2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon – Click above for high-res image gallery
Station wagons are a bit like free dinners. Your parents appreciate them, auto journalists love them and nobody buys them. It’s that last trait that’s led to the near extinction of the family wagon, save for a few luxury rigs, a and a . And why not? Who needs a station wagon when a crossover is just as roomy, not as efficient and generally more expensive?
Given the current state of the wagon in the U.S., we were resigned to the fact that the stubby two-box was on its way to oblivion. But that hasn’t stopped from turning the European Accord into the . And putting our auto-journo biases aside for the moment, we’re damn glad they did.
While racers were busy blasting up Pikes Peak this past weekend, engineers decided to make a more civilized mountain run. Spy photographers have captured the next-generation Speed undergoing testing in the Alps. The convertible is not yet Bentley polished, as it’s lacking camo, but it provides a great glimpse at the upcoming production GTC Speed.
The aggressive lower fascia, hood fents, wheels and exhaust provide a good hint that this Conti is hiding a more powerful derivative of the W12 under its hood. Expect a horsepower rating well above 600, and a torque figure to make one-ton pickups jealous. Click through the gallery below to check out the photos.
Automotive News is reporting that has from selling “” apparel on the grounds of trademark infringement. U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow ruled in favor of Pure Detroit, saying that the automaker’s request failed to show that the manufacturer would suffer any irreparable harm by the apparel company’s actions. The judge also pointed out that Chrysler doesn’t actually have a trademark on the “Imported from Detroit” slogan. After Chrysler aired its ad for the company’s during this year’s Super Bowl, Pure Detroit began churning out T-shirts. The automaker sued Moda Group in March, and Pure Detroit counter sued in April.
The clothing maker’s suit argued that Chrysler doesn’t hold a trademark on the phrase in part because of the fact that the slogan is geographical and somewhat misleading, as Chrysler is actually based in Auburn Hills and the 200 is assembled in Sterling Heights. Apparently Judge Tarnow agrees with Pure Detroit’s assessment.
2012 Ferrari FF – Click above for high-res image gallery
Back in the early 1990s, an impressive 85 percent of all models were dressed in red paint. While we can understand that Ferrari and red go together like peanut butter and jelly (or red white and… green), it’s tough to understand how 85 percent of all customers could buy such a rare horse, yet insist upon such a common color. Apparently, more recent Ferrari owners agree, since the number of Prancing Horses in rosso have dropped to “only” 45 percent for 2010.
Greater differentiation is one reason for the decrease in the color red, but it also helps that Ferrari has become far better at utilizing the rest of the color spectrum. The automaker tells us in the post-jump press release that two-tone liveries have become one of the latest crazes, with the roof painted a different color than the rest of the body. Ferrari has also says it has perfected a three-layer painting technique that utilizes three coats of paint for a deeper and more brilliant color than has been offered in the past.
Perhaps the coolest thing Ferrari is doing with color is customizing its finish to just about any paint the customer desires. For example, if you like the color of the yellow fire hydrant at the end of your street, simply send a sample to the folks in Maranello, and they’ll match it. Not that we’d recommend it…
Ferrari’s efforts to add a bit more color to the most famous lineup of exotic supercars is obviously paying dividends. The automaker claims that special-order finishes have gone up from only one percent 10 years ago to 10 percent today. So go ahead, don’t be yellow. Order your Ferrari in Blu Scozia, Avio Met or Vinaccia.
Want to know more about Ferrari’s Pantone proclivities? .
Parts containing mercury were used for items like anti-lock brakes sensors and hood light switches until 2004. The following year, an umbrella organization called End of Life Vehicle Solutions (ELVS) began retrieving the mercury switches from junked cars, its activities paid for by contributions from automakers.
According to The Detroit News, gave to ELVS until 2009, when it declared bankruptcy. Its obligations were then transferred to Motors Liquidation Company, which didn’t contribute to ELVS, so ELVS didn’t have the funds to retrieve and dispose of the toxin. And even though it was claimed that 54 percent of Cash-for-Clunkers cars were GM models, post-bankruptcy – and according to bankruptcy law, it was right.
