In Google’s relentless push to map and photograph the world’s public spaces, the search giant has prepared custom trikes to bring its Street View treatment to parks.
Using these , riders can take 360-degree photographs of trails and parks as they pedal through, providing would-be visitors a chance to see the sights without leaving the comfort of their couch.
One of the latest parks to get mapped is New York’s , a 1.5-mile elevated park that used to handle freight rail traffic track on Manhattan’s West Side. (If you ever visit the High Line, you’ll see that the park’s designers into the walking paths, in a nod to the park’s origins.) Other parks that have been similarly mapped include London’s and Tokyo’s .
to take a Street View tour of each park and check out a video of how Google photographed and mapped the High Line.
would love nothing more than to sell a boatload of sedans and coupes. Problem is, there just aren’t enough of them to go around. Speaking to Inside Line, Chuck Schifsky, an American Honda Motor Co. spokesman, said:
“Civic sales are down for one simple reason: Low dealer inventory as a result of a shortage of small parts caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake earlier this year, which nearly halted production of the 2012 Civic… This is a supply problem, not a demand problem. There just aren’t any Civics on dealer lots.”
Not only did the earthquake and tsunami in Japan cause production problems, the current flooding in Thailand “will cause another delay in production,” says Schifsky. In other words, if you’re in the market for a new Civic, you’ll likely find yourself waiting for a while.
It’s also worth mentioning that we’ve heard reports that public response to the 2012 Civic has not been the resounding success Honda had hoped for, leading to the possibility that a will come sooner rather than later.
The is less than two weeks away, which means every automaker that will be in attendance is putting the finishing touches on what their executives will say during their respective press conferences. It goes the same for each automaker: An exec will talk about sales numbers, maybe brag about some newly bestowed industry award, and then a new concept or production model will be rolled out. There is one company, however, that will likely do none of that.
If you look over the for the LA Auto Show, you’ll discover that Nintendo has a spot near the end of the second day. Now, companies not endemic to the auto industry have hopped up on soap boxes during auto shows before, but none from any industry we hold so dear to our hearts as videogames.
What could Nintendo possibly have to say or show? We don’t know. There’s speculation that Nintendo could be getting into the business of automotive infotainment, but we’ve seen no evidence to support this hypothesis. Since Nintendo hasn’t leased any space at the show, guesses that it might announce some kind of partnership with an OEM. Whatever it is, Nintendo is remaining tight-lipped, saying only, “We’ll have more info coming soon, but nothing more to announce at this time.”
As we , the theme for this year’s LA Design Challenge is Hollywood – more specifically, what the silver screen’s next iconic automobile might be. For some reason, this year’s challenge features a lot fewer entrants than year’s past. In fact, half of the field comes from Daimler, with concepts submitted by , and . The other three competitors are , and .
Their challenge was to dream up the next DeLorean, Highland Green or Black S8 that will capture the attention of moviegoers in the year 2050. Each entrant picked a different style of film; everything from westerns to thrillers to fairy tales and vampire movies is represented.
We’ve collected all six entrants, including descriptions of a blockbuster Hollywood storyline that goes along with each vehicle, . Check them out and then vote for your favorite in our poll. We’ll see if the Autoblog community was right on November 17 when the winner is announced at the .
October proved to be a busy month for our . Unlike , where it bounced between our Los Angeles editors, the keys to the Tempest Blue sedan were in my hands through Halloween. During the past month, it has traveled all over Southern California and taken more than a few trips to Los Angeles Airport loaded with my suitcases.
It’s hard not to be impressed with the diesel engine and its fuel economy. Displacing 2.0-liters, the turbocharged inline-four generates 140 horsepower. While that first figure isn’t particularly impressive, the 236 pound-feet of torque is. Even with five passengers and a full load of soccer equipment in the huge trunk, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI pulls confidentially and has no trouble maintaining speed regardless of the grade. The EPA rates the Jetta at 30 mpg city/42 mpg highway – figures that aligned nicely with my overall average of about 36 mpg for the month of October. The TDI’s frugality is maximized on the highway, where I have seen better than 50 mpg more than once.
Big trouble is brewing in little China. While Swedish automaker was to Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. for what seemingly amounts to a pittance ($142 million and up to $854 million in long-term funding), , Saab’s former parent in the United States, is apparently none too pleased.
