has announced it will offer wireless charging in its new . The charging bin will work with MP3 players and iPhone, Blackberry and Android mobile phones, provided those devices are fitted with a special case.
The Pentastar says that this $199.99 Mopar accessory is an “industry first,” but we’ll take the liberty of assigning an asterisk* to that claim, as wireless charging has been offered as a for some time now (even at new car dealers). This is just the first such offering from an official branch of an OEM. The wireless charging hardware isn’t a factory option, it’s actually a dealer-installed accessory, which means that buyers will have to pay for installation or do it themselves.
Either way, wireless charging is a very cool piece of technology, and Chrysler does deserve credit for being the first automaker to officially offer it throughout its dealers nationwide – asterisk or otherwise. to watch a Mopar video of the technology in action.
You don’t build a chassis as superbly balanced and capable as that which underpins the , Toyota GT 86 and without taking it racing. Fortunately the Japanese auto marques involved have plenty of competition spirit coursing through their veins, and are already gearing up to take the nimble little sportscar racing at events around the world.
recently unveiled the which it will be fielding in Japan’s SuperGT series, and now is following suit with the announcement that it will be bringing not one, but two examples of its GT 86 to the Nürburgring to compete in the grueling 24-hour race there next month. The pair of cars – whose level of modification remains unclear – will be fielded by the company’s own Gazoo Racing team alongside one .
Toyota’s racing plans for the GT 86 extend beyond the ‘Ring, however, as it has revealed a program to support privateer teams fielding the car domestically in both the Super Taikyu Endurance Series and All-Japan Rally Championship. The latter announcement crucially comes at a time when rumors have resurfaced of Toyota preparing to re-enter the World Rally Championship – a series which the Japanese automaker dominated in the 1990s with four Drivers’ Championships and three Constructors’ Championships.
The company shut down its WRC operation to branch into Formula One, but now that its F1 program is long gone, could the time be right for Toyota’s return to the pinnacle of rallying? Only time will tell, but for now you can scope out the press release and video footage to see what Toyota has in store in the short run.
Car and Driver is reporting that has trademarked the name “Deimos.” One would naturally assume that the Italian supercar manufacturer plans to use the name for an upcoming vehicle, and the next one in line is the SUV concept that will debut at the in just two weeks. Aside from that, the has a replacement in the pipeline as well. Being Lamborghini, though, the name could be given to some unknown concept or one-off that’s sprung on us unsuspecting enthusiasts at an upcoming auto show.
What – or more appropriate, Who – is Deimos? In Greek mythology, Deimos was the son of Ares and Aphrodite and the personification of terror, which certainly has us wondering what sort of Lamborghini his name will be attached to. One of the moons around Mars was also given the name. And Lamborghini could even be referencing the video game God of War that features a character named Deimos (above), though that one’s a long shot.
The curious thing is that the magazine could find no connection between “Deimos” and bullfighting, the traditional sport of Spain that Lamborghini most often references with its vehicle names. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a connection, but it could be so obscure that no one figures it out before the name debuts on the back end of the next Lamborghini.
The Koenigsegg Agera R recently took to the Nürburgring for a little fun. Not surprisingly, there were a few cameras on hand to see the 1,100-horsepower titan whomp its way around the course, including one lens stationed at the exit to the pits. At the end of the track’s long straight, the vantage point allows viewers to see the vehicles on track at the peak of speed. For the Agera R, that means a flyby at somewhere around 250 mph. Now, we’ll be the first to say there’s no way of discerning just how fast the Koenigsegg is actually traveling when it comes by the pits. Sadly, “damn quick” isn’t an acceptable unit of speed.
Check out the video to see what we mean. The first half of the clip shows the supercar simply cruising around. If you want to see the real action, we suggest jumping ahead to around 1:30.
The Official Car Of Beverly Hills Gets A Dramatic Rework
Generally speaking, I’m a pretty measured sort of guy. But when it comes to convertibles, I’m a bit of a lunatic. I’ve been known to motor with the top down in all conditions – including light rain and snow – much to the bewilderment of other drivers (and quite often the chagrin of my passengers). For the most part, it doesn’t matter if I’m driving in a bare-bones roadster or a lux-lined GT. Thankfully for my hapless guests, however, advances in technology have done much to assuage discomfort in poor weather. These days, there are far fewer tradeoffs associated with top-down motoring: improved aerodynamics, wind blockers, enhanced ventilation, sun-reflecting leather and, of course, seat heating and cooling – all features that have done much to make me better company. What’s more, modern underlying structures are stiffer and there’s little in the way of the noise, vibration and harshness penalties that there used to be.
