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First Drive: 2012 Toyota Prius V

Filed under: Hybrid, Wagon, Technology, Crossover, Toyota, First Drive

Toyota Masters The Art Of The Conjunctive

2012 Toyota Prius V

2012 Toyota Prius V – Click above for high-res image gallery

The hybrid lexicon is a language built on a foundation of disjunction. Buyers may have phenomenal fuel economy or space for kids and cargo. You can embarrass your neighbors at the fuel pump or have a satisfying driving experience. In fact, opting for a battery pack is so fraught with compromise that it’s almost as if hybrid manufacturers have completely deleted the conjunctive ‘and’ from their diction. Even so, that fact hasn’t stopped buyers from seeking out electrified vehicles in increasing numbers.

Toyota has sold over one million Prius models in the United States since the vehicle first debuted a decade ago. That number blossoms to two million if global sales are accounted for, and the model’s popularity has helped usher in a bloom of hybrid products from over 16 manufacturers. The technology may not be the perfect solution to our fuel economy concerns, but the Prius has taken off in ways that would have been difficult to imagine when the first gangly example whirred off the line.

Now Toyota is set to grow its Prius lineup with three new models. In fact, Bob Carter, Toyota division group vice president and general manager, says that the Japanese automaker fully expects the Prius family to become its best-selling product line in the near future – beating out internal combustion titans like the Camry and Corolla in the process. As a result, the company is planning to unleash of a barrage of products that include a model based on the Prius C Concept, a plug-in version of the hybrid and the taller, boxier Prius V. The thought is that a few simple variations on the company’s successful battery-powered recipe will offer buyers solutions that the conventional Prius simply couldn’t match. The only question is whether or not the will respond to what is effectively a few clever re-body jobs. If the Prius V is any indication, the answer is a resounding yes.

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2012 Toyota Prius V originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 May 2011 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: BMW 5GT sales disappointing, has execs rethinking 5 Series wagon

Filed under: Crossover, Hatchback, BMW, Luxury

2010 BMW 550i Gran Turismo

2010 BMW 550i Gran Turismo – Click above for high-res image gallery

Automotive News is reporting that the BMW 5 Series GT has been having some unintended and rather unfortunate sales consequences for the German automaker. While the company originally believed that buyers of the old 5 Series Touring would be drawn to the oddball crossover, the truth is that those customers have fled to rival Mercedes-Benz for their wagon needs. Meanwhile, the 5 Series GT has stolen buyers from the more expensive 7 Series line. In Florida, for example, up to 10 percent of 7 Series owners have exchanged keys for the less-expensive GT, which isn’t exactly great news for the Bavarians, either.

Of course, overall sales of the 5 Series GT have failed to trend as BMW projected. The company originally said that it intended to move between 4,000 and 8,000 of the models each year, but 2011 has seen only 720 deliveries in the first four months of the year. BMW sold 2,848 examples last year after admitting that they probably incorrectly judged the model mix early on.

While speaking with Automotive News, BMW North America CEO Jim O’Donnell said that he wishes that his company hadn’t stopped selling the 5 Series wagon here in the States. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that the big fiver will return to the Land of the Free, at least not in this generation, but the issue will likely be revisited.

The good news is that the automaker may have learned its lesson. Despite the fact that a smaller 3 Series-based Gran Turismo model has been spotted testing (rumored to be called 4 Series), the 3 Series Touring apparently isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

BMW 5GT sales disappointing, has execs rethinking 5 Series wagon originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 May 2011 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Vintage crash compilation shows how far racing has come

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Europe, Videos, Racing

Killed Myself when I was Young

Killed Myself When I Was Young – Click above to view videos after the jump

This compilation of racing crashes in the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s is a jarring reminder of when auto racing really was a life-or-death venture. Put simply, if you drove a race car during this period, you were as likely to be killed as you were to retire.

Thanks to ever-increasing speeds and no regard for driver and spectator safety, it was common for races to turn deadly. Because of the sacrifices these drivers made, racers, teams and sanctioning bodies have since come together to make racing safer than ever.

If “Killed Myself When I Was Young” interests you, check out the hour-long YouTube video “Grand Prix: The Killer Years,” detailing the fight for even basic safety measures in Formula 1. Be advised that neither video is for the faint of heart; both are embedded after the jump.

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Vintage crash compilation shows how far racing has come originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Venezuela issues its first-ever driver’s license suspension

Venezuela might be seen as something of a hooner’s paradise. Gas is ~~free~~ 12 cents per gallon, drivers’ rights reign supreme, and traffic law enforcement is practically nonexistent. Maybe that’s all changing, though. This week, Venezuela’s national police chief, Luis Fernandez, held a press conference to announce the first-ever suspension of driving privileges for one of its citizens.

41-year-old Ramon Parra was found to be operating his bus in excess of posted limits. It also had too many passengers. Oh, and one of the rear wheels was in the aisle with the passengers instead of on its axle, where one normally might expect to find it. As for Parra, it’ll be a year before he gets to climb behind the wheel again.

Venezuela issues its first-ever driver’s license suspension originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dutch artist makes automotive masterpieces from scrap wood

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Sedan, Etc., Europe, Porsche, Alfa Romeo

1969 Alfa Romeo Guilietta

Dutch artist Diedrich Kraaijeveld makes photorealistic sculptures of cars from painted pieces of wood. That’s impressive enough, but here’s the best part: Kraaijeveld’s pieces are assembled from painted pieces of wood he scavenges and recycles. In other words, these perfectly color-matched and shaded collages take shape from scrap wood that Kraaijeveld gathers in specific colors.

