It’s official, cars rule. We love driving them, talking about them, working on them and we even love having sex in them. , automobiles are the most exciting place to have sex.
Trojan surveyed 3,000 adults (across two studies), and 48 percent of those polled felt that having sex in a car was more exciting than doing the deed in:
-Someone else’s bed (33 percent)
-The woods (27 percent)
-The beach or sea (23 percent)
-A hot tub (22 percent)
Check out the USA Today link for more interesting sex survey results from Trojan, and don’t forget that parking brake…
There once was a time when roofs came in two forms: fixed or convertible. But these days, you can get a cloth-roof convertible, a hardtop convertible, partial convertibles like the Fiat 500C, flip-tops like the Renault Wind or … but one thing you don’t see much of anymore is the Targa top.
Although removable roof panels existed beforehand, it was that first coined the term ‘Targa’ to refer to the roof style. It was introduced on the in 1966, when the fear was that the authorities were preparing to ban full convertibles due to safety concerns. That fear turned out to be unfounded, but the Targa became a fixture of the 911 lineup.
Porsche replaced the lift-off roof panel with a sliding glass panel in 1996, as it has continued since, but the latest product of the rumormill suggests that the German automaker could be preparing to bring back the old-school Targa with the next-generation 911.
Why would Porsche do this? Maybe the current Targa’s assembly is too heavy or too expensive. One way or another, it’ll be a good few years until the next Targa comes along, so we’ll just have to sit tight – with or without the wind in our hair – to find out.
Matt Stutzsman changes his brake pads with his feet – Click above to watch the video
Judging by the fact that you’re reading Autoblog right now, you most likely love cars. Yet spending all your time ogling the latest in auto news doesn’t make you a mechanic, and we’re guessing there are a significant number of you (and a few of us on here on staff) who don’t change their own brake pads, among other things.
29-year-old Matt Stutzsman is one of those do-it-yourself wrench-turners, but unlike most of us, he was born without arms. To prove that he has the right stuff to change his own brakes, Stutzsman decided to pop by a friend’s shop to change the brakes on his Pontiac Grand Prix, which he drives by using his left foot to operate the throttle and brake pedals, and the right foot for steering and other functions.
to watch video of Stutzsman changing his brakes with his feet without even breaking a sweat. What makes this video really compelling is that Stutzsman treats the nine-plus minute tutorial as a learning opportunity for the rest of us, and not as a way of showing what he can do without arms. Nicely done, sir!
Aaron Knudsen’s mother was murdered last month by a former boyfriend, leaving Knudsen, 24, and his 17-year-old sister to pick up the pieces. Knudsen’s mother, Denise Fransua, left behind a mountain of financial and legal paperwork, as well as a financed .
According to Denver’s CBS4, the was impounded by the authorities for evidence collection, then released to Knudsen. When he went to pick the car up, however, the impound lot told him the car had been repossessed. wanted the $3,300 balance owed on the car up front, as well as the $1,000 impound fee before it would release the sedan.
Furious, Knudsen let the Facebook community know how he felt about the situation. Within days, Toyota had backed off, saying it was sorry for being insensitive and offering to waive the impound fee. The automaker also let Knudsen retrieve his mom’s personal effects from the car, but still need the $3,300 left to pay off up front before the car is given back. As for Knudsen, he’s reportedly still upset that it took a viral Facebook post for Toyota to do what he thinks is the right thing.
The hands-free tech has proven to be a well-liked commodity over the past several years, in part because the automaker continues to update the feature-packed system. Now the automaker is catering to the estimated seven million fantasy baseball fans with on-demand weekly statistic updates right from the comfort of the driver’s seat of a SYNC-equipped or .
To access hitting and pitching stats, the driver needs only say “Sports,” then “Baseball,” then “Fantasy Update” from Services. The system will then read off the leaders in batting average, home runs, RBIs, wins, strikeouts, saves and other relevant categories. Of course, the SYNC system will need a paired Bluetooth-enabled phone with a SYNC Services account, which is free for the first three years of vehicle ownership.
Ford is hoping fantasy baseball owners will use this new feature to get up to speed on the latest fantasy baseball news, but we’re a bit torn on this one. As fantasy baseball team owners, we’re always up for any news and analysis that will help us win. Typically, though, we want that information in front of us when we set our lineups, and we can’t do that sort of thing while driving.
Then again, we’re sure many fantasy baseball fans will take whatever info they can get when they can get it. We’ll just have to see how the new feature works in person. to read over the Ford press release.
2012 Ford FocusNASCAR pace car – Click above for high-res image gallery
Most pace cars (commonly known as safety cars overseas) are pretty fast road cars. F1 uses a . The American Le Mans Series, a . DTM alternates between an and a . MotoGP uses . Indy has used a the last of years. Noticing a pattern here?
