The Federal Reserve is eying a move to dump a large portion of its remaining stock this summer, a move that could see taxpayers lose nearly $11 billion on the deal. According to The Wall Street Journal, GM stock hasn’t done nearly as well as banks and Fed officials predicted it would, falling to $29.97 a share on Monday, down from its $33-per-share IPO in November.
According to the Journal, the Fed would need to sell the stock at $53 a share to break even on its initial . High fuel prices have hurt sales of trucks, which provide lots of profit for GM, while bailing managers and shaky supply lines made investors nervous; none of which has helped stock prices any.
Despite the potential to lose lots of money on the GM bailout, it’s thought that the Fed would like to be shut of all its GM stock before the end of the year to avoid possible controversy in an election year. No matter what happens, the Fed will have to wait to sell any of its stock until May 22, when the IPO lockout, which prevents the government from selling its stock, ends. Even with another month to go before the sale, GM stocks aren’t likely to be in much better straits by the time the Fed is ready to sell.
The story of the , lost for five years, then crashed by two FBI agents, has gained some plot twists. The story begins in 2003 with Tom Baker, an airline pilot with a love for all things and a serious talent for slick talking. It ends with an insurance company locked in litigation with the Department of Justice, trying to recover the $625,000 it paid Algar Ferrari/ for the now-worthless Ferrari.
Baker, an airline pilot, realized he’d never be able to afford one of Maranello’s finest, and hatched a plan to live his dream by illegal means. Turns out the Pennsylvania wasn’t Baker’s only heist. Baker started relatively small, convincing North Carolina Ferrari dealer Steve Barney to let him take a 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS for a test drive, never to return.
According to Barney, Baker worked a perfect con, making fast friends with the dealer. Barney, who was battling cancer at the time he met Baker, said the con man told him he was a radiologist, even taking the time to look at his X-rays and asking what medication he was on. One day, Baker asked to test drive the 328 GTS. Barney obliged, and never saw Baker again.
Europe’s longest ice road stretches 16 miles across the Baltic sea and connects mainland Estonia with the island of Hiiumaa. This may be the only road on the planet where seat belts aren’t just a bad idea, they’re illegal. If the ice gives way here, you need to be out of your car so quickly that removing a seat belt could be a potentially lethal waste of time.
The BBC decided to see for itself what kind of crazy you have to be to willingly accept commuting on a surface like the ice road. Apparently, Estonians love it for being much cheaper than the available ferries, which sometimes get jealous and run in to the frozen road. Still, at the ready, the BBC’s intrepid journalists set off on a journey into the frozen unknown.
Not only are safety restraints against the law on the ice road, it’s illegal to go any slower than 25 mph, which seems somewhat counter intuitive. Most of the time, the on a slick, unpredictable surface the better, . On frozen water, though, tires create dangerous vibrations between 16 and 25 mph that could crack the ice, leaving you up to your neck in the deadly cold Baltic. Thus, the recommended speed on the ice road is a pretty brisk 43 mph.
That may not seem like much, until you learn that the road is full of potholes and bumps, as well as being laced with wide gashes in the ice bridged by rough-hewn lumber. Between the dips, potholes, bumps, gashes and shaky bridges, the road is a fairly sensitive beast, which means cars over 2.5 metric tons are also banned.
Despite all its follies and hidden dangers, the route is widely traveled during Estonia’s long winter, and sometimes stays open as late as March. Even with a relatively high traffic volume, there were no accidents on the road during the 2010-2011 season, which came to a close at the end of last month.
Concurrent with its debut at the New York Auto Show, has released two videos (one long, one short) of the . While neither of them show the “friggin’ really sweet” in motion, you do get a tantalizing glance at the promised front-engine, rear-wheel drive coupe’s spectacular -aping curves.
In true car porn fashion, there’s no curve left unexplored, and there’s more than one longing look at the concept’s lewd 20-inch centerlock wheels and massive 18-inch carbon ceramic brake rotors. There’s no indication how much of this will actually make production, but we can almost guarantee Toyota will have ditched the 18-inch brakes by the time the 2.0-liter four cylinder-powered FR-S goes on sale, whenever that is. Check out both videos .
