Blog Posts by: Jake Holmes   G

Nissan has confirmed that starting in 2013 it will produce the e-NV200, a compact electric van that will be available both for consumer use and as a delivery vehicle. The van will be built at Nissan's plant in Barcelona, Spain, following a €100 million ($126 million) investment there. We first saw ...    Read more

Moody's Investors Service announced that it has upgraded Ford Motor Company's debt to investment grade, after Moody's ranked the debts as junk in August 2005. That means Ford can now regain several trademarks mortgaged in 2006 -- including the iconic Blue Oval. In December 2006, Ford raised $23.5 billion in liquidity ...    Read more

Mazda and Fiat announced today plans to work together on the development of a small, rear-wheel-drive roadster. The agreement will see both Mazda and Alfa Romeo co-design a sports car based on the platform of the next-generation Mazda MX-5. Although the two cars will share most of their platform components, Alfa ...    Read more

Yes, these photos snagged by our spy shooters show a refreshed version of the Kia Sorento three-row crossover testing on Germany's famous Nürburgring. Don't think this means Kia is building a sport-tuned SUV: it's now fairly common for automakers to button-down all sorts of vehicle suspension designs on the Nordschleife. We ...    Read more

How the tables have turned: Toyota, long the world's largest automaker, has been overtaken by BMW as the automotive sector's most valuable brand. The new ranking comes from a report called BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands by market research group Millward Brown. To determine brand value, Millward Brand ...    Read more

Acura is set to replace its best-seller, the MDX crossover, and our spy shooters caught a prototype under a heavy coat of camouflage.It's about time for a new version of the MDX; the current generation was introduced in 2006 and subsequently face-lifted and updated for the 2010 model year. The basic ...    Read more

The drop-top Cabriolet version of the new Porsche 911 was only revealed in January at the Detroit auto show, but already Porsche is at work on a hotter version. Our spy photographers caught a glimpse of a new, 991-generation version of the 911 Turbo Cabriolet. We've actually ...    Read more

The Problem: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had previously investigated reports of the Jeep Wrangler catching fire, and now Jeep has issued an official recall. For 2010, the company changed the location of the Wrangler's catalytic converter to meet emissions requirements. However, due to the design of an ...    Read more

In response to poor sales, Lexus has discontinued its HS 250h hybrid luxury sedan. The vehicle actually went out of production in January 2012, but understandably, Lexus didn't make a big fuss about canceling a three-year-old vehicle. The Lexus HS 250h was introduced at the 2009 Detroit auto show. The ...    Read more

After long promising a new, smaller car rumored to be called the Nina, Fisker debuted the Atlantic at the New York auto show earlier this year. Whereas the existing Fisker Karma is a high-priced luxury machine, the Atlantic is designed to be a more affordable extended range electric vehicle. ...    Read more

Longtime Toyota tuning partner Gazoo Racing will show a concept version of the Toyota GT86 -- sold here as the Scion FR-S -- at this weekend's 24 Hours of Nürburgring race. The car, called the GRMN Sports FR concept, packs far more power than a regular Toyota GT86 thanks ...    Read more

Former Ford chairman and CEO Harold Arthur "Red" Poling died Saturday in California at the age of 86. Poling is best remembered for helping revive Ford during the 1980s, steering the automaker on a course that led to a string of best-selling products that ran into the 1990s. After serving an ...    Read more

German car modification gurus Mansory Design have turned their attention one of Italy's finest convertibles, the Ferrari 458 Spider. The company claims to have reduced the weight, improved the performance, and updated the styling of the car with the Monaco Edition, which is limited to just three units. Mansory says ...    Read more

Aston Martin first revealed the Lagonda SUV concept at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, and now it appears the brand is getting ready to unveil an updated version of that design. Autocar reports that Aston Martin sees a new SUV as critical to gaining market share in China. Because sales of ...    Read more

Two General Motors engineers will once again race a Buick Regal GS in a 90-mile Nevada road rally this month, after coming first in class last year. Whereas last year the Buick Regal GS competed in the 120-mph class, this year it will try the much more difficult 135-mph grouping. In ...    Read more

Nissan today celebrated Job One, the assembly of the first production-ready 2013 Altima sedan. The car rolled off the assembly line in Smyrna, Tennessee, at a ceremony attended by Tennessee governor Bill Haslam. The first Nissan Altima was built in Smyrna in 1992, when the factory was only a decade ...    Read more

Porsche has taken the liberty of supplying its own "spy" photos of a prototype car being tested in Europe. These pictures show a camouflaged version of the 918 Spyder, a supercar that is essentially the successor to the Porsche Carrera GT. On top of those images, our spy photographer was ...    Read more

In a new video released online by Infiniti, Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel and Hong Kong-born actress Celina Jade face off against a slew of martial arts baddies in China. The stylized kung-fu clip features as its centerpiece, of course, a gold Infiniti FX50S. Sure. Why not? If it seems ...    Read more

These new spy photos reveal that the Ford F-150 pickup family will soon receive new grille designs. The F-150 FX4 and XLT trims receive grilles that resemble those of the larger Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks, while the Lariat model gets a restyled three-bar grille. As these spy photos show, the ...    Read more

At the Paris Motor Show in September, Chevrolet will unveil the Trax compact crossover. The Trax will go on sale in 140 different countries, but Chevrolet says it's not coming to the U.S. The Chevrolet Trax isn't a huge surprise, given that in March we saw patent drawings previewing a ...    Read more

Mini chose this weekend's Mini United festival in France to introduce its highest-performance model yet: the John Cooper Works GP. Announced at the New York auto show, the new car follows up on the limited-run GP package offered for the 2006 Mini Cooper. Calling it the "fastest Mini ever ...    Read more

Been away from your computer this week and missed all the automotive news? We’ve gathered a few of the top stories of the past week for your convenience. Carroll Shelby: Cobra Creator and American Racing Legend Dead at 89 Automotive icon and racing legend Carroll Shelby died Thursday at age 89. ...    Read more

Carroll Shelby was nothing if not a car guy, and much of his legacy will live in his automotive creations, of which there are many. While Shelby has made enough gas-powered race cars and street machines to fill books, we've compiled a list of our very favorites. Original Shelby Cobra Carroll Shelby ...    Read more

It's almost the end for storied Italian automaker De Tomaso, according to Reuters and Torino Today. The company is reportedly close to closing its doors, but has tried reaching out to major automakers for support to help avoid bankruptcy. De Tomaso is perhaps best known for the Pantera, a sports car ...    Read more

Now that General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroën have established a strategic alliance, it looks like PSA and GM's European wing Opel will trade vehicles. Automotive News reports that PSA may lead development of the next Opel Zafira people mover, while an Opel factory will be tasked with building ...    Read more