May 23, 2013
- The Nissan Leaf, the Fiat 500e and now the 2014 Chevy Spark EV 1LT. Three different electric hatchbacks that can all be had for the same low lease price: $199 per month. The Spark even has the same appealing $999 down payment as the Fiat (the Leaf's is $1,999) and both require 36-month leases, so the cost of these two city runabouts is identical, at least at the base level. The one potential hiccup: Chevy says it's a "low mileage lease," and you'll pay 25 cents a mile for each mile over 12,000...
May 22, 2013
- Most domestic automaker assembly plants traditionally take a couple of weeks off during the summer. The shutdowns give each plant time for much needed repairs and maintenance, and in some cases, help better align production with demand. Not this year, though, as demand for many models is outstripping what Ford, Chrysler and General Motors plants can produce. Ford has announced that it will shorten its annual summer shutdown for most North American plants from two weeks to one. The shorter...
- There are no shiftier sands than those that underlie the heavy duty truck market. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have been locked in the same interminable sniping match for years, each delighting in picking their competitors off with new, more powerful drivelines and ever loftier tow ratings. Right now, Ram sits at the top of the heap with its 2013 3500 HD. With the optional Max Tow package, the truck is rated to pull an astonishing 30,000 pounds. That's ludicrous weight - the kind of heft...
- Employing complex scientific formulas and methodologies probably best described as "Whatever we felt like choosing," Automobile has named its All-Stars for the 2013 model year. The 11 vehicles earned their trophies for being "the best and most significant" offerings to the mag's staff and contributors, and while we were surprised to see a couple of them on the list, none of them were shocking. In no particular order, they are: Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (seen above) Porsche Boxster Subaru BRZ/...
May 21, 2013
- Hyundai is adding value to its American models with a new package deal involving its Blue Link telematics system. Similar to GM's OnStar, Blue Link is a suite of services that include emergency assistance (including automatic post-accident response), maintenance monitoring, the ability to diagnose OBD-II and other codes remotely, and …
May 20, 2013
- Universities are right now trotting out Grade-A commencement speakers to motivate this year's graduating class of collegiates to change the world, or at least vacate their parents' property before the age of 30. Some of the most inspiring commencement speeches of all time include the one Steve Jobs gave at Stanford in 2005, and this year's address du jour is one given by the late David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College in 2008 (watch them both below). Automaker executives are often invited to...
- When it comes to fleet vehicles, the Chevrolet Impala definitely plays an important role for General Motors, and it looks like GM is hard at work developing the next-gen Impala for bulk-buying businesses. The Motoring Journal recently spotted a handful of Impalas testing in Colorado with minor camouflage, but upon closer inspection, these appear to be test mules for a new compressed natural gas (CNG) model - a powertrain combination far more likely to find favor with fleet buyers than everyday...
- Dodge and SRT fans who have been grinding their teeth over the lack of a weapon to fight off the likes of Ford’s Mustang Shelby GT500 or Chevy’s Camaro ZL1 can breathe a little easier. According to a report in Automotive News, Chrysler is preparing a supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V-8 that...
- There was a time when the relationship between Detroit and Japanese automakers could be summed up by photos of Big Three workers smashing a Honda or a Toyota with a sledgehammer. That’s not really the case these days. The latest example of Japanese-American cooperation comes via Nissan and Che...
- Automotive News reports the European automotive market has posted first gain in 19 months. Germany and Spain helped push the swell thanks to higher-than-average consumer confidence, though the EU saw registrations jump two percent overall compared to the prior year. In April, buyers took home 1.08 million new vehicles, up from 1.06 million during the same month in 2012. Analysts are hoping the news is the first sign of a legitimate recovery for a region that has suffered some of the slowest...
- It's been a while since Chevrolet offered its Corvette with green paint - well over a decade, in fact. We've known for a while that the new C7 Stingray would be available in Lime Rock Green, but haven't seen it up until now in anything but the antiseptic studio shots offered up on the Corvette's configurator. Well, we can now cross it off the list - at least online - as the first production example has been caught on video at the Lone Star Classic Corvette show by the folks at NCM Insurance....
- You just never know what your dash cam is going to capture on an average day in Russia. Take these drivers, who were motoring along in the Russian city of Dyatkovo, minding their own business, when out of nowhere, an Opel Zafira took off like a 747 leaving LaGuardia. Reports stemming from the incident claim that the driver lost control of his vehicle after its front-left tire blew. He then drove into oncoming traffic and crashed into a fence where the vehicle was launched high into the air, a...
May 19, 2013
- When a video touts itself as "probably the greatest hollywood-style RC action movie car chase ever," (sic) you should set yourself up for disappointment. That's not to say that this joint effort, a clearly well-funded partnership between LA Muscle Sports Supplements and Fast & Furious 6, isn't fun and polished, but just lately we've posted some very entertaining small-scale car videos like this and this. Still, it's cool to watch an R/C Camaro slide wide around turns amidst warehouse...
May 17, 2013
- I was more than a year removed from my last experience with the Mustang GT and its delicious 5.0 V8 when this new 2014 example rolled up to my driveway recently. Good weather and a planned road trip across the state meant that I would get plenty of seat time in this conservatively specified example, too. In total, I logged about 400 miles in a week of driving - not a lot for some of you super commuters out there, but quite a lot for this work-from-home journalist. The basic formula of the 5.0...
- General Motors has reached an important milestone this morning: the price for one share of the company has climbed to over $33. That's higher than the Initial Public Offering price from 2010. At roughly 12:15PM Eastern today, GM shares were up $0.97 on the day, some 2.99 percent, for a total of $33.36. The Detroit Free Press reports that the last time GM stock closed over $33 was on May 4, 2011. GM stock has been steadily growing in value throughout 2013. The stock price is up by 14 percent...