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Honda has whipped the sheets off of its EV-STER, a rear-wheel drive electric roadster not dissimilar in size and scope to the late, lamented Beat kei car. If you’re looking for a successor to Honda’s S2000 or a Mazda MX-5 Miata rival, this isn’t it – the EV-STER is significantly smaller than those cars, and with a pure electric drivetrain, this showcar is more suited to top-down fun in the city than the open road.

Purely a concept for the moment, the EV-STER offers a 160-kilometer range, a 0-37 mph (60kph) time of 5.0 seconds and a top speed of 99 mph, though Honda isn’t offering much in the way of hardware specifications.

Attractive in both general form and detail, we could admittedly do without the yoke-style steering interface employed here and in Honda’s other Tokyo Motor Show concepts. Steering wheel aside, we hope Honda finds a way to bring something like the EV-STER to market… and we wouldn’t mind if it weren’t a EV, either.

Continue reading EV-STER rear-wheel drive electric sports car looks to recapture Honda’s sporting spirit

EV-STER rear-wheel drive electric sports car looks to recapture Honda’s sporting spirit

Subaru had provided early sketches of its Advanced Tourer Concept, and many of you in the comments weren’t confident that it would look as good in real life as it did in (digital) ink and paper. Dare we say it, but we think it looks better in the metal than it did in drawings. A mean, ground-hugging wagon with a 1.6-liter boxer-hybrid powertrain, its internals are close enough to production to make the jump in the not-too-distant.

Its interior, however, is another matter. Undeniably beautiful, features like the monitor in the steering wheel and the steel-rimmed wood pedals are treats we won’t be seeing anytime soon. No matter – if there were to be a wagon in our future, we’d hope this were it. There’s a bit more information after the jump, and a much closer look at it in the gallery of high-res photos.

Continue reading Subaru Advanced Tourer Concept is an awesome angry wagon

Subaru Advanced Tourer Concept is an awesome angry wagon

Certainly for the moment, this is the biggest competition the Subaru BRZ has: its twin, the Toyota GT 86. The volcanic orange coupe was unveiled in another corner of the Tokyo Motor Show, and frankly, it’s got a lot to recommend it. The frontal treatment is slightly different than on the BRZ, but the only digression out back is the lack of a spoiler, and the GT 86 looks pretty good without it.

Inside, it’s a tale of two cabins. Clearly Toyota has brought a higher-spec cockpit to the party, and although you might not dig the red two-tone scheme, the iPhone cradle, toggle switches and white gauges are nifty. Of course, that niftyness will cost you a navigation screen, but these are exactly the kinds of choices the GT 86 vs BRZ crowd will need to make. Brush up on the specs in the release after the jump and take a walk around it in our high-res image gallery.

Continue reading Toyota GT 86 makes a compelling case for itself

Toyota GT 86 makes a compelling case for itself

Volkswagen will unveil a new CUV concept at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show this week. The Cross Coupe concept is the first vehicle, concept or otherwise, that we’ve seen ride on the company’s new modular transverse matrix architecture. More importantly, it may give us an indication of what to expect from the next generation of Volkswagen SUVs.

The Cross Coupe is smaller than the current Tiguan and offers a unique all-wheel-drive hybrid drivetrain with two electric motors (one for each axle) and a direct-injection, turbocharged gasoline engine. The system has a maximum output of 262 horsepower with the engine and one electric motor sharing propulsion duties up front, and a second 114-horsepower electric motor powering the rear axle when driving conditions require all-wheel drive.

Volkswagen managed to fold the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery pack into the transmission tunnel where the driveshaft would typically reside. This design allows for a low center of gravity and plenty of interior space, as well. VW says Cross Coupe weighs in at 3,854 pounds with a full tank of fuel. Even with all of that heft, it can travel up to 25 miles on pure electric power while dashing to 60 miles per hour in around seven seconds.

Follow the jump for the full press release and stay tuned for our coverage of the Cross Coupe’s live debut tomorrow at the Tokyo Motor Show.

Continue reading Volkswagen Cross Coupe concept hints at future SUV design

Volkswagen Cross Coupe concept hints at future SUV design

Ural, the Russian motorcycle company that specializes in sidecars, has never been known for groundbreaking designs that blaze a trail through electronic gadgetry or super lightweight composites on the way to the most technologically advanced motorcycles possible.

