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Trickle-down technology is how four-wheel anti-lock braking systems went from their production debut on a 1978 Mercedes-Benz S-Class to being standard equipment across the board for all vehicles on the road today. It also explains how advanced technologies like adaptive cruise control, pre-collision auto-braking and, to a lesser extent, lane departure warning, has made its way down the funnel to Subaru’s mainstream sedans, the 2013 Legacy and Outback.

Beginning with the 2013 model year, both models will be available with the new Subaru EyeSight driver assistance system that consists of a pair of charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras mounted at the top of the windshield on either side of the rearview mirror. This is different from most car-based camera systems on the market today that use a radar-based system mounted somewhere in the front of the car, usually in the grille or front bumper. Subaru says the placement of its EyeSight cameras should help reduce the potential for damage – and likely very expensive repairs – from minor collisions.

What can EyeSight do exactly? For one, it takes stereo images of the view ahead and can detect obstacles, including pedestrians. Under 19 miles per hour, a Pre-Collision Braking System can slow the vehicle or stop it completely if an obstacle is detected and the driver doesn’t act. Above 19 mph, EyeSight can still detect objects and slow the car to mitigate damage from a collision. Likewise, the system can see when you wander outside of a lane without using your turn signal and issue an alert. Finally, EyeSight allows for Adaptive Cruise Control that’s functional between a wide range of speeds: from 1-87 mph.

Pricing for this option isn’t known yet, but EyeSight will officially debut at the 2012 New York Auto Show on the 2013 Subaru Legacy and Outback, though buyers interested in the brand’s other products won’t have to wait long for it to trickle down to the rest of the lineup.

Continue reading 2013 Subaru models to see with optional EyeSight safety system

2013 Subaru models to see with optional EyeSight safety system

Remember when we told you that Sergio Marchionne didn’t receive a paycheck from Chrysler during 2011? As it turns out, it’s because he was busy raking in the big bucks from Fiat.

Automotive News reports that Marchionne earned 14.5 million euros ($19 million U.S.) in 2011. The pay includes seven million shares of Fiat stock, which can be exercised between 2012 and 2015, plus a base salary of 2.45 million euros ($3.2 million U.S.).

That’s a lot of money for the vast majority of us, but the Chrysler/Fiat CEO is being paid close to what all the other successful chief executives are receiving. The most direct comparison (since both companies are based out of Europe) is Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who made 17.5 million euro ($23 million U.S.) in 2011. Given that VW made $20.5 billion in 2011, we’re thinking Winterkorn has a good argument for saying he’s worth the extra $4M.

Sergio Marchionne actually made $19M last year

Famed Senior Vice President and Chief Styling Officer Wille G. has announced his retirement from Harley-Davidson effective April 30, 2012, after 49 years with the company. He is 78 years of age, and one of 13 executives who purchased the brand from AMF in 1981.

According to Harley-Davidson, Wille G., grandson of company founder William A. Davidson, is leaving 19-year company veteran Ray Drea in charge of the styling department.

Drea and Davidson are said to have collaborated on many milestone models. In other words, we wouldn’t expect sweeping changes to H-D’s overall design philosophy in Willie’s absence, for better or for worse.

Willie G. will remain onboard as an ambassador at motorcycle rallies and events, and he’ll lead special design projects as Chief Styling Officer Emeritus. Feel free to peruse the press release below.

Continue reading Willie G. to retire from Harley-Davidson in April

Willie G. to retire from Harley-Davidson in April

Police forces didn’t care much about fuel economy back in the early days of the Ford Crown Victoria, but these days, efficiency is front and center for cash-strapped municipalities. The cost of fuel keeps rising and cities continue to cut their budgets, so one or two miles per gallon might make the difference for a city deciding between a fleet of Ford’s new Taurus-based Interceptor, the Chevrolet Caprice PPV and Dodge Charger Pursuit.

And so it is with great interest we read the news today that Ford has released official EPA-certified fuel economy figures for the new Interceptor. The base model equipped with a 3.5-liter V6 is rated at 18 miles per gallon city / 26 highway, while the twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 is rated at 16 mpg city / 23 highway. Finally, the Interceptor Utility (read: cop-spec Ford Explorer) powered by a 3.7-liter V6 returns 16 mpg city / 22 highway.

