The Auto Blog .ru

Last year, Rinspeed introduced its Dock+Go concept at the Geneva Motor Show, a Smart ForTwo Electric Drive with a wagon attachment whose wheels could recharge the battery. The Swiss tuner thought the idea so good that this year, instead of conjuring something just as wacky, they went even wackier: the new Dock+Go holds steady on the “go” but adds an extra dock in the form of what Rinspeed calls a wheeled backpack.

The modular system allows for the two attachments to be used at once, creating a four-axle ForTwo. The last backpack, though, is a “Variohybrid” that drives the wheels of the intermediary backpack and so charges the batteries it contains. The point is to provide the space and the range you need, but only when you need it.

Inside, it’s as if the Smart had absorbed every vehicle used by every one of The Avengers. There are space-age threads and surfaces, Swiss clocks, electroluminescent lighting, flatscreen technology and a Takata-Petri steering wheel. And that isn’t even the appetizer. You can peep it from numerous angles in the well stocked gallery, or click through to the jump for five videos and a press release that is three times the length of the car.

Continue reading Rinspeed Dock+Go concept returns with another tag-along ahead of Geneva debut [w/videos]

Rinspeed Dock+Go concept returns with another tag-along ahead of Geneva debut [w/videos]

The poor Fiat 500. The adorable three-door hasn’t exactly been the resounding success Fiat had hoped, missing sales projections by a wide margin. As you may recall, the company managed to sell just 17,945 units between March and December of 2011. That’s a far cry from 50,000 units annually the company projected before the 500 landed in dealerships. But, according to Polk, things may not be as bad as they seem. While it’s true that the 500 managed to pull down just four percent of the subcompact car segment, the results look a bit rosier when you compare the 500 to other three-door B-segment offerings.

In that admittedly small group, the 500 did quite well, pulling down 27 percent of all sales and landing in second place behind the Mini Cooper. The plucky Italian even manged to best the Hyundai Accent and Toyota Yaris. Still, as Polk points out, that’s a good portion of a very small corner of the total subcompact segment, and an even thinner slice of the American car market.

The upcoming five-door 500 will likely give Fiat an extra edge, though whether the vehicle helps the automaker crest its 50,000 unit goal remains to be seen.

Why the Fiat 500 isn’t the flop it’s being made out to be

Although other luxury makers from Germany and Japan are fearlessly diving into lower price segments in the U.S., Lexus marketing VP Brian Smith has gone on the record with Cars.com as saying, “I don’t think [entry-luxury] is a focus of ours right now.” The reason: even with last year’s acts of God, Toyota’s upscale arm still holds an enviable position with the RX, which was the second-best-selling luxury vehicle in 2011.

As well, for the moment, it has its brand-hands full with rebuilding its inventories and recasting audience perception. Led by the 2013 Lexus GS and that grille, soon to be followed by the 2013 RX (pictured) and ES that will also feature that grille if the leaks can be believed, Lexus is more concerned with sloughing off its reputation as a maker of staid cars for people who hate driving. Lexus appears to believe it will be headed where it wishes to go as long as it gets its current vehicles just right.

Smith said the company has a plan to be “the fastest-growing luxury brand,” and instead of an assault on the low end that could mean variations on the RX. One imagines it would be a much safer play since the RX hasn’t been milked at all for buyers in nearby segments, and fourteen years of dominance with one vehicle in a seriously competitive chunk of the market is stupefying. Smith couldn’t give any clues to what might come, but did admit that he “would love to see the RX family grow.”

Lexus marketing boss says “no” to entry-level models, wants RX family

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 Indians, Mexicans, women, Christians, the Welsh, cancer survivors and most of the Arab world at one time or another. That’s quite the run.

UK TV authority lets Jeremy Clarkson off hook for “should be shot” comment

Perhaps more than most, Mercedes-Benz 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 E-Class chassis, which in addition to sedan, coupe, convertible and wagon variants, spawned the CLS ‘four-door coupe’ – a model that itself inspired a whole slew of imitators. The rakish CLS will shortly spawn a load-lugging shooting-brake variant, too – Benz’s offspring are having offspring. Could the same thing be in the cards for the SLS AMG?

Mercedes has already extended the supercar’s appeal with a new Roadster variant for 2012, 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-horsepower 6.2-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 Aston Martin Rapide and perhaps the Porsche Panamera Turbo.

Four-door Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG suggested by patent filings?

According to research by Edmunds.com, the $19,711 average transaction price of the 2012 Hyundai Elantra is besting that of its chief rivals, the Toyota Corolla by $1,500 and the new Honda Civic 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 still can’t make enough of them to satisfy demand.

