Auto News Archives

Please join us in celebrating the love for American muscle cars.

While last week's announcement that Koenigsegg Automotive AB had pulled its offer for the homeless brand was a painful kick to the gut, it seems there are still a few companies interested in taking the automaker under its wings.

Ford announces addition of 3.7L Cyclone engine to the Mustang along with 6-speed transmission, outgunning the Camaro in acceleration and fuel economy.

U.S. carmaker General Motors continues its yearly tradition of laying off workers during the holidays.

Toyota Motor Corp. claims the gas pedal design in more than 4 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles makes them vulnerable to being trapped open by floor mats.

Here we go again. Toyota is disputing the test methods of safety organisation Euro NCAP after the Urban Cruiser was given a disappointing three-star rating.

The outlines of a deal for General Motors Co. to make peace with its German workers and repair the automaker's tattered image in Europe are becoming clear.

Bookmark this URL and check back on Monday, November 30 to read Inside Line' s first drive of the all-new production-ready 2011 Chevrolet Volt .

The fleet of new cars and trucks sold to U.S. consumers averaged 21 miles per gallon in the 2008 model year, a modest increase over the previous year, the Environmental Protection Agency reported Friday.

Police have arrested a man in the June shooting death of a Joliet teen. Marcus Camargo, 26, of Joliet, was taken into custody by detectives late Wednesday night in the killing of 17-year-old Alfredo Aguirre.

Women are driving longer into their pregnancies -- often saving maternity leave until after giving birth -- a lifestyle change that is leading to predictions of an increase in fetal deaths in car crashes.

John Griffin, the Indy Racing League's vice president of public relations, has submitted his resignation, which will become effective on Dec.

Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 12:17 p.m. Read more: International , Crime , Phillipines , Phillipine Election Massacre , Massacre , Suspect AMPATUAN, Philippines a ' A scion of a powerful pro-government clan has turned himself in and will face murder charges for allegedly leading the massacre of 57 people in an election caravan in the southern ...

A metro Atlanta nurse anesthetist has been charged with molesting and sodomizing anesthetized patients in dental and medical offices, and police say the videotaped abuses could involve 100 or more victims.

With the current Dodge Viper SRT10 facing the chop - production ends next year with just 500 model-year 2010 cars to be built - Dodge has decided to give it a smokey sendoff with some tweaks to the ACR package which on Tuesday helped set an unofficial production-car lap record at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

General Motors Co. today announced it will begin North American production of the new 2011 Buick Regal at the Oshawa Car Assembly plant in Canada during the first quarter of 2011.

Tesla Motors is close to a deal to build an electric car factory at the site of a former NASA manufacturing plant in this blue-collar city south of Los Angeles, Mayor Mario Guerra said Tuesday.

General Motors Co. has not talked with any other potential buyers for the Swedish Saab brand since a specialty car maker pulled out of a deal to buy it this week, a person briefed on GM's plans said Wednesday.

ORiental Toyota announced Wednesday that it will fix gas pedals in millions of cars for an accelerator problem that had previously been blamed on floor mats.

The 2010 Dodge Viper ACR makes a return as Laguna Seca Lap King today, setting a blistering production car lap record of just 1:33.91 that knocks over one full second off the previous lap record.

Koenigsegg, a tiny Swedish manufacturer of $1-million exotic sports cars, announced today that it would not buy Saab from General Motors after all.

Since its official reveal in Shanghai last year , the 2010 Porsche Panamera has arguably given the long-established German tuning houses somewhat of a challenge.

GM looks to smooth things over with Magna by awarding a key contract for a new vehicle.

As we told you yesterday, the 2010 GX460 will be available in two trim levels. The base model will start at an MSRP of $51,970, and the Premium will start at $56,765. Neither figure includes the obligatory $875 delivery, processing and handling fee.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is pursuing an investigation into possible rusting frames on 2000 and 2001 model year Toyota Tundras.

It's finally here and General Motors did it right. The CTS Coupe has become a reality and as I reported to you guys in AUGUST, the CTS-V Coupe will be a reality .

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 12:43 p.m. Read more: Local , Crime , POKER , HALL , ROOM , BURTON , BRISTOL , ROAD , SHOOTING , FATAL , ARMED , ROBBERY , SHOT , KILLED BURTON -- The following is a press release from Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton: Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton announced today that he will not authorize criminal ...

With its 2010 SRX, Cadillac is backing up for a fresh run at the burgeoning luxury crossover utility market.

Italian police on Saturday arrested a Pakistani father and son accused of helping fund and providing logistical support for last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, authorities said.

