Auto Industry Archives | Page 33 of 592

Teased: Callaway previews supercharged C7 Corvette

Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet

Callaway Corvette Supercharger

If you dig the new Stingray but miss the old ZR1, then Callaway might have just the ticket. The Corvette tuner extraordinaire has teased that it’s got a supercharger kit on its way for the latest C7 that could make up the difference and then some.

While the 6.2-liter LS3 V8 in the previous-generation C6 Corvette packed 430 horsepower in base form, the new LT1 in the Stingray displaces the same but comes standard with 455 hp. So Callaway has got 25 fewer horses to make up in supercharging the C7 up to the ZR1’s 638 hp. That’s still a lot of power to get out of an aftermarket supercharger, so we’ll see how close Callaway can get it. We may find out as early as this weekend as Reeves and company head to Corvettes at Carlisle in Pennsylvania. But that hood image looks promising.

Of course this will be far from Callaway’s first Corvette tuning job – and it won’t even be its first stab at the new Stingray: it’s already working on a C7 GT3 race car, and previously revealed plans to turn the latest Vette into a shooting brake called the AeroWagon.

Callaway previews supercharged C7 Corvette originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Cache of vintage Chevys in Nebraska headed to auction [w/video]

Filed under: Classics, Auctions, Chevrolet

This isn’t the first car dealer turned time capsule, but it might be the biggest. Ray Lambrecht stashed about 500 new cars from 1958 to 1980 that didn’t sell at his Pierce, NE, Chevrolet dealership before he closed shop in 1996, Yahoo News reports. His reasoning? Instead of selling previous model-year inventory at discounted prices, he kept the cars thinking they’d appreciate over time. Soon we’ll find out how his unique business strategy worked, as all of the old/new cars – stored in the dealership and at a farm – will hit the auction block next month. We think old Lambrecht will be making some good money – perhaps as much as six figures on some cars – as many vehicles in the collection are über rare and word of the auction has spread worldwide.

It is reported that visitors from all over the US and at least a dozen countries will descend upon the 1,800-resident town for the auction to buy old Chevys with negligible miles. The cars with the fewest miles in the collection are a 1959 Bel Air and 1960 Corvair Monza with only one mile on their odometers. A 1958 Cameo pickup truck with just 1.3 miles sits in a corner with some damage to the roof and a thick layer of dust. About 50 vehicles have 20 miles or less, including the newest vehicle in the collection, a 1980 Monza with nine miles. While the cars in Lambrecht’s collection can be a bit rough on the outside, the ones that were stored in the dealership still have pristine interiors.

So what will happen to the vehicles once they’re sold? Jay Quail, executive director of the Classic Car Club of America, says many collectors who buy the low-mileage vehicles likely will put them on display as works of art. “It’s like having a Picasso in your garage,” he says. “Collectors will pay for a car that’s totally unmolested.”

UPDATE: Take a better look at this time-warp collection with the new Associated Press video added below.

Continue reading Cache of vintage Chevys in Nebraska headed to auction [w/video]

Cache of vintage Chevys in Nebraska headed to auction [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV production restarts after five-month delay

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Japan, Recalls, Safety, Crossover, Mitsubishi, Electric

Back in March, production of both the Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid and the all-electric i-MiEV ground to a halt over a pair of incidents where overheated lithium-ion batteries caused vehicle fires. Following the rocky start, The Japan Times is reporting that production of the Outlander PHEV has recommenced following the five-month stoppage.

The battery fires were tracked down to a supplier issue before more than 4,300 vehicles were recalled in June, but Mitsubishi received heavy criticism from the Japanese government for the delayed recall. According to the report, though, that hasn’t slow down enthusiasm for the plug-in crossover – Mitsubishi has received close to 18,000 for the Outlander PHEV. To keep up with demand, the automaker is planning to double production to 4,000 units a month.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV production restarts after five-month delay originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kia recalls 9,700 new Sorento models for potential front axle failures

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Crossover, Kia

2014 Kia Sorento

Kia has announced a recall on the 2014 Sorento due to an issue that could lead to a broken right front driveshaft on certain models. Only models equipped with the 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive are affected by the campaign.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that Sorento models built between January 7 through March 12 of this year may experience broken axle shafts that could lead to loss of power or cause the vehicle to roll if parked. According to the Detroit Free Press, a total of close to 9,700 units are being recalled, but that number is closer to 9,300 for customers in the US.

