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Hyundai confirms 2011 Elantra to arrive in U.S. by end of the year

Filed under: Sedan, Hyundai

2011 Hyundai Avante/Elantra – Click above for high-res image gallery

Hyundai’s all-new Avante compact sedan is officially on sale in South Korea as of today, and it’s coming to the U.S. market by the end of the year as the 2011 Elantra. The Avante debuted at the Busan show in Korea last spring and features a further evolution of the “fluidic sculpture’ look from the Sonata that Hyundai is calling “wind craft.” Whatever it’s called, this is a much more assertive design than the outgoing Elantra and should be a strong competitor to the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus.

Overall length has been stretched by about one inch and the axles are now two inches further apart. Hyundai isn’t giving any specifications for overseas markets yet, but the Avante is propelled by a new direct-injected version of the company’s 1.6-liter Gamma inline-four. In KDM trim, it’s rated at 138 horsepower and 123 pound-feet of torque. Fuel consumption at home comes out 38.8 miles per gallon (U.S.) combined.

Gallery: 2011 Hyundai Avante / Elantra

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Hyundai confirms 2011 Elantra to arrive in U.S. by end of the year

Hyundai confirms 2011 Elantra to arrive in U.S. by end of the year originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maker Faire Detroit 2010: 72-year-old building his own Ariel Atom clone

Filed under: Performance, Technology, Specialty, Design/Style

Bert Campbell’s Atom chassis – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Ariel Atom is an amazing piece of automotive minimalism and could be what Lotus founder Colin Chapman would build were he still with us today. However, not everyone can swing the price tag for an Atom. In the case of 72-year-old Bert Campbell of Southgate, MI, his artificial hip also posed an ingress/egress problem. Bert is one of the participants at the first Detroit Maker Faire, and because of his mobility problem, he decided to the take the basic Atom chassis design and modify the sides to make them lower. To compensate for the loss of structure, he added a roll-cage on top.

Campbell bought the steel tubing at swap meet for about $20 and got the front control arms from another hobbyist in return for some help fixing a lathe. Campbell built his own tubing bender and roller to shape the steel and has done all the fabrication in his girlfriend’s garage. Although he has several engines available, Campbell plans to install an 1100cc Yamaha motorcycle engine in the back with the original five-speed gearbox. Bert promises to keep us up to date as the project progresses, so stay tuned for more.

Gallery: Bert Campbell’s home built Atom

Maker Faire Detroit 2010: 72-year-old building his own Ariel Atom clone originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1941 Tatra T87 named The New York Times’ Collectible Car of the Year

Filed under: Classics, Sedan, Etc., Europe

The web has spoken and a 1941 Tatra T87 has been voted The New York Times 2010 Collectible Car of the Year. The rear-engined, air-cooled V8 Tatra beat 30 finalists (overall, there were 651 entrants), including noteworthy cars from Packard and Checker. The T87’s owner, Paul Greenstein, was shocked to hear that his car – one of three Tatras he owns – came out on top. Greenstein says the Tatra has a unique allure that can’t be matched by other manufacturers. For Americans, rarity factors into that, as the Czech marque was never sold in the United States.

Greenstein picked up his car in 2001 for the princely sum of $8,000. At the time, the fin wasn’t in show-quality condition, so he had the T87 shipped to the Czech Republic for a full restoration. Fringe benefits of having the work done in the old country included cheap labor and parts availability that couldn’t be matched in the U.S. Three-and-a-half years and $60,000 later, Greenstein and his girlfriend had their T87 back. Don’t scoff at the cost; recent examples have sold at auction for as much as $125,000. Fortunately, the Times’ Collectible Car of the Year award includes a $5,000 check along with the trophy.

Head over to the The New York Times to read the full story, and be sure to also visit Clunkbucket for a few shots of Paul Greenstein’s T87 taken prior to its restoration.

