Porsche Cayenne pulls Airbus A380 – pictures http://ift.tt/2oNKixp
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Sunday, April 30, 2017
Friday, April 28, 2017
Porsche 911 GT2 RS and Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Spied in New...
Porsche 911 GT2 RS and Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Spied in New Nurburgring Video http://ift.tt/2qoL0NN
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Hennessey Exorcist Camaro ZL1 Makes 959 Horsepower at the Wheels...
Hennessey Exorcist Camaro ZL1 Makes 959 Horsepower at the Wheels http://ift.tt/2pqaAmh
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Ford Partners with Guardians of the Galaxy’s Baby Groot, Epic...
Ford Partners with Guardians of the Galaxy’s Baby Groot, Epic Cuteness Ensues http://ift.tt/2pcYbDV
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Ford Partners with Guardians of the Galaxy’s Baby Groot, Epic Cuteness Ensues
Partnering with a movie franchise isn’t a new phenomenon. Last year saw Nissan sealing the deal with “Star Wars” to promote the brand’s Rogue SUV with the wonderfully entertaining “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
Now, Ford is getting in on the action and enlisted Baby Groot, a tree-like extraterrestrial, from the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2” to help sell the brand’s new EcoSport compact crossover.
The TV spot starts with a couple outside of a movie theater and the woman’s boyfriend giving her a Baby Groot action figure. She immediately starts daydreaming of the adventures she and Baby Groot would have — cruising along the Pacific Coast Highway, talking about getting matching tattoos, and then getting into a car/spaceship chase with gun battle.
The pair dodges missiles and explosions, duck into a tunnel, and defeat the bad guys. But then her boyfriend starts talking again and takes her out of her fantasy.
In addition to the commercial tie-in, Ford’s partnership with Marvel Studios also includes the rights to publish a limited-edition 500-print comic run that features “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the Ford EcoSport. It has been published online for a limited time and you can read it here.
Fans also have the chance to win a new Ford EcoSport, a hometown screening of the movie, and one of 150 custom illustrations by a Marvel artist depicting them as one of the galaxy’s bravest heroes among other prizes.
The new Ford EcoSport is based on the Fiesta platform, and uses either a 1.0-liter three-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost or a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine sent either to the front wheels, or in the case of the 2.0-liter drivetrain, all four wheels through a standard six-speed automatic transmission.
The compact crossover will go on sale in early 2018, while “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2” hits theaters on May 5.
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The Restoration of Serial One, the First Four-Wheeled Honda on...
The Restoration of Serial One, the First Four-Wheeled Honda on American Soil http://ift.tt/2qlYgTh
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Volkswagen Begins to Dig Out from Under Dieselgate
The damage Dieselgate did to Volkswagen of North America — and to the bottom line of the parent company — is immense. Buyback liabilities ($10.5 billion), payments to the benefit of Electrify America foundation ($2.0 billion over 10 years), environment protection fees ($2.7 billion), dealer compensation ($1.2 billion), and legal expenditures ($4.3 billion) add up to a whopping $20.7 billion in red ink. Affected are up to 475,000 diesel-powered Volkswagen and Audis, among them 12,000 unregistered 2014-’15 model year units.
Compiled in compounds all over the country, a large portion of this monumental metal mountain can be fixed. Most vehicles are to be resold after receiving approved software and hardware updates. About half of the diesels have been recalled by now and VW expects an eventual participation rate of 85 percent and a buyer loyalty rate of 40 percent.
To boost the tarnished brand image, the Atlas and Tiguan Allspace crossovers went on sale with a six-year, 72,000-mile warranty. With diesel dead in the water, VW’s marketing team will be hard-pressed to make an efficiency argument until the first bespoke EVs arrive in three years, starting with the I.D.
Between then and now, water will be carried by the aforementioned crossovers as well as new U.S.-only models, including the Jetta replacement (Detroit 2018), a five-seat Atlas (late 2018), and the next Passat (2019), which is again based on the ancient PQ platform.