Most of the pieces are made to replicate photographs, and almost none of them are started until Kraaijeveld has a glut of one color of wood. With the collection process taken care of, the forms of classic sports cars start to take shape. We’re particularly fond of his Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Porsche 911.

According to Inhabitat, Kraaijeveld scavenges the wood from around his hometown in Holland and while on vacation in different parts of the world. Head over to Inhabitat to see more of Kraaijeveld’s work.

Dutch artist makes automotive masterpieces from scrap wood originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Nissan donates cash, offers employee pricing and delayed payments to Southern storm victims

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Nissan

Nissan Americas is offering employee pricing and delayed finance payments to victims of the recent tornadoes and floods across the southeastern U.S. The latest gesture comes after the company donated $115,000 to the Red Cross to help with the relief efforts.

Qualified buyers, meaning those from the southeast who were left without a mode of transportation after the storms, will be offered Nissans at a price normally reserved for company workers and their immediate families. To be eligible for the program, you have to live in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi or Alabama and be able to provide proof of damage to your primary vehicle. Check out Nissan’s full press release after the jump.

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Nissan donates cash, offers employee pricing and delayed payments to Southern storm victims originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hot Wheels world record jump at Indy 500 starting to take shape

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Off-Road

Indianapolis 500 jump

The ramp designed to propel Hot Wheels’ mystery driver to world record glory at the 100th Indianapolis 500 is starting to take shape. The ramp doesn’t look quite like it did in Hot Wheels’ original rendering, but it’s still an enormous and terrifying structure. Don’t believe us? Check out a full gallery of the ramp on the speedway’s Flickr page.

Hot Wheels’ goal is to propel a winged off-road truck 302 feet through the air, which would clinch the world record for distance. The death-defying stunt will kick off the excitement at next weekend’s Indy 500.

Hot Wheels world record jump at Indy 500 starting to take shape originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Spanish Grand Prix goes down as a game of leap frog [spoilers]

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe

2011 Spanish Grand Prix

2011 Spanish Grand Prix – Click above for high-res image gallery

Ferrari. McLaren. Renault. Williams. The past few decades of Formula One racing have seen each of these teams at the top of their game, claiming championships and dispatching the others along the way. But after watching Brawn GP – having started out as the humble BAR-Honda team and emerging as Mercedes’ own factory squad – claim the titles just a couple of years ago, are the years of domination behind us? Or was Brawn’s victory merely a hiccup before things return to “normal”? Will Red Bull’s championship prove another exception, or will the Anglo-Austrian team emerge as the new force to be reckoned with?

It may take another year or two to watch the pattern unfold, but after winning both titles last year, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull have come back strong in 2011. The team has converted pole position to the checkered flag at every race but one so far this season. Would this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix further gird Vettel and Red Bull in the defense of their titles, or would a new challenger draw blood around the corners and down the straights of Barcelona? Continue reading for a recap of today’s action.

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2011 Spanish Grand Prix goes down as a game of leap frog [spoilers] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raikkonen makes a solid debut in NASCAR

Filed under: Motorsports, Truck, Racing

Kimi Raikkonen's NACAR debut

Former F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen made his NASCAR debut yesterday, driving the No. 15 Perky Jerky Toyota Tundra in the Camping World Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200.

Starting from the 31st position, Raikkonen finished 15th, crossing the line on the same lap as the race leaders. At one point, Raikkonen ran as high as seventh, but fell back when he missed a crucial pit stop. Along the way, he survived several close calls as multi-car collisions unfolded in front of him and he picked his way through the debris. Raikkonen’s teammate Kyle Busch took the win.

What’s next for Raikkonen? The Finn plans to return to Charlotte next weekend to run the Nationwide Series race. He’ll pilot a Toyota Camry fielded by NEMCO motorsports in partnership with Kyle Busch Motorsports.

The NASCAR race conflicts with the WRC rally in Argentina, but Raikkonen isn’t scheduled to contest that round. His next WRC appearance will be at the Acropolis Rally in June. As for F1, the former champion hasn’t ruled out a possible return if the conditions are right, but for now he appears to be taking things one step at a time.

Raikkonen makes a solid debut in NASCAR originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ferrari FF makes North American debut at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Filed under: Performance, Hatchback, Ferrari

Ferrari FF

Ferrari FF North American Debut – Click above for high-res image gallery

Ferrari’s absence at North American auto shows the past few years has meant that its newer vehicles have made their debuts at some less conventional venues. Last year, the 458 Italia’s first U.S. appearance was at the Ferrari Challenge event at Miller Motorsports Park. This weekend, the Ferrari FF received a private showing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the Ferrari Racing Days.

In addition to the new Ferrari four-seater itself, the display showcased the numerous interior options and a full set of matching luggage. The car on hand was a European version, but retail sales of the U.S.-spec FF should begin at either the end of October or the beginning of November of this year. Only 40 cars will be available for the rest of 2011. After that, Ferrari plans on selling approximately 200 cars yearly to American buyers.

You can see our photos of the Ferrari FF at Laguna Seca in the gallery below. Check back this week for more coverage of the Ferrari Racing Days.

Ferrari FF makes North American debut at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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