The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has released crash test scores for the newest convertibles. The tests are pretty surprising since the new BMW 3-Series only received a marginal score, while the new Chrysler Sebring received good ratings in the crash tests. Apparently a higher price does not always mean you are getting a better car.

Porsche has asked the European Union for permission to take over Volkswagen.

A new study by Harbour Consulting has announced that Toyota is the most productive automaker, since it only takes Toyota 29.93 hours to make a car. Nissan came in second with 29.97 hours and Honda came in third at 31.63 hours.

India's largest automaker, MDI is going to start producing the world's first commercial air-powered car by next summer. The car uses compressed air to power its engine and produces zero emissions. 6000 of these Air Cars will be on the streets of India by August 2008.

Ford has been pretty slow to respond to the growing need of more fuel-efficient models and with the styling advancement of their sedan range, which has disappointed Ford's senior management. One example is the Ford Five-Hundred aka. Ford Taurus. The styling of that sedan is not only boring, but it also looks like it could have been designed in the 80's or early 90's.

BMW announced last week that the MINI range is going to have start-stop technology standard on all of its models. Now comes word that the Smart ForTwo will also have similar technology when it debuts later this year.

Well apparently you can buy a new solar panel kit for your Prius that will save you even more gas! Solar Electrical Vehicles (SEV) has created a solar panel kit for the current Prius that will allow the car to travel up to 20 miles on the battery alone.

Every week there are more spy photos of the new 2008 Honda Accord Sedan and Coupe. (Edmunds) This time the V6 Accord Sedan has been caught during testing. The difference between this sedan and the earlier ones is the dual tailpipes. A glimpse of the interior has also shown up.

The new Ford Edge is one of Ford's most popular new vehicles. The new crossover is now the third best selling mid-size crossover behind the Nissan Murano and the Toyota Highlander. Because of this Ford has increased its sales forecast for the Edge from 100,000 to 120,000.

According to Car and Driver, there are sources that are claiming that Audi is working on a diesel version of its new supercar. Obviously the diesel version of the car isn't going to be built for increased fuel-efficiency, but instead for the perfromance.

The Detroit Free Press has posted the list of the top-20 best selling vehicles in the US last month. The list looks pretty similar to last month, with only a few vehicles moving up or down the list. The overall trend seems to be that consumers are moving further away from trucks and SUVs.

According to the latest issue of Motor Trend, the next generation 2009 Cadillac CTS-v will get the same engine in the upcoming Z07 Chevrolet Corvette (also known as the Blue Devil). The ZO7 is expected to put out about 700 horsepower and the Cadillac will get a detuned version of the same engine with about 600 horsepower.

Even though gas prices in the US are at record levels, the new Ford Super Duty (F-350 and F-450) are selling like hot cakes.

The Ford Ranger is definitely one of the oldest vehicles in Ford's current lineup. The truck hasn't received a major redesign since 1993 and since the small truck segment has been shrinking, Ford hasn't redesigned it. The current plant that Ford builds the Ranger in is slated to be closed in 2008. So what will happen to the Ranger?

Last year Renault-Nissan was in talks with General Motors about a possible alliance between the automakers. But unfortunately the talks ended when neither side could come to an agreement on the price of the relationship. Now fast forward to 2007 and Renault-Nissan is reportedly looking for a relationship with either Ford or Chrysler.

There have been numerous spy shots of the upcoming BMW 1-Series, but these newest ones are of the coupe with very little camouflage. World Car Fans This is the version of BMW's smallest car that we will actually get here in the U.S.

At this year's Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz stated that they would have their first hybrid on the market by 2009. Well according to sources the car is in the production phase and is going to feature a Bluetec diesel engine mated to a mild-hybrid system.

The new TomTom Go GPS system has some new features in order to make it stand out from the competition. It has a 4.3-inch touch screen with 3D graphics, Bluetooth capability, and an FM transmitter.

Audi has finally confirmed that the RS4 Cabriolet will come to the U.S. this fall as a 2008 model. Unfortunately only about 300 of the RS4 Cabriolets will be sold in the U.S.

