Filed under: Videos, Chrysler, Technology, Autoblog Minute
The FCA Tech Center's new 4x4 dyno allows engineers to perform year-round extreme weather testing.
Continue reading Autoblog Minute: FCA unveils 4x4 all-weather drive cell
Autoblog Minute: FCA unveils 4x4 all-weather drive cell originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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-There is still a lot to process about the Top Gear team re-emerging on Amazon instant video. Questions like when will we see the show? Will it all be released at once? Why did they decide to go with Amazon?
We’re now starting to get the answers that we crave, as former Top Gear producer and new Amazon employee Andy Wilman has started to talk about the new project.
-First, we’ll see the show in fall 2016, where it’ll start streaming on the online service. Amazon purchased three seasons of the show, 12 episodes per season, 60 minutes per show, just like old Top Gear.
-But it doesn’t sound like an entire season will be released all at once. Wilman said “We’re a one trick pony, I wouldn’t watch 12 episodes in a row.” And unlike other shows on streaming services, a Top Gear- style show lends itself to a weekly release rather than an entire season at once. Studio segments, news, and other bits are better to have up to date than all at once.
-As for chatting with ITV, Wilman says they had talks, but they are prevented from broadcasting the show on a terrestrial station in the UK for two years.
-And on that bombshell…
-This story originally appeared on roadandtrack.com.
-Filed under: Videos, Weird Car News, Porsche, Coupe, Classics, Performance
This classic Porsche 911 gets utterly demolished in a bizarre, short video for the fashion label Rag & Bone.
Continue reading Vintage 911 sacrificed in the name of fashion
Vintage 911 sacrificed in the name of fashion originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: GM, Gadgets, Smartphone, Technology
A "white-hat" hacker has demonstrated a way of taking control of GM vehicles compatible with OnStar's RemoteLink app.
Continue reading Hackers can open doors, start engine via GM OnStar app [w/video]
Hackers can open doors, start engine via GM OnStar app [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSince we can’t get enough of the brilliant new Ford GT around here, especially in racing guise, we bring you Ford’s latest GT video, called “The Secret Shakedown,” which contains test footage of some of the racing development process, allegedly shot about three weeks before the racing car made its official debut at Le Mans last month.
-The talking heads in the video, including Dave Pericak, director of Ford Performance, and Ford VP of product development Raj Nair, among others, don’t say much that will surprise anyone—they’ve been working on it for a long time, it goes real fast, Ford is sooooo innovative and amazing, yadda yadda yadda—but spliced in between the yammering is plenty of footage of the prototype race car pounding through corners, sounding incredible while hurtling down the straights, and looking awesome in slow motion or in panning shots in the pits.
-At the time the video was shot, which would have been mid-May by our clocks, Ford Performance’s advanced-engineering manager Mark Rushbrook stated that the development team would continue working on the car for another four months. “Then we go racing.”
-Speaking of going racing, to our knowledge, the Ford GT is still slated to make its racing debut at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January. You can kill one minute and 39 seconds of the time between now and then by watching this.
- -A report on the Car Magazine website reveals more details about the upcoming four-cylinder turbo engines that are set to replace the naturally aspirated flat-sixes in the Porsche Boxster and Cayman. And, unfortunately, the horsepower output is going down—at least for the base-model and S versions.
-In the report, the often-prophetic Georg Kacher confirms the depressing news that the base, S, and GTS versions of the Boxster and Cayman will lose their naturally aspirated flat-six engines early next year. In their place will be turbocharged flat-fours of 2.0 and 2.5 liters.
-The standard Boxster and Cayman get a turbocharged flat-four of 2.0 liters, said to be good for 240 horsepower. That’s against 265 horsepower for the 2.7-liter flat-six in today’s Boxster and 275 ponies for the same engine in the current Cayman.
-The Boxster/Cayman S models will get a slightly larger, 2.5-liter flat-four turbo, making 300 horsepower. Again, that’s a ride down, as the current 3.4-liter six puts out 315 horsepower in the Boxster S and 325 in the Cayman S.
-The same 2.5-liter engine also will appear in the GTS versions of the cars, tuned to deliver 370 horsepower. That, at last, beats the output of today’s models, currently 330/340 horsepower in the Boxster/Cayman GTS, respectively.
-Only the ultra-high-performance Boxster Spyder and Cayman GT4 are said to retain their naturally aspirated flat-six engine, a 3.8-liter unit. Which is sure to make them even more highly desired than they already are. Meanwhile, one has to wonder whether the base, S, and GTS versions of the current Boxster/Cayman are destined to become depreciation-proof used cars, in the same vein as the final air-cooled 911 models.
-Filed under: Green, Mercedes-Benz, Future, Hybrid, Luxury, Performance
Mercedes R&D Boss Thomas Weber tells Autocar that AMG might need to have a hybrid offering on the market by 2020 due to EU CO2 emissions regulations.
Continue reading AMG could have a hybrid model on sale by 2020
AMG could have a hybrid model on sale by 2020 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Celebrities, Videos, Lexus, Technology, Crossover, Luxury
In an impressive and colorful stunt, Lexus and Will.i.am make music on a runway by precisely driving through some laser beams.
