1971 Chevrolet Nova (electric Blue Pearlcoat And Viper Silver) on 2040-cars

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'Baby Driver' is a car chase movie set to music

The Fate of the Furious is certainly the 6,000-pound SUV in the garage of automotive movies, but that doesn't mean gearheads are starved for options. The upcoming film Baby Driver looks to be a winner for car guys, featuring exciting chases with cars including a "hawk-eye" Impreza WRX, a Dodge Challenger, and a 1980s Chevy Caprice. The movie is written and directed by Edgar Wright, whom you may know as the man behind movies such as Sean of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. And based on the two trailers released so far, seen above and below, it's about a young man by the name of Baby, who is a getaway driver for criminals. He's apparently the best in the business, and the secret to his success is the music he listens to while he's driving. He also wants out, but his boss, played by Kevin Spacey, has no intention of letting him go. Spacey is one of a number of major stars in the film, including Jamie Foxx and John Hamm. The driving action shown in the trailers definitely looks entertaining. The WRX is seen doing an array of drifts and J-turns. There is some driving precision on display here that wouldn't be out of place in a Gymkhana video. And it looks like Wright's attention to detail in his shots and transitions, as well as some solid comedy relief, are all going to be present. The film comes out this August. Related Video: News Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment / YouTube via Road & TrackImage Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment / YouTube TV/Movies Chevrolet Dodge Subaru Videos baby driver

Watch a 2015 Corvette Z06 run the quarter in 11.7 seconds

We're not writing about this because it's an amazing run, we're writing about it because it appears to be the first run. Someone took a 2015 Corvette Z06 to Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas and blasted it down through the quarter mile. It's still wearing the dealer number in wax pen on the windshield and dealer plates, so this example is fresh from the mold. It's also a seven-speed manual. General Motors said the row-your-own Z06 can do the 'strip in 11.2 seconds, and they undoubtedly had a professional driver and more than one run to set that time. To have Just Some Guy show up at the raceway and do an 11.7 at 120.54 mph on his first run means we expect good things to come as Z06s get delivered to their owners. Check out the run in the video.

U.S. new-vehicle sales in 2018 rise slightly to 17.27 million [UPDATE]

DETROIT — Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. rose slightly in 2018, defying predictions and highlighting a strong economy. Automakers reported an increase of 0.3 percent over a year ago to 17.27 million vehicles. The increase came despite rising interest rates, a volatile stock market, and rising car and truck prices that pushed some buyers out of the new-vehicle market. Industry analysts and automakers said strong economic fundamentals pushed up sales and should keep them near historic highs in 2019. "Economic conditions in the U.S. are favorable and should continue to be supportive of vehicle sales at or around their current run rate," Ford Chief Economist Emily Kolinski Morris said after the company and other automakers announced their sales numbers Thursday. That auto sales remain near the 2016 record of 17.55 million is a testimonial to the strength of the economy, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. The job market, he said, has created new employment, and wage growth has accelerated. "That's fundamental to selling anything," he said. "If there are lots of jobs and people are getting bigger paychecks, they will buy more." The unemployment rate is 3.7 percent, a 49-year low. The economy is thought to have grown close to 3 percent last year, its best performance in more than a decade. Consumers, the main driver of the economy, are spending freely. The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate four times in 2018 but is only expected to raise it twice this year. Auto sales also were helped by low gasoline prices and rising home values, Zandi said. It all means that people are likely to keep buying new vehicles this year even as they grow more expensive. The Edmunds.com auto-pricing site estimates that the average new vehicle price hit a record $35,957 in December, about 2 percent higher than the previous year. It will be harder for automakers to keep the sales pace above 17 million because they have been enticing buyers for several years now with low-interest financing and other incentives, Zandi said. He predicts more deals in the coming year as job growth slows and credit tightens for higher-risk buyers. Edmunds, which provides content, including automotive tips and reviews, for distribution by The Associated Press, predicts that sales will drop this year to 16.9 million.