Since the beginning of autodom, there have always been uptight car owners wincing at every swirl mark and paint chip. Blemishes in the leather upholstery cause heartburn, and spilled milk is definitely grounds for weeping. Couple that tightly-wound protectiveness with high-end conveyances from and you’ve got a bout of steam emanating from owner’s ears.
Mercedes-Benz thinks it has a solution in its new First Class Exterior and Interior insurance. DuPont is providing the rejuvenation service, and it means that you can grit your teeth a little less when ‘lil Johnny scrapes the side of your W212 with his handlebars. BMW is offering the same kind of coverage, and Mercedes expects it to be a popular up-sell, just as extended service contracts are.
More tech in your car? Oh, that’s inevitable. But automakers are trying to figure out the best way to implement it. There are two main architectures currently; tethered and embedded. SYNC is an example of a tethered tech-integration system that uses Bluetooth to connect to mobile devices consumers already own and carry with them. OnStar system is an embedded setup that builds the technology into the car. Going forward, the consensus seems to be that we’re going to see systems that combine elements of both.
A tethered system is typically less costly than an embedded alternative, and it works with equipment you already own and know how to use. Systems like Sync can extend the functionality of your gear and is an attractive option to tech-savvy consumers. The lower cost makes it possible to proliferate these kind of features into more models, instead of just being a high-end feature. However, embedded systems offer advantages of their own. With communications hardware built in to the vehicle, performance is more reliable, and safety can be enhanced by tying in to the vehicle’s crash sensors and stability control to automatically call for help if it detects a severe accident.
True to the cliche, it seems that the young’ins are more comfortable with tethered systems, while older generations prefer embedded systems. OnStar is already starting to do this, opening up the system in applications with a mobile app that lets drivers connect to their car even when they’re away from it. The future likely holds a system that combines aspects of both, enhancing safety, beating back obsolescence and drawing on the strength of each technology to deliver the best experience as cars continue to become more sophisticated.
Ferrari 599 HY-KERS – Click above for high-res image gallery
In the Eighties, you wanted your MTV. Now that you’re a little older and a lot richer, you want your naturally aspirated V12 Italian cars, and both and plan to deliver. The raging bulls at Sant’ Agata are incorporating more lightweight materials into their cars in order to get over emissions hurdles, but Ferrari has different plans, likely including a road-going iteration of its kinetic energy recovery system, as seen fitted to its concept car at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year.
According to Autocar’s quote from Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa, “Hybrid means we can protect the V12,” suggesting Ferrari believes its unassisted 12-cylinder will live on. Autocar’s theory is that the next Enzo could see its V12 paired with an electric motor to keep the government watchdogs happy. Of course, this contradicts when, after speaking with Felisa, it wrote, “Felisa also hinted that the new Ferrari Enzo will be powered by a direct-injection twin-turbo V8 when it is launched in 2012.”
It could be that Ferrari will use a naturally aspirated V12, only not in the Enzo – the F40 was a V8 while the Testarossa/512 received the big-engine treatment. Frankly, we’re all for a hybrid Enzo, though. Provided they can keep the weight down, a silent supercar at low speeds with 600-plus horses that could bolt at a half-second’s notice would make the most awesome getaway car ever.
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Live Photos: Noah Joseph / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc. [Source: ]
So far, only three drivers are confirmed for the , but it’s already shaping up to be one for the history books. Not only is the year-end, cross-discipline event returning to Germany – the country that has held the Nations Cup title the past three years running – but now one of the most successful racing drivers alive will finally, for the first time in his career, be on hand in a bid for top honors.
The driver in question is one Alain Prost, the four-time Formula One world champion. For the past few years since his retirement, Prost has been competing in the Andros Trophy ice racing series, whose title he won two years running. The Andros calendar, says Prost, usually conflicts with the RoC, an event he’s long wished to challenge, but this year there’s no overlap. So at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorg this coming November, the Frenchman will be squaring off (amongst others) against Michael Schumacher, the only living driver ever to win more grands prix and F1 titles than himself. This ought to be good. Details in the press release after the jump.
Mercedes-Benz Hexawheel concept by Siyamak Rouhi Dehkordi – Click above for high-res image gallery
Looking at luxury sedans like the and drop-tops like , it’d be all to easy to forget that has a rich background in off-roaders. But the Three-Pointed Star is also the maker of such rockcrawlers as the legendary and the Unimog. And that’s the expertise that Iranian designer Siyamak Rouhi Dehkordi has tapped into with his Hexawheel concept.
