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Chrysler Group had nothing but good news to share this morning as it has reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2012. The headline-hogging number is that the automaker’s first quarter profit quadrupled from $116 million a year ago to $473 million this year. All that was on the back of U.S. sales that increased 39 percent year-over-year. The rise in sales also resulted in Chrysler Group increasing its market share in the U.S. from 9.2 to 11.2 percent.

With such an impressive first quarter, Chrysler is targeting an equally impressive year. Its forecast for profit in 2012 has been set at $1.5 billion, while last year it earned just $183 million.

Here are the rest of Chrysler’s first quarter financial highlights:

• Net revenue for the quarter was $16.4 billion, up 25 percent from $13.1 billion last year
• Has $1.3 billion in free cash flow, ended the quarter with $11.3 billion in cash, up from $9.9 billion last year
• Net industrial debt was reduced to $1.3 billion from $3.4 billion last year
• Worldwide vehicle shipments for the quarter were 607,000, up 25 percent from 485,000 last year
• Fleet sales were 31% of total sales, flat versus Q1 2011
• Highest Canadian market share of 15 percent, first time ever
• International sales of Chrysler Group vehicles rose 80 percent to 67k

Continue reading Chrysler Group reports quadrupled Q1 profits on U.S. sales increase

Chrysler Group reports quadrupled Q1 profits on U.S. sales increase

Say what you will, but in this business you’re nobody until you have your own watch line. Ferrari has several, Bentley teams up with Breitling, Aston Martin partners with Jaeger-LeCoultre, Bugatti with Parmigiani Fleurier… the list goes on and on, and now includes one more: Carroll Shelby and David Yurman.

The collaboration was forged over the timepiece you see here, created to accompany the 950-horsepower Shelby 1000 unveiled at the New York Auto Show just last month. The David Yurman Limited Edition Shelby 1000 timepiece features a Swiss-made Valjoux 7753 automatic chronograph in a 43.5mm stainless steel and rubber case with tachymeter bezel and guilloche racing stripes on the galvanized steel dial.

It’s affixed to the wrist by a rubber strap with snakeskin texture, and only 300 examples will be made: 150 in bare stainless steel and 150 with a black PVD coating. It’s the first of many Shelby-branded wristwatches that the David Yurman brand will be making for Shelby, and you can check it out in high-resolution by clicking the image above and scrolling down below for the full press release.

Continue reading Shelby teams up with David Yurman for wristwatch line

Shelby teams up with David Yurman for wristwatch line

Clearly, we weren’t the only ones who spent the better part of their childhoods building all manner of strange and wonderful Lego vehicles. We’re pretty sure we had this design knocked out back in the early 80s, but as far as we know, exactly no one has figured out how to fit easily removable tracks to a conventional vehicle in real life. We’ve seen some pretty neat track conversions, mind you, but they’ve always required a fair bit of work and the removal of a vehicle’s wheels. But not the Track N Go.

This creative solution for foul-weather-mastery comes from AD Boivin, a company better known for marketing products for powersports vehicles like motocross bikes and snowmobiles. The company says that this is the world’s first wheel-driven track system, and judging by the video available after the jump, it appears quite capable when fitted to what looks like stock GMC Sierra and Ford F-Series Super Duty 4×4 pickups blasting through the snow.

The video indicates that the system is a prototype, and it doesn’t show how easily the tracks can be secured to the vehicle’s wheels (though it does briefly show that you drive onto the tracks before locking them in place – no jacking required). AD Boivin doesn’t say if and when the Track N Go will actually come to market, let alone what sort of fitments will be available and how much the system will cost. While we’re waiting, we’ll just watch the video one more time…

Continue reading Track N Go treads dangerously close to awesome

Track N Go treads dangerously close to awesome

Have you ever bought a brand new cars only to forget where you put it? How about 300 of them? Probably not – unless you’re Miami-Dade County, which was recently reunited with 298 vehicles it bought brand new between 2006 and 2007.

The county “discovered” this fleet of no-mileage vehicles after reading about them in a Spanish-language newspaper there (see the source for more images). Most of the misplaced motorcade is made up of Toyota Prius hybrids whose warranties either expired with very few miles on the odo or will very soon.

Looking to save some face, the county has rushed at least 123 of the hybrids into service. The Toyota warranty covered the hybrid bits for eight years or 100,000 miles, but we’re not sure if that covers cars parked for five of those eight. We’re also not sure what that much time in Miami heat and humidity does to an unused hybrid powertrain, but it can’t be good.