Nor is this only a tale of the Elantra; the Sonata has narrowed its average transaction price to within $900 of both Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. 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 Coupe and five-door GT are on the way to round out the family for 2013.

Customers paying more for Hyundai Elantra than Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla

Dodge, or rather SRT (we’re still getting used to it being its own brand), has been busy teasing us with the new Viper that will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show 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 Viper ACR reclaiming the lap record at the Nürburgring for a production car with a time of 7:12.13, taking the title away from the Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition.

Now the Viper Club of America has released a new video of the race-only Viper ACR-X 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 after the jump, including real-time stats like g-force and downforce included in the footage.

Continue reading SRT’s race-only Viper ACR-X laps Nürburgring in 7:03.058

SRT’s race-only Viper ACR-X laps Nürburgring in 7:03.058

Automotive News is reporting that stories in two other papers, France’s La Tribune and England’s The Financial Times, assert that General Motors 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 announced 6,000 job cuts late last year and the immediate cessation of Le Mans racing this year. Opel lost hundreds of millions last year and took on a new CEO 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 Geneva Motor Show next month.

GM, Peugeot in “advanced alliance talks”

An auto salon like the Geneva Motor Show isn’t just a chance for automakers to show off their latest production and concept cars, but also for stoic design houses to shape the state of automotive design. So with Pininfarina, Bertone and Carrozzeria Touring all having released glimpses of the designs they will be unveiling this year at the Palexpo, so has ItalDesign Giugiaro.

As you can see, there’s not much we can tell from this detail rendering, but what it does tell us is that the concept in question will be high-performance in orientation. Or at least look the part, anyway – minivans, hybrids and city cars seldom call for big air intakes like this one.

While formerly an independent design house, these days ItalDesign is owned by Volkswagen. Its last couple of designs – the Tex and the Go! – have both worn VW badges on the nose, so we’d expect this year’s to sport one as well, although another brand in the group could get the action this time. What we wouldn’t expect is for the show car to presage any specific production vehicle as much as outline a styling ethos for the German automaker. Watch this space for more.

ItalDesign Giugiaro hints at Geneva-bound Volkswagen concept

If you’re still driving that 2006 Ford Fusion you bought new, apparently you are not alone. Automotive data provider Polk says that the average new car buyer is now holding on to his vehicle for a whopping 71 months – almost six years. Used vehicles are being held for over four years, almost 50 months, according to the new study.

Polk based its findings on vehicle registration data through September 2011, concluding that longer warranties, better reliability, and of course, a miserable economy, have contributed to the shift. By comparison, just five years ago Polk showed new car buyers swapping out after just 53 months – a year and a half earlier.

This latest study reflects what we heard from Polk last month, that the average age of vehicles on the road has hit a record high. We might even see consumers further stretch this number, as Polk’s analysts are not forecasting a return to the magic 16-million-units sales level until 2015. For the carmakers this represents more than just a simple make-your-numbers sales challenge, says Polk, because the longer people keep their vehicles the less brand loyal they become.

To read the full release, click through the jump.

Continue reading Buyers holding onto new cars for nearly six years – longer than ever before

Buyers holding onto new cars for nearly six years – longer than ever before

Let’s clear the air. This is not – we repeat, not – the Ford E-Series-replacing Transit that will be built and sold in the United States next year. According to our contacts at Ford, this Tourneo Custom Concept previews what the next generation of front-wheel-drive, passenger-friendly Transits will look like when they go on sale in Europe and other world markets. The North American-spec van will be based off of the heavy-duty, rear-wheel-drive Transit that’s set to debut later this year.

So, let’s talk Tourneo. This eight-passenger van is essentially Ford’s answer to vehicles like the Renault Trafic or Volkswagen Caravelle – more butch than a minivan, with a higher ride height and more interior space. Ford says that the Tourneo Concept boasts a rich, comfortable, leather-trimmed interior with seats that can be rearranged into a number of different configurations.

Ford has only released this one image as of now, but it’s clear that the automaker’s Kinetic design has found a home on even its largest vehicles. Up front is the Blue Oval’s signature trapezoidal grille, and strong profile lines on the sides swoop upward toward the rear in an effort to make this barn-on-wheels look as fluid and sleek as possible. Under the hood, a range of 2.2-liter turbo-diesel powertrains are available, in 98-, 123- and 153-horsepower variants, all of which are mated to a six-speed manual transmission.

We’ll see the Tourneo in person in just a few weeks at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. As for the U.S.-spec Transit, it’ll be a while before that officially breaks cover. Hit the jump for all of the juicy Tourneo Concept details in Ford’s press release.

