Heather Peters in Torrance, California over the gas mileage she was getting in her Honda Civic Hybrid, which was around 20 miles per gallon less than had advertised. After two days of testimony, Commissioner Doug Carnahan sent his 26-page decision to both Peters and , with a ruling in favor of Peters and $9,687 awarded in damages. That’s just short of the $10,000 maximum that can be won in small-claims court.
In the decision, Carnahan wrote “At a bare minimum Honda was aware … that by the time Peters bought her car there were problems with its living up to its advertised mileage.” He went further, indicating that he found Honda to have committed fraud, but not intentional fraud.
According to a report in the Associated Press, Honda’s EPA certification engineer said Honda “was required to post a sticker with the Environmental Protection Agency’s estimate of the highest mileage the car could get.” (In a previous report from Automotive.com he was characterized as saying that “automakers had no option but to adhere to the federal testing procedures.”) While that claim was shot down by earlier precedent where it was shown that automakers had cited lower fuel economy numbers than the EPA in their advertising and marketing, it will be interesting to see whether this line in Carnahan’s decision comes up again: “Honda’s own testing should be the guideline for how it advertises its vehicles’ mileages, not the generalized work … done by the EPA.”
And we can be certain it will since Honda has already stated its intention to appeal. And because the appeal will be held in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the way has been cleared for Honda to get its lawyers in the courtroom.
This gives other plaintiffs in the class action suit over Civic Hybrid mileage an option as to how to proceed. The last day to sign onto the settlement of that earlier suit is February 11, however, even if that case remains unfinished; a judge in San Diego won’t rule until March on whether that settlement, which would see plaintiffs get a $100 to $200 and $1,000 discount on a new Honda and trial attorneys get $8.5 million, is fair.
Saying automotive journalists like diesel sedans is like arguing the color pink is going to do well with the 5-year-old-girl demographic this quarter. You’re not going to find too many dissenting voices. So, it should be no surprise that we love ourselves some BMW 335d. With plenty of power and impressive fuel economy, the outgoing diesel is a mechanical wonder child. And yet, thanks to the new F30-generation BMW 328i, with its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine produces 240 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, there’s some competition for the title of most fuel efficient 3 Series.
Admittedly, the 328i’s numbers are a far cry from the 265 ponies and 425 lb-ft of torque cranked out by the diesel-fueled 3.0-liter inline six in the 335d. Even so, the 2012 328i is considerably lighter and more aerodynamic. It also boasts a next-generation transmission, which helps the car get to 60 mph one tenth of a second quicker than the old 335d. That’s surprising, but not nearly as surprising as the fact that the 328i manages 1 mpg better than the diesel in the combined cycle. According to the EPA’s just-released figures, the 328i nets 24 miles per gallon in the city and an impressive 36 mpg on the highway. The 335i? 23 mpg city and 36 highway.
We’ll give you a moment to pick up your jaw from the floor. Now all BMW needs to do, as Automobile points out, is drop a diesel four-cylinder behind the headlights of the to go after even bigger green credentials. Fingers crossed.
The next will be chock-full of standard and optional technology features, but its all-new Modular Infotainment System has the potential to set a new benchmark for both high-end and entry-level navigation, entertainment and connectivity.
Three new systems will be available when the 2013 Golf goes on sale in Europe towards the end of this year, starting with a five-inch touchscreen and moving up to a 5.8-inch unit and finally a range-topping eight-inch system. Each unit will be equipped with a capacitive touchscreen, with the eight-inch version packing an 800×450 resolution screen, multitouch functionality and set to debut in future models, including the next . Making use of that high-powered chipset will be revamped 3D graphics for menus and mapping, with free nav updates available for three years and the ability to activate additional features after the initial vehicle purchase.
Handwriting recognition will also be included in the system, much like the system , which will allow users to skip the soft keyboard and write out destinations and point-of-interest searches. Additionally, VW is looking to include MirrorLink functionality (which essentially mirrors your phone’s screen on the navigation display), as expected, Internet-connectivity through smartphone tethering will be an option, along with the ability to create a WLAN hotspot.
Finally, tells Autoblog it plans to integrate proximity sensors into the head unit – similar to system – switching over from “display mode” to “operating mode” when it detects the driver or passenger’s hand moving towards the screen. The proximity sensors could also detect which side of the screen your hand is placed and then highlight specific features for easier selection.
