Autoblog: News Thread

[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: AutoblogGreen for 11.29.07

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green


Whether it's the possibility of a New Isetta or the naming of the new Tesla Motors CEO (Ze'ev Drori) or a little more info on the Suzuki Crosscage or the slight uptick in the used SUV market thanks to unhappiness over the mpg ratings of most crossovers, yesterday was an interesting day on AutoblogGreen. Just the way we like 'em.

• Tesla names Ze'ev Drori as new permanent CEO
• Will BMW re-inflate the bubble? New Isetta may be on the way!
• Crossovers not providing the MPGs people want, so they're going back to SUVs
• Let's not forget the Crosscage, the hydrogen-powered motorcycle coming from Suzuki
• Could NASCAR actually go green?
• DECARBit project tries to capture carbon the cheapest way possible: before combustion
• Ford joins Suppliers Partnership for the Environment
• Cool videos: street lamp electric bubble car, Disney's 1958 hovering solar car
• Audi's Vorsprung durch Technik means a lot of recycling
• The ethanol backlash is accelerating; even the cows aren't happy
• NEC offers tours that offset carbon emissions
• GM: our "next generation" mild hybrids will use lithium-ion batteries
• Japan to buy carbon rights in Hungary
• GM to add hybrid production in China in 2008
• Peugeot's Intelligent A/C can improve efficiency when used all year long
• Green magic: Swiss company can turn used plastic bags into diesel
• Car and Driver checks out the VW Up!

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Renault Alpine coming in 2010 with midship turbo-power

Filed under: Coupes, Euro, Paris Motor Show, Renault


Renault hasn't done much to tap into its Formula One successes, nor has it provided credible competition to the RX-8s and 350Zs of the world. That's all going to change come 2010. Renault is expected to revive the much-loved Alpine name and slap it on the back of two-door coupe powered by a turbocharged engine mounted amidships. AutoExpress has it on good authority that designers are wrapping up the exterior and that a Megane-bodied mule caught testing on the Nurburgring is actually the new Alpine being put through its paces. Renault is confident that the new coupe won't go the way of the Sport Spider that was dropped in 1997 after it was maligned for offering little refinement and even less practicality. We're hoping to see the Alpine make its concept debut in Paris next year.

[Source: AutoExpress]
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Ford settling class-action lawsuits related to rollovers

Filed under: SUVs, Government/Legal, Safety, Ford
FoMoCo is on the brink of settling a class-action lawsuit brought by owners claiming that Ford's Explorer was prone to rolling over. The settlement covers approximately one million people in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas who've owned 1991 through 2001 Explorers.

Ford's spokesperson, Kristen Kinley, believes that "the settlement is fair and reasonable," but declined to given an estimate of how much Ford would be shilling out to slighted owners. However, vouchers are expected to be issued to owners in the four states that would allow them to put $500 towards a new Explorer or $300 for another Ford, Lincoln or Mercury product.

[Source: Detroit News]
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[skitt]

wtf, looks like a stretched Clio V6 with a bad make over

 

[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: 2009 Ford F-150 may feature Hydraulic Launch Assist

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Trucks/Pickups, Green, Ford
Five years ago Ford debuted the F-350 Tonka Concept, a big yellow concept truck that portended the design of future Super Duty trucks. Along with the chunky looks, the Tonka concept also featured a trick bit of eco-tech called Hydraulic Launch Assist (HLA). The system uses a hydraulic pump/motor and high pressure accumulator to recapture kinetic energy when braking, which can then be released when the truck is accelerating to assist the engine. It's a type of mild hybrid system really, though its effect promised to be substantial.

Rumors are swirling around the intertubes that a production version of Ford's Hydraulic Launch Assist technology will debut with the 2009 Ford F-150 at the Detroit Auto Show, or possibly a year later. A figure of 60 mpg was initially thrown around, though we're a bit skeptical a production version of HLA could hit the mark. A similar system, however, has already reached the roads on some special Hydraulic Hybrid UPS trucks that were developed by the EPA in conjunction with Eaton and International Truck, both of which are Ford suppliers, as well.

