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| VIDEO: Two Chinese girls and one Ford Fiesta Agent act out scene from Big Lebowski
September 19, 2009 at 9:01 pm
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| Filed under: Videos, Humor  This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps - click above image to watch the video
We can all agree that Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski is the single funniest movie ever made. If you don't agree, well, that's just like, your opinion, man. We can also agree that Ford's Fiesta Movement is one of the most ambitious and well-executed social networking marketing schemes ever undertaken. And if you don't agree, ask Honda.
If you're unfamiliar with the Fiesta Movement, a quick refresher is order: Ford gave one hundred "Fiesta Agents" a free Ford Fiesta for six months, plus an unlimited gas card. The Agents were then expected to go on all sorts of wacky adventures and record said adventures for their YouTube and Facebook accounts. Yes, well, sometimes the best car-related ideas happen while parked and not moving. Make the jump to watch the hilariously NSFW video (Warning: Explicit language). Thanks to Pat for the tip!
[Source: YouTube | Image: IMCDB.org]
Continue reading VIDEO: Two Chinese girls and one Ford Fiesta Agent act out scene from Big Lebowski VIDEO: Two Chinese girls and one Ford Fiesta Agent act out scene from Big Lebowski originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments 
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| VIDEO: Beyond Gran Turismo 5 - Koenigsegg CCX
September 19, 2009 at 7:33 pm
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| Filed under: Technology, Videos, Toys/Games Koenigsegg CCX rendered - Click above to view the video after the jump
We're pretty excited about the new Gran Turismo 5 video game for the PlayStation 3 and PSP, and the sneak peeks we've seen so far have been astonishingly good. We know GT5 will have some sweet damage rendering capabilities, night racing and weather changes. Plus, we know the graphics are damned impressive. But clearly there's more on the table.
GT5 will be all well and good, but what we're about to show you is about as eye-popping as anything you're going to see. After the jump is a video rendering of the rare and alluring Koenigsegg CCX done by a company called Proper Graphics. It is not, as originally thought, a teaser from GT5.
The clip is only 1:47 long, the engine doesn't start and the tires don't even budge. It's just a series of hovering camera shots of the CCX on a beautiful cobblestone road, and the detail is just shy of breathtaking. The sheetmetal, carbon fiber and interior appointments are about as detailed as anything we've ever seen, and we're hoping that we can expect a taste of this sort of thing in future GT installments. Hit the jump to see it for yourself.
[Source: YouTube]
Continue reading VIDEO: Beyond Gran Turismo 5 - Koenigsegg CCX VIDEO: Beyond Gran Turismo 5 - Koenigsegg CCX originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments 
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| eBay Find of the Day: Art Arfons' Green Monster LSR car
September 19, 2009 at 5:54 pm
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| Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Auctions 
Art Arfons' Green Monster - Click above for high-res image gallery
Are you the kind of guy who thinks top speed is everything? Want car that can be called the fastest thing on wheels without exaggerating? Think a Veyron is fast? How about a Top Fuel dragster? At 320 mph, nobody would call one slow, but it wouldn't be half as fast as the car we have for you today. It's a genuine Land Speed Record (LSR) car that has done 650 mph! Is that fast enough for ya, slick? Well, it was fast enough for one guy named Slick, who topped 650 mph with the car at Bonneville in 1978.
Based on the Green Monster that the legendary, jet-engine-pioneering Art Arfons built and raced in the '60s, this eBay Motors offering was built from the pieces of that three-time record holder after it was crashed by Arfons in 1966. Art had already run 576+ in the car but crashed trying for more. After rebuilding the Green Monster, minus its adjustable front wing, Arfons never raced it again, instead selling it to Slick Gardner who ran it frequently, ultimately topping 650 mph in 1978.
According to the listing, it features a 15,000-pound thrust, 17,500 horsepower General Electric J-79 jet engine from a B-58 Hustler bomber that Arfons bought for $5,000. When Arfons repaired and tested the engine, it "rattled windows over a wide area and incinerated his chicken coop." It has a padded cell for a cockpit (but no straightjacket as far as we can tell) and it rides on LSR grooved steel wheels. The car currently resides in the parking garage at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, and the the bidding so far has failed to reach the reserve at just $51,100.
