GM’s controversial “Suicidal Robot” ad from 2007 – Click above to watch the video
is finally starting to get back on the right track, and under the marketing direction of , the automaker will reportedly be running an ad slot in the 2011 Super Bowl. As you may recall, GM stopped advertising during the Super Bowl in 2009, not long after the economic crash that eventually sent the company into bankruptcy.
Advertising during the NFL’s big game is nothing new to Ewanick. While heading up the marketing department at over the last few years, he and the team successfully launched , promoting the line, as well as introducing the world to the automaker’s in 2009.
GM should be prepared to shell out a pretty penny for next year’s ad slot, however. Automotive News reports that 30-second spots are selling for around $3 million. GM will be advertising alongside Hyundai, , and in next year’s game, and we’re sure other automakers will announce their participation over the coming months. In any case, hopefully things go a bit more smoothly for The General than the from 2007 (available ).
Tramontana R – Click above for high-res image gallery
It’s a precarious game making a racing car for the road. The Caparo T1 never seemed to have gotten off the ground, close as it was to a road-going F1 racer. The Tramontana is just about as close, but at half a million euros, the niche automaker is reportedly having trouble finding buyers.
The solution? Tap into the racing market. According to emerging reports from across the pond, Tramontana is considering replacing the twin-turbo V12 sourced from with a Cosworth V10 for the competition model. The British engineering firm is known to many for its Formula One engine program: While it currently supplies 2.4-liter V8s to Williams, Lotus, HRT and Virgin, as recently 2006 it was still building 3.0-liter V10s for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Cosworth also has plenty of expertise building engines for other racing series as well as roadcars, so there’s plenty to tap into to transform the Tramontana from a road-garbling beast to a curb-chomping racer.
When the goes on sale this fall, it will have an updated version of the SmartGauge that debuted last year on the . The basics of the remain the same, with a pair of 4.3-inch LCD displays flanking a central speedometer. The LCDs can display several layers of information to help coach the driver to be a more efficient motorist.
The most obvious change is the color palette for the LCD gauges. They have been changed from a predominantly blue color scheme to what Lincoln officials describes as a more upscale-looking green and gold. The leaves on the right of the display have been present since the introduction of system on the Fusion and provide a graphical representation of the driver’s short-term average fuel economy. The more thrifty your driving style, the more leaves you get. Behave like a lead-foot and they dissolve.
The SmartGauge in the 2011 MKZ Hybrid will also add some new flora to the mix in the form of a long-term fuel efficiency indicator. The indicator takes the form of apple blossom flowers (the state flower of Michigan) that appear amidst your tangle of digital leafs. If your average fuel economy is sufficient (Ford won’t say what number you actually need), the first flowers will begin to appear after 4-6 weeks of driving. They first appear as buds and then grow into small and finally large flowers. More flowers appear over time, but the more you get, the more time it will take to earn more. If you earn all of the flowers, then you’ll have saved about $8,000 in fuel costs and 30 tons of CO2 over the life of the car.
Aside from adding a whole new element to the game of achieving high MPG that we all play when behind the wheel of a hybrid, Ford’s new long-term flower indicator also may serve a second, more practical purpose. If you decide to sell your MKZ Hybrid a few years down the road, a full bouquet of flowers in the SmartGauge proves you were a slow, careful driver and may fetch you a higher price on the used car market.
Armando Galarraga with Corvette Convertible Grand Sport – Click above for high-res image gallery
On Wednesday evening, Detroit Tigers baseball fans came within one out of watching Armando Galarraga throw the 21st perfect game in Major League Baseball history. Plenty of pitchers have come within an out or two from greatness, but only Galarraga lost his bid at retiring all 27 batters he faced by the first base umpire. decided to give the hard-luck pitcher a significant consolation prize Thursday in the size and shape of a brand new, cherry red .
GM President Mark Reuss says in the post-jump press release that The General gave Galarraga the 436-horsepower droptop as a reward for an excellent performance and because of the way Galarraga handled himself in a tough situation. GM has been a big sponsor for the Detroit Tigers for years, which makes sense considering the fact that the company’s Renaissance Center headquarters is clearly visible beyond the center field fence. The General has also paid to advertise on the Tiger’s center field fountain. GM couldn’t afford to sponsor the fountain in 2009 due to bankruptcy proceedings, so team owner Mike Ilitch placed all three Detroit automakers on the fountain in a show of support for the Detroit automakers.
