Automotive News

Filed under: SUVs, Auction Action, Etc., Ford

Remember when bald-headed Britney Spears went bananas and attacked a paparazzo’s SUV with a green umbrella? An armada of Martian flying saucers landing in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow would have gotten less media attention. In any case, the owner of said 2002 Ford Explorer Sport either needs cash badly or simply came to the realization that in this celeb-addled society, there might be some sucker fan willing to pony up good money for this bit of tabloid memorabilia. It’s up on eBay now, paired with the umbrella that was used in the “attack.” There are three bidders in play as of this writing, and the high offer is $25,000 — with the reserve still not having been met. When you consider that an ‘02 Explorer Sport has a private party resale value of around $9,000 according to KBB.com, it might behoove the owner to just yank the reserve and take what he can get. After all, 25 grand is a lot for a used Explorer like this, and it won’t be long before people stop caring entirely. Autoblog says: Take the money. Run.

[Source: eBay via TMZ]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

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

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

Tesla has already “sold” 560 Roadsters. Wal-Mart is saving money with sleeker trucks. And Th!nk could bring electric cars to America next year. Anything else you need to know from yesterday’s green car news? See below:

• Tesla now has 560 Roadster orders, on track for fall delivery of Job 1
• Honda says high CR-V sales prove UK buyers care to drive green
• Hybrid or Diesel? Depends.
• Porsche Cayenne hybrid will use a third less fuel than current version
• Delphi to open new diesel components plant in Romania
• Saving energy at the airport
• Quantum to supply mobile hydrogen filling stations to GM
• Latest Gasoline Prices - It Ain’t Pretty
• Popular Science makes ethanol at home
• While we’re talking - Wal-mart Is working
• Detroit job market versus fuel economy: does it have to be this way?
• Stop-start Minis coming in to Europe in September
• UHaul enters the car-sharing system with U Car Share
• How Good Are You . . . at Squandering?
• Australian diesels: not so squeaky clean…
• Th!nk could be back in the US as soon as 2008
• Frankfurt Preview: Kuga CUV to be Ford’s first Euro hybrid

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Create Instant Buzz

Filed under: Aftermarket, Trucks/Pickups

Fresh from the car-web circuit is this picture taken of a decidedly low-tech and low-profile retrofit for an apparently missing or broken gear-shift leaver.

Without knowing exactly what kind of car this was, we’d speculate from the picture that it’s a 90’s-era pick-up truck, either American or Japanese. Either way, it sounds so much better the way our Spanish colleagues at Motorpasion called it: “Palanca de cambio modelo rustico”.

[Source: TechEBlog via Carscoop]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Click here to advertise on thousands of blogs including mine

Filed under: Gadgets, Etc.

In college we had a ratty, brown recliner no one wanted to surrender. With its overstuffed cushions and under appreciated looks, it caused many a missed class. After graduation it saw many, many hours of post-party lounging and entire Saturdays of immobility. It was almost the perfect piece of furniture. Almost perfect because its makers totally failed to install any means of propulsion, meaning occasionally, usually when the beer ran out, we’d have to walk.

Armchair Cruisers understands that shortcoming, and is valiantly trying to correct that egregious omission in the furniture they sell. Their motorized furniture can take you from the bedroom to the backyard to the beer store with you moving nothing more than your right hand! It’s genius, we tell you.

AC says they don’t just take a LaZBoy and slap it on top of a lawnmower frame. No, the company says it custom builds these things from the ground up, with both electric and gasoline models. There’s a Harley Davidson-themed recliner, a comfy-looking, cow-print armchair and a three-wide loveseat on their Web site.

The options list would make any import street-racer drool, with accessories like liquid-cooled twin engines, disk brakes, dual exhaust, drink coolers, and, our favorite, nitrous kits.

Prices of the two-seat, love-seat-like Rumble Bee start at $4,900.

And if you like speed with your furniture, Armchair Cruisers is developing a twin-engined, nitrous-injected, 30 hp easy-chair. And if you like stupid crazy speed with your furniture, they’re working on a jet turbine powered recliner. If you’re interested in buying one of AC’s creations, you might want to do it before they begin testing that one.

See more photos on the jump.

[Source: Gizmag]

Continue reading La-Zness-Boy: Armchair Cruisers

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Create Instant Buzz

Filed under: Driving

We’ve all been there. You’re on your way back from an interstate trip, it’s late, all the roads are empty and appear to stretch on forever, while your eyelids seem to be getting heavier with every passing minute. Driving while tired can be downright dangerous, with some suggesting that a sleepy driver is actually worse on the road than a drunk one.

Apart from pulling over and taking a little nap, there are several other measures you can perform to ensure you’ll be feeling your best behind the wheel. The travel bloggers over at our sister site Gadling have compiled them into a list for easy digestion. Most may seem like common sense, but these are things of which every driver, young or old, should be made aware.

[Source: Gadling]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Click here to advertise on the Worlds largest Blog Advertising Network

Filed under: SUVs, Land Rover

Click on the image above to view our high-resolution image gallery.

It’s had a lot of challengers, and to stay at the top, Land Rover has been rolling out consistent updates to its flagship Range Rover model. Last year it was the upgraded engines: the 305-hp 4.4-liter V8 and the supercharged 400-hp 4.2-liter V8. For this year, the Range Rover gets upgrades to the interior and to its traction systems.

