Watch this Nissan 240SX roll during a drifting exhibition

Autoblog: Watch this Nissan 240SX roll during a drifting exhibition

Click to watch videoProbably the less said about this video, the better. According to the video uploader, the event takes place during the "Still Ballin' Car Club Nite Out" (yes, really), but we aren't sure if it's a proper race or just for show. Heck, we can't even figure out where the event took place.

At any rate, a pair of drivers are seriously going at it when what looks to be a 240SX pulling up the rear clips a corner and does some unintended tumbling. Thankfully, the Nissan driver was apparently alright. We'll leave it at that – see what happens. Beware, there's some explicit language in the video, including the music.

Honda Crosstour four-cylinder to start at $27,655*

AutoBlog: Honda Crosstour four-cylinder to start at $27,655*

Back when Honda launched the Crosstour in 2010, it fielded questions from the media asking why it chose to forego a four-cylinder model. At the time, officials indicated that a four-cylinder engine would result in minimal fuel economy improvements, noting that the company's aim was to target premium-minded customers for whom the 3.5-liter V6 seemed more appropriate.

But with the fog of slow sales often comes a need to rethink strategies, and Honda has responded to sluggish demand for the Crosstour with a new four-cylinder model for 2012 with a just-announced base price of $27,655 (*plus $810 in destination charges). That's about $2,500 less than a comparable six-cylinder model. View press release after the jump..

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Hyundai says Elantra sales to slow because factory can't keep up with demand

Autoblog: Hyundai says Elantra sales to slow because factory can't keep up with demand

2011 Hyundai Elantra

Hyundai's Elantra has been on fire, with sales up 41 percent last year. The compact sedan won North American Car of the Year in January, and the icing on the cake will be a new coupe bodystyle that will soon be landing at dealers. But all is not completely well, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Hyundai expects Elantra sales to run into a brick wall of limited production capacity, as the company's Montgomery, Alabama plant is already operating at 110 percent. The plant, which builds the Elantra and its big brother, the midsize Sonata, churned out 338,000 units in 2011. Hyundai sold over 186,000 Elantra models in the U.S. last year.

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BMW takes its autonomous 5 Series onto the autobahn

AutoBlog: BMW takes its autonomous 5 Series onto the autobahn

Click to watch videoLast May we went for a high-speed run around Laguna Seca in BMW's Track Trainer, a modified 3 Series that can click of two-minute laps without the driver touching the controls. Now, BMW has packed a 5 Series with the next iteration of the technology and taken it on to the open road.

This latest ConnectedDrive experiment uses much of the same tech, but beyond the radar and camera systems on the 3er, it includes new ultrasonic scanners and lasers to re-read the road surface, lines and surrounding vehicles. We say "re-read" because like the system we sampled at Laguna, this version needs to have the road data downloaded into the car before it can drive sans human intervention.

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Fusion couldn't outsell Toyota Camry even if Ford wanted it to, which it apparently doesn't

AutoBlog: Fusion couldn't outsell Toyota Camry even if Ford wanted it to, which it apparently doesn't

2013 Ford Fusion"I don't think we're very enamored with being Number One just to be Number One," Ford Global Marketing Vice President Jim Farley says of his expectations for the 2013 Ford Fusion. Interest in the Fusion spiked after the 2013 model's premium-look sheetmetal made a splash at this month's Detroit Auto Show, so it's natural to expect that Ford wants to grab the sales volume brass ring.

After all, the Ford Taurus was the best-selling car in the U.S. for nearly half of the 1990s, but Farley points out that Ford is "much more enamored with getting the right price point and the right kind of people to buy the car."

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Chrysler to hire 400-500 workers to build Dodge Dart

AutoBlog: Chrysler to hire 400-500 workers to build Dodge Dart

2013 Dodge Dart The 2013 Dodge Dart looks like it could be a hit with car buyers, and job seekers near the automaker's Belvidere, Illinois plant can likely appreciate the new sedan as well. The Detroit Free Press reports that Chrysler is looking to staff up with 400 to 500 jobs to help move as many Dart variants as possible.

