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New Lexus RC F to rival BMW M4

Lexus has confirmed the first details of a new RC F high performance model, which will debut at the Detroit Motor Show 2014 next week. Driven by what’s said to be the most powerful 5.0-litre V8 ever offered by Lexus, the RC F is set to top the new RC coupe range that was unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show last November. A spiritual successor to the old Lexus IS F, the RC F will become the first rival to challenge the new BMW M4 later this year.

Automotive Suppliers Demo the Future at CES

There is no shortage of cool stuff at CES. Just wandering around the 2 million square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Center was like being in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for technophiles. For instance, just inside the Center Hall was the ginormous LG wall o' TVs, all synched together and blasting incredible 3D images that looked like a Beetles short from 1967.

McQueen's Indian Chief, Vincent Black Shadows and rare bikes galore at the Las Vegas Motorcycle Auctions

After two days of CES electronic overload, we snuck off to Ballys down the strip and had a preview peek at the Bonhams motorcycle auction. No one was guarding the door so we just opened it up and walked right in like we owned the place. Kablam – what a sight: there were hundreds of classic bikes lined up in rows and grouped together, more or less.

Chrysler 200 revealed before Detroit auto show debut

A few days before its reveal at the Detroit auto show, photos of the upcoming 2015 Chrysler 200 have appeared online. This is the midsize sedan's first major restyling since its debut in 2010, and its exterior styling has been toned down somewhat from the first-generation version of the 200, made famous for its 2011 appearance in Chrysler's "Imported from Detroit" Super Bowl spot. That's right, that was the 200 in that ad, not the larger Chrysler 300.

2014 Peugeot 5008 gets a bit of a facelift

2014 Peugeot 5008 gets a bit of a facelift You’d expect an MPV from Peuegot to be a bit of a soggy, boring drive, but actually the Peugeot 5008 MPV is not bad at all. But the problem has been that the 5008 isn’t exactly the best looking kid on the block. But Peugeot has now fixed a lot of that by bringing the 5008 up to date with Peugeot’s new family nose as part of a mid-life facelift for the 5008.

Nearly a half of male drivers admit to sleeping at the wheel

Nearly half of male drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel, a survey has found. Road safety charity Brake and insurance company Direct Line found that 31% of all drivers admit to ‘head-nodding’ at the wheel – meaning they’ve fallen asleep while driving a car for between two and 30 seconds. The best cars you can sleep in On Bing: see pictures of tired drivers 45% of male drivers admit to head-nodding, compared to 22% of female drivers.

CAR Most Wanted of 2014: Lamborghini Huracan

By the CAR editorial team First Official Pictures 09 January 2014 12:50 The Lamborghini Huracan has one hell of a mission ahead of it. Not only must it follow the hardest act in Lambo’s history – its most successful car ever, in the shape of the Gallardo – but it must do battle in an arena teeming with high-tech supercars. The Huracan will compete for bedroom wall real estate – and for £175k exotica buyers – with rivals like the Ferrari 458 Italia, McLaren 12C, Porsche 911 Turbo S and the new Honda NSX hybrid.

Detroit motor show 2014: CAR’s A-Z guide

By the CAR editorial team Motor Shows 09 January 2014 14:00 Welcome to CAR's A-Z guide of the 2014 National American International Auto Show, better known as the Detroit motor show (or simply the NAIAS.) This year, the global automotive circus takes over Michigan's motor city from 13 – 16 January 2014, and sees the 'Big Three' automakers of America (Ford, GM and Chevrolet) lock horns with Europe's finest for show-stealing headlines. Mouth-watering debuts at this year's event include the BMW M3 and BMW M4, Corvette Z06, Lexus RC-F, and Mercedes GLA45 AMG. The new Porsche 911 Targa is also thought to be appearing.

Union calls on Nissan to recognise workers

Nissan must surely be on the crest of a wave right now, celebrating its success at the 2014 What Car? awards, where it picked up the reader’s choice prize for the next generation X-Trail, and saw the all-new Qashqai take both the small SUV and the overall Car of the Year trophy. It’s also just announced that its Sunderland plant – where the old and now the new Qashqai are assembled – has built over a million vehicles in the last two years.

