SPORTS CARS

The Mustang personifies the American muscle car. Folks who have zero interest in the Camaro and Charger are in awe of the design of the Ford that landed on roads in 1964. Besides a few design hiccups (ugh, the Mustang 2), it's been coveted, sung about, restored -- and as of 2016 -- purchased more than 9.5 million times. But, it's never been that smart -- until now. Gallery: 2018 Ford Mustang GT Fastback | 21 Photos The 2018 Mustang GT Fastback Premium is loud, fast and sure to put a smile on the face of its fans. The growling (and it's nearly always growling) car has 460 horsepower and 420 pounds of torque supplied by a 5.0 liter V8. Its base price is $39,000 but the test car given to us by Ford was tricked out with the GT performance package, MagneRide damping suspension and a tuned exhaust, which bumps the price up to $49,000. But all that cash (and it's a lot of cash) doesn't just pay for brute force. It also powers a car t

Toyota has slowly been entering the modern era with  full smartphone integration  in its cars, and now it's time for the company's upscale Lexus badge. Lexus has  revealed  that the 2019 ES sedan is its first-ever vehicle to support Apple CarPlay, giving iPhone owners familiar apps and Siri while they ride in style. There's still no Android Auto support, sadly, but you do get Alexa voice control both in and outside of the car. The ES is a tech-laden car even if you don't care for voice assistants. The standard model includes an 8-inch center display, but you can spring for a navigation package that gives you an ultra-wide 12.3-inch screen and a mobile Verizon hotspot. Every variant comes with an updated pre-collision detection system that can detect cyclists. And this being a Toyota brand, there's naturally a hybrid variant -- the ordinary V6-equipped ES 350 is joined by a hybrid ES 300h whose updated electric motor is better at mimicking the power

Mirrorless cars , terrifying as they may sound, are coming. In 2015, the United Nations gave the go-ahead for carmakers to replace mirrors with cameras and display systems, so the race is on to design tech that's fit for the job. Now,  Mitsubishi Electric  says it's developed the industry's highest-performing vehicle camera, able to detect objects up to 100 meters away. The technology uses the brand's proprietary AI to give drivers  advanced warning  of upcoming obstacles, and is expected to help prevent accidents, especially when changing lanes. The system has a visual-cognition mode, which mimics human visual behavior to focus on the right thing in any given field of view, and it can distinguish between object types, such as pedestrians, cars and motorcycles (not that it's okay to drive into any of them, of course). Compared to conventional camera-based systems, this one extends the distance of object detection from 30 meters to 100 meters, and

Hyundai and its affiliate Kia have revealed ambitious plans to bring as many as 38 green cars to market in the next eight years, with seven models slated for launch in the next five. Most of them will be electric vehicles, senior vice president Lee Ki-sang told reporters last week, adding to the company's current green line-up of the  Hyundai Ioniq , Kia Soul, several plug-in hybrids and the  hydrogen-based  fuel-cell ix35. For a company that has dragged its feet on the  green vehicle  landscape, 38 is  a lot . However, it says it's taken its time (more than a decade) researching and developing green technology that fits within its brand. And credit where it's due, the manufacturer has brought to market relatively inexpensive cars that make the technology and its benefits accessible to the mainstream. And there's take-up: the company sold 186,000 green vehicles in the first nine months of the year. However, the company is still trailing behind its co

Nissan's current electric car lineup revolves almost exclusively around  the Leaf , but it's ready to diversify its selection. The company's European design chief Mamoru Aoki has  revealed  to  Autocar  that a production version of the IMx concept SUV (above) will arrive sometime in "a few years." It's not certain how much the crossover EV would change, but it's reasonable to presume that Nissan would want to keep the IMx's performance. The concept promised 435HP and a 380-mile range, giving Tesla's Model X a run for its money in some cases. It's safe to say some concept car indulgences, such as the giant wheels, won't make the cut. Don't rule everything out, however. Aoki extolled the IMx's unique mix of wood and translucent plastic for the interior, suggesting that you might see some form of it in the finished product. Renault-Nissan has a solid roadmap for electric cars with plans to  field eight by 2022  (not

                                https://youtu.be/7VkpmH3bS3E the GTR spirit: A nice video on the updated GTR featuring an interview with the chief engineer. Note too the personal ‘artisanal’ touch with the identification on each engine of how it is hand-built. As an aside, the interview, which has had over 2 million views, shows that it doesn’t matter if your English grammar is a bit off IF what you say is interesting and you are saying with a strong sense of authenticity. The Nissan GT-R is well known for its performance capability and handling, this is thanks to the 3.8L V6 from Nissan, which provides the car with 542hp to all 4 wheels. This impressive car also comes in a Nismo edition, making what was once a spectacular car even more magnificent. The GT-R Nismo has achieved an impressive 7:08.68s at the Nurburgring making itself into the top ten fastest lap times. History: Between 1969 and 1974, and again between 1989 and 2002,  Nissan  produced a high perf

Ferrari S.p.A. – Scuderia Ferrari Maranello, Italy Automotive PULSE Platform, Transducers, HATS, Conditioning Scuderia Ferrari was founded by Enzo Ferrari over 80 years ago in Modena. The original name is, still today, the name of the racing team division of Ferrari S.p.A. Scuderia Ferrari recently invested in a 6-channel PULSE LAN-XI data acquisition system. This is mainly used for engine test bench balancing, a major issue when Ferrari’s Formula One engines run at up to 20000 RPM. Ferrari – Speed, Performance, Prestige : Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari was founded in Modena by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 as Scuderia Ferrari. Originally, the main aim of the company was to allow owner-drivers to race. In time, it became a technical-racing outpost of Alfa Romeo and took over as its racing department in 1933. In 1939, Enzo Ferrari left Alfa Romeo and opened Auto Avio Costruzioni in Modena at the headquarters of the old Scuderia Ferrari. In 1943, Auto Avio Costruzioni moved to Mar

I was standing next to the  Model 3  when a guy on a bike rode by and yelled, "How is it?" My typical interactions with people who ask about Tesla's affordable sedan (so many people ask me about the car) typically take about five minutes. I point out the highlights and issues I've encountered while driving. Without thinking, I threw him a thumbs up. It was a gut reaction to a car I've come to adore but have also been confused by. I should have yelled, "It's complicated The Model 3 also has a very smooth and nearly silent ride. It's quieter than most other EVs, and it glides almost as well as a mid-tier luxury sedan. With a range of 220 miles for the base model and 310 for the Long Range edition, you're going to be spending a good amount of time behind the wheel instead of sitting at a Supercharger. Yet no matter how engrossed you are in the act of driving, the interior of the Model 3 will probably manage to confound you at some point. So

Noise is not the same as sound  Dealing with extremely demanding quality and performance targets is daily business at Automobili Lamborghini, one of Italy’s most prestigious sports car brands. These supercars are built to impress. Besides a breathtaking design, sporty driving experience and powerful explosion when pushing the throttle, customers expect to hear the brand’s characteristic sound when “all the horses” are released. Combining those prerequisites can be challenging. Although high-power generation leads to high internal torsional forces, and stable ride and handling calls for a stiff chassis, engineers have to make sure that sound does not become noise, and that the produced sound level complies with legislative requirements Giacomo Papotti and Claudio Manzali, research engineers in the Lamborghini transmission department, witnessed the complexity of conflicting targets while designing the Lamborghini Aventador LB700-4 driveline. “Even the smallest noise that can distu