2010 Nissan 370z Nismo 500hp Sts Turbo Charged on 2040-cars

Auto blog

You'll soon be able to buy an EV in China for just $8,000 after incentives

Renault is eventually looking to sell an electric vehicle in China that will cost as little as $8,000 after government incentives kick in. According to Reuters, Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn offered the prediction at the New York Times Energy for Tomorrow conference in Paris this week. Granted, China government incentives are approaching $20,000 per vehicle, as China looks to address its cities' notorious pollution problem, so there's some wiggle room with that price. And of course, the devil is in the details, and Ghosn didn't provide any. Still, such a low-priced EV would likely challenge the dominance of China-based EV makers BYD and Kandi. And the effort would likely be lucrative, given that it has been predicted that China will become the world's largest EV market by the end of the decade. In fact, the publication EV Sales said earlier this year that as many as 300,000 EVs will be sold in China in 2016 (by comparison, Americans bought about 100,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids combined through the first 10 months of the year). BYD is expected to sell 75,000 Tang SUV units this year. With such growth expectations in mind, automakers are focusing on China for potential EV development. Earlier this year, Volkswagen Group said it signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Jianghuai Automobile (JAC) for plug-in vehicle production. Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler also stated its goal to broaden plug-in vehicle sales in China. Renault appears to be trying to make an early mark in China. Dongfeng Renault Automobile Co., the Chinese joint venture between Renault and Donfeng, is looking to start testing a self-driving electric vehicle this month. Dongfeng Renault will use a 1.5-mile stretch of road in Beijing's Caidian district for testing purposes. Related Video:

Nissan GT-R Nismo crash at Nurburgring kills one spectator

One spectator at the VLN endurance race at the Nurburgring in Germany this weekend has been pronounced dead after the No. 23 Nissan GT-R went airborne at the Flugplatz section of the track. Video of the accident, which can be seen above, shows that the car lifted vertically before crashing through the safety fence and into a row of spectators. As always in cases where loss of life is involved, viewer discretion is advised. The driver, Jann Mardenborough, was checked by medical officials at the track, then taken to a nearby hospital. His injuries are reportedly not serious. Mardenborough is currently scheduled as one of the drivers who will contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GT-R LM Nismo. In a statement, Nismo says it is fully cooperating with race organizers. At this time, the cause of the crash is not known. Our thoughts go to the family and friends of all touched by this tragedy. Today's events have been a tragedy. We are all deeply shocked and saddened by these events and our immediate thoughts go to the deceased, those injured and their families and friends. The team is fully co-operating with the race organisers to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into this incident.

Best cheap SUVs: You don't have to pay a lot to get a lot

Here's a news flash: Everything is a lot more expensive now! And that definitely goes for new SUVs, with prices that keep nudging higher and higher. Actually "nudging" might be too soft of a description for their motion. "Skyrocketing" is probably more accurate.  While higher prices and hefty interest rates have likely knocked a lot of people out of the new car market entirely, there are still quite a few cheap SUV choices. Better still, they're not terrible! Far from it, in fact. While the lowest price SUVs used to be drab, sorry affairs best left to the lots of Avis and Budget, that is definitely not the case today. Not only are there legitimately appealing cheap SUV choices, they offer genuine differences in character, capability and design. It's not just a series of anonymous boxes with different badges. Below you won't just find a simple list of the cheapest SUVs available. We are actually pointing out the best ones. They are listed from least expensive to most expensive, with none exceeding a starting price of $30,000. Most are subcompacts, but a few of our top choices in the compact SUV segment snuck on. Finally, please excuse the crummy photo quality. We sought out representative trim levels of the prices in question rather than just reusing pretty carmaker-provided photos of the most expensive trim levels. This is what the cars will actually look like. Kia Soul Why it stands out: Ample space and abundant features for the money; unique style; strong turbo engine upgrade Could be better: All-wheel drive is not available Starting Price: $21,315 Read our most recent Kia Soul Review The Kia Soul definitely didn't start off as a small SUV, and the term "crossover" is probably better applied to it. Still, what started life as an undefinable funky tall hatchback now finds itself in its third generation with numerous vehicles of similar shape and size that are dubbed "small SUV" or "small crossover." If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... Call it what you will, but the Soul delivers the goods with tons of equipment and space for its price and size, an agreeable driving demeanor, and an even more powerful engine upgrade than the Kona's. We also think it's pretty cool. All of the above helped it win our subcompact SUV comparison test. Now, if there's one area where the Soul does not satisfy a typical SUV requirement, it's the lack of available all-wheel drive.