But that didn’t stop efforts from states trying to keep junked cars from seeping mercury into their air and land. Twelve states brokered a deal with ‘Old GM’ to have it contribute $2.845 million to a trust to provide for mercury parts removal, which is “in addition to an earlier commitment by the ‘New GM’ to make a similar payment.”
There’s a problem with some 2006 and 2007 model year and vehicles. Today, Toyota announced that it will voluntarily recall 45,500 Highlander Hybrid and 36,700 Lexus RX 400h vehicles that were sold in the States. What’s the problem? Toyota says there is a control board with transistors inside the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) in the Hybrid System Inverter and that, “Certain transistors on the control boards in some of the subject vehicles were inadequately soldered and could be damaged from heat caused by a large current flow during high-load driving.” Whoops.
Toyota says that the worst-case scenario is that the vehicles will either go into a fail-safe mode or the fuse will blow and the vehicle will coast to a stop. In order to fix the problem, Toyota needs to get the required replacement parts and will notify owners by mid-July when and how they can get the vehicles repaired for free. If you’re curious about your own vehicle, you can call Toyota or Lexus directly. Phone numbers and more details are available in the press release after the jump. Information about other Toyota company recalls .
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that employee Daniel Plouffe has brought an age discrimination lawsuit against the automaker. Plouffe has worked with GM for 40 years, but claims that older executives were urged to retire after the company’s 2009 reorganization. Those that refused were forced to accept demotions and cuts in pay.
Plouffe himself had to take a position that entailed the work of three other former GM executives while suffering a 20-25 percent income reduction. The demotion came in spite of progress reports that showed Plouffe was exceeding the company’s expectations, and the plaintiff says that the higher-ups in the company told him that GM wanted to promote younger workers.
GM, meanwhile, denies any wrongdoing. The company refused to discuss details of the lawsuit with The Detroit Free Press, but said it adheres to a thorough anti-discrimination policy. The article also made it clear that Plouffe may face an uphill battle as lots of companies cut older workers with higher pay in order to save money. The decision rarely has anything to do with the actual age of the workers.
Eighteen years ago, a young Lewis Hamilton walked up to Ron Dennis, introduced himself and told the McLaren chief he wanted to drive for him one day. Thirteen years later he was, and the year after that he won the world championship. It was a turning point in F1 teams recruiting young talent, and one that McLaren is keen to continue.
With other teams launching similar programs, the Woking-based outfit has announced the McLaren High Performance Programme. Such a program could by itself refer to just about anything, from the onboard computer in the new MP4-12C to the three-legged race at the company picnic. But here it refers to the team’s young talent program, and along with it McLaren has announced its first new recruit.
Nathan Aston is only 13 years old, but, after winning the Formula Kart Stars Cadet championship, has been signed to a new dream deal with McLaren – not unlike the deal that signed last year with 11-year-old Canadian karting champ . Give it another few years – okay, maybe more than a few – and we could be seeing the two of them dicing it up for the F1 world championship. In the meantime, you can for the full press release on McLaren’s latest hire and the program in which he’ll take part.
Toyota Avensis wagon – Click above for high-res image gallery
Importing to Japan may seem like selling ice to the Eskimos, but that’s precisely what’s in store. In fact, it’s Toyota itself that will be bringing the Avensis back to its home market from its global assembly plant in the UK.
Demand for European cars in Japan has got Toyota cashing in on the game, exporting as many as 750 units of the Avensis back to the home country. Since the Avensis holds a similar position to the JDM Toyota Mark X, which is available only as a sedan, Toyota will only be offering the Avensis wagon back in Japan, packing a 2.0-liter four mated to a CVT.
Japan, of course, will only be the latest market in which the British-built Avensis will be sold, joining a list of 47 countries worldwide to which some 85% of the units built at the Derbyshire plant are exported. Unfortunately, the United States isn’t one of ‘em, so for those who may want a closer look, we’ve put together a fresh high-res image gallery for your viewing pleasure.
EVO lines up the exotics – Click above to watch the video
Americans seem to be uniquely obsessed with drag racing in a straight line as a means of measuring automotive performance, but when British magazine EVO decided to line up the latest set of ultra-fast exotic machinery, not a single piece of was present.
