In its boundless awesomeness, EVO has been so kind as to create a freeiPhone App for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The slick little program was worked up with some help from , and it will keep you up to date on everything from trackside news to driver bios and team information. Everything gets separated into Audi news and other, but it still manages to be fairly complete. There’s even a section full of handy tips about the track for those of you lucky enough to be able to see the action for yourself.
The best part? The app is absolutely gratis. You can check it out at the .
Emerging from behind a veil of secrecy, we were recently introduced to a new motorcycle manufacturer based out of the über cool home of Oktoberfest. With the promise of galore, this little-known company seems to have an heir of legitimacy behind them thus far. After all, it would seem that the country largely believed responsible for the “birth of the motorcycle” would have more than a single marquee brand in cycles, adding diversity to the current state of dominance in Bavaria.
Das Neue Motorrad – meaning “the new motorcycle” – is the only name identifying the company at this time, embodying a statement while providing a title in one swoop. The road leading to the bike’s official worldwide release has been marked out by breadcrumbs in the form of small bits of information being released in five stages… until finally, on June 15, it will be unleashed on the masses. What little bit we do know is that the project has been years in the making, and was birthed from an unlikely collaboration between riding enthusiasts with a vision for greatness.
The most recent tidbit of news centers on the bike’s proposed powerplant. Addressing the speculation of , the company says its design is based on “a very efficient combustion platform,” even indicating multiple cylinders but leaving the exact number as a mystery for now. Added to this was the promise, “Our engine concept is based on one currently found nowhere in the motorcycle world.” We cannot help but be left with an almost giddy anticipation, coupled with the potential to be thoroughly disappointed if this claim is not substantiated. Stay tuned for updates as the countdown progresses and “the new motorcycle” comes to life.
advertising gurus have a big job ahead of them when it comes to supplementing their longstanding (and intentionally arrogant) “Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan with the company’s new “Joy” campaign. Bimmer fanboys had lived and died by the company’s proclamation of superiority for years, so it’s going to take some coaxing to get BMW loyalists to swallow the new ads. Fortunately, BMW has never been one to skimp on advertising dollars, and the company has pulled a stunt in to make sure the ball gets rolling in the right direction.
BMW has used two buildings for a massive, unique 3D projection display right in the middle of downtown Suntec City. Talk about cool. Two massive hands appear to disassemble the structures and rearrange them for their own diabolical, Joy-soaked plans. You can to see the whole shindig for yourself. Thanks for the tip, John!
Jim Wangers’ 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge – Click above for high-res image gallery
Got a hankering for a new ? Well, we’ve got bad news, then… you can’t get one. But today we can offer up something even better: a new-to-you classic Pontiac GTO, Firebird, Trans Am, or even a Holden Commodore HSV GTS-R. Now we’re talking.
The cars in question come from the personal collection of Jim Wangers, who famously served as Pontiac chief marketing manager during the brand’s halcyon days of muscle cars, sportscars and a favored position right behind Chevrolet in ‘ brand index. As such, we’d expect these 10 machines to be excellent examples of the breed.
Now, on to the actual cars. First up is a , a car that represents the second year of the model’s existence and stands as a tribute to the classically warmed-over Royal Bobcat cars. If wind-in-your-hair motoring is more your style, may we direct you to the behind door number two. Also available are two (a.k.a. ‘orange’) from 1969.
Perhaps you prefer the F-body? Choose from a , a real (super rare, very expensive), a car with less than 100 miles on the odometer, a with the turbocharged V6 engine from the Grand National from 1989 or, finally, a white and blue 30th Anniversary Trans Am convertible.
Still not caught your fancy? Well, there’s one more option: the aforementioned year , which Wangers describes as “the very car that inspired Bob Lutz to seek from Holden (GM’s Australian car maker) a car for U.S. buyers – the ‘04 Pontiac GTO.” Interested? Peep at the gallery below and then c for the rest of the details.
What makes the 2011 GT500 better than its predecessor? A lot more than just 550 horsepower.
If there’s to be a singular automotive theme guiding us into the second decade of the 21st century, it’s downsizing. If not in dimensions, then in displacement. And the newest posterchild comes in an unlikely wrapper: the 2011 Audi Q7.
If a report by Bloomberg is to be believed, Mercury isn’t long for this world.
