We’re in the heart of General Motors’ downtown Detroit headquarters for a press conference tied to the 100th anniversary of , and Chris Perry, the brand’s Vice President of Global Marketing and Strategy, has just confirmed a new . To be based on the company’s new global mid-size , the vehicle will be unveiled November 10 at the Dubai Motor Show.
Chevrolet officials have not yet offered word on where this vehicle will be built or in which markets it will be available, but given that the Colorado has recently been confirmed for the U.S., we wouldn’t be surprised to see a new TrailBlazer once again plying America’s roads.
Earlier this year, we received of a new mid-size General Motors SUV testing near the automaker’s headquarters, meaning development of the Colorado-based TrailBlazer could already be well under way.
More details as they become available.
UPDATE: General Motors has released an official teaser image (above) as well as a press release, available . The automaker confirms that the 2013 TrailBlazer will first go on sale in Thailand beginning in early 2012.
Cadillac’s Art and Science design ethos is easily one of the most ambitious in the industry. But hasn’t kept pace with its competition in a number of areas, including the realm of infotainment. That’s set to change when the XTS arrives next year and Cadillac introduces CUE – the Cadillac User Experience.
The all-new navigation, information and multimedia system is making its world debut at the CTIA Wireless show this week, but we’ve been given a sneak peak ahead of its coming out party in San Diego, CA. From what we’ve seen, Cadillac hasn’t just made a competitive system to battle the likes of BMW’s iDrive, Audi’s MMI and the (aging) COMAND setup from Mercedes-Benz – CUE portends another shift in how we interact with our cars, how we access information on the go and how we can adapt vehicles to suit our individual needs and tastes. But is it the right direction? .
We’re almost ready to record Episode #251 of the Autoblog Podcast. Check out the topics below and you can join us live via , as well. Thanks for listening!
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #251
It seems we may never get enough of . The host always attracts loads of attention no matter what he does, and it doesn’t hurt that he always seems to surround himself with some of the most beautiful machines on the planet.
That doesn’t change for his new DVD, which is titled ‘Powered Up.’ Clarkson and his band of highly skilled photogs shot the DVD at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, and the post-jump trailer gives us a good idea of the automotive stars of this show.
to watch four minutes of Sir Clarkson as he takes on the McLaren MP4-12C, , Jaguar E-Type Convertible and plenty more. Even Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok got in on the fun, if a high-speed spin-out in a is your idea of a good time. ‘Powered Up’ goes on sale on November 7.
took some time last month to put the upcoming ATS through its paces at the Nürburgring as part of the vehicle’s final development, and the company brought along a video crew to share the experience with the desk jockeys of the world.
The video after the jump is the first in a series orbiting around the newest model from Cadillac and its experience in Germany. We have to say that the machine looks plenty spritely busting through the apexes of the Nürburgring. Judging by the soundtrack, we’d say the four-door is rocking a well-exercised V6 under the hood.
That runs contrary to rumors that indicated that the ATS would arrive with a behind the headlights, though there’s nothing saying that a smaller displacement option isn’t still on the table. to check out the video for yourself, and head over to the page for more information on the upcoming clips.
Australian V8 Supercar races are , and here’s another look at what you might be able to expect at the end of six hours of racing.
This time, rookie Garth Tander in a ragged has to hold off veteran Craig Lowndes in a slightly better car if Tander is going to win, and… well, you’ll just have to flip for the last few laps to find out. If you like racing at all, it’ll be worth it.
It’s not out of the question to think that Vauxhall could win a shootout for the best fuel economy. But you’d figure the honors would be taken by something like the Ampera plug-inhybrid or one of its models, not the VXR8 muscle sedan, what with its huge 6.2-liter V8 engine. But it’s precisely the VXR8 that took the prize at the end of the day.
The Fleet World MPG Marathon doesn’t just measure overall fuel economy, but how much of an improvement over its combined city/highway rating they can eke out of a given car. The goal is to demonstrate just how much a driver and his/her driving style can effect the amount of fuel consumed.
