50 Years of the BMW 'Neue Klasse'

In a year that sees the celebration of the ever-seductive Jaguar E-Type and the characterful Renault 4, it would be easy to overlook other cars also reaching their half-century, especially a mundane three-box saloon. However, the BMW 1500 isn't any less significant. When launched at the 1961 Frankfurt International Motor Show, intrigued and inquisitive visitors were forced to wait 30 minutes just to catch a glimpse of the car.

Policy, green cars take center stage at Washington auto show

Public policy and the ultimate impact it has on consumers' cars was the hot topic on Thursday at the Washington auto show, as companies vied to show off and explain their latest fuel-efficient technologies under the watchful eyes of regulators and government officials. Notably, Chevrolet announced plans to roll out an "Ecologic" environmental label on the 2012 Sonic, with other vehicles to follow. Sort of like nutrition labels for food, Chevy's version will explain the environmental impact of cars throughout their life cycles.

Aston Martin DB9 Facelift spied

The 2011 Aston Martin DB9 Facelift There’s a fair bit going on at Aston Martin at the moment, a big change from just a year ago when the recession was causing huge pain. We’ve had the launch of the car the V8 Vantage always threatened to be with the initially limited edition Aston Martin V12 Vantage, and the news that the V12 Vantage is US bound and no longer a limited edition. The big news for AM this year has been the launch (finally) of the most beautiful 4 door car in the world – the Aston Martin Rapide – which frankly could handle like a dog and take 20 seconds to get to 60 mph and we’d still want one, so achingly gorgeous is it by any measure of saloon car gorgeousness.