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World Car Awards finalists snub American-branded vehicles — except for Bronco

The list of World Car Awards has been whittled down to 10 finalists, but only one American brand — Ford — appears among the remaining nine carmakers for this yearÂ’s top award. The Bronco is there, and it also is balloted as a finalist in the design category. The other categories are performance car, urban car, electric vehicle and luxury model. Each category has five finalists except World Car, which has 10. One brand conspicuous by its absence in any category: Tesla. The winner in each is scheduled to be crowned March 27 at the New York International Auto Show in Manhattan. This year marks the 20th year of the World Car Awards and the partnership with the New York show. The selection process involves 100-plus automotive journalists from 29 countries who vote, as they review and test-drive the eligible vehicles for the 2024 awards. Their journey is captured virtually on World Car TV. If youÂ’re counting, the brands that appear most on the six finals lists are Mercedes-Benz (four times), BMW (also four), Hyundai (three), and Volvo (three). HereÂ’s the full listing. A video clip showing all of them is here: World Car -BYD Seal / Atto 4 -Ford Bronco -Hyundai Kona / Kona Electric -Hyundai Santa Fe -Kia EV9 -Mazda CX-90 -Subaru Crosstrek -Toyota Prius -Volkswagen ID.7 -Volvo EX30 World Car Design of the Year Ford Bronco Ferrari Purosangue Toyota Prius Volvo EX30 Zeekr X 2024 World Electric Vehicle BMW i5 Kia EV9 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV Volkswagen ID.7 Volvo EX30 2024 World Luxury Car - BMW 5 Series / i5 - Lexus LM - Mercedes-Benz CLE - Mercedes-Benz E-Class - Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV 2024 World Urban Car  - Abarth 500e - BYD Dolphin - Lexus LBX - Suzuki Fronx - Volvo EX30 2024 World Performance Car - BMW M2 - BMW XM - Ferrari Purosangue - Hyundai Ioniq 5 N - Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid

2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 S First Drive [w/video]

As I mashed the throttle heading into the back straight of a nearly three-mile-long race track, I couldn't help but center my mind on two ostensibly disparate subjects: physics and pistons. If the heart of an automobile is its engine, the heart of the engine are its rotating bits – the crankshaft, pistons and the block they're nested inside. It seems fitting, then, that the internals of the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 typify the brand-new 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 sedan I found myself piloting in Portugal. Whereas the last C-Class AMG availed itself of a brute of an engine, employing 6.2 liters of displacement to make its 451 horsepower the old fashioned way, the latest AMG's V8 engine has been downsized radically. I had the opportunity earlier in the day to actually hold the pistons of the new 4.0 Biturbo V8 in my hands, alongside those of the outgoing 6.2. The difference in size is staggering, the new lumps looking downright picayune in comparison to the latter. These eight seemingly diminutive pistons turn combustion into crankshaft-spinning power inside a block that is smaller, lighter and more compact than I'd have thought possible, considering the prodigious output the engine spits out. I had gone into this assignment expecting to pen an ode to lost love; a sonnet of sorrow bemoaning the switch from massive cylinders to wheezing power adders. But I was wrong. In fact, the report that follows may indeed read a little like a love song, except it will heap praise not on what used to be, but instead on what is now possible. The new heart of AMG more than makes up for its reduction in size by relying on turbochargers and smart engineering to turn just 4.0 liters into 469 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque starting at just 1,750 rpm, or as much as 503 ponies and 516 lb-ft in uprated S guise. Foot to the floor, eyes focused on the turn ahead, a hard right-hander named Primeira that requires hard braking and quick reflexes, I had a fleeting moment of clarity: These are some hard-working pistons. A few days on the street and track in and around Faro, Portugal, has convinced me that the new Mercedes-AMG C63 is a better car in any meaningful measurement than it was before. And I'll go one step further. Not only is this the best C-Class AMG ever, it's also my new favorite in the hotly contested segment that includes such knee-benders as the BMW M3 and M4.

Race Recap: 2013 Japanese Grand Prix flips several scripts [spoilers]

Japan's Suzuka circuit is a great track that all the drivers love, but it doesn't usually provide the most thrilling, head-to-head racing. Where it does excel, however, is with surprises and "What just happened there?!" moments, and this year it was no different.
It started with Mark Webber in his Infiniti Red Bull Racing out-qualifying his teammate Sebastian Vettel for the first time this year. They were followed closely by Lewis Hamilton in the first Mercedes-AMG Petronas, the still-solid Romain Grosjean again outdoing teammate Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa racing for another seat in Formula One and putting his Ferrari in fifth, then Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes, Nico Hülkenberg in the first Sauber, Fernando Alonso in the second Ferrari, and Räikkönen continuing to do himself no favors by qualifying tenth.
For the second year in a row, the lights going out was the cue to start the first corner action...