CARSCOOP

eBay Find: Virgil Exner's 1956 Chrysler Plainsman Wagon Concept
Test Run Shows the McLaren MP4-12C Lapping the 'Ring in 7:28, Faster than the Ferrari 458 Italia
Volkswagen Squeezes 16 People in the Up! City Car
SPIED: Odd Looking Range Rover Sport Prototype May be Testing Hybrid Powertrain
Carlos Ghosn Says 2012 will be a Record Sales Year, Bets Heavily on EVs
SEMA Preview: GM Shows Tuned Sonics, Announces Cruze Concepts
Watch an Aston Martin Rapide Crash Filmed from the Inside
Mika Hakkinen Returns to Racing in the Cockpit of a Mercedes SLS AMG
Bangkok Drivers Park Their Cars by the Thousands on Highways to Protect them from Floods [Video]
SEMA Preview: Turbocharged 2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe by Fox Marketing
Hyundai to Introduce Commercials Tailor-Made for the Super Bowl
Repo Man Seizes Car with…Child Sleeping Inside
New Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG with Bi-Turbo V8 to Debut in L.A.
Kia Sets New U.S. Sales Record, Wants to Focus on Dealer Network Next Year
New Volkswagen Scale Models Hit Official Store
Tragedy Strikes MotoGP as Marco Simoncelli Dies in Sepang Race Accident [Video]
"Sporting Passion" Theme Takes Center Role in BMW's Campaign for the New 3-Series Sedan
Aston Martin Launches New Cygnet in Hong Kong and Japan
Saab’s Groundhog Day: Chinese Want 100%, Original Deal is Off but Talks Will Continue

eBay Find: Virgil Exner's 1956 Chrysler Plainsman Wagon Concept

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 05:45 PM PDT

The 1950s were the Golden Age for Detroit car designers as they experimented with tail fins, various screen angles, rocket-shaped fenders and, in general, all kinds of configurations, launching wonderful concept cars at Motor Shows.

The Chrysler Corporations' Vice President of Styling, the famed Virgil Exner, was responsible in one way or another for most of the company's concepts cars at the time, including this 1956 Chrysler Plainsman study.

The Plainsman is a unique two-door station wagon with seating for up to eight with many novel features such as the rear-facing third row of seats that are power operated to raise or sink in the trunk.

Test Run Shows the McLaren MP4-12C Lapping the 'Ring in 7:28, Faster than the Ferrari 458 Italia

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 04:44 PM PDT

Carmakers don't use the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit only for testing prototypes, as you've seen many times in our scoop section, but also to time their cars and claim some bragging rights against their rivals.

This is one of those stories with the protagonist being the new McLaren MP4-12C sportscar that made its debut run on the Nordschleife with Horst von Saurma, Editor-in-Chief of German magazine Sport Auto, sitting behind the wheel.

Volkswagen Squeezes 16 People in the Up! City Car

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 03:48 PM PDT

There are many kinds of automotive-related records but one of the most common is trying to fit as many people as possible in a passenger car.

If a VW Camper sounds spacious to you, try to imagine what it must have felt like for the 86 students of the Institute of Technology in Carlow, Ireland, than were cramped inside on April 23, 2009, or the 27 Penn State students that set a new Guinness World Record by squeezing themselves in a New Beetle.

These records inspired the crew over at VW Communications to find out how many people could fit in the 3.5 m-long Up! city car.

SPIED: Odd Looking Range Rover Sport Prototype May be Testing Hybrid Powertrain

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:48 PM PDT

Automakers tend to use test mules that typically combine body parts of an existing model with chassis and/or mechanical components of a next generation vehicle in the early stages of development for testing purposes.

This seems to be the case with the Range Rover Sport prototype caught by our scoop photographers out on the road in Europe.

Carlos Ghosn Says 2012 will be a Record Sales Year, Bets Heavily on EVs

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:22 PM PDT

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is upbeat about the way the automotive industry is heading, despite the fact that the economic crisis that threatens Europe is far from over.

In fact, during the recent launch of the electric versions of theRenault Fluence and Kangoo in Portugal last Friday, Ghosn predicted that 2012 will be a record year for car sales worldwide surpassing 2011's volumes.

SEMA Preview: GM Shows Tuned Sonics, Announces Cruze Concepts

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 01:43 PM PDT

General Motors is counting on its revised portfolio of small cars to further increase its sales in North American, and at next week's SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas, the Detroit-based automaker will showcase the personalization possibilities for its sub-compact Chevrolet Sonic and the Cruze sedan with a plethora of concepts.

For the time being, GM has shared some initial details on some of the concepts it will display in Las Vegas along with a handful of pictures of two customized Sonic hatchbacks.

Watch an Aston Martin Rapide Crash Filmed from the Inside

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 01:07 PM PDT

Most people tend to freak out after an accident with their cars even if there are no fatalities or injuries, but not Mr. Roberto Ricci, who had the misfortune of wrecking his prized Aston Martin Rapide sports saloon during a joy ride.

If you see Ricci's super cool reaction after the crash, you'd think that the Rapide suffered only a few minor scratches, when reality is that the car was brutally bashed / borderline repairable write-off.

The incident occurred in late July when Ricci, who is the founder and owner of RRD, makers of surfboards, windsurfs, sails and kites, took Dave White, editor of Mpora, for a quick ride in his Rapide after a guided tour of his company's facilities in Italy.

