Tag: tracks

Video: 10 Most Dangerous Race Tracks list sobering to watch

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

Sadly, the qualities that might land a racetrack on a “10 Best” list are the same ones that would place it on this list of the 10 Most Dangerous Race Tracks. Drivers and the automakers that fund their right feet are drawn to the challenge of conquering the world’s most difficult sets of turns, taming the fastest straights and enduring the longest trials, and we spectators like nothing more than to watch them try. That’s why over a century of auto racing has narrowed down the list of truly great tracks – la Sarth, Monza, Nürburgring, Daytona, Indianapolis, to name a few – and why most of those on that small list have regrettably claimed enough lives over the years to be mentioned in this video by XCAR.

Scroll down to watch the video, but be warned that it’s a sobering display of the high cost this sport exacts over time, a cost that has claimed not only the lives of drivers like Earnhardt, Senna and Wheldon, but many innocent souls in the stands, pits and working the track, as well. Props to XCAR for treating the topic with respect, and you might be surprised to learn how far out ahead of the others the number one selection is in terms of total lives lost.

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10 Most Dangerous Race Tracks list sobering to watch originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Jun 2013 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Fifth Gear tracks Porsche 911 Carrera against Lotus Evora S

Filed under: Coupe, Videos, Lotus, Porsche

lotus evora vs porsche 911

Lotus Evora S vs. Porsche 911 – Click above to watch video after the jump

How focused do you want your sports car? While you can go out and twist the track-ready dial to 11, some folks only want a dash more punch than the next guy. A daily-drivable hoon machine is what’s required, and Fifth Gear lined up two of them to battle it out at the Dutch TT Circuit Assen.

The Lotus Evora S squares off against the Porsche 911, and Fifth Gear’s Vicki Butler-Henderson pushes both coupes around the course. Is Germany’s icon quicker than this blue British bomber? Click past the jump to find out.

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Fifth Gear tracks Porsche 911 Carrera against Lotus Evora S originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 May 2011 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Audi R8 GT Spyder almost ready to scatter toupees across race tracks

Filed under: Spy Photos, Convertible, Performance, Audi

audi r8 gt spyder

Spy Shots: Audi R8 GT Spyder – Click above for high-res image gallery

Audi keeps churning out more exciting versions of its two-door supercar, the R8. It began with the R8 V8, went power hungry with the R8 5.2 FSI V10, topless with the R8 V10 Spyder and on a track-focused diet with the R8 GT. Soon, Audi will let loose with the next iteration; the Audi R8 GT Spyder, a lightweight droptop poised to bring a more aggressive open-air motoring to R8 fans.

The Audi R8 GT Spyder is powered by the same 5.2-liter V10 found in other non-V8 R8 coupes and convertibles. The mill produces 560 horsepower and sends marching orders directly to both the car’s four tires and your ears, seeing as it’s mounted right behind them. Audi is going to build 333 of them, so get your cash in line now. The R8 GT coupe costs $196,800 so bring at least $200,000 for the convertible, just to be safe.

Audi R8 GT Spyder almost ready to scatter toupees across race tracks originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 May 2011 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mercedes fast-tracks C-, E- and S-Class hybrids

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Europe, Technology, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid

2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid – Click above for high-res image gallery

Along with reports that Mercedes-Benz is stepping up its U.S. diesel presence in a big way comes news that the company is also expanding its hybrid fleet. According to Automotive News, the Silver Arrow is looking to introduce hybridized versions of the company’s C-, E- and S-Class vehicles in just three years. The move is an effort to prepare for ever tightening fuel-economy legislation in both the U.S. and Europe. The report says that European buyers can expect to see the battery-operated C- and E-Class vehicles show up in Europe in 2013 and that a plug-in S-Class hybrid will debut shortly thereafter.

American buyers, meanwhile, will likely see the tech arrive in showrooms six months after their European cousins. According to Herbert Kohler, the company’s head of E-Drive and future mobility, Mercedes-Benz is currently spending half of its $5.6 billion research and development budget on investigating alternative powertrains.

Combined with a heavier diesel mix, the hybrids will go a long way toward upping the Mercedes-Benz corporate average fuel economy.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid

Photos copyright (C)2010 Sam Abuelsamid / AOL.

[Source: Automotive News]

Report: Mercedes fast-tracks C-, E- and S-Class hybrids originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The woman who tracks down real customers for car commercials [w/ video]

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Ford, Toyota

Danya Solomon

Danya Solomon helps manufacturers find customer testimonials – Click above to watch video after the jump

The testimonial is one of advertising’s oldest weapons. It’s a simple formula: If someone spent his or her hard-earned money on a product and lived to tell about it, chances are it will be good enough for you. But where do advertising companies come up with the jokers that we see splashed all over our television screens? It turns out that they look to one individual with a knack for finding people who are especially loyal to a specific brand or product. Her name is Danya Solomon.

Solomon is responsible for rounding up the everyday Joes and Janes we’ve seen on ads from Ford and Toyota lately. She spends her days scouring the internet, standing in parking lots and busting down pool-hall doors to find consumers who are passionate about the products they buy. The next time you see an average atomic family stand up and profess their love for a sedan, chances are Solomon had something to do with bringing them to the small screen. Hit the jump to see a few of the commercials she helped cast.

[Source: AOL Autos]

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The woman who tracks down real customers for car commercials [w/ video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM discovers flaw with HD pickup hill-hold assist, fast-tracks fix

Filed under: Truck, Safety, Technology, Work, Chevrolet, GM, GMC

Last week, PickupTrucks.com held one of its periodic load lugger shootouts where it brings together the heavy haulers from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to see which pickup truck is the top dog. After running acceleration tests at Milan dragway, editor Mike Levine and the crew moved the fleet of nine trucks to the GM Proving Ground in Milford, MI. During towing evaluations on the 7.2 percent hill, Levine discovered an issue on the Chevy Silverado 2500 while the gas-engined 3/4 ton truck was towing 10,000 pound trailers up the hill.

The GM trucks incorporate a hill-hold feature into the stability control system. Hill-hold is supposed to detect when the vehicle is on an incline with the brakes applied. When the driver releases the brake pedal, the valves in the stability control unit retain the pressure in the brake lines for up to 1.5 seconds. Once the timer expires or the driver applies the accelerator, the valves release the brake pressure.

During testing, Levine discovered that the system was not holding the pressure on the 7.2 percent hill for any of the GM trucks and notified the engineers on hand. Oddly, a later test found that the system was working properly on the steeper 16 percent grade. GM engineers investigated the issue with engineers from system supplier TRW and found an incorrect calibration value in the control software for the accelerometer used to detect inclines. This prevented the system from correctly detecting the smaller hill.

The code was corrected and updated software began rolling out to the production line this past Monday, July 19. The same software update is also going out to dealers so that trucks in stock on lots and in for service can also be updated. GM is still considering whether to issue a recall or a technical service bulletin for trucks that have already been delivered to customers.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com, TRW]

GM discovers flaw with HD pickup hill-hold assist, fast-tracks fix originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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