If you want to buy a new car, you go to a car dealership. If you want to buy a ridiculously expensive and luxurious cashmere sweater in any color imaginable, you go to Harrods. At least that’s the way it once was, but these days the swanky London department store has been turning its front window display into an automotive showroom.
A year and a half ago at Harrods, a lead that in the same space a month later. just a few months ago, and now is doing the same with its Goodwood edition hatchback.
As you may recall, the Goodwood is a Mini hatchback that’s had its interior fitted by the same craftsmen who do the cabins for . Only 1,000 units will be made, each with a whopping $52,000 price tag. The Mini Inspired by Goodwood has been on display at Harrods for a week already and will be for another, with a salesman on hand – swatches and samples at the ready – to answer questions and take orders behind the window on Brompton Road.
We can’t see any way for Mr. LaHood and his crusaders against distracted driving to win; consumers want access to their connected lives even while behind the wheel and they’re going to find a way to get it. Even if it means not being able to actually use a cellphone, manufacturers are right now working on ways to further integrate the app-sphere into their infotainment systems, and a Michigan company called Livio would like to help them.
Livio makes devices so you can get Internet radio in your car. It has begun working on a set of software tools that will provide a common language between automakers’ inftotainment systems and apps. Livio wants to develop the software with each interested maker to provide integration tailored to specific systems, and its role as translator would free automakers from software duties and give app makers an easier route to in-car adaptability.
One could ask why don’t automakers simply work together on a common standard. It’s possible that they are, but with carmakers having come so far with their own systems, with infotainment one of the hottest battlegrounds between brands, and with colossal variation in regulatory diktats, we can see why Livio is presenting the option. The firm hasn’t set up any deals yet, but automakers and electronics firms are paying attention.
Oh, how we’d like to go all grumpy-old-man-get-off-my-lawn on for this latest bit of hipster marketing. But dammit, it’s got robots in it. Real robots, industrial robots, installed inside a 2012 hatchback. And it’s just so cool.
The robots are there to help Jeff Soto paint a mural on an empty brick wall, and while we’re pretty sure the final product of this collaboration is still something like 90-percent man and 10-percent machine, we really like what we see. Chevy calls Soto a “respected street artist,” which we figure just means a graffiti artist with a degree rather than a rap sheet. (Soto’s is from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.) Soto, in turn, refers to the compact Sonic as the first “robotic art car.”
While Soto did a lot of conventional work on the mural, he also used the Sonic’s robotic arms, which were controlled from within the car and could be operated while Soto drove. The painting appendages emerged through the Sonic’s windows, sunroof and hatchback, and seem to take up all the available space inside the car, save for the driver’s seat.
While we were fairly impressed seeing the Sonic , we definitely think the little car should focus on its art. There’s some real talent there.
Can’t say we didn’t see this one coming. Hot on the heels of Audi’s official announcement that it had from Investindustrial Group, , the in-house performance arm of German automaker , has ended its “marketing cooperation” with the storied Italian motorcycle brand.
Naturally, Mercedes-Benz doesn’t want to sponsor Ducati now that it’s been taken over by, in its own words, “a rival car manufacturer.” While there had been some speculation that Mercedes or its AMG division might make a bid for Ducati, the automaker claims that was :
“Our focus lies clearly in developing and producing premium performance cars and we will be concentrating all our energy on this.”
Seems pretty cut and dry to us, but if you want to read more, feel free to for the brief announcement. We have to wonder, though, what will be come of the ?
Anything can do, McLaren can do better. At least that’s what the boys in Woking seem to believe. After all, McLaren has trounced Ferrari around the Formula One circuit for the past several years now. But while the British team has followed its Italian rival from grand prix racing into building supercars with the McLaren F1, and (most recently) the MP4-12C, one thing Ferrari does that McLaren doesn’t is grand tourers. And with the advent of the , shooting brakes.
That could all change, however, if the latest rumors are to be believed. (Which is something which, in this case, we wouldn’t take for granted.) According to the rumormongers over at Auto Express, McLaren is preparing a shooting brake based of the MP4-12C (pictured above, flashing its air brake). Now given that the 12C is a mid-engined supercar and not a front-engined GT like the Ferrari Four, we’d say that makes about as much sense as Renault reaching back into its showcar history to build the .
