Category: Auto Industry

ETC: Oscar Mayer Wienermobile rally leaves us bunderstruck

Filed under: Etc.

Oscar Mayer Wieners

In the running for the greatest event tag line of 2013 is this: “Six wieners. One winner.” Or how about just Wienermobile Run, which is what Oscar Mayer is putting on with six Wienermobiles crossing the country in search of points and glory.

The social media-driven challenge has the teams – Born to Bun, Speedy Wiener, Autobuhn, Hell on Buns, Drift Dog and Bunderstruck – earn points for fulfilling challenges submitted by you and by Oscar Mayer and by getting their photos plastered all over the gossip-verse. The big dog with the most points at the end, wins.

You can join teams and submit photos and, naturally, win things. It just kicked off on July 9 with all the Wienermobiles in Edgecliff, New Jersey and Born to Bun is already way out in the lead, but there’s still time to take sides with the figure out which Hotdogger in a 27-foot-long is your favorite flavor…

Oscar Mayer Wienermobile rally leaves us bunderstruck originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Jul 2013 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mississippi man under fire for fixing potholes using city’s supplies [w/video]

Filed under: Government/Legal, Videos

Potholes, also known as the bane of every motorist’s existence, are a huge problem in many cities. One resident in Jackson, Mississippi got fed up with the constant bumps and craters in his city’s roads, and took matters into his own hands.

The self-proclaimed Pothole Patchman, the secret identity of one Ron Chane, appropriated city asphalt to repair 100 of the city’s potholes over the course of five evenings.

Naturally, the government isn’t pleased with this, but only because Chane took the city’s asphalt without “going through the proper legal channels,” Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said in a press release. As Chane sees it, he’s putting the asphalt “back where it belongs.”

Asked by The Clarion-Ledger about the Pothole Patchman, many residents saluted an average citizen taking municipal matters into his own hands. After each repair, Chane tagged the potholes as “Citizen Fixed.” But because he’s taking city resources without permission, the Patchman recognizes the trouble he could be in saying, “Some people say I could be arrested.” Here’s hoping cooler heads prevail… Scroll down to see the news report.

Continue reading Mississippi man under fire for fixing potholes using city’s supplies [w/video]

Mississippi man under fire for fixing potholes using city’s supplies [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Jul 2013 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Circuit of Wales gets key go-ahead vote by local government

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Government/Legal, UK

Circuit of Wales proposal

A development company called Heads of the Valleys, led by Michael Carrick, is working through the steps to build a 250-million-pound ($378M US) motorsports facility in Blaenau Gwent, Wales, about 33 miles due north of Cardiff. After more than a year of work so far, the latest success is that the Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council has given approval to the outline plan of the circuit.

Called the Circuit of Wales, the 830-acre site will be a “low carbon automotive center of excellence” that will comprise a 3.5-mile car track, motocross, karting and off-roading tracks, hotel and commercial and retail complexes. To fulfill the low-carbon bit, the facilities will also include an R&D park for entities exploring “the boundaries in environmental technology and energy solutions.”

The plan is ultimately to host World Touring Car, MotoGP, World Superbikes and World Motocross. All of the facilities will be available to locals, a motorsports academy will assist new talent, and Welsh universities are expected to be able to tie their expertise in with the stakeholders in the technology park. The next step is for Heads of the Valleys to draw up and get approval for the detailed plan of the circuit.

Circuit of Wales gets key go-ahead vote by local government originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Jul 2013 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Average new-car fuel economy figures continue record pace

Filed under: Budget, Hybrid, Honda, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Electric

Manufacturers are making more efficient cars and trucks; we’ve known that to be true for some time. Nearly every new car has some sort of trick to eke a few extra miles out of every gallon of fuel. Whether that be turbocharging, active aerodynamics or hybrid technology/electrified powertrains, the fact is that our vehicles are more efficient than ever before.

Thanks to a recent study by TrueCar, we’ve got fresh quantitative data to support the above statements. For the fourth month in a row, we’ve seen an improvement in national fleet fuel economy. We Americans are 0.7 miles per gallon more efficient than we were last month, and our cars are 1.6-mpg better than at this time last year. That said, we’re still down on 2013’s high, which was set back in January at 24.5 mpg.

Not only does this reflect the improved technologies in our vehicles, but it demonstrates a changing mindset among consumers, who are purchasing more efficient vehicles despite the relative stabilization of fuel prices. Every fuel-efficient model sold drives its manufacturers fleet average up.

The top three brands among mainstream manufacturers aren’t a huge surprise. Hyundai, which offers 10 models with four-cylinder engines (including the excellent Elantra range) took the top spot, while the diesel and turbocharged models from Volkswagen finished just 0.8 mpg behind Hyundai’s 27-mpg average. Honda is further back in third, thanks to its remarkably efficient four-cylinder engines. American makes didn’t fare as well, with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler all finishing below the 23.7-mpg industry average. This isn’t a huge surprise, though, as the Detroit Three are responsible for the vast majority of eight-cylinder pickups and muscle cars sold in the US.

