2012 Infiniti M Hybrid in “Remember” – Click above to watch video
believes its new is the first such vehicle built for people who actually enjoy driving. With 360 horsepower on tap, they might just be right. Yes, we are aware of the , which can run from 0-60 miles per hour in just 5.2 seconds. So is Infiniti for that matter because, in a new spot that has been playing during the NCAA’s March Madness tournament, the automaker takes a not-so-subtle jab at the hybrid sport sedan.
Dubbed “Remember,” the clip briefly takes a look back at the past 100 years of hybrid technology. Ultimately, the M Hybrid comes into view as it blows past a Lexus GS450h sitting at a stop-light. From there, we see the Infiniti drifting down the road as the narrator tells us why we’re going to love it. He must have a soothing voice… because the clip does a pretty darn good job of getting our attention. to see if it does the same for you.
2011Honda CR-Z – Click above for high-res image gallery
To hear Autocar tell it, has confirmed that it’s working on a faster version of its disappointing hybrid. Having suffered the slings and arrows of enthusiast who thought they were getting another CRX, Honda has said they will have a quicker version of the car out when the next-generation IMA hybrid system arrives.
They’re keeping mum about what engine the augmented CR-Z will rock, but speculation is that the new model will put down about 160 hp between its gas and electric powerplants. Honda R&D chief Tomohiko Kawanabe says the company is leaning away from a turbo engine because a naturally aspirated set up will work better with the hybrid drive.
Kawanabe also indicates Honda won’t let the power increase take away from the current car’s fuel efficiency and C02 production numbers, so expect most of the new power to come from an improved electric motor.
The as-yet unnamed sportier CR-Z is still at least a year away, which makes sense, as the new hybrid system isn’t expected on our shores until 2012, when it’s due in the new . Watch for updates as details emerge.
Hamann Victory II – Click above for high-res image gallery
Richard Hamann, founder of Hamann Motorsport, died this weekend after a long struggle with cancer. He was 53.
Hamann led a nearly 20-year racing career before forsaking his Nomex and starting the tuning company that got its hands on just about every European sports car you can name from 1986 on. Most recently, his company has made its name with cars like the , a hotter .
Before he was making sports cars sportier, Hamann enjoyed a long and successful racing career. In his time on track, he took part in more than 700 races, finishing on the podium a startling 300 of those times. He had a combined 103 victories in DTM, Group C, Formula 3 and the Special Touring Car Trophy, which he won three times at the wheel of a BMW M1.
Despite the loss of its leader, Hamann’s company will carry on.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released new guidelines today to help parents decide on a safety seat for their child and the best use of that seat. According to the new guidelines, kids should stay in rear-facing child seats until they’re two years old, or have reached the height and weight limits advised by the seat’s manufacturer.
Whether kids are kept in a rear- or forward-facing seat, NHTSA says it is important children always ride in the back. If the back seat is unavailable, passenger air bags should be turned off when car seats are in front of them.
After kids reach two, NHTSA recommends leaving them in a child or booster seat appropriate for their weight and height until they properly fit in an adult seatbelt. Further, NHTSA recommends keeping kids in the back seat at all times until they hit those magical teen years.
for the full press release from NHTSA.
[Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Image: - CC 2.0]
It may be some time before consumers in line for a new Japanese car get their hands on their new ride.
Besides killing thousands of people, shocking the nation’s infrastructure and setting off the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, the Japanese earthquake disaster has halted car production on the island indefinitely. Added to that, the tsunami resulting from the quake destroyed thousands of cars and trucks awaiting export.
With production halted and parts supplies drying up, waiting lists for new Japanese cars are mounting. According to CNW Research, those in line for new Japanese cars are, on average, willing to wait 90 days for the delays to end.
Only eight percent of buyers would look elsewhere after a 90-day wait, with the figure climbing to 13 percent for , 14 percent for and 19 percent for .
Those may not seem like huge numbers, until you compare them to comparable American brands. would only lose six percent after 90 days for its cars, and a scant 2.8 percent of truck buyers would bail. buyers proved most-loyal, with 97.2 percent of their customers sticking around after 90 days.
Would you stand in line for 90 days or more for your new Japanese car of choice? Let us know by voting in our poll.
Jeff Gorvette from Pixar’s CARS 2 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Our onslaught of character debuts continues this week with an exclusive reveal just for Autoblog readers. Pixar is letting us announce that NASCAR racer Jeff Gordon will make an appearance in the film as Jeff Gorvette, an up-and-coming ChevroletCorvette C6.R that’s “turning hoods wherever he competes.”
