Automotive News

Filed under: Concept Cars, SEMA, SUVs, Wagons/Estates, DaimlerChrysler, Dodge

Who knows why automakers seem attracted to the utilitarian nature and claustrophobic accomodations of panel vehicles lately, but we’re not complaining. Dodge is the latest to join the fray by offering up renderings of the Nitro Panel Wagon concept that will be displayed at this year’s SEMA show near the end of the month. As per the requirements for being labeled a panel van, the Nitro Panel Wagon features windowless side panels and a flat load floor. Mike Ellis of DCX tells us that designers are also going to pimp the Panel Wagon with some cool ground effects. Whether that means neon tubes lighting up the frame or just new front and rear bumpers plus side skirts remains to be seen, although we can clearly see some exterior mods on the rendered vehicle that leads us to believe the latter (please don’t put neons on your concept, Chrysler).

Unlike the Chevy HHR Panel that was recently announced for production, Chrysler is not saying if there’s a production line in this panel van’s future. We’re all about panel vans, so we say do it. Chevy cannot be allowed to be the only domestic automaker with a production panel van. A panel wagon war between the domestics is exactly what we need right now to take our minds off of quarterly earnings and monthly sales figures. You don’t think it’d be an irresponsible use of precious resources, do you? Whatev, build ‘em.

More renderings after the jump…

[Source: DCX]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Originally Syndicated from Autoblog

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Rolls-Royce has set a new target to recycle 75 per cent of all waste materials generated at its Goodwood facilities by the end of 2007.

Originally Syndicated from The Car Blog

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Filed under: Car Buying, SEMA, Trends, Sedans/Saloons, Crossovers/CUVs, Buick

Buick’s marketers are caught between a rock and a hard place, or more accurately between the aging baby boomers of its core market and the younger Gen-Y buyers it needs to grow the brand. With the average Buick owner nearing retirement age, brand managers are trying to play both sides of the fence, making the OnStar Directions and Connections service (a favorite of older buyers that don’t like complex nav systems) standard for all 2007 models, while readying a fleet of tricked-out Lucerne sedans for the upcoming youth-oriented Specialty Equipment Marketers Association trade show in Las Vegas.

The trick for Buick is to keep its core market happy while attracting new, younger buyers - avoiding the fate of the Oldsmobile brand, whose “Not your father’s Oldsmobile” campaign alienated the AARP segment while bland models failed to attract new customers. Falling market share eventually led to the demise of the famous brand.

So how’s Buick doing? Well, the average age of a Buick owner is 63 (compared to 58 for Cadillac), and sales are down 17 percent so far this year while General Motors as a whole is down only 11 percent. We’ll see if the SEMA initiative lights a fire under the tuner crowd, but the upcoming Enclave certainly looks well-positioned to grab a significant share of the luxury crossover segment.

[Source: BrandWeek]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Originally Syndicated from Autoblog

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Filed under: Coupes, Marketing/Advertising, Videos

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We like Richard Dreyfuss. Whether it’s the old-school Richard (Close Encounters, Jaws), the 80s Richard (Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Stakeout, Let it Ride), or the modern Richard (What About Bob?, Poseidon), Dreyfuss has demonstrated his formidable chops as a thespian many times over, often making us laugh along the way.

The laughs came again when we watched this TV spot for the ‘70 AMC Javelin, though we don’t think they were exactly intentional. Dreyfuss is the “star” of the spot, in which he leads a very unintimidating band of hoods as they check out the coupe. Affecting a neo-Bugs Bunny accent with the cheese factor turned up to the max, he and his cohorts extoll the virtues of the Javelin while looking as if they could break into song — West Side Story-style — at any given moment.

Thankfully, they don’t. Good thing. If we laughed any harder, someone would’ve had to call an ambulance. The overacting reaches Shatnerian levels, and the entertainment value is incalculable.

[Source: YouTube]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Originally Syndicated from Autoblog

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Filed under: Contests

Feeling that Car Of The Year awards were becoming nothing more than a reassuring pat on the back from magazines to their advertisers, The Truth About Cars felt like somebody should have the balls to issue a “worst car of the year” list, as well. And they decided they were just as qualified as the next blog to undertake such an endeavor.

