One of the postscripts of the travails of Cars North America (SCNA) is this, a couple hundred and sedans left to the unkindness of coastal winds at a New Jersey port facility. According to the poster at , there are 900 cars in this awaiting the resolution of the company’s fate.
Last we heard, SCNA is still fighting the involuntary bankruptcy and is trying to get the case moved to Michigan. Prior to that, SCNA had been trying to avoid the proceeding altogether in case a bidder was able to acquire the entire company.
While we wait to find out about that, you can head over to Found Our Own Road to see the rest of the photos of a Saab future that almost was.
Who wants to wait until the of the Nina plug-inhybrid next week when we can see spy shots right this second? Neither do we.
So, what do the shots reveal? For starters, we can see that the Nina is indeed shorter than its big brother. This is expected, but the impression we have is that the Karma’s design language translates quite well into a vehicle about the size of a . The front end, too, sports a moustache-like grille that’s similar to the one on the Karma. On the back side, the “EVer” badge is still proudly in place, but the diamond-shaped exhaust outlets are missing. The four-door sedan’s rear doors have the handles hidden smoothly between the window and the C-pillar. Then there are the wheels. It’s hard to miss those. If you want to compare the Nina with the Karma directly, open the gallery above as well as in another tab and click away.
The problem with these images is that they still don’t tell us much about the car itself. We’ve heard the cost for the Nina, which is supposed to be , will be about the same as a top-of-the-line . That implies something north of $45,000, despite what Vice President Joe Biden : “It looks like a four-door Ferrari, I can’t believe it’s only going to be $40,000.” We’ll hopefully know more when we get to the next week.
After all the problems Fisker has had with the Karma launch and the DOE loan, it’s important to remember that it’s the vehicle you see above that the DOE has been helping with all along. Do you like where your tax dollars have gone?
will slowly be expanding its commercial vehicle lineup here in the United States, and the next product to hit dealerships is this . Pricing has now officially been set, with the base 12-passenger NV3500 carrying an MSRP of $31,690 (*not including destination charges). Tick every option box on the NV configurator and a fully decked-out NV3500 SL V8 with leather and navigation will run you just shy of $40,000.
The NV passenger van is mechanically the same as its cargo van kin, meaning power comes from either a 4.0-liter V6 with 261 horsepower and 281 pound-feet of torque or a 5.6-liter V8 with 317 hp and 385 lb-ft of twist. Both engines are mated exclusively to a heavy-duty five-speed automatic transmission and only send power to the NV’s rear wheels. Inside, the NV3500 boasts all the creature comforts of any passenger vehicle, including a touch-screen infotainment system, lots of storage space and mobile office capability.
Following the launch of the NV3500 passenger van, Nissan will bring the smaller – the , for those of you keeping track – to market. All in, Nissan aims to have a full line of commercial vehicles on sale here in the U.S. within the next few years.
Just as mysteriously as it , has removed the production hold it had placed on the . For those keeping track, the delay has lasted roughly three weeks, and we still don’t know what the “quality assessment issue” was.
According to Motor Authority, a letter has been sent to those who have placed orders on Chevy’s hottest muscle car, letting them know when they can expect their machines to arrive at the dealership.
Cars that had already been produced and had been held back from the waiting garages of buyers will begin trickling to owners in two to three weeks, while orders placed but not yet built will take a little longer. That said, Camaro ZL1 models built in the foreseeable future will very likely before the Oshawa plant switches production to the 2013 cars. Just how many 2012 ZL1s will be built remains to b seen.
We also can’t help but mention the , which gets some of the track-ready features of the ZL1 with a 426-horsepower V8 in place of the killer 580-horse supercharged engine, along with what’s sure to be a much lighter price tag. With choices like these, we’d say it’s a good time to be shopping for a .
This year, will, once again, be crawling with electric vehicles. will be there with its , and the Pikes Peak EV Challenge Committee has just announced it will bring a new all-electric car to scale the 14,110-foot peak in Colorado this July.
The prototype vehicle will be developed by , where APEV stands for the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles, and will be driven by the legendary Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima. Tajima has , for the first time last year.
