The Auto Blog .ru

Chrysler has reportedly brought the hammer down on a group of Ohio Jeep dealers who cooked up their own version of the company’s “Imported from Detroit” slogan for the brand’s 70th anniversary. According to the Toledo Blade, Jeep dealers in the Buckeye State are being told the riff will weaken the impact of Chrysler’s most popular ad slogan in decades.

Chrysler has also made known that it is also not okay with word of a Wrangler with the slogan emblazoned on its doors driving on to the ice at Toledo Walleyes minor league hockey games. The slogan reportedly originated from Monroe Dodge Superstore in Monroe, Michigan (a short drive from Toledo), when owner Ralph Mahalak Jr., had 600 of the shirts printed up as part of a celebration to introduce Chrysler’s 16 new or redesigned 2011 models.

The shirts were selling for $19.41 a piece as a tribute to Jeep’s birth year, and were emblazoned with the “imported from Toledo” slogan and “Jeep 70th Anniversary.” To stave off a trademark battle, Mahalak has apparently agreed to give the shirts away to anyone who test drives a Jeep, and then kill the slogan.

[Source: Toledo Blade via Jalopnik]

Report: Chrysler puts the kybosh on Jeep dealer’s ‘Imported from Toledo’ schtick

The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe is a 451-horsepower lust-creation device that we can’t wait to see in the flesh. We’ll get that chance when the doors open at the 2011 New York Auto Show in April. Until that time comes, we must force ourselves to be content with still photos and video of the coupe in action.

Mercedes has provided us with footage of the car in action. Both clips, unfortunately, have the sound levels all wrong, as the 6.2-liter V8’s glorious exhaust note has been pushed into the background. Regardless, the videos serve to temporarily satiate our desire for more. Click past the jump to watch them both. Thanks to all for the tips.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz via YouTube]

Continue reading Videos: Mercedes-Benz C63 Coupe in motion

Videos: Mercedes-Benz C63 Coupe in motion

The big news from Porsche lately is the go-ahead and pricing attached to the production of the 918 Spyder. But if you read the fine print on the official announcement, you may have noticed the German automaker’s current performance flagship mentioned.

To celebrate the launch of the 918 Spyder, Porsche is offering a special edition of the 911 Turbo S. Called, appropriately enough, the 911 Turbo S “Edition 918 Spyder”, it’s essentially the same as the standard Turbo S, only with some extra decals, special colors and unique trim. The model will be available exclusively to customers ordering the 918 Spyder, can be had in either coupe or convertible, and carries the same sticker price.

So what’s the point? To keep customers who are waiting for delivery of their 918 happy in the meantime. Now that’s one heck of an appetizer if we’ve every seen one. And at $160k+ (on top of the $845k price of the 918) one very pricey option as well.

[Source: Porsche]

Porsche bookmarks new flagship with special 911 Turbo S “Edition 918 Spyder”

The next-generation Chevrolet Colorado pickup will be available for sale in Thailand later this year, and the assembled media at the Bangkok International Motor Show received an early look at what the midsize truck will look like. The unveiled pickup, which General Motors is officially calling a “show truck,” features a 2.8-liter diesel engine and very attractive sheetmetal, along with showy (and probably non-production) touches like 20-inch wheels and a stylized body-colored tonneau cover.

While we covered the Colorado’s unveiling from afar, we weren’t able to see it with our own eyes. That changes now, though, with video of the live event. Hit the jump to watch the wild and crazy unveiling, which includes a pair of trucks scaling the backdrop wall, followed by a light show that reminds us of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The video is a bit choppy at first (and not of the highest quality), but you can skip ahead to the unveiling at the 4:30 mark, followed by a question and answer session with General Motors management at 8:45. Hat tip to Chermarn!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Watch the elaborate unveiling of Chevy’s next-gen Colorado in Bangkok

Video: Watch the elaborate unveiling of Chevy’s next-gen Colorado in Bangkok

Lexus Luxury At A Hyundai Price

My roommate – bless her heart – is about as much of a car enthusiast as the BMW X6 is a coupe. She puts forth an honest effort to hold conversations with me about autos, but 90 percent of the time, it just doesn’t work. You have to understand, in her eyes, a Cadillac Escalade is the pinnacle of luxury, the fastest car in the world has to be a Ferrari and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is fitted with “those squeezy seats.” She’s still amazed by the power of Bluetooth and always gets wide-eyed whenever I plunk a car into Reverse and a rear-view camera comes on.

