Archive for December, 2006
Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Motorsports, Sedans/Saloons
Imagine all the exotic locals where international motor racing has taken place over the course of modern history and Morocco might not show up on your radar. But back in the era of Casablanca, the North African country, just across the Straight of Gibraltar from Europe, hosted the Moroccan Grand Prix, starting with a touring car race in 1925 and culminating with an F1 grand prix in 1958 won by (spoiler alert!) Stirling Moss. Now, after fifty years have passed, the racing scene is set to return to Morocco for a World Touring Car Championship race in Marrakech.
Instead of using the old Ain-Diab circuit, construction of the new street circuit is scheduled to begin later this month. Race organizers expect to draw a crowd of 100,000 fans when the race kicks off on May 1, 2009, but after the cancellation of the nearby Dakar Rally due to terrorist threats from Al-Qaeda, we would hope that race organizers will take serious security precautions.
[Source: autosport, WTCC]
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Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Humor
From time to time, license plates wind up with unintentionally humorous alphanumeric combinations. Massachusetts had a run of plates with "POO" as the trailing characters, for example, but th North Carolina DMV's inadvertent pun takes the cake. About 10,000 plates were stamped up bearing the characters WTF before a 60 year old teacher's grandchildren whispered the internets meaning of the acronym in her ear, spurring her to raise the issue. Perhaps they need to surf the web a bit more in North Carolina's DMV offices, but at least anyone offended by his or her tag can get it replaced for free. The best part of the entire debacle? The DMV's own sample image for its website was "WTF-5505."
[Source:
DriversDrive, Photo: WXII]
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Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Videos, Maserati
Click above to view the videoLast week we brought you the first batch of images and details on the new Quattroporte and Quattroporte S from Maserati. Since we've received requests from several Autoblog readers that we give them a heads-up on events we're attending, and as eager as we always are to please, we're headed off next week to Europe to sample the latest from the master motor craftsmen at Maserati. Until we get a chance to drive and report on the newest offering from the stoic Trident marque, we offer up this video that conveys the new Quattroporte from every angle and in all its beauty. Follow the jump to watch.
[Source:
theCarfanatic.com]
Continue reading VIDEO: 2009 Maserati Quattroporte inside, out and upside down
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Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Green, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs
If Tesla has learned anything from the development of the Roadster over the past five years, it's that building a production car that meets present day regulations is a lot harder than anyone in Silicon Valley guessed. The process is filled with all kinds of potholes and having some people on the team with experience navigating those craters can be a big help. During
AutoblogGreen's recent conversation with Tesla Chairman Elon Musk, he revealed that the company would have several experienced auto industry people coming aboard soon. The first of those new recruits has now been revealed as Mike Donoughe, Tesla's new Executive Vice President for vehicle development and manufacturing. Donoughe is a 24-year veteran of Chrysler who
resigned from his VP post there three months ago, and was instrumental in the effort to redesign Chrysler's mid-sized cars. At Tesla he will be responsible for vehicle engineering for the Roadster and Model S except for the drivetrain. Initially, Donoughe will focus on getting the Model S' engineering and manufacturing sorted out. The Tesla press release is after the jump.
[Source: Tesla Motors, via
AutoblogGreen]
Continue reading Ex-Chrysler VP moves west to head Tesla engineering
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Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: SUVs, Trucks/Pickups, GM, HUMMER
It's no secret that GM is looking to sell or kill its once valuable
HUMMER brand, but the big question now is whether the General will do the same with other brands. Unfortunately for GM, there isn't much to be gained from either killing or selling most brands. Saturn, GMC, and Pontiac are all US-only brands that don't exist without Chevrolet, and the bow-tie
is GM, so it's safe as can be. Buick is a Chinese gold mine, so it's off the market. Selling Saab, Vauxhall or Opel likely wouldn't result in the kind of cash the General is going to need going forward, but at the expense of losing its European market share. Killing any brand, as GM already knows from its experience with Oldsmobile, would result in lawsuits from dealers and a dip in sales, which the General can hardly afford.
What is likely to happen is that GM will take the same road Chrysler is
already traveling by cutting overlapping models. Do we need a G5 and a Cobalt? Not likely. How about four Lambda crossovers? Two or three would likely be sufficient. How many different flavors of GMT 900-based SUVs is needed? There are currently several different flavors of Tahoe, Silverado, and Yukon, and some are superfluous, not mention stagnating on dealer lots. In the place of those vehicles will go more efficient models ranging from the sub-sub compact
Chevy Beat (supposedly) to more Cobalt-sized products. The trick will be keeping the ship afloat until those models, along with the
Chevy Volt, become reality. GM is likely to unveil more details during its next board meeting in early August.