Kia says that it has had one incident with an internal vehicle that experienced a separated axle shaft in addition to 10 related warranty claims, but it says no accidents or injuries have been reported. The recall campaign will begin next month. Scroll down for the NHTSA recall notice as well as an official statement from Kia.

Continue reading Kia recalls 9,700 new Sorento models for potential front axle failures

Kia recalls 9,700 new Sorento models for potential front axle failures originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: TMG still developing Lexus LS Sports 650 [w/video]

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Europe, Lexus, Toyota

TMG Sports 650

If you’re going to make a super sedan, you’d better do it in Germany. That’s where Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz do it, along with third parties like Alpina, Brabus and G-Power, among others. Deutschland is the epicenter of the movement, regularly churning out the most powerful four-door rockets in the world. It’s also where one of the racing divisions for Toyota has been hard at work on the TMG Sports 650.

Toyota Motorsport GmbH started with a Lexus LS and turned it into a 641-horsepower, twin-turbocharged super sedan it revealed late last year at the Essen Motor Show. But though we haven’t heard much about it since then, the team behind Toyota’s F1 and Le Mans efforts are apparently still hard at work on the project.

Speaking with Lexus’ own UK blog, TMG chief Alastair Moffitt revealed that the project started way back in 2010, shortly after Toyota shut down its F1 program and left the racing team with nothing to do. The 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 was initially producing as much as 800 horsepower, but has since been refined to 650 so that it could theoretically be put into production and onto the road.

That’s something TMG hasn’t done before, but is keen to start, positioning itself alongside Toyota Racing Development in the US and Gazoo Racing in Japan as an in-house tuning division which Toyota and Lexus could rely on for this kind of project. To that end, TMG has been testing its prototype at the Nürburgring – less than an hour’s drive from its headquarters in Cologne – and has already found it’ll run to 60 in the same 3.9 seconds as the new Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG and top out at 200 mph.

The next step will be to set a hot lap on the Nordschleife, and we’ll be keeping an eye out to see how it does. In the meantime, check out the video below.

Continue reading TMG still developing Lexus LS Sports 650 [w/video]

TMG still developing Lexus LS Sports 650 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Luca doesn’t believe in electric cars, but Ferrari will build more hybrids

Filed under: Hybrid, Performance, Technology, Ferrari

2014 Ferrari LaFerrari at Geneva

Confirming what we’d long suspected, the hybrid powertrain in the Ferrari LaFerrari was not a one-time thing. “I don’t believe in the electric cars, but I strongly believe in hybrids,” Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo tells Bloomberg. It’s unclear when we’ll see another hybrid Ferrari, though, as the automaker’s current lineup is quite fresh – the oldest model is the California, which was updated for the 2013 model year – but make no mistake, there are more electrified cars coming from Maranello. “The answer is yes,” Montezemolo told Bloomberg when asked about hybrids, although he was quick to add “without exceeding.” It’s that last part that is key for enthusiasts of the gas engine.

Ferrari’s move towards hybrid powertrains reflects a pair of trends in both the political and motorsports spheres. Politically, automakers, even exotics, are being pushed to produce cars with cleaner emissions, or in many cases, no emissions at all. Look no further than the Range Rover Hybrid, which was just announced. Formula One’s push towards hybridization and smaller engines is also informing decisions at Ferrari, with the LaFerrari already using hybrid tech already inspired by the sport.

Still, it’s reassuring to know that while Ferrari is pushing forward with future technologies, that the gas engine won’t go the way of the manual transmission in Maranello – at least in the near term.

Luca doesn’t believe in electric cars, but Ferrari will build more hybrids originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 14:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Camal Studio pays tribute to the Maserati GranTurismo

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Maserati, Design/Style, Luxury

Camal Studio Tributo - front view

Although the Maserati GranTurismo may have looked pretty hot when it hit the scene in 2007, eight years on, it’s starting to show its age. Maserati is focusing its attention on the new Quattroporte, Ghibli and upcoming Levante utility vehicle, but Camal Studio is evidently keen to pick up what Maserati has let fall by the wayside.

The design house, as you may recall, was founded by former Pininfarina designers – the same firm that penned the GranTurimso (among other Maseratis) in the first place. Camal calls its redesign the Tributo (a name which should require no translation) and it draws its inspiration from Maserati GTs past like the original Ghibli, Bora and Khamsin. The resulting design comes across as clean enough, but to our eyes somewhat unremarkable. And if you’re going to go to the trouble of coachbuilding a Maserati, you might as well go for a bit more visual impact. But that’s judging solely from the renderings, and that’s just our opinion – the financially well-endowed customers Camal is going after may feel otherwise once they see it in the flesh.

