The Up! supermini goes on sale in Europe in a few days, but has already been hard at work casting about for ideas to expand beyond . , and VW showed . For Geneva next week, the cute little city car gets four new outfits: Swiss Up!, Winter Up!, X Up!, and Cargo Up!
The Swiss Up! is the red one, notable only in that the seat backs contain leather bands suitable for storing Swiss Army knives (seriously?). If you can’t figure out which one is the Winter Up!, perhaps you need to move further away from the equator. It’s based on the Cross Up! concept from Frankfurt, boasting the same higher ride height and underbody protection. Also based on the Cross Up! is the X Up! – that’s the orange one with the lights on it. Perhaps the most intriguing is the Cargo Up!, which gave up its rear seats in favor of a 49 cubic-foot cargo hold capable of caring a 939-pound payload.
With three of four of these design studies having lifted bodies, it’s pretty safe to say that VW is likely to launch the Cross Up! as the next model in the family after the sportster. We’re big fans of this tiny VW, so from where we sit, this is good news – the more models, the merrier. Though we do wish VW would consider offering an Up! on our side of the pond. Click to read the full press release.
Following in , California could be the next state to adopt legislation that would allow autonomous cars to test on its roads.
California Sen. Alex Padilla was chauffeured to the capital in one of yesterday to announce the legislation, with Padilla citing the state’s tech-centric, pioneering roots and the chance to be a leader in the field of autonomous vehicles.
Similar to the legislation that recently passed in Nevada that set requirements for autonomous vehicle testing, the Golden State’s version of the law – SB 1298 – is a series of safety and performance standards that would be enforced by the California Highway Patrol to ensure testing goes smoothly.
With ’s Electronics Research Lab, ’s tech center and several other automaker inhabiting the Bay Area – not to mention Google’s pioneering efforts in the field – California is uniquely positioned to take autonomous vehicles to the next level. That is, assuming, it gets past the legislature and the governor’s desk.
A means we already know what the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé looks like, and we already know the base-model . The top slot, however, will be taken by the M6 Gran Coupé and it is in barren polar areas still preparing for primetime.
’s challenger to rob from the piggy bank of the gets the expected M treatment with muscled-up additions front and back and quad exhaust pipes. It will stand over the middle-tier 650i and its 4.4-liter V8 good for 445 hp and 480 lb-ft. The M6 Gran Coupé will use the same turbocharged V8 as the and , doling out a minimum of 560 horsepower with rumors suggesting perhaps 580 hp.
Check it out in the gallery, and that almost-complete segment should get ready to rumble once this arrives.
has managed to keep its i-oniq concept coupe under wraps since it , but the internet couldn’t wait for the concept’s debut.
The crew from the Korean Car Blog snagged this first official image of the i-oniq, the next interpretation of Hyundai’s “fluidic sculpture” design language. And it’s certainly a looker, in a oddly French kinda way.
Coming in around 173 inches, the i-oniq is a little shorter than coupe, and is reportedly a serial hybrid, with a small displacement gasoline engine powering up a battery pack, with a pair of motors driving the rear wheels.
Unfortunately, those are all the details we have for now, but we suspect a full reveal before its debut next week.
The wait is over. After the initial launch in limited markets at the end of 2010 and a methodical rollout in 2011, the will finally be available to order all around the U.S. starting pretty much immediately. Nissan recently sent out an email that reads, in part:
Your time has arrived. Orders for the 2012 Nissan Leaf will begin in March, making the Nissan Leaf available nationwide. we are officially a 100% electric nation. look out for an e-mail around 3/1/12 detailing when you can order your Nissan Leaf.
We know AutoblogGreen readers from Kentucky and Michigan have gotten official emails from Nissan, and expect lots of others have as well. The last time we spoke to Nissan representatives , we were told around 2,000 people have been waiting to order their car since they don’t live in a place where the EV is available yet.
There is a caveat, of course. Nissan points out that “Limited quantities will be available in launch markets through the Nissan Leaf online reservation system.” But still, this is another step forward for the electrification of the automobile in America.
