Tag: [w/video]

Car and Driver returns to VIR for Lightning Lap No. 5 [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Videos

Car and Driver 2011 Lightning Lap

Car and Driver presents Lightning Lap No. 5 – Click above for high-res image gallery

The annual Lightning Lap roundup from Car and Driver is easily one of our favorite car magazine features of any of the past five years, and this year’s extravaganza at Virginia International Raceway delivers once again. The five classes in the throwdown represent vehicles under $30,000, $30k to $60k, $60,000 to $120,000, $120k to $240k and the elusive “and up” category. C/D asked manufacturers to supply production vehicles that come equipped with the most track-ready options that any Tom, Dick and Harry can get straight from the factory, including uprated tires, brakes and sporting suspensions. The goal? To find out what production car is the quickest around VIR’s challenging roadcourse.

After the jump are video summaries of the LL2 and LL3 competitions. The LL2 class features dream matchups of the Ford Mustang GT, Lexus LS-F, Shelby Mustang GT500, Mazda RX8 R3, Mitsubishi EVO and Subaru WRX STI. The LL3 class features the Jaguar XFR, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, Lotus Evora, Mercedes E63 AMG and Porsche Boxster Spyder.

We won’t reveal any winners here, but you can find out the LL2 and LL3 champs by hitting the jump. Heck, one LL3 car would have also won the LL4 class, so we’re talking serious speed here. There aren’t many better ways to spend eight minutes of your life, but if you’ve got an hour or two to kill, head over to C/D’s website for all five Lightning Lap summaries, plus a bunch of individual laps and summaries from past Lightning Laps.

Gallery: Car and Driver’s 2011 Lightning Lap

[Source: Car and Driver I Images: Marc Urbano]

Continue reading Car and Driver returns to VIR for Lightning Lap No. 5 [w/video]

Car and Driver returns to VIR for Lightning Lap No. 5 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford MyKey now allows parents to block Howard Stern, Playboy Radio [w/video]

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Ford

Ford MyKey 2011

Ford’s upgraded MyKey for 2011 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Modern technology means that parental controls are now spreading to cars as factory equipment, and the automaker leading the charge is Ford. Using the latest version of the company’s MyKey system, parents can now block their children from listening to certain radio stations – say, for instance, Howard Stern or Playboy Radio on satellite. In fact, there are a dozen stations listed as explicit by Sirius, and all of them can be blocked using MyKey starting in 2011.

Also seeing an upgrade for 2011 is MyKey’s speed-limiting technology. Previously, the top speed of a properly equipped Ford vehicle could be capped at 80 miles per hour (with chimes sounding at 45, 55 and 65). Now, users can preset a desired speed limit at any of four different settings – 65, 70, 75 or 80 mph. While an obvious safety feature, the technology can also dramatically improve fuel efficiency.

Already, Ford’s MyKey allows parents to limit audio volume, encourage seatbelt usage by muting the radio until front occupants buckle up and provide earlier low-fuel warnings. All of these could be considered important safety features, considering that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that teens are more likely to speed (a contributing factor in 30 percent of fatal accidents) and are less likely to use their safety-belts.

Ford contracted the firm Penn, Schoen & Berland to conduct a survey regarding its new MyKey features, and the results aren’t terribly surprising: 85 percent of parents believe the speed limiting controls are important and 60 percent say the same regarding the radio content controls. Even 45 percent of teen drivers themselves say they approve of the technology… just as long as it means they get extended driving privileges from their parents. Of course, said teens can also simply circumvent the MyKey safety leash by listening to CDs or their MP3 players, but we digress.

Check out a video and full press release after the break to learn more about how the system works.

Gallery: Ford’s upgraded MyKey for 2011

Ford's upgraded MyKey for 2011Ford's upgraded MyKey for 2011Ford's upgraded MyKey for 2011Ford's upgraded MyKey for 2011

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford MyKey now allows parents to block Howard Stern, Playboy Radio [w/video]

Ford MyKey now allows parents to block Howard Stern, Playboy Radio [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ken Block’s official RC Gymkhana car arrives just in time for Christmas [w/video]

Filed under: Videos, Ford, Toys/Games

Traxxas Ken Block RC Car

Traxxas channels its inner 1/16-scale Ken Block – Click above to watch the video after the break

Master of the Gymkhanna (with a minor in marketing) Ken Block has teamed up with Traxxas to create a radio-controlled version of Block’s #43 Ford Fiesta. The 1/16-scale Fiesta is fitted with a brushless motor that turns all four wheels and sends the mini-Block car down your driveway at up to 30 miles per hour. If that’s not enough juice to play out your dreams of winning a Gymkhana event, you can opt for another setup that features a new pinion gear, second NiMH battery and series connector. The additional hardware raises the top speed to over 50 mph.

The car is currently selling for around $300. No word on whether that price includes replaceable fenders and other body panels… a necessity after the Ken Block RC car inevitably hits a tree. Check out a mini Gymkhanna-style video of the micro car in action after the break… and, answering the last possible remaining question, proof that it will indeed blend.

