From what we’ve been told, riding a motorcycle with a sidecar is a unique experience requiring massive amounts of upper body effort. With three wheels instead of two, riders can’t use the textbook press-and-lean method to negotiate turns. This rider apparently missed that memo. While tackling the infamous Mulholland Drive just outside of Los Angeles, this sidecar rider employed a unique method for kicking around the road’s multiple switchbacks. By shoving the sidecar into the air, the bike regains its ability to yaw far to the left. Very impressive, but what happens when the same technique is applied for a quick right-hander?
We’re guessing tragedy. Likewise, we can imagine throwing a passenger into the sidecar mix would make for an additional challenge. to check out the video for yourself.
Consumer Reports is learning all sorts of things about the now that it has purchased one for testing, only to with less than 200 miles on the odometer. After 48 hours in the dealer’s repair shop – under warranty – the car is and is starting to get put through its paces.
With that making waves, CR discovered that with their new and expensive plug-in hybrids. Things like needing a new differential after less than 1,000 miles, a car shutting itself off at 35 mph and lots of trouble with the shifter. Most of these reports were on FiskerBuzz. Of course, before CR got its Karma, the company issued two recalls, one for a and another for .
So, with all the problems, how does CR like the Karma on the track? The design is “simply stunning,” it says, but the range-extending gasoline engine is loud when the 22-kWh battery is depleted. And the Fisker’s SUV-like 5,395-pound weight doesn’t help with handling. On the inside, CR says the touchscreen is also less than ideal, with a grayscale look and plenty of menu flipping that “makes MyFord Touch look like a brilliant design.” Ouch.
Then there’s this:
Just this weekend, for example, the speedometer and energy meter display disappeared when driving, on top of having several other rogue warning indicators appear last week. It is expected we’ll be revisiting the dealership soon. We’ve had cars in the past that have been troublesome, but never anything like this.
You can see what CR wrote about the car and check out their new video review .
took the new DeltaWing racer out for a quick parade lap at Sebring last week. The funky-looking car wasn’t exactly tackling each apex at competition speeds, but the demonstration suggests development is on the right path. Nissan says the design weighs half as much as a typical competition vehicle and has half the aerodynamic drag as well, making it far more efficient. Likewise, the car requires less power to maintain the same level of performance (Nissan has fitted the DeltaWing with a turbocharged, direct-injection 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine). Despite the way it looks, it even appears to go around corners.
According to the press release that accompanies the footage , the DeltaWing won’t run as a classified entrant in this year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but will be present as a demonstration of what the design has to offer the world’s race teams. for a look at two videos; one (sadly audio-free) clip from the public display at Sebring and another look from testing at another facility from inside the car.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a safety recall of the , but this campaign comes with a twist. NHTSA announced on its website that Sonata Hybrid models produced between December 2, 2010 and March 7, 2012 are being recalled due to a seatbelt issue. NHTSA announced that the rear center belt, which incorporates a release mechanism that detaches both the lap and shoulder portion at the lower anchor point, doesn’t meet safety standards.
Of the 14,728 units potentially covered under the recall, will repair the 1,633 Sonata Hybrid models currently sitting on dealer lots. But here is where the catch comes into play: The government agency says Hyundai plans to file a petition for a recall exemption for those vehicles already delivered to their owners because it believes the action is “inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.” Hyundai will not have to send out recall notices to the 13,095 Sonata Hybrid models already on the road until after the petition has been resolved. Hit the jump to read over the NHTSA press release.
Just over one year ago, we heard reports suggesting that Volkswagen would of its concept for limited consumption. And while the skeptics among us were quick to dismiss these reports with a resounding “yeah, right,” this latest set of spy shots show that is indeed making progress on an honest-to-goodness road-going model of its 1.0-liter fuel economy warrior.
It’s still unclear exactly what will power the production XL1, though the concept car featured a two-cylinder TDI diesel paired with an electric motor, lithium-ion battery pack and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. All in, this is said to be good for an astonishing 235 miles per gallon. It might look big and sleek, but the XL1 is about as long and wide as a Volkswagen Polo. It should be ultra-light, too – the concept version tipped the scales at just 1,753 pounds.
The XL1 might look sleek and sporty, but performance will be anything but. The latest reports state that the production car will be limited to a stop speed of about 75 miles per hour, and that it’ll take 32(!) seconds to shoot from a stand-still to 50 mph.
We’ll keep our eyes peeled for future XL1 prototypes as development continues, but for now, scroll through our attached high-res image gallery to see the space-age VW for yourself.