When we last checked in with the there’s been on the coming, third-generation , rumors said the TT would move upmarket to make MSRP space below for a mid-engined Audi R4. With the R4’s future in question, who knows how the TT will play it, but other scuttlebutt says that the TT will , will combine first- and second-generation designs and be lighter and .
The snappers at CarPix have encountered a TT mule testing in the snowy north and unfortunately, it doesn’t give much more away. The wheelbase has grown – notice the hood shutline is uneven with the front arch, and the arches are said to look wider. The exhaust was described as “more mature,” but that could be down to numerous mule-related reasons.
There were hints that we’d see it at last year’s , but obviously that didn’t happen. Based on the car in these spy shots, it could be a while yet.
Who says you can’t have the best of both worlds? Certainly not , which has just dropped the top on its new Golf GTI Cabriolet in advance of its debut at the rapidly approaching .
(alongside an even sportier concept) at the Wörthersee gathering last June, the Golf GTI Cabriolet – as you might have guessed – combines the best attributes of the and . (Which, when you think about it, is not unlike the approach taken by big brother with its , only much smaller and just slightly more affordable.) It includes the GTI’s 2.0-liter turbo four and six-speed gearbox (manual or DSG), electronic limited-slip differential, 17-inch alloys and all the visual cues that go with ‘em, but with the power folding fabric roof from the cabrio.
Since the current Golf Cabriolet isn’t available on this side of the Atlantic, we wouldn’t go holding our breath on the GTI version’s availability here, either, but you can check it out in the high-res image gallery and the press release after the jump while we gear up to go check it out in Geneva.
drops top on production Golf GTI Cabriolet ahead of Geneva debut
Two years after Consumer Reports smacked by in the wake of safety concerns, the venerable consumer products testing magazine has slipped back into its comfortable role of being one of Toyota’s biggest fans. In announcing its annual Top Picks list, CR lauded five Toyota models as best-in-class, meaning the once beleaguered brand captured fully half of the category awards.
The five triumphant Toyota models included the Hybrid (hybrid), (small SUV), V6 (family hauler), (green car), and (Family SUV). It is the first time since 2003 that a single automaker has scored five class awards. , the last automaker to do so, did not land a single vehicle on the list for the second time in three years.
Other vehicles landing a spot on the list include the (sporty car), (affordable family sedan), (sports sedan), (small car), and (pickup truck).
CR says it evaluates vehicles for their road test performance, as well as reliability and safety, requiring that winners rank at least near the top of their category on the organization’s overall road test scores while having average or better reliability on reader surveys and performing “well” on crash tests.
Back in April, launched the ensuring every new Hyundai’s resale value two to four years down the road. Unfortunately for most folks still shopping for a Hyundai, that program has now ended. Keyword being “most” since Hyundai will no longer ensure the value of their mainline cars, but well-heeled buyers of the and models can still sleep well knowing their high-end Hyundai will depreciate at a rate comparable to their neighbor’s .
“It was a marketing program and we wanted to bring a spotlight on the strength of our residual values, and it did its job,” John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai Motor America tells Automotive News.
Residual value consulting agency says the data seems to back that up. Residual value of the Equus is third best in the premium-lux market behind the and the and the Genesis sedan is second only to the among full-sized cars.
About 100 children and over 200 adults die every year because drivers accidentally back over them. It’s a sad statistic that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration feels can be prevented if all new vehicles with backup cameras.
TheNew York Times reports that NHTSA plans to announce this week that rearview cameras will be mandatory on all vehicles by 2014. The compulsory cameras and interface for viewing what the camera sees is estimated to set new car buyers back an additional $160 to $200, but the government feels the cost is worth it if it prevents some of the 17,000 Americans that are harmed in backup accidents every year.