Continue reading Average new-car fuel economy figures continue record pace

Average new-car fuel economy figures continue record pace originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Jul 2013 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Fangio F1 car sells for record $29M at Goodwood auction

Filed under: Motorsports, Auctions, Mercedes-Benz, UK, Racing

Rare gems of automotive history are always popping up at the Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but the racecar you see above just made a little more history. This Mercedes W196R was driven by Juan Manuel Fangio to wins in the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix races, and when the hammer fell at auction yesterday, the $29.65 million price it fetched made it the most expensive car ever sold at auction. It’s also earned the honor of being the most expensive F1 car ever sold and the most valuable Mercedes-Benz in the world.

Still battered by racing and time, this car in an important piece of history to both Formula One and Mercedes-Benz alike. According to Bonhams, Fangio’s wins gave Mercedes its first back-to-back post-war Grand Prix victories, and it introduced F1 cars to fuel-injection, tubular spaceframe chassis and inline eight-cylinder engines. Robert Brooks, Bonhams Chairman, called this car the “most important historic Grand Prix racing car ever offered for sale.”

Based on our own records, the Mercedes W196R came close to almost doubling the prior record holder for the most expensive car sold at auction, a 1957 Ferrari 250 TR Prototype that sold for $16.39 million at Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction in 2011. The Mercedes even came kinda-sorta close to the record price for a car sold privately, the current big seller being a 1962 Ferraro GTO built for Sterling Moss that went for a reported $35 million in a private sale last year.

Scroll down for more information about the Mercedes W196R F1 car, and be sure to check out the trio of images (including one of the car in action).

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Fangio F1 car sells for record $29M at Goodwood auction originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Jul 2013 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Watch a motorcyclist save a coffee cup from certain death

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Motorcycle

Nate Bos, a 28-year-old motorcyclist, was out for a leisurely ride in Orem, Utah, in early May when he spotted a cup precariously teetering on the back bumper of a second-generation Ford Explorer. Rather than watch the liquid-filled mug fall onto the road, and likely be lost forever, he decided to retrieve the drinkware and return it to its owner. “It just kinda struck me that it was a good thing to do,” Bos told ABC News in an interview this week. “I knew right away, I knew when I saw that cup (that) I was going to give it to the lady. I was going to give that cup back.”

Bos accelerated his 2003 Honda CBR 600RR up to the Explorer’s rear bumper, tucked in low, and then grabbed the mug. After moving it to his left hand, and executing a 90-degree turn and a few impressively smooth shifts (sans clutch), he caught back up to the oblivious driver… who finally noticed him. Scroll below to watch the hand-off happen yourself.

If this story were told to his friends over a beer, few would have believed Bos. But thankfully, he caught the whole escapade on his helmet-mounted GoPro Hero 3 (filming in 1080p, no less). After posting it to YouTube, his stunt has gone viral.

“I’ve got 10 years riding experience. I really wouldn’t recommend anybody else sneaking up on a car like that,” Bos said wisely. But we’d take his advice a few steps further by telling riders to always wear full motorcycle attire and remind them that shadowing another vehicle, regardless of experience, is flirting with disaster – no cup is worth it.

Continue reading Watch a motorcyclist save a coffee cup from certain death

Watch a motorcyclist save a coffee cup from certain death originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Jul 2013 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Toyota brings TRD Griffon GT86 to Goodwood [w/video]

Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Toyota, UK

In the midst of the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, there’s a particularly special Toyota running up the hill. This special entry is a GT86 (the cousin to our Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ) that’s been poked, prodded, and tweaked by the minds at Toyota Racing Development. The result of TRD’s fettling is a nearly race-ready car.

Starting with the body, the hood, doors, trunk lid, and wings are all made of carbon fiber. The lightweight treatment doesn’t end there, though. The bumpers, fenders, and diffuser all feature carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, while the windows are now made of polycarbonate plastic.

Under the hood sits the same 2.0-liter boxer engine found in the standard GT86, but its six-speed manual gearbox features a shorter final drive ratio for improved acceleration. The coilover suspension has been firmed up, and a TRD mechanical limited-slip differential replaces the Torsen unit. The TRD Griffon rides on TWS 18-inch wheels and Yokohama Advan tires. To bring proceedings to a stop, TRD has fitted its own mono-block caliper kit, complete with more robust racing pads.

Finally, the cabin features a TRD seat, shift knob, ignition button, auxiliary gauges, and a Momo steering wheel. A Takata harness keeps the driver in place.

To see what all that looks like on the move, Toyota has produced a rather stylish video.