The rumors further state that the McLaren shooting brake (fancy-talk for a two-door wagon) would go downmarket to rival the – which is something we’ve been expecting McLaren to pursue sometime after the MP4 roadster and the upmarket successor to the original F1 supercar. But something’s a little amiss here, so for the time being, we’ll take this particular report with a grain of salt that would dwarf Lot’s wife. Then again, we did run into McLaren design director Frank Stephenson checking out the in Paris last year…
. On a day in which has dominated the news – by and for the auto show – it completes the hat trick by announcing that its new factory will be built in Mexico. Production is slated to begin in 2016, but Audi only announced that the plant would be building “an SUV model.” Speculating on which that might be, we imagine it would make sense for one of the brand’s high-volume nameplates to be built here in North America, which would point to the .
Audi parent already operates facilities in the Mexican cities of Puebla and Silao, so the company is intimately familiar with the nuances of building cars in the country. That should help in getting the facility up to speed quickly, although Audi board members emphasized finding the right location in Mexico in their statement announcing the decision.
Audi also said it could supply vehicles from Mexico worldwide, and reiterated its goal of selling two million vehicles each year by 2020. That, of course, is part of Volkswagen’s stated intent of .
Last week, a battery research lab in Warren, Michigan. General Motors has since said the fire was caused by a battery that was being tested under “extreme stress.” Engineers were trying to get the pack to fail, which it did, but not to ignite, which it also did when gases leaked out and somehow caught fire.
There’s one detail we have not heard yet, and that’s how much the fire could end up costing GM: up to $5 million, the The Detroit News reports, based on information that the automaker’s representatives submitted in a police report. The local fire department has estimated that the damage could be closer to $3 million, with one million of that due to property loss – at least two labs were damaged – and $2 million worth of damage to the labs’ contents. An investigation into the cause and extent of the fire continues.
The battery pack involved was not the same as the one used in the and GM says that the incident . Media reports have suggested the battery is be intended for the and that the prototype battery pack was made by A123 (which has had recently). Multiple people were injured in the fire but only one remains in the hospital because of “an estimated four-inch gash to the back of his head.”
Product placement in television and film has become so commonplace that we almost expect any mention of a specific brand on camera to be paid for in full by the company in question. And so we might have assumed with this week’s episode of Mad Men, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
The episode featured an account to advertise for in the United States, with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce beancounter Lane Pryce coming across the account through his British ex-pat connections and bringing it back to the firm. “I think a man getting out of a Jaguar needs a cold shower,” pitched Don Draper. “The Jaguar XKE is pornographic.” And indeed it is, lauded as one of the most sensuous automotive designs ever to grace tarmac. (For crying out loud, just take a look at the classic cat in the fresh gallery of high-resolution images we’ve put together for you.)
A memorable scene, but apparently Jaguar was as surprised to see it as the rest of us. According to reports, the plug was neither solicited nor paid for by the British automaker. Of course, the particulars of product-placement deals are seldom revealed, but we’ll take Jaguar’s assertion at face value – particularly when two of the show’s starring actors – John Slattery (who plays Roger Sterling) and Jon Hamm (a.k.a. Don Draper)- pitch for rivals and respectively.
Iran just became a bit less interesting for automotive enthusiasts with the by that it will no longer do business there. The announcement was made Monday by and .
“Consumers here have the power to force these companies out of Iran and tighten the screws on Tehran’s regime,” De Blasio said in the statement. “Our message is clear: you can do business with the Iranian regime or you can do business with the American consumer – but you can’t do both.”
This follows news that will also stop selling or servicing its cars in Iran. But despite the ongoing international embargo against Iran, car shoppers there still have plenty manufacturers from which to choose. , , , , , , , , , and are all still selling and/or servicing their models there. Sadly, for Iranians, nothing on par with Porsche.
But then again, most Iranians aren’t exactly flush with cash. A from March says car sales in Iran were down 20 percent with prices up by about the same amount. For example, an imported sells for about $151,000 over there. Even in good times, that’s a tough monthly payment for the average Iranian. In that same report, a Tehran car dealer said he hasn’t replenished his stock of Porsche models for months because no one can afford them.
So either for political or economic reasons, we may soon see other carmakers pulling out of the Iranian car market. Check out the UANI press release .
