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Kick the Tires

Started by S Goldstein; Last updated Feb 16, 08 6:54 PM CST by Imperator | View history

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Kick the Tires

"The car has become a secular sanctuary for the individual, his shrine to the self, his mobile Walden Pond" - Edward McDonagh

Get the latest car news before you make your next purchase

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 58

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July 2008
- NASCAR Fans Sneer at Toyota
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 24, 08 9:51 AM CDT
  
  In an effort to curry favor with millions of American NASCAR fans, Toyota joined the league’s top circuit 2 years ago, but fans aren’t warming to the Japanese automaker, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many fans felt betrayed last year when champion racer Kyle Busch traded in his Chevy on a Toyota, and he's been met with boos and a barrage of beer cans after recent victories. More »
- Smart Car Scores Big on Cute
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jul 18, 08 9:45 AM CDT
  
  Mercedes’ Smart cars are selling brilliantly—the US waiting list is 30,000 long—and the tiny two-seater's performance at the gas pump isn't the whole story. Yes, they’re the most fuel-efficient non-hybrids around, but only barely—some Hondas and Toyotas almost match their 33mpg. There's also the cute factor, the Washington Post reports. “The Jeep was stylish,” says one SUV convert, “but I never got the attention before that I get with this.” More »
- Drivers Order Big Extras for Small Cars
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 17, 08 2:12 AM CDT
  
  American drivers are ditching their SUVs for smaller vehicles in droves—but they're cramming in all the extra comforts they can, reports the New York Times . Buyers are spending thousands on bonus features such as heated leather seats and top entertainment systems. The trend gives a rare glimmer of hope to Detroit, which has always struggled to make money from small cars. More »
- Fiat 500: Mini Package, Max Charisma
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | Jul 9, 08 11:59 AM CDT
  
  Add adorable to 40-plus miles per gallon and you get the Fiat 500, an Italian compact that, despite taking a while to go from 0 to 60, brings a new sweetness to the term eye candy, Dan Neil writes in the Los Angeles Times : "It's fun to look at, fun to drive, fun to point out to the valet." More »
- Toyota to Add Solar Panels to Prius
  
  newser | Reuters | Jul 7, 08 9:46 AM CDT
  
  Toyota plans to go even more “green” with its hybrid Prius, offering solar panels as a high-end option beginning with the 2009 model year, reports Reuters. And, although the panels will do little more than help power the air conditioning system, Toyota’s move shows just how far automakers are willing to go to engineer greener vehicles. More »
- Sticker Shock: Calif. Puts Emissions Rating on '09 Cars
  
  newser | San Jose Mercury News | Jul 2, 08 7:45 PM CDT
  
  A state-mandated sticker showing vehicles' global-warming rating is starting to show up in California showrooms, the San Jose Mercury News reports. "We are forced by the nature of our economy to drive vehicles to work and play. This gives people a tool to lessen their carbon footprint," a state spokesman said of the label showing autos' 1-10 rating on greenhouse gas emissions. More »
- Uno: Cooler Than Segway
  
  newser | Chicago Tribune | Jul 1, 08 3:12 PM CDT
  
  Looking like a tricked out motorbike, the Uno is electric personal transportation with style, the Chicago Tribune reports. Designed by 19-year-old inventor Ben Gulak, the device employs no throttle or brake, relying on its rider's leanings to guide it, and is so intuitive an 8-year-old picked it up instantly at a recent vehicle expo. More »
- US Auto Sales Off Big, But GM Holds Top Spot
  
  newser | Detroit News | Jul 1, 08 2:40 PM CDT
  
  Sales for General Motors, Ford and Toyota all fell by double-digit percentages in June compared to the same month last year, while Honda managed an 11% gain, the Detroit News reports—with GM holding off Toyota as top US seller. In general, consumers passed over big, fuel-guzzling vehicles and luxury sedans for smaller, fuel-efficient models. More »
June 2008
- Obama Meets With Top Automakers Amid Tension
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 26, 08 1:07 PM CDT
  
  Barack Obama is meeting with two of the Big Three in encounters the Wall Street Journal says “could thaw festering tension” between the Dem and America’s automakers. A year after Obama criticized the companies for fighting fuel-economy standards and rewarding “failure with lucrative bonuses for CEOs,” he met with Ford’s chief yesterday in a summit the businessman called “productive.” More »
- Japan's Big 3 Move Into New Markets
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 26, 08 7:50 AM CDT
  
  Japan’s automakers, traditionally focused on North America and near-home markets, are expanding aggressively into new territories as opportunities shift to Africa, India, and the former Soviet Union, reports the New York Times. One analyst said 76% of the global growth of the Big Three—Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—in the next 6 years will come from expanding markets that “used to be an afterthought.” More »
- Why Dodge Drivers Totally Suck
  
  newser | Esquire | Jun 25, 08 11:46 AM CDT
  
  Of all the rules of the road, there is one cardinal, hands-down, no-exceptions tenet: “The guy who ignores the stop sign, who blasts past me in a no-passing zone, who plays chicken on a potholed strip of county two-lane, drives a Ram,” Benjamin Percy writes in Esquire . Dodge may be dead last in truck sales, but that doesn't dampen a Ram driver's spirit: It only gets him going. More »
- Audi Aims to 'Outsnob Mercedes'
  
  newser | Esquire | Jun 24, 08 7:13 AM CDT
  
  Prestigious Audi seeks to turn its nose even higher and “outsnob Mercedes” by 2015, Esquire reports—not in sales, but in swanky elements, including: Over-the-top bells and whistles: A Bang & Olufsen stereo system has tweeters popping out of the dash, which aim to silence the nearest BMW. More »
- Goodbye, RV: Hello, Real Travel
  
