Here it is in all its glory, Episode #100 of the Autoblog Podcast. We've finally made it. There's a new graphic, a big group of five people all talking on top of each other, and new music. Stay tuned, as we've got an excellent giveaway coming up soon (i.e. when fearless leader Neff gets back from his nuptials). We'd thought that #100 might go 100 minutes, but for your sake, that's not the case and we occupy only 50 minutes of your time this week. Thanks for listening and keep the feedback, commentary, and questions rolling in to podcast at autoblog daught com. See you next week!
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While BMW's 335i Touring has been spotted testing in the California Desert, don't expect to see the 300-hp five-door in showrooms anytime soon. BMW has again confirmed that the 328i Sports Wagon, with its 230-hp powerplant and a choice of rear- or all-wheel drive, will be the most powerful 3 Series wagon in the States in the immediate future. We are not surprised, as this follows BMW's trend initiated when they launched the E46 3 Series Touring to the U.S. market in 2001. That model, like the current version, was never fitted with anything but the entry-level six-cylinder engine. Those who crave BMW's award-winning twin-turbo six-cylinder under the hood of their family hauler can opt for BMW's 535xi Sports Wagon. The engine, and all-wheel drive, are standard.
From Xinhua via our friends at China Car Times comes the above photo, showing Chinese counter-terrorism forces going through drills as they prepare to crush any dissent terror threat that might arise during next month's Olympic Games. The black ninja suits, fritz helmets, body armor, and submachine pistols all fit the profile of a specialized group like this. But... Segways?
UPDATE: Turns out, Engadget is having a caption contest. (Thanks, seoultrain.)
GM knows it needs an economical, mass-market, mass-appeal small car -- badly. Yes, it has the Aveo, but it's underwhelming in all respects, and sure, it's currently pimping the Cobalt XFE, but that car's about as exciting as an episode of Antiques Roadshow. Corsa? Not engineering the current one to be U.S.-compliant probably wasn't the greatest idea. The answer? MarketWatch says The General has summoned its inner Janet and cried, "Gimmie a Beat!" GM has yet to make a formal announcement, but word is, the Chevy Beat is indeed coming to the U.S. market. The broader public will get a really good look at it next Summer in the Transformerssequel, and as was the case with the Camaro, they'll be looking at a car they'll (apparently) be able to buy. If GM is smart, the screen-to-showroom transition won't take two years as it has with Camaro. It seemed a bit dumb that GM chose New York as the launching pad for the Beat and its fellow Triplet concepts, only to say that the car would be a "global" vehicle (read: everywhere but here). Now, it would seem that global really means global. Hey General, it probably wouldn't hurt to make Trax and get your Groove on, too. Thanks for the tip, Matt!
click above image for high-res gallery of the Volvo C30 Efficiency
In the wake of rapidly diminishing sales of large and not-particularly fuel efficient cars, Volvo is doing what only seems rational: introducing smaller vehicles with more fuel efficient engines. The company reportedly has plans to introduce three new diesel powered vehicles by the fall. We are unclear on where Volvo intends to target with its little green men cars besides emerging markets such as China and Russia, but we'd love to see some more stylish and fuel efficient options in the U.S. It's too early to speculate on what vehicles Volvo is referring to, but that's never stopped us before. The C30 is currently the Swedish automakers smallest vehicle and at last year's Frankfurt Motor Show, Volvo showed off its C30 Efficiency concept. We'd say that the timing certainly appears right for a production version of just such a machine. After all, who wouldn't appreciate the 52.26 miles per gallon from its 105 horsepower 1.6L turbodiesel engine?
Lotus has apparently hired Charlie X as its new director of marketing, and the unlucky sods who were ballsy enough to laugh at his ideas in team meetings have apparently been punished accordingly (as seen at the 40:23 mark here), handed black suits and Lotus pendants, and sent to wander amongst the general public and freak people out. It's all part of the Lotus Eagle's "Faceless People" campaign. If you visit the website, you get a timer counting down to the car's London unveiling, when "true character will emerge." Until then, however, it's more faceless nightmare fodder for British tots.
