Category: Auto Industry

Official: Infiniti releases first image of premium compact Q30 Concept

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Coupe, Crossover, Hatchback, Infiniti, Luxury

Infiniti Q30 Concept

Behold, the Q30 Concept. Slated for a worldwide debut in Germany next month at the Frankfurt Motor Show, this concept previews a new entry-level premium compact that Infiniti hopes will attract younger buyers to the brand, as well as give it a competitor in a burgeoning new class that’s quickly filling up with options.

What will set the Q30 apart? Aside from a bold and aggressive design that picks up where the new Q50 and many concepts have left off, Infiniti says the shape combines elements from three bodystyles, all of which appeal to the sort of buyer it’s hoping snare. Can you guess which three? No peeking at the press release down below. Give yourself ten arbitrary points if your answer was coupe, crossover and hatchback.

Infiniti promises a ride height that will be high enough to earn crossover credentials, and we’re guessing it’s got an actual hatch back there, which leaves the coupe. Where’s the coupe in the Q30’s design? The influence of a two-door is a little more difficult to see with the naked eye, but what the Q30 shares with some four-door coupes on the market is a roofline that peaks and begins to slope back down before the B-pillar and rear set of doors.

There’s no information available yet on what powers the Q30 Concept, and hence even less about what will power the production version, but we expect to learn more more in the coming weeks leading up to this triple threat’s reveal in Frankfurt.

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Infiniti releases first image of premium compact Q30 Concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 01:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: 2014 Toyota Corolla priced from $16,800*

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Sedan, Toyota

2014 Toyota Corolla

We’ll be publishing our First Drive of the 2014 Toyota Corolla later today, but right now, we can reveal that the eleventh-generation compact will be priced from $16,800 when it hits dealerships this fall (*not including a $810 destination charge).

Four trim levels will be offered, and that sub-$17,000 price point reflects the base L grade with a six-speed manual transmission. Adding the four-speed automatic (yep) brings that price up to $17,400, which gets you the usual features standard on this class of car, including Bluetooth connectivity, eight airbags and – a first for this price point – LED headlamps.

From there, the LE trim ($18,300) adds a backup camera, cruise control, keyless entry, Entune audio (including a 6.1-inch touchscreen) and a brand-new continuously variable transmission replacing the four-speed auto. There’s even an Eco version of the LE trim that uses a different engine tune to provide fuel economy of up to 42 miles per gallon on the highway.

The top-trim S, pictured above, comes with a modified front fascia design, rear lip spoiler, leather-wrapped steering wheel, sport seats and more for $19,000. There are paddle shifters mated to the CVT with seven “gears,” and optional 17-inch wheels are available. Toyota will offer the S trim with a six-speed manual as part of the Plus package, and the Premium pack adds Softex synthetic leather seats. All in, a fully loaded Corolla comes in just under $24,000. Not bad, at all.

Stay tuned for our full impressions of the new Corolla in just a few hours. In the meantime, scroll down to read Toyota’s official pricing release.

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2014 Toyota Corolla priced from $16,800* originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Toyota Tacoma helps stand up to your girlfriend, mimes, magicians and the Grim Reaper

Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Toyota, Humor

Toyota Tacoma commercials

It takes a lot to get a product noticed in today’s fast-paced world, but one avenue that’s always seemed to grab the eyeballs of consumers has been humor. Toyota knows this rule well, and has put together a quartet of spots called “Tacoma Wins,” in which the midsize pickup’s features and specifications best a number of seemingly worthy competitors.

Whether it be sobbing girlfriends, a circus magician, a grim reaper or the scariest thing of all, a mime, the Tacoma looks well equipped to deal with it. Take a look below for all four of Toyota’s newest spots.

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Toyota Tacoma helps stand up to your girlfriend, mimes, magicians and the Grim Reaper originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC AMG is period gangsta

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

Electric Federal 560 SEC AMG video

Lord Vader comments aside, this is a seriously mean looking Mercedes-Benz. Owned by designer Kahren Arakelyan, this 560 SEC has been breathed upon by AMG, and has had its 5.6-liter V8 bored out to a nice, even 6.0 liters (which we suppose should make it a 600 SEC AMG). The AMG treatment has turned this old SEC into a quick, menacing beast.

