If you go to the LA Auto Show, you'll find several Vipers holed up in a starkly lit area of the convention center that Ralph Gilles, Dodge brand president, has taken to calling the Snake Pit.
Though the 33-unit run of the Viper [...]
If you go to the LA Auto Show, you'll find several Vipers holed up in a starkly lit area of the convention center that Ralph Gilles, Dodge brand president, has taken to calling the Snake Pit.
Though the 33-unit run of the Viper [...]
Today Aston let the world know that the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide will be priced at 139,950 British pounds when the first UK deliveries begin in the second quarter of 2010. The car won't be built in Britain, by the [...]
Congrats to vwthing1 for writing a caption that's as amusing as it is topical.
These entries were also good for a lol:
"Ladies and Gentlemen: I present to you all the exciting new Cadillac CTS Cou -- ahem; I mean the Buick [...]
WRC.com reported this morning that 2007 Formula World Champion Kimi Raikkonen will drive a Citroen C4 WRC for the Citroen junior team next season. The announcement comes as news that Fernando Alonso will join Ferrari in 2010 becomes official.
Bringing personal sponsor Red [...]
Ford has released pricing for the U.S.-spec 2011 Ford Fiesta, and as we expected, the oddly proportioned sedan comes in way cheaper. The base 2011 Fiesta S sedan costs $13,995, including a $675 destination charge. It comes with 15-inch steel [...]
Ford has launched a 2011 Ford Fiesta configurator tool. Obviously, you can't actually buy a car right now since our Fiesta doesn't go on sale until next summer. But you can build and accessorize a 2011 Fiesta hatch or sedan to [...]
A mid-cycle facelift is in store for the BMW 3 Series coupe. Prototypes have been out and about Germany for a while, but these are the least camouflaged examples our shooters have run across to date. Notably, it appears the E92 coupe will be [...]
David LaChapelle, the noted photographer and apparent horn-dog, has composed a couple of his characteristically surreal images using Maybach Zeppelins (old and new) as a prop/inspiration.
The company revealed the shots in association with Art [...]
Only a couple of days after Fritz Henderson handed in his resignation as CEO of General Motors, Chairman and acting CEO Ed Whitacre has announced a shuffling of executives at the New GM.
The moves see long-time GMer [...]
Haven't you always wanted to build a 638-horsepower V8? Us too. Now, with this handy instructional video, you can. First thing you want to do is buy yourself a facility like the GM Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan (Hint: It's going to help if [...]
The kid is at it again -- trying to shorten his life, that is. But at the same time extending his string of firsts in the action sports world. This time Pastrana will attempt to jump a Subaru WRX STI rally car from the end [...]
It's hard to believe, but the current Porsche Cayenne is entering its seventh year of production. Prototypes for Porsche's second-generation Cayenne have been seen countless times, but never with such minimal disguise as in these photos taken this week in Germany. Nearly [...]
So there's a new commercial for the Chrysler 300 that advocates for the release of a Myanmar pro-democracy/human rights leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest for most of the last 14 years.
We support the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, too, but this is [...]
Welcome to the inaugural Friday caption contest on Straightline.
This contest will run simultaneously with the weekly contest on the Long-Term Road Test blog, and it works just the same: You submit your captions, we pick a winner at 4 p.m. Pacific [...]
There were a bunch of us swarming around the 2011 Mazda 2 after the curtain had dropped down around it just moments before at its reveal during the Los Angeles auto show during press day. Mazda's new entry into a B-car [...]
The Germans have been telling us for oh, decades now, that diesel is the answer to all our problems. And now it looks like the green movement has fallen under their spell as the Audi A3 TDI took home [...]
We saw Steve Saleen's nasty (i.e., either wicked or tacky, depending on your perspective) SMS 570X at the 2009 L.A. Auto Show yesterday -- surrounded by the displays of Fisker, Spyker, and Aston!
The 570X debuted [...]
