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Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Cars show their colors at Sebring [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Cadillac, Racing

Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Car at Sebring

Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Car at Sebring – Click above for high-res image gallery

There’s really not a whole lot more we can tell you about the pair of Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Cars that will be forming a two-pronged attack of the Sports Car Club of America World Challenge GT starting on March 25 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

That said, we can still all stare at all the pretty pictures that General Motors has been so kind as to release upon the masses. Check out our high-res image gallery below, where you’ll see the two cars in all their specially prepared, tire-squealing and exhaust-popping glory. Also note that this is the first time the cars have been displayed wearing the official livery of Andy Pilgrim (the No. 8 car) and teammate Johnny O’Connell (the No. 3 car) and they are lapping Sebring for a second session.

*Update: Video of the second testing session can be found after the break.

Gallery: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Car at Sebring

Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Car at Sebring

[Source: Cadillac]

Continue reading Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Cars show their colors at Sebring [w/video]

Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Cars show their colors at Sebring [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Porsche CEO: We are “almost over the initial hype” of electric cars

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Porsche, Electric

Porsche logo Automotive News recently got the chance to sit down with Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller to go over the company’s plans for the future, and one of the juiciest tidbits to crop up from the interview came from a discussion on the possibility of a fully-electric Porsche. When asked about a battery-operated sports car, Mueller said that while some estimates say that 20 percent of all vehicles on the road will be electric by 2020, he believes that figure will likely sit closer to three to five percent. He finished up by saying “We are now almost over the initial hype before business really gets started.”

However the electric/internal combustion mix plays out in nine years, Mueller said that he believes Porsche will be a player in that market. That means that if 20 percent of the car market is electrified, you can expect 20 percent of Porsche vehicles to be the same.

The interview also touched on everything from a new model above the 911 to future variation on the Panamera. Head over to Automotive News to catch the full piece.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Porsche CEO: We are “almost over the initial hype” of electric cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Exclusive: Meet Rod “Torque” Redline from CARS 2

Filed under: Toys/Games, Celebrities

Rod

Rod “Torque” Redline from Pixar’s CARS 2 – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’re pretty big fans of the Pixar film CARS and have been following closely the gestation of its sequel, CARS 2, due in theaters on June 24. To that end, we’ve already introduced you to a dozen brand new characters who’ll be rubbing bumpers with Lightning McQueen and Mater in the new movie. The folks at Pixar picked up on our enthusiasm and offered what is, to us, a very big honor: revealing a new character from CARS 2 exclusively on Autoblog!

So here he is. Meet Rod “Torque” Redline, described by the boys and girls at Pixar as “the greatest American spy in the world” and voiced by legendary Army of Darkness star Bruce Campbell. Clearly inspired by the best Made-in-the-USA muscle machines on the market today, Rod’s shape appears to be most heavily influenced by the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger, with just enough cues from both to keep his shape ambiguous enough to avoid the lawyers. Sorry Camaro, your influence seems AWOL on Mr. Redline, but you’re already the star of a little independant film franchise called Transformers. Regardless, Rod looks ready for action in what’s shaping up to be a much farther reaching story than the stuck-in-Radiator-Springs plot of the first film.

Check out Rod “Torque” Redline’s official description and turntable video after the jump, as well as our ongoing gallery of new CARS 2 character below.

Gallery: Cars 2 Characters

Grem Acer Shu Todoroki Raoul aRoule Carla Veloso

Continue reading Exclusive: Meet Rod “Torque” Redline from CARS 2

Exclusive: Meet Rod “Torque” Redline from CARS 2 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Three men caught vandalizing seven Toyota cars at Chicago Auto Show

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Etc., Government/Legal, Toyota

Edmund Grzeszkiewicz (Left), Richard Data (Top Right), Bryan Kjellman (Bottom Right) Three men have been arrested in connection with $30,000 worth of vandalism to Toyota vehicles at this year’s Chicago Auto Show. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Bryan Kjellman (bottom right), Richard Data (top right) and Edmund Grzeszkiewicz (left), aged 22, 20 and 27 respectively, were taken into custody by show security for using razor blades and screwdrivers to damage the interiors of seven of vehicles. When questioned by authorities, the trio said that they were angry at Toyota the company’s role in taking U.S. jobs overseas.

They must have missed the memo about Toyota operating nine manufacturing facilities in the States with over 28,000 employees. All told, of the seven vehicles that Kjellman, Data and Grzeszkiewicz damaged, three were built right here in the Land of the Free. The casualties included a Camry, a Rav4, a Land Cruiser, a Prius and two Tundra models in addition to a Lexus ES350.

