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The crew at PickupTrucks.com has busy lately. In addition to wrapping up their global pickup shootout in Australia, the site also took the time to pit four factory off-road kings against each other. After extending invitations to every manufacturer to send out their most capable pickup, the Nissan Frontier PRO-4X, Toyota Tacoma Baja, Ram Power Wagon and Ford F-150 SVT Raptor all showed up to play. General Motors, meanwhile, declined to join the party.

Each of the participants threw down in a total of 10 scored events with separate scoring, including old standbys like (0-96 km/h) 0-60, 60-0, payload capacity and fuel economy. Pickuptrucks.com also partnered up with 4Wheeler Magazine to put the bruisers through some legitimate off-road tests. Each pickup took on a tough sand hill climb as well as a stair climb and a rock scramble.

While we weren't surprised to see the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor take top honors, we were shocked to see where the Power Wagon wound up on the list. How'd the big Mopar place? You'll have to scroll down to watch the video wrap-up. After that, head on over to PickupTrucks.com to read the full comparison.

Of all the shops turning out cool hardware these days, few get us as excited as Icon. And while their off-road beasts are heart-stopping in their execution and attention to detail, it's the company's Derelict line that really gets us grinning. Icon founder Jay Ward swung by Jay Leno's Garage to show off his latest creation: a 1952 Chrysler/DeSoto wagon with modern bones underneath. Ward started with a Chrysler Town and Country wagon before swapping over a DeSoto front clip for a little more style. The old Hemi V8 was then ditched for a 2010 6.1-litre fuel-injected lump, though Icon kept the original valve covers in order to keep the engine bay looking as period as possible.

As with all Derelicts, there's little on the underside of the '52 that hasn't been re-engineered by the Icon team. The car uses a complete modern running gear and a set of six-piston Wilwood brakes bring the family hauler down from speed. Check it out on the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage below.

As had been speculated, the brief run of the Aston Martin Virage is over with the arrival of the 2013 Aston Martin DB9, shown above. You'll recall that the Virage was introduced as a bridge between the previous DB9 and the now-defunct DBS.

Coupled with the arrival of the new range-topping Vanquish, the '13 DB9 eliminates the middle man, so to speak, merging the Virage's styling elements (as evidenced by the DB9's front fascia) with powertrain and chassis tweaks developed for the Vanquish. You will doubtless note that the DB9 looks like nearly every recent Aston Martin preceding it. We'd agree, while allowing that the familial look is a feature, not a bug. As before, it's offered as a coupe or convertible (Volante).

Power in the new DB9 comes from the latest version of Aston Martin's 6.0-litre V12, making 510 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque in this application. Those are increases of 40 hp and 14 lb-ft over the old DB9, as well as 20 hp and 37 lb-ft over the Virage. Carbon-ceramic brakes are standard, and the car boasts 50/50 distribution of its 1,795 kilogram (3,935-pound) curb weight.

Inside, you'll find the same familiar instrument and control layout featured in the current Vantage and the outgoing DB9 and Virage models. A backup camera is now standard. The new DB9 does not receive the updated interior design that premiered in the 2013 Vanquish, so there's now a clear differentiation between the flagship and the "mainstream" V12 car in that respect.

If you want to order a new DB9, you may do so immediately. Pricing starts at around $180,000 CAD ($185,400 USD) and it hits showrooms in November. For the full rundown, you can view the entire PR blast from Aston Martin below.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently spoke to Fox Business about the state of Model S production, and to hear the CEO tell it, things are going very well. Assembly line production has been climbing every week; the interview was conducted on September 13, and Musk said when asked how many cars they'd build, "I think it's probably going to be around 80 cars this week." If they hit that number it would represent double the production of the week before.

Tesla's Model S production goal this year is 5,000 units, and the outside estimate is that 400 have been built so far. To make the target in the roughly 14 weeks left in the year, Tesla would need to – as of this week – quadruple last week's production to a little more than 320 units. That's a steep climb, but the numbers so far point to it being still being possible. Musk said that orders continue to come in and the company is working through its backlog, and he expects an annual profit to come in 2013. You'll find both parts of the interview in the videos below.

