Filed under: Maintenance, Etc., BMW
Sometime today, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis are scheduled to begin fitting the Hubble telescope with three new gyroscopes. But why does Autoblog care? Well, apart from the fact that the whole mission is super cool, one of the galactic grease monkeys wielding a wrench today will be Andrew J. Feustel. He’s one of us car guys who really wanted to be an astronaut and found a way to make it happen.
His official NASA bio reads like your typical lab-coat-wearing science geek. He graduated from Purdue with an M.S. in geophysics and from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario with a Ph.D. in geological sciences. Under “Organizations” he lists membership in the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the American Geophysical Union and, to top it off, the BMW Car Club of America.
ABC’s World News Tonight interviewed Feustel in his garage as he worked on his M3. In the background is the 1966 Austin Healy he gave his wife. To help pay for his college education, Feustel restored old cars. His son races karts. In short, Feustel is one of us. He’s a car guy. And today, he’ll be looking for 4mm sockets several miles above the planet.
Good like Andrew. If you get time, we’d love to get our first comment from outer space.
[Source: ABC World News Tonight]
Continue reading Andrew J. Feustel: Astronaut, Hubble mechanic, car guy
Andrew J. Feustel: Astronaut, Hubble mechanic, car guy originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 May 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Auction Action, Etc.
Loving all that is automotive is slightly different than living all that is automotive. One of the distinguishing factors is how automotively-influenced your furniture is. If you bought your sofa because it reminds you of your M3’s upholstery, you’re in the love group. If, however, you can actually drive your furniture, you, my friend, are living it.
But our eBay Find of the Day defies simple categorization. It’s a fully-functional couch that resembles something Boyd Coddington might have sketched while doing shots after having his eyes dilated. The outrageous sunset orange pearl paint covers a hand-formed, all-metal body with working headlights and leather seating surfaces. But it doesn’t even have wheels, much less do burnouts on the street. With a starting bid of $45,000, shouldn’t it at least do that?
The auction description says that the, um, unique sofa can be taken apart to “fit in most rooms.” We can tell you right now that our spouses will quickly disqualify “most rooms” in our houses. We aren’t even allowed to have the six-speed plunger in our throne rooms. The seller’s name, cartisticdesigns, is from London, Ontario, also the home of Cartistic Designs autobody repair. Maybe the auction should say it would “fit in most autobody repair shops. Auction ends May 16, but so far, it looks like nobody’s spouse has given the $45k approval.
Thanks for the tip, Rico!
eBay Find of the Day: $45,000 hot rod couch originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 May 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal
You’re tired of them. We’re tired of them. Most people with a phone number and a low tolerance for spam are tired of them. But finally, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York has gotten one of those highly-annoying car warranty calls and has vow to put a stop to them.
Altogether now: It’s about damn time.
According to an article by The Associated Press, it only took 140,000 complaints to the Better Business Bureau to get the attention of Sen. Schumer. Oh, that, and several states that have already taken it upon themselves to go after the scam artists. But Schumer said at a news conference this week that he wants a more concerted effort at the federal level that involves the Federal Trade Commission wielding the power of the Do Not Call registry.
Will the senator get anywhere? Hard to say since, as we’ve already reported, these phone spammers are as easily found as a Mazda Miata with an Alaska license plate. But some progress has already been made against a company called USfiidelis, an extended warranty company recently sued by Missouri officials.
[Sources: The Associated Press via Kicking Tires]
REPORT: Fed investigating car warranty ‘robo-calls’ originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 May 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Motorsports, Sports/GTs, Ford, Shelby
It’s been 45 years since Ford introduced the Mustang, and the Blue Oval chose Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL as ground zero for the big pony car celebration. Track officials estimated more than 38,000 people came out to see about 2,000 Mustangs on display from 15 different countries, and Autoblog was among the revelers.
The Mustang Club of France showed up with a dozen or so 2010 Mustangs they’d rented, Steve Saleen was signing autographs, Ford CEO Alan Mulally made a surprise appearance and the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge had two rounds of competition. There were fully-restored, low-mileage Mustangs trailered in from as far away as California and one dirt-encrusted, 1966 GT350H brought in straight from its 29-year stint in an Alabama shed. All three levels of the track’s paddock area were full of Ford’s iconic muscle car, as were the grassy fields normally reserved spectator parking.