That in mind, it will come as no surprise to learn that when the 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate arrived at my door, she beckoned from the other room, “Hey, I think your Lexus just showed up.”

It’s like she had already drank the proverbial Kool-Aid. Hyundai wants everyone to believe that its new luxury flagship is capable of doing everything that a Lexus LS does, but at a much lower price. And while there are a few swing-and-miss things to note about the Equus experience, what Hyundai has done here is create a truly bona-fide luxury car capable of standing toe-to-toe with its Japanese competition and coming pretty darn close to the likes of its lofty German rivals.

But will we simply boast that the Equus – Hyundai’s most expensive car to date – is a good value, or does it possess enough content and engineering prowess to truly stand out amongst its highly regarded classmates? Follow the jump to find out.

Continue reading Review: 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate…

Photos copyright (C)2011 Drew Phillips / AOL

Continue reading Review: 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate

Review: 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate

General Motors is ready to bring some muscle to the Chinese market. For the past 44 years, we’ve called it the Camaro. China, however, will get the bad Bowtie two-door wearing a new name. It will be called the Ke Mai Luo (科迈罗), which GM insists is a “sonorous Chinese name.” We tried running Ke Mai Luo through Google Translate but wound up with nothing. Any Chinese-speaking readers feel free to enlighten us in the comments.

The CDM Camaro will get the 3.6-liter V6 engine, which is good for 312-horsepower and can be paired with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. No word yet if the V8 will make its way over as well. The Ke Mai Luo is going to start at approximately 500,000 Chinese Yuan, or a tidy $76,267 U.S. dollars. Check out the official press release after the jump.

Photos copyright (C)2011 Drew Phillips / AOL

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Chevy Camaro will be named Ke Mai Luo in China

Chevy Camaro will be named Ke Mai Luo in China

General Motors recently announced that it was forced to halt production at its Shreveport, Louisiana assembly facility. Now GM is hitting the brakes on production at its Tonawanda plant in Buffalo, New York as well. The reason for the stoppage? The massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan has caused significant delays from parts suppliers.

The two plants affected thus far are responsible for building the engines found under the hoods of GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado pickup trucks. There is no word yet on when either plant will re-open, but USA Today reports that the stop in production has resulted in 59 layoffs at the NY facility.

An analyst for IHS Automotive suggests that GM should have enough of the delayed parts in stock to keep building engines. However, the automaker is choosing to move the parts around to vehicles that are both more popular and more profitable. This means that the Canyon and Colorado sit quietly while the Silverado eats at the big table.

[Source: USA Today Image: General Motors]

Report: Another GM plant halted by parts shortage, workers layed off

Robonaut 2, NASA’s C-3PO lookalike, is the first humanoid robot in space, and it began duty a few days ago as a member of the Expedition 27 crew. The General Motors/NASA joint venture project went to space packed in boxes instead of a space suit, and was unpacked and assembled by flight engineers Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli.

In their transmission to NASA, however, Robonaut appears to have unpacked and assembled itself. For our money, the thought of a humanoid robot operating a space station is a scary enough realization of hundreds of sci-fi fantasies. The idea that Robonaut could unpack and assemble itself is a terrifying 2001: A Space Odyssey sequel waiting to happen.

Click past the jump for a video of Robonaut’s unveiling.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Robonaut creepily unpacked onboard International Space Station

Video: Robonaut creepily unpacked onboard International Space Station

Japan’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami continue to impact the nation’s auto industry, as Automotive News is reporting that Toyota and Honda have again extended factory shutdown timelines. Toyota will apparently idle its 18 domestic plants through March 26, while Honda will keep factory doors closed at least until March 27. With plants shuttered, Toyota will have to make due without its hot-selling RAV4, Prius and Corolla, and Honda won’t be able to import the Fit and CR-V stateside.