The video, by Electric Federal, provides a different look at the predecessor to today’s CL-Class, and what it means to Arakelyan, an Armenian that discusses growing up in his homeland, surrounded by Ladas until his dad came home in a legendary Mercedes sedan – the 450SEL 6.9. The “over-engineered” Benz was like nothing the young man had ever seen before.

Arakelyan’s passion for Mercedes was born from that experience, and came with him when he arrived in the United States. In the video, he gives a pretty thorough walk-through of his SEC, while fans of engine noise can listen to the intermittent bursts from the 6.0-liter AMG V8. Scroll down for the full video.

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1988 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC AMG is period gangsta originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Ford making Fusion production moves to challenge Camry on volume

Filed under: Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

2013 Ford Fusion

The Ford Fusion may already beat the Toyota Camry in terms of models offered, transaction price and sales increase so far this year, but if the Fusion wants to make a run at the title of best-selling car in the US, Bloomberg reminds us that volume is key. Opening a second production line at the Flat Rock, MI assembly plant will reportedly allow Ford to produce around 350,000 Fusions annually, which compares Toyota’s ability to crank out 475,000 Camrys and Honda’s capacity to build around 450,000 Accords.

For the Fusion, that’s an extra 100,000 units compared to the car’s current pace, and the article adds that the Fusion is “Ford’s best shot” to regain the passenger car sales crown – a title it (or any other US automaker, for that matter) hasn’t held since the mid-1990s. Despite hiccups with recalls and fuel economy numbers, the Ford Fusion is still red hot when it comes to sales. Fusion sales are up 13 percent so far this year (compared to a 0.6 percent decrease for Camry), and its average transaction price of $26,343 is about $2,300 more than its rival from Toyota.

The Fusion’s popularity has helped Ford improve its sales in California; the Dearborn-based automaker has a market share of 18 percent in the state, which is just a fraction of a percentage behind Honda. And this popularity should continue as Ford ups Fusion production and expands the model lineup even further for 2014 with a new 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine soon to become an option.

Ford making Fusion production moves to challenge Camry on volume originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Peugeot reveals Le Mans-derived 208 Hybrid FE prototype

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Hybrid, Europe, Hatchback, Peugeot

Peugeot 208 Hybrid FE - front three-quarter view, white

You can’t leave a team of racing engineers sitting still for too long. They need something to keep them busy. Just ask the guys at Toyota or Peugeot.

Toyota shut down its Formula One program in 2009 and didn’t get to Le Mans until last year, filling the vacuum left by Peugeot’s departure at the end of the previous season. In the meantime, the engineers at Toyota Motorsport GmbH developed the TMG Sports 650. Peugeot Sport had a similar lull after shuttering its LMP1 program before it launched Sebastien Loeb’s 208 T16 Pikes Peak challenger this summer. This is what they were working on in the meantime.

It’s called the Peugeot 208 Hybrid FE, and it’s set to debut next month at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Working in partnership with French oil company Total, the Peugeot racing team applied many of the lessons it learned from developing the 908 HDi FAP prototype to a base Peugeot 208 Access.

They bored out the 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine to 1.2 liters, gave it direct injection, replaced all the internal components and coated new ones in DLC (Diamond-Like Coating, a hardener used in motorsports engines and suspension components). All of this was done in order to increase torque by 25 percent (now up to 88 pound-feet) while keeping power steady at 68 horses. They then installed the 908’s electric motor for another 22 lb-ft of torque, along with its lightweight lithium-ion battery pack. They decreased aerodynamic drag by 25 percent (thanks in part to low-rolling-resistance rubber and a narrower track) and cut 20 percent off the structure’s curb weight to optimize efficiency.

The result is a prototype that sacrifices none of the donor car’s creature comforts (save for the air conditioning system) and can hit 62 mph from a standstill in 8 seconds flat, return 141.2 mpg (on Europe’s liberal efficiency cycle) and emit just 49 grams of CO2 per kilometer. All of which may not be as exciting as what Toyota’s racing team did with their down time, but as environmental impact becomes increasingly vital to global automakers, it could prove more important.

