Yes, we obsessively cover the auto industry, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy other modes of transportation. We may even get downright giddy when two different worlds collide, like for example, when a boat is powered by a large automobile engine. must feel the same way because the automaker is helping two Tennessee schools bring a maritime project to life.
Infiniti’s North American headquarters is located in Franklin, Tennessee, and the automaker is awfully proud of the state in which it resides. Infiniti is also quite proud of the 5.6-liter V8 engine that sits under the hoods of both the and . How to combine those two loves? Donate a QX56 to two local schools, which will use the mighty mill to add some serious horsepower to their budding boat.
Both the Tennessee Technical Center-Nashville and Nashville State Community College have automotive tech programs. Infiniti provided the guts of its full-size luxobarge so that the students could learn how to apply the powerplant to a non-automotive application. Sounds kind of odd, but makes perfect sense when you dig a little deeper. These students are taking a modern (read: complicated) engine, and making it work in an environment in which it was not intended to perform.
So far, the team has the engine separated from the rest of the vehicle, and the rest of the QX56 will stay with Tennessee Tech for continued learning applications. The 400-horsepower engine is being prepped for nautical duty, and the ultimate result will see it powering a luxury boat. Infiniti isn’t stopping with the engine, and is in fact supplying a Bose audio system, semi-aniline leather seats, XM satellite radio with NavWeather and, lest we forget, the brand’s signature analog clock will find its way in there as well.
The people behind Dragtimes.info love sharing videos where powerful machines are paired in head-to-head straight-line automotive combat. Recently, a unique face-off occurred when a lined up at the tree with a in the other lane. Both vehicles are far from stock, put down their power via all four wheels and snap off the line as if they were whips cracked by Henry Walton Jones, Jr himself.
Both drivers have a mile to go before they reach the finish line. That distance will be covered in less than 30 seconds. to see who’s faster.
What’s the difference between 56.2 and 54.5 miles per gallon? Way more than 1.7 mpg, that’s for sure.
is reporting that the Obama White House is dialing down the proposed 2025 fuel economy requirement to 54.5 mpg. Earlier, we had heard that would be the new target for 2025 – then that got slashed to 56.2. The numbers could, of course, change again, but this plan would effectively mean passenger cars will need to become, on average, five percent more fuel efficient every year between 2017 and 2025. Trucks will be allowed to get cleaner slower: three percent improvements each year between 2017 and 2021 and then five percent annually until 2025.
One of the contentious issues here is whether the higher fuel economy level will help or hurt the economy and the auto industry. The Auto Alliance, which represents most major automakers, says that the OEMs are already putting fuel efficient vehicles on the market. There are many voices, though, that don’t want the government to keep lowering the target. , for example, is an advertising campaign targeting lawmakers in D.C. and trying to push them to go high.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a study last fall that claimed a five-percent annual increase in fuel economy would drive up the cost of a new vehicle by $2,100. The Consumer Federation of America counters that a 56-mpg threshold would “save consumers over $6,000 per vehicle in gasoline costs over the vehicle’s lifetime” (details ).
So, that 1.7-mpg drop contains a pretty big political fight. The number is moving in the direction that the automakers want, but whether they will accept it as low enough is not yet clear.
We’ve been racking up some serious miles on our . Since its delivery in March, we’ve added nearly 11,000 miles to the odometer, and after that many miles of commuting, road tripping and cargo-shlepping, the interior of the big was starting to get a bit dusty. During the month of July, we treated the to some much-needed TLC.
In addition to an at a local do-it-yourself wash and vacuum station, our Equus went in for its second oil change. After our , we opted to just drop the car off at the dealership this time around, mostly because of timing issues on our behalf. Submitting a request for Equus service with an Apple iPad is still as easy as ever, and the dealership request for an appointment went flawlessly.
11,000 miles might not seem like enough time to accumulate lots of wear and tear on a vehicle’s cabin, but upon closer inspection, our Equus is starting to show signs of aging.