Alfa Romeo MiTo Kit-One by Magneti Marelli Elaborazione – Click above for high-res image gallery
Upon reading his own obituary, Mark Twain once famously quipped, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” Turns out, with apologies to the famous poet, that the same could be said of the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA. The may or may not be dead, but what we can tell you for certain is the that surfaced a couple of weeks ago were not of the GTA.
What we were actually looking at is a tuning kit by Magneti Marelli. Those who recognize the name may know it as Fiat’s electronics division and a major OEM supplier, which produces everything from ECUs to headlights. It worked with and Microsoft on the development of the Sync and Blue&Me in-car computer systems, and developed the Kinetic Energy Recovery System for . In fact, the company’s scope reaches so far that they claim their parts are in just about every new car on the road today, wherever it’s made. Now the company is launching its own tuning division called Magneti Marelli Elaborazioni. The MiTo spied – as astute commenter “adpb” pointed out – was actually their first product, called the Kit-One.
The modification package is comprised of stiffer springs than lower the car by 30 millimeters, the “Parco Chiuso” dual-exit exhaust system with bypass valve, 305mm Brembo disc brakes, a competition ECU good for an extra 31 horsepower, 18-inch matte black wheels and a rather divisive body kit made by Carrozzeria Castagna Milano (who you might remember for their and various ) of which only 200 sets will be made. Each item can be ordered separately, and the division has also got packages in the works for the Fiat 500 and Grande Punto. And with their new facility going up in Auburn Hills, Michigan, we wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see them modifying , and in the near future. In the meantime you can check out the MiTo with the Kit-One in the gallery below.
When one thinks of advanced technology, the AMC Gremlin rarely (if ever) pops to mind. In fact, these days, unless you happen to be watching re-runs of the first season of True Blood you likely wouldn’t think of the Gremlin under any circumstances. Today’s eBay Motors find is a very special hydrogen-powered Gremlin that we’ve never heard of before.
As the story goes, back in the early 1970s, 64 university teams built cars to compete in the Urban Vehicle Design Challenge, with this machine coming out of the labs at the University of California – Los Angeles. The Gremlin was donated to UCLA by American Motors and Ford provided a 351 Cleveland V8. The UCLA team worked with suppliers such as Hooker, Edelbrock, Union Carbide and none other than to get the supplies needed to convert the V8 to run on hydrogen and get the car competition ready. The Impco-provided hydrogen tanks in the back only gave the Gremlin a 68-mile range, but considering the lack of fuel injection and sophisticated electronics, that’s not bad.
The wanton nostalgics among us aren’t just drawn to the car’s eccentric powertrain, but also to its period-appropriate mustard yellow paint, tire-tread bumpers, vintage Polyglas tires, and a couple of racing buckets that we’d like to mount on swivels and have in the Autoblog Living Room.
Incidentally, the Gremlin ultimately won the competition based on the fact that the steam emanating the from the tailpipe was cleaner than the air going into the carburetor. At this point, there are no bids on the car and it’s not clear if it runs, but we’d stand we-hell back before firing it up for the first time.
The Mondeo is due for a mid-cycle refresh for the 2011 model year and all signs point to a debut at the Paris Motor Show this September. But ahead of its big reveal, spy photographers have caught the new Mondeo out in the open, and while the basic shape hasn’t changed, there’s something far more interesting under the hood.
The major stylistic upgrades are up front, where the Mondeo’s fascia picks up a few cues from the and the , including a larger lower grille and slimmer upper section. The front foglamps have been re-shaped and a strip of LED running lamps tie the design into Ford’s B-segment hatch.
At the back, the tailgate gets a subtle re-shaping above the license plate pocket and it appears the lights have been modified under the camo tape. The most important changes will be in the engine compartment, where the Mondeo will get the new 2.0-liter Ecoboost inline-four and the Powershift dual-clutch transmission. Expect all the details to be revealed shortly ahead of the Paris show this fall.
It looks like may be continuing to raid the global buffet of lesser automakers. According to reports, Malaysian carbuilder has been in talks with ze People’s automaker in an attempt to establish some sort of alliance, thought for now details are sketchy at best. Proton has made it clear that it’s more interested in upping its exports than anything else. Given that fact, it wouldn’t surprise us to see Proton-built machines wearing VW badges in some far-flung corners of the globe.
On the other hand, reports have surfaced that claim that VW has already admitted to looking into sharing platforms and engines with Proton as part of some sort of agreement, and that both companies have already explored badging the current as a new-and-improved Proton Perdana. Either way, we’re told to expect a more solid announcement to come from the two companies by early next month. We’ll keep our ears to the ground until then.