In terms of innovation, nobody has done more to advance the everyday livability of the convertible than . They kept the faith back in the early 80s when nearly everyone had gotten out of the convertible business. They brought back the folding hardtop. They came up with the pyrotechnic roll hoop to augment rollover safety. They created Airscarf. , too. Hell, with this , they’ve even invented a new windshield wiper fluid delivery system to prevent errant schvitzing when driving with the top down (more on that in a minute).
On its face, a typically sober German engineering approach would seem to be at odds with the very idea of a top-down bauble, but Mercedes has taken a very logical approach to building something so frivolous. Amazingly, this philosophy works in the SL’s favor… most of the time.
There are plenty of ways to test a vehicle’s durability. You might hand the keys to your average teenager for a week or plop a journalist behind the wheel for an hour. Or you could simply enter the machine in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. has opted for the latter option for the company’s upgraded-for-2012 . The automaker’s development team want to fully stress the supercar’s systems by putting it through one of the world’s most grueling endurance races. Of course, the fact that Nissan wants to one-up in its own backyard certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
Nissan has thrown a bit more downforce at the vehicle’s front end and the factory wing has been replaced as well, but the engine, transmission and suspension all remain unaltered from the factory Club Track edition. The competition vehicle will wear slightly wider tires, as well as safety cage and a larger fuel cell to accommodate the race regulations. The factory brakes have also been swapped out for more aggressive hardware.
Nissan says some of the changes may make their way to production in the near future as the company pushes the vehicle to break the seven minute lap time barrier at Germany’s most famous track. to see the video for yourself.
is poised to rapidly inflate its presence in China, and it believes the way forward is through an $11 billion spending plan. “We want to revive Volvo and give the brand its strength back,” says , Chairman of Geely Automobile Holdings. Speaking with German magazine , Shufu disclosed that Geely will put up $11 billion for a new engine factory, increased research and development and technology upgrades. However, Volvo’s Per-Ake Froberg tells that Volvo itself will be providing the funds through borrowing and other means.
No matter where the funding comes from, the investment is meant to aggressively drive the Volvo brand in the Chinese market, where the Swedish brand sold about 50,000 cars last year. Geely wants Volvo to account for 20 percent of the premium car market in just three years(!) with a target of 200,000 vehicles for 2014. It’s all part of an ambitious plan to double Volvo sales over the next ten years, and for its stewardship, Geely will get a new premium brand for China that uses Volvo tech and engineering. In addition, the two brands will be combining their purchasing power to get better deals from suppliers and small engine and electric vehicle development will also be shared between Volvo and Geely.
As the last Swedish brand standing, it’s heartening to see that Geely has designs on increasing Volvo’s sales. Here’s hoping the recently voracious appetite for cars in the Chinese market doesn’t shortchange American buyers looking for Nordic iron.
In a tire manufacturing landscape thick with companies that are over a century old, the world’s biggest tire maker is a relative upstart with just fifty years under its belt. , yes, Lego, makes more rolling stock than anyone, molding 381 million wheels each year, with sizes as small as a half inch and going up to 4.2 inches in diameter.
It turns out tires are an integral part of the Lego success story. Lego had been producing kits for more than a decade before the 1962 debut of . That kit included the and quickly became a best-seller, accounting for 820,400 sales all on its own in 1967. Before the Lego wheel arrived on the scene and kicked off its revolution, cars in the Lego realm were , and some clever children created 8-bit-looking wheels with the Lego bricks themselves.
With such a long history of building beloved toys, you’d think Lego would tie up with a manufacturer of car tires and put the Lego brand on tires we can put on our daily drivers. Make ours Z-Rated, please.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Association announced on its website that is recalling 140,000 models built between August 1, 2010 and October 18, 2011. The defect in question is a seal in the wiring harness connector to the passenger side wiper motor that may be missing.
If the seal is AWOL, water could build up in the connector, which could over time render the passenger-side wiper useless. And if that happens, visibility could of course be altered, resulting in a higher probability of a crash.
To fix the issue, affected Focus owners need to take their vehicles to a Ford dealer for a free inspection of the wiper connector. A technician will clean and seal any connector that needs it, and any wiper motor that no longer works will be replaced free of charge. Hit the jump to read over the NHTSA press release.
It’s always interesting to see what the guys who make and sell speed parts will build to show off their wares. Heck, that’s the appeal of the show in a nutshell. So we’re intrigued by this new project from Ford Racing, despite its unfortunate color, “Gotta Have It Green,” a hue that doesn’t exist in the natural world. (Outside of 1980’s album covers, that is.)
