Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Performance, Lamborghini, Canada, Luxury
This post here is only about two things: Car pr0n and wheels. Vancouver’s SR Auto Group has Lamborghini Reventón number three out of 20, and they’ve been charged with making it even more special. The first thing they did was work with wheelmaker ADV.1 to develop the ADV05, a gunmetal five-spoker with a matte black lip. It worked. After that, they sent us high-res photos. The rest we leave up to up you…
Gallery: SR Auto Group Reventon wheels
[Source: SR Auto]
You had us at “Wheels.” SR Auto Group’s Lamborghini Reventon originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Another day, another creation from another dude with a dollar and a dream. Oh, and a former Postal Service Jeep and some serious metalworking skills. Dean Shorey, Seabreeze Amusement Park’s master ride mechanic – emphasis on “master” – took an old small-block and paired it with a mail truck, then dressed that heart in a fairly accurate representation of a Colonial Viper from the original Battlestar Galactica. And it’s street legal, which is why there are New York license plates front and rear. On the other hand, there are no bumpers front or rear, but in space, no one can hear you… rear-end someone… Hat tip to Ed
Gallery: Battlestar Galactica car
[Source: Jalopnik via Geek.com]
Mail Jeep + Chevy small block + metal work = Colonial Viper car originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Car Buying, Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Ford
They can keep their retail therapy, we have configurator therapy. It soaks up just as much time, you can get your “help” in your jammies, and provided you don’t go through with a purchase, it’s much, much cheaper.
Ford’s 2011 Mustang configurator is now up and taking virtual orders, and to go along with the pony car’s movin’-on-up attitude, there are some increasingly swanky options. But remember, the challenge isn’t just to see how expensive you can make the car, it’s how expensive you can make the car you’d actually want to buy. The best part about it: everybody wins. And did we mention it’s free?
Gallery: First Drive: 2011 Ford Mustang GT
Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Ford]
Saddle Up! 2011 Ford Mustang configurator comes online originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Coupe, Hybrid, Japan, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hatchback, Honda
The flying, floating, “Life Design” and power-of-dreams Honda CR-Z is about to make its debut on Japanese television in the form of two 30-second spots. As one might expect, they’re high on imagery and low on zero on specs or driving – but we dig the flying guy with his ‘wings’ extended. Follow the jump to see both commercials.
Gallery: 2011 Honda CR-Z
Continue reading Video: Live Design Hybrid – Honda CR-Z get the JDM ad treatment
Video: Live Design Hybrid – Honda CR-Z get the JDM ad treatment originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Porsche
This is what happens when you put people other than navigators into cars with ex-World Rally Championship drivers: EVO’s Chris Harris makes more than a few faces like this, while François Delecour looks like he’s on a casual Sunday hunt for Starbucks.
The camera is inside the car so you don’t get to see how Delecour throws the Porsche GT3 RS around tiny French B-roads, but in 13 minutes behind the wheel of the GT3 RS he talks to Harris about trying to enter one in the Monte Carlo Rally, about what changes he’d make to the car, requests ABS in order to drive faste, and he takes a phone call. When one remembers that Delecour’s recent Sunday drives were done much faster and often sideways, we guess it’s all right this time. Follow the jump for the video. Hat tip to Derek!
[Source: Evo]
Continue reading Video: Francois Delecour manhandles rally-handles a GT3 RS
Video: Francois Delecour manhandles rally-handles a GT3 RS originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, BMW, Racing
Richard Göransson of Schubert Motorsport took the BMW Z4 GT3 around the ‘Ring, and while the thing has a glorious sound the word that kept coming to mind during the 11-minute stint was “handful.” That could have been because Göransson was trying to extract everything he could get from the car in the wet, but our suspicion is that whoever pilots this little racer is going to need steady nerves and quick hands. And don’t get us wrong about that – we’d love the chance to try it our ourselves. Follow the jump for the action.
