Category: News & Views
Going to the UK? Rent a McLaren (or other supercar) from Hertz
Going to the UK to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee or perhaps the London Olympics? Tired of the same old Skoda Octavia? Not to worry. Now you can rent—or “hire”, as they say in Jolly Olde—a McLaren MP4-12C super car. The two-seat mid-engined McLaren, which retails for $352,000 in the UK, is now in the Hertz [...]
NASCAR 2013: Ford, Chevy and Dodge putting the ‘CAR’ back in NASCAR
In its infancy the rules of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing were beautifully simple: 1) Fill the tank with gas, 2) Empty the trunk of moonshine, and 3) Git yourself over to the starting line. No worry about carb restrictions, ‘cause no one in their right mind would want to restrict a [...]
Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86/Scion FR-S begin production
They’re rolling off the line at Subaru’s Gunma Main Plant. The Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86—to be sold in the United States as the Scion FR-S—are in production, with off-line ceremonies being held today. The much anticipated sports cars, the product of collaboration between Subaru and Toyota, will begin arriving in the U.S. as 2013 [...]
2013 GMC Terrain Denali gets all-new 3.6-liter V-6 engine
While the combination of smaller engines and turbocharging is all the rage in automotive engines now abouts, GM has taken something of an opposite approach with an all-new and larger V-6 engine. The new engine will see its first application in the 2013 GMC Terrain Denali, which itself is the introduction of GMC’s premium trim [...]
From the General’s Central Office: Chevy to build COPO Camaro
On the heels of the 2012 Camaro ZL1 launch Chevrolet has announced production of sixty-nine COPO Camaros – with deliveries to begin this summer – for the 2012 model year. As the brand’s first purpose-built Camaro specialty car, the COPO Camaro is designed to compete in the NHRA’s Stock Eliminator and Super Stock classes. And [...]
Secretary of Energy Chu doesn’t fear higher gas prices, doesn’t own a car
Most people who drive cars are concerned about higher gas prices, but not Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. His goal, he told a congressional hearing on the 2013 budget, is to wean the U.S. off oil, regardless of what it does to the price of gasoline today. Asked directly by Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) whether [...]
2013 Toyota Venza Preview: In with the old – out with the new
The challenges to Toyota over the last two years have been too well documented to recount here; we will anyway. They include an earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown, accusations of unintended acceleration and the various recalls that occasionally beset even the most quality-conscious of manufacturers. Thankfully, most of these calamities – natural and self-inflicted – are [...]
Morgan Plus E battery-electric sports car concept debuts at Geneva
Something old, something new, something borrowed and something…British racing green? That could describe the battery-electric sports car by Morgan Motor Company, the maker of the famed timewarp/traditional English sports cars. Introduced at the Geneva Motor Show, the Morgan Plus E combines the classic contours of the new BMW V8-powered Morgan Plus 8–also launched at Geneva [...]
Mitsubishi i-MiEV Prototype all-electric racer takes on Pike Peak hillclimb
Look closely. There’s a Mitsubishi i, the diminutive battery-electric buried inside those fenders. Although Mitsubishi hasn’t released any mechanical details about the vehicle itself, the carmaker has announced that the Mitsubishi i-MiEV Prototype—as Mitsubishi is calling it, italics and all—will take on the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in July. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV Prototype [...]
Jaguar will introduce new XF Sportbrake, a wagon by any other name, at Geneva
Jaguar will introduce its first ever factory-made “shooting brake” at the Geneva Motor Show on March 6. Although independent coachbuilders have constructed wagon variants of assorted Jaguars to varying degrees of elegance, the Jaguar XF Sportbrake is the first to come from the land of Leaper. Although purist will quibble whether the XF Sportbrake is [...]
