In 2009, Concorso Italiano held a , regarded as the first Ferrari supercar. The gathering was a resounding success, with fifteen examples showing up to break the record for the most 288 GTOs in one location at the same time. Concorso followed that up the next year with a to celebrate the car’s 20th birthday.
So what’s next? The F50, of course. Concorso has announced that the third-generation Ferrari supercar will be honored at this year’s event, and are currently putting out the call for owners to bring their prized possessions to Monterey in August. Just 349 were produced from 1995 to 1997, so anything more than a few in one place would be impressive.
You can view the galleries of the 288 GTO and F40 reunions below, and look for our Monterey coverage in August for a report on the F50 gathering.
Cadillac ATS spied on GM’s proving grounds – Click above to watch the video
We’re likely a year away from the reveal of the , as the states that the rear-drive Caddy will likely go on sale in fall of 2012. We’ve seen plenty of spy photos of the sub- Cadillac, as well, and now we’ve got a video that shows the entry-level ATS in motion.
The post-jump video, which comes courtesy of the folks at , appears to have been shot from the branch of a tree outside of ‘ proving grounds in Milford, Michigan. It’s difficult to see much in the video due to the heavy camo adorning the prototype, but we do see a more steeply raked windshield and a greenhouse that, compared to that of the CTS, appears to be a bit more rounded.
As an added bonus, the video shows a three second-long glimpse of the at the 1:34 mark. to take in the video for yourself. There may not be any audio, but there’s plenty to see.
BMW of North America is beginning a review for its $150 million U.S. ad account, the company said on Monday. The decision comes after a tumultuous six months for the company, having lost its long-time marketing executive, ,to a tragic accident last October and then parting with its former agency last Fall.
BMW is in the midst of an aggressive product onslaught in the next two years as the Munich-based company is trying to grow its business globally, as well as in the States.
The company had used GSD&M, an Austin, Texas-based ad shop until last November. Since then, it has been getting ad work from Kirshenbaum, Bond Senecal + Partners, NY, which created BMW’s this year. Kirshenbaum had been the runner-up to GSD&M when BMW last reviewed its ad account in 2005, and had been doing the company’s CRM work the last five years as well.
BMW’s ad work has been the subject of in the last year or so as the company played down its long-running “Ultimate Driving Machine” positioning in favor of a “Joy of Driving” idea. The “Joy,” positioning is closer to the BMW brand strategy around the world, as the idea translates into most languages. “Ultimate Driving Machine” apparently doesn’t translate into most languages.
BMW sales are holding up in the recession. The company was the number-two luxe brand in 2010, just ahead of and just behind . But the company has been spending more on price discounts channeled into lease deals and financing discounts.
There are a number of ad shops likely to get a look: Kirshenbaum, Bond Senecal to retain it; The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va.; BBDO, NY (Creative chief David Lubars was creative director at Fallon Worldwide when that agency had the business and created BMW Films, among other great work for the carmaker); Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami; and Publicis, NY.
A man in Shenyang, China was reportedly so frustrated with his 2010 breaking down that he towed it back to the dealer and asked for a full refund. To add a little insult to his heady request, the spurned owner towed the stricken SUV with a pair of donkeys.
Apparently the guy paid ¥2 million (about $304,000) for the English SUV in 2010. Since the purchase, the car reportedly broke down six times and eventually needed a new engine. When it died a seventh time, the owner was apparently at wit’s end. The stunt managed to hammer the point home in a much less destructive manner than a . According to Asian auto news outlet TheTycho, the doubtlessly dumbfounded dealer refused to give the customer a refund.
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Here’s Autoblog Podcast #223. The crew this week is Chris Shunk, Zach Bowman, Chris Paukert and Dan Roth. Topics covered are Ford’s commitment to the 2012 Focus by giving early cars a 30-mile shakedown drives, Japan’s amazing ability to repair roads in days, the Autoblog long-term Hyundai Equus and the sad passing of David E. Davis, Jr. Your feedback in our Q&A module winds it up, and we’ve embedded that in the post below, as well. Thanks for listening, we’ll see you next week!
