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Filed under: Truck, Geneva Motor Show, Ford

Ford Ranger Wildtrak

Ford Ranger Wildtrak – Click above for high-res image gallery

Cinderella was right when they sang “Don’t Know What You’ve Got (‘Til It’s Gone).” The Ford Ranger has left the country only to reappear around the globe, looking pretty darn good in the process. Leading the charge into our now-broken heart is the 2012 Ford Ranger Wildtrak; a diesel-sipping, off-road ready, gadget-packed pickup truck that’s making out with the rest of the world while all we can do is watch from the sidelines.

The Wildtrak is the newest range-topping trim and it comes crammed full of features. On the outside, the Ranger Wildtrak sports a unique color scheme on its front fascia, 18-inch wheels and a roof rack. Inside, the cabin is fitted with a touch-screen control system that features satellite navigation, Bluetooth, iPod integration and voice recognition.

Under the hood, the 2012 Ford Ranger Wildtrak is offered with a choice of two diesel engines: A 2.2-liter four-cylinder that produces 277 pound-feet of torque or a 3.2-liter inline-five that generates an impressive 347 lb-ft.

You can stare at it all you want in the gallery below. Just know that heartaches come and go, and all that’s left are the words.

Gallery: Ford Ranger Wildtrak: Geneva 2011

Continue reading Geneva 2011: 2012 Ford Ranger Wildtrak finds open arms around the globe (U.S. not included)

Geneva 2011: 2012 Ford Ranger Wildtrak finds open arms around the globe (U.S. not included) originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Videos, Audi, UK

Control Audi's Octopus

Audi’s Outrace Project – Click above to watch the video after the jump

Trafalgar Square is located in central London. It plays host to thousands of people on a daily basis. The square is filled with memorial fountains and allows direct passage to the National gallery, and starting September 16th, it will serve as the backdrop for the London Digital Festival.

Audi has determined this would make a good time to unleash its opening salvo in favor of the impending revolution by Skynet and the robots. The automaker’s mechanical beast consists of eight robotic arms and weighs over 10 metric tons. It’s known simply as The Octopus. Fine, it’s not an octo-armed assault system but rather a new art installation device.

Each arm features a LED headlight taken from the Audi R15 TDI racecar, mounted at the end of each arm. Messages up to 80 characters in length can be sent to octopus from a computer or smartphone via the Outrace.org website, and these bits of text will be chosen at random and written in real time in the form of “light paintings.” The images will be captured by SLR cameras and then transferred into a video. The images and video will be available via the Outrace site, as well as sent to the chosen contributors. To see the arms in action, you can view streaming video at both the Outrace site and Audi.com. The footage will be available 24 hours a day, for eight days.

It all sounds quite odd yet intriguing. The big robotic arms will be able to write out letters up to nearly 12 feet high, yet they are capable of precise movements down to 0.2 millimeters. Be sure to watch the trailer after the jump, and read Audi’s press release to understand what all the fuss is about. We haven’t throw out that Skynet idea just yet…

[Sources: Audi, YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Audi loans eight robot arms for art installation

Video: Audi loans eight robot arms for art installation originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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