#UnitedStates

Aggressive maneuvering, horns blaring, center-most fingers locked in their upright positions, these are but a few hallmarks of ill-mannered motoring. Surly, rushed or otherwise incompetent drivers cause mayhem on America’s country roads and urban thoroughfares.

Cultural stereotypes aside, Germany is known for its advanced technology, engineering prowess and top-quality manufacturing. The land of beer, bratwurst and BMW is especially famed for its automobiles, which are renowned the world over for their driving dynamics and Autobahn-proven performance.

If you live in the U.S., you’re probably curious as to where it’s cheapest and most expensive to own a car.

AutoGuide’s regular “Under the Hood” segment has already explained the vagaries of octane and the advantages of Top Tier gasoline, but there’s so much more to fuel than that. Ethanol, for instance, is a major component of gas, and something that’s a potential peril for consumers. But what is ethanol? And what is E85? Should you run these fuels in your vehicle?

It seems to be an emerging trend amongst Japanese automakers, one of transferring critical aspects of operations to locations outside of Japan. Nissan has already done it by opening a new HQ in Hong Kong, now Lexus is looking to shift key units, notably it’s global marketing operations, from the Japan to the US.

Circuit of the Americas is halting of the Formula One circuit in Austin, Texas, effective immediately.

Toyota has announced today that the made in the U.S.A. Toyota Sienna minivan will soon be sold in South Korea.

Porsche‘s profits rose by 25 percent in the first 9 months of the year, as overall revenue and vehicle deliveries rose by 20 and 31 percent respectively.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is making Alfa Romeo’s U.S. re-launch a top priority, calling it “the most difficult thing I have to do”. Alfa Romeo last sold cars in the U.S. in 1995, but the brand still has a strong image in the U.S., spurring Marchionne to focus efforts on North America.

Along with things like baseball and celebrities, America is known for its cars. It might surprise you to learn then that in a newly compiled list of the top auto-producing nations, the U.S. of A. doesn’t place very highly. In fact, according to the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association of a total 58,478,810 cars produced last year the U.S. ranks just 7th, responsible for assembling some 1.2 million cars.

After Volkswagen found themselves briefly at the top of the industry during Toyota’s recall fiasco, it seems that they’ve grown fond of the achievement and aim to legitimately take over the top spot in the future.

Following the lead of Atlanta and Washington D.C., New York City is due to get around 300 parking meters that will allow drivers to pay for parking via their smart phones.

Mazda will shift production of their mid-size Mazda6 from the current AutoAlliance International plant (a joint venture with former owner Ford) to Mazda’s facility in Hofu, Japan.

Fiat is hoping to build a strong U.S-market demand for the 500 by expanding its line-up with a successor to the Bravo compact hatchback.

Volkswagen wants to produce the Tiguan SUV model in North America in an effort to slash production costs on the compact crossover. VW is already producing the Jetta and Passat in North America and is considering moving production of the Tiguan, according to a report by WirtschaftsWocke magazine.