Kia Soul Hamsters in “This or That” – Click above to watch video
has taken home the top honors in the Nielsen Automotive Ad of the Year awards for the second year in a row. The company’s troupe of dancing hamsters managed to make the biggest impression on viewers in the “A New Way To Roll” spot in 2009 and the rodents managed to pull off a similar stunt in 2010 with the automaker’s ad.
Nielsen hands out the awards based on response information collected from 2.5 million viewers across 24 networks, and according to Kia, the hamster spots have helped increase sales in a big way. The boxy compact saw its sales figures increase by 50.8 percent last month compared to March 2010.
The Soul wasn’t the only winner, though. took home two awards in different categories, with the netting honors for the best green ad and the company earning best sales event spot with its “Swap Your Ride” commercials. Meanwhile, grabbed the best luxury campaign trophy with its “Triumphant” spot for the and walked away with the Spanish Advertiser of the Year title.
for the press release, as well as a replay of the winning “This or That” ad.
has big plans for next week’s New York Auto Show, including the debut of the , lease pricing for the all-electric ActiveE and the first application of its in the U.S. But that’s not all.
BMW gave us an early preview of the next generation ConnectedDrive system, complete with Apple Plugin integration (read: iPod out) for the iPhone and iPod Touch and it’s latest foray into the integrated app game, which ports Twitter, Facebook, Pandora and web radio directly into iDrive for a seamless, connected experience.
for our full impressions and a video of the system in action.
New York 2011: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG wearing Gulf livery – Click above for high-res image gallery
If you watched auto racing in the 1960s and 70s, your eyes likely caught sight of baby blue and orange streaks roaring to victory on tracks around the world. Gulf livery has since become an iconic paint scheme for everything from the ratty street cars of wide-eyed boy racers to expensive watches and clothing for those looking to embrace their inner McQueen. Hell, there’s even a wearing the oil company’s famous colors. has decided to bring a touch of those famous colors in the form of a tarted-up .
It’s no Porsche 917… but it’s still pretty cool looking, and we’ve got a full gallery for you to look through below.
Plug-in Prius – Click above for high-res image gallery
If the idea of getting or in a plug-in suits your fancy, then get ready to give Toyota your pertinent details on Earth Day. That’s this Friday, April 22nd, by the way, and Toyota announced it will use the event to open up a “Priority Registration Web Site” for the Prius Plug-In.
Of course, since this is a limited program, the ordering system will be, well, limited. On Earth Day, “Priority Registration” will start . This doesn’t mean that you are in line for a Prius Plug-In. Instead, it means that you’re allowed “first access to the Online Order System when it becomes available later in the year.” Still, at least that’s something.
Oh, and the Prius will only be available at dealers in 15 launch states – Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington – when it hits the market in spring of 2012. For some reason, online ordering will not be available in Hawaii. See the full press release .
is building a car that we wish more people knew about – the . The automaker’s mid-size sedan was featured in Suzuki’s , a modified version and the stock car traveled a grueling trail from Tokyo to Los Angeles. Now, Suzuki has prepared two new concept versions, showing us what might be in store for the Kizashi down the road. And believe us, are fingers are crossed that these two make it to production.
First up, the Kizashi EcoCharge Concept is a hybrid sedan that adds a touch of style to a segment rarely getting that extra dash of curb appeal. (Sorry, – you aren’t nearly as pretty as this thing.) Traditional gasoline oomph is provided courtesy of a 2.0-liter inline-four, while a 15-kilowatt motor and 115-volt, air-cooled, lithium-ion battery give the EcoCharge its electric giddy-up. Suzuki says the combination is good for a 25 percent increase over the standard Kizashi’s 30-mile-per-gallon highway fuel-economy rating. But it’s not just the hybrid powertrain providing the MPG lift – the Kizashi EcoCharge Concept is fitted with start/stop, has regenerative braking and wears low-rolling resistance tires.
To help it stand apart from its standard Kizashi siblings, Suzuki has gussied up the exterior of the EcoCharge. Unique headlights, LEDs in the fascia and a white satin paint job communicate that this Kizashi has something else going on. The LEDs also help communicate that this is still a concept, since we don’t think the local authorities would be too fond of the blue lights up front (they’re illegal, y’all).