It's official: Top Gear has collected a Guinness World Record. Everyone's favorite show about three jokers and their automotive exploits is the most widely watched factual TV program – you guessed it – in the world. All told, the original show is viewed in 212 territories around the globe, which is enough to take the honor. Jeremy Clarkson himself accepted the award on behalf of his cohorts and the crew behind Top Gear, saying only, "I am very proud to be involved in such a factual program."

Is that a hint of sarcasm we detect, sir?

The show certainly isn't lacking for fans with a Facebook page boasting over 12.1 million likes and counting.

Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally was on CBS This Morning talking about a variety of topics ranging from trade tensions between the U.S. and China to the 2013 Ford Fusion, but our interest was piqued when he started talking about his retirement. Just last week, we reported that Mark Fields is being named the Chief Operating Officer at Ford, putting him in a prime position to take over the reins of the company following eventual Mulally's departure.

The show's co-host, Charlie Rose, brings up the possibility of Mulally leaving on a high note considering Ford's current status, and Mulally replies "Charlie, squelch that rumour." When pushed even further for a definitive answer, Mulally confirmed that he is "not going to retire any time soon" although he gives no indication as to how long "any time soon" actually is.

The interview also touches on the future of the F-150 possibly using more aluminum, stricter fuel economy standards and how Ford plans to deal with its declining sales in Europe.

Scroll down to watch the entire video, and note that the retirement discussion starts around the 3:08 mark.

Back in May, we reported on the unlucky driver of a 2012 Hyundai Elantra who claimed his ear was sliced in half following the deployment of his side airbag. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has since looked into the incident, and while it did not issue a recall, it has expanded its investigation to include all fifth-generation (2011 through 2013 model years) Elantra sedans.

During the accident, a metal bracket that acts to stiffen the headliner detached from the car and hit the driver according to a report on The Detroit News; this bracket is only used on Elantra models built in South Korea and not those built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) in Montgomery, Alabama. It isn't clear what the mix of imported and domestic Elantras is in the U.S., but NHTSA has not received any other reports of a similar incident.

Hyundai has been performing tests to try to duplicate the problem, and while it did get the bracket to detach in one test, the piece of metal apparently didn't separate in a manner that could injure an occupant.

News Source: The Detroit News

Image Credit: Copyright 2011 Chris Shunk / AOL

The ever-covert spy photographers at Brenda Priddy & Company have nabbed a fresh one. This time, it's a new Mercedes-Benz that looks to be a mix between an A-Class and the CLS-Class four-door coupe. It is being called the CLA-Class, and it has been caught completely sans-camo in preparation for an advertising shoot in Iceland.

The CLA is the much-anticipated A-Class derivative that is coming stateside, first announced in Beijing. Word is that the small Mercedes is a front-wheel drive, and likely powered by either a 170-horsepower 2.2-litre four or a 208-hp 2.0-litre turbocharged mill. This new FWD architecture is called MFA, and is also shared with the Mercedes-Benz B-Class.

The design of the CLA-Class is heavily rooted in the CSC, first seen at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The most notable feature is the car's silhouette, which appears to echo that of the larger CLS-Class. The front end of the CLA is similar to that of the A-Class, albeit as a somewhat bolder interpretation of that design. Perhaps the one puzzling element to the design is the grille – utilizing a unique pattern has been reserved for M-B concept cars thus far. Either Mercedes-Benz is using the CLA as the first implementation of the design in a production car, or the vehicle you see before you is a "production ready concept." We will know for certain when the showroom-ready version arrives next year, as a 2014 model.

Click here for the full photo gallery and watch this video on the original Mercedes-Benz CSC concept car.

News Source: Brendy Priddy & Co.

