Most Popular Used Cars in USA

Filed under: Podcasts, Sports/GTs, Supercars, BMW, Chevrolet, GM, Hyundai, Nissan, Celebrities

Autoblog Podcast #83 was judiciously held back until after the embargo cleared, but we can now talk freely. The biggest news this week is the official unveiling of the Corvette ZR-1/Blue Devil. Powered by the new LS9 supercharged small-block, the car’s performance is sure to be astounding. After laying eyes on the un-camoflaged car, hood porthole and all, we have to ask: is it overwrought? From ridiculous speed to ludicrous wordsmithing, we talk about the Nissan FORUM concept mainly for the chance to bash the hilariously composed press release. Maybe it was written in Japanese and they just passed it through translation software before releasing the announcement. (more…)

Filed under: Car Buying

Tata Motors is expected become the winning bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover in the coming weeks. While the Indian automaker could soon be selling us expensive British luxury cars and SUVs, it’s also hard at work developing the world’s least expensive car. The cheap car under development is expected to sell for around 100,000 rupees or around $2,500 USD, and we’ve just learned it will be unveiled early next month at the Auto Expo in New Delhi. (more…)

Filed under: Motorsports, Marketing/Advertising, Earnings/Financials

For a retiree, Michael Schumacher sure has been getting a lot of press lately. If he’s not testing prototypes for Ferrari, he’s taking on rivals in the Race of Champions or getting in trouble with the fuzz for driving a taxi. But the 7-time world champion is also making an awful lot of money for someone who isn’t even working.

Thanks to continued partnerships with some of Schumacher’s biggest sponsors, the driving superstar is expected to pull in a staggering €35 million over the next seven years, taking his sponsorship deals through 2014.

Schumi’s manager Willi Weber has been hard at work maintaining the commercial relationships with such big sponsors as Shell, Omega and Deutsche Vermogenberatung. At this year’s RoC, the champ wore a white, black and orange suit decked out in sponsor’s logos instead of the scarlet he wore while driving for Ferrari.

[Source: F1-Live, Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty]

Filed under: Time Warp, Etc., Ford

There was a Robocop 3? Apparently so, it even had theatrical release, but it should have gone directly to video. The most memorable thing from the Robocop franchise, at least for us, were the Taurus police cars. They featured prominently in all of the installments, 3 included. Now for those of us who had the AMT/Ertl kit (I had the SHO cop car, not the Robo 1), you can pick up the real thing. This isn’t just a hand-me-down Taurus that got a rattlecan paintjob, either, but the last surviving automotive cast member from the final installment. (more…)

Filed under: Coupes, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, BMW

The BMW 1-Series is on the verge of being sold here in the U.S., which means the multimedia blitz is on its way. With automakers getting more creative to capture buyers attention, spots are getting more high tech, and less reality based. BMW brass have recognized the trend, and the end result is a fanciful version of how the 1-Series is produced at the factory. Hit the jump to see the the :30 spot, which carries the tag line “Makes you want to get behind the wheel.” While the commercial may not do that for us, the razor sharp BMW chassis and silky smooth 300-hp twin-turbo inline-six has us panging for a shot behind the wheel. Check out the gas fill up point just before the Bimmer takes off. That would beat the hell out of self-serve in the dead of winter. (more…)

Filed under: Motorcycles

We really do love us some V-Max, despite the fact that the bike is well past its prime in this day and age of remaking a motorcycle every two years or so. Just because the bike is older than some of our readers doesn’t diminish the fact that the V-Max packs a heavy dose of power. It’s never easy to remake an icon, so Yamaha is certainly dragging its feet taking its time when it comes to releasing the new Max. The world has seen some hints about what the new bike will look like, but this one is certainly the biggest to date. Weighing a ton and a half, this block of aluminum-plus-V-Max shows how far along in the design process the tuning-fork-company has gotten. According to our source article, the fact that the rear tire is worn might mean that they are testing mules using the new architecture and, most importantly, the new engine. Of course, the heart of Mr. Max has always been the V-Four engine, and we expect that it will continue that way. Still no word on just how powerful the new bike will be, but we would be disappointed if it weren’t the fastest thing on two-wheels down the good ‘ol 1320. (more…)

