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Car dealers, factories and ports close in the path of Hurricane Florence

Hurricane Florence has caused CarMax to close four stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The closed locations are in Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Winterville and Virginia Beach. It is possible for the company to close more stores, reports Automotive News. Daimler and Volvo have also shuttered their manufacturing facilities in the region to prepare for Florence. The storm is expected to reach North Carolina and South Carolina today or tomorrow. Automotive News says every coastal car dealer it reached on Tuesday was closing, and others not in the projected landfall area were monitoring the situation. There are approximately nine million vehicles in operation in the area that Florence is expected to hit, with a vehicle density of 162 vehicles per square mile. It is likely that not as many vehicles will be lost as during hurricanes Harvey and Irma, as population is less dense; areas affected by those storms had over 300 vehicles per square mile. The chief economist of Cox Automotive told Automotive News that some 20,000 to 40,000 vehicles could end up flooded if Florence keeps its path; however, recent reports have indicated Florence has weakened to a category 2 hurricane on Thursday. Tesla has again unlocked more range for some of its older models to make evacuation easier; the same was done a year ago in preparation for Hurricane Irma. As well as automotive manufacturers and dealers, automotive transport providers are readying for the storm and clearing cargo away. The container and auto terminals at Port Charleston will be closed from Thursday to Saturday, affecting part shipments to the BMW manufacturing facility in Spartanburg; BMW's spokespersons have said no production disruption is expected. Parts are delivered via railroad to Spartanburg by Norfolk Southern, which is also suspending operations for the time being. Vehicle hauler United Road has moved its rigs to safer regions and suspended deliveries, and car carrier vessels are trying to make it away from the storm's path in time. Related Video: News Source: Automotive NewsImage Credit: NASA via Reuters Auto News Plants/Manufacturing BMW Mercedes-Benz Volvo Car Buying

Xcar rates AWD vs. FWD vs. RWD

With snow and ice blanketing large swathes of the United States over the past few weeks, commuting hasn't been easy. Among some drivers, there's an ongoing debate about how much all-wheel drive really helps when it gets slippery and whether rear-drive is as bad in slick conditions as many people think. Xcar Films puts some of those beliefs to the test in its latest video by showing off three very different cars taking on a trio of low-grip challenges. Xcar's picks for the test include the fairly plebeian, all-wheel drive Subaru Impreza, the somewhat plush, rear-drive BMW 120d and the sporty, front-drive Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy. Things start out easy with a hydraulic plate forcing the back end out on a wet skid pad. From there, the tests get really interesting with a slalom on simulated ice, and the cars finish with a high-speed cornering challenge through a soaked turn. While an obvious winner emerges in the end, keep in mind this is hardly a scientific test of grip. For better accuracy, all three vehicles should be wearing identical tires, and the same driver should be behind the wheel of each one. Still, Xcar's examination is a fun chance to see how vehicles react when things get slick. News Source: Xcar Films via YouTube BMW Subaru Renault Driving Safety Videos xcar renault megane xcar films renault megane rs

BMW X4 hatches its fastback shape in Shanghai

The day has finally come for BMW to pull the covers off its X4 Concept at the Shanghai Motor Show. The machine brings few surprises - we've already seen an official image gallery from the German automaker, so its exterior shape was well known - but at least now we get to see it with our own eyes, and with the lenses of our very own cameras.
You can clearly see the fastback roofline in our high-res image gallery above, along with the jacked-up stance that allows BMW to call this machine a Sports Activity Vehicle, which basically means "Crossover" to our friends in Munich. We've seen similar vehicle shapes before, most notably in the form of the BMW X6, but also as far back as the 1980s from the likes of AMC.
We fully expect the transition from concept to production to be pretty seamless, so what we see here is, for the most part, what we'll see on the showroom floor in 2014. Feel free to peruse the press release below, but first, be sure to browse through our live images from Shanghai and let us know what you think.