The 2010 4Runner didn't win the Stock Mini class in last month's Baja 1000, but it definitely got dirty. And Toyota didn't bother running it through a car wash before parking it on its stand at the 2009 L.A. [...]
This the 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited. It has the same 265-horsepower, turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer-four engine and five-speed manual tranmission as the current WRX Premium, but gains a leather interior, sunroof and satellite [...]
According to Takashi Yamanouchi, President and CEO, Mazda Motor Corporation, the on-sale date of the Mazda 2 hatchback has been moved up in anticipation of strong demand.
He wouldn't be any more specific, so [...]
Subaru announced pricing for the 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Special Edition this morning a couple hours ahead of its official debut here at the LA Auto Show. Priced at $33,690 with destination, it undercuts the standard STI by exactly $2 grand. It [...]
The Lexus LF-Ch hatchback is just a concept, but Lexus executives keep hinting that it could be added to the lineup if consumer feedback is positive. In executive speak, that usually means "we've already approved it, and are now [...]
Now it is true that we are an unusually hearty crew here braving, as most staffers do, the radically unpredictable and inhospitable climate of Santa Monica, California. Once tiny pellets of water actually rained down from the sky, [...]
As expected, the LA Auto Show's replacement keynote speaker, GM Product Vice Chair Bob Lutz, had little to offer in the way of news. And he didn't want to talk about the freshly deposed Fritz Henderson.
He did tell us [...]
The Audi A5 Sportback still isn't coming to the U.S., so far as we know. Yet, somehow we still end up with the 5 Series Gran Turismo.
First Drive: 2010 Audi A5 Sportback
[...]
Mercedes-Benz announced today that it will starting building the C-Class sedan at its Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plant starting in 2014. This will be timed with the next full redesign of the C-Class, so look for that to happen in the 2014 or 2015 model [...]
It was too late to change the programs for the 2009 LA Auto Show -- and far too late to use the spell-check. Fare thee well, Fritz Henerson.
[...]
The Palladium is an old LA nightclub, and a bit dingy around the edges, but the Ford crew swept in and tidied the place up for its pre-LA Auto Show party for the 2011 Ford Fiesta and the six-month survivors [...]
Not every subcompact could pull off a glitzy nighttime debut at an art deco theater in Hollywood, but the 2011 Ford Fiesta isn't your ordinary subcompact. Yes, Ford has inundated Facebook, YouTube and our personal headspace with incessant Fiesta Movement updates, [...]
It's been a long time since we first saw the Cadillac CTS Coupe concept, and it hasn't changed much over the years. Today marked the first public appearance of the production version of the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe and [...]
Given the upheaval at GM, we've doubted at times that we'd ever see a Cadillac CTS coupe, much less a wagon. Now both of those variations exist, and there's only one more CTS to wonder about: a [...]
Bentley announced today that the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne will start at $285,000 when deliveries to the United States start in the fall of 2010. That's just a start, of course, since that figure doesn't include destination or the additional $26K+ in sales [...]
Saab has been in limbo since the anticipated sale to the Swedish sportscar builder Koenigsegg fell through last week. Responding to local media questions today, Chris Preuss, General Motors vice president of communications, said that the GM's board of directors has [...]
General Motors' board of directors has accepted the resignation of GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson (pictured on the left), who took over for former CEO Rick Wagoner in March.
Ed Whitacre (right) will take over for Henderson in an interim [...]
No Lamborghini has ever been sold for a cool million at auction. Sports Car Market has put together a slideshow of what are apparently the 10 priciest Lambos ever auctioned off, and the most expensive one is this '73 Miura P400 SV, which sold for [...]
Today Inside Line published the 2010 edition of our annual Editors' Most Wanted Awards. Unlike many of the other automotive awards bestowed on the latest models, ours are based solely on the cars we want to drive.
The voting process [...]
We've known for some time that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt would go on sale in late 2010, but it turns out that's California only, at least initially. It seems GM is keen to take the fight right to the Prius, [...]