Many of you may remember the Jetta Trek or the Golf K2 from the 90's that came with a bike or a snowboard. Well VW is doing it again with the current Rabbit. Chicago (U.S.) Rabbit buyers are getting a bike and a roof rack in addition to their new Rabbits. The dealers in Chicago are trying to encourage drivers to use bikes for short/quick distances.

It has already been confirmed that Honda is going to replace its slow selling Accord Hybrid V6 with a new diesel powered Accord in 2009. The new engine will be based on Honda's 2.2L i-CTDi engine. Honda claims that the new Accord Diesel will be able to achieve over 60 mpg.

Brad Pitt showed up to the premiere of his new movie, Ocean's 13 in a BMW Hydrogen 7 yesterday. Most of the onlookers at Grauman's Chinese Theater probably didn't even notice, since the car looks just like the regular BMW 7-Series.

J.D. Power and Associates has released the results of their 2007 Initial Quality Survey. Porsche held the top spot with only 91 problems per 100 vehicles for the second time in a row. But it was Ford that made the biggest headlines.

Ford plans on using the tagline "The Safest Car in America" for the recently introduced 2008 Ford Taurus. The Ford Taurus and the Mercury Sable received the highest possible crash test scores by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According a new study by the Civil Society Institute, 76 percent of Americans favor drastic changes to the current fuel-economy standards. 3/4 of the U.S. population is in favor of a 40 miles-per-gallon standard by 2010 rather than waiting until 2018.

Inside sources are confirming that the 2008 Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup is going to have a V8 option. The V8 will be the same small block 5.3L V8 that is in the 2008 Hummer H3 Alpha. The engine is good for 295 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque.

Chrysler is about to announce that the Dodge Hornet Euro B-Car is going to be produced. The car will be produced by Chinese automaker Chery and there will not be a Chrysler version of the car.

BMW has already created the wagon variant of the popular MINI, dubbed the Clubman, but now there are rumors that BMW may be working on another version of the car. There are rumors circulating that BMW has already given the green light to produce a compact SUV that will be reminiscent of the early MINI off-roaders.

The new 2009 Ford Fiesta has been spotted on American soil. This next generation Fiesta will be sold in Europe and in the U.S. when it is released.

Ok, as ridiculous as that headline sounds, it is true. There is a proposal to the European Parliament that is calling for a ban on making cars that are capable of reaching speeds faster than 101mph.

Apparently Chrysler executives have admitted to their employees that the automaker misjudged the market for the new Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Nitro SUV. In a recent Q&A session a top Chrysler executive addressed the issues with Chrysler employees and assured them that the automaker is moving fast to correct the mistakes.

Honda Civics are the most popular new and used cars among teenage drivers according to a national survey conducted by the Quality Planning Corporation (QPC). The survey concludes that the Civic is the most popular new car, while the most popular used car is a seven-year-old Civic.

According to Motor Trend the Mercedes-Benz Ocean Drive concept car has been approved for production in the 2011 model year. The concept was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show at Detroit last January. It was based on the Mercedes S600 sedan with a 5.5L V-12 pumping out 510 horsepower.

Lately it seems that hybrids get all the attention for being fuel-efficient, but there are a handful of non-hybrid cars that get close to the same levels as the hybrids. In the US this list is dominated by Honda, Toyota and Nissan. Only one European model made the list, the MINI. The big question is: Why aren't there any models from Ford, GM or Chrysler on this list?

It seems like GM is becoming very confident in their new models. First the automaker announced that they are going to have Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords in their Chevrolet showrooms, so that buyers can compare them against the new 2008 Chevy Malibu. Well now Saturn is going to try the same idea with its Aura sedan.

Being car nuts I'm sure most of us have played a car video game in our time. I for one remember spending countless hours playing Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, and many other car video games that could only be found at the neighborhood arcade. Today car video games have progressed so far that it is almost like you are driving the real thing. Microsoft's latest game, Forza Motorsport 2 is a must have!

