If you’ve ever wanted to flag down one of Mexico City’s classic Bug taxis, you’d better book your travel now. The last of the iconic cabs will be decommissioned by the end of the year, according to the Associated Press.
VW hasn’t built the classic Beetle since 2003, the same year that Mexico City began requiring that taxi operators switch to four-door vehicles. The last Bugs that entered service as cabs back in 2002 have already been given two extra years of service compared to most taxis, according to the report.
The cabs are considered particularly dangerous, not just because they are essentially 74-year-old cars, but also because cab drivers generally remove the front passenger seat to facilitate access to the cramped rear quarters of the Beetle. But the cars are cheap to operate and according to one former Mexico City cabbie, help make the streets safer.
“Today the cars are bigger, and they drive faster,” Vera Perez told the AP, “Before, they drove more cautiously, because any accident would destroy them.”
According to Reuters, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has trained its gaze on nearly two million million and Mercury Sable models over a potential stuck throttle issue.
This past Sunday, March 11, NHTSA announced it would investigate 360,000 Taurus sedans from the 2005 and 2006 model years after the government safety regulator received 14 complaints of a stuck throttle due to cruise control cable detachment. A day later, The Detroit News reported that NHTSA has expanded its investigation to include all 2001 through 2006 Taurus and Sable models for a total of 1.92 million vehicles, and in a letter to Ford, said that it has located a total of 30 such complaints.
Reuters says at least one complaint noted that the Taurus’ engine can race to 4,000 RPM after the car is shifted into Park or Neutral, and there were further complaints indicating that affected models were difficult to slow. In certain cases, the transmission had to be shifted into Neutral or the engine turned off to stop the car.
is reportedly cooperating with the NHTSA probe and no recall has been announced.
You’ve seen plenty of that take place on public roads or dedicated race tracks. But you’ve probably never seen one where the two machines are wearing Blizzaks… or even studded tires.
French motorcycle publication Moto Journal has decided to turn the two-wheeled contingent on its head by moving the battleground to the frozen stretches of Lapland on a replica race track of Le Castellet, also known as Circuit Paul Ricard, cut through the snow and ice. In the first round, a goes up against a 1,000cc . Up next is a against a Yamaha WR450F. Yes, this is going to be good.
If the idea of watching an R1 hit 160 miles per hour on the ice isn’t enough to make you watch, perhaps we should mention that its rider is donning an Evel-Knievel-style cape, and that this appears to be just a teaser of a longer video or possibly even a series. Enough talking already. Check out the video in its entirety .
The buzz around the 2013 has centered around two questions: what will it look like and what will its retractable roof look like. Even though its expected unveiling at the is a few weeks away, we still have little info on its looks, although the Detroit concept clearly telegraphed what we should expect. We have got our first impression of how the sliding roof looks in action, though.
It’s been compared to the sliding roof on the Targa (and we hear that Lincoln is using the same supplier, Webasto), but whereas the Porsche’s roof panel slides underneath the rear glass, the MKZ has external tracks along the roofline that enable its glass toupee to rise and slide aft.
Our spy photogs say that although this roof is only retracted to a halfway position (probably due to the opaque camo that would eliminate all rear vision on the prototype), the real deal will slide all the way back.
Another rumor suggests there may be a system to create engine sounds through the car’s speakers for a livelier cabin atmosphere.
Form follows function, so it’s easy to find one element of a vehicle that explains everything you need to know about it.
Look at the widened haunches of a and you know there’s serious hardware in the Porsche’s rump. Check the elongated bed of an and its obvious the should be roaming free on the ranch. Look at a … Actually, don’t. It’s for your own good.
So when I opened the door to the , a single feature stood out: the cupholder. Encircled in a chrome ring and mounted dead-center in the massive armrest, this lone receptacle was the defining feature of the interior. As it should be. The Prius is the commensurate commuter and the V variant’s raised roof and enlarged hatch make it even more practical for Mommy and Daddy carpool duty. At least in theory.
Italy is dealing with a financial crisis that placed it just behind Greece on the list of dangers to the stability of the euro, and with €1.9 trillion in public debt the country hasn’t hesitated to turn over its couch pillows searching for every contribution. It started a couple of years ago with the Guardia di Finanza targeting superyacht owners, and it has continued with the financial police going after supercar owners.
In December 2011, the police noted the license plates of roughly 150 Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other high-dollar cars at the Cortina d’Ampezzo ski resort and gave the registration info to the tax office. The tax office checked on the declared incomes, and in nearly 60 cases found owners that claimed to be making less than €40,000 per year – this in a country where the base price of a is €70,700. In an especially bad case, one business owner owned a but had no tax records and a wife on public assistance.