The county, as you probably guessed, is looking into how it lost so many cars. The leading theory is that they might be part of Carlos Alvarez’s time as mayor. He was the mayor during the period the Toyotas were purchased, but a 2011 recall election successfully removed him from office. Apparently the voters “felt, among other reasons, that he had been behind multiple acts of misappropriation of funds.”

We’ve tried to contact Toyota to see what kind of warranty support these cars will get but haven’t had any luck so far. We’ll update with their response.

Hundreds of 5-year-old municipal vehicles found in Miami that were never used

Imagine you’re a spy shooter at the Nürburgring. You’ve got your ancient Ford Scorpio parked nearby, but you’ve hoofed it up to the top of a hill in the hopes of getting the perfect angle on the track. Three heavy cameras are strung about your body like you’re a contestant in The World’s Strongest Man competition. It’s early and you are tired. And cold. The morning temperature was in the single digits Celsius, and while you’re not exactly sure what that translates to in the Fahrenheit scale, this certainly ain’t Miami.

Your job is boring. Boy racers driving all manner of would-be performance cars squeal by, inexpertly holding a line that betrays their inexperience. “Go back to your video games, kids,” you think as you nurse your cramped and sore legs. You shift your position and the wait resumes. Sport bikes zip by and the wail hurts your ears. You get up and stretch before resuming your regimen. A momentary break in the traffic causes you to do a mental rehearsal, double-checking your gear.

Then you hear it: The tires, disembodied from the roar of an engine, but creating their own telltale sound. You reach for the camera with the longest lens and barely get it up to your eye as the electric sports car whooshes towards you, followed by the loud rumble of something more internally combusted. The camera is now firing on all cylinders as you expertly track the car’s pace for the few seconds it’s in your field of vision. A Porsche enters the viewfinder and you exhale, lowering the camera and turning your back to the track.

The Audi R8 E-Tron will take just one lap of the Nürburgring that day, but you were there to capture it. It may not surface again before it goes on sale next year, but you don’t care about that. You need to hustle back to the car to download the images, so the world can see what an R8 without exhaust pipes looks like, so the fanboys can obsess about the extra cooling vents in the hood for the batteries and the blacked-out rear window.

You will e-mail the photos across the Continent, across the ocean, back home. You’ll get a few bucks deposited in your German bank for your trouble, but that won’t happen for a while yet. By then you will have taken more photos and sent more e-mails.

And drank countless lagers. It is still early, but you think of the cliche about it being noon somewhere and head off home. Nobody will be in your favorite expat bar at this time, but you think there must be at least one bottle left in your refrigerator.

Audi R8 E-Tron test mule does quick but quiet hot laps on Nürburgring

Introduced back in 2008, the Audi Q5 was about due for a mid-life refresh, which is exactly what the German automaker has given it. Not that you’d be easily able to tell from looking at it, though: the styling updates to the popular CUV are rather subtle, as are the enhancements to the interior, which center around the control surfaces. No, what’s really new about the 2013 version of the Q5 is what lurks in the engine bay.

As part of the update, Audi has installed a completely new range of engines across the board that increase both output and efficiency for a win-win combination. In different markets around the world, the Q5 will now be available with three diesels, two gasoline engines and – for the first time – a hybrid. The smaller of the TDIs displaces 2.0 liters and can be had in either 143- or 177-horsepower states of tune, while the larger 3.0-liter V6 oil-burner offers 245 hp and will likely be the only diesel offered in the United States.

The gasoline range starts at the 2.0-liter turbo four with 225 hp, while the 3.2-liter V6 is replaced by a new 3.0-liter supercharged V6 that delivers 272 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque. The big news, however, is the hybrid powertrain that pairs a 211-hp version of the 2.0-liter turbo four with a 54-hp electric motor, driving through an eight-speed automatic to all four wheels for a 7.1-second 0-62 time, a combined rating of 34 miles per gallon and an electric-only range of two miles at 37 mph.

Pricing for the new range in the United States has yet to be revealed. But for comparison’s sake, European MSRP has only gone up around €150 ($200 USD), so we wouldn’t expect the sticker to jump by much in American showrooms, either. Scope out the extensive high-res image gallery above and the videos and press release by scrolling below for a closer look.

Continue reading Audi updates Q5 for 2013 with supercharged V6 and hybrid option [w/videos]

Audi updates Q5 for 2013 with supercharged V6 and hybrid option [w/videos]

If you ask us, the whole “anything-ageddon” craze that has permeated the news networks is getting a bit old. Take last year’s “Carmageddon,” which turned a 10-mile Los Angeles freeway closure into a two month-long, End of Days-style scare-fest. By the time the dreaded weekend arrived, the entire ordeal turned out to be a whole lot of nothing.

