For the first time in the life of the , the company is offering a two-tone color scheme as a “bespoke” factory option. This comes as a surprise to us because we didn’t know there was something you couldn’t get on a Ghost.
The company’s stand at the Show was used to display the first two examples: one with Infinity Black topped by Cassiopeia Silver and another in Baynunah Brown capped by Arizona Sun, with a gold-plated hood ornament and a gold double coach-line (read: pinstripes). The Infinity Black model carries the contrast to the interior, with black leather offset by a seashell headliner and steel pinstripes set into black ash veneer.
If this is why you’ve been holding back on a Ghost purchase, first admire the handiwork in the photo gallery, and then pick up your phone: your local dealer is waiting on line two.
That isn’t double vision you’re experiencing, it’s the Gigahorse. Said to be the “hero car” in Mad Max: Fury Road, the ride, , is a double-bodied ‘59 Cadillac with two supercharged V8s connected by a planetary gear, sitting on a monster-truck chassis and sporting a four-bladed cow catcher. With Charlize Theron as Furiosa alongside Tom Hardy as Mad Max, it’s unknown which hero the Gigahorse might serve but it’s certainly bat**** crazy enough for The Mad One.
Production is setting up in Namibia (because the Aussie outback has gotten too green, according the director), and peeks at have shown at least one other car as big as a semi, a couple of buggies and, of course, enough tractor-trailers to remake Convoy. A stuntman said the movie would have “.”
Speaking of Theron, last November George Miller said he’d (Mad Maxes 4 and 5, essentially) back-to-back and that production could take 2.5 years, so it might be some time before we see the Gigahorse in the local multiplex.
has assembled its talent roster for this year’s Pro/Celebrity Race. Names from all corners of entertainment will go head to head against pro drivers in identically-prepared racers during a 10-lap battle over a 1.97-mile course on the streets of Long Beach, California. 2012 marks the 36th running of the event, which will feature comedian and podcast personality , Top Gear USA host and friend of Autoblog Rutledge Wood, and former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. Pros like Frederic Aasbo and Bryan Clauson will also go fender to fender with the amateurs on track.
While we love to watch celebrities bash into each other, the real point of the event is to raise money for charity. Toyota donates $5,000 per entry to the winner’s charity of choice, and kids from various children’s hospitals all around the country get a chance to hang out with their favorite celebrities before the race kicks off on April 13. Check out the press release .
The blokes at “Top Gear” love their Facebook friends so much, that when they got 10 million fans, Jeremy Clarkson . Well, as personal as Clarkson can get anyway. And the Stig showed his appreciation by exploding a caravan (video ).
But the batty Brits are now challenged with celebrating their next Facebook milestone of achieving 15 million fans. They’re hoping those very fans can help them with a stunt that tops caravan carnage. The “Top Gear” team is willing to do anything, no matter how crazy, to say thanks.
Suggestions so far include drifting 15 $1 million cars in sync, a trip from Scotland to London on lawnmowers, fabricate a V8-powered Robin, and a road trip across Germany in VW Beetles.
The AB team brainstormed a bit and came up with the idea of rewarding a fan (hopefully one of us) with a brand new ! But for only 24 hours. After which the “lucky” guy (or gal, of course) would be obligated to obliterate the supercar in a depressing display of overwhelming pyrotechnics.
So what would you do to mark the occasion of gaining 15 million Facebook fans? Share them with “Top Gear” and with us in the comments.
Scott Burgess, former auto critic for The Detroit News, has joined the AOL Autos / Autoblog team. He is a veteran automotive journalist with six years in Detroit covering the auto industry and a Michigan native. Each month he’ll dig deeper into the industry’s sales figures and file this By The Numbers special report.
Now that I’ve figured out how to open my email, what in fact my email address is, and where the office is, I’ve been able to catch my breath and go through the February sales figures.
Lots of people were excited over the February sales numbers, which were the highest since 2009, declaring the end of tough times and announcing only big profits ahead.
