First Lotus Evora delivered to an American customer
Mar 20, 2010 Object
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Lotus
Bruce Rice with his new Lotus Evora
2010 is big for Lotus, as the new Evora has it its first full year of production and the legendary marque returns to both Formula One and Indianapolis. On the road car front, the first customer Evora in the United States was delivered to its new owner this week. Bruce Rice of Austin, TX got the keys to his bright red Evora at John Eagle European (also in Austin).
Lotus calls the Evora the world’s only four-seat mid-engined sports car, but those rear seats are really only theoretical. Nonetheless, being fans of the Lotus design philosophy of adding “lightness” we can’t wait for our own stint behind the wheel of Hethel’s first new product in over a decade - especially in a car that’s not as snug as the Exige.
[Source: Lotus]
Continue reading First Lotus Evora delivered to an American customer
First Lotus Evora delivered to an American customer originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: 12horasdesebring, 12hoursofsebring, a-friend-via, a-wall-during, brucerice, check-out-the, dodge-durango, entry, first evora delivery, gt2, lotusevora, only-four-seat, sports, start-the-race, vehicles-you
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup expanded to LMP2 and GT classes
Mar 20, 2010 Object
Filed under: Motorsports, Acura, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Racing
The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) held a press conference Friday morning before qualifying for this weekend’s 12 Hours of Sebring to announce an expansion of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. When it was first announced late in 2009, the three-race championship was only going to apply to the top LMP1 class. The new championship will now apply to all four main classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1 and GT2.
The cup will be based on results from Le Mans series races in Europe, the United States and Asia. The European and American rounds will be the Silverstone and Petit Le Mans races, with the Asian event likely to be held in Shanghai. For each of the classes to be considered part of the cup, at least four cars will have to be entered. So far in P1, Audi and Drayson racing have committed. Peugeot has not yet decided whether to go to PLM or Asia.
After Le Mans, Peugeot plans to focus on development of its all-new 2011 car and may skip the remainder of the 2010 races. In spite of reduced restrictor sizes and boost, the Peugeots still managed to capture the top to starting positions for Saturday’s race. The Highcroft Acura grabbed the LMP2 pole while Gunnar Jeannette got the LMP Challenge pole. In GT2, the
Flying Lizard Porsche of J
Tags: 12hoursofsebring, a-friend-via, booster, capture-the-top, cars, down-the-cable, entry, jumper-cables, peugeots, the-electronics, united-states
The last interview DeLorean never gave?
Mar 19, 2010 Object
The name John DeLorean is synonymous with the automotive industry. From his days at General Motors, where he turned Pontiac into the automaker’s de facto performance division with the creation of the GTO, and, therefore, the muscle car genre in general, to his days running his eponymous car company that gave us the classic stainless steel gullwing wedge that became an iconic time machine through the magic of the movies, DeLorean was at the forefront of the industry for three decades.
Sadly, John DeLorean died in March of 2005. We’ll never know what exactly he may have had in store to bring DeLorean Motor Company back to the market, though a telephone call two weeks before his death gives us a few clues. Apparently, DeLorean was planning to relaunch DMC with a new take on the classic DMC-12, complete with an engine from Renault with an optional hydraulic hybrid drivetrain and carbon fiber panels to keep it all lightweight.
The above information comes courtesy of our sister site AOL Autos’ Maintenance Editor Tom Torbjornsen, who had planned an interview with John DeLorean that was to take place one week after his death. Torbjornsen pieced together information from a conversation he had with DeLorean and his “best guess at what [he] thought John might have said based on [their] conversation.” It’s an interesting read, and you can check the whole thing out by clicking here.
[Source: AOL Autos]
The last interview DeLorean never gave? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-friend-via, a-long-way, a-new-take, already-offers, automotive, classic, days, death, edge se, entry, information, mazda diesel, next-generation, pieced-together
Rumormill: Rolls-Royce Phantom to undergo major overhaul in 2016
Mar 19, 2010 Object
Filed under: Sedan, Rolls-Royce, Rumormill, Luxury
Rolls-Royce Phantom - Click above for high-res image gallery
Having been introduced in 2003, the Rolls-Royce Phantom has been on the market for seven years now. That’s a pretty long life-cycle for a car these days. According to the ever-churning rumor mill, that’s only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as Rolls may be planning on keeping the Phantom the way it is for another six years or so.
According to the reports, the Phantom is set to receive a major overhaul in 2016. What that will entail is far from being known at this point. And considering Maybach may reportedly fall by the wayside, its only major competition is the Bentley Mulsanne, which is brand spankin’ new.
Once the Phantom sedan is replaced, though, it would be reasonable to expect the Coupe and DHC convertible to follow suit. In the meantime, expect another few dozen special editions for the Persian Gulf crowd.
