Automotive News

Filed under: Gadgets, Videos

If you’ve ever wondered if it were possible to saw a front-drive vehicle in half and still drive it, we have video proof that it’s possible. Some young thrill-seekers managed to pump petrol through the powertrain half of an old Chevy Celebrity (at least we think it’s a Celebrity), and even the dog was having fun. This video would make a great “Like A Rock” commercial.

There’s more half-car fun where this one came from, too. Our friends over at Gadling found a bunch of videos, including one showing the procedure potential hoons have to endure to cut a vehicle in two. If you want to see the perfect mixture of funny and stupid, this video is for you. Take the jump to see this half-car doing figure-eights in a junkyard.

[Source; Gadling.com]

Continue reading VIDEO: Having fun with halved cars

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Buy any word or phrase on this site and thousands of others using Phrase Links™

Filed under: Gadgets, Etc., Tech

Google began the latest online mapping craze a couple of years ago when it kicked old school stalwart Mapquest to the curb. Since then Microsoft and Yahoo have jumped into the fray and the gang from Redmond has made a lot of progress with 3-D visualizations of its maps. Google has added features to its maps, but it has largely relied on users to submit 3-D models of buildings using a program called Sketch-Up to supplement its aerial maps.

Now Google has done a deal with Stanford University to use some of the sensing technology from DARPA Grand Challenge winner Stanley and the Urban Challenge competitor Junior to enhance its visualizations. It sounds like Google will be assembling a fleet of vehicles to drive around cities with some of the sensing equipment and feed the information back into Google Maps and Earth. No word yet on whether drivers will be included in the vehicles.

[Source: San Jose Mercury News via Engadget]

 

Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Click here to advertise on the Worlds largest Blog Advertising Network

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupes, Sedans/Saloons, Honda

Click on the photo for a gallery of the Accord Coupe Concept

The 2008 Honda Accord sedan has been out and about fairly regularly in the past few weeks with several lightly covered examples having been photographed. Until now, none of these were accompanied by the coupe version, but that too has changed. Comparing the production coupe to the concept that Honda unveiled in January at the Detroit Auto Show shows how much of the concept was production ready. In fact, the bulk of the details, including the side character line, headlights and green house are straight off the concept. The only noticeable difference is the lower front grille opening which loses the horizontal slats in favor of a wide-open mouth.

[Source: AutoWeek]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Click here to advertise on the Worlds largest Blog Advertising Network

Few domestic concepts in recent memory have sparked as much interest from both the automotive media and general public as the Chevrolet Volt concept. The promise of 100+ miles per gallon, plug-in capability, chiseled good looks, and a reasonable price tag has piqued the interest of many (yours truly included), and General Motors has publicly committed to building the vehicle.

Click here to advertise on the Worlds largest Blog Advertising Network

Filed under: Concept Cars, SEMA, SUVs, Jeep

click above image to view 16 high-res pics of the Jeep Wrangler Ultimate

Jeep is not only going to display its JT Concept at the 2007 SEMA Show, but also this vehicle, the Wrangler Ultimate. Not that the new four-door Wrangler Limited needs any more exposure (demand is currently outsripping supply for the popular configuration), but the Wrangler Limited takes that vehicle and adds some urban flare to make it more eye catching to the valet crowd.

The Wrangler Ultimate gets the same rock-crawling hardware showcased on the JT Concept, which includes a 3-inch lift kit and 35-inch BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires, but also gets a set of handsome forged 18-inch aluminum wheels from Alcoa. The Jeep design team decided to dump the entire Mopar catalogue of accessories on the Wrangler Ultimate’s exterior, which gets some fancy sparkle and shine from ts chrome fuel filler door, taillamp guards, tubular side steps, exterior mirrors, tow hooks, door handles, hood hinges, and overlays for the front fascia. The Liquid Charcoal Pearl Coat exterior paint color is not available from the factory, either.

The Wrangler Ultimate’s interior also gets the show car treatment with seats upholstered in a mesh fabric and trimmed in dark slate gary Nappa/Province leather bound with a heavy black leather baseball stitch. There are additional orange trim pieces on the steering wheel, shift knob and passenger handlebar, while the floor shifter appears to have a wooden trim piece, as well. Again, don’t expect the Wrangler Ultimate to be an option package anytime soon, but at least Jeep has proven that you can dress up its weekend warrior.

Check out the high-res gallery full of 16 high-res pics of the Jeep Wrangler Ultimate.

[Source: Jeep]

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Buy any word or phrase on this site and thousands of others using Phrase Links™

Filed under: Concept Cars, SEMA, Trucks/Pickups, Jeep

click above image to view 16 high-res pics of the Jeep JT Concept

The Jeep JT Concept is set to “officially” debut at the 2007 SEMA Show, but unlike a lot of the hardware that will be on display in Las Vegas later this year, Jeep’s compact pickup is a capable rock crawling machine. Check out the pics in our gallery of the JT Concept descending into and out of a bathtub at the Hell’s Revenge trail in Moab, Utah. We thought it would need an airlift to get out, but the JT climbed right up the opposite wall.

We’ve learned that the JT Concept is built right off of the Wrangler Unlimited’s platform and shares its 116-inch wheelbase, though adding a 5-foot-long bed and removable hard top over the cab. Its rock-crawling cred is bolstered by a 3-inch suspension lift from Superlift, 35-inch BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires, a Ramsey 9500 UT winch and a Mopar rear bumper and rock rails.