When the track wasn’t being used for racing, vintage and late-model Mustang owners got the chance to see what their cars could really do. The distinctive whine of Roush superchargers melded with bassy roars of 40-year-old small-blocks for a pulse-quickening aural collage, providing a singular soundtrack for the event.
Looming clouds began to gather on Saturday afternoon, but only a few sprinkles had fallen by mid-day Sunday. For the most part, temperatures in the upper 60s made walking around the landscaped track a truly memorable experience.
Happy Birthday, Mustang. Here’s looking forward to another forty five!
Gallery: Ford celebrates 45 years of Mustangs
Ford celebrates 45 years of the Mustang at Barber Motorsports Park originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Motorsports, Sports/GTs, Ford, Shelby
It’s been 45 years since Ford introduced the Mustang, and the Blue Oval chose Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL as ground zero for the big pony car celebration. Track officials estimated more than 38,000 people came out to see about 2,000 Mustangs on display from 15 different countries, and Autoblog was among the revelers.
The Mustang Club of France showed up with a dozen or so 2010 Mustangs they’d rented, Steve Saleen was signing autographs, Ford CEO Alan Mulally made a surprise appearance and the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge had two rounds of competition. There were fully-restored, low-mileage Mustangs trailered in from as far away as California and one dirt-encrusted, 1966 GT350H brought in straight from its 29-year stint in an Alabama shed. All three levels of the track’s paddock area were full of Ford’s iconic muscle car, as were the grassy fields normally reserved spectator parking.
When the track wasn’t being used for racing, vintage and late-model Mustang owners got the chance to see what their cars could really do. The distinctive whine of Roush superchargers melded with bassy roars of 40-year-old small-blocks for a pulse-quickening aural collage, providing a singular soundtrack for the event.
Looming clouds began to gather on Saturday afternoon, but only a few sprinkles had fallen by mid-day Sunday. For the most part, temperatures in the upper 60s made walking around the landscaped track a truly memorable experience.
Happy Birthday, Mustang. Here’s looking forward to another forty five!
Gallery: Ford celebrates 45 years of Mustangs
Ford celebrates 45 years of the Mustang at Barber Motorsports Park originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Trucks/Pickups, Safety, Chevrolet, Dodge, Nissan, Carsumer Advocacy
Still think big, muscular trucks equal safety? In the case of the new Dodge Ram, Nissan Titan and Chevy Silverado, not necessarily. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety smashed up the four-door versions of those full-size trucks and, for the most part, found their safety credentials less than stellar.
Let’s start with the worst performing of the three. The IIHS says that in its latest round of side-impact crash tests, Chevy’s Silverado 1500 gets a Poor rating. Even with the optional side airbags, the Chevy got a Poor. That struck us as odd, so we asked Russ Rader, director of media relations at IIHS, why the truck got a 5-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He said it was a combination of a difference in test methods as well as vehicle construction.
“The difference reflects the difference between being hit by a car vs. being hit by another pickup or SUV,” Rader said. “The car-like barrier in the government test hits the strong parts of the side structure at rocker panel level, below the test dummy. The Institute’s test barrier is taller and higher off the ground, so it’s hitting more vulnerable parts of the door.”
The Titan also received a Poor side-crash rating from IIHS, but with the optional side airbags improved to Marginal. Dodge’s new Ram with standard bags got a marginal side crash rating. We’d be remiss not to mention that the 2009 Ford F-150 and 2009 Toyota Tundra both were already chosen as Top Safety Picks by the IIHS.
Check out the gallery for more photos of the three trucks being smashed to bits by the IIHS, and follow the jump to read the full IIHS press release and see videos of the three trucks during testing.
