Aston Martin ranks as the coolest overall brand in the world according to the latest UK’s CoolBrands survey. Aston Martin One-77 is definitely one of the coolest cars on the planet. It was the fifth time in six years Aston Martin was voted the coolest brand. Apple was judged a close second by the public and the U.K.’s marketing and business community. Harley-Davidson was ranked third on the list. No doubt the motorcycle builder has a strong following around the world. To top the list a brand must be one that most people wish to own, display to their friends, and associate themselves with. Other notable car company’s were Ferrari (8th) and Maserati (20th). It was surprising Lamborghini didn’t make the list.

  On Saturday night Barrett -Jackson Las Vegas sold the first 2012 Camaro ZR1 offered to the public for $250,000. The car was auctioned off on behalf of the YMCA of Southern Nevada with 100% of the proceeds going to the charity. Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, placed the winning bid. A unique feature of this Camaro ZL1 coupe is it’s paint colour, it’s the only one to be produced with a Carbon Flash Metallic exterior. With a Supercharged 6.2L V8 engine that pushes 580 horsepower, no doubt this car is one of the quickest production cars available today.

  Imagine a one-eighth scale model Lamborghini Aventador costing nearly 10 times what the real thing costs. Lamborghini commissioned German model-car maker Robert Guelpen to create something extra-ordinary and he did just that. Like the production car, the Aventador model gets a carbon fibre body however interlaced with gold. Reports have the car embedded with $2.7 million in precious stones and metals. The entire interior will be cast in solid gold and platinum, with diamond studded seats and steering wheel. The model will be auctioned off in December by Sotheby’s with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. The showcase is made of bullet proof glass and there is a actual size Lamborghini logo made of gold, platinum, and various expensive gemstones which is mounted in the showcase. The car could get three entries into the Guinness Book of World Records if all goes …

  Imagine a $1 million Ferrari Enzo skidding into the Atlantic Ocean? This is something that might happen in a movie, but in real life no chance right? Wrong…It happened during a rally event in Newfoundland Canada this past weekend. Zahir Rana stands in the Atlantic Ocean with his Ferrari Enzo after it skids off the road and takes a bath. Looking at the video it is clear the driver Zahir Rana loses control over some loose gravel while applying the power. The car fish tails and cannot be reined in. The result is the car slides right off the road into the Atlantic Ocean. Targa Newfoundland is the only event of its kind in North America. The course is 2200 kilometres of stages. With 20 percent of the course closed to the general public. This allows for competitors to test the performance of …

  Porsche has fitted the latest iteration of its iconic 911 with Pirelli’s P Zero ultra-high-performance (UHP) tire. Two different compounds of P Zero were specially developed for the new Porsche 911 Carrera that will have its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week in sizes 245/35ZR20 front and 295/30ZR20 rear). P Zero brings the new Porsche prodigious grip while enhancing the aerodynamic characteristics of the new Stuttgart supercar. With Porsche, Pirelli confirms its premium strategy and position as a leading partner to the world’s most prestigious car manufacturers. The P Zero developed for the Carrera accentuates the car’s characteristics, ensuring comfort, performance and driving enjoyment. The latest tread compounds were specially designed for the new Porsche 911; the rear features Kevlar, a synthetic fiber offering excellent heat resistance and elasticity, whose longitudinal action allows the tire to react to …

  While showing signs of recovery, the economy still has a lot of people worried. As a result many are keeping their current vehicles longer than they normally would. There was a time not too long ago, that as soon as a vehicle went out of warranty and required repair it was traded in on a new vehicle, no questions asked. Those days are a distant memory. Now days many auto repair businesses are booked solid as car owners continue to hold on to their cars longer. Many auto mechanics report that the recession has actually been a boom to business, as more repairs are undertaken as customers are willing to pay higher costs to keep their current car on the road longer. Currently the average age of cars and trucks on the road in Canada is 10 years. Some might say there is …

  Don’t be intimidated when buying a used car from a used car dealer. Make sure you have done your homework ahead of time about the used car’s values. Researching on the Internet is your best option. When walking around the car, reconnect with your inner child and touch EVERYTHING. The worst thing you want to do is get home and then try to open/switch on/unlock/ something and it doesn’t work. Ask about warranties. If the used car is not that old, it may have some of the original manufacturer’s warranty left. If it doesn’t, ask about any warranties the dealer may offer. •Walk Around the Car •Make sure everything at this most basic level of the inspection works and looks like it’s supposed to. Always take into account a car’s age. •Make note of any exterior damage just like you would with a …

  Maserati unveiled its new sport-utility vehicle, the Kubang, at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The new model, which is due on the market in 2013, shares its name with a crossover wagon the company showed in Detroit in 2003 but uses underpinnings from Chrysler’s Jeep brand. The Kubang represents a broad plan under which Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Chrysler Group LLC and its parent company Fiat SpA, seeks to merge Chrysler and Fiat into a single car maker with the size and product range to compete with giants like General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. The Kubang will be built in Detroit, at Chrysler’s previously forlorn Jefferson North plant. Marchionne had the plant cleaned up and repainted after taking over at Chrysler, but the factory still seems an unlikely place to assemble a luxury SUV that is expected to …

  In 15 years Mercedes believes we’ll have large luxury vehicles with zero emissions and a range of more than 1,000 kilometers. Mercedes says the 125! is meant as a look ahead to cars beyond 2025, the kind of talk that usually indicates to us this is a design exercise that will go, basically, nowhere. Still, it has some interesting ideas inside. “With the F125! we want to show that large, comfortable and safe cars have an excellent future, partly because they are able to operate with no emissions,” says Thomas Weber, Mercedes’ design chief. The 125! combines a number of new technologies to combine a plug-in with a hydrogen vehicle. For instance, it uses lithium-sulphur batteries instead of lithium-ion, which Mercedes says will have greater range. How much? The combination system gives it a range of 621 miles. To further enhance range, it …

  As the biennial Frankfurt auto show gets under way on Tuesday, the spotlight will be on German auto industry’s roaring profitability as much as the dozens of new models. Between flashy unveilings and roaring engines at their test tracks, car executives will be swapping sales expectations and trying to gauge whether another sales slump is on the horizon. Few at the last Frankfurt car show, in 2009, could have predicted the industry’s sharp rebound from the global recession that year. Booming emerging market demand—above all in China—and fledgling recoveries in the U.S. and Europe have returned many global auto makers to solid profits. At the top of the fortunate list: Germany’s BMW AG, Daimler AG’s Mercedes, Volkswagen AG’s Audi and Porsche AG, whose particularly lucrative mix of strong demand among Chinese buyers has driven revenues and profit margins to record levels this past …