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2,500 rpm in a family sedan generally isn’t a whole lot to get excited about. In fact, it’s traditionally closer to idle speed than anything offering the possibility of real entertainment. But each and every one of those 2,500 revolutions in this 2013 Nissan Altima offers a frisson of excitement when whirling away in concert. Why? Because they add up to 100 mph. In a four cylinder.

Process that for a minute: 2,500 revs = 100 mph in a 2.5-liter normally aspirated four-door kinshlepper. This, friends, is impressive. We first verified the figure for ourselves during a prototype drive at Nissan’s Arizona proving grounds back in March. More real-world numbers include 2,000 rpm at 80 mph and just 1,450 rpm at 60 mph. Credit the Altima’s Continuously Variable Transmission, which has been extensively reworked for this new model. Seventy percent of the transmission’s parts are new, and internal friction has been reduced by up to 40 percent through a battery of small tricks including redesigned internals swimming in lower viscosity oil. The transmission has a super-wide 7.0 gear ratio spread and reprogrammed control logic to help the keep all four pots on boil as necessary.

Of course, it’s still a CVT, which is to driving enthusiasts what Mark Zuckerberg is to the Amish. But Nissan’s Xtronic unit at least makes a good go of it, thanks to a sport mode that introduces shift points to create a physical and auditory experience similar to that of a traditional torque converter automatic. To be fair, the revs don’t plunge quite as far as they would in a slushbox, but it keeps the engine in the meat of its powerband and still delivers a pretty convincing performance, even when subjected to aggressive throttle openings. Either way, those awkward “stretched rubberband” CVT moments are kept to the bare minimum, only rearing their head when the accelerator is buried in the carpet, and just for a moment. Under most circumstances, we imagine most Altima drivers probably won’t even notice they own a CVT.

Continue reading 2013 Nissan Altima

2013 Nissan Altima

Renault has officially released details on its Alpine A110-50 Concept. Designed to pay homage to the original Alpine A110, the machine wears a body crafted from carbon fiber and dipped in a shade of the same iconic Alpine Blue we all know and love. Up front, designers worked in a set of half-ring yellow LED lights reminiscent of the hood-mounted fog lights found on the original. That’s pretty much where the similarities end, however. Based loosely on the crushingly-sexy Renault Dezir Concept, the new machine boasts proud fender arches, a wild split-wing rear spoiler and scissor doors.

As we’d heard before, the A110-50 Concept rolls on the same chassis as the Megane Trophy, complete with adjustable Sachs dampers, 21-inch wheels and the notable absences of on-board nannies like ABS or traction control. Hefty 14-inch front brake discs are pressed by six-piston calipers, while the 13-inch discs out back make due with four-piston units.

Renault placed a 3.5-liter V6 mid-ship with a full 400 horsepower on hand. A roof mounted-intake funnels air from outside the engine bay into the machine’s carbon-fiber intake. Meanwhile, a dual-clutch six-speed gearbox allows the driver the choice of disengaging the transmission via a floor-mounted clutch pedal or shifting via steering-wheel mounted paddles.

Scroll down to check out the full press release as well as a couple videos.

Continue reading Renault Alpine A110-50 concept does its papa proud

Renault Alpine A110-50 concept does its papa proud

The all-but-lifeless corpse of Saab continues to stagger forward in hopes of finding a juicy investor to sink its teeth into. Autocar reports that National Electric Vehicle Sweden is currently close to buying the brand’s remaining assets. The freshly minted electric car consortium is helmed by none other than Karl-Erling Trogen, the former head of Volvo Trucks. Beyond that, few details are known about the company or its plans for Saab. National Electric Sweden is owned by two bodies, Sun Investment and Mikael Kubu, the president of law firm Ac-Gruppen.

