April 17, 2008
Mention the name, Carroll Shelby, and lots of words come to mind: racer, car builder, automotive legend, pilot, transplant recipient, entrepreneur, perhaps even rascal.
One thing is probably true, the plain-speaking Texan is a bit of all of these – and more. And despite a life-long series of illnesses, anyone of which would have crippled a weaker man, Carroll Hall Shelby, at 85, is still going strong. So it’s probably no surprise he’ll be receiving the latest in a long line of honors, today, as Automotive Executive of the Year.
Check out this profile of Carroll Shelby on thecarconnection.com:
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 12:10 PM | Permalink
April 15, 2008
John E. Herlitz, an automobile designer who styled a signature American muscle car and left his imprint on many notable Chrysler models of the late 20th century, died March 24 in Naples, Fla. He was 65.
Read The New York Times obituary.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:22 AM | Permalink
April 9, 2008
The "coach doors" on Rolls-Royce's Phantom Drophead Coupe
Reappearing on several cars are doors hinged toward the rear of the vehicle, instead of the usual front-hinged variety, according to USA Today. Most car nuts know them as "suicide" doors.
Call them freestyle doors, coach doors or club doors. Just don't call them suicide doors. Not unless you want to see an auto executive come unhinged.
The latest is the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé, unveiled last month in Geneva by the BMW-owned brand and to be displayed in the USA for the first time at a collector car show in Carmel, Calif., in August.
The big, rear-hinged "coach doors" on the two-door let "all passengers enter and exit more gracefully," Rolls says.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:05 AM | Permalink
February 4, 2008
DETROIT -- You can get a matte finish on your photos or your cell phone, so why not on your car? Dull was the new shiny at last month's North American Auto Show in Detroit, where at least eight cars from General Motors Corp., Volkswagen AG's Lamborghini and Audi divisions, and others sported a gleam-free matte finish, according to the Associated Press.
Matte finish has been appearing on show cars for several years, usually as an accent color to highlight a specific feature such as fender flares. But the all-over matte finish, a trend that began with customizers, is going mainstream. Karen Surcina, color technology and marketing manager of Dupont Automotive, said buyers should expect to see matte finishes on specialty or limited-run vehicles in the next two or three years.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:09 PM | Permalink
January 30, 2008
You can buy handmade Italian leather shoes or perfectly aged French wine in the United States, but don't waste time looking for certain luxury cars, according to Forbes.com
Among the sets of wheels not available to U.S. buyers are the French-made Peugeot 407 and Citroen 6, and Italian-made Alfa Romeo Brera and Spider, and Lancia Thesis.
The reasons are simple. Many European automakers, such as Peugeot, produce diesel-engine vehicles, which haven't caught on with U.S. car buyers. And some vehicles made in Europe, like the BMW 1 Series hatchback and Mercedes-Benz B Class compact, have yet to stir interest among U.S. luxury car buyers who bypass such small hatchbacks, preferring roomy sedans and coupes.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:55 AM | Permalink
This is one of the first full-bodied prototypes for the car known internally at Rolls-Royce as ‘RR4,' according to British car mag AutoCar. The smaller saloon is due to go on sale in 2010.
Our spies have exposed the new smallest Rolls-Royce in its entirety for the first time.
These shots, snapped recently in Munich, show how faithfully the new car will adopt the Phantom’s design language (reference the car’s thick C-pillar and suicide rear doors).
However, it’s also significantly lower and shorter than a Phantom, has a shorter bonnet, and a much less upright grille, than its bigger sibling.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:05 AM | Permalink
January 28, 2008
IN recent seasons, a new fashion accessory has become a must-have for the debutants of the auto-show circuit. No automaker introduces a new concept car, it seems, before dressing it up with L.E.D. jewelry, according to the New York Times.
Light-emitting diodes are replacing the car’s trusty glass light bulbs much as compact fluorescents are replacing Edison’s ancient incandescents in home lamp sockets. L.E.D.’s are longer lasting, more compact and consume less electricity.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:13 AM | Permalink
WHITE has nudged out silver as the most popular automobile color in North America, ending silver’s seven-year run at the top, according to the New York Times.
The NYT cites DuPont’s annual color survey, released last month, which reports 19 percent of the cars and trucks sold in North America in 2007 were white and 18 percent were silver.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:11 AM | Permalink
January 22, 2008
“WHAT is it?” asked a judge for the Eyes on Design Awards as he contemplated the Chrysler ecoVoyager, a long blue capsule with a stubby front end grafted onto a minivan body.
Finding new names for new vehicle silhouettes was a preoccupation during last week’s press previews of the North American International Auto Show, according to the New York Times.
The hot news in design here was not the latest look of grilles or the lavish use of chrome (though both trends were evident), but rooflines. Designers offered up a variety of profiles, casting aside the tried-and-true types and terms.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:08 AM | Permalink
January 17, 2008
PROVIDENCE — A Florida company is proposing what may soon be the strangest part of the Providence skyline: a pair of 13-story, translucent parking towers that operate like Ferris wheels, loading cars at the ground level and then moving them high up into the structure for storage, according to the Providence Journal.
The Weybosset Street project would be the first public parking garage of its kind in the continental United States, said Douglas Dodd, chief operations officer of Mechanical Vertical Parking Inc., the West Palm Beach, Fla., company backing the project.
