Few rivalries are as heated as that between the and the . And with both models having recently been updated, Evo magazine has taken the updated GT-R and the new 911 Carrera S to the Bedford Autodrome for a little head-on-head action. And who better to put in front of the camera and behind the wheel than Tiff Needell, the longtime Fifth Gear co-host who’s now doing a series of video tests for the magazine British enthusiasts love best.
Now if you’re thinking that the GT-R really ought to be compared to the 911 Turbo and not the naturally aspirated 911 Carrera S, well, you’re probably right. Particularly since Nissan hiked the price on its latest performance flagship to nearly $100,000. But Porsche hasn’t released the turbocharged version of its latest 911, so the Carrera S will have to do. Skip to see how they compare, as well as which one is Tiff’s favorite.
We’re already familiar with the infotainment system that’s slowly making its way across the brand’s entire portfolio, but today, we were able to get our first look at the next big feature being added to ‘ Bowtie tech. First available on the and , GogoLink is a smartphone-based app that works with the car’s touch-screen display to provide a fully functional navigation feature to the MyLink system.
We spent some time with Sara LeBlanc, GM’s program manager for global infotainment systems, who showed us exactly how the GogoLink app works. When your smartphone is tethered to the car, the app can be launched from the MyLink interface and works just like any other high-quality navigation system. GogoLink includes things like points of interest, 3D mapping, emergency information (police, fire, etc.), local search via Google and live traffic details. Disconnect your phone from the car, and your maps and routes are available right on your phone. (Note: Even though that last part doesn’t show up in the video, trust us, it works.)
Pricing for the GogoLink app has not been announced as of this writing, and will be confirmed closer to the system’s on-sale date this fall. The 2013 Spark will go on sale before the GogoLink app is available, so the first round of Sparks will require a simple MyLink upgrade that can be installed for free at Chevy dealers.
Now, take a closer look at the MyLink head unit in the video below – there’s no CD player. LeBlanc provided this explanation for us:
We talked to our Sonic and Spark customers and we asked them about the features they were looking for. They wanted connectivity. They said, “We have all that music on our smartphone, can’t you just find a way to transfer it? We don’t want CDs. We don’t use that.”
Of course, LeBlanc assures us that this is only for the Sonic and Spark MyLink system right now. The rest of the Chevrolet products will continue to be offered with CD players.
The MyLink system with GogoLink arrives this fall, and pricing has yet to be announced as of this writing. for a tour of the new system, as well as the official release from GM.
The Toyota Hilux can attribute a fair portion of the its celebrity to the Top Gear crew’s exuberant doting. After attempting to destroy the truck via a smattering of inhumane methods, traversing the frozen wastes of Antarctica and braving the fires of Icelandic volcanoes, the show has given the globe-conquering more love than nearly any other model.
It looks as if that won’t slow down anytime soon. According to Toyota, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond will once again take to the wheel of a specially-prepared Hilux for an all new challenge.
Just what will that task entail? Toyota is keeping its mouth shut at the moment, and Top Gear isn’t typically one for spilling secrets early. Judging by the photos, however, it appears as if the vehicle will need to withstand substantial water crossings and support the trio for at least one night in the wild. Color us excited. for some of the vehicle’s finer moments on the show.
At this point, we’ve salivated all we can salivate over this year’s Easter Jeep Safari Moab concepts. The and Mighty FC will always hold a special place in our hearts, and now has released a video describing how the vehicles will help shape future product development. While it’s no surprise we won’t see a new Forward Control lounging on dealer lots any time soon, Jeep may shift some of the paint options shown on the concepts to production. Jeep famously brought the portal axles found under the Mighty FC concept to the Mopar accessory catalog after receiving such a strong reception at last year’s East Jeep Safari, and other elements of the concepts may become a reality as well.
The biq question, of course, is whether or not Jeep will ever make the leap to building a legitimate small pickup. The company’s executives have repeatedly acknowledged consumer demand for a diesel-powered model of that ilk in the past, and the company says that it is currently taking those views into consideration as it develops the next generation . That means that we won’t be seeing the J-12 on the street any time soon, either. to see the video for yourself.