Of course, as is true in many other areas, NASCAR does things differently. While other racing disciplines pit the latest technologies against each other on challenging road courses, NASCAR still uses old-school pushrod V8s on big ol’ speedways. So it should come as little surprise that the American stock-car racing series goes a different route with its pace cars, too.
This weekend’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 (we don’t name the races) at the Michigan International Speedway saw the make its debut appearance as the official pace car, complete with race livery and light bar but little in the way of other modifications over stock. Which means, as is quick to point out, that while the stock cars behind it would have to pit a number of times over the 400-mile race distance, the Focus could go the whole way if it needed to… and if the driver – Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas – were milking the throttle, undaunted by the grid of rip-roarin’ race cars filling his mirrors.
For what it’s worth, the Focus is hardly the slowest vehicle to pace a NASCAR race. Ford alone has provided Hybrids and SUVs to set the pace at previous races as well. for the full press release, including information on Ford’s latest online sweepstakes that will hand out 40 Foci to contest participants if it wins the NASCAR, NHRA or World Rally Championship titles this year.
Corvette Racing takes on LeMans – Click above to view video
Corvette Racing has added another installment to its 2011 video series, this time detailing the perfect way to lap Circuit de la Sarthe. The video comes on the heels of the boys’ GTE Pro class victory in the 2011 race, complete with a little bragging from driver Oliver Gavin, who takes the wheel here.
The front bumper cam shows just how fast these GT cars really are, and how terrifying the Mulsanne Straight must be at night. Apart from the sheer speed, there’s nothing quite like hearing the Vette’s V8 at full song. Louis would be proud. Check out the video .
Reports that the Edition 35 would make the transatlantic voyage to American dealerships appear to have been premature, as follow-up reports indicate that the anniversary-edition won’t be offered Stateside.
The , as you may recall, sports a special front end, wheels and interior, but most crucially, an extra 25 horses underhood for a total of 235 hp.
Word of its arrival in the United States originally emanated from Car and Driver, which now cites source inside Volkswagen of America that says that the U.S. division isn’t interested in the special.
The model was created by VW to celebrate 35 years of the GTI, but hot hatch icon has only been available Stateside for 30.
Aside from which, VWoA apparently doesn’t feel it needs the special to boost sales, creating its own editions on its own schedule – not to mention that the dropped air dam was deemed too low for American roads. We can do without the revised front end, but we hope Volkswagen of America will find another way to package those extra horses for American consumption.
Lotus Esprit Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
A few days ago, we received word that was ditching the -sourced V8 and . Now we get a few pointed remarks from the automaker, intent on clarifying its future position in the supercar segment, and a bit more insight into the powerplant.
Lotus CEO Dany Bahar told a recent press conference audience that its upcoming flagship will offer a more “authentic” driving experience than the targeted Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren MP4-12C. Those are fighting words, directed at very lofty rivals. Furthermore, according to Bahar, any injection of KERS-style (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) technology in the new Esprit will be to add to the driving experience, not detract from it.
In other engine-related news, the in-house V8 is rumored to be both lighter and smaller than the reportedly dropped Toyota 5.0-liter (currently found under the hood of the ). The new eight should debut with a power rating of about 570 horsepower. That’s potent, and it’s necessary to be a genuine contender in this segment. As a reminder, when the last Esprit ended production in early 2004 its twin-turbo 3.5-liter V8 was rated at “only” 350 horsepower.
2011 BMW 1 Series M Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery
The new has finally taken a timed spin around the Nürburgring, and the results aren’t bad. According to Sportauto, the rear-wheel-drive, 335-horsepower compact two-door ran an 8:15, putting it slightly ahead of the Audi TT RS and the Audi RS 3 Sportback. (Both Audis share the same 340-hp 2.5-liter turbo five-cylinder and all-wheel drive.) More impressively, the newest addition to the M Family beat a 320-horsepower rear-wheel drive by two seconds and left the 300-horsepower eating its dust a full eleven seconds later.
According to the publication, the 1 Series M Coupe could have done better. It wasn’t wearing sticky racing compound tires and the suspension was a bit too firm – a compliant suspension improves traction on bumpy circuits. In other tests of the new M Coupe, Sportauto clocked a 0-100 kph (62 mph) time of 4.7 seconds and a sprint to 200 kph (124 mph) in just 17.2 seconds. Okay Audi and Porsche… your turn.
Gordon Murray’s Batmobile – Click above for high-res image gallery
In the annals of Batmobile history, we’re not sure where to peg this latest version. The good: It’s dark, it’s carbon fiber and it spits flames from a carbon-ceramic afterburner. The bad: It’s just really freaking dull. But because it’s been designed by Gordon Murray of McLaren F1 fame (not to mention the strange-but-somehow-cool T.27 city car), we want to love it. But can’t.