But that was in a gas-powered , which isn’t nearly as eco-chic as doing it with zero emissions. The coolest part, for real, is that Team APEV and Monster Sports will be participating to help victims of the 2011 Japan earthquake disaster as well as promoting environmental education projects for children and “projects to promote active participation from the senior citizens of Japan.”
When our friends at told us they’d be sending over a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70 tires mounted on 17-inch Sport Edition alloy wheels for our , our minds were immediately filled with images of the little blue hatchback bounding along snowy roads with razor-sharp precision and confidence. Instead, editors Neff, Paukert and myself can literally count on one hand the number of times we actually had to drive the on snowy/slushy roads. So much for winter tire/all-wheel-drive snowy playtime.
To say that we’ve had an unusually mild winter here in the Midwest is truly an understatement (note: we are absolutely not complaining). In mid-March, we saw record-high temperatures in the mid-80s. As Neff said in , seriously, what the hell is going on?
So rather than wear down the tread on our Blizzaks even further, we took the over to Motor City Mini once again to have its stock Pirelli Cinturato 18-inch wheels and run-flat (boo!) tires put back on. Perfect timing, too, since the car was just about to roll over the 12,000-mile mark, meaning its first scheduled maintenance was due. The oil was changed, fluids were topped off and all of the other mechanical elements inspected, and thus, our Mini is now prepped and ready for spring and summer in The D. We of the run-flat tires combined with our optional sport suspension already, so we’ll spare you another round of grumbling. If there’s one thing we’ll miss about the winter tires, it’s the smoother – albeit, slightly louder – ride.
Our observed fuel economy numbers are falling short of what the EPA suggests.
With 12,000 miles now under our belts, the Countryman is plenty broken in. But after a quick math session with the car’s logbook, it seems our observed fuel economy numbers are falling short of what the EPA suggests. I’ll personally admit to driving the Mini more aggressively than most consumers likely will (hey, this thing is seriously fun to throw around), but even so, the fact that our observed fuel economy is only 24.9 miles per gallon is indeed questionable. The EPA rates the 2011 Cooper S Countryman All4 at 26/32 mpg city/highway and 28 mpg combined when fitted with the six-speed manual transmission, and our best recorded fuel economy is only a dismal 29.3 mpg. Either I’m not the only one with a heavy right foot or something is off here. We’ll definitely be keeping a close watch over this as time progresses.
In the next month, associate editor Chris Shunk will put the Countryman to use as a family hauler, so we’ll get a better idea of just how kid-and-cargo-friendly the four-passenger interior really is. Stay tuned.
Keep your eyes locked on the official for the majority of our updates, as well as the official Autoblog Twitter account (, look for the hashtag).
has released the fifth and final teaser of its all-new sedan ahead of the car’s official debut at the 2012 . It’s a good thing this is the last one, because Nissan has seen fit to show off almost the entire car, albeit very quickly and never stationary.
It’s plain to see that this new Altima will be much swoopier than before, with a highly stylized front fascia and a steep D-pillar arc. We also note a rising body line that starts below the side mirrors before heading over the rear haunches to the taillamps. At the rear, there appears to be a bulging rump on the trunk lid that reminds us of the infamous Bangle Butt made popular by past models.
It seems Nissan is most interested in promoting its latest interior technology, pointing out that the 2013 Altima will feature a “new Advanced Drive-Assist Display” in the instrument cluster that “is designed to keep the driver focused on the road.” Available will be lane departure warning, rear moving object detection and blind spot warning. We’re pretty sure we see steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, too.
Feel free to peruse the press release , but not before watching the video. Enjoy, and come back next week for the Altima’s full reveal.
California Assemblyman Mike Gatto has introduced , which could eventually return three kinds of vintage license plates to California roads: yellow and black plates from the mid 1950s, black and yellow plates from the 1960s – such as the sample 1963 plate pictured – and blue and yellow plates from the ’70s.
The initiative is called the Legacy License Plate Program, but before you collectors and period-correct enthusiasts salivate over – or lament – the possibilities, it has a few hurdles to clear. First, the bill has to be passed when its put to a vote on April 9, which is expected. Then it would only come into effect after 2,500 people had signed up for the plates, assuming that the DMV did its math correctly and had enough money to pay for it. Finally, once all of that got checked off, the program would begin in 2014.
