is massaging the 2013 line with more modern gearboxes and trims to match its more modern design (the non-conceptual version of which still has yet to be seen). In addition to the six-speed manual replacing the five-cogger currently offered on four-cylinder models, the folks at the Temple of VTEC forum have found an order sheet indicating a CVT will be available on mid-range LX, EX and EX-L models. For the enthusiasts hoping for the manual to return to the V6 sedan, no dice – the 6AT is what you’ll get.
The sheet also omits the sedan’s current SE trim slotted between the LX and EX, and in its stead is a Sport trim. It can be had with either the manual or the CVT, but it’s not listed with the “navi” option. The coupe’s trims remain the same. When we can put these specs together with the actual 2013 car, then we’ll start to guess how it will far against its archfoe, the .
Automotive News reports may use the company’s new to put some distance between itself and parent company . Buyers have snapped up a total of 4,900 GS models in just two months, breezing by year-long sales estimates in the process. The company attributes much of that success to non-traditional advertising efforts, including the Tori 500 iPhone and iPad app, and says that it could use similar tactics in the future to lure buyers in based on traits like “character and handling.” Traditionally, consumers have turned toward Lexus because of Toyota’s reputation for efficient and reliable machinery.
The GS, with its hour-glass grille and aggressive front fascia, is a first-step in giving the luxury automaker a more distinct brand image. In the past, Lexus has had trouble keeping buyers coming back, and the company believes that’s partly due to the fact that luxury consumers are more interested in owning a brand than a particular vehicle. As such, we can expect to see more corporate design cues across the company’s portfolio in the near future. The move may help set Lexus apart as something other than a slightly nicer Toyota in consumers eyes.
Most General Motors dealers make their living off selling pickup trucks. (That’s why when it came time to trim the brands and reorganize under bankruptcy, survived and didn’t – because dealers needed to have a truck to sell, not a .) That makes this year a tricky one for dealers, according to Automotive News, as they need to have enough or models in stock to get them to the 2013 model year.
What makes this quandary different from most years is that GM is readying all-new pickups, meaning that it will be . The full-size and GMC trucks date to 2006, making them the oldest in the industry that don’t wear a badge on their tailgate. Dealers, of course, don’t want to be caught with many 2012 trucks – vehicles that are already difficult enough to sell – but they don’t want inventories to run completely dry and risk turning away customers.
With a combined 29 weeks of downtime scheduled for three truck plans, according to the report, some dealers are stockpiling pickups to avoid running out if the truck production pipeline dries up before the 2013s start shipping. Other dealers are taking the opposite strategy, turning down 2012s and waiting for next year’s models.
Given all that has happened to GM in recent years, we imagine that most dealers know altogether too well that you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.
The M Division of has of sportifying performance parts to the 2012 and 2011-2012 . Among the suite of components are a sport steering wheel, carbon fiber and Alcantara interior trim, carbon fiber splitters and mirror caps and two-toned 20-inch forged wheels hiding a Brembo big-brake kit with painted calipers. Oh, and racing stripes.
Naturally, in addition to making your car look more M-ish, the parts carry a multi-year BMW warranty. for the skinny and get a visual idea of where your paycheck’s about to go in the high-res gallery of photos.
If you’ve been sniffing around the PlayStation Vita debating whether to pull the trigger, has an offer for you: buy an and you’ll get the Vita free. This isn’t the first tie-up with the little car and the little console: the iQ was one of the available vehicles in the MotorStorm RC game.
The offer is good only until June 31, 2012, so you’ve got some time to think about it. Sure, this will add (just) $15,700 to the price of your portable gaming station… but at least you’ll have some way to carry it. And when you’re finished making that deal, can we interest you in a for the ? But first, for a read of the Scion press release with details.
The minivan segment has grown from fiercely competitive to downright cut-throat. With fairly new iterations of vehicles like the , , and , formerly acceptable entries like the have fallen straight off the map. This isn’t news to the Korean automaker, either. spokesman James Hope has confirmed there will be no 2013 Sedona.
But that doesn’t mean the company will stay away from the segment for too long. Hope made it clear Kia will be back with a new family hauler, though declined to share any details on the vehicle.
Odds are that means a new Sedona will come along in 2014 or so, though that’s just speculation on our part. While Kia refreshed the minivan in 2011, the changes didn’t cover much beyond a mildly reworked front fascia. The vehicle was still saddled with an embarrassing “Poor” rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety roof-crush test.
Announced , finally gave us some more details about the was the all-electric EV will be sold to the general public during the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles today. The important number? The MSRP for what Toyota calls a “fully equipped” RAV4 EV is $49,800 and will be available before the end of the year.
