Tag: [w/poll]

Review: Top Gear USA – the first episode [w/poll]

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Celebrities

Not The Original, But Not Bad, Either

Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood

The logo. The exotic car-filled studio. The engine block coffee table. The Stig. The Star in a Reasonably Priced Car. It all seemed so familiar. The inaugural episode of Top Gear USA aired Sunday night at 10pm EST/9C on the History Channel with a lot of what made the original British show an international hit, but without those three dynamic blokes that have made the UK version so great. Or the amazing producers who put that show together each week. Instead, we get new producers, a new set, and new promise in hosts Tanner Foust, Adam Ferrara and Rutledge Wood.

The first episode of Top Gear USA started off with a bang by transitioning from an original Shelby Cobra to the best modern interpretation of the big engine on wheels: the Dodge Viper. The American-made missile was driven by Tanner Foust who was charged with outrunning a Cobra attack helicopter. The Viper was fitted with a missile detection simulator that showed when the supercar was being missile-locked and “hit” by the chopper. To win this competition, Foust and his navigator/co-host Rutledge Wood needed to blast across town and back before being hit by the chopper three times. We won’t tell you how it ends, but we will say this first stunt showed that while the camera work and editing isn’t yet up to Top Gear UK levels of excellence, the content is still engaging and fun to watch.

Take our poll below, then follow the jump to continue reading…

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Continue reading Review: Top Gear USA – the first episode [w/poll]

Review: Top Gear USA – the first episode [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: New slogan ‘Chevy runs deep’ coming this fall [w/poll]

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Chevrolet, GM

Chevy Bowtie

General Motors wants you to know that, um… Chevy runs deep. We won’t pretend to know exactly what that means but we’re preparing ourselves to get used to hearing it. Apparently, it’s a new slogan that The General plans to use for marketing purposes starting this fall for the Chevrolet brand, though it won’t be used for all advertisements and won’t be attached to the Volt.

We feel the need to point out that this scheme runs exactly opposite from what the previous marketing executives had in mind for the Golden Bowtie, namely that those working for the company always call it ‘Chevrolet’ in lieu of the more slang ‘Chevy.’ But that was under the previous administration, which was recently replaced by Joel Ewanick and Chris Perry.

Ewanick and Perry are said to have formed the slogan with help from Goody, Silverstein and Partners, which was awarded the Chevrolet marketing account after the brand’s short stint with Publicis Worldwide and a 91-year relationship with Campbell-Ewald.

What do you think? Is this new slogan a winner? Is it better than the last few attempts by the brand to reinvent its marketing material in the States?

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[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Report: New slogan ‘Chevy runs deep’ coming this fall [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Car and Driver grades industry’s car designers [w/poll]

Filed under: Design/Style

Ferrari 458 Italia

Ferrari 458 Italia – Click above to vote in our design poll after the jump

How does one grade automakers on their design skills? Our friends at Car and Driver gave it a shot using the not-so-scientific “eyeball test,” with grades getting bumped up or down based on the use of proven design talent.

C/D graded 20 automakers in all, giving out four As, 11 Bs, two Cs, a D and two grades of incomplete. Ferrari got a top score thanks to the intensely hot-looking 458 Italia. Jaguar/Land Rover also came up big for hits like the new XJ, while more mainstream General Motors and Kia each managed an A thanks to their leaps in design quality.

Volvo and Mazda were each given an incomplete thanks to some very recent changes at the top of their respective design management teams. Toyota/Lexus came up short, receiving the only D of the group, prompting author Phil Patton to ask if there were recalls for dullness. Ouch. Head over to Car and Driver for all the design grades, and follow the jump for a poll on the best designs for a mainline manufacturer.