In a statement by spokesman Jim Cain, General Motors noted the following: “GM would not be able to support a change in the ownership of Saab which could negatively impact GM’s existing relationships in China or otherwise adversely affect GM’s interests worldwide.”
How would GM’s Chinese efforts be negatively impacted? Remember that Saab’s current line of vehicles uses major structures and technologies developed from The General’s latest parts bins. Consider, too, that GM has a major deal with SAIC, the largest automaker in China. If Pang Da and Youngman were able to procure GM’s intellectual property and technologies as a result of the Saab purchase – especially at cut-rate pricing – SAIC and its costlier joint venture with General Motors would look more than a bit out of place.
According to Reuters, General Motors likely still has enough control of Saab to squash the pending sale to its would-be Chinese owners if it is in the company’s best interest to do so. Plus, the Chinese authorities have yet to put their stamp of approval on the purchase of Saab. In other words, this already long and impossibly complicated story continues to get even more so.
We knew Honda’s load-lugging curiosity, the pickup, was getting a modest refresh for the 2012 model year, and we even knew there was waiting in the wings. But now we have more details – including pricing.
For 2012, the Ridgeline range starts at $29,250* for the entry-level RT model and zooms all the way to $37,180* for the top-shelf RTL with navigation. The sweet spot, however, might just be the new Sport model shown above. At $29,995* it’s only $749 more than the base RT, yet includes such visual niceties as 18-inch alloys (the base RT rolls on 17-inch steelies), blacked-out honeycomb grille and matching light bezels, as well as fog lamps and tinted rear windows. Inside, there’s a leather-wrap wheel with audio controls, an aux input on the stereo and floor mats. (*All Ridgeline models are subject to a $810 delivery charge).
Range-wide changes for 2012 include a new front grille and various small aero improvements that help net the genre-straddling pickup a revised fuel economy rating of 15 city and 21 highway, an increase of 1 mpg on the interstate. The rest of the range remains basically unchanged, including the 3.5-liter V6 that offers 250 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque and its trademark in-bed trunk.
Despite consistently slow sales, recently pledged that the Ridgeline . While we haven’t seen or heard anything official out of the Japanese automaker about a successor, it has been rumored that the new-for-2012 CR-V variant at some point down the road, an interesting idea about which we won’t hold our breath.
Want to sell cars in Argentina? Be prepared to get into the wine business. Or the rice, peanut, chicken feed, biodiesel or bottled water businesses. Or anything else of value, really.
Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (pictured above) has enacted a program to increase the country’s exports and boost its economy by requiring automakers to match, dollar for dollar, the price of its vehicle imports by exporting some other product from Argentina.
While the plan will surely accomplish the goal of increasing exports, some experts are wary of its impact on the auto market. Marcos Ferrario, an economist who tracks the Argentinian auto industry, told Bloomberg: “It’s very difficult to counterbalance imports of luxury cars, which are worth about $150,000 each, with sales of olives or wines.”
As long as Argentina’s auto market is growing by about 30 percent per year, we’d expect automakers to do their best to keep dealerships stocked with vehicles. Long term, though, this sounds like a plan that’s nearly impossible to sustain.
You can go ahead and tear down that poster of the Triumph Street Triple R. The has officially debuted, and the bike promises to bring naked performance to a new level. Essentially a de-bodied , the Brutale 675 packs 113 horsepower and tips the scales at a feathery 358 pounds dry.
MV Agusta has also equipped its naked warrior with a ride-by-wire system that boats four preset engine maps as well as a user-customizable tune. Eight-mode traction control is also part of the package.
The 675 cc three-cylinder engine utilizes some pretty trick engineering to offer buyers a more compact powerplant and improved handling at the same time. The engine’s water and oil pumps are integrated into the cylinder and crank cases for a design that takes up less space than ever before, and a counter-rotating crankshaft helps reduce the bike’s tendency to wheelie off the line.
In Europe, the 2012 MV Agusta Brutale 675 will set you back €8,990, which is around €100 cheaper than the equivalent Triumph. Read all about it in the press release .
We ogled the curvaceous , but this is the one we’ve really been waiting for: The OPC version. Standing for Opel Performance Center, “OPC” is similar to the “Type R” or “M” nomenclature, although not nearly as well known. The 2012 Astra OPC could change that in a hurry.
