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Porsche planning new 911 Speedster as 550 tribute

Some look at the emergence of a new Porsche 911 and see a car. But to Porsche engineers, it might as well be a reset button. Because every time a new 911 comes out, it sets off a tidal wave of new variants to follow, including convertibles, turbos, targas, GT3s... the works.
The next down the pipeline, though, could be one of the most desirable. That, according to German publication Auto Bild, will be a new 911 Speedster. When it arrives early in 2015, the special roadster will reportedly be limited to just 550 examples in tribute to the original 550 Spyder.
It'll reportedly have hidden door handles, a chopped-down windshield and a fabric top to be used only in case of emergency, manually disappearing below a carbon-fiber cowling. All of which makes it sounds as much like a bigger version of the Boxster Spyder as a successor to the last 911 Speedster (pictured above), and that's no bad thing at all.

Recharge Wrap-up: 2015 Fuel Economy Guide available, how Porsche ships 919 Hybrid

The EPA and Department of Energy have released the 2015 Fuel Economy Guide. Unsurprisingly, the groups say that this year features more fuel efficient and low-emissions vehicles than previous years, and they span a greater variety of vehicle types. The guide also provides "best-in-class" lists, greenhouse gas ratings and estimated fuel costs for each vehicle. The EPA and DOE hope that car buyers will use the guide to help choose cars that are better for the environment and the climate. Check out the guide for yourself or read more in the press release below. To get from one WEC race to the next, Porsche ships its 919 Hybrid LMP1 cars by air. As the team travels around the world - from continent to continent - it must take 35 tons worth of cargo with it, including two LMP1 cars. That means draining fluids, partially dismantling the cars, and fitting everything into a 747. The team also ships items by sea, which requires shipping extra sets of items due to the longer shipping times. "It's all about efficiency," according to Porsche. Read more in the press release below. Terra Motors is unveiling the A4000i electric scooter, which it will sell in Europe, at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. The A4000i, which features smartphone connectivity, will be the company's European flagship model. Terra Motors will begin selling in Italy, and plans to make arrangements to sell in several more countries shortly after. Terra hopes to set up manufacturing in Europe, as well. Also on display at EICMA is the company's Bizmo II electric scooter, which has a driving range of 93 miles on a single charge. Read more in the press release below. Volkswagen is providing a 2015 e-Golf to Stanford University for research. The car will be used to study electric mobility, improvements in the driving experience and people's driving behavior and attitudes toward EVs. "Volkswagen's longstanding relationship with Stanford has allowed us to push the boundaries of automotive research and innovation," says Volkswagen's Ewald Goessmann, "and we look forward to extending our work together to drive advances in electric vehicles." See the video and read more in the press release below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. EPA, DOE Release 2015 Fuel Economy Guide for Car Buyers The U.S.

Tesla, Porsche and Genesis top Consumer Reports owner satisfaction survey

Tesla swept Consumer Reports' latest Ownership Satisfaction Survey results, notching the top spot among brands evaluated. Its Model S also netted the No. 1 spot among the top 10 most-satisfying cars. Porsche and Genesis, Hyundai's new luxury spinoff, rounded out the top three brands. The bottom of the rankings was anchored by Acura, while Mercedes-Benz notched the least-satisfying car in the survey with the GLA, proving that the results weren't equally kind to all luxury brands. Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports, told USA Today those brands suffered by introducing cheaper vehicles. The scores, on a 100-point scale, reflect whether owners say the vehicles from model years 2015 through 2018 met their expectations and whether they would buy the same car again. They measure ratings in six categories: driving experience, comfort, value, styling, audio and climate systems (what, no cupholders?). Effectively, it gauges how much people liked the car they bought. Reliability is not considered. The Honda Ridgeline outscored competitors in the compact pickup segment by a wide margin, while the Ford F-350 was among the top 10-ranked vehicles in the survey, the first time in at least five years that a pickup made it into the top 10, Consumer Reports said. In the brand survey, Chrysler rose four places to No. 4 on strong customer satisfaction with the Pacifica minivan, while Hyundai tumbled 11 spots to No. 24 and Lexus fell eight places to 18th. Rounding out the top 10 most satisfying cars were the Porsche 911, Chevrolet Corvette, Lincoln Continental, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Toyota Prius, Tesla Model X SUV, Honda Odyssey minivan and Dodge Challenger. Not surprisingly, most of those cars, and indeed most of the high-ranking brands, are those with strong brand loyalty, fan-like followings and/or those that strike a strong emotional chord with buyers. The full brand rankings are below. Tesla (90) Porsche (85) Genesis (81) Chrysler (78) Audi (76) Mazda (76) Subaru (76) Toyota (76) Honda (75) Lincoln (75) Mini (73) Ram (73) Kia (72) Chevrolet (72) BMW (72) GMC (72) Ford (70) Lexus (70) Volvo (69) Dodge (68) Jeep (68) Mercedes-Benz (67) Volkswagen (67) Hyundai (67) Buick (66) Cadillac (64) Infiniti (60) Mitsubishi (58) Nissan (58) Acura (58) Related Video: Green Genesis Porsche Tesla Ownership satisfaction