Chances are, if we asked you to replicate the sound of a small block with a mild cam, you could probably pull it off with nothing more than a little slobber and a few embarrassed glares from your significant other. If you keep practicing that particular skill, you may just find yourself in front of a massive studio audience. Just ask 19-year-old Daniel Jovanovic.
The teenager recently took the stage on the show Australia’s Got Talent and managed to wow all three judges with his impressive engine impersonations. He started with the sound of a Formula One pit stop before moving to a variety of other machines.
Talented? Absolutely. Even if he doesn’t manage to take the top nod, Jovanovic has already soared to internet stardom. to check out the quick video for yourself.
Oh, how we’d like to go all grumpy-old-man-get-off-my-lawn on for this latest bit of hipster marketing. But dammit, it’s got robots in it. Real robots, industrial robots, installed inside a 2012 hatchback. And it’s just so cool.
The robots are there to help Jeff Soto paint a mural on an empty brick wall, and while we’re pretty sure the final product of this collaboration is still something like 90-percent man and 10-percent machine, we really like what we see. Chevy calls Soto a “respected street artist,” which we figure just means a graffiti artist with a degree rather than a rap sheet. (Soto’s is from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.) Soto, in turn, refers to the compact Sonic as the first “robotic art car.”
While Soto did a lot of conventional work on the mural, he also used the Sonic’s robotic arms, which were controlled from within the car and could be operated while Soto drove. The painting appendages emerged through the Sonic’s windows, sunroof and hatchback, and seem to take up all the available space inside the car, save for the driver’s seat.
While we were fairly impressed seeing the Sonic , we definitely think the little car should focus on its art. There’s some real talent there.
has made no secret of the fact that it plans to officially unveil a new at the upcoming . We now have our first idea of what the vehicle looks like thanks to the company’s invitation to the show.
The invite shows a line drawing of the crossover’s profile, though the text mentions no details about the beast. Rumors are already swirling, with reports indicating that the vehicle when it debuts. As you may recall, Lamborghini as well.
What will the high-riding Lamborghini bring to the table? Details are scarce so far, though a tweaked version of the same V10 that feeds the Gallardo may wind up behind the headlights. With around 584 horsepower and an MSRP of around $200,000, the machine will be exclusive no matter what it’s called.
Some automakers roll out a new model and that’s pretty much it, while for others, a new model’s introduction is just the starting point. most definitely falls in the latter category. When a new rolls out, for example, you can bet there will be a dozen or more versions to follow. A new ? Slap a roof on it and in another year or so you’ve got a new . So it only stands to reason that the German automaker would do the same with its more family-oriented offerings, the and .
Automobile magazine’s European bureau reports that, when Porsche rolls out a restyled Panamera next year, the four-door model will yield the variants that the current model does not. That will likely include a long-wheelbase model for the Chinese market, as well as a potential shooting brake and a possible four-seat cabriolet.
A slant-back version of the Cayenne is also said to be in the works to take on the , with a new Cayman to put a roof over the new Boxster’s head later this year and a generous array of 911 variants to come out year after year. Couple all those spin-offs with the new crossover, the Pajun (baby Panamera) and a pair of new supercars (918 and 960) to slot in above the 911 range and they’re suddenly looking very busy at Zuffenhausen over the next few years.
Several years ago, we were surprised to discover that the Yugo was still being made. Sometimes dubbed the worst car in history, Serbian automaker Zastava continued producing the Yugo through 2008 when rolled off the assembly line in Kragujevac after a twenty-year production run. That was only months after inked a to buy the company and its assets, including the factory.
Now almost four years later, Fiat has finished upgrading the Cold War-era assembly plant into what it now calls its most advanced factory yet. Inaugurated just the other day by Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, the former Zastava plant has undergone a billion-euro renovation, including new production shops, machinery, infrastructure, landscaping and roof over a 1.4 million square meter site.
By the end of the year, the plant will employ a workforce of some 2,400. Their first task will be production of the new 500L mini-minivan (pictured above), which is scheduled to begin delivery (at a rate of as many as 200,000 units each year) from the former Yugoslavian country to markets across Europe and around the world later this year.
Our sister site, AOL Autos, just dug up one of the largest rebates we’ve ever seen on a new car. If, for some reason, you must have a Maybach before the brand ceases production altogether, you may in line to snag a tidy $100,000 rebate. Daimler previously let slip that the company will kill the ultra-luxury brand in 2013 and replace it with a new high-end . Given that Maybach models never exactly jumped off of the showroom floor, we’re guessing the German automaker needs all the help it can get moving the and .
Even with $100,000 off the sticker price, you’ll still need a suitcase full of C notes to take one of these machines home. The entry-level Type 57 commands a $376,300 MSRP while the Type 62 starts at $427,700. Even at those prices, reports suggest the a staggering $500,000 on each and every model it sold. It’s a wonder the marque stayed around as long as it did.