A different Chrysler is emerging from bankruptcy with renewed focus on quality, according to a Detroit News interview with a senior executive.

A bold Detroit robber toting a handgun warned his victim, "Don't make this a homicide," before shooting the man three times and making off with some cash overnight.

I've only seen the pictures, but this is a good looking car. Watch our video.

A Wisconsin man strangled his 14-year-old stepson with a necktie in a minivan in a Walmart parking lot, telling investigators he wanted to get revenge on his wife and her relatives for interfering in his business, prosecutors said Tuesday.

A state law that allows police and municipalities to seize the vehicles of accused repeat drunk drivers or those who have driven repeatedly on revoked licenses was deemed unconstitutional Tuesday.

Chicago Public School Board President Michael Scott pressed a pistol against his head and killed himself with a "single contact-range, through-and-through gunshot." There's no doubt about it, Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Nancy Lynne Jones said Tuesday during a rare news conference called to defend her office's ruling of suicide.

A group of businessmen on Monday launched a new coalition to urge the federal government to make a major investment in electric transportation, pointing to electric cars as the best way to confront the nation's dependence on imported oil.

Two Chicago men accused of plotting an armed attack on a Danish newspaper may have been involved in planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, authorities in that country say.

A 17-year-old pleaded guilty Friday to killing a Border Patrol agent who was shot eight times while chasing suspected illegal immigrants in the mountains east of San Diego.

For those hoping the Ohio State game would provide a window to Michigan's football future, Saturday's loss was not encouraging.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 4:31 a.m. Read more: Local , Crime , St. Louis , Correctional , Jail , Gang , Gratiot County Prison guards are searching through jail cells looking for weapons used in a gang fight at aA correctional faculty.

Friday, November 20, 2009 at 10:35 a.m. Read more: National , Crime , Shaniya Davis , Mario Mcneill , Antoinette Davis , Sexually Assaulted FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. a ' A man charged with raping and killing a 5-year-old North Carolina girl was expected in court Friday, a day after authorities revealed what they believed happened to her in her final days.

Eager to turn flagging sales around, Chrysler Group is offering new incentives set to run through the holiday season for MY 2010 vehicles.

A picture of of Frank Williams and crew members of his Formula One team watching scoring monitors.

The head of the Nissan-Renault alliance said Thursday that customers' adoption of electric vehicles will be a slow and gradual process, with traditional gasoline-powered cars continuing to dominate the market for many years.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 1:20 p.m. Read more: National , Crime , Elizabeth Olten , Alyssa , Samantha Green JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.

A picture of the front view of the 2011 Buick Regal. The new Buick Regal will be available with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 220 hp, mated to a six-speed manual transmission.

A look at the major attacks in Pakistan since the beginning of October: _ Nov. 19: A suicide bomber kills 16 people outside a courthouse in the main northwestern city of Peshawar.

The Regal is back. My first thought, after hearing the name and not seeing the car, was that Buick would have another contender for the rental car industry.

An Iranian doctor who treated victims of torture at Tehran's most feared prison has died, amid conflicting reports of a heart attack, a car accident or suicide - raising opposition accusations that the 26-year-old was killed.

A suicide bomber killed 19 people Thursday outside a courthouse in northwestern Pakistan, the latest attack in an onslaught by Islamist militants fighting back against an army offensive in the nearby Afghan border region.

Toyota failed in the safety ratings, including its number one seller, the Camry. Unfortunately Toyota plays the roll of sore loser.

The Ford Fusion is Motor Trend magazine's car of the year. The 2010 Fusion beat out 22 competitors, including the redesigned Toyota Prius, the BMW 7-Series and the Chevrolet Camaro.

A 37-year-old father irate over hearing his 15-year-old son had sexual contact with a 3-year-old girl made the teen strip at gunpoint, marched him to a vacant lot and shot him to death despite pleas from the boy and his mother, a relative said.

Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen sit atop the insurance industry's annual list of the safest new vehicles, according to a closely watched assessment used by car companies to lure safety-conscious consumers to showrooms.

At the Los Angeles Auto Show on Dec. 2, General Motors will announce the initial beat down of Oriental Toyota.

Daimler plans to offer a pilot Smart rental program with 200 ForTwo cars for Austin, Texas, city employees.

Ita TMs been a tough year so far for automakers. Many manufacturers are posting large declines in sales compared to last year.

U.S. carmaker General Motors could cut between 9,000 and 10,000 jobs as part of its restructuring of its European operations, Nick Reilly, interim head of GM's European business, said on Tuesday.