[Source: eBay Motors]
eBay Find of the Day: Art Arfons' Green Monster LSR car originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments 
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| It's o-kei! Suzuki Palette SW introduced in Japan
September 19, 2009 at 4:33 pm
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| Filed under: Minivan/Van, Japan, Suzuki 
2009 Suzuki Palette SW - Click above for image gallery
You're Japanese. You have a family. You need a minivan. But minivans are freaking huge, Japan's streets are crowded, and you want something that's a lot smaller and can dart between lumbering dekotora lit up like Vegas. So, you look to a kei minivan because it's teeny tiny. Suzuki's got your back with the Palette, the micro-mini minivan it introduced back in early 2008. It's totally neat in that way all Japanese kei cars are, as its compact size belies interior storage capacity capable of swallowing up literally hundreds of packs of Dentyne, several vintage Super Famicoms, and that box of priceless Chevy Astro brochures you overpaid some American pack rat for on eBay.
One problem: the regular-edition Palette's a bit vanilla to look at. Suzuki has apparently gotten the memo and spiced things up in the traditional manner: a new fascia and more letters in the nomenclature. Hence, we have the Palette SW, which wears a more mischievous anime face, as apposed to the docile-looking, doe-eyed standard grade Suzuki Palette. The other change introduced with the SW is a two-stage CVT that allows drivers to manually select lower or higher pre-programmed gear ratios to place an emphasis on either better acceleration or improved fuel economy. That way, they can wring out every last bit of punch or efficiency the little juice box on wheels can offer.
[Source: Suzuki (translated)]
It's o-kei! Suzuki Palette SW introduced in Japan originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments 
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| Bill to limit Canadian cars to 93 mph seems stuck in neutral
September 19, 2009 at 3:02 pm
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| Filed under: Government/Legal, Canada  When it comes to cars, they do things a bit differently in Canada. While our neighbor to the north has long been considered more progressive than the U.S., it was the United States that introduced pollution controls, and until recently, Canada never actually had any rules requiring them. The same goes for fuel efficiency standards. A couple of years ago, the government of Ontario passed a law that could result in automatic confiscation of your car if you exceeded a speed limit by more than 50 km/h (31 mph). This was done to attack the problem of street racing.
Member of parliament Jim Karygiannis apparently wants to make sure no one gets their car confiscated by making it impossible to drive that fast. Back in February, Karygiannis introduced a bill that, if passed, would make it illegal to sell, import, build or even loan a vehicle to someone unless said ride is fitted with a speed limiter restricting its maximum velocity to no more than 150 km/h, or 93 mph. So far, the bill has not proceeded past first reading, and it hasn't even gone to committee -- good news for Canadian drivers, to be sure. Frankly, there doesn't appear to be any widespread support for Jim Karygiannis's meddlesome legislation. Karygiannis actually introduced a similar bill during the previous parliamentary session, but that one never got past first reading, either. Maybe he should have taken the hint back then. Thanks to Steve for the tip!
[Source: Parliament of Canada]
Bill to limit Canadian cars to 93 mph seems stuck in neutral originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments 
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| 0-60 builds its own Need For Speed racing cabinet, tells you how
September 19, 2009 at 1:33 pm
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| Filed under: Technology, Toys/Games 
For the first time in a long time, we sat down and played a racing game the other night. Fine, it wasn't a racing game -- it was the VirtualGT racing simulator. What did we learn? Georgia ought to pass a law against letting us onto Road Atlanta in a Porsche 997 Cup car. Also, instead of sitting on our buddy's couch and stuffing our face with Collisions: Pizza Cravers and Ranch flavored Doritos (a real flavor -- we swear!) while mindlessly hitting everything on the streets of Monaco in GT4, being in a race cabinet (and having a Cup instructor barking instructions in our ear) allowed us to pop off a 1:43 run around a 2.54 mile course. Not too terrible. And we're totally sure the cabinet added a second or two. Ahem.