Team Pentastar is looking for part-time hourly and full-time temporary workers to fill those roles. We're guessing the United Auto Workers union isn't all that pleased with the choice of temp workers, but we're betting that most job-seekers will be happy to fill out an app anyway. Chrysler was considering moving the Belvidere facility to three shifts, but the automaker reportedly decided to stick with two very busy shifts, at least for now.

BMW's M Division Unveils New M Performance Diesels

InsideLine: BMW's M Division Unveils New M Performance Diesels

BMW's M Division

Just the Facts:

• BMW has formally launched its recently announced M Performance range with the unveiling of four new exceptionally frugal but fast four-wheel-drive diesel-powered models.
• New models include the M550d xDrive sedan, M550d xDrive touring, X5 M50d and X6 M50d.
• This is the first time a BMW M car will be fitted with a diesel engine.

MUNICH, Germany — BMW has formally launched its recently announced M Performance range with the unveiling of four new exceptionally frugal but fast four-wheel-drive diesel-powered models: the M550d xDrive sedan, M550d xDrive touring, X5 M50d and X6 M50d.

Set to go on sale in selected Europe markets later this year following a planned public debut at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show in March, the new M Performance car quartet all share an innovative tri-turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder common-rail diesel engine — the first ever oil burner to be fitted to a car bearing the revered BMW M badge.

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Car and Driver Lightning Lap is back, throws two trucks into the mix [w/video]

AutoBlog: Car and Driver Lightning Lap is back, throws two trucks into the mix [w/video]

Car and Driver is back with its annual Lightning Lap roundup for a sixth year, with 20 of the world's best vehicles taking to Virginia International Raceway to lay down the quickest time around VIR's 4.1-mile Grand West Course.

Included in this year's running is a suitably diverse spread of sports cars and sedans, ranging from the lowly Volkswagen Jetta GLI to the formidable Porsche Panamera Turbo S – a difference of 350 horsepower and over $168,000. And, just to add a bit more spice to the festivities, C/D introduced a new class (LLT) to include two trucks in the running: the BMW X5 M and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. Check out a video after the break for a taste and then head over to C/D for the full story..

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First it was Vette on Vette violence, now it's Z on Z carnage

AutoBlog: First it was Vette on Vette violence, now it's Z on Z carnage

Click to watch videoBack on Thanksgiving Day of 2011, we saw what happens when a C5 Chevrolet Corvette goes head-to-head on public roads against a C6 Vette – the older Vette spears into the passenger-side door of the newer Vette. The video was our most popular post of 2011, so we know that well over a million viewers saw the ill-advised drag race. We think that video illustrated that racing on public roads was a bad idea, but sometimes, accidents happen even without a race.

Hit the jump to see what happens when a pair of tuned-out Nissan 350Z models do their best impression of the Thanksgiving Day Melee. The YouTube page claims that the two cars were actually traveling at the speed limit (read: not racing) as part of a caravan of Z models, when the black, supercharged Z coupe tapped its throttle and lost control, veering into the passing lane and right into the path of a Z roadster.

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GM CEO stands up for Chevy Volt in D.C. hearing; Issa tells NHTSA: "I don't believe you"

AutoBlog: GM CEO stands up for Chevy Volt in D.C. hearing; Issa tells NHTSA: "I don't believe you"

A bit of research shows that the $7,500 tax credit was first put into law in the 2007-2008 Congress with the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, well before there was an Obama Administration.

What a surprise. Today's Congressional hearing over the Chevrolet Volt fire and the resulting investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration turned out to be contentious.

The hearing took place in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending. Just from the title of the event – "Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA Know and When Did They Know It?" – it was plain to see that chairman Darrell Issa was not looking to mess around.

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