News

Let's face it: political discourse in the U.S. isn't very pretty. It's generally a matter of two large parties -- each backed by an army of fundraisers, copywriters, and statisticians -- shouting at each other in front of sympathetic audiences. Over the past couple of decades, the situation seems...

Being a backseat driver may no longer be a bad thing. Luxury car brand Daimler AG just invested an undisclosed amount in ride-sharing startup Carpooling. Although Munich, Germany-based Carpooling declined to specify the size of the investment, other sources indicate that it’s of the order of...

With the yen weak against the dollar, Japanese automakers like Honda, Nissan and Toyota are working hard to relocate production of U.S. market cars to the U.S. Now it seems Honda has chosen the U.S. as its development base for the next-generation Honda Civic, due some time around 2016. The...

Public-health advocates have known for years that living around freight yards is hazardous to your cardiopulmonary health. In smog-susceptible Los Angeles, the Port of LA was a huge hotspot of toxic emissions. And seven years ago, the Port embarked on an ambitious program to eliminate the bulk of...

For years, the unmarked police car has helped law enforcement agencies around the world capture speeding drivers, pounce on unsuspecting criminals and provide covert investigative opportunities. Powered by a large, powerful engine capable of high-speed pursist, the traditional unmarked cop car is...

When an existing car model gets redesigned for a new model year, automakers and dealers often offer big discounts and incentives to anyone willing to buy the outgoing model. Usually, some car buyers choose to buy the discounted outgoing model, while others opt for the newer model, but according to...

It’s a well-known fact that most Americans prefer to drive cars with automatic gearboxes over ones with manual transmissions, while others are unsure of how to drive stick at all. So it’s no surprise that Chrysler -- whose manual transmission 2013 Dodge Dart launched earlier this year...

When it comes to compact cars, one body style does not a product line make. Ford, for example, offers both hatchback and sedan body styles on its Focus line, while Honda offers the Civic in sedan or coupe form. Kia goes one better, offering its Forte in coupe, hatchback or sedan variants, which...

Will your next car be smaller than your current one? If you answered yes, then you're in good company, as a recent JD Power survey shows that 27 percent of new car buyers have downsized in the last year. The 2012 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study, showed that only 13...

Regardless of the reason behind them, official safety recalls can be frustrating for both automakers and car owners. But according to Gregory Skwira, copy editor for Automotive News (subscription required), his own personal experience of Ford’s urgent recall of the 2013 Escape crossover SUV...

Just one month after deliveries of the 2013 Ford Escape started, Ford has made a formal recall of all Ford Escapes fitted with its 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine. The recall is to replace an engine compartment fuel line, which is at risk of splitting and leaking fuel in the engine bay, potentially...

You only need to take a look at the current MINI range--with its hatchbacks, convertibles, coupes, roadsters, crossovers and more--to see that it's quite a challenge designing a range of cars based on a small, 1959 minicar. It's sure to make the job of updating the MINI quite a challenge--and one...

One way to drive greener is to use fewer cars more efficiently. The average car sits stationary for 23 hours a day; surely if it were used more, we would need fewer cars overall? That's the idea behind Relay Rides, a startup company that connects private parties who want to rent out their cars for...

With continued uncertainty about gas prices, more Americans than ever are buying smaller, more efficient cars. According to Automotive News (subscription required), the demand for small, high gas mileage cars has meant that sales of compact cars -- like the Toyota Yaris, Kia Rio and Chevrolet Sonic...

Earlier this month, BMW confirmed that the Mini Paceman two-door coupe concept car we saw at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show would go on sale in the U.S. early next year. But according to Automotive news (subscription required), the new car -- essentially a coupe version of the existing Mini Countryman...

Uber, a San Francisco-based startup company that provides on-demand private drivers to customers through its smartphone app, has had an especially bumpy ride since launching in Washington, D.C. in December 2011. But things are looking up now that the D.C. Council voted Tuesday to exempt Uber from...

We've all, at some stage, bought something we've ended up regretting. Whether an item of clothing you never really wear or a piece of technology that ended up being useless, it's frustrating to know you could have spent the money somewhere else. Buyers of new 2012 and 2013 model year Chevrolets...

It's just 18 seconds of video, but a clip from Italy appears to show the first clear details of yet another upcoming Fiat model to help the brand return to volume sales in the U.S. market. Posted on Tuesday, the video shows what is almost surely a Fiat 500X crossover. This new model is the...

On Thursday, we brought you news that BMW was planning to ditch its partnership with GM to develop fuel cell vehicles, for Japanese rival Toyota. That news has now been confirmed, with a joint press conference on Friday heralding the start of BMW and Toyota's partnership. The automakers' Memorandum...

With 2025's 54.5 mpg corporate average fuel economy standards set to be finalized towards the end of this year, carmakers will also have to meet a 34.1 mpg average by 2016. Alongside these economy targets, carmakers--and perhaps other businesses--will also be bound by the EPA's greenhouse gas...