Filed under: Lotus , Latest News Like an Elise with a blown head-gasket, Lotus stumbles on while the smoke around the company continues to swirl. In what could be a glimmer of light, the latest report in Autocar says that the new owner “is not thinking about a sale”, but rumours of a possible move into administration refuse to go away.Lotus was owned by Proton, but Proton has been sold to a Malaysian conglomerate, DRB-HICOM, and it is not clear if the new owners are really committed to the Norfolk sports car manufacturer. Lotus is losing money and DRB-HICOM could conclude that there is no strategic fit between a company that makes economy cars in Asia and a glamorous, if troubled, sports car business in Britain. One possibility is that Lotus could be put up for sale, but its debts are so high it is questionable whether it has much net value. Hence an alternative would be to put it into administration to clear its debts, and then sell it. Unlike Saab, Lotus probably is an attractive proposition to someone, but most likely only in a debt-free form. Meanwhile, the British government has put on hold its £10m grant to Lotus to help develop new models, until the situation becomes clearer. Lotus still has some of the best chassis engineers in the industry and offers world-class consultancy services helping other manufacturers to design their cars. It is just a shame that it finds it so hard to design profitable cars for itself.   Original post:  Lotus crises rolls on Read more from the original source: Lotus crises rolls on

Filed under: Latest News Figures from HPI, the car data organisation, show that 61,000 uninsured cars were seized by the police last year. Within this number were five Ferraris (the most valuable being a new 458 Italia valued at £151,475), three Lamborghini Gallardos , an Audi R8 and a Bentley Continental. Whether they were being driven by people with such bad records that they could not get insurance, or so arrogant they thought they needn’t bother, is unclear.Among mainstream cars the type of recovered vehicles tends to reflect the overall market. The most commonly seized car was the Astra (373) examples, followed by the Focus, the Corsa and the Fiesta. Quite why Vauxhall drivers seem to be a bit more likely to be uninsured than equivalent Ford drivers (the Vectra was also seized more often than the Mondeo), is another open question. The most frightening statistic though is the total number of uninsured drivers on our roads – currently thought to be 1.4 million. Given that insurance is now fully computerised, with records instantly accessible to the police, it surely can’t be impossible to clamp down on this crime? Police forces do mount campaigns periodically: the Metropolitan police seized 300 vehicles in one day last October, but there is clearly plenty more to do. The motivation of the police is partly to stop other crimes: they reckon that 70% of uninsured drivers are involved in other illegal activity, so the hope is that taking away criminals’ wheels makes other crimes harder to commit.   Read more from the original source: Uninsured £150K Ferrari seized – plus £31 million of other cars Go here to read the rest:  Uninsured £150K Ferrari seized – plus £31 million of other cars

Fuel-economy figures for the 2013 Bentley Continental GT V-8 and GTC V-8 convertible have been released, and the car’s downsized engine delivers better fuel efficiency than that of the twelve-cylinder Conti . The GT and GTC V-8 are new for 2013, and both get a 500-hp, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 engine instead of the normal Continental’s 567-hp, twin-turbo 6.0-liter W-12. Read full story » Here is the original post: 2013 Bentley Continental GT Coupe and GTC Convertible V8 Eke Out EPA-Rated 24 MPG Highway Continued here:  2013 Bentley Continental GT Coupe and GTC Convertible V8 Eke Out EPA-Rated 24 MPG Highway

What counted as “modern warfare” in the 19th century would have astounded warriors of the 17th century. To those 19th century militants, the sometimes cruel precision of 20th century war would probably be pretty freaky. As the pace of death-tech quickens what will war look like in 20 years? Probably drones everywhere . This guy knows a lot about it . As does airsix73 who makes a great point in today’s COTD. More » The rest is here: COTD: Same As It Ever Was Edition [Video] See more here: COTD: Same As It Ever Was Edition [Video]

This is the Morning Shift , our one-stop daily roundup of all the auto news that’s actually important — all in one place at 9:00 AM. Or, you could spend all day waiting for other sites to parcel it out to you one story at a time. Isn’t your time more important? More » Read the original here: 2012 Chevy Camaro ZL1, ‘Never Say Never’ To Lotus Sale, And Tesla Loses More Than Expected [The Morning Shift] View post:  2012 Chevy Camaro ZL1, ‘Never Say Never’ To Lotus Sale, And Tesla Loses More Than Expected [The Morning Shift]

Perhaps the most notorious offspring of the failed Renault-AMC marriage was the paper mache-like Alliance/Encore cars. Less well known, but also infinitely less frangible were cars like today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Renault diesel-powered Jeep Cherokee. This one has apparently stood the test of time, but will its price also pass muster? More » Read the original: For $4,500, Go Far From Fargo [Nice Price Or Crack Pipe] View post:  For $4,500, Go Far From Fargo [Nice Price Or Crack Pipe]