The EcoCharge wasn’t the only sedan on the stand. On the other end of the spectrum, the automaker debuted something more focused on outright performance rather than efficiency.
Ken Block wreck at Rally of Portugal – Click above to watch the video
During a shakedown run before the 2011 Rally of Portugal, Ken Block wrecked his Ford Fiesta WRC car . The high-sprung rally car clipped a berm at the start of a turn, and the resulting series of flips were both violent and scary. Block and his teammate Alex Gelsomino checked out of the hospital with a clean bill of health, but the same prognosis can’t be said of the car.
That means we don’t feel guilty for showing you more footage of the wreck, which comes courtesy of the Monster World Rally team. The post-jump clip is over two minutes long, with the oddball goofiness we’ve come to expect from Block and Co. We’re thinking the theme here is that of a near-death experience – we can’t fathom another reason why Block would be floating around a pool, in full racing gear, with an angelic glow all around him.
to watch the horrific crash, which makes its entrance at 2:13, followed by a slow-motion replay.
2013 Ford Taurus SHO – Click above for high-res image gallery
Those of you hoping for a are about to be severely disappointed. The will continue to produce 365 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque from its 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. Sure, that’s still plenty of oomph for the SHO, but with rumors of a higher-output version now dashed, all we can say is, “shucks.”
Let’s not dwell on that, though. There are still plenty of improvements for the 2013 SHO to talk about.
Much like the rest of the , the SHO features styling tweaks at both the front and rear. Unlike the base model, the SHO uses a unique mesh grille pattern up front and adds a new rear spoiler out back, as well as chrome-tipped dual exhaust pipes. A new 20-inch dark wheel option is also part of the SHO package, matching the black finish found on the mirrors and body trim. We like what we see.
There may not be a bump in power, but the 2013 Taurus SHO does get a new performance package option that is said to improve the car’s performance prowess. Most notably, a 3.16:1 final drive ratio means initial acceleration is enhanced, and revised suspension tuning features new dampers and springs specific to this package. Additionally, the electronic steering system has been tuned, the stability control now has a track mode with a true ‘off’ setting and performance brake pads are now available with unique, “track-tuned” calipers. Still, we’d love to see an additional 40-ish horsepower.
for the official SHO details, and be sure to click through our high-res image gallery to see the tweaked design for yourself. Ford’s B-roll footage of the SHO is available for your viewing pleasure , as well.
2013 Ford Taurus – Click above for high-res image gallery
Upon taking the wraps off of the , Derrick Kuzak, the automaker’s group vice president of global product development, said the styling tweaks were wholly influenced by the new . Sure, the new front fascia and LED square around the taillamps are total Audi knock-offs, but what’s important to learn from this is that is using the A6 as its target for the Taurus, and with a host of updates for the 2013 model year, Ford’s flagship gets one step closer to being an alternative.
All in, the design tweaks give the Taurus an added sense of aggressiveness, though the car is still immediately recognizable as a successor to the all-new flagship that debuted for the 2010 model year. The trapezoidal grille has been tweaked, and now features active air shutters to improve overall fuel economy. The hood has been fully resculpted, and out back, tweaked taillamps with LED running lights blend into a slightly revised rear fascia. Dual exhaust tips are now standard across the board, as are new 20-inch wheel options.
The big enhancements for 2013 are the Taurus’ powertrains. Ford’s trusty 3.5-liter V6 still serves as the base engine, though its output has been bumped up to 290 horsepower – a full 27 more horses than the outgoing car. New for 2013, though, is the addition of the automaker’s 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, rated at 237 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. With the EcoBoost engine underhood, the Taurus is estimated to achieve up to 31 miles per gallon on the highway.
Inside, there’s a new steering wheel and more soft-touch materials have been added to the dash and center console, which now uses the automaker’s MyFord Touch infotainment system. Other new enhancements include the addition of Ford’s curve control system – first seen on the – that enhances cornering capability and braking control. Speaking of brakes, the Taurus also gets a larger brake master cylinder, meaning braking feel should be substantially better.