To get an idea of just how long Coulthard has been racing, remember that his first race was to fill the late Ayrton Senna's seat at Williams after the famed Brazilian's fatal crash 14 years ago. Since that fateful start, Coulthard has competed in 236 grands prix to date, winning 13 of them, taking pole position 12 times and setting the fastest lap 18 times. DC spent nine seasons with McLaren, and was instrumental in brokering the purchase of the defunct Jaguar team from Ford by Red Bull, with whom he has raced for the past few seasons, scoring the team's first point and first podium. This weekend's British Grand Prix will be David's last home race, having won the event twice in his career.
So what's next for the flying Scotsman? For starters, he will remain as a consultant to Red Bull Racing, pitching in for development driving, much like his contemporaries Schumacher and Hakkinen still do for Ferrari and McLaren respectively. Despite earlier assertions, however, Coulthard says he will remain open-minded about racing in other leagues, and we could very well see him back in the race seat for the Race of Champions at London's Wembley Stadium in December, however it remains to be seen if Coulthard will try his hand at Le Mans, DTM or some other form of motor racing or rallying. Meanwhile, the vacation of his seat at Red Bull leaves the door open for Sebastian Vettel's promotion from the Toro Rosso B-squad, so sit tight for that announcement. In the meantime we wish David all the best of luck for the remainder of his last season and for life after F1. Follow the jump to read David Coulthard's official statement.
Click either image for a high-res gallery of the Ford Focus RS.
We've been teased twice and now we finally get our first unmasked glimpse of the Ford Focus RS concept, due to debut at the London Motor Show next month. Images of the gaudy green hatch have begun to surface on a few sites across the pond, and the aggressive body work and racy interior mean that Ford's hottest hatch has to be packing some serious kit underhood. It is.
The Focus RS will be equipped with a tweaked version of the turbocharged Duratec 2.5-liter inline-five found in the ST, and will send between 280 and 300 hp, along with 300+ lb.-ft. of torque, through the front wheels via a six-speed gearbox equipped with a Quaife limited-slip differential. With that kind of power, the RS should be able to make the run to 60 in less than six seconds - assuming you don't torque-steer yourself into a tree in the process.
The dynamic body kit, complete with gaping maw, flared fenders, side sills, rear diffuser and wing, and unfortunate fender vents, compliments the lowered ride height, 19-inch, 15-spoke wheels and upgraded brakes. Inside, color-matched, two-tone Recaro thrones join an RS-specific instrument cluster and smaller diameter steering wheel.
More information should be released in the run-up to the show. As always, watch this space.
Automakers understand that the buying public is struggling with high gas prices, and the entire industry is working on new technologies to ease our financial burden. Unfortunately, new fuel efficient products are going to take a while to develop on a large scale, so for now we're just going to have to grin and bear it. That is unless you want to follow the wisdom of Toyota, which has dug deep into its core of corporate genius to give the car-driving public this little tidbit of advice: drive less. Wow, the solution was right under our noses the whole time, and we just didn't figure it out. You know there is a problem with gas prices when automakers start telling you to buy a bicycle.
Head over to Autoblog Green to read up on some very real ways that you can save on fuel, and check out the site's fancy new diggs while you're at it.
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Opel Insignia.
GM's European branch is planning a big debut later this month at the British Motor Show in London for one of its most important mainstream models. The new Insignia is replacing the venerable Vectra and brings with it a whole new design language. We got our first preview of the new look on last years GTC and Flextreme concepts. In London, Opel will be displaying hatchback and sedan variants of the Epsilon II-based Insignia, with the sharp edged look of the Vectra replaced with smoother flowing lines and scooped out side panels. European drivers will have seven engines to choose from including four gas and three diesel models, all with six speed gearboxes. The four- and six-cylinder gas engines range from 115 hp to 260 hp, while the 2.0L diesel fours get 110-160 hp variants. The Insignia will also be available with a version of the Haldex torque vectoring all wheel drive system used on the Saab Turbo-X. GM plans to announce pricing for the new model on July 22 in London with sales later this fall, and don't be surprised if the Insignia makes the trip across the Atlantic and receives a Saturn badge in the process. The Opel press release is after the jump.
