Car News

Fiat Chrysler (FCA) has signed a memorandum of understanding to join the autonomous vehicle development program led by the BMW Group, Intel and Mobileye. The Italian-American car company says it will contribute engineering and other technical resources to the development of the new self-driving car platform, as well as large sales volumes and a significant presence in the North American market.

Plans to loosen laws preventing 'parallel' vehicle imports have largely been shelved as part of the federal government's re-jigged Road Vehicle Standards Bill, designed to take effect in 2019. As you may recall, representatives from the Turnbull Government early last year flagged changes to the extant Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1987, to allow parallel ‘grey’ importation of near-new cars from 2018.

The Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato family has grown from two members to four, with the British marque announcing two new versions this week; the Speedster and Shooting Brake. Joining the already-revealed Zagato Coupe and Volante, the Speedster and Shooting Brake will see the total production run for the Vanquish Zagato increased to 325 units, with just 28 examples of the Speedster and a further 99 Shooting Brakes to be built.

The upcoming 2018 BMW M5 super sedan has been teased again, this time undisguised in a short clip posted on the company's Facebook page this week. Scheduled to be unveiled on August 21 - according to Carscoops - the new 5 Series flagship is briefly visible during the 10-second video, which also hints at a special 'First Edition' model that will likely be available at launch.

BMW has announced some running changes to the driveshafts in the M3 and M4 performance cars in preparation for new emissions regulations. Starting from November 2017 production, the Bavarian company will replace the current carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) unit currently used in the M3 and M4 with a new M-specific high-performance driveshaft made of steel. BMW says the new unit will allow for the installation of a petrol particulate filter (PPF) at a later date in 'major markets'.