, but the is now history. While is still building out the model run, it has closed ordering and “all cars are spoken for,” according to Car and Driver.
The report comes from the magazine’s European correspondent, so we assume any remaining cars are destined to remain in Europe, meaning that our friends across the Atlantic are just now catching up to our situation here. Perhaps this news should come as no surprise, as the 1 Series M Coupe was sold in the U.S. for just a single model year, 2011.
Of course, if your heart is set on owning one of fewer than 1,000 1 Series M Coupes that were offered in the States, the only thing standing between you and your dream is money. We imagine values of these cars will not depreciate much (the at the moment has been essentially bid up to MSRP), though whether the 1 Series M Coupe will achieve the cult status of the remains to be seen.
As and , the Environmental Protection Agency today approved the first applications to make E15, a blend of gasoline with 15 percent in it. This means that E15 is now a “significant step” closer to production and sale in America.
For decades, gasoline in the U.S. has had up to 10 percent ethanol in it, but the extra five points were enough to generate resistance. The and the both took steps to prevent E15 from entering the national supply. Even the EPA admits not every vehicle should use the new blend, saying it is approved only for Model Year 2001 vehicles and newer.
Many automakers have been hesitant about E15, fearing fuel system and engine damage, so a number of them through the Auto Alliance. Some have even gone so far as to say that . The EPA’s rules say that any pump dispensing E15 must be clearly labeled. The EPA is not requiring any station to sell E15 in any way, but the Obama Administration does want to encourage its use, and thus wants to help get 10,000 blender pumps installed in the U.S. over the next 5 years.
In late 2011, the U.S. Congress ended a 30-year tax subsidy on corn-based ethanol while also stopping tariffs on ethanol imported from Brazil. Since 1980, the ethanol industry has received an estimated $45 billion in subsidies. Check out the official EPA press release for further details .
Paul Jaray was an Austrian-born engineer who transferred his aerodynamic designs for zeppelins to the smaller canvas of the automobile. His work included vehicles like the Tatra T77 and T87, and cars inspired by his work and patents included the Airflow and Zephyr.
Most of his creations weren’t exactly pretty, however, as the rebodied concept car above amply demonstrates. A new Audi ad shows how far the brand has come in the looks department by contrasting that streamlined-but-ugly-duckling coupe with the 2012 , with a little help from singer Danny Kaye and Hans Christian Andersen. We like the spot quite a bit, but wonder if Audi wouldn’t have been better served by having it pitch the aerodynamic beauty of the instead. to check it out.
Steve Saleen is back to feeling himself again. That’s because he’s once again at the helm of the the marque that bears his name. As you may recall, the racer and performance part guru from the Saleen brand empire he nurtured for 23 years back in 2007. The Saleen brand was then sold to MJ Acquisitions, along with the right to produce S Line and Racecraft models. Saleen himself, meanwhile, went on to create SMS Supercars, which produced notable creations like the , and .
But when MJ Acquisitions and Saleen, Inc. refused to honor warranties for vehicles purchased before the company took control of the Saleen brand, SMS Supercars stepped in to , even without any legal obligation to do so. Steve Saleen and SMS Supercars then sued MJ Acquisitions to get the company to stop using the Saleen name in order to protect the brand’s reputatoin.
Today’s announcement means Saleen was successful in his quest. Moving forward, all of the products sold under SMS Supercars will be available under the Saleen banner. for the full press release.
will be showing the all-new 2013 SRT at the on Wednesday, in what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest reveals of the show. While we’ve already seen , , , , and from the forthcoming Viper, this new teaser is our best official look yet.
Too bad then, that it’s not so good – just a blurry, poorly lit image that seems like it’s more Photoshop than photo. So we went ahead and tried to enhance the image we plucked off of SRT’s page ourselves. If there’s one thing we can see for certain from these pixels, it’s that the new hood design – with two front-mounted, rear-facing scoops – is confirmed.
While we eagerly await the rest of the picture, the good news is that there’s just two more days to go.
Check out all four official teasers of the new Viper in our .