“We picked Providence to be the introduction of this to the United States,” Dodd said.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:24 PM | Permalink
DETROIT — The V-8 engine, long a symbol of power for American car companies, is sputtering, according to the New York Times.
At the Detroit auto show this week, Detroit’s Big Three are promoting smaller engines and alternative-fuel vehicles, eliminating the V-8 from many models and relegating it to niche status.
Ford Motor, which first popularized the V-8 in the 1930s, will start using a turbocharged 6-cylinder in many vehicles, including the next generation of its Explorer sport utility vehicle. The company has named its new engine technology EcoBoost, a nod to consumers’ concern for the environment.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:09 PM | Permalink
January 9, 2008
LAS VEGAS — Having 12 TVs in your house: impressive. Having 12 TVs in your car: really impressive.
High-tech electronics are moving from the home to the garage, and some of the craziest car tech options are on display at the Consumer Electronics Show. Manufacturers are showing off DVD players, navigation systems, stereos and other devices for gadget-loving gearheads, according to USA Today.
They're chasing a growing market. Sales of electronics for automobiles are expected to reach $12.8 billion this year, a 12% increase from 2007, says the Consumer Electronics Association. "It's important to our customers," says Jim Buczkowski, director of electrical systems engineering for automaker Ford. "They see their vehicle as an extension of their home."
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:00 AM | Permalink
January 8, 2008
MUMBAI, India — What does it take to build the world’s cheapest car?
For Tata Motors of India, which will introduce its ultra-cheap car on Thursday, the better question was, what could it take out, according to a fascinating story in the New York Times that includes a graphic and a pic of Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata.
The company has kept its new vehicle under wraps, but interviews with suppliers and others involved in its construction reveal some of its cost-cutting engineering secrets — including a hollowed out steering-wheel shaft, a trunk with space for a briefcase and a rear-mounted engine not much more powerful than a high-end riding mower.
The upside is a car expected to retail for as little as the equivalent of $2,500, or about the price of the optional DVD player on the Lexus LX 470 sport utility vehicle.
The downside is a car that would most likely fail emission and safety standards on any Western road, and, perhaps, in India in a few years, when the country imposes tougher environmental standards.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 1:18 PM | Permalink
November 15, 2007
A generation of digital-era Henry Fords, unabashed and brimming with confidence, has emerged, according to the New York Times.
Born of Silicon Valley and the dot-com culture, they are trying to apply to carmaking the same entrepreneurial spirit that built the information superhighway.
Most of the inventors are not carmakers by background or training. But they are cocksure, backed by millions of dollars in venture capital and cloaked in the righteousness of environmentalism. To their critics, they are flying at high speed around a blind curve, destined to become reality-check crash-test dummies.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 3:11 PM | Permalink
November 8, 2007
The 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center has a superstar, according to the New York Times.
Chip Foose is, arguably, the closest thing the auto industry has to a design superstar. Increasingly, he plays a major role in setting the tone at this annual extravaganza for aftermarket parts companies, industry executives, dealers, buyers and journalists.
The SEMA show is an idea farm, and no one seems to have more fertile ideas than Mr. Foose. From a design standpoint, SEMA is very much “The Chip Foose Show.” AutoWeek magazine describes the million-plus square feet of show floor here as “Foosetopia.”
Last year, Mr. Foose had at least 30 vehicles on display, which SEMA characterized as a record for a single individual. This year, organizers were unsure of the total number of Foose-designed vehicles here, but they conceded he had more than exhibitors with the next highest totals: the Ford Motor Company with 25 and General Motors with 28.
The show has the attention of the mainstream auto industry, which has begun using SEMA to introduce production vehicles — for example, Toyota’s showing of its 2009 Corolla and Matrix models. SEMA officials estimated that more than 100,000 people would attend the show, where auto industry engineers, dreamers and backyard mechanics display new ideas, extreme creations and envelope-pushing customizations.
Google the words “Foose” and “SEMA” and you will get more than 193,000 hits.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:28 AM | Permalink
October 25, 2007
Check out a bunch of concept cars, including the VW Space Up shown below, that thecarconnection.com is currently highlighting from the Tokyo Auto Show at its home page.
Volkswagen's Space Up! concept car:
The show runs Oct. 27 to Nov. 11.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:48 AM | Permalink
October 16, 2007
General Motors isn't giving away any of the specifics just yet, but it does have a seven- and even an eight-speed automatic transmission tucked away in its product development cycle, according to thecarconnection.com
Jim Lanzon, executive director of GM Powertrain's Transmission Engineering, acknowledged last week GM is looking at the transmissions that have begun showing up on luxury models such as the BMW M5.
"I can't give away any new product news but we're looking at everything," he said.
One of the issues GM is wrestling with now is whether a seven- or eight-speed transmission will produce the kind of gains in fuel economy that would justify the cost of engineering them into a vehicle, Lanzon said.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:28 AM | Permalink
October 12, 2007
TOKYO — Cute, communicative and cubic seem to be the fashion statement as far as offerings from Japan's "Big Three" automakers Toyota, Honda and Nissan, debuting at the Tokyo auto show later this month, according to USA Today.
Sporting whimsical names — Rin, Puyo and Pivo 2 — the toylike "concept," or show, cars appear to be inspired more by the iPod, futuristic space capsules and Japane0se manga animation than what we are used to associating with vehicles.