Toyota says the RAV4 EV’s range is 100 miles and that the car will charge from empty in approximately six hours on a 240V/40A charger. The new RAV4 EV has LED and halogen headlights and it has special “environmental blue” color emblems on the outside. The vehicle will be made at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Inc., plant in Woodstock, Ontario. The first generation of the new RAV4 EV was . Our First Drive report is .
With a battery and powertrain designed by , the new RAV4 EV certainly appears to be one of the new breed of . We had heard that the RAV4 EV will be lease only, but the official press release says the car “will go on sale in late summer 2012 through select dealers, initially in four major California metropolitan markets.” Those markets are Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles/Orange County and San Diego and the news matches the rumor we heard last year, that sales about be In all, Toyota hopes to sell just 2,600 units in the next three years. , you’ve got nothing to worry about.
April was a busy month for the , with over 2,500 miles added to the odometer and a heaping helping of people and things passing through its doors. When I picked up the Countryman, I was impressed by the fact that were neatly stowed behind the front seats. However, the biggest of models didn’t fare so well when the rear seats were occupied.
On a shopping day with the kids, a relatively small amount of goods proved to be far too much for the Countryman’s diminutive trunk. As a result, I had no choice but to disperse boxes at the feet of my wife and kids, which was a decidedly unpopular move (don’t let the smiles fool you). The kids didn’t love the lack of roominess, but I can assure you that my 2,500 miles were mostly enjoyable.
I got a huge kick out of the Countryman’s spirited handling, even though I didn’t find our long-termer to have the same go-kart-like demeanor of its smaller siblings. The good news, however, was that I was able to average 26 miles per gallon during my month with the Mini, with a high of 30 mpg and a very entertaining low of just over 20 mpg. But don’t blame the Countryman for that 20 mpg number – that tank of gas was all about exploring the performance limits of our smallest long-term loaner. And even so, my own average fuel economy is higher than the dismal numbers that Editor Ewing brought up in .
One thing I didn’t like about the Countryman was a sometimes jarring ride, which we’ve attributed, in part, to the dreaded run-flat tires. The throttle was also a bit odd, as the first few degrees of pedal travel felt a bit dead. It took a few days to get used to it, and it helps to always drive in Sport mode.
The Countryman did require a non-scheduled trip to the dealership during its month in my hands. After just a few days with the car, I noticed that the fan kicked on at full blast every time I turned on the car. I didn’t think much of it at first, until I came back outside one day and discovered that the fan was still on after about 10 minutes of the vehicle being turned off. The ‘check engine’ light illuminated the very next day, so off to Motor City Mini we went. As it turned out, the engine’s thermometer was on the fritz, and the dealer replaced the part under warranty. That one issue aside, we’ve enjoyed nearly 15,000 miles of carefree Mini motoring.
Our Mini will spend the month of May shuffling between a number of staffers, with a few road trips planned as warmer weather starts to grace southeast Michigan. Stay tuned to see how the Countryman fares.
Keep your eyes locked on the official for the majority of our updates, as well as the official Autoblog Twitter account (, look for the hashtag).
Forget cloth, the upcoming Lamborghini Aventador Roadster will use a removable two-piece carbon fiber hardtop, according to the Italian magazine .
The weight-cutting measure means the convertible won’t have to stack on the pounds just to include al fresco driving. The carbon fiber roof will weigh less than a cloth top and its underlying metal frame. It also means that the entire rear section of the car won’t change from the hardtop model, Quattroroute reports.
We first saw the hardtop in spy photos , though we weren’t sure of Lamborghini’s plans for the 700-horsepower V12 racer at the time. Lamborghini is expected to debut the roadster at the this fall.
Ah yes, the Nürburgring. Where else would you expect to find the forthcoming Gran Coupe? Well, other than on the stand the in September or .
While of the big 560-plus-horsepower sedan, 6post.com has snagged footage of the M6 Gran Coupe squealing tires and clipping apexes with some of its siblings on everyone’s favorite German road.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. The sentiment certainly applies to cars as well, but doubly so. Years of driving and photographing new vehicles have taught us that you can’t evaluate a new model – or even judge its styling – based on photos alone, no matter how good or bad the images or the sheetmetal might seem. And you can’t really know anything until you get that car off the auto show stand and out in the wild, driving it on the street in its natural habitat.