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Episode #240 of the Autoblog Podcast is ready, and this week Chris, Dan and Executive Editor Chris Paukert hold down the fort. We start with the 2012 Honda CR-V Concept and spend a while talking about its sharp new styling before moving on to ponder what the now-confirmed Chevrolet Cruze diesel means for fuel economy and fun when behind the wheel. Our last news topic is bending frames on some Ford SVT Raptor pickups before we move on to your feedback. Your questions and comments power the last third of the podcast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our , thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #240:
In the Autoblog Garage
2012 BMW X3
2011 Mazda RX-8 GT
2011 Kia Forte SX
2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
Hosts: , , Runtime: 01:15:44
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The compact pickup market in the U.S. has been languishing for more than a decade, but that doesn’t mean that a fuel-efficient truck with a small footprint doesn’t have a place in the States. has been watching the market closely and thinks that it could make a case for bringing a pint-sized pickup to North America.
When asked what could be coming down the pipeline in the next few years, a senior exec at Suzuki told Autoblog that the automaker could import a compact truck to the U.S. based on the next generation Suzuki Jimny. The Jimny – also known as the Samurai in the States – has continued to chug along outside of North America, and with the next iteration due to arrive in three years’ time, Suzuki could bring the body-on-frame SUV to the U.S. with a truck bed.
But the problem with compact pickups is cost. The might make a compelling case for itself, but when it’s only a few grand less than a larger, more practical full-sizer, buyers tend to go big and go home with an .
So to bring a pickup to the States, Suzuki would have to not only have get the pricing right, but nail both fuel economy and equipment – all while turning a profit in the process. Let’s hope that if they pull the trigger, they decide to have some fun with it and make it look like the shown above. After all, the -based pickup has been on the market since 2009, and it hasn’t exactly made a splash.
The moment of truth is upon McLaren this weekend. After rolling out its MP4-12C road car to positive reviews, the racing team turned automaker is turning itself back into a racing team with the new McLaren GT division and its MP4-12C GT3 – the first GT racer from the Woking, UK outfit since the celebrated F1 GTR.
After launching the new GT3, McLaren went back to the drawing board and came out with a series of updates based on their preliminary testing, and along the way, took 20 orders from a variety of independent racing teams for next year. That’s all well and good, but what really matters is whether or not the car can perform. And we’re about to find out this weekend when a trio of MP4-12C GT3s debut at the 24 Hours of Spa at the famous race track in Belgium.
Truth be told, this isn’t the first time the MP4-12C GT3 – try saving that three times fast – has driven at Spa, having joined the British GT Championship there earlier this month. The solitary entry placed 12th in the first race and a solid 4th in the second, but those results apparently didn’t count towards anything, as it was an exposition entry.
This time, however, McLaren GT will be back with three cars and ten drivers out to prove what the new car can do. One car will feature McLaren’s own factory test driver Chris Goodwin, another with Andrew Kirkaldy, head of the CRS racing team that formed the outfit together with McLaren, and a third with VonRyan Racing, one of the factory’s first customers. We’ll be keeping an eye out to see how they do. Follow the jump for the full press blast and scope out the high-res image gallery for a closer look at the machinery.
Last year, we , and quite frankly, it frightened us. As Jonny Lieberman said at the time, “we simply weren’t prepared for the fury of the V700.”
Of course, adding a little under 150 horsepower to the CTS-V is just getting started for Hennessey. The Texas tuner has just released a preview of its upcoming Twin-Turbo CTS-V Coupe model packing no less than 1,000 horsepower. The heart of the car is a 427 cubic-inch LS V8 featuring upgraded internals like forged low compression pistons, forged steel connecting rods, forged steel crank and ARP main studs and head bolts. A set of dual ball bearing turbochargers packs atmosphere into the combustion chambers, assisted by high-flow cylinder heads. Additional upgrades include items like 15-inch carbon ceramic brakes, a fortified transmission, lowered suspension and Hennessey’s CarbonAero widebody kit. As a bonus, buyers will also receive a one day track experience with retired General Motors test driver supreme John Heinricy.
Hennessey plans to build just 12 of the V1000 Twin-Turbos, and pricing has not yet been released. You can view the full list of V1000 features and upgrades after the jump.
As we continue to pull the daily sheets from our Word of the Day calendar and accountants are busy counting the days of their fiscal calendars, the pencil pushers at and can rest easy for a moment because they just finished compiling the numbers for the second quarter.
Ford earned a net income of $2.4 billion in Q2, which is actually $201 million less than it had raked in by this time last year. The net income was affected by a reduction in staff, various dealership actions, pension settlements in Belgium and the move to . The automaker enters the rest of the year with $32.2 billion in liquid assets, which will come in handy as Ford looks to expand its market share around the globe.
