automotive: 2011

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Audi R8 LMS Ultra to Compete in Next Year's FIA GT1 World Championship as Well

Only a month after the introduction of the improved R8 LMS Ultra and Audi has revealed plans to compete in the FIA GT1 World Championship next year with two examples of its latest GT3 racecar, which will be independently fielded by Team WRT. Read more »

Kia Ray Opens Doors and Honks its Horn to Play Jingle Bells Tune [Video]

With only a few days left for Christmas, Kia has jumped on the holiday season bandwagon releasing a cheerful new ad featuring the brand's Ray city car that was recently launched in South Korea.

The commercial shows the Ray playing along the Jingle Bells tune with the sounds being created by opening and closing the tall hatchback's regular and sliding doors, hood and compartment area dividers, as well as by using its turning signals, warning jingles and horn.

As expected, the District Court of Vanersborg accepted Saab’s request the same day, Monday December 19, and declared the Swedish carmaker bankrupt.

The company's CEO, Victor Muller, blamed General Motors for blocking every rescue attempt that involved the Chinese company Youngman Lotus Automobile, including its latest offer of a US$5 million funding to continue the restructuring process.

“That, basically, was the last nail in the coffin of this beautiful company”, said Muller only hours after requesting that Saab be declared bankrupt.

This is our first look at the brand new Toyota NS4 Concept car that will make its world premiere at the 2012 North American International Auto Show, which takes place in Detroit from January 9 to 22.

Toyota is being as secretive about the NS4 as its premium Lexus sibling is about its own prototype that will be shown in Motor Town, with the only piece of information we get about the vehicle is that it will be "an advanced plug-in hybrid concept".

2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 380 GT Makes a Quick Appearance on Film

It has been a while in internet time since we last heard about the revitalized 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe – a little over a month, to be precise, when the facelifted model was introduced in its home market of South Korea.

We still don't know when and where Hyundai plans to debut the sports car in North America, although we presume it will most likely take place in one of the upcoming international motorshows like the Detroit venue in January, the Chicago Auto Show in February or the New York Auto Show in April.

"If Saab’s future seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
You can buy a heavily discounted brand new car
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just walk into your nearest Saab dealership - that's the thing.

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life..."

First of all, we hope Monty Python won’t mind altering their song from The Life of Brian. We'd also like to note that we are in no way making fun of the fact that, unless something unexpected happens, Saab is closing shop – for good this time, leaving thousands of workers unemployed.

We’re just trying to say that, in the event the liquidation of the car company goes through, there are consequences but not all of them are bad for consumers.

They say seeing is believing but you'll probably want to watch the video of Brenda Hewett shooting a puck in a barely visible, tiny hole on a board from the far blue line during the Akwesasne Warriors Federal Hockey League game this past Saturday more than a couple of times to become a believer.

What makes the feat, which won her a brand new 2011 F-150 truck from Frenchie's Ford in New York, even more spectacular is that the 59-year-old woman is said to have never held a hockey stick in her life. Truly unbelievable. Watch the clip after the break.

In what could be our final round of spy photos of the upcoming Volvo V40 (or at least those picturing prototypes with heavy camouflage), our diligent spies snapped the five-door hatchback model as it was completing its winter tests on the snow.

Volvo Cars CEO Stefan Jakoby gave us a sneak peek of the new V40 at an interview with Hakan Matson, chairman of the European Car of the Year Jury, on Friday, where he also revealed that the car will be officially introduced at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show next March.

During the interview, Jakoby said that he is "extremely positive" and "really excited" about the V40, which will be positioned against the five-door variants of the Audi A3 and BMW 1-Series as well as the Lexus CT200 h.

The year is almost up yet Volkswagen continues to celebrate its much vaunted Golf GTI's 35th birthday. Over the year we saw the Germans release the production Golf GTI Edition 35 as well as numerous concepts including a Cabriolet at the Wörthersee meeting in Austria.

Now, just before 2011 comes to an end, Volkswagen's UK division released a video showing all six generations of the Golf GTI on the racetrack and which we presume, is a preview for something a little more exciting as there's not much action going on in this clip.

You won't be missing on much, but if you're still interested, you can watch the video after the break.

Something is rotten in the state of Renault: its sales in the UK market. The fall of the pound against the Euro by 16 percent since the end of 2008, which minimized profitability of companies based in euro-denominated countries along with a staggering 29 percent drop in Renault's sales in the first 11 months of the year, forced the French carmaker to make some hard decisions.

Renault spokesperson Caroline De Gezelle announced today that, from February, the company will stop taking orders for no less than five of its models that are currently sold in Europe’s third largest car market.

Motorcycle accidents are often very severe for the simple reason that there's no buffer zone between the rider and the vehicle (or the road), which makes them all the more terrifying to watch when they're captured on tape.

