Video: BMW takes its autonomous 5 Series onto the autobahn

Filed under: Safety , Technology , BMW Last May we went for a high-speed run around Laguna Seca in BMW’s Track Trainer , a modified 3 Series that can click of two-minute laps without the driver touching the controls. Now, BMW has packed a 5 Series with the next iteration of the technology and taken it on to the open road. This latest ConnectedDrive experiment uses much of the same tech, but beyond the radar and camera systems on the 3er, it includes new ultrasonic scanners and lasers to re-read the road surface, lines and surrounding vehicles. We say “re-read” because like the system we sampled at Laguna, this version needs to have the road data downloaded into the car before it can drive sans human intervention

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Video: BMW takes its autonomous 5 Series onto the autobahn

2013 BMW X6 gets a facelift, M Performance package

BMW has released the first images and details for the new facelifted X6 Sports Activity Coupe. Changes are minimal but the highlight is the introduction of the new M-Performance package.

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2013 BMW X6 gets a facelift, M Performance package

First Test: 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport

Spare Change: Honda’s Midsizer Keeps on Truckin’

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First Test: 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport

Report: Volkswagen says it could conclude takeover of Porsche this year

Filed under: Porsche , Volkswagen , Earnings/Financials It’s been a whole three weeks since we checked in with Volkswagen’s takeoever of Porsche , and the most recent news wasn’t so good: investors filed a $2.6 billion suit against Porsche over the Stuttgart maker’s attempt to gobble up VW. Those same investors also filed an arbitration application against Volkswagen . That hasn’t stopped a VW executive from saying that its ownership of Porsche could finally be concluded this year, according to a report in Der Spiegel . VW had earlier predicted the deal would be done last year, then released a statement in September saying that that too many hurdles and unknowns remained concerning investigations and economic ramfications for the deal to get done in 2011.

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Report: Volkswagen says it could conclude takeover of Porsche this year

Report: Volkswagen says it could conclude takeover of Porsche this year

Filed under: Porsche , Volkswagen , Earnings/Financials It’s been a whole three weeks since we checked in with Volkswagen’s takeoever of Porsche , and the most recent news wasn’t so good: investors filed a $2.6 billion suit against Porsche over the Stuttgart maker’s attempt to gobble up VW. Those same investors also filed an arbitration application against Volkswagen . That hasn’t stopped a VW executive from saying that its ownership of Porsche could finally be concluded this year, according to a report in Der Spiegel . VW had earlier predicted the deal would be done last year, then released a statement in September saying that that too many hurdles and unknowns remained concerning investigations and economic ramfications for the deal to get done in 2011.

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Report: Volkswagen says it could conclude takeover of Porsche this year

Official: Nissan confirms new North American assembly plant in Mexico

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Nissan Nissan has announced plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Mexico . The company will invest $2 billion in a new complex situated in Aguascalientes, Mexico to help produce the automaker’s B platform models. The plant is expected to begin operations in late 2013 and should be capable of producing up to 175,000 units annually during phase one.

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Official: Nissan confirms new North American assembly plant in Mexico