Last we heard, was to building the recently revealed sedan at the former plant in Delaware. A few years ago, Fisker announced that site would be the company’s new domestic production home (the extended-range plug-inhybrid is made by in Finland). Still, Fisker did say that any definitive statement on the Atlantic’s production location would not come until the end of the summer.
So we were interested to read new reports from local media that show more signs that the Atlantic might not ever be built in Delaware. On Friday, Delaware Online reports, 12 more workers – including engineers and maintenance technicians – were laid off at the plant, leaving “only a small maintenance team” left there. One of those let go was Jeff Garland, who had been working on community affairs and business development efforts in Delaware. He said the plant is currently “absolutely empty.” This is because Fisker has taken out the old GM equipment but has not yet installed the machines it would need to build the Atlantic. As Garland told Delaware Online, “I think what happened was the budget numbers are so tight right now and they’re working so hard to preserve as much cash as they can that something had to give. We’re not making a car in Wilmington right now, so given that situation it was an obvious place to make a cut.”
Fisker spokesman Russell Datz said that the company has flexible plans and will hire people when “we ramp up the project again.” Production of the Atlantic is being delayed, at least in part, because of issues with Fisker’s Department of Energy loan. You can read more about that .
In related , some of the components that Fisker and will use in hybrid and all-electric cars are now being made by Magna E-Car Systems in Michigan. The inverters Magna makes are used in the Karma and this new production does not in any way predict a shift of Atlantic production to Michigan.
In the market for a new luxury crossover? You could do a lot worse than the . But if the existing model isn’t luxe enough for your taste, has now announced the availability of a new trim level that amps things up a notch.
Called the Inscription edition, the gussied-up XC60 gives buyers a choice of special interior trims. Four colors of semi-aniline leather – white, black, reddish tan or beige – are on offer, with black or beige trim to coordinate. The headrests are also embroidered and the tread-plates embossed with the Inscription logo, the center armrest is trimmed in top-stitched leather, and the seats are upgraded with electrically adjustable lumbar support.
Charcoal headliner, a special shade of silver paint and unique 20-inch wheels are also on offer for the special edition of the model that Volvo says is its top seller. The model will be unveiled at the Leipzig Motor Show in June (oddly sales start in April), but you can peruse the special touches in the gallery above and check out the for more details. Pricing has not yet been released, but Volvo is promising “worldwide” availability.
is not going to take attacks on the electric car lying down – the closest he’ll come to that is . After spending for their attacks on the , he is switching to a positive message about how plug-in cars can help with American national security. It is not surprising that Lutz, a former Marine, co-authors the article with two former U.S. Marines commandants and the CEO of FedEx (the three are all members of Securing America’s Future Energy’s (SAFE) Energy Security Leadership Council). The gist? Well, here’s part of the opening paragraph:
When … threats exist because the United States is the protector of the world’s global oil supply lines, it is a clear illustration of how our nation’s over-reliance on a single, globally priced fuel impacts our national and economic security.
America’s addiction to gasoline costs the government billions of dollars a year, an estimated $80 billion, in fact, to guard the sea lanes, including one little area by Iran:
From a national security perspective, the U.S. military is forced to protect the world’s vital oil infrastructure. The single greatest chokepoint is the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 million barrels of oil per day passed in 2011 – 20 percent of global supplies. Protection of the sea lanes of commerce has become an American burden and will remain so, costing the United States Treasury an estimated $80 billion per year while taxing our military, which is already engaged on multiple fronts.
It’s arguments like this that have made the recent right-wing criticism of the Volt such a mystery. If we use less gasoline, we can spend fewer lives and less treasure importing the fuel (of course, we don’t lose many lives at the Canadian border, which is where most of our imported oil comes from). The Army says that .
Lutz and his co-authors are quite clear that high gas prices are hurting Americans’ pocketbooks, “essentially” wiping out tax cuts that Presidents Bush and Obama put into place. That’s why, they say, “government action is needed to mitigate the risks of oil dependence, because there is no free market for oil.” This intervention contains both expanded domestic production and – surprise – plugging in our light-duty transportation fleet as much as possible and feeding our big trucks lots of natural gas. To that end, they write:
Regarding electrification, the beauty of plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt and the is that they are powered by electricity, which can be generated from many sources: nuclear, coal, natural gas, and renewables. Best yet, these are all domestic energy sources, meaning OPEC won’t be able to corner the market. And the retail price of electricity is far less volatile that the price of oil.