We can only speculate about what the consortium wants with Saab, though fan site SaabsUnited reports the company may have its eyes on an electric rear axle program developed with in conjunction with eAAM. Whether that means we’ll see electric or hybrid Saab models whirring around in the future is still uncertain. If we did, it would probably take quite a while. As SaabsUnited notes, “Saab, the company, right now has nothing in it, no dealership network, no finance structure, no personnel-structure, no communications network, nothing… everything needs to be completely rebuilt from scratch, which will take a huge amount of time.”

At this point, we’ll just be pleasantly surprised if the Griffin brand gets a new owner at all.

Saab to be saved by mystery Swedish electric car company

Morocco may not be a place that often pops up on the radar of the international automotive industry, unless it’s about al-Qaeda threats on the route of the Dakar rally. So you’d be forgiven for discounting the Casablanca Auto Show as largely irrelevant, but that’s the location Renault chose to unveil its latest utilitarian model.

Built in nearby Tangiers, the Dokker joins the Dacia brand as its fifth model line, alongside the Logan, Sandero, Duster and the most recently released Lodgy van. The Dokker is a van also, but a bit smaller, and comes in two flavors: five-seat passenger van or slab-sided panel wagon. Little in the way of details were revealed in the press release below, joined by the trio of high-resolution images, but you can bet that as a Dacia, it’ll be cheap and to the point.

Continue reading Dacia rolls out Dokker vanlet in Casablanca

Dacia rolls out Dokker vanlet in Casablanca

Struggling To Find A Reason For Being

The six basic building blocks of life are sulfur, phosphorus, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen. Arrange those in any number of ways and you can get either a single-celled paramecium or Angelina Jolie. The Mini brand works much the same way. Take the same group of engines, interior bits and exterior design elements, combine them in various ways and you get everything from a three-door hatchback to a five-door crossover.

It all started with the three-door hatchback, but Mini kept reconfiguring its basic elements to create a full range of automobiles that now includes the Convertible, Clubman wagon, Countryman CUV, a new Roadster, and this little guy: the 2012 Mini Coupe, available for our test purposes with the aggressive John Cooper Works package. All members of the Mini clan, however, share the same DNA and do little to hide their lineage.

Truth be told, just the idea of the Mini Coupe has few fans around the Autoblog offices. What point is there to a Mini that’s smaller, heavier and more expensive than the standard hatchback? It seems to some that the Coupe exists just because it’s an easy and obvious way to configure those basic Mini building blocks. But just because one can build something doesn’t always mean one should. There’s got to be a reason.

Does the Mini Coupe have a reason for being? Or is its existence owed simply to the fact that it could be made, so it was?

Continue reading 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Coupe

2012 Mini John Cooper Works Coupe

The day has finally arrived. Porsche cars have returned to the Forza Motorsport series on XBox 360 with the availability today of the Porsche Expansion Pack for Forza Motorsport 4. Pony up 1600 Microsoft Points ($19.99 in real world money) and you’ll get 30 new cars, 20 new events, 10 new achievements and a Porsche-only Rivals Mode. Developer Turn 10 says that seven of the cars (scroll down for a full list) are all-new to the Forza series, which brings the game’s fourth installment – including all of the vehicles released via downloadable content – to a grand total of 625 cars.

We know what you’re thinking. Twenty bones is a lot to drop on a single chunk of downloadable content when you’ve already paid $60 for the game itself and another $30 for the Season Pass, the latter of which has already filled your virtual garage with dozens and dozens of extra cars to drive. That’s all true, and no one would blame you for passing on this Porsche DLC, especially considering that Porsches were included with the price of the game in Forza 1, 2 and 3.

Consider this: 959, 962, 911 Sport Classic, GT2 RS … Those are just four of the thirty cars from Stuttgart that you’ll be passing up the opportunity to drive (digitally) if you say no to the Porsche Expansion Pack. So now that you’re armed with all of the info, you can make the decision that’s right for you while we go download our decision.

Scroll down to check out the official gameplay trailer that shows all 30 vehicles in action, as well as the full list of all 30 vehicles included in the Porsche Expansion Pack.