We’re sure the Corvette isn’t quite as nice as having a perfect game on the resume, but it’s not a bad consolation prize, either. GM gets something from this situation as well, as the Corvette giveaway will probably make its way to many local news outlets, along with some time on ESPN. That kind of advertising probably costs a bit more than $58,580. Hit the jump to read over the GM press release.
AudiDesign Foosball Table – Click above for high-res image gallery
We know what you’re thinking. I love me some foosball; if only the game were infused with a bit more… car. Well, Design has answered your prayers, good friend.
The design was initially unveiled a couple of years ago, but is only now entering production, albeit limited: Only 20 examples of this soccer table are being produced by specialist firm Leonhart, each carrying a heft €12,900 (~$16k) price tag.
And yes, you could probably get yourself behind the wheel of a nice used for that amount. But would that be as much fun? Well, probably. But for the fanatic who’s already got an in the driveway, this very well might be the ultimate addition to the gaming room. Details – including endorsement from none other than the head of the Bavarian Table Soccer Association – in the press release after the jump.
1997 Ford Escort Rally Car – Click above for high-res image gallery
Long before the and came to prominence in the world of rallying, the Escort often dominated the world’s backwoods trails. Today’s eBay Find of the Day is one of the last of the line before Ford retired the Escort nameplate after nearly three decades.
This 1997 Escort Cosworth did okay, but it really wasn’t one of the more successful in the line. It first competed in 1997 and ran until 2006, when it was used in the X-Games rally competition. The 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four produces over 300 horsepower and 400 foot-pounds of torque. The car currently has a seven-speed FFD gearbox installed, but the original six-speed unit is included in the deal, as is an extra engine and numerous other spares. The starting point is $60,000, and there were no bids on the car as of this writing.
It’s time to do your homework, kids. The blokes at have built a virtual representation of the personal playground. If you’ve got some time to kill, head on over to the site for a turn-by-turn breakdown of the UK show’s test track, including the elusive history of each corner’s name. The virtual track will even let you in on which gear you should be in for each section should you ever find yourself as a .
Even if you don’t see your acting career thrusting you the public consciousness anytime soon, there’s still a chance you’ll be able to have your way with the track. A rumor dusted up last month that claimed Polyphony Digital now holds the rights to test ground’s in-game representation, which means that should Gran Turismo 5 ever decide to drop into stores, the PlayStation universe will be breathing down the Stig’s neck.
TG’s virtual track also features a couple of other neat tricks, including a “Stig’s Eye View” that allows you see what the perfect line should look like. You can even pick whether you want to view the track through the windshield of an econobox or a genuine supercar.
2011 Mazda2 – click above for high-res image gallery
You only have two more months to wait for the , but you can start practicing your mixing and matching right now with the newly freed dealer order guide. The 2011 Mazda2 starts at $13,980 plus a $750 destination charge and goes all the way up to $16,980, including destination charges for the top-flight automatic Touring model. That last figure is actually $945 more than the larger , so if you might want to crunch some numbers if you’re pondering going high-end, but even if you do, you’re still looking pretty sweet against competitors like the , and .
On top of the a 100-horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that comes with the car, you can play around with options such as fog lights, portable Garminnavigation, a Motorola hands-free device and a kayak carrier. Check out the guide in our gallery below and let the configuration games begin.
As Europe’s second largest automaker, it’s no great secret that France’s PSA has got the Group squarely in its sights. As if the on-track rivalry between Peugeot and in Le Mans racing weren’t enough, the Lion brand recently launched its offensive against the likes of the Vokswagen Scirocco and Audi TT in the form of the . Now the French are taking another shot, this time against the Volkswagen GTI with… their own GTi.
Not only is the name the same (save the discrepancy of the lower-case I), but the specs follow a similar formula as well: The VW packs a 2.0-liter turbocharged four with 200 horsepower. The Peugeot? A 1.6-liter turbocharged (and direct-injected) four with – you guessed it – 200 horsepower. Even torque is also on a (relatively) level playing field, with the Volks offering 207 lb-ft and the Pug 202. The heavier Peugeot, however, takes 7.7 seconds to get up to highway speed, compared to the seven seconds flat it takes the Volkswagen.
The engine in the 308 GTi – co-developed with – is the same that debuted on the RCZ, this time powering a five-door hatch and mated to a six-speed manual. There are other suspension, aerodynamic and trim upgrades to differentiate the 308 GTi from its bread-and-butter stablemates, more of which you can read about in the press release after the jump and view in the gallery below. The ultimate question is, after listening to its customers and doing an about-face on its plans to get out of the hot hatch game altogether, does the Peugeot deserve the GTi badge? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Ford GTX1 Prototype – Click above for image gallery
The – as in, the car claimed to be the first GTX1 built – in its blemish-free debut color, Valencia Orange with Tungsten stripes, is being offered for sale on eBay. This car was to become a limited-run evolution of the Ford GT built by the Gennadi Design Group, the same folks who built the prototype. Gennadi : one hundred SEMA show cars, five hundred customer cars. That didn’t happen, and only 100 ever made it to the road.
