celebrates Archives | Page 4 of 4

Paris Preview: Peugeot celebrates bicentennial with EX1 electric roadster

Filed under: Concept Cars, Convertible, Performance, Paris Motor Show, Peugeot, Electric

Peugeot EX1 concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

Automotive history is riddled with examples of crossovers between cars and motorcycles. Some are made by automakers, others by motorcycle manufacturers. But if you’re going to make a go of it, it probably helps to have a company that makes both. A company like Honda, Suzuki or BMW. Or Peugeot.

Gearing up for its home expo, the 2010 Paris Motor Show, the French automaker has unveiled a unique take on the formula called the Peugeot EX1. Of course, what you’re looking at is a show car, a concept for how the company’s two core competences can be melded together in one vehicle.

The EX1 celebrates the marque’s 200th anniversary in the form of a lightweight, all-electric two-seat roadster which Peugeot claims “has already broken several world records for acceleration from a standing start.” To that end, the equivalent of 340 horsepower is channeled from a pair of electric motors to all four wheels, mounted at the rear as if on a trike, but with enough track to maintain the stability of a conventional car.

It’s an intriguing concept that reminds us of the nearly produced Volkswagen GX3 trike concept of 2006. While you’re waiting to get our firsthand snapshots and commentary from the Port de Versailles show floor, you can check out the massive high-res image gallery below and the full details in the press release after the jump.

Gallery: Peugeot EX1 concept

[Source: Peugeot]

Continue reading Paris Preview: Peugeot celebrates bicentennial with EX1 electric roadster

Paris Preview: Peugeot celebrates bicentennial with EX1 electric roadster originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Paris Preview: Peugeot celebrates bicentennial with EX1 electric roadster”

Ford E-Series celebrates 50 years with a special edition

Filed under: Classics, Minivan/Van, Work, Ford

Ford Econoline

Ford celebrates 50 years of Econoline – Click above for high-res image gallery

Ford is celebrating the fact that its Econoline vans have been on the job for a full 50 years. The Blue Oval’s plucky little work horses hit the scene in 1961 with a total of three different body styles. Originally drafted for commercial duty only, Ford quickly realized that families love vans as much as plumbers, and began churning out consumer-oriented, family-friendly versions, as well. Since then, the Econoline (known in recent years simply as the E-Series) has gone on to become the best-selling full-size van in the United States for 31 years straight. Not too shabby.

By way of marking the occasion, Ford has decided to roll out a special-edition E-Series. Packed to the gills with the XLT package, the van will come dipped in a unique metallic blue paint and will wear seats embroidered with a new “Econoline 50 Years” logo. So far, there’s no word on how much that kind of kit will set you back, though we can’t imagine it being too much more than the $33,455 Ford asks for the E-150 XLT Premium. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Gallery: Ford Celebrates 50 Years of Econoline

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford E-Series celebrates 50 years with a special edition

Ford E-Series celebrates 50 years with a special edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Ford E-Series celebrates 50 years with a special edition”

Chevrolet Suburban celebrates 75 years, Autoblog drives every generation

Filed under: Classics, SUV, Chevrolet

Chevorlet Suburban 75th Anniversary

Chevrolet Suburban 75th Anniversary Event – Click above for high-res image gallery

Quick, what’s the longest-running nameplate in the car business?

If you said Honda Civic, you deserve to be smacked upside the head with a four-inch exhaust tip – it’s merely 37 model years old. The vehicle we’re talking about is positively prehistoric by comparison. The Porsche 911? Wrong again, as it only predates the Civic by a decade. You’re getting closer if you said the Ford F-Series, but still, FoMoCo didn’t launch its best-selling pickup until 1948.

You’ve got to go all the way back to 1935 for the launch of the auto industry’s Methuselah, the Chevrolet Suburban. That makes 2010 the 75th anniversary of the full-size SUV archetype. To celebrate, Chevy opened its vault on one of the Dog Days of August to let journalists drive a handful of vintage models.

It was something of a belated party, as GM stopped building 2010 model year Suburbans in June, including the special Diamond Edition model. But we’re not going to complain about being given the opportunity to get seat time in eight of the ten historic “Caryall” generations. Model years 1936, 1946, 1951, 1966, 1972, 1990, 1999 and 2002 were on hand, most thanks to GM’s Heritage Center.

We decided that the only proper way to approach the task was to drive back in history. This served well to highlight not just how much the Suburban has changed in recent model years, but how much the auto industry has evolved since the pre-war era. But it also showed how consistent the Suburban has been over all these years, offering eight-passenger capability in a roomy wagon body mounted on a heavy truck frame since its inception. History has shown this formula’s a winner; Chevy estimates it has built between 2.25-2.4 million Suburbans in total.

Follow the jump for a taste of our experience driving the Suburban back in time to its beginning.

Continue reading Chevrolet Suburban celebrates 75 years, Autoblog drives every generation

Chevrolet Suburban celebrates 75 years, Autoblog drives every generation originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Chevrolet Suburban celebrates 75 years, Autoblog drives every generation”

Monterey 2010: Concorso Italiano celebrates all things Italia

Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Classics, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Design/Style, Lancia

2010 Concorso Italiano – Click above for high-res image gallery

Monterey coverage continues with one of Friday’s staples. Concorso Italiano has been one of Monterey’s largest gatherings of primarily Italian vehicles for years. Laguna Seca Golf Ranch played the hospitable host, giving throngs of Italian-car lovers the opportunity to get up close and personal with hundreds of le belle macchine.

Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, DeTomaso and Ferrari, were well represented – long lines of each marque appearing almost mirage-like down the fairways of Laguna. You know those shots you’ve seen of exotic cars lined up outside the factory? Multiply those by ten. It is absolutely crazy. Special gatherings honored the Ferrari F40, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary of U.S. citizenship. The Italians were never really that great at dates, as the F40 was originally intended to be a 40th anniversary treat for Enzo himself to celebrate the company’s 1947 birth. Unfortunately, it appeared around 1990 instead. Don’t even get us started on the F50.

Concorso has hosted several smaller manufacturers over the years as well. Not just the oddball makes that few people have ever heard of, but also fledgling companies that have sometimes risen to prominence – or fallen infamously. This year, Superformance showed off the new Zagato-penned Perana Z-One. The European GT styling combined with Corvette power reminds us of the classic Italo-Amercan mashups from DeTomaso, Iso, Bizzarrini and the like. The Z-One is gorgeous, and we were blown away by its build quality. We’re negotiating some seat time to give you the full rundown, but for now, check out the gallery and you’ll see why Concorso Italiano has become one of the world’s greatest events for lovers of Italian machinery.

Gallery: 2010 Concorso Italiano

2010 Italiano Concorso Concorso Italiano Ferraris

Monterey 2010: Concorso Italiano celebrates all things Italia originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Monterey 2010: Concorso Italiano celebrates all things Italia“

Toyota celebrates a decade of Prius

Filed under: Hybrid, Hatchback, Toyota

The first decade of the Toyota Prius – Click above for high-res image gallery

As of 2010, the Toyota Prius has been available in North America for a decade, and it remains by far the best selling hybrid both here and around the world. Since its Japanese market introduction 1997, drivers have bought more than 1.8 million of the gas-electric dynamos, with about half of those ending up in the United States (and apparently half of those landing on driveways in the San Francisco Bay area!).

The original Prius was a gawky-looking four-door sedan that was slow and often didn’t meet up with customer’s fuel economy expectations. It wasn’t until the second-generation model arrived in 2004 with a new teardop hatchback body style that the Prius really took off. By 2007, cumulative sales topped half a million, with the third generation model arriving two years later offering improved efficiency and better dynamic performance than ever. This year, Toyota has begun to deploy a test fleet of plug-in Priuses with lithium ion batteries with full series production of those versions coming in 2012.

While we wait for our future corded Prius models to give us even more pull with our eco-minded friends, we’ll join Toyota in celebrating the now-iconic green machine by checking out the historic gallery below.

Gallery: Toyota Prius – Decade 1

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Toyota celebrates a decade of Prius

Toyota celebrates a decade of Prius originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Toyota celebrates a decade of Prius”

Ford Explorer reaches 30,000 Facebook fans, celebrates with grille shot

Filed under: SUV, Marketing/Advertising, Ford

2011 Ford Explorer grille – Click above for teaser gallery

Earlier today, Ford hit its 30,000 fan for the 2011 Explorer Facebook page, so the automaker could give away one all-new unibody ‘ute to a lucky follower. To celebrate meeting its goal, Ford has posted yet another teaser, showing off the new Explorer’s grille. But enough with the teasers. When can we actually see it in person? Glad you asked…

This coming Monday, Ford will reveal the Explorer at live events across the U.S., including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and at the “glass house” in Dearborn, MI. At a preview of the Explorer in Dearborn earlier this week, marketing VP Jim Farley discussed how Ford plans to drum up interested in the Explorer, and based on the success of last year’s Fiesta Movement social media campaign, the Explorer will be omnipresent online and elsewhere in the lead-up to the on-sale date late this year.

According to Farley, the Fiesta campaign required only 10 percent of what a typical new vehicle launch costs, but it overwhelmingly succeeded in establishing name recognition for the small car well ahead of its arrival in showrooms. Given that America already knows the Explorer, Ford will be focusing on how it’s “reinvented the SUV for the 21st century.” We can’t tell you more at the moment, but look forward to full details this Monday 12:01 AM EDT.

Gallery: 2011 Ford Explorer Teasers

[Source: Ford]

Ford Explorer reaches 30,000 Facebook fans, celebrates with grille shot originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Ford Explorer reaches 30,000 Facebook fans, celebrates with grille shot”

Happy Birthdays: Chopard celebrates Alfa Romeo with special line of timepieces

Filed under: Etc., Alfa Romeo, Design/Style

Chopard GT XL Chrono Alfa Romeo (above) and table clock (below right) – Click either image for high-res image gallery

In a field of automotive-inspired wristwatches, one marque stands above the rest as the connoisseur’s choice: Chopard. From its ongoing sponsorship and participation in the annual Mille Miglia revival rally to exquisite timepieces like the LUC Engine One Tourbillon, Chopard’s made a name for itself among lovers of classic cars. And this year they celebrate their 150th anniversary, conveniently in the same year as Alfa Romeo marks their 100th.

To celebrate, Chopard has rolled out not just a single model, but a whole line of timepieces honoring Alfa Romeo. The range includes the Gran Turismo XL Alfa Romeo and the GT XL Chono Alfa Romeo (available in either stainless steel of carbon-coated steel), both of which feature COSC-certified in-house automatic movements, 46-hour power reserve, anti-reflective sapphire crystal, 44mm cases and Chopard’s signature vintage Dunlop-inspired rubber straps. Only 500 of each of the three variants will be offered, along with a table clock in PVD-coated steel and a black leather, red-stitched case, and an additional travel alarm clock.

All in all, not a bad way to celebrate a birthday. Read about ’em in the press release after the jump and take a closer look in the gallery below.

Gallery: Chopard for Alfa Romeo

[Source: Chopard]

Continue reading Happy Birthdays: Chopard celebrates Alfa Romeo with special line of timepieces

Happy Birthdays: Chopard celebrates Alfa Romeo with special line of timepieces originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Happy Birthdays: Chopard celebrates Alfa Romeo with special line of timepieces”