Most Popular Used Cars in USA

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Trucks/Pickups, HUMMER

The HUMMER H3T has been much in the news lately, now we finally have some press coverage that doesn’t involve broken embargoes. After a few days in the High Sierras putting pre-production versions through boulder-strewn paces, the words from HMR magazine are: it’s good!

Once past the marketing-speak — like “With its unique size and HUMMER traits, the H3T is ideal for the customer who works hard and plays harder” — the H3T with the Adventure Package put in a proper HUMMER showing: the 5-foot bed hasn’t killed the truck’s departure angle, the length hasn’t ruined its agility, and it even got in the obligatory Jeep smackdown encounter. The H3T also has 160 official aftermarket partners creating a glutton’s range of branded accessories. (more…)

Filed under: China, Safety

If you’ve payed attention at all to international news the past few days, you know parts of China are pretty much frozen solid right now. At least 63 people have died because of the storm, as many as 800,000 travelers were at one time stranded at Guangzhou Railway Station trying to get home. It’s the worst winter storm that country has seen in 50 years, and more snow is predicted in the next week. (more…)

Filed under: Aftermarket, SUVs, BMW

If you bought a BMW X5, you probably didn’t do so because you wanted everyone to look at you. However, just in case you’re a gawker-seeker who was somehow forced into purchasing an X5, Hamann has the kit to make sure you get all the looks you can handle.

It’s called the Hamann Flash, and in case you forget its name, or if someone else wants to know what it’s called, “Flash” is written on the front doors. In addition to that exterior feature, it gets new front and rear aprons, fender flares, a roof spoiler, and four choices of wheel riding on a specially-developed suspension and halted by a bespoke brake system. All powerplant options get the power boost treatment, with the 4.4-liter V8 topping the charts at 368-HP, but we think we’d go with the 3.0sd with 320-HP and 486 lb-ft. And with the custom exhaust, all versions make a sound described as “growling thunder.”

Inside, the SAV gets exclusive Hamann black mat flooring, aluminum pedals, carbon fiber all over, and… well, any desire you can pay for. And thankfully, it doesn’t appear that the word “Flash” appears anywhere. You can read the press release after the jump, and check out the gallery of hi-res images below.

[Source: Hamann]

Continue reading Hamann adds some flash to the BMW X5

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Tech, Dodge

AutoWeek recently got some track time with the Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR. The AutoWeek scribes also got Q&A time with some of the car’s developers, including Herb Helbig, senior manager of SRT Vehicle Dynamics, Matt Bejnarowicz, supervisor for Viper ACR chassis development, and Mike Shinedling, program manager for the Viper ACR. (more…)

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Chevrolet

While two Camaro mules were caught at LAX earlier in the week, another was recently captured on the other side of the world. Still sporting the camouflage look that Bob Lutz vowed to banish, the car was spotted on an open trailer somewhere in Australia. The photographer managed to capture an important detail that many fans have been mulling over since the launch of the Camaro concept. That essential feature is the appearance of the fuel door. The concept perched the door on top of the driver’s side rear fender. Apparently that will not be true of the production vehicle. The spy shot indicates that the Camaro will intake fuel through the passenger side rear fender. However, since folks in Australia drive on the right side of the vehicle that makes it the driver’s side in their world. We hear their toilets swirl in the other direction, too. Due to cost saving measures, we don’t expect the fuel door location to change for U.S. production. Also of note are the rear taillights, which we can see in these images are red on the inside and amber on the outside. Minor details, for sure, that will no doubt be eagerly devoured by Camaro faithful waiting for this car’s return. (more…)

Filed under: Maintenance, Trucks/Pickups, Etc., Chevrolet, Driving

Talk about finding a good used car. Frank Orsenick bought his ‘91 Silverado in 1996. At the time, it had 41,000 miles on the clock. After 11 years of service (and a lot of driving), the old pickup is about to reach a milestone. Frank had the oil changed last week, just as he has every 3,000 miles since acquiring the Chevy, and it’s sure to be the last one it receives as an everyday-use vehicle. You see, it’s just 1,200 miles away from spinning past the 1,000,000-mark on the odometer. When it hits the big number, Frank is going to put his faithful ride into retirement. As for how he got this far, Orsenik credits regular maintenance and “a little luck.” We should all be so lucky. (more…)

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Chrysler, Dodge

click above to view the video

The Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR is a racing machine, that’s what the three letter suffix denotes (American Club Racer), of course. You don’t even have to be within 100 feet of the Viper ACR to know what it is, that wing on the back clues you in. Somewhere, a 737 is missing an elevator flap. If you were to somehow miss the gigantic horizontal stabilizer, the ACR’s paint scheme with its wicked-looking asymmetrical stripes announce what it is from a mile away. (more…)

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Chrysler

click above to watch the first commercial from Chrysler’s new campaign

Chrysler wants to get the message out that its listening to customers and responding quickly to improve its products. To that end, the privately-owned automaker is kicking off a new ad blitz this weekend with three commercials set to air in conjunction with the Super Bowl. The three ads you’ll see this weekend are product specific and focus on the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander (the Jeep spot can be watched after the jump), though there are a total of eight product specific ads that will eventually be aired during Super Tuesday programming, the Indy 500 and the Oscars. In addition, Chrysler’s also got an animated cross-brand ad titled “Listen to You” (screen shot above and more in the gallery below) that shows a kid creating his own car company by, what else, listening to what people want. The whole campaign is called “It’s A New Day”, and you’ll likely be seeing it everywhere soon. (more…)

Filed under: Motorsports

Jason Priestley, best known for his deft portrayal of Brandon Walsh on “Beverly Hills, 90210″, has entered into a partnership with Jim Freudenberg, the former general manager of Kelley Racing, to start a new IRL team called Rubicon Race Team. So far, the team has only one race in which it plans to compete: the Indianapolis 500. Priestley is known as an avid racer, though he hasn’t been behind the wheel much since he hit the wall at Kentucky Speedway going 180 mph in August of 2002. He broke his back and both his feet, but not his fondness for speed. (more…)

Filed under: Euro, Lincoln

We distinctly remember hearing last year that Ford had absolutely no desire to export its Lincoln brand to other markets besides North America. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the post in our archives to back up what our memory swears is true. That said, in these tough times when a turnaround puts every crazy idea on the table, it seems that Ford is genuinely considering making Lincoln a global brand to compete with the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and even Cadillac in markets like Europe and Asia. This according to an interview given by Ford CEO Alan Mulally to the German outlet Auto Motor und Sport. (more…)