There’s a lot of smoke going on over at , but we still have a while to wait before we get the first evidence of fire: the new Lotus Espirit and it’s won’t be here until 2013. On the other side of the world, there’s a fair bit of smoke and fire happening at Malaysian automaker Proton, which owns Lotus.
The Malaysian government controls Proton and has been investigating a partnership for or sale of the company for a couple of years, but despite its efforts, it hasn’t made any deals. The 28-year-old automaker has been losing large chunks of market share, and the government feels that sale to a well-funded global player would be the best solution to insure Proton’s long-term future. Although it has named its chosen candidate for a purchase, it isn’t clear if anyone has made any serious overtures to that end.
Outside observers believe the first thing Proton should do is get rid of Lotus. The mass-market Malaysian carmaker has almost nothing in common with the tiny, English niche sports car producer, and has done nothing but throw money at Lotus’ carmaking arm since 1996 (Lotus Engineering, the technology consultancy, is profitable).
Proton has said it has no intention of selling Lotus. However, if Proton is sold then the new owners could reverse that stance. And if Lotus were unloaded, that puts everything CEO Dany Bahar has planned in serious doubt.
AOL Car and Truck of the Year, new GM pickups, Dodge Caliber all done
Episode #262 of the is here with Chris, Dan, and Zach this week. Topics include the first-ever AOL Autos Car and Truck of the Year, speculation about what the next generation of General Motorspickup trucks will have in store for us, and the end of the Dodge Caliber. Your questions and comments power the end of the ‘cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our , thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #262:
In the Autoblog Garage
Hosts: , ,
Runtime: 01:28:45
Get the podcast
[] Listen live on Mondays at 10PM Eastern at UStream
[] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[] Download the MP3 directly
Feedback
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)
Review the show in iTunes and take our
The very first 1969 Dodge Charger General Lee from “The Dukes of Hazzard” is headed under the gavel at Barret-Jackson. The vehicle was created specifically for the show’s intro and made just one jump before being retired.
Why the short life span? That first leap was an impressive feat, vaulting the Charger 16 feet in the air over a distance of 82 feet as it sailed over Rosco’s Monaco patrol car before crashing back down to Earth. While the vehicle made a few additional appearances as a beat-up hulk through the show’s filming, it was eventually left to rot in a Georgia junk yard.
Travis Bell bought the hulk in 2001, and the Charger swapped a few owners before winding up in the hands of Marvin Murphy. Murphy then had the vehicle restored to its former glory. Now the Lee 1 is headed to Arizona with no reserve. No one’s saying exactly how much the very first General Lee could be worth, but a Hemi-powered replica took home a lofty $450,000 in 2008. This particular vehicle gets its grunt from a 383.
If you’d like to see this car’s fateful lone jump – or if you’re just feeling the need for some Duke Boys-style nostalgia – to see the vehicle in the show’s intro.
The has earned itself a hard-won reputation as a giant slayer. The relatively low-buck supercar can embarrass more expensive hardware right out of the box. Spend a little time and money throwing a few aftermarket parts toward the and you can easily have a vehicle capable of giving vehicles like the a scare.
Take the videos after the jump, for example. The two clips show off a drag race between a mildly-tuned GT-R and a bone-stock Veyron. While the Bug gets an early lead on the more plebeian racer, the GT-R makes up the gap quickly.
Who wins? We won’t spoil it for you. You’ll have to to see the show down from two different angles for yourself. However, we will say we’d like to see a rematch with a sharper reaction time from the GT-R driver.
At the , officially put all other muscle cars – and even some supercars – on notice. The made its public debut, and while it doesn’t look much different than the models that came before it, the huge change for 2013 lies under the hood: an all-new 5.8-liter supercharged V8 capable of sending 650 horsepower to the coupe’s rear wheels.
Since the modern GT500’s debut in 2007, Ford has always offered a convertible variant, and that isn’t expected to change with this new 2013 model, especially since the rival will be offered in both hardtop and droptop forms. According to , the GT500 Convertible will debut at the in just a few weeks, packing the same 650-hp powertrain and – at least, we hope – some added chassis tweaks for structural rigidity. We can’t even imagine trying to handle 650 supercharged horses through a willy-nilly rear end.
The only thing that isn’t expected to carry over from the coupe is the GT500’s 200-plus-mile-per-hour top speed. It may be possible to achieve this with the soft top in place, but we think the 200 Club will exclusively be reserved for the coupe and its sleeker shape.
Assuming the GT500 Convertible shows its face in Detroit, we’ll have the full details in just two weeks.