Continue reading Ford Tourneo Custom Concept previews new European people mover

Ford Tourneo Custom Concept previews new European people mover

Mazda once again finds itself in dire financial straits after warning its investors to expect a loss in 2011 of 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion). In an effort to keep itself afloat, the Japanese automaker is rumored to be considering a new issue of as many as 690 million shares, which would raise about 100 billion yen while diluting current share value by a massive 38.7 percent.

In addition, Mazda is thought to be seeking loans of 70 billion yen from a number of Japanese banks. A good portion of these funds are necessary to bolster Mazda’s overseas production facilities. At present, 70 percent of all its vehicles are produced in Japan and 90 percent of those are exported. In order to combat the high value of the yen, Mazda is seeking to renovate a production site in Thailand and build a new one on Mexico.

Only time will tell if Mazda, Japan’s fifth-largest automaker, is able to remain an independent company or if it will be forced to partner up with a larger partner, as it once had with Ford.

Troubled Mazda looking to raise $2B in shares, fund Mexico plant

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, few automobile shapes are as imitated as the legendary Jaguar E-Type. Of course, Jaguar itself has drawn inspiration from its most iconic sportscar with the contemporary XK and the more recent C-X16 concept. Eagle has reinterpreted the classic with modern accoutrements. And about a year ago a Swedish designer by the name of Bo Zolland rendered a sumptuously retro re-imagination of the form with the Growler E.

That design was slated to go into limited production by a firm called Visualtech, but now the design has resurfaced under a new moniker: Lyonheart. Based on a tweaked version of Zolland’s renderings, designer Robert Palm has given the retro E a slightly more aggressive look, with more catlike headlamps and retro touches that are somehow even more pronounced.

The new Anglo-Swiss outfit intends to render the shape in carbon fiber, stainless steel, brushed aluminum, chrome, leather and wood veneer and put it into limited production in England for 495,000 euros a pop – equivalent to about $650K. Power is slated to come from a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 with 550 metric horsepower (542 by our standards) and 500 pound-feet of torque, which – coupled with a curb weight targeted under 3,500 lbs – aims to propel the Lyonheart K from 0-62 mph in under four seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 300 kph (186 mph).

Follow the jump for the press release and scope out the fresh renderings in the high-res image gallery above for a closer look.

Continue reading Lyonheart K aims to rekindle British sporting tradition with E-Type homage

Lyonheart K aims to rekindle British sporting tradition with E-Type homage

On this episode of As the Saab Turns: Bankruptcy administrators have bidders, and one of them might be a German carmaker!

According to a post on Saabs United, “6-7 serious bidders” are trying to snag the remains of Saab. One European company “is German and located in Munich,” according to the report, which notes that whatever company wins the Saab deal won’t necessarily be the high bidder, but the package that looks the most capable getting Saab back in the car building business.

For its part, Germany’s AutoBild suggests that the actual number of interested parties numbers around 14, though it isn’t immediately clear how serious all of those parties are, though the Chinese are said to remain in the mix, as is an Indian concern.

It’s no secret that BMW plans to expand its product portfolio, including building more fuel-efficient, front-drive cars. Could a joint BMW-Saab ( or Mini-Saab) platform – shades of the Cadillac BLS (albeit hopefully better!) – come out of such a deal? Or will the Swedish bankruptcy court reveal that it has a Chinese mistress, one that’s trying to blackmail General Motors? Tune in next week…

At least 6-7 parties bidding on Saab… could BMW be one of them?

Slowly but surely, we’re becoming quite smitten with the F30 BMW 3 Series. The four-cylinder 328i and six-pot 335i sedans have officially launched here in the United States, and now, it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the 3er body styles get the F30 treatment. First up is the wagon Touring (F31, internally), which our spies recently caught testing out in the snow.

Let’s start with some good news: We have no reason to believe that BMW won’t offer its capacious 3 Series here in the United States. The Touring has been a part of the 3’s lineup in the U.S. for decades, and BMW executives have already confirmed that the wagon will be offered here in the States.

Like the outgoing 3 Series, expect just a 328i model in rear- and (forthcoming) xDrive all-wheel-drive formats. Of course, other markets will get some tasty diesel options, but since the wagon doesn’t account for a huge percentage of 3 Series sales in the U.S., having one engine option will likely have to suffice.

Look for the 3 Series Touring to launch in the near future (Geneva Motor Show?) with the first cars hitting the ground in Europe this fall.

BMW 3 Series Touring shakes its roomy rump

Akira Nakai is the man behind the tuner RWB – Rauh-Welt Begriff, which is loosely translated as “Rough World Concept,” and he doesn’t often climb out from under one of the 930 or 964 Porsches he’s working on. His original shop in Japan is now 20 years old and he still works in the same building, even though his tuning ethos has caught on hot enough to provide other shops around the world.

