This is the New 2014 Subaru Forester Compact SUV!


It may have escaped from our scoop photographers' radar, but we finally caught up with the next iteration of Subaru's Forester compact SUV, which in its three previous generations, has built a name for itself as a robust and no-nonsense model that rides well both on and off the road.

These pictures are sourced from the new Forester's Japanese market brochure, but most of what you see here sans the engine range can be applied to the global model.

The new Forester, which will go on sale in Japan in mid-November before it reaches both North American (as a 2014 model) and European shores as a 2013 model) next year, is likely based on a revised version of the latest Impreza's platform.

Compared to the current Forester, Subaru's best-seller has grown all around and now measures 4,595mm or 180.9 inches long (+35mm), 1,795mm or 70.7 inches tall (+15mm) and 1,695mm or 66.7 inches wide (+20mm). The wheelbase is also longer at 2,640mm or 103.9 inches (+25mm) to improve space for passengers.

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Peugeot Le Mans Dealer Creates 208 Rallye Concept, Should the French Automaker Build it?


If you lived or grew up in Europe during the late 1980s through the early 2000s, you will no doubt remember the iconic Rallye series from Peugeot, which started out with the 205 supermini and continued with the 306 compact and the smaller 106.

The common denominator of the series was that the Rallye models were usually based on fast versions of their respective hatchback counterparts (i.e. the 106 XSi and 306 GTI) but did away with most luxury amenities such as electric windows and mirrors, the heavy seats and in some cases, even power assisted steering and airbags.

Peugeot's ultimate goal was to lower the cars' weight to improve performance and handling while also offering them at a lower price point – something that made the Rallye models extremely popular with driving enthusiasts on a budget.

Today, Peugeot is looking to re-enter the sports hatch segment with the new 208 GTi that is lighter at 1,160kg (2,557 pounds), smaller, and thanks to its new 197hp (200PS) 1.6-liter turbo engine, more powerful than the disappointing 206 and 207 GTi models.

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Fiat Pledges to Keep Italian Plants, Shift Focus to Foreign Markets by Building Chrysler Models


As expected after last week’s announcement, on Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti met with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and the company's Chairman and heir to the Agnelli family empire, John Elkann, to discuss the automaker’s future in the country.

The meeting was arranged after rumors surfaced that Fiat, which is expected to lose around €700 million (US$904.5 million) this year due to a sales slump in the European market, is considering closing some of its plants and moving production out of Italy.

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Watch a Ford Focus do a 180-Degree Flip after Getting Caught on a Trolley Wire!


Russian dashcam videos never cease to amaze us. Just when you think you have seen it all, along comes an incident that defines the word 'strange'. And guess what; the driver is not the one to blame here…

The man seen in the video driving the previous generation Ford Focus hatchback, was going his way when all of a sudden, the car's front end clipped a street trolley wire that had fallen onto the road.

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VW Group Design Boss Says “Flamboyant” is so Last Year, “Simple and Clean” is the Way to Go


Walter de Silva is a man who knows a thing or two about styling; after all, he is in the business for the last 40 years.

The Italian designer has worked at the I.DE.A institute under award-winning architect Renzo Piano, who designed the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the New York Times Building. In the automotive field, he has some pretty impressive designs in his long resume such as the Alfa Romeo 156, the Seat Tango concept, the Audi A5 and the VW Scirocco.

De Silva, who joined Audi in 2002 to become VW Group’s head of design overseeing all brands from Skoda to Bugatti in 2007, believes that the “overdesign” school, which began with BMW's Chris Bangle and his "flame surfacing" that has since been adopted by many automakers, is becoming obsolete.

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General Motors and its Local Partners Build China's Biggest Test Track


General Motors is pretty serious about maintaining its leading role in China, the world's largest auto market.

On Saturday, September 22, GM and its Chinese partners, which include SAIC, Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, opened the largest automotive proving ground in the country.

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Scoop: New Porsche 991 GT3 Smiles for the Camera Once Again


What we have here is yet another sighting of Porsche's 911 GT3 wearing very little camouflage. To be precise, YouTube user Dani Dominguez Mas, filmed three prototypes of the purest version of the 991 series at a gas station in the town of L'Ametlla del Vallès in Spain. Read more »

2013 Jaguar F-Type Disclosed in New Photos Including the First of the Interior


While Jaguar itself was releasing videos of the new F-Type in camouflage, a member of the Teamspeed forums unloaded a fresh gallery of 14 pictures that show us the open-top sports car from in two different shades from all sorts of angles, including the never before seen interior.

We can happily report that the styling of the roadster model's rear end with its sharp lines, narrow taillights and a protruding pair of twin exhaust pipes has also remained true to the well-received C-X16 Coupe Concept model.

The same appears to be case for the interior, at least from this point of view with only some minor changes to the design of the body-hugging seats and possibly the trim décor.

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Brazilian Truck Driver Crashes and Dangles Over a Bridge, By Passers Come to Help with a Rope


A truck driver in southern Brazil was captured on tape trying to escape along with his…luggage after an accident that occurred on the Chavantes bridge, which connects the Brazilian states of Parana and Sao Paulo, this past Saturday.

A local website named Npdiario reported that the driver, Aguinaldo da Silva, lost control of his two-trailer truck when he tried to avoid a passenger car that suddenly stopped in front of him and ended up crashing over the guardrail with the truck cabin dangling over the water.