Naturally, pricing for each system won’t be released until the Golf goes on sale in Europe this fall and hits the U.S. sometime in 2013, but VW representatives made it clear that these systems will be priced aggressively in order to compete with other feature-rich competitors.
Drivers on a stretch of Interstate 75 in Florida found themselves in the midst of a scene from a nightmare early Sunday morning. Fog and smoke from a nearby brush fire combined to significantly reduce visibility, which resulted in a massive pile up just south of Gainesville involving 12 cars and six or seven semi trucks. The collisions began at 3:45AM EST and police have confirmed at least 10 deaths associated with the incident and ensuing vehicle fires. All six lanes of the highway are closed now as investigators work to discern exactly what caused the tragedy.
According to reports, the smoke and fog were still heavy when rescuers arrived, forcing emergency personnel to listen for screams and cries in the darkness. The wreckage was spread over a mile across both sides of the interstate. Around 18 people were injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment, though their conditions are unknown at this time.
Authorities had closed the highway earlier in the day due to poor visibility, but later opened the road again when the smoke appeared to have cleared. for a Reuters news report on the incident.
When you hear the Shelby name, the first person who comes to mind is likely Carroll, father of the Cobra, racing legend, and a man still involved in the development of performance Fords at nearly 90 years of age.
You probably don’t think of Jerod Shelby, even though his company, Shelby SuperCars, has for years been building cars that compete for the title of world’s fastest. His latest creation, the Tuatara, might steal the title back from the , but in the meantime has proven to be .
Problem is, the automotive world isn’t big enough for two companies named after a Shelby, and so it has come to pass that Jerod’s company will change its name from Shelby SuperCars to SSC North America. The switcheroo is reportedly a result of a settlement with Carroll Shelby Licensing and Carroll Shelby International.
With that behind him, hopefully Jerod can get back to the Veyron-beating business. His company has also on the new 36,000-square-foot world headquarters and production facility in West Richland, Washington a few months back.
As far as the lineup goes, the John Cooper Works models sit at the very top of the performance spectrum. But that’s not enough for Mini’s (relatively) new chief Kay Segler. The German auto exec came to the post from the M division of parent company , and that’s what Segler wants for the Mini brand as well.
So what does a further differentiated JCW line mean for the Mini? That’s hard to say at this point, beyond marketing, but we could be looking at even more powerful versions than the 208-horsepower, 1.6-liter turbo four currently employed. With the arrival of the , Mini will have created Works versions of every bodystyle in its considerable portfolio – and it will have a more powerful 223hp mill on its hands, which could find its way into the as well.
More exciting JCW models aren’t all that Segler has planned for Mini, however. According to Car and Driver, as U.S. demand is growing for for Mini’s diesel-powered models already offered in Europe and other markets. While we wouldn’t expect an oil-burning Mini to find its way across the Atlantic in this generation of models, once the next series comes along in the next couple of years, a diesel-powered Mini could wind up in American showrooms.
, which still insists on using the term Sports Activity Coupe to describe its least practical ‘ute, has updated its for the 2013 model year. And with good reason – BMW says it has sold over 20,000 X6 crossovers in the States since its launch three years ago and over 150,000 worldwide, making it an important model for the German automaker.
First and foremost, the 2013 X6 offers available power from both the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline six and 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 through its M Performance Package (which is not the same thing as the that carries on for 2013 with its 555-horsepower V8 and six-speed automatic transmission).
By ticking he appropriate box on the order sheet, the X6 xDrive35i is blessed with 315 horsepower (a gain of 15 over stock) and 330 pound-feet of torque (a 30-lb-ft gain). The larger V8-powered model sports up to 440 hp and 480 lb-ft, gains of 40 horses and 30 torques. Models not ordered with the M Performance Package retain the less powerful engines offered in 2012, and all engines are mated to eight-speed automatic gearboxes.
Exterior updates include a slew of subtle revisions to the front fascia that bring the X6 more in line with the latest and models, with grilles that are a bit bolder than the outgoing machine. Also new are available adaptive LED headlights in place of the standard Xenon bulbs. LEDs are new additions to the rear lighting system as well, housed in larger enclosures.