[Source: Traxxas via Jalopnik]

Continue reading Ken Block’s official RC Gymkhana car arrives just in time for Christmas [w/video]

Ken Block’s official RC Gymkhana car arrives just in time for Christmas [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Strand Craft 166 yacht comes with its own supercar tender [w/video]

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., Design/Style, Luxury

Stand Craft 166 Yacht

Stand Craft 166 Yacht – Click above for high-res image gallery

The problem with yachting is that there’s just no way to bring all of your toys with you. How will the neighbors at the marina ever know that you’ve got a world-class supercar if you have to keep it tucked away in the garage while you’re out sailing the Mediterranean? The shipwrights at Stand Craft have the perfect solution. Meet the 166 – a modern yacht that comes with its very own high-horsepower supercar tucked in the aft. The wheeled machine in question will reportedly wield a 620-horsepower V8, and Stand Craft claims that the vehicle will clip off a top speed of 189 mph.

It’s a fitting trinket to go along with a yacht that packs a hidden Jacuzzi tucked into the bow, a retractable fly bridge that tucks away the ship’s radar arrays when not in use and a whopping total of five state rooms. Each of the suites is loaded with 52-inch flat-screen television with iPad controls. If any of this is starting to sound or look familiar, that’s because the company previously revealed their Strand Craft 122, another ultra-premium vessel that also featured a garage and lux accoutrements, albeit in a slightly less ostentatiously sized package.

Not too shabby. While you join us in waiting for real-world images, hit the jump for the full press release and a quick video.

Gallery: Stand Craft 166

[Source: Stand Craft]

Continue reading Strand Craft 166 yacht comes with its own supercar tender [w/video]

Strand Craft 166 yacht comes with its own supercar tender [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevy Volt components to be built from Gulf of Mexico’s oil-soaked booms [w/video]

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Chevrolet, GM, Electric

2011 Chevrolet Volt recycled boom material

Recycled boom material under the hood of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt – Click above for high-res image gallery

There’s really no way to positively spin the disaster that took place in the Gulf of Mexico when BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform exploded and leaked untold millions of gallons of oil into the ocean. That said, it seems that General Motors has figured out a way to “creatively recycle” an estimated 100 miles of oil-soaked plastic boom material.

If not recycled, much of this material would likely have ended up in landfills, and we’d much rather see it reused under the hood of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt than buried under the ground to rot way over several lifetimes. Specifically, GM will mold radiator air deflectors from plastic that’s made up of 25 percent recycled boom material and 25 percent recycled tires, with the remaining 50 percent “a mixture of post-consumer recycled plastics and other polymers.”

Enough of the boom material has apparently been collected to fill GM’s needs for these plastic parts over the Volt’s entire first year of production, and it’s likely that these recycling efforts will continue to other models in the automaker’s portfolio. See the recycled boom material used in the Volt in our image gallery below, and check out a video along with the entire press release after the break.

Gallery: Recycled boom material in the Chevrolet Volt

Recycled boom material in the Chevrolet VoltRecycled boom material in the Chevrolet VoltRecycled boom material in the Chevrolet Volt

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Chevy Volt components to be built from Gulf of Mexico’s oil-soaked booms [w/video]

Chevy Volt components to be built from Gulf of Mexico’s oil-soaked booms [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ham radio geekery fixes Chevy Camaro Convertible’s antenna [w/video]

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Technology, Videos, Chevrolet, GM

2011 Chevrolet Camaro convertible

2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible – Click above for high-res image gallery

When General Motors showed some hardcore Camaro fans an early version of the convertible, they apparently received some less-than-favorable feedback. It turns out the Camaro faithful weren’t all that smitten with the old-fashion whip antenna (not to be confused with the shark fin antenna for XM satellite radio and OnStar transmissions) protruding out of the topless muscle car’s boot. The retro antenna was deemed to be a necessary evil due to the fact that, like most new vehicles, the hardtop Camaro hides the antenna in the rear window. And we all know that just won’t work if the rear window can be stowed with the rest of the top, so engineers and designers had no choice, right? Well, as it turns out there was an option B.

The General turned to Antenna Performance Engineer Don Hibbard, a “lifelong Ham radio enthusiast,” to shed the ungainly appendage. This was no easy task, though, as GM insisted that whatever the solution, it needed to perform every bit as well as the unit embedded in the hardtop’s rear glass. To make matters a bit more interesting, Hibbard and his colleague, Gregg Kittinger, didn’t exactly have all the time in the world to get the job done.