Drawing inspiration from the articulated frames of insects, the Hexawheel employs six driven wheels on an articulated chassis with a flexible drivetrain. Measuring nearly 16 feet long with a foot and a half of ground clearance, the go-anywhere Hexawheel is designed to climb over tall vertical surfaces. The Persian mechanical engineer was also responsible for the F1-inspired , and you can check out his latest vision in the high-resolution image gallery below.
It might be the last of a dying breed, but the all-new QX56 has enough power and amenities to thrust the SUV into the next generation.
The CTS Coupe is hot, but the CTS-V variant has the potential to topple the stalwarts of the sports coupe segment. And now we know how much we’ll need to set aside when it goes on sale later this year.
If the Buick Regal is good, then the GS stands to be even better. With a turbo’d four-pot and 255 horsepower, the sportiest Buick has potential. And it’s finally been approved for the States.
When says it is going to have apps available for download to its cars by the end of the decade, it doesn’t mean an app like Bejeweled 2 – it means an app like heated seats. Taking the term “app” back to its more expansive origin in “software application,” Audi plans to make cars upgradable after the purchase by allowing owners to download software that would activate hardware already installed in the car.
An evolution of the touchscreen introduced on the latest would provide the user interface. Navigation, chassis, and audio software upgrades are mentioned as other possible uses of instant reconfigurability, but with all that’s run on code nowadays we imagine almost every aspect of the car could be touched by the development. Along with making its products more adaptive “learning machines,” having equipment pre-installed, even if not activated, would also streamline the build and could save the company money over the long term. It could also open open up an interesting opportunity for aftermarket hacking, but we digress…
2011 Ford Flex Titanium – Click above for high-res image gallery
Earlier this month, Editor Paukert sporting new trim pieces that indicated a higher-level trim model is in the works. A source within confirmed that our assumptions were correct, and now the automaker has released the full raft of details about its new model, Flex Titanium, which should hit showrooms later this year. Expect to see more Titanium-badged products making their way down the pipeline, too. This trim level is already well-received in Europe, and we’ll be seeing a Titanium version of the when it goes on sale next year, as well.
Back to the . Available in both naturally aspirated and EcoBoost variants, the Titanium model adds extra appearance goodies like blacked-out headlamps and taillamps, a two-tone Tuxedo Black roof, 20-inch alloys with an aluminum finish and a black badgeless chrome grille with F-L-E-X text on the edge of the hood. Inside, the charcoal black leather-trimmed seats feature gray Alcantara inserts, the center stack is painted in a new metallic alloy finish, a perforated leather steering wheel falls to hand, and illuminated scuff plates light the entryway.
The Titanium will be available in four colors: White Platinum Metallic Tri-Coat, Red Candy Metallic, Ingot Silver Metallic and Tuxedo Black Metallic. We find the Red Candy to be particularly tasty – you can check it out on Ford’s already launched configurator .
Even though the new Titanium models are pricy ($40,340 for a Duratec-powered front-drive model and $45,185 for an EcoBoost’d all-wheel drive – sans $775 in delivery fees) the Blue Oval may be right for thinking they can expand the model upwards – it says that the current top trim (Limited) accounts for 40 percent of overall Flex sales, and that as much as 60 percent of these vehicles are equipped with add-ons like the panoramic sunroof and rear refrigerator. Hit the jump to read the full details in Ford’s press release.
2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery
Pricing for the Cadillac CTS Coupe and it’s V-equipped sibling has been released, and the standard two-door is priced at $38,990 while the reportedly comes in at $62,990.
We’ve contacted General Motors for confirmation and more information, so stay tuned.
*UPDATE: Pricing is confirmed and includes destination charges. First examples to be available beginning in early August. Click through to the jump for the official press release.
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[Source: General Motors via ]
and CTS-V Coupe priced at $38,990, $62,990 [*UPDATE]
Pricing for the Cadillac CTS Coupe and it’s V-equipped sibling has leaked out, and the standard two-door is priced at $38,990 while the reportedly comes in at $62,990.
We’ve contacted General Motors for confirmation and more information, so stay tuned.
2009 was the single worst sales year for the auto industry in 30 years, with just 10.4 million vehicles moving off dealer lots. Consultancy A.T. Kearney feels a lot better about 2010 and beyond, though, as pent-up demand is beginning to creep into the market. A.T. Kearney predicts that by the time 2010 is in the history books, the industry will have hit between 11.4 and 12.3 million cars and trucks sold, but if you hold the company to just one number, it estimates a market of 11.7 million units.