The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG is a bit of a playboy’s car. Something for young guy in finance. Kathy Countiss goes against that stereotype, drag racing her chipped C63 even in her 60s. More » Here is the original post:  Watch This Awesome 60-Year-Old Woman Tear Up A Drag Strip [Video] See more here: Watch This Awesome 60-Year-Old Woman Tear Up A Drag Strip [Video]

The Google translation of the title for this video is “Our repairmen kill zebra axes.” If we assume that “zebra” means “crosswalk” it’s not an entirely inaccurate description of this weird video, which appears to show a Russian road crew trying to remove a crosswalk by beating it with axes. More » Read the original post: How Russians Remove A Crosswalk [Video] Read the original:  How Russians Remove A Crosswalk [Video]

There’s something really wonderful about even the grainiest, lowest-quality video of someone hooning their old car that you just can’t find in even the most well-shot car ad. More » Continued here: COTD: Corporate Car Porn Edition [Video] Go here to read the rest:  COTD: Corporate Car Porn Edition [Video]

Wrapping your car is supposed to be an affordable alternative to the time consuming and often expensive process of repainting your car. Whenever you get sick of the wrap you can have it removed and your car will return to its pre-wrap appearance—at least that is the idea. More » Read more from the original source: This Is What Happens When Wrapping Your Hummer Goes Wrong [LOLCars] View original post here:  This Is What Happens When Wrapping Your Hummer Goes Wrong [LOLCars]

With the huge quantities of BMW E30s in 24 Hours of LeMons races (the temptation of a cheap— if not so reliable— rear-wheel-drive car with manual transmission and big brakes is hard for many racers to resist), it’s rare that we see a day’s racing end without a single one in the top ten of the standings… but that’s how it sorted out today. When the checkered flag wrapped up the first of two race sessions at the Loudon Annoying 24 Hours of LeMons, the top ten went like this: Honda Accord, Ford Excort, Volvo 244, Acura Integra, Nissan 240SX, Nissan 300ZX, Mazda RX-7, Pontiac Firebird, BMW 318ti (E36), Volvo 262C. See the original post here: LeMons New England Day 1: Accord Leads, Escort ZX2 and Volvo 244 Close Behind See original here:  LeMons New England Day 1: Accord Leads, Escort ZX2 and Volvo 244 Close Behind

While a video of a modified BMW 135i chasing down a Porsche 997 Turbo at speeds in excess of 175 mph on a public roadway would be cause for condemnation and legal action in this country, it’s business as usual on one of the unrestricted sections of the German Autobahn. More » Go here to see the original: High Speed Chase Video Is Sure To Make You Long For The Autobahn [Video] Excerpt from: High Speed Chase Video Is Sure To Make You Long For The Autobahn [Video]

Driving drunk is always a bad idea, but as one Florida man found out Thursday night bringing your illegal exotic pet along for your intoxicated joy ride is a great way to make a bad situation significantly worse. More » See the original post here: Drunk Man Found In Possession of Illegal Monkey During DUI Stop [Video] More: Drunk Man Found In Possession of Illegal Monkey During DUI Stop [Video]

BMW’s four-door answer to the Mercedes-Benz CLS and the Audi A7 is here, wrapped in stretched 6-series coupe sheetmetal. Like the 6er coupe , it is mechanically very similar to the 5-series —following the pattern of the A7 and CLS, which are re-bodied versions of the Audi A6 and the Benz E-class. (more…) Here is the original post: 2013 BMW 6-series Gran Coupe First Drive: An Elegant Alternative to a 5- or 7-series More:  2013 BMW 6-series Gran Coupe First Drive: An Elegant Alternative to a 5- or 7-series

BMW has revealed some additions to its M Performance parts line for the latest 3- and 5-series sedans, as well as pricing for several parts the company previously announced. To recap, M Performance parts are designed with input from BMW’s M division, and going forward all of the company’s performance parts will be branded as such. (Previously, all performance parts and accessories were branded “BMW Performance.”) So what goodies has BMW wrought? For starters, it has revealed a new set of forged, 20-inch aluminum wheels for the 2012 3-series that look pretty busy with their mix of machined and black-painted spokes. Also, there’s a Brembo big-brake kit for the 3, which we think complements the big forged rims pretty nicely. Read the original post: BMW Releases New M Performance Parts for 2012 3-series, 5-series Here is the original post: BMW Releases New M Performance Parts for 2012 3-series, 5-series