Filed under: Etc., Celebrities

Not that we’d have any reason to, but if we had to make a list of the world’s biggest playboys, Flavio Briatore would certainly rank in the top five. Certainly the biggest in the automotive industry. He’s best known as team principal of Renault F1, but the Italian businessman also owns several beach clubs, night clubs and restaurants in Sardinia, Tuscany, Kenya and London, as well as an English football club and, having been a senior director for the Benetton clothing label, has his own fashion line called Billionaire Italian Couture. But business aside, Briatore has dated some of the most famously attractive models in the world, including Naomi Campbell and Heidi Klum.

With a little black book like his, it would take some woman to take him off the market, but his latest girlfriend has done just that. Italian lingerie model Elisabetta Gregoraci recently revealed that the couple are engaged to be married at a ceremony - and what’s sure to be the party of the century - next May. Flavio is 57, and his fianc

Filed under: Aftermarket, Tuners, SUVs, Euro, Mercedes Benz

click image to enlarge

Carlsson has applied its tuning magic to the new M-Class with a host of power, visual, and interior upgrades. Starting with the engine, Carlsson’s performance kit for the 320 CDI engine boosts horsepower to 269 and torque to 452 lb-ft, and a new exhaust system with quad tailpipes is also available. The suspension can be upgraded with Carlsson’s C-Tronic system that lowers the vehicle 40mm, and 22″ 11-spoke wheels help fill the wheel wells even more. A subtle front spoiler and a diffuser-look rear skirt are the only exterior modifications. Interior appointments include alcantara and leather seats, a sport steering wheel, aluminum pedals, and illuminated door exit lights. Once again, Carlsson proves that sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a better Benz.

[Source: Carlsson]

Continue reading Carlsson puts some more class in the M-Class

Filed under: Gadgets, Ferrari

From its headquarters in Maranello, Ferrari has traditionally operated two divisions: one that makes exquisite road cars, and another that competes in motorsports. More recently, however, a third division has emerged, with the responsibility of conducting the company’s ever-increasing marketing enterprise. The Global Branding Division itself seems to be following two tracks: licensing products as exclusive as the road cars and targeted towards their owners, and marketing merchandise to the Scuderia’s enormous fan base. (more…)

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

The Chicken Little’s have arrived: even though there is plenty of hope for sweet electric Mustangs and the like, AutoblogGreen readers heard yesterday that CAFE will make muscle cars an “endangered species”. Whatever. How much muscle does the Banks Sidewinder D-Max Type-D have? Plenty, that’s how much. It just doesn’t spew nasty emissions like older vehicles. Perhaps once the Mythbusters bust the electric car myth next season, all will be better.

• Corvette’s chief engineer: CAFE will make muscle cars an “endangered species”
• GM skipped E85 for new LS9 V-8 to preserve low speed drivability
• European automakers are a bunch of whiners over CO₂ rules
• Banks Sidewinder D-Max Type-D runs a 7.96-seconds at 167.34-mph
• Video: President Bush signs the Energy Bill into law
• UN annouces International Conference on Biofuels
• London may abandon plan for CO₂ based congestion charge
• Mythbusters to bust myth electric cars are slow in episode next season
• Volkswagen not too happy about proposed EU CO₂ rules
• VW to add a turbo CNG option to European Passat
• Ford creates “green” labelling for Austrian market: ecosport
• President Bush explains why EPA denied California’s waiver to regulate tailpipe emissions
• Reading tea leaves: Carmax says hybrid searches on the rise
• Nokia lets you monitor the emissions coming in to your car
• SciAm names X Prize Foundation the “Policy Leader of the Year”
• Earthrace captain really, um, “getting into” next biodiesel circumnavigation attempt