- Video: Latest Ken Block video is drift-free, full of laughs
Filed under: Motorsports, Videos
Ken Block might not be the world’s best World Rally Championship driver, but he might be the sport’s best entertainer. The Gymkhana superstar knows how to rack up YouTube views with jaw-dropping stunts and a panache that most of us can only dream of.
Beyond the jump is the latest Ken Block production, but instead of the real KB, we get funnyman Nick Swardson dressed up in full Block gear. Swardson pokes fun of Block just about every way imaginable, and the real Block sits in disguised as the interviewer.
It’s hilarious, and you can watch it after the jump. We’d watch it again, but we’re too busy looking for Ken-chantment cologne on Amazon.
Continue reading Latest Ken Block video is drift-free, full of laughs
Latest Ken Block video is drift-free, full of laughs originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Chicago: U.S. Army’s CERV puts a machine gun on a "green" military vehicle
Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Military
It used to be that we couldn’t even find a picture of the U.S. Army’s Clandestine Extended Range Vehicle (CERV), but times have changed.
At the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, the Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) displayed the CERV, which uses a diesel-hybrid “Q-Force” powertrain from Quantum that Quantum says, “saves taxpayer dollars and – most importantly – saves Soldiers’ lives.”
With a top speed of 80 miles per hour and a “run-silent” range of eight miles (we assume this means all-electric range), the CERV prototype can produce over 5,000 pound-feet of torque and go up hills with up to 60-percent grades. It does all this while using 25 percent less fuel, which is critical when you have to pay up to $400 a gallon to use the stuff in theater.
The Army says that today’s soldier uses an average of 22 gallons of gasoline a day. In World War II, it was one gallon a day.
Continue reading U.S. Army’s CERV puts a machine gun on a “green” military vehicle
U.S. Army’s CERV puts a machine gun on a “green” military vehicle originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Dash marries your car and iPhone [w/video]
Filed under: Etc., Technology, Videos
Aftermarket smartphone integration leaves plenty to be desired. Most systems limit the usability of your device and require a tangle of cords or battery-sucking Bluetooth. Then there’s the headache of trying to figure out how to access your files and applications via the stereo’s cryptic controls. A new Kickstarter project aims to fix all that. Dash is a standard double-din head unit that uses a unique magnetic CNC-aluminum faceplate to dock your phone straight into your vehicle’s dashboard. From there, accessing GPS, sending texts (by voice, of course) and playing music is as simple as swiping your screen. Pretty slick.
Dash features a video pass through so users can play video on external monitors, and the system keeps your phone charged while in use. The unit pumps out 4x50w of power and includes two preamps for front and rear subwoofers.
We typically get antsy any time we see technology that encourages distraction. To that end, Dash also includes an app to make all of your auto-themed applications easily accessible from one home screen. While that should cut down on the amount of time spent flipping through the main menu, it still appears that drivers will have to squint at their phones from behind the wheel.
The system features some interesting innovations, too. In addition to carrying the traditional FM tuner and an AUX in, Dash will eventually allow users to connect to their vehicle’s computer. That, we can get behind.
The system is expected to begin shipping in June 2012. At first, Dash will only support the iPhone 4 and 4S, but Devium, the company behind Dash, hopes to support other smartphones in the future. Check out the Kickstarter page for more information, and click past the jump for a quick video of the system in action.
Continue reading Dash marries your car and iPhone [w/video]
Dash marries your car and iPhone [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Report: Analyst predicts Fisker’s demise; spokesman says that’s premature
Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Government/Legal, Earnings/Financials, Rumormill, Fisker, Electric
Hiccup or death knell?
That’s what watchers of California-based automaker Fisker Automotive are trying to figure out after the maker of the Karma plug-in luxury sedan laid off about 65 workers and contractors in Delaware and California while renegotiating loan details with the U.S. Department of Energy. Fisker, which was to receive a $529 million loan from the DOE, has received less than $200 million of that, with the fate of the balance in question because Fisker has not met certain loan conditions due to production delays.