Unlike the jet-engined powered Batmobiles of yore, Murray’s design is an odd attempt at the Dark Knight going green, with a hydrogen fuel cell and a brace of lithium-ion batteries. The carbon fiber body supposedly “breathes” and the “virtual wheels” are ringed in LEDs. How either of those features help the caped crusader fight crime is beyond us, but then again, so is the idea of the it’s been built for.
You can check out Murray’s original sketch in the gallery below and watch a duo of videos . We’re going to weep quietly as yet another childhood dream vehicles succumbs to the PC overlords.
Nissan Leaf Nismo RC at Le Mans – Click above to the watch video
Sit back, relax and enjoy the blissful whine emanating from this spinning electric motor.
What we have here is a sitcom-length video of the battery-powered lapping the famed Circuit de la Sarthe prior to the running of the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. Behind the wheel is none other than ’s number two in command, Carlos Tavares.
Recorded on June 11th during the “Le Mans vers le futur” – a demonstration event designed to showcase some potential vehicles of the future – the onboard cam puts you in the middle of the on-track action. It’s 22-plus minutes of electrifying driving… literally. So, to find out what it’s like to drive electrified.
FYI, the pace picks up about three minutes in, though we wish Tavares had taken an all-put lap instead of following the slower BMW ahead. Maybe next time…
Chevrolet Cobalt Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
The lives. Well, not here in the United States, where the has thankfully banished all memories of GM’s last uncompetitive compact, but at least in Argentina. Alongside the , is displaying the Cobalt Concept you see here at the Buenos Aires International Motor Show.
We’re pretty sure this new Cobalt is a Cobalt in name only, as it doesn’t appear to share anything with the previous model that is no longer in production and, though no dimensional details are provided, seems smaller than the Delta platform used by its erstwhile namesake. Perhaps it uses the Gamma architecture used by the new and global ?
In any case, this Cobalt, though officially a concept, seems destined for production in South America and possibly other emerging markets around the world. The automaker says it will offer a range of engines from 1.3 to 1.8 liters that will run on either ethanol, gasoline or diesel.
As far as the styling goes, we can see the current Chevrolet design language front and center, with a two-tier grille up front flanked by sweeping headlamps. The flanks are highlighted by downward-pointing swage lines front and rear. Out back, LED lights punctuate some questionably large, chrome-surrounded lamps.
Inside, this Cobalt Concept is impressively finished with leather seating surfaces and door panels. A unique woodgrain accent highlights the steering wheel. LED lighting in a soft blue is a welcome touch, as is the in-dash navigation system and twin seven-inch LCD screens in the headrests, which we doubt would make it into production.
Check out our high-res image gallery for all the pics.
After a two-year hiatus, and its premium arm, will return to the in January 2012, according to the show’s organizers. “We’re thankful that NAIAS is, once again, an important part of Nissan’s international auto show strategy,” said North American International Auto Show chairman Bill Perkins.
Nissan and Infiniti opted to pull out of the show a few years ago to focus its larger Stateside debuts on the , and shows.
In other NAIAS news, the show’s organizers have announced that for 2012, it will once again return to a two-day press conference schedule. For 2011, all of the major automaker press conferences were crammed into the first day of exhibition, and we don’t doubt that the main reason for the rescheduling was the number of complaints filed by both the automakers and the members of the media. Automakers such as , and have stated that they will have major product reveals on both days of the press preview.
As much as we love working a 16-hour day in order to obsessively cover the Detroit show, we’re exhaling a big sigh of relief that a more relaxed press conference schedule has been confirmed. for NAIAS’ official statement.
2011Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Click above for high-res image gallery
Beads of sweat itch as they drip down the bridge of my nose, but there is nothing I can do about it. My hands are buried deep inside fire-resistant racing gloves and my face is covered by a clear Lexan shield sealing the front of my full composite racing helmet. Waiting patiently for the signal from the pit crew, I shake my head side-to-side but the movement is thwarted by the nylon straps of the HANS device to keep my vertebrae stable. Eventually, the salty drops fall, getting absorbed by the Nomex balaclava resting against my chin.
Speakers in my foam earplugs crackle to life and a broken voice tells me it is time to start the engine. I had rehearsed this drill earlier in the day, so I use my right hand to switch on the master power. After a quick check to ensure the sequential gearbox is in Neutral, my other hand reaches to the left side of the carbon fiber dash and presses the start button. The engine fires to life and settles down to a coarse growl.
Several pit monkeys line up behind the vehicle, resting their hands on the rear wing, while the crew chief stands in front of the hood holding up a gloved palm. As the seconds tick by, I cinch my harness straps and scan the LCD instrument panel one more time. The voice in my ears cackles back with a simple, “Let’s go.”