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Thursday, April 27, 2017
Mitsubishi L200 Desert Warrior Is Ready to Slay Some Sand...
Mitsubishi L200 Desert Warrior Is Ready to Slay Some Sand http://ift.tt/2oRsFZp
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1,000 Racer-Driven Miles for Our Four Seasons 2016 Fiat 500X...
1,000 Racer-Driven Miles for Our Four Seasons 2016 Fiat 500X Trekking http://ift.tt/2qkxdYq
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Ford Motor Company’s Earnings Slide 36 Percent in First Quarter...
Ford Motor Company’s Earnings Slide 36 Percent in First Quarter http://ift.tt/2prfL7v
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BMW M550d xDrive Gets 400-Horsepower Quad-Turbo Diesel I-6...
BMW M550d xDrive Gets 400-Horsepower Quad-Turbo Diesel I-6 http://ift.tt/2qiEQi8
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One Week With: 2017 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth
Pay no attention to the Miata behind the curtain! Yes, Fiat’s newly resurrected 124 Spider, first seen way back in 1966, is largely based on Mazda’s immensely popular two-seat convertible — and it’s built in Japan right alongside the Miata using mostly Mazda parts. But after spending a week behind the wheel of the sportiest member of the 124 lineup, the Abarth edition, it’s evident that — for better and for worse — the new 124 Spider is a distinctly different machine from its Japanese progenitor.
Surprisingly, given Italy’s storied fondness for alluring curves, the Mazda is the more voluptuous of the two. Whereas the Miata is all soft contours and gentle swells of sheetmetal, the 124 Spider adds a sharp crease in the belt line and twin scallops in the hood (the etched lines make for a modern twist on the similarly shaped hood “bumps” seen on later versions of the original). The Fiat’s face is also more in-your-face, with larger headlamps and, on the Abarth edition, lots of additional black grillework. To say the new 124 Spider resembles the original (sold in various forms by Fiat and Pininfarina for nearly two decades) would be a stretch, but the design achieves the goal of masking its Miata roots while offering a decidedly different exterior flavor. Unique Abarth features include 17-inch “gun-metallic” alloy wheels, quad polished exhaust tips, a front fog lamps.
The Mazda and the Fiat are considerably more alike inside, with mostly minor revisions (different shift knobs, thicker door padding, and shinier surfaces in the 124) marking otherwise equally clean and efficient cockpits. My test car, at $29,190, had not a single option on it, but included heated seats, automatic climate control, steering-wheel audio controls, and a leather-wrapped manual shifter. Controlling such features as the four-speaker audio system and Bluetooth phone hookup is achieved via a rotary knob on the center console and a few surrounding buttons. It’s an intuitive system to use, and I had no trouble scrolling through the displays on the central 7-inch color display without having to look down at the rotary controller. Overall, the cabin its roomy and pleasant for two — but I’m not gonna lie: getting and out of the low-slung Spider is like trying to lie down on a skateboard. Said one passenger after finally contorting his frame down into the seat beside me: “Ugh. I’m not sure I’d wanna do that every day.”
It’s in the driving experience where the Mazda and the Fiat grow far apart. Unlike the Miata’s twin-cam, naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four (which makes 155 hp and 148 pound-feet of torque), the 124 uses a Fiat-sourced “MultiAir” single-cam, 1.4-liter unit boosted by an intercooled turbo. Whereas the Miata’s mill is snappy, rev-happy, exciting to the tympanic membranes, the Fiat’s is muted and torque-dependent, pushing the car forward with 184 pound-feet of low-rpm grunt rather than revs. Thanks to a sport exhaust, the Abarth edition gets an additional four horsepower (to 164) over other 124 variants — not that you’d feel much of a difference.
The 124’s torque advantage over the Miata is more of a “thing” on paper. In the real world, the turbo needs a few beats to spool up and torque doesn’t peak until 3,200 rpm, so making the most of the available brawn means judicious use of the six-speed manual gearbox and staying on top of the boost. Even then, though, the Miata just sounds better when you’re hustling, and it’s far happier at the upper reaches of the tach. The 124 is the more relaxed cruiser, however, burbling along the highway without the Mazda’s more pronounced drone.