Continue reading Porsche Expansion Pack available today for Forza Motorsport 4

Porsche Expansion Pack available today for Forza Motorsport 4

Reimagining An Iconic Sports Car With Some Modern Parts

We first placed our hands on Singer’s “reimagined Porsche 911″ nearly three years ago when it made its world debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Shortly thereafter, we caught up with the company’s orange prototype for a photo shoot in the Los Angeles basis. While we were both intrigued and impressed with the sports car at the time, full disclosure admits that we were very skeptical about the start-up back in September 2009. Sadly, we’ve watched this industry shatter far too many dreams.

But Singer has prospered. Very well, it appears.

Rob Dickenson, the creative genius behind the vision, recently invited Autoblog to Singer’s headquarters in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley for an extended ride in the company’s latest offering. After a detailed tour of the facility where we saw other vehicles in production, we dropped into the passenger seat to see what the “Porsche 911 restored by Singer” was all about – only bummed as it was a customer car, meaning we still weren’t allowed behind the wheel.

Continue reading Porsche 911 restored by Singer [w/video]

Porsche 911 restored by Singer [w/video]

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric is officially on its way to dealerships. Outlets in California, New Jersey, and New York – 67 in all – are going to be the first to receive the electron-fueled Focus, with about six cars each winding up on lots. To help dealers build more excitement for what’s likely to be a slow-starting sales story, the dealers will hold one of the Focus EVs as a demonstrator.

Even if fewer than 5,000 Focus Electric models find buyers this year, Alan Mulally won’t be disappointed. While Ford ultimately expects electrics and hybrid vehicles to account for up to 25 percent of its sales volume by 2020, the company is moving deliberately. Rather than develop and tool an entirely new platform, Ford’s move to modify the Focus for electric propulsion is said to allow some semblance of a profit margin, but it’s going to take time for consumers to warm to the idea of a $40,000 Focus, even if a third of that price is the battery, and Ford appears to be keeping this in mind.

After the initial 350 or so cars are delivered to the pilot stores, the rest of the Ford dealers across the nation will start getting the Focus EV before spring turns into summer.

First Ford Focus Electric models en route to dealerships

While these supposedly leaked patent images aren’t as sexy as those of the Acura NSX convertible we recently spied, they do point to an interesting new look for the homely Ford Transit Connect.

As the pedestrian delivery van in its current form is in need of a massive upgrade in the aesthetics department, adopting more of a “Ford face” like what’s found on the Fiesta and forthcoming Fusion seems like a great idea. We’re not sure, however, what to make of the buttresses at the base of the pillars, which reminds us a bit too much of the Honda Element.

While we haven’t heard much about when a new Transit Connect might be headed to our shores, according to Left Lane News, Ford may show an almost-production-ready concept at the Paris Motor Show in September.

Next Ford Transit Connect revealed in new patent filings?

It looks like we weren’t the only ones to get our hands on the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500. Jamal Hameedi, SVT chief nameplate engineer, recently stopped by the Big Dog Garage to show off both the Mustang Boss 302 and the GT500. It’s no secret that Leno has always been a Mustang fan, and with the ridiculously powerful supercharged 5.8-liter pumping out more grunt than the comedian’s own Ford GT, the 2013 Shelby has earned itself another proponent. Leno takes the big horse out for a ride around town, including over some of the more punishing stretches of Los Angeles freeway before heading home.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage without a proper burnout, and the clip doesn’t disappoint. Looks like fun to us. Now the only question is whether Leno will add one of these machines to his own personal collection. Scroll down below to watch the video, which concludes with a little tribute to the recently deceased Carroll Shelby.

Continue reading Jay Leno gets nostalgic driving Shelby GT500 and Boss 302

Jay Leno gets nostalgic driving Shelby GT500 and Boss 302

There are plenty of dangers to contend with at a track day. High speeds, inexperienced drivers, faulty equipment and foul weather can all play havoc on an otherwise friendly fender-to-fender weekend. We can now add carbon monoxide poisoning to the list of potential threats.

