Mini’s Mission Control gets a voice transplant – Click above to watch video
Remember the in the special edition Camden – the one that was obscenely annoying? There are something like 1,300 audio phrases within Mission Control, and Mini gives owners the audio files on an SD card. That means you can record your own phrases in new voices… or use voices that are already out there… like K.I.T.T.’s.
Automobile swapped the three limey characters for that of the Knight Industries Two Thousand, so taking the car out of Sport mode gets the warning, “Don’t touch turbo boost. Something tells me you should touch turbo boost.” That’s more like it. For the rest of the Frankenstein results, check out the video .
There’s no denying that has made our lives easier. There’s always a difference between knowing where something is on a map and seeing the surrounding landmarks with your own virtual eyes, and Google Maps has gone a long way toward bringing the world to our living room. Of course, has also helped to remind us of just how entertaining the human race can be. Creative souls the world over have staged pranks – both elaborate and otherwise – to have themselves immortalized in the annals of Googledom.
While we’ve seen our fair share of superheroes, unique vehicles and the like, our hats have to go off to the crew in the animated GIF seen . There is no elaborate set up or costume, just two guys who really wanted to be on Google StreetView. Go ahead – see it for yourself.
Thought the battles between and the were over? Think again. Toyota President Jim Lentz was back on Capitol Hill Thursday to discuss , and it appears some representatives are still looking for blood. The Detroit Free Press reports that Michigan Congressman Bart Stupek (D) accused Toyota of worrying more about dodging lawsuits and discrediting Southern Illinois University professor David Gilbert than the thousands of unintended acceleration claims that have made headlines the past few months.
Lentz countered that Toyota has spent thousands of hours testing its electronics, and that it had hired California engineering firm Exponent to provide an independent investigation of the systems in question. Toyota has also given more power over quality issues to North American executives.
To help with consumer confidence going forward, the Japanese automaker is installing brake override systems in all new models beginning at the end of 2010, and Lentz added that the company has already repaired 3.5 million of the 5.6 million vehicles involved in the recall.
U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif then asked Exponent to provide documentation of its investigation, and the company replied that it had little or no documentation of its testing. Waxman went on the offensive, saying that he can find no basis for Toyota’s assertions of extensive electronic defect testing, adding “Toyota’s assertions may be good public relations, but they don’t appear to be true.”
Ferrari 599 HY-KERS – Click above for high-res image gallery
In the Eighties, you wanted your MTV. Now that you’re a little older and a lot richer, you want your naturally aspirated V12 Italian cars, and both and plan to deliver. The raging bulls at Sant’ Agata are incorporating more lightweight materials into their cars in order to get over emissions hurdles, but Ferrari has different plans, likely including a road-going iteration of its kinetic energy recovery system, as seen fitted to its concept car at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year.
According to Autocar’s quote from Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa, “Hybrid means we can protect the V12,” suggesting Ferrari believes its unassisted 12-cylinder will live on. Autocar’s theory is that the next Enzo could see its V12 paired with an electric motor to keep the government watchdogs happy. Of course, this contradicts when, after speaking with Felisa, it wrote, “Felisa also hinted that the new Ferrari Enzo will be powered by a direct-injection twin-turbo V8 when it is launched in 2012.”
It could be that Ferrari will use a naturally aspirated V12, only not in the Enzo – the F40 was a V8 while the Testarossa/512 received the big-engine treatment. Frankly, we’re all for a hybrid Enzo, though. Provided they can keep the weight down, a silent supercar at low speeds with 600-plus horses that could bolt at a half-second’s notice would make the most awesome getaway car ever.
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Live Photos: Noah Joseph / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc. [Source: ]
Car & Driver has begun assembling pieces of fact and hypothesis to come up with a picture of the next-generation MkVII . Word is that a larger, edgier, lower and wider evolution of the bread-and-butter hatch will show up earlier than planned in order to make a better case for itself against an up-market Polo and to take advantage of cost savings.
The savings will come from the use of Group’s new modular platform, which could eventually be a workhorse for 60 different models throughout the company’s various brands. That would eliminate 16 of the current platforms it needs to use. Sixty might seem like a large number at first, but the new Golf is being prepped to fit new powerplants including electric and , and that will quickly add branches to the family tree.
The interior will be replete with tech as well, with “higher-quality materials” joining an eight-inchtouchscreen with iPad-like operability that controls navigation, audio, and Internet access. We’ve seen a prototype of VW’s GLORIA touchscreen system and it should be impressive. A note of caution, though: C/D starts the piece off with the note that VW CEO Martin Winterkorn wants to make VW bigger than Toyota. All we’ll say is we know what happened when Toyota wanted the top spot, so please, VW be careful.
