The CarGurus Blog

BMW 4 Series.

The name has an odd ring to it, doesn’t it? While it might sound funny to say, the new coupe looks absolutely sinister, and I don’t think it’ll be long before the name slips off the tongue like we’ve known it for years. The 4 Series replaces the 3 Series coupe and has a 2-inch-longer wheelbase, adds 1.7 inches of width, and is a half-inch shorter. The resulting look is somewhat like a smaller 6 Series and incredibly sleek compared with the more conservative 3 Series.

Just guessing here, but it’s probably safe to assume power will come from the 2.0-liter turbocharged 4 and the 3.0-liter turbo 6 from the 3 Series sedan. The BMW 4 Series will debut at next month’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Also debuting in Detroit will be the new range of the Lexus IS.

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The 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year

Anyone can give out a Car of the Year award these days. In fact, the list of COTY awards seems to grow every year. There’s the old stalwart, the Motor Trend Car of the Year, but there’s also the North American Car and Truck of the Year, the World Car of the Year, and now the Popular Mechanics Car of the Year. Perhaps there should be an equally prestigious “tgriffith Car of the Year.”

Maybe there will be.

With such a wide variety of awards, it’s pretty hard to label the one true Car of the Year. In this era of “everyone’s a winner,” every car has some chance of winning some kind of award.

Motor Trend, though, seems to have nailed this year’s choice.

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It’s only just begun official deliveries to customers, but the Tesla Model S already looks like it’ll be the greatest electric car to ever hit the market. To get the one with the largest range, though, customers are looking at a price tag of a little over $100K.

The Model S with the 265-mile driving range costs $105,400, which puts it in the same league as the BMW M5, Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG and Porsche Panamera. Incredibly, the electric Tesla puts up performance numbers that rival those of the fossil-fuel-powered German hot shots. Zero-to-60 times hover between 3.5 and 3.9 seconds, horsepower ranges between 415 and 550, and 60-0 braking distances happen between 105 and 113 feet.

The Model S could be the car that ushers in the acceptance of EVs in the Unites States. Especially when it starts to hit the used market!

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Anytime a list like this gets published, lots of opinions are built into the equation.

One person might call the Subaru WRX the year’s best driver’s car, while another would bestow the honor on the BMW M3. How a car drives and reacts to input is an incredibly subjective experience and open to interpretation by many different styles of drivers.

That said, there are some mainstays in the perennial quest to find the best car for drivers. Not just go-to-the-store drivers, but the drivers who understand the value of properly warmed tires, a perfect apex and heel-toe shifting.

Keep reading for Motor Trend‘s surprising list of the year’s best driver’s cars, ranked 9 to 1.

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The next-generation Corvette could debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. There’s no official word on if that’ll be the case or what it’ll even look like, but there’s so much speculation and excitement about the car that it’s already impossible to ignore.

Considering GM’s poor track record of keeping cars coming soon a secret, it’s pretty remarkable that the C7 Corvette still remains an object of speculation. There have been heavily disguised spy shots, but nothing concrete revealing the car’s final design or specs.

In an effort to keep its super-secret C7 from leaking before the big reveal, GM will even suspend tours next month of the plant that builds the Corvette. After September 14, according to a report in The Detroit News, the factory will close to retool for production of the next-generation car. So much for a curious member of the public spilling the beans with an iPhone.

So, until GM finally pulls the sheet off the new ‘Vette, we’re left with unofficial renderings and speculation about what’s to come. I really hope the latest guess proves significantly off-base.

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I like in-car technology. To a point.

I can’t live without heated seats, air conditioning and a pumping audio system, but back-up cameras, internet connectivity and touchscreens are all beyond the realm of necessity in my book.

With each new model year, there are new techno bits placed in our cars that are meant to entertain and inform us, but usually just end up distracting us. Even the stuff meant to keep us safe seems redundant and unnecessary to anyone who actually pays attention while driving. Blind-spot monitoring? Turn your head. Lane-departure warning system? Drive straighter.

But how about technology that can see through rain and snow, eliminating that scary white-out situation we’ve all experienced on the nation’s highways?

That’s a box I’d check on the options list of a new car.

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At last count, drought covered 56 percent of the continental United States. Crops are dying, people are sweating, and A/C units are chugging down freon like people are drinking water.

Intense heat pounds most of the country. Oftentimes, I’m shielded from triple-digit heat in my tucked-away Washington state location, but even my local weather girl has warned of hundred-degree misery come Monday. That panics me. But I have a way to deal with it.

I’m going to wash my car.

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Fuel economy, at least temporarily, has become the single most important factor to new-car buyers.

I say “temporarily” because we all know it won’t last.

Americans have a tendency to overreact to things. Remember in 2008, when gas prices jumped and folks traded in their SUVs en masse for more fuel efficient rides? Remember, later that year, when prices dipped below $2/gallon and many of those same buyers flocked back to their big rigs?

Now it’s 2012, and prices are hovering near $4 again. No surprise that fuel economy is an important factor for buyers, but *the* most important? This world has gone crazy.

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Ford Evos Concept: A preview of the 2015 Mustang?

The Ford Mustang will soon turn 50 years old.

In planning for the 2015 edition of the beloved and classic muscle car, Ford has some options.

Option 1: Let the car finish out its natural life then fade into history, proud of the contribution it has made to American culture.

Option 2: Carry on as usual, with a slight nip and tuck but no drastic changes, because Americans will keep buying it.

Option 3: Completely redesign the car, throw out everything the Mustang has ever been and relaunch it to a worldwide audience.

The Ford of the past would be perfectly content with option 2. Plenty of folks throughout the country surely believe the Mustang has run its course and deserves the dignity of option 1.

Option 3, though, could be what’s in store.

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Say goodbye to the Gallardo

Try as I might, I can’t bring myself to write about a Civic over a Gallardo. Sure, one has more mass appeal, because it’s a mass-produced vehicle accesible to anyone who wants one, while the other car might as well exist on the same planet as unicorns and leprechauns.

Everyone has a Civic. If we’re not driving it on our way to the Red Robin for Happy Hour, we’ll certainly pass a dozen on the way. But very few of us will ever drive a Gallardo, or even see one in person to verify they exist.

And yet, power and grace capture our attention over practicality and go-slow every time.

The simple fact is, we read about Civics when we need to buy one. We read about Lamborghinis because we love cars. If that’s you, keep reading for some clues into the successor to the Gallardo!

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