Tag: class

Report: Volvo’s new chairman wants 7-Series, S-Class rival

Filed under: Sedan, China, Volvo, Geely, Luxury

2011 Volvo S60 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Geely isn’t wasting any time in shaping up its newest acquisition’s product line. The Chinese automaker officially completed its deal to purchase Volvo from Ford earlier this week, and already the Swedish brand’s new chairman is making noises about a new large luxury sedan to go toe to toe with the likes of the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Li Shufu, Volvo chairman and co-chair of Geely, said that the brand already competes with luxury German carmakers in most markets, but lacks all of the hardware to do so effectively. To remedy the problem, Li wants to put the rush on a new saloon to take the fight to the Bavarians.

According to the Financial Times, Volvo repeatedly ran into roadblocks when it attempted to develop a large four-door under Ford. Evidently the Blue Oval was concerned about a long-wheelbase Swede nabbing sales from Jaguar – another brand Ford owned at the time. A new Volvo sedan is far from a done deal, though. Li says that the thought of a range-topping sedan is his, and he’ll have to convince the company’s new board to give it the green light. With an ambitious goal to double Volvo to 600,000 units in five years primarily through growth in large-car loving China, a D-segment player sounds like a good bet – at least for select markets.

Gallery: 2011 Volvo S60

[Source: Financial Times – reg. req.]

Report: Volvo’s new chairman wants 7-Series, S-Class rival originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Jeff Zwart’s Porsche GT3 sets Pikes Peak Time Attack 2WD class record

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Porsche, Racing

Jeff Zwart’s Porsche 911 GT3 scales Pikes Peak – Click above to watch video after the jump

We’ve seen footage of Jeff Zwart practicing for his recent run up Pikes Peak, now filmmaker Will Roegge has delivered unto us the footage from Zwart’s Time Attack 2WD class record.

Zwart ran his 911 GT3 up 12.42 miles and through 156 turns in just 11:31.095, averaging over 65 miles per hour. But you don’t need us to tell you about it – these things tend to speak for themselves. Follow the jump to watch a record being set.

Gallery: Jeff Zwart’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOL

[Sources: Will Roegge, YouTube]

Video: Jeff Zwart’s Porsche GT3 sets Pikes Peak Time Attack 2WD class record originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Mercedes-Benz A-Class AMG to bring 270 hp to the party

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

A few months back, word began to spread that AMG is working on a performance version of one of Mercedes’ smallest cars. If true, it would not only mean giving the hi-po treatment to a segment hitherto untouched by the gents at Affalterbach, it could entail swapping a front-wheel drive hatch for a RWD platform. A month later, this small car’s benchmarks were found out: the Golf R, Audi S3 and BMW 1 Series. And a month after that the rumors began to coalesce around the B-Class as AMG’s subject of choice.

It turns out that the A-Class will be the first in line for an AMG makeover and the Ford Focus RS is also one of its targets. The diminutive Benz will get a four-cylinder, direct-injection engine with a pressure-wave supercharger that’s looking at an output of somewhere around 270 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. That gumption will reportedly get to the wheels through a dual-clutch gearbox and then navigate yet more clutches in the rear-biased all-wheel-drive system.

A two-car line-up is planned: a five-door hatch and a CLS-like sedan. But we won’t see any of this until 2012 or so, when the next-generation A-Class arrives. And the U.S. is only expected to get the sedan version, which will wear the name CLC, salvaged from the C-Class sport coupe that ended production not a moment too soon.