Not that we have any complaints about EVO’s chosen group of supercars. Representing Italy is the Ferrari 458, and from Germany hails the . These two traditional power players are matched up against the best Britain has to offer; namely the and Noble M600.
Now that the players have been established, naturally we all want to know which was the quickest. Not surprisingly, the results were dependent on the distance measured just as much as they were by the vehicles themselves. We won’t spoil the ending for you, but we will say that it was close and that you should never count out the underdog. Check out the action in the video .
2012 BMW 1 M Coupedrifting on a helipad – Click above to watch the video
Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Well, maybe not quite, but the is definitely fast and powerful. And now it’s been spotted atop one particularly tall building.
The building in question, the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles, stands 1,018 feet tall, making it the tallest building in California and the tenth tallest in the United States. For the purposes of the marketing machine, the fact that it is the tallest building in the world topped with a helipad is its most important attribute.
As you’ll see in the video after the break, BMW decided it would be appropriate to film (or at least use darn near perfect computer generated imagery to make it look like it filmed) its 1M Coupe drifting in a fine arc atop the circular helipad. We don’t know why, but we don’t really care. See why in the video .
The latest member of the Kia family is the 2011 Optima Hybrid, and it’s looking to speak to the green-tinged car-shopping contingent.
We have just been brought to the Porsche’s hardcore research and design center to drive special Panamera S test mules equipped with the most recent iteration of an ECU-software development that company knows is going to make people like us fret.
Tanner Foust, Adam Ferrara and Rutledge Wood are back for season two, which premieres July 24 at 10pm EST on the History Channel.
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Local Motors Rally Fighter takes flight – Click above to watch video
We’ve been itching to slide behind the wheel of the Local Motors Rally Fighter since we first got word of the off-road coupe. The $70,000 beast gets its power from a 430-horsepower, -sourced V8 engine, and it boasts enough ground clearance to tackle the Baja 1,000 on its way to the grocery store. We haven’t gotten an invite to come play in the dirt with Local Motors just yet, so we’ll just have to live vicariously through the crew at Translogic. The show recently spent some time in the cockpit of the Rally Fighter, took a quick tour of the Local Motors manufacturing facility and spoke with head honcho Jay Rogers.
Color us jealous.
Rogers took the time to speak about the development process behind the Rally Fighter, including the decision to use tail lamp housings from the , how the design came together and the huge role that crowd sourcing played in the vehicle’s development. to check out the video for yourself.
Le Mans. Grand Prix. Senna. Even Days of Thunder. Legendary racing films all, but our list is preparing to grow by one more epic saga played out on the silver screen.
That project, as we last month, is set to focus on the battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt in the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship, wherein Lauda suffered a devastating fiery crash at the Nürburgring, coming back to challenge Hunt in one of the closest title fights in racing history. The screenplay’s been titled Rush, and now it’s got a director.
Paul Greengrass of Bourne trilogy fame was interested in taking on the project, but the latest reports indicate that Ron Howard will be picking up the bull horn instead. The child actor-turned-director has been responsible for such legendary films as Cocoon, Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon.
While Howard works on that project, Steven Spielberg and his Dreamworks production company are reportedly considering a second film that would focus in on the life of James Hunt, the unabashed embodiment of male bravado who fought Lauda for the title down to the wire.
The 2012 will begin rolling into dealerships next month, and while there’s not much in the way of upgrades to the exterior, interior or powertrain, two new stereo options are included in the boxy package.
The standard xB’s Pioneer head unit is now equipped with HD Radio, allowing stations to broadcast multiple audio feeds over one frequency. If nothing’s playing to suit your tastes, standard Bluetooth audio streaming is included in the package, along with hands-free phone connectivity and USB audio support for iPods, iPhones and other MP3 players.
If you opt for the new 200-watt Pioneer Premium audio system, the standard OEL screen is replaced with a 5.8-inch LCD touchscreen equipped with iTunes tagging and the ability to stream Pandora internet radio directly from your iPhone.
