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Volkswagen GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo brought to life and heading for Worthersee

Volkswagen GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo brought to life We’ve already had Worthersee Concepts from Skoda, Audi and SEAT, but now we get the Worthersee Concept from the Mother Ship – the Volkswagen GTI Roadster Vision Gran Turismo Concept. VW has brought to life a car created for the virtual world of Gran Turismo gaming and has revealed a series ofd design sketches (above) before the real car makes its appearance at Worthersee. VW are calling the GTI Roadster a supercar with aggressive styling, and the GTI Roadster certainly looks dramatic (although that drama may well be a little less extreme when it arrives in the metal) and, just like the Skoda CitiJet and SEAT Ibiza Cupster Concepts, manages without a roof.

2015 Hyundai Sonata gets $300 price drop

The redesigned 2015 Hyundai Sonata will start at $21,960 for the base model including destination. The Sport 2.0T trim with the turbo engine costs $29,385. That's a $300 price drop from last year's model.

More 'Cars' coming from Pixar

Pixar is developing a third feature installment of its "Cars" franchise, according to Disney chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger. Not much is known about "Cars 3," but speculation says it won't be in theaters for another two years or more.

Crazy Skoda concept set to wow crowds

TAKE ONE Skoda Citigo, chop its roof off, install some neon lighting under the chassis and you get the Skoda apprentices’ dream car, apparently. The CitiJet is the madcap brainchild of 16 budding Skoda designers, who were tasked with creating their ideal car out of an existing Skoda model. Effectively, a Citigo Sport has been turned into an open-top city slicker, but don’t ask how the roof closes because there isn’t one.

Dream Cars: yesterday's cars of tomorrow

Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas - to give it its full name - is an exhibition at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, which showcases yesterday’s cars of tomorrow. In other words, the cars of the future, according to automotive designers from as far back as the 1930s right up to the present day. These are the concept cars that gave designers the chance to dream of the future and push the limits of imagination and design.

Skoda Yeti Xtreme is yet another VW Group concept heading for Worthersee

The Skoda Yeti Xtreme (pictured) is another SEAT concept for Worthersee The Skoda Yeti Xtreme has been revealed by Skoda as their second concept car heading for the Worthersee Show, but instead of a cute, open-top city car like the Skoda CitiJet we get a rufty-tufty Yeti with aspirations to go rallying. Cosmetically, the Yeti Xtreme gets a matt grey paint job, 17! alloys with off-roading tyres, tinted windows, a new front bumper with bigger air intakes, a bigger back bumper with dual exhausts and a set of LED lights.

Who is the mystery motorcyclist in these vintage photos?

Automotive photographer Nigel Harniman was riding around the Costa Del Arcane in Spain when he chanced upon a flea market with a Kodak Brownie 127, a legend of 1950s photography -- simple and popular, it sold in the millions between 1952 and 1967. "Anyone as old as me remembers their parents or grandparents owning a Brownie," Harniman said. The Bakelite construction was intact, and its canvas case was in great shape.

Sports fans vote Indy 500 the top 'bucket list' event

Just days away from the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500, the so-called "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" has been selected as the "Best Bucket List Sports Event" by sports fans. Or at least those sports fans polled by USA Today. In case you're unfamiliar with the concept of a bucket list, it's a compilation of cool stuff you've gotta do before you shuffle off this mortal coil.

Citroen DS3 and DS3 Cabrio ‘Facelift’ revealed

Citroen DS3 and DS3 Cabrio ‘Facelift’ revealed The baby of the DS range – the Citroen DS3 – is still one of our favourite hatches, and although it’s been with us a few years it still feels current. Which perhaps explains why Citroen’s facelift of the DS3 really amounts to not much more than some new posh headlights and some technology and engine updates. The headline news is the new lighting on the DS3 (although only the DSport gets it as standard) with xenon units with an LED lighting element which, say Citroen, use 35 pe3r cent less power on dipped beam and 75 per cent less on main beam, have a 20,000 hour life (20 times that of a standard halogen bulb) and are derived from the lights on the Numero 9 and Wild Rubis Concepts.

Mercedes introduces C-Class Estate

Mercedes-Benz introduced a wagon variant of its new C-Class today at its factory in Bremen in northwestern Germany. The C-Class Estate is not only an affirmation of the popularity of the Benz wagon, a popularity that transcends decades as well as engine swaps, but also a commitment to Bremen -- a facility that already builds the C-Class, along with the E-Class, SL, SLK and GLK. The C-Class Estate makes extensive use of aluminum construction -- up to 50 percent of its body is made of the stuff.

503-hp Volkswagen GTI concept headed to Worthersee?