Continue reading Silverado, Ram and Titan hit hard by IIHS side-impact crash test
Silverado, Ram and Titan hit hard by IIHS side-impact crash test originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Coupes, Sports/GTs, Marketing/Advertising, Hyundai, Celebrities
How did you like Hyundai’s Genesis Coupe ads during the Super Bowl? They rocked, right? With that hard-driving soundtrack from The Smashing Pumpkins, of course they rocked. The song is called “FOL,” and it isn’t available for purchase anywhere. But you can get it for free just by giving Hyundai your e-mail address. Click here to fill out the two-question (name and e-email) form, then click on download. Hit play, close your eyes and you’ll be lapping the track with Billy Corgan any time you wish. We’re not sure how long the offer is available, so if you’re interested, click here. Don’t want to give up personal info to Hyundai? Watch the ads as much as you like right here.
[Source: DealMac]
Smashing idea: Hyundai giving away Superbowl ads soundtrack originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Etc., Safety, Tech
Have you ever sat for a couple of hours and just watched ants work? Unless you have a government grant or just no life at all, probably not. They’re actually quite fascinating according to The Discovery Channel. They (the ants, not TDC) can carry 10-50 times their own weight, get more done before dawn than you do in a month, can fill out 1040-EZ forms without the worksheets and never, ever get caught in traffic jams.
That last ant fact is from the research of one of those grant-funded ant watchers who spent the last 8 years watching the tiny insects’ behavior. Audrey Dussutour of the University of Sydney, observed that even on a path as slim as a tree branch, leafcutter ants optimized their going and coming traffic with no entomological pileups.
And how is this supposed to help you during gridlock Monday morning? For starters, slow down. Apparently, not being in such a hurry to get somewhere could actually speed up the flow of human traffic. Dussutour observed that when faster-moving ants not carrying a load got behind slower, load-bearing ants, they chose patience instead of passing the pokey ant, which actually allowed the overall colony to move faster.
Which leads to the part that interests us most. Researchers are using algorythms developed from the ant behaviors to develop a multi-car navigation system that could one day lead to those driverless cars we’ve been hearing about for 50 years. Let’s just hope that whatever they come up with, our robocars come equipped with anti-magnifying glass beam protection, otherwise we’re all fried.
[Source: Wired Science | Photo: Audrey Dussutour]
Stuck in traffic? You’re no ant, my friend originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Spy Photos, Etc., Celebrities
It’s no secret that automotive spy photographer Brenda Priddy is synonymous with shots of heavily-camouflaged cars and of engineers enduring extreme climate testing. But now, she has been outed as The Most Famous Spy in History on a website called ShareRanks.
This shooter of top secret sedans and covert convertibles has been ranked above notorious agents such as Mata Hari who was executed as a German spy. Priddy even tops Revolutionary War spy Nathan “One Life to Live” Hale who is probably in every American history textbook in the country.
That’s her in the photo with her back to the camera. It’s the only photo she’d authorize for use with this story. “After all, I don’t want people to know what I look like!” she said in an e-mail to us (one we suspect that originated in her underground bunker somewhere in the Arizona desert). Then again, someone of her spy caliber could have sent it from right here in the Autoblog offices. Hmmmm.
As someone who makes a living off exposing the secrets of the auto industry, how does she feel about her newfound fame? We asked her that and a few more questions that you can read the answer to after the jump.
Photo Copyright Brenda Priddy, used with permission.
Continue reading World’s most famous spy ever is… Brenda Priddy?
World’s most famous spy ever is… Brenda Priddy? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, GM
While your next car might not be made in Michigan, the next movie you see might be. At least it could work out that way if Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm’s plan succeeds.
In Granholm’s State of the State Address earlier this week, the governor announced that: “Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit; Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth; and Motown Motion Pictures will invest $54 million to build their new film studios at a former GM plant in Pontiac.”
Michigan has been offering some generous enticements to the film industry for some time now. The state’s lawmakers passed a law last year to offer filmmakers cash refunds of 40% or more to movies made in Michigan. The Wall Street Journal says that’s one reason Warner moved production of “Gran Torino” from Minnesota to Michigan. The state is also throwing in $15 million in tax credits and another $101 million more in credits over 12 years if hiring quotas are met.
[Sources: The Wall Street Journal; Detroit Free Press]
Michigan hoping to replace automakers with filmmakers originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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