2010 Hennessey HPE800 Twin-Turbo Camaro – Click above to watch the video
How much horsepower is enough? Many would say that the 725 horsepower in the should have enough oomph to quell just about anyone’s desires for straight line speed, especially for a street car. Then again, we’re talking about a car built by John Hennessey, who surely spends every waking minute concocting ideas on how to get every last horsepower out of cars. His latest creation, the HPE800 Twin-Turbo Camaro, puts out an amazing 815 horsepower and 788 pound-feet of torque thanks to twin turbochargers strapped to a 415ci stroker motor and a host of other upgrades.
Not enough for you? Hennessey will build you an HPE1000 version complete with a twin-turbo 427ci LSX block and just about their entire catalog of go-fast parts for Chevy’s musclecar. They recently strapped one down to a dyno, and the resulting numbers are just plain ridiculous: 847 horsepower and 801 lb-ft torque at the rear wheels. Watch the video to see for yourself.
American touring motorcycles, including the Road King from or the , are built for the kind of vast stretches of wide-open roadways America is known for, and such machines are perfect to watching the miles roll by in open-air comfort. For those looking to add some additional sport to their touring rides, though, Triumph has cooked up something that may very well be of interest.
The British motorcycle company has seen fit to update its Sprint sport tourer for the 2011 model year with a 1050cc inline-triple powerplant that puts out 130 horses, five more than before. Anti-lock brakes are standard, as are 8.2-gallon saddlebags and a 12-volt power port. Optional amenities include heated grips, a taller windscreen, gel seats and a large top case for additional storage.
Styling is slightly revised as well, with a smoother fairing, new optics up front and the addition of a single low-mount exhaust in lieu of the previous underseat system. For whatever reason, the name of the bike is now the Sprint GT, not ST. Check it out for yourself in our high-res image gallery below.
2011 Mazda2 – click above for high-res image gallery
You only have two more months to wait for the , but you can start practicing your mixing and matching right now with the newly freed dealer order guide. The 2011 Mazda2 starts at $13,980 plus a $750 destination charge and goes all the way up to $16,980, including destination charges for the top-flight automatic Touring model. That last figure is actually $945 more than the larger , so if you might want to crunch some numbers if you’re pondering going high-end, but even if you do, you’re still looking pretty sweet against competitors like the , and .
On top of the a 100-horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that comes with the car, you can play around with options such as fog lights, portable Garminnavigation, a Motorola hands-free device and a kayak carrier. Check out the guide in our gallery below and let the configuration games begin.
As Europe’s second largest automaker, it’s no great secret that France’s PSA has got the Group squarely in its sights. As if the on-track rivalry between Peugeot and in Le Mans racing weren’t enough, the Lion brand recently launched its offensive against the likes of the Vokswagen Scirocco and Audi TT in the form of the . Now the French are taking another shot, this time against the Volkswagen GTI with… their own GTi.
Not only is the name the same (save the discrepancy of the lower-case I), but the specs follow a similar formula as well: The VW packs a 2.0-liter turbocharged four with 200 horsepower. The Peugeot? A 1.6-liter turbocharged (and direct-injected) four with – you guessed it – 200 horsepower. Even torque is also on a (relatively) level playing field, with the Volks offering 207 lb-ft and the Pug 202. The heavier Peugeot, however, takes 7.7 seconds to get up to highway speed, compared to the seven seconds flat it takes the Volkswagen.
The engine in the 308 GTi – co-developed with – is the same that debuted on the RCZ, this time powering a five-door hatch and mated to a six-speed manual. There are other suspension, aerodynamic and trim upgrades to differentiate the 308 GTi from its bread-and-butter stablemates, more of which you can read about in the press release after the jump and view in the gallery below. The ultimate question is, after listening to its customers and doing an about-face on its plans to get out of the hot hatch game altogether, does the Peugeot deserve the GTi badge? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Pontiac’s throwback appeal to it workers – Click above to watch videos
“What Americans want to know is you are doing your job.” That’s what Pontiac had to say to its plant workers with two videos made in the Seventies, when the brand that once built excitement was building up concern over foreign car sales. The message is a simple pep talk at the highest level, but with a riptide of martial tones: if Americans know “you’re fussy about installing wiring,” then they’ll keep buying Pontiacs and we can, essentially, repel the menace.
Obviously, it didn’t work. You can have a look at the failed (and at times, startlingly xenophobic) calls-to-action in the videos .
[Source: via ]
: Vintage Pontiac film teaches Americans to fear foreign cars
We’ve seen our fair share of over the years. At this point, it takes something truly rare and truly unique to catch our eye. The car in question has to be more than four wheels and a beautifully engineered engine, which explains why we’re all riled over word that a 1935 3 ½ Liter Saloon will be auctioned off by . Yes, the car itself is something special. It wears a unique Flying B hood ornament – one of only three ever created – and has extensive documentation following nearly every mile on the odometer, but that’s not what makes this particular lot so interesting.