The Abarth edition with the manual gets a limited-slip rear diff, and in a stretch of my favorite twisties around Malibu, I found the Spider’s chassis plenty playful. Frankly, it borders on being too stiff — you’ll grit your teeth over broken pavement — and it’s arguably not as much fun as the Miata, which tends to heel over more at the g forces build, providing more of a sensation of hustling hard. But the Fiat is impressively neutral nearing the limit; I can’t recall another car under $30K with so little understeer. Which is to say, Fiat probably made the right call here, offering an alternative “feel” on a chassis already so astutely bred it would’ve been hard to make it “better.” If you prefer the go-kart approach, the 124 is your ride.
Ultimately, the 124 Spider Abarth departs enough from its Miata underpinnings to stand as its “own” vehicle. Buyers cross-shopping the two could well decide based purely on their affinity for one design over the other. Or perhaps you’d rather cruise with the Fiat’s swell of turbo torque underfoot than bother revving-out the Mazda’s naturally aspirated four to achieve a similar pace. There’s also that conspicuous difference in handling feel that might sway you toward one of the two. But in starting with a base as good as Mazda’s MX-5 Miata, Fiat couldn’t go wrong. More than a few onlookers, eying my test car at stoplights or when parked, remarked, “Fiat 124? They’re still making those?”
To which I was happy to reply, “They are now.”
2017 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth Specifications
ON SALE Now PRICE $29,190/$29,190 (base/as-tested) ENGINE 1.4L SOHC 16-valve turbocharged I-4/164 hp @ 5,500 rpm, 184 lb-ft @ 3,200 rpm TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual LAYOUT 2-door, 2-passenger, front-engine, RWD convertible EPA MILEAGE 26/35 mpg (city/hwy) L x W x H 159.6 x 68.5 x 48.5 in WHEELBASE 90.9 in WEIGHT 2,500 lb 0-60 MPH 6.8 sec (est) TOP SPEED 135 mph
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Wednesday, April 26, 2017
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Modified Nissan Leaf Enters 10,000-Mile Mongol Rally
a href=”http://ift.tt/2mwaJ9o”>EVs aren’t just tackling dense urban asphalt anymore now that a Nissan Leaf is participating in the 10,000-mile Mongol Rally. The charity drive starts on July 16 in the U.K. and ends in Mongolia, crossing thousands of miles of mountains, deserts, and steppes throughout Europe and Asia.
Given that this weeks-long event crosses many thousands of miles of remote countryside, you may not be surprised to learn the Leaf is the first all-electric vehicle to enter the Mongol rally. But this isn’t just any Leaf. Created by electric vehicle advocate Plug In Adventures and dubbed Leaf AT-EV (All Terrain Electric Vehicle), the Leaf (30-kilowatt-hour motor) has been equipped with Speedline SL2 Marmora wheels shod in Maxsport RB3 narrow tires, braided brake lines, plates welded to the underside of the wishbone suspension, mudflaps, and a 6mm front skid plate. A modified roof rack comes fitted with a Lazer Triple-R 16 LED light bar that provides 16,400 lumens of supplementary forward lighting. Inside, the rear seats and seatbelts have been removed for weight savings and extra storage, and a fire extinguisher and first-aid kit have been installed. Modifications were done by U.K.-based RML Group, a high-performance engineering company.
Chris Ramsey, founder of Plug In adventures, will pilot the modified Leaf and knows this will be a challenge. “Not only will we face a dwindling number of EV chargers the farther east we go, the terrain also becomes more difficult to navigate. Using a Nissan Leaf for this was an obvious decision. I’m familiar with the car; it’s always been reliable and dependable for me, and it has the largest network of rapid charging options in Europe. As it will also accept a 240v Commando connection even in the remote areas when my fast-charge options are gone, I can still charge the battery and keep moving.”