More than just a cameo, Gordon’s character will compete as a “respected competitor – and legitimate threat – at the World Grand Prix.” Pixar makes no obvious connection to Gordon’s actual roots in NASCAR, but the character of Jeff Gorvette is a and will wear #24 like Gordon’s actual racecar, although obviously it isn’t an Impala. We’re not sure how the Corvette Racing team that just finished 3rd and 4th in this past weekend’s feels about having an oval racer portray its beloved C6.R GT2 car on film, but Pixar needed an accomplished road-racing car and probably wasn’t interested in a character named Jeff Gimpala.
We’re also privileged to announce that Darrell Waltrip will be returning as a character in CARS 2, reprising his role as racing announcer Darrell Cartrip, the “Kentucky-born #17 Chevrolet Monte Carlo known for his wild color commentary.” He’s graduated from being a Piston Cup announcer and will be on-hand to call the World Grand Prix in the sequel.
Check out both characters , including a video turntable of Jeff Gorvette. You can also view all of the new CARS 2 characters in our high-res gallery below that we continually update as new characters are announced.
Last summer, Classic Recreations, the builder of the Shelby-licensed GT500CR, was and was under investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Fortunately, unlike a previous company associated with continuation Shelby Mustangs, Classic Recreations was , although at the time, the methods of restoring classic cars with new parts were still a gray area.
While Classic Recreations may have had to deal with bad PR and worried customers, the whole fiasco has actually led to something that will benefit many of the restoration shops throughout Oklahoma. A bill unanimously passed in the state legislature earlier this month, SB 38, now clearly sets guidelines for the restoration of classic cars with new or aftermarket parts. A company can now use new body panels if:
Starter car must have a clean title, not a salvage
Replacement panels and/or body must be licensed by the OEM manufacturer
Replacement body must be the same as the original body (year/make/model)
Builder will have to pay “rebody” fee
They will be issued a new title with an asterisk and the word “rebody” on it
The new law seems to be a good compromise that allows for the clearly defined use of new parts while maintaining the spirit (and legality) of the original car.
2009 BYD F3DM – Click above for high-res image gallery
Wondering when Chinese automakers will begin selling vehicles in the U.S.? Well, at least one automaker is already here, with plans to begin selling vehicles within the next year.
The Glendale Press-News reports that BYD has already set up shop at a dealership in Glendale, California in preparation for the launch of its new electric and gas-powered economy cars. The Chinese automaker already copies copies of the vehicles on California roads, as the Housing Authority of Los Angeles has 10 vehicles on lease. Those 10 vehicles are being serviced by BYD employees, and at the same time the company is using the dealership to help train technicians before retail and fleet sales begin late in 2011 or early in 2012. The retail store being used, Car 911, is owned by Onnik Mehrabian. The Press-News says Mehrabian hopes to one day own a BYD store. We hope he’s set up to sell light bulbs, too, because that may be .
And that electric car BYD plans to sell? The automaker claims it will retail for about $32,000, or roughly the same price as the . While it’s probably not realistic that an unheard of Chinese automaker plans to price their EV on the same level as that of an established make, the BYD will reportedly travel 200 miles on electric power. That’s about twice as long as the Leaf. Beyond that, we’ve heard on several occasions that an automaker from China or India has plans to sell their vehicles Stateside, and it hasn’t happened yet.
Lincoln wants to get the message out about its cars. To do that, the company has partnered with The New York Times to offer a select group of readers free access around for the . The free, unlimited access is worth about $150, and 200,000 of the Times’ most regular readers will be eligible for the offer.
Lincoln wants to tell people that it’s more than just the fusty old Town Car, and Lincoln’s Connie Fontaine, U.S. Manager of Marketing and Communications, thinks “the type of reader we’ll be able to engage through this program is a thought leader.” Lincoln is also adding its support to the Times’ archives on technology and design. Free access to the Times’smartphoneapplications are also included in the program.
Why would The New York Times circumvent its newly-minted scheme to charge for content? Considering the total amount of readers, the 200,000 included in this offer is a small percentage. Of course, not all of those readers are going to convert into digital subscribers, but the highly-active readership both Lincoln and the Times have targeted are virtually guaranteed to subscribe because of the volume of NYTimes.com content they consume. Lincoln thinks those people are exactly the audience it should be telling about the . Expert internet users are also more likely to be wowed by SYNC and MyLincoln Touch than old guys that get carted around in Town Cars, which is what you might think of when you think Lincoln.
