has announced a of some 33,000 vehicles due to faulty front seat manual reclining mechanisms. The recall affects certain 2010 , Explorer and Explorer SportTrac models, as well as 2010 Mountaineer and vehicles. Both the Blue Oval and NHTSA are concerned that during an accident the mechanisms could fail and cause the back of the seat to move toward the rear of the vehicle, resulting in a possible injury.
While no injuries have been reported as a result of the defect, NHTSA found that the seats don’t meet federal standards for head restraints and must be replaced. Ford will replace the hardwarefree of charge. For more information, visit the web site.
2011 Volkswagen Phaeton – Click above for high-res image gallery
As impressive of a vehicle as the seminal Phaeton may have been, the uber-luxe German sedan was an unqualified flop of an experiment here in the United States. In some other parts of the world, though, VW’s and (not to mention VW-owned ) competitor is still going strong.
Hence, VW has seen fit to give the Phaeton a mild update for the 2011 model year, and it tellingly used the Beijing Motor Show as the platform to reveal its top-shelf sedan. In case you missed the exterior changes, take a closer look at the front and rear fascias, where you’ll find tighter lines and new LED lighting.
It’s inside the cabin where the Phaeton gets the bulk of its improvements. Included in the refresh is VW’s latest navigation technology, along with a helpful seeing-eye camera that can monitor speed limit and no passing signs and inform lazy drivers of the data. There is also a lane-departure system that keeps the car between the proper lines and Dynamic Light Assist that adjusts the headlights to keep from blinding oncoming traffic.
Powertrain options remain the same as before, with a 450-horsepower 6.0-liter W12 engine taking top billing over a 335-hp 4.2-liter V8 and a 3.6-liter V6 that puts out 280 ponies. Finally, those looking to save a few bucks at the pump can opt for a 3.0-liter diesel V6. Check it out for yourself in the high-res image galleries below.
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Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
MG Zero Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
has its eyes set on the juicy Chinese small hatch segment, and the company’s first crack at the market debuted in the form of Zero Concept at this year’s Beijing Motor Show. At shave over 13 feet long, the pint-sized five-door is designed to offer up more style than space. MG says the vehicle was penned by Anthony Williams, the brand’s British director of design, and offers drivers a unique interior loaded with your standard concept-tech. The Zero boasts a floating center console, complete with touch screen controls, as well as some kind of communication system on the rear of the vehicle. Yeah, we don’t get that part, either.
hasn’t said much about the vehicle’s details, including powerplant options, fuel economy or when we might expect to see a production version crop up. While we aren’t exactly smitten with the car’s nose, the rest of the design would do well in a segment dominated by the drab. Though concrete information is suspiciously absent at the moment, the company says the Zero should be a clear indication of where the brand is headed in the coming years.
Englon TXN – Click above for high-res image gallery
As promised, Geely brought its to this year’s Beijing Motor Show. In the flesh, the intended successor to London’s throne looks more than capable of hauling drunken tourists from place to place. The car appears to have stuck pretty close to the renderings we saw earlier this month, though we have to say the exterior looks quite a bit better under the show lights than it did photoshopped among England’s various landmarks.
The company also displayed its TX4 – a more spacious version also built just for taxi duty. Both cars are motivated by either a 2.4-liter gasoline engine mated to a five-speed automatic gearbox or a 2.5-liter diesel powerplant that can be had with a five-speed manual transmission. So far Geely hasn’t released any power numbers.
We do know that the cars will command a price tag that should fall in the $30,500 range at current exchange rates – not exactly cheap by anyone’s standards. Will British taxi companies will be willing to give up their old rides for these new, Chinese-built examples? Hard telling, but at least they look the part.
The shooting break (yes, it’s ‘break,’ not ‘brake’) design isn’t something new – we’ve seen it before in smaller vehicles like the original . Today, though, takes the shooting break concept one step further with the addition of two rear doors and a healthy dose of next-generation style. It’s the , folks. Think of this as the four-door coupe for the wagon segment.
The exterior design is awash with swoopy shapes that mimic both coupe and hatchback/wagon elements. Full LED headlamps and sharp 20-inch wheels round off the whole outside package, and if we’re honest, we really like it.
Under the hood lies a direct-injected 3.5-liter V6 capable of producing 306 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque (the exact same output as a Cadillac CTS, for what it’s worth). Mercedes-Benz hasn’t released estimates, but the automaker says that the concept car “sets new standards among the competition in terms of fuel consumption.”
Scroll through our gallery below to see live shots of the CLS Shooting Break Concept direct from the floor of the Beijing Motor Show.
