AUTOMOBILE101 BLOG

We get it: you're into music, and you want options that make it easy to listen to the music formats you like. Luckily, many modern cars offer an array of options for streaming or playing tunes. There's the well-known Bluetooth functionality that most cars have. Satellite radio is another important one. But since many folks use their smartphones as media devices in the car, the adoption of Android Auto or Apple CarPlay have become important and convenient interfaces. But how do you find a car that supports the music-playing options you want? You could sort through every manufacturer's spreadsheet looking for what trim package will get you satellite radio, or you could simply hop on over to our Car Finder tool. It's simple: selecting the Music filter eliminates any cars that don't have both Bluetooth and satellite radio. We've found that the presence of both of these features generally indicates that other qualities that music aficionados appreciate will be pres...

Volkswagen  has been  working for some time now  on the eighth generation of its venerable  Golf  compact hatchback, and a new report suggests that the  R hot hatch  could be tuned to make more than 400 horsepower for 2020. "The R brand is going extreme," Jurgen Stackmann, VW's sales and marketing boss,  told  Auto Express . "The role of R is that it can go beyond the rational; nobody needs a compact car with 400bhp, but is there a place (for it)? Certainly, and that's the turf of R." By way of comparison, the current  Golf R  does 292 hp. The increase in ponies would put the Golf R on par with the  Ford Focus RS  and above the likes of the Mercedes-AMG  CLA45  and  GLA45 . The British publication further surmises that the powertrain is expected to hew closely to the Golf R's current setup, with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine, 4Motion all-wheel-drive and seven-speed gearbox. A 48-volt mild  hyb...

The  2018 BMW M5  is the sixth-generation of one of the original super sedans. The F90 generation is the third one powered by a V8 and the second one using forced induction. The biggest difference between this  new car  and its predecessors is the move to all-wheel drive. Still, for those that want that classic rear-drive feel, the  M5  does allow you to de-couple the front axle. It works well. The model came in a striking shade of paint  BMW  has dubbed Mariana Bay Blue metallic. It was loaded with a number of options, including $8,500 carbon ceramic brakes, a $3,400 Bowers & Wilkins audio system, the $2,500 M Driver's Package and the $4,000 Executive package. The latter adds features like soft-close doors, four-zone climate control, a wifi hotspot and a 360 degree camera. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore:  The  BMW M5  is blast to drive. It's powerful, looks imposing and has a classy interior. I'm a big fan of big sed...

BERLIN/FRANKFURT — A report that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to pursue German carmakers until there are no Mercedes-Benz rolling down New York's Fifth Avenue dented shares in the luxury car manufacturers on Thursday. An excerpt from German magazine Wirtschaftswoche's article, which cited several unnamed European and U.S. diplomats but did not include any direct quotes, could not be independently verified, while a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Berlin referred questions to Washington. The news and current affairs magazine said Trump had told French President Emmanuel Macron in April that he aimed to push German carmakers out of the United States altogether. Macron's administration in Paris declined to comment on the report. The Trump administration last week opened a so-called Section 232 trade investigation into vehicle imports, which could result in a 25 percent tariff on cars on the same "national security" grounds Washington used to impose met...