Convertibles are a highly specialized tool that come with compromises. They require a warm climate and sunshine to achieve their promise, but at the same time stick you with sacrificed rigidity and extra weight all year round. Many droptop drivers happily accept those trade-offs, but the deal-killer for me is privacy. I just don't like everyone at the intersection knowing what's in my iPod, or that Ira Flatow and Science Friday are about to take a short break.

So I am not a convertible person, but with days becoming shorter and summertime temperatures fading from the five-day forecast, I certainly didn't mind setting aside my predilection for closed quarters to enjoy this 2013 Nissan 370Z Roadster.

Driving Notes

• This thing is expensive! $51,478 as-tested in our case for the sport packaged equipped model. The starting price of a base 370 Roadster is $47,478, which is over $6,500 more than the coupe's base $40,978 price. For comparison's sake, the base price of a 2013 Ford Mustang GT Convertible with a 420-horsepower V8 is $38,008.
• Nissan is lauded for its V6 engines, but the 3.7-litre isn't one of my favorites. Here it produces 332 hp at 7,000 RPM and 270 pound-feet of torque at 5,200 RPM. The torque isn't there to push you into the seat at any speed. Rather, the engine needs to be worked to find the power higher in the rev range, which is fine because...
• This transmission is excellent. Nissan's six-speed manual is terrifically precise and feels stout enough to handle much more power than it's being asked to divide here. The Touring model gets SynchroRev Match as part of the sport package, which, with S-Mode engaged, blips the throttle on every downshift to match the engine's RPMs to the transmission. It's great to enter a gear with the engine already waiting for you and the sound it makes has you feeling like a race car driver who knows what he's doing.
• While Nissan recommends that you operate the convertible top with the parking brake engaged and the brake pedal depressed, the car can just be left in Neutral (or any other gear except Reverse, for that matter) in order to flip its lid. That said, if the car is moving, the top won't budge. It's also slow, clunky and loud in its operation. With the roof up, the car's silhouette is different than the coupe's and not as flattering in my eyes. Lastly, when putting the roof down after it rained, I noticed the roof itself leaves dirt marks on the cover under which it's stowed.
• This is strictly a two-seater that I suspect wouldn't be very comfortable for drivers and passengers over six-feet tall. The trunk is also miniscule (4.2 cubic feet) and there's only a couple of small parcel shelves behind the seats. A practical vehicle this is not.
• It feels like a Miata in terms of size, though from behind the wheel it's more like the larger, heavier Mustang to drive (the Mustang GT Convertible weighs only 122 pounds more, while the Miata – with a retractable hardtop – weighs 886 pounds less).
• The EPA estimates the 370Z Roadster will return 13.8L/100km (17 mpg) in the city and 9.8L/100km (24 mpg) on the highway. I spent most of my time with the car off the highway, and my right foot was certainly having fun. That translated into 14L/100km for the week it spent with me. Oh, and premium fuel is recommended.
• The 370Z Roadster's price has it competing with cars like the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class, BMW Z4 and even Porsche Boxster, while cars like the Mustang and Camaro Convertible offer much more power and practicality for far less money. There just isn't an equation that adds up to the 370Z Roadster being a good bargain. The hardtop, on the other hand...

According to new reports, James Glickenhaus has more big plans for his P4/5 Competizione, eying an entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014 with an LMP contender. That year there will be a slate of new regulations that refocus cars around around the amount of energy they use per lap (instead of displacement and air restrictions) and that open up the possibilities for design and privateer competitors.

Providing sketches of a highly stylized version of what an LMP version of the P4/5C M (M is for Modificata, indicating the kinetic energy recovery system fitted this year) could look like, Glickenhaus would only say that "we do not exclude the possibility of building a P4/5 LMP" car for 2014. The project would need partners and backing, so Glickenhaus has cautioned that nothing is assured. In the meantime, while his team contemplates that challenge, he wants the P4/5C M to finish first in its class in the year's FIA ​​World Championship Alternate Energy Cup series, and he wants to head back to the Nürburgring to beat the 6:51 lap time set earlier this summer, which is still a record for a car under Ferrari power.