So TTAC announced that it will be dis-honoring the “Ten Worst Automobiles Today” with the first annual TWAT awards. Recognizing this was a democracy (OK, a representative republic), they are seeking input for nominees. A rather lengthy list of rules can be found by clicking the read link, but here is a short summary.

Nominees must have been for sale in the U.S. some time between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006. Badge-engineered siblings can be jointly nominated for a TWAT “if they all suck equally.” The TTAC staff will pick 20 finalists from the nominees, “taking into consideration the number of nominations received, how well the nominations were justified, our personal opinions of the vehicles in question and how much we’ve had to smoke or drink beforehand.” Readers will then vote on the top 20 to help determine the TWATs.

Pointers are even offered for helping identify areas of wretchedness, should you be at a loss. Ugliness, poor design, poor build quality, lack of sophistication or ability in the mechanicals, and poorly executed badge engineering are all suggested starting points. So, being the socially responsible group we are, we encourage you to get out and vote.

[Source: TTAC]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Originally Syndicated from Autoblog

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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Toyota

Toyota is attempting to breach the large car market in Australia, again. Although past attempts were not exactly stellar, it thinks now it may have what it will take to succeed with the Aurion. This large front-wheel drive sedan effectively replaces the lamentable Avalon in the only market segment the company hasn’t managed to make a dent in so far. The Toyota Aurion has already been advertised quite heavily and will hit dealerships soon, starting at an MSRP of AUS $34,990, including an electronic stability system, side curtain airbags and a six-speed automatic transmission across the lineup.

Since practically the birth of the Australian large car segment, the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon have dominated the market. Challengers from Chrysler, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and even Toyota have failed miserably, partly because of national pride and the fact that rwd seems to rule the roost there. Toyota Australia chairman emeritus John Conomos, admitted that some “traditionalists” will stick with the Falcon and Commodore. Yeah, we think so, too.

But Toyota Australia senior executive director of sales and marketing David Buttner downplayed the power of that group of buyers: “The tribalists love tradition and grunt. They’ve bought the same car for generations, largely determined by what their father bought - or which car won at Bathurst. They are a diminishing sub-segment, accounting for about 20 per cent of the market.”

Toyota expects to sell around 2,000 Aurions per month, the same target they set for the Avalon at which that vehicle failed miserably. Where the Avalon was a warmed over version of the U.S. Avalon, the Aurion is essentially a Camry with a nose job and rear end redo. The biggest draw, however, is under the hood, where resides an advanced 3.5-litre V6 engine that produces a class-leading 200kW of power. That’s 20kW more than the Commodore and 10kW more than the Falcon. And it gets better mileage to boot, achieving an impressive claim of 9.9 litres per 100km traveled. It’s worth it to note that Toyota is also planning a supercharged version of the Aurion released under the Toyota Racing Development brand. Good luck Toyota, you’re going to need it in that market.

Thanks for the tip, SunRay!

[Source: Sydney Morning Herald]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Originally Syndicated from Autoblog

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Filed under: Trends

Apparently swathing the dash of a Ferrari or the headliner of a Noble wasn’t enough for the sellers of Alcantara leather around the world. The suede-like leather product that has until now been reserved for exotics and upper end cars is going to be find its way into Chryslers, Cadillacs and even Mercury Mariners. As Dave from Kicking Tires notes, the grippy material probably won’t seem out of place in the Chrysler SRT models or Cadillac’s V series, but the Mariner seems a stretch.

We’ve now seen Alcantara in almost every make’s catalog. Scion has it in the tC 2.0, Mitsubishi and Subaru in their rally-inspired offerings, too. M-B, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Noble, Audi, Peugeot, Lancia, Mazda, VW, Honda, even SMART. Looks like Alcantara is shapin up to be the fabric of the future.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Originally Syndicated from Autoblog

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Filed under: Motorsports, Time Warp, Videos

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Check out this Streetfire video of Jackie Stewart as he tries out the six-wheeler 1976 Tyrrell P34. Designed by Derek Gardner, it was an attempt at working around aero rules to reduce frontal area. The smaller tires would have reduced front grip, however, so a second set was engineered into the design. Along with the Brabham BT46B ‘Fancar’ from 1978, the six-wheeled Tyrrell was the most radical F1 car ever.