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Live photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Chevrolet Volt MPV5 concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
While has failed to find a way to update or replace the retro-styled , we can definitely see this as a forthcoming replacement to the . The is slightly larger than HHR, but fills a similar market niche. While hasn’t announced a firm production commitment, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the MPV5 built in both conventional and ER-EV forms to help jack up GM’s light truck CAFE numbers. The roomy interior will likely find a bigger audience than the smaller Volt while still yielding a 32 mile electric range, and if we had to guess, we’d see the -inspired plug-in EV hit the market by 2013.
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Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
The is getting ever closer to production, and what appears to be a real production prototype has made its first appearance at the “.” The previously seen tacked-on rear fender flares of the previous mules have been discarded in favor of enhanced sheet metal. All of the metal from the side character line is covered in the standard-issue BMW swirly prototype wrap. Based on the new nose, this car has some serious air ingestion requirements as evidenced by the large openings below the bumper.
Within the wheels, the BMW engineers have wasted none of the available space, filling the fronts with as much brake hardware as could be squeezed in with only slightly less going into the back corners.
If the production car sounds like what , driving this 1 M/M1/135is/whatever will be a glorious audio experience. Tip of the hat to Luis!
Ford Start Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
As we were checking out the new at the Beijing Motor Show, we ran into the head of advanced studio in California, Freeman Thomas, and the mini car’s lead exterior designer, Jeff Nield.
According to Nield, he wanted to create a vehicle that retained elements of Ford’s “Kinetic Design” language while at the same time create something more subdued, able to stand apart from the noise surrounding the show. Thus the Start has a cleaner simpler shape that’s slightly more serious than past concepts. Nield mentioned the and how it’s always had a cute, happy demeanor about it. He wanted to create something different – a thing of beauty injected with very natural, organic elements.
Thomas explained that the designers wanted to experiment with a hybrid construction consisting of a mix of aluminum, high strenght steel and composites. This allowed the creation of a very open, airy cockpit, with thin pillars for good visibility, while also providing occupants a feeling of safety with the high belt line.
One of the more interesting interior details is the monorail front seat tracks that have the thrones on a central pedestal, thus increasing foot room for rear passengers. There are no production plans for any of this right now, but some of the ideas could shine a light on where to go next – and that turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder is definitely finding its way to market.
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Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
2012 Ford Police Interceptor – Click above for high-res image gallery
Last month, Ford pulled the cover off of its all-new , the -based cop car that will be hitting the streets of America near the end of 2011. Now, we’ve had the chance to see the new cruiser in the flesh, and might we say, it’ll look pretty menacing when it shows up in your rearview mirror.
The 2012 Police Interceptor will be available with a 3.5-liter V6, in naturally aspirated and twin-turbo EcoBoost variants. The base engine will be available with front- or all-wheel drive, while the top-end models with the turbocharged engine will only use all-wheel drive. Naturally, six-speed automatics are standard across the board, but the shifter is now column-mounted, leaving more room along the center stack for the police-spec equipment.
Inside, Ford has stripped away a good deal of the Taurus interior to make it more livable for both officers and criminals. Up front, the seats have been re-contoured to provide space for the cop’s utility belt, and in back, the doors now open a full 71 degrees, making ingress and egress easier for baddies. What’s more, the space between the two front seats is the exact same spec as the outgoing Crown Vic, meaning police fleets can simply transfer their old equipment into the new cars.
We’re pretty eager to see these new cruisers hit the roads (so long as they aren’t tailing behind us). Furthermore, Ford has plans to create a utility-oriented Police Interceptor (read: Flex-based), so we’ll look for that to debut later this year. Click through the gallery below to see high-res shots of the new Police Interceptor from all angles.
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Photos by Steven J. Ewing / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
We had nearly forgotten about the . It’s not that we don’t love the idea of forcing the 8.4-liter V10 from the mighty into the nose of Chrysler’s muscle car, it’s just that cars built for SEMA typically have a shelf life shorter than an unpeeled banana. So it came as some surprise when our keen-eyed spy shooters happened to spot the roided-out 600-horsepower cruising around public streets.
For whatever reason, the car had been let loose from the company test center, and was spotted doing ridiculously pedestrian things like parking in lots and obeying traffic laws. You know, instead of leading high-speed pursuits from one gas station to the next or making entire warehouses of tires weep for their tortured brethren.