Mika Hakkinen Returns to Racing in the Cockpit of a Mercedes SLS AMG

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 12:13 PM PDT

Michael Schumacher isn't the only Formula 1 champion who can't live outside a racing car's cockpit; after a four year absence, two-times F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen will sit behind the wheel of racing car for the final event of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, which will take place on November 13 at the Zhuhai track in China. Read more »

Bangkok Drivers Park Their Cars by the Thousands on Highways to Protect them from Floods [Video]

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 11:43 AM PDT

Over the past few months, Thailand has been hit with some of its worst floods in the past 50 years that have affected close to 3 million people leaving more than 300 people dead. Today, the floodwaters reached the outskirts of the country's capital city of Bangkok.

Many residents have already been warned to move to higher ground and secure their belongings, including their cars. Regarding their vehicles, the state and private sectors have provided safe spaces for around 70,000 cars, but that's a drop in the ocean of Bangkok's estimated 4.6 million vehicles.

SEMA Preview: Turbocharged 2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe by Fox Marketing

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 11:00 AM PDT

While we are getting ready to cover next week's SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas, Fox Marketing decided to give us a sneak peek of its highly modified 2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe.

The tuning firm says that the main focus of the build is to demonstrate the "reliability, and performance capability from Honda's new K24Z7 power plant" with an intercooled turbo kit that along with numerous other improvements, pushes the four-cylinder unit's output to over 450-horses

Hyundai to Introduce Commercials Tailor-Made for the Super Bowl

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 10:29 AM PDT

If there is one televised event in the U.S. that attracts record audiences, it is the Super Bowl. So it comes to no surprise that companies with an aggressive advertising campaign deem it worthy to pay a lot of cash (as much as US$3.0 million in 2011 and $3.5 million in 2012) for some air time during the game.

So far, Hyundai has followed a simple strategy when it came to its Super Bowl commercials: see what ads it has for upcoming models and debut them during the game.

But now, the Korean automaker, which has made quite an impact on the U.S. market with its new models, has decided to change its game: it wants to make commercials that are tailor-made for the Super Bowl.

Repo Man Seizes Car with…Child Sleeping Inside

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 09:20 AM PDT

Here's one more story of a repossession (as well as motherhood…) gone bad. Last week, an 11 year-old boy from Florida was…repossessed along with his mother's car when a repo man towed away the vehicle he had fallen asleepsleeping in.

According to the police report, the boy's mother, Elizabeth Tato, was inside a strip mall casino busy playing games when the incident occurred. Once she finished gambling at Winner's Club, she came out only to find her car and child missing so she called 911.

New Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG with Bi-Turbo V8 to Debut in L.A.

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 08:37 AM PDT

After showing us the regular versions of its new 2012 ML-Class SUV earlier this summer and of course, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, Mercedes-Benz is gearing up for the world premiere of the flagship ML 63 AMG this November at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show. Read more »

Kia Sets New U.S. Sales Record, Wants to Focus on Dealer Network Next Year

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 08:11 AM PDT

Among the many "rag to riches" tales that took place in the business world this past decade, is the meteoric rise of the Korean carmakers.

In 2010, Kia sold 356,268 vehicles in the U.S. By September 2011, it had already surpassed that number having made 367,405 deliveries. This marks an increase of 37% compared to the same period last year, and it also means that 2011 will be a record-setting year for the Korean carmaker

New Volkswagen Scale Models Hit Official Store

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 07:46 AM PDT

More often than not, when a new Volkswagen model is presented to the public, the German automaker commissions a matching scale replica, and this week, we have not one, but four new miniature vehicles that go on sale through the company's official store.

These include the production versions of the new up! city car and the Beetle along with the two-seater XL1 diesel-electric hybrid study and the Race Touareg 3 competition vehicle.

Tragedy Strikes MotoGP as Marco Simoncelli Dies in Sepang Race Accident [Video]

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 07:20 AM PDT

October has been a very bad month indeed for motorsport. Only one week after former IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon was killed in a 15-vehicle pileup at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, tragedy struck again, this time at the Moto GP race in Malaysia.

It was only the second round of the race at the Sepang track when Marco Simoncelli lost control of his Honda bike and fell on the tarmac. For unknown reasons, his helmet came off when he was struck by Colin Edwards on a Yamaha and compatriot Valentino Rossi on a Ducatti, both of which were very close and could not avoid the unlucky Italian rider.

"Sporting Passion" Theme Takes Center Role in BMW's Campaign for the New 3-Series Sedan

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 06:53 AM PDT

The next generation of the BMW Group's most important volume model, the brand-new 3-Series sedan, made its world premiere in Munich a fortnight ago ahead of its global sales launch in February of 2012.

Today, the Bavarian automaker announced the first details on the ad campaign for the new premium saloon that makes its debut online through BMW's websites and Facebook pages with print media and TV to follow at the beginning of February.

Aston Martin Launches New Cygnet in Hong Kong and Japan

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 06:02 AM PDT

Perhaps the most controversial Aston Martin model ever made - or to be more precise, re-made, the new Cygnet luxury city car has arrived in two more markets outside of Europe, in Hong Kong and Japan.

Essentially a heavily luxed-up version of the Toyota / Scion iQ, the Cygnet is available to order now in Hong Kong and Japan from the Aston Martin dealership network with deliveries expected in the first quarter of 2012.

Saab’s Groundhog Day: Chinese Want 100%, Original Deal is Off but Talks Will Continue

Posted: 24 Oct 2011 05:35 AM PDT

Not a day passes by without Some news from Saab. On Sunday, the parent company of Saab, Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan), announced that, effective immediately, it terminates the subscription agreement of July 2011 with Pang Da and Youngman.

The Chinese companies were supposed to provide a bridge loan to help Saab proceed with the restructuring plan approved by the Swedish court. Ten days ago, the Swedish company announced that it received the first installment with the next expected on October 22.