Calling it America’s most affordable, fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle, and taking a square aim at Toyota’s Prius V wagon, Ford is beginning to promote the 2013 C-Max Hybrid compact minivan hatchback. The $25,995 starting price for the base level C-Max Hybrid certainly fits the bill and, according our colleagues at Green Car Reports, this… See more here: 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid Priced From $25,995

America is in the midst of the biggest energy boom since Texas’ 20th Century Gusher Age . All over the country, new drilling techniques have created an abundance of cheap natural gas. With domestic production at more than 25 billion cubic feet per day, prices are as low as they’ve ever been . More » Read more from the original source: Why We Aren’t Driving Natural Gas Powered Cars [Video] View post: Why We Aren’t Driving Natural Gas Powered Cars [Video]

The 2012 Lexus HS 250h. Image: Lexus Lexus launched the HS 250h hybrid in the U.S. in the summer of 2009, as a 2010 model. Meant as a fuel-efficient bookend to Lexus’ other entry-level offering, the rear-drive IS sedan, the HS 250h never really took off in the U.S. market. As Inside Line reports, sales in the 2010 model year were acceptable, hitting 10,663 units, but plummeted to just 2,864 units for 2011. The introduction of the less-expensive and more functional Lexus CT 200h had erased any market for the HS 250h, and the CT 200h has now become the fourth-best-selling vehicle in Lexus’ current product mix. Sadly, the death of the HS 250h came with no announcement, but Toyota did admit to Inside Line that “Production of the HS 250h ceased in January, 2012. Lexus continues to monitor sales for each product and we make adjustments to make sure we meet market demand, and the discontinuation of the HS was part of that adjustment.” If you’re looking for a hybrid sedan offering from Lexus in the coming months, you’re still in luck: Lexus will soon launch the ES 300h sedan, which is expected to be both more powerful and more fuel efficient than the discontinued HS 250h. We’ll bet that there are deals to be had on leftover HS models, though.   Continued here: Dismal Sales Kill The Lexus HS 250h Hybrid Go here to read the rest:  Dismal Sales Kill The Lexus HS 250h Hybrid

America is in the midst of graduation season, which can only mean one thing: high school graduates across the country are motoring around in their very first cars, taking their first road trips, and buying their first (and last) air-fresheners disguised as fuzzy pairs of dice. But along with those joys comes another, less pleasant first: the very… Go here to read the rest: 7 Things To Remember When Your Car Breaks Down

A new leaked document reveals the exact layout and plans for the next Formula One circuit, the Grand Prix of America in New Jersey. The map explains some of the many challenges in bringing F1 to the New York metro area. More » View post: The Complete Master Plan To New Jersey’s Formula One Grand Prix [Exclusive] More here:  The Complete Master Plan To New Jersey’s Formula One Grand Prix [Exclusive]

Since 1956, the Mercedes-Benz Club of America or MBCA gathers Mercedes cars enthusiasts around the world. They have nearly 30,000 members in US and Canada, as well as in other countries, who’s passionate about quality and luxury. Whether you’re just still planning to buy a Benz car or you already own one, it is great if you could join the club that is now open for membership for only $49 annually. If you’re wondering why you need to pay for $49, well, it is for you to get all the wonderful perks that an MBCA member can get. That amount of money will pay for itself don’t worry, because of the discounts that you can get when you buy parts or pay for service. For example, you can get 15% off Mercedes car parts and discount of 5% to 15% on service at participating dealerships. You also get to rub elbows with the rich and the famous because you will be invited to regional and national events of the brand across the country. The best benefit of joining is the $1,000 off on any new Merc model, after 1-year membership. Aside from all the savings and value, you also get to hang out with people who have the same passion for luxury and engineering excellence in a car. Check out Mercedes-Benz Club of America’s membership page for more information and grab the opportunity! View original here:  Mercedes-Benz Club of America Now Open for Membership

We’ve spilled a lot of virtual ink on the topic of distracted driving. It’s been a problem for decades, of course — since the historic moment two people first piled into a Benz Patent-Motorwagen and began arguing over directions. The problem was made worse (at least in America) by drive-through windows at fast-food joints, which provide… Original post:  Is Forgetting To Signal As Dangerous As Texting & Driving?

One of the most hotly anticipated cars from the new General Motors is the 2013 Cadillac ATS, and it has just been priced from $33,990 including destination charges. The based model ATS has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 200 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission will help achieve over 30 mpg on the highway… View post: 2013 Cadillac ATS Priced From $33,990

Today at High Gear Media, the 2013 Kia Rio gets an optional stop-start system and we wonder if Hello Kitty is a good permanent addition to your car. Toyota is moving more production to America and we show you the largest muscle car collection you probably will never get to see in person. All this and more in today’s car news, right here on The Car… See the original post here: Chrysler 300 Recalled, Kia Sedona Axed, GT500 On The ‘Ring: Car News Headlines