By that standard, the VXR8 was a shocker: the vehicle is rated (on the European cycle) at 21 miles per gallon, but with Top Gear online editor Chris Mooney behind the wheel and Vauxhall’s own Andrew Duerden coaching from the front passenger seat, they managed to squeeze out a much more pump-friendly 32.14 mpg – a remarkable 53-percent improvement.
Second place went to a likelier candidate in the Swift DDiS, which managed to get an astounding 86.4 miles per (diesel) gallon on a 67.3 mpg rating for a 28.3 percent improvement over specification. for both press releases.
On this day in 1901, Henry Ford took his home-built race car named “Sweepstakes” and entered a 10-mile race at the Detroit Driving Club against the favored Alexander Winton. Ford ended up winning the race and the victory garnered attention from investors that would help launch the just a couple of years later. Since that first race, Ford has achieved a multitude of successes in a variety of motorsports including wins at the Daytona 500, Indy 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Baja 1000 and more.
As part of their celebration of 110 years of racing, Ford will be bringing together some of their more historic race cars to display at the upcoming show in Las Vegas next month. The lineup is truly impressive, including the Le Mans-winning 1967 GT40 MkIV, Parnelli Jones’ 1970 Mustang Boss 302, Jim Clark’s Lotus that won the 1965 Indy 500, various John Force Funny Cars and the winning race car from this year’s Daytona 500 just to name a few.
Next month, we’ll bring you live coverage of the historic display of Ford Racing cars as well as the rest of the 2011 SEMA extravaganza. Until then, to read more about Ford’s 110-year racing history.
made its bones as an engine manufacturer first and foremost, so its latest problems getting the HondaJet off the ground must be frustrating. According to Bloomberg, recent testing revealed a susceptibility to ice damage, forcing a redesign of the HondaJet’s HF120 engine. This development means engine certification will be pushed back until the second half of next year, and the plane will not launch during 2012, as previously planned.
This is the latest in a series of delays for Honda’s highly touted foray into aviation. The HondaJet was , with hopes to launch in 2010. But by 2009, Honda had bumped that target to late 2011, Bloomberg reports. resulted in the anticipated 2012 launch. Now the best-case scenario would see the plane finally go on sale in 2013. The $4.5 million, 489-mile per hour HondaJet made its first flight last December with .
Bloomberg pegs Honda’s research and development investment in the project at over $1 billion. Honda officials wouldn’t quantify the financial impact of this most recent delay, although Honda Aircraft Co. President Michimasa Fujino did downplay the significance of the slipping schedule, saying, “The business-jet market is a little slow right now, so the impact on sales is minimal, because the market won’t recover until 2013.”
We record Episode #251 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast if you haven’t already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #251
[] Interact LIVE at UStream – 10PM Eastern on Monday, October 11, 2011
[] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
What We Like: Technically, this is the first ad shot by Fiat with Jennifer Lopez. The first airing of the J. Lo/Fiat partnership was last month when the Italian automaker began running a cut-down version of a new Lopez video that features the . That video drew fire from some of the blogosphere. One wag actually said it was the worst car ad he had ever seen. Really? We don’t think so. Fiat is chasing awareness, and fast. What better way than to link up with one of the hottest music, film and TV pop stars. The video and this ad don’t get into the performance or experience of driving a 500C, but this is meant unabashedly to drive pure awareness, curiosity and conversation. Based on online search data and YouTube views, the strategy is working. Since Lopez has a big crossover audience among both Latinos and non-Latinos, she is also a pretty logical medium through which to attract people. Latinos are also arguably more aware of Fiat as a brand than U.S.A. drivers since the brand has long been distributed in South America. Fiat has for years retained the top spot in Brazil’s auto market, which is among the world’s fastest growing.
The ad features Lopez driving the 500C through the Bronx where she was born. It has a bit of the feel, in terms of the way it was shot, of the “Imported From Detroit” ads Chrysler is now running with gritty looking shots of Detroit.