[Source: The New York Times | Image: Clunkbucket]

1941 Tatra T87 named The New York Times’ Collectible Car of the Year originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan announces Leaf rollout plans, 8-year battery warranty

Filed under: Hatchback, Nissan, Electric

Nissan Leaf EV – Click above for high-res image gallery

At the Plug-in 2010 Conference in San Jose, CA today, Nissan North America’s executive vice president, Carlos Tavares, announced that the Leaf’s battery pack will be covered by an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty – exactly what Chevrolet is offering on the Volt pack. He said that feedback from people interested in the Leaf was important in setting these levels, so that explains why Leaf hand-raisers received email surveys about the topic recently.

For what it’s worth, the official Leaf battery warranty is what about half of AutoblogGreen readers voted for in our unscientific poll on the topic. Almost 45 percent said the eight-year/100,000-mile level was good for electric vehicles, while a few more thought 10-years/150,000 miles was the preferred level.

In other Leaf news, Nissan has also announced its official rollout plans. As we already knew, the electric car will first launch in December, in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee. Firm orders from these five states, which make up the so-called EV Project, will begin in August.

Following that initial wave, the machine will be sent to Texas and Hawaii in January 2011. Next up will be North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Alabama in April 2011. The rest of the nation will see their Leafs beginning in the fall of 2011 with availability in all markets nationwide by the end of that year.

There are plenty more interesting tidbits to glean from Nissan’s press release on the matter, which can be found in its entirety after the break.

Gallery: 2010 Nissan LEAF

[Source: Nissan]

Continue reading Nissan announces Leaf rollout plans, 8-year battery warranty

Nissan announces Leaf rollout plans, 8-year battery warranty originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Chevrolet Volt priced at $41,000* or $350/month for three-year lease

Filed under: Hybrid, Hatchback, Chevrolet, Electric

Chevrolet Volt – Click above for high-res image gallery

General Motors’ recently hired vice-president for sales and marketing Joel Ewanick took the stage at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, CA today and finally revealed that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will have a base price of $41,000 (including a $720 destination charge) before federal and state tax incentives. While GM hasn’t gone as aggressive as most people had hoped on the sticker price, the real deal appears to be the $350 per month for 36 months lease. That matches the monthly payment that Nissan is charging for the Leaf EV.

The effective purchase price of the Volt will be cut to $33,500 with a $7,500 federal tax credit (hence the asterisk in the title), but buyers will have to finance the $41,000 and get the credit back on their next tax return. Lease customers will have the credit factored in to their payment. The Volt lease requires a $2,500 down payment (vs $2,000 for the Leaf), but GM is including a clause in the lease contract that allows leasers to buy the car at the end of their term so that the automaker don’t have another standoff with customers like it did with the all-electric EV1. Follow the jump to learn more about the Volt’s price and how the order process will go, but first take our informal poll below.

View Poll

Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt

Continue reading 2011 Chevrolet Volt priced at $41,000* or $350/month for three-year lease

2011 Chevrolet Volt priced at $41,000* or $350/month for three-year lease originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: 17-year-old swaps old phone for Porsche Boxster on Craigslist

Filed under: Convertible, Videos, Porsche

Click above to watch the video after the jump

If you don’t currently own a Porsche Boxster, you probably wouldn’t mind having one in the garage. Seventeen-year-old Steven Ortiz turned wishes and hopes into hard work and determination to finally land a shiny silver 2000 Boxster, but he didn’t tap into a trust fund or bust open a few piggy banks to meet his goal. All he used was an old cell phone, Craigslist and a lot of time.

Ortiz bartered that phone for an iPod, then traded the iPod for a dirt bike and from the dirt bike came a series of cars, an SUV and finally one mighty attractive drop-top with an engine in the boot. The man just got his license and he’s already rocking a Porsche… what a country.

The local ABC affiliate in Glendora, California interviewed Ortiz, and from the limited shots of the car, the man’s Boxster looks far better than even the smartest of smart phones. Hit the jump to watch the video for yourself, and if you’re thinking of asking Ortiz to swap some old junk for an Italian exotic, his friends already beat you to it. It’s apparently harder to do than it sounds.

[Source: ABC News]

Continue reading Video: 17-year-old swaps old phone for Porsche Boxster on Craigslist

Video: 17-year-old swaps old phone for Porsche Boxster on Craigslist originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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