GM’s European division has really done a number on the compact hatchback to make it worthy of the badge, dropping a turbocharged, 2.0-liter four with direct injection underhood. The 280-horsepower engine is also good for 295 lb-ft of torque, and GM says the Astra OPC can do all of 155 mph. Like the , the OPC uses the HiPerStrut front suspension with adjustable dampers, steering and throttle, thanks to the FlexRide control system. But the top-of-the-line Astra model adds a limited-slip front differential to help control all that turbo torque. Brembo brakes, special front and rear fascias, dual exhaust, performance seats, a special steering wheel and new instrumentation round out the OPC package.
The Astra OPC will also be sold as the Vauxhall VXR in the U.K.
Of course, the first question any of us here in the States have is, “Will we get it?” To which the answer is, per usual, not likely. If we do get any version of the Astra, it’s much more likely to be the GTC, which could potentially be sold as a . Read the entire press release .
With nearly 700 horsepower and a stunningly angular supercar skin, the is one impressive exotic. And speaking of impressive, the resume of Fifth Gear presenter Tiff Needell is nothing to shake a stick at either. Two titans in their respective fields, but do they go great together?
The racecar driver turned Fifth Gear star took the bull by the horns, experiencing the Aventador on the UK’s public roads and on the track. The Aventador was strong enough to achieve one very impressive Fifth Gear speed record, but does Tiff love it? About as much as a stiff neck. to watch Needell try to tame Lambo’s latest.
We’ve already seen some of Hyundai’s facelifted , expected to arrive shortly carrying a 2013-model-year designation. But this low-res image from TheCarBlogger.net appears to be our first official look at the car, sitting low and mean on a racetrack.
The outgoing Genesis Coupe’s front end was never exactly a model of simplicity, but this new one has a lot more going on, with an aggressive hexagonal grille and fascia opening that cribs from its new kid brother, the . There are headlamps and LED detailing on what looks like a higher-spec model, and a rather bizarre vented hood with an almost whaletail-like pattern.
We can’t see too much of the bodyside, but it appears has given the car new split five-spoke wheels. The model’s plunging rear quarter window appears unchanged.
No official word yet on what’s under the hood, but we’re expecting both four- and six-cylinder power, as before, but we have reason to believe that a . Thanks to and Rhys Millen Racing, we now know that Hyundai’s stonking 5.0-liter Tau V8 , but we’d be surprised if an eight-cylinder coupe shows up at this January’s .
UPDATE: Apparently the image above is , despite very much like the spy shots we’ve already been shown. Even so, it appears to give a realistic view of the 2013 model.
Yesterday, we got to see the , and today we have video of one of the missions. But wait just a second – this isn’t a video game, it’s real life.
An in-car video camera has captured footage of two unnamed Brazilian police officers going after some bad guys on a remote runway, Cops-style. One officer can be seen firing a machine gun, just before the driver rams the wing of a plane in an effort to prevent it from taking off.
According to the Associated Press, a Brazilian federal police spokesman indicates that the pilot and four others were arrested, but nobody was hurt in the takedown. The video does appear to show plenty of contraband electronics that were seized from the alleged smugglers, however.
After decades of dominating the pony car sales charts, the has finally met its match in the latest . Naturally, this high-profile segment, is one that is loathe to concede. After being infused with completely new engines in 2011, the Mustang will soon receive a visual refreshening that aligns this horse’s looks even more with the range-topping model.
Our spy photographers have snapped a Mustang GT prototype with just a thin layer of 3M vinyl hiding the changes. Up front, you can clearly see the GT500’s influence in this Mustang prototype’s protruding grille. Also note that the coupe has dropped the Mustang GT’s circular, grille-mounted foglamps, as well as swapped out its galloping horse badge for a new logo that’s been moved from the center of the grille to the side. Even the lower air intake is shaped like an open smile, just like on the current GT500. And, is that a splitter we see hanging off the car’s chin?
We can also see brand new projector beam headlights up front with some LED tech buried within, and out back, the rear end gets new taillights. That rear wing is also new, and the rear bumper has been slightly redesigned as well.
Ford clearly hopes to imbue the Mustang GT with the GT500’s aggressive looks, and these spy shots show they’re on-track to do just that. Will it be enough to boost sales above the Camaro? We’ll see. The more interesting question is once the Mustang GT looks like the GT500, what will Ford do with its most powerful pony car? With the impending arrival of the 580-horsepower Camaro ZL1, we’re sure Ford’s .