The BBC has come out in defense of Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson after the Reverend Graeme Anderson, vicar of , complained that the entertainer “trivialized, belittled and cheapened” Jesus Christ. Clarkson has a long history of rousing the ire of different groups, and Anderson specifically took issue with a segment in which Clarkson took the wheel of the KTM X-Bow. After hearing Clarkson’s exclamations of “God almighty” and “Jesus wept,” Anderson says he was both surprised and upset. The vicar has since vowed to never watch Top Gear again.
After petitioning both Clarkson and the BBC for an apology, the network responded by saying the speech is part of everyday language, and that while its program strives to portray society as it really is, it respects the “fundamental human right to exercise freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
Clarkson has remained uncharacteristically mute on the dustup.
scored a major hit with its starring Romanian model Catrinel Menghia. Released last November as a web-only video, the spot exploded in popularity when it hit the airwaves during the Super Bowl in February. Having proven that a dollop of sexiness is enough to get your attention, Fiat has chosen a different but equally well-proven tactic for this new 500 Abarth commercial: babies.
We’ll save the plot for your , but just mention that teaching your baby to speak Italian is way cooler than sign language.
Race #1 of the 2012 Formula 1 season is . Along with a talk of a more exciting season after inconclusive winter testing, everyone has had a few words about the way the new cars look, one of the most common being “ugly.”
The stepped noses used on most of the field are how every team, save for McLaren and Marussia, dealt with new regulations. In the video , Mercedes F1 driver Nico Rosberg explains the look of his car from front to back. With Michael Schumacher putting up a good time in mixed conditions during the first two Free Practice sessions, there just might be a swan in there somewhere.
Last time Roadkill took a trip it inolved a $1,500 budget, a 1972 Catalina and a . This time their adventures point northward to Alaska, and their chariot will be a clone of the 1968 Ranchero that Hot Rod used to take a class win in the first Baja 1000. It is, naturally, called “Viva Raunchero.”
Ice racing in America’s largest state is the goal. But the real action ends up taking place far away from Arctic latitudes as co-pilots David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan get to enjoy hours of freezing temps when the Ranchero throws repeated tantrums in Vail, Colorado and Utah. You’ll find another lesson in road tripping the Hot Rod way in the video .
We won’t press it yet, but let’s just say our hand is hovering over the big red “Vaporware!” button we keep armed for just such announcements. DiMora Motorcars still owes us – – the $2-million SLS 2 sedan with its 1,200-horsepower Volcano V16 engine, and .
While we wait for it, DiMora has seen fit to announce not just a new car, but a new division with two new cars said to be “nearing completion.” The Neoclassic Automobiles Subsidiary will, depending on your credulity, be producing the Adina Sportster and Vicci 6.2 Super-Coupe. The Adina is a Morgan-like roadster powered by a General Motors LS3 V8 with 431 horsepower.
The Vicci (pictured) gets either the LS3 or the Corvette ZR1’s LS9 with 638 running through a six-speed manual, six-speed automatic or – prepare to step in your Wayback Machine – a four-speed auto. Its faux Talbot-Lago lines hide a carbon fiber dash, paddle-shifters and a stereo that displays engine diagnostics. Assuming it gets made.
for the press release with info on two possible, but unlikely, limited-edition future cars.
The wowed us at the with its handsome styling and luxe interior fitment, so much so that we wondered aloud if this is the new family of small cars that Daimler has promised the U.S. market for 2013. According to a firsthand tip, the A-Class has already made a trip to Hollywood for a close-up. Taking advantage of the well-established motion picture industry, Mercedes-Benz sent its small wonder to Los Angeles for a 5-day working vacation to shoot a commercial.
Camera department pro Nic Restrepo tells Autoblog:
“This is such an awesome car! WAY nicer and better looking than its competition (A3…). This AMG-badged model had all the big Benz amenities; Self Park assist, lane departure, blind spot warning, Alcantara covered racing seats, dual clutch trans etc. The interior on this thing is head and shoulders above ANY compact I’ve ever worked with. The dash has this beautiful carbon fiber cloth that’s soft to the touch like suede, and it’s layed on like a fabric, feels like a pillow…a carbon fiber pillow.”