We've already gotten a sneak peak of what the 2009 BMW 7-series will look like on the outside ahead of its official launch, but the interior - and iDrive in particular - is still veiled in a cloak of secrecy. However, Bimmerfile has supposedly gotten the inside dope on the new multi-function brushed aluminum mole.
According to Bimmerfile, the new iDrive interface will take a cue from one of our favorite in-dash control units - Audi's MMI - with a new interface that has a similar list design and selection system. The screen resolution is higher, which makes the maps and text "more visually appealing" and the submenus are reportedly "more like bookmarks," which should facilitate an easier flow of information.
The new display will also allow show maps in full screen, rather than the split screen in the previous version of iDrive, and radio and CD functions are now available in two separate menus. When playing a CD, the current song will be displayed in a "frame" at the top of the screen, with the list of tracks shown below it.
The major revision, aside from a new phonebook contact list that allows for multiple numbers, is the date, time and radio station bar migrating from the iDrive screen into a central mounted display nestled between the two gauges on the dash. This is one feature that Audi's MMI has had for a few years and is a very welcome addition to the new iDrive. We'll hopefully have official information about the new system in a few days.
The original Fox body Mustang SVO was an odd-looking chap with an impressive 205 hp turbo four cylinder and more amenities than the standard pony car. While the light little 'Stang had a decent following, it was expensive and somewhat unreliable in comparison to the cheaper V8 model. The demise of the SVO was cheap gas, which is likely two words we'll never use again when discussing the price of petrol.
The crew over at Garage419 have gotten a tip that the stratospheric climb in fuel prices may spawn another SVO Mustang, but this one could pack 300 ponies. The engine of choice could be the tried and true 2.3-liter four banger with the Ecoboost treatment, and weight could drop by 500 pounds by dropping the massive 4.6L V8 and using higher strength steel. The resulting turbo Mustang would blow away its naturally aspirated V8 brother on the track, while giving back at the pump to the tune of a 20-30 percent fuel economy improvement.
Lets see, a 30 mpg Mustang that weighs less and goes faster than its throaty V8 sibling. This sounds like an absolute no-brainer for the Blue Oval, and something that we wouldn't mind having in the Autoblog Garage for a very long time.
Click above for more pics of the Mclaren SLR Speedster.
Following yesterday's revelation that Mercedes and McLaren were preparing to launch a special lightweight version of their SLR supercar, a batch of spy shots plus a spy video have surfaced, giving us a sneak peek at the limited-edition roadster prior to its anticipated unveiling by McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton towards the end of the month.
The images - which appear to have been released by the manufacturer itself - confirm our previous report that the roofless supercar will have little in the way of protection from the elements, with an F1-sized wind deflector screen as the only thing between the driver and the wind rushing by at breakneck speeds. Inspired by the original '50's-era 300 SLR, the new speedster will be faster than any previous SLR and be built in a small serial of 75 examples.
Click on the thumbnail images below to view more, and follow the jump for the spy video.
The NHRA has acted very quickly in an effort to improve the safety of its Top Fuel and Funny Car races. Due to the tragic death recently of '94 and '95 Top Fuel champion Scott Kalitta, the drag strip for these two fastest classes will be shortened from the traditional 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet. Race officials and team managers believe that this compromise will continue to make for an entertaining race as the cars will still be hitting speeds of around 300 mph. This is an interim change as the sanctioning body investigates the crash and its causes, and will stay in effect until more definite changes can be made. The first race which will incorporate the new shorter track length will take place on July 11-13 at the Mopar Mile High Nationals in Denver, Colorado.
There's a crack in the dam somewhere at BMW, and what certainly appear to be official press shots of the new 2009 7 Series are now making the rounds. This leads us to believe that we should see an official release from the automaker sometime over the weekend (if the way the 1 Series leaks played out is any indication). Obviously, all we have to go on are the photos, so lets talk about what we can see. The new car's lines and overall appearance are remarkably conservative compared to the Bangleized E65/E66 cars we were presented in 2001. The 2006 facelift those cars underwent cured many of those visual ills, and this latest car mainstreams things even further.