Continue reading Toyota brings TRD Griffon GT86 to Goodwood [w/video]

Toyota brings TRD Griffon GT86 to Goodwood [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Jul 2013 19:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: The 100,000th EV sold in the US is… a Mitsubishi i-MiEV

Filed under: Hatchback, Mitsubishi, Electric

The news here isn’t that 100,000 EVs have been sold in the US, although that’s quite the accomplishment. It’s that the 100,000th car is a Mitsubishi i-MiEV – a car that takes nearly a full day to recharge on a standard outlet and can only travel about 62 miles per charge (according to the car’s Monroney).

Jabs at the Mitsubishi aside, the fact that US dealers have moved 100,000 electric cars is made more impressive in that it’s only been done since the latest generation of EVs arrived, typified by the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus Electric and aforementioned i-MiEV. Chronologically, that means roughly the last two years. It’s a number that we can only expect to climb, as EVs gain a stronger foothold among manufacturers and consumers.

Plug In America, an EV advocacy group, crunched the numbers for a contest called #PIA100K, to find the lucky buyer, who would be given a ClipperCreek Level 2 charger (which takes the i-MiEV’s recharge time down to just seven hours). The winner, Rich Salmon of Grand Bay, Alabama, picked up his i-MiEV from Pete Moore Mitsubishi.

Continue reading The 100,000th EV sold in the US is… a Mitsubishi i-MiEV

The 100,000th EV sold in the US is… a Mitsubishi i-MiEV originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Jul 2013 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been fun, Autoblog…

Filed under: Etc.

Kawasaki GPz 750

Carter Edman recently wrote something for the ever-excellent Ride Apart that neatly sums up the allure of the motorcycle. The piece was an open letter to those fine people who love nothing more than to regale riders with every horror story they’ve ever heard about a bike, and while the text is littered with plenty of “hell yes!” moments for those of us with a pair of riding gloves to our name, one paragraph in particular struck me dead on.

You want to know what’s truly dangerous? Not taking any risks. Hanging out with like-minded middle-of-the-roaders. Absorbing the same brain-ossifying shit from media factories every day. Jogging. Putting helmets, flotation devices, and auto-deploy epi-pens on your kids every time they leave the house. Passivity. Not paying attention to where your car, or your life, or your country is going.

How true. How many of us wake up, fall into our routine, fall back asleep and repeat the process the next day? For me, the best part of riding a motorcycle, aside from the excellent hair that accompanies a three-hour ride, is the challenge. It’s more than a risk. Every time I jump on the bike, it teaches me something about control, patience, grip and momentum. I’ve been riding for over three years now, and grabbing the handlebars requires no less focus now than it did on day one. Every ride has the potential to serve up a situation that puts me out of my comfort zone, and for that, I love it.

Edman’s words are heavy on my mind, as this marks my final post on Autoblog.

After three years of driving some of the most interesting cars on the planet, meeting and working with a slew of talented people and writing day in and day out, I’m leaving to join the madness at Road & Track. Autoblog has been the best working experience of my life, and the chance to interact with this site’s army of dedicated readers has been a legitimate honor. But it’s time to take the next risk. It’s been fun.

It’s been fun, Autoblog… originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Jul 2013 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Next Mazdaspeed3 could go naturally aspirated?

Filed under: Performance, Hatchback, Mazda, Rumormill

Mazdaspeed3 rendering

The new Mazda3 is a stunner, both aesthetically and from a driving perspective. As with all good things, though, there’s always room for improvement. That’s where the wizards from Mazdaspeed come in. Mazda’s in-house tuner has been tweaking and turbocharging the five-door Mazda3 since 2007, with impressive results.

We’ve shown you renderings of what the third-generation Mazdaspeed3 could look like, and for the most part your response was quite positive. Now, AutoExpress has come out with details of just what might be under that long hood. According to our friends across the pond, the new Mazda3 MPS (that’s what the Speed3 is called in Her Majesty’s auto industry) will be arriving with a new, high-revving, naturally aspirated engine. Wait, what?

Yes, if the rumors are to be believed, the next Mazdaspeed3 will ditch its turbocharger. According to an anonymous engineer, the new MS3 will arrive in December (this is for the UK market, mind you) with a 200-horsepower, naturally aspirated engine. The 2.0-liter mill is based on the Skyactiv engine in the new 3, and should be capable of a sub-seven-second run to 62 miles per hour.

Now, we strongly encourage you to take these rumors with a grain of salt. There are a lot of things that don’t add up here. With 200 horsepower, the new Speed3 would be down over 50 horsepower on the original model. It’d also be easily outgunned by the competition from Ford, Subaru, and Volkswagen. And what about torque? The only way we can see a 200-horsepower Mazdaspeed3 working is if it weight is dramatically reduced. Considering weight savings is a tenet of Mazda’s Skyactiv philosophy, that seems like a possibility.

We’re still a long way from the new Mazdaspeed3’s debut, and a lot can change between now and then. What do you think – does a Mazdaspeed3 work without a turbo? Would you buy one with the more powerful alternatives available? Let us know in the comments.

Next Mazdaspeed3 could go naturally aspirated? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Jul 2013 17:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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