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Chrysler Group Halts Plug-in Hybrid Test Fleet after Discovering a Problem with the Batteries


The Chrysler Group has temporarily pulled the plug on its test fleet of advanced plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEVs) to fix a battery problem that occurred on a small number of models.

In particular, the Detroit-based carmaker said three of the fleet’s 109 pickups fitted with plug-in hybrid powertrains sustained damage when their prototype 12.9-kWh lithium-ion propulsion batteries overheated, adding that no injuries were reported with all incidents happening when the vehicles were unoccupied.

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Jaguar Releases Final Test Track Videos of the F-Type Before the Big Unveiling in Paris


As the countdown for the grand-premiere of the all-new F-Type at the Paris Motor Show this Thursday officially begins, Jaguar published the final clips of its teaser video series on the development of the rear-wheel drive roadster model.

The first video named "Fierce" takes us to the Nardo Test Facility in Italy, where the British firm's engineers performed numerous high-speed tests on the unique ring shaped track that allowed the F-Type to reach its maximum velocity.

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Tesla CEO Cagey About 2012 Model S Sales, Confident About Meeting 2013 Targets


Two months ago, Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk said that his company would deliver 5,000 units of its Model S this year. Yet, when he was interviewed on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop with Betty Liu” on September 21, he was reluctant to confirm that the company’s electric saloon would indeed meet its initial sales target.

“I need to be very hesitant about talking about any near-term metrics for Tesla”, said Musk who, nevertheless, was buoyant about Tesla’s 2013 targets claiming that it will deliver 20,000 units and achieve a gross margin of “more than 20 percent”.

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This Lamborghini Aventador Replica is Based on a Pontiac GTO / Holden Monaro [w/Videos]


From the magical land of eBay comes our next tale of replicas. This newly found example is pretending to be a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, though even an untrained eye can see that there something is wrong with car's proportions.

The seller and builder of the replica is "Z and M Customs", which is located in the city of Eagle in Ada County, Idaho.

The company informs us that the Aventador lookalike is built on the chassis and mechanical components of a "GM Holden" with power coming from a "LS1 V8 Corvette with approximately 400HP".

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August a Record Month for Chevy Volt Sales Thanks to Big Discounts; But is it Really Good News?


All-electric and hybrid car sales so far account for just 3.5 percent of total vehicle sales in the U.S. this year. Not exactly what their makers expected when they launched these models.

At a first glance, the situation is improving for General Motors, as its Volt extended-range hybrid sold a record 2,800 units last month. Year-to-date Volt sales have so far reached 13,000 units, which certainly compares very well to the 7,700 cars that were sold in 2011.

For example, before the discounts, Bunnin Chevrolet in Culver City, California was selling three to five Volts per month. Last month it shifted 36 cars, mostly leases, and sales manager Chad Kelman told The Detroit News that the dealership is having a hard time keeping enough units in stock.

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Chuck Norris Approved: Truck Driver Thrown Out of Cabin During Crash Lands on his Feet!


You have to see this accident to believe it. In the video footage that follows, we see the driver of a long lorry suddenly turning left into the other lane to avoid a crash with another truck that had stopped in the middle of the road – who knows why.

A third truck coming from the other direction has no choice than to make a small maneuver and smash into the lorry's metal container.

What follows next, will leave you speechless as the second truck's driver, who was obviously not wearing a seat belt, is thrown out of his vehicle's window but he manages to land on his feet without suffering any injuries!

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TechArt Previews Styling and Chassis Upgrades for New Porsche Boxster


About a month after the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas at the end of October, Europe will host its own aftermarket and tuning show in Essen, Germany, and it is at this event that Porsche tuning specialist TechArt will perform the world premiere of a new package for the third generation Boxster roadster (codenamed 981). Read more »

ARK Performance and Hyundai Preparing Genesis Coupe R-Spec Track Edition for 2012 SEMA Show


With all the commotion surrounding this week's Paris Motor Show, it would be easy to overlook the 2012 edition of the SEMA Show, which will take place from October 30 to November 2 in Las Vegas.

Hyundai wants to remind us of the upcoming event by teasing one of the many tuned concept models it plans to unveil at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

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All-Electric iQ Revealed, but Only 100 will be Produced as Toyota Prefers to Focus on PHEVs


While electric vehicles may not yet have substantial range to be as versatile as hybrids or internal-combustion engine models, if the their use is confined in daily commute in cities, theoretically then, their range is more than enough to satisfy most drivers’ needs.

The iQ city car (sold under the Scion nameplate in North America) is designed specifically designed to be used in an urban environment. Prototypes were displayed at both the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show in the form of the FT-EV III concept and this year’s Geneva Auto Show. Now Toyota has officially revealed a plug-in all-electric variant – but it will not enter full production.

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Hyundai Dealer Joins Forces with Schmidt Revolution to Polish Up Genesis Coupe V6


A Hyundai dealer in Germany is showing off its tuning capabilities with the release of a performance and styling package for the pre-facelift Genesis Coupe V6.

Located near the city of Lübeck in northern Germany, Hyundai dealer "Autohaus am Funkturm" has worked together with Schmidt Revolution, a wheel manufacturer and customizer, to complete the project.

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Maserati Officially Announces but Reveals Very Little About New GranCabrio MC


The release of the first photos of the new GranCabrio MC on Friday has been followed up by an official confirmation from Maserati - though, the Italian sports car maker is holding back most of the details until the Paris Motor Show.

What Maserati did reveal is that the GranTurismo MC Stradale inspired the creation of the new GranCabrio MC model with which it completes the open-top model's range.

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