Because there’s no way to top this lede, we’ll just have to quote the whole thing, from lohud.com:
PEEKSKILL – A 39-year-old city man faces felony charges upstate after apparently not heeding Greyhound’s slogan of “Leave the driving to us.”
Yep, that’s right, the guy stole a bus. On Christmas. (Allegedly.)
But never fear, Andrew Hickey of New York had a commercial driver’s license, and apparently he knew what he was doing. After swiping the running bus from a transport center at 4:30am, he managed to drive it about 60 miles before Greyhound officials remotely disabled the bus, using a system that apparently all of the company’s buses are equipped with. A spokesman for the transit company tells lohud.com that stolen buses are “very rare.”
The report says the Greyhound in question was worth half a million dollars, but it doesn’t seem like the alleged thief was much interested in the bus for its value. He told police that he just needed some wheels to get to a friend’s house.
is busily pushing development of the company’s new A-Class hatchback, and our spy photographers have managed to click a few photos of two vehicles out for a little winter testing. The small five-door is reportedly headed to the U.S. market once it receives an official unveil, though there’s no telling whether or not the version will make the journey across The Pond as well. These new shots show off a vehicle that’s ditched much of is camo cladding. As a result, we now see the five-door will look very similar to the renderings that .
The corporate Mercedes-Benz grille and pronounced nose will tag along on the A-Class, as will a high beltline and some rather funky side mirrors. It’s unclear exactly which drivetrain options will show up once the vehicle lands Stateside, however. Were we to guess, we’d say a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine isn’t a bad bet.
launched a total of 13 recall campaigns in 2011 covering over 3.5 million vehicles. Those figures put the Japanese automaker at the top of the most-recalled list for the third year in a row, according to Ward’s Auto. Between 2009 and 2010, Toyota recalled nearly 11.5 million vehicles in North America for a variety of reasons, including troublesome floor mats and sticky accelerators tied to the company’s unintended acceleration woes. The company says that around 85 percent of vehicles involved in the pedal recall have been fixed, with lower volume models continuing to trickle into dealers.
But Toyota wasn’t the only automaker with recall woes in 2011. found itself in second place for the number of vehicles recalled this year with 10 campaigns covering 3.2 million vehicles. For its part, General Motors issued a total of 21 recalls, but the fixes involved far fewer vehicles: 455,901. All told, Ward’s says automakers issued 130 recalls in 2011, down from 136 campaigns in the U.S. last year.
‘Tis the season for thin news cycles and cheesy top ten lists. Yahoo! Finance has thrown its hat in the top ten ring with its list of the biggest flops among all consumer goods introduced for 2011. Both the and have made it among the chosen few, rubbing elbows with such luminaries as Netflix’s Qwikster and Disney’s Mars Needs Moms.
Why the Volt? Yahoo! points to the vehicle’s underwhelming sales, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fire investigation and misguided General Motors executives as indicators of the plug-inhybrid’s failure. We think that’s a bit harsh given the fact that the Volt wasn’t on sale across the country for most of the year, and we’ve harped on how absurd the NHTSA fire issue is in the past, so we’ll save the digital ink here.
And what of the Fiat 500? It’s no secret the adorable Italian hatchback has missed its sales goals by a country mile. While had hoped to move 50,000 models this year, actual U.S. sales for the year will probably end up around 20,000 units, which really isn’t too bad. Those early sales targets were picked straight from the crazy buffet to begin with, and the fact that the 500 suffered production delays, dealership network woes and a didn’t help matters. Still, do those issues make the 500 one of the biggest product flops of 2011?
For our money, it’s too early to call either of these vehicles flops – moving 20,000 relatively expensive very small cars for a new-to-the-U.S. (well, “new again,” at least) brand doesn’t sound too bad to us, and putting the Volt on the list when it wasn’t available to most consumers strikes us as Yahoo! Finance trolling for controversy. What say you? Drop us a line in Comments…
Fifth Gear host Tiff Needell had such a good time throwing the around the track that it made him ask a silly question. Could the 261-horsepower, front-wheel drive, four-seat hot hatch lap quicker than the 324-hp, rear-wheel drive, two-seat Nissan 370Z?
This version of the Renault lapped the Nürburgring in 8:07.97, the . Even so, 63 hp down and more than 70 pounds heavier by gross weight, one could expect the Megane to have a hard time even keeping up with the Z. But on a wet track and at the hands of Rally driver and James Bond stunt driver Mark Higgins (he of the ), expectations have a way of going sideways.
for the video to find out which one is more fun and which one is quicker.