Kelley Blue Book ace and Autoblog pal James Bell and his team brought a slew of vehicles to Santa Monica, California for some analysis on channel five’s morning show. The aim was to showcase 10 great road trip vehicles, but instead, one of the nation’s largest local TV audiences received a lesson in parking law from a particularly dedicated meter maid.
While Bell and KTLA reported Gayle Anderson were live on the air, the Santa Monica parking enforcement began rifling off $50 tickets for each vehicle on display. In the footage, Anderson asserts live on air that the parking spots have been paid for, adding that she has receipts, but that’s apparently not enough to stop Santa Monica’s finest from making with the carbon copies. Bell’s comment? “If we can afford the (), you can afford the ticket.” Unless, of course, that Porsche is a press car. Pretty funny stuff. to watch first-hand video of KBB and KTLA’s amusing $500 parking faux pas.
began developing fuel-cell vehicles way back in 1994. To date, the company has spent $1.23 billion on the propulsion technology. entered into the hydrogen realm even earlier by kicking off development back in 1992. With decades of combined experience, both companies have become front runners in fuel-cell technology. Toyota and became the first automakers to put commercial hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles on the roads back in 2002.
As you are likely aware, Toyota has teamed up with for . Now, a new report suggests that the company may join forces with Daimler () to develop affordable hydrogen-powered vehicles.
According to the Financial Times Deutschland (as reported in Reuters), Toyota and Daimler plan “extensive cooperation in the field of fuel cells for electric cars.” The Financial Times also suggests that the collaborative work could take the form of a joint venture. The newspaper contacted both companies for official confirmation, but Toyota denied knowledge of any such deal and Daimler was not available for comment.
Last year, some of the major players in fuel cell technology agreed to work together to promote the adoption of the hydrogen-powered vehicle. Within that group, we saw names like Daimler, Toyota, , , Honda, and . With so many companies pledging to combine their might on fuel-cell vehicle development, we assumed that some sort of joint venture would emerge. Tim Urquhart, an analyst at IHS Global Insight suggests that a Toyota-Daimler joint venture could benefit both companies. As Urquhart said:
The high development costs associated with trying to bring fuel-cell powertrain technology to production means that it is a highly logical step for Daimler and Toyota to try and share the costs and their extensive knowledge in fuel-cell technology.
At this point, it may just be wishful thinking, but we’d love to see a joint venture between the two companies. It would surely help out the hydrogen vehicle programs of each respective company and a joint venture might even .
excellent SYNC infotainment technology is undoubtedly already one of the best systems on the market. But there’s clearly been one glaring omission that’s been keeping the Microsoft-developed system from attaining its true position as the ultimate automotive killer app that the world has been waiting for: horoscopes.
Good news, all you budding astrologers… Ford has seen fit to add daily horoscopes to all Ford, and vehicles equipped with the cloud-based SYNC app Traffic, Directions & Information (TDI). There’s no cost and all the driver needs are an active owner account on and a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone.
Horoscopes not your thing? No problem! There will also be access to stock quotes, movie listings, airlines, rental cars and hotels. If this kind of thing tickles your wattle fancy, we suggest you check out the video and press release .
According to a report from Bloomberg, which is citing two unnamed sources that are supposedly “familiar with the plan,” is planning to close the doors on its division after 70 years of existence. If true, Mercury will join recently departed brands ranging from Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer.
We can’t say that this news comes as a shocker, as analysts far and wide have been predicting such an event for the last few years, but Ford has repeatedly denied any plans to cancel its interplanetary division when questioned.
For what it’s worth, the Mercury brand has seen its sales fall by nearly three-quarters since the year 2000, now representing less than two percent of Ford’s annual sales. What’s more, Mercury is scheduled to lose two of its four models next year.
2011 Audi Q7 – Click above for high-res image gallery
If there’s to be a singular automotive theme guiding us into this second decade of the 21st century, it’s downsizing. If not in dimensions, then in displacement. Automakers, forced to adhere to higher government-mandated fuel economy standards and lower CO2 emissions, are beginning to collectively reduce engine size while attempting to maintain the thrust consumers demand.
The newest posterchild for this movement comes in an unlikely wrapper: the 2011 Audi Q7. Packing the found in the sports sedan, bids adieu (or is that Auf Wiedersehen?) to the 3.6-liter V6 and 4.2-liter V8 for the 2011 model year and brings with it the eight-speed automatic transmission. We tackled the congested highways and byways in and around Ingolstadt to see if the revised Q7 has the goods to placate both bureaucrats and buyers, while taking a deeper look into Audi’s new powertrain strategy. Click through to the jump to see if we can make sense of it all.
