Cross-country in a Corvette Stingray: Day Three

Day two of our cross-country Corvette trek ended in North Platte, Neb., where we encountered a couple of C2 Sting Rays in the parking lot of our Holiday Inn. We shot some photos and hit the sack around 1 a.m. Day three would be the second-longest of the trip at around 14 hours.

Toyota to end Australian manufacturing in 2017

When Holden announced that it would no longer build cars in Australia after 2017, that country’s flagging automotive industry was effectively put on notice -- Mitsubishi had stopped building cars there in 2008, and Ford says its two plants there will close in October 2016. Now Toyota has announced that it has no option but to end vehicle Australian vehicle production. Like Holden, it will close its factories there in 2017.

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer gets (slightly inappropriate) M Sport Package

The BMW 2 Series active Tourer moves to the butch side with an M Sport Package Purists moan, but the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer MPV is a sensible move by BMW and aimed at BMW lovers who need a BMW equivalent to the Mercedes B Class; a premium family car for shifting kids and stuff around. Using the same platform as the all new MINI, the 2 Series Active Tourer is BMW’s first front wheel drive car, although a 225i Active Tourer will go on sale in November complete with BMW’s 4WD xDrive. But the 2 Series Active Tourer wouldn’t be a BMW offering unless it also came with the option of an M Sport Pack, which is exactly what will be on offer – however unsuited the Active Tourer may seem for such sporty embellishments – when the xDrive Active Tourer arrives in November (although the M Sport Pack will be offered across the whole Active Tourer range).