Check out this rendering of the Rin:
In this artist rendering released by Toyota Motor ahead of Tokyo Motor Show, a "concept" car called Rin is shown. The green-and-beige model has a transparent floor, huge windows and doors that slide open like Japanese "shoji" screens.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:47 AM | Permalink
October 9, 2007
Police will be able to remotely halt high-speed pursuits with technology that aims to cut chase-related deaths, according to USA Today.
General Motors plans to equip 1.7 million of its 2009 model vehicles with the system that allows pursuing officers to request that engines of stolen cars be remotely switched off through the OnStar mobile communications system.
Because of a built-in global-tracking device, OnStar already allows police to find stolen vehicles. Now, with permission of the owner, they'll have the ability to have the engine turned off.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 2:11 PM | Permalink
Automakers are putting cars on a diet in a bid for better gas mileage, according to USA Today.
They are finding ways to shave pounds from car bodies — from the hood to the back bumper — often by substituting plastic, composites and aluminum for steel.
When they use steel, it is often a higher-quality grade that delivers more strength and less weight.
Every 120-pound reduction can yield a 1% gain in gas mileage, says Bill Grabowski, director of body core engineering for Chrysler. Best of all, if engineers can make the body lighter, other components, such as brakes, suspension and the engine, can be lighter, too. And the vehicle won't need as much gas-guzzling horsepower to push it around.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:24 AM | Permalink
October 4, 2007
OSHKOSH, Wis. — Sitting high in the cab of the hulking lime-green TerraMax truck, a driver can be excused for instinctively grabbing the steering wheel, according to USA Today.
There's no need. TerraMax is a self-driving vehicle, a prototype designed to navigate and obey traffic rules — all while the people inside, if there are any, do anything but drive.
During a recent test on property owned by manufacturer Oshkosh Truck, TerraMax barreled down a dusty road with its driver seat empty. It stopped at a four-way intersection and waited as staged traffic resolved before obediently lurching on its way.
If the Defense Department gets its way, vehicles like TerraMax — about as long as a typical sport-utility vehicle and almost twice as high — could represent the future of transportation for the military's ground forces.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:55 AM | Permalink
October 3, 2007
Check out this amazing concept car from Mazda which consistently produces concepts closer to sculpture than mode of transportation.
The company took the wraps off the Taiki and a hydrogen powered vehicle ahead of its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month.
See the AP story as printed in USA Today.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:04 AM | Permalink
September 26, 2007
Here's a concept with a difference. This is a new prototype center console from German supplier Preh Automotive, which has production cabin components for the all-new Audi A4, according to thecarconnection.com
Looking like something off the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, it's called the PrehCon. It's made entirely from what's known in the interiors industry as black panel display technology.
It means that when the driver gets behind the wheel he sees no buttons or lights - there's only a flat black surface and the chrome detailing around the edge. But as soon as he touches the starter button everything comes to life, illuminated in smart ice-blue neon.
That includes the icons on the switches which reveal what each one does. Note also the vibrant coloring on the side of the console, which could be programmed only to light up at night.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 8:04 AM | Permalink
September 25, 2007
Back-seat drivers may be as annoying as ever, but at least they won't be as cramped.
Some automakers are working to turn back seats into more pleasant accommodations for adult passengers, according to USA Today.
Among the latest to make an improvement is Honda (HMC), which lengthened its flagship Accord sedan from midsize to a full-size model, mainly to add more legroom in the back seat. The new Accord, which just went on sale, has another 1.4 inches of knee room in back.
In a change for what has traditionally been a family sedan, Honda says kids are no longer the primary back-seat riders for Accord.
The car's target customers now are empty-nest boomers and white-collar Gen Xers, many of whom don't have many kids. Instead, auto executives envision the back seat as a place to try to impress adult friends and business clients.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:55 AM | Permalink
September 24, 2007
Bigger is better, or so goes the old mantra that defines carmakers and Costco shoppers alike. But at least one automaker is thinking twice about its future and betting that big sales growth - and big, heavy, high-powered cars - may not necessarily be the answer, according to thecarconnection.com
Bentley certainly has done its share of growing, in recent years. Not all that long ago, as the poor-relation sibling to Rolls-Royce, it was a nearly forgotten brand that came a hair's breadth away from being abandoned entirely.
Now a subsidiary of the German giant, Volkswagen AG, Bentley is one of the world's most successful luxury marques, with products like the Continental GTC racking up sales of 10,000 a year.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:41 AM | Permalink
September 14, 2007
FRANKFURT - When it comes to this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, UP! is down, according to thecarconnection.com
Downsized that is, in the form of Volkswagen's pint-sized prototype car. Dubbed the UP!, it makes the automaker's original Beetle look positively huge. For the moment, the UP! is little more than a concept vehicle, but you likely won't have to wait very long to see it - or one of several variants the German maker will reveal later this year - go into production.
The same is true for a trio of minicar concepts revealed by General Motors, during its time in the Frankfurt spotlight. The American giant hopes to gauge reaction at this and several other major world auto shows to see if there's enough demand to justify production
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 1:23 PM | Permalink
September 13, 2007
FRANKFURT, Germany — Two decades after diesel cars all but vanished from American roads in a cloud of sooty smoke, are Americans ready to give them another try?