We explain this because when we first spied the new , we didn’t think much of it: Mostly carryover front fascia, grafted-on taillights, Bangle butt. Move along, nothing to see here. But a funny thing happened when we got behind the wheel of the Malibu Eco for a week. We warmed up to it. We actually liked it.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall concerning 2011-2012 and models. A fuse controlling the power distribution unit for the ABS and ESC system can overheat, causing both features to fail.
Charger Pursuit vehicles were recalled a couple of months ago over the same issue and it was thought that severe usage was the culprit. However, a number of civilian reports convinced to recall all of the vehicles in question.
Chrysler will begin notifying the 119,072 owners this month. Affected vehicles can be taken to the dealer to have the fuse in question relocated, free of charge. for the official NHTSA bulletin.
Cadillac’s is scheduled to hit dealer showrooms this summer, and General Motors has finally divulged pricing. Its smallest luxury sedan will start at $33,990 including destination(*), but that price will only snag you the entry-level model, powered by a 200-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder paired with a six-speed automatic. Stepping up to the turbocharged, 270-hp 2.0-liter will push the price up to $35,795, and bring all-wheel-drive and manual transmission options into play. The top-of-the-line ATS carries a $42,090 price tag and is powered by a version of the 3.6-liter V6 from the , rated at 320-hp and mated to an automatic tranny, with all-wheel-drive available.
While these prices are hard to evaluate without a full breakdown of standard equipment – which promises in due time – we can compare them to two benchmarks, the all-new 2012 and the slightly larger CTS. While Caddy does undercut the base 3 Series price of $35,795, that entry-level ATS is down some 40 horsepower. The mid-priced ATS, the one with the turbo 2.0-liter, however, trumps the 328i’s 240-hp engine by almost that much. With equivalent starting sticker prices, it only makes the inevitable head-to-head battle all that more interesting.
The CTS, however, starts at $36,810, which makes the top-level ATS seem spendy at first glance. Granted, the CTS is nearing the end of its life cycle, but clearly those looking for a more luxury-oriented, V6-powered sedan are going to have to closely study the standard equipment sheet to determine what justifies the $5,000-plus price premium for the smaller car.
for the full press release, and be sure to check out the new images in our .
Those looking to get around the Nürburgring with a quickness will soon be able to hop into a . The luxury automaker has announced it will bolster its fleet at the infamous German track with the addition of an XJ Supersport. The-510 horsepower sedan will feature a few tweaks to set it apart from its kin, including matte grey paint and both the Sport and Speed packages. The latter of those two nudges the vehicle’s top speed from 155 to 174 miles per hour. also nixed the standard leather seats for a set of four race buckets, each with their own four-point harnesses.
A full roll cage also takes care of keeping everyone safe as they rocket around Green Hell. The XJ Supersport will begin giving Jaguar fans rides around the Nurburgring at speed sometime soon. for the full press release.
has been involved with Life Ball, one of Europe’s largest charity events, since the brand first bowed in 2001. This year, the automaker turned a brand-new over to Franca Sozzani, chief editor of Italian Vogue, for a complete makeover. Sozzani dipped the convertible two door in matte Deepest Purple paint with contrasting rally stripes and added steel accents on the side mirrors and wheels to help set the machine apart from the standard model. The charity car also sports a unique floral design on the roof. Mini will auction off the special Roadster at the Hall of Ceremonies at Vienna’s Hofburg palace.
Life Ball highlights the fight against AIDS. The celebrity-studded event features live music and a fashion show, and Mini says that sales of its past Life Ball models have raised over $654,000 for AIDS research. Scroll past the break for the full press release.
After Lawrence Drake gave up his pickup truck for a Chevrolet HHR, he wanted a camping shelter more hardy than a tent. The trick? Finding a solution that was in line with the HHR’s 1,000-pound tow capacity. He found it when he designed the Teal Camper, a modular enclosure that fits on a four-by-eight trailer and weighs just 630 pounds empty, including the trailer.
Basically, the camper is a set of weather-sealed panels that are bound with Phillips-head bolts and a strap. They come in a few configurations, such as corner pieces and those with windows and door openings, and you can assemble them in rectangular shapes as small or large as you like. The standard kit comes with a bed that sleeps two and a table, but Drake has designed lightweight optional fixtures like canvas cabinets. There’s also a pop-top that can extend headroom to six feet, and the entire assembly can be bolted to a plywood floor with straps or angle brackets.
Drake’s gone as far as he can on his own resources and is looking for investors for manufacturing. As such, there’s no price tag yet but he projects around $3,000 for an empty shell. It’s a neat concept that we think deserves a shot. Check it out in the gallery of photos.