But while traffic around the 405 wasn’t bad, it appears that couples might have been bumper-to-bumper back home. CBS This Morning reports that births appear to be up significantly the past couple weeks, which is noteworthy considering that Carmageddon happened a full nine months ago. We’re guessing you can do the math on that one.

Since the month isn’t even over yet, it’s difficult to get definitive proof of this phenomenon. But the CBS show managed to find a few parents who confessed to avoiding the traffic and staying home for a little private time that weekend. One couple was going to name their new baby Chevy, but when they found out it was a girl, the name idea turned to Prius. What, Prius isn’t a manly name? Hit the jump to watch the CBS report.

Continue reading Did LA’s Carmageddon scare trigger a baby boom?

Did LA’s Carmageddon scare trigger a baby boom?

We Finally Sample Scion’s Irresistible Lightweight At Home

Five months ago, we flew nearly 11 hours to spend a fleeting afternoon with the highly anticipated Scion FR-S at Japan’s Sodegaura Forest Raceway, a track located just outside of Tokyo. Last week, we were in the air for less than an hour en route to Las Vegas to spend a much longer day with the sports coupe on our own turf.

The FR-S impressed us during our first drive in Japan, but the weather turned lousy and we didn’t have a chance to drive it on public roads at legal speeds. This time, Scion scheduled plenty of seat time on public roads and on a racing circuit, while Mother Nature provided us with excellent weather.

Driving the coupe again in proper U.S. spec on home roads (and under much more favorable conditions) gave us better insight into the naturally aspirated four-seater. Not only did we learn a lot more about the engine, chassis and its driving dynamics, but we were able to finally interact with the FR-S as a daily driver.

It was, in effect, an interesting and informative second date.

Continue reading 2013 Scion FR-S [w/video]

2013 Scion FR-S [w/video]

Do you spend a lot of time pinning your favorite things on Pinterest? Honda may be looking to hand you $500 as part of the company’s first campaign on the social outlet. Honda is singling out active Pinterest users and handing some of them $500 to indulge in a “Pintermission” to make a visit to the places they’ve been pinning or pick up some of the retail items they’ve highlighted.

Honda is making its CR-V the focus of its first foray into Pinterest because it’s a vehicle with a lot of appeal to women, much like Pinterest itself. So far, two of the women that have been handed a big, shiny check by Honda are putting the funds toward travel. One’s going to London, the other is headed to Hawaii, according to Lauren Ebner, American Honda Motor Company’s assistant manager of social media. We’re watching Honda’s board waiting to see what kind of artisanal luxury goods the CR-V inspires.

Honda wants to give you $500 to take a “Pintermission”

What you see above is a video of a Santa Fe man who’s had it up to here and is not going to take it anymore. The New Mexico city has a deal with Redflex to operate unmanned speed enforcement vehicles which are parked along the road to photograph breakneck miscreants.

On the morning of April 11 at 1:20 a.m., a man dressed like Mr. Magoo pulled up to one of those vehicles, got out, stepped up to the mark and shot it five times. No one was hurt, not even the camera. As you might expect, police are trying to find the mystery nightgown.

Check out the video for a clip from Dirty Harry Magoo vs. Redflex.

Continue reading Santa Fe man unloads five rounds into speed enforcement vehicle

Santa Fe man unloads five rounds into speed enforcement vehicle

Three screen tests for the 2013 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG have been completed, and we think it’s gonna be a star. As with the G55, we expect the vehicle’s reputation to far outshine its sales, but with an exponentially improved interior, 544 horsepower, 560 pound-feet and better gas mileage than its less powerful predecessor, we’re talking about a whole lot of shining regardless.

With a base price well into six figures, the videos are the probably the only time you will ever see a G63 anywhere near dirt or kicking up flinty black rocks. If you start saving right now, you might be able to afford to buy one of its wheels when it arrives on our shores in August, or you can check it out for free in the videos after the jump.