Then again, that may not be exactly true. Yes, it was a 15-million-a-year sales pace, outperforming everyone’s expectations with sales jumping 15.7 percent compared to the same month last year. But people are waiting to buy cars like never before. The average age of a vehicle on the road is over 10 years old, a trend growing for nearly 20 years, according to a Polk research firm study. Polk says that people are just hanging onto vehicles longer because they’re worried about the economy. To think about how different times were 10.8 years ago – Motor Co. had just (re)introduced the all new Fabulous , which, someone is holding onto right now.
So the depression/recession party may not be over, but times are still good. Here are the things I learned by examining the February sales figures.
1. LOTS OF PEOPLE WANT CARS
This February, cars outsold trucks 53.3 to 46.7 percent.
Throughout the industry, car sales jumped 23.9 percent compared to February last year. (Truck sales rose 7.6 percent.)
There are lots of reasons for the jump, though my gut says that people buying new vehicles are also listening to the fear mongering concerning climbing gas prices. Don’t expect either trend to end any time soon.
A more important trend might be that in February 2011, trucks outsold cars 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent. This February, cars outsold trucks 53.3 percent to 46.7 percent.
However, the big difference between 2008 and 2012, the last time gas prices skyrocketed, are that Detroit’s carmakers have a solid collection of little cars ranging from the and to the and soon-to-be released . More on the later. The key for Detroit is to see if people associate fuel efficient vehicles with those brands. When times get tough, people tend to go with the brands they assume are the most efficient, even when they’re not.
Guess we called this one from the outset. Looking like a that just ate a for breakfast and a for lunch, the EXP 9 F concept was the biggest disappointment – and we mean that literally – of the . Apparently, Bentley must have agreed with , because it’s working on a new design for it’s first production SUV, according to Britain’s What Car? magazine.
According to the report, Bentley officials have admitted that the design was “heavy handed” and have promised to tone it down, as the SUV heads toward a likely 2015 on-sale date. Potential changes include “slightly smaller” headlights, and “more traditional SUV proportions,” according to the magazine’s source.
We hope Bentley goes a bit further and just starts from scratch, dumping the sedan-ified SUV look entirely. If Bentley is bound and determined to sell an SUV, it should come up with something distinctive for the brand that doesn’t just ape the classic look of its car line.
While we’re a little obsessed with cars here at Autoblog, our sister publication has a good habit of dispensing with terrestrial transportation entirely from time to time. This is one of those weeks, where the video crew has traveled to Switzerland – not to , but to Bex – to interview the Jetman, Yves Rossy.
Rossy is the first human to fly by means of a jet-powered wing. The Swiss pilot developed the wing over five years ago, and has since flown over the Alps, crossed the English Channel, and last year flew across the Grand Canyon.
Translogic has some great aerial footage of the Jetman, who proves to be a pretty funny interview as well. to view all of it, in full HD.
We had a feeling this was coming, but the cat’s now officially out of the bag: The is being discontinued in the United States.
The recently launched will effectively replace the CX-7 (as well as the -sourced ), meaning there won’t really be a void in Mazda’s product lineup. “CX-5 has a clearer competitive set, unlike CX-7, which was in the middle of two segments,” explains product communications specialist Beverly Braga.
Dimensionally, the CX-5 is slightly smaller than the CX-7, but actually boasts more cargo capacity and overall interior volume. With the rear seats folded, the CX-5 can hold up to 65.4 cubic feet of cargo (compared to 58.6 cubic feet in the CX-7) and has a total of 103.8 cubic feet of overall passenger space (101.7 in CX-7).
What’s more, the CX-5’s nifty new 2.0-liter Skyactiv four-cylinder engine offers than the base 2.5-liter four of the CX-7. And while we’ll certainly miss the potency of the optional 2.3-liter turbo four of the CX-7 – a version of the mill used in the – we can easily do without its fuel economy ratings of 18/24 miles per gallon city/highway (or 17/21 when paired with all-wheel drive – ouch!).