Product placement in television and film has become so commonplace that we almost expect any mention of a specific brand on camera to be paid for in full by the company in question. And so we might have assumed with this week’s episode of Mad Men, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
The episode featured an account to advertise for in the United States, with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce beancounter Lane Pryce coming across the account through his British ex-pat connections and bringing it back to the firm. “I think a man getting out of a Jaguar needs a cold shower,” pitched Don Draper. “The Jaguar XKE is pornographic.” And indeed it is, lauded as one of the most sensuous automotive designs ever to grace tarmac. (For crying out loud, just take a look at the classic cat in the fresh gallery of high-resolution images we’ve put together for you.)
A memorable scene, but apparently Jaguar was as surprised to see it as the rest of us. According to reports, the plug was neither solicited nor paid for by the British automaker. Of course, the particulars of product-placement deals are seldom revealed, but we’ll take Jaguar’s assertion at face value – particularly when two of the show’s starring actors – John Slattery (who plays Roger Sterling) and Jon Hamm (a.k.a. Don Draper)- pitch for rivals and respectively.
Last we heard, was to building the recently revealed sedan at the former plant in Delaware. A few years ago, Fisker announced that site would be the company’s new domestic production home (the extended-range plug-inhybrid is made by in Finland). Still, Fisker did say that any definitive statement on the Atlantic’s production location would not come until the end of the summer.
So we were interested to read new reports from local media that show more signs that the Atlantic might not ever be built in Delaware. On Friday, Delaware Online reports, 12 more workers – including engineers and maintenance technicians – were laid off at the plant, leaving “only a small maintenance team” left there. One of those let go was Jeff Garland, who had been working on community affairs and business development efforts in Delaware. He said the plant is currently “absolutely empty.” This is because Fisker has taken out the old GM equipment but has not yet installed the machines it would need to build the Atlantic. As Garland told Delaware Online, “I think what happened was the budget numbers are so tight right now and they’re working so hard to preserve as much cash as they can that something had to give. We’re not making a car in Wilmington right now, so given that situation it was an obvious place to make a cut.”
Fisker spokesman Russell Datz said that the company has flexible plans and will hire people when “we ramp up the project again.” Production of the Atlantic is being delayed, at least in part, because of issues with Fisker’s Department of Energy loan. You can read more about that .
In related , some of the components that Fisker and will use in hybrid and all-electric cars are now being made by Magna E-Car Systems in Michigan. The inverters Magna makes are used in the Karma and this new production does not in any way predict a shift of Atlantic production to Michigan.
Rumor has it may produce a performance version of the upcoming Macan. Autocar reports the German manufacturer is working on a Macan Turbo that may be good for as much as 370 horsepower thanks to an all-new twin-turbo V6 engine. The article suggests the 3.0-liter mill will borrow heavily from the 3.6-liter unit found in the base and . That would mean the cylinders will be arranged in a 90-dergree V configuration. Torque output would likely be in the neighborhood of 400 pound-feet.
Autocar also hints that the vehicle will be available with either a seven-speed PDK gearbox or a new seven-speed manual transmission converted from the piece found in the . We certainly like the idea of a row-your-own crossover, but we’re not entirely sure how that will work given that the Macan rides on the Volkswagen large front-wheel drive platform. Even with a Torsen differential shuttling power to the rear wheels, that’s a significantly different configuration than the company’s rear-engine sports car.
Of course, all of these whispers come without so much as a hint of a source attached to them, so it remains to be seen exactly how much is true. Look for the Macan to touch down in October.
We’ve never been falsely accused of a traffic violation, having earned every last second of our time before a judge, but when it does happen to us, we’ll certainly want to brush up on our physics. Dmitiri Krioukov, a physicist with the University of California, recently pleaded his way out of a fine for rolling through a stop sign using the power of mathematics. Krioukov worked up a four-page physics paper underscoring the differences between linear and angular motion to prove that he could have theoretically come to a complete stop and resumed traveling in the time it took another vehicle to pass between him and the citing officer.
The idea is that perception of speed can be altered depending on one’s viewpoint. Since the officer viewed Krioukov from the side and the physicist supposedly came to a complete stop very quickly before accelerating again just as fast, it appeared as if he never stopped at all. Or at least that was the notion. Whether or not the judge believed the professor didn’t matter so much as the fact that Krioukov managed to shed some doubt on the accusation. He was declared innocent and spared the $400 fine.
But the story doesn’t end there. The physicist left a flaw in his proof, and has invited everyone to see if they can figure it out. From our layman’s point of view, it appears Krioukov’s managed to fall from 22 mph to 0 and vault back up to 22 in the span of three seconds. Must be quite the machine. You can check out the full paper .
