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Those looking for a full-size pickup alternative to what is offered by the American Big Three have two choices; the Toyota Tundra and the Nissan Titan. The latter of the two has received subtle updates for the 2013 model year, and its pricing has been announced.

Base MSRP for the 2013 Nissan Titan is $28,820. For that, you'll get the Titan S King Cab Short Wheelbase 4x2 model. Four-wheel drive will bring the price up to $31,670 for the same trim level, while a 4x2 Crew Cab model starts at $31,370. For the off-road crowd, the PRO-4X starts at $37,040, while the SL Crew Cab 4x4 sits atop the lineup and carries a base price of $42,740. All of these prices are *excluding the $995 destination charge.

As for the updates, most prominent is the new tailgate design that features an integrated rear spoiler. Other exterior and interior tweaks are subtle, and include now-standard side step rails, and a newly styled wheel for the S model. For 2013, the PRO-4X gets revised graphics and "Titan" seat embroidery.

All models of the Titan receive Nissans 5.6-liter V8, making 317 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque. Coupled to a five-speed automatic transmission, the full-size pickup is capable of 9,500 pounds when properly equipped.

To read more on the updated Nissan Titan, check out the press release below.

Here it is, folks – the highly anticipated "emergency refresh" of the decidedly disappointing ninth-generation Honda Civic. You know, the model that made the entire automotive media wear a collective frown. And the car that was dropped from the Consumer Reports 'Recommended' list. Critically speaking at least, it's been a bad year, Civic.

The vast majority of updates for the 2013 model are skin-deep, and Honda says the Civic has been "honed to make the segment's best-selling car even better." Up front, there's a new lower front fascia with a prominent chrome accent bar and a black honeycomb grille, along with new headlamps. The whole schnoz features more sculpted, shapely lines that flow up into the more curvaceous hood. At the back, Honda has redesigned the bumper and diffuser, and the chrome accent up front is mimicked at taillamp level. In fact, those rear lights themselves have been redesigned and now carry over onto the trunk lid. A host of new alloy wheels will also be offered.

Honda has not yet divulged any other details regarding the "safety, feature, comfort, chassis and interior styling enhancements" that will round-out this 2013 Civic, but it's clear the changes are an attempt to whittle the Civic's way back into critics' good graces. We definitely hope that some work has been done to the mechanical components you can't see, as our biggest complaint regarding the ninth-generation model was that it lost the great-to-drive dynamic that has historically been one of our favorite things about the Civic. Interior materials and overall fit-and-finish will hopefully receive a healthy once-over, as well.

Either way, it's impressive that Honda has reacted this quickly, pulling ahead a planned mid-cycle redo after the current generation had just one year on the market. It's an unprecedented showing – we can't recall the last time a mainstream car received such substantial year-over-year changes. What makes it even more unusual is that all of the hand-wringing among pundits doesn't seem to have affected sales – through October, Honda has cleared its decks of 276,196 Civics in the US – a 38.8-percent increase over last year.

Scroll down for Honda's brief press release detailing the styling tweaks to the 2013 Civic. The full smattering of details will hit the Interwebs as part of the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show festivities, with the car officially going on sale on November 29, the same day it gets its auto show reveal. Stay tuned.

Anyone who has ever driven some of our nation's more congested areas may argue that sitting in traffic for hours at a time is not natural human behavior, and they may be right. In fact, negotiating traffic may be more of the provence of insects, as a Gizmag report suggests.

Apparently, ants, bees and termites are all able to manage their traffic flow. The example given is ants, where the smaller of two converging groups will always defer to the larger group. According to Ozan Tonguz, a telecommunications researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, this instinctual behavior has potential applications in our traffic infrastructure.

The Virtual Traffic Lights system has been in development since 2009, and it would be able to determine which of two cars (or groups of cars) approaching a traffic light was larger and allow that group to proceed first. Once the larger group had passed, the smaller group would be allowed to go. According to Tonguz's simulations, this program could reduce commute times by 40 to 60 percent, not to mention the reduction in carbon emissions from a shorter commute time. This initiative has received $2 million, and a spin-off company has been created to help make it a reality.

Dresden University of Technology and ETH Zurich have come together on a similar system that would allow existing traffic lights to communicate with vehicles to improve traffic flow.

