It might come as a surprise to some that it’s possible to purchase a six-passenger sedan, but in previous decades, large sedans with front bench seats and space for an extra passenger in the middle were mainstays of the American automotive landscape.

While cars like the Ford Taurus and Mercury Grand Marquis were once available with six seats, the sole remaining sedan available with a front bench seat is the Chevrolet Impala. But with a new model coming in 2013, GM has to decide whether to keep producing a six seater vehicle, which accounts for roughly 25 percent of Impala sales.

With the new Impala salted to be built on a narrower platform, and GM offering a full lineup of crossovers that can carry more than 5 passengers, it makes little sense for the company to continue producing a six seater Impala. If the General continues down this path, we’ll be seeing the end of an era for American motoring – not that we’re too torn up about it.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Those fans of Transformers’ Bumblebee can now get themselves a $3,000 package to their 2012 Rally Yellow Camaros, transforming it to the movie-inspired Autobot. Available in all major markets around the world, the Transformers Special Edition Chevy Camaro will be available for order starting in July with deliveries in North America estimated to begin in September.

Clearly Chevrolet believes that the Transformers franchise has helped reintroduce the Camaro to the general public after its seven-year hiatus. And who are we to argue with its impressive sales numbers. Chevrolet claims it sold 40,275 Camaros this year, widening the gap to Ford’s Mustang, who only sold 30,206 units in the same time frame.

The Transformers Special Edition package will be available on 2LT and 2SS Rally Yellow Camaro Coupes and has several more add-ons in addition to the RS appearance package. Your personal Bumblebee replica will include black rally stripes over the hood, roof, decklid and rear spoiler to give it the infamous Bumblebee look. For wheels, black-painted 20-inchers will find their way on the Camaro with Autobot Shield logos on the center caps. Those same logos can also be seen on the front-quarter panels.

For the interior, don’t expect this Camaro to come to life and speak to you, nor will it come with Megan Fox in the passenger seat. Instead, you’ll be treated with black leather interior with yellow accents and Autobot Shield logos embroidered on the front head rests and center console lid.

GALLERY: 2012 Chevy Camaro Transformers Special Edition

BMW UK has released another dramatic video detailing the 2012 M5. The M5 won’t go on sale until spring 2012, so we still have nearly a year before it hits the streets but this commercial is getting us very excited.

The M5 has been entirely redesigned but the biggest change is the switch from a high-revving V10 to a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8. The new engine will crank out 552 horsepower and 502 lb-ft of torque mated to either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. The car is capable of achieving a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds, not bad for a car weighs around 4,000 lbs. Pricing has not been announced but the M5 will probably sell for around $85,000.

Check out the video after the jump!

Gallery: 2012 BMW M5

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AC Propulsion, a global leader in electric drive design, development and manufacturing, announced today that the Yokohama-sponsored electric race car using AC Propulsion’s proprietary electric drive system broke it’s own record set last year at the 88th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

The electronic race car won the hill climb’s Exhibition Class and set a new EV record, coming in at 12:20:084, beating last year’s 13:17:575 record. The car was also the race’s fastest EV among both cars and motorcycles.

“AC Propulsion electric drive systems deliver performance,” said AC Propulsion CEO Tom Gage. “Our string of Pikes Peak EV records–especially this one, where we are well into the 12-minute bracket–clearly demonstrates that electric vehicles can get up the hill fast. Now that more people are buying EVs, it’s important to offer really good performance. For us, the old racing slogan holds: win on Sunday, sell on Monday.”

This year’s 89th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is comprised of racing to the 4,301-meter summit, covering 12.4-miles. Road conditions vary based on rapidly changing temperatiures and weather as well as combination of tarmac/ gravel surfaces and 156 turns.

The Yokohama EV is a rear-wheel drive, open-wheel race car . The AC-180 motor cranks out 268-hp at 6000-7000 rpm and has 258 lb-ft of torque.

With the rise of turbochargers as a “green” technology, the lifespan of superchargers looked numbers as their popularity decreased, with the belt driven forced induction systems appearing only on high-end V6 and V8 powered sports cars. While superchargers delivery power in a smooth, linear manner, their cost, complexity and noise has relegated them to near extinction.

An interview with Automotive News, featuring Eaton’s Ken Davis, President of their vehicle group, suggests otherwise. Davis remarked that their new line of superchargers are gaining favor with automakers, among them Nissan and Volkswagen. Audi’s 3.0L V6 engines already use superchargers, as well as some of Volkswagen’s small displacement 4-cylinder engines not sold in North America. Volkswagen could use superchargers across a broader number of engines, but we’re stumped as to what applications the new Eaton blowers could have with Nissan products.