You can multiply the feeling by about ten when the camera happens to be mounted on the helmet of the motorcyclist involved in the crash…

With more than a decade on its back, the current Chevrolet Impala is well overdue for a replacement. Introduced in 1999, the eighth generation of the Chevy's full-size sedan switched to a front-wheel drive layout with GM redesigning the large sedan in 2005.

According to the Automotive News Data Center, Chevy has sold more than 2.8 million units of current model since 1999, with 2007 proving to be the vehicle's best year with a little over 311,000 deliveries. This year, through the end of November, GM has sold close to 161,000 Impalas.

But as we said, it's time for the current Impala to give its place to a new model. Last week, GM confirmed plans for the development of the 10th generation Impala, which will be produced at both its Oshawa Assembly Plant in Canada and the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant.

There's no doubt that the Nissan GT-R is built for speed. But while a side road or better yet, a racetrack is probably the most enjoyable place from a driving perspective to unleash its 480 to 550-horses (depending on the year and model), if you want to explore how fast it can go, Germany's world famous Autobahn is the place to be.

This brings us to the video you're about to watch after the jump and which shows a GT-R going from zero to 312km/h (that's 194mph) on the German highway. Enjoy...

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Japan’s second biggest automaker, wants Nissan's luxury brand, Infiniti, to have a 10 percent share in the premium segment, which amounts to 500,000 units.

The “Power 88” plan that Ghosn revealed last June calls for the rapid expansion of Infiniti, which is an established player in the U.S. market but almost non-existent in Europe: in 2010 it sold 4,500 units, a tenth of BMW’s January 45,000 sales…

Back in August, we revealed that Infiniti was preparing a small, entry-level premium model to compete with the likes of Audi’s A3 and BMW’s 1-Series, and that it would use another premium carmaker’s help: Mercedes Benz and its newly developed MFA platform employed by the 2012 A-Class.

There's no doubt that this year's Super Bowl XLV played host to some original commercials but the one ad that stood out more than the rest was "The Force" from Volkswagen, the official YouTube version of which has garnered over 45 million views since it aired on February 2.

Volkswagen actually aired one more commercial during the game, the “Black Beetle”, which has been seen by more than 5 million viewers on the German firm's channel.

While Nissan isn't yet ready to completely lift the covers off its pre-production Pathfinder showcar, the Japanese company has issued the first teaser image of the seven-seater model that will make its public debut at the 2012 North American International Auto Show beginning in Detroit on January 9th.

With a little digital help, we brightened up the picture to reveal the outline of the Pathfinder study, which looks like it will sport a swoopier body than the current model.

We got our first glimpse of the new concept model Lexus is readying for the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit with a cryptic teaser picture of the car's front end on December 12.

Today, Toyota's premium brand released a second image, this time showing the as of yet unnamed concept model's interior. What’s important about this image is that the teardrop shape of the window line suggests we're looking at a two-door coupe model.

It was long overdue, but it was bound to happen: the company lawyers named Motors Liquidation Co. but which we came to know as "old GM" during the 2009 government bailout period, died on Thursday, December 15.

Though it had a very long lifespan of 103 years, no one really noticed its demise. After all, this was just U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerbert signing the death certificate. Giving birth to the “new GM” two years ago was a very painful process – and one that most of those involved would like to forget.

It meant the sacrifice of three of its brands (Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn) and getting rid of another (Saab, which ironically is now in a similar position), closing 13 plants along with 900 dealerships. GM also had to reduce its U.S. workforce from 91,000 to 68,500 employees, which either way, is a far cry from the 525,000 workers it had in the States and another 100,000 outside the country in 1955.

Some may call it a Holiday Special, all we know is that the wacky trio from Top Gear UK is returning to the small screen on December 28 for its annual special that will see Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May heading out to India.

After discovering that Britain does more business with Ireland than with the second most populous country in the world after China, the Top Gear crew set out on a mission to boost the trade between the two countries – or at least that's the excuse for the epic road trip.

Honda revealed today the it has begun rolling out the new Civic at its UK plant in Swindon, which returned to its normal production rates after a disruption due to lack of parts caused by the Thai floods. Read more »

New Donkervoort D8 GTO gets Audi TT RS's 2.5-liter Turbo with up to 400-Horses

It's been two and a half years in the making but Donkervoort Automobielen has finally unleashed its next generation sports car, the new D8 GTO.

The long-nosed roadster was developed in close collaboration with Audi Quattro GmbH, which provided a modified version of the 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five found under the hood of the RS3 and TT RS.

According to Donkervoort, the 2.5 TFSI has undergone a diet and lost 30 kg or 66 pounds over the standard Audi variant.

When General Motors previewed the Chevrolet Sonic series with the Aveo RS Concept at last year's North American Auto Show, the company also hinted at a spicier version inspired by the study.

