Car News Articles

To prove how rugged its Diesel-powered LR3 TDV6 is, Land Rover took a group of journalists to the highest drivable pass in all of the Americas.

Read more

I grabbed the keys to the BMW X6 last night. By the time I got home I was wondering whether, in a quiet corner of the FIZ, BMW’s giant engineering center in Munich, a bunch of engineers were crying into their weissbier over this thing.

Read more

Audi’s entry-level offering for the U.S., the A3 five-door, will be undergoing some revisions for the 2009 model year, both on the surface and underneath. Sold stateside since 2005, the A3 has provided a sporty, upscale, yet practical vehicle to the U.S. lineup. Audi does not currently have photos available of the U.S. version of the five-door, but the European-spec A3 three-door features many of the same styling changes found in the five-door car.

Read more

The wagon variant of the Cadillac CTS has been caught testing ahead of its likely debut at the Paris Show in October, where it will probably be shown with the new 250hp, 406lb ft 2.9-liter V-6 turbo-diesel that will be critical for CTS‘ success in the European market.

Read more

General Motors Corp. boosted CEO Rick Wagoner’s total compensation by 40 percent to $14.4 million in 2007, a year in which the automaker lost money for a third straight year but also slashed costs and brokered a historic labor deal with the United Auto Workers union.

Read more

When designer Peter Horbury guided boxy Volvo toward a more muscular look in the 1990s, it was a big change from two decades of “brick” design.

Read more

CAR’s June 2008 issue celebrates 60 years of one of the most revered sports car makers: Porsche. We drive the key cars from the past six decades, spend a day with Derek Bell testing the hardcore cars and interview the people who make the company tick. For our cover story, we gathered four of the marque’s supercars - and you can watch them in action in our video below:

• 959 (1987)
• 911 Turbo (1989)
• Carrera GT (2004)
• 911 GT2 (2008)

Our short film gives you a sneak look behind the scenes at the CAR photoshoot in an empty industrial warehouse. Photographers Mark Fagelson and Gus Gregory are snapping in the background, while road test editor Chris Chilton introduces the cars.

For the full story, don’t miss the new June 2008 issue of CAR Magazine out on 30 April 2008

Read more

Expect to see Mercedes with even more crazed power outputs some time soon - but AMG is also preparing a new range of super saloons that juggle clout with cleanliness. CAR Online has been given exclusive insight into the tuner’s plans, which include new models, engines and even hybrids.

A mere 12 months after the launch of the acclaimed high-revving big-bore V8, AMG is tweaking its engine philosophy again. Why? Because the 6.2-litre unit lacks power and torque compared to the now defunct 5.5-litre Kompressor motor.

AMG engines lack power and torque, you say? Are you mad?!

Yes, we’d rarely call any AMG product under-nourished, but these guys at Affalterbach have a different take on brutality. They point out that the latest 6.2 has horrendous full-throttle consumption and emission figures. And it’s telling that Audi and BMW are also about to abandon their normally aspirated bent eights.

To eclipse the successful supercharged engine, AMG is now developing a twin-turbo 5.0-litre variant good for around 570bhp and 665lb ft of torque. AMG being AMG, there’s also an even meatier 700bhp/885lb ft version of this motor to replace the 612bhp V12. The ESP systems of Germany are going to be troubled with alarming frequency…

Hybrid AMGs - fast and frugal

AMG hasn’t got its head in the sand. It knows it must respond to the changing zeitgeist and so there will be a hybrid edition of the new V8, labelled BluePower. It is not quite clear yet whether the Swabians will use the Flybrid system by X-Trac (a flywheel spinning at 60,000rpm in a vacuum producing mechanical energy), or a more conventional approach featuring a 100bhp electric motor integrated in the transmission housing.

Both applications are clearly performance-oriented, offering substantial on-demand overboost as well as restricted zero-emission capability. Another innovation worth mentioning is a new electrically operated direct-drive gearbox which is much faster and more efficient than any conventional slushmatic.

Click ‘Next’ to read more about hybrid AMGs

Read more

NASCAR Sprint Cup Silly Season has been such an unpredictable beast these last few years. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was THE story last year and it appears Tony Stewart might be the big headline this season. After two Internet reports Wednesday revealed the two-time Cup champion is looking to leave Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, several other sites are chiming in with stories and opinions. A sampling:

Read more

I was in the land of starlets and studs (aka Los Angeles) for the press launch of the 2008 Pontiac G8, so I guess it’s not too surprising that the phrase that kept coming to mind to describe the G8 was borrowed from Paris Hilton: “It’s hot.” So what if I’m using a worn-out phrase from one of society’s most useless celebutantes? It’s the plain truth about this car.

Read more