It looked great while being chased around by the , and the A-Class made a good impression with the French Rallycross driver hired to fling the car around for the shoot. All who laid eyes upon the car seem to agree with our impression from the show floor, that there’s a lot of big-Benz nice packed into an exciting small package. Disappointingly, though, the little Benz’s corporate minders told the crew that the car is not headed to the U.S. Whether that’s a ruse or the truth, we’ll soon find out as Mercedes still has a couple tricks up its sleeve as the auto show season winds down.
has again put filmmakers behind the lens to add some entertainment to the corporate cause, and the results are worth watching. BMW is the official transport provider of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, so its got four directors to profile four British Olympians, tying their stories to BMW’s quest for perfection.
Three of the shorts are Olympics-themed: No Limits (also called Beneath the Surface) about swimmer Rebecca Adlington and the , directed by Stevan Riley; Man and Machine about wheelchair racer David Weir and the ultimate connection to your vehicle, directed by Yannakis Jones; and Form and Function about gymnast Louis Smith and the i8, directed by Richard de Aragues.
The fourth film is a retro piece called Power, Speed and Endurance and covers BMW’s return to DTM. It’s subject is British middle-distance runner Steve Cram, who was breaking records on the track in the seventies and eighties, when racing BMWs were breaking other records at different tracks. It was helmed by Asif Kapadia, who proved his abilities with archival footage as the director of Senna.
for the press release from BMW and thirty minutes of good stories.
Like Elvis and Tupac before him, Apple icon Steve Jobs is showing up in all kinds of unexpected places after his passing. This latest sighting comes in a commercial for a SCR 110 scooter that channels The Jobs himself. Up close, the male actor isn’t a ringer, but the black turtleneck and design theme leave no doubt about his inspiration.
The Chinese-language tag for this commercial says “Wuyang Honda Motorcycle.” We don’t know if they made it, but a post house called CN Post Production takes credit for some of the work on it. to check out the bizarre advertisement, and for thie other side of strange, you can check out their .
Rally racing, like virtually every other form of motorsport in the world, is a dangerous activity. As much as we love watching a talented driver negotiate a tricky off-road race course with skill and luck, crashing is no doubt part of the experience as well. And crashes happen rather often in the world of rallying.
During the 2012 Rally Mexico, which took place from March 8-11, 2012, there were two drivers who started the race but were forced to retire after crashing out. One of those was Evgeny Novikov, who ended his race in spectacular fashion after the roof vent of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC blew away, causing the cabin to fill with dust and debris. As the commentators point out, he was truly driving blind, at least until he veered off course and crashed.
When we say Noviko crashed, what we really mean is that he flipped, rolled and generally demolished his Fiesta rally car with a vengeance before ending up on the roof. See for yourself by watching the video .
In general, car dealers have reputations just below personal injury lawyers and politicians, so it’s no surprise that most consumers are naturally wary whenever they engage in the process of buying a new vehicle.
As part of an effort to restore consumers’ faith in the auto buying process, the Federal Trade Commission is intervening, five dealers from around the country for what it says argues is deceptive advertising. According to the FTC, the dealer ads in question promise to “pay off your car” and to “pay off your trade no matter what you owe” when, in fact, they either rolled the balance of customers’ trades into a new loan or just outright demand would-be buyers pay the difference out of pocket.
Tempting, yes, but anyone with a half-full brain cavity would almost certainly start asking questions before signing such paperwork, right? Well, maybe, but these sorts of tactics have spread among auto dealers, likely because they have proven effective.
The dealers named by the FTC include Billion Auto, Inc., in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Frank Myers AutoMaxx, LLC, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Key Hyundai of Manchester, LLC and Hyundai of Milford LLC, of Vernon and Milford, Connecticut and Ramey Motors, Inc., of Princeton, West Virginia.
The FTC’s wrist slap requires that for the next 20 years, the above dealers not run deceptive ads, keep copies of the ads they do run, and file reports with the FTC showing their compliance.
If they violate the FTC order, the dealers will be fined up to $16,000 for each infraction. Read all the details in the official press release , and while you’re there, check out an example of one of one of the dealers’ advertising handiwork as well.
If you’ve got that compact crossover itch that only something as sporting as the can scratch, you’re in luck. The smallest crossover is on sale now, and its online configurator tool is live.
Starting price is $20,695 plus a $795 destination charge, for a total of $21,490. That kind of cash will get you a front-drive CX-5 Sport with a six-speed manual. Opting for all-wheel-drive will force you to also take the six-speed automatic and bump the price to $24,140. (The manual transmission is not available with any of the higher trim levels, either.) Like most Mazda models, the Touring model is the next rung up the ladder, with prices starting at $24,690 for FWD and $25,940 for AWD. Grand Touring models are the most loaded CX-5 models, at $27,840 and $29,090, respectively.