That is a big question at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week, as European carmakers roll out “clean diesel” vehicles — their answer to the call for more efficient, climate-friendly cars, according to the New York Times.
Betting that diesel power will become an alternative to the hybrids popularized by Toyota and other Japanese carmakers, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen all plan to sell new diesel automobiles in the United States in the coming year, and many of them are on show here
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:12 AM | Permalink
September 12, 2007
European automakers, stung by criticisms from environmentalists and government regulators that they are late to the green party, will be using the 2007 Frankfurt motor show to showcase everything in their alternative fuel and powertrain arsenals, according to the New York Times.
The biennial show, the 62nd Internationalen Automobil-Ausstellungen Cars, will be held at the mammoth CongressCenter Messe Frankfurt convention center from Thursday through Sept. 23.
Press preview days began Monday night and continue through Wednesday. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, will open the show to the public on Thursday.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:13 AM | Permalink
September 11, 2007
Considering it is rolling out barely one Veyron a week, you'd be hard-pressed to call the reborn Bugatti brand "mainstream." But for some folks, two identical cars are just too darn many.
So look for a special lineup of what will be the ultimate in limited editions, the Bugatti Pur Sang, or "pure blood," in French, according to thecarconnection.com
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:13 AM | Permalink
September 10, 2007
THE age of the retractable hardtop is upon us, according to the New York Times.
The convertible BMW 3 Series, Volvo C70, Volkswagen Eos and Mercedes-Benz SL and SLK all wear hard hats, and the Lexus SC and Mazda Miata also offer retractable shells. With the Pontiac G6 and Chrysler Sebring convertibles, the retractable hardtop infiltrates the meat of the market, the domestic four-seat convertible.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:10 AM | Permalink
THE sky may be the limit, but the roof no longer is, at least to auto designers seeking a competitive advantage. While much of their attention has recently focused on the resurgence of retractable metal hardtops, many of this fall’s new models will stake their claims to novelty on skylights, according to the New York Times.
The naming of the new skylights suggests that the automakers’ knack for labeling their products remains strong. The companies that invented memorable names like Vista-Cruiser, Hydra-Matic and Stow ’n Go now offer UltraView, Sky Slider and Vista Roof. Still, at least one mystery of roof nomenclature remains unresolved: how sunroof came to mean a skylight that opens and moonroof became the designation for a fixed one.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:06 AM | Permalink
About a hundred years ago, Henry Ford declared that his Model T customers could have the vehicle in any color "so long as it's black."
But today, Ford Motor Co. engineers and designers are mixing a paint revolution in the secret confines of the company's Dearborn product development labs, according to the Detroit Free Press.
By 2009, 45% of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars and trucks will feature new, often trendsetting paint colors -- a color changeover that will be the biggest in the company's 104-year history.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:38 AM | Permalink
September 6, 2007
DEATH VALLEY, Calif. — As if torture-testing cars in the nation's hottest place wasn't enough, Lee Foster had to worry about spies, according to USA Today.
Lots of them.
Foster was leading a team of engineers from South Korean automaker Kia putting disguised cars through the most grueling tests imaginable. All the while, they had to fend off a legion of car paparazzi hell-bent on grabbing shots of vehicles that hadn't yet been shown publicly.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:01 AM | Permalink
August 29, 2007
The next shape in cars comes close to how most people might like to chisel their own bodies — broad shoulders and a shapely rear end, according to USA Today.
Nissan's Infiniti just unveiled its EX35 luxury crossover that points to the look of things to come in automotive design, a small hatchback that blurs the differences between SUV and sedan.
Revealed at an automobile gathering south of San Francisco, EX35 stands tall and confident from the front like an SUV. But the roofline arcs to a slope over the back seat and cargo area.
Think of it as an SUV without the U. It's sporty. And it's certainly a vehicle. But utilitarian? Nah, not really, not without the ability to carry more.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 11:28 AM | Permalink
August 21, 2007
Last February, a group of Ford engineers set out to prove that an electric car powered by hydrogen could top 200 m.p.h. Last week, those engineers proved it, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 fuel cell car hit 207.297 m.p.h. at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Thursday and set a world record in the process. It is the world's first and only production-based fuel cell racecar.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:10 PM | Permalink
August 14, 2007
Following in the tire tracks of the latter-day Beetle from Volkswagen and the Mini Cooper from BMW, Fiat this month began selling an updated version of the classic 500 of 1957, according to the New York Times.
At 11 feet 6 inches in length, it is about 4 inches shorter than the Ka, Ford’s tiny runabout, but 18 inches longer than the original 500.
More than a year before the car arrived, Fiat started marketing it as a return to everybody’s childhood. In Italy, advertisements appealed to patriotism, with slogans like, “The new Fiat belongs to all of us.”
In less than a month, Fiat has sold more than 57,000 of the cars.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:31 AM | Permalink
General Motors has signed an agreement with a battery maker that could propel it ahead of Toyota in the race to bring plug-in hybrid and electric cars to market, a top company official said Thursday, according to USA Today.
A123 Systems, based in Watertown, Mass., already produces thousands of nanophosphate lithium-ion batteries for use in cordless power tools, and it plans to apply the technology to automobiles.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:58 AM | Permalink
August 9, 2007
Automakers are putting a new emphasis on cars and trucks that excel at cutting carbon-dioxide emissions to reduce global warming, according to USA Today.
