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Appraise My Car

The official Automotive News Portal covering the automotive and appraisal industry

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BMW 2002

BMW's current reputation of building Ultimate Driving Machines can be traced back through history all the way to 1966, when the German automaker introduced the world to its 1600-2 two-door at the Geneva Motor Show. The car's name was simplified in 1971 to BMW 1602, and it went on to spawn the 2002, one of the most famous BMW models of all time.

BMW looks back on its past successes in a video that you can see below. As the automaker itself says in the video description, "This series was extraordinarily successful in reinterpreting the concept of the sports saloon and played a major role in motor sport long after production had come to an end." The 2002 would be replaced in 1975 by another legendary model from BMW: the 3 Series.

We'd be lying if we said we didn't long for something along the lines of the classic 2002 from BMW today. Since that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon, join us in remembering the cars that helped make BMW a household name by scrolling down below.

Continue reading BMW 02 Series mini-documentary makes us fall in love all over again

BMW 02 Series mini-documentary makes us fall in love all over again originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What Tony Stewart thinks of Joey Logano

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Kyle Busch took the checkered flag today in California, but attention quickly turned to Denny Hamlin—whose crash sent him to the hospital and which let Busch take the lead on the final lap—and Joey Logano, who tangled with Hamlin and eventually found himself the target of Tony Stewart's fists.

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Welcome to Sunday Matinee, where we highlight classic car reviews or other longer videos I find on YouTube. Kick back and enjoy this blast from the past.

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The redesigned 2014 Cadillac CTS will be unveiled this Tuesday on the eve of the New York Auto Show, but as often happens, some images of the car have leaked onto the web a few days early. Previously, the only information we had on the 2014 CTS concerned the all-new twin-turbo V6 engine that will be found underhood, rated at 420 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque.

While none show the new car in its entirety, the images do show much of the front end, particularly the headlights that feature vertical bars of LEDs that start down low as foglights and continue up to the top of the front fenders. They're similar to the lighting design first shown on the XTS and ATS, except the lower portions are much taller.

There are also views of the rear end and one of the taillights, as well as an interior shot of the front passenger door. The latter image has us most intrigued, as it shows some very high end materials being used in the new CTS interior. The low-gloss wood trim, in particular, looks very premium.

We found these images at GM Inside News, which claimed they surfaced on Cadillac's official Flickr account. We tried to source them there, though GM Inside News provided no link and we couldn't find an official Flickr account for Cadillac (the brand only lists Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts on its consumer site).

UPDATE: GM Inside News has pointed out to us the Flickr page they mention in their article, which can viewed here. It's not an official Cadillac account - as we mentioned, there isn't one - so we can't say from where the owner of this private account got the images.

2014 Cadillac CTS images leak from somewhere [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Automakers have a long and checkered past when it comes to attempting to market cars specifically to woman buyers. Stabs at attracting the female sex have ranged from the subtly sexist notion that woman are really only shopping on behalf of their children's needs, to out-and-out condescension of lipstick-colored paint jobs and interior-matching frocks. (For one such clunker, take a look at the ill-conceived Dodge La Femme, above.)

Slate writer Libby Copeland has put together an interesting piece that attempts to answer the question, "Why does the auto industry get women so wrong?" You may or may not take issue with that premise to begin with, but it's hard to argue with the evidence that auto companies, at the very least, seem to make wild swings of strategy on a regular basis.

In the Slate piece, we get a good sense of the history of for-women car marketing, as well as some reality based information about why and how women and men shop for cars differently. It's a compelling read, check it out.

Why do carmakers still fail to get what women want? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And now, it's time for your feel good car story of the day.

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James Hinchcliffe is a rare IndyCar driver: He has a personality, and it's a likable one. He calls himself the "Mayor of Hinchtown," which, as far as I can tell, is not an incorporated municipality in any state. Well, he just had a dynamite run in St. Petersburg to win his first ever IndyCar race.

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Hey, you know the Chevrolet Malibu? No? Can't picture it off the top of your head? That's okay, we can't blame you. It hasn't been particularly inspiring. But we hear that GM is aiming to fix that.

