Autoweek Daily Drive — Thursday, December 20, 2012

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTO SHOWS   |   VIDEOS   |   COLLECTOR   |   SUBSCRIBE Thursday, December 20, 2012                  The 2012 Porsche 911 Cabriolet looks great, but the driving experience isn't up to coupe levels.... 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet review notes ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAKE LINGEMAN: Saying you're underwhelmed with a Porsche is like saying you're underwhelmed with a diamond ring. Sure, it's awesome and very expensive. It just isn't what you thought it would be. Due to the overwhelming number of 500-plus hp sports cars we've had in the office, I'm sorry to say I was...   Detroit auto show to feature more than 50 reveals The 2013 North American International Auto Show will feature more than 50 debuts of new or refreshed vehicles, including—drumroll please—the 2014 Chevy Corvette C7....   Walter P. Chrysler Museum to shut its doors at end of 2012 In early December, the Walter P. Chrysler Museum announced that it would close to the public at the end of 2012. Enthusiasts reacted -- predictably enough -- with disappointment. Yet for every car nut sad to hear that the...   2013 Toyota Camry, Prius v hybrid receive poor IIHS safety rating Thirteen mid-sized cars have earned high marks on the insurance industry's newest frontal-crash test, but a pair of Toyota models tested fared worse than the rest. The so-called small overlap test involves crashing the front corner of a car into a barrier at 40 mph. The Insurance Institute for...   2013 Toyota Avalon Limited includes wireless device charging The 2013 Toyota Avalon Limited will offer the first application of Qi technology in its cars. Qi—pronounced chee—is the new global standard for wireless charging. It will let owners place their phones on a non-slip pad ...   Brad Keselowski heads AARWBA All-America Team NASCAR Spint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski and IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay head the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association's 2012 All-America Team. Keselowski was the top vote-getter in this year's balloting and will be awarded the Jerry Titus Memorial Award....   Ecclestone daughters make 'most spoiled' list The holiday season is widely known as the season of giving, but recently, the people over at Business Insider compiled a list of people who are known more for their spending than their ...   Marco Holzer picked for Paul Miller Racing ALMS Porsche 911 seat Paul Miller Racing has signed Marco Holzer to partner with driver Bryce Miller to pilot the team's No. 48 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for the 2013 American Le Mans Series season....   ALMS finishes tumultuous season: Year in review 2012 The 2012 American Le Mans Series season was bracketed by big news, coming very early and very late in the year. The big news upfront occurred well before the season began, when Peugeot, winner of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring in 2010 and 2011,...   Anthony Davidson recovered from Le Mans injuries, set for return at Daytona Toyota driver Anthony Davidson will make his comeback from the back-breaking injuries he sustained in the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours in the Daytona 24 Hours next month. The Briton, who fractured two vertebrae in the aerial crash... You May Have Missed...   Top 12 most searched cars of 2012: What cars did autoweek.com readers search for in the past year? Here are the cars that you, our loyal (and casual, and accidental) readers, searched for most at autoweek.com during 2012. Some of the results are a bit surprising. For instance, how does a Toyota Prius rank second on a site that leans toward automotive enthusiasts? Seems a little odd, we know, but ...   Alex Job racing pairs with Audi Sport for Rolex 24 Alex Job Racing has teamed up with Audi Sport customer racing to field the No. 24 WeatherTech Audi R8 Grand-Am for the 51st running of the Grand-Am Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona, Jan. 26-27. Alex Job Racing will provide car preparation support and Audi Sport customer racing will provide engineering...   Economic impact will decide Circuit of the America's future with Formula One The inaugural United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas, was a smashing success in terms of the on-track action and attendance, which track officials reported as 117,429 on race day and a weekend total of 265,499. But its long-term viability likely hinges on its balance ...   Jeep X Games contest offers 10th Anniversary Rubicon Jeep kicked off the “Jeep X Games Avalanche Scramble” sweepstakes on its Facebook page on Wednesday. Three contestants will win a trip to Aspen, Colo., for the 2013 ESPN X Games on Jan. 23-27. The grand prize winner will drive home in a 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 10th Anniversary...   Models in scale: Indy 500 racers, 1956 Maserati 300S, Mormon Meteor and more Its getting a bit late in the holiday season to add new items to your wish list, but there's no shortage of tempting options thanks to scale model-makers like Autoart and Automodello. Here's a look at some of the freshest, most exciting miniature vehicles to hit the market. Maybe Santa can make a...   Credibility and Closure for GM Credibility. It's a precious commodity in the car business, something that's hard fought, easily lost and takes years to rebuild. And General Motors has just earned back a little bit more of its historic standing.In sort of an early Christmas present to the U.S. government, GM said it will buy back ...   Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Pruett reunited for Rolex 24 Scott Pruett and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya will be sharing a ride at Daytona in January, and if history is any indication, it should be a fast ride.The first two times that Pruett and Montoya co-drove in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, they drove to victory in the legendary...   Ford releases video from recent test of 2013 NASCAR Fusion at Talladega NASCAR drivers continue to give feedback from testing of the 2013 models, and Ford Racing released a video on Wednesday featuring driver and technician reaction from the October test session at Talladega as teams grind toward the season-opening race at Daytona.Sam Hornish Jr., who will be driving...   John Pew and Ozz Negri return to Michael Shank Racing Michael Shank Racing will see the return of drivers John Pew and Ozz Negri to the team’s No. 60 Ford Riley Daytona Prototype for the 2013 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season. The 2013 season will kick off with the 51st Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 26 as the Ohio-based team looks to...   McLaren announces a new line…of lifestyle accessories: Autoweek TV Also in this episode: The NHSTA wants to make automotive black boxes mandatory, and we owe Camilla Parker Bowles -- and Bernie Ecclestone -- an apology. TRANSCRIPT-- McLaren launches a line of successories. -- The Feds want to ride along in your car.-- And BMW -- actually, you know what? It's the...   A silent guardian. A watchful protector. An Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera with Batfins. It's the hero that the ITT Technical Institute parking lot in Murray, Utah, deserves, but doesn't need. Or is that the hero it needs, but doesn't deserve? We always get that line mixed up. Either way, thanks to Autoweek reader Glenn Merrill for the photo submission.Note the Batwheels, rear-mounted... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the Autoweek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other Autoweek e-mail products. 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