In the past, CO2 was treated as just a component of the noxious vapors spewing from tailpipes. Now, it's being singled out.
"Thanks to (former vice president) Al Gore, people are becoming aware of this extra factor," says Dominick Infante, spokesman for Subaru, which is looking to reduce its CO2 footprint. "It's becoming something people are wondering about."
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 9:09 AM | Permalink
July 30, 2007
Straddling a 619-pound motorcycle, Scotty Pollacheck tucks in his knees and lowers his head as he waits for the green light. When he revs the engine, there's no roar. The bike moves so fast that within seconds all that's visible is a faint red taillight melting in the distance.
Pollacheck crosses the quarter-mile marker doing 156 mph; he's traveled 1,320 feet in 8.22 seconds, faster than any of the gas-powered cars, trucks or motorcycles that have raced in the drag sprints on this weekend at Portland International Raceway.
It's particularly impressive given Pollacheck is riding a vehicle that uses no gasoline and is powered entirely by lithium-ion batteries, according to the Associated Press.
Posted by at 10:28 AM | Permalink
July 27, 2007
The tyres are made of potatoes and the brake pads from ground cashew shells. The body was created from hemp and rapeseed oil, and it runs on fuel made from fermented wheat and sugar beet.
Yet despite the greenest of credentials, this mean machine is capable of a highly-impressive 150mph.
The one-seater racing car - called Eco One - has been built by experts from Warwick University to dispel the perception that 'green' motoring means dull little electric runarounds or filling your fuel tank with chip fat, according to the Daily Mail of Britain.
Posted by at 2:02 PM | Permalink
July 25, 2007
Toyota already dominates the hybrid market with more than a million of the vehicles sold over the past decade.
Now, it has developed a new type of hybrid that plugs into a home electrical socket for a longer ride as an electric car, raising the stakes in the race to develop more energy efficient, according to USA Today.
Posted by at 12:45 PM | Permalink
General Motors says it now expects 40% better fuel economy in city driving from the gasoline-electric hybrid versions of its full-size SUVs than their gasoline-only counterparts, giving the hybrid Chevrolet Tahoes and GMC Yukons 19 or 20 miles a gallon in stop-and-go driving, according to USA Today.
That's up from earlier forecasts of a 25% improvement and would give the big SUVs better mileage than some mid- and full-size, gasoline-power family sedans. It also would be better than so-called crossover SUVs that are stealing sales from truck-based SUVs such as Tahoe because crossovers typically use less fuel.
Posted by at 12:41 PM | Permalink
July 19, 2007
Here’s your chance to check out the smart car which is in town as part of smart USA’s “street smart” road show, a national tour to introduce the iconic two-seater to U.S. consumers.
Mercedes-Benz’s smart car, which has sold 750,000 models in 36 countries since it was launched in Europe in 1998, is stopping in Warwick today and near Waterplace Park in Providence tomorrow and Saturday.
I took a short test drive in one this morning with smart rep Kia Goddard and found the car fun to drive and comfortable, even on the highway where it more than held its own. It did not feel unsafe – it has a host of safety features – and, Boy, does it attract a crowd.
Top speed is about 90 mph, while fuel consumption is more than 40 miles per gallon. And it is so short - just over 8-3/4 feet long by about 5 feet wide - that it can be parked perpendicular to the sidewalk!
The road show features 4 smart fortwo cars for test-drives on a closed course, a mobile smart exhibit with interactive displays and virtual safety demonstrations and a safety display – safety is the number one question this side of the Atlantic, according to smart reps – featuring the “Tridion cell” (reinforced steel cage), dual and side airbags, electronic stability program and anti-lock brakes.
The display is open today at the Mercedes-Benz dealership at Inskip in Warwick and at 5 Moshassuck Street near Stillman Street and Exchange Street tomorrow, 12 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, 12 to 5 p.m.
- Peter C.T. Elsworth
Posted by at 11:03 AM | Permalink
July 17, 2007
Apple's new iPhone, which went on sale just last month amid a blaze of hype worthy of a blockbuster movie, is very likely to have a major impact on the design of automobile interiors over the next few years, according to thecarconnection.com
Frank Homann, vice president of interior electronics solutions for Siemens/VDO inAuburn Hills, Mich., said carmakers are eager to make the car interiors more appealing to consumers. The demands of younger customers, who demand the latest in communications and entertainment technologies are driving automakers to adopt solutions very different from only a decade ago, he suggested. The so-called "Digital Natives," basically anyone born after 1987, want and demand "perpetual connectivity," he noted.
Hence, the iPhone, which its emphasis on ease of operation and ability to handle multiple operations, is very likely to serve as the standard for the engineering of the next generation of interiors, he said.
Posted by at 9:41 AM | Permalink
The world's first rechargeable plug-in motorcycle, called the Enertia, will be available next year, according to a press release last week from its Oregon-based maker, according to thecarconnection.com
The Enertia is the first in a new series of electric commuter, commercial, and recreational vehicles from Brammo Motorsports, a privately held company based in Ashland , Ore. It's the same company that makes the minimalist Ariel Atom sports car, which has found a niche following among the enthusiast crowd; but the Enertia looks to be a no-brainer for the environmentalist set, especially those who can't quite stomach the $100,000 price tag for Tesla Motors' Roadster.