Economies of scale, globalization and production efficiencies continue to exacerbate any disruptive incident in an automaker’s supply chain. The latest snafu is due to a fatal explosion at Germany’s Evonik Industries, which arrested that company’s ability to produce cyclodecatriene (CDT). In turn, the production of the resin Vestamid Polyamide 12 (PA-12) is threatened by the loss of CDT, one of its key components. And a crimp in PA-12 supplies threatens the manufacture of crucial components like brake-line coatings and flexible hoses.
Auto-industry analysts have described the issue as “serious,” but no one, including automakers and suppliers, is sure of how grave the issue will be. Michigan-based Tier One carmaker supplier TI Automotive is hosting a conference later this month with competitors and carmakers to discuss the issue. The major car manufacturers have said they are monitoring the situation, but no disruptions have been planned for yet.
What would a superhero movie be without the fancy cars? Well, it would still be a superhero movie, we suppose, but we prefer the kind that has some flashy wheels. Like the upcoming Marvel flick The Avengers.
As you may have heard, signed a multi-picture deal with Marvel to have its cars featured in a series of superhero movies, and indeed several already have. But for The Avengers, Acura had to work up something special enough to replace Tony Stark’s . Since the old NSX was long out of production when they began shooting and the new one wasn’t ready yet, the Japanese automaker and the film studio put together something of a hybrid.
Not a hybrid as we tend to use the term in automotive spheres, but an amalgamation of the old NSX and the new one. They took a 1991 NSX and gave it a new roadster body to mimic the concept car that’s been making the rounds of the auto show circuit.
Our compatriots over at Inside Line got a behind-the-scenes look at the roadster, along with the crossover and a with a similar treatment. to watch the video clips they put together, and the .
Remember JAC? It’s the Chinese company so dedicated to that it changed its logo to a blue oval in the grille. JAC is back with a new car for this month’s , this time showing off less consistent plagiarism and more pastiche with the Heyue SC coupe.
With a snout lifted from the Lotus Esprit or the other four concepts, mirrors that seem to be lifted from a and a Factory Five rear end with Ferrari Enzo taillights, the Heyue SC isn’t a bad looking car for being an agglomeration of reanimated parts. Inside is a dash cluster that looks cribbed from the parts bin along with an Opel steering wheel.
Power comes from a 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 162 horsepower and 160 pound-feet of torque, which should make for reasonable gumption unless the Heyue is made of lead. The price is 200,000 yuan ($31,807 U.S.), which places it in between its competitors in specs and price, the better looking, more powerful and less expensive , and the miniature clone known as the . Head over to China Car News to get a few more looks at it.
The enthusiast world typically falls into two camps: those who love rat rods and those that loathe them. As with every corner of automotive world, not all rats are created equally, but we tend to find ourselves firmly rooted in the former camp more often than not. That’s especially true when we catch a glimpse of something as perfectly blasphemous as this BMW 2002. Crafted by the twisted minds at , the car actually started life as a running, driving round-taillight 2002 that owner John Lee had owned since high school.
During a slow day at the shop, Lee rolled the car in, busted out the plasma cutter and got to work with parts just collecting dust in the garage. After crafting a frame from spare tubing, the suspension went together using coilovers from a , a steering rack from a Cobalt SS and control arms from a derelict Panoz racer. While not originally a right-hand drive car, Lee swapped things around to accommodate the newer components. The rat Bimmer even uses a roof-mounted shifter for reasons that remain unclear.
APF keeps the lights on with Corvette modification and small-block conversions, so it’s no surprise power comes from an LS1 V8 bolted to a TH350 automatic gearbox. Throw in a set of custom fabbed headers and you have the beast above. to watch a quick video of the BMW 2002 rat rod coming to life for the first time (Warning: there’s some brief foul language), then head over to the for the full build thread.
With the compact segment becoming ever more crowded, is getting aggressive with its new . , pricing on the Italian-bred sedan will start at $15,995 (*before a $795 delivery charge). That undercuts key rivals like the $16,800 , $16,500 , and $16,130 . You can still buy a sedan cheaper, but by only $40.