According to Automotive News, Ford has hired investments banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help with the sale of the Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover brands.

Due to a lack of Porsche sales in Detroit, Porsche is going to be a no-show at the next Detroit Auto Show. The automaker wants to focus on regions where it has more customers.

Numerous spy photos of the 2008 Saab 9-3 have been circulating the internet for weeks. Saab is finally releasing all the info on the new models that will go on sale late this summer. The biggest change to the three models is the new front end that is inspired by the Aero X concept.

Spy photographers have caught the next generation 2009 Nissan Murano testing in Southern Europe. The current Murano has been on the market since 2003 in the U.S. So it is time for a new one.

Most of us know that the housing market and overall economy in Detroit has pretty much bottomed out because of all the automaker job cuts. Well apparently the housing market has gotten really bad that now sellers are throwing in a free car with the purchase of a house.

Yesterday we informed you about the new campaign that Saturn is going to do, which will involve placing Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords in Saturn showrooms. Saturn hopes that buyers will see that their Aura sedan is better than the Accord or Camry. The comments are still coming in about that original story.(Click Here) Well now thanks to Autoblog and Saturn we have a look at their first commercial for the campaign. The video is after the jump.

Last week it was reported that Nissan is working on a new small sports coupe model that will take cues from the Nissan Urge Concept. Now spy photographers have caught an interesting prototype testing at the Nurburgring in Germany. At first glance it looks just like the current 350Z, but upon closer examination you can see that there are differences.

Spy photographers have caught the upcoming 2009 Lexus LF-A testing. The prototype seen here has many features, such as the function-only taillights that are meant to hide the actual styling of the car.

Honda has already announced that the automaker will have a new diesel powered Accord in the US by 2009. Now Honda has announced that they are hoping to be able to launch their low-pollution, fuel-efficient diesel powered vehicles in Japan within the next few years.

Ford has announced the addition of the Shelby GT Convertible for the 2008 model year. The new Shelby GT convertible will be powered by the same powertrain in the current Shelby GT (not the GT 500), which produces 319 horsepower and 330 lb.-ft. of torque.

Ford is planning on expanding their range of hybrid vehicles beyond the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs, but the automaker is having engineering issues with a new generation of rechargeable electric cars.

We are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of the smaller than a 3-Series BMW 1-Series coupe and convertible. Last week photos of a charcoal coupe circulated the internet and now we have two more photos of the coupe thanks to Member Advevo of 1addicts.com.

According to Dr Bernd Bohr, chairman of automotive component company Bosch, 20% of all new cars sold by 2015 will have the new start-stop technology. The technology turns off the engine when the car comes to a stop at stoplights or in traffic. This new technology will reduce emissions and increase the fuel-economy of vehicles equipped with the technology.

Earlier this week, Ford confirmed that the automaker has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to sell the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. Now according to recent reports, Cerberus, the firm that just bought Chrysler is also looking at the possibility of buying Jaguar and Land Rover.

Just in time for the summer driving season Hertz and Avis have announced that they will be adding Toyota Prius hybrid cars to their rental car fleets.

Most of us have seen spy photos of the upcoming 2008 Honda Accord Sedan and Coupe, but only of the exterior. Well now thanks to Brenda Priddy & Co. we have one of first spy photos of the interior.

The V8 powered Audi RS4 which puts out 414 horsepower has ended production to make way for the upcoming RS6.

Flashback to 1957 to the town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The town buried the then new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere coupe in front of the county courthouse in a time capsule that would be unveiled on June 15, 2007 to celebrate Oklahoma's 100th anniversary of statehood.

This morning on his way into work one of our dedicated readers spotted a BMW 1-Series Hatch driving west towards Santa Monica. The car had virtually no camouflage, except for the BMW logo which was blacked out.

Toyota is going to postpone the launch of the next-generation Toyota Prius to Spring 2009. The original intro date was supposed to be fall 2008, but due to battery issues the car is being delayed.

