Gas Mileage, Summer Driving Tips, Top Gear USA: Today's Car News

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Good News, Business Owners: The IRS Is Upping Your Mileage Rate

While the IRS typically sets mileage rates prior to the start of the year, this year’s extraordinary rise in gasoline prices has prompted the agency to issue a mid-year revision. Said IRS Commissioner Doug Stone, “This year’s increased gas prices are having a major impact on individual Americans. The IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the recent increase in gas prices. We are taking this step so the reimbursement rate will be fair to taxpayers.”

If you use a vehicle for business purposes and deduct annual mileage, we’ve got some good news for you: effective July 1, the Internal Revenue Service is raising the standard mileage allowance from 51 cents per mile (applicable for miles driven from January 1 to June 30) to 55.5 cents per mile. The rate for miles driven for medical or moving expenses jumps from 19 cents per mile to 23.5 cents per mile, but the rate for charitable work stays at 14 cents per mile.

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2012 Scion tC and xB Models Priced

If you’re in the market for a new Scion tC or xB, we’ve got good news and bad news. Since we’re glass-is-half-empty people, we’ll give you the bad news first: you’ll pay more for a new Scion than you did in 2011. Now the good news: you’ll get more content, and the base price of both Scion models only increases by $300. There’s a special edition of the Scion tC for 2012 as well, called the tC Release Series 7.0 (or simply the tC RS 7.0).

Scion tC RS 7.0 models come painted in High Voltage yellow with black side mirrors and black 18-inch alloy wheels. There’s a TRD body kit that includes a unique honeycomb grill on the front fascia, along with a rear valance and side skirts. Inside, RS 7.0 models get High Voltage yellow accents on the black seats and have yellow stitching on the leather-wrapped steering wheel. A Smart Key is used for the first time on a Scion product, so a push-button start is standard on the limited production RS 7.0 models. Only 2,200 copies will be built, at a starting price of $21,625 for a manual transmission version or $22,625 for one with an automatic transmission. Both prices include a destination charge of $720.

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2011 Nissan Leaf Proves It Can Tackle Laguna Seca: Video

With cars like the 2011 Nissan Leaf and 2011 Chevrolet Volt hitting the roads since Refuel 2010, this year’s event was the first time that production plug-in vehicles from mainstream automakers were represented at the event. 

Open to anyone with an electric car, the event gave everyone from Tesla Roadster owners through to DIY converters the chance to push themselves and their cars to the limit in a safe, controlled event. 

On Sunday, June 26 the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was home to Refuel 2011 - the third annual track day for electric cars and motorcycles.

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Rebel Attack: Greenpeace Uses The Force Against Volkswagen

So this morning I checked my Twitter feed for more VW stories and came across a tweet from Auto123.com about a campaign by Greenpeace to steer VW away from the Dark Side. I fondly remember the wonderful VW ad for the new Passat in America with Lord Vader Jr. It was a hugely popular video that went viral and it boosted VW’s image.

However, I am more interested in the ads themselves. Who knew Greenpeace had a sense of humor? The ads are both really cute, especially the second one, as the victorious rebel force celebrates by dancing in sync, much like a music K-Tel Mini Pops video. The music they are dancing to is from the bar scene of first Star Wars movie when Obi-Wan and Luke are having a drink at the bar. A great bit of parody.  

I blogged yesterday about VW trying to engage its fans in helping to make the next commercial in its series “Drive Until.” I found this to be a good approach to winning fans and more adherents to the VW brand. It’s a great way to interact with the VW buyers and keep the company image nicely burnished.

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Is Mazda planning on a revolutionary new engine system?

According to Autocar, the next-generation engine, codenamed the ‘16X Renesis’, has been in development since 2007, but it was only recently that a new wrinkle was divulged about this new powertrain. Instead of the long-held practice of using traditional spark plugs to ignite the engine, Mazda is looking into using laser beams to serve the purpose of igniting the fuel and air mixture inside the engine.

