Tag: limit

Official: Dacia unleashes 850-hp GT-R-powered Duster “No Limit” Pikes Peak challenger

Filed under: Motorsports, Crossover, Renault, Off-Road, Racing

Dacia Duster

Dacia Duster “No Limit” – Click above for high-res image gallery

Dacia sends its racing team out in winters to drift across ice and snow for the Andros Trophy. But when the summer rolls around, even the snow on the French Alps begins to thaw. What’s an ice racing team to do? Why, head to Pikes Peak, of course.

The international hill climb event is coming around again next month, and when it does, the likes of Monster Tajima and Rhys Millen will have an interesting new challenger on its hands. And after months of reports and teasers, you’re looking at the finish product.

A joint effort between Dacia, Renaultsport, a number of independent firms and driver Jean-Phillipe Dayraut who brought them all together, the Dacia Duster “No Limit” was built for the Unlimited class at Pikes Peak, where (contrary to just about any other form of motorsport) there are essentially no restrictions placed on a car’s specifications. As a result, the purpose-built racer packs the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 from a Nissan GT-R (tuned to 850 horsepower), which is mounted amidships behind the cabin and mated to a six-speed sequential racing gearbox. All of that mechanical chutzpah is kept down by the most aggressive aerodynamics package this side of an F-35 Lightning.

It’s a beast of a car, and we can’t wait to see Dayraut – the reigning three-time Andros Trophy champion – take its wheel at the Peak on June 26. In the meantime, check out the extensive high-res image gallery for a closer look and follow the jump for the full press release.

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Dacia unleashes 850-hp GT-R-powered Duster “No Limit” Pikes Peak challenger originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 May 2011 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opinion: Time to raise the speed limit, how does 150 MPH sound?

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Autoline on Autoblog

Ever since automobiles first appeared over 100 years ago, every automaker has tried to make them go faster. And they succeeded. Nearly every year, cars became more powerful with higher top-end speeds. But then, in the mid-1950s, we hit a plateau. The national speed limit was set at 70 miles per hour, and we’ve been stuck at that rate ever since. As a result, the automobile has made absolutely no progress as a transportation device in over half a century.

Speed itself is not a safety hazard. It’s the difference in speeds between cars that lead to accidents.

Actually, in 1974, it got worse. The national speed limit was lowered to 55 mph, ostensibly to save fuel and lives (it did neither). Such an agonizingly slow rate of travel proved too much to take for most Americans. We demanded that the limit be raised, and we got it back to 70 mph. Now it’s time to demand another raise.

I’m not talking about some sort of modest increase to, say, 85 mph. We need to put a comprehensive plan in place to gradually move the limit up, over the next couple of decades, to 150 miles an hour. And we need to do that with no sacrifice in fuel economy or safety.

Continue reading Opinion: Time to raise the speed limit, how does 150 MPH sound?…

[Image: Getty]

Continue reading Opinion: Time to raise the speed limit, how does 150 MPH sound?

Opinion: Time to raise the speed limit, how does 150 MPH sound? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Texas House approves nation’s fastest speed limit at 85 mph

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

85 mile per hour speed limit sign

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and now it seems everything might be faster too. The House of Representatives in Texas has approved a new transportation bill, and it includes legislation that would allow the Texas Department of Transportation to raise speed limits to 85 miles per hour. The state’s Senate is presently considering a similar measure.

The DOT cannot simply go out and slap up a fresh new set of 85-mph speed limit signs. Both engineering and traffic studies must be done before motorists are given a green light to those increased speeds. Don’t feel too bad for those speed-restricted Texans, though. 85 mph wouldn’t be much of a stretch for Texas, since the state already enjoys 520 miles of highway with an 80-mph speed limit.

[Source: Chron.com | Image: University of Michigan]

Texas House approves nation’s fastest speed limit at 85 mph originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Manhattan’s speed limit – Do you know it?

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Videos

NYC DOT construction worker speed limit ad screencap

NYC DOT speed limit PSA spots – Click above to watch the videos
You might honestly think that the speed limit in Manhattan is “whatever you can crank it up to between red lights.” That’s wrong, and the New York City Department of Transportation wants you to know that it’s 30 mph.

More than that, however, the NYC DOT wants you to know why it’s 30 mph, and has put a series of amusing ads into rotation to deliver the message that a pedestrian hit at that speed has an 80 percent chance of survival, versus the 70 percent chance of dying a human clobbered at 40 mph faces. The commercials start with an unlikely character expounding on a subject you wouldn’t expect before the speed limit question is posed by the omniscient voiceover. Check out the humorous PSA spots for yourself after the jump.

[Source: Advertising Age]

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Video: Manhattan’s speed limit – Do you know it? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. to limit foreign investors in GM IPO?

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials

GM CEO Dan Akerson - AFP/Getty

According to The Wall Street Journal, members of the U.S. Treasury are worried about General Motors’ upcoming IPO. They aren’t concerned for the automaker’s stock price, or how even how many investors may decide to buy into the company – they’re concerned about what country the money is coming from.

The Journal suggests that government officials are considering whether to limit or select which non-U.S. investors would be invited to be so-called “cornerstone” investors in GM’s IPO. Cornerstone investors are sought out to purchase and hold sizable stakes in a given company at a set share price. Said price is often lower than what the general investing public can secure, the theory being that the cornerstone investors’ presence (and the stability it implies) serves to drive confidence in the company. The fear is that there could be considerable political fallout if, say, some of those cornerstone investors turned out to be from nations like China. Either way, GM will need to firm up its investment plan fairly quickly if it is to allow enough time to court the ‘right’ cornerstone buyers.

As GM readies its IPO pitch, another key element in the company’s talking points will be its long-term stability – including a chief executive officer who plans to stick around a while. New GM CEO Dan Akerson has reportedly told the board that he’ll stay at the helm for two to five years – or perhaps even longer. The manner in which his compensation agreement is structured will likely include incentives timed to take effect over a period of years as a way to show investors that he’s serious about making a longer-term commitment to the automaker’s recovery.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal – sub. req. | Image: AFP/Getty]

U.S. to limit foreign investors in GM IPO? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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