[Source: Autocar]

Rumormill: Mercedes-Benz A-Class AMG to bring 270 hp to the party originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Automotive X-Prize: Finals Stage begins, Edison2 remains only team that can win mainstream class, $5 million

Filed under: Concept Cars, Specialty

Edison2’s Very Light Car – Click above for high-res image gallery

This week, the Finals Stage of the Automotive X-Prize finally begins and, as we found our recently, only one team has any hope of driving away with the $5 million mainstream prize. That team is Edison2, which has two cars still competing in the category, both versions of the Very Light Car we first met at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year. There are also 13 vehicles competing in the alternative classes. The AXP sent out a release today describing what is planned for the Finals Stage:

During this stage, teams will compete in emissions, efficiency, and range events conducted by the competition organizers. In addition, teams must successfully complete various dynamic safety events, including a 0-60 mph acceleration, 60-0 mph braking, and a double lane change avoidance maneuver, conducted and evaluated by automotive engineers from Consumer Reports. The top finalists in each class will be announced July 27 prior to the start of a “coast down” exercise that will allow competition organizers to gain key performance information about the aerodynamics and rolling resistance of each vehicle to properly prepare them for the Validation Stage to be held at Argonne National Labs in August. Winners will be announced in September in Washington, D.C.

As we can see in this PDF, the two cars that Edison2 has left in the mainstream class were tested at 67.3 and 80.3 miles per gallon equivalent (mpge). Those numbers were good enough to pass the Knockout Stage (where 66 mpge was the important number), but there’s a long way to go from there to 100 mpge, one of the benchmarks needed to win the X-Prize. One of the cars did manage to reach 101.4 mpge during the Knockout Stage, but took an eight lap penalty for “working on the car” during the highway test cycle and “for failure to meet minimum lap time requirements.” We’ll get more information on what this means when we visit the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI later this week.

We’ll also investigate the other important questions here: What are the Very Light Car’s chances to win this thing? If Edison2 doesn’t make it, then what happens? Will there be a second Automotive X-Prize to award the $5 million mainstream award? We’ll ask soon. Until then, you can read Edison2’s words about these cars here. Also, there’s a video of how Consumer Reports is testing the cars after the jump.

Gallery: Automotive X-Prize: Edison2 Very Light Car

Photos by Sebastian Blanco / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Edison2, Automotive X-Prize, Damien Somerset]

Continue reading Automotive X-Prize: Finals Stage begins, Edison2 remains only team that can win mainstream class, $5 million

Automotive X-Prize: Finals Stage begins, Edison2 remains only team that can win mainstream class, $5 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class tries to overcome inattentive drivers

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class

2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class active steering correction – Click above for high-res image gallery

The refreshed 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class coupe is a prime example of how engineers are starting to take some of the disparate hardware technology that has been introduced over the last decade and integrate it to provide new functionality. The CL employs the various optical camera and radar sensors used for features like adaptive cruise control to help prevent accidents by first warning the driver and then intervening if the driver doesn’t respond.

We’ve had various lane departure and blind spot warning systems for several years now and like those, the Mercedes system starts by alerting the driver. At first, the blind spot system illuminates a yellow lamp in the relevant mirror, which changes to red and adds an audible warning if the driver doesn’t react. If the driver keeps moving into the path of another vehicle, a motor sends a rumble through the steering wheel and the brakes on the car’s opposite side are applied to pull it back in line.

Inifiniti has had similar lane-keep functionality for several years, but the CL is first car we’re aware of that integrates it with a blind-spot warning system.

Gallery: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL steering correction

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

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2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class tries to overcome inattentive drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World Class Car Pack for Forza Motorsport 3 includes McLaren MP4-12C

Filed under: Toys/Games

You didn’t think Forza Motorsport 3 was just watching GT5 trailers and girding its loins for November, did you? No way. Available today from the FM3 is the World Class Car Pack, headlined by the V8 Orange Julius otherwise known as the McLaren MP4-12C. The nine additional cars offered for your virtual gratification include the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz CL 65 AMG, Acura TSX, Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart, Fiat Punto Evo Sport, Kia Forte Koup, 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, 2011 Citroen DS3 and 2011 Mazda 2. You can get the pack right now at Xbox Live for 400 Microsoft Points, or just go with the Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart for now as it’s free.

[Source: Motor World Hype]

World Class Car Pack for Forza Motorsport 3 includes McLaren MP4-12C originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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