We liked the CX-5 quite a bit when and look forward to getting some quality time behind the wheel of the actual production model soon. Click for the full pricing press release, then bounce on over to the configurator.
By all accounts, vehicle theft is down to some of the lowest levels in over 25 years. Even so, cars are still getting pilfered every day, and LoJack has gone through the trouble of crafting a detailed infographic displaying some of the more interesting information associated with the 10,251 LoJack-equipped vehicles that were stolen and then recovered last year. The company says that, of all vehicles equipped with the theft recovery system, 92 percent are brought back to their rightful owners. Last year, the most stolen and recovered 2011 model was the ubiquitous , while the took the top slot overall.
The oldest model saved from the clutches of thieves in 2011 was a 1948 Fleetline, while the priciest of them all was a worth $116,825. Not too shabby.
Not surprisingly, California led the list of states with the most stolen and recovered vehicles, with Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey fleshing out the top five. The full, expanded infographic can be seen .
Sorry, Phillips de Pury & Company, but you guys evidently had no business auctioning this car at a sale of contemporary art. Because no matter what the dynamic rap duo of Kanye West and Jay-Z did to it, this 2004 is, first and foremost, a used car. Clearly the art community has voted with its wallets – and decided that the vehicle’s value is about what you could make if you parted it out. Frankly, that’s sad.
For those that don’t remember, the Grammy Award-winning hit from Kanye’s 2011 album Watch The Throne. Despite its overt ugliness, the car certainly has provenance. (Did we mention that the song won a Grammy?) We only hope that whomever ponied up the paltry sum of $60,000 for the “Otis” is either a real music fan or someone who goes on to resell it at Barrett-Jackson or another car auction .
Be sure to of the “Otis” Maybach, and click to watch the music video.
has a hit on its hands with the trim, but for some reason the brand’s most popular crossover still hasn’t donned the signature chrome grille. That will change for the 2013 model year with the introduction of the .
The freshly minted Terrain Denali will of course feature a chrome front grille, 19-inch wheels (V6 model only), satin chrome accents, body color rocker panels and front and rear fascias, new headlight and taillights and a dual exhaust. The top Terrain will also receive a high-end interior, including a leather-wrapped steering wheel with mahogany wood accents, a soft-touch instrument panel with French stitching, Denali-embossed leather seats and illuminated Denali sill plates.
The biggest news for the Denali is the introduction of a more powerful 3.6-liter V6, which will replace the 3.0-liter V6 across the Terrain lineup. The larger V6 will output 301 horsepower and 272 pound-feet of torque, or 37 hp and 50 lb-ft more than the 3.0-liter. And if you’re thinking fuel economy will suffer as a result, think again. The added power will result in the same fuel economy as the torque-deficient 3.0-liter, with 24 miles power gallon on the highway and 17 mpg in the city.
Fuel-thrifty buyers can purchase the Terrain Denali with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder, which outputs 182 horsepower and 172 lb-ft of torque and boasts 32 mpg on the highway. The four-cylinder-equipped Denali will feature slightly smaller 18-inch wheels. All-wheel drive will also be available with both engines.
The Terrain Denali will feature a cadre of top tech amenities too, including , Bluetooth, Pandora and Stitcher integration and iPod controls with Gracenote tech. This Denali also utilizes advanced safety features including lane departure and forward collision warnings and blind spot radar tech to look for vehicles the driver may not see.
Pricing will be released later this year, so for now check out the official word from GMC below and additional images in our gallery.
We imagine that many a Russian Lada has been compared to a ticking time bomb – which is not to say that there aren’t any good Ladas out in the wild, of course – but the example you’ll see in the video pasted below takes the cake. It is, quite literally, an Improvised Explosive Device.
If an exploding Lada alone isn’t enough reason for you to watch, perhaps the reaction of the passengers is more of a draw. Their reaction to the impending doom is so quick that it’s almost as if the two occupants were just waiting for the engine of this poor machine to reach its glorious and destructive demise.
See what we’re talking about in the video pasted .
![76918 2004 maybach 57 otis 1 opt Auctions: Jay Z and Kanyes wrecked Maybach fetches just $60,000 at auction [w/video]](http://theautoblog.ru/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/76918_2004-maybach-57-otis-1-opt.jpg "Auctions: Jay Z and Kanyes wrecked Maybach fetches just $60,000 at auction [w/video]")