As much as we’d love to stroke your crazed dreams of a production Challenger SRT10, the truth probably has more to do with the fact that some lucky soul managed to sneak the car past the suits at HQ for a quick run around town. Still, with the Viper singing its swan song and a few shelves of V10s lying around and looking forlorn, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine a limited production run of the Challenger SRT10 that would send both the Chevrolet Camaro SS and the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 into fear-induced convulsions. Hey, it doesn’t cost us anything to dream.
If you’re interested in scraping pegs and hightailing out of apexes, you probably don’t have much interest in cruisers. While some love the feet-forward, fist-to-the-wind riding position, others are more interested in outright speed and back-road handling. Of course, the average non-enthusiast thinks that the stars of the canceled-and-brought-back were motorcycling’s answer to NASA and that their bikes were fantastic machines. To put it nicely, they’re wrong.
For the most part, classic cruisers with long forks and hardtail rear ends are neither comfortable nor sporting compared to just about any other class of modern bike. The cynic might generalize that cruisers are for poseurs. So what do we make of the new 2010 Shadow RS, a bike hailed by its maker as a sporting cruiser? Find out after the jump.
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Photos by Rex Roy / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce China Limited Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery
Okay, . We get it. It’s got 670 horsepower. It has all-wheel drive. It’s really fast. It’s made for China. It’s a limited edition model. Did you really need to put all of that information in the name? The exclusive features of the car over the standard model perhaps takes less time to describe: An orange stripe symbolizing the “strength of an erupting volcano” (poorly timed) over flat gray paint and… well, that’s about it. Oh, and a numbered badge with the owner’s name. After all, nothing makes you feel special like a numbered badge.
Introduced by the Italian supercar builder today at the Beijing Motor Show to solidify its commitment to building its brand in China, the LP670-4 SuperVeloce China Limited Edition is should help Lamborghini continue to grow its presence in the country, where it expanded business last year by 11 percent and will be launching its eighth Chinese dealership this week. A cause for celebration, no? Hit the jump for the press release or check out the gallery below to see what a Murcielago LP670-4 SV looks like with a slightly different paint job.
BMW Concept Gran Coupé – Click above for high-res image gallery
Four-door coupes are nothing new these days, what with vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz CLS and proving that these stylish sedans do, in fact, have a place in the automotive world. What’s more, Audi’s swoopy A7 is nearing its final stages of development, and higher-end coupe-sedans like the and have indeed caught our attention in recent months. is now jumping on that train, and the automaker has officially debuted its Concept Gran Coupé at this year’s Beijing Motor Show.
Strip away the rear doors, and the design of the Gran Coupé is awfully close to what we’ll see on the . The sporty, flat design of the concept is really stunning, and BMW points out that the Gran Coupé is actually 100 millimeters (four inches) flatter than both the 5 and 7 Series sedans. Combine that with frameless doors and LED lighting all around and what we have here is a rather stunning design.
BMW is one of the only luxury automakers not currently participating in the four-door coupe niche market, and we won’t be surprised if a production version of the Gran Coupé hits the streets within the next couple of years. Even so, we’re interested to see how this new design language influences the rest of the automaker’s portfolio, even beyond the 6 Series. Hit the jump to read BMW’s official press release and click through the gallery below to see high-res images of the stylish new concept.
Ferrari 599XX laps the Nurburgring – Click above to watch video
We know what the detractors say. We’ve heard all the arguments that claim times are worthless because of the infinitely changing variables that shift from one day to the next. We know that different cars driven by different drivers will produce vastly different results, and that measuring manhood by whipping out your Nürburgring track times isn’t exactly comparing apples to apples. That’s okay. We just don’t care.
Why? Because as long as manufacturers are willing to do battle by flogging their latest wares around Green Hell, we get to enjoy delicious videos like the one . You see, has just broken the seven-minute barrier for production cars by laying down a scorching 6 minute, 58.16 second lap time around one of the world’s most grueling courses in the new 599XX.
Watching the 700 horsepower beast devour the German tarmac is mesmerizing, as is the sound of that melodious V12. If, like us, you were wondering why Ferrari was keeping its mouth shut while manufacturers like Nissan, Chevrolet and Dodge laid claim to previous records, now you know. Go ahead and say goodbye to your productivity, and enjoy the show.
Only one question remains. How long has Ferrari been employing demi-gods like test-driver Raffaele De Simone?
Hyundai Verna- Click above for high-res image gallery
fluidic sculpture design language has now spread to the smallest vehicle in its lineup, and the new sub-compact slated to take the place of the aging was unwrapped on the floor of the Beijing Motor Show. We’ve been seeing spy shots of the next generation Accent for some time and it very clearly follows the same design path as its big brother the .