According to the seller, this very first GTX1 was created from the second Ford GT built in 2005, sold to Gennadi, who built it, and Gennadi sold it to its current owner in Atlanta. Recent dyno results paint a picture with 626 horsepower and 585 foot-pounds of torque at the rear wheels, which should keep you in the game even five years on.
At the time of writing, there are no takers on the opening bid stands at $300,000. If your well heeled fancy is being tickled, though, you can save yourself some time and click on the Buy It Now price of $525,000. Those not in the market can have less expensive fun in the gallery of high-res photos below, as well as the video in which one Jeremy Clarkson flogs this exact car (ProTip: fast-forward to 3:30). Top tip, Kip!
The ESPN X Games are coming to the LA Coliseum July 29 to August 1, and for the first time, SuperRally will be coming with them. Americans might know SuperRally as the Harley Davidson events, but it’s actually a renaming of the European sport of RallyCross, which looks for all the world like motocross but with cars.
The field begins with 12 drivers who will do time trial runs to decide the grids for three elimination races. According to ESPN, “The winner of the Elimination heats and the highest seeded driver who has not yet advanced will compete in a four-lap last chance qualifier (LCQ). The winner of the LCQ will join the winners of the Elimination heat races in the five-lap final race.”
We’re not quite sure how that’s going to work, but we’re sure there’ll be a lot of wheelspin, jumps and flying dirt, which is really what this is all about anyway. Tickets for the X Games go on sale June 24. Thanks for the tip, Joe!
Team Polizei and the Battle of Rome – Click above to watch video
It’s been five years since and took on the infamous 2005 Gumball Rally in their equally sinister . Through the blessed passage of time, the statute of limitations on most of the infractions the team accumulated during the race have lifted, meaning that the rest of the world can now safely enjoy/be enraged by Roy’s battle with a blue Porsche 997 X50 as they race toward Rome. The video after the jump is the first part of a multi-part series that covers the 100 mile race at speeds of better than 120 mph.
Now, here’s the thing. We’ve been known to push on a vehicle a time or two and we have plenty of faith in Roy’s driving skills, but the clip after the jump should serve as a blatant reminder of just how stupid races like the Gumball are. As easy as it is to get your car on a proper race track, there’s zero excuse for engaging in this kind of lead-follow on public streets. We know Roy’s a folk hero among those who prefer putting the skinny pedal down and that we aren’t going to be gaining any friends by denouncing his former activities, but those that participate in racing on public streets are playing the worst kind of numbers game. Avoidable tragedies like what happened in the are why Roy himself abandoned the sport in favor of .
to see the video. Thanks for the tip, Jason Bordeaux!
Honda EV-N Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
Carlos Ghosn and may be plowing head first into the EV world, but isn’t so certain buyers are going to be willing to accept the range and charging woes that go along with driving an all-electric car. Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of research and development for Honda, has been quoted as saying that while his company is currently researching the possibility of an EV, he isn’t going so far as to recommend them. We’re not sure whether that means he won’t recommend his company produce an electric car of its own, or if he just wouldn’t tell his mother to cruise on over to the Nissan dealer to pick up a .
Either way, we’ll probably see some form of plug-inhybrid or EV from Honda within a few short years. California has mandated that a certain percentage of vehicle sales must be either plug-in hybrid or EV starting in 2012. Given Kawanabe’s chilly assessment of the EV game, though, odds are we won’t be seeing anything like the adorable all-electric on our streets. Chances are cars like the CR-Z, Civic Hybrid and will come with a plug-in option and larger batteries instead.
Gran Turismo 5 at the Nürburgring – Click above for the high-res image gallery
is taking longer to push to market than most automakers need to bring a vehicle from CAD drawing to the showroom floor, but Polyphony Digital is taking every opportunity to show off just how fantastic the racing simulator will (eventually) be. Spectators arriving at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring were surprised with a series of GT5 demo stations featuring the Grand Prix, Nordschleife, and the 24 Hours courses.
