Toyota’s facelifted and repackaged 2014 4Runner SUV is headed into showrooms soon, bringing with it a handful of newly-standard features and a slightly heftier price tag.

Listing from $32,820, the entry-level 4×4 4Runner SR5 is about $1,300 pricier than its predecessor, but it brings with it projector headlamps, LED tail lamps, a power driver’s seat, a touch-screen audio system, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob and soft touch trim on its door panels.  

Adding four-whel-drive ups the 4Runner’s base price to $34,695.

A new SR5 Premium grade lists from $35,740 (4×2) or $37,615 (4×4). It adds to the 4Runner SofTex synthetic upholstery, navigation, a moonroof, a power passenger seat, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with Homelink and a 120V AC outlet in the cargo area. 

From there, the 4Runner lineup climbs to the newly less-expensive $35,725 Trail, which adds a number of off road goodies like a locking rear differential, a crawl control system to keep the 4Runner moving at slow speeds and various traction control modes accessed by a roof-mounted dial. The Trail lists for $1,430 less than before, although it looses its previously-standard moonroof. 

Opting for the $38,645 Trail Premium brings with it the same goodies seen in the SR5 Premium trim level.

Topping the 4Runner lineup is the $41,365 (4×2) or $43,400 (4×4) Limited trim, which builds on SR5s with its own unique styling, leather heated and ventilated seats, a JBL audio system and, on 4×4 models, an automatic transfer case mode. <![CDATA[
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The so-called “Walkie Talkie” building currently being built at 20 Fenchurch Street in London was supposed to be known for its unconventional shape, but the 37-story tower is making headlines for its ability to melt cars.

As it turns out, the Walkie Talkie building’s unique shape is not only eye catching but also sun reflecting. In fact, the beams reflected from the tower are so intense that they melted the exterior panels of a Jaguar parked on the streets below.

“You can’t believe something like this would happen,” Martin Lindsay, the Jaguar’s owner, told the BBC. “They’ve got to do something about it.”  The sun melted the Jaguar’s door mirrors and plastic C-pillars.�

Since Lindsay’s story went public, several other vehicle owners have stepped forward with complaints of melted cars. 

In order to prevent any other cars from being melted by the building’s reflected rays, the city of London has temporarily closed three parking bays near the construction site.

However, nearby vehicles aren’t the only things being threatened by the building’s design. Businesses opposite the Walkie Talkie building have reported damaged exterior paint and even burn marks on carpets near windows. A TV crew was able to fry an egg in the reflecting sunlight.

“When you talk about a meltdown in the city, this is not quite what you expect,” restaurant manager Simon Lamont said in an interview with Reuters. “It’s not even open yet and it’s notorious. They’ll have to rename it the Sun Trap rather than the Walkie Talkie.”

The building’s developers, the Canary Wharf Group, compensated Lindsay for his wilted Jag, but the building’s melting powers have yet to be sorted. In the interim the group will erect scaffolding to block the sun’s rays from the street below, but no long-term solution has been devised for the $371 million tower.

“We are also continuing to evaluate longer-term solutions to ensure this issue does not recur in future,” the Canary Wharf Group said in a statement.

The Walkie Talkie building is scheduled to open in the spring of 2014.

Photo courtesy of BBC.<![CDATA[
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Volvo has posted improved global sales results for the month of August thanks to a strong uptick in demand in China.

Volvo announced on Wednesday that its global sales grew by 4.7 percent in August, ending several consecutive months of lower year-on-year sales for the Swedish automaker. However, a slow start to the year has Volvo’s January-August sales off the mark by 2.5 percent.

Volvo’s positive month was largely the result of increased demand in China where sales shot up 65.7 percent to 4,319 vehicles. The automaker also received a surprise boost from Europe in August, with the continent’s sales rising 4.9 percent to 10,770 units.

Volvo continued to falter in the United States, though, with sales slipping 11.9 percent to 5,519 deliveries. Despite that significant drop off, the U.S. retained its position as Volvo’s single largest market.

Volvo posted a solid 50 percent sales gain in Japan last month, but all of Volvo’s other world markets combined for 6,390 sales, a decrease of 4 percent from August 2012.

The XC60 crossover was Volvo’s best-selling model last month, followed by the V40 hatchback and S60 sedan.

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Porsche’s revised 2014 Panamera sedan is now available in showrooms across the United States. For the 2014 model year, the Panamera can be ordered in no fewer than seven variants.

Most of those new Panamera variants have already been detailed on these pages – including the new Panamera S E-Hybrid and Porsche’s decision to ditch most its of its V8s in favor of a turbocharged V6 – but the German automaker released a few new details about the model range on Wednesday.

The high-performance Panamera Turbo returns for 2014, but the sedan’s twin-turbocharged 4.8L V8 has been bumped from 500 horsepower to 520 horsepower. Despite that added kick, the 2014 Panamera Turbo is rated at 24mpg on the highway, representing a 4 percent improvement over the outgoing model.

The 2014 Panamera Turbo can accelerate from 0-60 in 3.7 seconds and hit a top speed of 189mph.

