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You may or may not be a saint, but when you go marching in to the cemetery, wouldn’t you like your ride to be this Mercedes-Benz E-Class CLS hearse? It’s the work of U.K. tuner Binz. (Photo courtesy of Binz)

BERKSHIRE, England — Do you want your last ride to be as classy as you were in life? Take a peek at the latest take on a hearse from U.K. coachbuilder and vehicle designer Binz.

The stodgy look of a traditional hearse has been tweaked to give it a more contemporary and coupe-like design. Binz took a Mercedes-Benz E-Class and added a CLS styling option. “By offering our customers this CLS styling option,” it said in a statement, “they now have yet another way of differentiating their service from… Read the rest of this entry

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The new MG TF made its first public outing at the Silverstone MG race meeting this past weekend. (Photo courtesy of NAC-MG)

SILVERSTONE, England — Fittingly for a car that has long been the embodiment of the British car-enthusiast lifestyle, the new MG TF built in Longbridge, England, under Nanjing Auto Corporation (NAC) ownership greeted the public for the first time at the Silverstone racetrack this weekend.

The event was the 57th MG international race meeting at the legendary track, which calls itself “the home of British motor racing.” The weekend also featured what organizers called the world’s largest gathering of MG cars from the past eight decades.

NAC MG Sales and Marketing Director Gary Hagen was on-site to talk to MG lovers about the new model, which went into production at the end of May in Longbridge and goes on sale later… Read the rest of this entry

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So is the Pontiac G6 (pictured), along with Pontiac’s G5, Grand Prix and Torrent. (Photo courtesy of General Motors Corporation)

DETROIT — Looking to take advantage of the attention that will be generated by the upcoming Transformers movie, GM announced that it is offering no-interest financing and rebates on select models through July 9.

Qualified buyers can get zero-percent financing for three years with an additional $1,000 cash on select Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac vehicles.

The vehicles include the 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche, Cobalt, HHR, Impala, Monte Carlo, Suburban, Tahoe, TrailBlazer and 2007 900-series Silverado. Also included in the discount program are the 2006 and 2007 Buick Lacrosse, Lucerne and Rainier and the 2006 and 2007 Pontiac G5, G6, Grand Prix and… Read the rest of this entry

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The 2008 Accord sedan goes on sale later this year. (Photo by Brenda Priddy & Co)

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — As the all-new 2008 Honda Accord nears its official launch, spy photographers stumble upon a group of 2008 Honda Accords in the middle of a brochure photo shoot.

As we’ve seen before, the Accord coupe gets a honeycomb grille, while the sedan’s face is trimmed with horizontal bars. Based on the alloy wheels and dual exhaust pipes, both the coupe and sedan pictured are V6 models.

Honda has publicly talked about increased horsepower, improved fuel economy, cylinder deactivation and lower emissions for the V6-powered Accord. Although official specifications have not yet been released, a 3.5-liter V6 with approximately 270 horsepower is expected, as well as the base 180-hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine.

What this means to you: This latest group of spy shots… Read the rest of this entry

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When the winner does get her prize, it will include a new Volvo XC90 along with the money. (Photo courtesy of Volvo)

GIBRALTAR — Volvo thought its contest was a clever but innocent promotion for the XC90. Tied in with the new Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End film from Disney, the promotion asked contestants from 22 countries to solve a series of online puzzles, culminating in a hunt for a real-life treasure chest buried somewhere at the bottom of the sea. They didn’t figure that the ship burying the chest would find a real treasure — or that the Spanish government would halt the whole enterprise while it was determined whether the treasure rightfully belongs to Spain.

Odyssey Marine Exploration, the company dispatched to bury the Volvo prize chest, selected a top-secret burial location off Gibraltar near Spain. While on the trip, however,… Read the rest of this entry

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“All imported products, import programs and companies are not alike!” says Foreign Tire Sales of New Jersey. Now the company is asking the NHTSA to help it with the cost of a massive recall of nearly a half-million China-made tires that are allegedly at risk of tread separation. (Photo courtesy of Foreign Tire Sales)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A New Jersey importer has been ordered by the federal government to recall 450,000 radial tires made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber for pickup trucks, SUVs and vans because of alleged flaws that could lead to tread separation.

Foreign Tire Sales, the tire importer, on Monday petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for help in recalling the tires. The tires may lack a layer of rubber between the belts that adds durability and prevents separation. Tread separation led to the recall of millions of Firestone tires in… Read the rest of this entry

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Little cars like Volkswagen’s Rabbit are catching cost-and-environment-sensitive buyers these days instead, the Power Information Network says. (Photo courtesy of Volkswagen of America, Inc.)

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Demand for midsize non-luxury sport-utility vehicles has plummeted 43 percent since 1997. Midsize SUVs now make up just over 5 percent of the American auto market, says J.D. Power and Associates’ Power Information Network.

Consumers are flocking to crossover vehicles or small or midsize cars instead, the Power organization said. It reports a steep decline in owner loyalty for the segment, too. Only 17 percent of midsize-SUV owners trade in their vehicle for another of the same kind, down from 29 percent in 2004.

This sea change appears to have been triggered by rising gas prices and growing concerns about the environment. No vehicle illustrates the shift better than the Ford Explorer, which Power noted… Read the rest of this entry

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Nissan’s Versa gets a very small increase in price in its second year on the market. (Photo courtesy of Nissan North America)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Nissan Versa enters its sophomore year with a $100 price bump on the hatchback model and a bit more sporty flair for the sedan version. The base 2008 Versa hatchback 1.8 S with a six-speed manual transmission starts at $13,275, including a $625 destination charge.

The top-of-the-line Versa hatchback 1.8 SL with a continuously variable transmission starts at $16,275, including shipping.

Nissan said the sport package, which was previously available on the Versa hatchback 1.8 SL, is now a $700 option on the Versa sedan 1.8 SL model. The sport package bundles a rear spoiler, lower body side sill extensions, a chin spoiler and foglights to the sedan model for 2008.

The 2008 Nissan Versa… Read the rest of this entry

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Camouflage can’t hide the prototype’s smart roof line. (Photo by KGP Photography)

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Hyundai has begun testing redesigned prototypes of its future luxury car that are similar in appearance to the Genesis concept car that debuted earlier this year at the 2007 New York Auto Show.

The latest prototype’s grille is trapezoidal, instead of the former prototype’s round-cornered rectangle, and the grille slats are no longer vertical, but horizontal like the original concept.

The new car’s headlights are more pointed, and they stretch back along the fenders, again mimicking the shape of the Genesis showcar’s lights. The prototype’s front bumper has been toned down, with more conventional foglamps integrated with a rounded lower air intake.

Although the sedan’s profile hasn’t been altered since the first prototype, the latest version shows a shark-fin antenna mounted on the roof. Nine-spoke… Read the rest of this entry

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Both the 4.8-liter V8 and 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder gasoline engines get the new brake regeneration system that was already applied to the face-lifted 5 Series earlier this year. (Photo courtesy of BMW)

MUNICH, Germany — BMW is throwing its latest driveline and safety technology, along with a subtly altered exterior and more friendly interior controls, into the redesigned 2008 6 Series. Coming four years after the model’s reintroduction to the BMW lineup, the reworked coupe and cabriolet are set to make their public debut at the Frankfurt auto show in September.

North American sales are planned to start shortly afterward. BMW hints there will be small price increases in line with improved equipment levels for the new car. It will take a trained eye to spot the face-lifted 2008 BMW 6 Series, because the cosmetic changes are indeed slight.

Up front, there’s a… Read the rest of this entry