When thinking about the , one tends to picture an orange meteor barreling across the desert at absurd velocities, flying through the air, long-travel suspension dangling its dirty bits below. That’s partially because desert storming and bombing down muddy, root-strewn fire roads was the Special Vehicle Team’s design brief, and partially because those environs have dominated Ford’s advertising efforts. Marketing shtick aside, there’s little doubt that the Raptor has that Kool-Aid Man “Oooh, Yeah!” wall-crashing thing going on better than any other vehicle on sale today.
In fact, if you tend to picture the Raptor exclusively in terms of yumps and dry creekbeds, you’re not alone. and SVT kind of admit they did, too. But in building this street-legal trophy truck, they’ve come to realize that they unwittingly created a vehicle that’s far more versatile than originally envisioned. Case in point: Back in 2009, a massive snowstorm crippled the ability of Ford staffers and media members trying to reach the . In particular, Mark Fields and other key execs had to journey from Dearborn to the Windy City, and company pilots refused to take off in the horrible weather. Fields and some other executives settled on boarding the train, arriving haggard eight hours later and barely making their press conference. and his crew elected to travel by Raptor. Driving their trucks through inches of thick slush and ice in the fast lane at more-or-less normal highway speeds (while what little traffic was sharing the road crawled along with hazard lights aglow) was a revelation. Despite building the thing, Team SVT simply didn’t expect something with wide, knobby tires and a higher center of gravity to cut through the frigid slurry like that.
It’s exactly this sort of discovery process that led us to the foot of the smoothly picturesque red rocks seen here. We had arrived in a convoy of eight 2012 Raptors, having taken the easy hour’s drive from Grand Junction, Colorado to Moab, Utah to tackle Hell’s Revenge, a well-known 4×4 trail over this otherworldly terrain that doesn’t take kindly to larger vehicles like our full-size SuperCab pickups. Solid bets for tackling Hell’s Revenge include CJs and , 4×4s and so on – vehicles with exceptional arrival, departure and breakover angles. Even with its raised suspension and ground clearance of 11.2 inches front and 12.1 rear, we couldn’t help but feel a bit sheepish about the Raptor’s chances.
Autobild recently set out to settle the question of which M vehicle is the fastest in the stable at the moment. Not surprisingly, the German enthusiast publication found the BMW M3 CRT to be the quickest around the Sachsenring, setting the magazine’s fastest time around the track with a 1:38.37 minute lap time. That’s impressive, but not nearly as astounding as the time drummed up by the new . The portly sedan did the same deed in 1:38.90, or just three hundredths of a second slower than the special-edition .
And what of the sibling rivalry between the and the standard M3? As it turns out, the magazine’s shoes have given the nod to the smaller of the two coupes. The 1 Series M Coupe barely eked out a win over the M3, though the M3 Convertible took nearly two extra seconds to make it around the course than its hardtop twin.
How safe are busses? It’s a good question, and one that the United States Department of Transportation is mulling over after revising work hour regulations for truckers and airline pilots earlier this month. Bus drivers are next on the list, as the USDOT is seeking public comment on allowable on-dutytime, according to Bloomberg.
The effort would amend rules that are several decades old, just as bus travel has taken off. Buses represent the fastest-growing transportation segment, with departures up 7.1 percent this year, according to a study cited by Bloomberg. This year, eight bus crashes have resulted in 28 deaths, according to the report.
The annual Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, AZ is less than a month away, and car aficionados from around the country are already gearing up for the six-day collector car sell-a-thon. One of the vehicles up for grabs will be this custom . At the time, this ponycar was a mere rendering, but since then Galpin has completed the Mustang and readied it for the auction in January.
Like several of the cars that cross the block, the proceeds from the sale of the widebody will be donated to charity, specifically the , thanks to the generosity of SPX, the company that financed the construction of the car. We’re guessing there won’t be any trouble finding eager bidders to donate their hard-earned cash, as this Mustang comes with a 700-horsepower supercharged 5.0-liter V8 between the front fenders, a red suede interior, custom PPG paint, a 1000-watt stereo and more.
You can read more about the Galpin widebody Mustang and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the press release , and be sure to look out for our live coverage of the Barrett-Jackson auction next month.
isn’t happy that it’s five-percent operating margin is less than the predicted seven-percent at or the 10 percent at . To boost its number, Bloomberg reports that GM has hired consulting firm Hackett Group to identify areas in which it can save on white-collar costs, either through job cuts or efficiencies. Unlike in 2009, however, buyouts and tranches of layoffs aren’t on the table.