With the increasing advancements being made in the country on the controlled use of high-powered lasers, Mazda is looking into tapping into this new breakthrough by using these ceramic-made lasers. These lasers measure only 9 mm in diameter and 11 mm in length, measurements that can easily fit into a car engine and take up less space than the space-mongering spark plug.

40 years after Mazda first introduced its then innovative new rotary engine power source, the Japanese automaker is looking into breaking new ground with their latest powertrain system.

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2011 Rolls-Royce Phantom TB Gold Edition Design Study

Turkish designer, Timur Bozca, understands that and his latest study all but confirms the route to take when dressing up a Rolls-Royce Phantom: add as many expensive materials - like say, gold, for example - on the car to drive up the extravagance. The first thing he did was use the aforementioned gold material to cover some of the car’s exterior, including the grille, the rims, the outline on the lights, the badging, and even the plate casing.

In the world of high-end luxury, very few automakers can match the esteem and reverence attached to the Rolls-Royce brand. So when you’re on the drawing board for a design study of a Rolls, the first thing that immediately pops in your head is how you can take the luxury to a whole new level.

Even the Phantom’s interior wasn’t spared from the luxury overload with plenty of gold to go around, showering the occupants with enough bling to make Mr. T blush with envy. Nothing looks better in gold than a dressed up Rolls-Royce Phantom, right? 

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Furious 6 Set to Hit Theaters in May 2013

A while back, Universal had promised that the F&F franchise would continue to evolve from its car-saturated roots into a "heist action" series. What that will do to the sixth film is still unknown, but we’re not sure how car-loving fans will feel if their beloved four wheeled machines are given a cameo instead of a leading role.

When the big wigs in Hollywood got together to put together a little movie about the street racing "fad" back in 2001, we’re betting they never thought it would give birth to five box office hits and tons of moolah. Fast Five just went into theaters on April 29, 2011 and in the first weekend made $86,198,765. So far, the fifth installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise has climbed to $600 million and now, NBC Universal’s little money tree has just been given some extra fertilizer. Rumors suggest that the sixth Fast and the Furious movie - dubbed Furious 6 for now - will hit theaters worldwide on May 24, 2013.

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2012 DeltaWing Concept Sportscar

his car is the DeltaWing Concept Sportscar, a creation that was born from the collective minds of DeltaWing Racing Cars LLC and back-to-back American Le Mans Series championship winning racing team, Highcroft Racing. Described as a new and experimental race car, the DeltaWing Concept Sportscar aims to introduce a new approach to competitive racing, one that strives for increased performance through increased horsepower and aerodynamic downforce. Rather than the traditional set-up of today’s racers, the DeltaWing concept concentrates on taking advantage of efficiency gains that are found outside the parameters of standard regulations to reduce fuel consumption without cutting down on performance performance.

Fresh off of what arguably was one of the most exciting Le Mans races in recent time, a new sportscar concept that has its sticker stamped for the the 2012 installment of the race is already taking shape.

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Barrett-Jackson Auction: Orange County 2011

Big tents may not be the most exciting thing to think about, but this one is special and measures nearly two football fields in length. This became the epicenter of high octane bidding action for the weekend and the primary filming location for the Speed channel. We were able to get on the auction block for a period of time to witness the variety of different cars coming down the line. This auction house has always been known to provide everything from classics, hot rods, and true collector grade automobiles. The auction really heated up on Saturday when the real gem of this year’s event crossed the block.

Barrett-Jackson is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, so any and all events held are going to be pretty spectacular. We were able to snag a place at the second annual Orange County event and were surprised to see how much it had grown in just one year. The event was moved to the Orange County Fair and Event Center and quickly consumed the entire property. As we entered through the main patron gate on the opening day, it was clear to see this was not your typical car auction. Barrett-Jackson had pulled out the big guns and even brought their renowned Scottsdale Auction Tent.

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