Much like at its launch, remains largely a one-model make (here in the United States, that is). While that may not change anytime soon in the U.S., that the model lineup in Canada could expand.
Buoyed by sales proportionately larger above the 49th Parallel than below it, Fiat is apparently plans to add the new Panda (pictured above) and the aging Punto to the Canadian market. Coupled with the expected arrival of the 500L in Fiat “studios” both in Canada and the United States, suddenly the availability of affordable Italian cars looks on the up in the country where Sergio Marchionne was schooled.
Much like at its launch, remains largely a one-model make (here in the United States, that is). While that may not change anytime soon in the U.S., that the model lineup in Canada could expand.
Buoyed by sales proportionately larger above the 49th Parallel than below it, Fiat is apparently plans to add the new Panda (pictured above) and the aging Punto to the Canadian market. Coupled with the expected arrival of the 500L in Fiat “studios” both in Canada and the United States, suddenly the availability of affordable Italian cars looks on the up in the country where Sergio Marchionne was schooled.
Much like at its launch, remains largely a one-model make (here in the United States, that is). While that may not change anytime soon in the U.S., that the model lineup in Canada could expand.
Buoyed by sales proportionately larger above the 49th Parallel than below it, Fiat is apparently plans to add the new Panda (pictured above) and the aging Punto to the Canadian market. Coupled with the expected arrival of the 500L in Fiat “studios” both in Canada and the United States, suddenly the availability of affordable Italian cars looks on the up in the country where Sergio Marchionne was schooled.
Soon will disocntinue the as it ushers the new F12 Berlinetta into production, but until then the GTO holds its place as king of the hill. So before the ultimate incarnation of the 599 is swept off into retirement, Romeo Ferraris has developed a series of enhancements to the Ferrari flagship.
Given that Maranello has put just about everything it has into the 599 GTO, there wasn’t a lot of room to play around. So the tuner has released two small upgrades. Stage 1 encompasses a new air filter and exhaust for a 15-horsepower boost, while the Stage 2 kit remaps the ECU as well for 40-horsepower upgrade to bring overall output up to 710 hp – putting the final iteration of the 599 within spitting distance of its replacement’s 740 hp.
A series of extra carbon fiber components are also offered, but Romeo Ferraris apparently holds enough reverence for the donor cars to keep the modifications to a minimum.
We pity the fool who don’t think this is cool. Put aside the celebrity provenance of this “authentic replica,” allegedly “certified” by George Barris, for now and just take a look at the thing. It appears to be a spot-on knock-off of , the perfect midlife-crisis toy for anyone who grew up watching The A-Team. Imagine how cool it would be to drop the kids off at school in this?
Okay, the traffic snarl during drop-off time won’t clear out any faster, but when it comes to “,” you can’t top this custom 1983 G10. Wait, what’s that you say? B.A. drove a ? Of course he did. But this is a replica, and one that seems to have been built from a nearly identical Chevy donor.
The seller claims the van was built for none other than Mike Myers, he of Wayne’s World and Austin Powers fame. We’d like to see some documentation of this celebrity provenance, though it’s not the sort of thing that we’d see too much value in, regardless. We’re also curious about the last line of the sale ad: “Movie coming out in June!” It was back in June 2010 that the A-Teamfeature film debuted, which makes us think the seller might be willing to deal on his $20,000 price.
Nobody packs it in like the . Every spring, the exposition boasts more debuts than we could count on all the fingers on all our hands combined.
It’s a mind-boggling venture to cover it all, but with this year’s show now behind us, it’s time to look back on all there was. And for that reason, has put together this nifty infographic that catalogs all the new cars unveiled at the Swiss expo this year and arranges them all by color. This year’s predominant colors? Silver and white. Check out the rainbow in all its colorful, expandable glory .