Following the launch of the regular Sonic models, Chevrolet has now revealed the production Sonic RS that will go on sale late next year after making its world premiere at the Detroit Motor Show in January.

It is sad news for the automotive world to learn of the demise of a company. Unfortunately, Monday December 19, will mark the end of the road for Swedish carmaker Saab – and this time it looks like it is final.

Earlier this morning, Swedish Automotive N.V. (Swan) announced that Saab Automobile, Saab Automobile Tools and Saab Powertrain filed for bankruptcy with the District Court in Vanersborg, Sweden.

This comes after Youngman, the Chinese company which last week promised to pay for the carmaker’s restructuring, informed Saab that it cannot provide the funding necessary for the continuation of the process.

Therefore, Swan concluded that, with GM vetoing any proposed plan until now, and without the essential funding, it would be insolvent. Thus, it was better for its creditors to file for bankruptcy.

The Auto Expo 2012 that takes place in New Delhi, India, from January 7 to 11, will serve as the backdrop for the presentation of a new, but as of yet unnamed, concept model from Ford.

The Detroit-based carmaker won't reveal any specific details about the study but said that it will preview an all-new vehicle planned for introduction in India as well as other global markets in the very near future.

Cadillac Engineers Try to Perfect the 2013 ATS on the Nordschleife [Video]

In the third chapter of Cadillac's video series on the new 2013 ATS, the Detroit firm's engineers explain to us why they chose the Nürburgring racetrack to complete the development of their soon-to-be revealed compact sports sedan.

"There's no other facility in the world like this. You can accomplish more in one lap around the 'Ring than you can running probably a dozen tracks in the U.S." says David Mikels, energy and powertrain integration engineer for the Cadillac ATS.

To say that your new model is “like an SUV version of the M5” is quite a bold statement -especially if you are a brand-new manufacturer, with no previous record and you intend to compete at the high end of the market.

Nevertheless, that’s exactly what Alastair Mcqueen, chief engineer of London-based Eterniti Motors, which made its existence known at the 64th Frankfurt Motor Show, says about the brand’s first model, the Hemera.

U SPY in California: Meet the New 2013 Hyundai Elantra Hatchback

We knew Hyundai was preparing a successor to its North American Elantra Touring based on the freshly revealed in Europe i30 series, but we weren't entirely sure if the Korean company would go down the same path offering an estate version or if it would opt for the hatchback model.

To explain, in Europe, the current generation of the Elantra Touring is sold as the i30 CW (or Estate in the UK), which is the station wagon version of the outgoing i30 series.

Our California scoopster, Alfred Hong, caught up with the replacement of the Elantra Touring, and as you can clearly see from these pictures, it is based on the five-door hatchback model and not the future estate.

The only recent comparable accident that comes to mind upon seeing this Miami police cruiser in what can only be described as an embarrassing position, is the New Hampshire incident back in February when a Ford Fusion landed and stayed on its face in a snow bank.

We're told by ABC News that police officer J. Brutus was driving near the intersection of NW 6th Avenue and 67th street in Miami when he allegedly looked down to grab a pen that had fallen but when he looked up, he found himself…staring at the sky!

It sounds and looks like an April Fool's Day joke, but the Candy Cane car is real and it's up for grabs on eBay.

But there's a small problem with this odd creation that's based on a 1991 Toyota Camry LE. It has a 'Buy it Now' price of...US$1.7 million or about €1.3 million if you live on the other side of the pond and it tickles your fancy instead of let's say, a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Ferrari FF, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, a Rolls Royce Phantom and then some for a condo.

There are so many turns and twists in Saab's road to salvation or closure on an everyday basis, that it’s very easy to lose track of what's actually going on with the Swedish automaker.

On Monday Guy Lofalk, the court-appointed administrator who proposed the termination of the carmaker’s restructuring process, quit. Two days later Saab announced the appointment of another administrator, Lars-Henrik Andersson.

On Thursday, after Andersson turned down the job, Saab said that Lofalk would eventually be replaced by Lars Soderqvist.

What defines the fastest Christmas car in the world? Well, the answer depends on whom you ask. For BMW's M division, it's a card that was designed in a speeding 2012 M5 sports sedan.

The Bavarian firm's performance arm asked Swiss illustrator Gavin Patterson to draw a cliché Christmas motif but with a twist (and a few turns, for that matter…); he had to do it in the passenger seat of an M5 while precision driver Urs Inauen flogged the car around the Circuit de l'Anneau Du Rhin.

To find the outcome, follow the jump and watch the video.

Earlier this month, Toyota and BMW signed an agreement to share engines and hybrid technology to spread the cost of developing low emission vehicles. Under the new deal, BMW will supply Toyota with 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engines starting from 2014.

At the time, many were wondering if Toyota's premium brand Lexus, which competes with BMW, would also receive diesel engines from the Bavarian firm. As it turns out, the answer is no.