Sitting at a red light while the lane with the green can be frustrating and waste fuel. Let us hope these smart red light systems can be implemented everywhere soon.

This morning, Lamborghini has announced the newest member of its supercar family, the stunningly sexy Aventador LP700-4 Roadster. With more than 1,300 Aventador coupes sold to date, Lamborghini believes it will find strong demand for the convertible version.

The Roadster's roof is a two-piece affair, made from carbon fiber and weighing in at just over 13 pounds. The roof pieces must be removed by hand, though the process is said to be fairly simple, and there's room to store both in the front luggage compartment. The topless Aventador also employs a powered rear window and a front-mounted wind deflector (which can also be removed and stowed) to allow drivers the freedom to choose how exposed to the elements they'd like to be.

Naturally, Lamborghini has done everything it could to keep performance unchanged from that of the fixed-roof sibling. Like the coupe, the Aventador Roadster makes use of a 6.5-liter, 700-horsepower V12 modulated by a seven-speed single-clutch paddleshift gearbox. 0-62 miles per hour comes up in 3.0 seconds, while top speed is a massive 217 mph (350 kilometers per hour).

In its press release about the car (below) Lamborghini tells us that the Aventador Roadster will be offered for sale at 300,000 euro plus tax ($381,000 at current exchange rates – expect official US pricing to be revealed soon, though), and will be available for order worldwide. Phone-number-sized bank account holders should get their checkbooks ready.

When the first Volkswagen Golf launched back in 1974, the world was still six years away from meeting Depeche Mode, but both are now pillars of their respective industries. The British band has just released its 13th album, Volkswagen is set to introduce the Golf MkVII, and the two have teamed up for one of the hatchback's new TV spots.

Showing the diversity of the Golf, the commercial features several different cover versions of Depeche Mode's 1984 hit, "People Are People." The spot ends with the original version of the song in the background and Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan behind the wheel. You can check it out below.

Believe it or not, the full-size pickup trucks that dominate the North American market don't find much favor in other corners of the globe. Elsewhere, powerful mid-sized trucks rule the work site, and the judges behind the 2013 International Pick-Up Award are cognizant of that. They awarded the 2013 Ford Ranger the honor with a unanimous vote. The truck earned praise for its on-road manners and off-road prowess, as well as its towing and payload capacities.

Judges evaluated entries at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, and the Ranger managed to take home more points than the next two finishers combined. The Isuzu D-Max took the silver, leaving bronze to the Volkswagen Amarok. So far this year, Ford has won three international awards, including Van of the Year for its Transit Custom and Engine of the Year for the 1.0-liter Ecoboost. Check the full press release below for more information.

In an attempt to make it easier for active and reserve members of all US military branches to get a commercial driver's license (CDL), the Military Commercial Driver's License Act of 2012 was passed by Congress in September and signed by the president last month.

The old process made servicemen wait a year to gain residency where they're stationed before they could apply for a CDL. Now, rather than having to go back to their home states to complete the process, the new law lets them get a CDL faster and easier wherever they happen to be stationed. This is in addition to the Military CDL Skills Test Waiver, which substitutes two years of safe operation of "military equivalents of commercial vehicles" for the CDL skills test.

Qoros, the Chinese carmaker that's a joint venture between Chery Automotive and Israel Corporation, has released a couple of teaser images of the small sedan it has planned for next year's Geneva Motor Show. Qoros, a play on the word "chorus," is already almost six years old, and unlike other start-ups we've watched over the years, appears to have spent that time working on a properly vetted automobile with the help of industry-standard suppliers.

Although the image above hints at three different vehicles, it's the C-segment sedan up front that will come first. The "elegantly proportioned" C11, a four-door planned for sale "to discerning young buyers in China and Europe" next year, was caught in camouflage this summer while testing in Europe. Designed by Gert Volker Hildebrand, who led the design for the return of Mini, it is said to have interior space above its class, "a strong focus on state-of-the-art technology," and "will be engineered to receive maximum ratings on Euro NCAP safety tests."

A 150,000-unit factory is currently being built, and once the C11 is launched Qoros envisions that the modular architecture supporting it will allow a new model to be introduced "almost every half year." That would explain the crossover-looking vehicles behind the sedan, and the hybrid and electric variants to be included among the range. There's a press release below with more information.