Sadly, those high-falutin' racing rigs cost a fortune -- $18k at the low end, and that's without a display of any sort. You'd have to be a Porsche Cup racer to afford one. Not so fast, say our pals over at 0-60. In fact, they built a cabinet for Need For Speed: Shift and they're calling it the D.I.Y. R-Cade. First of all, how much will it cost you? $500, minus all the electronic stuff (which you probably already own anyhow). How long does it take? Not sure, but there are about 60 pages of instructions. We figure pretty long. Still, the end result is pretty cool looking, and you'd have your own racing cabinet.
[Source: 0-60mag.com]
0-60 builds its own Need For Speed racing cabinet, tells you how originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments 
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| More fodder for the Cadillac CTS-V Sportwagon rumormill
September 19, 2009 at 12:08 pm
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| Filed under: Wagon, Cadillac 
The rumormill is going full-tilt with word that General Motors is about to get really serious about the "sport" in its Cadillac CTS Sportwagon. Here at Autoblog HQ, we certainly hope it's all true. After all, it's hard not to appreciate the current CTS-V, its mind-blowing supercharged LSA V8, and all the tire-immolating brawn it brings to the party. We also respect the extra dash of utility that comes with a touring or shooting brake body style, as exemplified with the Sportwagon.
In the wake of the published reports from our friends at Inside Line and Straightline, one of our readers sent us a copy of what he claims to be an email exchange between himself and GM's Bob Lutz. Reader Bob emailed Lutz, telling him that if General Motors offered a CTS-V wagon with a manual gearbox, he would buy one. Lutz reportedly responded with:
"Since we do market the V with a 6-speed manual, and since a V-wagon is in the plan, we'll be selling you a car in one year!" We called Cadillac spokesperson David Caldwell, presented him with the alleged Lutz email conversation, and asked him if the V-Series wagon is indeed officially a go. His reply?
"No, there's not been an 'official' or announced change in the status of this car. It's certainly a car we're thinking of, and one we know how to do. I can't really speak to what's inside your reader's email account. I don't doubt him....nor would I doubt Bob Lutz. " So, officially (and unsurprisingly), there's no confirmation one way or the other from Cadillac. Another source within GM tells us there are at least two CTS-V wagons (one manual, one automatic) currently undergoing verification testing at General Motors. Given that the wagon was created mainly for the European market, and that the Europeans embrace performance models such as the Audi RS6 Avant and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG wagon, it would certainly make sense to build a giant-slaying CTS-V Sportwagon. Even if Cadillac doesn't officially offer it to Americans, it's only a matter of time before someone in the aftermarket creates one from the parts bin.
More fodder for the Cadillac CTS-V Sportwagon rumormill originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments 
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| 2010 Detroit Auto Show main floor is full, recession officially OVER
September 19, 2009 at 10:13 am
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| Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Infiniti, Nissan, Porsche 
The 2009 North American International Auto Show was a bit of a disaster. The very difficult and uncertain economic conditions resulted in several high-profile automakers dropping out of the exhibition. Among the absent automakers were Nissan, Infiniti, Mitsubishi and Porsche, and a quick jaunt around Cobo's main floor revealed the empty spaces left by those big-time players. The future of the Detroit Auto Show is already looking brighter, however, with the approval of a much-needed overhaul of Cobo Hall, and more good news is coming in the way of a full main floor.
Detroit show organizers aren't yet ready to tip their hand as to which automakers will be attending the show, but among those likely to return are Nissan and Infiniti, as Japan's number three automaker is just too big to stay out of the North American International Auto Show two years in a row. The Detroit Free Press reports that Porsche has been unhappy with the lack of major media coverage at the L.A. Auto Show, and the German automaker could turn to Detroit to get its media fix. Porsche could also find itself sharing space with its new parent, Volkswagen.
While Detroit looks bring back some automakers that were lost last year, North America's biggest auto show could also bring in some newcomers. Fiat's partnership/ownership of Chrysler could mean that Fiat and Alfa Romeo models wind up parked near the Chrysler booth. India's Mahindra group, which is looking to sell trucks and SUVs here in the States, could be another option, as could China's BYD. We're really looking forward to this year's NAIAS, and it will be nice to once again see a full main floor. Another Detroit January, on the other hand, is something we can do without.
[Source: The Detroit Free Press]
2010 Detroit Auto Show main floor is full, recession officially OVER originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments 
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