We scoured through official specs and data from Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge to produce the comparison table above. As you can see, the new Police Interceptor from Ford is not the precinct captain of fuel economy, not even when comparing the V6 EcoBoost model against its V8-powered competitors. The acceleration numbers, meanwhile, were all taken from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Annual Law Enforcement Vehicle Test and Evaluation Program for 2012 models. Based on their results and the official EPA numbers that we found, the Chevrolet Caprice PPV V6 looks like the best combination of both quickness and thriftness. One thing, though, is for certain: No matter which model they choose, police forces everywhere should be saving lots of fuel compared to the aged Crown Vics in their fleets now. Learn more in Ford’s official press release after the jump.

Continue reading Ford Police Interceptor line gets official EPA fuel economy ratings

Ford Police Interceptor line gets official EPA fuel economy ratings

We all tend to get a bit overzealous at times – we’ll call it part of human nature – and as many times as not, our tendencies to show off manifest themselves most when we’re behind the wheel of a hot new sports car. Like, say the brand new Toyota GT 86, also known as the 2013 Scion FR-S here in the States, or, in Subaru form, the BRZ.

Such is the case with the unlucky fellow you’ll see in the video embedded below. During what appears to be a drive event for Toyota’s new coupe, taking place on a wet track in what we believe is Japan, one driver exceeded his talent level in a bright red GT 86, sending it careening into a makeshift wall.

The good news is that it was a low-speed mishap, which means nobody was injured and the car will need little more than a decent buffing. Or maybe a new fascia… either way, no big deal. See the video clip below.

Continue reading Is this show-off the first to crash a Toyota GT 86?

Is this show-off the first to crash a Toyota GT 86?

We’ve been expecting for some time that Mercedes-Benz would choose to grace its New York Auto Show stand with a variant on its new A-Class family as part of a push to bring a new range of small cars to North America. However, it now seems more likely that Los Angeles audiences will get a vision of Mercedes’ entry-level future, not New York. That’s because Mercedes has officially confirmed that it will show something called the “Concept Style Coupe” at an art, music, film and food festival in LA curated by none other than Mike D of the Beastie Boys.

Transmission LA: AV Club, a “multi-disciplinary festival,” runs from April 20 to May 6, and sponsor Mercedes promises an “artistic staging” of the concept car (expected to be a sedan), the production version of which is rumored to be dubbed CLC. The 17-day festival will be held at the Geffen Contemporary at LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

All of which begs the question: With the New York Auto Show staged earlier (press days are April 4 and 5), what will Mercedes show in the Empire State? It’s too significant of a market to the Three-Pointed Star to let the show pass without debuting something significant. See the complete press release below for more.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz CLC to get Beastie introduction in LA?

Mercedes-Benz CLC to get Beastie introduction in LA?

What do you do to celebrate the ‘Vette’s 60th? Well, if you’re Chevrolet, you crank out one more model year of the C6 Corvette before showing off your much-anticipated seventh generation car. And apparently, you make cute YouTube videos.

This one features the special 60th Anniversary 427 Convertible blowing out its candles in a fashion that’s entirely apropos. And while we’re making wishes, here’s to hoping the next Corvette gets the interior overhaul it’s deserved for about 15 years.

Click past the jump to see the full video.

Continue reading Chevrolet Corvette celebrates 60 years by making a wish

Chevrolet Corvette celebrates 60 years by making a wish

Toyota is pretty sure that its expanded Prius family will drive up sales of the world’s best-selling hybrid, and the early sales returns indicate that the company is right, right, right.

After the Prius V sold about 8,400 units in the U.S. in the first ten weeks, the smaller, cheaper and more efficient 2012 Toyota Prius C is also getting a lot of attention. Toyota announced today that the C sold 1,201 units in just the first three days it was on sale. That’s enough to make it “one of Toyota’s fastest-selling vehicles,” according to the automaker, which also pointed out that those three days of sales is more than either the Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt sold all last month.