Ramsey doesn’t go into detail about exactly how the team will charge the car in the more remote portions of the journey.
The Mongol Rally is not a timed event and participants must be able to get themselves out of trouble as there are no emergency or assistance vehicles during the rally. Additionally, entrants must drive a small, sub-1.0-liter car as organizers believe this will cause more breakdowns, forcing the drivers to interact with locals along the way.
Even without breakdowns, Ramsey plans to make regular stops along the way to promote the benefits of EVs to the locals and will be using the What3Words platform to log the locations of uncharted charging stations for future EV drivers traversing these remote areas.
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Just Listed: Untouched, Unrestored 1993 Porsche 964 Carrera RSR...
Just Listed: Untouched, Unrestored 1993 Porsche 964 Carrera RSR http://ift.tt/2pn5rgU
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Just Listed: Untouched, Unrestored 1993 Porsche 964 Carrera RSR
Hush – if you listen closely, you can hear the frenzied sounds of top Porsche collectors descending en masse on Villa Erba. RM Sotheby’s rolling out a mint 1993 Porsche 964 Carrera RSR at its upcoming Villa Erba sale, likely marking the first time in 24 years this particular RSR made it into the public’s eye.
Aside from the inherent rarity of the 964 RSR, this particular car was ordered with some spectacular special options. The regular Carrera RSR cockpit is a stripped-out shrine to sweat, back pain, and nail-breaking surfaces, this car was ordered with a relatively plush leather cabin.
Put your sunglasses on before peeking inside – nearly every surface is bright red. The steering wheel, the competition seats, the steering column, shift boot, center console, and roll cage are all flawless crimson. There’s some slight contrast with silver gauge board, door pulls, and seat backs, but it’s aggressively monochromatic.
Outside, the RSR rides on strange metallic purple variants of the factory Speedline wheels, clashing with the red interior and gold brake calipers. It’s not a cohesive color scheme, but it doesn’t look terrible, either.
When it was new, the 3.8 RSR was a formidable race car. Just 51 of these weapons were made, and most were instantly relegated to track use. The 3.8-liter single-plug flat-six put out a factory-rated 350 hp, but contemporary tests revealed that figure was likely underrated.
As you can see in the photos, the car is coated in a thick sheet of dust and grime, despite having just six miles on the odometer. The 964 RSR is so untouched, it still wears the factory-applied layer of cosmoline protectant.
It’s incredibly original, but it’s likely that nearly every rubber component will need replacing, along with a full mechanical refresh and extensive suspension work as well.
No pre-sale estimate is provided, but considering the unique finishing, condition, and rarity, expect prices to climb into the high six figure, low seven-figure range.
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Loaded, Well-Preserved 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Asks $1.3...
Loaded, Well-Preserved 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Asks $1.3 Million http://ift.tt/2oKq9Di
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2018 Volvo XC60 Production Begins in Sweden
Volvo began production of its second-generation XC60 today in Torslanda, Sweden. The midsize crossover has entered global markets and is expected to go on sale in the U.S. later this year.
The first 2018 Volvo XC60 to roll off the line was a Crystal White-painted T5 Inscription AWD, which features a 2.0-liter turbo-four engine producing 250 hp. Buyers can also choose between two other engines for the XC60: a turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-liter with 316 hp or a plug-in hybrid that makes 400 hp. Diesel models will also be available in some markets.
“This is a proud day for everyone at the plant,” said Magnus Nilsson, vice president of the Torslanda plant, in a recent press release. “We have worked hard in recent weeks and months to prepare Torslanda for this latest new Volvo model, and now we are ready to start delivering new XC60s to customers.”
The new model replaces the previous XC60, which is almost a decade old. During its run, nearly a million units were sold worldwide. The crossover accounts for about 30 percent of Volvo’s total sales.
In the future, Volvo could produce the XC60 at its new South Carolina plant that comes online next year. The plant is already set to produce the related S60 sedan, and building crossovers in the U.S. could prove advantageous given the popularity of the body style on our shores.
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