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Peugeot reveals Le Mans-derived 208 Hybrid FE prototype originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ETC: 105-year-old Facebook user gifted new car anonymously

Filed under: Etc., Honda

105-year-old Edythe, California's oldest driver, enjoying her new car. (PRNewsFoto/Direct Relief)

105-year-old Edythe Kirchmaier is quite a woman. Not only is she California’s oldest driver – she just renewed her license this January after passing the test without incident – she has a perfect 86-year driving record without so much as a parking violation. In fact, she’s been driving for so long that she learned how on a Ford Model T (how many people alive today have even driven one of those, much less learned on one?). On top of all that, Edythe is a philanthropist; she’s been volunteering at Direct Relief, which provides free medications for people in need, for 40 years. You may have even seen her on TV earlier this year spreading the word.

So when Edythe’s 1997 minivan began breaking down, an anonymous fan did what any completely selfless person of means would: they gifted her a brand-new 2013 Honda Civic, ensuring that Edythe can continue working for the cause she loves. Check her out on Facebook – she’s the social media site’s oldest registered user – and scroll down to the press release for more on this heartwarming story.

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105-year-old Facebook user gifted new car anonymously originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Next Subaru WRX and STI to go sedan only; reveal headed for LA

Filed under: LA Auto Show, New York Auto Show, Spy Photos, Sedan, Performance, Subaru, Rumormill, Off-Road

Subaru WRX Sedan Spy Shots

After a serious bit of teasing at the 2013 New York Auto Show, Subaru might be finally preparing to pull the sheets off of the production versions of the new WRX and STI. The venue, according to Automotive News, will be the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Besides that tasty bit of info, AN has a number of other interesting ideas about the 2015 WRX.

If you’ve been a fan of the five-door bodystyle, don’t read this – the next WRX and STI will reportedly go four-door only. We’ve already seen the latter’s whopping great wing, a tradition we’re happy to see soldering on for next-gen car. According to the AN report, power figures to be around 265 horsepower from a 2.5-liter, turbocharged, flat-four engine.

Los Angeles is still quite far off, so expect to hear more rumblings about a production WRX or STI in the coming weeks. Take a look above for our most recent batch of spy photos, and then hop down below for some images of the stunning WRX Concept that was shown at New York.

Next Subaru WRX and STI to go sedan only; reveal headed for LA originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teased: Porsche releases new images of LMP1 racecar

Filed under: Motorsports, Porsche, Racing

Porsche LMP1 car

Porsche has released another batch of images of its LMP1 competitor preparing for its debut season in 2014. This isn’t the first we’ve seen of the new car, as June saw four images of the new racer undergoing testing. Where those images looked merely like someone taking pics during the test, the 11 new images seen above have all the hallmarks of highly polished PR shots.

That aside, the camo-covered cars still provide another look at what the new LMP1 car will look like when it arrives next season. The taillights follow the example set by Audi, by vertically mounting ultra-thin LEDs on the tips of the rear wing, while the LED headlights sport the four-prong look that Porsche has been pushing of late. Besides those two items, its difficult to make out many details due to the amount of camo.

Porsche’s LMP1 effort will be focused on the FIA World Endurance Championship, which will see the revered brand return to the top flights of the 24 Hours Of Le Mans with F1 ace Mark Webber behind the wheel. As we’ve mentioned before, the German brand has set up a dedicated microsite that will cover its newest racer’s progress.

Porsche releases new images of LMP1 racecar originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read This: The fascinating forgotten civil defense history of Mister Softee trucks

Filed under: Classics, Truck, Work, Ford, Specialty, Read This

Mister Softee truck

Hemmings came across an interesting article from the Throwin’ Wrenches blog about the intersection of ice cream, cars and civic duty in America’s late 1950s. In particular, it focuses on the Mister Softee trucks, which criss-crossed neighborhoods of the eastern US serving ice cream. Looking past the ultra-durable vehicles used – heavy-duty Ford-based chassis, for what it’s worth – the article delves into some deeper national-security territory.

See, Mister Softee truck owners were voluntary members of the Civil Defense, thanks to all the useful stuff (potable water, generators, freezers and fridges) that the machines carried with them for serving ice cream. Click over to Throwin’ Wrenches for the full run down of how Mister Softee would have stepped in to help fight if the Cold War ever turned a little hotter.

The fascinating forgotten civil defense history of Mister Softee trucks originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Aug 2013 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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