You can see plain old running footage of the 2011 Kia Cadenza, unveiled last week in Korea, anywhere, including after the jump in this post. But perhaps you missed this dramatic new film in which a Cadenza dramatically flees from a Sorento in a dramatic chase scene on a South Korean expressway.
[...]
There's an auto show going on in Essen, Germany, this week, and this apparent Gullwing dragster is on display there.
The car bears no actual relation to the original 300SL, apparently, as it has a fiberglass body [...]
And after the jump, you can watch the "making of" video for this commercial, which was shot in Mexico. Fair warning: It's over 7 times longer than the TV ad itself.
[...]
Italian police have a small fleet of Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia cars donated by Lamborghini for use on Italy's highly technical back roads. These blue-painted Gallardos are designated for chasing down suspected baddies and delivering critically needed organs for transplant patients at up to 203 mph. [...]
Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the [...]
Updated, high-resolution photos added
Audi has just unveiled the redesigned 2011 Audi A8 in Miami Beach. This is the regular-wheelbase A8 sedan, and it goes on sale in late 2010. A long-wheelbase A8 will be along later with an official debut [...]
The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro convertible goes into production at GM's Oshawa, Ontario, plant in January, and over the weekend, it was spotted in Michigan.
Just one question from us: Who at New GM approved the Camaro drop top with two, count 'em, two rear antennas, and one raised blister for [...]
Corvette tuner extraordinaire Callaway has turned its attention to the Camaro. The 2010 Callaway Camaro SC572 is supercharged, of course, and an obvious challenger to Hennessey's HPE550 and SLP's ZL575.
The starting point is a familiar one. [...]
How would a 1973 Porsche 911 2.7 RS Touring feel on the track today? Gordon Robertson, an instructor at Porsche's driving academy, gives you a taste of this classic 911 as he laps Silverstone. It's a promotional video for the Porsche Driving Experience, of course, but the footage [...]
The involuntary eye-rolling began mid-sentence as we read GM's first press release claiming that the fuel economy of the 2011 Chevy Volt would be about 230 mpg.
The method by which this number was obtained was not clearly stated, and GM made vague references to [...]
This rendering looks convincing enough but isn't quite accurate, at least not for the U.S. If we get the F11 BMW 5 Series wagon, and that's a big if, it would likely be in early 2011 and it would again [...]
Sources close to BMW have told us the automaker is working on a new M1 supercar, perhaps with the styling cues of the Vision EfficientDynamics concept car from Frankfurt, but probably not its diesel-electric powertrain.
Now what are we to make of this, evidently an [...]
You'll of course remember Nick Hogan, son of Hulk Hogan, as the hapless celebrity who totaled a Toyota Supra, seriously injuring a friend, er, ex-friend, John Graziano, and ended up with an eight-month jail sentence in May 2008.
Well, Hogan is driving [...]
There has never been much reason to trouble yourself over a V6 Mustang, because, well, they're a pretty slow, unrefined lot. But the transplant of Ford's 3.7-liter V6 into the 2011 Ford Mustang should make quite a difference and not [...]
Update: Our first drive is live. First Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Volt
Today we took a drive in a late prototype for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. This was our first opportunity to experience GM's series hybrid in both all-electric and charge-sustaining mode (i.e., when the [...]
Tiger Woods has a released a statement regarding his Friday morning accident in his Cadillac Escalade during which he struck a fire hydrant and subsequently a tree.
"This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," he said. "I'm human and I'm [...]
Updated, 3 p.m. PDT: More photos
Nothing like a Sunday morning press release to get the word out about your all-new compact sedan. Then again, there wasn't much we didn't already know about the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze as it's been on [...]
So we were incredulous when we heard the 2011 Chevrolet Volt would be crashing the weekly classic car night at Bob's Big Boy, a old-timey hamburger joint in Burbank, California. Bob's isn't the friendliest place to roll up in [...]
Reports out of Florida say Tiger Woods crashed his Cadillac Escalade just after leaving his house last night around 2:30am. He apparently "lost control," hit a fire hydrant and then continued into a tree.