Here’s the death knell perspective: With the Obama Administration under political pressure to reduce spending, Fisker is unlikely to receive the remaining $336 million, Wunderlich Securities analyst Theodore O’Neill said in an interview with the Boston Globe. Without that funding, Fisker will go out of business, O’Neill said, adding that A123 Systems, which makes lithium-ion batteries for Fisker, will also likely go under.
But no, say others, the problem is temporary. Investment advice site Seeking Alpha, for example, says A123 is a “buy.” Fisker also downplayed the issue, with its spokesman, Roger Ormisher, calling the shutdown a “bump in the road” in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Ormisher said production of the Karma hasn’t been impacted, nothing that Fisker has delivered about 250 vehicles, and that the remaining DOE funds are to be used purely for the lower-priced Fisker Nina vehicle.
Fisker said in a statement last week that the company, which most recently received cash from the loan last May, is in talks with the DOE and raised $260 million in equity in late 2011. Fisker is pursuing “alternative funding sources,” the company said in a Feb. 6 statement.
Additionally, the Orange County Register reported last week that a Fisker investor is suing the company for fraud. The plaintiff, Daniel Wray, invested $210,000 in Fisker and said the company informed him in January that he had to invest another $84,000 or risk losing the rights he gained with the original stock purchase. Ormisher told the newspaper at the time that he wasn’t aware of the lawsuit.
Analyst predicts Fisker’s demise; spokesman says that’s premature originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Honda Civic interior rated least toxic, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport worst [w/video]
Honda took it on the chin for its boring redesign of the Civic, but here’s one thing it got right: Reducing the use of toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process for its interior. According to the Ecology Center’s new report on HealthyStuff.org, the 2012 Civic uses the least off-gassing plastics, materials that can lead to volatile organic compound emissions. VOC’s have been linked to health problems including cancer and birth defects, according to the report.
“Research shows that vehicle interiors contain a unique cocktail of hundreds of toxic chemicals that off-gas in small, confined spaces,” said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center, in a statement. “Since these chemicals are not regulated, consumers have no way of knowing the dangers they face. Our testing is intended to expose those dangers and encourage manufacturers to use safer alternatives.”
Honda does not use bromine-based flame retardants in the Civic and specs PVC-free interior fabrics and trim, while also eliminating most heavy metals from the interior.
The worst vehicle tested, the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, “contained bromine and antimony-based flame retardants in the seating and center console; chromium treated leather on several components; and over 400 ppm lead in seating materials,” according to the report.
The good news is that PVC use is declining overall, with 17 percent of new models boasting PVC-free interiors, up from none in 2006, according to HealthyStuff.org. Some 60 percent of new vehicles do not contain bromine flame retardants. It seems that automakers are backing efforts to eliminate these hazardous chemicals from vehicle interiors, with HealthyStuff.org pointing out that Ford and Volvo have adopted voluntary third-party eco labels for some of their vehicles. The average ratings for Ford’s vehicles showed a 30-percent improvement from the 2009/2010 study.
Click past the jump for a video and the full press release, including the 10 best and worst vehicles in the study.
Continue reading Honda Civic interior rated least toxic, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport worst [w/video]
Honda Civic interior rated least toxic, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport worst [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Drive a Tank adds mobile home crushing
We checked driving a tank off our list of 1,001 Car Things To Do Before You Die in The List #0433 – or at least our hosts, Jessi and Patrick, did. They performed this feat at the aptly named Drive A Tank company in Kasota, Minnesota.
Drive A Tank offers a number of packages that include not only piloting up to three tanks in a day, but also history lessons on the usage of tanks in battle, a tour of their facilities and the chance to fire some historic military firearms. As Jessie herself experienced, there’s even a Car Crush package that lets you drive a Chieftain Main Battle Tank over an auto that’s past its prime.
But crushing a car may not be enough for you, which is why Drive A Tank just added mobile home crushing to its list of options. According to co-owner Tory Borglum, crushing cars has been a big hit with customers, but once the crush bug had bitten them, people wanted more. And so, Tony and company began intercepting mobile homes headed to the junkyard for one more fling on their tank course.
The Mobile Home Crush package starts at $500 and goes up to $3,495. Drive a Tank has also expanded its fleet of available military vehicles to drive with some non-treaded transports. New to the company this year are two M35 2½-ton cargo trucks and a GMV-spec military Humvee.