With the price premium of electric vehicles still high, Opel is reportedly holding off on development of the Adam EV to avoid giving customers sticker shock. According to Automotive News Europe, Opel was working on an electric version of the Adam minicar that was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, but the price the automaker would have had to charge for the final product was apparently too high to reasonably ask for from customers.

The article says that Opel had already made an Adam EV test mule using components from the electric Chevrolet Spark that goes into production next year. Even using shared technology, however, the anticipated pricing made it a bad business case. Opel's head of sales and marketing, Alfred Rieck laid out the chicken-and-egg scenario, saying that some customers are not willing to pay the higher prices for EVs right now, but that the only thing that will drive the prices down is increased sales.

With this in mind, it will be interesting to see where the Spark EV is priced and how well it does with customers.

Today is Veteran's Day, and General Motors is marking this year's holiday with an expansion of its Military Discount Program. Formerly available to active duty and retired service members, reservists and spouses, but as of now any veteran can take advantage of the program up to a year after his or her discharge. The military discount can be applied to most Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles on top of other incentives. The press release below has all the details.

Despite the replacement of the entire human cast (including Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel), we think the ladies might still find some eye candy in the upcoming installment of the Michael Bay Transformers franchise. According to the director's website, Mark Wahlberg will join the cinematic battle between the Autobots and Decepticons. Does this mean Marky Mark will drive everyone's favorite movie Camaro, Bumblebee, now?

Bay and Wahlberg first worked together for an upcoming movie called Pain & Gain (also starting Dwayne Johnson, Ed Harris and Ken Jeong), and Bay announced this week that Wahlberg will join the cast of Transformers 4. Filming begins next spring, with an expected release date of June 29, 2014.

Not much else is known about T4, but Bay's website gives us our first look at the movie's logo (above), which shows half the Decepticon insignia.

A Mercedes-Benz product isn't officially launched until the release of rolling footage set to driving choral strains akin to O Fortuna. We can hereby report that the launch of the SLS AMG Black Series is done and dusted, the minute-long video below providing a soundtrack for the 622-horsepower coupe's recent announcement.

The SLS AMG Black Series will sit still for our own cameras during its world premiere at the 2012 LA Auto Show at the end of the month. Until then, you can get your fix of the lighter, stiffer, angrier, faster, 196-mph gullwing in moving pictures below.

So just how do the automobile magazines select their Car of the Year awards? Pointing at the cars blindfolded? Divining rod? Tossing lawn darts? No, it's a little more complicated than that.
To shed light on how Motor Trend selects its COTY, Jessi Lang gives us a glimpse into the process, describing it as "carefully organized madness."

It begins with the Motor Trend staff hammering it out over minutiae, like a windshield wiper. Next, they get down to the fun part; wringing the candidates out on the track, followed by open-road testing. Motor Trend created six criteria upon which judges are able to compare cars that span different vehicle segments, price points, and purposes.

These include value, safety, efficiency, advancement in design, engineering excellence and performance of intended function. There are eleven judges, including our friend Jonny Lieberman, who doesn't disappoint with his commentary, calling the Chevrolet Malibu "less of a car, and more of a collection of everything I don't like." Oh, Jonny.

There was much deliberating, and passionate debate, the result of which was the selection of a single car that rose above all others. And the winner is....? Well, they kind of leave you hanging, but the video is worth watching to see how the champion is crowned. The winner will be announced this Monday, November 12 and stand alongside the magazine's already announced 2013 SUV of the Year, the Mercedes-Benz GL. What car do you think will claim the golden calipers? Have your say in Comments.

For 50 years, residents of Coral Gables, Florida weren't permitted to park pickup trucks in their driveways due to a local ordinance aimed at preserving the community's classy aesthetic. As you may recall, police began enforcing the rule last year by handing out citations with a $100 fine to anyone caught parking trucks on their property overnight. The fines could climb as high as $500. Former resident Lowell Kuvin waged an eight-year legal battle with the city to get the law repealed, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that the municipality had the authority to control its aesthetics.

But the citizens of Coral Cables put the ordinance on this year's ballot and voted to repeal the law. While residents seemed divided on the issue, most agreed the ban now served more as a class issue than anything else. Large SUVs, for instance, were entirely acceptable under the old ban.