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Ram Runner

An argument could be made that Chrysler already offers a competitor to the much-loved Ford Raptor in the form of the Ram Runner pickup. The difference, though, is that Ford builds the Raptor right on the production line, whereas Ram requires the buyer to have modifications made at one of its dealerships after the initial purchase is made.

That distinction may soon be a thing of the past, according to a report from Wards Auto. "If we could see that the volume was significant enough that it makes sense to do it, we'll do it," says Pat Dougherty, vice president of Mopar parts, sales and field operations. "But if we don't, then we'll continue to do it the way we do it."

Additionally, Chrysler would reportedly like to put more emphasis on the fuel efficiency of its off-road-ready lineup, which is spearheaded by the Jeep Wrangler. Says Dougherty, "For a lot of the people who go off-roading (but) actually drive their vehicle as a daily driver, they want to make sure they're getting fuel efficiency while they're driving to work."

Chrysler thinking of taking on Ford SVT Raptor? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 2014 Cadillac CTS is on its way to the New York Auto show this week, but a few official photos of the car dropped on the Internets a little early. Here they are!

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"Fast Fast FAST. Loud. Fast loud fast fast. Slower. SLOWER! STILL REALLY FAST! TURN TURN! Fast FAST FAAAAAAAAST!!!" That's about all that my brain could muster after my first lap at the Talladega Gran (sic) Prix. And I have my wife and Jalopnik to thank for it.

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Welcome to Used Car Face Off, where we find two similar or similarly priced used cars and ask you which one you would buy. Choose wisely!

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Remember that North Carolina sheriff's deputy who resigned after a video of him brake checking a driver went viral? It looks like he could be back on the job soon.

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Old habits die hard, as they say.

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I can’t wait to start seeing ads for low, low lease rates for a new BMW 320i. Something just tells me it’s going to be the car that’s going to get a lot of people to go to a BMW showroom and leave with a 328i instead. It’s probably because when I went online to build one I ended up very far from that $32,550 base price that’s supposed to lure everyone in.

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1963 Chevrolet Impala bench seat with period famale model

To look at automakers' lineups these days, it would appear that America's large car market is enjoying something of a resurgence. After all, Chevrolet has invested in a new Impala, Toyota has its new Avalon, Hyundai fielded an all-new Azera for 2012, and Nissan is presently working on a next-generation Maxima.

Yet, according to the industry forecasters at Polk, the market for mainstream big sedans is cratering. According to Polk's data, the large mainstream sedan segment has plunged from a 5.8-percent share of the US car market in 2008 to just 3.5 percent in 2012. That sales drop is enough to put this most American of car bodystyles behind the minivan segment, a market whose own sales slide has been comparatively well documented.

According to Polk, part of the reason for the shift is America's increasing appetite for smaller and more efficient vehicles, along with increased automaker emphasis on the midsize sedan segment, where more frequent redesigns and new technologies are becoming commonplace. In fact, Polk hypothesizes that at some point, family sedans like the Ford Fusion and Honda Accord may be subject to "re-definition" as America's largest non-luxury automobiles.

Despite the grim outlook, the firm's analysts believe that the "large car category will survive in the near term" thanks to forthcoming entries like the Chevrolet SS, Kia Cadenza and Volkswagen Phaeton, which Polk expects to return in 2015. On the premium side of the street, the picture looks somewhat better, with the number of big luxury players staying pretty much the same. Even so, sales of cars in the class from automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz has slipped from .76-percent to .46-percent of the total US sales market.

Large car market withering away... will it survive? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Mar 2013 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Jalopnik reader says his buddy, who works at an exotic car dealership, found this note on one of their cars. I thought everyone loved the GT3?

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Cars tend to work best when they stay on the ground. Stuff like this is why.

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Team orders. They have been allowed in F1 for a few years now. They aren't used as much anymore, but that doesn't mean they don't still exist. In the case of Red Bull Racing, they're in place, but it seems like three-time world champion Sebastian Vettel doesn't really care. At all.

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