Instead, the heavyweight iron steeds that roll out of the factory in Irbit near Siberia (out of the range of the bombs of Nazi Germany) trade things like fuel injection and ABS brakes for shovels and machine gun mounts. Seriously.

The latest machine from Ural looks as far back into the past as the Russian sidecar industry can go, harking all the way to 1942 when the first M72 motorcycles were sent into the Battle of Stalingrad based on designs for the German BMW R71, which had been superseded by the R75 in 1941. A total of 9,799 M72 motorcycles were produced by Ural for military use.

The new 2012 Ural M70 Anniversary Edition celebrates 70 years of history with two distinct models; one with a sidecar for $14,200 and one solo for $9,150. Both come painted in a perfect shade of olive drab, and there’s a canvas tonneau cover, spare wheel and tire and shovel on the sidecar. And yes, there’s also that machine gun mount.

Ural based the M70 on its Retro model with 18-inch aluminum rims, 40mm Marzochhi telescopic forks, Sachs rear shocks and a Brembo front disc brake. The frame boasts a longer wheelbase than other Ural models and sits closer to the ground, making it the fastest and best-handling model available. We especially like the teardrop gas tank fitted with a throwback Ural badge.

Read all about the M70 after the break, but not before getting an eyeful of its old-school design in our high-res image gallery.

Continue reading Ural takes a giant step back with M70 Anniversary Edition

Ural takes a giant step back with M70 Anniversary Edition

Radar Tires has initiated a new charity campaign to fight breast cancer. The Mobilizing Hope campaign is aimed at stirring awareness through various channels, including the Ring of Hope project, which features a limited-edition pink sidewall tire. Based on the Radar Tires RPX900 all-season performance tire, the rubber will initially be available in two sizes: 195/60R15 and 205/55R16. Radar Tires says that those sizes will fit a variety of popular vehicles, including the Mini Cooper, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Volkswagen Beetle, Chrysler PT Cruiser and BMW 3 Series among others. Look for the limited edition tires to hit the market in the first quarter of 2012.

Radar Tires has been donating $1 for every four tires it sells to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation since May of 2011, and the Ring of Hope project is simply a more visible way to underscore the company’s commitment to fighting breast cancer. Radar Tires will donate a minimum of $250,000 annually to the charity. Hit the jump for the full press release and check out the company’s Facebook page for more information.

Continue reading Radar Tires debuts pink-wall radials to fight breast cancer

Radar Tires debuts pink-wall radials to fight breast cancer

If you ask us, this 25 Hottest Products for 2011 list in Advertising Age isn’t exactly packed with automotive excitement. But with Dove soap, Malt-O-Meal, and Goldfish crackers also claiming spots, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that it’s a Chevrolet Cruze, rather than a Camaro headlining the “America’s Hottest Brands” issue.

Besides the Cruze, the venerable sister pub to Automotive News points out the Kia Soul and Jeep Wrangler, seemingly more for their marketing campaigns than anything else. Kia’s hamster ads are legendary, while Jeep’s marketing deal with the Call of Duty video game franchise has proven successful.

The Cruze, on the other hand, is an actual hit for General Motors – topping 200,000 sales through October, and ranking as the company’s top-selling car. While that certainly makes the Cruze worthy of recognition, sales have begun to cool now that its newness is wearing off. While GM’s marketers can give themselves a brief pat on the back for making the list, clearly they still have work to do if they want to land on the 2012 version of the Ad Age list.

Cruze, Soul and Wrangler among America’s 25 Hottest Products for 2011

Yes. A thousand times, yes.

It’s no secret that we – and every other automotive enthusiast on the plant – love insanely fast wagons. So it comes as no surprise that we’re seriously excited to see this, the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series Estate, come to life.

All of the bulgy bits you see here – the front bumper, massive air intakes, wide fender flares and vented (yet camouflaged) hood – are all found on the similarly equipped C63 AMG Black Series Coupe. The only major difference here is that this wagon still sports oval exhaust pipes, rather than the squared-off ones found on the coupe, but that’s an easy fix that may come into play later in the hot wagon’s development.

We expect what’s under the hood to be exactly the same as the two-door Black Series: Merc’s naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8, massaged to the tune of 510 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. All that power will go straight to the rear wheels via the seven-speed AMG Speedshift MCT dual-clutch transmission.