[Source: Car and Driver]

Continue reading Car and Driver grades industry’s car designers [w/poll]

Car and Driver grades industry’s car designers [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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James May explains why supercars are ‘pointless’ – do you agree? [w/poll]

Filed under: UK, Celebrities

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport 16.4

2010 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport – Click above for high-res image gallery

Here we go again. Dante should have made the question ‘Do Supercars Make any Sense?’ one of his levels of hell near Sisyphus, since so many people love to wail and moan and gnash their teeth on it in circular fashion. James May, a.k.a. Top Gear’s Captain Slow, has taken up the query and come to the conclusion that the speedy little devils are pointless.

He intends to make his point by asking, “what benefit has accrued to Italy, principal arbour of the mechanism of the Renaissance, by their existence?”, and then by comparing the effect that supercars have have on the world to the effects produced by Gore-Tex and penicillin and the radio and the Maxim gun. Mr. May, you have us there – we’d rather our doctor prescribed us antibiotics and not a Ferrari if we had a staph infection. That is, unless we had at least seven days to live, in which case we’d take the Ferrari and trade a ride in it for a prescription.

Most supercars are as useful and as pointless as marshmallows, with little technology actually trickling down to more affordable machinery – at least on a consistent basis. In fact, we’re mildly surprised there’s any debate left in this issue – even in jest. If May wants to talk about pointless things, let’s start with the Salad Shooter or anything else sold by infomercial. We’d live without a Lamborghini Murciélago as soon as we’d live without s’mores, which means that we’d do it but we’d really rather not. Maybe the world hasn’t been changed by supercars, but our world has, and that’s good enough for us. Ergo, when May ends his piece with “Prove me wrong,” we’ll admit we can’t. But we can prove his article pointless.

How about you? Do you see supercars as pointless exercises? Take our poll below and then weigh in with your thoughts in Comments.

Gallery: First Drive: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport

Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOL

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[Source: Telegraph]

James May explains why supercars are ‘pointless’ – do you agree? [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paris 2010: Ford pondering bringing five-door C-Max to U.S. [w/poll]

Filed under: Europe, Paris Motor Show, Hatchback, Ford

2011 Ford C-Max five-door
2011 Ford C-Max – Click above for high-res image gallery

Following the second press day at the Paris Motor Show at a drive event in Southern France, Ford’s global vice president of marketing, Jim Farley, let slip to Autoblog that Dearborn decisionmakers are mulling over whether to import the C-Max to the U.S. As you’ll recall, Ford has already committed to bringing over the C-Max’s larger line mate, the seven-seat Grand C-Max, a vehicle that Farley tells us won’t hit American soil until early in calendar 2012 (likely as a 2013 model).

Unlike its bigger brother, the C-Max has conventional front-hinged rear doors (the Grand has a pair of sliders) along with a more aggressive roofline and rear graphic to complement its shorter wheelbase. Think of it as more of a pent-roof Focus wagon and less of a smallish minivan in the mold of the Mazda5 and you’ve got it.

Interestingly, Farley maintains that Ford won’t necessarily wait until the Grand C-Max goes on sale in the U.S. to determine whether or not to bring the model to America, and it will actively solicit feedback from both journalists and consumers to see if there’s a business case to be made. While such language is common among PR folks looking to assuage media members always clamoring for the importation of forbidden automotive fruit, Farley sounded quite optimistic. Further, he reminded us that there was “absolutely no plan” initially to market the next-gen five-door Focus in the States, but that all changed after the 2007 Verve concept was met with an enthusiastic response from media members and show goers. A few years ago, we probably would have discounted such talk, but with CEO Alan Mulally and product chief Derrick Kuzak pushing the One Ford agenda globally, who knows? It might just make it Stateside after all.

If Ford does decide to bring the C-Max to America, it may have a minor naming conundrum to deal with. At the moment, the Grand C-Max moniker is expected to be shortened to just ‘C-Max’ when it goes on sale in the U.S., or the MPV might take on the name ‘Focus C-Max,’ though a final decision has not yet been made. As the Blue Oval won’t sell both models with the same name, the five-door model would ostensibly need a different name.