News Source: Endurance-info.com (French), Caradisiac (French)

The Woodward Dream Cruise is billed as the largest one-day automotive event in the world. Around 1.5 million people show up on a Saturday each August and line both sides of a seven-mile stretch of historic Woodward Avenue in the outskirts of Detroit. They come to watch some 40,000+ classic, custom and muscle cars cruise all eight lanes of road at little more than idling speed. Begun only in 1995, the Cruise feels like it's been happening since the golden era of Detroit that it honors. For Detroiters, it's become a way of life. For everyone else, it's high up on the list of 1,001 Car Things To Do Before You Die.

We sent host Jessi Combs to Detroit Rock City during Woodward week to experience the event for herself and report back. As we suspected, she encountered all types of native Detroiters who love the Woodward Dream Cruise, as well as some anti-Cruisers who don't share that sentiment. Sans Patrick for this episode, Jessi met up with Autoblog/AOL Auto's own Scott Burgess, who was participating in the Cruise in his own 1964 Chevy Corvair Convertible.

Click here to watch and learn why attending the Woodward Dream Cruise is a must.

McLaren has released the first official images of its P1 design study, the supercar precursor that we've all been waiting for. This stunner will officially debut at the Paris Motor Show next week.

Calling the P1 McLaren's next "ultimate supercar," McLaren says this concept takes its inspiration from the company's rich racing heritage. Visually, we certainly see the connection with the late, great McLaren F1 – the concept seems to blend the proportions of the F1 with the overall design language of the current MP4-12C. With an exceedingly brief, snubbed nose flowing into wildly sculpted rear bodywork (we're especially fond of the rear three-quarter view), the P1 is more dramatic and compelling than it's relatively staid MP4-12C little brother, truly selling the supercar idea without having to move a wheel. That the concept is rendered in a searing shade of orange metallic doesn't hurt, either.

Of course, McLaren isn't giving us any hints on the technical details for the eventual production version of the P1, though it does speak to the intent of the final car. The P1 is not intended to be the world's fastest vehicle in terms of "absolute top speed," shooting, according to Ron Dennis, to be, "the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a circuit." That's supercar snobbery – a cockiness based on purity of purpose, rather than numbers on a specification sheet – that is bound to resonate with car geeks everywhere.

After the Paris showing of the McLaren P1, we're told it will be one year until the production version of the range-topping supercar shows up, with an on-sale date sometime in the last part of 2013. Look for much more information about the P1, live from our Paris team, next week.

Click here for the full details so far and a video clip of the McLaren GT3 vs. MP4-12C.

News Source: McLaren

Taking North America's Hot Hatch Segment to the Matte



The Hyundai Veloster became one of the most eye-catching cars on the market right out of the gate, but it lacked the oomph to match its unique and sporty styling. Hyundai remedied this situation for the Veloster's sophomore season by adding a little more power courtesy of some forced induction. Enter the 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo.

Boasting a design that looks more like a custom SEMA-bound sport compact rather than a production sub-$30,000 hatchback, the new Veloster Turbo dives head first into the hot hatch segment with plenty of extra power and an even more aggressive design to match.

These changes should be enough to attract the enthusiast crowd, but after spending a week in Hyundai's new pocket rocket, we aim to see how the car stacks up as a daily driver.

What starts out as a regular ride through the countryside suddenly turns very ugly, as an incredible high speed crash disintegrates a motorcycle and tosses its rider helplessly through the air. The group of close friends were out for a scenic ride in South Carolina when they witnessed the almost deadly collision send one biker smashing into the back of a turning vehicle.

The shocking video footage was captured by the GoPro mounted on his buddy's Ducati 848 Evo, as it looks like these superbikes were traveling at some very high speeds.

The motorcyclist was promptly airlifted to the hospital following the high speed crash and reports say he not only survived the accident, but somehow suffered just a broken arm and leg from the nearly deadly collision.

Click here for the incredible crash video and report on the incident.