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China bans military license plates on luxury autos

Driving a vehicle with a military license plate in China provides many privileges. Legally reserved for official vehicles only, the designation apparently allows drivers to enjoy special liberties on the roads, including breaking traffic laws, filling up with free fuel and receiving light-and-siren escorts through congested cities. So attractive are the benefits that there is a secondary market for used legal and counterfeit plates - especially among those wealthy enough to afford luxury cars. But all of that is reportedly coming to an end, as President Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, is on a mission to fight corruption in his country.
A new license plate system goes into effect today, and it is designed to "maintain social harmony, stability and the reputation of the military," says the PLA Daily, the armed forces' official newspaper. While the abuse has been going on for many years, the internet has put the spotlight on the bad behavior, and the negative press does not represent the morals and true colors of the armed forces, say officials.
While military-plated Porsche drivers have been singled out as offenders, Bloomberg notes that all vehicles with engine displacements above 3.0 liters and with a sticker price in excess of about $73,000, will be banned from receiving military plates. This includes vehicles from Audi, Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln and the Volkswagen Phaeton. Even if drivers are savvy enough to circumvent the new issuing system, the military has put technology at toll gates to catch users of counterfeit plates. There has been no word on the punishment if caught.

2015 Porsche Boxster GTS [w/video]

You know the sound: the startling pop-brraaap-pop-pop shotgun fire of unspent flammables coursing through exhaust pipes that usually signals a raw, naughty powerplant beneath the hood.
But when you're nestled in the Porsche Boxster GTS' snug seats, it's not a crackling small block V8 or a high-strung Italian flat crank making the devilish racket, but rather the new king of the Boxster/Cayman lineup, a 3.4-liter flat-six that produces 330 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque.
Within the emotional vacuum of a spec sheet, the Boxster GTS' pumped-up grunt seems pretty mild, with a gain of only 15 hp and 7 lb-ft, respectively. But the reworked acoustical experience goes a long way towards suggesting the GTS has a trace of racing blood in its veins, and might even be missing its catalytic converters. In addition to the sonorous, centrally positioned tailpipes, the cabin also fills with lovely mechanical strains thanks to the "Sound Symposer" acoustical amplifier that's trickled down into the Boxster/Cayman lineup from the 911 for the first time. Boxster S, we hardly knew ya.

Porsche's high-tech 'mirror' turns every car into a Macan

Porsche calls it the "Magic Mirror," but it's less a reflective device and more 12 high-def screens that track drivers pulling into the valet area at a mall in Los Angeles. As they pass the screens in their cars, they get to see what they'd look like pulling up in a Macan, Porsche's newest and smallest crossover. It could be considered the experiential evolution of a prior campaign that let people imagine how a Porsche would look in their driveways, an idea that was taken even further by a dealer in Toronto a few years later. Check out the video to see how it was done and how it was received.