Audi reveals 2014 TT interior at CES

To reveal a new car’s interior before we’ve even seen a concept sketch of the whole vehicle sketch seems odd. But nevertheless, that’s exactly what Audi has done with its 2014 TT, unveiling the car’s cabin at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The German firm’s choice of venue is significant, too, underlining how the new TT will “come with a new generation of electronics and connectivity features.” On Bing: see pictures of the 2014 Audi TT Find out how much a used Audi TT costs on Auto Trader The new TT will feature the same “Audi virtual cockpit” as the Audi Sport Quattro laserlight concept – also unveiled at CES 2014 – representing the first appearance of the new tech  a production Audi.

Nearly half of male drivers admit to sleeping at the wheel

Nearly half of male drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel, a survey has found. Road safety charity Brake and insurance company Direct Line found that 31% of all drivers admit to ‘head-nodding’ at the wheel – meaning they’ve fallen asleep while driving a car for between two and 30 seconds. The best cars you can sleep in On Bing: see pictures of tired drivers 45% of male drivers admit to head-nodding, compared to 22% of female drivers.

Iconic Ford Mondeo Super Touring racing car on sale

As far as the Ford Mondeo is concerned, few cars can be more evocative than the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) race cars from the late 1990s. For legions of racing fans, the Mondeo was part of the golden era of BTCC - a time when factory-backed “Super Touring” cars did battle on the race tracks of Great Britain. So when one of a trio of Ford Team Mondeo cars to compete in the final Super Touring season comes up for auction, we take notice.

MSN readers back 80mph limit on UK motorways

Getty Images Half of you back an 80mph speed limit on British motorways, according to a poll of more than 40,000 MSN UK readers. An overwhelming 20,000 of you said the limit should be raised from the current 70mph, while a quarter of respondents preferred to stick with the status quo. Microsoft poll results Our poll was published in the week when the government announced plans to reduce the speed limit on a section of the M1 in Derbyshire and Yorkshire in a bid to cut air pollution.

Dodge red lights in your autonomous Audi: More tech from CES

Audi wowed the crowd at CES with a new advancement in, of all things, headlights when it announced it would show a version of its Sport quattro laserlight Concept with laser beam headlights. Frickin' laser beams, as Dr. Evil once demanded on sharks (the good doctor ultimately had to settle for sea bass instead of sharks, but they still had laser beams).

Michelin Challenge Design-CCS 2014 winning projects explored

Michelin has revealed the winners of the 2014 Michelin Challenge Design Competition for the College for Creative Studies (CCS). This year's challenge saw 16 student entries based around the global Michelin Challenge Design theme of ‘Driven/Undriven: The Duality of Tomorrow's Automobile'. Michelin asked the students to explore innovative concepts of vehicle autonomy in teams of four.

Which cars Britain really bought in 2013: winners and losers

The UK car registration figures for 2013 are now out – and sales have reached their highest figure since 2007. But what’s hot, and what’s not? Some types of car are selling better than ever, while others have nosedived.

Volvo XC Coupe concept (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 08 January 2014 09:00 This is the Volvo XC Coupe concept, revealed in full after teaser sketches were shown late last year. It’s 'the next chapter in the Volvo design story', according to the Swedish automaker and it's new design boss, Thomas Ingenlath. The rakish SUV will take centre stage for Volvo at the Detroit motor show later in January 2014.

Drivers make New Year Resolutions

MORE THAN half of British drivers have made a New Year’s Resolution, with many promising to drive more courteously or more economically. A survey by motoring organisation the AA found that 14% of drivers will make the effort to drive for greater economy, while 11% said they would walk more to save fuel. A further 6% are aiming to drive less and 5% want to cycle more to cut down on car use.

New 2014 SEAT Leon Cupra: in pictures

Stop! Move away from the Volkswagen website. Before you place an order for a new Golf GTI, you might just want to take a look at the all-new 2014 SEAT Leon Cupra - which includes the most powerful series production car the Spanish marque has ever made.

Official: MSN Cars helps Vauxhall set multiple world records!

Vauxhall has become an official World Speed Record holder after the FIA and MSA confirmed an average speed of more than 125mph in its 3,000-mile 24-hour speed trial event. The news also means that MSN Cars contributor Richard Aucock has become a World Speed Record holder – he was one of the drivers in the team of 12 that piloted the two cars around Bedfordshire’s Millbrook Proving Ground late last autumn. Chasing a World Speed record: 125mph for 24 hours in a Vauxhall Astra!