If the economic recovery continues to gain steam, 2011 could see 14.4 million sales. That would be a huge sum for an industry that has scaled back production to meet current demand. The firm feels 2012 will bring auto sales back to pre-industry collapse, with an estimated 16.6 million cars and trucks manufactured.
It’s worth noting that the A.T. Kearney forecast is quite a bit more aggressive than many we’ve seen, but analyst Daniel Cheng tells Reuters that the analysis closely follows what happened in the early 1980s, when demand shot right back up after a lull of a couple of years. Among the potential calamities that could derail the industry’s climb back to normalcy are a double-dip recession and credit that doesn’t loosen up over time.
If A.T. Kearney’s industry sales forecast comes close to true, we’re thinking there are going to be a lot of happy automakers in carmaking nations the world over. The industry will need to hire more workers, which won’t be bad for the economy, either.
Where do you think the industry will finish in 2011? Leave your best guess in ‘Comments.’
Mutistrada 1200 is versatility Ducati style- for high-resolution image gallery
It’s been said that absence makes the heart grow fonder. If you took one good look at Ducati’s most versatile motorcycle ever, the, and immediately came to the decision that you just can’t sleep soundly until one is parked safely in your garage, well, we have good news and bad news.
The good news is that you are not alone, as prior to its official launch, claims to have pre-sold more than 500 units. Let this serve as reassurance of your impeccable taste and buying expertise, and also a warning that your heart may just be growing fonder, which is the bad news.
After the official launch over the upcoming weekend, Ducati expects orders to more than double. In a press release, the masters of anticipation Italian company reveals that the failure to expect the unexpected will lead to a sixty-day wait for “2010’s Hottest Motorcycle,” as Ducati calls it. Look on the bright side – at least you will have time to figure out all of the ! View the full press release after the break.
Roewe 350 with Android – Click above for image gallery
With the developer’s conference going on and about the and its Android-integrated smartphone app for the , there’s been a fair amount of virtual ink spilled over the search giant’s mobile software and its integration into automobiles.
However, Roewe has taken the biggest leap yet and .
The system, developed in conjunction with the Chinese automaker and Inkanet, employs a 3G internet connection through China Unicom to deliver everything from weather to stock market information, and connects to phones and other multimedia devices through either a cable or Bluetooth connection. As you’d expect, GPS and traffic data is integrated into the system, and users can make phone calls, along with sending and receiving emails and text messages. An on-screen QWERTY keyboard is incorporated into the custom user interface, and unlike some of the hack jobs we’ve seen on netbooks and vaporware tablets, it’s actually an attractive implementation of the Android operating system.
The whole package will set Chinese consumers back around $600-900 when it arrives later this year, and includes 24 months of free service through China Unicom. Check the gallery below for a walk through of its features.
2010 Dodge Caliber – click above for high-res image gallery
Here in their homeland, the Dodge Caliber and Nitro can’t get much lovin’ from critics, but parent Chrysler has gone and kicked the two models right out of the UK altogether. Hitting up shows but a single vehicle, the Journey, for sale in Blighty. Even the seven-passenger MPV, seemingly well suited to the UK market, has been struggling to find buyers, and the model has had its lineup rejiggered with more standard equipment added to entice addtional prospects.
Try as it might, Chrysler just hasn’t been able to close enough sales of the Nitro and Caliber in the UK. Things must be slightly better on The Continent, as consumers can still find the two exiles available on Dodge’s websites for such far-flung locales as , , and our favorite, Italy’s . Company officials tell Autoblog that the “Caliber [is] still sold in most all continental European markets, Nitro [is] for sale in most major markets there.”
2010 Chrysler 300C SRT8 – Click above for high-res image gallery
If the economic downfall of 2008 had happened just a few years earlier, the probably wouldn’t exist. Think about it: when the nation was on the verge of $4.00/gallon gasoline and people were doing everything possible to get out of their fuel-sucking SUVs and into smaller, more efficient vehicles, a 425-horsepower flagship sedan with a free-breathing 6.1-liter Hemi V8 doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But then again, did it ever?
The 300C SRT8 is the product of a pre-castrated . This was a time of -powered , Hemi-powered and SRT-badged Neons. “You want it, you got it.” Chrysler wanted the 300C SRT8 to start a new trend of muscle sedans – a land where quarter-mile times reigned supreme, and booming exhaust notes were all that mattered. This trend never really caught on (save the , which has been honed to be one hell of a machine), and at the end of the day, Chrysler was left with a big, heavy, powerful sedan that didn’t offer much in the way of refinement and carried a near-$50,000 price tag.
