We obsessively cover the auto industry…

Our friends at XCAR have taken the time to train their lenses on the iconic Toyota Supra. With Toyota finally back into the performance car game, it seems only logical to remember one of the brand's most legendary sports cars. While we're all busy ladling praise onto the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ twins, it's important to remember that Toyota used to produce all manner of fun-to-drive machinery. The Supra once sat at the top of that list, its most recent iteration giving buyers the option of a ludicrous forced-induction inline six, gorgeous styling and plenty of presence.

Of course, the legend didn't stop once the Supra fell off American order sheets in 1998. Always an aftermarket darling, the Supra has gone on to become a tuner favorite in nearly every corner of grassroots motorsport. From drag racing to road racing and everywhere in between, the Supra is remains a force to be reckoned with nearly 15 years after it last prowled the US auto market. You can catch the tribute from XCAR below.

Automotive News reports the European automotive market has posted first gain in 19 months. Germany and Spain helped push the swell thanks to higher-than-average consumer confidence, though the EU saw registrations jump two percent overall compared to the prior year. In April, buyers took home 1.08 million new vehicles, up from 1.06 million during the same month in 2012. Analysts are hoping the news is the first sign of a legitimate recovery for a region that has suffered some of the slowest auto sales in 20 years. Even so, the market continues to suffer – four-month sales are down 7 percent to 4.18 million units.

Peugeot-Citroen saw its sales fall off by 10 percent last month. Ford and General Motors both posted declines of 0.6 percent and four percent respectively, with Chevrolet suffering through a 28-percent decline last month. There were winners in the region, however. Mercedes-Benz sales increased by 13 percent while Volkswagen registrations jumped by around 9 percent. Sales were particularly strong in the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany.

It's been a while since Chevrolet offered its Corvette with green paint – well over a decade, in fact. We've known for a while that the new C7 Stingray would be available in Lime Rock Green, but haven't seen it up until now in anything but the antiseptic studio shots offered up on the Corvette's configurator. Well, we can now cross it off the list – at least online – as the first production example has been caught on video at the Lone Star Classic Corvette show by the folks at NCM Insurance.

According to CorvetteBlogger, the last production model to feature such verdant paint dates to 2001, when Chevy offered its sports car in Dark Bowling Green Metallic. But when we think of Vettes in this color spectrum, we tend to think of the Polo Green C4, a deep shade this paint reminds us of. This particular Stingray is fitted with the Z51 performance package, along with the 3LT Brownstone interior. As we think Z51-equipped cars tend to look better in darker shades (which better integrate/disguise the package's additional ductwork), this Lime Rock Green looks pretty good to our eyes.

We haven't seen new green sports cars in some time – perhaps cars like this C7 and the British Racing Green Metallic 2014 Jaguar F-Type will kickstart a revival. What do you think, does the C7 look good in green? Check out the video below and then have your say in Comments.

You just never know what your dash cam is going to capture on an average day in Russia. Take these drivers, who were motoring along in the Russian city of Dyatkovo, minding their own business, when out of nowhere, an Opel Zafira took off like a 747 leaving LaGuardia.

Reports stemming from the incident claim that the driver lost control of his vehicle after its front-left tire blew. He then drove into oncoming traffic and crashed into a fence where the vehicle was launched high into the air, a rapidly escalating series of events caught on the video available below.

Unfortunately, we can't tell you that the driver miraculously escaped this remarkable accident with just cuts and bruises. The report translated from Russian tells us the 30-year-old driver died at the scene from his injuries, and his passenger is still being treated for life-threatening injuries at the Central Regional Hospital in Dyatkovo.

Diet Abarth



Try as I might, I just can't bring myself to stick to a routine of drinking diet soda. Nevermind the fact that I'm trying to cut soda out of my life altogether – every now and then, I just want the high-octane stuff, and diet simply won't do. If I'm already going to subject myself to the sweeteners and caffeine, I'm going to take the calories that go along with it.