Up front, the wide double-kidney grille is flanked by angel-eye lamps that have an "eyebrow" built into their assembly. Move to the rear, and you'll find a pair of somewhat bulbous-looking (in pictures, at least) taillamps that are likely to generate a good amount of for/against chatter. Integrated, parallelogram-shaped exhaust tips poke through the rear bumper of the gold long-wheelbase car, while the darker, diesel-powered standard-length machine has a traditional double-tipped outlet on the driver's side.
The interior sports a new iDrive controller with buttons mounted around it now, and the iDrive onscreen interface itself is new, too. The multifunction steering wheel now has 3 spokes instead of four, and one shot clearly shows BMW's new in-car Internet service onscreen. Finally, the rear-seat entertainment system gets screens on each front seatback instead of the single, low-mount center screen available in the current 7. We're sure there's plenty more to talk about as well. For now, the comment floor is yours, and we expect to be talking about the official details in the coming days. Thanks to all the tipsters!
British kids are at least as into cars as American kids, and probably liked the Pixar movie just as much. But Route 66 is far away from old Blimey, as is the Cars-dedicated theme park which Disney is making at its California Adventure location. British parents will soon be able to pacify their octane-snorting Olivers when the British International Motor Show opens its doors in London, where a full Cars attraction will make its UK debut.
The highlight of the attraction will be a display of life-size Cars cast members, based on actual automobiles. Lightning McQueen will be there (based on a '78 Trans Am), along with Sally Carrera ('02 911) and Mack the Truck ('85 Mack Super-Liner), but British lads might relate best to Mater the buck-toothed tow-truck (based on a Chevy dually pick-up). Kids can also try out the special gaming pods and get their faces painted - though we doubt Ramone (voiced by Cheech) will be there to turn out the his custom schemes.
Spend a couple of minutes surfing the net and you'll find all sorts of contests giving away all sorts of prizes. The best of them - ahem, like the Autoblog Relaunch Celebration Sweepstakes we ran a year back - give away a new car. But how about an old car? We mean, like a classic... a classic among classics, even, like the 1957 Ford Thunderbird.
That's exactly what Blaster chemicals - makers of a variety of lubricants and rust inhibitors - is giving away to mark its 50th anniversary. Residents of the lower 48 can enter the sweepstakes online until the end of July. The grand prize consists of the T-Bird and a trip for two to Cleveland - home of Rock & Roll and our own John Neff - to pick it up at the awards ceremony. They're also giving away five classic pedal cars, five leather jackets and Blaster-branded apparel. Follow the jump to enter.
Many of the biggest teams in Formula One extract enormous budgets from the automakers that own them: BMW, Renault, Toyota, Honda, even Mercedes-Benz, which is part owner of McLaren. Not Ferrari, though. The team, part of the Maranello-based sportscar maker, is owned by the Fiat auto group. However, Fiat does not contribute even one centesimo (er... euro-cent) to the team's budget.
This according to Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. And he should know, being both president of Ferrari and chairman of Fiat (in the mid-'70s, Montezemolo directly headed up the Scuderia before being promoted up the Fiat ladder). The marquis insists that the entirety of the Ferrari F1 team's budget is generated from within Ferrari, through the sales of its road cars (all of which go for six digits) and the team's sponsors, to say nothing of the company's considerable merchandising efforts.
Day One of the new AutoblogGreen was a big success. If you've been staying away from ABG because you can't find the functionality of Autoblog over there, we've addressed your concerns. We're still AB's little eco-conscious brother, we're just growing up a bit.
Oh, and you should probably check out this picture of a Chinese S.W.A.T. team. Quite funny.
We've said it before, but it warrants repeating: it takes a special kind of crazy to take an epic supercar like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini and tune it like you would a Mustang or even a Porsche. Fortunately, Novitec and EDO are just such a breed of crazy. We've brought you news of the former's modified Ferrari 430 Scuderias and 599 GTBs and the latter's Lamborghini Superleggera, Maserati MC12 and Audi R8 (to name just a few), but never side by side. For that, you may follow the jump and thank those zany Germans for pitting a Novitec Rosso-modified Ferrari 575M Maranello against an EDO Competition-tuned Lamborghini Gallardo. You'll need four and a half minutes to spare, but not fluency in German... "vroom" is international.
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