Do you think the short-wheelbase C-Max would sell? Check out our high-resolution galleries of both models and then be sure to vote in our poll below. We’ll have firsthand drive impressions of the European-spec C-Max range to share with you next week, so stay tuned.

Gallery: 2011 Ford C-Max

Gallery: 2011 Ford Grand C-Max

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Paris 2010: Ford pondering bringing five-door C-Max to U.S. [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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North American Car/Truck of the Year shortlists led by Ford, GM, Hyundai/Kia and Nissan [w/poll]

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Etc.

North American Car of the Year logoA pool of 50 U.S. and Canada-based automotive journalists from various news outlets has cut down the list for the 2011 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards to 14 possible winning vehicles in each category.

Among the manufacturers, Ford, Hyundai/Kia, General Motors, and Nissan lead with the most nominations, and the lists run the gamut from the inexpensive (Ford Fiesta, Mazda2), to the sybaritic (Audi A8, Jaguar XJ, Porsche Cayenne), to the groundbreaking (Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf).

Car Truck
Audi A8 Dodge Durango
Buick Regal Ford Edge
Chevrolet Cruze Ford Explorer
Chevrolet Volt Honda Odyssey
Ford Fiesta Hyundai Tucson
Hyundai Sonata Infiniti QX56
Infiniti M37/M56 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jaguar XJ Kia Sorento
Kia Optima Kia Sportage
Mazda2 Lincoln MKX
Nissan Juke Mercedes-Benz R-Class
Nissan Leaf Porsche Cayenne
Volkswagen Jetta Toyota Sienna
Volvo S60 Volkswagen Touareg

Jurors will cull each list down further in December, and the finalists will be displayed when the winning car and truck are announced at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

What car and truck do you expect to win? Check out our galleries of the finalists below, then click through the jump to place your vote for the car and truck you expect to win. If you like, you can also drop your fellow commenter a line as to what vehicle you’d most like to see take home the heavy hardware.

(*Full Disclosure: Author is a member of the NACTOY voting jury)

Gallery: 2011 North American Car of the Year Short List

Gallery: 2011 North American Truck of the Year Short List

[Source: North American Car of the Year]

Continue reading North American Car/Truck of the Year shortlists led by Ford, GM, Hyundai/Kia and Nissan [w/poll]

North American Car/Truck of the Year shortlists led by Ford, GM, Hyundai/Kia and Nissan [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Car buyers not impressed by celeb endorsements. How about you? [w/poll]

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Celebrities

Kate Walsh Cadillac ad

As Americans, there’s no denying we have a healthy obsession with the lives of celebrities. From movie stars like Will Smith down to reality television “stars” like The Situation, people are curious as to what’s going on in their world. What clothes do they wear, where do they get their groceries and what kind of car(s) do they buy? Sometimes a celebrity won’t have much say in the vehicle they drive because they sign a sizable endorsement deal to tell us which vehicle we should be driving. As sales numbers for thousands of celeb-endorsed products will tell you, their stamp of approval can make a difference in a bust or boom period for a product. Well, as long as that product isn’t a car.

According to WhatCar, celebrity endorsements only affect one percent of car buyers. They polled over 1,000 folks and just 11 said they could be encouraged by someone famous telling them what to buy. Obviously, a car buyer should purchase the vehicle that makes the most sense to them, not the one that Kate Walsh (above) likens to trying on a good dress. Exceptions can be made, however, for anyone who purchased a Chrysler Cordoba because of its soft Corinthian leather, of which the virtues were extolled beautifully by Ricardo “KHAN” Montalban.

What say you? Can Justin Timberlake convince you to buy an Audi or does Mike Rowe explaining how great the Ford F-150 is make you picture a Chevrolet Silverado in your driveway?