Chrysler as gone in a different direction than Ford for the second quarter of 2011. Compared to Q2 last year, the automaker is up 30 percent with net income of $13.7 billion. Chrysler’s numbers should continue to grow as it releases new or redesigned models, and has owed to the United States and Canadian governments.
Ready to take a deeper dive into the quarterly earnings for both automakers? Click past the jump for the full financial reports.
says big things are in store for the redesigned , and the vehicle is nearly ready to show its face to the world. The mid-sized sedan isn’t quite ready yet, however, and our spy photographers have captured the camo-wearing four-doors making their way around the desert.
We’ve been promised a more dynamic looking Camry the next time out, and the angles cut around the nose look sharper than recent generations. Still, it’s just speculation at this point, because that camouflage is doing a pretty good job of hiding what lies beneath. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too much longer to see the updated sedan, as it’s slated to hit dealer lots this fall.
There are a few key ways for an illegal immigrant to get deported. Anything to do with making or selling drugs is the number one way to get kicked out of the country, with 45,003 cases in the last fiscal year alone. That’s up nearly one third from 2008, but drug offenses may not be number one for long thanks to a surge in drunken driving-related deportations.
According to the Associated Press, drunk driving-related deportations have nearly tripled from 10,851 cases in 2008 to 28,635 in the fiscal year ending September, 2010. Another 13,028 illegal aliens were deported for other serious traffic violations – three times the 4,527 offenders deported in 2008. The spike in drunken driving deportations is a part of a larger influx of illegals being deported for various reasons. In total, 393,000 non-U.S. citizens were shown the door, with half of those deported for criminal offenses.
The message here? Drinking and driving is always a bad move, but for illegals getting behind the wheel after excessive drinking, getting busted can mean a whole lot more than a few hefty fines.
With the set to launch in , now’s the perfect time to dive into the interim results from the cars’ trials in London. Here are some details straight from :
Average journey distance has been 7.3 miles, with 59 percent of all journeys covering between 3.1 and 12.4 miles
Average speed has been 17.7 miles per hour, with 69 percent of journeys at speeds less than 18.6 mph
Initial fuel consumption data indicates performance is 27 percent better than an equivalent diesel
Average recharging time is 72 minutes
Where drivers have access to a domestic charge point, more frequent recharging occurs
Twenty-two percent of drivers have even been able to drive further than the official 12.5-mile range in EV mode.
Electric-powered driving so far has accounted for one third of all miles driven in the PHEV demonstration.
Working in partnership with EDF Energy, Toyota leased 20 third-generation Prius plug-ins to London-based businesses and organizations to monitor vehicle performance and recharging patterns. Details of journey times, speeds, distances, fuel usage and recharging habits have been logged and analyzed to compile useable data. The three-year trial kicked off last summer, meaning that these interim results are from less than one year of real-world use.
is urging its dealers to ratchet up a new online buying system, according to Automotive News. The program borrows elements from the Amazon retail experience to allow car buyers to configure their vehicle as they see fit, find it at local dealership, secure financing and make the buy at a no-haggle price. Scion even wants the cars to be able to be delivered to the consumer’s home, though that doesn’t mean that physical dealerships are going anywhere any time soon. The report says that Scion won’t force its dealers to operate exclusively online. Right now, the projects is merely in its concept phase.
According to Jack Hollis, Scion vice president, the idea sprung from the fact that consumers already shop and purchase everything from homes to boats online. The VP says that cars are simply the next logical step, especially given the brand’s “Gen Y” demographic. That’s despite the fact that most studies indicate that the large majority of car shoppers aren’t into electronically interacting with dealers. Automotive News reports that 65-70 percent of car shoppers never contact the dealer they purchase from before walking through the doors.
If you were surprised when started producing SUVs and four-door sedans, wait until you get a look at these. Following recent bicycles created by (or for) the likes of , , and , Zuffenhausen’s merchandizing division PorscheDesign has just added a pair of new bikes to its Driver’s Selection range.
The Porsche Bike S is built around an aluminum frame with an 11-speed toothed belt drive system, while the Porsche Bike RS (short for Rennsport) features a carbon fiber frame and 20-speed Shimano XTR gear system. Both pack 29″ wheels and hydraulic Magura disc brakes, and an individually-numbered anti-theft label fitted under the paint.