Scion, Toyota's youth oriented brand has been on the market for only about four years, but Toyota has managed to hit their target market head on. One of the main reasons that Scion is one of the most recognized car brands among younger drivers is because of their marketing. Scion is not pitched as only a car brand, but a lifestyle. When you buy a Scion you are not only getting a "cool" ride, but you are also gaining access to a community.

Nissan is currently working on a diesel engine for its full size Titan pickup, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. The new engine is being developed with US truck and engine maker Navistar International Corp.

Toyota has announced new incentives on its new Tundra that will run through July 31st. The new incentives are: up to $3,500 in rebates, zero percent interest for up to five years or a $500 reduction on down payments for three-year leases.

GM is going to build a new range of diesel in engines in 2009. The new 4.5L V8 will have class leading torque, power and refinement. According to GM, the new Duramax turbo-diesel will boost efficiency by 25 percent, while cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 13 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 90 percent.

Temple of VTEC and Brenda Priddy have caught more photos of the new 2008 Honda Accord Coupe interior. The interior looks pretty much the same as the pics that were posted earlier this week, although they are from the other side of the car. There is also a pic of the inside of the driver's side door.

The upcoming sedan version of the recently revealed BMW M3 has been caught on the test track. This is the first new M3 sedan in a decade and it takes many styling cues from the new coupe.

There are rumors that Apple may be working on a new in-car GPS navigation system, according to German magazine "Focus". The system is being built exclusively for Mercedes, but could be made available in other cars 6 months later when it debuts in 2009.

Earlier this year, Volvo announced that they were going to discontinue the remaining "R" badged vehicles in their lineup, due to slow sales. Now there are rumors that Volvo is going to release a performance package for the new S40 and V50 models.

With gas prices at near record levels, consumers continue to flock towards more economical and environmentally friendly vehicles, such as hybrids or the new diesel powered vehicles. HUMMER currently does not offer a hybrid or diesel powertrain in its lineup, which has hurt their image. Currently HUMMERs are seen as gas-guzzling, over-sized machines.

The next generation Mazda 6 will debut at this years Frankfurt Auto Show in September. Sales will begin in November, in Europe. There are rumors that the new 6 will be based on the current Ford Mondeo, but with typical Mazda styling (zoom-zoom).

Thanks to Winding Road and the spies over at KGP, we have some new photos of the upcoming V-10 powered Audi RS6 with virtually no camouflage.

Honda dealers in Los Angeles, have deployed blue-shirted crew members to pump gas for people at gas stations, help people carry their groceries to their cars, wash windshields and pass out popcorn at movie theaters. Will this new "Personal Touch" campaign actually win over potential customers?

TheCarBlogger has posted photos of what is believed to be a new body-on-frame full size SUV from Kia. The SUV shown here was spotted in South Korea and due to the fact that it looks almost production ready, we should see it in showrooms soon.

Last week Autocar stated that Audi was planning on stopping production of the RS4, due to the upcoming RS6. Those statements are untrue according to Audi's Media Relations and Motorsport Specialist Patrick Hespen.

TheGMSource.com is reporting that GM is going to price the upcoming Pontiac G8 GT sedan at an MSRP under $35,000. This may actually be the starting price with a fully loaded version coming in closer to $40,000. Is that a lot to pay for a Pontiac?

It is rumored that Mercedes-Benz is going to unveil up to 18 different "green" vehicles this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show. This will include a range of diesels, hybrids, Bluetec-diesels and fuel-cell vehicles. Mercedes already provided some of the details on a new S-class hybrid that will also feature a Bluetec-diesel, that will be out by the end of the decade.

World Car Fans has posted spy photos of what they believe is a V8-powered Lamborghini Gallardo prototype. The car shown here has a slightly modified front fascia and a revised exhaust, which might suggest that there are also some engine modifications.

Saab is going to end production of the Saab 9-7x next year because of slow sales after only being on the market for three years. The 9-7x is built on the same platform as the Chevrolet Trailblazer and is built in Moraine, Ohio. The Trailblazer is also going to be discontinued. Both SUVs will be replaced by crossovers.

