Car News

Ford has issued a recall for approximately 550,000 Escapes and Fusions in North America this week, over concerns about automatic transmissions that may not shift into the selected gear. The Blue Oval reports the bushing connecting the shifter cable to the transmission may detach, allowing the transmission to be in a "gear state different than the gear shift position selected by the driver".

Ford Australia has revealed preliminary specifications for the upcoming 2019 Focus range, ahead of its November on-sale date. Headlining the announcement is the availability of the Focus wagon for the first time in Australia, along with the sport-themed ST-Line trim level (pictured in blue). As previously reported, the Focus line-up will be fitted as standard with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, along with lane-keep assist.

The BMW 8 Series has already been revealed, but the high-performance M8 remains under (partial) wraps at this stage. So far we know it'll feature a twin-turbo V8, and a rear-biased M xDrive all-wheel drive system, but as far as the final design touches and model-specific equipment it gets over the 'standard' 8 Series? We're none the wiser.

We've spent a bit of time covering flat-out runs in exotic metal like the BMW M5 and Porsche 718 Cayman GTS, but expensive German cars aren't the only ones allowed to go hell-for-leather on the nation's derestricted motorways. Less exciting metal like the Mercedes-Benz A200 can test their mettle as well, which is exactly what we've got here.

The 1964 Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger will forever be one of the most famous movie cars in history. Now, Lego has created a toy version so you can park one in your lounge room. While the 1:1 vehicle from the film sold for $4.2 million in 2010, the Lego kit retails for US$149.99 ($201.94) – a bargain by comparison. It may not have the timeless lines of the real thing, the Lego DB5 is loaded with working gadgets that'll help you and your kids against the forces of evil.