Pricing will be announced closer to the car’s on-sale date in early 2012, and while the 2013 Taurus might not be a perfect competitor to Audi’s A6, it’s sure to offer similar content (and style) at a much lower price-point. Check out all the details for yourself in the press release , as well as some B-roll footage of the new car. We’ll have plenty of live photos and impressions from the car’s official debut, as well.
Sam Lowes goes down at Assen. Ouch. – Click above to watch video
Last weekend’s World Supersport race at Assen was a rough one. Both Sam Lowes and Alexander Lundh took away broken bones after separate incidents that caused marshals to bring out the red flag each time. Lowes highsided his machine while jousting with championship-leader Luca Scassa and eventual race-winner Chaz Davies. Despite the brutality of the crash, Lowes only suffered a broken collar bone and a mild concussion. He’s expected to be back in the saddle for the next series event in Monza.
Lundh, meanwhile, managed to find himself tangled up in an incident only two laps into the first restart of the race. The racer lost control of his machine after Marko Jerman highsided in front of him. Shortly after going down, Lund was hit by a third bike, resulting in a broken wrist. Jerman, meanwhile, escaped with only bumps and bruises.
The two red flags cut the race down to just 16 laps, and the third start allowed Davies to jump out ahead of the pack and maintain his lead. Head over to for a full rundown of the finishers and for a look at some of the carnage.
Pagani Huayra at Top Marques Monaco 2011 – Click above to view video
If you missed any of the action from last week’s Top Marques Monaco show, we’ve got you covered. This five-minute clip condenses all the glitzy highlights of this year’s show into one horsepower-drenched summary. The show was a seriously drool-worthy affair, featuring a wide range of exotics; from classy, composed offerings from the likes of , to the delicious to the completely silly .
High-end tuning companies always make a strong showing at Top Marques Monaco, and this year was no different. Gemballa’s two new offerings, the , broke cover after the company’s recent troubles. Add to that a host of offerings from , and , and you’ve got a great way to kill five minutes. for all the exotic glory. Thanks for the tip, HF!
Audi A3 e-tron Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
rolled out yet another e-tron concept alongside the in Shanghai, and what it lacks in power, it makes up for with efficiency, fuel economy… and weight.
The came packing a modified version of the TT RS’ turbocharged five-cylinder, outputting over 400 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque. This etron variant – based on the RS3 hatch – ditches the five-pot in favor of a turbo’d and direct-injected 1.4-liter four-cylinder that brings 211 horsepower to the party, and combined with another 27 ponies pulled from the 20kW electric motor, can propel the A3 etron to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds before topping out at 143 mph.
A seven-speed dual-clutch S-tronic transmission is the only drivetrain component carried over from the concept’s RS3 roots, but combined with lithium-ion battery pack stored in the trunk, Audi claims the e-tron can putt along for up to 34 miles on electric power alone thanks to the plug-in hybrid drivetrain.
The suspension carries over, with a MacPherson design up front and a four-link independent rear end, along with 20-inch wheels wrapped in 245/30 R20 rubber at all four corners. The square setup would indicate that the e-tron is all-wheel-drive, but Audi doesn’t give any specifics on how power finds its way to the ground.
The exterior is a dead-ringer for the original concept, albeit e-tronified with a new grille and bumper framed by a carbon fiber-reinforced frame, aluminum hood, trunk and doors. However, the weight savings is largely nullified by the battery weight in the boot, increasing the curb weight to 3,792 – nearly 400 pounds more than the original.
Inside, it’s typical concept car flare partnered with Audi’s next-generation MMI system complete with a UMTS module to provide wireless internet, WLAN hotspot functionality and Google mapping and POI search.
A toned-down version of the A3 sedan is due to hit the market late next year, and if Audi intends to stick to its electrified roadmap, we could see an e-tron variant arrive by 2013 at the earliest. Full details in the press blast .
Top Gear Australia tows a mining truck – Click above to watch video
Everyone knows the danger of exceeding your vehicle’s tow rating. Perils aplenty await those foolhardy enough to brush off manufacturer recommendations, including nuked transmissions, en fuego brakes and popped head gaskets, to name just a few. But what happens when you put a standard-duty pickup truck up against something truly monumental. You know, something like a 600-ton mining truck?