Manufacturers report 2013 sales boom

CAR MANUFACTURERS are reporting strong surges in sales for 2013, with one mainstream brand up by more than 55%. So far Ford, Vauxhall, Skoda, MG, Lexus, Renault, Audi and Mercedes have all reported excellent sales performance, with Mercedes having passed the 100,000 registrations per year mark for the first time in the UK. Largely thanks to the introduction of the Dacia brand this year, the Renault Group has seen a 55.3% rise in sales, to 63,319 units.

Seat Announces Hot New Leon Pairing

SPANISH car maker Seat has announced details of two hot hatch versions of its popular new Leon model. The Leon Cupra and Cupra 280 variants boast 265 and 280 horsepower respectively, while the latter assumes the status of the most powerful Seat to date. Both are positioned above the current FR trim level.

Stop buying new cars says government adviser

People should stop buying new cars and drive their old ones until they’re beyond repair, says a top government adviser. This news, reported by the Daily Telegraph, comes a day after we reported that new cars sales figures have hit a six-year high. On Bing: see pictures of scrap cars Find out how much a car over 10-years-old costs on Auto Trader Chief scientific adviser to the government’s energy department, David MacKay, said “car manufacturers love us to buy a new car every few years” and that Britain needs to end its throw away culture.

Volvo teases 2015 XC90 with Detroit concept

The Volvo Concept XC Coupe is one of those ghastly SUV lifestyle coupe on stilt things that will be loved by Bob from the office who goes mountain hopping and white water rafting at weekends for fun. OK, that’s a little harsh. Really it’s an indication of how the new 2015 Volvo XC90 will look when it’s released next year.

Ex-Paul Walker Fast & Furious Nissan Skyline GT-R for sale at €1 million

Well, this was bound to happen – one of the cars driven by the late Paul Walker during his stint in the ultra-successful Fast & Furious film franchise has gone up for sale at an astonishing price of €1 million. That’s around £835,000. Which is rather a lot for an R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R.

CAR Most Wanted of 2014: Audi TT

By the CAR editorial team First Official Pictures 08 January 2014 10:30 The Audi TT is Audi's 911. Okay, it’s 15-years-old rather than 50, but it’s the sports car that made the Audi of today. And the all-new, third-generation TT wants to challenge the 911 like never before, with sharper dynamics and more performance, especially in 380bhp TT RS form.

Survey Claims Parents Are Behaving Badly Outside The School Gates

TENSIONS are rising outside school gates up and down the country - that’s the picture painted by the latest survey from insurance company Allianz Your Cover. School-run squabbles over parking spots are on the increase, with as many as 75% of people taking children to or from school have witnessed aggressive behaviour among those seeking to park. Nearly two in five have seen or heard about car accidents between parents outside school gates.

Lexus RC-F (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 08 January 2014 20:00 Make no mistake, Lexus is making a statement with the RC-F. It’s the lairiest-looking production Lexus this side of the now-defunct LFA supercar, and packs an AMG-sized V8 punch to back up the visual aggression. Read on for the specs of what could be a two-door dark horse to worry BMW and smash the unloved Audi RS5.

JLR launches UK recruitment campaign

JAGUAR Land Rover has begun a campaign to recruit hundreds of new workers at its Engine Manufacturing Centre near Wolverhampton. Phase one of the overall plan will see 600 new employees join the company over the next four years, with the long-term aim being to recruit 1,400 extra staff members. The first 600 workers will be employed on the manufacturing line itself, producing parts for complex new engines destined to power cars like the Range Rover Evoque and the Jaguar F-Type.

Audi TT interior (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 08 January 2014 12:00 If you’re hankering after the new Audi TT, sit tight: this is the cabin that awaits you inside Audi’s new third-gen sports coupe. Although it retains classic TT design cues like triplet central air vents, and the instrument binnacle’s rounded hood, this is a step-change for Audi interior design, nicking cues from the 2013 Sport Quattro concept and pointing to the future of all Ingolstadt’s cockpits. The slim, almost Ferrari 458-like dashboard structure has come about through Audi ditching the central MMI (MultiMedia Interface) screen altogether.