A rash of interior treatment options are new for 2013, as are a few new exterior colors that includes a tasty root beer metallic brown. Expect to see the 2013 X6 in dealerships in the spring. For all the details, we suggest checking out the official press release , but not before ingesting our high-res image gallery above.
Wherever you find and going at it, is seldom very far behind. Except in Australia. The Land Down Under has its own unique touring car championship in the form of its popular V8 Supercars series, but the only contestants these days are Ford (with its FPV Falcon) and GM subsidiary Holden (with its HSV Commodore). That, however, could change in the near future.
Word on the Aussie street is that Chrysler Group Australia is entertaining the possibility of jumping into the popular series, likely with a vehicle based (however loosely) on the 300. Because V8 Supercars teams – which budget around $10 million to run two cars for the season – are by regulation independent of any manufacturer, Chrysler would need to woo a few away from their current Ford or Holden partners, but several have reportedly approached the Pentastar automaker about the possibility.
The addition of a third manufacturer to challenge Ford and Holden would mirror a similar move made this season by to challenge and (which was also to be considering a V8 Supercars entry) in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM). Chrysler previously supplied the V8 Supercars series with the first-gen 300C SRT8, which serves as the pace car for several years.
According to Australia’s The Age, SRT brand CEO Ralph Gilles reportedly likes the idea, but stopped short of committing to any impending program. The prospect, however, could be made more feasible by a new, more cost-effective “Car of the Future” being implemented in V8 Supercars, much as the “Car of Tomorrow” was in NASCAR and the “Next-Generation Touring Car” was in the British Touring Car Championship. Another plus is the expansion of the series outside of Australia to locations like India, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and – most crucially – the United States as a for the upcoming U.S. Grand Prix Formula One race in Austin, Texas.
What a surprise. Today’s Congressional hearing over the fire and the resulting investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration turned out to be contentious.
The hearing took place in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending. Just from the title of the event – “Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA Know and When Did They Know It?” – it was plain to see that chairman was not looking to mess around. Issa had General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland and John German (Senior Fellow and Program Director at the International Council on Clean Transportation) at his disposal, but he clearly didn’t always like what they had to say. Issa and other Republicans questioned the “unnatural relationship” between the Obama Administration and GM as well as why it took NHTSA so many months to reveal the fire in November when it happened in June.
GM’s Akerson stood up for the Volt, saying that the fire that’s caused so much commotion only happened “after putting the battery through lab conditions that no driver would experience in the real world,” . Strickland said NHTSA “pulled no punches” in the Volt fire investigation – which recently ended – but Issa was having none of it. He told Strickland: “I hear you, I don’t believe you.”
You can find the official Congressional website about the hearing (which includes a video of the entire session) . The subcommittee’s staff report, “Government Motors: A Preliminary Report on the Effects of Bailouts and Politics on the Obama Administration’s Ability to Protect American Consumers” is . Be careful when reading it, though, as it starts by subtly misleading the reader. The report says:
Moreover, in the case of GM, the [Obama] Administration has offered substantial taxpayer funded subsidies to encourage production of the Volt. … It has also extended a significant subsidy to encourage consumers to purchase the vehicle, offering buyers of the Volt a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 per vehicle.
A bit of research shows that the $7,500 tax credit was first with the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, well before there was an Obama Administration.
This electric DeLorean is just a prototype, but our sister publication, got to take it for a spin and found that a 260-horsepower electric motor finally makes the DMC-12 the sports car everyone has always wanted it to be. While we get to see plenty of footage of , this episode also includes an interview with DeLorean Motor Company CEO Stephen Wynne.
While we don’t want to give too much away, Wynne discusses future plans for the Texas-based DeLorean restorer and remanufacturer, which include . Wynne tells Translogic that the car is expected to sell for between $95,000-$100,000. The car is said to have a 100-mile range, which would make it roughly equivalent to the , but with far more performance - not to mention its iconic time machine looks.
With all the as of late, we wonder if perhaps this is the car to change their minds about EVs? See Translogic’s full experience with the electric DeLorean in the video .
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has big plans for the Jacob K. Javits Center. The politician recently announced plans to tear down the convention hall to make way for housing, hotels and museums. The remainder of the land would then be leased to developers as an additional source of income for the state. That comes as a shock to architect Bruce S. Fowle, who has been renovating the structure for the past six years, working to turn the 25-year-old structure into a brighter space with a smaller environmental footprint.