When a McLaren hits the race track, the competition had better watch out. The British outfit is, after all, one of the most successful in Formula One, having won 176 grands prix, a dozen drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ titles. But McLaren’s prowess extends beyond F1. The Woking firm was a force to be reckoned with in Can-Am in the late 60s, and the last time it built an endurance racing sportscar – the famed F1 GTR back in 1995 – it trounced even the advanced prototype racers to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Now, McLaren is back in the sportscar racing game with the new MP4-12C GT3. Based on the MP4-12C road car, the GT3 racing version took only a year to develop, and McLaren GT has delivered 25 examples of its racing car to independent racing teams around the world. Included in the purchase price are test sessions organized by McLaren and access to the team’s advanced driving simulator and deep expertise in all things motorsport.
The cars are set to compete in the Blancpain Endurance Series (where the MP4-12C also serves as safety car), the VLN series at the Nürburgring, German’y ADAC GT Masters, the International GT Open and the FIA GT1 World Championship. The first of these are set to take place in Germany this weekend at the Nordschleife and Oschersleben, where the MP4-12C will be making its parallel race debuts. Can’t wait that long? We’ve got two high-quality video clips of the car undergoing testing for your viewing pleasure (together with the full press release) and a fresh crop of high-resolution images added to the gallery above.
We normally don’t seek accolades, but when we’re up for something, we like to win as much as the next guy. AutoblogGreen is currently a finalist for TreeHugger.com’s , and the voting ends tonight at midnight. You can help us by just and voting for AutoblogGreen. We’d greatly appreciate the support (if you think we deserve it), as we do the support you give us every day by visiting our little corners of the Internet.
By now you’ve probably heard about “Batman” getting pulled over by the cops in his . The story has been all over the Internet this week, thanks to the in-car video from the local Maryland police department that stopped the caped crusader. But now we’ve got the real scoop on this would-be Bruce Wayne, thanks to the Washington Post.
His name is Lenny B. Robinson, and being Batman is only a part-time gig for the wealthy philanthropist. Robinson visits sick children in hospitals around the Baltimore area, decked out in a $5,000 neoprene-and-leather Batman suit, according to the report. He hands out Batman toys, signs autographs and gives the kids some much-needed fun, while boosting the morale of the parents, as well.
The is just part of the fun, though Robinson told the Post that he’s having a “real” Batmobile built. (Which of the various movie cars he’s having replicated was not specified.) While this episode marked Robinson’s first time in a national spotlight, it wasn’t his first encounter with the police while in costume. Patch reported on a back in November 2011, when Robinson’s Gallardo had a flat.
Today’s automobiles are more connected than ever, and the National Transportation Safety Board doesn’t seem to approve. The Detroit News reports that NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman is standing behind a recommendation to from making hands-free phone calls that aren’t of the emergency variety.
Hersman is battling automakers head-on when it comes to distracting technologies, and there are plenty of those technologies in today’s vehicles. That includes hands-free calling made via Bluetooth, which has long been viewed as a safer alternative to grabbing a phone and calling someone the old-fashioned way. The proposed ban on hands-free calling reportedly doesn’t include OnStar, which integrates calling directly through the vehicle. Hersman reportedly went as far as to suggest that automakers make their number one priority “safety, not sales.”
While we think distracted driving is worth fighting, it’s difficult to see where banning hands-free calling is the answer. And we’re not alone. Even National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Ray LaHood feels the NTSB recommendation . If automakers are forced to remove the tech from new vehicles, we’re thinking many drivers will simply revert back to hand-held calling.
The NTSB thinks that hand-held and hands-free are equally dangerous, but it’s difficult to argue that case, especially if integrated technology like OnStar is permitted. Once a phone is paired, what’s the difference between pressing the hands-free button and pressing the OnStar button? We’d argue that having kids in the back seat is far more distracting than hands-free calling, and we don’t see the NTSB calling for a ‘no kids in the car’ policy any time soon.
The strength of the Yen is forcing many Japanese automakers to consider building cars for export markets outside their home country. is no different, and has confirmed that it will build the hatchback at its starting in the spring of 2014.
