Carscoops' A-to-Z Guide to the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show [Press Day 1]

The arrival of September means one thing for car enthusiasts: the new auto show season is upon us, beginning with the Frankfurt Motor Show, also known in Germany as the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA - International Automobile Exhibition), that occurs every two years, alternating with the Paris Auto Show.
The key dates to remember for this year's event are September 10 and 11 for the press when we will shift into high gear for the debuts, and September 12 through 22 for the public when you can visit the show.
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Toyota to Debut New Hybrid R Sports Concept at the Frankfurt Show

Like many other major players in the industry, Toyota will also offer us a glimpse into the future with one or perhaps even more concept models at next month's Frankfurt International Motor Show in Germany. Today we learned that one of those studies will be the Hybrid R Concept.

"At the forthcoming 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, Toyota will present an exciting new concept that brings Toyota Hybrid System-Racing technology to the road (and track)," reads the Japanese firm's statement that's accompanied by a picture of the Hybrid R logo, but nothing more.

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Ferrari 458 Crashes Into Brazilian Crowd and Leaves Three Injured

A festive racing event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, turned into a horror story this past Sunday when the driver of a yellow Ferrari 458 Italia crashed through the rail guard and plowed into spectators crowded along the course injuring three people.

"We were behind the guard rail and he (the driver of the Ferrari yellow) lost control in the curve," Cida Alves, a spectator at the event told Brazil's Gaz News. "Upon impact, a cyclist (who was in the audience) was thrown into the air and the rails fell on him. He was wounded in head."

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Drivers Stoned on Marijuana Test Their Driving Skills

With multiple states legalizing marijuana, government agencies are scrambling to research the effect of the drug on drivers. CNN recently took a look at operating a motor vehicle under the influence of pot by subjecting three users in Washington state to a little driving test with the help of a local sheriff's department.

The results are a little surprising, with even casual smokers able to safely operate a car with up to five times the state's new legal limit in their blood stream. At worst, the smokers were actually more cautious on the course than they were before partaking.

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A Meteor Falls in Russia's Chelyabinsk Region and It Was Captured by Dashcams!

Many have scoffed at the idea of using dashboard-mounted cameras, but that hasn't deterred hundreds of thousands if not millions of drivers from all over Russia from installing one in their vehicle.

If it wasn't for their love of cameras, the world would have missed out on a rare occasion when a meteorite shot across the sky and exploded over the Chelyabinsk region in central Russia on Friday morning.

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Nissan to Build Upcoming VW Golf Rival at Barcelona Plant

Up until last year, the Nissan Group's plan was to have Magna Steyr contract-manufacture a new Infiniti premium compact model based on the Etherea concept in Austria, and build its upcoming Opel Astra and VW Golf rivaling hatchback at its own Sunderland plant in the UK.

In December, the Japanese carmaker announced a change of plans, with the Infiniti model to be manufactured in Sunderland and the Nissan hatch to be produced at another facility in Europe.

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This Man Took Delivery of the Last U.S.-Bound Lexus LFA

Production of the Lexus LFA ended on December 14, 2012, with the roll out of the 500th and last example of the luxury firm's first-ever supercar model at its dedicated Motomachi production facility in Japan.

However, Lexus is still delivering LFAs to their respective owners with No.499 being the last car destined for the United States.

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Opel management shuffle; new Kia special editions

Duncan Aldred, managing director and chairman at Vauxhall Motors, has been named acting Opel/Vauxhall vice president of sales, marketing and aftersales, following the resignation of Alfred Rieck. He will also continue in his day-to-day role at Vauxhall Motors.

Kia has added a new colour and a special edition to the Picanto range. The five-door model is now available in Fuchsia Blush for an extra £445. A special edition three-door model called Picanto White has also been launched. It’s fitted with alloy wheels, Bluetooth and automatic air conditioning, and starts at £11,745 for the 1.25-litre manual and £12,345 for the automatic.

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Exec Says Nissan Considered Killing Infiniti, has Plans for an "Emotional" (GT-R-Based?) Flagship

It may come as a surprise but the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan may have not made the waves it did at this year’s Detroit Auto Show – in fact, the whole Infiniti brand may have ceased to exist by now, according to Nissan vice president Andy Palmer.

In an interview at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Palmer told Wards Auto that, when he expressed his doubt about whether the group would be better off without Infiniti and its ho-hum performance, CEO Carlos Ghosn “challenged me and said ‘We don’t have to do Infiniti, you can cancel it if you want”.

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BMW and Toyota Deepen Collaboration, will Co-Develop a Mid-Size Sports Car

After last June’s MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), the Toyota Motor Corporation and the BMW Group announced today the signing of binding agreements for the joint development of new technologies and a new sports car.

BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer and Toyota President Akio Toyoda both expressed their satisfaction in signing the binding agreements and their shared belief that this partnership will be beneficial for their groups and help them to produce better vehicles.

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Jaguar XF Saloon Now Made in India as Well

For the first time in its history, the Jaguar-Land Rover group has commenced production of the Jaguar XF outside the United Kingdom at its facility in Pune, India.

The premium saloon is assembled from components sourced from the company’s Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham, UK, alongside the alongside Land Rover Freelander 2 vehicles which have been in production at the Pune factory since May 2011.

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Nissan Lowers Price of 2013 Leaf EV by €3,000 in Europe

Less than 10 days after it dropped the price of the U.S.-made Leaf by more than US$6,000, Nissan announced that it is making its all-electric five-door compact hatchback more affordable in Europe, too, reducing its price by €3,000 (US$4,000).

As of today, the Leaf starts from €25,990 (US$34,644) in France and £23,490 (€28,490, US$37,979) in the United Kingdom.

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Honda Recalls Over 748,000 Pilot and Odyssey Because Airbag May Be Missing Rivets

Honda's American division is recalling certain model year 2009-2013 Pilot and 2011-2013 Odyssey passenger vehicles manufactured from March 13, 2008, through December 21, 2012, after it was discovered that one or more rivets that attach the airbag module to the airbag cover may be missing.

The Japanese carmaker informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the recall affects 748,481 vehicles sold in the United States.

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Warranty Direct Reveals UK’s Least Reliable Engines, 3 German Brands Among the Worst

Cars are complicated machines made out of thousands of parts that, even when their owners take great care of them and follow the user and service manuals religiously, sometimes go wrong. After all, that’s what warranties are for.

Of course, warranties at some point expire, and while a light bulb or something equally minor may be of little concern, the engine is a completely different, much more scary and costly issue.

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BMW Exec Confirms Two-Cylinder Motorcycle Engine for i3 REx

A BMW official has confirmed that the range-extender engine to be offered as an option on the battery-powered i3 supermini will be a two-cylinder gasoline unit sourced from the brand's motorcycle division and not the upcoming, larger displacement 1.5-liter three-cylinder petrol engine developed for the Bavarian group's automobiles.

Speaking to Autonews during last week's Detroit Motor Show, Herbert Diess, BMW's head of Research and Development, said that the range-extender engine option will be offered when the new i3 goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2013, but he avoided to say how much it will cost.

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Rapid Increase in U.S. New Car Launches May Cause Issues With Suppliers, Quality

There are 61 new or redesigned models due to be launched in the U.S. market this year – a 50 percent increase compared to any year since 2006, while 74 are scheduled for next year. Moreover, total annual sales are expected to reach, or even surpass, 15 million, which is a good thing both for buyers and the automotive industry, correct?

Apparently, things are a bit more complicated than that. After the low-point of 2008-2009, automotive suppliers have cut down on their workforce and facilities due to reduced demand. Now that numbers are climbing to 2007 levels, they may have trouble keeping up – and that may already be affecting quality.

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Premium Brands Move into Mass-Market Territory with US$30k Offerings

There are 75 million 30- to 40-year old consumers in the U.S. right now and, according to Mercedes-Benz USA head of marketing Bernie Glaser, “they have big expectations for products and brands”.

The problem for automakers like Mercedes, Audi and BMW is that these buyers are not able and/or willing to pay the US$40,000 sticker price attached to premium vehicles. Yet they want to have their cake and eat it, too – or, as Glaser puts it, demand “attractive styled cars and the right technology”.

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Car Dealers, Rental Companies want to be Exempt of New Bill About Recall Repairs

The U.S. Congress wants to introduce new legislation that will prohibit any rental-car company or car dealer to loan or sell any recalled vehicle before the necessary repairs have been made.

The new bill, knows as the Rachel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act, is named after two sisters from Santa Cruz, California, who were killed when the car they had rented caught fire and crashed into a tree. Said rental vehicle was affected by a recall but had not been repaired.

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BMW Debuts New Two-Man Carbon-Fiber Bobsled Prototype for Team USA

After more than a yearlong development process, BMW of North America presented a new prototype of its two-man bobsled for the official U.S. team.

Designed in collaboration with the USA Bobsled & Skeleton Federation (USBSF), the high-tech bobsled will be used for the first time today at the FIBT World Cup in Igls, Austria.

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GM President Says EVs Are Not Dead, Next Volt Will Cost “Thousands Less”

Despite predictions that plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles would increase rapidly due to climbing gasoline prices, in 2012, their sales were a mere 52,172 units according to the Automotive News Data Center.

That’s a drop in the ocean when viewed in the light of total new vehicle sales in the U.S. market, which surpassed 14.5 million last year. On the other hand, that figure accounts for a three-fold increase compared to 2011.

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