There's been no confirmation from Ford that the 2009 Ford F-150 will feature HLA, so we'll have to wait until January when the new truck is unveiled in Detroit to find out for sure. If HLA does make an appearance, it'll be the second major shake up in the full-size truck segment debuting in Detroit, the other being Dodge's switch to a coil-sprung rear suspension on the 2009 Ram.

[Source: All Cars, All The Time via AutoblogGreen]
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: New MazdaSpeed6 may not happen

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Mazda, Australia

The current Mazdaspeed6 has good performance, an attainable price point, and aggressive (if slightly homely) looks, but it hasn't exactly set the world on fire on the showroom floor. Part of the problem is that car buyers can get 268 hp Camrys and Accords with near-equal performance and superior fuel economy. The Speed6 weighs as much as a Sherman tank, too. We were hoping that the next edition of the Speed6 would succeed where the current generation didn't, but it doesn't look like there will be a next time. Mazda6 program manager Ryuichi Umeshita points out that the next 6 will be larger in the US than in other regions, which means Mazda would be paying for two different development programs. Any Speed6 would play for a smaller audience too, since the US edition would need different tuning than Europe/Australia and visa verse. In the end, Umeshita basically said that he doesn't see big enough potential demand to make a Speed edition worth Mazda's time and money.

On the bright side, even though the next Mazda6 will be roomier and more refined than the model it replaces, it will also likely keep its zoom zoom character. The brilliant engineers at Mazda took an MPS minivan platform and created the large yet fun to drive CX-9, so it's fairly safe to expect good things of the next 6. Besides, if Mazda can wrestle from Ford the same 273 hp 3.7L V6 used in the CX-9, then any turbo talk will likely be in-material anyway.
[Source: GoAuto via Motor Authority]



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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Video: Pinks, Romanian style

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Euro


The greatest use of video is for entertainment and explanation. Nevertheless, when it comes to explanation, there are some videos that you still have to explain. Then there are videos like this, which need no explanation, just a chair and enough room to laugh. And I'll bet you didn't even know there was such a thing as Romanian Pro Street Racing. In case you haven't learned, there is everything on the Internet.

It's Marek vs. Dragos, Lada vs. Dacia, double-decker rear wing vs. the Sears Tower of rear wings, and -- a very slow -- race to the title. If both of the -- heroes? -- weren't Romanian, I swear you'd expect Dragos to look Marek in the eye and mumble, "I must break you." But for my money, forget about winning the other guy's car -- I'll take the groupies.

[Source: Carscoop]Continue reading Video: Pinks, Romanian style

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Sat-nav flashback: Honda's 1981 Electro Gyrocator mapping system

Filed under: Etc., Honda

It wasn't so long ago that finding a road atlas shoved underneath the passenger seat was standard practice - Hell, we still have one highlighted with our favorite roads in and around our hometown. But with the price of portable sat-nav systems going through the floor, it's simply a matter of time before we see them in cars that cost less than the unit itself.

Our friends over at GrandJDM flashed back over two-and-a-half decades and came across this gem from Honda that offered a non-satellite-guided system that's more than imaginative in its execution. You choose a plastic map from the guide book, insert it into the machine, place an "X" on your current position and then a gas gyroscope measures the car's movement, plotting your course. Genius! The only rub was the cost of the system which came in around $3k... in 1981... when the Accord it was fitted to cost about $12,000.

[Source: GrandJDM]
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[Stuart]

Did you see the last line.
A truck with coil springs!

I am not sure why they want to, but I guess there must be some reason.

 

[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Tesla names Ze'ev Drori new CEO

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Hirings/Firings


Tesla Motors has been operating with an interim CEO since last August when its founder, Martin Eberhard, stepped down as head of the company. Today the start up that promises to herald in a new era of EV motoring (if it can stay on schedule) announced the appointment of a permanent replacement. Ze'ev Drori will now be at the helm of Tesla Motors as it tries to guide the Tesla Roadster through the production process. Drori has a history of turning around small companies, having founded a computer chip company called Monolithic Memories and later running Clifford Electronics, an automobile security system company, until it was bought by Allstate Insurance in 1999.

We've always wondered whether that's been the plan for Tesla Motors all along: get the all-electric Tesla Roadster to market, build the brand and sell the technology to the major automaker with the highest bid. Bringing on a guy like Drori lends some credibility to that hypothesis, though it's just as likely Tesla plans to remain independent as it builds an entire lineup of all-electric vehicles in the coming years.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]Continue reading Tesla names Ze'ev Drori new CEO

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Punto with a backpack - 2009 Fiat Fiorino

Filed under: Euro, Commercial Trucks, PSA, FIAT


Fiat's new car-derived utility truck, the Fiorino Mk IV, has been revealed in all its Chiclet-colored glory. These small car-based working vehicles are just right for businesses that don't need the heft of the ubiquitous pickup-based cargo van here in the states, or larger Continental vehicles like the Sprinter. Horsepower will be around 75 whether buyers choose the 1.4 liter gasoline or 1.3 liter turbodiesel, plenty to haul all those tiny die-cast Eiffel towers down from port to the Champs &Eacute;lys&eacute;es. Continuing on the French tip, it's worth noting that the Fiorino was co-developed with PSA, which means there's also Peugeot and Citroen variants of the little van. If you don't want people to laugh at you when you tell them what you drive, you'd be best to stick with the new Fiat, though. The Citroen is named Nemo, ever so cute. Peugeot picked a moniker that sounds possibly lewd: Bipper. Call it whatever, the Fiorino blends utility, more style than you'd expect in a commercial vehicle, and a comfortable interior with carlike dynamics. Coming soon on the heels of the Fiorino will be the announcement of the "Adventure" package, which will outfit the small wagon for duty on less-improved roads in rural areas. The closest thing we've got to this in the States is the HHR Panel, cool in its own right, but alas, no feisty Italian.

[Source: Jalopnik]
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Toyota whistleblower joined by civil suit over father's death

Filed under: Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota
A faulty seatbelt that traps an occupant in a vehicle and leads to his death is a horrible tragedy. If the defect were given a pass at the manufacturing plant, it goes beyond tragic to criminal. Toyota is now facing two lawsuits in California, both centered around manufacturing defects that may have been ignored at its joint-venture New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant.

We reported earlier on the first lawsuit filed by Katy Cameron, a NUMMI worker who alleges that vehicles with serious problems were passed out the door, even though the NUMMI plant purportedly subscribes to the "Toyota way" of manufacturing. Instead of empowering workers to spot and correct defects, even stop the assembly line to make things right, management at the NUMMI plant allegedly discouraged Cameron by demoting her.

A second lawsuit has also been filed by the Singh family, who are blaming the seatbelt latch in their 2002 Corolla for the death of Raminder Singh. The Singhs were involved in an accident that led to an engine fire, and while 19-year-old Gurinder Singh was able to exit the vehicle, his father remained trapped by his seatbelt despite Gurinder's efforts to unlatch it.

A spokesman for Toyota has been quoted as saying, "as heart-rending and tragic as this collision was, Toyota has an altogether different view of the facts." The facts will hopefully come to light during this civil trial, which heard opening statements on Tuesday.

Thanks for the tip, Jon!

[Source: Money/CNN]

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT-4

Filed under: Garage, Hatchbacks, Dodge, Driving

click above image to view high-res gallery of the 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT-4

Picture the following scene if you will. It's early 2004. A meeting comes to order somewhere deep within the halls of a tower adorned with a five-pointed star just off I-75 in Auburn Hills, MI. A group of engineers and product planners gather to shoot around some ideas for what kind of car they want to create that will top off the upcoming Dodge Caliber line-up. The leader of the team opens the meeting by placing a cup in the middle of the table and declaring that anyone who utters the words 'subtle' or 'subdued' during the discussions must pay a dollar into the cup toward the beer fund. And thus, the Caliber SRT-4 was born.

We have absolutely no idea if it actually went down that way, but there's no doubt that the latest addition to the Chrysler SRT family is in no way subtle or subdued. If you are looking for a Q-ship, move right along because you will not find one here. In many ways the Caliber SRT-4 is the spiritual successor to the original Omni GLH, a rowdy rip-snortin' hot hatch, with too much power for a front-wheel-drive car. Read on after the jump to find out what it's like to live with the latest SRT-4.

Gallery: Autoblog Garage: 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT-4


All photos (C)2007 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT-4

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Next-gen Vectra renamed Insignia

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Saturn, Misc. Auto Shows, Opel

click above image to enlarge

When the next-generation Opel/Vauxhall Vectra debuts at the 2008 London Auto Show in July of next year, it will be called by a different name than the one we've known since 1988. General Motors announced today that its new mid-size family sedan will be called the Insignia, and its design will draw heavily from the well-received Opel GTC Concept that debuted at the Geneva Motor Show last March. For now, though, all we get is the above teaser shot of the car's swoopy rear taillight.

The new Insignia will be built at GM's plant in R&uuml;sselsheim, Germany alongside other models using the Epsilon 2 architecture. The next generation Saturn Aura is also scheduled to switch from its current extended Epsilon platform to the Epsilon 2 architecture sometime around 2011. When it does, we expect the next-gen Aura a bonfied rebadged version of the Opel Insignia for sale in the U.S., which we don't mind since these two sedans aren't sold in the same country.

[Source: Autoblog Spanish]Continue reading Next-gen Vectra renamed Insignia

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: OnStar all grown up, leaves home for China

Filed under: China, Buick, Cadillac, GM

As if offering Buicks that people would actually buy isn't enough, the General is upping the ante in the ultra-competitive Chinese market by announcing that Chinese customers will be able to subscribe to its OnStar service beginning in 2009. The safety and telecommunications service will be jointly provided by GM and its Chinese partner, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), each of which will own 40% of a new joint-venture called Shanghai OnStar Telematics Company Limited. The remaining 20% of the new company will be owned by GM and SAIC's other joint-venture company, Shanghai GM. We now sit back and await the day that someone driving an Envoy in Tennessee hits the little blue button on his rearview mirror and is greeted in Mandarin.

[Source: General Motors]Continue reading OnStar all grown up, leaves home for China

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Lewis Hamilton vs the Stig

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Euro


var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/motorsport/Sunday_Sunday_Sunday_Lewis_Hamilton_vs_the_Stig'; Some say that he shaves with a chainsaw, and that he can climb the Eiffel Tower using just his lips. All we know is, he's called The Stig, and on this Sunday's episode of Top Gear he'll be racing F1 rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton on the Top Gear test track. Hamilton, fresh off his second-place finish in the 2007 F1 series, sits down with Jeremy Clarkson for some witty English banter before heading out to a soggy Top Gear test track to do battle with the Stig in his tool of speed: a Suzuki Liana, otherwise known as the Aerio in our part of the world. Hamilton needs to beat the Stig's top time of 1:44.40 seconds, but it sounds like the weather and some errant oil spilled from Clarkson's VXR8 earlier in the day may spoil his plans. If you can watch current episodes of Top Gear on BBW Two, well, we hate you. The rest of us will be waiting for the episode to hit Final Gear, or perhaps putting it out of our minds until next year when they replay it in the U.S.

Click here for a thread full of nothing but Stig intros.

[Source: Top Gear]
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Shelby GT500KR confirmed as new K.I.T.T.

Filed under: Coupes, Sports/GTs, Etc., Supercars, Ford


The rumor that K.I.T.T. will be played by a Mustang in the upcoming Knight Rider TV series appears to be true. That is, assuming someone with a lot of time on his hands didn't mock up a Hoff-ified Mustang just for the hell of it. That's extremely doubtful, as the car you see above is actually wearing the body kit of a Shelby GT500KR, which isn't easy to come by for weekend projects. Nope, if we take the pic at face value, then the only conclusion possible is that K.I.T.T. will be played by a 550-horsepower Shelby GT500KR in black with silver racing stripes.

K.I.T.T.'s trademark running red light bar has been relocated up and into two nostrils that sit atop the GT500KR's hood. It's a natural fit, though we have to question the silver stripes that, while a trademark of the GT500KR, are totally harshing on K.I.T.T.'s blacked-out super stealth persona.

General Motors is probably a bit bummed that one of its cars wasn't tapped to play the part. But unless show creators agreed to a four-door K.I.T.T. and used the Pontiac G8, the car was definitely not going to be a Pontiac (we hear the Hoff can't fit in a Solstice). And GM is no stranger to stealing acting roles away from other automakers. Volkswagen is probably still pissed off that a Camaro played Bumblebee in Transformers.

Click the Read link to view a couple more pics over at Jalopnik.

[Source:Jalopnik]
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Autoblog Q&A: Erich Heuschele from SRT answers why the Caliber SRT-4 is FWD

Filed under: Tech, Hatchbacks, Chrysler, Dodge

Click on the Caliber for a hig-res gallery of the 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT-4

While the new Dodge Caliber SRT-4 was in the Autoblog Garage, I had a chat with Erich Heushele and Kathy Graham from Chrysler. Erich is the Vehicle Development Supervisor at Chrysler's in-house tuning group and Kathy is a communications rep for the team. We talked about some of the mechanical changes involved in transforming a Caliber into an SRT-4, including why it doesn't have all-wheel-drive.

Autoblog: I just have a few questions about some of the things that your team did on the SRT-4 that differ from the standard Caliber. What sort of suspension and brake changes were made? Also, why is there no all-wheel-drive?

Erich Heuschele: Sure, well I will try to see what I can give you. We dropped the front end 28-mm and the rear 22-mm. We actually have shorter dampers on the car so it has more jounce travel. We didn't just lower the car. We actually got back some of the jounce travel we lost. It has 210-pound per inch springs in the front, 240 in the rear. That's pretty stiff, and on car like the Caliber and the Patriot, they like stiff springs. The base Caliber is more like a 160 pounds per inch and the old SRT-4 Neon was 175 in the front and 125 in the back. We've got 19 by 7 &frac12; inch cast wheels, 225/45-19 tires. The Goodyear Eagle RS-A or the F1. The RS-A is actually a really kick ass RSA, it's nearly as capable as the F1 tire.

Find out what else changed and why the SRT-4 is front-wheel-drive after the jump.
Gallery: Autoblog Garage: 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT-4

Continue reading Autoblog Q&A: Erich Heuschele from SRT answers why the Caliber SRT-4 is FWD

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Euro, Green, Honda, Autoline on Autoblog
John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers.

DRIVING A DIESEL CIVIC
By John McElroy

For the past week I've been tooling around town in a diesel powered, Euro-spec Honda Civic. I like it so much, and it attracts so much attention, that it makes me wonder why Honda never decided to sell this car in the 'States.

First off, the European version of the Civic looks so much sportier than the U.S. model. It's sleeker and sexier than what we get here, including the Si!

Continue reading after the jump and check out the bonus video of John McElroy doing a walk-around with the Honda Civic Sport five-door hatchback.Continue reading Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Spy Shots: 2009 HUMMER H3 SUT caught at Baja 1000

Filed under: Spy Photos, Trucks/Pickups, HUMMER

click above image to enlarge

Though HUMMER H3 SUT mules have been snapped with the long lens before, they're usually heavily guarded and tucked away on GM's proving grounds in Arizona or Milford, MI. For some inexplicable reason, however, this HUMMER H3T prototype has been seen driving around in plain site outside the proving grounds. In fact, it was snapped at the recent Baja 1000 where it played the part of chase vehicle in full pre-production camouflage.

You can see that the production model will indeed have four doors, unlike the short-bed two-door H3T Concept that HUMMER showed us back in 2003. That means the bed is not very big: about 4-feet wide by 4.5- to 5-feet long. You can forget about hauling full-size sheets of plywood, but the H3 HUT will offer additional storage options in the form of cargo boxes in the bed sides, and maybe even a removable lunchbox! Underneath it will be standard H3 fare, which means your choice of the new 295-hp 5.3L V8 or the 242-hp 3.7L inline-five cylinder engine. Production of the 2009 HUMMER H3 SUT is slated to begin in August of 2008 at the automaker's Shreveport plant with an annual production of 35,000 units.

Since the H3 SUT isn't a marquee product, we don't expect we'll see its official debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January. This seems like a good reveal for the Chicago Auto Show in February or the New York Auto Show in late March/early May.

[Photos: Bob Spivey for Brenda Priddy & Co.]Continue reading Spy Shots: 2009 HUMMER H3 SUT caught at Baja 1000

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