Toyota will soon announce a plan to voluntarily repair junk accelerator pedals in a variety of late-model Toyota products, the idea being that shrinking and re-shaping the gas pedals will reduce the chance that their vehicles will careen out of control because of a stuck floor mat.

Poor Toyota, maybe they will get it together one day. "More failed concepts come out of "over focus grouping" a vehicle in it's design stages."

General Motors has issued a recall order for about 52,000 Chevrolet Cobalt , Pontiac G5 and Saturn Ion vehicles from model years 2006 and 2007 in order to correct a defect that could lead to a vehicle fire.

On Monday morning, General Motors provided an update of its first 83 days of operating as a new company and shared some of the progress it has made.

First debuting in 2001, Fiat has manged to sell over one million Doblos, both as panel work vans and as five or seven passenger "leisure activity vehicles." This is the first ground-up redesign in the Doblo's relatively short life, and we're thinking Fiat might have bigger plans for its tiny work truck.

Toyota admitted they have a problem. Poor quality continues to haunt the oriental carmaker.

General Motors Co. might be able to repay $6.7 billion in federal aid by next summer, five years earlier than expected, because the automaker's worst pre-bankruptcy financial fears never materialized.

Before you start tickling your Blackberry to tell us we paired these two just a few months ago [" Dirty Speed, Done Dirt Cheap," January 2009 ], listen up: These aren't quite the same as the top two in that seven-way all-skate. Both have undergone makeovers for 2010, so we are clearly obligated to explore what effect, if any, the revisions have had ...

Read the article yourself, and draw your own conclusion. Sometimes it only takes a few words to get the message across.

The 2009 Dodge Ram: click below to watch Paul's video review.

Ford's Lincoln luxury division was once known for names like Town Car, Mark IV and Continental.

Eighty-one Saab dealers in the U.S. will be rejected by its new owner, Koenigsegg.

The move comes on the heels of General Motors' announcement that it plans to challenge the Crown Victoria's law enforcement dominance with its own heavy-duty Chevrolet Caprice sedan.

After reports that the Jeep Grand Cherokees may be three to four times as likely to catch fire in a rear-impact collision than other midsized SUVs, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has agreed to open an investigation .

Goodyear is raising the price of tires sold in North America by 6 percent to offset higher raw material costs, the world's largest tire maker said Thursday.

A suicide bombing attack wounded six people Friday near Camp Phoenix, a logistics support base for U.S. forces just outside Kabul, an Afghan police official said.

Brooke Hundley, the 22-year-old ESPN staffer at the epicenter of the Steve Phillips sex scandal, spoke out on "Good Morning America" earlier today, saying that she's been unjustly vilified.

Please be aware of possible death of loved ones.

The entrance to the Detroit auto show at Cobo Hall is shown last year. Detroit auto show By far the most famous thoroughfare in Michigan is the iconic Woodward Avenue, or M-1 in the state's official designations for roads.

Gunmen killed a Pakistani working at the Iranian Consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Thursday, adding to security fears in the country as it presses an offensive against the Taliban along the nearby Afghan border.

Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday reported its best October sales in 12 years in Europe, but said both Ford and industry sales are likely to decline next year as government incentive programs end.

The Outback is dead! Long live the Outback! Obviously, a rallying cry like that requires explanation.

Fortunately, those dark days are gone and General Motors and Ford at least have gotten their heads around how to build the kind of cars they sell in Europe.

The issue Sudden acceleration kills at least 19 people. Where we stand Automaker and regulators have to provide answers about why a recall took so long.

Mike Tyson allegedly hit a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport and was booked and released on suspicion of misdemeanor battery Wednesday, police said.

Helicopter gunships shelled militant hide-outs in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 10 suspected fighters after a Taliban attack left two paramilitary soldiers dead at an outpost in the area.

General Motors Co. remains committed to repaying its billions of dollars in government loans, though it's too soon to say when that will happen, the automaker's chairman said Tuesday.

Motors Liquidation Corp., which took over General Motors' assets, says it doesn't plan to fund worker severance pay or other expenses.

Never heard of that race? We have, but only because we had Car and Driver's head cheese Eddie Alterman on our esteemable podcast the other week and he mentioned it.

It was just a routine car wash. Except there was no car -- and no clothing. Four Australian men who allegedly undressed and soaped up at a car wash have been charged with exposure and public nuisance.

Detroit police may get a slice of $662,000 in alleged drug money that narcotics investigators seized overnight Monday at a city motel in one of the biggest busts in recent memory, Police Chief Warren Evans said Tuesday.