Some people feel the same way about cars (go big or go home!), but I'm not one of them – I often see the merit in less-potent machines that automakers offer. For example, while I simply adored the Mini John Cooper Works GP that I recently tested, I still said I'd rather have a Cooper S Hardtop every day. And while the Ford Focus ST may have been crowned the winner in my hot hatch comparison test from last year, my experience in the Fiesta ST a couple of months ago reminded me yet again that less can indeed be more.

So when Fiat introduced this 500 Turbo – a sort of Diet Abarth – I was prepared for the possibility of similar conclusions. But with the range-topping Abarth proving to be an incredibly delicious concoction, would this tall glass of diet quench my thirst just the same?

Bavarian tuners ABT have done another job on the Audi R8 V10, pumping up the 5.2-liter FSI V10 from 525 horsepower to 600 hp, and torque from 391 pound-feet to 406 lb-ft. With 50 more horsepower than the R8 V10 Plus - but not the extreme weight-loss scheme - ABT claims a 0-62 mile per hour run of 3.5 seconds, the same as the R8 V10 Plus, and a top speed for the mid-engined coupe of 198 miles per hour "is no problem at all."

Managing all that speed are the aero tweaks provided by a comprehensive body kit including a rear wing, a lowered and beefed-up suspension, a stainless steel exhaust and 19-inch wheels in two different designs.

The press release below has a few more bits of info on the matter. And while ABT hasn't put a price on the Audi upgrades, but it's safe to say that nearly 200 mph in an R8 won't come cheap.

As of now, the Assurance Connected Care service that Hyundai introduced at the New York Auto Show with the 2014 Equus sedan is complimentary for three years on any vehicle equipped with the company's Blue Link telematic systems. It's the third service package to join the Blue Link suite, after Essentials and Guidance.

Assurance Connected Car provides owners with monthly vehicle reports, maintenance alerts, notification of diagnostic trouble codes and safety features like SOS emergency assistance and automatic collision notification sent to Blue Link agents. The service can also be transferred to new owners within the three-year timeframe. Owners who already have Blue Link can add Assurance Connected Care "at a reduced price," but Hyundai hasn't said what that price is yet.

There's a press release below with more details and four commercials to show you just what you could be missing out on.

As BMW prepares to introduce its first-ever front-wheel drive car, the upcoming 1 Series GT, it looks like there will be at least two versions of the car. A conventional-looking hatchback was spotted testing late last year, but now we see an extended-length version in order to accommodate a third row of seats.

Judging by these spy shots, this 1 Series GT prototype has received an extended wheelbase, larger rear doors and more upright D-pillars compared to our previous spy shots (show in the gallery below) all with the aim of creating additional passenger and cargo space. Like the smaller 1 Series GT, this longer model would likely carry over the same powertrain options, which are expected to consist of three- and four-cylinder engines, a hybrid system and the choice of front- or all-wheel drive. The 1 Series GT could make its debut this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but we might have to wait until next year to see the people mover.

Toyota Racing Development (TRD) in Japan has designed cosmetic and performance bits that give the 2014 Lexus IS a front-to-back workover. Different from the F-Sport parts we expect from Lexus here, the full body kit runs 437,700 yen ($4,285 US) and starts with air deflectors at the lower edges of the front bumper, through to side skirts, a decklid spoiler and a rear bumper with a diffuser and quad exhaust tips.

For 288,750 yen ($2,830) you can sharpen responses with new shocks, springs, dampers, sway bar and bracing. The priciest individual component is the set of 19-inch wheels, four of them going for 527,625 yen (5,170 US). There's no word on US importation or pricing yet, but done up all in black like the IS above, we wouldn't mind seeing it here.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced Maserati and Alfa Romeo are recalling certain Quattroporte, Granturismo and 8C models over potentially faulty tie rod ends. According to NHTSA, 2005-2008 Quattroporte, 2008 Granturismo and 2008 8C units may have been assembled with tie rod ends that have insufficient corrosion protection. As such, the components may rust, weaken and potentially fail. If that happens, the driver could lose control of the vehicle and cause an accident.

Maserati and Alfa Romeo will contact owners and replace the tie rod end assemblies once the recall gets underway in June. All told, 7,438 vehicles are impacted by the recall. You can read the full NHTSA notice below for more information.