He’s a car nut, simply, and he makes nutty – in a good way – cars. The guys at eGarage got him away from a project long enough to say a few words about what he does, what he thinks, and what he’ll be doing until he dies. Even though he speaks a different language, he sums all of us up nicely. Check him out in the video premiering exclusively on Autoblog after the jump.

Continue reading eGarage interviews Akira Nakai of RWB in latest video

eGarage interviews Akira Nakai of RWB in latest video

As Danica Patrick prepares for her first NASCAR Sprint Cup race next weekend in the Daytona 500, she’s apparently taking advantage of the publicity to try to remediate her image. After seven years of promoting her attractiveness with nearly equal billing to her race driving acumen, Patrick has asked the media to quit calling her “sexy.”

According to USA Today, Patrick said “If there is a pretty girl, (reporters) don’t know how to describe her other than being sexy. It has such a negative connotation to it … Why can’t there be other words for it? Why does it have to be somewhat negatively twisted?”

Patrick was featured in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and has appeared in racy ads for her sponsor GoDaddy.com that also played up her looks. She has also made several “sexiest” lists, including one compiled by Victoria’s Secret and two by FHM magazine.

Patrick’s big break came in her first Indy 500 appearance, when she became the first woman to lead the race. She finished fourth that year, in the same position she qualified. Patrick raced in the Indy Racing League for seven years, while also competing in ARCA and NASCAR’s Nationwide Series in 2010 and 2011 in preparation for this year’s transition to Sprint Cup.

PSA: Danica Patrick prefers being called “pretty” rather than “sexy”

The first example of a given model to roll of the production line is called “Job One,” and the Infiniti is celebrating just that for its 2013 JX: A seven-seater crossover in Emerald Green – mated with its 265-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 from Decherd, TN – has rolled off the production line. Infiniti expects numerous JXs behind it to be the second most popular model in the company’s lineup, bested only by the G sedan, coupe and convertible range.

The $41,400 (including $950 destination) three-row crossover and its liberal suite of configurations and technologies goes on sale in March, but you can register your interest or play with the configurator right now. There’s also a press release after the jump with more details.

Continue reading 2013 Infiniti JX production underway

2013 Infiniti JX production underway

With all the news coming out recently about the small claims lawsuit over the Honda Civic Hybrid, readers may have forgotten the name behind a long-running legal issue over Toyota’s hybrid system: Paice. The latest development is that Paice and the Abell Foundation (an investor in Paice) have sued Hyundai and Kia over the gas-electric technology used in the Optima and Sonata hybrids (pictured), which shares some parts with Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive. Read up on the details of Alex Severinsky’s story here.

According to Automotive News, Paice claims that Hyundai and Kia should have known that Toyota was dealing with legal issues – especially since Paice has been contacting Hyundai about the issue – and says that the Korean automakers are infringing upon three patents that Paice owns. Toyota and Paice settled their long-looming hybrid patent infringement case in 2010 after eight years, during which time the courts routinely rejected Toyota’s request to dismiss the case. Toyota eventually paid royalties to Paice for the Prius, Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX400h models it sold.

Paice drags Hyundai, Kia into long-running hybrid patent fight with Toyota

Automotive industry analysts are projecting sales of over 14.4 million units this year, a lofty figure we originally reported late last year. Unfortunately, it seems that those paid visionaries may be an overly optimistic bunch as the actual sales figures – calculated by outside experts – are expected to be significantly lower.

American Honda expects sales growth of 25 percent over last year, while Nissan is estimating an 18-percent growth. Toyota Motor Sales, Chrysler Group and General Motors are all aiming for a 15-percent bump. All of those numbers exceed outside calculations, which say industry growth will be at about eight percent in 2012.

Industry experts at J.D. Power and Associates say many automakers have been simply too aggressive with forecasts. “There are painful decisions to be made,” the company said. “Companies need to maintain discipline with realistic forecasts. The recovery is taking longer than expected. Getting too aggressive can lead to bad practices like pushing inventory.” In layman’s terms, production plans are based on sales goals (factories are tasked with producing enough cars to keep the showrooms stocked). If volume estimates are too high, hundreds of thousands of new cars could be sitting unsold at dealerships later this year, leading to an industry-wide incentives war.

In defense of the automakers, the optimism isn’t completely unfounded. Natural disasters rocked the Japanese manufacturers last year, and they expect to use 2012 to reclaim much of their market. In addition, nearly every automaker is introducing new products in high-volume segments. Nevertheless, J.D. Power projects a 13.8 million market in 2012, followed by 15.4 million in 2013 and 16.2 million in 2014.

Automakers’ sales goals add up to optimistic forecast