While the proposed demolition is still years away if it occurs at all, the plan brings into question the future of the New York Auto Show. Cuomo says the conventions like the auto show that are currently hosted by the Jacob K. Javits Center will be relocated to a new $4 billion center at the Aqueduct racetrack in Jamaica, Queens. The funds will reportedly come from Genting, a Malaysian gambling company, according to The New York Times.
The marketing shenanigans continue under the rubric of “Let’s Do This,” this time with a five-story 3D projection of a claw game on the side of The Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. In fact, that a couple of Sunset Boulevard’s lanes had to be shut down to accommodate the controls, which were a waist-high gearshift and an acclerator pedal.
So big was the PR stunt that it earned Chevrolet a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the mightiest claw game on Earth. to see it in action and to watch someone win a non-projected, very real, Chevy Sonic.
has tripled the size of its booth here at , and contained within is a mockup of the next A3’s interior. Well, half of it. But the functional display was designed to showcase the latest generation of Audi Connect, the automaker’s reworked infotainment system that’s set to debut on the .
As we , Audi is incorporating its touchpad technology (originally fitted to the and ) directly into its Multi Media Interface (MMI) control knob, negating the need to move one’s hand to write individual letters for navigation, point-of-interest and web searches. As expected, the knob has grown in size, but the additional girth isn’t a bad thing. Audi has also nixed the traditional buttons flanking the knob and instead replaced them with toggle switches to swap between navigation, telephone, radio and media. From a muscle-memory point-of-view, this should be a good thing.
The other major upgrade is under the dash, with the installation of Audi’s first Multi-Media Extension (MMX) board. This new an NVIDIA Tegra graphics processor that not only displays fantastic images and 3D animations on the ultra-thin seven-inch display, it can be swapped out as chipset technology evolves. Audi has also expanded its Google Earth integration to include Google Street View and a new iPhone cradle in the armrest boosts the phone’s signal to keep the data flowing. We were also told that inductive charging could be included in the cradle, but that might be one system that’s left on the cutting room floor. Get a sample of it all in our hands-on video .
Mercedes-Benz and plan on in the future, sharing the Mercedes A-Class platform and engines in an effort save cash on engineering and manufacturing resources. A big part of that collaboration is now official with a joint engine announcement.
Nissan will produce high-end four-cylinder engines at its Decherd, Tennessee facility. The engine will find its way under the hood of Mercedes and models beginning in 2014, with a max capacity of 250,000 units per year.
Both automakers are understandably excited about the strategic announcement. Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn called the tie-up “our most significant project outside of Europe so far.” Daimler Chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche added that the co-op will help Mercedes achieve its expansion goals, adding that the engine agreement will “make optimum use of synergies arising from the cooperation.”
to read over the Nissan press release. also issued the exact same release, except the German automaker swapped names so that Daimler appeared before Nissan.
After spending the first half of December up in the San Fernando Vallery with Drew Phillips, our made its way back into my care for a holiday road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Old Blue saw some great American icons on the trip, such as Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Sonoma Valley and the Golden Gate Bridge. Come to think of it, the and I have seen a lot of the country’s splendor together. After all, my last run with the involved .
Since that long road trip in the Jetta this past summer, the interior seems to be more broken-in, though it isn’t showing any noticeable signs of wear. That said, it still isn’t a very pleasant place to be. I didn’t love it on my cross-country journey a few months ago, and while it’s more comfortable now that more butts have been in the driver’s seat, there simply isn’t anything to rave about.
Fuel economy, however, is as great as ever – I commonly see numbers over 40 mpg. The car’s much-disliked gearbox is still tricky, and we broke a sweat trying not to stall while starting out on some of those steep San Francisco hills (especially when cars were behind us). But with some serious concentration, we managed with minimal problems.
All-in-all, the Jetta TDI continues to get the job done, though never quite in the refined manner that we’re looking for. I’ve put thousands of miles on this Jetta TDI myself, but have yet to completely bond with it.
We’re more than happy to admit we have an intense fondness for the classic , especially in wagon form. Among its many virtues are its timeless styling, rugged Swedish structure and, with its range of four-cylinder engines, reliability and economy.
