans to build a truck, but Lee says that hasn't stopped US dealers from asking the company to produce one. The US and South Korea signed a free trade...
Can’t Afford an Electric Supercar? Build This Racing Terror at Home
Dedicated track cars comes in all shapes, sizes and prices, but they have one thing in common: a gas-powered engine, usually pulled out of some uninspiring econobox. Birmingham City University and the stripped-out sports car purveyors at Westfield have built ...
Tesla ‘Cancels’ Lowest-Spec Model S, Expects Full Profitability in Q1 2013
Orders and deliveries of the Tesla Model S are reaching a fever pitch, except for one: the lowest-spec, 40 kWh battery pack. So Tesla has decided to nix the 40 kWh model. But as with all things Tesla, it's a ...
Solar Airplane Almost Ready for Its First Transcontinental Flight
After more than five years of dreaming, planning, building and testing, Solar Impulse is ready to begin its most ambitious flight yet -- a transcontinental journey in an airplane made largely of carbon fiber and photovoltaic cells.
Review: 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid
Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid. It’s a name that hits all the Californian pleasure receptors.
These Two Ultra-Hot Concepts Came From the Most Unlikely Automakers
Autopiashared 1 month ago
Portlandia, Your Subaru Hybrid Has Finally Arrived
Urban hipsters and Portlanders, rejoice: Subaru is finally making a hybrid. It's called the XV Crosstrek Hybrid and it stands to be the most fuel-efficient, low-emission, all-wheel-drive hybrid crossover in the United States.
Mercedes Bringing Tesla-Powered EV to U.S. Next Year
Autopiashared 1 month ago
KTM Just Made the Electric Scooter Cool
Scooters have their appeal, but they're not exactly ... strapping. Add an electric drivetrain into the mix and they get even less butch. But KTM has the answer with its E-Speed concept.
Speed Into Bankruptcy With the World’s Most Powerful Electric Outboard Motor
Torqeedo, the German manufacturer of electric outboards whose name seems to be missing a "u", has a new battery to power its 80 horsepower electric outboard.
Weblink Aims to Bridge the Nagging Smartphone-Car Disconnect
Autopiashared 1 month ago
Swiss Company Plans Unmanned Shuttle Launches From Airliner
Autopiashared 1 month ago
Ex-Apple Director Promises Detroit-Built Electric Sports Car
Detroit Electric is back. Again. For real this time. And the reborn automaker will debut an all-new, all-electric sports car next month, with plans to expand the brand over the next two years.
Boeing Says Dreamliner Battery Redesign Eliminates Chance of Fire
Autopiashared 2 months ago
At SXSW, Making the Most of a Meager Showing of Auto Tech
SXSW Interactive is one of the world’s biggest tech events, but the automotive focus that's taken over shows like CES and Mobile World Congress hasn't infiltrated Austin.
Formula 1 Teams Race to Stay Ahead of the Rules
This weekend marks the beginning of the 2013 Formula 1 season, and the end of a winter’s worth of speculation of which team has found the biggest loophole in the annual update of the rulebook.