Everyone is suddenly paying a lot of attention to the lowly Dodge Caliber. Just recently, we heard that Fiat has big plans for the funky-looking hatchback, as the Italian automaker wants to make the Caliber, or its replacement, the first Fiat-based, Chrysler-built model to rise from the partnership between the two companies. Autoweek reported that the model may show up in 2012, but according to USA Today, the European transplant may arrive in American neighborhoods as soon as late 2011. That might mean the car will still be a 2012 model, but it looks like buyers will have at least a full quarter to decide whether they like the idea of the new Italian-bred compact. 

When I think of holidays during which drivers and pedestrians should be extra careful, I usually think of the obvious ones: New Year's Eve; Fourth of July; the days surrounding Christmas. Apparently, according to Consumer Reports, Halloween should be included on that list:

"Halloween is one of the deadliest days of the year for pedestrians, and the rate of pedestrian fatalities for children is over four times higher than any other night of the year. Halloween night is one of the deadliest nights of the year for drunk drivers, as well. In 2008, 58 percent of all highway fatalities on Halloween night involved a driver or a motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol content level of .08 or higher."

Who knew? Besides Consumer Reports, that is. Check out its video of safety tips for pedestrians and drivers, after the jump. 

Possibly the most recognizable and coolest car in the world, the Aston Martin DB5 driven by secret agent James Bond in such films as "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball," fetched about $4.6 million at auction today in London, according to sources at the auction.

 

The silver sports car had been sequestered in the private collection of Jerry Lee, a Philadelphia-based radio broadcaster and philanthropist, since 1969. It is one of two original machines driven by actor Sean Connery in those Ian Fleming-penned masterpieces of the spy film genre. According to the London Telegraph, it is the only one to survive intact -- the second car disappeared mysteriously from a Florida warehouse, suspected of having been dismantled for parts. Certainly not a fitting end for such a brilliant piece of automotive history.

 

 

By Sam Foley

Like many of my generation, I came of automotive age hating the minivan. Just as my parents and their contemporaries detested the station wagon and the vision of compliant domesticity it represented, I saw the minivan as an ugly icon of 1980s-era yuppie parenting -- the final surrender of a man’s individual will and masculinity to the needs of his family. However, the history of the minivan is a bit more complicated than most of us haters might have understood.

 

The original Dodge Caravan didn’t spring full-formed from the brain of Lee Iacocca in 1983; in fact, the minivan has a rich heritage, one that traces back to the Stout Scarab of the 1930s, an American vehicle with a degree of design innovation matched only by its outrageous-for-the-t​ime price of $5,000. Americans may have invented it, but the Europeans caused it to evolve, with famous incarnations such as the Fiat 600 Multipla in the 1950s and the Volkswagen Type 2 minibus in the '60s.

 

I'm hardly the first to point this out, but in light of recent news it bears repeating: Ford alone among Detroit automakers didn’t take any bailout money. Thankfully, Ford has found an old-fashioned way to pry money out of Americans -- by building cars and trucks that people want to buy. Envious gazes from GM and Chrysler turned a deeper shade of green today as Ford announced a third-quarter profit of $1.7 billion. That's up a staggering 68 percent from the same quarter in 2009, an admittedly dismal year for the industry overall.

 

While Ford isn’t fully out of the woods, this was the sixth straight profitable quarter for the Dearborn, Mich., automaker. Market share likewise rose, by two percentage points, bringing it up to 15 percent. But here’s the stat I liked best: Ford buyers paid an average of about $30,600 for every Ford and Lincoln in September, with buyers spending generously on options such as Ford’s Sync-enabled audio and navigation systems. Loading up on options is a sure sign that people like what they’re seeing at dealerships; these are cars that don’t sell on bargain-basement discounts, but on their merits. You only slap leather and a nav system on a car you’re proud to own, not one you’re settling for.

 

In a bold move from performance-oriented​, upscale automaker BMW, fleets of "the ultimate driving machine" will be available for rent by the hour, and renters can even book over the Internet.

At this stage it's simply a pilot program and only in Munich, Germany, though plans call for an expansion to other locales after the 12-month program runs its course.

Still, the entire fleet is on tap for online, telephone or in-person booking. Yes, you can sprint away in an M5. Yes, you can roll up to your potential in-laws' house in a 7-Series. Either one of those marquee vehicles will run you about $44.60 per hour, including insurance, cleaning and servicing. Prices varying by vehicle, a 1-Series would run you only about half that cost. 

Fancy cars and golf sort of go hand-in-hand; just ask a valet at any swanky country club. But when we think "golf enthusiast," we tend to picture badges like Lexus, BMW, Mercedes and Audi, not a primo supercar like Lamborghini.

And yet Lambo and golf-gear manufacturer Callaway have made a literal connection between links and track laps, having collaborated since 2008 on a new carbon-fiber material known as Forged Composite, which boasts nanoscale construction and the strength and light weight that that implies.