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Consumer Reports selling its road-tested roadsters [w/video]

Here's a chance to acquire a celebrity-owned vehicles, and this time at a discount instead of a premium. So the celebrity in this case is Consumer Reports, that magazine that could be equally adored and abhored by car enthusiasts. CR buys all of its test vehicles and usually finds willing second owners within its own ranks, but its opening its small used-car lot to the public. On the forecourt are four roadsters: an automatic 2012 Audi TT 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Tronic with 6,600 miles for $36,500, a manual 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive28i with 8,400 miles for $45,000, a manual 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK250 for $39,500 and a manual 2013 Porsche Boxster with 7,000 miles for $48,000.
Those numbers mean a savings of $9,000 to $10,000 before haggling - each car is listed with an "Asking price" so there could be some wiggle room if you show up with pockets full of dough and eyes full of serious intent. Since the money CR earns from the sales go back into the magazine's budget to buy more test cars, however, it probably won't take any oddball trades, so you can forget about getting any purchasing help from that track-day AMC Javelin project on blocks in the back yard.
The vehicles have been taken care of and spiffed up for sale; buyers will take delivery at the CR test track in East Haddam, Connecticut and get a tour of the facilities. While you're there they'll even take you on a lap around the track so you can feel how your car handles when driven by one of its testers. They will probably not help you with advice on which toaster and dehumidifier to buy - you'll still need to get a subscription for that. Have a look at the video below to see a day in the life of a CR test car.

Audi R8 lines up as safety car for Rolex 24 at Daytona

This weekend a new era begins in American sports car racing with the Rolex 24 at Daytona to kick off the new United SportsCar Championship, the freshly inked union between the Grand Am and American Le Mans Series. There'll be a wide variety of machinery lining up on the grid at the Florida speedway, including race-ready versions of the sports cars you can drive on the road, plus Daytona Prototypes, Le Mans Prototypes and even the DeltaWing. But at the front of the pack will be the Audi R8 5.2 FSI.
That's because Ingolstadt's flagship has been named as the official safety car for this, the 52nd annual Rolex 24 at Daytona. And so the R8 becomes the first pace car pressed into service for the United SportsCar Championship, although the model also paced last year's race (pictured above) when it was under the auspices of the Grand Am series.
The car in question appears to bear little in the way of modifications over the showroom version, save for some requisite graphics and maybe some emergency lighting to make it more visible - because while you wouldn't miss an R8 slicing its way through ordinary traffic on the road, it's another story entirely in a field full of competition machinery. Audi points out that the road-going R8 shares a good 50 percent of its components with the R8 LMS competing in the race, including its 5.2-liter V10 engine that's available this year with a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Car cocktails and Risky Business Porsches with Brett Berk | Autoblog Podcast #502

On this week's podcast, Mike Austin and David Gluckman are joined by a special guest, Autoblog contributor Brett Berk. The three discuss cars in film and TV as well as Brett's series on car-themed cocktails. There is of course a recap of what they've all been driving lately, and the episode wraps up with Spend My Money buying advice to help you, our dear listeners. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #502 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics and stories we mention 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV - Autoblog's 2017 Technology of the Year Car award winner 2017 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R 2016 Kia Soul EV 2017 Audi A4 sedan The story of the Risky Business Porsche 928 The Taxi Cocktail took us for a ride The myth and mystery of The Bentley Cocktail Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 01:50 Brett Berk interview - 21:12 Spend My Money - 39:44 Total Duration: 54:02 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Audi Bentley BMW Chevrolet Maserati Mercedes-Benz Porsche kia soul ev Chevrolet Bolt porsche 928 ford shelby mustang gt350r cocktails