David Sedgwick - Autoblog

Would you buy a Chinese car? If you're an adventurous sort, you'll have that opportunity soon enough. But you'd better forget about cross-country trips -- at least for now.

Drowsy drivers don't attract as much public opprobrium as drunk or distracted drivers, but maybe they should. According to a newly released survey of 2,000 motorists by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 41 percent of drivers admitted they had "fallen asleep or nodded off" while driving at least once. Eleven percent said they had done so within the past year, and four percent

Leases can save you a bundle on your monthly payment, but you should never forget that you don't actually own the vehicle. Otherwise, you may get a very expensive reminder at the end of your lease when your car undergoes its wear-and-tear inspection. That's when you learn the price tag for the door ding you got in the supermarket parking lot. Or that cigarette burn in the upholstery.

Ethanol is supposed to be a clean bio-fuel that helps reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It's primarily produced from domestically grown corn. So why is it so controversial?

How much do you suppose it would cost to replace that set of car keys in your pocket? A few bucks? Dream on. If it's a "smart" key, it could easily cost you $200 to $300 -- or more. Many vehicles today have immobilizers that lock up a car's ignition, fuel and steering systems unless a transponder in the smart key transmits the correct electronic code. Thus, thieves are dete

What kind of a leader is Daniel Akerson, the executive who will replace Ed Whitacre on Sept. 1 as General Motors’ new CEO? I’ll skip over Akerson’s studies at the U.S. Naval Academy, his service on the destroyer U.S.S. DuPont, his work as a turnaround artist in telecommunications and his stint at the Carlyle Group, the global investment firm. If you really want to know what Akers

At this point, we can all agree that apologies aren’t enough. Over the past month, every Toyota employee from CEO Akio Toyoda down to your local dealership’s janitor has apologized for the company’s quality meltdown. Realizing that wasn't quite enough, Toyota took the bold step of going after recent unintended acceleration incidents, hoping to either find the root problem or debu

Toyota Motor Corp. has taken flak from congressmen, regulators, safety advocates and riled-up consumers, but the company soon will get a vote of confidence from a very influential source. Perhaps as early as next week, Consumer Reports plans to restore its “recommended” rating to eight Toyota models that were recalled to fix potentially sticky accelerator pedals. On Jan. 29, the magazi

In a project straight out of Star Wars -- or maybe an April Fool’s edition of Popular Mechanics -- the U.S. Defense Department is working on a flying car that can carry four soldiers into combat. This machine is supposed to take off and land vertically, fly at speeds up to 120 knots, drive on roads up to 80 mph, and go off-road up to 30 mph. It must be simple enough for any Marine to fly, it

(function() { var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0]; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.async = true; s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js'; s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1); })(); You’ve seen them on the roads, drifting from lane to lane, running red lights, making left-hand turns while ignoring oncoming traffic. I’m referring, of

The saga of Saab Automobile is the auto industry’s version of the Perils of Pauline, but it appears that the on-again, off-again drama is coming to a close. Today General Motors announced that they reached a binding agreement to sell the Saab brand to Dutch company Spyker Cars NV. A new company, called Saab Spyker Automobiles, will be formed after the sale is complete. When we last checked i

The Tata Nano, aka The World's Cheapest Car, was perched inside the Detroit Science Museum, sharing space with a flying pterodactyl, a hot-air balloon and a jet-engine powered car called Cyclops. In a building filled with offbeat objects, this egg on wheels seemed oddly appropriate. Last year, the Nano caused a sensation in India when it went on sale for $2,200. Indian automaker Tata Motors

Is this the real deal, or vaporware? Most people know only one thing about BYD Co. Ltd.: billionaire investor Warren Buffett bought their stock, so they must have something to brag about. And now we’re about to find out. At the Detroit Auto Show Tuesday, executives of BYD Auto vowed to introduce their e6 battery-powered five-door hatchback to the U.S. later this year. At first glance, it see

If Dutch businessman Victor Muller manages to acquire Saab Automobile, he will stick with Saab’s plans to rebuild the brand around the 9-3, the 9-5 and the 9-4X crossover. You can forget about an entry-level 9-1 for now. But Muller says he’d love to build the Aero X concept if he can figure out how to finance it. “I love that car, and it deserves to be built,” said Muller,

The whole thing reeked of desperation. When Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars NV emerged as the white knight in a last-ditch effort to save Saab Automobile AB, the business media covered the negotiations in that deadpan “we-won’t-tell-you-what-we-really-think” tone that every good reporter learns in journalism school. Consider the circumstances: Spyker, a ten-year-old maker of h