Post by Brittany Cermak

By Brittany Cermak on February 15, 2013

Are you green with envy over your neighbor’s new supercar? According to a study conducted by AXA—an insurance company headquartered in New York—you shouldn’t be. The company’s Annual Motoring Survey found that while luxury car owners enjoy driving more than non-luxury car owners, the same can't be said about exotic car owners. Apparently, only 57% of Ferrari owners told AXA that they enjoyed driving compared to 68% of Ford owners and 64% of Toyota owners. Makes sense, right?

By Brittany Cermak on February 15, 2013

A number of automotive publications are reporting this morning that BMW is recalling approximately 30,000 X5 SUVs. The SUVs, which are from the 2007-2010 model years, were supposedly affixed with faulty brake vacuum pumps. BMW says the pumps may malfunction and leak fluid onto the SUV’s brake hose. If this occurs, the SUV’s power-assisted braking could fail and therefore the distance required for the vehicle to stop will increase. The German automaker fears this may amplify the risk of a crash, and as a result—passenger injury.

By Brittany Cermak on February 14, 2013

The Captain Planet Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the environmental knowledge of the next generation, is giving away a 2-year Fisker Karma lease. While the car itself retails around $120,000, according to the foundation’s website, the lease is valued at $50,000. In order to keep the raffle competitive, the Atlanta-based organization is limiting the number of entries to 200.

By Brittany Cermak on February 14, 2013

This year’s Geneva Motor Show will take place between March 7th and 17th in Geneva, Switzerland. Like always, there will be a number of vehicles making their debuts at the show. One of the debuts we are particularly excited about is the McLaren P1’s. Successor to the British automaker’s F1 supercar, the long-awaited P1 is rumored to have a starting price around $1.2 million. McLaren will likely only make about 500 copies of the car, which they hope will be a direct competitor to Ferrari’s upcoming Enzo replacement. Coincidentally, the F150—as Ferrari’s been calling it—is also scheduled to debut in Geneva.

By Brittany Cermak on February 13, 2013

As you very well may know, Elon Musk founded Tesla Motors in Silicon Valley about ten years ago. Shortly afterwards, he took on the role of CEO. In addition to that position, Musk currently serves as the electric car company’s head of product design. With that in mind, plus the fact that Musk has been known to be somewhat more vocal and opinionated than the traditional CEO, it’s no surprise that he had something to say when his latest product—the Model S—was criticized in a recent NY Times article.

By Brittany Cermak on February 13, 2013

It’s that time of year again—time for J.D. Power and Associates to announce the results of their annual new vehicle reliability survey. As usual, the market research firm polled car owners across the country and tallied the number of problems they had with their vehicles in the past year. This year’s survey focused on vehicles purchased during the 2010 model year. As The L.A. Times reports, topping the list of most reliable vehicle brands three years after purchase are Porsche, Lexus, Lincoln and Toyota. Not a fan of these marques? You’ll be glad to know that J.D. Power and Associates also found that cars on average are becoming more reliable.