Gallery: BMW Z4 GT3
[Source: Auto Tuning]
Continue reading Video: BMW Z4 GT3 does a hot, wet lap of the ‘Ring
Video: BMW Z4 GT3 does a hot, wet lap of the ‘Ring originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Coupe, Videos, BMW, Luxury
The BMW 6 Series could probably be considered long overdue for a serious makeover, and this one looks to be it. We got spy shots before, but an intrepid user at the Bimmerpost forum has tracked the thing with a video camera, and the rolling stock looks like it will add to the 6 line. Notice the front is much sleeker, and we’re especially interested in how the rear seems angled slightly upward.
Power from the new 7 Series engines will keep the action brisk, as you’ll see in the vid, but we still aren’t sure how (or if) BMW plans to get an R8 fighter out of this. Follow the jump for two minutes of spy action.
Gallery: Spy Shots: 2011 BMW 6 Series
[Source: Bimmerpost]
Continue reading Spy Video: Next BMW 6 Series caught on the run
Spy Video: Next BMW 6 Series caught on the run originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Car Buying, Porsche, Canada
Put this down as a public service announcement for rich people: A strong loonie is what our neighbors to the north have all been waiting for. Thanks to the loonie’s climb up the currency value charts, Porsche has dropped prices of its line by two percent. A Boxster is suddenly $4,000 loonies cheaper than a few months ago, at $55,600 ($55,467 U.S.) vs. $59,600 ($59,457 U.S.), and the number-one-selling Cayenne is now $54,200 ($54,070 U.S.). There’s probably no better time to convince your wife to bring a 911 Turbo home – after all, spend more, save more.
[Source: Globe and Mail]
Report: Strong Canadian loonie leads to Porsche price cuts originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials, UAW/Unions
There’s $77 billion owed to the pension plans contributed to by auto industry manufacturers and partner companies and we’re to assume that at least seven billion of that is owed by Ford to the UAW’s Voluntary Employment Benefit Association. The way Ford is going, it looks likely to pay that off without needing unsavory assistance. When it comes to General Motors‘ and Chrysler’s obligations over the next five years, though, the Government Accountability Office has warned that Uncle Sam still needs to keep a close eye on whether both automaker’s debts will be paid on time.
GM has $12.2 billion in pension liabilities, while Chrysler has $2.62 billion due merely to keep up with obligations over the next five years. Even though they came out of bankruptcy and trimmed their workforces, both are still on the hook for to pay white- and blue-collar pensions. The GAO’s concern is whether they will be profitable enough in the next five years to keep up with those payments. If not, the hook gets transferred to the government to the order of $14.5 billion.
GM appears to be slowly turning its ship, but we’re still in the dark about Chrysler. However, we know the Pentastar has big plans and one figures Marchionne didn’t buy the company just to go bust. That means that at the moment, this is only bell-ringing on the part of the GAO. But don’t take your eyes off the ball, guys.
[Source: New York Times]
Not out of the woods yet: GAO issues warning on automaker pensions originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal
We all know by now that no matter what the law dictates, those with an interest not in-line with the law will do what they can to work, shall we say, around the law. Wisconsin is said to have one of the highest rates of DUIs and binge drinking, and that probably has something to do with the state’s beer culture. Kids under the age of 21 can drink in public if they’re with a parent or legal guardian, and when you get your first DUI – at any age – it’s treated as a traffic violation, not a criminal act.
Why is that allowed to continue? The theory goes something like this: State legislators are the same kinds of hard drinkers as the general populace and they don’t want to get worked over for DUIs. Said a University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin professor, “There is a live hard, play hard, cut corners, get away with anything you can culture in the Legislature. Driving drunk is just part of a larger political culture of getting away with anything you can.”
Case in point: State rep Jef Wood has been busted three times in less than a year, and plans to defend himself in part by establishing the well populated history of assemblymen caught drunk behind the wheel. That makes it sound like things aren’t going to change any time soon. And makes us think there’s a little bit more going on in those flyover states than one would imagine…
[Source: AP]
Report: Brewery-heavy Wisconsin not exactly eager to punish drunk drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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