[Source:
Detroit News]
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Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Hatchbacks, BMW, MINI
BMW's MINI brand already produces some of the most efficient vehicles for sale in the US, and sources say the pint-sized cars will soon go emissions free, at least in California. BMW is planning to lease 490 Minis in California, with an additional 10 vehicles planned for show car duty. The emissions-free MINIs will be silver with a yellow roof, which should stand out nicely in the land of fruits and nuts.
There are no details at this point pertaining to EV range or date of availability, but BMW claims it will make an announcement regarding electric vehicles later in the year. With all the talk of game-changing vehicles coming in the near future, we're getting the feeling that the upcoming auto show season could be one of the more memorable on record.
[Source:
Automotive News (subs req'd)]
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Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Spy Photos, Supercars, Ferrari
With the
release of the California, Ferrari can turn its attention towards developing its next hyper car, and apparently things are well underway. Spy shooters have caught a Maranello mule wearing the trappings of an F360, but what lies beneath could be the next iteration of the F430 or even a successor to the Enzo.
The only thing that tipped-off spies was the central mounting of the exhaust pipes, which usually reside on the far ends of the bumper. Camouflage is covering the side sills and front bumper, but more importantly, Ferrari engineers saw fit to black out the rear window to keep prying eyes away from the mule's mid-mounted engine.
Details are scarce at the moment, but as the summer testing season continues, we expect to hear more about Ferrari's next big thing.
[Source:
NextAutos]
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Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Economy, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, India
As suspected, the
KTM X-Bow is just the beginning of the bike-cum-automaker's assault on the four-wheeled world. According to
CAR, KTM is in the process of creating a "slew" budget oriented vehicles, including a city car and "the world's first frugal and eco-friendly off-roader."
The SUV, codenamed the New Haflinger, will split the difference between KTM's world-renowned bikes and a traditional utility vehicle, with a small footprint, an open- or closed-top body and the ability to handle the rigors of the Paris-Dakar rally (which it plans to compete in with four wheels) while still holding its own on the road.
Three separate city vehicles are also part of the product onslaught, which is being co-developed with Bajaj Auto, India's third largest automaker. One will be a four-seat, four-wheel runabout, while a scooter and three-wheeled modern take on the tuk-tuk is under development. KTM's aim is to produce a wide variety of bodystyles and drivetrains, and its plans to include gasoline- and diesel-powered models, along with an EV in the future.
[Source:
CAR]
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Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Coupes, Green, Lotus, Misc. Auto Shows
UPDATED with more hempalicious photos.
Click either image for a high-res gallery of the Eco Elise.We've had our fill of limited edition Elises lately, largely because they rarely bring anything new to our favorite track-day toy. However, the Lotus Eco Elise stands apart. Sure, it's got the same drivetrain as the Elise S, uses the same aluminum tub and shares the same shape as its arguably environmentally friendly siblings, but the differences are in the details.
To begin with, the Eco Elise uses a host of sustainable materials to make up the body and trim, including hemp, "eco wool," sisal and a new high-tech, water-based paint that can be applied by hand, while still maintaining the grade-A finish you'd expect. All of these elements reduce the Eco Elise's footprint throughout its lifecycle, limit the amount of energy used during production and simultaneously slashes 70 pounds from the standard Elise's curb weight.
But Lotus hasn't stopped there. It's fitted a set of flexible solar panels on the hard top to help power the electrical systems, reducing the drain on the engine and improving efficiency. And there's a new green shift light on the instrument panel that assists drivers in maximizing fuel efficiency.
You can read up on all the details of the Eco Elise in the press release after the jump, and expect more information and pictures when it makes its official debut at the London Motor Show later this month.
Continue reading Lotus releases Eco Elise ahead of London Motor Show
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Sunday, December 31st, 2006
Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Japan, Mitsubishi, Police/Emergency
Click image to enlargeSomewhere, our pal
Mike Bumbeck is smiling, because Mitsubishi has produced yet another vehicle worthy of its classic
"Super Potential" slogan. No, there's no new-fangled Starion, unfortunately, but there
is now an i MiEV police car. Mitsubishi has supplied one of the teensy EVs to the Kanagawa Prefecture police, who will test it through March of next year. Sure, it's not particularly intimidating, but it is
(ahem) arrestingly cute. As mentioned at AutoblogGreen, we'd have had that battery pack power a set of on-board tasers, too. Talk about missed opportunities...
[Source: Mitsubishi via
AutoblogGreen]
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