The crew from Top Gear Australia wanted to know just that, so they borrowed a run-of-the-mill pickup, strapped one serious tow rope to the aft of both rigs and got down to business.
Or at least they tried.
Judging from the short preview clip after the break, things didn’t go quite the way the TG team imagined. It wasn’t for lack of trying that the big mining truck failed to budge an inch as the driver of the pickup sent a pair of what were certainly minty-fresh rear tires to their blazing great beyond. to check out the quick teaser.
2012 Volkswagen Beetle – Click above to view video
Volkswagen teased its during the Super Bowl this year, with a spot featuring a black beetle outrunning all the other bugs in the forest. At the end, VW gave us a look at the silhouette of the reshaped Beetle, but that was it. Now, the video has been recut to show the public the all-new Beetle in full regalia.
The 2012 Volkswagen Beetle was unveiled publicly for the first time this week, simultaneously debuting at the New York Auto Show, the Shanghai Motor Show and in Berlin. Though the car looks like a slightly reshaped version of the outgoing New Beetle, the real changes are under the car’s skin.
In an apparent attempt to get away from the cutesy image the New Beetle has gained since it went on sale in 1998, VW completely threw out the old design and started from scratch. The result is a longer, wider and more spacious Beetle, which VW says hearkens back to the car’s rugged, fun to drive, utilitarian origins.
Added to that, VW tried to make the car more masculine, adding a 200-horsepower, 2.0-liter four cylinder, bigger wheels and a Fender sound system. Click to see the reedited commercial.
Though it’s cleverly disguised as an automobile, don’t be fooled. The 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 is the world’s ultimate portable smoke generator. The fact that it can pull double-duty as a method of transportation is nothing but a quirky side benefit to its purpose in life. Consider it a value-added feature that helps justify its seemingly high $45,000 price tag.
It’s really quite ingenious. All that’s required to create your own massive plume of thick white smoke is premium-grade gasoline and two 245/45ZR20 tires, both of which are readily available, and both of which are consumed in roughly equal quantities. The actual process of making the smoke-screen is so simple even a caveman could do it. One step: Mash the throttle pedal to the floorboard. Done.
Strangely enough, during our , we found out that it’s possible to do other things with the Dodge Challenger SRT8 392. For instance, with a modicum of restraint at the specific point at which your right foot comes into contact with the throttle pedal, you can drive the 392 in a straight line. Equally as surprising, at least to those who know anything about classic muscle cars, the Challenger is even capable of traveling in directions other than forward, and for more than 1,320 feet at a time.
We’re just as shocked as you.
We decided to borrow one of these weapons of mass (tire) destruction for a week with two goals in mind: to see both how much smoke can be created from one set of tires (or one tank of gasoline, whichever comes first…) and how the most powerful Challenger fulfills the unlikely role of an everyday driver.
Gallery:
Photos copyright (C)2011 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL
The has been enjoying lots of hype as the seductively-styled concept will donate most of its design cues to the upcoming 2012 Mercedes-Benz A-class. Now, the next small Mercedes has gotten even more enticing, with AMG reportedly hard at work on a 350-horsepower version of the diminutive Benz. have been swirling for months now, but with the new styling comes new hope that the car will actually exist.
That much grunt goes a long way in any application, but in a car the size of the , it’s borderline murderous. Word is AMG will attempt to rein in the herd with a four-wheel-drive system gleaned from Mercedes’ upcoming small SUV.
Details like what engine AMG will shoehorn into the A-class are nonexistent, though we’d expect it to be a tuned version of the 2.0-liter, turbocharged BlueEFFICIENCY four pot in the . Whatever winds up motivating the baby ‘bahn stormer, with that much power and a possible four-wheel drive setup, it promises to be a stone riot. No word yet on whether the AMG A-class will make it to the States, but Mercedes is reportedly thinking about bringing the standard version here, which at least gives us a small shred of hope.
The Federal Reserve is eying a move to dump a large portion of its remaining stock this summer, a move that could see taxpayers lose nearly $11 billion on the deal. According to The Wall Street Journal, GM stock hasn’t done nearly as well as banks and Fed officials predicted it would, falling to $29.97 a share on Monday, down from its $33-per-share IPO in November.