The damage ranged from slashed seat cushions and dashboards to broken doorhandles and turning indicator stalks. The trio even set about scratching the windshields of certain vehicles. At the last report, the vandals were set to appear in bond court on February 18, and each have been charged with one felony count each of criminal damage to property. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

[Sources: Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, Jalopnik]

Three men caught vandalizing seven Toyota cars at Chicago Auto Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meet the Italian and British cars appearing in Cars 2 [w/video]

Filed under: Videos, Toys/Games

Francesco Bernoulli from Cars 2

Francesco Bernoulli from Cars 2 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Pixar has revealed five more new characters from its upcoming film, Cars 2. Since the seqie; takes place on a global stage, the characters are from all over the world, with the five newest members of the Cars 2 family hailing from Italy and the United Kingdom.

Francesco Bernoulli is a Formula Racer champion and his own biggest fan. Uncle Topolino – cleverly named after the miniscule Fiat he’s modeled after – runs a tire shop in the tiny town of Porto Corso, Italy. His wife, Mama Topolino, is a great cook who dishes out delizioso fuel.

Miles Axlerod is a former oil baron turned all-electric sport utility vehicle. He is joined by an Aston Martin lookalike in the form of Nigel Gearsley. Nigel is a former hill-climber who has turned to grand touring events.

In addition to this latest crop of characters, you can see the full set of Cars 2 players in our high-res gallery below, and click past the jump to see Francesco Bernoulli, Miles Axelrod and Nigel Gearsley on the Cars 2 turntable.

Gallery: Cars 2 Characters

Grem Acer Shu Todoroki Raoul aRoule Carla Veloso

[Source: PixarTimes.com, Car and Driver]

Continue reading Meet the Italian and British cars appearing in Cars 2 [w/video]

Meet the Italian and British cars appearing in Cars 2 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As Audi plants struggle to meet demand, buyers wait months for cars

Filed under: Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz

2012 Audi A6

2012 Audi A6 – Click above for a high-res image gallery

The Volkswagen Group wants to be number one in global sales, luxury sales and, hopefully, profits. In order to reach the auto sales zenith, however, Volkswagen may need to make room for more Audi production.

Bloomberg reports that Audi is struggling to meet demand for the A3 and A6, with buyers waiting three to four months to take delivery of those models. Audi sales boss Peter Schwarzenbauer tells Bloomberg that its factories are running at full throttle and that if sales continue to grow it will be “difficult to say how long it could take to reduce waiting times.”

So why aren’t car buyers leaving Audi for the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz? The line for Germany’s other luxury makes can be just as long. All three automakers reported record sales in January, and that’s with buyers waiting up to six months for hot new vehicles like the new BMW X3. While all three German luxury struggle to keep pace with demand, experts say Audi is in the toughest spot, with wait times up to two months longer than its competitors.

Will the Volkswagen Group address the problem in a timely manner? Since Audi reportedly contributed 47 percent of VW’s overall profits for the past nine months, execs should be eager to take care of their cash cow.

Gallery: 2012 Audi A6: Detroit 2011

2012 Audi A6

[Source: Bloomberg]

As Audi plants struggle to meet demand, buyers wait months for cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red Bull and Toro Rosso launch 2011 F1 cars trackside at Valencia

Filed under: Motorsports, Racing

2011 Red Bull RB7

2011 Red Bull RB7 – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you had told us 20 years ago that a beverage brand would be dominating Formula One, we’d wonder what negative side effects said energy drink might be having on your grasp of reality. But after title-sponsoring the Sauber team as early as 1995, Red Bull surprised everyone by buying not one, but two F1 teams: Jaguar Racing (née Stewart Grand Prix) and Minardi. But five and six years, respectively, since the Austrian company took over the two struggling teams, Red Bull can now lay claim to both titles in the Formula One World Championship.

The premier Red Bull Racing team will have a real job on its hands to fend off the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren (to say nothing of the other dozen challengers, including its own B-squad) in defending its titles this season, and this is the car with which they hope to do it.

Designed by Adrian Newey, the RB7 is, as you might have guessed, the seventh Red Bull grand prix car. It carries the same Renault engine as last year (also used by both Lotus teams), with its own proprietary gearbox mated to the KERS regenerative braking system. And of course, as defending champions, the car has the honor of wearing numbers 1 and 2 for returning pilots Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, respectively. Last season, the duo claimed pole 15 out of 19 races and went on to win nine grands prix to take the championship.