One Finnish Toyota MR2 owner took his machine out for a quick sprint at Ahvenisto just outside of Hameenlinna. After a few minutes behind the wheel, the driver begins struggling to keep control of his car, eventually spinning into the infield. He maneuvers back on track and pulls off, and it isn’t long before he blacks out entirely. Later, he would have no recollection of anything after the car hit the grass.

He stays unconscious for nearly 11 minutes before rescue workers resort to smashing his passenger window to gain access. By the time he receives medical attention, his blood was packed with 67 percent carbon monoxide. Any longer in the vehicle’s cabin and the day very well could have been his last. Check out the scariness for yourself.

Continue reading Carbon monoxide nearly costs this track day racer his life

Carbon monoxide nearly costs this track day racer his life

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a formal field inquiry into the garage fire that may or may not have been started by a Fisker Karma sedan, Bloomberg reports. The conflagration, which destroyed the Karma, the garage and a few nearby vehicles, took place on May 3 in Sugarland, Texas.

Claude Harris, NHTSA’s director of vehicle safety compliance, said that the investigation is “ongoing,” adding that “no determination has been made at this time.” Until an official cause is isolated, we’re betting there will be a good bit of he-said, she-said finger pointing in all directions…

It’s worth noting that NHTSA has also been actively investigating the safety of battery packs used in the Chevrolet Volt after reports of fires in the wild and after NHTSA’s own crash testing procedures.

NHTSA launches inquiry into Fisker Karma garage fire

It takes a fast and agile car to keep pace with MotoGP racing bikes. Fortunately the BMW M division is up to the task, providing safety cars (or what we’d call pace cars on this side of the Atlantic) to the race organizers of the top-level motorcycle racing series.

The most recent vehicles to perform the duties have been the 1 Series M Coupe and the X6 M crossover, but now BMW is introducing a the new M6 coupe to the mix. It’ll debut in safety car guise as pictured above at the Nürburgring this weekend.

While it’s unclear whether any modifications have been made to the 552-horsepower twin-turbo V8, the M6 MotoGP safety car has been upgraded with new spoilers front and rear, special lighting equipment and BMW’s traditional blue, blue and red striping on a white body. And if we were betting men, we’d put our money on some upgrades to the brakes, suspension and tires, too.

BMW rolls out new M6 safety car for MotoGP

We don’t need to tell you why rally racing – though awesome – is incredibly dangerous. As much as we love to watch turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Euro hatches being flung around on dirt, gravel, snow and tarmac, the fact that many of these races go through small towns and wooded trails leaves plenty of room for disaster.

Case in point: This Renault Clio racer went off course during the 2012 Mazowiecki Rally, leaving driver Patrick Osowiecki and navigator Maciej Wrona trapped upside-down in a lake. According to CarScoop, no race officials were near the scene of the accident, but some selfless spectators rushed in to attempt to free Osowiecki and Wrona from their racecar. Scroll down to watch the action unfold.

Continue reading Watch spectators rush to save lives of rally drivers trapped in capsized Renault

Watch spectators rush to save lives of rally drivers trapped in capsized Renault

The annual “Car Wars” report by Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy predicts that, despite their seizing of U.S. market share over the last few tumultuous years, Korean brands Hyundai and Kia will give it all back and then some to companies like Ford, General Motors and Toyota by 2016.

Murphy bases his predictions not on tea leaves or crystal balls, but rather the rate at which automakers launch new products. Ford will replace 26 percent of its product line over the next four years, a number that represents 46 percent of its volume, while General Motors will replace 25 percent and Toyota 24 percent. On account of these new product launches, Murphy says Ford can expect to add 0.8 percentage points of market share, General Motors will recover 0.5 points and Toyota will add another 0.3 points.

Other automakers that won’t be so aggressive in turning over their lineups with new models include Chrysler, Honda, Nissan and the European brands, which Murphy surmises will all remain flat in terms of market share.

