This week’s top news stories: July 1

The automotive news wheel is always turning. If you’re not constantly checking CarAdvice – which you should be doing, by the way – it can be easy for some headlines to slip through the cracks.

To make sure you haven’t missed anything important, we’ve gathered what we reckon are the hottest news stories from this week, right here. Check them out, and let us know what caught your eye

Mazda has finally revealed full specifications for its CX-8 diesel seven-seater, ahead of a July 1 on-sale date.

The brand provided range pricing earlier this month, but what each grade of car offered was a mystery... until now. Perhaps unsurprisingly, final specs match those revealed in a dealer document leaked to CarAdvice earlier this year.

Read up on the 'goldilocks' Mazda here

The Greens are calling for road toll fines to be capped in Victoria, amid a growing backlog of cases in the Magistrates' Court.

Under the proposed legislation introduced to Victorian Parliament last week, motorists won't be hit with more than one road toll fine per week, regardless of how many trips they make.

Labor doesn't agree with the proposal, though

Good news for fans of hot hatches and fast-fours. And good news for fans of motorsport. The worldwide motorsport category, TCR Touring Car, is coming to Australia.

The category was conceived in 2014 and has since become one of the fastest growing forms of motorsport in the world. In 2018, TCR regulations became the umbrella rules for the new FIA World Touring Car Cup. In all, there are currently 17 different TCR championships around the world with more expected to join the fray in coming years.

Prepare for more motorsport 

It’s been a long time coming, but Mazda will finally offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto across its range by the end of the year, and there’s good news in store for current owners.

Finally, it's coming folks!

The refreshed Audi A4 has been revealed this week, ahead of an Australian launch early next year.

Headlining the updated range are new front and rear bumper treatments, new available alloy wheel options, and a new S Line Competition package for added "visual appeal".

This, or a C-Class?

Aston Martin has revealed its lightweight DBS Superleggera, reviving two legendary nameplates to create a new 'Super GT' replacement for the Vanquish S.

In keeping with the formula laid out by the Vanquish, the DBS is powered by a big V12 engine. It's the same 5.2-litre twin-turbo unit from the DB11, tuned to make a whopping 533kW and 900Nm of torque. Hooked up to the rear wheels through a limited-slip differential and an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, it'll shoot to 100km/h in a claimed 3.4 seconds, and 200km/h in just 6.4 seconds.

That grille, though

Infrastructure Australia has renewed calls for a user-pays congestion charge, taking aim at the Federal Government for its inaction over the traffic choking our major cities.

The body's latest report, a follow-up to its 2016 Infrastructure Plan, says the government "signalled its support for [the user-pays] proposal" in November 2016 but "no inquiry has been forthcoming" since, and called for it to "move forward on this important opportunity for reform".

This isn't the first time someone has called for something similar

MORE: Car News