Along with it, Red Bull’s sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso also unveiled its new STR6 at Valencia – where Vettel incidentally took the top slot on the time sheets for the first practice session of the season. The second car developed in-house at STR headquarters in Faenza will be driven once again by Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari under Ferrari power, and bears the same high nose design employed by most of the new designs this season. With the new car, Toro Rosso hopes to improve on the 9th place constructors’ finish from last season that placed them just ahead of the newcomers as the worst-performing returning team on the grid. In the process, STR will undoubtedly be aiming to catch up with the sixth place they seized in 2008 after Vettel captured the team’s only victory – and only podium, for that matter.

Scope out the two new taurine-fueled racers in the pair of high-resolution image galleries below and the press releases after the jump, and watch this space for more as rival teams incrementally unveil their new challengers as well.

Gallery: 2011 Red Bull RB7

Gallery: 2011 Scuderia Toro Rosso STR6

[Sources: Red Bull Racing, Scudreria Toro Rosso]

Continue reading Red Bull and Toro Rosso launch 2011 F1 cars trackside at Valencia

Red Bull and Toro Rosso launch 2011 F1 cars trackside at Valencia originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Backwards cars are blowing our minds

Filed under: Etc., Humor

Backwards Nissan GT-R
The backwards car that started it all: Nissan’s GT-R – Click above for high-res image gallery

Not everything is always as it seems. This truth is once again proven true by the fine chaps at the Final Gear forums, who took it upon themselves to borrow the idea of and expand upon a recent Photo of the Day at Autoblog’s own official Facebook page.

And so we bring you this photo gallery of the backwards car. Mind? Blown.

The premise is simple. Fire up Photoshop, chop off the roof of a car, flip it and put it back on top. The result? Endless fun. If you’re not a Fan of Autoblog’s Facebook page, see what you’ve been missing?

Click here to rectify that sad situation, then click through our image gallery below. Feel free to add your own to Facebook, and we’ll add it to the gallery.

Gallery: Backwards Cars

[Source: Final Gear, Facebook]

Backwards cars are blowing our minds originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steel nanotechnology can reduce the weight of our cars

Filed under: Technology, Autoline on Autoblog, Design/Style

Making Stronger Steel As Light As Aluminum

Ford Fiesta body-in-white

The world’s largest steel maker, ArcelorMital, says it has come up with a new kind of steel that the world has never seen before. Thanks to nanotechnology, the company says automakers can now match the weight of aluminum cars, but do it in steel at far lower cost.

It can take 188 pounds out of the body-in-white of a car… but total weight savings could be even bigger.

Specifically, ArcelorMital says it can take 188 pounds out of the body-in-white of a car. The body-in-white, or BIW, refers to the basic structure of a car, including the doors, hood and deck lid. That’s a big number. By taking so much weight out of the structure, other components such as the powertrain, drivetrain, brakes, etc. can be downsized as well. In other words, the total weight savings could be even bigger.

ArcelorMital is already showing this new kind of steel to automakers. It isn’t yet ready to publicly divulge any of the technical aspects of the steel or how it’s using nanotechnology to make it. The company says we’re still two to three years away before we get those kinds of details. And that’s about the time we’ll see this steel show up in production. No word yet on which car company may be the first to use it, but the rumor on the street is that Ford is all over this technology.

John McElroy is host of the TV program “Autoline Detroit” and daily web video “Autoline Daily”. Every week he brings his unique insights as a Detroit insider to Autoblog readers.

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Steel nanotechnology can reduce the weight of our cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teaching kids how to steal cars is a good idea

Filed under: Etc.

Child in truck

A recent workshop in Los Angeles offers something special for interested children: a class on the mechanics of car theft. Created by the non-profit organization Machine Project, the workshop is entitled “The Good Kids’ Guide to Being a Bit Bad: Cars edition.” It covers the topics of hot wiring, opening a locked door and getting out of a locked trunk… and we fully support the class.

Getting kids fascinated about “how things work” is a wonderful project, and when it involves cars, well that’s just a bonus. In this modern world, it’s so easy to overlook how things work on the inside, which makes it extra important for kids to develop a basic understanding of nuts and bolts while they’re young.

The instructors for the class also didn’t simply just talk about how a car door works, they showed the children and then let them try to open a locked door themselves. The same happened when showing the kids how to escape a locked trunk. The only lesson that wasn’t hands on was the hot-wiring of a car because of the risk of being shocked, which the instructor also demonstrated by shocking himself a few times.

The kids learned about some basic mechanical functions, got a dose of humor and hopefully the class created a desire in them to learn more about how the things around them function.

[Source: BoingBoing | Image: Cookie Flores/Flickr]

Teaching kids how to steal cars is a good idea originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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