In a span of only 10 months, Hibbard was able to work some magic. The new Camaro Convertible will feature an AM/FM antenna that is built into the Camaro’s rear spoiler. The embedded receiver will reportedly work as well as the rear window antenna from the hardtop, but without the retro eyesore. Now, if only they cold solve for the awkward trunklid combo of the CHMSL, satellite radio and lip spoiler…

Hit the jump to check out a video of GM’s clever antenna solution and to check out the official press release.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Ham radio geekery fixes Chevy Camaro Convertible’s antenna [w/video]

Ham radio geekery fixes Chevy Camaro Convertible’s antenna [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Stratos unveiled in retro Alitalia rally livery [w/video]

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Lancia, Racing

New Stratos in Alitalia livery – Click above to view in slightly higher resolution

The New Stratos has been drumming up a world of enthusiasm. And with good reason: the original was one of the most iconic rally machines ever devised, and the modern tribute looks to be living up to the legend in the grandest of style. That hasn’t stopped some from saying the design doesn’t look enough like the original, but that could very well come down to the paint scheme.

No, what we really need is to see it in the same livery displayed on the original in its heyday. Fortunately that’s just what they brought out (as a mock-up from the looks of things) at the car’s debut at Paul Ricard HTTT in the South of France. Want to see more from the unveiling? Follow the jump and feast your eyes on the video footage there to be viewed.

Gallery: New Lancia Stratos

[Source: New Stratos via CarScoop]

Continue reading New Stratos unveiled in retro Alitalia rally livery [w/video]

New Stratos unveiled in retro Alitalia rally livery [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorsports mainstay Tom Walkinshaw dead at 64 [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports

Tom Wilkinshaw

Tom Wilkinshaw, a former racer and Formula One team owner, passed away this weekend after a long fight with cancer at the age of 64. Wilkinshaw began making a name for himself in the racing world when he took the 1969 Formula Ford title, though he didn’t stop at the open-wheel leagues. After taking the European Touring Car Championship in 1984 with a Jaguar XJS, the sportsman took the Bathurst 1000 in the same car with co-drivers John Goss and German Armin. Wilkinshaw also snagged the Le Mans and Sportscar titles before jumping out of the cockpit to lend a hand with the legendary Benetton F1 team as an engineering director.

While there, Wilkinshaw helped usher Michael Schumacher to the first F1 wins of his career. After his time with Benetton, the Scot worked under the Ligier and Arrows banners before leaving F1 for Australian Supercars. Hit the jump to see the man in action behind the wheel of a Jaguar V12 XJS.

[Sources: Formula 1, The Sydney Morning Herald]

Continue reading Motorsports mainstay Tom Walkinshaw dead at 64 [w/video]

Motorsports mainstay Tom Walkinshaw dead at 64 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Edition: Cold Weather Start [w/video]

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Volkswagen, Design/Style, Diesel, Long-Term Garage

2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Edition: Cold Weather Start

2010 VW Jetta TDI Cup Edition: Cold Weather Start – Click above to watch video after the jump

The 2.0-liter turbo diesel in our long-term 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Edition is a very modern mill, so we were curious how it would handle starting in the frigid clime of northeastern Ohio this time of year.

Diesel engines typically have three vulnerabilities when it comes to cold weather starts: the fuel, the battery and their glow plugs. First, the new Ultra Low Sulfur diesel fuel we all use begins to gel at a higher temperature than the old fuel. Sulfur is also a lubricant, and with less of it, the fuel pump has to work harder in cold temperatures to keep the thicker diesel fuel flowing. Fortunately, most diesel fuel sold in colder areas has ant-gelling additives mixed in already.

Batteries are also less efficient when cold, while at the same time having to work much harder to crank the engine more times. Finally, diesel engines use glow plugs to heat the point of combustion in each cylinder, which is a much tougher job when the mercury drops below freezing. Optional block heaters can help a diesel engine start in cold weather, but Volkswagen has enough faith in its 2.0-liter TDI that it doesn’t even offer one.

So how did our Jetta TDI Cup Edition do when being started in 25-degree weather after sitting for over 24 hours? Follow the jump to see for yourself.

Continue reading 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Edition: Cold Weather Start [w/video]

2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Edition: Cold Weather Start [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Subaru pegs David Higgins as new Rally Team USA driver [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Subaru, Racing

David Higgins

David Higgins joins Subaru Rally Team USA – Click above to watch video after the jump

The speculation over exactly who will be taking Travis Pastrana’s spot in the driver’s seat with Subaru Rally Team USA can officially be put to rest. David Higgins will be the new man in blue and yellow. Higgins has a résumé that’s chock full of rally wins, from championship titles in SCCA rally here in the states in 2002 and 2003 to a British National Rally Championship title in 2004. The guy also managed to walk away with a championship wins in group N in the British National Rally in 1997, 1999 and 2002.

Needless to say, the guy’s got the chops to keep the pace.

Subaru plans to campaign two cars next season, and while Higgins is the newest member of the team, the leader of the pack will BMX guru and rally beast Dave Mirra. Mirra managed to snag a Rookie of the Year award from Rally America for his efforts last season and took a slot on the podium during the Rally America Olympus event among others. Hit the jump for a look at a video of Higgins doing what he does best as well as the full press blast.

[Source: Subaru]

Continue reading Subaru pegs David Higgins as new Rally Team USA driver [w/video]

Subaru pegs David Higgins as new Rally Team USA driver [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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