Automatic Transmission

General Motors Co. is recalling nearly 41,000 cars sold in warm-weather states, including California, because of concerns that a defective plastic part might cause a fuel leak, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The federal agency said GM is recalling 2007-09 Pontiac G5 and Chevrolet Cobalt sedans as well as 2007 models of the Saturn Ion sedan, Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent sport-utility vehicles. "Some of these vehicles have a condition in which the plastic supply or return port on the fuel pump module may crack, which could cause a fuel leak," the agency said in a statement posted on its website.

On a quiet street in a commercial section of Irvine, Aria Group builds an over-the-top array of vehicles: concept cars destined for auto shows, custom Porsche replicas, functional movie props. And now, maybe their wildest offering yet: the Warthog. The name will sound familiar to anyone who's played "Halo" on Microsoft's Xbox gaming console. The Warthog is a massive open-topped, all-terrain vehicle -- a mashup of dune buggy and monster truck -- that players navigate through a futuristic, first-person shooter landscape.  Photos: a real-life "Halo" Warthog Built on the chassis of a Hummer H1, this real-life Warthog is almost 8 feet high, more than 8 feet wide and more than 17 feet long.

Honda Motor Co. said Friday that it would recall more than 2 million vehicles in the U.S. and China to update the automatic transmission software in several popular models. The 1.5 million American cars affected include four-cylinder Accords from model years 2005 through 2010. The Accord was by far Honda's bestselling vehicle last month, followed by the Civic. CR-Vs from 2007 through 2010 and Elements from 2005 through 2008 are also affected by the voluntary recall. Shifting between the reverse, neutral and drive positions — a common sequence when trying to dislodge a vehicle trapped in mud or snow –- can damage a bearing in the automatic transmission system, the automaker said.

Land Rover, citing the New York area's market as its largest in the world for its Range Rover Sport SUV, brought an all-new version to the 2013 New York International Auto Show on Tuesday night. Designed as an amalgamation of the compact Evoque crossover and the full-size Range Rover -- the unofficial minivan of Beverly Hills -- the Sport draws design cues from both. The second-generation Sport is 2.5 inches longer and rides on a wheelbase that's 7 inches longer than its five-passenger predecessor.

DETROIT -- Audi used its Monday news conference at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show to reveal to the world its most powerful car. And it has four doors. The company showed off the all-new RS7 four-door coupe. Based on the striking A7, this hyper-fast version grabs its 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V-8 from the S8 sedan. Horsepower jumps to 560, torque is 516 and power flows to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Audi says the RS7 sheds about 55 pounds versus the S7. It will do 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 190 miles per hour.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "To be simple is to be great. " Memo to the minds behind Ford's 2013 Escape: Read more Emerson. At its core, this completely redesigned compact sport-utility vehicle is a great vehicle. It is comfortable, capable and not bad to look at. Yet the $36,025 Escape Titanium four-wheel drive I tested piled on too many layers of unreliable technology. The effect was more instances of teeth-grinding, fist-clenching, guttural wails of undiluted anger than my blood pressure cares to admit.

DETROIT -- Maserati may be the only Italian automaker at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, but the company made up for the void with an all-new sedan heavy on machismo and power. The 2014 Maserati Quattroporte made its North American debut on Monday. Meaning literally "four-doors," this sixth-generation sedan battles the likes of Porsche's Panamera, BMW's M6 Gran Coupe, Audi's S7 and S8 and the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG. The big change for 2014 is the addition of a smaller, V-6 engine option, to which buyers will also be able to add all-wheel drive for the first time.

Cadillac's all-new flagship sedan, the XTS, is apparently a little confused about the difference between intern and interim. You and I both know that someone in an interim role will temporarily yet capably fill a vacant position. Meanwhile, interns sometimes stumble through tasks that might seem straightforward. The 2013 XTS is an interim at the top of Cadillac's sedan lineup. What came out was closer to an intern. General Motors' luxury marque has been without a flagship sedan since 2011, when the DTS and STS sedans reached the end of their life cycles.

If your radio dial has ever tripped across an easy-listening station promising all the best the adult-contemporary genre has to offer, congratulations. You have found the Lexus ES of the airwaves. Designed to please all and aggrieve none, this mid-size sedan from Toyota's luxury division has crooned its way into more than a million households since its debut in 1989. It's done so by playing it cool with reliably conservative comfort, docile performance and a solid value proposition.

What do you call the next coupe version of BMW's venerable 3 Series lineup? Hint: not a 3 Series. On Wednesday, the company released the first concept images of what will be the BMW 4 Series coupe when it comes to market in 2013. Though the car is entirely based on the latest generation 3 Series that we tested in early 2012 , BMW will now put the sportier coupe and convertible versions under the 4 Series banner. Thus you should expect a a base 428i to have the sedan's 2-liter, turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine making something in the neighborhood of 240 horsepower.