Consumer Reports has added itself to the insanity that is March Madness with a bracket all its own. Consumer Reports will crown this year’s driver’s choice champion with an NCAA Tournament-style bracket made up of four “regions,” which in this case relate to types of cars.
First-round voting has already begun in the four categories, which are: sporty cars, SUVs and trucks, practical cars, and performance sedans. The bracket is well thought out and the choices are legitimately thought-provoking. Would you rather have a ZR-1, or the last-hurrah ? How about a or a Cadillac Escalade?
Head over to to see the full bracket and make your selections before the second round begins on March 21.
eGarage Koenigsegg CCX – Click above for high-res image gallery
A new automotive website is getting ready to hit the Internet. Called , the site’s goal is to become a haven for supercar enthusiasts. The team behind eGarage wants to prove it’s serious, so it has teamed up with HRE Wheels to dress up a pair of hyper-exotic supercars.
At the 2011 Supercar Experience in Miami, eGarage will show off a Koenigsegg CCX and SSC Ultimate Aero. The CCX wears a set of new 595 RS HRE Wheels and a matte-white wrap.
Currently, eGarage.com is just a splash page displaying a car-centric rewording of the U.S. Marine Corps’ . (Really, guys?) We’ll withhold full judgement on the site’s true potential until we see the finished product. If nothing else, the CCX and Ultimate Aero indicate that there should be plenty of hardware to drool over once eGarage goes officially live.
2011 ALMS Corvette racing engine – Click above to watch video
The Chevrolet Corvettes that do battle in the American LeMans Series are, at first glance, acres removed from their street-dwelling cousins. Beneath the skin, though, the two cars are more similar than you might think, given their differing purposes.
For starters, Chevrolet uses similar engine architecture for both cars. The ALMS Vettes use the exact same block that goes into the . That’s where the similarities end. The racing engine is limited to two 28-mm air intakes in a bid to level the GT Class playing field. The ALMS engines are also limited to 5.5 liters of displacement, versus the production car’s 7.0 liters.
Though the means may be different, the end is the same: maximized power and efficiency. Chevrolet develops and builds its racing engines in-house, to try and insure that some of the technology that goes into its endurance racers makes it into its street cars. To hear Chevrolet tell it, check out the video .
Ben Thomas and his Rancho Deluxe Roadster – Click above to watch video
Australia’s obsession with automobiles is as strong as the passion we feel for them here in the states. Bandit Films recently brought us a clip showing . Now it’s produced a new film showing one man’s ode to the dry lakes racers from a bygone era in California’s automotive history.
Dubbed the Rancho Deluxe Roadster by its owner Ben Thomas, this 1932 Ford Model B is powered by a flathead V8 and just drips with classic hot rod cool. Thomas parks the car at his shop, , which specializes in working on American cars from World War II through the sixties. It’s also a place for folks to hang out, have cake and coffee, then talk about cars. to see Ben Thomas talk about his roadster and his passion for cars.
The problems facing automakers in the wake of Japan’s deadly and the resulting are already manifesting themselves in the form of higher transaction prices on some Japanese cars, as U.S. dealers show less willingness to negotiate downward from the number on the window sticker, .
Automakers like , and all say they have a sufficient supply of vehicles in the U.S. that had already been imported from Japan before the disaster struck. So, if there are still plenty of Japanese cars on Stateside lots, why the hardening prices?
It’s a simple case of supply and demand, explain some dealers polled by The Associated Press. “We’re going to run out of cars. We had five [ hybrids] on the ground yesterday, and I don’t know when I’ll get another,” says Dave Conant, owner of a Toyota dealership in San Diego, CA. “The market has shifted pretty quickly and dramatically.”
Of course, some people believe dealerships are just using speculative vehicle shortages to make a few extra bucks. We suspect the truth may be a little bit of both.
Lucas Ordoñez – Click above for high-res image gallery
Lucas Ordoñez, the Spaniard who won the inaugural , is racing in the 12 Hours of Sebring today in Sebring, Florida. Ordoñez is at the wheel of a Nissan-powered LMP2 machine entered by Signatech.