The focus on owners of expensive cars has since spread to other hotspots for the rich like Rome, Milan, Portofino and Florence, and owners have responded by selling their cars at massive discounts. There have been reports of owners so worried about getting stopped by the police that they won’t even drive them to the dealer to be traded in, but want the dealer to come pick them up. Entrepreneurs in Eastern Europe and South America are taking advantage of the clearance sales.
Tax cheats are estimated to cost Italy €120 billion per year, and the new efforts along with huge new taxes are expected to reap more than €160 billion annually.
Many of the tuners here at the have little to no restraint when it comes to styling, which is why we appreciate subtlety when we see it. Lumma Design, hailing from Winterlingen, Germany, offers an example of such restraint with its CLR 9 S based on the new 991 . The styling package includes a tasteful strip package, a new front clip with an integrated splitter and a three-piece spoiler at the rear. A new set of quad exhaust tips also peek out from the rear fascia.
Inside, the CLR 9 S features a slathering of new leather and Alcantara on the seats, dashboard and door panels. Carbon leather trim can also be found on the steering wheel, center console and shifter.
You can read Lumma Design’s official press release regarding the CLR 9 S , and check out live photos of the car from the Geneva show floor in the gallery above.
One way to ensure that your brand-new (a.k.a. 991) won’t look like the one in your neighbor’s driveway is to give TechArt a call. The famed German tuner has rolled out at the and trust us, it won’t be mistaken for anything from the factory in Stuttgart.
Up front, TechArt has fitted its own unique two-part spoiler with integrated splitter while more aggressive side skirts adorn the rocker panels. The rear has a new lower diffuser, wrapped around the TechArt exhaust, and a large fixed rear wing (complete with an integrated third brake light). Look more closely to notice the subtle trim panels on the exterior mirrors and front headlights. The wheels are lightweight forged 20- and 21-inch alloys with matching paint on their rims.
Inside the heavily modified cabin are even more drastic enhancements (let’s say TechArt has gone over the top). Don’t let the aluminum pedals be a distraction as you inspect the black Alcantara and high-grade leather covering nearly every square inch. Flirting with gaudy, the dark upholstery is contrasted by vehicle-color-coordinated stitching and painted trim splashed throughout. However, the icing on the cake is an insanely thick TechArt three-spoke sports steering wheel.
We donned our darkest shades and shot a full on the Geneva floor. Plus, you can also check out the detailed press release and a handful of official pictures below.
The all-new 991 variant of the has only been on sale for a few months, but renowned Porsche tuner Ruf is already hard at work applying its patented blend of power, handling and braking to the latest 911.
On hand at the are two new 991-based Rufs, the Rt 35 Anniversary (green, above) and the RGT 8 (yellow). The Rt35 is a rolling celebration of Ruf’s 35 years in business and beats Porsche to the punch by offering a twin turbo kit for the Carrera S, outputting 621 horsepower and an equally astounding 608 pound feet of torque through a standard seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Ruf isn’t citing a 0-60 time, but claims the Rt35 tops out at a little over 205 mph.
The original RGT 8 and shocked Porsche purists by packing a race-derived V8 where the flat-six would traditionally reside. This updated version based on the 991 uses a similar 4.5-liter V8 good for 543 hp and 368 lb-ft of twist, all routed through a proper six-speed manual gearbox.
Finally, Ruf has updated its flagship CTR 3 in a new Clubsport variant, with copious quantities of carbon fiber both inside and out and powered provided by a twin-turbo flat-six outputting 740 hp and 708 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed sequential gearbox puts the power down, further ensuring its status as a track machine that’s barely suitable for a run to the corner store. Bonus Ruf porn in the video .
It’s the battle of 1986: The best Shelby “Goes Like Hell” extant or a four-wheel-drive Vanagon powered by a flat six from a . Both of these awesome rides popped up in our inbox this morning, thanks to our favorite automotive classifieds site, Bring A Trailer. Argument ensued, with good cases made for both.
The Shelby Dodge is, of course, based on the Omni econobox. But with a turbocharged 2.2-liter four making 175 horsepower and a curb weight around 2,200 pounds, the GLHS was a real performance car. With a bit of tuning, the turbo Dodge engines were capable of topping 200 hp; this in an era in which V8 GT’s were barely pumping out 200 horses. Given that only 500 Shelby GLHS’s were built, we’ve got to imagine you’d be hard-pressed to find a better example than this one, claimed to have just 6,600 miles on the odo. It’s for sale by a Michigan dealer .
The Vanagon is the sort of project we all dream of undertaking in our backyards. With a 3.2-liter, air-cooled six pulled from an ‘89 911, we don’t imagine this Syncro will have any problems making it up any mountain passes. Dumping the VW wasserboxer is a favorite Vanagon owner pastime, and given the historic relationship between the companies, we think it’s only right to source power rather than the more common Subaru engine swap. The Syncro is for sale on .
