There may only be one Aston Martin One-77 left to buy, but not a single journalist has been allowed to actually drive the thing yet. Autocar scribe Steve Cropley gets the closest yet – riding in it with chief engineer Chris Porritt on wheel duty, and Porritt lays out some of the whats and whys of the baddest road-going Aston ever.
Starting off with how the coupe is the ultimate expression of all Aston has learned from its other cars on the VH platform, Porritt discusses the four-foot long chunk of aluminum billet in the center stack, why the engineers chose a single-clutch transmission, and the reason for the line, “It has to do 200 miles per hour. Whatever it does after that is almost immaterial.” There’s eight minutes of One-77 education in the video .
British television watchdog Ofcom has ruled Jeremy Clarkson didn’t violate any broadcasting rules when the Top Gear presenter suggested he would deal with striking public workers by taking the time to “execute them in front of their families.” While Clarkson later went on to apologize for the remarks after labor unions began making noise about potential legal action, Ofcom said that the comments were meant as satire in their context. BBC has notoriously strict impartiality laws. The report went on to say that given Clarkson’s history of controversial comments, viewers are aware of his likelihood to offend.
Ofcom also said the presenter’s comments weren’t a reflection of his actual beliefs. Clarkson has seemingly made a second career out of garnering the ire of various groups. The equal-opportunity offender has managed to rile , , women, , the , and at one time or another. That’s quite the run.
Seventeen days after the Super Bowl and we’re still talking about the commercials. Crazy, we know, but that’s how significant these ads are, and why the $3.5 million price tag for airtime during the game seems almost justified… almost.
Yesterday we reported that YouTube had crowned Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” as the most watched car commercial from the Super Bowl (an M&M’s ad nabbed the #1 most viewed overall spot). But YouTube views don’t mean much to automakers that are trying to sell cars. They want to know if their multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad directly increased interest in the vehicles they’re selling.
To answer that question we have this infographic from car-shopping website . While we wouldn’t blame you for guessing that and Clint Eastwood drummed up the most car-shopper interest, you’d be wrong. According to the numbers crunched by CarWoo!, received the highest lift in consideration after the big game at 61 percent. Chrysler was second with a 26-percent lift and third at 25 percent. Brands with big ads like , and , however, saw no lift in interest after the Super Bowl.
Chevrolet’s performance here can be partially attributed to the volume of ads it ran before, during and after the Super Bowl. It was by far the most prolific auto advertiser. But not all of its ads were winners. While commercials for the , and contributed positive lift, the ad for the did nothing to help raise the bottom line of consumer interest.
Also interesting to note is the back-of-the-pack performance of , which, despite boasting that its ad for the was the , only saw a six-percent lift in interest.
has begun producing the company’s two new Police Interceptor models. According to Ward’s Auto, both the and -based cruisers are rolling off of the line at the automaker’s Chicago Assembly Plant. All told, the sedan variant has accounted for around 60 percent of orders so far. Currently, the law enforcement market is Ford’s to lose: Dearborn has controlled up to 70 percent of police car sales in the U.S. with its now defunct Crown Victoria in the past, but General Motors has made it clear it wants a larger slice of that pie.
GM has given law enforcement agencies an alternative to the two Interceptors from Ford with its Caprice PPV and law enforcement SUV. Even so, Ford remains confident it will stay on top of the police market. The company says that early orders indicate it will remain the segment leader.
With a turbocharged, direct-injection 3.5-liter V6 engine in place of the old 4.6-liter V8 found in the Crown Victoria, Ford also says its new Interceptor models should be capable of returning 20 percent better fuel economy – an attribute that should salve relationships somewhat with fleet orderers who were fond of the anvil-like reliability and simplicity of the old Crown Vic.
Looks like Newt Gingrich is getting into the , “-on-the-” bandwagon.
During a campaign stop at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK, the trailing Republican candidate said, “Let me start from a simple premise that Oklahomans will understand: you cannot put a gun rack in a Volt,” Talking Points Memo reports. It appears that Gingrich is trying out a new attack line, as Raw Story is reporting that he used a similar line at an event in Suwanee, GA. There, he continued, “There is no reason not to believe that we couldn’t stabilize with American production by drowning demand in supply the old-fashioned, free market way. There’s no reason we couldn’t have a stable price around $2 or $2.50 [per gallon].”