The is off to an impressive sales start in Japan. According to Subaru, the two-door is besting the automaker’s sales projections by wide margins. As of right now, has sold 3,551 of the coupes, which is around four times the company’s estimates. Fuji Heavy Industries put out a very conservative number of 450 units per month as a sales goal for the BRZ before the vehicle hit the market.
Perhaps more interesting is the fact that a whopping 60 percent of buyers are under 40 years old, and two-thirds of all BRZ owners are opting for the six-speed manual gearbox. Those numbers are particularly impressive given the reports indicating a declining interest in cars and driving in Japan’s youth. According to the company, over a quarter of buyers are under 30.
BRZ sales kick off in the U.S. on April 20, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see similar demand levels in our neck of the woods, at least initially. .
It’s going to be a big year for , which will soon be reloading its model lineup with the new and XTS sedans. The compact slots in below the , while the larger 2013 XTS aims to take care of traditional Caddy buyers looking for immensity above all else. While at diametrical ends of the spectrum, the two new models will share a technology package that all revolves around a new seat.
General Motors is throwing around fifty-cent words like “haptic” and phrases like “directional tactile sensation” to describe its new Safety Alert Seat, which vibrates to warn the driver of potential dangers like wandering out of one’s lane. The seat employs two electric motors to create its directional feedback, and it’s at the center of both safety packages Cadillac will be introducing this year. The first is aimed at merely providing the driver with safety alerts, while a more comprehensive suite will also offer vehicle intervention. Cadillac is using six radar sensors, eight ultrasonic sensors and two vision cameras to drive the new safety systems.
The Driver Awareness Package will debut with the launch of the XTS in the spring and offers the seat, Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. In the fall, Cadillac will begin offering the Driver Assist Package, which adds Adaptive Cruise Control, Front and Rear Automatic Braking, and Automatic Collision Preparation. Both packages will also be offered on the crossover, details of which we expect to hear about at the . Click to read more and to view two demonstration videos.
The last time we remember talking about a high-performance was 2007 when a rare . For the 2013 model year, however, will start producing high performance Explorers right at the factory. Dubbed the Explorer Sport, this new addition to the Explorer lineup sports the same twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 found in the , , and and . It produces the least amount of power in this application – 350 horsepower – and while Ford doesn’t mention torque figures in the press release below, we can assume somewhere around 350 lb-ft.
Ford is projecting fuel economy numbers in the neighborhood of 16 miles per gallon in the city and 22 mpg highway, and says the Explorer Sport can also tow up to 5,000 pounds. Other tweaks to get this three-row crossover dancing include reinforcements to the chassis, a faster ratio for its electric steering system, a unique 3.16:1 final drive ratio and larger brakes. There are also paddles to shift the six-speed automatic transmission and special settings for the Explorer’s Terrain Management System.
When treating the Explorer Sport to a few exterior changes, Ford designers went with a dark theme, blacking out the lighting elements, roof rails and sideview mirrors, as well as the grille, lower front fascia and wheel faces. Inside the Explorer Sport gets Charcoal Black leather seating, with or without contrasting inserts, and special stitching on the seats and steering wheel.
No pricing was given, but the new Sport model will sit atop the Explorer line, which means a base price north of the Explorer Limited’s at $38,180. Ford is showing the Explorer Sport at a media event near its headquarters in Dearborn as we speak, so stay tuned for the first live images of the Explorer Sport as we get them.
Having trouble keeping track of which watchmaker is producing timepieces for these days? It can get a little confusing. Girard-Perregaux held the license for many years, after which a lackluster partnership was formed with . Then was contracted to make one very fancy-looking watch for the Prancing Horse marque, before got the nod. And that’s not including the more affordable watches marketed less to Ferrari owners than to the Scuderia’s tifosi. Now, Maranello has formed another partnership with a different watchmaker.