So help us resolve the Autoblog Staff Argument of the Day and vote in our poll, and click on the galleries below to see lots of photos of these two sweet vehicles.
Now that Forza Motorsport 4 developer Turn 10 Studios and finally “found the right terms,” you can have in your Forza. The Porsche Expansion Pack will be available for 1,600 MS points or $19.99, and will reward you with 30 products from the Stuttgart maker including the 2010 . Turn 10 says that seven of the 30 will be completely new to the series, which probably means you can expect the return of classics from Forza 3 like the 962.
The pack isn’t included in the game’s Season Pass, but your Porsche Expansion Pack won’t just get cars, either: there will be 20 new events, 10 XBox Live achievements and a Rivals Mode all based on Porsches as well. The pack is scheduled to be available on May 22 and will take FM4’s car count (with DLCs) to 625. The licensing deal isn’t long-term, so if Porsches are your thing you should mark May 22 on your calendar.
The other two new events on the Forza 4 horizon are that level caps have been raised from 150 to 999, and a new game called Forza Horizon is on the way. It’s being developed by an outside studio called Playground Games and no one seems to know anything about it beyond Turn 10’s assessment that “it’s a fast-paced pick-up-and-play racing game.” There’s a video trailer for Horizon which won’t tell you anything more than you already know, but sounds pretty cool.
fettler RUF is bringing six new products to the , showing off what it has in mind for the 991-model . The company announced on its Facebook page that its 300-square-meter stand will showcase the “stunning CT”, “rocket RT”, “racer RG”, “luxury RX”, the “grandfather of RUF Turbo cars” as well as a surprise.
The image above was surreptitiously and is purported to be the new CTR3, hiding a 700-horsepower, twin-turbo flat six good for a sub-four second run to 62 mph and a 235 mph terminal velocity. It is shaping up to be a very good Geneva show.
Order a new and you’ll be presented with what may seem like an endless list of options. But the one we’re looking at today isn’t an interior piece covered in leather or the color of the brake calipers. It’s European delivery.
European delivery is available from a number of German and Swedish automakers, and allows customers to fly in and pick up their car right off the assembly line (or at the factory, anyway) instead of waiting for their new car to arrive at the dealership. Porsche has just tweaked its program, making it that much more enticing.
By opting for European delivery, buyers of a new Porsche can opt to pick up at one of two Porsche assembly plants: Zuffenhausen (where the , and are built) or Leipzig (home of the and ). Regardless of the model, buyers can choose either location, and each offers its own benefits. Both include a factory tour, but Zuffenhausen includes the , while Leipzig includes the opportunity to lap the test track or take a Cayenne off-road.
Porsche can also schedule a photo session on the grounds of either factory, and will arrange for temporary insurance and plates – and even winter tires if needed – allowing its customers to spend a couple weeks in Europe getting to know their new car. Once the honeymoon is over, Porsche will ship the car to the U.S.
While these programs don’t offer the cost savings they once did, they still provide the unique opportunity of turning an acquisition into an experience that makes us wonder why anyone with the means and the time wouldn’t take advantage. for the full press release.
Over at HQ, the bubbly is flowing like high-octane unleaded. Of all the sports cars sold in the U.S. in 2011, 30 percent were either a or . Woo hoo! *POP!*
Take that, ! Take that, ! Take that, um, ? and ? Yeah, Camaro trounced all y’all! Beat Mustang by almost 18,000 cars and the Dodge Challenger by, wow, more than 48,000 units! And don’t even think about lining up your CR-Z next to a Camaro, ’cause you’ll get smoked!
In the big-ticket sports car class, the Corvette is still king. In fact, nearly as many Vettes were sold in 2011 as the , and the combined.
But back to the Camaro. Why is the (at minimum) 323-horsepower Camaro listed alongside the relatively anemic 122-hp Honda and 138-hp Hyundai? Smoke and mirrors from Chevy? Maybe, but probably not. They’re all two-door coupes… except for the Veloster which has three. They’re also all available in red and considered compact cars by the EPA…. except for the CR-Z, which is a two-seater. More likely, the three are in the same GM target market of 25-40-year-old males… who want to get 40 mpg while going 150 mph with the convenience of a hatchback?
We give up. Feel free to peruse the press release .
With the introduction of the new 991-series , a multitude of tuners have been hard at work over the last several months tweaking and customizing the latest iteration of Stuttgart’s legendary rear-engined sports car. One of those tuners, TechArt, first back in September, but they are now are ready to officially debut the car at the next week.
TechArt has never been one to shy away from changing up the appearance of the Porsche 911 (the is evidence of that), and the same goes for the newest model. The German tuner has given the car a new look with a more aggressive front fascia and integrated splitter, a fixed rear spoiler and lightweight 20 and 21-inch wheel options. An upgraded exhaust system is also available, as well as custom interior pieces like a three-spoke steering wheel and carbon fiber trim.
