Car News Articles

General Motors Corp. lost $3.3 billion in the first quarter, as a rocky economy and ongoing strike at a major parts supplier weighed on the automaker’s bottom line.

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Ford Motor has chosen three top executives to lead the expansion of its new plant in Craiova, Romania. The executives from Spain, Ireland and the US will help boost the plant’s car production to 300,000 units by 2012 from 18,860 last year.

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Ford’s gone green with the Focus Econetic, so you can put that order for a Toyota Prius on hold. Stick a pair of sill extensions and narrow tyres on a Focus, lower it, and you get a drag factor of 0.31 and a class-leading carbon output of 115g/km. It even comes with a natty little Econetic badge on the bootlid, too.

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As part of CAR’s celebration marking 60 years of Porsche, we headed to Wales in two current models to probe the DNA of the famous sports car brand. How can a company that makes the sublime Boxster also build the somewhat overweight Cayenne 4×4? Ben Oliver drives the latest Boxster RS60 Spyder and asks if it has anything in common with the 2.2-tonne Cayenne GTS. Does the latter justify the former? Click on the video below to find out.

Don’t miss CAR’s 60th anniversary Porsche special, including:

• Games, blogs, polls and competitions on our Porsche homepage
• Read the full drive story with the Cayman, 911 Carrera, Boxster and Cayenne in the June 2008 issue of CAR Magazine
• Watch behind-the-scenes video footage at CAR’s June cover shoot of Porsche 959, Carrera GT, 911 2.7 RS and GT2
• Watch Derek Bell drive the 911 2.7 RS and latest GT2 on track in CAR’s exclusive video

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Cadillac is rapidly expanding its CTS range - first of all we scooped the coupe version, and now our spies have snapped the estate on test in the United States.

The company is expected to show the wagon at the 2009 Detroit auto show, and it’s clearly aimed at the estate versions of the 5-series/E-class/A6. Check out our shot with the boot open and you’ll see that the CTS estate is a lifestyle model, with a sloping tailgate for sleeker looks rather than an Eiger-like vertical boot, Volvo-style.

We’re not quite sure what the engineers at the US facility were testing, but it was scooped on a turntable.

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First things first: Happy Dale Earnhardt Day. The NASCAR legend would have turned 57 today.

The motorsports calendar was chock-full of story lines last weekend and into this one. Here’s an attempt to catch up on the weekend that was and what’s in store this week and next month:

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While my colleague Courtney dreamed of owning this luxury SUV when she previewed it in February, I was caught somewhere between great appreciation of the family-friendly people-hauler and utter bewilderment that someone would spend $80K on a truck. Obviously, the Lexus LX 570 is a very well-appointed truck, but it’s a truck nonetheless.

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I can’t really describe the craziness that is the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals. While most car gatherings have some sort of “theme”, it virtually impossible to put a label on the Street Car Nationals.  At the event you can see everything from ‘32 Fords and Escalades to kei cars and classic Toyota Crowns. I guess you could say the only common theme among the cars is that their style somehow has roots in America.

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I received a dozen emails today inviting me to check out Jalopnik’s new sponsor. Sure enough, the words “Presented by Acura TSX” are now prominently displayed next to the site’s name. While searching for the footnote “no definite article need apply,” I noticed that Jalopnik is festooned with ads for the Acura TSX. So I called Gawker’s main man, Ray Wert. I asked if the new deal is a New Deal for the site’s editorial independence. Ray assured me the Acura gravy train would have “no effect whatsoever” on his ability to run “positive or negative coverage” of the manufacturer in general, or the model in specific. Ray pointed-out that “presented by” is not the same as “sponsored by.” And Jalopnik launched with Audi’s sponsorship (the TT reflected in the logo lollypop sucker’s sunglasses). He said Audi never yanked Spinelli’s chain. Only they did. And, eventually, after a negative review, bailed. Ray’s got integrity all day. But it’s not enough to BE independent. You have to avoid the APPEARANCE of being Acura’s bitch. Those of you who know Ray will know that the aforementioned comment will assure the man’s fierce examination of everything we do to sniff out the slightest whiff of hypocrisy. We welcome the scrutiny.  

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Here’s another one for TTAC’s new Whisky Tango Foxtrot category… Ontario’s new anti-street racing laws were enforced for the first time when a garbage truck was clocked doing about 70mph in a 40 mph zone. The Record reports that the Great Lakes Waste Management truck would be impounded for seven days, and the driver’s license suspended for a week– on top of a $2,000 fine for street-racing. The citation has caused the Ontario police to expand its investigations into alleged street racing beyond the initial targets (”young men in cars,” surprise, surprise). Their undue diligence now includes commercial vehicles. “The more we apply this new legislation, we’re seeing this problem is across the board,” says Ontario Police constable Joanna Van Mierlo. That, or garbage truck drivers are far more dedicated to time efficiency than previously thought. Talk about going like stink! [thanks to QuasiMondo for the link]

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