You see, the car is being sold along with complete ownership of Freestone & Webb – the company that originally built the Bentley’s special body way back when. The company is being auctioned off with neither assets nor debt, so the winning buyer will essentially have rights to the name alone. The coachbuilder hasn’t built anything since closing its doors for good in 1958.
The Bentley and Freestone & Webb will be sold alongside a total of 65 other classics on June 2. Make the jump for the press release.
Eager to demonstrate that it hasn’t forgotten its “Ultimate Driving Machine” roots among all the front-drive city cars and crossover abominations, is rumored to be working on a new supercar to cap its lineup. Said to be a pet project of chief executive Norbert Reithofer, the tentatively-dubbed Z Spyder Stradale could serve as a successor to the Z8 roadster while demonstrating the company’s technologies in a new package.
Spyder Stradale was a name given to a special version of the ’40s-era 328 MM (similar to the Buegelfalte model recently ), and follows the likes of the and the in employing evocative Italian nomenclature to “sex up” the otherwise conventional alphanumeric nameplates typically used by the German automaker. The form, meanwhile, reportedly calls for a long hood, short rear deck and low-slung seating position – not unlike the production , then. Carbon fiber construction would figure large in the vehicle’s body panels, possibly including a two-piece retractable hard-top made of the lightweight woven material and active aerodynamics.
Power could come from a variety of sources – including a V8 or even rescuing the V10 engine from the outgoing – coupled to such Efficent Dynamics features as start/stop engine management, regenerative braking and even a mild hybrid system incorporating an electric motor into a dual-clutch transmission with as many as nine gears.
Sources suggest a debut in concept form at the Frankfurt Motor Show next year, with a possible market introduction by 2014. This all sounds mighty promising, but with the current economic climate, we can’t help but wonder if the Spyder Stradale would be destined to serve strictly as a show car. Thanks for the tip, pshinmd!
London’s new Routemaster bus – Click above to watch a virtual tour
Northern Ireland’s Wrightbus has officially won the contract to build London’s next double-decker bus – the new Routemaster – and this is what it will look like. This rendering of the final version comes from the , drawn up by Capoco Design. That drawing was given to Wrightbus and made ready for actual use on the streets of The City.
Although it’s roughly ten feet longer than the old Routemaster, it seats two fewer people, but those 62 folks will have a better time of it getting in and out with three points of entry. Also improved are means of accessing all areas of the bus with two staircases inside, and extensive use of glass aims to keep the behemoth from appearing so behemoth-y.
Having been blessed by London Mayor Boris Johnson himself, the new Routemaster will be showing up on London roads in 2012. to look around it for now.
Katarina Witt and the BMW Environment Test Center – Click above for high-res image gallery
has an Environment Test Center (ETC) that can test a car in a variety of environments – sun, ice, snow, rain – all of them indoors. As great as that would be for parties, they appear to put it to actual work, testing the engine and cooling systems in roadsters like the in 113 degrees Fahrenheit. The facility can also get down to 14 degrees, conjure wind up to 150 miles per hour, and even mix it up with snow and wind and rain.
Icemistress Katarina Witt dropped by to take a tour, and while they did make a bit of ice and snow for her, they also took a lot of simulated sunny day pics and made a little movie. Follow the jump to watch the video (auf Deutsch), and have a look at the photos in our high-res gallery below.
2011 Infiniti QX56 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Ask any braniac elementary school student what happened to the dinosaurs, and they’ll tell you they turned into birds. While the mechanics are a bit more complicated than a momma T-Rex hatching a brood of yellow finches, modern science would seem to agree with the concept. When we were in school, the common perception was that those massive lizards parted ways with terra firma courtesy of a jumbo-sized meteor smack. Our Earth Science books called it a mass extinction, and they accompanied the definition with helpful illustrations that depicted contemplative Brontosaurus and Triceratops herds looking off into the distance as a chunk of orange sky plummeted toward the horizon.
So you can’t really blame us for thinking that the SUV would follow a similar natural path. When fuel prices shot up, many rejoiced at the thought of global body-on-frame extinction. This was the event some had been patiently waiting for since the high-riding people movers first supplanted the minivan as the family cruiser of choice. And while we’ve certainly seen weaker species succumb to the heat of pressure from more efficient breeds, the strong continue to soldier on, slowly adapting to a world grown hostile to anything big and thirsty. If you believe , that’s exactly what the 2011 QX56 has done – evolved.
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Photos by Zach Bowman / Copyright (C)2009 Weblogs, Inc.