As reported on , the project starts with everyone’s favorite V8, the Coyote five-liter, but adds a whole bunch of stuff from the Ford Racing Performance Parts catalog, including a 2.3-liter, intercooled, twin-screw Whipple supercharger. The car has a six-speed manual, of course, and there’s an 8.8-inch axle out back. It’s been lowered an inch, thanks to new FRPP springs paired with matching shocks. Stopping power comes courtesy of a 14-inch, four-piston Brembo setup and Laguna Seca brake duct kit. This project ‘Stang is also equipped with a Mustang GT Side Exhaust System, 19-by-9-inch wheels with massive 255/40/ZR19 Pirelli PZero tires, and the Laguna Seca Adjustable Front Splitter.
While we don’t see any performance specs for the car, we know .
You can check out all the images of the Ford Racing Mustang project car in our .
If you haven’t noticed, NBC’s The Office has really jumped the shark since Steve Carrell left the show at the end of last season. Or maybe the beginning of the end was Pam and Jim’s wedding during the sixth season. Regardless, the point is that the show is no longer very funny or edgy, nor does it ever make the audience uncomfortable in the way the brilliant original BBC version did. Rather, as the main characters in the American version of the show have become caricatures, The Office has grown predictable and formulaic.
And this is why can launch an ad campaign like its . Despite the brief, 30-second running times of the ads, the characters are instantly recognizable and the “plots” are easy to follow. Although the scenes set in a Chevy dealership play with the tropes created by the Emmy Award-winning series, they do so to little comic effect. Because comedy isn’t the point – these are ads, after all, full of ham-handed product information and designed to sell cars.
If anyone should understand that it’s , General Motors’ Chief Marketing Officer. Yet he told Automotive News at the New York Auto Show that GM has “talked about turning this into an actual show because we’ve got so much material.”
Well, that Chevy product line isn’t nearly the joke it once was, but if you say so…
Let’s just chalk this one up to Ewanick being a bit starstruck. “Under The Blue Arch” was created by Randall Einhorn, one of the directors of The Office, and it “stars” Wayne Wilderson, who appeared on the NBC show in 2006.
Getting word of another special edition from the UK isn’t surprising, as we’ve grown almost numb from the carnival of , and Citroën models that have been given a few extra gubbins for a few extra quid. But when the Union pairs a Toyota Aygo with Tabasco – as in, the legendary Louisiana hot sauce – consider our eyebrows raised. Except, that doesn’t exactly appear to be what this is – it’s the Toyota Aygo Tobasco. As in the alternate spelling for the pepper that makes up the hot sauce, not the condiment itself.
The Aygo+ Tobasco edition gets a choice of three colors: Orange Spice, Black or Dark Gray, and all come with orange side mirrors and door handles. Inside, orange is splashed all over, on the speedometer and tach, vents and door speakers. Orange upholstery is also on offer.
We don’t know how much you have to love the pepper to check this box, but it’s there if you’re feeling saucy. It joins a suite of other upgrades for the tiny Aygo+ such as new seat trims and a new stereo. Hit the jump for the press release with the details.
Cancer sucks. And pediatric cancer sucks the worst. Without hesitation, we would trade all the exotic cars in the world for a cure.
But you know what doesn’t suck? So it’s pretty cool that will auction off the first one to benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation For Pediatric Cancer. The organization, based in Chattanooga, TN, is an official charity of the American Le Mans Series, which is presumably why it was picked. At the Viper reveal at New York, Chrysler also announced it would .
So the first 2013 SRT will cross the stage at Barrett-Jackson Orange County, which goes down June 22-24. It’ll be interesting to see what it brings in, considering the first 2013 427 convertible’s .
And if you aren’t deep-pocketed enough to get in on the Viper hunt, helping out the Hatcher Foundation doesn’t require bidding – you can .
How do you make the hot-selling even hotter? Chop the top!
says sun worshippers will have a convertible option when buying their Beetle next year. The news should be a surprise to no one, but engine choices could be.
VW says all the powertrain options in the coupe will be availble in the convertible. That means the 170-horse five-cylinder, the 200 hp turbo four and even the 140 horse 236 lb-ft TDI. Both transmissions will be on the menu as well: 6-speed DSG or a 6-speed manual.
Car and Driver speculates that VW will probably show off the convertible Bug at the L.A. Auto Show in November. When it goes on sale in the spring, it’ll be the only diesel convertible available in the U.S. The way VW’s diesels are selling, don’t expect the Bug version to sit around on lots very long.
“Our mission for the gen-five Viper was to build the best Viper yet.”
Those words pretty much sum up the seven videos we’ve embedded after the break. Of course, a whole heck of a lot of engineering went into realizing that mission, and the team from is justifiably proud of what they have been able to accomplish.