As you might imagine, it didn’t take long for a Volt owner to take Mr. Gingrich’s words as a challenge… you can see the predictable YouTube results .
Here’s a new worry for electric car owners: bricking your new, expensive ride.
Using a word , to “brick” an EV means to make your electronic device inoperable. In the case of an EV, it would mean to run the battery state of charge so far down that nothing works anymore, thus requiring an expensive flatbed tow and an even more expensive battery pack – about $40,000 in a .
This is of Michael Degusta, who wrote a detailed post on the matter in which he claims there have been five cases of Roadsters being bricked that he knows about. Since this is the first we’ve heard about it (and we imagine all those Silicon Valley Roadster owners know a thing or two about Internet communication), we’re surprised we didn’t hear about this before the alleged problem claimed five non-working cars. Thus, we figure there’s more to the story, especially since some people are . We’ve emailed Degusta and asked him to provide further proof of and details about these bricked cars, but he has not responded yet.
For its part, Tesla has offered AutoblogGreen a fairly noncommittal statement on the matter:
All automobiles require some level of owner care. For example, combustion vehicles require regular oil changes or the engine will be destroyed. Electric vehicles should be plugged in and charging when not in use for maximum performance. All batteries are subject to damage if the charge is kept at zero for long periods of time. However, Tesla avoids this problem in virtually all instances with numerous counter-measures. Tesla batteries can remain unplugged for weeks (even months), without reaching zero state of charge. Owners of Roadster 2.0 and all subsequent Tesla products can request that their vehicle alert Tesla if SOC falls to a low level. All Tesla vehicles emit various visual and audible warnings if the battery pack falls below 5 percent SOC. Tesla provides extensive maintenance recommendations as part of the customer experience.
It’s also true that all vehicles will require some attention if they sit unused too long, and people know what happens if you leave your laptop unplugged for two weeks. In the owner’s manual for the Roadster 2.0/Roadster Sport, Tesla does say that “Over-discharge can permanently damage the Battery” and that “If storing for more than 15 days, it is strongly recommended that you keep it plugged in” (see the full section on “Leaving the vehicle unplugged” after the jump, or download the manual ), but it doesn’t specify what sort of damage that is, or how expensive it might be to fix it. Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes did tell AutoblogGreen that he is working to demystify the situation and will get back to us with more information.
Behold: the first glimpse of the upcoming facelift. From what we’ve heard, the crossover is expected to wear styling that steps in line with the rest of the line. That means a new front fascia with a revised grille and bumper design. LED headlights are expected to be part of the package as well. Plus, given that the vehicle wears substantial cladding over it’s hind quarters, there’s a good chance the rear hatch area will receive a slight update. Look for new tail lights and a rear valance when the vehicle finally debuts.
Our spy photographers tell us this particular vehicle was spotted testing with the likes of a current-generation and a , so there’s a good chance Kia is attempting to up-class the Sorento interior by using those luxury SUVs as benchmarks. Very interesting.
Perhaps more than most, has proven to be remarkably adept at platform sharing, pulling and pushing at their various architectures to create new models. Take, for example, the marque’s chassis, which in addition to sedan, , and wagon variants, spawned the ‘four-door coupe’ – a model that itself inspired a whole slew of imitators. The rakish CLS will , too – Benz’s offspring are having offspring. Could the same thing be in the cards for the ?
Mercedes has already extended the supercar’s appeal with a , but as Autoblog can exclusively reveal, an alleged German patent filing suggests that the SLS may be in for an unexpected third bodystyle – that of an unconventional four-door. As shown here, Mercedes appears to be considering a set of rear-hinged demi doors to go along with the vertically sweeping main gullwing doors that would give access to a small back seat. In typical patent-ese, the paperwork suggests that the automaker is particularly concerned about minimizing weight gain and preserving structural rigidity, though it appears there is no fixed B-pillar present.
It isn’t immediately clear if these alleged Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt documents are indicative of a production model, a show circuit-only concept, or just a bit of ambitious blue-sky designer thinking. For its part, when shown these documents and asked for comment, Mercedes-Benz officials wouldn’t say anything beyond the standard “We won’t take the liberty of sharing comments for any potential future products.” We specifically asked if they would like to deny the materials, and they declined.