It first ran in the Spanish Grand Prix in 1976, and proved to be very competitive, with its 3.0-liter V8 pumping out 475bhp @10,000 rpm. Both Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler were able to produce solid results with the car, even capturing the top two podium steps in the Swedish Grand Prix. Although Scheckter is still the only driver to have ever won a race in a six-wheeled car, he left the team at the end of the season, insisting that the six-wheeler was ‘a piece of junk!’

For 1977, Scheckter was replaced by Ronnie Peterson, and the P34 was redesigned to provide better aerodynamics. The P34B was wider and heavier than before and although Peterson and Depailler again showed some promise, the P34B struggled. Most agree it was because of the lack of development on the tires, and the added weight of the front suspension. For 1978, the P34 was abandoned, ending a legendary chapter in F1 history.

[Sources: Streetfire, Wiki]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Originally Syndicated from Autoblog

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Filed under: Convertibles, Coupes, Euro, Audi

click image to enlarge

Finally! Audi has unveiled the Roadster variations of the Audi TT, which comes in two packages: the top-of-the-line 3.2L V6 TT equipped with quattro AWD and puts out 250 hp, and a FWD 2.0L TFSI base model producing 200 hp. Both models come available with six-speed manual transmissions or Audi’s S-tronic dual-clutch system.

Audi chose to go the soft route with the roof, which comes in either black or dark gray, rather than utilizing a retractable hardtop. Audi claims that quietness has been improved thanks to a special layer within the material making up the roof, and utility is excellent as well — the top can be opened up or closed in a mere 12 seconds at speeds of up to about 30 mph. The top still cuts into the cargo space (like you’re gonna buy a TT to haul stuff anyway), but the good news is that Audi increased the trunk space 40 liters over the last TT.

We already knew what the design would look like thanks to some spy shots, but it’s still certainly a nice car to look at. More high resolution shots can be after the jump.

[Source: Motorauthority.com]

click on either image to enlarge

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Originally Syndicated from Autoblog

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

The World Series is just around the corner, and I’m thinking baseball. To prepare, we had one heckuva lineup warming up in the AutoblogGreen bullpen yesterday. We had Japanese monster ethanol and a $1 million fuel cell Ford Focus test drive. We had a hacked Prius and a hybrid that can run on (get this) diesel, biodiesel, hydrogen, batteries or solar power. With a team this strong, why am I still worried about having to face the Tigers?

• AutoblogGreen drives the $1 million fuel cell Ford Focus
• What’s the difference between a Prius and a hacked Prius?
• Agni registers design rights for a different kind of hybrid car
• Japanese brewery harvests monsters for ethanol production
• Land Rover sheds pounds, improves MPG
• Mercedes-Benz launches three new diesel-powered models
• Nations find tough going to reach Kyoto targets
• China’s first fuel cell car now a reality
• Stretch Batmobile might one day be used for public transportation
• Event notification: 2006 FISITA World Automotive Congress
• Hyundai Getz as efficient as a Toyota Prius in London test
• Mitsubishi’s greener Voice (and Pc and Lyra)
• Arctic Cat starts B20 approved ATV productionWartsila and MAN join forces to produce clean and efficient marine diesel engines
• Taylor, MI joins the hydrogen economy
• Ethanol demand begins to tip the food/fuel balance in Brazil
• UTC Power’s PureMotion 120 drives test buses running on hydrogen fuel cells
• Zipcar in San Francisco: 5,000 members strong and growing
• Amanda Congdon visits a biodiesel co-op
• Latest hybrids, fuel cells on display at EVS-22

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Originally Syndicated from Autoblog

Click Here to Advertise on my Blog and Thousands of Other Blogs