Tag: largest

Read This: Chrysler ‘at war’ with world’s largest Viper club?

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Chrysler, Dodge, SRT, Read This

Viper Club of America is alleged to be operating illegally as a for-profit business.

The situation was bound to boil over at some point. Grumblings from former and current members of the Viper Club of America, and letters sent from Chrysler to VCA president Lee Stubberfield, allege that the non-profit club is being run illegally as a for-profit business, Jalopnik reports.

The trouble reportedly started in 2007, when VCA member and former club national president Chris Marshall is alleged to have taken a paid position at the club courtesy of the acting board members at the time. By 2010, with the demise of the Dodge Viper looming, the VCA reportedly made a deal with Chrysler to to acquire a stash of old parts and tooling for the Viper. The stash would then be sold by the newly formed Viper Parts of America, a company that was supposed to be run by Marshall, Jalopnik reports.

This sounds like shady business to us – at the very least a conflict of interest. And it’s said that the VCA will not hesitate to suspend – for a year or more – the memberships of those who oppose it.

Read the article and the accompanying letters from Chrysler to find out how the drama unfolds. But it isn’t over yet; we’ll be staying tuned to this one.

Chrysler ‘at war’ with world’s largest Viper club? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Aug 2013 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read This: Toyota donates engineers, not money, to country’s largest anti-hunger charity

Filed under: Etc., Toyota

The Food Bank of New York City

Key to production of any kind is efficiency – the ability to achieve maximum productivity with minimal effort or waste. Toyota has become a master of efficiency, with streamlined manufacturing operations around the world. In fact, the Japanese brand has become so well known for efficient operations that it now offers consulting services for organizations and companies outside the auto industry.

It also offers the same consulting for non-profits, free of charge. The New York Times took an in-depth look at the transformative impact that Toyota’s engineers had on the city’s charities, including The Food Bank, the country’s largest anti-hunger charity. The auto manufacturer helped revolutionize the way these organizations served the community, showing that there’s more to corporate philanthropy than just donating money.

Head on over to the Times‘ website and give the story a read.

Toyota donates engineers, not money, to country’s largest anti-hunger charity originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Toyota hangs on to title of world’s largest automaker for first half of 2013

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

Toyota USA Headquarters

General Motors and Ford can have all the success they please, but it doesn’t seem like America’s two largest manufacturers are going to topple Toyota in the first half of 2013. According to Reuters, Toyota moved 4.91 million vehicles in the first six months of 2013, representing a 1.1-percent drop from the same period in 2012.

GM is on the rise, though, with a four-percent increase in global sales, to 4.85 million. Volkswagen, still sitting in third, saw a 5.5-percent jump to 4.7 million vehicles in the first half of 2013.

If this pace continues for Toyota, it’ll finish 2013 in the top sales spot for the second year in a row. The manufacturer fell to third, behind GM and VW, in 2011 after earthquakes and tsunamis ravaged its production capacity.

Toyota hangs on to title of world’s largest automaker for first half of 2013 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Jul 2013 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevrolet Volt assembly plant to get largest solar array in MI

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, GM

Solar installation at GM Detroit-Hamtramck plant
General Motors is adding a photovoltaic array to the roof of its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. The facility’s new solar panels will help offset the energy consumed when producing Chevy Volts. GM has partnered with DTE Energy on the planned 516-kilowatt installation, which will cover 264,000 square feet on six acres of land. In addition to the solar array, further energy-saving measures like automated equipment shutdown, more efficient lighting, and upgrades to more energy-efficient assembly tools will be implemented.

DTE Energy is putting $3 million of its own money into the GM partnership as part of its SolarCurrents program. This initiative aims to install 15 megawatts of solar power systems in Southeast Michigan, and the hope is that large-scale, highly-visible projects like the Detroit-Hamtramck plant will drive more demand for renewable energy in Michigan. Press release posted after the jump.

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Chevrolet Volt assembly plant to get largest solar array in MI originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 14 May 2011 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Parker Brothers Choppers builds World’s Largest Bigwheel

Filed under: Etc., Motorcycle

Parker Brothers Choppers builds world's biggest bigwheel

Parker Brothers Green Machine – Click above for image gallery

At the age of five, this writer received the gift of gifts: a police-issue Bigwheel with a megaphone and a working siren. After a week or two of patrolling the sidewalk for a week like I owned the block, my best friend busted out of the garage with the one thing that could trump my three-wheeled interceptor; the Green Machine. Sure, my Bigwheel may have been faster in a straight line, but he could drift, spin out and even parallel park at five miles per hour.

