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16-Person Dodge VanKat is a blizzard of awesome

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Etc., Dodge, Ford, Off-Road

The Vancat

The Vancat – Click above for high-res image gallery

Traversing snow-covered terrain can be tricky and if you need carry a dozen passengers, your options become quite limited quite quickly. Peak Snow Adventures of Northern Idaho has come up with a solution and it’s called the Vancat.

A hybrid we can get excited about, the Vancat has a whole lot of everything going on. Starting with a full-size Dodge Ram van body mounted on a Thiokol chassis, the Vancat is propelled by a 391 Ford V8 engine and power is routed to a set of German-made Hans Hall aluminum tracks.

The Vancat can seat 16 passengers along with everyone’s snow gear, and if that wasn’t enough, the roof has been chopped up and turned into a canopy so your snowbunny passengers can enjoy the scenery. The Vancat is currently for sale with a reduced (and apparently negotiable) asking price of $30,000.

Gallery: The Vancat

The Vancat

[Source: Peak Snow Cats via Bring-A-Trailer]

16-Person Dodge VanKat is a blizzard of awesome originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TN Court: Person who left keys in car responsible when it gets stolen

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

Police at the scene of a car accident

Do you occasionally leave your keys in the car? We all have at one point, be it just running in to the ATM or stopping by a friend’s house to drop off a borrowed tool. In that short time you are out of the vehicle, it’s quite possible that someone could be watching and take off with your wheels. Since the new “owner” probably doesn’t care too much about your vehicle and may be trying to escape from the authorities, it isn’t too hard to see how the stolen vehicle could end up in a collision or as the focal point of a tragic accident. If all of the above happens and you live in Tennessee, then prepare to have your cash reserves depleted.

A suit was brought against a man who left his keys in his car, which was promptly stolen and then collided with another vehicle causing injuries to three passengers. Initially, the lawsuit was filed against the city of Murfreesboro and its police department- however, that suit was dismissed by the Tennessee Court of Appeals. But the court is allowing the suit against the owners of the vehicle to continue.

“Negligence” is the Word of the Day for Rubye Jarrell, the registered owner of the car and grandmother to Joseph D. Ash Jr., who apparently left the keys inside. According to the appeals court, it does not matter if the keys were in the ignition or somewhere in plain sight, Jarrell is still liable.

What do you think – should Jarrell be deemed negligent and face legal consequences? Have your say in Comments.

[Source: The Associated Press via Tennessean | Image: fourbyfourblazer | CC 2.0]

TN Court: Person who left keys in car responsible when it gets stolen originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paris 2010: Exagon Motors Furtive eGT range-extended EV looks better in person [w/video]

Filed under: Hybrid, Videos, Paris Motor Show, Electric

Exagon Furtive e-GT – Click above for high-res image gallery

Exagon Motors hasn’t often appeared in these pages – the company built some electric ice racers last year – and so yesterday’s announcement of the Furtive e-GT extended-range/all-electric sports car caught us by surprise. We recovered from our shock long enough to check it out in person at the Paris Motor Show today, and the metal does the sleek shape more favors than a camera lens. Still, with a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds (take that, Tesla Roadster) and some range guarantees (!), we’ll take one no matter how it looks.

Specifically, Exagon guarantees that the Furtive-eGT will be able to go – when “calculated according to European standards and energy use cycles” – the following distances before the range extender kicks in:

At a constant speed of 50 km/h : 402 km (31 miles per hour : 250 miles)
At a constant speed of 90 km/h : 288 km (56 mph : 179 miles)
At a constant speed of 110 km/h : 241 km (68 mph : 150 miles)
At a constant speed of 130 km/h : 197 km (81 mph : 122 miles)

Another interesting thing about the Furtive-eGT is that the range extender is an option, which is certainly a welcome change from the one-type-fits-all powertrains we see in the Tesla, Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt. Check out more views of the Furtive-eGT in the gallery below and be sure to click past the jump to watch the video.

Gallery: Paris 2010: Exagon Motors Furtive-eGT

Exagon Motors Furtive-eGT

Gallery: Exagon Furtive e-GT

Continue reading Paris 2010: Exagon Motors Furtive eGT range-extended EV looks better in person [w/video]

Paris 2010: Exagon Motors Furtive eGT range-extended EV looks better in person [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paris 2010: 2011 Volkswagen Passat says hello in person

Filed under: Sedan, Wagon, Paris Motor Show, Volkswagen

Paris 2010: 2011 Volkswagen Passat

2011 Volkswagen Passat – Click above for high-res image gallery

Volkswagen was so eager to unveil its new Passat that it revealed the car a day before the Paris Motor Show actually begins. It’s received the Jetta treatment to some degree, but the softer looks may actually work better on the Passat than for its smaller brother.