Gallery: Review: 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom
[Source: Autotelegraaf.nl (translated)]
Rumormill: Rolls-Royce Phantom to undergo major overhaul in 2016 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: 2012bmwm5touring, a-friend-via, a-himself-has, amd milltek, lexus, luxury, major-overhaul, persian-gulf-, proverbial, rolls-royce, rolls-royce phantom, touring car, toyoda
McLaren, Sauber move to sever ties with Mercedes, BMW
Filed under: Motorsports, BMW, Mercedes-Benz
For the past several years - even more in the case of McLaren - Germany’s automakers have been known around the Formula One paddock by their association with two of the sport’s most established racing teams. But for the 2010 season, both Mercedes-Benz and BMW have dissolved their partnerships with McLaren and Sauber, respectively. And yet, if you look down this year’s roster, you’d swear the associations still stand.
In the case of McLaren, the partnership with Mercedes has now devolved into a strict engine-supply arrangement, just the same as exists between Red Bull and Renault or Force India and Ferrari, to mention just two examples. This following Mercedes’ acquisition of the Brawn GP team. McLaren, however, is now completing the re-acquisition of the 40% stake which Mercedes parent-company Daimler held in the racing outfit, thus culminating a 15-year partnership between the two companies.
Sauber’s arrangement is a bit more complicated, however. The Swiss team, which was founded as an independent, was bought outright by BMW after its lackluster arrangement with the Williams team failed to amount to much. The Bavarian automaker withdrew its support at the end of last season, however, leaving Sauber twisting in the wind. The team’s namesake founder has since bought the team back from BMW, and is running under Ferrari power like it once did.
The most bizarre arrangement, however, left the team’s official entry labeled as BMW Sauber Ferrari, since the team was hesitant to remove BMW’s name from its letterhead and risk missing out on the revenue stream to which the team is entitled from Formula One Management’s commercial holdings. Sauber, however, says that the situation will change some time this season when they officially and formally drop the BMW name from its entry and off the nose of the car on which it still sits.
[Sources: ESPN and F1Technical | Image: Guillaume Baptiste/AFP/Getty]
McLaren, Sauber move to sever ties with Mercedes, BMW originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-friend-via, bmwsauberferrari, citroen, entry, formula, formula 1, formula1, mercedes, mercedes-benz, partnership, racing, sauber, team, williams
AutoblogGreen for 03.19.10
Mar 19, 2010 Object, news, video
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Greenlings: What realistic electric vehicle recharge options are there for apartment dwellers? We found four, five if you count moving. |
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Kuwaiti study: Conventional oil to peak in 2014 Who’s worried? |
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Report: BYD cutting back electric vehicle production plans Hmmm. |
Other news: | |
AutoblogGreen for 03.19.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-friend-via, british, citroen, ferrari, five-if-you, formula, formula 1, formula1, hybrid, mercedes, racing, team
Followup: Not so fast, says dealer of Dodge Challenger eBay debacle
Mar 18, 2010 Object
Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Dodge
Earlier this week, we shared with you the budding saga of “Hitman” and the fact that he had won a 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 from Glenn E Thomas Dodge Chrysler Jeep for the amazing low price of $29,100 - about $13,000 less than the car is worth and also $13,000 less than Glenn Thomas wanted to sell it for. However, because eBay auctions are “legally binding” contracts and the dealer failed to put in a reserve, tough turkey, you gotta sell the car at a loss, right? Not quite.
We just got off the phone with John Davis, the general manager of Glenn E Thomas. Here’s his side of the story: About two weeks ago, Glenn put the SRT8 up on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $43,425 and a Reserve price of $42,995. Six days into the seven day auction, Davis says that the dealership changed the Buy It Now price to match the lower Reserve price. At that time, the highest bid was about $21,000 (around half of the Reserve) and Glenn was hoping that a lowered Buy it Now price would drum up some bids. It did, in fact - but not for the reasons Glenn wanted.
Here’s where the story gets fuzzy… Follow the jump to hear the rest of the dealership’s side of the story.
Continue reading Followup: Not so fast, says dealer of Dodge Challenger eBay debacle
Followup: Not so fast, says dealer of Dodge Challenger eBay debacle originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-friend-via, auction, challenger, dealership, dodge challenger srt8, follow-the-jump, into-the-seven, sports
Toyota asks ABC News for apology, retraction of Brian Ross report
Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota
“Toyota deserves a public retraction and formal apology from ABC News.” At least according to the automaker itself. For what, you ask? For ABC’s “irresponsible broadcast entitled “Expert: Electronic Design Flaw Linked to Runaway Toyotas.” You surely remember the piece, which originally aired the night before a Congressional Panel began investigating the issue of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
That dubious timing has also drawn ire from Toyota, which says ABC News “Rushed out the report” and “denied Toyota the opportunity to review specific manipulation” ABC and its expert, Dr. David Gilbert, “performed in the broadcast.” If it had been given an opportunity to respond, Toyota claims it would have shown that Gilbert’s technique required conditions that are “virtually impossible to occur in real-world conditions.”