This is Ordoñez’s first trip to the big time, and won’t be his last, with a full LeMans Cup schedule ahead of him this year, including the 24 Hours of LeMans in June. After singling himself out of a field of 25,000 GT Academy contestants, Ordoñez’s first race was at the 2009 Dubai 24 Hours, where he drove a 350Z.
This may not be Ordoñez’s first endurance racing rodeo, but LMP2 is a completely different beast than GT cars. We’ll keep you updated on his status.
As fears of radiation from Japan’s severely compromised Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant seem to be growing by the minute, automakers have tried to assure car buyers that most of their products are produced far enough away from the crippled facility that fallout won’t end up on vehicles, but shows that wants to go a step further.
Nissan will reportedly perform a radiation inspection on all vehicles imported from Japan; a process that will continue until all threats of contamination have subsided. Nissan is following through with the inspections even though The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association announced that it has found no harmful levels of radiation in any vehicles destined for export.
Nissan, along with other Japanese automakers, is also trying to better assess any potential supply disruptions that could come as a result of the quake and ensuing tsunami. The automaker claims that its current supply of vehicles here in the U.S. stands at 50 days worth of cars, trucks and SUVs. That number could dwindle, however, as current estimates show that the carmaker has at least seven days worth of parts. After those seven days are up, the company will reportedly reassess its situation.
General Motors has announced that the automaker is stopping production at its Shreveport, Louisiana assembly plant next week due to a parts shortage caused by the ongoing tragedy in Japan. The facility is responsible for building both the and pickup trucks, though GM says that it currently has enough vehicles manufactured to meet consumer demand for the time being. In an issued statement, GM doesn’t make mention of exactly which parts are being delayed due to the earthquake and tsunami events, but as Kicking Tires points out, however, both trucks are available with a five-speed manual transmission built by the Japanese manufacturer Aisin.
As of right now, there’s no indication as to when the Shreveport facility will resume operations. No other U.S. manufacturing plants have been shuttered as a result of supply problems from Japan so far, though some have scaled back production slightly. Hit the jump for the full press release from GM.
Japan’s devastating earthquake and the resulting tsunami has already claimed thousands of lives, but the threat is far from over. The Japanese government is feverishly fighting possible meltdowns of multiple nuclear reactors, and radiation has spiked to dangerous levels in some areas around the compromised facilities. The U.S. government has gone out of its way explaining to us that radiation from these plants won’t travel here in anything close to dangerous quantities, but what about the vehicles coming over from Japan?
Inside Line reports that , and are working hard to assure car buyers that their products aren’t radioactive. Japan’s big three each told IL that the vast majority of their plants are nowhere near a nuclear reactor, with the exception of one Nissan engine plant. Nissan Americas communications VP David Reuter told IL that the company “will take all necessary actions to ensure safety.”
Toyota communications VP Mike Michels echoed Reuter’s statement, adding “vehicles are plastic-wrapped on ships and washed at our processing facilities before shipping to dealers. This is normal procedure.” Further, the U.S. government routinely inspects cargo entering the U.S. That includes checking for radiation, and anything else that can harm American citizens.
2011 Twelve Hours of Sebring spotter’s guide – Click above for high-resolution pages
The 2011 racing season gets underway in earnest this weekend with the 12 Hours of Sebring. The endurance race run on Floridian tarmac is one of the most iconic in the world, and always draws a mouthwatering array of racing machinery. This year’s event will be no exception, the latest Le Mans Prototypes scything their way through the myriad GT3s and more.
The first practice sessions saw the topping the charts, followed by the Peugeot 908 and Lola B08. PR1 Mathiasen M/Sport’s Oreca FLM09 topped the new LMPC class in practice, quickly followed by the new , while was the quickest of the GT sportscars.
With so many cars on the grid – and many of them looking rather similar, especially in a speeding blur – you’ll need a good spotter’s guide if you’re watching to tell the difference between them. Fortunately SpotterGuides.com has hooked us up with the pages we’ve placed in the gallery below in full resolution for your reference.
Actually watching the race this year will be a new experience for many, as the round-the-clock event won’t be covered live on TV in its entirety. Instead a new deal with ABC and ESPN provides a mix of televised and online coverage: You’ll be able to watch the full race online (as well as Friday’s qualifying sessions) on ESPN3.com, which you can also stream through your XBox.
ABC will air a recap from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time), which ESPN2 will show again on Tuesday, March 22. Those outside the U.S., meanwhile, will be able to watch live on americanlemans.com.