Fast, however, it was not.
At least, not in stock form. But at least one enterprising man named Mattias Vöcks, who works for none other than , decided to build at the in Vegas with a bit more power. As in 600 horsepower, courtesy of a turbocharged 2.8-liter inline six-cylinder engine. Yep, that ought to do it, eh?
In fact, it’s enough power to embarrass a Ferrari 599 in a straight line. Don’t believe us? Check out the video for some terrifyingly fast turbo brick action.
took to the Delhi Auto Expo with a pair of Defender Concepts, demonstrating a few design possibilities Land Rover could pursue with the next-generation SUV. The company says it intends to launch the vehicle by 2015, which means the automaker has its work cut out for it if it plans to meet that deadline. The concepts feature many of the same attributes that made the original Defender and off-road icon, including dramatically short overhangs front and rear and a near vertical wind screen for increased visibility.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the pair of Defenders, though. After an at the , Land Rover spruced them up for a at the last November.
The Defender Concept Twins also come loaded with technology designed to make blazing your own trail all the easier, including a clever sonar-based system that can measure water depth as the vehicle crosses deep creeks and flooded streams. In addition, a new Terrain Response system maps the ground ahead of the vehicle in 3D and suggests alternate routes when the vehicle detects an obstruction. for a quick video on the vehicle as well as the full press release.
was a peer-to-peer car rental service that began in San Francisco six months ago, had opened up shop in Los Angeles, and was in the process of expanding to to other West Coast cities. Specializing in luxury cars under $100,000, members offered their cars up for rental to other locals at rather excellent rates. Cars above six figures were included after being vetted by the service – members were vetted as well – and the service provided comprehensive insurance to protect owners and renters.
According to TechCrunch, that apparently didn’t stop a car-theft ring from targeting HiGear and making off with four cars worth between $300,000 and $400,000. The thieves created verifiable identities and paid with stolen credit cards, bypassing all of HiGear’s safeguards. So as of January 3, 2012 HiGear was forced to shut down, citing untenable costs due to the thefts.
It’s a shame, since the peer-to-peer social-networking nature of the service meant that you could rent cars you’d be severely challenged to find as easily anywhere else: a 1971 Eldorado could be had for $100 a day, a 1955 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was $300, and a 2006 Bentley Flying Spur was $400. Although this idea didn’t survive, we hope this isn’t the last we hear of HiGear CEO Ali Moiz.
Think “supercar” and only a handful of countries are likely to come to mind. And most of them are in Europe: Italy, Great Britain, Germany… even Sweden and France have pitched in here and there with such notables as Koenigsegg and . Consider examples like the , Ford GT and and you can deal America in on the action, and with vehicles like the Acura NSX, and , Japan has lent its hand, too. But India?
The populous subcontinent may not be the first that comes to mind, but DC Design is eager to change that. The company has popped onto the scene here and there with its and , but is now preparing to step up to the big leagues with the vehicle you see teased here.
Set to be unveiled at the upcoming Delhi Auto Expo (which is not, to our chagrin, a display of pastrami delivery trucks), DC’s first independent project is set to be powered by a forced-induction V6 engine sourced from , delivering about 400 horsepower. Considering the low target weight of less than 3,500 pounds, that could prove more than enough. 30 lakh rupees (about $56,000) is the target price, with production capped at 3,000 units per year.
in a effectively sealed his place in the hallowed halls of stunt driver lore. As it turns out, actually pulling off a 360-degree barrel roll in a vehicle is one of the most challenging stunts one can perform. Driving on two wheels? Cakewalk. Knocking down a series of ? As easy as sucking pea soup through a crazy straw. The barrel roll requires stacks of mathematical calculations to account for everything from the vehicle’s weight to its speed and the exact rotation angle of each ramp.
But Dyrdek wasn’t the first guy to successfully execute such a bit of insanity. He’s one of a select few stunt drivers to do the deed, and Popular Mechanics has taken a look at those who have tackled the automotive barrel roll in the past. Dyrdek’s stunt was actually an almost exact replica of the Astro Spiral Jump as performed in 1972 at the Houston Astrodome. That exercise used a significantly classier AMC Javelin, however. Head over to to check out the video series and click for a clip on the Astro Spiral Jump.