Autoblog Podcast #223: Ford Focus quality, Japan’s quick road fix, long-term Hyundai Equus, David E. Davis, Jr. passing
In the Autoblog Garage:
2011
Hosts: , ,
Runtime: 01:17:50
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Hinson Motorsports crash at the 2011 Texas Mile – Click above to view video
Over the weekend, we showed you a horrifying series pf pictures from at the Texas Mile. The tuner’s twin-turbo was trying to break its own 224-mph standing-mile record for Corvettes when something went badly awry.
Even now, nobody’s quite sure what caused the nearly 2,000-horsepower Vette to go airborne, but it did, rolling several times before coming to rest on its wheels. The new video offers multiple perspectives on the crash as it happened, and it looks much more violent in the videos than it did in the and we saw.
Once again, the driver somehow managed to walk away from the crash unharmed, and Hinson has promised to come back with another entry in the Fall.
It was a risky proposition: taking a series as fabled for its antics as Need for Speed and placing it into the cold, calculating hands of a simulation developer. That developer is Slightly Mad Studios, which has roots to the SimBin team that created the groundbreaking GTR on the PC. The resulting game was the first Need for Speed: Shift – truly a fresh title and, more importantly, a truly great racer, managing to straddle the console racing and simulation genres and do both admirably well.
Now, it’s sequel time. Ian Bell, sim-racing guru and co-founder of Slightly Mad, said that this game has the “most advanced physics system ever released.” We’re not sure we’d go quite that far, but in testing this one we’re quite confident in saying that this is certainly the most realistic Need for Speed game yet, which is perhaps why it’s officially shedding that prefix and just billing itself as Shift 2 on the PS3, xBox 360, and PC. Still, not everyone will enjoy the punishment this game can offer, so read on to see whether this is one supercar sim that’s for you.
Chevrolet has called the franchise’s and and raised the stakes by one supercharger. The obvious aim of the is to silence all the critics who flame the Camaro for being slower than the 5.0-liter competition from Ford.
To cure their case of horsepower envy, Chevrolet threw a supercharged 6.2-liter LSA making more than 550 horsepower between the Camaro’s fenders. That power theoretically puts it atop even the mighty GT500 in a straight line.
To make sure the Camaro could take down the handling-oriented Boss 302 as well, they cribbed the magnetic dampers from the for the ZL1. All that effort should add up to not only the fastest Camaro ever built, but the best-handling, as well. We can’t wait to get our mitts on the car, but in the meantime, we’ll slake our curiosity by hearing the LSA briefly come to life in the video (Warning: Auto play).
2011 Jeep Compass – Click above for high-res image gallery
Let’s be honest here: The should have never been built – at least not in the form it took. A derivative of the compact Dodge Caliber, the Compass is neither a real nor an SUV, but a singular testament to how badly Daimler mismanaged the brand over its decade of ownership. And sales have proven this out. Although the Compass did well in the first year after its May 2006 launch, interest quickly cooled, and through the end of 2010, Chrysler had totaled only 111,000 Compass sales. The company managed to move fewer than 16,000 of them last year.
A “softroader,” the Compass was meant to compete in the growing field of compact, front-wheel-drive crossovers often derided as “Cute Utes.” The misguided, condescending and paternalistic attitude of the Germans running DaimlerChrysler at the time was that young women would flock to the Compass, while its mechanical twin, the , was designed for the boys. While the Patriot at least looked like a Jeep – the much-loved, discontinued Cherokee – the googly-eyed Compass was cartoonish, like a Jeep animated for the Powerpuff Girls.
Kimi Raikkonen at the Brickyard for the 2007 United States Grand Prix – not his last time at the speedway?
What does a U.S. president do after he’s finished his term in office? Whatever the heck he wants. That’s because he’s already reached the top of his game and has nothing left to prove but to use his considerable influence and experience towards whatever end he chooses. The same might be said of a Formula One World Champion. Take Kimi Raikkonen, for example, who won the title in 2007. He turned his back on F1 when he’d had enough, and is now trying his hand at rallying in the World Rally Championship. But if the latest reports are any indication, the Finnish driver has had enough of that, as well, and is eager to try something new.
That something, according to the latest reports from his home country, is NASCAR. Now, we could chalk this up to a slightly premature April Fool’s Day gag, but if accurate, Raikkonen could be preparing an assault on America’s oval speedways. The report alleges a new team under Kimi’s ICE 1 Racing banner is being established in conjunction with Foster Gillett – the sports arm of American businessman George Gillett’s enterprise that formerly owned the Montreal Canadiens (the winningest team in all of professional sports), the Premier league Liverpool Football Club, and (previously known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports).