Continue reading 2013 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG mines excitement

2013 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG mines excitement

Lamborghini Urus, Beijing Motor Show, Scion xB and xD dropped, diesel vehicle sales up

Episode #279 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Chris, Dan, and Chris Paukert are joined by the phenomenon that is Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics to chat about the Lamborghini Urus, the Beijing Motor Show, the end of the Scion xB and xD, and the uptick in diesel vehicle sales. Your questions and comments power the end of the ‘cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #279:

• Lamborghini Urus
• Beijing Motor Show
• Scion xD, xB dropped
• Diesel sales up 35 percent

In the Autoblog Garage
2012 Infiniti G37XS Coupe
2012 BMW 328i
Long-Term 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman

Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Chris Paukert

Feedback
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com

Review the show in iTunes

Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #279

Autoblog Podcast #279

Dreamworks was founded by three Hollywood titans as an independent studio with the aim of making good, and profitable, movies. That didn’t happen. Now the Paramount-owned Dreamworks just wants to make money the Hollywood way: opportunistic copying. It is in talks with Electronic Arts to make a Need for Speed movie, perhaps because it wants its own Fast & Furious franchise, certainly because it is bankrupt of ideas. In either case, Dreamworks is not alone.

Word was that a deal should have been done already, but nothing has been announced. That deal is said to already have a script for the film written by George Gatins, whose borther wrote Real Steel. If the deal doesn’t come off as planned, it’s been said that other studios are waiting in line to chat with EA about the same thing.

If you want to a glimpse of a Hollywood vision of Need for Speed, Michael Bay did the trailer for Need for Speed: The Run last year. To extrapolate the movie, imagine that trailer being fifty times longer, fewer sound effects lifted from Transformers, actors who look like their in-game counterparts but can’t act nearly as well, and explosions. And even more hot women. Scroll down for the vid.

Continue reading Need For Speed video game to become a movie? [w/video]

Need For Speed video game to become a movie? [w/video]

Considering how short some product lifecycles have become, it boggles the mind to think that Rolls-Royce has had the Phantom on the market for nearly ten years now. And with the next-generation model not expected to arrive for another few years, the model that relaunched the brand under BMW ownership stands to reach its Bar Mitzvah before it’s replaced. But in the meantime, Goodwood is keeping the Phantom fresh with the Series II update.

The revisions include a refreshed front end with new bumpers and adaptable LED headlamps, the latest in infotainment systems and a new eight-speed automatic transmission to help the 6.75-liter V12 marginally improve its emissions and fuel consumption figures.

New versions of the Phantom sedan, coupe and DHC convertible are already finding their way to eagerly awaiting (and obscenely wealthy) customers around the world, but Rolls opted to wait until the Beijing Motor Show to unveil the new Extended Wheelbase model. Particularly popular in the Chinese market where extra rear-seat legroom is deemed the pinnacle of luxury, the Phantom Series II Extended Wheelbase model measure a whopping 20 feet long.

That’s more than a foot longer than the now-departed Ford Excursion, and you can check it out in the gallery of high-resolution images above.

Continue reading Rolls-Royce makes room for updated Phantom Extended Wheelbase in Beijing

Rolls-Royce makes room for updated Phantom Extended Wheelbase in Beijing

Chrysler has gotten quite a bit of mileage out of its “Halftime in America” ad, if only for the comedic value. Saturday Night Live pulled off what was perhaps the funniest rendition of the two-minute spot, and the hits just keep on coming.

This time, NBC’s 30 Rock gets in on the gag, with veteran tough guy actor Stacy Keach filling in for the otherwise irreplaceable Clint Eastwood. In the show, Keach was tasked with selling furniture with a tough guy attitude, but what we get instead is a solid laugh.

Actually, for our money the third faux ad is by far the funniest, with Keach selling Bazooka Joe bubblegum. After all, “life is hard, shouldn’t everything else be harder?” Scroll down to watch the spoofed spots.

Continue reading 30 Rock spoofs Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” ad

30 Rock spoofs Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” ad

Rumors and conjecture will only get you so far, particularly when we’re talking about the stratosphere of supercardom where speculation can disappear back into the ether from whence it came as quickly as it emerged in the first place. What we need to really anticipate the arrival of a new record-breaking hypercar is concrete evidence. And concrete evidence, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is what we have here before us today.

The car we’re talking about is the long-awaited successor to the legendary McLaren F1. Considering how thoroughly that bolide smashed all preconceived notions of what a car could do when the original hit the streets in 1992, its successor is something worth anticipating indeed. It’s expected to have nearly 700 horsepower on tap, challenge the Bugatti Veyron for straight-line pace and emerge as a de-facto challenger to the Enzo replacement Ferrari is working on.

The styling is expected to take greater advantage of the skills of one Frank Stephenson, father of the modern Mini Cooper, BMW X5, Fiat 500 and countless Ferrari and Maserati models. His arrival at McLaren Automotive is said to have been a little late for him to truly leave his mark on the MP4-12C – its big brother expected to be his first clean-sheet design since moving in at Woking.