Being the only member of the BMWBLOG staff whoʼs a Lap Dog (will explain in a minute) I figured today, the start of the Tire Rackʼs One Lap of America, would be good time to write about what its like to run as a driver. You see, a Lap Dog, is well deserved term given to a veteran of One Lap. First timer? A lap pup of course! History: One Lap of America is the spiritual descendant of Brock Yateʼs insane Coast to Coast Cannonball Run. The Cannonball Run was a highly illegal timed race on public roads from NYC to LA and was run four times in the 70ʼs. Perhaps the best line from any participant was from Dan Gurney: “At no time did we exceed 175mph.” It was so crazy it they made two movies about it in the early 80ʻs, The Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II and stared Burt Reynolds. Brock Yates published a pretty cool book about it to, “Cannonball! Worldʼs Greatest Outlaw Race” published in 2003 – a great read. One Lap of American is much different. Itʼs more a marathon eight day non-stop road trip from race track to race track where you get just 5 laps. One warm up/recon lap, three hot laps, and a cool down lap. The three timed laps are all from a standing start, so my 3.2 L M3 was seriously mismatched. The total distance of the 8 day event has ranged from a cumulative distance of 3600 miles to as long as 10,000 miles. The only exceptions to the 5 lap rule is at the skid pad or a drag race. The higher you place the more points you get and the earlier you run. If you have a mechanical issue or donʼt make it to the track in time you donʼt get any points. Whereʼs the tie in to the Cannonball Run? Weʼll Brock Yates and his son Brock Jr run the event! They started it in 1984 and since Brock was at Car and Driver at the time they stepped in to be the title sponsor. Car and Driver sponsored One Lap up until 2006 or so. Tire Rack headquarters in South Bend, IN is where the event starts and ends and they are now the title sponsor. The only points you can earn are from timed events on closed tracks. So no racing on public streets and no points for anything on a public road. The Cars: There arenʼt many rules for the cars except they must be legally able to be on the road. Meaning they must have lights. Windshield wipers are optional. Seriously, if you...

Today presented competitors with a full schedule of events. First we had the skid pad competition at Tire Rack. This comprises of three laps clockwise and three laps in an anti-clockwise direction on the wet skid pad, with results determined by the car & driver pulling the highest average G loading over the four laps. We’ll return to this venue next Saturday for the dry skid pad test followed by the ever popular smoke show. On leaving Tire Rack we made a short six mile drive to South Bend Speedway for the first real time trial. A quarter mile paved short track oval, definitely different from many of the venues we normally visit. Once completed, we were off to Autobahn Country Club on the west side of Chicago for our third and final event of the day. This year we used the south course which is very familiar to us as this is the third time we’ve been here in the last four years. At each of these venues we must unload all our belongings and supplies, do a visual walk around, check fluid levels and tire pressures, and torque wheel bolts. Then we’ll walk the track to learn as much about the layout and surface changes as possible, hoping Mikewill remember everything observed when our time for our run . Each time trials consist of a warm-up lap, and from a standing start two or three timed laps followed by a cool down lap. Once the runs are completed, we load everything back in the M5 and head for the next venue. After these three events we are 25th overall after a relatively cautious start. Now we’ve moved to the road courses we expect to make our move up the leader board. The complete results for each event and all the classes can be found by clicking on this link: http://onelapofamerica.com/ event/ResultsIndex.do?eventId= 31 Tonight we’ll leave Autobahn around 6:30pm and drive approximately 450 miles to Council Bluffs, Iowa for a few hours sleep, then head out Sunday morning around 6:30am for Mid America Motorplex ready for a 8:30am start! Original post: 2012 One Lap of America: Day 1

If you lean green and you’re looking for a new car, listen up: shoppers who purchase a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid or Focus Electric can boost contributions to four nonprofits that keep America beautiful. In fact, you don’t even have to buy a car to take part in the promotion — just make a handful of clicks on the web… The rest is here:  2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid Offers Fans A Chance To Give Back

If you lean green and you’re looking for a new car, listen up: shoppers who purchase a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid or Focus Electric can boost contributions to four nonprofits that keep America beautiful. In fact, you don’t even have to buy a car to take part in the promotion — just make a handful of clicks on the web… Original post: 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid Offers Fans A Chance To Give Back

Prelude to hybrid cars? Prius family second best seller for Toyota For the past two months Toyota has been the top retail brand in the US. During those last two months the Toyota Prius family has posted sharp increases in sales. For instance, up 126.9 percent in April compared to last April. In fact hybrids now represent nearly 20 percent of all Toyota US sales. Years ago, some automakers publicly mocked Toyota’s hybrid direction. Even recently, plug-in advocates have criticized Toyota for being slow to embrace lithium and plug-ins, as well as offering a plug-in with only 12 miles of EV range. Yet, last month, Toyota didn’t just crush the rest of the auto industry in terms of hybrid sales, but the plug-in Prius also outsold all other plug-ins. In terms of automakers that offer a full lineup of vehicles, Toyota is crushing the competition in terms of fleet fuel economy, including those early to market with plug-ins. So, in every way that a plug-in matters, Toyota is doing more, achieving more. Why don’t results matter? I understand people not liking Toyota for a lot of different reasons. They’re a foreign company. They’re anti-union. They’re not as reliable as people assume. While valid concerns, what have the Big 3 given America? Without question the Big 3 have provided massive jobs to the US, but at significant cost. Certainly it’s easy to blame Big Oil — rightly so — for so many of America’s problems, but Big Oil doesn’t build cars, nor most of the products that use oil. So, is it the peoples’ fault? For decades did the Big 3 only build what consumers wanted? Is that how Toyota got so big in the first place, copying the Big 3 design on cars? Being just like the Big 3, just without a Union? Fortunately, there have been a lot of positive changes in Detroit over the last several years. Nevertheless, in a country that has been greatly impacted by foreign oil dependence over the last few decades, it’s still pretty disappointing that America’s most important industry — although maybe not so today — did so little to lead America for so very long, despite its obvious leadership position. And it still doesn’t feel as if they’re doing enough. More here:  20 percent:...

According to the Detroit Free Press, out of 2,360 auto models on sale in America, just 19% offer a manual transmission option. That’s down from 29% in 2007. Worse, a couple of weeks ago, we told you that just 4% of cars in showrooms come equipped with stick shifts. For driving fans, that was sad news. Thankfully, that’s not the whole story… Read the original here: The Stick Is Back: Shoppers Shift To Manual Transmissions