Volkswagen has issued a series of official design sketches hinting at the appearance of a radical open-top concept car to be unveiled at the Worthersee fan meet in Austria on May 29. Called the GTI Roadster, the new two-seater was originally conceived as a virtual three-dimensional image in a joint cooperation between Volkswagen and Sony for inclusion in the PlayStation “Gran Turismo” video game series. But with enthusiasm for the low-slung roadster running high among its design team, Volkswagen has decided to turn it into a full-size concept in homage to a long history of GTI models.

Honda readies its jet airplane -- for real this time

Honda would like to remind you that while journalists have spent the last few years fretting whether the Big H has "lost its way," the company has quietly launched, shelved, resurrected, and all but waited out its plan to dominate the business-jet skies, which we are to assume are less friendly than United's. The HA-420 HondaJet has been kicking around for more than 10 years now, but the very first production-ready plane just rolled off the assembly line in Greensboro, N.C., this week -- and, Honda promises, the $4.5 million business jet should be delivered in the second quarter of next year. Honda began taking orders for the jet in 2006, but the long recession squashed the market for private jets.

Fiat 500e EV LOSES $14,000 on every one sold – so please don’t buy, says Marchionne

Fiat lose $14,000 on every electric 500e The electric Fiat 500e arrived as a concept at the Detroit Auto Show in 2010 and finally arrived as a production reality at the Los Angeles Show in 2012 before going on sale in the US. The 500e is an appealing little car for zapping around town, especially if you only do a relatively low mileage every day and have somewhere to plug it in. But it is rather expensive.

2015 Volvo V60 and S60 Polestar first drive

What Is It? The 2015 Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar lineup consists of an all-wheel-drive sedan and wagon duo from Volvo's new performance partner and racing team from back home in Sweden. The name Polestar might sound unfamiliar to those new to the brand, but the company has been racing and tuning Volvo cars since 1996.

2015 GMC Sierra All Terrain HD gets WiFi and carbon fiber

GMC introduced the 2015 Sierra All Terrain HD on Thursday with limited changes ahead of an expected on-sale date sometime this summer. A 6.0-liter V8 will continue to be the standard engine making 360 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque. The 6.6-liter diesel is optional.

Color & trim focus: Six of Poltrona Frau’s auto collaborations

Collaborations between the car industry and the world of product design are fraught with difficulties, are usually fleeting and all too often end in (marketing department) tears. One of the few possible exceptions is Italian leather and furniture company Poltrona Frau. Its 102-year history includes the 904 ‘Vanity Fair' chair from 1930 and the more-recent 2009 Archibald chair by Jean-Marie Massaud.

Young drivers 'can't fit a spare wheel'

AS MANY as 11 out of 20 young people in the 18-24 age bracket admit to not knowing how to change a car tyre, according to a new survey. The data, released by IntelligentCarLeasing.com, will stoke the flames of animosity among older drivers by indicating that the majority of young drivers are operating without basic practical motoring skills. Young men are more confident that they know how to install a spare, with 57.1% claimed they could do so.

Van 'driven wrong way on motorway'

A MAN has been charged with five offences after a van was stolen and driven for nearly 50 miles the wrong way along a motorway. Officers were called at about 1.40am on Wednesday after a white Transit van was taken from Stock Road in Billericay, Essex. The vehicle was driven to Harlow where it joined the M11, travelling north on the southbound carriageway.

Skoda CitiJet Concept revealed – heading for Worthersee

Skoda CitiJet Concept – created by students What you see in the Skoda CitiJet Concept (above) is what you get if you let 16 Skoda design students loose and tell them to take the CitiGo and turn it in to their ideal concept car. The Skoda CitiJet – which will be joining the SEAT Ibiza Cupster and Audi A3 Clubsport at Worthersee – took six months to create and gets its roof removed as well as its back seats – where there are roll-over bars instead – a rear wing twin exhausts and 16″ alloys with red brake calipers lurking beneath. Under the bonnet sits the regular 1.0 litre 3-cylinder petrol engine with 74 bhp you’ll find in the normal CitiGo, and the interior is lifter straight out of the CitiGo Sport so there’s red stitching to make everything look a bit more ‘sporty’, a leather steering wheel and Sport seats.

AA warns of 'exceptional' bank holiday traffic

THIS YEAR’S Whitsun Bank Holiday is likely to be one of the busiest on the roads in recent years as it coincides with the start of half term for many families, according to the AA and traffic information specialist Trafficmaster. As schools in England and Wales take their half-term break during the last week of May, coinciding with the Late Spring Bank Holiday on Monday, 26th May, traffic is likely to be exceptionally busy on main trunk routes. Although the weather presents a potentially mixed picture for the bank holiday weekend, the AA estimates that up to 17 million cars could be on Britain’s roads.

