Latest auto news

Followup: Renault confirms 400-HP Alpine concept debuting on Friday *UPDATE [w/video]

Renault has confirmed the unveiling of an Alpine concept at this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix de Monaco, but as we get closer there are new details alongisde new questions. Just yesterday came the leaked image of a concept called the A110-50C, heavily based on the Renault DeZir concept, that could turn out to be the thing itself or pure Photoshop fancy. French press is reporting that Renault COO Carlos Tavares has confirmed that a 400-horsepower concept will appear that "could be homologated and on the road in the future," and it will take a lap of the Monaco course.

Another story in the French press has a picture of Sebastian Vettel sitting inside a vintage Alpine 110 racer - the car that all this hubbub is about, an example of which is pictured above. It was taken in mid-April for German GQ magazine at the Barcelona F1 circuit. Vettel and Tavares will supposedly be presenting the concept, but that report indicates the car is called the ZAR and suspects the first letter is for "zero emissions," the second for Alpine, the third perhaps for Renault. A report in CNET France also claims the ZAR appellation for the concept, allowing that the meaning of the acronym can only be supposition for now. True, the DeZir was an all-electric concept, so either the A110-50C/ZAR has 400 electric horsepower and there isn't any mid-mounted 3.5-liter Nissan V6, or Renault has found a way to break every single law of internal combustion... or we just don't know what's really in there.

We'll should know all come Friday at 1:00 PM local time.

* UPDATE: The leaked image (inset) is the real deal. Renault has released some teaser photos and a video, and the reveal will happen on French Yahoo! Autos on Friday at 1:01 p.m. Monaco time. Scroll down to watch the teaser vid.

Continue reading Renault confirms 400-HP Alpine concept debuting on Friday *UPDATE [w/video]

Report: Honda projects 30 percent of motorcycle sales to come from India by 2020

Honda recently released its financial report for the the manufacturer's motorcycle division. Not surprisingly, two-wheel-friendly Asia accounted for a lofty 79 percent of the company's total sales in 2011. The entirety of North America, meanwhile, soaked up just 1.6 percent of the brand's total volume last year. What's more, Honda fully intends to expand its operations in the blooming Indian market. Until last year, Honda worked with Hero MotorCorp to sell its bikes in India. With the two entities officially split, the Japanese company reports it expects to see somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 percent of its sales come from the Indian market by 2020.

India boasts a population of 1.2 billion people, or around 17 percent of the world's population, making it the second-largest bike market globally. As of right now, Honda is working on chipping out a 20 percent share of that pie, which means it already dominates the country's motorcycle market as the largest foreign bike manufacturer.

Rumormill: Subaru Tribeca getting the axe?

Could it be? Could Subaru finally be killing the Tribeca?

We'll admit it. We've been waiting for this day since we first spied the 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca. So has every other too-clever-by-half automotive journalist who slammed Subie's range-topper when it debuted in late 2005, looking like it had been styled by whatever group-think team General Motors had canned for unleashing the Pontiac Aztek on the world. We never thought Plan B9 From Outer Space would last this long to begin with, and we wouldn't be surprised if someone told us that Subaru has been keeping the slow-selling, three-row crossover in production just to keep the automotive journalist peanut gallery from gloating. We do love to gloat.

Of course, the report from Motor Trend is nothing more than a rumor at this stage, and Subaru's official response is that there will be a 2013 model year Tribeca. And who knows, maybe the powers that be at Fuji Heavy Industries will shove another delightfully refreshed model year down the pipeline. Volvo's been doing it for years.

Video: Fast N' Loud is Wheeler Dealers, American style

If you've ever sunk a Saturday afternoon watching a Wheeler Dealers marathon on BBC America, we don't need to tell you the show is plenty addictive. A tag team salesman and mechanic snag slightly run-down cars and SUVs, fix a few simple problems and flip them for a profit in the UK.

Now it looks as if the Discovery Channel is set to unleash an Americanized version of the show. Fast N' Loud follows a shop as they seek out classic cars and trucks, customize them and work to sell them at a profit. It looks a bit like American Pickers met Pimp My Ride and Overhaulin in a bar bathroom and this is the fruit of their rendezvous.

We will, of course, tune in if for no other reason than the guys look to have gotten their hands on an early '50s Oldsmobile Coupe. That's one of our favorites. The show premiers on Wednesday, June 6 at 10 p.m. Eastern on the Discovery Channel. Scroll down to check out the teaser for yourself.

Continue reading Fast N' Loud is Wheeler Dealers, American style

Video: Man creates DIY Lexus LS 400 convertible with Sawzall

We love four-door convertibles, reciprocating saws and watching other people make bad decisions, so the video seen here is a bit like our perfect YouTube cocktail. In it, the owner of a slammed Lexus LS decides he's had enough of living under the oppressive shadow of his sedan's roof. While at StanceWars Belgium 2012, he decides to fire up a generator, plug in his trusty sawzall and go to town. Not surprisingly, the sheetmetal on the roof gives up quickly, and the whole extraction takes less than eight minutes from start to finish.

Hilariously enough, it starts raining just as the owner makes the final cut. How's that for a sign from the universe? Scroll down to check out the carnage... just be prepared for the painful sound of shredded metal.

Continue reading Man creates DIY Lexus LS 400 convertible with Sawzall

Official: Chrysler launches 'No Payments for 90 Days' incentive

Chrysler upped the ante for May sales announcing this week a deferred payment program for anyone buying a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Fiat between now and the end of May.

