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DiRT 3 hidden games and party mode revealed

Filed under: Etc., Toys/Games

DiRT 3

DiRT 3 screen shots – Click above for high-res image gallery

The release of DiRT 3 is nigh upon us and, as a final teaser, game maker Codemasters has revealed an intriguing three-game party mode. The party mode consists of mini games and will serve as an escape for those who get tired of sliding Ken Block’s WRC Ford Fiesta around gravel-strewn corners at breakneck speed. It also means there will be a welcome multiplayer mode to an already awesome racing title.

Party mode’s three mini games all sound like an excellent way to avoid homework, housework, taxes, lawn mowing or emotional interaction with other human beings. The first, called Invasion, has players driving around an open parking lot attempting to destroy cardboard robots while avoiding skyscrapers, which could turn out to also be robots.

The second game is Outbreak, where a glowing-green “infected” player tries to spread his car’s disease by crashing into opponents. Last man standing without the verdant infection leaves the game victorious.

The last game is Transporter, where players careen around in search of spontaneously-appearing flags. Once you claim a flag, you have to return it to your home base without being mugged by another player.

Essentially, party mode combines a Mario Party-style multiplayer mode with a straightforward rally-racing game. The marketability of that seems more than plausible, and the prospect of breaking up racing with some good, old-fashioned playground games sounds like a winner to us.

Gallery: DiRT 3 Screen Shots

[Source: Joystiq]

DiRT 3 hidden games and party mode revealed originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big Three Have Five Years of Prosperity Until Party Ends

Filed under: Chrysler, Ford, GM, Autoline on Autoblog

Signs To Watch For As The Cycle Repeats

Ford trucks parking lot

Detroit’s automakers are starting to beat their chests in exultation, and who can blame them? The last 16 months have been nothing short of a miracle. Who would have believed they could recover so quickly?

Dial back the clock to last summer, June of 2009. Chrysler had just clawed its way out of bankruptcy, GM was still bankrupt. And Ford just barely avoided filing, saved only by borrowing heavily before the credit market collapsed.

The good times are just getting going. The next five years could be phenomenal.

If someone had come up to you then and said that in less than a year Ford would be earning over $7 billion and that it would surpass Toyota and Honda in quality, you would have said it was not going to happen.

If they had told you that General Motors would be earning over $6 billion in profits, you would have called them crazy.

If they had told you Chrysler would report an operating profit and come within a whisker of catching Honda in market share, you would have said they’re mad.

And if they had told you that Toyota would be battered by criticism for all its defects and quality problems, you would have said that’s impossible.

But here we are a year and a half later and the American auto industry has been completely transformed. The Big Three are more competitive than they’ve been in nearly four decades. Even more amazing, the good times are just getting going. The next five years could be phenomenal.

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.

Continue reading Big Three Have Five Years of Prosperity Until Party Ends

Big Three Have Five Years of Prosperity Until Party Ends originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Cadillac sponsors communist party movie?

Filed under: China, Etc., Cadillac, Luxury

Cadillac SLS

Cadillac is doing its best to secure its spot in the ever-growing Chinese auto market, and according to sources culled by Automobile, the luxury marque may have even gone so far as to sponsor a documentary on the rise of the communist party in the People’s Republic. Depending on which translation you believe, the name of the film is either “The Birth of a Party” or “The Great Achievement of Founding the Party” (both are pretty catchy) and the sponsorship is part of a drive to get the word out about its long-wheel base SLS.

With the number of wealthy individuals in China growing by the day, it should come as no surprise to hear about The Crest doing whatever it can to promote its products in the country. Still, as Automobile points out, it’s only a matter of time before some yokel with an internet connection begins drawing imaginary connections and calling GM out for its contributions to communism.

[Source: Automobile]

Report: Cadillac sponsors communist party movie? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: Jaguar’s 75th birthday party at Pebble Beach

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Jaguar, Misc. Auto Shows

Jaguar 75th Anniversary at Pebble Beach

Jaguar 75th Anniversary at Pebble Beach – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’ve already shown you that Jaguar was honored at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with a dozen XK-SS roadsters showing up for the party, but there were other Jaguars on hand as well – lots and lots of remarkable Jags.

The history of Jaguar actually began almost 90 years ago when two young men hell-bent on motorcycle glory set up a small company to produce sidecars under the Swallow name in 1922. The younger of the two was William Lyons, who later became Sir William Lyons, mainly because Jaguar went on to bring Britain so much motoring glory. The sidecar business eventually turned into an automobile coachworks, with custom bodies on a bespoke Standard brand chassis that became know as the S.S.I. and S.S.II.

For the follow-up to those early S.S. models – Standard Swallow some think – Lyons had commissioned a new overhead-valve six-cylinder engine that was about 50 percent more powerful than the old side-valve engines they had been using. They put the new engine in a new chassis, enclosed it in the company’s first four-door sedan body and Lyons personally chose what he thought was the most appropriate name from a list of choices given to him by his advertising people – Jaguar. On September 23, 1935, the company unveiled the SS Jaguar to London’s assembled press. That car led to the short-wheelbase SS Jaguar 100 sports car that helped establish Jaguar’s reputation for performance with its early racing success.

After World War II, the company decided to change its name to simply ‘Jaguar,’ dropping the newly infamous “S.S.” label. The automaker also started focusing less on inexpensive sportscars for the homeland market, and more on luxurious models aimed at capturing rich American buyers. One way to do that was with new product and Lyons and his crew were cooking up a duesie – a new sportscar featuring a double overhead cam engine just like the race cars of the era. The goal was 160 horsepower from the engine’s 3.4-liter capacity and a 120 mph top speed. That car was the iconic XK120 – “XK” for the engine and “120” for the car’s top speed. That begat the XK140 and 150 and a whole slew of other legendary vehicles that bore the Jaguar name.

Some of the finest examples of Jaguar’s pedigree were on hand at Pebble Beach on Sunday. Take a look in our high-res gallery below.

1935 S.S. 90
1935 S.S.I. Drophead Coupe
1938 Jaguar SS100 Roadster
1952 Jaguar C-type
1953 Jaguar XK120 SE Roadster
1955 Jaguar D-Type
1961 Jaguar E-Type Fixed Head Coupe
1966 Jaguar XJ13 Prototype

Gallery: Jaguar 75th Anniversary at Pebble Beach

1955 Jaguar D-type

Monterey 2010: Jaguar’s 75th birthday party at Pebble Beach originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:59:00 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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BBC: 1M pedestrians party at banquet held on German Autobahn

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Humor

German pedestrians flood the Autobahn – click above to watch the video

The Germans certainly know how to do a block party. According to the BBC, residents between Duisburg and Dortmund have closed 40 miles of the famous Autobahn for one massive street festival. Organizers of the event handed out 20,000 tables in order to help create the longest table in the world as part of the celebration. At some point, the road was even closed to cyclists due to congestion.

Near as we can tell, the whole event was held to celebrate the Ruhr region as part of the area’s nomination as the Cultural Capital of Europe, 2010. Residents came out in droves to participate in everything from singing and dancing to street shows to mark the occasion. We’re guessing there was plenty of good food on hand, too. Sounds like a pretty good time to us, but we have a hard time believing that anyone on this side of The Pond would be okay with shutting down the 405 for a similar summer shindig. Check out some video footage of the big party on the Trans Europe Express – complete with appropriate Kraftwerk soundtrack – after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Gary!

[Sources: BBC, YouTube]]

Continue reading BBC: 1M pedestrians party at banquet held on German Autobahn

BBC: 1M pedestrians party at banquet held on German Autobahn originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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