Automotive News

Filed under: Etc., Ferrari

Some like it, some hate it, but you can find the Ferrari name on just about everything these days. The exotic Italian automaker, as is commonly known, has been pursuing and escalating a merchandising campaign that has accelerated its way into just about every market segment imaginable. Now it may surprise some of the guys over in Maranello, but it turns out there are still some things money just can’t buy. Like having a drink named after you.

To well-versed bartenders and their most loyal customers (and by that we mean drunks), this will come as no big news, but as this writer recently discovered, there’s a drink called the Ferrari. To the best of our knowledge it’s the only racing team or carmaker that has a mixed drink named after it, and if you follow the jump, we’ll tell you just how to make it.

Continue reading Mix yourself a Ferrari

 

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Filed under: Etc.

With the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission’s October 1 compliance date for installation of GPS-equipped information and payment systems in New York’s 13,000 taxis, a driver’s advocacy group is gearing up to strike in protest. The source of the controversy is the screen above. The system provides riders with useful info like news and weather, as well as credit card payment functionality and the ability to watch the route the taxi is taking to its destination in real-time. We tried it out during the New York Auto show and found it to be pretty cool and easy-to-use. For tourists, it’s a nice setup. The only negative observation our driver made when we asked him his opinion of it was that the system didn’t take well to fast inputs when in payment mode. Slower, deliberate taps on the touchscreen worked better.

According to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a non-union group representing drivers’ interests, the GPS-based systems are a bad thing, and it claims that its 8,400 members will go on strike September 1 if the TLC doesn’t put the kibosh on its fleetwide GPS plan. The organization claims that the systems overreach and are an invasion of drivers’ privacy — a sort of “Big Brother” that’ll be used to track cabbies whereabouts at all times. The TLC notes that there are several benefits to drivers in addition to the added functionality it gives riders. Pick-ups and drop-offs are automatically recorded, eliminating the pencil-and-paper system used up until now. Also, drivers will be able to receive real-time traffic info and will gain a measure of protection against the criminals who sometimes prey upon taxi drivers. The GPS should help police track down cars in distress and nab the perpetrators in these situations. Lastly, the TLC says that drivers in cars equipped with the systems already make 18% more in tips. That tidbit has not been part the NYTWA’s talking points. According to the TLC, most operators (73%) have already chosen a system ahead of the 10/1 date, anyway. Still, it looks like a showdown between the the TLC and Taxi Workers Alliance is imminent, as the TLC is very unlikely to back down. Whether or not the dustup will actually amount to anything significant remains to be seen.

[Sources: NY1, Newsday via Engadget]

 

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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, BMW

It’s been thirty years since BMW introduced the first incarnation of its flagship luxury sedan. The original 7-Series (codenamed E23) made its market debut in 1977 to replace the four-door version of the smaller 6-Series and to compete with offerings from competitors, chief among them Mercedes-Benz.

Since then, the 7-Series has become a staple of the high-end luxury car market, doing battle with such models as the Mercedes S-Class, Audi A8 and Lexus LS. It is now in its fourth incarnation (not counting facelifts and cosmetic tweaks along the way), and has come a long way in the past 30 years. With the “controversial” styling, insanely complex iDrive system and worldwide portfolio of a dozen different variants, it’s doubtful a buyer of the original 7 would even recognize its successor today.

From all of us at Autoblog, we wish the ultimate Ultimate Driving Machine a happy birthday. We look forward to a return to the simpler luxury sports sedan that we’d come to know.

[Source: Motor Authority]

 

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Hatchbacks, Volkswagen

KGP Photography was spending its weekend in beautiful Death Valley when its photogs snapped a whole lot of pics of the next VW Rabbit in testing. Judging from the VW engineer flipping off the camera (will they ever learn how bad that looks?), we’re pretty sure the Volkswagen testers didn’t want any pictures out just yet. A new, stronger character line can be seen spanning the Rabbit’s flank, and the door handles no longer intersect said crease. The front and rear of the car are pretty well covered, but the general shape doesn’t look very different than the Rabbit we already know and love. Powertrains are likely to remain largely unchanged, with a Euro-style range of petrol and diesel engines.