Oh, the jealousy.

I’m guessing I’m not the only one who has been green with Green Machine envy, and luckily we can get even as adults.

The geniuses at Parker Brothers Choppers decided to make a Green Machine for really big kids, complete with an 80-cubic inch Harley Davidson Evo engine. What, you wouldn’t expect us to actually pedal a Bigwheel with a 45-inch front wheel, would you? Even better, it’s still steered by a pair of levers that control the rear wheels, so all the tricks your evil nemesis friend did as a kid can now be done by you at 30 miles per hour. Heck, Jeff Halverson at Parker Brothers claims to have done 50 mph on the beast, so someone without a lot of fear can really do some damage on this thing.

Unfortunately, the whole steering-via-the-rear-wheels thing would make it really difficult for this trike to gain approval from the Department of Transportation, so don’t expect to put an order in for one of these any time soon. Hit the gallery below to dream a little dream.

Gallery: Parker Brothers Green Machine

Parker Brothers Green Machine

[Source: Wired | Images: Parker Brothers Choppers]

Parker Brothers Choppers builds World’s Largest Bigwheel originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Swedish man may pay largest speeding fine ever

Filed under: Government/Legal, Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – Click above for high-res image gallery

Just because major portions of the German Autobahn have no speed limit doesn’t mean you can drive as fast as you want anywhere in Europe. Where there are posted restrictions, most European countries take speeding very seriously and levy hefty fines. The latest case in point is a 37-year-old Swedish man who was clocked at 180 miles per hour on a motorway between Bern and Lausanne in Switzerland.

Unfortunately for this driver of a new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Switzerland doesn’t have fixed fines for speeding. Instead they use a formula similar to that in Finland where the fine is calculated based on the vehicle’s speed and the driver’s income. Back in 2002, Nokia executive Anssi Vanjoki had to pay a fine of $103,600 for going 47 mph in a 31 mph zone.

In this latest incident, the driver faces a penalty of just over $1 million for traveling at the highest speed ever recorded on a public road in Switzerland. Apparently the SLS escaped being clocked by several older cameras that are limited to 125 mph before finally being recorded by a new camera with a higher radar speed range. His excuse: The speedometer was faulty.

As far as we know, this is the most expensive speeding ticket ever issued, though there are reports of a kid who last April was caught speeding in his dad’s Bugatti Veyron, the punishment for which was permanent seizure of the vehicle.

Gallery: 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

mb-sls-amg-gullwing-large_06mb-sls-amg-gullwing-large_03mb-sls-amg-gullwing-large_05mb-sls-amg-gullwing-large_02

[Source: The Telegraph]

Swedish man may pay largest speeding fine ever originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Salon Privé 2010 fires up as Europe’s largest luxury and supercar show

Filed under: Classics, Misc. Auto Shows, UK, Design/Style

Jaguar D-Type at the 2010 Salon Privé – Click above for high-res image gallery

We can officially add the Salon Privé to the gearhead bucket list. The fifth annual automotive exhibit at London’s tony Hurlingham Club has established itself as a mecca of high-end metal, old and new, and while this year’s event lacks the major unveils and sneak peeks of 2009, it’s still packing more luxury and performance metal per square acre than just about any other show on the planet. For 2010, manufacturers from around the globe have rolled out their best and brightest, both from their past and present portfolios. Highlights of this June 21-23 gathering and concours include the always wicked-looking Veritas III, as well as the Lexus LFA, Lotus Evora and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

The new tin is cool and all, but we’re more interested in the smattering of old-school supercars in attendance. Want to get within sniffing distance of a McLaren F1? No problem. How about a Bugatti EB110 or a Ferrari F50? The Salon Privé will be happy to oblige. Check out our massive high-res gallery for a cross-section of the awesome in attendance.

Gallery: 2010 Salon Prive

[Source: Salon Prive]

Salon Privé 2010 fires up as Europe’s largest luxury and supercar show originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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