When Japan’s largest automakers finally do start plants up again, there is a good chance production will only be temporary. Other Japanese automakers, including Mazda and Mitsubishi, are opening up plants on a temporary basis, but parts shortages ensure that the plants will quickly re-close. Many of the suppliers who feed parts to the automakers are still offline as a result of the natural disaster, so OEMs have no choice but to sit back and wait for the situation to improve.

So when will we start to notice shortages of Japanese autos here in the U.S.? Since autos from Toyota and Honda typically don’t sit on dealer lots for very long, we’re thinking we’ll start to see this problem hit home in only a few more weeks.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Report: More quake-related production delays for Toyota, Honda

Local Motors is all about reaching out to the crowd and sourcing the best ideas as a team. It did just that in a new design contest, in which readers were tasked with developing a vehicle for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) XC₂V Challenge.

That stands for Experimental Crowd-Derived Combat-support Vehicle, and three standout entries were chosen as finalists; Victor Garcia’s Flypmode, Marc Senger’s Kratos and Romain Chareyre’s Sentinel.

To borrow a phrase from philospher hip-hop artist Busta Rhymes, it appears that Flypmode is the greatest. Kratos designer Marc Senger took home 2nd place and $1,500 while Chareyre’s Sentinal earned 3rd place and $1,000. For finishing first, Garcia will receive $7,500 and his design will become an actual DARPA prototype. Check out the Flypmode in the gallery below, and click past the jump to read the full press release.

[Source: Local Motors, DARPA]

Continue reading Local Motors announces Flypmode concept wins DARPA XC2V competition

Local Motors announces Flypmode concept wins DARPA XC2V competition

The Insurance Istitute for Highway Safety has awarded the 2011 Mazda3 its coveted Top Safety Pick award. Both the 3 hatchback and sedan received “good” ratings when put up against the IIHS’s roof crush machine, which applies constant pressure to the roof of the car. To earn a “good” rating, the car’s roof has to withstand pressure equal to four times the car’s weight before being compressed five inches.

The Mazda3 sedan’s roof withstood a force equal to 5.32 times its weight, while the hatchback gave up at 5.09 times its weight. The federal requirement for rollover tests is 1.5 times a car’s weight.

The 2011 Mazda3 sedan also earned a “good” rating in a 31-mile per hour simulated impact with a truck or SUV. Thanks to side curtain air bags and seat bolster air bags, the dummies’ heads were kept safe. Despite the hard hit, there was limited intrusion into the passenger compartment.

The Top Safety Pick award only applies to Mazda3s made after December, 2010 for the 2011 model year. For 2011, Mazda added electronic stability control as standard, a requirement for the award, and strengthened the car’s roof structure.

[Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

Continue reading Mazda3 earns Top Safety Pick award from IIHS

Mazda3 earns Top Safety Pick award from IIHS

Jaguar has issued a recall of 6,085 2010 XF and XK models built between June, 2009 and March, 2010 to repair power steering hoses that could corrode and start to leak. Jag says the hoses it used on the affected cars have a zinc-nickel plating that doesn’t meet their corrosion resistance requirements.

If the pipes corrode to the point of leaking, affected cars could not only lose power steering, but the fluid could ignite. Jaguar will replace the pipes free of charge at the dealership when the recall begins on or about April 11. See the official notice from NHTSA after the break.

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2011 AOL

[Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]

Continue reading 2010 Jaguar XF, XK models recalled over power steering issue

2010 Jaguar XF, XK models recalled over power steering issue

Yamaha has introduced a new product aimed at dampening frame flex in motorcycles and scooters. All two-wheeled machines experience varying levels of deflection under hard riding, and while excess flex can give the impression of an unsettled machine, too little can numb the bike’s handing at the limit. In order to find that Goldilocks sweet spot between the two extremes, Yamaha has introduced the Power Beam. The device soaks up energy from frame flex and converts it into heat energy, which is then dissipated. The company says that the device serves up a more comfortable, stable ride.

While you’d think that that the new tech would debut on the latest and greatest street rocket from Yamaha, the company says at first, the Power Beam will only be available on the company’s T-Max scooter. From what we hear, the T-Max enjoys a fairly substantial tuning following and owners are quick to snap up the latest and greatest piece of kit from the Japanese manufacturer. There is some indication that the Power Beam may make its way to other products in the near future, however.

