Latest Auto News Blog: 2009

Hit the California Jackpot!

California Jackpot Crosley

You know what I’ve always wondered? Why we don’t see more contest cars. That is, cars won by entering some kind of contest back in the day. Flipping through old magazines, it seemed there was at least one car you could win in every issue, so if those contests were on the up and up, there’d be plenty of cars won in such a manner showing up at car shows and in car magazines.

Such as the 1951 Crosley Super Sports above, the October Crosley of the Month on the Crosley Automobile Club’s website. Owner Steve Gillie of Springboro, Ohio, didn’t win the car in a contest, but the Stewart family of Hamilton, Ohio, did, after entering a jingle contest sponsored by Mission Orange, a soft drink maker.

Hit the California Jackpot ad

How Mission Orange chose a Crosley Super Sports as a prize, I dunno. Whether the Stewart family took possession of their five-acre California orange grove, I dunno (though it’d certainly be worth way more than the Crosley nowadays).

Know of any other contest-prize cars still out there?

VIDEO: 2010 Ford Mustang FR500CJ catches air

Posted by Autoblog

Filed under: Motorsports, SEMA Show, Videos

2010 Ford Mustang FR500CJ testing – Click above to watch the video after the jump

Testing is well underway on the 2010 version of the Cobra Jet Mustang, and from the looks of this new…

Mitsubishi Concept PX MiEV

Mitsubishi announced that it will premiere the Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV at Tokyo Auto Show late this October. The concept is motivated by a new plug-in hybrid drivetrain that combines a 1.6-liter gasoline engine and Mitsubishi's all-new S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control), that utilizes E-AYC (Electric-powered Active Yaw Control) to transfers torque to the rear left and right wheels, with a pair of electric motors (one at each axle) and a battery.

The battery can be replenished either through regenerative breaking, the gasoline engine or via a regular household plug or a high-power quick-charging station.

The Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV is powered by a hybrid system which includes a 1.6-liter DOHC MIVEC gasoline engine for the front wheels and also works as a generator, and two permanent magnet synchronous motors, one for each axle.

[Source: Mitsubishi]

Production BMW 5 Series GT Unveiled via BMW TV

BMW unveiled the 5 Series Gran Turismo concept at the Geneva Motor Show now we have our first unofficial look at the production version.

As expected the production version remains mostly true to the concept, but with a much more toned down interior. Expect the production version to have its official world debut sometime later this year.

2010 Dodge Ram Power Wagon caught uncovered

Posted by Autoblog

Filed under: Spy Photos, Truck, Dodge, Off-Road

2010 Dodge Power Wagon – Click above to be redirected to Petersen’s 4Wheel & Off-Road for more images

Dodge’s entire line of Heavy Duty pickup trucks gets a major refresh for the 2010…

Snow plow drags CO senior's Chrysler half a mile

Filed under: Etc., Safety

Colorado Springs senior John Archuleta, age 70, was driving his Chrysler Cirrus in a snowstorm when his vision was clouded, causing a collision with snowplow. The impact wasn't bad, in fact, plow driver Frederick Parrent, Jr, evidently didn't even know he'd been hit. The orange truck went on its merry way, pushing snow and pulling the 1999 Chrysler. The unintended sleigh ride only lasted about a half-mile, at which point fellow drivers flagged Parrent down and alerted him to the vehicle stuck in the truck's sander. There were no injuries, though both vehicles were bruised, and Archuleta was awarded a careless driving citation.

[Source: TheDenverChannel]

Snow plow drags CO senior's Chrysler half a mile originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Donk On 28s Rolls Over In Florida, Dies [Custom Cars]

The owner of a Floridian donk won't be "ghost ridin' tha whip" any time soon. Below, our obit and video of the aftermath.

A Chevy on 28-inch rims flipped over and died in Florida over the weekend. Authorities found a note next to the body leading them to believe suicide was the likely cause. Family members refused to go on the record, but did say the donk had been depressed ever since it received its new 28-inchers. A short service will be held at the Palm Beach County impound yard next Thursday with RIDES magazine hosting a light lunch after.

[YouTube via WPBNews]

Car Buyer’s Remorse

The Best Cars for Your Money

What's the better buy: Charger or Camry?

If car buying was strictly a numbers game, deciding which car to buy would be much easier. Factors like purchase price, maintenance costs, resale value, performance numbers, and fuel economy would determine our car choices.

Most of us have a little thing called emotion fueling our car purchases, though, and the smartest choice might be eclipsed by our obsession with a certain model’s curvy exterior.

For those looking for the smartest car buys financially, the good folks at U.S. News and World Report Automotive have assembled a list of cars that are best buys over the long haul. The full list, along with their methodology, is here (Toyota/Lexus dominate, with eight of the 14 winners).

The best buys aren’t always best sellers or popular, though, so I’m comparing some of U.S. News’ choices with the Owner Favorites in the same categories on CarGurus.com and with the overall best sellers in each category.