Current regulations mean that in California, the license plate has with the car since new, so if you see a black plate on a 1966 Corvair, then that tag was minted the same year as that Chevrolet. The plates will be updated to modern standards, e.g., reflective paint, so they won’t look just like the old timers, but we figure vintage-minded owners won’t be fussed at all.
We’ve spilled equal parts ink and drool over the new wheels from HRE. The pieces invoke all sorts of bedroom poster memories from our misspent youth, and seeing them bolted to some of our favorite modern supercars is enough to invoke a guaranteed smile.
The guys at StanceWorks have featured a particularly moving combination. One owner opted for a set of 505s in matte bronze as an homage to the legendary P4/5. The combination red and those fat five spokes is absolutely sublime.
If you’re rolling your eyes at the thought of yet another garage queen getting a new set of shoes, take heart in the knowledge that this particular 458 is owned by a gentleman who isn’t afraid to put miles on the clock. In just three months, the owner has rolled the odometer up to 6,000 miles, which means this car has had the opportunity to stretch its legs on more than one occasion. Perfection.
for a quick video of the car by our friends at , and be sure to crank the volume toward the end.
brought to you by HRE Wheels, Ferrari 458 Italia [w/video]
Audi’s customer racing program with the R8 LMS has been an unequivocal success. Since the delivery of the first race car in March of 2010, more than 40 examples have competed in 18 different championships worldwide, racking up more than 100 victories. In 2011 the R8 LMS captured important wins at the 24 hour races at Spa and Zolder, as well as claiming a GT3 class victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Most recently the in Australia for the second year in a row.
One of the places the R8 LMS hasn’t had a big impact, though, is here in the United States. For 2012, , but it’s a version that’s significantly changed from the model that competes in the European GT3 series. The aerodynamics of the car are less aggressive to meet Grand-Am standards, the 5.2-liter V10 is detuned by around 75 horsepower, and driver aids like ABS and traction control have been removed.
With the R8’s success in motorsports internationally, has hinted that it is currently looking at expending the car’s presence to other racing series stateside. One man, James Sofronas, isn’t waiting around for the good folks at Ingolstadt to take action, though. He got his hands on a pair of GT3-spec R8 LMS race cars and is in the process of homologating them for a racing series here in the United States. He recently invited us to take a closer look at the R8 LMS and learn more about the car’s domestic racing future.
Those of us who are fortunate enough to have never suffered through cancer likely don’t realize how the disease can turn some of life’s simplest acts into huge hurdles. Just getting to treatment appointments can be daunting with the onset of symptoms and side effects. One cancer survivor in Austin, Texas has set up a network of exotic and classic car owners to make getting to the hospital a little bit easier and more fun at the same time.
Ken Adams noticed a large number of cancer patients who were forced to take public transportation or rely on friends and family to make it to treatments while he was waiting for his own doctor. Adams then hatched the idea for volunteers to help get those patients from home to the hospital, and was born.
Patients get to ride in everything from vehicles like the to the and even the Ferrari Enzo. For patients who may be going through some of the darkest days of their lives, the chance to ride in some of the world’s greatest pieces of engineering is also a chance at a valuable smile.
We’ve been plenty guilty of balking at supercars in the past, and while they remain firmly out of grasp for the vast majority of the human race, they also represent just what mankind is capable of with the right motivation. We’re just glad to see some of their owners have a similarly impressive capacity for compassion.
If you don’t own a supercar but still want to help, Your Ride Is Here relies entirely on donations, which can be . They’ve also made an excellent video that best explains their purposes, which can be viewed .
Sure, you can enjoy the LMP1 race car, a and the deviously capable in the new April Alpinestars Pack for Forza Motorsport 4. But a little further down the list of ten cars are some delightful sleepers: the 1972 300 SEL 6.3 that would inaugurate AMG’s tuning and motorsports credentials (our personal favorite), the 1995 that cemented that model’s reputation, and the 1997 850 R that was still glowing from the wagon’s racing campaign in the British Touring Car Championship.
The pack will be available for 560 MS points on April 3 (or free for those with a Season Pass), and is rounded out by the Sport GT S, 1985 RX-7 GSL-SE, 1959 Eldorado Biarritz Convertible, and 2012 . You’ll want to watch the associated video trailer, so for that.