After Lawrence Drake gave up his pickup truck for a Chevrolet HHR, he wanted a camping shelter more hardy than a tent. The trick? Finding a solution that was in line with the HHR’s 1,000-pound tow capacity. He found it when he designed the Teal Camper, a modular enclosure that fits on a four-by-eight trailer and weighs just 630 pounds empty, including the trailer.
Basically, the camper is a set of weather-sealed panels that are bound with Phillips-head bolts and a strap. They come in a few configurations, such as corner pieces and those with windows and door openings, and you can assemble them in rectangular shapes as small or large as you like. The standard kit comes with a bed that sleeps two and a table, but Drake has designed lightweight optional fixtures like canvas cabinets. There’s also a pop-top that can extend headroom to six feet, and the entire assembly can be bolted to a plywood floor with straps or angle brackets.
Drake’s gone as far as he can on his own resources and is looking for investors for manufacturing. As such, there’s no price tag yet but he projects around $3,000 for an empty shell. It’s a neat concept that we think deserves a shot. Check it out in the gallery of photos.
The FIA’s R2 rally class offers factorry-tuned racers at privateer costs. Peugeot has unleashed its 208 R2 in asphalt and gravel versions, powered by a 1.6-liter engine with 185 horsepower and 140 pound-feet running through a five-speed sequential gearbox.
Improvements over the 207 R2 include a bodyshell that’s 40 kilos lighter; a new gearbox with reduced weight, quicker shifts and the shifter mounted on the steering column; better gas mileage; a revised Öhlins suspension with three-way adjustable dampers; and more shared parts to enable faster changes between asphalt and tarmac setups.
It will make its debut on May 10 at the Tour de Corse. If you want one, kits can be had for €37,500 ($49,061 U.S.), a turnkey model for €57,500 ($75,227 U.S.). If you just want to check it out, hit the photo gallery and give the a once-over.
This weekend, Audi marked the of its latest R18 race cars at the World Endurance Championships at Spa Francorchamps. Yet the most spectacular race car running on any track this weekend was thousands of miles away at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in the 24 Hours of Lemons “Loudon Annoying” event taking place at the very same time.
Yes, that’s a camper trailer that’s been converted into a race car. And there’s . Now, before you click, see if you can guess what the car underneath is. (Hint, there’s another photo in the gallery that makes it very clear.) That answer is also posted , and it makes the whole rig even more fantastic.
Thanks to our friend (and ) Jake Fisher for the on-site photos!
Yes, it’s spring time in Indiana, and although ahead of the drop of the green flag, it’s time for another One Lap of America.
Having been part of the timing and scoring team for well over a decade, we tend to see a lot of the same faces and sheetmetal year in and year out, though there’s always a steady stream of newcomers. Every few races, however, there seems to be a bumper crop of new cars that show up as old ones get tired and drivers find something different to play with. This is clearly one of those times, perhaps brought about by the dominance of the over the last several years. As a result, there are a glut of the Japanese supercars in the fold, along with other noteworthy new models including an , a and , not to mention a factory-prepped . As ever, there’s a brace of and models of various vintages, along with a or two and a 430. There’s even an and an incredible sounding , also running with factory support.
Unfortunately, one key classic will be notably absent from the paddock this year: Brock Yates. Father of One Lap Of America and the legendary Cannonball Run that spawned it, Yates’ health has been deteriorating due to Alzheimer’s. Yates’ son, Brock Jr. has been ably running the event for many years, but this is the first time that .
As has become the usual, this year’s event kicks off in South Bend, Indiana at title sponsor Tire Rack’s massive headquarters with a wet skidpad event. The motley crew of madmen and their motors will then jog down the road a few miles to the South Bend Motor Speedway (a paved oval) before hoofing it over to Autobahn Country Club’s road course in Illinois. After that, it’s off to a string of road courses starting with scenic Pacific Junction, Iowa, for the Mid America Motorplex, then on to Oklahoma’s Hallett Motor Racing Circuit before heading to High Plains Raceway in Colorado. After that, it’s off to Motorsports Park Hastings in Nebraska followed by a northwestern jog to Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota. Then it’s over to Wisconsin’s legendary Road America before the sleepless and bedraggled horde stumble back into South Bend next Saturday, April 14 for a final dry skidpad event. Got all that? If you don’t, you can check out a map .
As we’ll be working the event, we won’t have the ability to give you daily updates on the rally’s progress, but if you’re interested in keeping tabs on the action, check out and , both of which figure to have live updates as the race gets underway this morning. In the meantime, you can check out our massive gallery above. It doesn’t have every one of the roughly 75 that are scheduled to race, but if you are new to One Lap, it’ll give you a good idea of the automotive diversity on display.
