You’ve seen the S-Max. You’ve seen the C-Max. Now get ready for the B-Max.

The latest European-focused mini minivan from Ford was previewed in concept form at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, but has now been confirmed for production release at the 2012 edition of the same expo this March. Based on the Fiesta (the C-Max is based on the Focus), the new B-Max will arrive into a highly competitive segment overseas, so it will need to offer some alluring features to make its mark.
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The world would be considerably less entertaining if we could all predict the future. Even so, the classic car gurus at Hagerty Insurance have cast a few chicken bones in an attempt to figure out which vehicles produced today might eventually turn collectible.

The company restricted entrants to hardware with a price tag of less than $100,000, so the list isn’t populated with too many wild exotics. While vehicles like the Nissan GT-R Black Edition, Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca Edition, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Porsche 911 are low-hanging fruit, the list also featured a few surprises. Read More »

Today’s vehicles are more powerful, more efficient and safer than ever before. In fact, today’s car buyer would be hard pressed to spend his or her money on a genuinely bad vehicle. But those overall improvements may have also led consumers to believe there are no real differences between the various products offered by the world’s major automakers. According to the Consumer Reports 2012 Car-Brand Perception Survey, Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chevrolet have all seen their scores drop by double digits compared to last year. Read More »

There’s no such thing as the perfect crime, but some criminals are clearly more perfect than others. According to UT San Diego, a man wearing latex gloves and sunglasses recently strolled into a Chase Bank in San Diego, pointed a gun at a teller and began demanding money. The teller wisely obliged, handing over $2,920 in cash before the robber took to his vehicle and fled in a white Ford Expedition. Onlookers were quick to jot down the vehicle’s vanity license plate, which read ALMDUDE. It didn’t take police long to track down the vehicle’s owner, 27-year-old Robert Alm. Read More »

Win on Sunday, sell on Monday. It’s a marketing motto nearly as old as racing itself, but while today’s NASCAR stock cars may have about as much in common with the cars they represent as a Halloween superhero costume from Walmart will actually give your kid superpowers, NASCAR remains the biggest spectator sport in America. So you can imagine that participating automakers would think themselves foolish to pass up the opportunity to make the connection in fans’ eyes to cars they can actually buy at their local dealership.
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For the last several years Ford has partnered with Barrett-Jackson to auction off some very special vehicles for charity. Past cars have included the first production examples of the Shelby GT500KR and Shelby GT as well as special one-offs like last year’s Grabber Blue Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca, all of which have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

For 2012 Ford is once again auction off a Mustang for charity, but this year’s car is a little different. Up for grabs will be a 2013 Shelby GT500 development car used by SVT to hone the production ‘Stang. This prototype was run extensively at Sebring and the high speed oval at Ford’s Arizona proving grounds and was even driven by Carroll Shelby himself during the development process. The car has some unique features including a full roll cage and Recaro racing seats, but it will likely remain a museum piece as it can’t be registered for road use.

You can read more about this unique 2013 Shelby GT500 going up for auction in the press release after the jump. Read More »

J.D. Power and Associates has released its annual Customer Retention Study, and Hyundai ranks the highest among brands in retaining buyers. Hyundai’s retention rate is up four percentage points to 64 percent in 2012, thanks largely to the Elantra and Sonata models. J.D. Power says that much of the manufacturer’s retention rate can be traced to its growing vehicle offerings and positively changing perceptions about Hyundai quality and market appeal.
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