To that end, the Enertia has more than eight times the wheel-to-well efficiency of a CAFE-average car and more than four times that of a typical motorcycle, according to Brammo.
Posted by at 9:39 AM | Permalink
July 16, 2007
Despite high gas prices, the auto industry believes consumers view bigger as better and cars and trucks have ballooned as a result, according to USA Today.
Models getting the XXL treatment range from Audi's previously tiny TT sports car to the venerable Ford Taurus sedan among next-generation models. Even BMW's Mini is going to offer a maxi version.
Posted by at 3:34 PM | Permalink
When Christopher Paine, the director of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” filmed the General Motors EV1, he had to search for a flattering perspective, according to the New York Times.
“When we filmed the car on the road, its best angle was the low front shot from the side,” he said. “It was gorgeous. The back of the car was more challenging. The car’s style did not appeal to certain design sensibilities
Posted by at 10:43 AM | Permalink
July 10, 2007
Innovation has never been a guarantee of success, but rarely have striking new designs been rejected as emphatically as happened with Chrysler’s Airflow, according to the New York Times.
In an era that otherwise glorified the streamline look in everything from toasters to locomotives, the Airflow lived a short, tumultuous life.
It was born in 1934, and by the time it died an unmourned death in 1937, it had very nearly taken the Chrysler Corporation to the grave with it. As automotive styling fiascos go, the Airflow ranks with the Edsel and the Pontiac Aztek.
Posted by at 11:22 AM | Permalink
July 5, 2007
With SUV practicality and carlike gas thriftiness, crossover vehicles are revving up sales in an otherwise tepid auto market, new figures show, according to USA Today.
Motorists are increasingly turning their backs on midsize SUVs, lured in part by gas savings, two studies find.
Posted by at 11:11 AM | Permalink
June 21, 2007
With higher government fuel economy requirements looming and gasoline prices around $3 a gallon, Chrysler Group on Thursday announced several measures to boost the fuel mileage of its cars and trucks, according to USA Today.
During an event to showcase its 2008 models, the company said its new family of V-6 engines will have the ability to drop to three cylinders when less power is needed, raising V-6 fuel economy 6% to 8%.
The company also plans to place its new two-mode hybrid powertrain in more vehicles, put a clean diesel engine in the 2009 Jeep Cherokee sport-utility vehicle, and upgrade its 5.7-liter Hemi and 4.7-liter V-8 engines to get better gas mileage.
Posted by at 12:13 PM | Permalink
June 20, 2007
MUSCLE cars are inseparable from America and the ’60s, their innocence sweetly harmonized by the Beach Boys, their more sinister side chronicled in films from “Bullitt” to “Grindhouse.”
Today’s revival of the old horsepower wars still features familiar Motown combatants like Corvette, Mustang and Charger. But it is Mercedes-Benz, once known for conservative sedans and sleepy diesels, that is overwhelming the competition, according to the New York Times. Forget 400 horses: the AMG division of Mercedes is the new King of Zing, churning out models that top 600 horsepower.
Posted by at 11:27 AM | Permalink
Since it came on the scene five years ago, Scion has made a point of doing things differently. Toyota’s youth brand can brag of having the lowest average age, about 30, among its owners and of strong customer loyalty.
However, the Scion xB is now arriving at dealers and suggests Scion is growing up, according to the New York Times. The original xB was a small boxy car with attitude. The new one is bigger — a full foot longer than the last xB, 3 inches wider, about 35 percent roomier, 600 pounds heavier, 55 horsepower stronger and about 10 percent more expensive.
It is also less fuel efficient. Fuel economy has declined to 22 city and 28 highway, from 26 city and 30 highway.
Posted by at 11:16 AM | Permalink
WITH fuel prices high and the pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions rising, automakers are finding themselves in the familiar squeeze of balancing customer wants with government mandates, according to the New York Times.
The most direct path to improving fuel economy — designing cars that are lighter and smaller — presents many challenges, including a population that is bigger and more feature conscious. While clever marketing may overcome that resistance to small cars, federal safety standards cannot be compromised, and the physics of a car crash gives the advantage to larger, heavier vehicles.
Still, development of more compact vehicles seems healthy. General Motors dipped its toe in these waters with a trio of pug-nosed microcar designs for the auto-show circuit this year; the tiny Mercedes-Benz Smart cars will be here next year; and Honda, Nissan and Toyota have all recently added smaller cars to their lines.
Posted by at 11:10 AM | Permalink
June 19, 2007
Internet search giant Google hopes to speed the development of plug-in hybrid cars by giving away millions of dollars to people and companies that have what appear to be practical ways to get plug-ins to market faster, according to USA Today.
But the money, announced Monday afternoon at Google headquarters in Mountain Valley, Calif., totals just $1 million so far with another $10 million pledged, which might not be enough to move the needle.
Auto development is crushingly expensive, especially when it involves the kind of advanced battery and powertrain technology used in plug-in hybrids.
Though automakers are tight-lipped about what they spend, bringing a plug-in hybrid to market could cost
Posted by at 2:33 PM | Permalink
June 13, 2007
Gibbs Technologies, founded by Britain 's Neil Jenkins and Alan Gibbs, is expected to announce a new deal to produce a military version of its prototype Aquada, a car-like vehicle that can operate on land or water, according to thecarconnection.com.