Camal Studio pays tribute to the Maserati GranTurismo originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Chinese Jeep production confirmed with Fiat, Guangzhou agreement

Filed under: SUV, China, Plants/Manufacturing, Crossover, Jeep

Jeep Badge

Fiat has just finalized a deal originally set up in January between it and China’s Guangzhou Automotive Group to bring Jeep production to China. It remains unclear which models will be built, although we’re wagering that it’ll be the 2014 Cherokee. What we do know, now, is where production will take place.

According to Automotive News, Guangzhou originally wanted production to take place in its home assembly plant in its namesake city. Fiat has battled to send production to a joint venture facility established between Guangzhou and Fiat in the town of Changsha. The joint facility won out, and now the factory, originally built in 2010 with a 140,000-unit capacity, will see Jeeps rolling out of it.

Currently, the GAC-Fiat factory produces the Fiat Viaggio, a jointly developed product that is closely related to America’s Dodge Dart. And while it remains unclear as to which model will join the Viaggio on the assembly line, that model is understood to ride on Fiat’s Compact platform. The only Jeep to share those underpinnings is the new Cherokee, so there’s not much connecting of dots needed to see why this scenario would make sense.

Chinese Jeep production confirmed with Fiat, Guangzhou agreement originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Exclusive: BMW M4 to debut in Detroit, lose manual transmission

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, BMW

BMW M4 Concept live at Monterey 2013 reveal

BMW took the wraps off its M4 Concept at Pebble Beach last weekend, and many speculated that the highly anticipated production version of the sleek new two-door sports coupe would debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this year. But a well-placed source tells Autoblog that the E92 M3’s successor won’t arrive in Southern California this November. Instead, the German automaker will wait until the Detroit Auto Show in January for its first official reveal.

An all-new 3.0-liter inline-six with twin turbochargers is expected under the hood, and it should provide about the same horsepower as the current 4.0-liter V8 (rated at 414 horsepower), but with much more torque that arrives lower on the tachometer. The lightweight engine is said to have an impressively high redline, which is unusual for a turbocharged engine.

Unfortunately, Save the Manuals members aren’t going to like this next bit of news. After four generations of three-pedal M3 models, our source says the upcoming F82 M4 will arrive with a dual-clutch transmission (DCT) as standard equipment – with no manual option – just like the latest iteration of the track-ready Porsche GT3 (few have complained about the automaker’s PDK after driving the latest sports car from Stuttgart). In exchange for some moans, groans and gripes from enthusiasts, BMW’s DCT mounted aft of the M4’s inline-six will provide quicker acceleration and improved fuel economy.

BMW M4 to debut in Detroit, lose manual transmission originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Monza concept opens its wings and lets us in on Opel’s future

Filed under: Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show, Coupe, Hybrid, Europe, Opel, Design/Style

Opel Monza Concept

Opel has done a lot to revitalize itself over the past few years, developing a solid product portfolio with hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, minivans and crossovers. What it’s missing, though, is a sports coupe – because, let’s face it, the Cascada cabrio hardly fits the bill.

Hopes were raised when Opel revealed it was working on a new Monza concept, reviving a nameplate borrowed from an Italian racetrack and previously used on a six-cylinder fastback version of the Senator sedan. Opel has now revealed the Monza in full, but it’s neither the sportscar we expected nor the harbinger of a new production model – much less one we could look forward to General Motors porting over as a Buick coupe, for that matter.

What you’re looking at instead is a design study that hints at the way Opel will style its cars moving forward. Sized in between the Astra and Insignia, the Monza concept has two giant gullwing doors to give access to both front and rear seats, which is probably your first clue that this is more of a show car than a pre-production prototype. Inside, the futuristic cabin features an LED projection dashboard with 3D graphics, new social interactive systems and a lot of swoopy forms and curved wood.

The concept is powered by a CNG version of the hybrid powertrain you’d find in the Opel Ampera or Chevrolet Volt, propelling a form that is more sedan than sports coupe, even if it does technically only have two doors. A successor to the original Monza it is not – let alone a replacement for the Lotus Elise-based Speedster or Pontiac Solstice-based GT that followed – but as an indicator of where Opel is heading, it looks promising. But we’ll reserve final judgement for when we see it at the Frankfurt Motor Show in a couple of weeks. For more details, check out our gallery and the official press release below.

Continue reading Monza concept opens its wings and lets us in on Opel’s future

Monza concept opens its wings and lets us in on Opel’s future originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Aug 2013 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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