From the evocative curves of the body to the subtle changes to the 8.4-liter V10 that were necessary to net 640 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque, turned the cameras on its own staff to show just how the 2013 SRT Viper went from the drawing board to an actual vehicle.
Wanna watch? Of course you do. for the video extravaganza.
There have been a number of iconic racing liveries over the course of history – JPS and Gulf spring immediately to mind – and every historic racing fan has his or her favorite. But few are as downright awesome as Martini. The Italian vermouth label has sponsored everything from Lancias to , but many of its very awesomest have been . Like this bitchin’ 917/LH.
This long-tail version (Langheck in German) of the all-conquering 917 racer was fielded twice at Le Mans: once by Porsche Salzburg in 1970, and once by Martini Racing (which gave it its enduring paintjob) in 1971. It qualified first and second at those respective runnings, but proved fragile over the course of the 24-hour race and failed to finish both times.
The overall results don’t mean that this isn’t a devastatingly beautiful example of motor racing history, or that it’s anything less than priceless. Better check it out in our gallery of images from the show floor before it’s secreted back off to Porsche Museum in Stuttgart.
We love Mini’s sense of humor, and its April Fools’ Day pranks this year were among . While we really, really wanted the Cowley camper to be real, actually went ahead and built the Amphibious “Yachtsman” – and then brought it to the , just as promised to in its fake April 1 press release.
Considering that some car companies have been known to release , we’re even more bemused by Mini’s antics.
Click to read the entire absurd press release, then go ahead and check out our of high-res images of the Yachtsman.
We have to admit to being fairly smitten with the promise of the low-slung Acura NSX concept that debuted at the back in January. But for this moment – and for the next several moments – “promise” is all it is, because Acura says we shouldn’t expect an NSX in showrooms until sometime around 2015. (Back in January, Acura advised that the production car is “expected to debut in the next three years.”) Until then, Honda’s premium outpost is going to do whatever it can to stoke the fires to keep interest high, including and this – a drophead spinoff that will be Tony Stark’s ride in this summer’s The Avengers blockbuster from Marvel.
We first saw this car thanks to some intrepid movie set shots by would-be paparazzi , but this is the first official acknowledgement and image of the car that we’ve seen. Early in March, we told you of an NSX convertible that was very similar to the Detroit showcar, which some interpreted as Acura planning both a fixed-head coupe and a roadster for production. However, those drawings look an awful lot like the car shown here with the exception of small details like a unique wheel pattern and differing seatbacks, so while it’s possible that Acura is pondering a topless NSX, the renderings could have simply been to protect design rights to the movie car, especially considering that neither Stark’s ride nor the patent drawings appear to have headlamps.
We’ll have to wait and see what Acura decides regarding its all-wheel-drive hybridsupercar, but we suspect that even if it does greenlight a convertible version, we probably won’t see it until 2016. Which is… a really long time to keep believing in a promise.
While the 2014 may have many charming qualities and boast a plethora of engine options, one feature it reportedly won’t be offering is all-wheel drive. According to GMInsideNews.com, reps have said all-wheel drive is not part of the short-term or long-term plan for the new large sedan.
While the Impala will share a platform with the Cadillac XTS and – both of which do offer AWD – apparently General Motors wants to keep the Impala front-drive-only to help differentiate it from the and . While it remains to be seen whether the lack of all-wheel drive will hurt the Impala’s chances of competing with the and , which both offer it, Chevy’s people have reportedly called all-wheel drive a “very slim piece of the full-size sedan market.”
has announced that in honor of the brand’s return to the Chinese market, it’s bringing two design concept to the later this month. The first is a sharp-looking with an all-black exterior, a set of very large wheels and a two-toned interior with light-colored leather seating surfaces. The seatbacks are embossed with some sort of symbol, what looks to be gusts of wind. Chrysler says this special 300C was “created specifically with Chinese elements in mind,” but we’ll have to wait a couple weeks to find out exactly what that means.
The 300C, however, is a wallflower compared to this design concept that unabashedly wears its Chinese pride like a flag draped around its shoulders. Said to be inspired by the Year of the Dragon, the black Wrangler features dragon decals on its sheetmetal, some small and some very large, as well as a very ornate image of a dragon on the underside of the hood. The all-black exterior is set of with gold accents on the black wheels, as well as gold trim around the headlights and trademark seven-slat grille. Lastly, the lighting has been upgraded with a set of high-tech LEDs set within the Wrangler’s traditional round headlamps. It may be strange to see all that Chinese iconography on something so American as a Jeep Wrangler, but it’s no more stranger than an .