That watchmaker is Movado, the Swiss firm best know for creating elegant and simply styled timepieces that look just as much at home in a museum showcase as they do on a wearer’s wrist. Movado also makes watches under the Ebel, Concord, ESQ, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Juicy Couture and Lacoste labels, and will now be adding Ferrari to its roster of brands.
The collection is set to draw its inspiration from Ferrari’s road and racing cars, and is set to be launched next year at the Watch & Jewelry Fair in Basel, Switzerland, after which they will go on sale at Ferrari stores around the world and online with prices peaking at 1,500 euros (around $2,000). for the official announcement.
There’s nothing quite like witnessing an automotive race in person. The sights, sounds, smells – it’s a magical experience for anyone with petrol flowing freely through their veins. But it’s just not possible to personally attend every race on the planet, and sometimes, television coverage leaves much to be desired.
Enter , maker of those little clear-plastic-housed cameras you see all over the place. The crew attached its cams all over a couple of cars driven by Gunnar Jeannette and Ken Dobson as they battled the field at .
There are helmet-cams, shots up high and down low, from the front and toward the rear, all catching fender-to-fender racing at its finest. There’s even some views showing what life is like for a mechanic in the pits. See for yourself in the video . As an added bonus, you can also watch raw footage of each driver’s laps in separate videos.
Are you the parent of a teenager who hasn’t found enough reason to hate your ever-loving guts? Well then OnStar has a new product for you. Dubbed Family Link, the new service will tell you exactly where your OnStar-equipped vehicle is at any time. It will even send you emails or text messages at particular times of day with a location update. It’s OnStar’s first separately priced feature from its main suite of services, and at $3.99/month is an inexpensive way to invade the privacy of your loved ones while they’re driving the car you pay for.
At least, that’s how we imagine 16-year-old Tiffany will feel when she finds out her dad is paying the Eye of Sauron to keep its gaze fixed on her little .
OnStar, of course, paints a much more flattering picture of the service’s purpose. In their own words, it allows “subscribers to stay connected to their loved ones when driving an OnStar-equipped vehicle.” In fact, 4,500 subscribers have already tested the service in a pilot program ahead of its limited roll out next month. Family Link will be available to all OnStar subscribers in the U.S. by the end of the year.
Truth be told, we’re old enough now to look past Family Link’s inherent issues with privacy and see its value as a peace-of-mind bringer to parents and spouses alike. Knowing a loved one arrived safely or is where they’re supposed to be is worth having Tiffany hate your guts a little extra. She’ll understand one day, and until then: my house, my car, my rules. See the video and the press release .
We couldn’t fault you if it came as no great surprise that was the main automotive sponsor of this summer’s Olympic games in London. The Bavarian automaker has, after all, done its homework to promote the partnership, launching , a pair of , a , and a profiling specific athletes, all to highlight the point. But the biggest way BMW will be participating in the event is with the massive fleet of vehicles it is providing to the organizers.
All in all, BMW will be furnishing the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralymic Games (LOCOG) with . The fleet is made up of diesel, hybrid and electric cars, plus motorcycles and bicycles. And because LOCOG has set a low CO2 target for the big event, each vehicle averages less than 120g of CO2 per kilometer.
The first 40 specially liveried vehicles, BMW announced, have now been delivered, including examples of the 520d and 320d. All the German automaker has left is multiply those a hundredfold and it’ll be ready for the big games.
New Technology Aims To Take Your Hands Off The Steering Wheel
The biggest hurdles to autonomous cars will be legal, not technical.
Most car enthusiasts hate the idea of cars that can drive themselves. But autonomous cars will get here faster than most people realize. Slowly but surely, automobiles are doing more of our driving for us. It’s only a matter of time before they take over completely.
Just look at how much control we’ve already ceded to the computers under the hood. Anti-lock brakes, which are consistently better at threshold braking than mere mortals, are pretty much standard equipment. So are traction control and stability control. We now have blind spot detection, lane departure warning, active lane control, and even self-parking.