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[Source: WhatCar]

Study: Car buyers not impressed by celeb endorsements. How about you? [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Start-stop tech might be in your next new car… are you ready? [w/poll]

Filed under: Technology

Start Stop

At a stop light. In the drive-thru. In your driveway. Stop-start technology turns off the engine whenever the vehicle is on and the driver’s foot is on the brake. The merits of the technology are hard to ignore; fuel economy savings as high as 15 percent. But while stop-start has been widely adopted in Europe, here in the U.S. the only non-hybrid vehicle to feature the tech is the Porsche Panamera.

Part of the reason stop-start hasn’t taken off in the States is that many Environmental Protection Agency tests don’t take stops into account during testing. And without gaining precious miles per gallon in EPA fuel economy testing, many customers will have a problem footing the bill for the the technology’s otherwise reasonable $500 price tag. But as testing methods change and fuel economy standards become more stringent, stop-start is coming closer to making its way into your next vehicle. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are among the automakers looking to incorporate the technology in U.S.-market vehicles by or before 2014.

Stop-start is relatively seamless in operation and imperceptible to most users. When you begin deceleration or come to a stop, the engine cuts off. When you lift your foot off the pedal, the engine fires back up. The upside is considerably improved fuel economy in city driving. There isn’t much downside other than the change we Americans tend not to embrace. We’re pretty sure we’re ready for start-stop. Are you? Take the poll below to let us know where you stand.

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[Source: The Detroit News]

Start-stop tech might be in your next new car… are you ready? [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Start-stop tech might be in your next new car… are you ready? [w/poll]

Filed under: Technology

Start Stop

At a stop light. In the drive-thru. In your driveway. Stop-start technology turns off the engine whenever the vehicle is on and the driver’s foot is on the brake. The merits of the technology are hard to ignore; fuel economy savings as high as 15 percent. But while stop-start has been widely adopted in Europe, here in the U.S. the only non-hybrid vehicle to feature the tech is the Porsche Panamera.

Part of the reason stop-start hasn’t taken off in the States is that many Environmental Protection Agency tests don’t take stops into account during testing. And without gaining precious miles per gallon in EPA fuel economy testing, many customers will have a problem footing the bill for the the technology’s otherwise reasonable $500 price tag. But as testing methods change and fuel economy standards become more stringent, stop-start is coming closer to making its way into your next vehicle. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are among the automakers looking to incorporate the technology in U.S.-market vehicles by or before 2014.

Stop-start is relatively seamless in operation and imperceptible to most users. When you begin deceleration or come to a stop, the engine cuts off. When you lift your foot off the pedal, the engine fires back up. The upside is considerably improved fuel economy in city driving. There isn’t much downside other than the change we Americans tend not to embrace. We’re pretty sure we’re ready for start-stop. Are you? Take the poll below to let us know where you stand.

View Poll

[Source: The Detroit News]

Start-stop tech might be in your next new car… are you ready? [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jeremy Clarkson calls The Stig a ‘Greedy Tw*t’ [w/poll]

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, UK, Celebrities

Jeremy ClarksonIt would seem that the vitriol between the trio of presenters on Top Gear and Ben Collins, the man behind the Stig’s helmet, isn’t just for show. During a recent charity event, Jeremy Clarkson, arguably the leader of the TG three amigos, made it clear just how he feels about Collins’ unmasking of himself by calling the former tame racing driver “The Greedy Tw*t.” That’s certainly one way to put it.

Rumors began dusting up over whether or not Ben Collins was the racer in white after it was widely publicized that Collins was seeking to publish a book on his life as the White Stig. The BBC attempted to file an injunction stopping the publisher from moving forward, but a judge found that there was no reason to stop Collins from moving forward.

The BBC reacted to Collins’ actions by putting the driver out of a job. Or at least out of a job in show business. Overall, fans have been less than thrilled with the debacle, with most saying that the driver has gone a long way toward ruining a good thing for everyone.

Even so, we’re guessing the Collins memoir will have no problem finding a global audience. After all’s said and done, will you read it?

[Source: The Herald Sun | Image: Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage.com]

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Jeremy Clarkson calls The Stig a ‘Greedy Tw*t’ [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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