I took a deep breath, put the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car’s gearbox into first gear and ease out the clutch…
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We’ve heard of some odd aversions in our lifetime, but this is one of the strangest. Reuters is reporting that Afghanistan auto sales are struggling in a big way due to a sudden aversion to the number 39. Why? Nobody knows exactly, but the prevailing explanation seems to be that pimp in Iran had a tricked-out ride with a 39 in the license plate. Said pimp reportedly began calling his car “39,” in reference to its plate numbers, and somehow the news made its way to Kabul, where the citizenry can be very conservative.
This “39″ problem is apparently hurting auto sales in Afghanistan because license plates in the country are now numbered 39. The problem is so pronounced that that owners of cars with plates that end in 39 are getting heckled by onlookers, and those who are looking to sell their cursed cars are finding little luck, even with discounts.
While the pimp story appears to have momentum, some feel that a corrupt police department has more to do with the issue. The Fuzz are reportedly charging $200 to $500 for plates that end in anything other than 39. Unfortunately for dealers and those trying to sell, the result of the problem is that registrations have dropped from about 80 per day to somewhere closer to three.
2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ – Click above for high-res image gallery
has officially announced pricing for the . The subcompact sedan will start at $14,495 (including destination charges) while the five-door model will command a slightly steeper $15,395 MSRP.
Those figures net buyers a 1.8-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine with 138 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque, a five-speed manual transmission, 10 air bags, remote keyless entry and power door locks. Buyers with a little more coin to spend can opt for a six-speed automatic transmission for $1,070. The more powerful and fuel-efficient turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine and six-speed manual transmission will set you back another $700, though that combination is only available on pricier LT and LTZ trims.
The prices put the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic Sedan on the high side of the subcompact segment. The hits the market at $13,995 with destination while the hatchback lands closer to $15,870 and the carries a sticker of $13,915. The sales leader in the segment, the , meanwhile, can be had for as little as $10,750 in sedan guise. for the full press blast.
When first started taking over , word on the street was that the VW Group would take Porsche back to its roots as a sportscar marque exclusively, canceling the and that compete in territory already covered by other brands in the group. But that approach appears to have long since been ditched in favor of further increasing Porsche’s line-up, starting with the Cajun.
The smaller counterpart to the larger Cayenne SUV, the Cajun is expected to arrive around 2014. And with development now underway, Car and Driver claims to have the inside line on what we can expect.
For starters, the Cajun will be based heavily on the , but while its four-ringed counterpart may ride on a principally front-wheel-drive platform, the Porsche will be exclusively all-wheel drive. Because, while people may have learned to accept a four-door Porsche, a Porsche SUV or even a diesel or hybrid Porsche, the notion of a Porsche driven exclusively by the front wheels would undoubtedly be one step too far.
Hybrids and diesels could be in the mix for the Cajun as well, while conventional power is tipped to range from a 220-horsepower TFSI four up to a 350-hp supercharged V6, with six-speed manuals, seven-speed DSGs and eight-speed automatics driving through a rebranded version of Audi’s Quattro drivetrain to all four wheels.
Styling would need to be sufficiently Porsche-like to differentiate the Cajun from its Q5 counterpart, with reports once again anticipating a three-door model to follow the initial five-door and take up arms against the Range Rover Evoque.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze – Click above for high-res image gallery
We already told you that in 2012. has made the news official, and the automaker has also revealed a few upgrades for the upcoming model year.
On the , a $525 Connectivity Plus Cruise package was available. The kit featured Bluetooth connectivity, a USB port, steering wheel-mounted controls for the audio, cruise control and leather on the tiller and shift knob. That equipment will now come standard on the 2012 Cruze 1LT and Eco.
In addition to the upgraded kit for the 1LT and Eco, all trims of the 2012 Cruze will get remote keyless entry. Other highlights: Keyless start has been added to the 2LT and LTZ; a seven-inch touchscreen display on the Eco, 2LT and LTZ; and fog lamps on the LTZ trim. to read the full press release to learn more about the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze.
Once the current reaches the end of its life cycle, will begin production on the next-generation car. The anymore. Currently, the Mazda6 is built in Flat Rock, Michigan, at the AutoAlliance International assembly facility that the Japanese automaker shares with . The Blue Oval brand churns out the in Flat Rock, and with Mazda moving on, there could be trouble ahead for the pony car.
According to analysts polled by Bloomberg, the current pace of Mustang production is not enough on its own to sustain the Flat Rock plant. The AAI has a capacity of 240,000 vehicles in a year, yet the Mustang sold 73,716 units in 2010. Ford is reportedly working with Mazda to find other uses for the site, which would be a better alternative to having Mazda simply walk away.
The flipside of Mazda ending U.S. production of its Mazda6 is that Ford will have increased options as to what it can do with the Mustang. Still, unless the Blue Oval starts churning out a hybrid, wagon, crossover and pickup truck version, Ford will need something else to keep Flat Rock in the business of building cars, especially until the ‘Stan’s next scheduled redesign for 2014.