Continue reading Will.i.am and Lexus make music on a runway with frickin' lasers
Will.i.am and Lexus make music on a runway with frickin' lasers originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsGeneral Motors is expanding an earlier recall of Cadillac ATS sedans and coupes that let people close the sunroof too easily.
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According to a report in Automotive News, the 2016 ATS is now included and adds 4967 more cars to the original February recall for a total of 63,665 within the U.S. The 2013-2016 ATS models have sunroof switches that are flush with the roof panel and can automatically close the sunroof with too light a touch (federal law mandates the operation of such buttons to avoid trapped fingers). The previous recall, which installed surrounding trim to recess the buttons, didn’t work as designed and so all of those cars must get fixed for a second time. The recall was not yet posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Cadillac dealers are holding about 7000 cars and are not supposed to sell them until they make repairs.
-Previous ATS recalls have included faulty seatbelt locks, front seats that could come off their brackets in a crash, broken shifter cables that could cause rollaways, and intermittently flashing brake lights.
-Filed under: Celebrities, TV/Movies, UK
Amazon is reportedly paying $250 million for a 36-episode run from former the former stars of Top Gear, and don't plan on seeing The Stig in this new show.
Continue reading Amazon reportedly paying $250M to snag former Top Gear stars
Amazon reportedly paying $250M to snag former Top Gear stars originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This bit of unverified speculation comes to us from Autocar, and we’re taking it with a grain of turbo-salt, but this is the kind of rumor we can’t help but love. The British car magazine quotes “sources close to the German carmaker” saying that the alleged quadruple-boosted oil-burner will be a 3.0-liter inline-six packing “well over 400 hp and 590 lb-ft.” Which, damn.
-As for those turbos themselves, theories vary. Autocar speculates that the new engine could be an evolution of the current tri-turbo 3.0-liter diesel, with “a small electrically-driven turbocharger to increase low-end boost pressure and provide added punch.” Or, it could just be four conventional exhaust-driven turbos.
-If this four-times-blown diesel engine does become a reality, rumor has it it’ll be destined for a new 7-series variant, the M750d, as well as all-wheel-drive M Performance diesel versions of the X5, X6, and X7. If the current triple-turbo diesel-powered M550d and X5 xDrive50d are any indication, this four-turbo mill probably isn’t destined for U.S. shores.
-Still, the thought of a quad-turbo engine that’s not made by Bugatti has our inner engineers all giddy. If BMW builds this four-turbo, 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine, it will catapult to the forefront on cylinders-per-turbo ratio (3:2), turbos-per-liter ratio (4:3), and pretty much every other turbo-related ratio we can think of.
-Filed under: Earnings/Financials, Green, Spyker
Spyker has exited bankruptcy protection in the Netherlands, and is now preparing to merge with Portland-based electric aircraft manufacturer Volta Volaré.
Continue reading Spyker exits bankruptcy with electric aircraft company
Spyker exits bankruptcy with electric aircraft company originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Motorsports
After competing in his first 24-hour race and defending his titles in para-cycling, 48-year-old Alessandro Zanardi wants to race in the Indianapolis 500.
Continue reading Alex Zanardi wants to race at Indy
Alex Zanardi wants to race at Indy originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 10:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Design/Style, Ford, Auctions, Coupe, Performance
Ford's Apollo Edition Mustang raised $230,000 for charity at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI, to help young people become pilots.
Continue reading Ford Apollo edition Mustang nets $230K for charity
Ford Apollo edition Mustang nets $230K for charity originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Videos, Weird Car News, Lamborghini, Supercars
German artist Rene Turrek painted a Lamborghini Gallardo with Captain America, and then covered it up with thermochromic paint.
Continue reading Watch a Lamborghini change color thanks to thermochromic paint
Watch a Lamborghini change color thanks to thermochromic paint originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Jul 2015 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Porsche, Convertible, Coupe, Luxury, Performance
Car magazine reports that the coming four-cylinder Boxster and Cayman will get from 240 to 370 hp. If true, power outputs for the base and S models will go down.
Continue reading Porsche Boxster and Cayman 4-cyl rated from 240 hp to 370 hp
Porsche Boxster and Cayman 4-cyl rated from 240 hp to 370 hp originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsAlec Monopoly bought a new Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe a while back and all was well in the world. Then he blacked it out David Beckham style and it still looked ok. But then, he decided to take it one step further and throw some hideous gold rims on the coupe and now it looks like this:
What do you think of the new rims?
Photo (@alecmonopoly)
Shout out to Zach for the tip.
Need we remind you these are seriously twisted times? Without prompt intervention, Bartholomew JoJo Simpson, that lovable fourth-grade cartoon cutup, will never see his 11th birthday. Homer is dumping Marge for a younger woman. Former down-home darling Miley Cyrus might be the instrument of some secret society. And in our own world, zero-emission vehicles are vying for garage space with modern muscle cars. READ MORE ››
-Filed under: Videos, Cadillac, First Drives, Autoblog Black, Sedan, Luxury, Performance
We drive Cadillac's newest super sedan on the street and at Road America (with the track to ourselves). Strong feelings are formed.
Continue reading 2016 Cadillac CTS-V First Drive [w/video]
2016 Cadillac CTS-V First Drive [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2015 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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