Mercedes-Benz doesn’t sell the standard C63 AMG Estate here in North America, so we don’t expect the Black Series to touch ground here on our shores. Sad stuff, but just knowing that this beast exists somewhere in the world makes our hearts skip a few beats. See the hotness for yourself in the attached high-res image gallery.

Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series Estate preparing to storm the supermarket

With over 20,000 Leafs running around the planet, Nissan is looking to introduce yet another alt-powered vehicle to the world, and judging by its recent work with fuel cells, a hydrogen-powered vehicle could be here in about four years.

Today in Japan, Nissan showed off its next-generation fuel cell stack, the one that the automaker has claimed has the world’s best power density for its size. Compared to the 2005 model (above, left), the new fuel cell (above, right) has 2.5-times more storage capacity while being both smaller and lighter than its predecessor. Weight is down from 265 pounds to just under 90 pounds and output is up to 2.5 kilowatts per liter.

This third-generation fuel cell stack makes uses of an improved Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA), which combined with single-row lamination, has reduced the size by over half. More importantly, the amount of platinum bits inside has been decreased, which means this new cell is about one-sixth the cost of the last generation design. But – and there’s always a “but” when it comes fuel cells – the cost of production is around $50,000. However, that price is set to come down and one engineer confided in us that he’d like to half the size and components yet again, while providing 1.25-times more storage.

Considering Nissan’s EV push with the Leaf, we could see the automaker’s first fuel cell vehicle on the market in 2015. Earlier reports said Nissan wanted to launch its fuel cell car at a cost of less than ten million yen ($128,000 U.S. at today’s exchange rate). In its recent “mid-term environmental plan,” Nissan said it plans to sell 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles by 2016 (some coming from Alliance partner Renault). That number includes all-electric vehicles as well as an “all-new fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) together with strategic partner, Daimler,” Nissan said in a press release last month. Now about that infrastructure…

Nissan fuel cell vehicle on track for 2015

Margie Petersen, philanthropist and wife of late automotive publisher Robert E. Petersen, died on November 25, succumbing to breast cancer at the age of 76.

Mrs. Petersen was best known in automotive circles for helping her husband found the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, which opened in 1994, and serving on the Board of Directors of the Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation. Earlier this year, she made a $100 million contribution to the museum that bears her name, which included her family’s private car collection.

But Mrs. Petersen’s philanthropy extended beyond the automotive world, as the long list of organizations she worked with included Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Cedars Sinai Research for Women’s Cancers in Los Angeles, St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood in Los Angeles, and Friends of Robinson Gardens in Beverly Hills, California, among many others.

Born Margie McNally, in her youth Petersen was a model and actress. She and her husband had two sons that died in a plane crash in 1975. Robert E. Petersen died from cancer himself in 2007, after a lifetime of publishing such esteemed car magazines as Hot Rod and Motor Trend.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Petersen Automotive Museum at 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036, or the charity of your choice in Mrs. Petersen’s honor.

Click past the jump to read the entire press release.

Continue reading Petersen Automotive Museum co-founder Margie Petersen passes away at 76

Petersen Automotive Museum co-founder Margie Petersen passes away at 76

Nissan has announced that the company plans to expand its Nismo offerings in the near future with performance variations of the company’s mainstream models. Until now, buyers have only been able to take home factory-tuned versions of the 370Z, but company CEO Carlos Ghosn said that the time was right to allow ordinary buyers to sample Nissan’s performance DNA. What does that mean, exactly? For starters, vehicles like the Juke Nismo Concept may actually make it to market, and other models may get the go-fast treatment soon thereafter. Nissan has also made it clear that Nismo will get its own global headquarters.

The company says that the new HQ will put all of Nissan’s road-race and performance expertise under one roof while giving Nismo fans a central location for fan events. The site will also sell performance products and include a heritage center with plenty of vintage race metal on hand.

We like the idea of more performance-oriented vehicles on the road so long as it doesn’t translate into the dilution of the Nismo brand. The world doesn’t need a Nismo CrossCabriolet. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Nissan expanding role of Nismo further into road cars

Nissan expanding role of Nismo further into road cars

The 1,104-HP Supercar You Can Drive To The Mall

The soundtrack of existence is mostly thrum and clatter, the day’s small deeds and smaller conversations usually having no more affect on you than the burbling of a refrigerator. And then there’s a noise that makes an impact and catches your attention. For us it was: “The Zenvo ST1 will be in town, want to drive it?”