But despite its flaws – and there are quite a few – we still think of the 300C SRT8 as a guilty pleasure. It has all the ingredients of an American muscle car wrapped in a four-door, luxury(ish) package. We’d probably never buy one or recommend buying a new one to a friend, but if we’re totally honest, there’s still something about the SRT8 that gets us all giddy when one comes through the Autoblog Garage. Make the jump to find out why.
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Photos by Steven J. Ewing / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
: 2010 Chrysler 300C SRT8 remains a guilty pleasure
Rajiv Dube, the mind behind ‘ move into the passenger car world, has decided to part ways with the company after 27 years. Dube joined Tata way back in 1983, and neither he nor the company are saying exactly why the long-standing exec decided to move on. Our guess is that after 20 years, retirement was sounding plenty tasty. Cars like the and Indica hatchback can all pledge their allegiance to Dube’s market-minded approach to the automobile.
According to Automotive News, Dube’s position will be filled internally. S. Krishnan will now helm the premier car division while Girish Wagh will take on both small-car and passenger-car operations.
Over two dozen school districts across the country have equipped school buses with AutoNet mobile WiFi routers allowing students to access the ‘Net on the go. The system is a basic wireless router like the ones that hundreds of millions of people use at home, but with an integrated EVDO cellular modem to keep connected on the go.
The same system has been offered as a dealer installed option by for the last two years and recently announced that it would begin offering the units in some of its vehicles as well. The cost is relatively modest, with Chrysler charging about $500 for the unit and $30 per month for the wireless service.
Whether schools should be spending money on these types of services is debatable, but in rural districts like the Vail School District in Arizona, it could be a good way to distract students that have to ride the bus for two or more hours a day. Of course this is only helpful if the kids can actually afford a laptop or other internet-connected device.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is the 2005 and 2006 for a wiring harness issue that could prevent the airbags from deploying in a collision. There are about 100,000 vehicles that could be affected if a recall notice is issued, and NHTSA says that it’s received four complains of failures of the wiring harness, though there have been no reported injuries as a result of the issue.
spokesman Robert Moran reportedly told Bloomberg that the condition presents itself when drivers telescope the steering wheel all the way out and and as high as it can go. Under those conditions the potentially defective harness could pull out of the connector block, causing an open-circuit condition in the driver’s airbag circuits. If the harness disconnects from the connector, the air bag warning lamp will illuminate and one of two diagnostic fault codes will point to the problem. The German automaker sent out a TSB back in December 2005 to address the issue, which is fixed with what NHTSA calls a “substantially longer” wiring harness. The TSBs, which have been updated over time, covers MY 2003-2009 E-Class and the MY 2006-2010 CLS, though only the 2005 and 2006 E-Class is currently being investigated. Hit the jump to read over the NHTSA summery of the investigation.
Since and entered bankruptcy last spring, GM has stolen the lion’s share of the headlines. The General has made front page news with new products, and , while Team Pentastar has quietly gone about the business of returning to respectability. Chrysler took another step towards its goal this week as the company paid back another $1.9 billion in government loans to the federal government. In total, Chrysler has paid back $3.9 billion of the $14.3 billion in loans the company received.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a written statement that the repayment “is significantly more than the Treasury expected to recover on this loan, and is greater than an independent valuation of the loan.” In other words, Treasury wasn’t exactly expecting a cash return on its investment. Chrysler plans to unload further good news when it officially reports its earnings. The automaker said in April that it expected to earn up to $200 million on revenue of $40-45 billion.
has officially handed over every last cent of its $16.4 million fine for not notifying the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration of potential defects in a timely manner. That figure marks the largest fine possible under the law, though by paying it, the Japanese automaker has somehow managed to skip out on admitting any wrong doing. We’re still having a hard time wrapping our fragile journo minds around that one.
NHTSA came down hard on Toyota for bumbling the recall of accelerator pedals that wouldn’t spring back once depressed. Meanwhile, the automaker claims it did everything it was supposed to in handling the problem and notifying the government of the issue. Even so, Toyota has declined to fight the “civil penalty” or appeal the government’s decision. The cash will be put directly into the U.S. Treasury.
Toyota is also under investigation for all-weather floor mats that could have contributed to the rash or unintended acceleration claims that cropped up in recent months as well as in older T100 pickups and 4Runner models. The NHTSA has yet to rule on either of those issues.