The "No Payments for 90 Days" program began Monday and runs until May 31. Qualified buyers financing their new vehicles through Ally Financial or Chase Auto Finance are eligible for deferment. Some consumers may not be eligible due to state laws.

It's an interesting twist to spur sales, as Chrysler has seen a 31-percent increase in sales this year, well ahead of the 10-percent increase for the industry. However, sales at Chrysler slowed in April, climbing just 18 percent, while overall industry sales mildly grew 2.3 percent.

Additionally, Chrysler announced it was doubling down on military members and their families with its "Military Appreciation Bonus Consumer Cash". Instead of giving eligible military members $500 toward a vehicle purchase, Chrysler is spotting them $1,000 through the end of the month.

The hot selling 2012 Dodge Avenger SE, Chrysler 200 LX sedan, Dodge Journey AVP, Fiat 500 Abarth and all SRT models, including the soon to arrive Viper, are exempt from the deal. See more details below.

Continue reading Chrysler launches 'No Payments for 90 Days' incentive

Video: Mercedes releases even more drift-happy C63 AMG footage from Laguna Seca

Mercedes-Benz and its AMG division wanted to thank the two million viewers of its various videos, so it dropped a C63 AMG at the top of the Corkscrew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and recorded it drifting down. The treat was wasn't as sweet as it should have been due to an editor who got a bit too happy with the "Cut" button, and watchers said as much.

So, in a nice bit of "Here, let's fix that," AMG has uploaded aerial footage of the uncut drift. Now that we know AMG takes requests, feel free to leave them in the Comments section. On your way there, scroll down to check out the new vid.

Continue reading Mercedes releases even more drift-happy C63 AMG footage from Laguna Seca

Report: Florida judge rules flashing lights for speed trap warning is covered under free speech

Count this one as a big victory for motorists. A Florida man has won his First Amendment case against the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, who wrongfully ticketed him for flashing his lights to warn other drivers of a speed trap. According to the Orlando Sentinel, a Circuit Court judge not only said that the deputy who ticketed Ryan Kintner had misapplied a state law banning aftermarket flashing emergency lights, but also ruled that flashing your lights to communicate with other drivers qualifies as constitutionally protected speech.

But this victory for Kintner is just a stepping stone towards a larger case. According to the report, his attorney has filed a class action lawsuit that charges the Florida Highway Patrol with willfully violating a 2005 court order prohibiting the police from ticketing motorists for flashing their brights. The report says that case has a hearing scheduled for next month, so this is certainly not the last we'll hear on the issue.

Followup: Renault confirms 400-HP Alpine concept debuting on Friday

Renault has confirmed the unveiling of an Alpine concept at this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix de Monaco, but as we get closer there are new details alongisde new questions. Just yesterday came the leaked image of a concept called the A110-50C, heavily based on the Renault DeZir concept, that could turn out to be the thing itself or pure Photoshop fancy. French press is reporting that Renault COO Carlos Tavares has confirmed that a 400-horsepower concept will appear that "could be homologated and on the road in the future," and it will take a lap of the Monaco course.

Another story in the French press has a picture of Sebastian Vettel sitting inside a vintage Alpine 110 racer - the car that all this hubbub is about, an example of which is pictured above. It was taken in mid-April for German GQ magazine at the Barcelona F1 circuit. Vettel and Tavares will supposedly be presenting the concept, but that report indicates the car is called the ZAR and suspects the first letter is for "zero emissions," the second for Alpine, the third perhaps for Renault. A report in CNET France also claims the ZAR appellation for the concept, allowing that the meaning of the acronym can only be supposition for now. True, the DeZir was an all-electric concept, so either the A110-50C/ZAR has 400 electric horsepower and there isn't any mid-mounted 3.5-liter Nissan V6, or Renault has found a way to break every single law of internal combustion... or we just don't know what's really in there.

We'll should know all come Friday at 1:00 PM local time.

Report: Arrinera supercar born out of Polish Lamborghini replica? [UPDATE]

If you thought it seemed a little odd that Poland - a country without much of a history of producing exportable cars - would suddenly come out with a high-performance supercar, well... we're afraid you may be right. Because the latest reports out of the Eastern European country suggest that the Arrinera project is nothing more than a reclothed replicar.

Arrinera, as you may recall, is a project to build a supercar in Poland. Specifications recently hit the interwebs, indicating a $160,000 list price and a 6.2-liter V8 with 650 horsepower driving the rear wheels through a Graziano gearbox for a 3.2-second sprint to 62 and a 211 mph top end.

Now reports coming out of Poland - citing a certain Jacek Balkan who seems to be the Slavic version of Jeremy Clarkson - are calling the whole project into question. According to the word on the Warsaw boulevard, the people at Arrinera took a Lamborghini replica made by another Polish outfit called Bojar Tuning and gave it a new skin. Interior components were reportedly borrowed from the Opel Corsa and late-90s Audi A6, all in an effort to raise funds on the stock market.

The question we're left with is, if the project started as a replica but now has its own design and identity, should its humbler beginnings matter? If the specs are right and legendary chassis tuner Lee Noble is involved, the Arrinera could still emerge as a winner. Of course, we'd have to drive it in order to tell for sure, but we've got some openings in our calendar coming up...

UPDATE: Arrinera has hit back with a itemized denial of Jacek Balkan's reported allegations. It insists that its product is not, in fact, based on the Lamborghini replica made by Bojar, and that it does not borrow any more components from production vehicles than you'd expect to find in other supercars made by small companies like Pagani, Wiessmann, Noble, Artega or Gumpert. For a translated version of the full legal document, click here.