We’ve never been falsely accused of a traffic violation, having earned every last second of our time before a judge, but when it does happen to us, we’ll certainly want to brush up on our physics. Dmitiri Krioukov, a physicist with the University of California, recently pleaded his way out of a fine for rolling through a stop sign using the power of mathematics. Krioukov worked up a four-page physics paper underscoring the differences between linear and angular motion to prove that he could have theoretically come to a complete stop and resumed traveling in the time it took another vehicle to pass between him and the citing officer.
The idea is that perception of speed can be altered depending on one’s viewpoint. Since the officer viewed Krioukov from the side and the physicist supposedly came to a complete stop very quickly before accelerating again just as fast, it appeared as if he never stopped at all. Or at least that was the notion. Whether or not the judge believed the professor didn’t matter so much as the fact that Krioukov managed to shed some doubt on the accusation. He was declared innocent and spared the $400 fine.
But the story doesn’t end there. The physicist left a flaw in his proof, and has invited everyone to see if they can figure it out. From our layman’s point of view, it appears Krioukov’s managed to fall from 22 mph to 0 and vault back up to 22 in the span of three seconds. Must be quite the machine. You can check out the full paper .
Ward’s AutoWorld is well known for its annual list, but the trade publication has been compiling a second list for interiors for a few years now. Formerly known as the competition, Ward’s rebranded the list last year, naming the coolest cockpits under the “10 Best Interiors” moniker.
This year’s winners are a relatively diverse lot, with hatchbacks, sedans and crossovers all making the list. While Ward’s lists them in alphabetical order rather than crowning a single winner, we’re choosing to present them with the lowest as-tested MSRP first:
($15,925)
($18,745)
($21,485)
($25,195)
($30,415)
($36,875)
Luxury ($44,855)
($49,745)
($54,800)
($67,430)
The first thing we noticed then is that while fully half the models carrying base sticker prices under $25,000, Ward’s was clearly not testing the base models of any of these vehicles. The Chevy Sonic, for instance, starts nearly $5,000 below the price of the car Ward’s drove. Even so, that half of the cars on the list could be legitimately called “affordable” is impressive.
Ward’s says 40 vehicles qualified for the competition by having “new or significantly improved interiors,” and while 13 of those were luxury vehicles, they only made up half of the winners. Ward’s says it judged the interiors based on design, fit-and-finish, comfort, ergonomics, safety, material selection, overall value, aesthetics, and human-machine interface.
Check out all the award winners in our high-res image gallery above.
We see tribute vehicles come and go. Most of the lot are slaves to every last detail of the original, offering little more than a few engine upgrades to the mix. Then there are beasts like the one above. Built as an homage to Parnelli Jones’ 1971 “Big Oly” Bronco Baja 1,000 bruiser, this machine uses a modern trophy truck chassis wrapped in larger-than life fiberglass first-generation Bronco body. With 723 horsepower on tap, the truck is fully capable of bashing the desert into submission. Owner Marshall Mardruga originally built the machine to tackle the Baja 1,000, but decided to turn it into a show truck instead.
Every visible component was then plated in brass or nickel and protected with a clear powder coat in preparation for SEMA 2011. If you like what you see, this machine can be yours for a heady sum. Available in San Diego, California via eBay Motors, the street-legal tribute commands a $535,000 Buy It Now price. You can see the auction or to check out a few videos.
The one point that Formula One racing’s detractors dwell on more than others is the monotony. How a gaggle of high-revving, state-of-the-art race cars speeding around circuits in some of the most exotic locales in the world could be considered monotonous, of course, would leave others scratching their heads, but that’s what the haters hate most. And not entirely without reason. After all, each championship season tends to be dominated by one driver or another.
2008 saw Lewis Hamilton of McLaren and Felipe Massa of battle it out for the title until the very last turn of the the very last lap of the very last race of the season, but for many years before and every year since it’s been utter domination: five years of Michael Schumacher, two of Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, Jenson Button in 2009 and two years of Sebastian Vettel that bring us up to the present.
The question on every race fan’s mind, then, is whether this year would again feature a single-team domination or whether we’d see another driver – or drivers – taking the lead. Heading out to Shanghai for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, only two races had already been decided, and each was won by a different man driving for a different team, and neither had won from pole. Would this round prove any different? Keep reading to find out.
There’s no doubting the driving talents of one Sebastian Vettel. He won his first grand prix when he was still with backmarker team Scuderia Toro Rosso, and went on to win back-to-back World Championship titles for Red Bull Racing. Heck, he’s even taken the Nations Cup at the Race of Champions with Michael Schumacher for the last five years running now. You might even call his skills the stuff of super heroes. But if it came down a bar fight, the grinning whiz kid wouldn’t exactly inspire fear. (Not like , anyway.) But his latest collaboration might stand to change that.
