Auto News 5

Less than two weeks after D-Day, Warrant Officer Robert J. DeMatio hit Omaha Beach with the 118th Field Artillery Battalion, 30th Infantry Division, XIX Corps, United States 1st Army. It was the first stop on a journey through France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany that wouldn't end until VE-Day in May 1945, a journey he chronicled in a typewritten history of his "rear echelon" section. Sixty-six years later, that journal in hand, JOE DeMATIO retraces his late father's route in a Cadillac CTS-V coupe and learns that American power -- at least automotive power -- is still embraced on the Continent.

BMW's striking Vision EfficientDynamics concept, which debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show, is headed for production as the 300-hp halo car for the company's Project i lineup. And then there's the M version.

I used the Range Rover to tow my race car and trailer to the track over the weekend. The supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine did really well considering the extra 4500 pounds attached to the rear end. I was really impressed with the automatic adjustable suspension; after loading my car onto the trailer, the rear end of the Range Rover was compressed quite a bit, but after starting the Range Rover and letting it sit for a minute, it automatically lifted the rear end back to a level ride height.