Well, look what the interwebs have dragged in. has released a flood of new photos of the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee doing manly things like fording rivers and blazing trails across the untamed desert. We approve. The company also turned out a tasty press release, complete with a few details on the newest version of Jeep’s luxury utility. We no longer need to wonder about what the Grand Cherokee was doing . Chances are Chrysler was attempting to see just how big of a difference the truck’s reworked fully independent suspension and stiffer chassis would handle a serious flogging.
There’s no surprise in hearing that the base Grand Cherokee will feature the new . The new powerplant should up fuel economy should return 11 percent better fuel economy than what’s currently available, upping the highway figure to 23 mpg. Throw in the standard tow rating of 7,200 pounds and suddenly you’ve got an SUV worth looking into.
Expect two-wheel drive models to carry an MSRP of $30,995, with the four-wheel drive variant setting you back another $2,000. for the full press release and video.
Team Polizei and the Battle of Rome – Click above to watch video
It’s been five years since and took on the infamous 2005 Gumball Rally in their equally sinister . Through the blessed passage of time, the statute of limitations on most of the infractions the team accumulated during the race have lifted, meaning that the rest of the world can now safely enjoy/be enraged by Roy’s battle with a blue Porsche 997 X50 as they race toward Rome. The video after the jump is the first part of a multi-part series that covers the 100 mile race at speeds of better than 120 mph.
Now, here’s the thing. We’ve been known to push on a vehicle a time or two and we have plenty of faith in Roy’s driving skills, but the clip after the jump should serve as a blatant reminder of just how stupid races like the Gumball are. As easy as it is to get your car on a proper race track, there’s zero excuse for engaging in this kind of lead-follow on public streets. We know Roy’s a folk hero among those who prefer putting the skinny pedal down and that we aren’t going to be gaining any friends by denouncing his former activities, but those that participate in racing on public streets are playing the worst kind of numbers game. Avoidable tragedies like what happened in the are why Roy himself abandoned the sport in favor of .
to see the video. Thanks for the tip, Jason Bordeaux!
It may be aging and unrefined, but a week with the 300C SRT8 reveals that if you’re in the market for a Challenger but want four doors, this behemoth fits the bill.
While Nissan is going head-long into the EV world, its crosstown rivals at Honda are far more skeptical about the long-term viability of electric vehicles.
Pebble Beach will once again play host to new product from Infiniti, and this year’s auto extravaganza includes two new production models set to go on sale this fall.
Also of interest:
website reveals U.S. pricing for 2011 Cayenne, MSRP starts at $46,700
Jockey’s 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible – Click above to enlarge
Here’s a fun little fact for you: When the economy began tanking in late 2008, sales of men’s underwear followed, plummeting nearly 12 percent. In fact, male undergarments are one of Alan Greenspan’s key market indicators. Why? If you don’t have a job, suddenly outdated undies are the least of your concerns. How about another one? On average, men only buy underwear for 17 years of their lives. No, your grandfather isn’t wearing the same boxers he picked in Hanoi, but typical guys only buy their own unmentionables from age 19-36. Otherwise, the duty falls on the heads of mothers, girlfriends and wives.
And why do you care? Because both of those tidbits go a long way toward explaining why Jockey, a company that specializes in men’s underwear, seems to think most Americans would want to go on a road trip with . Don’t get us wrong. Clooney seems like a stand up guy, and we certainly wouldn’t turn down having a beer with the actor-turned-philanthropist if the opportunity arose, but we could probably come up with a few other persons of interest when it comes to hopping in the car and heading for the horizon. We’re thinking the results of the survey may have been slightly skewed to the female end of the spectrum.
The info also keys us in to why Jockey is offering everyone and their cousin the chance to win a gorgeous 1965 Convertible to go on their very own all-American road trip. The car will be towing a small Airstream from coast to coast to stir up interest, so you can either catch it along the way or . Here’s hoping there’s a 289 under the hood. Hit the jump for the PR, and be sure to leave us your pick for a road trip companion in ‘Comments.’
Geely Panda strutting its stuff – Click above to watch video
We hate to say this, but until now, we didn’t realize it was physically possible to do a stoppie in a car. We thought launching a vehicle onto its front rollers was generally left to the two-wheeled crowd, but a new video of the Panda has officially proven otherwise. The company has let loose a video of a fleet of the tiny cutesy hatchbacks being flogged in the best way possible. Want to see a Panda do in reverse? No problem. How about cruise along on two wheels? You got it.
We have no idea what the text in between the shots of the cars suffering the kind of abuse that only stunt drivers can inflict and video of the assembly line says, but that’s okay. We understand the cute-as-a-button Panda paw print, and, as you all know, hooning is a universal language. Besides, it makes us think of and various Saab stunt team exhibitions, and that can’t be all bad. to see the mad skills for yourself. Thanks for the tip, JPHyundai!