The plant in Mexico is not the only location where Honda will build the Fit, but it will be used to supply the small hatchback to the large United States, Mexican and Canadian markets. Honda expects to build up to 200,000 subcompact vehicles per year at its plant near Celaya, Guanajuato.
Honda already builds a huge number of vehicles in North America. In fact, as pointed out in the press release , more than 85 percent of the Honda and models sold in America were built in the United States, Canada or Mexico. What’s more, the addition of the Fit to the , , and means that all four of Honda’s global nameplates will be produced in North America.
Do you consider yourself a driving enthusiast? If so, does the thought of handing control of your car over to a series of computers scare you to death? We understand. But perhaps it’s time to remember that those of us who love to drive aren’t the only ones who want to use the road.
As you’ll see in the video after the break, hold out hope for some men and women who are simply unable to drive themselves. Take, for instance, Steve Mahan, who lost 95 percent of his vision over the course of several years, leaving him clinically blind. Obviously, Mahan isn’t able to drive.
What Mahan can do, however, is sit behind the wheel of an autonomous car, in this case, a converted to operate sans driver by . And when he does, he directs the car to take him to Taco Bell before picking up his dry cleaning.
Questionable food choice aside, we hope that one day in the not-too-distant future people like Steve Mahan will be able to regain the kind of mobility made possible by the automobile that most of us take for granted. Just so long as we can share the road in our old-fashioned drive-it-yourself cars, too. See the video .
We will now know the “” – the small four-door “coupe” built on the MFA platform supporting the (pictured above) and – as the CLA. It will debut at April’s , and it’s just one of the five variants that has planned for its MFA underpinnings.
When it hits the streets in 2013, advance reports indicate that both front- and all-wheel-drive versions will be available. Power will come from a range of gas and diesel engines with anywhere from 110 to 150 horsepower (there’s even a potential AMG model with more than 300 hp on the way), mated to seven-speed dual-clutch and six-speed manual transmissions.
Of note, though, over its long gestation, the CLA has been referred to as the CLC, but the CLA and CLC are different cars. The CLC is the Concept Style Coupe, said to be , which was a two-door hatchback, yet also of the , which was a sedan. The CLA will make its debut in China, but the CLC will be at an Mercedes-sponsored art festival called “Transmission LA: AV Club.” The Beijing show and the art festival overlap, so we’ll find out which car is which and what they both look like soon enough.
Italy’s Superstars Series may have seemed like an insignificant championship in the past, but drivers and manufacturers alike are beginning to take notice of what is rapidly emerging as Italy’s equivalent of Germany’s DTM, Japan’s Super GT or Australia’s V8 Supercars series. One of those drivers is Tonio Liuzzi, and one of those manufacturers is .
The German automaker had been represented in the series before, but is now launching an officially factory-sanctioned works effort with a specially-prepared touring car fielded by Caal Racing. And it has lined up an experienced driving talent to man the wheel.
A veteran of 80 grands prix, Vitantonio Liuzzi has driven for Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT, but unfortunately failed to distinguish himself with a single podium finish, pole position or fastest lap in the span of his six years in Formula One. Prior to ascending to the pinnacle of motorsports, he had won the International Formula 3000 championship, and has also tried his hand at A1GP (representing Italy) as well as the Speedcar Series (a stock car series held briefly in the Middle East).
Will he prove himself a greater talent in touring cars than he did in F1? We’ll have to wait and see, but given the factory support in a privateer-dominated series and the number of championships Caal Racing has won, things are looking up for Liuzzi and Mercedes. for the official announcement (in Italian) and check out the batch of official high-resolution images in the gallery above.
In the vs. debate, no one questions Forza’s commitment to genuine engine noise. Normally, the Turn 10 sound engineers use Dyno Authority in a business and residential area of Seattle to record their cars’ sounds, but when it came to the 1991 Mazda 787B that was unleashed in February’s , the Le Mans-winning racer was just too loud.
In fact, the 700-horsepower 2.7-liter Wankel-engined legend with four rotors and its continuously variable intake was the loudest car that Forza engineers have ever caught on mic. to watch a video on how they did it.