The all-new Passat is intended for an older demographic and the styling seems to reflect that. We look forward to seeing it on our shores. Speaking of which, the 2011 goes on sale in the United Kingdom this October and VW plans to announce North American availability in the very near future.

Gallery: 2011 Volkswagen Passat Live Images

2011 Volkswagen Passat 2011 Volkswagen Passat rear 3/4 2011 Volkswagen Passat front 3/4

Gallery: 2011 Volkswagen Passat

2011 Volkswagen Passat 2011 Volkswagen Passat Estate

Paris 2010: 2011 Volkswagen Passat says hello in person originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevy Volt’s first customers will be 15-person Customer Advisory Board

Filed under: Car Buying, Hybrid, Sedan, Chevrolet, Electric

2011 Chevrolet Volt

2011 Chevrolet Volt – Click above for high-res image gallery

Lyle Dennis. Bill Nye. Jim Woolsey. Brian Wynne. What do these people have in common, besides being featured at one time or another on AutoblogGreen? They are all members of the new Chevrolet Volt Customer Advisory Board that General Motors announced today (disclosure: AutoblogGreen columnist Chelsea Sexton is also on the panel).

So, what will the 15 people who make up the board actually do? Basically, they’re getting a Volt before you do and will tell GM what’s working and what isn’t. More specifically, they will be the first people who get to, “experience the Volt every day under real-world conditions during a three-month vehicle and charging evaluation program starting in late October.”

The 15 (see all the names after the jump, and note the number of electric vehicle enthusiasts included) volunteered for the position and Chevy picked people who knew the most about electric vehicles and also happen to live in one of the initial markets where the Volt will be available. Besides getting a three-month test vehicle, board members will get a free 240-volt charging station, “for the duration of the vehicle evaluation program.” Sexton is excited about the group, and said in a statement that:

It’s great to see Chevrolet tap into both experienced and new electric vehicle enthusiasts for real-world feedback. This is a great opportunity to not only provide meaningful input to the Volt team, but also to raise awareness using a real, available electric vehicle instead of a PowerPoint slide.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Volt

[Source: GM]

Continue reading Chevy Volt’s first customers will be 15-person Customer Advisory Board

Chevy Volt’s first customers will be 15-person Customer Advisory Board originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In-Person: 2011 Jeep Wrangler and Patriot add refinement, panache

Filed under: SUV, Crossover, Jeep, Off-Road

2011 Jeep Wrangler

2011 Jeep Wrangler – Click above for high-res image gallery

After a rather long product winter, 2011 is shaping up to be a big year for Jeep. Obviously, the biggest news from Chrysler’s off-road brand has been the introduction of the 2011 Grand Cherokee, and after driving the new all-roader (twice), we’ve learned that the automaker is still fully capable of delivering competitive, well-rounded products. But beyond the Grand Cherokee, Chrysler has made tweaks to both its Jeep Wrangler and Patriot for the 2011 model year, and we spent some time this morning at the Pentastar’s Technical Center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, to see what all the fuss is about.

Looking at both the Wrangler and Patriot from the outside, you won’t immediately notice the new changes these vehicles receive for 2011. The Patriot receives a slight styling update – a cleaner front end with repositioned fog lamps is up front, body cladding has been added to the sides and a new rear bumper is found out back. The Wrangler has even less in the way of exterior visual updates, save the new body-colored hardtop available on the Sahara trim level.

Jeep Wrangler windshield surround What really impresses us, though, is the larger attention to detail in both of these vehicles. On the Wrangler, for example, little kitschy add-ons like an off-loading Jeep integrated into the windshield outline (pictured right) or the seven-slat grille design for the sun-blocker behind the rear-view mirror. Little things like this are only part of the story, though – the new interiors that both of these vehicles receive are seriously worthy of your consideration.

Wranglers get an updated dash with softer, rounder shapes, and although hard plastics are still used throughout, it fits with the SUV’s bad-to-the-bone attitude. Still, new improvements for 2011 include the addition of optional leather seating and Jeep’s new corporate steering wheel.

The Patriot, on the other hand, gets a full host of updates, with soft-touch materials used throughout the cabin. Chrysler says that specific touch points have been enhanced in the Patriot to rid the interior of cheap-feeling buttons and knobs, and the new seats (both leather and cloth) are really comfortable. It’s a huge, much-needed leap forward for the Patriot, and it makes it much more competitive against vehicles like the Kia Sportage, Honda CR-V and Ford Escape.

Similar updates will make their way onto the unloved Jeep Compass, which will launch closer to the end of the year. In the meantime, click through our galleries below to see live shots of the 2011 Wrangler and Patriot live from Chrysler’s design dome.

Gallery: 2011 Jeep Wrangler: Live Shots

Gallery: 2011 Jeep Patriot: Live Shots

In-Person: 2011 Jeep Wrangler and Patriot add refinement, panache originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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