Hyundai and Kia, meanwhile, will be introducing fewer new models than the rest and therefore, Murphy predicts, will see a 0.5 decline in U.S. market share.

Of course, these are all just predictions and can be blown to bits with the next unforeseen economic crisis or natural disaster, just like the last three years were. And there are other factors that might affect market share for each automaker during the next three years, including the availability of raw materials, exchange rates, union contracts, recalls and a million another minor things that might grow to become big things, not the least of which is consumers deciding they actually like all those new products being launched.

Car Wars report predicts Hyundai, Kia will lose market share

On Thursday night’s Autoline After Hours, SRT boss Ralph Gilles sat down with show hosts John McElroy and Peter DeLorenzo, along with Autoblog and AOL Autos staffers to talk all things Viper. Among the interesting tidbits disclosed about the 640-horsepower supercar are plans for a new dealer certification process designed to encourage the sort of purchasing, service and ownership experience that buyers of six-digit cars have come to expect.

According to Gilles:

“It’s going to be a qualified dealer situation… The ones who do the dealer training in terms of the tech. I want a tech. I want a display car. I want all these things. There’s going to be a list. It’s not going to be impossible, it’s just that someone has to put in the extra effort and say ‘I’m an SRT dealer.

Off the air, Gilles told Autoblog that Chrysler officials have already approached a number of dealers with a strong record of Viper and SRT sales to discuss how the certification process will work, gaining valuable feedback in the process. A document outlining the new certification program will go out to Dodge dealers next month.

Chrysler has yet to announce official pricing and the Viper won’t go on sale until sometime in the fourth quarter of the year, but that hasn’t stopped a queue of customer deposits from piling up. According to Gilles, one particularly strong Viper dealer already has around 90 such deposits in-hand. Considering that Viper sales averaged about 1,600 units in past years, that’s a substantial figure.

In other news, Chrysler officials have been making a big point of talking about the 2013 Viper’s newfound refinements, from reduced NVH to nicer interior materials and improved drivability thanks to the institution of technologies like stability control and traction control. Gilles says that great care has been taken to ensure the model’s core personality still shines through, but given that much of the Viper’s mystique is centered on its raw, leg-burning, hairy-knuckled persona, we couldn’t help but wonder aloud if the new model’s refinements have left room for a stripped-out hardcore version for Viper purists and racers. With raised eyebrows, arms gesturing wildly and stifling a smile, Gilles wryly said: “I love how you think. Next subject!”

To watch the Autoline After Hours episode in its entirety, scroll down.

Continue reading 2013 SRT Viper to require dealer certification; hardcore model planned? [w/video]

2013 SRT Viper to require dealer certification; hardcore model planned? [w/video]

Drifting’s been off the front pages for a while, the latest reports having more to do with turmoil than tire shredding. As with most things, though, just because it’s not headlining doesn’t mean it’s disappeared. NOS energy drink sent one of our favorite filmic chroniclers, Will Roegge, across the country to survey the drifting world. The result is a mini-documentary called Keep Drifting Fun.

And we do mean the word “documentary” – it’s 30 minutes long. Although there’s plenty of smoke and wall-kissing, its length gives us an opportunity to hear from drifters and organizers to find out what’s behind the sport, as well as their own motivations, where drifters come from and why they drift. It looks at venues beyond the track, like tree-lined back roads in Houston and alleys in late-night El Paso, and we dig that it starts off with the protagonists themselves admitting, “Drifitng is so stupid,” “It’s pointless,” and “When you boil it all down it’s pretty silly.”

The movie, on the other hand, isn’t. Scroll down to check it out.