It was three years ago that we first wrote about the outlandish coupe, with specs like a 7.0-liter, twin-charged (that means it’s supercharged and turbocharged) V8 hammering out 1,104 horsepower forcing the admission, “Attention officially granted.” Then there was that body, penned by a cabal of intergalactic villains, Predator and Klingons handling the ridges up front that fade into Robotech and Romulan sleek out back.

What’s more, there’s the fact that it’s from Denmark, a land continually offering up enduring icons of understatement: the Egg Chair, the Sydney Opera House, The Little Mermaid and Helena Christensen, among others. That means, even with 1,104 horsepower, the Zenvo ST1 cannot escape the pull of its own heritage. Obviously, then, it is the wildest looking, most wildly understated supercar ever.

Continue reading Zenvo ST-1 [w/video]

Zenvo ST-1 [w/video]

We expected Kimi Raikkonen to return to Formula 1, but we didn’t expect it to be with Lotus. The 2007 world champion, as you may recall, left Ferrari and all of F1 at the end of 2009, competing in the meantime in the World Rally Championship and in NASCAR. Rumors of his potential return to F1 have been circulating ever since, and have now been confirmed by way of a two-year contract with Lotus Renault GP starting next season.

The Finnish driver’s return answers a number of questions: For one thing, who would fill injured driver Robert Kubica’s seat while he recovers. For another, Kimi was linked to a drive next season with Williams, leaving Rubens Barrichello – the oldest driver on the grid – to potentially continue for at least another season. With Kimi back behind the wheel next year, it should be an interesting season of F1 racing ahead. Follow the jump for the official announcement.

Continue reading Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP

Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP

The accusation began when the Audi A4 and A6 took on rather similar detailing, and it was all but confirmed with the arrival of the latest A8: Audi was making the same car in different lengths. BMW, in fact, has been accused of the same thing with its sedans. Unlike BMW, though, Audi is apparently working to change that. It has begun a design overhaul called AQR that is claimed will “a set of individual themes for each of the three major model families.”

The acronym AQR stands for Audi sedans and hatches, Quattro SUVs, and R sports cars, and from the way it sounds, each group will get new detailing that sets it apart from the other group. According to Audi design honcho Stefan Sielaff, “the design details will be different.”

The initiative is occasioned by people saying Audi cars look alike, but based on the description of AQR, we can’t tell how that’s really going to change. Sielaff specifically said the project would address the proportions of the sedans in order to combat the ‘one sausage of different lengths’ perception, but we look forward to seeing if the sedans will really look less like one another, or whether it’s that the three groups of vehicles will look more dissimilar.

Audi launches design initiative to deal with criticism that all models look alike

We are so close to living in a world where everyone can be David Hasselhoff. Thanks to an enterprising programmer named Brandon Fiquett and Apple’s Siri app for the iPhone 4S, there’s at least one Acura TL out there responding to voice control in awesome Knight Rider fashion.

While not quite up to the level of interactivity that Hollywood dreamed up for the Knight Industries Two Thousand, Fiquett’s TL will remotely start itself and turn off the ignition on his command. The system works by relaying the Siri command to a proxy server, which sends the instructions to a Viper car automation and security system. About the only thing missing here is William Daniels doing the voice of KITT – and that awesome black Trans Am itself.

Fiquett has put his source code up for download, so if you’re interested in trying it yourself and you’ve got some coding skills, have at it on his website. Otherwise, just click through the jump to watch the video.

Continue reading Siri hack lets iPhone control your car

Siri hack lets iPhone control your car

Men and women are capable of amazing feats when life and death are on the line. The latest example proving this fact can be found in the video after the break, where you’ll see a group of heroic strangers lifting an overturned pickup truck just enough to free a helpless passenger.

The accident happened on Interstate 10 just east of Desert Center, California, on Sunday, November 27. A cell phone-wielding bystander recorded the event while a large group of men and women lifted the mangled truck and pulled out a survivor.

Sadly, while the woman freed by the rescuers and another passenger survived, the driver suffered fatal injuries. Westbound traffic on Interstate 10 was reportedly stopped for four hours while the accident was cleaned up. See a pair of videos after the break.