Above the base Dart are four more trim levels. However, even the $15,995 SE gets Dodge’s 160-hp, 2.0-liter Tigershark four-cylinder and a six-speed manual. Occupants get 10 airbags, a seats clad in “denim” cloth, power windows, LED taillights, a CD player with MP3 hookup and projector headlights.
Anyone living in warmer climates should definitely look at the SXT, though. An extra $2,000 gets the most-appreciated feature ever: air conditioning. We can’t imagine living without it, but not every competitor offers A/C on their base models. The SXT also adds 17-inch alloys, power door locks, keyless entry, split rear seat, a security system and upgraded sound system. Options include navigation (natch), backup camera, sunroof and a 506-watt sound system.
Go for the Rallye level for $18,995 if you want the Multiair turbocharged 1.4-liter engine that has more torque (184 pound-feet) but no additional horsepower. The force-fed powerplant is optional, but the Rallye’s sportier body trim and wider selection of interior colors are standard.
The $19,995 Limited level adds a seven-inch “reconfigurable instrument cluster display,” fog lamps, active grille shutters and premium accent stitching. Leather seats also become optional at this level.
At the top of the heap is the Dart R/T (shown above) starting at $22,495. In the third quarter of 2012, Dart buyers will be able to buy the R/T and get a 2.4-liter, Tigershark four-cylinder with 184 horses and 171 lb-ft yoked to either a six-speed manual or Autostick automatic. The R/T also comes with all the goodies on the Limited but adds 18-inch alloys, sport suspension, more aggressive front fascia, dual exhaust, unique seat leather and a heated steering wheel.
The first Dart shipments will hit dealers beginning in June.
Check out the press release after the jump for even more details.
has thrice contested the Celebrity/Pro race held before the Long Beach Grand Prix, previously finishing third and ninth but this year taking the chequered flag in first place. After qualifying positions were set due to washout rains, Carolla started second behind Kim Coates of the F/X show Sons of Anarchy.
Three laps in, Carolla had got into the lead and crashes behind gave him some daylight. With under two laps to go, however, Hill Harper from CSI: NY had the front bumper of his tapping Carolla’s rear, but there wasn’t enough time left in the race for Harper to get around.
Third place was nabbed by Toyota dealer Biff Gordon, with drifter Frederic Asabo (above left) the first professional to cross the line, in fourth.
Some would say that the already looks like a car come to life when fitted with the factory installed 20- or 21-inch alloy wheels. But others – including the folks in this video, apparently – would say that those wheels simply aren’t large enough. Twenty-fours? Still too small. Twenty-sixes? You’re getting warmer.
No, the Camaro you see here is rolling on 32-inch wheels – in chrome, of course. We can’t even imagine how this hinders the Camaro’s drivability, but as for whether this modification is hot or not, we’ll leave that for you fine readers to discuss in the comments.
to see two videos starring the donked-out Camaro coupe, as well as a matching droptop model, as well.
The is a whole lotta car. Not only is the name a mouthful, but the 510-horsepower German rocket can be a handful too, well, in the wrong hands. This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen techs or valets getting their kicks behind the wheel of a vehicle that doesn’t belong to them, but it seems some employees at one Ottawa-area dealer didn’t get the memo.
Our tipster claims that a couple rogue techs at a dealership called (formerly Carling Motors) decided to take out one of the 30 existing Black Series in Canada for a joyride. While we agree that some test drives of performance cars should be spirited to find performance-related problems, it’s pretty clear these guys just wanted some kicks behind the wheel of $115,000 Autobahn assassin.
For over eight minutes they negotiate the streets of Ottawa near the Hunt Club Road dealership, breaking all kinds of laws, risking property and injury in the process. The police would gladly impound this Black Series for some of these speeds, and MB enthusiasts would gladly slap these guys in the face for redlining the motor for so long.
Why any tech would post this on YouTube is beyond us, as they’re are only asking to be fired. The Internet has moved in for some e-justice and has been set ablaze with nasty comments on the matter. Not only did they identify the location of the dealership, they have also sent the video, the original of which was removed from YouTube but then re-uploaded by a forum member, to Mercedes-Benz Canada HQ and are hard at work trying to find the possible owner to show him what’s been done to his car pre-delivery. Check out the video by .
techs taking C63 AMG Coupe Black Series for joyride caught on video
