AUTOS
– Tougher federal fuel-economy standards are coming to heavy-duty pickups, full-size vans, and other large rigs, bringing with them big changes to the nation’s truck fleet. The new proposed standards—which are not yet set into law—call for big vans and medium-/heavy-duty pickups to slash their fuel consumption by a third between now and 2027. We plowed through the EPA’s 1329 pages of documents to get a picture of the greener, higher-tech
-Koenigsegg’s outrageous One:1 just keeps running wild on unsuspecting pavement. First, we watched it blast to 220 mph at a supercar meetup in England. Then, we saw it tearing up Suzuka Circuit. Then we got to ride shotgun as it thundered up the hill at Goodwood. And then we watched as it obliterated the 0-300km/h-0 world record, from two perspectives. – The jaw-dropping hypercar’s tour of dominance continues: Koenigsegg says
– A few weeks ago, we brought you the sad news that Mazda has no need for a “Speed” version of its new Miata. (Cue sad horns). All is not lost, however: If what Fiat COO Alfredo Altavilla said to AutoExpress is true, the Italian version, the Fiat 124 Spider expected to make its debut later this year (and rendered above), appears poised to be offered in a more, um,
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2012 Audi TT RS – In a crushing blow to our “Save the Manuals” campaign, we have received word that the next-gen Audi TT RS, due to be launched in 2016, will lose its manual shifter entirely. Excuse us while we mourn the decision to axe yet another sports-car variant that allows its driver to select gears by means of a traditional shifter. – This means Audi’s strategy has taken a
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– In his previous role at Audi, Heinz Hollerweger’s job was to come up with ideas and concepts that ventured far into the future. Since 2014, however, he has served as head of Audi’s Quattro GmbH performance division—a job that might seem more narrow, but one which actually holds fascinating challenges and opportunities of its own. – – We spoke with Hollerweger at the launch of the second-generation R8. At the Estoril
-Forgive us for a second if we talk stick-and-ball sports, but the National Football League recently announced a new headline automotive sponsor, dumping General Motors for Hyundai. Indeed, despite the league’s ongoing domestic-violence woes, Hyundai is dropping $50 million of its marketing budget on the NFL, in large part because the carmaker’s sales have flattened over the last three years as Americans have resumed their own rocky love affair with
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