We’ve said it before that the compact pickup market is ripe to grow if only an automaker would offer a decent competitor to the aged Ford Ranger. Perhaps a Jeep JT could fit that bill and sell like Twinkies, though the brand isn’t saying whether or not the concept was built for fun or to test the public’s reaction (again) to a Jeep pickup.

Check out the gallery below for high-res pics of the Jeep JT Concept.

[Source: Jeep]

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Create Instant Buzz

Filed under: Time Warp, Sedans/Saloons, Videos, Ford

>
/>
/>>

Warning: If you are not a fan of the Ford Taurus SHO, look away. I’m indulging my own affection for the crown pinnacle of Taurus evolution by sharing with you a couple of posts found on DrivingEnthusiast.com. The first features two original Taurus SHO commercials for the Gen I and Gen II models. The Gen I spot is glorious dressed in its mid-80’s production values with a soundtrack sourced from a $40 Yamaha keyboard and the late, great Ford tag line, “Have you a driven a Ford… lately?” The second commercial advertising the Gen II model glams up the SHO with a string section while the caption reminds us that the Taurus was the best-selling car in America at one point. Sigh… those were the days.

Finally, we bring you a video of something that never actually took place: a Gen III Taurus SHO running the famed Nurburgring in Germany. We have Sony Computer Entertainment’s Gran Turismo 4 to thank for this one, which allows one to choose from an exhaustive palate of undeserving automobiles to race on the world’s most prestigious tracks.

From what we’ve heard, there’s little to no chance that Ford is working on reviving the SHO using the new 2008 Taurus (read: Five Hundred) as its base, and we can’t blame them. The Five-Hundred is an even worse platform on which to build a performance sedan than the original Taurus. Nevertheless, we continue to hold candle vigils for the original SHO (specifically the first gen that remained truest to form), which played to host to an outstanding, high-revving 3.0L V6 from Yamaha that looked like underhood art and went like stink.

Check out the other two videos after the jump.

[Source: DrivingEnthusiast.net

Continue reading VIDEO: Fo’ SHO: Original commercials and a Gen III on the ‘Ring

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Buy any word or phrase on this site and thousands of others using Phrase Links™

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Etc., Green

click above image to view a sample of NYC’s fleet of hybrid taxis

Mayor Mike Bloomberg has announced a plan to require that all New York taxis be hybrids by 2012. This bid to greatly reduce the environmental impact of the 13,000 strong yellow cab fleet, is part of the city’s larger plaNYC long-term sustainability program, which also includes the mayor’s controversial congestion pricing proposal. Currently, there are around 400 hybrids patrolling for fares in New York’s urban canyons. Among them are the Ford Escape Hybrid (above), the Toyota Prius, the Lexus LX400h (we’ve seen one), the Toyota Highlander, at least one Saturn Vue Green Line, and others.

Mayor Mike says that fuel economy requirements for medallion-seekers will increase to 25mpg in October 2008. In ‘09 the minimum rises to 30 mpg and also requires that the new cabs be hybrids. While the mayor’s announcement formalizes things, we’d spoken to someone who purchased a medallion in the last year who told us that the writing was already on the wall regarding the hybrids. More and more medallions going up for auction were hybrid-only.

According to the Mayor, the financial sting associated with operators being required to shell out extra cash to purchase the greener vehicles should be defrayed by their associated fuel cost savings. AP puts that number at $10,000 per year when comparing a hybrid to a traditionally-powered taxi. And really, taxi duty in a highly-congested, stop-and-go urban environment like New York is the perfect scenario for a hybrid drivetrain, where the fuel-saving and emissions-cutting features are going to be maximized.

The only thing now is, maybe they should just paint ‘em all green…

[Source: AP]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Buy any word or phrase on this site and thousands of others using Phrase Links™

Filed under: Gadgets, Tech, Driving

Avis is still trying harder, this time offering internet in its rental fleet for $10.95 a day. Called Avis Connect, the service is launching at San Francisco International Airport and will come on line at airports in San Jose, Oakland, Los Angeles and Newark, with airport locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, San Diego and Seattle later this year.

Autonet Mobile is the ringleader behind the effort, developing the system exclusively for Avis. Anything that would hook up to a WiFi network is compatible with the system, making it easy to use laptops from the comfort of the Avis rental to access e-mail, games, music, etc. without a need for a cellular chip or other satellite-based card.

While $10.95 may not sound cheap, it’s not uncommon for hotels and some cafes (cough-Starbucks-cough) to charge about that much anyway, and really, how much time do you spend in your hotel room?

Full press release from Avis after the jump.

[via Engadget]

Continue reading Avis to offer internet in cars for $10.95/day

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Click here to advertise on thousands of blogs including mine

Filed under: Motorsports, SUVs, Porsche

Click image for a photo gallery of the Cayenne S Transsyberia

Porsche recently held a 3-day training session for the drivers who’ll be taking the automaker’s 26 factory-prepared Cayenne S Transsyberias out rallying later this summer. The roster is sprinkled with drivers from various rally disciplines like Rod Millen, Armin Schwartz, René Metge, and Marc Coma, who will be among the other enthusiasts taking part in the 4,100-mile adventure.

The session, held at Porsche’s off-road test area at Leipzig, let the drivers get acclimated to the cars, see how they handled various conditions, and brush up on their navigation and field repair skills. They’ll need it, as the Transsyberia Rally course from Moscow to Mongolia is sure to bring its share of unexpected surprises along the way.

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia drivers get their rides dirty

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Click here to advertise on the Worlds largest Blog Advertising Network