We’ll have a closer look at the Techart Porsche 911 when we hit the show floor next week, and we’ll be sure to bring you plenty of photos. Until then, check out the gallery above or for the official press release from TechArt.
Citroën did it before with the DS3, bringing a hatchback to the 2010 , now it’s time for the DS4 Racing concept. As with its predecessor it’s been developed by Citroën Racing, the arm that preps the car that’s won the WRC seven times running.
As you’d expect, the DS4 Racing concept is 35 millimeters lower and has a 55-mm wider track, with words like “bigger” and “more powerful” getting lots of use elsewhere. Go is provided by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder that gets 256-horsepower, and stop is handled by four-pot calipers up front on 380-mm discs – 40-mm larger than on the we just drove.
A press release with more specs is , and all angles matt-gray beauty are in the high-res gallery. We’ll see it live next week in Geneva.
invested remarkably in the 928, introduced in 1978, planning for it to supersede the by-then 15-year-old 911. It had a transaxle to keep weight balance 50/50, an instrument binnacle that tilted with the steering wheel, sun visors for rear passengers, polyurethane bumpers that, compared to the chromed monstrosities of the day, actually maintained the car’s lines, and some of the coolest pop-up headlights ever. It’s front-mounted V8 with 297 horsepower got 82 more ponies than the Ferrari 308 GTB.
To sell the car to UK customers in 1980, though, Porsche put together an eight-minute clip that spent as much time on the innovations as it did on women shopping, golfing and driving through a lot of castle driveways.
If you’re ready for “an impression of what motoring in its finest form is like” from the days when you could just “phone your local Porsche dealer, tell him you want a drive and he’ll take care of the rest,” there’s a video for you .
It’s been a long while since the guys at Motor Trend went through the trouble of picking the best driver’s car, and for good reason. In order to pull off an actual test with any merit, the publication would need to wrangle some of the most impressive pieces of automotive engineering together on the same track on the same day. When we’re talking about vehicles like the , , , and the like, that can be a daunting feat, even for a rag of MT’s swagger.
The stars aligned, however, and the crew managed to collect the hardware above as well as heathens like the , Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Porsche Cayman R, Audi R8 GT, and the Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca. All told, the collection was worth more than $1.5 million, and Motor Trend took the time to put them all through a battery of grueling performance tests before handing over the keys to a pro driver for a few quick laps at Laguna Seca. Rough times, guys.
The decision-making process has been split into three parts, and Part 1 is . Enjoy.
Gran Canaria is a volcanic nexus of disconnected associations, a bit of everything from a bit of everywhere. Geographically and geologically, this third largest of the Canary Islands belongs to Africa. Climatologically, it belongs to the Macaronesia Ecoregion. Its name is said to have come from an ancient Mauritanian king who, according to Pliny the Elder, named it Islas Canarias – Island of the Dogs – because of the numerous canines upon it. Politically, Gran Canaria belongs to Spain, which is why the tallest mountain in Spain is on neighboring island Tenerife. Linguistically, however, the Canarios dialect can be challenging for Spanish speakers to understand.
The island occupies just 600 square miles, but it’s otherwise all over the map. Yet it shares one crucial thing with the 2012 Cabriolet that we flew there to drive: purpose. You have to want to get to Gran Canaria – it doesn’t just happen.
Such is the case with Porsche’s latest top-dollar droptop – neither luck nor accident could have created it; the men responsible wanted this very car. The 991 Cabriolet is the sum of 30 years of 911 convertibles, and for proof of purpose, you need only know that a team of engineers has been devoted to the roof – and just the roof – on this car since 2004. For that effort they would like that their creation, and the car beneath it, earn the same the accolade bestowed on the hardtop for three months now: the best ever.
It is. But there’s more to it than a little extra fabric…
Yes, that is a . Yes, that is fresh concrete. No, this is not some uber-powerful aftermarket-tuned car that just liquified the San Francisco pavement underneath – the was driven into this predicament.
Now before we start passing judgment on this poor soul, a driver who has so obviously burned more than his share of karmic bridges, let’s just pause to thank him or her, both for providing us the enjoyment of this video and also for upholding certain reputations.
And let us also remember that the next time we’re stuck in traffic because of road construction, to just put some Michael McDonald on the stereo and chill out, rather than trying to pass everyone by driving through the construction lane and getting stuck in fresh concrete.
To watch the whole video, which does contain some NSFW language, click .
![22eda 2012 porsche 911 cabriolet lead First Drive: 2012 Porsche 911 Cabriolet [w/video]](http://theautoblog.ru/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/22eda_2012-porsche-911-cabriolet-lead.jpg "First Drive: 2012 Porsche 911 Cabriolet [w/video]")