Gallery:
Photos by Damon Lavrinc / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Now here’s a juicy rumor. Word on the web is that may be looking to step back into the auto-design mainstream by revisiting one of his former employers. Don’t expect new models to be wearing any of the guy’s influences though. From what we understand from our Google Translator, Caradisiac believes that Bangle would be the perfect choice for Fiat to give its products an extra level of pizzazz as the company wades even deeper into international waters.
On one level, the move makes sense. After all, Bangle called Fiat home before he moved to BMW in 1991, and the designer cut his teeth and made a name for himself while working on the likes of the Fiat Coupe way back when. But we haven’t heard word one from the designer about making a return to the mainstream auto world.
For now, we’ll simply file this one under rampant rumor and wishful thinking. Fiat isn’t having any trouble cranking out stylish products, and one would think the company has its hands too full dealing with bringing back to life to bring on a big name like Bangle. Doesn’t hurt to ponder “what if?” though, especially since the guy’s dried up in March.
If Albert Einstein were alive today, he’d be very old and quite wealthy. In fact, the world famous scientist still banks about $10 million per year solely from corporations purchasing one-time rights to his likeness. Einstein has been dead since 1955, though, but an institution is still collecting money on his behalf, and there is a rather substantial price to pay to use his likeness. Just ask .
The Detroit News reports that The General is being sued by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem for $75,000 over a fall, 2009 print ad that contained Einstein’s likeness without the school’s blessing. The ad, which appeared in the September issue of People Magazine, features Einstein’s head Photoshopped onto the body of a young, muscular guy with the tagline “Ideas are sexy, too.”
But while the Hebrew University feels it has an open-and-shut case, GM claims that it purchased the rights to Einstein’s image from a reputable firm. GM spokesperson Ryndee Carney told the DetNews that the company guarantees that clients have rights to use the images selected.
A massive auto safety overhaul bill has made its way out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives for voting. According to Automotive News, the biggest changes that the bill proposes is the mandatory addition of and brake override mechanisms to all new cars and trucks. The event-data recorders would track information shortly before and after an accident for a specified period of time in order to help investigators determine the cause of an accident. Legislators and manufacturers alike began to push for the recorders in the wake of multiple accidents associated with Toyota’s unintended acceleration woes.
Originally, the bill would have required the black boxes to record data for a total of 75 seconds, though the House Energy and Commerce changed the legislation to allow the to determine the length. The bill also deals with regulations concerning pushbutton starts, pedal placement and a number of other auto-safety issues. If the bill passes the House of Representatives, it will be sent to the Senate for a final vote before becoming law.
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti by Novitec Rosso – Click above for high-res image gallery
fanatics should be familiar with the work of Novitec Rosso. The Dutch tuning house regularly churns out beefed-up versions of Maranello’s finest. But while recent releases have upgraded the , and , Novitec has now turned its attention to Ferrari’s flagship grand tourer.
The custom 612 Scaglietti has been treated to an ECU upgrade and a host of cosmetic and rolling stock upgrades. The lightly massaged 5.7-liter V12 – good for 530 horsepower and 434 lb-ft in stock trim – has been boosted to nearly 560 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque, dropping the big coupe’s 0-60 mph sprint below the four-second mark and its top end to north of 200 mph.
Coupled with interior enhancements, darkened indicator lights and 20-inch front and 21-inch rear modular wheels, Novitec has imbued the big Scag with a modest, but much needed attitude adjustment until its replacement arrives. Details in the press release after the jump, high-res images in the gallery below.
If you live in a rural area, odds are you’ve had that heart-sinking feeling that comes along with with your car. Be it a squirrel, opossum, snake or skunk, no one likes killing another being while driving, an it’s made a million times worse by smacking someone’s pet. A Chilean driver was recently busting down the local highway when ran out in front of his car. After hearing the thud, the driver apparently realized that the chances of survival were pretty slim and took his ride to a local body shop to survey the damage.
Believe it or not, the technicians found one very scared, slightly roughed-up pup nestled behind the broken front fascia. Workers then set about removing the necessary bodywork to get the dog out and to a vet. So far, there’s no word on how the dog’s doing or if the owner was located, but we’re hoping for the best. to see a remarkable video of the pup getting extricated from the grille of the car.