Toyota hasn't said what changes to the production truck will be made, but the class rules dictate that runners stay pretty close to factory specs, while allowing more serious mods to the suspension and whatever is needed inside for a safety cage.

Police on Friday shot and wounded a person-of-interest sought in the Halloween night killing of a Seattle police officer, just as a massive memorial service for the officer drew to a close.

Can you tell the difference between a plastic shoe and a luxury sports car? Porsche, the famed German car company, is entangled in a legal spat with Crocs, the maker of rubber shoes.

After months of negotiations between Magna and its partners on the one hand and General Motors on the other, the American parent company opted to hold on to its European subsidiary.

A picture of a white Aston Martin DB9 Volante. The Aston Martin DB9 Volante is $200,000 worth of open-air luxury.

Mazda is making a grass is greener move with the 2010 CX-7 crossover utility vehicle.

There have been reports that Porsche Automobil Holding SE is pushing to get an 8. 5 billion euro loan by Nov.

Powered by tax cuts and stimulus spending, China's October auto sales soared 72 percent from a year earlier, outpacing U.S. sales for another month, according to data reported today.

The law firm of McCuneWright, LLP, filed a national class action lawsuit yesterday against Toyota Motor Corporation on behalf of Toyota and Lexus owners who have experienced incidents of sudden unintended acceleration.

Put a fork in Toyota, they’re done. Too many mistakes and dung have corroded the maker. Moving forward was stopped by stupidity.

A picture of the side view of a blue Ford Ka. Ford CEO Alan Mulally says the Ford Ka is too small for U.S. tastes.

Oops I did it again explains Toyoda..Two drivers in California have filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corp.

The latest sales numbers out of China this morning are further vindication that General Motors strategy in that country is paying off.

Trolleys, subways and buses were running again Monday and riders were trickling back to the city's transit system after an early-morning contract agreement ended a crippling six-day strike.

A suicide bomber apparently targeting an anti-Taliban mayor struck a crowded market Sunday in northwest Pakistan, killing the mayor and 11 other people and injuring dozens, police said.

Victim's dad: 'These guys have no regard for human life whatsoever' Comments November 5, 2009 By NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter / nkorecki@suntimes.com A second bank robber involved in a violent South Side shooting that took the life of a bank teller pleaded guilty today in a deal with prosecutors that would mean 20 years in prison.

Dale Haney is the keeper of the White House grounds. In nearly 40 years of keeping the flowers blooming, he has also managed to cultivate something just as important: relationships with the presidents' pooches.

At the beginning of the week, Toyota instituted a mass recall of floor mats entailing nearly 4 million vehicles.

In a leadership shakeup of its European division, Bob Lutz is being made chairman of Opel's supervisory board while the automaker looks for a new Opel CEO.

An automatic continuously variable transmission is a $1,500 premium. The base all-wheel-drive model, which comes only with a CVT, is priced at $22,484.Standard features for the base mode include eight airbags; push-button keyless start; dual-zone climate control; power windows, doors and locks; and a nine-speaker CD system with steering wheel ...

Two drug suspects accused of trying to run over police officers before striking and killing a woman in her vehicle on the South Side on Tuesday morning have been charged.

Chris Douglas-Roberts has tested positive for swine flu, another blow to a New Jersey Nets team that is losing players as quickly as games.

Thursday, November 05, 2009 at 12:37 p.m. WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. a ' Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to the White House and tax crimes in a deal that could send him to prison for about 2A1 2 years.

A man charged with killing a worker and wounding five others in the Orlando engineering firm where he once worked has been denied bond.

A guard at an unofficial jail in the Chinese capital has pleaded guilty to raping a young detainee, an activist said Thursday, in a case that has put a spotlight on "black jails" where a growing number of people seeking justice from the government end up.

As General Motors' new board of directors became more immersed in the automaker's business, it began to question more and more the idea of selling off a majority stake in the company's Opel division, a top executive indicated Wednesday.

Part of the brand's hopeful transformation includes giving each model a flex-fuel variant , and the latest application of that principle is seen on the 2010 H3 and H3T.

A picture of race car driver Bruno Senna. Bruno Senna, a Formula One driver for 2010, is the nephew of Ayrton Senna.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009 at 9:26 a.m. The stars seemed aligned for supporters of gay marriage.

General Motors Co. said it has received permission to use $2.8 billion of its government aid to help buy part of troubled auto parts supplier Delphi Corp., the automaker's former parts division.

