Red Bull Racing’s “number two driver,” Mark Webber, seen here with a cat, has just about had enough of technology ruining all the fun of Formula One racing. Several new systems have been put in place in many of the cars this year, but the systems go overboard with the technology, apparently. Not only that, but the reliance on all this technology may be distracting, as Webber says drivers ought to be 100 percent focused on the road, but now they’re practically being asked to jailbreak their car while trying not to veer off into the gravel. → Read More
To some, the Ford GT was probably one of the best cars ever built. But after 4,000 models and two model years, Ford quit building the iconic sports car. With all the momentum Ford has going these days, wouldn’t it be cool if they brought it back, again? There are rumors out there that say, yes, Ford will bring back the GT, but not as quite you’d remember it. → Read More
The electric Kangoo is Renault’s version of Ford Transit Connect Electric. Its a small van on car frame and is very popular in the commercial fleets. Think of it as a vehicle for people who drive less than 100 miles per day and park their vehicles in the same spot every night. It doesn’t offer the most flexibility for everyone, but for some it’s quite promising, except for those certain rental fees. → Read More
With all the Volt excitement, we haven’t really talked a lot about what other electric offerings GM has planned. GM has a new hybrid system they think can raise fuel economy about 25% higher. It’s called eAssist and it’s somewhat a mild hybrid modifier for existing vehicles. GM already plans to offer this technology in the 2012 Buick LaCrosse and now, they’ve announced it for the Buick Regal. → Read More
It seems that the new stricter strict laws regarding drunk driving have done little to curb that gravely irresponsible habit, so harsher measures may be on the way in the form of in-car breathalyzers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may be requiring such devices, though not any time soon. → Read More
What’s the first thing you think when you hear the word “focus.” You might respond, “camera,” or “cheap car,” or “concentration,” but definitely not, “fun,” “technological,” or “practical.” This will likely change in a second because those are the words I’d use to tentatively describe this year’s Ford Focus, a small, sporty car for just about everybody. More Americans are ditching their gas-guzzling SUVs and heading straight for the small car market. From a marketing standpoint, Ford’s approach to selling a small car to people is by offering all the features found in their larger vehicles, but in a smaller package. No longer do people have to feel ashamed for “cheaping out” and getting a Focus, instead, it’s simply a lifestyle choice. Why should the choice take out all the fun of owning a car? I got a chance to drive the new 2012 Ford Focus last week in LA. Those in the area know the hills overtop the city feature some of the most entertaining roads in the country. → Read More
The new Formula One season begins in March, andFerrari is the first team to show its hand. Its new car, the F150 (so named to commemorate 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy), was launched just a few hours ago at its headquarters in Maranello—Italy, of course. Given that Formula One is poised to introduce a new series of regulations in the coming years, partly to make the sport more “green,” it’s probably worth a few minutes to check out some of the changes Ferrari has made to its flagship piece of engineering. Is it enough to dethrone Adrian Newey and the rest of Red Bull Racing? Prediction: no. → Read More
Never before has an EV been European Car of the Year; this year the Nissan Leaf gets it. Similar to the North American Car of the Year, which the Chevrolet Volt won, the European COTY is chosen by auto journalists; 58 of them from 23 European countries. The contest was very close. The Leaf rang up 257 points from the journos, besting the Alfa Romeo Giulietta by only 9 points. So why did the Nissan Leaf win? → Read More
The idea of using robot technology for cars isn’t new, but this new model, the so-called RoboCar MEV [JP], is pretty cool. The one-seater, made by Japanese maker ZMP, is actually the company’s second robot car (following a similar vehicle they showed last February). → Read More
The “intelligent” car is something virtually every automaker is working on at the moment, but that didn’t stop a group of students from Japan’s Tsukuba University from coming up with their own quirky invention: meet the Homunculus, a car that’s “based on a new concept of interactions between humans and vehicles. It promotes and augments non-verbal communicability humans in vehicles.” → Read More
I feel like there’s something missing from this video. Oh yes, the thumping music and roaring engines that usually accompany these road-type videos — on Top Gear, anyway. Isn’t it a little creepy how quiet it is?
If you’re looking for more Model S love, we got a bunch of shots of a nice red one at CES. I actually like the silver color better, though. → Read More
Being the first affordable all-electric car on the market, the Leaf was kind of guaranteed to be a big seller. But their way of going about selling the thing seems to have given their customers unrealistic expectations of when their cars would actually arrive. People have been given extremely vague promises of when their car will arrive (“4-7 months”?), and theories have arisen in the community to the effect that Nissan is attempting to manufacture scarcity.
Nissan is hitting back, or rather soothing back, and has issued some statements regarding the rollout intended to get their customers to put down the pitchforks. → Read More
Green vehicles were the focus of this weeks North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Many carmakers are finally coming out with product lines full of new electric or electric-hybrid vehicles. And by “many,” think “everyone” in some way — even Porsche. So, it comes as no surprise that, along with the new Audi A6, comes the A6 Hybrid.
The A6 Hybrid is part of Audi’s Electrification plan, which is all about getting the mileage up. They’ll tell you that fuel consumption is going to be better and the tech is very advanced, which it is, but they won’t tell you that they’ve had the technology to get similar fuel economy for years. → Read More
Good news: Formula One will be in HD this year. You’d have thought that such a fancy racing circuit would be broadcast in HD already—how many years has Nascar been in HD?—but no; we’ve had to wait. Long overdue, yes. → Read More
One of the primary criticisms of electric vehicles is that they have a limited range. Well, yes, they do. And that’s not going to change any time soon. That’s why they’re being marketed as city cars, since (as Nissan is careful to point out in almost every press release) a large majority of drivers go less than 40 miles per day, and almost all go under a hundred.
If you’re driving long distances, an electric vehicle isn’t for you. Just like if you’re hauling lots of lumber, a Civic isn’t for you. But the BBC seems to feel this particular dead horse needs a few more kicks. → Read More
And here’s another non-iPhone story to sorta cleanse the pallet. (We recognize that not everybody necessarily goes nuts over the iPhone, but today is just one of those days.) Recognize this Jeep? You will if you’ve played Call of Duty: Black Ops, the Big Mac of the gaming world. → Read More
This was just too cute to pass up. Honeywell and SAE have been running a program in which student teams (like, 10-year-olds) go through the process of researching and designing cars. I’m not sure what the program expected to come of this, but as I would have expected, we have a panda car, ladybug car, a tank… pretty much what you and I would have put together if we were doing this. → Read More
Automated vehicles are coming. That’s for sure. But until a computer can really be trusted with the lives of everyone on the road, there will be some intermediate steps that may improve mileage and traffic. The SARTRE system (Safe Road Trains for the Environment, not the best acronym I’ve seen) uses a road train system where cars would follow each other closely, guided by a human-driven front vehicle. → Read More
We all know keychain fobs are far from the most sophisticated devices in the world, but there’s a chance that their merely elementary security measures may put your car at risk. While it’s far from a widespread problem, it seems to be an issue most companies are willing to ignore. → Read More