While in China for this coming weekend’s grand prix, the reigning World Champion met up with action star Celina Jade for a little kung fu lesson. They even shot a short film called Kung Fu Vettel: Drive of the Dragon that’s set to be released next month. And then they headed to the track so Vettel could return the favor.
The crossover is the first in a series of promotional events under the “Inspired Performers” banner, orchestrated by sponsor . What any of this has to do with luxury automobiles is beyond us, but it made for a decent photo and video op, as you can see from the gallery above and the video teaser .
General Motors is pulling the plug on the . 2013 will mark the ugly duckling’s last year in production, though the model will go out with one last special edition. The 2013 Black Diamond Avalanche will arrive with body-color trim work, special badging, and most importantly, lower prices. LT trim now boasts a standard rear-view camera, while LS guise adds in rear park assist, power adjustable pedals, fog lights and remote start as standard gear. GM has cut the base vehicle’s MSRP by $2,500, which means buyers can take one home for $35,980, excluding the $995 destination fee.
GM says the lower price is a way of saying “thank you” to the truck’s fans, though we suspect it may have more to do with getting the awkward machine off dealer lots. Last month, GM moved just 2,083 Avalanche units, and while that’s nearly 26 percent more than March 2011, the number represents a fraction of the 36,491 models that rolled out the door. It’s also less than half the number of units sold. Even the wee drove away with more sales. Last year, GM sold a total of 20,088 Avalanche units, down 2.1 percent compared to 2010 despite an overall industry recovery.
Will anyone miss the Avalanche? There are those who still miss the diesel Chevette, so anything’s possible.
On the surface, drag racing seems so simple. Apply right foot liberally, keep the vehicle pointed down track and wait for a quarter mile to pass. Unfortunately, the real world is rarely so black and white. Pesky details like applied horsepower, traction and the fallibility of materials results in all manner of challenges. Just ask the driver of the in the video . Shortly after launch, the high-horsepower machine sheds its left axle. With a massive racing slick under full thrust, the resulting carnage is, well, impressive.
The video is a pleasant rarity in the drag racing universe. Not only are we afforded a look at the ensuing drama from inside the cockpit, but a solid look at just how quickly a situation can turn hairy from outside as well. for yourself.
The production crew for recently stopped by the Nürburgring to recreate Niki Lauda’s infamous Formula One crash during the 1976 Nürburgring GP. Lauda’s car suffered a catastrophic failure on the second lap, launching him into the guardrail and placing his crumpled machine in the path of Brett Lunger’s Surtees-Ford. The two collided and it wasn’t long before Lauda was trapped in burning wreckage. Lunger and a handful of other racers fought to pull Lauda from the flames. Those on hand succeeded in rescuing the Austrian, and while he lapsed into a coma and suffered disfiguring burns, he was back in the cockpit within two months.
Just before the race, Lauda had pressed for a boycott of the dangerous race. The area in which the crash occurred is now known as Lauda Links.
Rush will follow the volatile 1976 F1 season and two of the primary characters that defined the year: Lauda and James Hunt. to see bystander video of the stuntmen in action.
has a knack for creating some of the concept world’s most lustworthy creations, and they are made all the more desirable by their functionality. This year, the star of the Easter Jeep Safari was the company’s Mighty FC Concept. Penned as tribute to the old Willys Forward Controls of yore, the Mighty FC boasts high-dollar portal axles and a cab-forward design.
Motor Trend caught up with the big blue machine as it lumbered around the desert this year with Mark Allen, head of Jeep design, behind the wheel. Allen took the time to explain some of the challenges behind bringing the Mighty FC to life as well as the origins of some of the components on board.
As it turns out, Jeep used a snowboard bag for the seat inserts and arm rests. With a cab lifted straight from a standard Wrangler, engineers had to come up with some steering trickery to make sure the vehicle drove like a standard SUV instead of a school bus.
MT even found an old-school Forward Control to bomb around in for a spell as well. Very cool. to see the video for yourself.
The is due for a major update, having last been redesigned for the 2006 model year. Yes, it’s gotten some tweaks since that time, but the compact crossover market is an ever-evolving place filled with tough competition from around the globe, and needs the RAV4 to maintain its hard-fought market share.
According to our spy photographers, the RAV4’s next redesign is right around the corner. Judging from these photos, it would appear that Toyota is keeping its little ‘ute to the confines of pavement – a wise decision, as vehicles of this ilk never venture very far off the beaten path. That said, the sharply angular lines of this new model’s head and taillamps bring its styling more in line with the latest Camry and Avalon sedans while still putting its occupants over the heads of shorter machinery.
Rumors suggest that the 2013 RAV4 will enter production in the fall of ‘12, powered by a range of four-cylinder engines and possibly a hybrid. We’d be a bit surprised if the automaker’s 3.5-liter V6 weren’t available, as well. See the spy shots for yourself in our high-res image gallery above.