If you're going to drive a stolen car in a town of roughly 77,000 people – about the same size as Scranton, Pennsylvania or Ogden, Utah – you want to be very careful about where you drive that stolen car to eat. That's the lesson Katherine York of Kennewick, Washington learned when she was arrested for being in possession of a stolen Toyota 4Runner that also happened to have a bunch of stolen clothes from JC Penney and Sears in it.

Virginia Maiden woke up Tuesday, May 14 to find her 1995 4Runner – that she thought she forgot to lock – swiped from her apartment building. At 3 PM that afternoon, while working her shift at the drive-thru at McDonald's that day, she saw her truck in line. York hadn't even gone far – the McDonald's is not even five miles from Maiden's apartment. Maiden called the police, they showed up just as York was leaving, and York made another vehicle switch, this time into a black-and-white for a trip to the Benton County jail. They don't have McDonald's there, but she won't have so far to go to eat.

When a video touts itself as "probably the greatest hollywood-style RC action movie car chase ever," (sic) you should set yourself up for disappointment. That's not to say that this joint effort, a clearly well-funded partnership between LA Muscle Sports Supplements and Fast & Furious 6, isn't fun and polished, but just lately we've posted some very entertaining small-scale car videos like this and this.

Still, it's cool to watch an R/C Camaro slide wide around turns amidst warehouse shelves full of LA Muscle product. Just as in real life, zooming around gets the attention of the constabulary, and a passel of police cars gives chase, which leads our Camaro protagonist to... J-TURN! It is a cool video, tied to a movie that we know is full of some fantastic cars and you can bet that the full-sizers will do stunts that are even more jaw-dropping.

Invest the minute below, you weren't going to use it, anyway.

BMW itself says it is making "Precise modifications to the design" of the facelifted, sixth-generation 5 Series, and this is the result. The 2014 5 Series will come in four flavors – sedan, Touring, Gran Turismo and ActiveHybrid 5 – the biggest news probably the addition of a diesel engine for the US market.

When they go on sale in August, the 528i sedan will start at $50,425, a $1,700 increase over the 2013 model, and if you want xDrive that adds $2,300 to the price across the model range. The 535d employs a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline six-cylinder diesel with 255 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque and starts at $56,025. BMW portends "substantial fuel efficiency gains over its gasoline-fueled counterpart," but the exact numbers won't come until closer to the on-sale date. The $64,825, top-dog 550i holds pat with 4.4-liter, twin turbo V8, with output upped to 445 hp and 480 lb-ft – an increase of 45 hp and 30 lb-ft of torque. The outputs haven't changed on the twin-turbo four-cylinder in the 528 nor the 3.0-liter six-cylinder gasoline engine in the 535, and *all prices include the $925 destination charge. The engines are also fitted with a coasting mode that uncouples the powertrain when rolling downhill.

Outside there are new "contour lines" for the grille and air intakes, slimmer taillights and elements that accentuate the car's width - as if that were necessary. Xenon adaptive headlights will be standard along with side indicator lights on the rearview mirrors, the options list adds LED headlights, the Luxury Line and Modern Line packages. The former package adds chrome trim to certain exterior elements, the latter adds matte chrome trim.

Inside will be more storage and more cup holders, additional luggage capacity in the 5 Series GT, an optional rear seat entertainment system that puts tablets on the front seatbacks, and a touchpad iDrive controller.

There's a lot more besides which you can read about in the press release and video below, and you can pair words with images in the four high-res galleries above and below.

Time For Buyers To Have Some Skin In The EV Game

Politicians know that $8- or $9-a-gallon gas like in Europe would end their careers.

The back-and-forth between those writing the fuel economy rules and auto manufacturers is designed to see how far the CO2 regulations can be pushed without inconveniencing the general public.

Rather than taxing fuel like they do in Europe to encourage buyers to opt for the most fuel-efficient vehicles, in America it's up to the manufacturers to develop a fleet that averages some magic number, in this case 54.5 mpg by 2025. That's because most politicians know that $8- or $9-a-gallon gas like in Europe would end their careers.

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