Now comes the next step. and recently demonstrated Traffic Jam Assist, which uses adaptive cruise control and automatic steering to completely take control of a car up to 60 kilometers an hour (about 37 mph). has racked up tens of thousands of miles on its fleet of fully autonomous hybrids on California roads. The technology will be showroom ready before the end of the decade.
The biggest hurdles will be legal, not technical. For example, who’s at fault when one of these cars gets in an accident? And how will the police pull over an autonomous car if they need to? But we’ll resolve those issues, and when we do, autonomous cars will have a bigger impact on society than when the first horseless carriages appeared over a century ago.
John McElroy is host of the TV program and daily web video . Every month he brings his unique insights as a Detroit insider to Autoblog readers.
Most gearheads know the is the European near-twin of the . There are obvious exterior differences, such as the Ampera’s “boomerang” headlights and Opel badging, but inside, the only noticeable difference is another Opel badge on the steering wheel.
Bradley Hasemeyer and the crew traveled to Germany to find out if the trans-Atlantic differences were more than skin deep. Surprisingly, he found one rather interesting revision.
In the U.S., Volts get three driver-selectable operating modes. We get Normal, Sport and Mountain modes. But German Amperas get a fourth mode: Halten mode. When cruising the Autobahn, drivers can restrict the use of the Ampera’s battery and run only on the small, fuel-efficient engine. Once back on surface streets, they can turn loose the battery and bask in bank-account-boosting, ridiculously good, low-cost electric motor cruising.
Why don’t we get Halten mode in the U.S.? Well, the obvious reason is probably that most Americans don’t speak German. Beyond that, though, Hasemeyer can only guess that government regulations might hold back implementation here. The again, maybe General Motors just likes Germans more.
If you haven’t had a chance to sit down and watch the full 13-minute CBS “60 Minutes” segment on that , we have yet another reason for you to do so. The good people at Allpar.com seem to have spotted something interesting lurking in the background of an interview with Ralph Gilles, head of design for Chrysler. Look closely, and there’s a red sports coupe hanging out just over the executive’s shoulder. Allpar.com seems to think this is a glimpse at the rumored Barracuda resurrection. After all, Chrysler made sure to trademark the ‘Cuda name earlier this year.
Automotive News took the time to ask Chrysler about the vehicle in the video, and the company very tactfully replied that the vehicle is “just one of the many concepts and projects in our studios. That is one student model.”
A student model that may hint to the design of the Barracuda? Possibly. See the complete video if you missed it the first time ’round.
One of the inevitable pleasures of owning a vehicle like the or Toyota GT 86 (better known as the on this side of the globe), is the level of go-faster, look-faster and sound-faster parts served up by any number of willing companies. Whether its from a factory-backed performance group or another reputable company, bolting on a slew of goodies is one of the easiest ways to personalize your ride. Toyota Racing Development has evidently wasted no time in coming up with a few special components for the GT 86, including a free-flowing exhaust, fully adjustable suspension and a monoblock caliper kit. TRD recently slathered those parts onto a GT 86 in Japan and let a few lucky souls behind the wheel.
Fortunately for us, Carnifty was on hand with a camera to capture the vehicle in action. While the shaky-hand cam business indoors does little to convey how the coupe handles, the video does give us a good idea of what the 2.0-liter four-cylinder will sound like with an easy-breathing exhaust. to watch the video for yourself.
It’s been six months since extensive flooding put a strangle hold on manufacturing in Thailand. Now, Reuters reports that has finally resumed production at its Ayutthaya plant. All told, the disaster is said to have cost the company the production of around 260,000 vehicles worldwide for the fiscal year that ended last month.
While a rash of parts suppliers and other manufacturers were forced to shut down during the flooding, Honda was arguably hit the worst. According to Reuters, and were able to adjust production to include suppliers from other countries, but Honda was stuck with a fully flooded facility.