This may be the end of the road for the CX-7 in the U.S., but Mazda says that sales of the crossover will still continue in other markets. The CX-7 will officially be phased out at the end of the 2012 model year.
For sure, the is a striking machine, and even after five years on the market it continues to look sexy in all of its forms. Audi has pushed out several variants as well, including the V10-packing , the topless and track-focused .
To commemorate five years of the R8, Audi put together a short video, if only to remind us how the range-topping Audi looks even better in motion. And just to keep us thinking about its supercar, Audi finished the video with a sneak peak of the new R8, which bows later this year.
When Audi says “new,” it really means freshened, though, with rumors of a bump in power and a few design tweaks. The may not arrive until 2015, when the R8 is rumored to receive a more thorough makeover. for the video.
We don’t typically lose control of our faculties at the sight of the latest supercar. In most cases, the vehicles are slightly different shades of the same theme: high horsepower, low slung, two seats and a super-exclusive price tag to match.
While the certainly fulfills all of those criteria, the roofless wonder also boasts the sort of brash ostentatiousness that’s been missing from the upper echelon of automotive engineering recently. The roadster design is so perfectly over the top, we can’t help but love it. has crafted a quick montage depicting the vehicle’s development, from lowly CAD design to the untold multitude of parts and pieces that go into assembling the final product.
This clip is too brief to satiate our manufacturing geekery, but it’s better than nothing. to check out the video for yourself. It may be the closest any of us actually get to glimpsing the 700-horsepower behemoth.
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.
If ever a car made us think of mullets, Cragars, racing suits and Natty Light, this is it. And we don’t mean that in a bad way. The COPO Camaroconcept that Chevrolet last year is officially becoming a production reality for everyone; however, only 69 people will be able to own it. In celebration of the built in 1969, is building just that many of its modern drag-strip-only racer.
Two engine choices have been mentioned previously: a 427-cubic-inch V8 for AA Stock racing and a 327-cubic-inch V8 with a 4.0-liter supercharger for A Stock racing. Now, a third engine choice has been added: another 327-cubic-inch engine but with a 2.9-liter supercharger for B Stock. If you want all three engines Chevy will install one and provide the other two, all with matching numbers. Shifting is handled with a Powerglide automatic, and color schemes include Metallic White, Semi-Gloss Black, Inferno Orange Metallic and Chevy Racing Blue.
The price of entry is $89,000. How can you be one of the lucky? Chevrolet isn’t saying. An “independent third party” chose the initial buyers, but it isn’t clear how many slots are left or how they’ll be distributed. for a press release with more info.
plans on moving its ferocious exhaust note into other market segments, which we know so far include an SUV perhaps called the (nee Kubang) and a sport sedan to slot under the larger, next-generation . Internally it is said that the new sport sedan is called “Maseratina,” but an Italian publication has discovered a recent Maseratitrademark for the name “Levante.”
The Levante, if that is its name, is aimed at the thick end of the mid-level executive sedan market, meaning the and , and could be . By the way, Levante has a few meanings, the one probably meant here is “rising,” as in what the sun does. But it’s also British slang for “leave secretly or hurriedly to avoid paying debts,” which is a humorous coincidence in light of .
A range of safety groups are calling for judicial review of federal rules for truck drivers’ hours of service. According to a lawsuit filed by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Public Citizen, the Truck Safety Coalition and two truck drivers, the new rule doesn’t protect the public from tired truckers. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently ruled drivers could only work 70 hours within a seven-day period, down from a previous limit of 82. Truckers must also take a break of at least 30 minutes after an eight-hour shift.
That’s a step in the right direction, but drivers are still allowed to travel up to 11 hours in one day. Those who reach their hourly limit in a week may then restart the clock by taking a 34-hour break, but that may only be done once within a seven-day period.