Initial reports said he [...]
Watch of the birth of the 2011 BMW X1 on the automaker's Leipzig, Germany, production line. Watch its death in a German crash test laboratory. Then, watch it frolic in the afterlife in a place curiously resembling the Arctic Circle.
Photo Courtesy of dubdaily.com.
There's an old adage in the car world: If it don't go, chrome it. Well, this Nissan GT-R definitely goes, but the guy chromed it anyway.
Apparently, the British owner of this GT-R likes the shiny stuff, so he [...]
So what do you think? Has AdamC3046 solved the mystery or is the guy spending too much time with his inflatable girlfriend?
[...]
Why be satisfied with a steering wheel, racing seat and pedals in your musty family room? Why not race in your very own E30 BMW M3 with the flat-panel TV mounted on the hood?
Presumably, the car has just GT5 Prologue loaded up [...]
Yokohama Tire Corporation recently had the U.S introduction of the dB Super E-spec, the first tire formulated with orange oil. Oil from the orange peel, not orange juice, is used to replace petroleum-based oils in the construction.
The [...]
The second-generation Mazda 3 earned 5 stars in the National Highway Traffic Administration's (NHTSA) frontal-impact crash test, and this week, it achieved the same result in European NCAP testing.
And because we never can seem to get our fill of cars getting smashed, we bring you additional clips of the [...]
Thousands of stories have been written about the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, but if you read many of them with a keen eye, you realize the author doesn't quite have all the facts about this series hybrid car (with plug-in capability) -- and often inaccurately [...]
Matthew K., official SLS AMG reporter, is back and this time he's riding shotgun in the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG while Tommy Kendall drives.
And he talks all the way through a lap of Laguna Seca.
First Drive: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
[...]
Bob's Big Boy in Burbank, California, is a classic hamburger joint, built in 1949. It's also the place to go on a Friday night if you drive anything manufactured before 1973, as Bob's hosts a weekly classic car show. It's the last [...]
BMW has released close to a dozen videos on the redesigned 2011 BMW 5 Series. We've picked out a selection for you here, starting with this neat computer animation that lets you see the F10 5 Series sedan from every conceivable angle in various interior/exterior color schemes.
[...]
General Motors announced today that the 2011 Buick Regal will be build at its Oshawa, Ontario, plant starting in the first quarter of 2011. Also starting production there at that time will be the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro convertible; Oshawa already [...]
Indeed, there is more to the Toyota floor mat debacle than floor mats. Toyota announced today it will modify the gas pedal in 3.8 million vehicles. Modifications will typically involved shortening the pedal to move it farther away from the mat. However, in the Lexus [...]
This is by far the best video that came out of yesterday's Viper ACR track day at Laguna Seca. Here, Dodge Engineer Chris Winkler talks you through a whole lap of the track in the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR, and some of the handling idiosyncrasies of a hugely [...]
Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the [...]
Although Suzuki has not yet made a decision on whether to bring the next-generation Suzuki Swift to the United States, we do know that this car is being engineered to meet U.S. crash standards.
It's also apparent from these spy photos taken [...]
After its track day at Laguna Seca, the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR will be put on a truck and delivered to the 2009 LA Auto Show, where it makes its official debut.
Dodge released product details on the 2010 Viper [...]
A mid-cycle refresh is coming for the 2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, as shooters spotted this prototype on public roads in Germany. It's apparent that changes are in store for the front end of the car to bring it closer to the look [...]
We hear only 500 more Dodge Vipers will be built, so Ralph Gilles, president of the Dodge brand, is already arranging a proper send-off. Today, the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR was officially unveiled at Laguna Seca, where Dodge's hottest shoes will try to set the record for fastest lap time in a [...]
Yesterday, we showed you video of a million-dollar Bugatti being towed out of a Texas lake after its owner "lost control." Well, now there's video of the incident and it's clear that Bugatti driver wasn't paying much attention as the Veyron plunged into the water with no visible [...]