  newser | Chicago Tribune | Jun 20, 08 7:59 PM CDT
  
  With gas prices up and on the rise, your Winnebago may soon be stuck in park—but the fall of car culture's ugliest offender will force us to reconnect with better pastimes, writes Garrison Keillor in the Chicago Tribune . “Banjo sales will pick up,” Keillor writes. “The screened porch will come back in style. And the art of storytelling will burgeon along with it.” More »
- Honda Unveils Hydrogen Car
  
  newser | BBC | Jun 16, 08 9:42 AM CDT
  
  Honda has begun commercial production on the FCX Clarity, an emissions-free car that runs entirely on hydrogen and electricity, the BBC reports. Honda only plans to produce 200 models over the next 3 years, however, expecting the scarcity of hydrogen fueling stations to dampen demand. “In the next few years, we are not going to do without (gas) and diesel motors, but the future belongs to the electric car,” said an auto exec. More »
- GM Gambles All on the Volt
  
  newser | Atlantic Monthly | Jun 11, 08 12:38 PM CDT
  
  The Chevy Volt will either revolutionize cars forever and rocket GM back to the top of the automotive world, or it’ll be an embarrassing disaster that will further cripple the giant. And right now, lots of industry types are betting on the latter. GM is so desperate to get the car out by 2010 that it’s developing car and battery simultaneously—a stunning gamble that could easily backfire, the Atlantic reports, in a detailed look at GM's equivalent of the space race. More »
May 2008
- Under the Hood, Size Does Matter
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | May 31, 08 2:39 PM CDT
  
  Instead of saving on gas by getting smaller cars, many Americans are buying cars with smaller engines. Four-cylinder autos have been zooming off lots nationwide, leaving six-cylinder rides in the dust: Three quarters of mid-size cars sold in May sported the smaller engine, a swerve away from a trend in ever-bigger motors, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
- Honda Sells 60 Millionth Super Cub
  
  newser | Wired | May 24, 08 4:23 PM CDT
  
  Honda’s Super Cub motorcycle may look mundane, but it's also the best-selling motorized vehicle in history, Wired reports. In fact, Honda recently sold its 60 millionth. The Cub first put Honda on the map by making motorcycles safe for suburbanites. But the ultra-dependable little bike isn’t available in the US anymore; it was discontinued back in the 1980s. More »
- Honda Looks to Muscle in on Prius Market
  
  newser | Forbes | May 21, 08 4:40 PM CDT
  
  Honda is rolling out three new hybrids, looking to muscle in on rival Toyota in a world ever more receptive of fuel-efficient vehicles. The current Civic hybrid will be joined by a five-door compact, another compact already sold in Europe as the Jazz, and a new hybrid sports car, Forbes reports. The five-door models are to be sold beginning early 2009. More »
- Mayor Vows to Fill SF With Electric Cars
  
  newser | Wired | May 15, 08 10:39 AM CDT
  
  The streets of San Francisco might not be paved in gold, but they'll soon be clogged with electric cars if Mayor Gavin Newsom has anything to say about it. Newsom is in talks with Project Better Place to fill the city with electric car charging stations, a move that could push the technology into the mainstream. “It would be terrific if this happened,” said a Plug-In America co-founder. More »
- Mercury Line May Hit the Scrap Heap
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | May 10, 08 6:52 PM CDT
  
  Once a four-wheeled icon of cool, Ford's Mercury brand is steadily losing traction and may soon be parked for good, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ford has not yet announced a plan to scrap the line, but one key stockholder is urging the company to let it go. "Mercury has one more product cycle left in it, and then will almost certainly be retired as a brand," one analyst said. More »

Stories 1 - 20 of 58

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Images (11)
Videos (1)

Laurie With, shown by her Honda Civic hybrid May 18, 2007 in Sauk Rapids, Minn., is part of a small dedicated group of people around the country calling themselves hypermilers who strive to get every... (Associated Press)

Mercedes, who performed poorly in the test, contends that their bumper is designed to minimize damage to a pedestrian, and not to itself. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (Associated Press)

The electric sports car market is growing rapidly with companies like Lightning, Tesla Motors and Lightspeed all hoping to release a technical and commercial success as soon as next year. ( Lightning Car Company)

A pair of two-seat Smart fortwo cars squeeze into one parking space in front of a restaurant in Pittsburgh's Market Square during the lunch hour Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007. DaimlerChrysler AG company representatives... (Associated Press)

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn gestures next to the company's new GT-R at the press preview for the 39th Tokyo Motor Show at Makuhari Messe, near Tokyo, in this Oct. 19, 2005 file photo. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye,... (Associated Press)

A Toyota Prius hybrid compact car is exhibited at the Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari, east of Tokyo, in this Oct. 19, 2005 file photo. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, FILE) (Associated Press)

Journalists and photographers surround the compact concept vehicle... (Getty Images)

Former Toyota Motor Co. President Hiroshi Okuda, accompanied by a promotion assistant, poses with the Prius, a gasoline-electric hybrid car, during the press preview of the 32nd Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari,... (Associated Press)

Volkswagen AG's concept car "space up!," the automaker's second edition of the "New Small Family" concept car, is on display at the Tokyo Motor Show in Makuhari, east of Tokyo Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007.... (Associated Press)

Shelby Ultimate Aero, the world's fastest production vehicle (Shelby Super Cars)

Yes! Roadster 3.2

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Electric car vs Ferrari (LaVolan (YouTube))

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