Specifics are expected to outlined today, but a prototype is expected to allow for a range of military operations, including the ability to deliver special forces troops and material at remote locations, or to provide flexible patrols along waterfronts.
According to Jenkins, the company's High Speed Amphibian technology would allow for fast travel off-shore, but unlike a traditional boat, the vehicles could quickly move onto dry land to pursue an enemy.
Posted by at 10:05 AM | Permalink
It's the end of the driving world as you know it, some of the automotive industry's top engineers and executives said Tuesday during a University of Michigan forum on alternative-fuel vehicles, according to the Detroit Free Press.
More than 700 people filled the Power Center in Ann Arbor to hear hybrid and advanced technology directors from General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. discuss what their companies are doing to address increasing consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Posted by at 9:55 AM | Permalink
June 12, 2007
The most popular color to buy a car in has long been silver, but one U.K. company is now offering a variation on that them. Chrome is the new silver, with shiny body panels apparently set to be the next big thing, according to thecarconnection.com.
MirraChrome is claimed to be the world’s most realistic chrome-effect paint finish, with 98 percent of the reflectivity of true chrome-plating. It’s the stuff was used on a Lamborghini Murcielago in the recent video by rapper 50 Cent.
Posted by at 10:33 AM | Permalink
May 21, 2007
1957 was a Golden Era for automobile design, but a fleeting one that would end before the year was out, according to a fascinating feature in The New York Times.
“I think 1957 was a high-water mark for Ford design; Chrysler as well,” said Greg Wallace, manager of General Motors’ Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Mich.
The enduring popularity, not to mention collectibility, of Chevrolet’s 1957 cars “speaks for itself,” he said, adding, “The ’57 Chevy was quite simply the best-looking car of the entire postwar era.”
Posted by at 10:11 AM | Permalink
Speaking at a taping of “Wait Wait ...Don’t Tell Me!” the quiz program on National Public Radio, Robert A. Lutz, vice chairman at General Motors, declared Thursday night that the Chevrolet Volt, the hybrid-electric concept car that G.M. unveiled at this year’s Detroit auto show, may be among the most important vehicles that G.M. has ever developed, The New York Times reports.
Lutz has long been considered one of Detroit’s ultimate “car guys,” for whom no vehicle could be big enough, powerful enough or fast enough. He is the father of the V-10 Dodge Viper and has championed automobiles like the 1,000-horsepower Cadillac Sixteen.
Lutz said he was more excited about the Volt that he was about the Dodge Viper. “I think this can bring about the revolution and really make us independent of foreign oil and solve all the other problems," he said.
Posted by at 10:03 AM | Permalink
May 16, 2007
General Motors claims to have the first electrically driven fuel-cell vehicle capable of going 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen - on public roads, according to thecarconnection.com.
Sequel's 300-mile route acrossNew York State began at GM's Fuel Cell Activity Center in Honeoye Falls, near Rochester, and finished in Tarrytown, just north of New York City, where a GM assembly facility was closed more than a decade ago.
Posted by at 10:35 AM | Permalink
May 8, 2007
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday faulted U.S. automakers for failing to do what foreign manufacturers have accomplished in producing fuel-efficient vehicles, according to the Associated Press.
Posted by at 10:30 AM | Permalink
May 1, 2007
A recent report finds sales of DaimlerChrysler's Maybach ultra uxury limo continue to be disappointing and having inspected one at the recent New York Auto Show, it doesn't surprise me. I mean, who are they making these things for?
For those of you who haven't seen one, the Mercedes-Benz Maybach is a giganto limo - the Maybach 62 is so long its rear seats can fully recline - that costs in the neighborhood of $300,000 to $450,000.
But those rear seats look to me so plush as to be almost claustophobic. Sure, they can be raised lowered, heated and some even have magic massage fingers. And they are surrounded by a bevy of conveniences - TV, wi-fi, refrigerator, writing table, etc etc. The roof can be programmed to be clear or opaque and black curtains can be drawn all round the rear compartment to allow for a complete snooze. (I was going to say privacy, but that might imply hanky-panky and it's hard to imagine that being much fun in such a cluttered environment.)
No, the Mercedes-Benz Maybach seems to be built for a passive lifetyle, for the kind of rich old codger or haughty dowager of a bygone age. By contrast, we live in an age dominated by the notion of an active lifestyle.
For example, it may be sour grapes, but I don't think most baby boomers are attracted to the eternal holiday style of retirement. To be sure, many of us will keep working because we need to. But many of us, from all walks of life, want to keep involved.
And that goes for wealthy moguls. Sure it's fun to be driven around, but not in a cocoon of luxury. Wealth today buys the active lifestyle for old and and young and to many it's more prestigious to be seen driving, or being driven in, a luxury power monster BMW or Bentley than to be seen lolling in the back seat of a luxury limo.
I may be wrong - I usually am - but somehow I don't see Kirk Kerkorian (89) looking passively out from behind the curtains of a Mercedes-Benz Maybach.
Posted by at 9:47 AM | Permalink
April 20, 2007
Following up on the high-profile launch of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt concept, at January's Detroit Auto Show, General Motors returns with an alternate take on the show car at the Shanghai Motor Show, according to thecarconnection.com. This Volt version uses a downsized battery paired with a hydrogen-powered fuel cell.