The Rabbit/Golf is perhaps the most important car in the VW stable, as it sells worldwide at very high volume. One place where the Rabbit isn’t as popular is here in the States, which is part of the reason we didn’t get the Gen V Rabbit until only recently. Expect to see the new Golf swing in to European showrooms in 2008, with the bunny-monikered version arriving here a couple of years later. Click the read link below to view more spy shots of the Rabbit over at Winding Road.

[Source: Winding Road]

 

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Filed under: Economy, Wagons/Estates, Euro, Volkswagen

As station wagon lovers ourselves, we were just as disappointed as many of you were when we heard the news that the new Jetta Sportwagen had been delayed due to a plant fire which destroyed 12,000 - 15,000 cylinder heads. After all, with nearly as much space as the average SUV or minivan but with much better fuel mileage and more sport to go with it, what’s not to like? And those are just the practical considerations. What about how the car drives? That’s an excellent question, so, when we got a chance to get some seat time in an ‘08 Jetta Sportwagen at the 2007 American Station Wagon Owners Association Convention, we jumped on it.

Here are a few quick details to keep you interested enough to keep reading after the break, which is where you’ll find our driving impressions. The wagon (or… wagen) version of the Jetta has 32 cubic feet of cargo space with the back seat in place, and more than double that with the seat folded down at 66.9 cubic feet. Engine choices start with the 2.5 liter inline 5 cylinder with the 2.0T engine as an upgrade. If you’re into saving gas with an oil-burner, the 2.0 TDI will be available too. That engine will give up to 60 miles per gallon on the highway..

Follow the jump for more.

Continue reading Thirty minutes with the 2008 Jetta Sportwagen

 

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Filed under: Etc., Nissan, Renault

Nissan has developed a new catalyst for its gasoline-powered cars that requires only half the amount of precious metals that current designs call for. The catalyst or catalytic converter is a piece of the exhaust system filled with a mix of platinum, rhodium and palladium that captures harmful toxins in a car’s exhaust such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons by triggering a chemical reaction.

Engineers at Nissan used new nanotechnology to prevent the gathering of the precious metals in the catalyst under high temperatures, which meant less of the expensive stuff was required to clean the exhaust.

Less metal means less cost, which means more savings for customers. Nissan will be sharing the technology with its French partner Renault and the first cars with the new system should be on the market by early ‘09. Hopefully this will also mean a reduction in the number of catalytic converters being stolen.

[Source: Reuters]

 

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Filed under: Time Warp, Etc.

There’s still a Delorean Motor Company, but it’s not in the business of building new vehicles. At least not yet. The Texas-based firm purchased a lot of the assets of John DeLorean’s original entity when it went belly-up, and it, along with its regional affiliates, does a brisk business keeping the dream alive. There are about 6,500 of the 9,000 DeLoreans produced still out there, but stocks of viable restoration candidates are petering out. Every time some child of the 1980s builds a replica of the Back To The Future time machine, we lose another candidate to stupidity. The recreations do serve to keep the popularity of the gullwing GTs up, we suppose, but the modifications required end up making a car that is more conspicuous than a bright red Maybach in Amish country.

My overbearing opinion out of the way, the crux of the biscuit is that DeLorean Motor Company may soon start building new DeLoreans. They’ll be produced as kit cars, side-stepping the tighter restrictions placed on truly serial-produced cars. Once DeLorean Motor Company has cleared its plate of restoration work, likely by March or April 2008, it’ll start on the new cars. We’ll be keeping our eye on what materializes on the DMC front - being old enough to have seen BTF in the theatres, of course we’ve got a lust to have a DMC-12 sitting in our driveway, whether or not we have the optional Mr. Fusion installed.

Thanks to tipster Doug.

[Source: LA Times]

 

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Filed under: Etc., Supercars, Audi

Our sister blog, Cinematical, is covering Comic-Con in San Diego and lo and behold, what did they spot out in front of the convention center? Tony Stark’s Audi R8. This is just an early tease for Fanboy Nation, and this major product tie-in that will also see several other Audis cross the screen in Iron Man. The silver R8 was parked out front sporting the plate “Stark 4.” Priceless. Robert Downey, Jr. portrays the armor-sporting hero in this newest comic-book-to-big-screen adaptation, which, if the reports on the footage shown at the convention are accurate, is going to kick ass. Click over to Cinematical for a few more pics.

[Source: Cinematical]

 

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