If the reports prove accurate – and we’re still taking this with a big grain of salt – Raikkonen will start off in the Craftsman truck series before moving up to the Nationwide series and finally the top-tier Sprint Cup. In doing so, he’d be joining his old McLaren teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, as well as fellow former champion Jacques Villeneuve in migrating from F1 to NASCAR. Watch this space for more as it emerges.
With ‘ cash flow back to reasonable levels, the company is re-evaluating its position on Australian-built Zeta rockets like the . The last one we had on our shores was the much-lamented Pontiac G8, which was essentially a Commodore with a new set of badges.
With the success of the , GM has reportedly okay’d the development of a new Zeta sedan for the American market. According to reports, it’s slated to debut in early 2013 as a 2014 model, concurrent with the introduction of the redesigned Holden Commodore. Particular details, such as engine size, transmission options and horsepower figures are as yet unavailable. That said, a pushrod small block in the neighborhood of 430 horsepower probably isn’t too far off the mark.
The rumor gets juicier, and a tad more unbelievable, with the revelation that a sport wagon and Ute version of the car are coming as well. The ute, if it happens, will debut around the same time as the sedan, with the sport wagon arriving later in 2013.
2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery
Word is that is planning a whole mess of debuts for the upcoming New York Auto Show. Among them, according to reports, are three worldwide first we’ve yet to see, along with three North American debuts.
The models being unveiled for the first time on this side of the Atlantic includes the new , sedan and . As for the world debuts, sources suggest we’ll be seeing two new variants from the AMG division and one all-new concept car. Now we already know the above-pictured will be among them, but rumor has it that the Roadster will be unveiled at the show as well.
As for that mystery concept, speculation is that it could be the new B-Class or a preview of the next M-Class crossover. We’ll have to wait to find out for sure, but with less than a month to go before the doors open at the Javits Center, we won’t have to wait long.
2012 Ford Focus – Click above for high-res image gallery
If has a more important vehicle launch in 2011 than that of the we certainly don’t know about it. The automaker is well-aware of the importance of the Focus, and to ensure a flawless launch, the company is going all-out.
Automotive News reports that Ford is testing the first batch of 2012 Focus models for 30 miles around the company’s Dearborn, MI test track before shipping them to dealers. AN quotes anonymous sources who say dealers asked if there was a problem during the launch that has lead to this extraordinary measure, but Ford insists that the very thorough checks are merely to ensure spot-on quality. And since the company is launching a vehicle capable of up to 40 miles per gallon at a time when gas prices are hitting $4 per gallon around the country, this is an important launch to nail.
Ford spokesperson Said Deep told AN that only the first batch of Focus models were driven for 30 miles, adding that vehicles being produced now are only given a second look at the plant. That first batch of Foci were taken back to the plant for testing after the 30 mile road test. Ford builds the Focus at the Wayne Assembly Plant, which resides only a few miles away from the automaker’s Dearborn test track.
The Chinese auto industry has been on the lookout for high-tech auto companies in search of a partner, and China’s Dongfeng may have found just that in transmission maker Getrag. Automotive News reports that Dongfeng is in advanced talks to purchase a 30-percent stake in the German supplier.
Details are scarce, but the report cites sources who say the deal could be worth $700 million. Getrag has reportedly been looking for a partner since Dana Corporation sold its 30-percent stake back to the Hagenmeyer family back in 2007. The family is currently the sole owner of Getrag.
AN points out that the merger, if it goes through, would represent the first time a Chinese automaker has bought into the German auto sector. It’s important to point out that talks are reportedly ongoing, which means that either party can back out at any time. Many global automakers rely on Getrag for transmissions to one extent or another, including , and .
Tool boxes haven’t changed much over the years, and even the bottom-rung outfits look a lot like the high-rent tool cubbies. At least that used to be the case before the Swivel tool box hit the market. This 60-inch tool storage system contains rounded, high-strength drawers that swivel out so its owner can better-access his or her equipment. And, of course, “high-strength” is a relative term, but in the case of the Swivel box we’re talking about 2-, 14- or 16-gauge steel, and the drawers are reportedly tough enough that most humans (now there’s a relative term…) can stand on them without breaking anything.