Posted by at 10:10 AM | Permalink
April 18, 2007
Vote on two super, way-beyond-drop-dead gorgeous.cars that nobody's ever heard of - the Koenigsegg CCR and Spyker C8 Double 12 S - on Forbes.com.
The 806 hp Koenigsegg from Sweden gets 0-to-60 mph in 3.2 seconds and costs about $540,000; the 400 hp Spyker from the Netherlands gets 0-to-60 mph in under 4.5 seconds and costs about $325,000.
Posted by at 10:34 AM | Permalink
April 16, 2007
The Detroit Free Press reports that ashttp://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070416/BUSINESS01/704160362/1014/BUSINESS01 more than 35,000 engineers and executives gather in Detroit this week for the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress, one question will dominate the convention: What will power the car of the future?
The gas engine has dominated the U.S. auto market for decades, but gas-electric hybrids and diesel engines are gaining ground. Ethanol is being promoted as an alternative fuel, and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are being tested in real-world conditions.
Posted by at 12:36 PM | Permalink
The first Airstream, the Clipper, arrived in 1936 amid a national craze for streamlining — in cars, in buildings, in toasters — as the brainchild of an inventor and travel promoter named Wally Byam. according to the New York Times in a piece dedicated to the famed trailer.
After World War II, as the highway system expanded, the economy boomed and Airstreams gained starring roles in Hollywood films, the trailer came to symbolize American-style travel.
Posted by at 12:21 PM | Permalink
April 12, 2007
Looking back, dozens of concept cars could rightfully be considered significant, but thecarconnection.com has selected 10 that it says should have been built starting with the1938 Buick Y-Job which was built under the direction of Genera Motors' first design czar, Harley Earl. It says the car foreshadowed styling and engineering cues that would pop up on future GM vehicles. The Y-Job's stubby tail fins found their way onto the iconic 1948 Cadillacs, while the grille design still influences Buicks today.
Posted by at 12:19 PM | Permalink
Check out Forbes.com's tally of the 10 sexiest luxury cars.
Forbes.com ranks them by ideal driver/owners, including Hip-Hop Moguls
(Rolls-Royce Phantom sedan), Miami Beach plastic surgeons (Lamborghini Murciélago convertible) or Newly Divorced Moms (Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG).
Posted by at 12:12 PM | Permalink
While cars are no more straight or gay than cellphones, office chairs or weed whackers, that truism has not stopped a perception among some motorists that certain cars can, in the right context, might be statements about a driver’s sexual orientation, according to the New York Times.
At a time when car makers are marketing aggressively to gay consumers and mainstream culture has become more literate about stereotypically gay tastes, it may not be surprising that some people make such assumptions about motorists based on their cars, the paper reports.
Posted by at 11:43 AM | Permalink
April 4, 2007
Pix of the three Chevrolet concept cars that GM is unveiling at the NY Auto Show are available on Leftlanenews.com
The Beat, Groove and Trax are all small runabouts and all three look gonky in a way that has been common in Europe for years. Maybe Detroit is finally getting it - but then gas is still basically free over here compared to Europe - so it's hard to blame Detroit for riding the monsters as long as it has.
Posted by at 12:09 PM | Permalink
April 3, 2007
Check out the work of Artist Lars-Eric Fisk who somehow turns entire vehicles into balls about six feet in diameter, in The New York Times. Fisk, of Burlington, Vt., specializes in sphere-shaped sculpture and has made balls out of a VW Microbus - his best known piece - a school bus, a green John Deere tractor, a brown U.P.S. truck and a white Mister Softee ice cream truck, complete with lights
His work has been shown in museums including the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, Mass., outside Boston, and the Dartmouth College museum. The VW ball is in a private collection.
In the catalog for the DeCordova exhibition, he called the sphere a “simple, seamless form expressing movement and the concept of endlessness and timelessness without a beginning, without an ending.”
Crikey! But then it's usually best to let an artist's work speak for itself and these pieces are great.
Posted by at 10:39 AM | Permalink
April 2, 2007
Check out a fabulous piece in Sunday's New York Times about the official names that designers give to parts of the car. Do you know what the cowl is, for example? (The base of the windshield) Or the greenhouse (the glassed-in upper section of a car's body), the beltline (the line that divides the greenhouse from the lower body), or the tumblehome (angle formed by the inward slope of the greenhouse sides as they rise from the beltline)?
The online article is accompanied by an interactive graphic.
Posted by at 10:20 AM | Permalink
March 28, 2007
Edmunds.com has developed a top 10 list of vehicles for older drivers. Included are hybrids for those who think green and a minivan for those who need the room to haul grandchildren, full-size sedans as well as a couple of smaller sedans for those who like the ease of a compact. There's a fun-to-drive SUV, as well as high-end luxury sedans for those seniors with the means to afford the very latest in technology.
Posted by at 11:04 AM | Permalink
March 22, 2007
Talk about concept cars, check out the fabulous PALV, a combination car-motorbike-helicopter designed in Holland and being offered as "a personal air and land ... solution to increasing congestion in our cities, highways and skyways." SeeSparkdesign's description and make sure you scroll down to the pictures.
Posted by at 12:57 PM | Permalink