The next generation 2009 BMW 7-series has been spotted undergoing testing in Germany. The new design will be more of an evolution of the current generation with more of a muscular theme throughout. Although you cannot tell from these photos the new 7-series will adopt many of the same styling themes as the smaller 3-series.

In 2006 Chrysler made more cars than dealers wanted. Since the automaker had no dealers that wanted them, they stored them in various places around Detroit. Well now Chrysler is trying every way that they can to get rid of them. Deep discounts and significant rebates have not done the trick, so now Chrysler is going to allow dealers to label the new cars as "used" in hopes that people will finally buy them.

It has been rumored that Mercedes was thinking about building a high-end sports car that would compete with the Porsche 911 Turbo and Audi's upcoming V-10 powered R8 coupe. Well now spy photographers have caught what they believe to be Mercedes upcoming new sports car that will likely be named the SLC.

The 2008 Toyota Highlander will be in showrooms within the next few weeks and Toyota has finally announced the pricing for its new SUV. The 4-cylinder from the last generation will not be carried over and therefore buyers will only have one engine choice, the 270hp, 3.5L V6 from the Camry and Avalon. Apparently Toyota is very happy with the fuel economy of the new model. The FWD models will get 17/23 and the all-wheel-drive models will achieve 16/22. Are those numbers that great?

We are getting closer and closer to the actual unveiling of the new BMW 1-Series Coupe (July 1st) and spy photos keep coming in of the new car. All of the previous photos have been of the exterior of the car, but now we have our first glimpse of the interior thanks to 2addicts.

Spy photographer Chris Schotanus has caught another glimpse of the upcoming Mini Clubman that is expected to debut in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The clear images show the stretched Mini's split tailgate and rear passenger side door.

With gas prices consistently at record highs and consumers increasing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, Chrysler has announced new plans to boost the fuel mileage of their cars and trucks. The new family of V6 engines will have cylinder deactivation technology, which will allow them to run on 3-cylinders when less power is needed. The automaker also plans to place its new two-mode hybrid powertrain in more of its vehicles.

Volkswagen has already sold 1,000 of the 2008 VW R32, which isn't going to be released until later this fall. The automaker is only going to build 5,000 of the cars, so expect them to be sold out shortly after the car is released.

Volvo's next new vehicle after the upcoming C30, will be a production version of the XC60 concept that was shown at the Detroit Auto Show last January. It is rumored that the production version could be unveiled at the upcoming 2008 Detroit Auto Show.

Have you ever wondered if a 2000 Chevrolet Corvette powertrain could fit into a 1996 Honda Civic? Well LS1Tech.com member Civette may have done it. What else would you do if you had a Corvette and a Civic in your garage? Chop them up and make the ultimate Civic!

Cadillac's gas-guzzling SUV is about to get gas-saving technology that will hopefully help improve its image. Spy photographers have caught the upcoming hybrid version testing in Nevada. Unlike the upcoming Tahoe and Yukon hybrids, the Escalade will not get specific styling to differentiate it from the regular gas powered version.

Spy Photographer Brenda Priddy has caught the upcoming 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 undergoing testing. This new version of the 911 will feature at least 525 horsepower and 540 lb.-ft. of torque.

Honda's revised 2009 Ridgeline pickup has been caught by spy photographers. The new truck will feature a modified front end that may also be close to what the next Pilot will look like.

This amateur video of the upcoming 2008 Mercedes C63 AMG may have been done by amateurs, but you do get some good shots of the new car. The sound of the V8 is incredible. Click the link to see the full 3 minute video.

Here's a new promotional video for the new M3, which shows BMW's star F1 driver Nick Heidfeld driving the new car.

According to the Associated Press, Toyota is planning on releasing a second dedicated brand of hybrid vehicles in 2009. Toyota's initial plans are to sell a 100,000 of these new vehicles around the world.