Continue reading Strangers lift overturned truck to save woman’s life

Strangers lift overturned truck to save woman’s life

How do you replace the man credited by Time Magazine with managing “the biggest business turnaround of the Great Recession?” That’s a very good question, and one that the Ford board of directors is grappling with as company CEO Alan Mulally edges closer to retirement age.

At 66, Mulally isn’t exactly far past his prime, and Executive Chairman Bill Ford is said to be in no hurry to welcome in a successor. That said, the timing of Mulally’s exit from Ford is likely to be a determining factor in the decision to hire his replacement.

Current CFO Lewis Booth, at 63 years of age, could potentially hold the seat at the head of Ford for a few years if Mulally were to retire earlier than expected. If that doesn’t happen, Mark Fields, Ford’s President of the Americas, is cited as the most likely choice as its next CEO.

There are two other potential candidates, reports Automotive News. Jim Farley, vice president of global marketing, is on the short list, as is Joe Hinrichs, who heads Ford’s Asia Pacific and African operations.

Insiders suggest that Ford may choose to keep Alan Mulally on its payroll in some unknown capacity to help mentor his replacement. Such a move could potentially keep both the rank-and-file Ford workers and Wall Street investors satiated.

List of Mulally successors narrowed down to four

Batteries aren’t the only technology mankind has invented to store electricity, and Mazda is working on a solution to the energy storage needs of electrified vehicles with a new system it’s calling i-ELOOP. While we wish it didn’t have such a cumbersome moniker, the technology behind i-ELOOP is intriguing.

Mazda claims that its i-ELOOP system will be featured in the first production passenger vehicle with recaptured energy from regenerative braking stored in a capacitor. The rest of the bits and pieces behind the tech include a variable voltage alternator and a DC/DC converter that sends energy otherwise lost to heat in the brakes at up to 25 volts to the Electric Double Layer Capacitor, where it’s stored for later use.

There’s no electric motor in the i-ELOOP drivetrain, so the capacitor releases its energy to recharge the car’s battery and to help power electric components like the heating and air conditioning systems. All in, Mazda promises fuel savings of up to 10 percent over cars not equipped with regenerative braking. Read all about it in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Mazda reveals i-ELOOP capacitor-based regenerative braking system

Mazda reveals i-ELOOP capacitor-based regenerative braking system

A Simple Black Dress With A Leather-Wrapped Baseball Bat

Yes, it’s a tired trope. But if there’s a pair of well-off empty-nesters, the husband drives a Mercedes-Benz SL and the wife has an SLK. Stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason: As often as not, they’re true.

But to dismiss this latest SLK as yet another Executive Assistant-spec coupe/cabrio is to miss three important letters on the boot: A, M and G. Yet again, the crew from Affalterbach have butched up the smallest offering in the Benz lineup, taking the proverbial velvet hammer to the “Chick Car” cliche. The rear wheels of the 2012 SLK55 AMG are driven by V8 power and its brakes and suspension bits have been beefed up for the occasional back road bonanza or high-speed highway assault. And unlike the BMW Z4 that’s simply begging for the M treatment, Mercedes actually has die Hoden to build a testosterone-infused droptop. And we can’t thank them enough.

Continue reading 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG

2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG

Subaru has unveiled the latest addition to the company’s line of S series performance vehicles. The WRX STI S206 comes equipped with an even higher level of go fast equipment than the base STI. Bilstein shocks, a flexible strut tower bar up front as well as a flexible draw stiffener all help the vehicle hustle around your favorite road course, as do the standard Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on all four corners. Subaru has also taken the time to rework the vehicle’s turbocharged 2.5-liter flat four-cylinder engine with a balanced crank, pistons and connecting rods. Combined with a ball bearing turbo and a new ECU, the lump is now good for 316 horsepower. That’s a significant nudge over the 305 horsepower available in the standard STI.

The vehicle also offers a range of aesthetic tweaks inside and out. Those looking for even more exclusivity can dive into the NBR Challenge Package, which includes a carbon fiber roof and rear wing among other goodies. The WRX STI S206 with the NBR Challenge Package is designed to pay tribute to the Subaru class win at this year’s 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Unfortunately, that beast has already sold out.

Both vehicles are only available in Japan, so unless you know a guy who knows a guy who can rob a guy, you’re out of luck on this side of the globe.

Continue reading Subaru bringing more powerful WRX STI S206 to Tokyo

Subaru bringing more powerful WRX STI S206 to Tokyo