What We Don’t Like: The opening of the video has J. Lo saying, “Here… this is my world…” Lopez was born in the Bronx in 1969. And while we have no doubt that she has a soft spot for the Bronx, she has, according to online reports, been living in a gated house in Long Island and just recently bought an $18-million place in the Hamptons. These neighborhoods – pickup basketball games, break dancers, barbershops and graffiti – may be in the veins of Lopez, in her roots, but they aren’t much a part of her life today. The closing scene of the ad with kids running after her car? What’s up with that? How about pulling over and hanging out? She does get out of the car and hug a few kids in front of what we are led to believe might be the building in which she grew up.
We figure Lopez exerted script approval before shooting the ad, but we might have suggested writing more honest sounding prose – and maybe just a little something about the car – for her to say in the voiceover.
Strategy: Fiat has been out of the U.S. for 25 years, and is unknown to most U.S. car buyers – unless they are from or have spent a lot of time in Italy and Latin America – under the age of 40. The company is about and . The company was , so it is behind in meeting its U.S. sales target. With a high-profile media buy on the NFL, and getting 500s into rental fleets, it is trying to jumpstart its awareness.
The Fiat 500 has a lot of potential. The engine is a little under-powered, the backseat a bit cramped, and the fuel economy under-delivers a bit on expectations for a car this small. But the design of the car inside and out is just plain fun. And the 500C, the cabrio, is a blast to drive with the cloth roman-shade-style top retracted. Fiat did a nice job of preserving the elements of the 500 that make you feel like you are driving a cool little European car, which, of course, you are.
When UK announced that the company planned to build a design study using the body of a and the running gear of , we knew the automaker’s engineers had some serious work cut out for them. Now Nissan is giving the world a glimpse into exactly what it will take to bring the Juke-R to life with a series of . The company isn’t simply cramming a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 into the CUV and calling it a day. Instead, a donor GT-R will lend its full all-wheel-drive system and all of the tech necessary to keep the car planted on the road to the effort.
Nissan has already started by shortening the wheelbase of a standard GT-R to Juke dimensions (see above) to ensure that everything will still work once workers begin swapping floor pans. The whole project looks deliciously maniacal. to check out the video for yourself.
What do John Entwistle, Rutherford B. Hayes, Hugh Jackman and Hennessey Performance Engineering all have in common? Very little, we imagine, outside of celebrating October birthdays.
HPE is turning 20 this month, giving the Texas-based tuner the perfect excuse to build a celebratory . The company blog tells us the 20th Anniversary Edition HPE650 Camaro will be limited to 20 black over black examples, and yes, that “650″ in the model name is an indication of horsepower. The lofty number is achieved by fitting a supercharger, new heads, a new cam, headers, and intake and exhaust upgrades. HPE says their mods are good for 655 horsepower at 6,300 rpm, which is enough to push the Camaro to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds.
Other upgrades include custom wheels, front splitter and side skirts, embroidered headrests, and a coilover suspension system. Of course, floor mats and the obligatory numbered dash plaque are yours as well, so long as you’re willing to pay the $79,500 asking price for a coupe, or $84,500 for a convertible.
It looks as if is closer to giving the C63 AMG Sedan the Black Series treatment, judging by the shots our spy photographers nabbed of the menacing four door frolicking around the Nürburgring.
Word has it that the C63 AMG Black Series Sedan will pack the same 510-horsepower6.2-liter V8 as found in the two-door as well as an identical seven-speed automatic gearbox. It’s worth pointing out that the cog swapper is no standard slusher, however. The seven speed is an AMG SpeedShift MCT capable of changing gears in as little as one tenth of a second. Let’s see your left foot do that.
Expect to see a volley of suspension tricks lifted from the meaner coupe as well as a larger oil cooler and brakes capable of bringing planetary bodies to a screeching halt. So far there’s no word on when we’ll see the vehicle debut, but we’re guessing it won’t be too far down the line. Stay tuned.
If there’s an age limit on playing with Legos, we don’t want to know about it. The plastic blocks are the perfect time waster, and while we’re sad to say that we’ve let our maniac skills waste away over the past two decades or so, we’re still glad to know that there are people out there keeping the magic alive. People like Marshal Matlock. Matlock recently decided to whip up the set in his spare time and was kind enough to shoot a time-lapse video of the endeavor.