The Indian automaker has plenty of potential customers for its inexpensive little econo-gem, but production capacity is another matter altogether.

Ford announced today that it will offer inflatable seat belts in the back seat of its 2011 Ford Explorer .

Sergio Marchionne, the would-be savior of Chrysler Group, emerged from a five-week corporate blackout Wednesday with a wildly ambitious plan to double car sales and pay off all of Chrysler's loans to the U.S. and Canadian governments by 2014.

After about a decade of engineering, Ford is ready to roll out a technology that will improve the safety of rear-seat passengers: inflatable seat belts.

The gang from Zuffenhausen will be rolling out a new lightweight edition of the Boxster dubbed "Spyder" especially for those who live where the sun shines and the roads twist.

It turns out the investigation into Toyota/Lexus sudden acceleration , which prompted the largest recall in the company's history to remove floor mats that could interfere with the accelerator pedal, isn't over.

We just got the first photo of the new limited edition model along with further details.

Germany 's politicians fumed and Opel workers canceled cost concessions and readied walkouts after General Motors canceled the sale of its European subsidiary to parts maker Magna International and Russian bank Sberbank .

Updated 12:20 a.m.: When you tune in the 11:00 news tonight, don't expect to see too much inside-the-tent video coverage of today's presentations.

A picture of a green Dodge Viper. The current Dodge Viper stays in production until next July.

This is serious and informative. This is eerily reminiscent of Volvo in the 80’s, ruining their sales and reputation for a decade.

Toyota has confirmed it is leaving Formula One. Jarno Trulli is shown. Toyota has confirmed that it will pull the plug on its Formula One program immediately.

Kia announced today at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas that it has partnered with the Kinetic Group to build and compete with a pair of new Forte Koups in the 2010 Grand-Am Koni Challenge series.

General Motors Co.'s decision to back out of the sale of its German unit Adam Opel GmbH is "completely unacceptable" and shows the ugly face of capitalism, Juergen Ruettgers , state governor of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said Wednesday.

The owner again is General Motors Co. , but Delphi Corp.'s former Lockport manufacturing complex has the same challenges that existed under Delphi: Cost, customers and quality of product.

Good to see the numbers coming back for October. Let's hope sales continue.

The board of General Motors decided to keep Opel , undoing months of negotiations to sell its European unit to a Russian-backed group led by Canadian auto supplier Magna.

Mix up something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue and you've got the Ecoboosted '34 Ford which debuted here at SEMA .

Oriental Toyota exec is overheard saying "oops I did it again." Hundreds of Toyota owners are in rebellion after a series of accidents caused by what they call "runaway cars.

Honda has already given us some wheel time with the Crosstour, so keep your eyes peeled for our review at noon Eastern today.

A picture of the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Ford will fit the Raptor truck with a 6.2-liter V8 rated at 411 hp and 434 lb-ft of torque.

A picture of the Mustang Cobra Jet smoking its rear tires. The supercharged 5.4-liter V8 in the Mustang Cobra Jet cranks out a tire-smoking 475 hp.

Ford Motor Co. surprised the markets Monday with a quarterly profit of nearly $1 billion.

Decades of safe influenza inoculations mean specialists aren't expecting problems with the swine flu vaccine, because it's made the same way as the regular winter flu vaccine.

The upcoming Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG will serve as the official 2010 Formula 1 safety car, Mercedes board member Thomas Webber announced at a press event today in Monterey, California.

Toyota continues to struggle, mired in poor quality recalls. We do believe however the Oriental company will come out of the downward spiral at some point.

A top executive with the U.S. arm of Toyota said Monday the automaker may expand the Prius nameplate into a marketing sub-brand for a broad family of low-emission, high-mileage hybrid vehicles.

Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and forecast a "solidly profitable" 2011.

The Ford Motor Company on Monday posted a surprise third-quarter profit of $997 million and said it had its first profitable quarter in North America in more than four years.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. , Japan's two biggest automakers, led the third straight increase in the nation's monthly auto sales as government incentives boosted demand.

A man was charged with aggravated drunken driving after he plowed into a fire truck that was backing into a fire station in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side early Monday, police said.

2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 - Comparison Tests Street cars named desire: Two gotta-have-it cars with similar credentials and dissimilar goals.

But as we suspected , t'aint necessarily so . The Accord Tourer will hit U.S. shores later next year branded as the Acura TSX Sport Wagon, and as just about anyone in automotive product planning will tell you, new models just aren't conceived that quickly even if the vehicle in question is just a simple porting-over job from another market.