An outside analyst considers Hyundai’s returns out of reach, since the Korean firm benefits from exchange rates and more efficient platform sharing. The analyst also considers that GM will only find “a rounding error” in its pursuit of leaner white collar operations, but that might be enough to start. When considering closer GM competitors, through the first nine months of this year, could boast an operating margin of 7.7 percent, Ford’s is 6.7 and is (down from almost nine percent before its recall crisis and the recently steroidal yen). In that case, even a rounding error will make a statement.
Even though we’re dealing with a “new” GM, talk of reassigned engineers can easily remind one of the dark days when fat-trimming exercises turned into amputations and handicapped product on the showroom floor. Yet the company is on the up with the continued momentum of anticipated products, and this is what every world class company is required to do. Still, we’ll be watching closely.
New racing series are popping up all the time in different locations around the world. So what makes the new i1 Super Series special? Somehow, the organizers have managed to attract an enviable roster of former F1 drivers to participate.
The series, originally known as the Indian Racing League (but which probably changed names to avoid confusion with the defunct Indy Racing League), is a new spec racing series centered in Asia. For the inaugural season, it will be using the Radical SR3 (pictured above), a production-based, LMP-style sports car with a 1500cc motorcycle engine custom-tuned to produce around 260 horsepower. That may not sound like much power, but with such a such a light frame, it’s capable of hitting 60 in three seconds flat, cornering at nearly 2.5 Gs and consistently holds the lap record at the Nürburgring.
Nine teams (each representing a major city in India) will each field two cars: one piloted by an up-and-coming Indian driver, and one by an established pro. Those are being chosen from a pool that includes such notable talents as Jacques Villeneuve, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jean Alesi, Heinz-Haral Frentzen, Mika Salo and Sakon Yamamoto.
Ten races will be held in this inaugural season at five circuits: India’s new Buddh circuit in New Delhi, Sepang in Malaysia, Losail in Qatar, Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Read more in the press release .
We’re almost ready to record Episode #262 of the Autoblog Podcast. 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 #262
If you’ve ever taken a good long look at the and wondered just how tough the leather-lined SUVs are compared to their military-grade counterparts, Inside Line has the answer for you. Corespondent Alistair Weaver joined up with a convoy in a G of his own as the company took off across Australia’s infamous stock route. The trail is little more than a dusty path scrawled across the outback. Weaver braved vicious washboard roads, insects, snakes, dead camels and heinous heat to make the trek. How did his G Wagen handle the rough roads and deep sands? Let’s just say there were a few issues.
For starters, the washboard dirt tracks made short work of the AMG’s Bilstein rear shocks, forcing mechanics to pull the pieces altogether for one short stint before replacements could be flown in. Likewise, the spare tire carrier and both side-view mirrors suffered cracks along the way. Not surprisingly, the military-spec edition suffered no ills over the course of the trek. to check out the video for yourself.
If that’s not enough fun in the Australian sun for you, click back and take a look at Motor Trend’s in a .
Playing a racing game on the big screen can sometimes feel a bit like the real thing, but what happens when the screen is larger than life? has created a new iPhone driving game for the that is interactive on a level that most gamers can only dream of.
If you happen to be in Times Square between now and the end of the year, you can play the game on the massive LED screen on 47th Street and Broadway. In fact, there are a pair of video screens, so up to two players can play at once. We’re guessing this screen beats the two-player setup on most 70-inch LED television screens at home.
Hit the jump to watch Hyundai Race for yourself. And if you will be finding yourself in The Big Apple before New Year’s Day, make sure to download Hyundai Race and get in line… we’re guessing there will be quite a few gamers waiting for a shot at the big screen.
We have a sizable soft spot for the . The small-displacement machine is perfect for back-road flinging and in-town commuting. Unfortunately, KTM has decided the wide-open spaces of America aren’t fit for the lightweight street machine. That leaves us longingly watching YouTube videos of the Duke 125 in action. KTM has just released a new clip featuring stunt rider Rok Bagoroš at work on the single-cylinder bike. Bagoroš pointed the Duke 125 toward an aging metal foundry and set to work unleashing his own brand of havoc on the alleyways and innards of the factory.
There’s no denying the rider’s skill or the bike’s maneuverability, but we were hoping for a few more breathtaking stunts. Maybe we’ve just been spoiled by the rash of we’ve seen surface lately. Either way, it’s a good opportunity to see the small-displacement glory that is the Duke 125, so to check out the clip for yourself.