If anything, those 1,201 sales are not as impressive as the C managed in Japan (where it is badged ‘Aqua’) – Toyota obtained 120,000 orders in the first five days it was on sale, though it isn’t immediately clear how many units have actually been sold. So far, the newly expanded Prius family has sold almost 10,000 units in the U.S. through the first half of March. This certainly points to the Prius franchise doing well in 2012. Last year in the U.S., Toyota sold 136,463 examples of its Prius Liftback (it sold 140,928 in 2010) and expects to sell 220,000 Prius models of all types here this year.

Continue reading Toyota Prius C outsells monthly totals of Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf in three days

Toyota Prius C outsells monthly totals of Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf in three days

With every new set of spy shots, we become increasingly more excited for the launch of the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake (or is that Break?). This tapered wagon version of the shapely CLS is certainly a looker, even in pre-production, camo-clad protype form, and after giving its shockingly quick sedan counterpart high marks for its driving dynamics, we can only assume that the complete Shooting Brake package will be really, really sweet.

Oh yeah, there’s an AMG version, too.

Seen here for the first time, the CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake takes the same sleek long-roof shape of the CLS550 Shooting Brake prototypes we’ve seen, but adds all of the bulgy bits fitting of any high-performance Merc. All we can say is, it looks absolutely stunning, and we can’t wait to see the finished product.

Power is expected to come from the same twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8 found in the CLS63 sedan, sending 518 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels via Mercedes’ seven-cog Speedshift transmission. Like the sedan, we expect that Mercedes-Benz will offer an AMG Performance Pack, which boosts power to 550 hp and 590 lb-ft in the sedan. Holy moly.

Wipe the drool from your keyboards and click through our attached high-res image gallery to see the CLS63 Shooting Brake prototype for yourself.

Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake is the one we want

Finally. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for ever since Toyota and Subaru jointly announced their compact rear-wheel-drive sports car: production is now underway.

With an official ceremony at Subaru’s Gunma Main Plant, attended by Toyota president Akio Toyoda, Subaru pushed the Big Red Button (quite literally, in case you were wondering) that sent BRZ and Toyota GT 86 coupes down the assembly line. And the event was captured in both still images and video for our viewing pleasure.

Check out our high-res image gallery above, and see below for the video and official press release. Oh, and if you’re one of the lucky ones with a deposit down for either the Subaru or the Toyota’s Scion FR-S twin (America won’t get one with an interlocking rings badge), it’s officially time to consider making room in your garage.

Continue reading Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT 86 production gets underway [w/video]

Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT 86 production gets underway [w/video]

Continue reading 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate: Wrap-Up [w/videos]

2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate: Wrap-Up [w/videos]

General Motors has gone on record to oppose a Washington State bill that would impose a fee of $100 per year on electric-vehicle drivers.

GM Regional Director Howard Lenox, Jr. wrote a letter on March 6 to Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire stating that the automaker, which makes the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid, is against such a bill. The state is proposing the fee as a way for EV drivers to compensate for the gas taxes that they otherwise wouldn’t be paying. The letter was posted on GM’s The Future Is Electric blog.

“A fee which singles out electric vehicles will be a disincentive to the growth of the electric vehicle market in Washington State,” Lenox wrote in the letter. “As a practical matter, there are so few vehicles on Washington’s roads today that their impact in replacing fuel tax revenues will, for now, be negligible.”

While drivers of the Volt actually wouldn’t be subject to such a fee because its onboard generator is gas-powered, GM appears to be looking ahead as the automaker looks to electrify more of its fleet to meet more stringent greenhouse-gas emissions requirements.

Last month, Washington State passed Senate Bill 5251, which was introduced by Mary Haugen, the Senate’s transportation committee chairwoman. The fee, which is subject to a vote by the state’s House of Representatives, is estimated to add as much as $1.9 million to the state’s coffers by 2017. Arizona, Oregon and Kansas are among other states looking at instituting fees that specifically target electric vehicle drivers.

What do you think, should states enact taxes on EVs to recover lost gas tax revenue? Vote in our poll below, then have your say in Comments.