If you’ve ever owned a tool box, especially the low-end models, you know that the tracks get gummed up over time, making it more and more difficult to slide drawers open or closed. The drawers of the Swivel bench are hinged at a steel pole that is reportedly impervious to dust.
So how much will a Swivel bench set you back? Try between $1,000 and $5,000; a total that puts the Swivel bench squarely in the professional grade category. That’s probably a bit rich for our blood, but it won’t keep us from wanting one.
2011 P4/5 Competizione – Click above for high-res image gallery
James Glickenhaus’s made its debut at the this weekend ahead of the actual running of the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The test sessions reportedly went well and got as much hype and attention (yep, we’re guilty as charged…) as anything Glickenhaus’s now-famous racer does.
The P4/5 Competizione looked right at home on the track, though tests were cut short after a red flag limited driver Luca Cappellari to one lap. Mika Salo got plenty of seat time though, and the car looks just about ready for competition.
There aren’t any concrete lap times yet, but best guesses are in the 8:30 range, which would put the P4/5 Competizione right where it needs to be. for videos from the test weekend, and be sure to check out the latest set of images of the exquisitely beautiful showpiece below.
Maxime Berger loses a wheel during World Superbike Racing at Donington Park – Click above to enlarge
There are a few common ways to crash a motorcycle while racing – most often either the extremely dangerous high-side or the usually-little-more-than-ego-scraping low-side incident – but, when dealing with machinery pushed to the very edges of its mechanical abilities, there’s always the outside chance of catastrophic equipment failure leading to an astonishing accident.
Such was the case for Maxime Berger, who crashed out of the first race during the second round of World Superbike action at Donington Park in rather spectacular fashion. As you can see from the image above and the video , Berger’s privateer somehow managed to completely shed half its normal allotment of wheels… and in the case of a motorcycle, that’s a very bad thing indeed.
for a video of the incident, along with a brief press release from the Supersonic Racing Team that includes a quote from Berger himself. Oh, and better luck next time, Maxime!
How has the refreshed version of this first generation Genesis held up ahead of the second-gen’s arrival as a 2012 model?
Talking about my dad just after the day of his death, I’m sort of forced to quote him. Right up to the last, he was “one tough summbitch” as he would say in praising anyone worth their salt.
Sources say this is a through-the-road all-wheel-drive hybrid Mini Cooper.
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1977 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI – Click above for full gallery of the royal wedding’s transportation
When Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot on April 29, the bride will ride to Westminster Abbey in a 1977 Phantom VI that student protesters attacked on December 9. The car, carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla at the time, suffered a broken window and new two-tone paint job. for some video footage of how the attack went down.
According to Alex Garty, the transport manager at Buckingham Palace, the car is being repaired as we speak and will be ready for the April 29 nuptials. Garty says the car is getting a quick freshening while it’s being repaired, just to make sure it’s looking its best for the royal bride.
Once the knot has been tied, William and Kate will proceed back to Buckingham Palace in an , provided it isn’t raining. The same State Landau also took Prince Charles to St. Paul’s Cathedral for his 1981 wedding to Princess Diana.
If the weather doesn’t cooperate, the royal couple will ride in an , which is usually the vehicle of choice for royal brides to get to the church.
can stick another feather in its safety cap. The has officially been awarded an IIHS Top Safety Pick judgement by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. That means the sedan managed to net top ratings in all IIHS crash tests, including front, side, rollover and rear evaluations. Vehicles awarded the Top Safety Pick designation must also come standard with electronic stability control.
According to the IIHS, it’s been a while since the S60 has carried the institute’s highest honor. The vehicle’s previous generation had no problem netting good ratings in both front and rear tests, but was only rated as acceptable in side impact evaluations. Additionally, the new roof strength tests weren’t in place for the vehicle’s last iteration. IIHS says that Volvo improved the design of the S60 enough to net higher side impact ratings and pass the new rollover tests with flying colors.
IIHS says that the roof of the S60 stood up to 4.95 times the weight of the vehicle. Currently, the federal standard is only requires a vehicle to withstand a force equivalent to 1.5 times its weight. for the full press release.