Although the Panamera S and 4S have mad the switch to a boosted V6, the Panamera GTS retains its naturally aspirated V8 for the 2014 model year. Not to be outdone by its lesser siblings, the GTS’ power has increased by 10 ponies to 440 horsepower. As a result, the GTS can hit 60 from a stand still one-tenth of a second quicker than last year’s model (4.2 seconds).

Like the Turbo, the 2014 Panamera GTS is rated at 24mpg on the highway.

The 2014 Porsche Panamera is on sale now with a starting price of $78,100. 

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Following up all-new versions of its Range Rover and Ranger Rover Sport models, Land Rover will introduce a revised Discovery SUV at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Discovery will replace the LR4 nameplate in the United States for the 2014 model year.

Although not a ground-up redesign, the 2014 Discovery arrives with a new front grille, a revised front bumper and new-look headlights complete with LED accents. The new model will also feature a ‘Discovery’ badge on the hood for the first time, replacing the traditional ‘Land Rover’ nameplate.

As with the rest of the Land Rover lineup, a new supercharged 3.0L V6 will replace the Discovery’s 5.0L V8. Rated at 340 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque, the V6 is down slightly on power compared to the outgoing V8, but a new eight-speed automatic should mask that power loss. Land Rover says the Discovery can accelerate from 0-60 in 7.7 seconds, compared to 7.5 seconds for the 2013 LR4. The SUV’s top speed remains unchanged at 121mph.

Official fuel economy ratings are not available at this time, but the Discovery should improve upon the LR4′s 12/17 mpg city/highway ratings.

For buyers less interested in off-road ability, Land Rover will offer the Discovery with a new single-speed transfer case. The single-speed unit is nearly 40 pounds lighter than the two-speed transfer case – which remains as an optional extra – and provides a 42/58 percent front-rear torque split.

New driver aids set to launch in the 2014 Discovery include Wade Sensing, Blind Spot Monitoring, Closing Vehicle Sensing, Reverse Traffic Detection and T-junction Cameras.

The 2014 Land Rover Discovery should land in dealer showrooms by the end of 2013 or early next year. Pricing information will be made available closer to the SUV’s launch.

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Volkswagen has released official specs for its upcoming Golf R hot hatchback. VW’s latest Golf R model will make its world debut at next week’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

Although powered by the same general 2.0L TSI four-cylinder engine as last year’s model, the 2014 Golf R develops 296 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque – improvements of 40 and 37, respectively.

Thanks to the grip of VW’s 4MOTION all-wheel drive system, the Golf R can scoot from 0-62 in just 4.9 seconds. The outgoing Golf R required 5.6 seconds to accomplish the same feat.

Golf R buyers will have the choice of an automatic or manual transmission.

In order to set the Golf R apart from other Golf models, the hatch features bigger air intakes, a revised front bumper, side sills and a quad-exhaust setup. 18-inch wheels comes standard on the Golf R.

The 2014 VW Golf R is scheduled to hit dealer showrooms by the end of 2013. VW will announce pricing closer to the car’s market launch.

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Federal regulators are probing Nissan’s Pathfinder and Infiniti JX35 SUV models from the 2013 model year over a potential fault with the utility vehicles’ transmission lines.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation on Monday into the Pathfinder and JX35 after receiving complaints alleging that the utility vehicles’ transmission cooler line connector failed. The Pathfinder and JX35 are built on the same platform.

Owners told the NHTSA that the failed line connector caused a sudden loss of power from the transmission.

At this time it’s unclear if any accidents or injuries have been caused by the defect.

Nissan spokesman Steve Yaeger told Reuters that the automaker is aware of the investigation and is fully cooperating. Yaeger added that Nissan is currently working on a solution to fix the problem.

No recall has yet been issued, but one could e forthcoming. A potential recall would cover about 110,000 vehicles.<![CDATA[
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Jay Leno has become the first person outside of McLaren to drive the automaker’s all-new P1 supercar. Luckily for us, Leno brought along his Jay Leno’s Garage video crew to document the entire experience.

It’s no secret that Leno is an avid McLaren enthusiast – the late night host owns an original F1 as well as a modern MP4-12C – making him the perfect candidate to be the first to drive the new P1. Leno’s test drive took place on familiar ground – the same test track Top Gear uses for its high-speed runs.

Leno was able to sample the P1 in all drive modes – including Standard and Race – but the most interesting was the car’s EV mode. Capable of transitioning from the gas engine to pure EV mode on the fly, the P1 can travel at speeds in excess of 100mph under battery power alone. The P1 even shifts through the gears when operating as an electric vehicle.

Although we doubt many P1 owners will keep the car in EV mode for long, Leno notes that the P1′s zero emissions mode could prove valuable as more European cities consider stricter emissions rules for city centers.

Overall Leno came away impressed with the P1, particularly with the amount of grip on tap. At the end of the video Leno even goes as far to say that the P1 is twice as good as his MP4-12C. Impressive praise, for sure.

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