This September Chrysler is finally going to release the SRT version of the Dodge Caliber. The Caliber SRT-4 will feature a turbocharged version of Chrysler's 2.4L world engine. It will put out 280hp and 260 lb.-ft. of torque.

Audi has announced the pricing for the RS4 Cabriolet that the US will finally get this fall. If you can part with $81,900 plus destination and gas-guzzling fees, you better run to your Audi dealer, since only 300 will make the trip over. The RS4 has a 4.2L FSI V8 that puts out 420 horsepower and 317 lb.-ft. of torque.

We've already seen spy photos of the upcoming 2008 Nissan Skyline GT-R in Mexico, but this weekend an almost naked version of the car showed up at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK.

The new MINI Clubman will be revealed at the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show this September, but spies have caught the new car without any disguise during the filming of an upcoming commercial.

Finally we have the first photos of the upcoming 2008 Honda Accord sans camouflage. Jalopnik has posted several photos of the new sedan and coupe thanks to Brenda Priddy & Co.

The upcoming Outback version of the all-new Subaru Impreza has been spotted. The new 08' WRX and standard Impreza have already been revealed this past April. The new Outback version shown here is mainly differentiated by the two-tone body colors.

Brenda Priddy and Crew have caught the new 2009 Ford Flex driving on public roads. The concept was unveiled earlier this year at the New York Auto Show. From the looks of the production version it will be very hard to tell the difference between the concept and production versions.

A few days before it is rumored that BMW is finally going to reveal it, the new BMW 135i Coupe has been caught naked.

Most of the day today we were all gawking at the recent spy photos of the new BMW 135i Coupe that revealed the exterior sans camouflage. Click Here Well BMW UK went ahead and released the full specs of the UK version of the car. The big news is that they released the full specs on the 3.0L inline six-cylinder twin turbo engine in the 135i.

Lexus has announced plans for a dedicated hybrid model for the UK and Japanese markets. The hybrid will be Lexus' most affordable hybrid and will be priced between the IS and RX 400h SUV.

These are the first official pictures of the new 2008 Tiguan SUV that is going to be revealed at the Frankfurt Auto Show this September. The new small VW SUV will compete against the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV-4 and will have AWD standard.

Mercedes-Benz has announced the pricing for the new 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class lineup. The C300 Sport Sedan will start at $31,975, the C300 Luxury Sedan will start at $33,675, and the C350 Sport Sedan will start at $37,275.

Brenda Priddy's crew has caught the upcoming 2008 Dodge Challenger speeding down a highway. Although the car does have a bit of camouflage, it is still very clear that the production version will look very close to the concept version.

This week has been filled with news and spy photos of the new 2008 BMW 1-Series Coupe. Now Brenda Priddy and Co. have caught shots of the upcoming Cabrio version of the car.

Jalopnik has posted several photos of the upcoming 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser. As we all know the Land Cruiser is built on the same platform as the recently revealed 2008 Lexus LX570. From the photos it looks like the new Land Cruiser will look almost the same us the new Lexus.

Yesterday the first photos of the upcoming 2009 Dodge Challenger surfaced thanks to Brenda Priddy & Co., but now we have a better shot of the profile of the car thanks to a guy with a camera phone.

We've already seen a few spy photos of the upcoming next-generation Toyota Sequoia. Now Brenda Priddy's crew has caught some more shots of the new SUV that will be based on the same platform as the new Tundra.

According to Automotive News Ford is going to install two turbochargers on its 4-cylinder, V6 and V8 engines to increase fuel economy and power.

Spy photographers have caught a refreshed Hyundai Sonata during hot weather testing. The main changes to the car are the front and rear fascias. The restyled Hyundai Sonata is going to adopt many of the same design cues from the new Santa Fe, Veracruz SUV and the upcoming Genesis sedan.

The new 2009 Mercedes-Benz E-Class was caught testing in Spain. Although the front end of the prototype is heavily camouflaged it is obvious that the E-Class may ditch its current round headlights for something more similar to the new C-Class and S-Class sedans.