One Lap of the Web: Wax that woody; Bentley gets high-tech

-- Bentley comes striding into the 21st century with a Mulsanne souped up with no fewer than two keyboard-equipped iPads in the backseat, hidden behind veneered wood inlays. In a short film titled "Intelligent Details" -- one must assume Bentley marketers had to resist the urge to call it "Intelligent Design" -- Luc Donckerwolke, director of design, and Sang Yup Lee, head of exterior design, go for a ride in black-and-white Manhattan. Naturally, they are not driving.

Recalls and stop-sale orders leave GM cars sidelined at dealers

Memorial Day weekend is one of the busiest times of the year for car dealers around the country, but the recent spate of recalls and stop-sale orders for GM vehicles will be putting the brakes on a lot of potential sales. Specifically, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC dealers will be unable to deliver tens of thousands of large SUVs and crossovers, a segment that has seen a lot of demand in recent months because of unavailable parts for recalled cars, Automotive News reports. When it comes to large crossovers, the recall of 1.3 million examples of the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, and Chevrolet Traverse vehicles from the 2009-2014 model years is likely to hit dealers hard.

Mercedes C-class Estate (2014) first official pictures

By Damion Smy First Official Pictures 21 May 2014 17:00 This is the new Mercedes C-class estate that heads freshly into battle with the Audi A4 Avant and BMW 3-series Touring. It’s bigger, benefits from a lighter and more rigid body and uses less fuel than before.  How big is it? Compared to the previous C-class, this fourth-generation estate has an 80mm longer wheelbase for 45mm more rear legroom.

Is this Aston Martin DB 2/4 the ‘original’ James Bond Aston Martin?

Is this Aston Martin DB 2/4 the original Bond car? Lovers of James Bond films will be totally familiar with the iconic Aston Martin DB5 Bond drove in a number of films, and in particular the Aston Martin DB5 which was the star of Goldfinger. Bond anoraks will tell you that the ‘real’ James Bond – the one Fleming wrote about in the Bond series of books – drove a Bentley, but Bond was given an Aston Martin to drive in the Goldfinger book as he chased Auric Goldfinger across Europe.

SEAT Ibiza Cupster Concept Heading for Worthersee

The SEAT Ibiza Cupster Concept (pictured) is heading for Worthersee Some cars that head for the Worthersee Show look like they could be heading for production, but the SEAT Ibiza Cupster Concept isn’t really one of them. SEAT has built the Cupster Concept as a celebration of thirty years of the Ibiza range and it comes without a roof but with a steeply raked windscreen and wraparound glass, big buttresses where the back seats would usually be (there are no back seats) and a boot mounted spoiler. SEAT are promising more details before Worthersee, but it seems reasonable to assume that the Cupster has the regular Ibiza Cupra under its skin complete with the 178bhp 1.4 litre TSI engine.

Two million drivers risk insurance fraud

MORE THAN 2 million drivers in the UK could be at risk of committing insurance fraud by claiming they are the main driver on a policy when someone else uses the car. As many as 6% of the UK’s drivers are risking invalidating their insurance by letting someone else drive the car for most of the time despite claiming they are the principal driver. Known as ‘fronting’, this kind of insurance fraud is common among parents helping their children to get cheaper car insurance.

2015 Mercedes-AMG GT teased

If you’re glum that the thunderous Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is no longer in production, don’t be. There’s a new hot rod with a three-pointed star in town. This is the first picture of the new 2015 Mercedes-AMG GT – a sports car from the German firm that will go up against the Porsche 911, following its debut at the 2014 Paris Motor Show.

World’s fastest motorbike is electric

THE FASTEST motorcycle in the world that you can ride on the road is now a battery-powered machine from Lightning. Built in the USA, the Lightning LS-218 has a top speed of 218mph and is based on the company’s racing motorbike. An electric motor that produces 200bhp powers the LS-218 and offers maximum power from almost tickover all the way to the motor’s 10,500rpm limit.

Pulsar Bursts Onto Family Hatch Scene

IT’S GOING to get ugly in the fiercely competitive family hatchback market soon, as Nissan has decided to rejoin the fray with its newly launched Pulsar model. Clearly aiming at the likes of Volkswagen’s Golf and Ford’s Focus, Nissan bosses are already talking up their new challenger ahead of the car’s autumn debut. Styled to complement the popular Qashqai, the Pulsar promises to major on quality, refinement and cabin space plus boast a raft of hi-tech kit to make the ownership experience safer and more enjoyable.

Boxmark's R&D center sets the trend

Established 1995Services Processing of upholstery leather, cutting & sewing shop, Research and Development CenterHeadquarters Kidricevo, SloveniaTelephone +386 2 7991 600Email si.office@boxmark.comWebsite boxmark.com At Boxmark in Slovenia, visions converge with innovation to form customized product solutions. The R&D center develops trend-setting leather interiors and exteriors, in addition to offering serial production. "It is our passion to bring out the best qualities and characteristics within each piece of leather and to convert them into extraordinary quality," says managing director Marjan Trobis.