The Ayutthaya plant builds the for the Asian and Australian markets. After the flood waters receded in October, Honda vowed not to use any parts or sell any vehicles damaged by the disaster. As a result, hundreds of otherwise new vehicles were sent to scrap. to see video of the cars awaiting their destruction.
Why don’t they make four-door convertibles anymore? Because the roof mechanism would just be too darn big, that’s why. But there’s at least one company out to change that. And, of course, they’re Dutch.
That outfit is Savage Rivale, the braintrust behind the Roadyacht GTS. Rather than a wafting parade car like the Phaetons of yore, the Savage Rivale Roadyacht GTS is more like a four-door . With a retracting hard top.
The vehicle is still in the development phase, with the (fixed-roof) set to debut next month at the Top Marques show in Monaco. But in the meantime, the Dutch firm has released an animated clip of the Retractable Telescopic Multi Panel (RTMP) roof mechanism it has developed for the Roadyacht with Inalfa Roof Systems.
The mechanism is based around a retractable arm that deploys with the glass panels and then forms the backbone for the structure once in place, with locking mechanisms in the C pillars. It’s about as thorough a rethink of the folding roof as the one former Pininfarina designer Leonardo Fioravanti created for the Ferrari 575 Superamerica (and later adapted for the and ), but it’s a little hard to imagine, so we’ll let the speak for itself.
Plugging A Hole With A Seven-Passenger Synthetic Cork
Consumers looking for a sports coupe, sports sedan, sporty five-passenger crossover, luxury five-passenger crossover, trailer-capable SUV, sporty convertible or hybrid luxury sedan have been able to drive out of showrooms very satisfied. The automaker offers a well-curated family of vehicles for each of these genres, without question.
However, affluent families seeking an import luxury seven-passenger crossover – without a traditional truck lineage – have been forced to shop elsewhere. Many of Infiniti’s missed opportunities end up holding keys to an , or . Aiming to close a gaping leak in its product range, Infiniti officially introduced the world to its all-new at the just a few months ago.
The new arrival has been engineered to “excel in the areas that luxury crossover buyers desire most – interior flexibility and roominess, safety, and advanced hospitality features,” says Infiniti. But to us, some of those qualities seem to stray from the company’s ‘Inspired Performance’ tagline. Intrigued by the new arrival, we climbed aboard an airliner and flew to Charleston, South Carolina, for an introduction and test drive of the JX crossover.
Whether you fondly remember your prom or are doing your very best to forget it, something tells us it would have been way better had you arrived in the machine you’re about to see in the video after the break. Yes, it’s a limo – and what high schooler wouldn’t want to get dropped off in a stretched machine – but the real draw is that it’s very likely the fastest limo in the lot.
Starting life as a , this blacked-out limo was crafted by LA Custom Coach after four and a half months of bending, stretching and welding. It boasts a completely custom interior done up in a unique black and red scheme along with a 24-inch LED screen and a full bar… but not for those headed to the prom, of course.
Want to procure one for your big day? That might be tricky, as this is said to be the first of its kind. On the upside, though, its owner says it won’t be the last. Check out the stretched Challenger SRT limo in the video , but beware the horrid yet somehow appropriate soundtrack.
The redesigned is already selling quite well, and it looks like the three-row crossover is about to add another variant to boost the bottom line a little more. posted on its Facebook page a 26-second video that teases a high-performance version of the Explorer.
The video show only a mesh grille, a beefy exhaust and what appears to be body-color wheels. There’s not much else we can share about the brawny family hauler, but we think it’s safe to speculate that an EcoBoost 3.5-liter V6 with 350 or so horsepower lies in waiting under the hood of this Explorer Sport.
The good news about this tease is that we won’t have to wait long to see the finished product. Ford tells us that the powerful CUV will be officially unveiled on the on March 28. to watch the video for yourself, and stay tuned for more information on this hi-po ‘ute as we get it.
John McElroy is host of the TV program and daily web video . Every month he brings his unique insights as a Detroit insider to Autoblog readers.