At Dodger Stadium this morning, Nissan kicked off a 22-city tour to promote the company's Leaf electric vehicle. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and was in attendance and dropped a few clues regarding how the vehicle will go to market.
We then [...]
Yep, a cool million. Actually, the Buy It Now is only $950,000, but who knows what the tax bill will be on this one-off concept.
Designer Michael Leonhard says the winner of this auction will get a modern-day Road Runner built [...]
An AP report out of Japan says that Toyota is planning to roll out a larger, Prius hybrid vehicle within the next year. The report references a story in the local Yomiuri newspaper that says Toyota is planning to release either a [...]
About a month or so ago, we told you that Ford was developing a police package to go heads up with the Chevrolet Caprice Interceptor announced by General Motors. Today, Ford made its intentions official, but made no definitive statements regarding which [...]
After an online reveal earlier this week, the 2011 Buick Regal made its way to the Palladium theater in Hollywood for a slightly more glamorous stage debut. The drinks were flowing, the lighting was dark and all the big guns from [...]
LOS ANGELES, CA (November 12, 2009)--FAMILY ARMOR, reality TV's newest entry, introduces viewers to the world of vehicle armoring and bulletproofing.
[...]
As GM's sale of Saab to Swedish sportscar maker Koenigsegg draws to a close, details are beginning to leak out on the conditions imposed by the new owners.
A report in Automotive News says Koenigsegg has decided to reduce its U.S. dealer count from [...]
The Classic California auction scheduled for this weekend at the Petersen Automotive Museum, has added three vehicles connected to legendary actor Steve McQueen.
For truck lovers, there's a 1948 Chevrolet 3100 pickup that McQueen used as a daily driver. Other than some [...]
Most of the design work for the Lexus LF-Ch concept that debuted in September at Frankfurt happened at Toyota's Calty studio. Lexus divulged few technical details at the time, other than mentioning it had a "full hybrid" powertrain, but it's obvious a production version of the LF-Ch would fill a much needed [...]
Oh no! The organizers of the Detroit Auto Show, who it must be said have been workin' so hard like a soldier, announced today the creation of a 37,000 square-foot "Electric Avenue" electric-vehicle showcase for the 2010 event in January.
The exhibit, sponsored by [...]
Would you like the chance to prove your chops as an automotive journalist? Are you familiar with Shell gasoline? Might you happen to live in the United Kingdom?
If you answered "yes" to all three, then you might want to check out the [...]
This is the new 2011 Buick Regal. Although it's scheduled to make its first public appearance at the 2009 L.A. Auto Show, GM decided to release pictures and information today.
According to the release, this is a Buick that was "bred on [...]
We've already driven the big hatchback that BMW calls the 5 Series Gran Turismo, but not the V8 version, just the sixes -- the 535i GT that gets to the U.S. next spring and the 530d GT that'll we'll never see. This week we got some [...]
We all know that the muscle cars of yesterday went fast in a straight line, but were pigs in the corners, right? Jay Leno is aware we presume, so when he found a Challenger upgrade kit that he thought was worthy of his attention he decided to try it [...]
You too can now own a piece of racing history. Just place your bid on Ebay and this beautifully preserved Benetton Formula One car can be yours. You'll then be free to sit in your garage and stare at it, at least [...]
In an attempt to reduce the overall plasticity of the Flex crossover, Ford is using wheat straw, a by-product of wheat, to construct one of the crossover's third-row storage bins.
According to Ford, using wheat straw as a filler element reduces petroleum [...]
Are you too poor to buy a ZR1? Is a Z06 still out of your range? Do you like monster fender flares and an exhaust that scares small children?
If so, the 2010 Chevrolet Grand Sport is for you. Cheaper than [...]
Erin Riches, Ed Hellwig, Daniel Pund, Jason Kavanagh, Scott Oldham, Josh Jacquot, Caroline Pardilla, Albert Austria, Dan Edmunds