View Poll

GM says Washington State’s proposed electric car fee has “no merit” [w/poll]

Heather Peters really, really doesn’t want anyone to settle with Honda. Peters is the woman who went her own way earlier this year, suing Honda in small claims court in Torrance, CA instead of joining a class-action lawsuit against the automaker over allegations that the company promoted misleading fuel economy numbers for the Civic Hybrid, model years 2003 to 2009. She was recently awarded $9,867 in damages, significantly more than the $100-$200 the 200,000 Civic Hybrid owners involved in the class action suit are expected to net (their lawyers stand to make $8.5 million). Because of that perceived unfairness, Peters is going in front of Superior Judge Timothy Taylor in San Diego today to ask that the class-action settlement be cancelled.

According to the Associated Press, Peters is using her small claims winnings – which Honda said it will appeal – to prove that the settlement is unfair to the Civic Hybrid owners that had thus far agreed to the deal. Around 1,700 owners decided not to take part in the settlement and there is reason to believe Taylor is at least slightly sympathetic to their cause. He recently extended the deadline for state attorneys general – who called the original settlement deal unfair – to respond to Peters’ winnings.

The original Civic Hybrid class action case arose out of the claims of John True, who sued Honda in 2007 because, he said, the automaker misled him about the car’s fuel economy. When we interviewed him back in 2007, who knew the turns this story would take?

Honda Civic Hybrid small claims lawsuit winner trying to stop class-action suit

The 2013 BMW 7 Series has an appointment for some cosmetic surgery, according to a report in Car & Driver. The restyle will be minimal, with detail changes around the fascia going just far enough to let other 7 Series owners know that you have the latest model.

A more substantive change could occur under the skin of the ActiveHybrid 7, however. It’s nearly $13,000 more expensive than it’s non-hybrid counterparts but doesn’t make an equally hard-to-ignore case for efficiency: the ActiveHybrid 750i has 55 more horsepower than the standard car, but is rated at 17 city / 26 highway versus 15 city / 22 highway. Speculation is that the ActiveHybrid 7 could get the six-cylinder powertrain from the ActiveHyrbrid 5 to improve its green credentials.

BMW 7 Series getting mid-cycle updates for 2013

According to a report from Reuters, Ford has been sued for allegedly selling F-Series pickup trucks and E-Series vans with defective fuel tank linings. The suit alleges that Ford knew about the problem and continued to sell affected vehicles over a 10-year period.

According to the complaint, the fuel tank lining of Ford’s full-size trucks and vans built between 1999 and 2008 can “separate and flake off,” clogging the fuel system and causing the truck to stumble or stall. Further, Ford is said to have issued a “secret” technical service bulletin to dealers about the problem, but never issued a recall or offering to fix customer vehicles for free.

The complaint, brought on by Coba Landscaping and Construction Inc of New Jersey and its principal Galo Coba, is said to be seeking class-action status on behalf of all owners of affected models. Considering that the Ford F-Series pickup was the best-selling vehicle between 1999 and 2008, that’s a heck of a lot of owners.

Ford has yet to comment on the issue, saying it has not received the complaint. Apparently, the issue is unrelated to the rusted-out gas tank straps found by certain F-Series owners in snowy climates.

Ford sued for allegedly using defective gas tanks in F-Series and E-Series from 1999 to 2008

As we said when we first drove the Volkswagen Golf Blue-e-motion, Volkswagen is taking its time getting into the all-electric game. Given the tremendous ups and downs that electric vehicles and EV start-up companies are going through, maybe making sure you have a car where everything is working smoothly – to say nothing about getting the infrastructure in place - isn’t such a bad idea. And it now seems like VW is confident enough in its Golf EV, which is undergoing testing in California, to push up its estimated release date from 2014 to late 2013.

Sure, technically, that could be a difference of just one day, but we don’t think that’s what VW of America president Jonathan Browning meant when he confirmed next year’s U.S. release date with Automotive News. Late 2013 is also when the car will go on sale in Europe. A plug-in hybrid Golf is supposed to go on sale in 2015.

Even though VW is getting ready to move into electric vehicle territory, it is well behind other automakers. Perhaps that’s why it is also a bit less optimistic about the potential success of plug-ins. The automaker expects just three percent of its new vehicles to be EVs or hybrids by 2018. You can read our second spin in the Golf blue e-motion here.

Volkswagen confirms late 2013 launch date for all-electric Golf

Rally racing, like virtually every other form of motorsport in the world, is a dangerous activity. As much as we love watching a talented driver negotiate a tricky off-road race course with skill and luck, crashing is no doubt part of the experience as well. And crashes happen rather often in the world of rallying.