[Source: Visordown, Asphalt & Rubber]

Yamaha unveils Power Beam damper to control motorcycle frame flex

It would be a challenge to contain the full and complete life of even a moderately interesting man in just 104 cinematic minutes. If a man has lived in more than two cities, held more than three jobs and dated more than four women, the gift of that man’s life probably can’t be wrapped in an hour and four minutes of celluloid. Those paltry numbers don’t even form any kind of template: Franz Kafka didn’t merely spend almost all of his life in Prague, he spent almost all of it living in his parents’ house and working a single job. Good luck fitting his tale into just 6,240 seconds.

So how, then, is one to condense the days of Ayrton Senna da Silva, the Formula One pilot whose talent ignited observers, whose turmoil ignited ratings, and whose love for his country ignited Brazil itself? Director Asif Kapadia attempts it in Senna, and while it could not do everything, what it does reveal about dreaming and stubbornness and tenacity and fallibility and talent and death is something you will certainly wish to see.

Continue reading…

Continue reading Movie Review: Asif Kapadia’s Senna

Movie Review: Asif Kapadia’s Senna

Brabus does bonkers. So when it decided to cook up the latest iteration of its rolling ode to executive connectivity, it went all out – both under the hood and inside the leather-clad cabin – so lets work from the inside out.

The conversion of the rather staid Mercedes-Benz S-Class into the Brabus “iBusiness 2.0″ begins in the boot, with a Mac Mini mounted in a leather-lined tray inside the trunk. The Mac connects up with a 15.2-inch TFT, 16:9 aspect ratio display that mechanically unfolds from the alcantara-coated headliner and can also be used as an auxiliary display for the – not one, but two – iPad 2s mounted in the electronically deployed and adjustable custom tables mounted behind the two front seats. The tables secure both the tablets and a Apple Bluetooth keyboard, and allow the Russian mobster in back to chat with his Swedish princess over Apple’s Facetime video conferencing system.

Naturally, all this tech isn’t any good without solid connectivity, and to that end, Brabus has fitted the S with a WiFi network comprised of UMTS and HDSPA networking to wireless wire everything together. More impressive, the German tuner developed a custom app for the iPads that allows backseat passengers to control every aspect of Mercedes’ COMAND infotainment system. Jeeves will not be pleased…

When it’s time to crank up the tunes, a 64-gig Apple iPod Touch is mounted in the rear center console and sends music to either the standard S-Class sound system or a pair of Sennheiser Noise Gard headphones, which can also be used to plumb in one of a few hundred channels provided by the wireless DVBT television receiver.

And naturally, since this is Brabus, the package wouldn’t be complete without a serious dose of pavement-pummeling power. The Brabus 800 iBusiness 2.0 lives up to its name with 800 horsepower and 1,047 pound-feet of torque pulled from the twin-turbocharged V12, shuttling the S to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 219 mph. If you’re less interested in the power and more enthralled by the tech, Brabus is offering the complete iBusiness 2.0 package for any S-Class – from the lowly S 350 to the aforementioned S 65 – but if you take your life on the road seriously, why opt for anything less? Full details in the press blast after the break.

Continue reading At 219 mph, the Brabus iBusiness 2.0 is the world’s fastest Apple-obsessed office

At 219 mph, the Brabus iBusiness 2.0 is the world’s fastest Apple-obsessed office

Second Spin: 2014 Volkswagen Golf Blue-e-motion

Volkswagen may not be the first into the game, but they want to arrive ready to play hardball. The future awaits.

Officially Official: Porsche releases 918 hybrid details, priced from $845,000

One 500-horsepower, 4.0-liter V8 engine and two electric motors capable of a combined 218 horsepower. 0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds. A top speed of 199. Cost? $845,000 plus destination and handling.

NASCAR star Jeff Gorvette will compete in CARS 2

Exclusive: NASCAR racer Jeff Gordon will make an appearance in CARS 2 as Jeff Gorvette.

