Corvette Z06 tops Motor Trend list of shortest-stopping vehicles

By Jeremy Korzeniewski Any modern performance car worth buying puts just as much emphasis on stopping as it does on going. After all, what's the point in being able to hit ludicrous speed if you can't manage to get it back down without heading fascia-first into an unmovable object? So, what's a good stopping distance? According to the crew at Motor Trend, 100 feet from 60 miles per hour is a pretty good starting point. And the best of the...

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Audi Urban Concept Sportback ready for wireless charging in the city

By Sebastian Blanco  Not as easily spotted as its Spyder relative, the Audi Urban Concept Sportback more closely matches the renderings we saw before the start of the Frankfurt Motor Show. That's not to say we were totally prepared for the quirkiness of either version, but at least the Sportback's carbon fiber reinforced plastic body was somewhat known to us. Under the CFRP, the Sportback and Spyder share the same all-electric powertrain....

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Toyota safety tech can take steering control to avoid impact

By Zach BowmanAccording to The Detroit News, Toyota is working on a new pre-crash system that will actually take control and steer the vehicle to minimize impact in the event of an unavoidable collision. The system combines super-sensitive radar with a camera array in the front fascia to detect possible impacts. On-board computers then calculate the correct levels of braking and steering required to avoid the crash, and if the driver fails to act,...

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2012 BMW M5 configurator comes alive, threatens bank accounts everywhere

by Zach BowmanJohn Milton had some pretty strong views on temptation. The famous poet and author of Paradise Lost wholeheartedly believed that one could not truly know one's goodness without facing genuine temptation on a regular basis. After all, how could you know whether you're straight-laced as a saint or crooked as the devil's own claws if you circumnavigated the world's vices? Fortunately for us, BMW has been so kind as to pull back the sheets...

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I DRAW CARS book coming for budding car designers

by Jeff GluckerLove cars? Surely, then, you spent many a classroom hour doodling them all over their book covers and binders. Sometimes they looked kinda cool, while other times you wish you had used pencil instead of pen. A new book is in the works that will help budding automotive designers hone their skill, and the octavo will serve as both a sketchbook and a reference guide. It's called I DRAW CARS, and you can help bring it to life.The team...

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Insurers to use young driver behaviour to calculate premiums

The ECJ’s ban on using gender as an assessment factor when calculating insurance policies may soon mean men have access to cheaper car insurance but for many young drivers in 2011, insurance premiums are simply too expensive or unavailable altogether. That could all be set to change, however, with the introduction of a ‘pay-how-you-drive’ initiative by the Co-Operative Insurance. The Co-Op’s new insurance policy, aimed exclusively at the 17-25 age group, includes the installation of a Smartbox – like a black box recorder on an aeroplane – to record...

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Ford's plan to make commutes more efficient, optimize EVs

by Damon LavrincAndroid developers across the world have descended on San Francisco for this week's Google I/O conference, and Ford is getting in on the action with its announcement to utilize Google's new Prediction API to increase efficiency and decrease commute times.The Prediction API has a range of location-based uses, but Ford's plan involves tapping into your driving habits, gathering historical commute and errand data, and then optimize your...

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BMW Brilliance Automotive previews 5 Series plug-in hybrid prototype

by Aaron RichardsonIn the lead-in to the Shanghai Motor Show, BMW has teased an upcoming plug-in hybrid 5 Series that will be exclusive to the Chinese market. The prototype of this greener version of BMW's midsize sedan is based on the China-only long-wheelbase 5 Series platform.The car is part of a joint venture between BMW and Chinese automaker Brilliance. The car is the tip of an eco-friendly iceberg BMW has aimed squarely at China, a country...

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Hot Wheels holds 3D race on side of historic Aussie building

by Aaron RichardsonHot Wheels teamed up with an Amsterdam-based company called Muse Digital to create a 3D commercial that can be projected onto buildings. In this case, Hot Wheels had Muse make them a 3D, computer-generated race between four of its iconic models.The race was projected onto the side of the historic Sydney Customs House. So advanced are the projected 3D graphics that the building appears to get destroyed throughout the course of the...

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Subaru's RWD Sports Car getting 2.0-liter non-turbo engine, confirmed for America

by Jeremy KorzeniewskiPeanut butter and jelly. Beer and brats. Wine and cheese. Subaru and all-wheel drive. It's true – Subaru has done an enviable job convincing Americans that its automobiles are synomous with all-wheel drive, and the idea of a Subie that eschews four driven wheels for a powertrain sending its horsepower to the rear wheels only sounds like heresey to the diehard WRX driver.But it shouldn't... at least, that's what Subaru is now...

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Average lifetime car insurance costs estimated at $84,000

by Jeff GluckerUnless you live in New Hampshire, here in the States, you're required to have some form of car insurance covering your vehicle. The annual cost to insure a car depends on an array of factors ranging from the type of vehicle to where you live to your driving record. You undoubtedly know what you pay for insurance on an annual or monthly basis, but do you know how much you will end up paying over the course of your driving life? According...

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Torture-tested Ford EcoBoost V6 engine torn down at Detroit Auto Show

by Jeremy KorzeniewskiExactly as promised, Ford sent a couple of technicians to the show floor at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show in front of a live audience to disassemble the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine that was torture-tested for the equivalent of a few hundred thousand miles of rigorous duty on the dyno and in the engine bay of various F-Series trucks.How'd it fair? Rather well, we'd say, and it managed to churn out 364 horsepower and 420 pound-feet...

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BMW Unscripted follows Tiffany Coates around the globe

by Zach BowmanThe last time we heard from BMW Unscripted, an ancient 5 Series was stalking the tall grass of South Africa in search of meerkats. Now the company has turned its attention to Tiffany Coates and her BMW R80GS. The duo have traversed the globe together, ranging over five continents and covering untold miles in the process. For Coates, no country or region is off limits, and she's spent time everywhere from Afghanistan and Pakistan to...

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