The concerned parties want a judicial review of the rule to eliminate the 34-hour restart provision and cut consecutive drive hours to 10, saying that truck crash fatalities increased by nine percent in 2010.
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.
Former and current driver Neal Bates started his rally career over 20 years ago. While that seems like a long time to have been racing, even back then a 1980 Toyota was pretty old school. Mr. Bates and his friends at Toyota set out to prove that the old Celica is still cool by giving the RA40 dirt runner a full restore ahead of its ARC debut in Melbourne.
Bates, Coral Taylor and the 32-year-old Celica took first in the opening round of the 2012 Australian Rally Championship, and if you , you’ll see why. Bates put the beefed-up Celica through its paces, and it looks like he hasn’t lost a step.
Automotive News reports has big plans for its line of pickup trucks. According to a group filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the new Ram set to debut next month will no only boast a Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 option, but an eight-speed automatic transmission and new lightweight axles as well.
The gearbox alone is said to reduce fuel consumption by as much as 12 percent compared to current models. Right now, buyers with an eye toward economy are forced to cope with an anemic 215 horsepower 3.7-liter V6. While Chrysler hasn’t released any specifications for the Ram-bound Pentastar, the most powerful form of the 3.6-liter V6 currently available produces 285 hp.
The 2012 Ram 1500 yields just 14 mpg city and 20 mpg highway in its most efficient configuration, but the new hardware should help yield significantly improved figures and help the Ram line be more competitive against the Ecoboost-equipped . Chrysler is expected to reveal full details on the upcoming Ram in April.
In related news, reports that the and will also be getting new eight-speed gearboxes, which ought to result in similar fuel savings for the ‘utes as it does for the Ram.
Like pretty much any driver, we’ve had our share of car trouble over the years, both with vehicles loaned to us for review by automakers and our own private rides. What we haven’t experienced is being the first media outlet to plunk down over $100,000 for a luxury plug-inhybrid, only to have it konk out before we even put 200 miles on it.
That “honor” goes to Consumer Reports and their brand new , which broke down during calibration tests, just a few days into CR’s ownership period. After the dashboard flashed a warning, the driver stopped to see what was wrong, and then couldn’t get the PHEV into gear again. Self-repairs (i.e., let’s leave it alone for an hour and see what happens) didn’t work and the manual was no help, so the nearby dealer sent out a flatbed truck to haul the Karma away. As CR writes:
We buy about 80 cars a year and this is the first time in memory that we have had a car that is undriveable before it has finished our check-in process.
The Karma’s problems are widespread. It has been plagued by a variety of problems, including two recalls, one for a and one for , following a long delay getting the car to market. Owners commenting on the FiskerBuzz forum are also . Not exactly behavior that leads to a “Recommended” rating.
Morgan and OAK Racing have put together a video to showcase the car that Morgan will be in a jubilee celebration its GT2 class win in 1962. It’s got just about everything you’d want from an LMP2 teaser: engine guts, carbon fiber, track time and roaring.
It might be missing an actual Morgan, though: the car is built by OAK’s Onroak Automotive constructor division with a Pescarolo chassis and a Judd engine. When they’re finished painting it, though, it will at least say “Morgan.”
Even without the stickers, however, the video is still totally worth it.
If you’ve never played Reckless Racing 2, odds are you’ve taken the helm of similar games in the past. Players are given control of a vehicle viewed from above as it bashes its way around a dirt track with other cars.
Sony Ericsson recently partnered up with noted car hacker James Brighton to create a real-life version of Reckless Driving 2 using a pair of droptop MG models and Sony’s new Xperia Studio smartphone. Sony and Brighton then invited Martin Noriander, the developer behind Reckless Racing 2, and journalist Hunter Skipworth to compete head-to-head with the real-life cars.
Who came out on top? We won’t spoil it for you, but we will say there was a good bit of carnage as the duo tried to manipulate their chariots around the course. to check out the quick video for yourself.