The little sedan, badged the Verna outside the U.S., has the same rounded coupe-like greenhouse and rising crease up the sides. Inside the Verna/Accent definitely has a more attractive, higher-quality feel than the current model, although calling it up-scale would be slightly disingenuous. We’ll have to wait and see what kind materials the North American model gets before making a decision.
Power is slated to come from either a 1.4- or 1.6-liter inline-four, producing 106 horsepower and 120 hp, respectively, with a standard five-speed manual gearbox or four-speed automatic. Expect the U.S. version to come packing the larger four-pot when it goes on sale early next year. Full details in the press release after the jump.
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Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
The fact that chose Beijing as the official coming out party for its fastest ever front-engined road car is a clear signal of the importance of this market to the crew from Maranello. Whatever the reasons, we’re always happy to finally get our first glimpse of the new 599 GTO, a proper Ferrari if there ever was one.
Only 599 GTOs are scheduled to be built and the entire run is reported to be sold out. However, we’re pretty sure that anyone with the correct financial wherewithal will find a way to park one in their garage. And there’s even bigger news about the 599 GTO’s Nürburgring lap time. Stay tuned…
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Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Hyundai Verna- Click above for high-res image gallery
fluidic sculpture design language has now spread to the smallest vehicle in its lineup, and the new sub-compact slated to take the place of the aging was unwrapped on the floor of the Beijing Motor Show. We’ve been seeing spy shots of the next generation Accent for some time and it very clearly follows the same design path as its big brother the .
The little sedan, badged the Verna outside the U.S., has the same rounded coupe-like greenhouse and rising crease up the sides. Inside the Verna/Accent definitely has a more attractive, higher-quality feel than the current model, although calling it up-scale would be slightly disingenuous. We’ll have to wait and see what kind materials the North American model gets before making a decision.
Power is slated to come from either a 1.4- or 1.6-liter inline-four, producing 106 horsepower and 120 hp, respectively, with a standard five-speed manual gearbox or four-speed automatic. Expect the U.S. version to come packing the larger four-pot when it goes on sale early next year. Full details in the press release after the jump.
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Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
The fact that chose Beijing as the official coming out party for its fastest ever front-engined road car is a clear signal of the importance of this market to the pranc. Whatever the reasons, we’re always happy to finally get our first glimpse of the new 599 GTO, a proper Ferrari if there ever was one.
Only 599 GTOs are scheduled to be built and the entire run is reported to be sold out. However we’re pretty sure that anyone with the correct financial wherewithal will find a way to park one in their garage. And there’s even bigger news about the 599 GTO’s Nuburgring lap time. Stay tuned…
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Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
The concept has been around for a couple of years already, but it seems that helmet maker has finally put its innovative MSX1 into production. What could possibly be so special about a motorcycle helmet that we’re so interested in its availability, you ask? A rearview mirror, that’s what.
Poking through the back of the helmet like a collapsed periscope (see the image above right) is an adjustable tunnel-like mirror arrangement that allows the rider to see what’s going on out back, much in the same way a rearview mirror in a car works. Just like in a car, the mirror is situated front and center, but above the rider’s direct line of sight.
The fine folks at managed to score an early review of a production unit, and the helmet gurus came away impressed, saying:
This is an amazing development in motorcycle helmets and it’s obviously an excellent safety feature. But the helmet is also good enough to stand on its own even if it didn’t have the rear view system, because the MSX1 is beautifully finished with exceptional quality.
Color us very interested indeed. Check out WebBikeworld’s video review .
Lamborghini poweryacht concept by Mauro Lecchi – Click above for high-res image gallery
History – even recent history – holds no shortage of examples of European automakers taking to the water with their own yacht designs. (Don’t get us started on boating themes finding their way into cars.) on the water, and have a few times, and have each launched speedboats of their own, as has … even has provided marinized V12 engines to offshore powerboat racers. But like a Formula One engine supplier (which Lambo’s done as well), the Raging Bull has stopped short of producing their own watercraft.
That’s where Mauro Lecchi comes in. The budding transportational designer has dreamt up his concept for what a Lamborghini express yacht could – and should – look like, and here it is.
In his design, Lecchi has borrowed styling elements from the likes of the Countach, Gallardo and Reventon, adapted to the form of a 50-foot powerboat similar in concept to a Magnum or Pershing. Theoretical construction would employ light-weight carbon-Kevlar instead of the usual fiberglass, and in true maritime style, Lecchi’s identified three potential powertrain options, ranging from twin 700-horsepower Penta diesels to triple 550hp gasoline-burning V12s from – you guessed it – Motori Marini Lamborghini. Check out the renderings in the gallery below.