Clarence Ditlow, director for the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety, tells The New York Times that while the government acknowledges that in terms of pure numbers, the cost of the program is high and the amount of lives saved is small compared to some other safety implementations. But those numbers look a lot more doable when considering how devastating roll-over deaths are to families. “When you have a parent that kills a child in an incident that’s utterly avoidable, they don’t ever forget it.”
What do you think, should rearview cameras become legally required? Have your say in Comments.
UPDATE:Ward’s Auto submitting its recommendation to Congress, likely to hold more discussions to hear and address concerns from the auto industry.
The next , said to be arriving in 2015, will reportedly use more CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) in its build. In two interviews R&D head Dr. Klaus Draeger said the big sedan will introduce the expanded use of CFRP components into the mainstream BMW line.
Draeger made sure to say that he , making structural items like the engine cradle and crash structures in high-strength steel and using aluminum for pieces like the doors, front fenders and roof. It is thought that carbon fiber will supplant some aluminum parts like the hood, roof and trunk.
With a model like the in its lineup, may not be so mini anymore. At least not in an absolute sense. But since has remade the brand in its own image, Minis have become mini BMWs. That’s certainly the case with John Cooper Works – the brand’s the performance label – which Mini’s CEO, Dr. Kay Segler, to expand to follow the lead set by the BMW M division which he used to run. So if BMW can make and performance crossovers, so can Mini. And here you have it.
We the JCW-spec Countryman while it was still in development back in December, but now Mini has dropped the full details on the production model slated for unveiling at next week’s . But lest you think the John Cooper Works Countryman is the dilution of a performance brand in its application to a crossover, of all things, consider that what you see here is both the first JCW model with all-wheel drive and the most powerful to date.
The 1.6-liter turbo four churns out 211 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque (221 on overboost) through a six-speed gearbox (automatic or manual) and the All4 all-wheel drive system to propel this juiced-up Countryman to 62 in 7.1 seconds. Those intentions are announced to the world through equipment like 18-inch alloys, aero kit, sports exhaust and optional Chili Red roof, mirrors, stripes and seat trim.
Like what you see? There’s plenty more details to examine in the press release and the high-res images in the gallery.
With the introduction of the new 991-series , a multitude of tuners have been hard at work over the last several months tweaking and customizing the latest iteration of Stuttgart’s legendary rear-engined sports car. One of those tuners, TechArt, first back in September, but they are now are ready to officially debut the car at the next week.
TechArt has never been one to shy away from changing up the appearance of the Porsche 911 (the is evidence of that), and the same goes for the newest model. The German tuner has given the car a new look with a more aggressive front fascia and integrated splitter, a fixed rear spoiler and lightweight 20 and 21-inch wheel options. An upgraded exhaust system is also available, as well as custom interior pieces like a three-spoke steering wheel and carbon fiber trim.
We’ll have a closer look at the Techart Porsche 911 when we hit the show floor next week, and we’ll be sure to bring you plenty of photos. Until then, check out the gallery above or for the official press release from TechArt.
A Genuinely Good Idea That’s Compromised By Design
is a company driven by design. I can’t tell you how often I heard that line from the company’s namesake, its PR people and engineers during my brief trip to Los Angeles to drive the production version of the . And it’s something that bears repeating.
So is “production version,” because was – at best – a prototype.
Fisker’s people are willing to admit that the initial launch event was an effort to assuage fears – from customers, investors and the Department of Energy – that the Karma isn’t vaporware. They wanted to get butts in seats to prove they’d built a functional vehicle. And our man Matt Davis’ initial impressions bore out the Karma’s pre-production status.
The racket from the General Motors-sourced turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder incessantly droned through the cabin when even mildly pushed, and the interior materials, while plush, came across as a mishmash of textures and fitment, neither of which would be acceptable in a luxury sedan costing upwards of $100,000 that was meant to replace the and parked in the garages of eco-concious one-percenters.
I’m here to report a cliché: What a difference a year makes.
North America is recalling 2011 and 2012 , and models over a fuel pressure sensor issue. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it’s possible that the sensors weren’t tightened properly, which could lead to the sensor coming loose over time and an increased risk of a fire due to leaking fuel.