The paperwork shown here doesn’t give away much else, certainly not touching upon whether any modifications would be made to the SLS’ 571-horsepower6.2-liter V8 or its rear-drive power delivery. The drawings accompanying the filing clearly suggest an extended wheelbase to accommodate the extra doors, as well as what looks like a second COMAND multi-function control knob on the console between the seats, but that could just be a bit of artistic license or perhaps some lazy cut/paste work in Photoshop duplicating the front seats.
Presumably, if a four-door SLS AMG were to come to market, it would likely come at a premium price for the extra engineering – the coupe model starts at $192,175 delivered, so we’d wager that the pricing would start with a “2″ at the front, putting it in the hunt with cars like the and perhaps the .
took a Mugen-powered Jazz (better known as the the here in the U.S.), sent it to Italy to be engineered for rallying by JAS of Milan, then flew it to Australia to be prepared for Oz’s 2012 rally series. Honda’s been competing in the series with Civic Type R racers for the last two years, but this year, it decided to press the Fit into service for G2 class spec.
Up front is a 245-horsepower Mugen powerplant with 142 pound-feet of torque. Honda says this “may well be the fastest Jazz in the world,” and it will start challenging the six rounds of this year’s championship in March with driver Eli Evans and co-driver Glen Weston. You can read about it in the press release and watch it kick up dirt in the video .
When a carmaker announces a European-exclusive limited edition, we often feel upset. Sometimes we even get irate. And then there are the instances like this one when we just chuckle and nod.
Not that there’s anything exactly wrong with the Fiat 500 “America.” We’re sure it drives just the same as a regular , since, of course, hasn’t changed anything mechanical. It’s just that we’re not quite sold on the “Old Glory” livery, which doesn’t exactly work for the U.S. market. Think about it: Here the car would likely be perceived as a patriotic statement at odds with the car’s foreign nameplate.
Overseas, well, we’re still not sure why an American-flag bedecked car that looks like it styled in the aisles of Pep Boys might be desirable, especially given the long-running European sentiment towards us ugly Americans … but it’s fashion, and who are we to argue with the Italians about that? That this is a numbered run of just 1,000 cars (500 two-doors and 500 convertibles) does mean that you won’t encounter many others sporting the same side mirror covers, graphics, stickers and color-trimmed alloys or the red seats and contrasting white dashboard inside. Click for the full press release.
According to research by Edmunds.com, the $19,711 average transaction price of the is besting that of its chief rivals, the by $1,500 and the new by $500. The great big cherry on top of that sundae for Hyundai? Elantra sales were up more than 40 percent last year.
The sales success of the Elantra wasn’t much of a surprise even before the car went on sale, the transaction-price story is an eye-opener. We don’t have a breakdown on model mix, but a base Elantra with a six-speed manual is $17,220 and the Limited is $21,320 (both prices include $725 destination). The Elantra’s small-money options, like an iPod connector, match those of the competition, and even its three upmarket packages, two for the GLS and one for the Limited, contain features mostly available on the Corolla or Civic.
Point being, the Elantra doesn’t have a single killer app to explain its position. But all of its touches – one extra gear on the manual, two extra on the automatic, its newness and its design, its competitive gas mileage and its rearview camera that can’t be had on the competition, for instance, appear to be the cause. There’s also the fact that dealers don’t have to put much (if anything) on the hood since the factory to satisfy demand.
Nor is this only a tale of the Elantra; the has narrowed its average transaction price to within $900 of both and . And according to Hyundai CEO John Krafcik, we aren’t anywhere near the end of the company’s aspirations: “We’re in the middle of a very long journey.” Indeed, even new Elantra itself hasn’t reached top speed yet – a new and are on the way to round out the family for 2013.
Word has it is looking to establish a base of operations in downtown Detroit in a move that would strengthen its “Imported from Detroit” image. The company is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a short hike from downtown proper, but reports say the automaker has signed a lease for 20,000 square feet in the Motor City. (There’s no indication that Chrysler is contemplating moving its headquarters and the space on offer wouldn’t be enough to do so anyhow). Despite this, according to a bit of rumormongering in Crain’s Detroit Business, Chrysler will set up camp in downtown’s Dime Building, but not before unleashing an impressive renovation on the structure.
That’s not all there is to the story, however. You see, the Dime Building is owned by none other than Dan Gilbert, the founder of Quicken Loans and majority owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Gilbert was one of a handful of individuals who came together to purchase the $225 million loan against Chrysler World Headquarters back in 2010. Rumors immediately began circulating that Gilbert used his position with the headquarters loan to coerce Chrysler, and more importantly, CEO Sergio Marchionne, into leasing the Dime Building instead of alternative locations within the city. Gilbert, who has been on a real estate binge as of late, is said to be the third largest land owner in Detroit behind General Motors and the city itself.
Quicken Loans has since stated the Dime deal was the result of little more than a strong pitch and Chrysler has also denied any behind-the-scenes influence on the decision.
has let slip a few additional teasers for the company’s concept headed to the Geneva Motor Show in March. As you may recall, the vehicle is an engineering study designed to evaluate what kind of emission reductions can be accomplished in the city car segment without resorting to exotic materials or science-fiction drivetrains. Toyota says the concept emits around 50 percent less CO2 than your run-of-the-mill supermini thanks in part to the fact that it tips the scales at a feathery 1,763 pounds.
The hybrid’s aerodynamic shape and efficient powertrain also contribute to the reduction. While the FT-Bh isn’t headed to production any time soon, there’s a good chance some of the vehicle’s tricks may show up on consumer models in the near future. to check out a short teaser video and the press release, and be sure to stay tuned for our live Geneva Motor Show coverage.
, or rather SRT (we’re still getting used to it being its own brand), has been busy that will be unveiled at the in April, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely done flaunting the performance capabilities of the old model. Only a few short months ago, SRT released a video of the for a production car with a time of 7:12.13, taking the title away from the .
Now the Viper Club of America has released a new video of the race-only tackling the Green Hell, and the result is even more impressive. The V10-powered spec racer lapped the circuit in just 7:03.058, more than nine seconds quicker than its roadgoing brother. It makes us wonder when we’ll start seeing six-minute lap times at the Nürburgring.
You can see a video of the impressive lap , including real-time stats like g-force and downforce included in the footage.
Gran Canaria is a volcanic nexus of disconnected associations, a bit of everything from a bit of everywhere. Geographically and geologically, this third largest of the Canary Islands belongs to Africa. Climatologically, it belongs to the Macaronesia Ecoregion. Its name is said to have come from an ancient Mauritanian king who, according to Pliny the Elder, named it Islas Canarias – Island of the Dogs – because of the numerous canines upon it. Politically, Gran Canaria belongs to Spain, which is why the tallest mountain in Spain is on neighboring island Tenerife. Linguistically, however, the Canarios dialect can be challenging for Spanish speakers to understand.
The island occupies just 600 square miles, but it’s otherwise all over the map. Yet it shares one crucial thing with the 2012 Cabriolet that we flew there to drive: purpose. You have to want to get to Gran Canaria – it doesn’t just happen.
Such is the case with Porsche’s latest top-dollar droptop – neither luck nor accident could have created it; the men responsible wanted this very car. The 991 Cabriolet is the sum of 30 years of 911 convertibles, and for proof of purpose, you need only know that a team of engineers has been devoted to the roof – and just the roof – on this car since 2004. For that effort they would like that their creation, and the car beneath it, earn the same the accolade bestowed on the hardtop for three months now: the best ever.
It is. But there’s more to it than a little extra fabric…
is recalling some of its previous-generation minivans due to potentially faulty gas-filled struts on vehicles equipped with a power rear liftgate. A total of 45,747 vehicles are affected by this recall, all of which are from the 2008 and 2009 model years.
According to the official release from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the faulty struts in these vehicles are prone to early life failures due to a “manufacturing flaw” (that’s as specific as it gets), an issue that can result in the leak of pressurized gas. These struts aid in opening and closing the power liftgate, and if there isn’t enough pressurized gas in the strut, performance can be diminished and can lead to unexpected liftgate closure, potentially causing an injury.
Honda will notify its owners beginning in mid-March, and dealers will replace both gas struts free of charge. For the full details, to read NHTSA’s report.
Some automakers try their damnedest to keep their new products under wraps until they’re good and ready to show it to the world. (And of those, some succeed more than others.) Others, meanwhile, steadily leak out photos and details – through official channels or back ones – to keep us hooked. We’re not quite sure which approach meant to take with its all-new V40, but we do know we’ve seen more of this car that’s yet to be released than we’ve seen of others that have. This, however, is our best look at the new Swedish hatch yet.
Ostensibly, this new V40 could replace the hatchback, sedan and wagon in one fell swoop, but we probably won’t know more until the . These leaked images come courtesy of the Facebook page of Motoryzacyjny – a Polish car mag whose name this blogger, for all his Eastern European shtetl roots, can’t pronounce any better than the rest of you – and it shows us what appears to be a rather shapely sports hatch that aims to give the likes of the and a run for their money.
Of course, since the range has not yet been officially launched, we’ve yet to receive word on whether the V40 will make the transatlantic voyage forged by its Viking ancestors to the New World in which we live, but one can hope. One can certainly hope.
You’ve seen the Grand Sport. You’ve seen the Super Sport. Now meet the Super Grand Sport.
Actually, calls its latest version of the the Vitesse – French for “speed” – but it is essentially a combination of the best traits of the Grand Sport and Super Sport models. The Grand Sport, as you may recall, is the convertible (or targa) version of the Alsatian supercar, while the Super Sport is the more powerful, record-breaking version.
As expected, Molsheim has taken the 1,200-horsepower version of the Veyron’s engine – all eight liters, sixteen cylinders, four turbochargers and (while we’re counting) ten radiators of it – from the Super Sport and combined it with the open-top body-style of the Grand Sport. The result is what Bugatti calls (and we have every reason to believe is indeed) the most powerful production roadster of all time, and with time, it will undoubtedly prove the fastest too.
In the meantime, Bugatti plans to unveil its newest seven-figure model at the rapidly approaching , but you can check it out now in the pair of high-resolution images below and the press release after the jump.
Automotive News is reporting that stories in two other papers, France’s La Tribune and England’s The Financial Times, assert that and PSA Peugeot Citroën are “in advanced talks about an alliance.” Neither maker would comment on the stories, but it has been well documented that both are looking to turn around their European operations. Peugeot’s parent late last year and the immediate this year. Opel lost and with a near-vertical climb ahead based on the prognosis for the European market.
If the talks are concluded in the way reports indicate, Opel/Vauxhall and Peugeot would cooperate on projects from developing engines and transmissions to complete models that each could sell. Peugeot already has partnerships with several other automakers, but none are as involved as this one could potentially be. It’s understood that no shares in either company would change hands, but a partnership this intense would still require the approval of the Peugeot family.
We wonder if Opel/Vauxhall and Peugeot can do together what each can’t seem to achieve alone. Sure, Opel could lower its development costs and with a joint model Peugeot could gain less expensive access to wider markets, but can the two different cultures create cars that would serve their respective brands? Suggestions are that talks are far enough along that an agreement, if achieved, could be announced at the next month.
We may think of as an American brand – and indeed it is – but of all the divisions that have come and gone over the years, Jeep is arguably the best established. So when the doors open in a couple of weeks at the , the iconic off-road brand will have a few new model variants to show potential European customers.
First up is the unique pictured above. Labeled a “production-intent sports concept,” it’s similar to the released in Houston and Washington late last month, but instead of the Darth Vader look, Jeep has taken more of a Storm Trooper approach with the European version, and also fitted it with the 3.0-liter common-rail diesel V6 with Multijet II technology borrowed from corporate cousin .
The murdered-out look is reserved here for the special , also dubbed “production-intent.” With the grille, lighting surrounds, roof rails and 18-inch wheels all blacked out, the smaller of Jeeps has a sinister look.
Finally, Jeep is using the occasion of the Swiss expo for the European launch of the Mountain edition, which mirrors Stateside with a black hood and fuel cap, dark grey wheels and grille and five color choices including the bright green pictured. for full details and scope out the high-res images in the gallery for a closer look.
![22eda 2012 porsche 911 cabriolet lead First Drive: 2012 Porsche 911 Cabriolet [w/video]](http://theautoblog.ru/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/22eda_2012-porsche-911-cabriolet-lead.jpg "First Drive: 2012 Porsche 911 Cabriolet [w/video]")