It’s also pointed out in Toyota’s four-page letter, which you can see in its entirety below, that ABC News faked at least one shot of a tachometer shooting from 1,000 to 6,200 RPM, insinuating that the vehicle was speeding out of control with Brian Ross behind the wheel when it was actually sitting in a parking lot with the transmission firmly in Park.
Toyota concludes that Brian Ross “failed in his basic duty as a journalist” by not disclosing that Dr. Gilbert’s work was being paid for by a group of “trial lawyers involved in litigation against Toyota.” Finally, the Japanese automaker “reserves the right to take any and every opportunity to protect and defend” its reputation.
The ball is officially in your court, ABC News.
Gallery: Toyota letter to ABC News
[Source: Gawker]
Toyota asks ABC News for apology, retraction of Brian Ross report originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-friend-via, a-parking-lot, abc news, abc news toyota, abcnewstoyota, aired-the-night, concretebarrier, david-gilbert, design-flaw, drdavidgilbert, entry, japanese, make-the-jump, recalls-tsbs, trucks
Spy Shots: 2011 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost
Mar 18, 2010 Object
Filed under: SEMA Show, Spy Photos, Hatchback, Ford
2011 Ford Fiesta Ecoboost - Click above for high-res image gallery
The EcoBoost 3.5-liter V6 found in the Ford Flex and Taurus SHO has quickly become one of our favorite mills on the market. But what we’ve really been hankering for from FoMoCo is its smaller displacement offerings, specifically the 1.6- and 2.0-liter turbocharged engines slated to arrive next year.
Along with the Fusion, the all-new Fiesta is set to get a boosted mill sometime in 2011, and these newest spy shots reveal that a high-performance version of Ford’s diminutive hatch is in the works.
Tucked behind a modified version of the Euro-market Fiesta’s Titanium Trim front fascia is a slim intercooler matched with blacked-out trim, a subtle body kit and a prototype rear diffuser modified to fit the European-spec rear bumper and dual exhausts. A set of 17-inch anthracite Speedline wheels complete the package, which poses two questions.
One, is this a prototype of a production vehicle or something that’s planned for this November’s SEMA Show? Either way, Ford’s got big plans for its new three-door and showing off its aftermarket potential is sure to be high on the priority list.
Two, which EcoBoosted engine is powering the mule? The smart money’s on Ford’s new 1.6-liter inline four, which should be good for around 170 horsepower and a similar amount of torque in turbo’d form. The less-than-plausible, yet far more compelling, option is the Fusion’s forthcoming turbocharged 2.0-liter four-pot, which is good for between 230 and 250 hp and 240 pound-feet of twist. Obviously, we’re hoping for the latter, but we’d be just as content with the 1.6-liter option and the possibility of future models turning up the wick even further.
Gallery: Spy Shots: 2011 Ford Fiesta Ecoboost
Spy Shots: 2011 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-friend-via, a-subtle-body, fiesta, fiesta ecoboost, its-aftermarket, package, photos, sema, spy shots, titanium-trim, wheels-complete
Report: V6, V8 engine popularity continued to fade in 2009
Mar 18, 2010 Object
Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Technology
Turning the past completely upside down, four cylinder engines marched up ten percent to further solidify the market dominance of lower cylinder count powertrains. According to Ward’s Automotive, nearly 62 percent of cars produced in 2009 carried four bangers, up ten percent in just a year from 2008’s 51.7 percent. Despite the V8 engine’s precipitous fall from a high of being fitted to 88 percent of all cars sold in 1969, there’s a sweet spot for the smaller powerplants, too.
Numbers are up for engines below 3.0 liters, while displacements smaller than 2.0 liters actually saw a decline for 2009. While engines between 2.0 and 2.9 liters are perhaps not as exciting as the typically larger V6 and V8 engines, they’re less expensive and can still provide satisfying performance thanks to improvements like direct injection and forced induction. It’s also worth noting that production numbers for trucks dropped for 2009, as well, skewing numbers further in favor of smaller engines.
Ward’s comprehensive analysis of different engine sizes and types and their market share and volume lays it out for you in the link below. Either way, we suspect that the garages of car nuts are still filled with a majority of high-performance engines, regardless of displacement or cylinder count.
[Source: Ward's Automotive]
Report: V6, V8 engine popularity continued to fade in 2009 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-friend-via, a-sweet-spot, a-year-from, fiesta, four cylinder popularity, fourcylinder, fourcylinderengine, its-aftermarket, package, sema, spy shots, v6engine, v8-engine, v8popularity