We've seen the Viper's 10-cylinder engine slithering out of its old skin and sliding under the bonnet of many different cars ranging from a Chrysler PT Cruiser and a 300 sedan, to a Dodge Challenger and a Saab 9-3 Sport Combi, but what could be more fitting than seeing it in a classic muscle car like the 1969 Dodge Charger?

This bad boy was found for sale on eBay with the seller claiming to have modified or replaced just about everything on the original 1969 Charger, from the upper and lower control arms and the independent rear suspension to the rack and pinion steering system, all of which are said to have been sourced from the Viper.

GM Boss Mark Reuss Builds a Fantasy Supercar Out of the Company’s Parts Bin

Almost every car fan has, at one point or another, considered building his ideal car: for example, one with a Ferrari or Lamborghini bodywork, a Pagani interior, a Veyron engine, Porsche everyday usability and all this at the price of a used 300,000-mile Ford Escort…

Well, the automotive term for this is a parts bin special; that is, a model built by borrowing only (or mostly) existing parts from other models. Mark Reuss, GM’s North American president, was asked by Car & Driver to assemble his dream car by using components that already exist on the company’s shelves.

We have to admit that, even though General Motors is not the first carmaker that comes to mind when picking components to assemble our dream car, Reuss has managed to conjure a pretty interesting vehicle.

The bodywork would come from the 2002 Cadillac Cien concept, which Reuss believes “defined Cadillac”.

The Impala is a historic nameplate for Chevrolet with roots that go back to the golden era of American automobiles, the 1950s, and it's one that General Motors isn't about to let go despite the fact that the series has faded away into mediocrity these past years.

Today, the Detroit-based company confirmed plans for the development of a brand new Chevy Impala and announced an investment of $68 million to prepare its Oshawa Assembly Plant in Canada for the production of the next generation sedan.

Despite the fact that the 6-Series Grand Coupe’s world premiere will take place in March at the Geneva Motor Show and the first cars won't be arriving in showrooms until next summer, BMW has already readied a media campaign for its spanking new sports saloon.

The global campaign, which will launch in print and TV media in the second quarter of 2012, features a total eclipse of the sun as the central theme and the motto “Beauty. Revealed”.

It looks like the retro-styled N Concept 4 city car won't be the only Honda study displayed at this month's Tokyo Motor Show that will end up going into production as the Japanese carmaker's CEO Takanobu Ito told German magazine Auto Motor und Sport that the open-top EV-STER has also received the green light.

The Honda boss revealed that the battery-powered, rear-wheel drive roadster could arrive in the market as early as 2012, adding that the company may also introduce more conventional version with a classic gasoline engine, without offering any more details.

However, it's only reasonable to assume that the gasoline model would be a hybrid matching an internal combustion engine with an electric motor.

At 3,570mm (140.5-in.) long, 1,500mm (59.0-in.) wide and 1,100mm (43.3-in.) tall, with a wheelbase of 2,325mm (92.5-in.), the tiny concept is marginally larger than Honda's 1990s mid-engined kei car, the Beat.

Tis the holiday season and all consumer goods manufacturers are looking for ways to draw clients to their products. Carmakers are not an exception, of course, and a common theme is the usual holiday gift-wrapped-present.

Advertising evaluation firm Ace Metrix, though, reveals in its latest report that the hype automakers wish to create with these kinds of ads doesn’t really materialize. In fact, they may have the exact opposite effect.

He's called the 'Skating King of Pakistan', well, at least that's the name given to him by the person that uploaded the video on YouTube, but watching him graciously endanger his own life as well as the lives of everybody else on the road, who are we to disagree?

And just to make it clear, the young man is not simply tagging behind a motorcycle being driven by someone else, but he is actually controlling the bike with a rope of some sort. You can watch him in the video after the break.

While Aston Martin may not have a lot of cash going around for the development of new platforms or engines, the British automaker is trying to make the best of what it already has.

What this means is that it is churning all sorts of models and body styles based on the same hardware (and design…) for almost a decade now...

We're not sure how long Aston Martin can keep doing it - some say it has already reached its limits - but for the time being, we learn that the company will unveil yet another version of one of its existing models, the V12 Vantage Roadster.

Five months after the UK launch of the regular versions of the brand-new Grand Cherokee, Jeep has announced that it is bringing the flagship SRT8.

Billed as the best-performing Jeep ever, the £58,995 Grand Cherokee SRT8 is powered by the new 6.4-liter Hemi V8 that produces 465HP and 630 Nm (465 lb-ft) of torque. It accelerates from standstill to 0 to 60mph [96km/h] in 4.8 seconds, has a top speed of 160 mph [257 km/h], and brakes from 60-0 mph in 116 feet.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Monday, December 19, 2011

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Friday, December 16, 2011