Also of interest:

• Would you wait to buy a Japanese car? [w/poll]
• Spy Shots: Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series caught working out in the cold
• Tesla lets us peek in on Model S development
• GM unveils next-gen Chevrolet Colorado ahead of Bangkok debut
• NHTSA issues new child seat guidelines

Browse our archive of Daily U-Turn posts or subscribe to the RSS feed

Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 3.21.11

Take a moment and pretend you’re a wealthy man or woman. (If you’re already wealthy, take a moment to enjoy the warm green glow from your money… otherwise, time to get back to pretending.) Would you rather spend your money on a modern Italian sportscar or a classic American muscle car?

Let’s say you pick one and your wealthy friend picks the other… you’d probably want to take both to the track and see who bought the faster machine, right? That’s just what the two folks in the following video do with a Ferrari 458 Italia and Shelby Cobra.

Not content with a basic Gentleman’s Bet, the duo decide to put serious cash on the line. The winner of the race gets $400,000. The clip, which you can see after the jump, is just a teaser, but the full video is promised soon. Which car is going to make that quarter-mile trip in less time and have its owner walk away $400,000 richer, the Cobra or the Ferrari? Sound off in the comments.

[Source: YouTube via Zer Customs]

Continue reading Video: Shelby Cobra 427 vs Ferrari 458 Italia teased ahead of $400,000 drag fight

Video: Shelby Cobra 427 vs Ferrari 458 Italia teased ahead of $400,000 drag fight

Getting a 918 Spyder out of Porsche’s supercar death-grip is going to take some serious doing. First of all, you have to come up with the $845,000 Porsche is asking for the car in the U.S. and Canada, not including destination charges. Once you’ve gotten over that little hurdle, you’ll need to find a Porsche dealer authorized to sell the 918.

According to Porsche, you can buy a 918 Spyder from any Porsche dealer anywhere in the world, provided they’ve signed a participation agreement with Porsche. Details are few and far between on what that agreement entails. What Porsche is saying, though, is how dealers who sign the agreement will order their cars.

Dealers who want to place an order for a 918 will have to submit an “Allocation Request Form.” Porsche will reply with an “Allocation Response Form,” which tells the dealer whether there’s a car available for them. Once that’s done, the dealer submits an order form, along with a $200,000 down payment. Porsche will respond with a confirmation and an estimated month for production.

The next step is another $200,000 deposit 12 months before the production date. The balance – $445,000 plus shipping, if you’re counting – is due when Porsche says the car is done. Porsche says the car will not be shipped until it has been paid for in full. The reason, apparently, is that it won’t be building any of the hyper-expensive 918s on speculation, and that each car needs to have an owner before it is built.

Despite all that rigamarole, we’ll bet Porsche sells out of these things quickly, even if the production shape is yet to surface. Thanks for the tip, Dan!

[Source: Porsche]

How Porsche dealers will order the 918 Spyder

Due to some apparently shoddy rubber, Continental and Ford are recalling 2008-2009 F-250 and F-350 pickup trucks equipped with certain tires. The issue lies with nearly 400,000 Continental tires that are susceptible to uneven wear and, in certain situations, can experience tread belt separation. If that occurs, the risk of an accident will rise substantially.

This recall affects trucks built from May 6th, 2007 through September 20th, 2008. Approximately 390,657 units are faulty and the specific tires in question are:

• Continental Contitrac LT275/70R18 125/122S (outline white letters, black sidewall)
• Continental Contitrac TR BSW LT275/70R18 125/122S (black sidewall)
• Continental Contitrac TR OWL LT275/70R18 125/122S

Click past the jump to read the full NHTSA bulletin. And yes, we clearly are all reminded that this isn’t the first foray Ford has had with not-so-great tires…

[Source: NHTSA via Consumer Reports]

Continue reading Report: Continental recalling nearly 400,000 tires used on Ford F-Series pickups

Report: Continental recalling nearly 400,000 tires used on Ford F-Series pickups

We record Episode #222 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, so check out our discussion topics below. You can use the forum below to drop us your own feedback and questions, or vote on your fellow readers’ submissions to help determine what else we discuss this evening. You can subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven’t already to hear your question answered.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #222

• Next-generation Chevrolet Colorado unveiled
• Porsche 918 Spyder
• Tata Nano to be offered in the U.S.?
• JD Power Dependability study
• Scott Burgess resigns from The Detroit News

Subscribe to the Autoblog Podacast and hear your questions asked:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #222