Poll: What do You Think the Original 1966 Batmobile will Fetch at this Weekend's Auction?

After keeping the original 1955 Lincoln Futura concept-based Batmobile from the 1966 television series in his personal collection for more than six decades, legendary customizer George Barris has decided it's time to let go of the iconic car offering it up for sale at this weekend's Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The famous bat car will cross the auction block alongside Barrett-Jackson’s 5000 Series on Saturday, January 19th from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.

It is anyone's guess how high bidders will value the original version of the 1966 Batmobile (Barris had also built a few more fiberglass clones during the 1960s, some of which were used in the series), but feel free to speculate by casting your vote in our online ballot, while you can also be more specific in our comments area.

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Ford Atlas Named Autoweek's Most Significant Detroit Auto Show Debut, What Do You Say?

The new Ford Atlas Concept, which previews the future of America's best-selling pickup truck for the past 36 years and the best-selling vehicle overall for 31 straight years, the F-150, has been named by the editors of Autoweek magazine, the "Most Significant vehicle of the 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS)".

Bob Gritzinger, Autoweek executive editor, explains why:

“The Atlas Concept is clearly Most Significant winner for the things you don’t see, like hidden aerodynamic improvements and weight savings from high-strength steel and interior parts, like thinner seats. Those things add up to significant fuel savings for pickup trucks down the road. A next-generation EcoBoost with Auto Start-Stop technology also signals why Atlas is a real game changer.”

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Poll: Which is the Sexiest American Sports Car, the New Corvette Stingray or the SRT Viper?

It’s like the Super Bowl for Detroit-made sports cars: the brand-new Corvette Stingray, which just made its world premiere in Detroit this week, versus Chrysler’s third-generation SRT Viper.

Granted, in their current forms, the two cars are separated by tens of thousands of dollars and nearly 200hp, with the base Vette’s 450hp 6.2L V8 looking puny compared to the Viper’s massive 8.4L V10 with 640-ponies. Conducting a fair twin-test won’t be possible until Chevrolet rolls out the next Corvette Stingray ZR1.

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Listen Up and Vote: New SRT Viper vs Lamborghini Aventador vs Lexus LFA

Three very different schools of automotive thought came together at a Cars and Coffee meeting in Irvine, California, a couple of weeks ago, for a mechanical symphony comprised of 32 cylinders, 19.7-liters and a whopping 1,884-horses.

Thankfully, the revving competition between the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, 2013 SRT Viper and the Lexus LFA was captured on film by several visitors for our enjoyment.

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Which New Cars and Concepts Impressed You the Most in 2012?

Europe may be in trouble but many of its automakers are performing just fine and the rest of the world seems to be doing okay, as global new car sales are tipped to exceed 80 million units for the first time ever.

Therefore, you could say that 2012 has been a good year for the automotive industry, which rolled out a whole lot of new models.

With only three days to go until the end of the year, we found ourselves asking out loudly: which newly presented production and concept vehicles impressed us the most?

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Was BMW Right or Wrong to Rebadge the 3-Series Coupe as the 4-Series?

The first ever BMW 3-Series, built from 1973 to 1985 and known by its internal codenamed E21, was offered only as a coupe. Yes, there was a convertible variant available through BMW's dealers but it was made by Baur, so it doesn't really count.

As the years passed by and the 3-Series became more and more successful on a global basis, BMW wanted to bank on that success and so it expanded the lineup to include sedans in both regular, and for China, long-wheelbase versions, three-door hatchbacks (E36 and E46 only), estates, convertibles and the famed M variants.

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Bummer; Audi Tells Us it Has No Plans to Offer the New RS6 Avant in the U.S. [w/Poll]

If you can afford it, the new Audi RS6 Avant is one of those cars that allows you to have a mid-life crisis without actually affecting the others around you, and by that, we mean you can get supercar-levels of performance with all the comfort amenities and more importantly, the space and practicality of a large family car.

Sadly, if you live in the States, this is one super wagon that you won't be able to park under your garage during this phase of your life.

In an email we received today from John Schilling, product communications manager for Audi North America, we were told that, the brand has "No plans on bringing the RS6 Avant here to the U.S.".

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Recalled 2010 Camaro Burns Down, Owner Asks GM to Help Him Finance a New ZL1

Back in May of 2009, General Motors issued the first ever recall for its then new, fifth generation Camaro that was sold as a 2010 model, only a few weeks after launch.

The recall affected 1,243 Camaro SS coupes equipped with a V8 engine because of a short-circuit risk that could lead to a fire. The culprit was a positive battery cable that could rub against the starter motor housing causing wear on the cable insulation.

In all recall cases, the automaker directly or through one of its dealers, contacts owners of the affected models to inform them about the problem and how and when it will be fixed (which is stated in GM's Recall Bulletin that you can find below).

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GM CEO Likes the Opel Cascada, Says 'Why don't we bring it to the US'. What Do You Think? [w/Poll]

From the time GM linked its Opel and Buick brands, whenever the German company comes out with a new model, the question arises whether the Detroit automaker should bring it to North America.

Currently, of the six Buick vehicles sold in the States, three are based on Opel models: the Verano compact sedan (Astra Sedan), the Regal mid-size saloon (Insignia) and the Encore small crossover (Mokka).

This week, Opel and its British sibling Vauxhall lifted the wraps off a new model, the Cascada soft-top convertible born from Astra and Insignia underpinnings.

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Cadillac Confirms that the ELR will be FWD, Do You Think GM Made the Right Decision?

On Tuesday, Cadillac added another piece to the puzzle that is the new ELR plug-hybrid coupe by announcing that the car will be manufactured at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant with production to start in late 2013.

We already know that the ELR will be closely based on Cadillac's 2009 Converj Concept and that it will borrow much of its extended-range electric technology from the Chevy Volt, combining a T-shaped lithium-ion battery with an electric drive unit and an unspecified four-cylinder engine working as a generator to power the electric motor.

What we assumed, but didn't know for sure, is whether the ELR would keep the same front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout as the Volt or if Cadillac would engineer a new platform with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive configuration.

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Was Detroit Cop Right or Wrong to get "Aggravated" Because Passenger Did Not Disclose her HIV Status?

A casual traffic stop over an inoperative brake light by a police officer in Dearborn, Michigan, on August 3, 2012, took a weird twist when the cop discovered that the passenger of the 1999 GMC Jimmy was HIV positive.

The police dashboard video that was obtained by national news network The American Independent, and which was released in late September, shows Dearborn Police Officer David Lacey pulling the truck to the side of the road and then approaching the driver, Mark Scott, and asking for his papers.

Scott told the Michigan cop that he did not have his license with him and that he may have a warrant for his arrest related to a traffic ticket. He then handed Lacey another piece of identification.

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McLaren P1 Design: Love It, Hate It, or Somewhere In Between? [Poll, Plus New Videos and Photos]

Sure the new Volkswagen Golf Mk7 and its kin, the Audi A3 and Seat Leon, along with the likes of the Renault Clio, Dacia Logan and Ford Mondeo, just to mention a few of the mainstream debuts at the Paris Motor Show, are the ones that matter in real-life terms, but it's cars like the McLaren P1 that keep us dreaming and…alive.

Although billed as a concept, in reality, the P1 is a pre-production teaser of the road car that will hit McLaren's glitzy showroom floors just before the end of 2013.

Deemed by many as the spiritual successor to the great F1 of the 1990s, McLaren says the P1 was designed with one simple goal: "to be the best driver’s car in the world on road and track".

We will have to wait for the production model to find out whether the McLaren P1 can live up to its promise, but in the meantime, we can ask your opinion about the hypercar's design and if it hits the right notes.

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Parisian Poll: Which is the Better Looker, the Hyundai i30 3D or the Kia Pro_Cee'd?

South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia aren't leaving a lot of breathing space for Europe's troubled mainstream car manufactures, as they are relentlessly assaulting every popular category with new models.

At the 2012 edition of the Paris Motor Show, the Korean partners each introduced a three-door version of their respective C-segment compact hatchbacks.

The two models are the Hyundai i30 3d (the five-door version of which is sold as the Elantra GT in North America) and the Kia Pro_Cee'd, both of which offer a more aggressive design than their five-door counterparts.

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The 34 Nominees for the 2013 European Car of the Year Award – Which One do You Think will Win?

The process of electing the 2013 Car of the Year (COTY) for Europe has officially commenced with the release of the provisional list of candidates.

In order to be eligible, a car must have been released during the past 12 months; is available in at least five European countries; has a projected annual sales figure of no less than 5,000 units and is a new model and not just a new edition.

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Mint Colored Ferrari 458 Italia Spider: What Do You Say?

While we're happy to see that at least one owner of the 458 Italia Spider broke the long-standing tradition of red-colored Ferraris, we're not sure what to make of the of this example finished inside and out in a teal (bluish green) tint that was filmed by YouTube user "Lamborghinisown" parked on the road.

In case you're wondering, the hardtop spider model was fitted with dealer plates from Connecticut.

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U Spy: Can You Name the Mercedes-Benz Prototype in these Pictures?

One of our longtime readers, Vladimir P., was traveling on the roads of Munich in Germany this past weekend when he came across a prototype of a Mercedes-Benz model partially covered in black tape, strategically positioned to keep the styling details out of sight.

What we want from you is to tell us which upcoming Mercedes-Benz four-door sedan model do you think is hiding behind the plastic wraps of this prototype.

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Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 and Lexus LFA Sound Battle [w/Poll]

One of the things all gearheads love about exotic supercars is the sounds produced by their high-horsepower engines.

Of course, as with design, when it comes to engine sounds, everybody has different preferences, which makes this competition between a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 and a Lexus LFA that met up under a tent at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix 2012 event this month all the more interesting.

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Should General Motors Cut its Penn State Sponsorship after the Sandusky Scandal?

Penn State's woes may be even bigger than originally thought after the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced heavy sanctions on the university's football program including a $60 million (€50 million) fine, a four-year ban on bowls, 40 fewer football scholarships and a vacating of all wins from 1998 to 2011, in light of the Sandusky child sex scandal.

Today, Automotive News is reporting that General Motors is contemplating whether to cut its sponsorship of the Penn State's Nittany Lions.

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Spy Video: Help This Russian Scooper Identify this Prototype Model

Russian YouTube poster 'MrDmitry323' found this camouflaged prototype parked at a central square in Moscow this past Sunday and put his video camera to good use.

Now, he wants someone to tell him the brand and type of model that he caught on film.

The two minute-long clip takes us for a walk around the test car and even offers us a glimpse of the disguise-free interior.

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Identify This No4: Four Production Nissan Models

This weekend's automotive puzzle brings Nissan into the picture – or so to speak. The Japanese brand has its roots in The Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works that was founded in 1911, with the Nissan name first being used in 1934.

But fear not as we don’t plan on traveling so far back into Nissan's history, as the oldest model found here is from the year after the first manned landing on the Moon.

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