We have been both expecting and demanding that the full Nürburgring experience be included in every copy of the long-awaited game when it finally (hopefully) hits store shelves in time for Christmas, and it looks like our expectations will be met. Check out our ever-increasing gallery of GT5 images below. The first eight shots come straight from Germany, and the quality of the images is very impressive. And make sure to check out the of tent city. In true Euro form, almost every virtual vehicle is a wagon.
If CEO Ed Whitacre has a personal soundtrack, perhaps it’s anything by the group Attack! Attack! While the world waits for news of GM’s first real profits, the company head is staking out a potentially huge acquisition, that being the auto financing arm of Ally Bank, which was once GMAC.
Ever since GM had to walk away from GMAC, dealers have had to rely on outside lenders in order to sell cars. One dealer said, “Getting a customer financed today is the hardest thing, even if they have good numbers,” but a GM-owned finance arm could be more proactive with lending, and therefore moving metal and making money.
The report indicates that if Whitacre were looking to acquire Ally, he might only want to deal with the auto finance arm, leaving the other lending branches alone. Still, he’d have to sort out Ally’s status as a bank holding company, and that might be too much to swallow. He could also form a partnership with other banks in the meantime, but it will take time to get banks on GM’s side in the way GM wants, and Whitacre isn’t a man out to waste time; he wants a deal in place by the end of the year before taking the company public.
[Source: - Sub. Req'd Image: William Thomas Cain/Getty Images]
Forza 3 Exotic Car Pack DLC – Click above for high-res screen-shot gallery
There are exotics, and then there are exotics. Some are relatively commonplace, like , or . But some are decidedly, well… exotic. Like , and Moslers, to name just a few. Those most exotic of exotics are the contents of the latest downloadable content package for Forza 3, the hit racing game for the Xbox 360.
Called, suitably enough, the Exotic Car Pack, it contains the , Weismann GT MF5, , , , , , and , plus an Australian exotic called the . The package costs 400 Microsoft points (equivalent to $5) on Xbox Live, but you can check them out now in the high-res screen-shot gallery below and the video .
Since we haven’t played it, we can only potentially file this under “Um, wut… ?”, but apparently has a new baseball app out for the Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. When you’re not playing a game with teams like “Sil” () and “Cam” () or practicing your catching during spring training, you can head into the Chevy Dugout to learn more about the Bowtie’s cars.
Naturally, there is also a chance to win a trip to the 2010 All Star Game, which might make the enterprise worthwhile if you’re mad about MLB. Follow the jump for the press release or head over to the App Store to get downloading. Who knows, with seemingly the entire auto industry putting their advertising up for review, maybe there’s still some life in the old “” chestnut.
According to Consumer Reports, it’s officially safe to wade back into waters. The luxury SUV has been removed from the infamous “Do Not Buy” list after solved the handling issues that landed the high-riding people mover in time-out. The Japanese automaker has corrected a software issue that allowed the vehicle to during emergency braking maneuvers. All new models will be sold with the fix, and current owners have been asked to bring in their vehicles so that the repair can be made free of charge.
About a month ago, Consumer Reports found that during testing, the stability control on the new GX failed to reign in wild slides, thereby creating a potential recipe for a roll-over. The magazine’s testing resulted in an internal investigation at Toyota that eventually produced the software fix. To date, no one has been injured due to the glitch.
While the Lexus GX is officially back in the game, it may take some time before buyers stop associating the truck with the Consumer Reports black list.
Scalextric is so retro, so old school, so… analog. PadRacer takes the concept into the digital age. The top-view racing game, as you might have guessed, is designed for the iPad. But that’s not the end of its hardware requirements. To control the game, each player (up to four) uses an iPhone or iPod Touch, controlling the movement of his car with the smaller device’s gyroscopic motion sensor.
Sound like fun? Well, it oughta, considering you’re going to need a good grand’s worth or more of machinery running Apple’s iPhone OS. Fortunately the game itself only costs $5. Check it out in the .
If we’re playing the odds game, chances are you don’t own a . It’s okay. Neither do we. At the same time, there’s a good possibility that there’s either an or iPod touch on your person as you read this, which means you can now come a little closer to the dream of Ghost ownership via a brand-new app from Rolls-Royce. The company has answered the call of the masses by providing the world with a mobile Ghost . Now you can wow your friends and waste time by flipping through the myriad of options that go into building your very own Rolls.
The app also features a few other goodies. For one, you can flip through a selection of Ghost photos and watch a few clips of the car as it oozes luxury all over the country side. There’s even a specifications section for the tech-minded out there, and the app will also help you find the closest Rolls-Royce dealer. You can pick it up from the Apple App Store completely free of charge. for the press blast.