The recall begins on March 19. Nissan will notify owners, who can take their vehicles to the dealer to be repaired free of charge. A bulletin from NHTSA that has more information is after the jump.
We’re almost ready to record Episode #271 of the Autoblog Podcast, and we’re excited to be joined this week by the cast of . Check out the topics below and you can join us live via , as well, and we’ve embedded our UStream player Thanks for listening!
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #271
We love SEMA. There’s simply no better place to see the aftermarket go wild. Unfortunately, most of the cars, trucks, vans and other heathens that occupy the Las Vegas Convention Center each November are built to do little more than look pretty under the lights. We’ve always wanted to see the best of the best throw down on a track.
Fortunately for us, there’s the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. For four years now, the battery maker has invited the cream of the SEMA crop to show off just what all that aftermarket hardware is good for.
This year, SPEED tagged along to see what all the fuss was about, and brought along a host of HD cameras to capture the whole event. Hosted by Bill Goldberg, the show is a good chance to catch up on some of the more impressive cars that debuted at SEMA 2011 and watch them as they do battle for the top title.
Who won out this year? We won’t spoil it for you. You’ll just have to look for the Optima Ultimate Street Invitational on SPEED. The show debuted this weekend, but will re-air on March 11 at 2:30 PM EST. In the meantime, check out the teaser .
Goodyear is recalling 40,914 Wrangler Silent Armor tires manufactured in 2009. According to the manufacturer, the tread may separate from the rest of the tire under “severe conditions,” which could lead to vehicle damage or an accident. The company says that it first recognized an issue with the light truck and SUV tires after an increase in warranty claims in 2010. In 2011, two people in a vehicle equipped with Silent Armor tires died in a rollover crash in Texas.
The company said the tire had sustained external damage prior to the incident, and in most cases of failure, the tires were either underinflated, overloaded or had suffered impact damage.
While 27,000 of the tires are believed to be still in service, Goodyear decided to move forward with a recall on February 16. Owners will be notified of the campaign by March 22, and the company will replace the tires free of charge. Check out the official recall information from NHTSA .
The memory of Jay Z and Kanye West laying waste to a $350,000 Maybach for the duo’s continues to bring a smile to our face. We’re always fans of the Mad Max treatment on any vehicle, and taking a Sawzall and a cutting torch to a ludicrously expensive luxury barge remains the stuff of our twisted fantasies. If you’ve been wondering what ever happened to the zombie Maybach, wonder no more. What’s left of the ‘Bach is officially headed to auction, with the proceeds going to Save The Children, a non-profit charity dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world. In this case, the auction will benefit families in East Africa.
How much will the cannibalized Maybach fetch once the gavel falls? Early estimates say bids could reach as high as $100,000, or less than a third of the vehicle’s total value pre-Otisification. Worth it? Well, we certainly won’t tell you how to spend your cash, but if you’re a fan of hip hop royalty and/or Save The Children, we’re inclined to think so. to check out the video for yourself.
has taken to the stage at this year’s TED2012 Conference in Long Beach, California to announce its first e-tron pilot program for the U.S.
Audi will be deploying a fleet of all-electric hatchbacks in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Denver later this year to test the hardware underpinning its future electric vehicle efforts. The automaker hasn’t announced how many A3 e-trons will be spread across the two states and D.C., but plans to enlist EV beta testers – similar to what has done with the Mini E and -based ActiveE – to get real world data on how drivers use their EVs day-to-day.
The , originally revealed last April, comes packing a 26.5-kWh lithium-ion battery pack good for a range of 90 miles, with a 100-kW (around 130 horsepower) motor driving the front wheels and putting out 199 pound-feet of torque. Performance isn’t particularly impressive, with the A3 hitting 60 mph in around 11 seconds and topping out at 90 mph. And with a 400-volt rapid-charger, Audi claims the battery pack can be juiced up in around four hours.
Full details, along with a video, are available in the press blast .