Inside, the Range Rover’s luxurious cabin has been updated with a new instrument panel, air-con unit, new airbags and new trim, switchgear and storage compartments. The front seats have been outfitted with new head restraints designed to minimize whiplash, as well as an in-seat air-cooling system (optional on HSE and standard on Supercharged models). Underneath, the Land Rover’s Terrain Response system has been fitted as standard equipment, as well as an electronic rear differential (which, like the seat cooling system, is optional on HSE and standard on Supercharged models) to supplement the center e-diff. There’s also a new electronic parking brake that automatically disengages when you start driving.

The new changes might not amount to much, as Land Rover draws up plans for the Range Rover’s all-aluminum replacement, but with heavy competition from Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Land Rover can’t afford to rest on its name alone.

Press release after the jump, and high-res images in the gallery below.

Continue reading Small changes for big Range Rover in 2008

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Click here to advertise on the Worlds largest Blog Advertising Network

Filed under: Sports/GTs, Supercars, Earnings/Financials

In the present automotive climate, with historic European marques being revived left, right and center, a name like de Tomaso couldn’t lay dormant for long. The Modena-based supercar-maker (not unlike Pagani) founded by Argentine-Italian industrialist and former racing driver Alejandro de Tomaso had a colored history that included the production of such iconic sportscars as the Ford-powered Pantera and Mangusta. Along the way, de Tomaso also made a few racing cars - including an F1 car for Williams - and even tried its hand at Jaguar-rivaling luxury cars like the Deauville and the Longchamp, as well as temporarily taking over such stoic firms as Ghia, Vignale, Moto Guzzi, and, in between Citroen and Fiat ownership, even Maserati. After a last-ditch effort to produce a new Mangusta with Qvale went sour, however, the company dissolved in June 2004, shortly after the founder’s passing.

The latest industry reports, however, suggest that the de Tomaso name might embark on a new future, lead by a group of American and Chinese investors. The company was last owned by MG-Rover, which closed it down after just one year. Back in the day, de Tomaso’s most famous customer was Elvis Presley; if thousands can believe that Elvis is still alive, then certainly de Tomaso could be resuscitated as well. We’ll be watching the gates of Graceland for emerging news.

[Source: Motor Authority]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Click here to advertise on thousands of blogs including mine

Filed under: Gadgets, Etc., Videos

In the first video we have for you, Blendtec engineer Tom Dixon recounts how his morning began with stepping on one of his 25 grandchildren’s toy cars. Some grandparents might laugh it off and bear the excruciating pain of a bruised heel. Not Tom. He sees it as an opportunity to teach his beloved grandkids a little lesson.

If you’ve seen any of Tom’s “Will It Blend?” videos, you can imagine his teaching methods. Off comes the lid of the Blendtec blender, in goes 53 diecast cars and, about 45 seconds later, out comes something closer to dust than a toy Duster. As a diecast collector, I find it a little painful to watch, but as a guy I have to ask, why just 53? They come 75 to a case. Dump ‘em all in!

In another video, Tom takes two Transformers and says, “Let’s see what Grandpa can transform these into.” Robots in disguise indeed!

And, as if we had to say it, kids, don’t try this at home.

[Source: Blendtec]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Create Instant Buzz

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Ford

click above to see more high-res pics of the new Ford Mondeo

We believe it’s that time of year again when every automotive media outlet and its sister (publication) begin giving out its Car of the Year (COTY) award. Auto Express in the U.K. is kicking things off by awards its respective COTY statue to the new Ford Mondeo, as well as the honor for best family car and estate car. The editor’s don’t mince words when they say the Mondeo is “Ford’s finest ever car”. We’d like to agree, except we probably won’t ever get a chance to drive the new Mondeo, at least not this generation of the car. Hopefully, Ford CEO Alan Mulally will have his way and the next-gen Mondeo will merge with our Fusion sold in the U.S. Perhaps then we can corroborate the opinion of Auto Express that the Mondeo is a COTY caliber sedan. Until then, however, we’ll just congratulate the car from afar.

[Source: Newspress]

Continue reading Ford Mondeo named Car of the Year by Auto Express

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Click here to advertise on the Worlds largest Blog Advertising Network

Filed under: Concept Cars, Spy Photos

It turns out that the spy shots of what we thought was an AM General prototype for the next-gen Humvee was anything but. After seeing the pics appear on the web, AM General contacted World Car Fans with an explanation of what we were looking at. The vehicle shot by Brenda Priddy & Co. was in fact the Evolutionary Concept Vehicle II (EVC II), which AM General’s been exhibiting in public at U.S. Army events since last year. It doesn’t seem to be an official next-gen prototype of anything, but just a concept vehicle the company uses to generate interest.

We also thought that the Pentagon’s project for the next-gen Humvee was called the Future Tactical Truck System (FTTS). While that program does exist, the one to replace the current Humvee is called the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). AM General is working on a JLTV prototype for the program in conjunction with General Dynamics, but has yet to show it in public.

Despite it not being the real deal, the vehicle in the spy shots is still a bad ass truck that would like right at home on a battlefield, but we’ll have to wait a while longer before we find out what the military will choose as its next whip.

[Source: World Car Fans]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Click here to advertise on thousands of blogs including mine