One Furiously Blue Swan Song For Porsche’s 997 911
While Las Vegas’ has been busy showing off the best and worst sides of the tuning market, we dashed to Leonberg, Germany, for a thorough taste test of this 711-horsepower TechArt GTStreet RS. If we can exaggerate a touch, about the only thing on this 911 GT2 RS-based blue meanie that is from Porsche – or not matte finish or covered in Alcantara – is its rear-view mirror. At least that’s the impact it makes when you first lock eyes on it and then drive it.
Initially shown at this past September’s , this particular $750,000-ish GTStreet RS will eventually make its way into the roped-off garage of a very enthusiastic Chinese car nut. Lucky him.
The 599 has given birth to a staggering array of variants. There was the original GTB Fiorano. Then the HGTE with improved handling dynamics. There was the , the concept, the track car, the and two roadster variants: the and the . But while the entire 599 range is expected to be replaced soon, rumor has it there could be one final variant in the pipeline to see it off in grand style.
Word around the Internet chat boards like and is that Ferrari is planning to pay tribute to its star Formula One driver with a 599 Fernando Alonso edition. According to rampant speculation, the Alonso edition 599 will be lighter than any of the previous models, and therefore quicker. Tipped to be released in January, production is expected to be limited to an extremely exclusive 40 examples.
It is possible that the speculation was sparked by the F10 Tribute Edition which Alonso himself is seen driving in the video . That was little more than an existing 599 GTO specced out by a customer in Scuderia livery. We’ll just have to wait and see whether anything more comes of the rumors. But if Ferrari does choose to unveil such a model, it would be likely to do so at the Finali Mondiali cavallino-fest taking place this weekend at Mugello.
Now you can get a deal on a big box at your local big box. Costco is offering its members discounted General Motors trucks and SUVs as part of a new “brand-awareness program” for the automaker, according to Automotive News. Eligible vehicles include the , , , and , as well as corresponding varaints, the , , Yukon XL, and .
GM will offer Costco shoppers special prices that are roughly equivalent to those it extends to employees of automotive suppliers, but the discounts won’t be as steep as the ones GM employees get. Costco will also be throwing in a $500 gift card to members who purchase a new vehicle through the program, which runs through January 3, 2012.
With demand for large trucks and SUVs stagnating in recent years, the program seems like a no-brainer for GM, given that many Costco shoppers are likely prospective customers for these models. After all, you just can’t fit a and an in the trunk of a .
The suspensions are lowered, the dubs are mounted and the votes are tabulated: with the show in full swing, organizers have announced their top pics for the show.
Rather than name the top tuned cars, the name the best cars for tuning, in several categories. And so, the winners of the second annual SEMA Awards are…
The hottest car overall is awarded to the (like the pictured above), the hottest sport-compact is the , the hottest SUV goes to the , and the hottest truck has been named as the .
All the award recipients are domestics, save for the Fiat 500, and even that is effectively a product made in Mexico. So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Now crack open your aftermarket parts catalogs and have at ‘em.
We have little interest in running into burning buildings, but we can imagine being a firefighter has its perks. For starters, those guys and girls get the chance to pilot some seriously incredible machinery. Superlift, Matchbox and got together to create what could very possibly be the world’s most bad-ass brush truck using a as the base chassis. The truck wears an astonishing 10-inch lift and 41-inch Interko IROK tires. A full tube exo-cage helps protect the PPG “Oh So Orange” paint, and a smattering of lights and sirens ensure that everyone will see this emergency vehicle coming.
A full fire-fighting utility bed, complete with water tanks, pumps and hoses, sits ready to take on brush fires and the like, and a front-mounted water canon means that the Matchbox brush truck can tackle flames going and coming. We dig it.
Every year at we enjoy seeing the latest creations from the talented Ring Brothers. Last year they debuted an , and their latest project is this 1970 nicknamed “Diversion.”
Ring Brothers specializes in producing unique cars, and “Diversion” is no exception. The Camaro sits on a custom-built chassis with a specially fabricated body featuring extended rockers painted with BASF Mineral Gray paint. We’re always impressed with the unique billet details of their cars, and this Camaro has them in spades – hood hinges, door handles, taillight bezels and more. The car also features custom Forgeline three-piece wheels, Baer brakes and Flowmaster 44 Series mufflers. Under he hood is a GM LS7 massaged to over 650 horsepower running through a Tremec TKO-600 five-speed transmission.
You can see the Ring Brothers 1970 Camaro “Diversion” in detail in the high-res gallery above.
