During a special demo at the Big Science Summit in California, a team from the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS) pitted its autonomous Audi TTS against a professional driver.
The latter won the race, but only a few seconds ahead of the driver-less car, proving the extraordinary advancements of the technology.
Fear not, autonomous cars won't replace race car drivers anytime soon. They're just further demonstrating how capable and safe they can be in real-world settings.
BMW expects to sell one million cars in China by the end of 2014. Is it too ambitious? Not exactly.
"It is realistic unless the market deteriorates. If conditions remain as they are, then yes, it is a fair estimate," a Germany-based spokeswoman said, referring to the comments of Duan Jianjun, deputy sales chief at BMW's JV with Brilliance China Automotive.
The luxury car market in China has slowed after years of rapid growth. Yet last month, BMW's Chinese sales jumped 52% to 27,828 units.
By comparison, BMW Canada sold 31,703 cars... in all of 2010.
Richard Petty Motorsports confirmed its current drivers, Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola, have re-signed for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
Almirola, driving the No. 43 Ford continued a late-season charge by starting fifth and finishing seventh in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway last Sunday. And he would have finished higher if he hadn't run out of fuel on the final lap.
Next year, Ambrose will enter his third season driving for the organization. He will again be behind the wheel of the No. 9 Ford with partners Stanley and Dewalt.
The two RPM drivers, Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
Almirola will begin his second season as the driver of the No. 43 Ford with primary support from partner Smithfield Foods and its family of brands, Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland and Gwaltney. In addition, long-time Petty sponsor, STP, will also continue as a primary partner of the No. 43.
RPM previously announced its continuing relationship with Ford Racing and the addition of crew chief Drew Blickensderfer. Also confirmed earlier this season, RPM will continue to field the No. 43 Pilot/Flying J Ford in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with driver Michael Annett.
BMW released a video that shows how you can create postcards using a BMW M6 coupe as a printing press. Seriously.
A trunk-mounted, pressurized ink system sprays the rear tires. All the driver has to do is to roll over pieces of paper that are placed in straight lines, and voilà!
These one-of-a-kind postcards will be cut and sent to BMW M6 fans around the world.
Kevin Magnussen, who was already quickest on Wednesday, set again the best performance during the second day of F. Renault 3.5 collective tests in Alcaniz.
The Dane set the fastest time ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr in the morning session, then he ran quicker than fellow countryman Marco Sorensen in the afternoon.
Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix winner Antonio Felix Da Costa was 4th in the morning and 5th in the afternoon.
Kevin Magnussen, DAMS. (Photo: Renault)
Thursday morning: 1 - Kevin Magnussen - Dams - 1'39"479
2 - Carlos Sainz - AV Formula - 1'39"617
3 - Norman Nato - Tech 1 - 1'39"649
4 - Antonio Felix Da Costa - Arden Caterham - 1'40"075
5 - Daniil Kvyat - Fortec - 1'40"351 - 44
etc.
Thursday afternoon: 1 - Kevin Magnussen - Dams - 1'39"980
2 - Marco Sorensen - Lotus - 1'40"017
3 - Stoffel Vandoorne - Dams - 1'40"137
4 - Marlon Stockinger - Lotus - 1'40"268 -
5 - Antonio Felix Da Costa - Arden Caterham - 1'40"291
etc.
With the winter months approaching, many Americans are looking for the safety and stability provided by all-wheel drive. Sending power to all four wheels can help a vehicle gain traction in all weather conditions. Luckily for all-wheel drive shoppers, there are many options to choose from without venturing into the realm of high-riding trucks and SUVs. Although the advantages of four driven wheels are obvious in slippery road conditions, the technology usually comes at a cost - both upfront and at the pump. We've indicated the extra cost of the all-wheel-drive option, or the cost differential compared with the equivalent two-wheel-drive model, as well as its EPA gas mileage ratings, and the fuel economy penalty versus the two-wheel-drive version of the same car for every vehicle on our list.
Although the GT-R might appear to be unchanged since its launch in 2009, a lot has been going on behind the scenes. In 2010, it gained five horsepower, a revised launch control system, and an updated navigation system. For 2011, Nissan tweaked the suspension tuning, and added conveniences like automatic wipers and a USB audio input. Bigger changes came in 2012, when the GT-R gained a new front fascia (dig those de rigeur LED running lamps!), another 45 horsepower, new dampers and revised suspension geometry, and a new top-spec Black Edition model. Alas, Nissan still wasn't done. The 2013 GT-R is almost identical to last year's model, save for the fact the twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6's output has been cranked up another 15 hp to 545 hp.
VW Group's supervisory board is expected to increase planned investment in new vehicles and factories as it looks beyond a European slump to its long-term goal of being the world's largest carmaker by 2018.
VW Group's supervisory board is expected to increase planned investment in new vehicles and factories as it looks beyond a European slump to its long-term goal of being the world's largest carmaker by 2018.
Volkswagen's supervisory board is expected to increase planned investment in new vehicles and factories as it looks beyond a European slump to its long-term goal of being the world's largest carmaker.
General Motors' financing arm GM Financial has agreed to pay about US$4.2bn for the European and Latin American auto lending operations of Ally Financial [once GMAC] as it looks to extend its in-house financing to boost sales.
Ford Motor is preparing to close its vehicle assembly plant in the Philippines in December 2012 with production for the ASEAN region being consolidated in Thailand and Malaysia.
Toyota's US unit is recalling about 150,000 Tacoma trucks originally sold or currently registered in 20 cold climate states and the District of Columbia to inspect and/or replace the spare tyre carrier assembly.
UK automotive body, the SMMT, says the UK government "gets it" when it comes to supporting the British motor industry as the sector continues to ride a wave of optimism.
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