Midsize sedan

Crossover

Hatchback/subcompact

Convertible/sports car

U.S. News & World Report Best Buy: Mazda Miata
CarGurus.com Owner Favorite: Ford Mustang
Best seller: Pontiac G6 (I didn’t believe it either, but you can double-check yourself here.)

Minivan

Full-size pickup

This is proof that sometimes the best buy is just plain boring. Putting the tag of “best buy” on a car is a pretty objective thing, because the guy looking for performance and fun is going to think a Dodge Charger is a heck of a better buy than a Toyota Camry!

What cars do you think were left off the “best buys” list?

-tgriffith

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AutoblogGreen for 01.13.09

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green

click to visit AutoblogGreen

From left to right: a plug in hybrid, a standard hybrid and an all-electric car. You might recoginze them as the Fisker Karma S, the 2010 Toyota Prius, and the Honda FT-EV, all unveiled or on display here at the Detroit Auto Show. What fun.

AutoblogGreen for 01.13.09 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skoda Octavia vRS: Czech Speed

Skoda, the Czechoslovakian fourth tentacle of the Volkswagen family of manufacturers, has spent nearly two decades methodically chipping away at any notions of shaky reliability. Skoda’s efforts have apparently paid off with not only a growing following in the West and particularly in Britain, but widespread critical praise with the automotive press. All of this progress has resulted in the development and production of a sporty new version of the Octavia sedan; the vRS.

vRS Interior

After floundering a bit in the past to simply reinvent image misconceptions with consumers, Skoda’s confidence in producing the sporty Octavia vRS is a sign that the Czech company has finally found a solid foothold in the European market and is ready to take a larger bite out of their European competition. One of the appeals to the Skoda line is a wide variety of options available to customers including a variety of new powerplants. This is in part thanks to a large monetary investment in technology by VW that has allowed the vRS to deliver performance that if not truly sports car-like, is definitely spirited. In fact, most critics give the nod towards the vRS over the VW GTi in terms of driving satisfaction. The kudos begin with the 200 horsepower engine that drives the front wheels of the vRS and is the most powerful ever to appear in a Skoda. This efficient 4-cylinder is capable of a 0 to 62mph time in a respectable 7.3 seconds and has a top speed of 149mph. Skoda claims that it produces enormous torque (more than a Porsche Cayman S) and is mated to a six-speed transmission and utilizes a specially-tuned chassis and suspension set up to ensure that handling is up to the rigors. Despite the performance edge to the vRS, Skoda has kept fuel efficiency at a combined 35mpg. 18-inch wheels, twin exhaust and red brake calipers are the only mild indications of this car’s driving dynamics. Upgrades to the Octavia’s interior include, leather, sport seats, dual climate control and a laundry list of safety and child seat components.

Not that anyone needs reminding of the dollars relative weakness in comparison to the Euro, but pricing for the vRS is slightly more than 17,000 pounds or $33,095. Even so, the vRS is a solid option in the sport sedan segment.

Detroit 2009: Ford's Mustang Alley features accessory wheels for 2010 model

Filed under: Aftermarket, Detroit Auto Show, Sports/GTs, Ford

Click above the see the full lineup of Mustang accessory wheels

Don't like the stock wheels on the new Mustang? No worries. Over at the Ford booth at this year's Detroit Auto Show, the 'Stang has its own little area dubbed "Mustang Alley" featuring a display of hoods employed through the years (pretty cool) and a "Mustang Garage" wall with the full lineup of accessory wheels available for the new pony. Ford Racing has offered a variety of wheels before, but this is something else entirely, as it seems Ford would like to redirect some of those aftermarket bucks right back into the coffers at Dearborn. Some of these are really good looking - the gold 20-inchers above look particularly great in person - and we've got the whole lineup posted in the gallery below. Click away.

Gallery: 2010 Ford Mustang Accessory Wheels

Detroit 2009: Ford's Mustang Alley features accessory wheels for 2010 model originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acura Claims the RWD V8 Program is Still Alive!

Who can we believe anymore? Reports surface that certain vehicle programs are dead and then days later differing reports come out. Earlier this week, Autocar claimed that Honda had killed the V8 engine program and RWD Acura's. Now Jeff Conrad, Vice President of Acura as informed dealers that the Acura "tier 1" program is still in the works.

According to Conrad the NSX program is officially dead, but the much needed V8 engine and RWD programs are still moving forward. It's rumored that Acura is working on a large RWD, V8 powered sedan to go head to head with the Germans.

It's still not known if the other reports about the death of the S2000 are in fact true.

Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Hybrid Racer Debuts, Fails To Charge Audience

Photo Source: Motor Dude

Recently, Peugeot unveiled their new green Le Mans contender, the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Hybrid Racer. Although heralded as a major achievement in the racing industry and praised for its environmental progressiveness, I am not enthused. If an automobile doesn’t translate into a real world application, like the Peugeot 908 hybrid racer largely fails to do, then I’m just not interested. To be perfectly honest, I think dropping that kind of cash to engineer a top performance race car that stores any unused kinetic energy is a waste. When was the last time a Formula 1 racer interrupted his crew chief by saying, “Well yes Hank, 0-60mph in under 3 seconds is very impressive, but what kind of gas mileage does it get?”

I’ll hand it to Peugeot though, the design department did a hell of a job creating an aesthetic for the 908 HDi that was both sleeking and imposing, in an impending-alien-probe sort of way. Bottom line: if this were street legal, I’d be all over it, but as it stands, it doesn’t seem particularly exciting.

Top 5 Geek Gadgets for Your Car

So you’re a geek and you want some geek gadgets? I’m with you mang. Too long I’ve hidden my science and electronic loving ways. It’s time I wore my geek-itude on my sleeve, like some kind of sleeve based pocket protector for a pocket that’s on my sleeve. Right?

Whatever, here are the top five awesome whiz-bangs 4 your car:

1. 400 Watt Power Dome Mini Generator

Every car should have a jumpbox - a battery box that lets you jumpstart your car even if no one is around. That’s what this is, a 600 cranking amp jumpbox, in addition to a bunch of other things.

It has 2 AC outlets and 2 DC outlets, a 400 watt inverter, with a level indicator, AND, the best part… a built-in 275 psi air compressor.

2. Digital Wi-Fi Detector

Autonet mobile is supposedly coming out with always on wi-fi for your car. If so, I can wait for that to come out, shell out $399 up-front and 50 bucks a month for their untested service. Or I can pay 50 bucks once for the ability to find free wi-fi as I drive. Easy choice.

Your typical WiFi detector will only show you if the signal is there, and it’s relative strength. Not that helpful. This Digital WiFi Detector has a backlit LCD screen that provides information on signal availability and strength as well as network information, like SSID, security status and channel. When multiple networks are present, the LCD will allow you to scroll through information for each network.

3. Mini Fridge/Warmer - For Your Car

It’s a fridge AND warmer for your car, you shouldn’t need convincing.
It has a 20 liter capacity and a digital LCD display with the current inside temperature. It goes down to 44 degrees Fahrenheit and warms up to 140 degrees. Come on. Awesome

4. Automotive ECM Scanner

Getting your car’s brain scanned and reset at an automotive shop usually costs a few hundered dollars. Now you can do it yourself. Most people don’t realize, theres a plug on your car’s ECM/ECU computer (called the “brain”) that’ll let you access that computer.

You can read engine trouble codes and can reset the “check engine” light, read all sorts of tracked data (fuel economy, battery voltage, coolant temp., etc.). You can even start to get involved in the whole engine ECM turner subculture.

Pretty cool stuff that used to be only available to diagnostic and repair shops.

5. Smart AC 120 USB Power Inverter

I’m always in need of converters in my car. With this gadget, I can just plug it into the cigarette lighter… then plug in any standard AC powered device. Screw all those old adapters.

300 Watt peak output, 120 Watt standard use, so that’s plenty of power for anything I’m using.

You know of any gadgets I miseed? Let me know in the comments.

Detroit 2009: Volkswagen BlueSport concept, turbodiesel done right

Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Convertibles, Volkswagen

Click above for a gallery of the Volkswagen Bluesport

The term "diesel performance" is an oxymoron to the majority of the public, but if the Volkswagen Bluesport makes it to production, these two diametrically-opposed words could have new meaning.

Later today at the Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen will take the wraps off the Bluesport concept, a two-door roadster packing a mid-mounted 2.0-liter turbodiesel four putting out 180 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. With around 2,600 pounds to motivate the Bluesport, VW estimates a run from 0 to 60 in 6.2 seconds, a top speed of 140 and, just as importantly, 35 mpg on the European cycle. UPDATE: According to official numbers from VW, we're actually talking an amazing 57 mpg in Eco mode.

The power from the mid-mounted diesel will be sent to a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox mounted closer to the front of the car and resulting in a 45:55 front-to-rear weight distribution. The overall length is just over 13 feet, with a wheelbase of 96 inches, a front track 58.5 inches and a rear track of 60 inches. Two storage areas - one frunk and another mounted behind the engine - result in 182 liters of cargo area.

It's a compelling package that we're looking forward to scooping out in person. Check back this afternoon for more.

Gallery: Detroit Preview: Volkswagen BlueSport Concept

[Sources: Auto Motor und Sport, MotorAuthority]

Detroit 2009: Volkswagen BlueSport concept, turbodiesel done right originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1. 400 Watt Power Dome Mini Generator

2. Digital Wi-Fi Detector

3. Mini Fridge/Warmer - For Your Car

4. Automotive ECM Scanner

5. Smart AC 120 USB Power Inverter

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