On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz filed a Patent No. 37435 at the Reich Patent Office in Berlin – it is generally regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile and became the first of over 80,000 patents to the Mercedes Benz marque. Benz’ Patent Motor Car was equipped with a horizontal single-cylinder four-stroke engine, which developed an output of 0.55 kW at 400 rpm from a displacement of 954 cubic centimetres. The vehicle’s top speed was 16 km/h. Happy birthday to the automobile and congratulations to   … Pictures & More
A street-legal concept version of Volkswagen’s Dakar Rally Touareg could make it into limited production, company officials have revealed to Autocar at the Qatar motor show.
The Race Touareg 3 Qatar show car is only lightly modified from the Race Touareg 3 rally car that won the Dakar Rally earlier this month. Power for what VW calls “the world’s most  … Pictures & More
Volkswagen has revealed a diesel hybrid concept that can deliver well in excess of 300mpg. The new car, called the XL1, is the third concept built by the company to be capable of traveling 100km (62 miles) on a single liter of fuel. The first two vehicles, introduced in 2002 and 2009, used tandem seating, but the XL1 achieves the goal (or at 0.9l/100km, surpasses it) while looking remarkably conventional.
Officially introduced today at the Qatar auto show, the XL1 is powered by  … Pictures & More
Once again, it’s time to load up the rental car and grab your briefcase full of mischief-making swag — the Rental Car Rally is back.
This year’s “single-leg competitive road trip” runs Feb. 25-27 from Los Angeles to Tahoe.
Notice how it’s not called a race. That would imply dozens of vehicles driving at unsafe speeds. This is a rally. The scoring is all about a team’s odometer reading, style, and of course, hijinks … Details
Johnathan Goodwin can get 100 mpg out of a Lincoln Continental, cut emissions by 80%, and double the horsepower. Does the car business have the guts to follow him?
“Check it out. It’s actually a jet engine,” says Johnathan Goodwin, with a low whistle. “This thing is gonna be even cooler than I thought.” We’re hunched on the floor of Goodwin’s gleaming workshop in Wichita, Kansas, surrounded by the shards of a wooden packing crate. Inside the wreckage sits his latest toy–a 1985-issue turbine engine originally designed for the military. It can spin at a blistering 60,000 rpm and burn almost any fuel. And Goodwin has some startling plans for this esoteric piece of hardware: He’s going to use it to create the most fuel-efficient Hummer in history … Details & Photos