300 SEL 6.3 the star of Forza 4’s April Alpinestars Pack
Few know performance and racing like Jost Capito. The speed-obsessed auto exec started out developing high-performance engines for , then headed the motorsport department at before taking up senior management positions with the Sauber Formula One team.
He also won the Dakar rally as a co-pilot, but his most recent post has been with . There he oversaw the amalgamation of the company’s global performance divisions – including SVT in the States and RS in the UK – and ushered such vehicles as the , Focus RS, new Fiesta ST and the into production, all the while managing Ford’s effort in the World Rally Championship.
The Ford chapter in Capito’s considerable career, however, is drawing to a close as Dearborn has announced his departure and Wolfsburg his arrival. Effective May 1, Capito will be heading up Motorsport, taking over for Kris Nissen, who managed the back-to-back-to-back victories Volkswagen took at Dakar.
In his new capacity, Capito will presumably be running the company’s new WRC effort, but we wouldn’t mind seeing his footprint on the next generation of GTI and R models, either. for the official announcement.
Car companies worldwide have had a terrible track record creating cars that attract hip, young buyers. Despite all their best efforts to cater to the cool cats, the 18-24 demographic prefers to defy categorization.
But now it seems car companies have a new, more vexing problem. The 18-24 crowd doesn’t want cars at all.
General Motors knows all too well about its aging demographics and has turned to a creative new marketing firm to have a shot at bringing down the age of their average buyer. The firm is called and is part of MTV (owned by Viacom). Ross Martin, 37, is executive VP of Scratch and says 20-somethings really don’t even want a car.
“They think of a car as a giant bummer,” Martin tells the . “Think about your dashboard. It’s filled with nothing but bad news.”
Research showed 60% of 18-24 year-old drivers would choose Internet access over owning a car. To the Autoblog staff, that’s like asking them to choose between air and water. And if your dashboard is all bad news, you’re doing it wrong!
The New York Times story is full of tidbits about how GM and MTV are chasing the cool crowd, like how they’re trying to “General Motors with the same insights that made MTV reality shows like ‘Jersey Shore’ and ‘Teen Mom’ breakout hits.” Hmmm. Yeah, that oughta make recent college grads want to buy a .
Whatdya think? MTV still got enough cool cred to help transform the old gray General?
Pikes Peak. It’s one of the most grueling races in the world, climbing steeply uphill some 20 kilometers around 150 curves to the summit at 4,301 meters. These days the course is paved, but back in 1987 it was all dirt. That’s when the legendary Walter Röhrl drove the 600-horsepower Sport Quattro S1 up the mountain in a blistering 10:48. Sure, others have done it quicker since, but they’ve done it on pavement whereas Röhrl did it in the dirt.
Twenty-five years later, Audi is bringing Röhrl and his mighty S1 back to Pikes Peak for a high-speed trip up memory lane. The pseudo reenactment will take place on July 8, but for those not planning a trip to Colorado this summer but are heading to Germany this week, the car is on display at Techno Classica, the mega classic car expo in Essen, with Röhrl himself on hand Sunday, March 25. Details in the press release , and feel free to click on the image above to enlarge.
Few rivalries are as heated as that between the and the . And with both models having recently been updated, Evo magazine has taken the updated GT-R and the new 911 Carrera S to the Bedford Autodrome for a little head-on-head action. And who better to put in front of the camera and behind the wheel than Tiff Needell, the longtime Fifth Gear co-host who’s now doing a series of video tests for the magazine British enthusiasts love best.
Now if you’re thinking that the GT-R really ought to be compared to the 911 Turbo and not the naturally aspirated 911 Carrera S, well, you’re probably right. Particularly since Nissan hiked the price on its latest performance flagship to nearly $100,000. But Porsche hasn’t released the turbocharged version of its latest 911, so the Carrera S will have to do. Skip to see how they compare, as well as which one is Tiff’s favorite.
We’re already familiar with the infotainment system that’s slowly making its way across the brand’s entire portfolio, but today, we were able to get our first look at the next big feature being added to ‘ Bowtie tech. First available on the and , GogoLink is a smartphone-based app that works with the car’s touch-screen display to provide a fully functional navigation feature to the MyLink system.