Continue reading NOS energy drink presents the mini-doc Keep Drifting Fun

NOS energy drink presents the mini-doc Keep Drifting Fun

When you’ve got the most powerful factory V8 in the world, even the best driver can struggle with getting that power to the pavement. The 662 horsepower and 631 pound-feet of torque the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is packing can easily turn its rear tires into expensive clouds of smoke. That’s why the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 is the first Shelby Mustang to be factory-equipped with launch control. “With so much more power and torque on tap from the new 5.8-liter V8,” says SVT senior engineer John Pfeiffer, “launch control makes it easier for drivers to take advantage of the performance.” What’s different about the Shelby GT500s launch control is that drivers can engage it by just pressing a single button, and it’s also capable of being fine-tuned for the best reesults.

Launch control is by now a familiar technology, with systems operating by holding engine RPM at a set point to help facilitate clean, repeatable launches. “Launch control is essentially a special mode of the traction control system that integrates the brake and engine management systems to keep the tires balanced on the peak of the mu-slip curve,” explains SVT’s Pfeiffer. In plain English, it’s designed to send as much torque to the tires as they can handle. What’s different about the system in the 2013 GT500 is its flexibility. “Most of our competitors’ launch control systems have a fixed engine launch speed,” says SVT Engineering supervisor Eddie Khan, but since “not every driver has the same style, and surface, tire, and climate conditions vary,” he points out, “we’ve given Shelby GT500 drivers the ability to adjust the engine speed to achieve the best and most consistent performance.”

Drivers can use TrackApps through the instrument cluster or tap a switch to the left of the instrument panel to enable the system. Through TrackApps, the engine launch rpm can be adjusted between 3,000 to 4,500 rpm with steps of 100 rpm. There are other tricks up the GT500s sleeve, too. Extinguish the traction control while using launch control and you’ll get an rpm-only mode that keeps the brakes out of the picture to avoid sacrificing any possible speed. Launch control also works with the different stability control modes to allow some wheelspin when that’s the fastest way out of the hole. “It’s not as intrusive as some TC systems have been in the past,” said SVTs Khan. “We’e given our drivers the ability to exert control over all the power and torque this Mustang can produce.”

Continue reading 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 features clever variable-RPM launch control

2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 features clever variable-RPM launch control

Frenemies Ford and General Motors have taken to cyberspace for a little verbal sparing, trading snarky shots this week over which company is more likeable on Facebook.

GM set itself up Tuesday after news broke that the carmaker decided not to spend $10 million on Facebook advertising the same week the social media juggernaut prepares for its initial public offering expected to raise $100 billion dollars.

Ford used the opportunity to tweak its crosstown rival, tweeting: “It’s all about the execution. Our Facebook ads are effective when strategically combined with engaging content & innovation.”

GM couldn’t leave that alone, going onto its Facebook page, “Just wanted to let our millions of Facebook fans know, we’re still here, and we ‘like’ you back!”

Both carmakers will continue to use Facebook, where both have millions of followers of their brands and vehicles. And, really, they are both right.

Ford has done an extremely good job incorporating Facebook into its marketing strategy. When it came time to launch the new Ford Explorer, it did it through Facebook reaching millions of people.

GM has determined its money will be better spent in other areas. A recent Associated Press-CNBC poll showing more than half of all Facebook users never click on sponsored ads and only 12 percent said they felt comfortable to buy anything over Facebook. Google, The Wall Street Journal points out, is much more effective.

Ford and GM in Twitterfight over Facebook advertising?

As if turbos weren’t enough.

Gazoo Racing (full name: Gazoo Racing Masters of Nürburgring) has unveiled a concept racing version of the famed Toyota GT86 that features both a turbocharger and a supercharger to offer up 320 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque.

The car, officially called the Sport FR Concept, oozes high performance out of its fenders and includes Gazoo brakes, spoilers and suspension tuning, according to FT86Club.com. However, few specifics were available.

Toyota teamed up with Gazoo earlier this year to help jump start it’s small-displacement engines. Earlier this year, Toyota gave the green light to the iQ Supercharger. Gazoo was expected to build about 100 of those cars.

Gazoo Racing drums up twincharged 320-horsepower Toyota GT86