Davis also notes that Chinese OEM Chery has been using greater numbers of superchargers. Their QQ small car is equipped with a blower, and given the vast amount of vehicles sold in China, Davis’ claims of doubling supercharger sales in 5 years doesn’t look so outlandish anymore.

[Source: Automotive News]

The famous 1991 24-Hours of Le Mans winner, the Mazda 787B will be featured at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Ex-Formula 1 driver and Le Mans veteran Mike Wilds and current Mazda works driver Mark Ticehurst will be racing the 787B up the hallowed Goodwood hill for the festival this weekend. The race car returns to mark the 20th anniversary of its famous victory in the demanding 24-Hours of Le Mans.

The 787B will race brands like Aston Martin, Porsche, Lotus and BMW in this year’s Britcar Dunlop Production GTN Championship.

Mazda’s 787B made history in 1991 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by becoming the first Japanese car to win the event. It’s victory lap was also its last as after 1991, rotary engines could not participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Mazda is still the only Japanese car manufacturer to win Le Mans.

The 787B is powered by a 700-hp rotary engine which has a top speed of 210mph.

The 787B will also join the MX-5 GT race car which is powered by a 275-hp 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated engine featuring a six-speed sequential paddle-shift gearbox, carbonfibre doors and polycarbonate windows. The car has a kerb weight of just 850kg and can accelerate from 0-60mph in just three seconds.

Gallery: Mazda 787B

Ask anyone to name a mid-size sedan, and they would most probably mention the Toyota Camry or the Honda Accord. Both these cars sell in huge numbers and are a part of most suburban neighborhoods.

But a look at the registration numbers of mid-size sedans sold in America, shows that the Ford Fusion is now the second most popular sedan in America, trailing the Toyota Camry. The ever popular Honda Accord has slipped down to third place.

However, the Accord is available in two body-styles, coupe and sedan, and when you combine these two, you’ll find that the Accord is still in second place. If you concentrate just on sedans, the Fusion, an American car built on a Japanese car platform (the Fusion is based on the old Mazda6) has taken the first runner-up spot.

The top-five sedans are as follows:

1. Toyota Camry = 108,629 units

2. Ford Fusion = 87,945 units

3. Honda Accord = 83,965 units

4. Nissan Altima = 80,957 units

5. Hyundai Sonata = 77,444 units

[Source: Polk]

With the passing of the Mazda RX-8 this year, many believe this might be the end of the famous wankel-rotary engine, especially since there is no replacement model in sight.

The rotary engine might be down for now, but don’t count it out just yet, as Mazda is now developing a new rotary engine, with a special new ignition system.

Word from Japan is, that the next generation of rotary engine, which is currently known as 16X Renesis, will use lasers instead of spark plugs. A laser would need a smaller hole on the combustion chamber, which would help in more controlled combustion and hence would improve fuel economy, which has long been the downfall of the rotary motor.

The new engine is said to have grown in size, from 1.3-liters to 1.6-liters, however since it is partly made from aluminum and is physically smaller, it will be lighter and more powerful than the old 13B motor.

Could this mean the return of the RX-7? Here’s hoping.

[Source: Autocar]

You can only afford the Gremlin, but you dream about driving a Ferrari. No need to sell one of your kidneys – just pick up the SoundRacer and it’ll sound like you’re behind the wheel of a hot sports car.

From the outside, you won’t be fooling anyone, but inside, you’ll get goosebumps, thanks to this handy little gadget. Recorded from a real V12 Ferrari, all you have to do is plug the SoundRacer into your cigarette lighter. Pick a frequency, turn up the volume and you’ll think you’ve got the real deal.

When you tire of the engine revving, you can plug your MP3 Player, iPod or any audio device with a 3.5mm audio socket into the SoundRacer to listen to your favourite songs.

We’d like to get one of these bad boys, plug it into the old Cavalier, roll down the windows and crank up the SoundRacer in full blast. You can buy the SoundRacer for £29.99 (about $40) – hey, it’s still cheaper than the real thing.

[Source: Coolest Gadgets]

Ford has transformed the Mustang from a muscle car into a true sports car, with a ride so dialed-in that even even the Germans want to take it for a spin. Not forgetting the car’s roots, however, there’s still the raw and mean Shelby GT500; a car that harkens back to the glory days of Detroit.

That is about to change in 2013, when Ford launches a very modern version of the GT500, tossing aside the big supercharger in favor of some very modern turbocharged technology. Ford will carry on using a V8, although the exact displacement of the powerplant is not known. Rumors of a 5.0-liter and a 5.8-liter have surfaced.

Power, as expected, will be tremendous. Move aside Camaro ZL1. Forget it Challenger SRT8. The 2013 Shelby GT500 will reportedly make an astonishing 650-hp.

[Source: FordInsideNews]