During the 2012 Rally Mexico, which took place from March 8-11, 2012, there were two drivers who started the race but were forced to retire after crashing out. One of those was Evgeny Novikov, who ended his race in spectacular fashion after the roof vent of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC blew away, causing the cabin to fill with dust and debris. As the commentators point out, he was truly driving blind, at least until he veered off course and crashed.

When we say Noviko crashed, what we really mean is that he flipped, rolled and generally demolished his Fiesta rally car with a vengeance before ending up on the roof. See for yourself by watching the video below.

Continue reading Watch Evgeny Novikov crash spectacularly out of the 2012 Rally Mexico

Watch Evgeny Novikov crash spectacularly out of the 2012 Rally Mexico

In general, car dealers have reputations just below personal injury lawyers and politicians, so it’s no surprise that most consumers are naturally wary whenever they engage in the process of buying a new vehicle.

As part of an effort to restore consumers’ faith in the auto buying process, the Federal Trade Commission is intervening, calling out five dealers from around the country for what it says argues is deceptive advertising. According to the FTC, the dealer ads in question promise to “pay off your car” and to “pay off your trade no matter what you owe” when, in fact, they either rolled the balance of customers’ trades into a new loan or just outright demand would-be buyers pay the difference out of pocket.

Tempting, yes, but anyone with a half-full brain cavity would almost certainly start asking questions before signing such paperwork, right? Well, maybe, but these sorts of tactics have spread among auto dealers, likely because they have proven effective.

The dealers named by the FTC include Billion Auto, Inc., in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Frank Myers AutoMaxx, LLC, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Key Hyundai of Manchester, LLC and Hyundai of Milford LLC, of Vernon and Milford, Connecticut and Ramey Motors, Inc., of Princeton, West Virginia.

The FTC’s wrist slap settlement requires that for the next 20 years, the above dealers not run deceptive ads, keep copies of the ads they do run, and file reports with the FTC showing their compliance.

If they violate the FTC order, the dealers will be fined up to $16,000 for each infraction. Read all the details in the official press release after the jump, and while you’re there, check out an example of one of one of the dealers’ advertising handiwork as well.

Continue reading FTC steps in to curb deceptive car dealer trade-in practices [w/video]

FTC steps in to curb deceptive car dealer trade-in practices [w/video]

If you’ve got that compact crossover itch that only something as sporting as the Mazda CX-5 can scratch, you’re in luck. The smallest Mazda crossover is on sale now, and its online configurator tool is live.

Starting price is $20,695 plus a $795 destination charge, for a total of $21,490. That kind of cash will get you a front-drive CX-5 Sport with a six-speed manual. Opting for all-wheel-drive will force you to also take the six-speed automatic and bump the price to $24,140. (The manual transmission is not available with any of the higher trim levels, either.) Like most Mazda models, the Touring model is the next rung up the ladder, with prices starting at $24,690 for FWD and $25,940 for AWD. Grand Touring models are the most loaded CX-5 models, at $27,840 and $29,090, respectively.

We liked the CX-5 quite a bit when we drove a preproduction model last November and look forward to getting some quality time behind the wheel of the actual production model soon. Click past the jump for the full pricing press release, then bounce on over to the configurator.

Continue reading 2013 Mazda CX-5 configurator zips online

2013 Mazda CX-5 configurator zips online

A tornado with 130-mile-per-hour winds touched down in the tourist area of Branson, MO, in late February. Among the many damaged businesses was the Branson Auto Museum, which lost its roof, according to Old Cars Weekly. The majority of the 100-plus cars in the museum survived the disaster, though at least seven were damaged by debris.

Branson Auto Museum manager Sue Uygun tells OCW that the museum plans to rebuild and reopen in the same location as soon as possible, but will be closed for at least a couple of months. The museum was launched on May 15, 2009 in a former crafts mall and had recently begun expanding its collection to include more antique tractors and farm implements.

Click past the jump for a press release on the tornado rebuilding efforts from the Branson/Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Continue reading Branson Auto Museum pledges to rebuild after tornado

Branson Auto Museum pledges to rebuild after tornado