The feat required over 1,800 photographs all compressed into 24 frames per second, and the result is a video that soaks up a little over a minute and a half of your day. Watching the van assemble itself and ride off frame is well worth your time, though be warned: you’ll probably want to pick the kit up for yourself after you’re done watching the clip. to check it out.
Automotive News reports that has managed to hold onto the title of world’s best-selling premium automaker through September. The company’s core brand saw its sales increase by 9.3 percent last month, putting BMW ahead of and at the same time. Audi sales in September increased by 17 percent while Mercedes-Benz saw its sales jump by a more modest two percent. BMW says the recent results underscore the fact that the automaker is well on its way to deliver more than 1.6 million vehicles globally this year.
alone enjoyed a sales increase of 20.5 percent last month, thanks in part to the arrival of the new . The model has sold 76,000 units worldwide since going on sale nearly a year ago. Meanwhile, vehicles like the BMW X1, and helped push the automaker’s increase as well. Sales of the X3 shot up by 260.6 percent to 11,345 units last month. Even Rolls-Royce enjoyed a 41-percent sales surge through the first nine months of the year.
In the soap opera saga of or still developing a rotary engine, seems to have indicated the affirmative. According to a translation of a posted on a Japanese car blog, a “new model with a next-generation rotary engine” is in development.
While there’s only so much to be gleaned from a single 140-character message – even in information-dense Japanese – this forthcoming vehicle will incorporate Mazda’s fuel-saving , which is only logical. Being thirsty has long been the Achilles heel of the Wankel, and anything that can help boost mileage and cut emissions should be well-received in a successor to the discontinued .
and have come under fire from the Made in the USA Foundation over certain advertisements. The foundation has filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission for misleading ads, claiming that both automakers have advertised vehicles as made in America that were actually imported from foreign countries.
The filing points out that Ford advertises the as an American car, when the vehicle is actually assembled in the automaker’s facility in Sonora, Mexico. The complaint goes on to say that the advertisement is misleading and gives consumers the wrong impression about the sedan’s origins.
Chrysler fared no better. The Made in the USA Foundation specifically took issue with the company’s new commercials for the . The spots carry the popular “Imported from Detroit” tagline, which the foundation says leads buyers to believe that the sedan is American built. In fact, the 300 is assembled in Ontario, Canada using an engine built in Mexico.
So far, there’s no word on how the FTC will proceed with the complaints, though we can imagine the automakers’ defense. While both vehicles may be assembled elsewhere, the bulk of their engineering took place right here in the States. Plus, both Mexico and Canada are indeed both in North America, just not the United States of America. for the Made in the USA Foundation press release.
Between and , the pair of / rear-wheel-drive coupes are high in the running for the honorary Award For Painfully Slow New Car Rollouts. We won’t take you through the entire lifespan of this pair of Japanese sports cars, but we’ll say this: we’re sick of waiting in Pavlovian anticipation for their unveiling already.
Still, at least this latest set of spy photos gives us a better glimpse at some of the Subie’s finer details, including the full shape of the taillamps and what appear to be LED running lights just above the fog lights. We could probably do without that rear spoiler, though we’ll wait until all of the swirly paper has been removed before making any final design assessments.
Subaru will be bringing a concept version of the BRZ to the before the final production car debuts in Japan. All we can say is, it’s about time.
is busily drumming up buzz ahead of the launch of the next-generation . The company has released a slew of brief videos depicting the sketch work behind the vehicle’s predecessors. Unfortunately, there’s not much to the short clips beyond some pencil lines and a still image robbed from old PR photos, but the videos do a smart enough job underscoring the evolution of BMW design over the decades. BMW is set to pull the sheets off of the next interpretation of the company’s midsized fighter this Friday, October 14 via a live webcast. For more information, feel free to check out the company’s .
Our spy photographers have already given us of what the vehicle will look like when it debuts, but we’re still itching to hear details on future engine options. The rumormill has been kicking full force on the possibility of an ActiveHybrid version of the 3 Series as well as a turbocharged four-cylinder model. to check out the gaggle of videos for yourself.
