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

First Test: 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport

Spare Change: Honda’s Midsizer Keeps on Truckin’

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First Test: 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport

Official: BMW updates 2013 X6, introduces M Performance Package

Filed under: Performance , Crossover , BMW , Luxury BMW , which still insists on using the term Sports Activity Coupe to describe its least practical ‘ute, has updated its X6 for the 2013 model year. And with good reason – BMW says it has sold over 20,000 X6 crossovers in the States since its launch three years ago and over 150,000 worldwide, making it an important model for the German automaker. First and foremost, the 2013 X6 offers available power from both the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline six and 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 through its M Performance Package (which is not the same thing as the X6M that carries on for 2013 with its 555-horsepower V8 and six-speed automatic transmission). By ticking he appropriate box on the order sheet, the X6 xDrive35i is blessed with 315 horsepower (a gain of 15 over stock) and 330 pound-feet of torque (a 30-lb-ft gain).

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Official: BMW updates 2013 X6, introduces M Performance Package

Eyebrows raise as ‘ugly’ Caterham photos leaked

F1 fans on Wednesday got their first glimpse of a 2012-specification car. Caterham is launching its new CT01 in the pages of British magazine F1 Racing on Thursday. But some subscribers got their c…

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Eyebrows raise as ‘ugly’ Caterham photos leaked

First Drive: 2012 Audi A1 Sportback [w/video]

Filed under: Budget , Europe , Hatchback , Audi , First Drives , Luxury Do We Really Want Audi To Think This Small In America? Perhaps… It is perhaps with all the speed of a mighty iceberg, but increasingly, more and more North American buyers appear willing to think smaller when pondering their next auto purchase. The other shoe, which still has largely yet to drop, is for automakers to convince consumers of the merits of a luxury subcompact, paying a price premium for a longer list of creature comforts, options and badge appeal

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First Drive: 2012 Audi A1 Sportback [w/video]

Video: Lotus shows off slushbox equipped Evora S IPS

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Videos , Lotus Lotus would like to sell more Evoras, and it’s no secret that there are some customers who want to buy them, if not for the lack of an automatic transmission standing in the way. That hurdle’s been cleared for 2012, with the Evora receiving the six-speed automatic that Lotus calls IPS, for Intelligent Precision Shift. Mechanically it is the same Aisin unit found in the Toyota Camry (paired with a supercharged version of Toyota ‘s 3.5-liter V6) upgraded with Lotus electronics and actuators.

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Video: Lotus shows off slushbox equipped Evora S IPS