From the spy shots, we can see some distinctive common stylistic elements to the existing MP4-12C, tempered with some references to the original McLaren F1 – particularly in the shape of the greenhouse that packs a windshield that looks like it was lifted from a glass-bottom boat. A rooftop hood vent also appears to be popping up through the camouflage, with a giant exhaust pipe protruding high up through the rear (like a Pagani), with what looks like the biggest underbody diffuser we’ve seen yet.

The overall shape also looks longer than the MP4-12C, presumably to accommodate an engine packing 50% more cylinders than its eight-pot kid brother. With the V12 F1 expected to arrive around the same time as the Ferrari F70, it looks like Maranello and Woking are gearing up for once heck of a high-stakes grudge match.

McLaren spotted testing successor to the legendary F1

In keeping with the CUV-crazy theme of this year’s Beijing Motor Show, Peugeot has introduced this Urban Crossover Concept penned by the French lion’s design studios in Paris, Shanghai and São Paulo. Eight inches shorter and three inches narrower than a Ford Focus hatchback, the concept is meant to be the ultimate expression of the company’s decades of popular small cars, crossovers and design.

It is also said to show off Pug’s new design cues, but we aren’t told exactly which cues those are. At the moment, Peugeot isn’t talking about what (if anything) powers its UCC, but perhaps we’ll learn more as the vehicle continues to make the rounds of the auto show circuit. In the meantime, check out the press release by scrolling below and admire its angles in the high-res gallery.

Continue reading Peugeot Urban Crossover Concept barges in to AutoChina

Peugeot Urban Crossover Concept barges in to AutoChina

The 2012 Targa Tasmania has officially come to a close, and while we were a long, long way from the action this year, YouTube closed the distance with a slew of day-end recaps aimed at keeping us up-to-date on the action. This year, Jason White took his Lamborghini Gallardo all the way to the top of the podium despite running into a tuning issue late in the event. Wet weather made for slippery conditions with low visibility more often than not, and more than a few competitors were forced to retire due to unintended departures from the course.

Day three saw some impressive driving from Sam Tapping and his Holden Commodore SS Ute. The duo ran down a total of three competitors on the same stage, including two Porsche 911 GT3 models. That’s some impressive driving given the Ute’s tail happy nature and the wet asphalt. Of course, there are plenty more highlights that are well worth your time. Scroll down to check out all five recap videos for yourself.

Continue reading Watch the 2012 Targa Tasmania highlights

Watch the 2012 Targa Tasmania highlights

We have a thing for high-end detailing jobs. We’re not talking about what the guy at your local drive-through car wash does for an extra $10. We’re talking about the kind of detailing done by highly trained professionals that costs thousands of dollars and could take hundreds of hours to complete.

We normally get our fix of before-and-after photos from friend-of-the-site Todd Cooperider, whose work we’ve featured on Autoblog before. This time, however, we bring you some work done on a well worn Ferrari Enzo by a company in the UK called Polished Bliss.

Instead of before-and-after images, Polished Bliss produced an excellent six-minute video with production quality that matches the 144-hour(!) detailing job it chronicles. If you’ve ever wanted to watch these masters practice their craft, then scroll down to start the show.

Continue reading High-end video of high-end detail job on high-end Ferrari

High-end video of high-end detail job on high-end Ferrari

Audi has finally spread its plug-in hybrid technology to the A6 L. The German automaker unveiled the A6 L e-Tron technology study on Monday at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show, complete with an all-electric driving range of nearly 50 miles at 37 mph. Liquid-cooled lithium-ion batteries power the 95-horsepower electric motor, though a 211-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder can step in at any time for more acceleration or additional range. The A6 L e-tron can operate in fully-electric, hybrid or gasoline mode as needed. While the A6 L e-tron concept is technically an engineering study at the moment, Audi does admit the sedan could indicate what a Chinese-built A6 hybrid could look like in the future.

The cabin offers buyers the same level of space and comfort as the internal-combustion A6 L, though a new instrument panel and vehicle information display conveys data on battery charge status, range and available drive system power. Audi’s engineers have have also specifically calibrated the sedan’s MMI touch system to recognize 29,000 Chinese characters, which we can only imagine was no mean feat. Scroll below for the full press release.

Continue reading Audi tries hand at luxury PHEVs with A6 L e-tron concept

Audi tries hand at luxury PHEVs with A6 L e-tron concept