Pricing for the 2012 xB is set at $16,300 for the five-speed manual version and $17,250 for the four-speed automatic (not including the $720 destination fee) – an increase of $300 for the manual model and $300 for the automatic. Full details in the press blast .
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We record Episode #236 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and we’re going to go with our “legacy” format. Don’t worry, we’ll be back with live ‘casts, but for this week, we’re going to take your questions and comments in our Q&A module. Check out our discussion topics below and chime in to help determine what else we discuss this evening. You can subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast if you haven’t already done so to hear your question answered by our esteemed panel of ‘casters.
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Everything has its cost. And in the case of ’s new , that cost appears to be Dakar.
The German automaker has dominated the famous rally raid for the last three years, but if the latest reports come to pass, VW could be preparing to retire the Race Touareg. Volkswagen, it seems, has nothing left to prove out there on the dunes, and with its focus shifted on the World Rally Championship, a return to Dakar doesn’t look to be in the cards.
The news will undoubtably be welcomed by X-Raid, the team operated by Sven Quandt (of the Quandt family that owns ) which has campaigned off-road Bimmers and at Dakar for the past several years, and which has come closest to defeating Volkswagen. The team will reportedly be returning to the South American event next year with four of its , and with Volkswagen out of the way, this team looks poised to finally claim the trophy.
It’s funny; of the three German luxury brands, was the first to offer a sport-utility vehicle – the – and yet it’s the last to create some sort of four-door coupe, the next hot segment that every luxury marque seems to be diving into. is now on its second generation of the , the sexy is now on sale around the globe, and even took notice and created the . Nevertheless, BMW is quickly prepping its own take on the four-door coupe with this, the , which – based on this latest set of spy photos – looks to be nearing completion.
Not surprisingly, the 6 Series Gran Coupe will share its turbocharged six- and eight-cylinder engines with the and lineup, likely launching in 650i guise first with BMW’s 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8. Don’t be surprised if the production car debuts at the this fall.
Women fight for the right to drive in Saudi Arabia – Click above to watch video
In their ongoing quest to secure the , a group of Saudi women are beseeching to stop selling vehicles in countries that prohibit female drivers from taking to the road. According to Change.org, more than 1,000 people an hour are signing a petition that hopes to convince the Japanese automaker to do just that. Saudi Women for Driving has already sent an open letter to the decision makers at Fuji Heavy Industries urging them to stop business in Saudi Arabia until women are allowed behind the wheel.
Why Subaru? While the movement is also urging other automakers to do the same, its leaders decided to focus on Subaru because of the brand’s tendency to market heavily toward women.
Saudi Women for Driving officially got under way when Manal al Sharif posted videos of herself driving in the country as a protest against unjust laws. After her videos were removed by shadowy government agencies, she was arrested for her transgressions and announcements on Twitter lead followers to believe that she had abandoned her efforts. But with campaigns like the one urging Subaru to abandon business in the market underway, the topic doesn’t look to be going away anytime soon. for the full press blast as well as al Sharif’s original video.
BMW Concept 6 – Click above for high-res image gallery
The internets are all abuzz with word that is considering using its new six-cylinder motorcycle engine on models other than the 2012 K1600GT and GTL. As cited by Visor Down, BMW originally showed off the lump on its Concept 6, which is helping to fuel rumors pointing to the arrival of a naked K1600R. Such a model would replace the current K1300R, but there are a few hitches to that giddy up.
For starters, the big 1600 actually produces 13 less horsepower than the outgoing 1300 four-cylinder, so BMW engineers would need to spend some time wringing additional ponies out of the lump before it could be considered a legitimate successor to the K1300R throne. Additionally, the 2012 K1600GT boasts a substantial price increase over the outgoing K1300GT, and chances are that the math would translate down to any K1600R model. That would make the bike less competitive in the market unless BMW managed to find a way to keep the price tag down.
There’s reason to believe the inline six would be better suited to a more relaxed category of motorcycle, which has some recalling the old BMW R1200C. The situation is more than a little murky, but as Visor Down points out, we likely won’t see a new bike boasting the big six-pot until 2013 at the earliest.