In short, perfect for tossing in the back of your Hybrid and heading out to your favorite bike path for a little self-propelled wheeled enjoyment. for the full press release, scope out the high-res images in the gallery and follow this link to the for more.
Jim O’Donnell, who has helmed the BMW’s North American operations since 2008, is planning to retire later this year. He will hand over his reins to seasoned executive Ludwig Willisch. O’Donnell has helped raise sales output in his many years in control, and is currently ahead of year-to-date while on pace to pass for the first time since 1997.
Willisch is certainly no stranger to the brand himself, having started his BMW career by running the sales office in Germany. He later added more sales locations under his belt before taking on sales operations for all of Europe and Japan. Now, Ludwig Willisch will take over as CEO of BMW North America on October 1st of 2011.
Our guess would be that Jim O’Donnell will take over his local golf course and the backyard grille as he moves into the comfortable position of well-earned retirement.
The only thing the car crowd loves more than a good heist movie is a good flick about getaway drivers. It’s a simple formula that mixes one troubled soul running from his past to try and live the straight and narrow with a damsel in distress and one last job. It’s what made ’s The Hire series so compelling and the franchise so addicting. Now Ryan Gosling, along with the beautiful Christina Hendricks and Carey Mulligan have teamed up with director Nicholas Winding Refn for their own spin on the Hollywood staple: Drive.
The movie casts Gosling as a wheel-man turned race car driver who opts to help his neighbors settle some old debts. A double-cross ensues and before you know it, there’s a being chased down a freeway backwards by a , Gosling threatening to shove a bullet in some guys head via a carpenter’s hammer and Hendricks looking, well, like only she can look.
We’re sold, even if it means having to watch a ChevroletNova meet its untimely end. for the Drive red-band trailer.
America cho-cho-chooses the four-cylinder engine as its preferred means of locomotion. In fact, the four banger has been the favored choice since taking the lead over six-cylinder engines a few years back. The four-versus-six debate was neck in neck back in 2005, when six-cylinder engines accounted for 43 percent of the market. Now, it’s the four pots that own 43 percent of the market.
There’s no mystery behind the shift in consumer buying patterns. Fuel prices are higher, four cylinder engines keep getting better and the economy continues to remain flat.
It’s also no surprise that a the eight cylinder engine has also fallen out of favor with new car shoppers. In 2005, a V8 could be found powering one in three new vehicles. Today, that powerplant has fallen to powering one in six. Time, as they say, marches on…
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We record Episode #240 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and it goes out live at the same time if you can’t wait until Tuesday. Check out our discussion topics below and chime in to help determine what else we’ll talk about this evening. You can subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast if you haven’t already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our (audio only) channel at 10PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #240
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and The Braun Corporation have partnered to provide a unique wedding present to a very special bride. A little over a year ago, was celebrating her bachelorette party when she was pushed into a swimming pool. When she fell, Friedman broke her C6 vertebra and became a quadriplegic in an instant. After 14 months of hospitals, physical therapy and daunting medical bills, Friedman and her fiancé finally tied the knot on July 22.
While the bride and her family were preparing for the wedding, Toyota and Braun, one of the leading manufacturers of , lent Friedman a vehicle to help out. Before that, her mother had to carry her in and out of the family’s SUV. What Friedman didn’t know was that Toyota was planning to surprise the newlyweds with an accessible of their very own.
The new vehicle has opened up a new level of comfort and independence, and Friedman says that she can’t wait to learn to drive on her own next. While most of us would have a hard time facing Friedman’s reality, the young woman has maintained a positive outlook throughout her ordeal that’s as inspirational as it is amazing. We wish Friedman and her husband, Chis Chapman, the best. for the press release.
Make no mistake about it, ladies and gents: The South is NASCAR country. It just also happens to run clean through the Bible Belt. And if we had a nickel for every time we saw racin’ and Jesus crossing paths, well… we’d have ourselves a whole bunch of nickels!
NASCAR races often start with a little prayer delivered by a local pastor, thanking the Good Lord for this, that and the other. But this pastor is something else. Joining a color guard from the U.S. Army recruiting battalion at the Nashville Superspeedway for the Federated Autoparts 300 this past weekend, Pastor Joe Nelms of Family Baptist Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, thanked our Creator for everything good in NASCAR… and a few more things, while he was at it.
Trust us, watch this video and you’ll be a believer.