Continue reading Drive a Tank adds mobile home crushing
Drive a Tank adds mobile home crushing originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Video: Mercedes-Benz co-opts car keys for clever interactive subway ads
Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury
It’s quite apparent that technology, in addition to helping us avoid advertising (thank you, DVR), has simultaneously enabled much more of it, and in many more places. And when used properly, technology has made some ads a lot more interesting.
Mercedes-Benz constructed an interactive ad for its Viano minivan in Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse subway station. To promote the chasmic space inside the people-hauler, the ad allowed riders waiting for trains to open the door of a virtual Viano using their own car keys, then watch what kinds of things climbed out and how many of them there were. Follow the jump to check out the video.
Continue reading Mercedes-Benz co-opts car keys for clever interactive subway ads
Mercedes-Benz co-opts car keys for clever interactive subway ads originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Official: Mini reveals Clubvan Concept ahead of Geneva debut
Filed under: Concept Cars, Geneva Motor Show, Work, Hatchback, Mini
It’s a Mini. It’s a van. But it’s not a minivan. That’s because the sort of van we’re talking about here is a panel van – think of the Ford Transit Connect or recently departed Chevrolet HHR Panel – a vehicle with two seats up front, a partitian behind the cockpit and nothing but a flat load floor in back. These little workaday runabouts are immensely popular in Europe, and Mini has decided to get in on the action with its latest concept, the Clubvan, which will officially debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Seeing this concept confirms earlier rumors about a potential Clubman-based panel van, and aside from the removal of the rear seats and the addition of a stainless steel honeycomb partitian, there isn’t much else to separate the Clubvan concept from its passenger-friendly Clubman kin. That makes us think this concept could rather easily make it to production.But unlike more work-focused vans, the side walls and load floor of the Clubvan are lined with anthracite-colored cloth rather than a durable plastic compound. Then again, Mini is touting the Clubvan as the perfect fleet vehicle for fashion designers and gallery owners rather than drywall contractors or heating and cooling repairmen. The Clubman’s five-door layout (that’s a driver’s door, passenger door, passenger-side suicide door, and dual barn doors out back) remains intact, and Mini has added six attachment loops throughout the rear cargo area to secure goods while they’re being transported.
So, why a panel van? The company states that the Clubvan “combines the driving fun for that Mini is renowned with increased load-carrying capability,” and that, “The Mini experience will therefore find its way into new areas of life, the brand’s distinctive character gaining new popularity among target groups not previously on the Mini radar.” We’ll definitely be checking this one out in Geneva in a few weeks, but in the meantime, hit the jump for the official press release and scroll through our attached image gallery to see the Clubvan concept inside and out.
Continue reading Mini reveals Clubvan Concept ahead of Geneva debut
Mini reveals Clubvan Concept ahead of Geneva debut originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
- Video: Fiat heir Lapo Elkann takes Wallpaper magazine into his garage
Filed under: Videos, Ferrari, Celebrities, Design/Style, Fiat
There’s a part of us that wishes the automotive industry were packed with more eccentric characters like Lapo Elkann. The rakish heir to the Fiat empire (and possible future president of Ferrari) is anything but dull, overdosing on coke and heroin in a transsexual prostitute’s apartment one minute and changing the outcome of an NBA basketball game the next.
As much a fashion icon as an industrial tycoon, Lapo is the darling of published arbiters of style like Intersection and Wallpaper magazines, the latter of which got a behind-the-scenes look at Lapo’s favorite cars for a photo shoot. So what’s in his garage?
Well, we already knew he had a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and a California done up with denim upholstery, but apparently one of his favorites is the Fiat 500 Abarth that he had painted matte olive green. And then there’s a Ferrari 458 Italia decked out in camouflage, as if you could hide one of the loudest, most head-turning cars on the road. Want to see the rest? Follow the jump to watch the video.
Continue reading Fiat heir Lapo Elkann takes Wallpaper magazine into his garage
Fiat heir Lapo Elkann takes Wallpaper magazine into his garage originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Digest powered by RSS Digest