We spent some time with Sara LeBlanc, GM’s program manager for global infotainment systems, who showed us exactly how the GogoLink app works. When your smartphone is tethered to the car, the app can be launched from the MyLink interface and works just like any other high-quality navigation system. GogoLink includes things like points of interest, 3D mapping, emergency information (police, fire, etc.), local search via Google and live traffic details. Disconnect your phone from the car, and your maps and routes are available right on your phone. (Note: Even though that last part doesn’t show up in the video, trust us, it works.)
Pricing for the GogoLink app has not been announced as of this writing, and will be confirmed closer to the system’s on-sale date this fall. The 2013 Spark will go on sale before the GogoLink app is available, so the first round of Sparks will require a simple MyLink upgrade that can be installed for free at Chevy dealers.
Now, take a closer look at the MyLink head unit in the video below – there’s no CD player. LeBlanc provided this explanation for us:
We talked to our Sonic and Spark customers and we asked them about the features they were looking for. They wanted connectivity. They said, “We have all that music on our smartphone, can’t you just find a way to transfer it? We don’t want CDs. We don’t use that.”
Of course, LeBlanc assures us that this is only for the Sonic and Spark MyLink system right now. The rest of the Chevrolet products will continue to be offered with CD players.
The MyLink system with GogoLink arrives this fall, and pricing has yet to be announced as of this writing. for a tour of the new system, as well as the official release from GM.
It’s been two years since the , and now the first fruits of that labor are about to be unveiled. The joint venture will sell a line of electric vehicles under the Denza brand name, starting with the E6 built on the platform from the first-generation Mercedes-Benz B-Class, a preview of which is shown above in a .
is said to be handling design and chassis duties, while BYD is developing the lithium-ion phosphate cells and driveline that will occupy the sandwich floor. Prototypes have been , at least 40 of which have racked up nearly two million miles as taxis. Range is said to be up to 186 miles, and we should get a first look at the real thing at next month’s .
Even at a team like (which has more grand prix victories to its name than any other team in Formula One – 217 to be specific), every win counts. Especially these days when they’re far more scarce than they were in the Michael Schumacher days of back-to-back championships. So when Fernando Alonso took home the checkered flag in Malaysia this past weekend, there was cause for celebration in Maranello.
After winning the second race of the season and taking the lead in the standings, Alonso swung by Ferrari headquarters for a nice long chat with chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, some training in the on-site gym and the traditional raising of the flag to mark the occasion, after which the two-time world champion apparently was gifted a brand-spankin’ new .
Whether the four-seat, all-wheel-drive, V12-powered shooting brake was a bonus outlined in his contract or a simple gesture of appreciation from his employers is likely known only by Alonso, Montezemolo and very few others, but either way, we doubt Fernando is complaining. The FF joins a growing stable of cars the star driver has received since signing with Ferrari, including a custom , a , an and a special edition . Nice work if you can get it.
As impressive as the is, someone at Shelby apparently thought 950 horsepower wasn’t good enough. With a few clicks of the mouse, a photo of one of the muscled-up pony cars was given a little drama to boost excitement.
At first, was that nothing in the photo was altered except shadows and that, yes, the super Shelby’s front end did in fact lift several inches off the ground in the photo you see above.
But anyone with at least one good eye can see several problems. Apparently, that does not include the Autoblog staff. We totally missed it, but one of our attentive readers, , caught it well before anyone else.
First, there’s an odd blur just beneath the front passenger side tire and just a sliver remains of the tire that was airbrushed out. If you’re gonna fake a photo, show some skill.
Second, a wheelstand would be virtually impossible to do with that much horsepower on street tires.
Third, check out those rear tires. They’re standing stock still and, as another reader, , points out, there’s light showing through the tread. The rear tires aren’t digging into the tarmac at all.
Shelby, rightly, now admits to that the front wheels were lifted not by a super powerful engine, but instead by super powerful photo manipulation software. Why, Shelby, why? You had us at 950 hp!
Few know performance and racing like 
Car companies worldwide have had a terrible track record creating 
