Cars Tips: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

Watch Our 12 Most Popular Offbeat Videos of 2012

When we're not scooping out future cars or reporting the news from around the auto industry, we habitually like to snoop around and see what else is going on in the world of four and sometimes, two wheels - guilty as charged…

You can find these stories classified under our Offbeat News section. For one reason or another, some videos from this category grabbed your attention more than others did, so we decided to crunch the numbers and see which ones from 2012 were the most popular with you, our readers.

Most people credit the Lamborghini Miura with being the world’s first supercar. It is the Miura's successor though, the Countach, that wrote the handbook on how a supercar should be: extraordinarily flashy with the cabin set forward to accommodate the huge engine set longitudinally amidship making a wonderful, uncompromisingly loud scream when revved hard. Read more »

U Spy: We Remember the Cars You Scooped in 2012

We would like to begin by personally thanking each and every one of our readers who contributed with their scoop images and in some cases, videos as well, to our "U Spy" section that has gained a lot of traction over the years, with 2012 being no exception.

The fact that many of you took the time to shoot pictures of yet-to-be revealed models that you happened to cross paths with and picked CarScoop as the site of your choice to share them with other readers and fellow gearheads without ever asking for something in return is truly admirable and sure gets our engines running.

In 1988, Jaguar unveiled a new concept at the NEC Auto Show in Birmingham. It was a study for a lightweight, mid-engined supercar to compete against the Ferrari F40 and the Porsche 959.

A 6.2-liter V12 engine from the XJR-9 endurance racer, an all-wheel drive system, scissor-style doors and a target of reaching 220 mph (355 km/h), which gave the car its XJ220 moniker, wetted the affluent customers’ appetite.

No doubt, it's been an interesting year in automotive news. Besides an abundance of important new model presentations such as the VW Golf Mk7, we also witnessed the rebound of North American sales, the rapid decline of Europe's auto market amidst the euro currency crisis, and even announcements on the re-birth of brands like Datsun, just to mention a few of the things that took place in 2012.

But which stories captured the attention of CarScoop's readers the most in 2012? Well, to answer that question, we compiled a list with the 10 most read articles of the year, and let's just say that, while some entrants were to be expected, many caught us by surprise with their presence in the Top 10, especially the ones from previous years. Naturally, the same can be said for those missing from the list…

When it's snowing and the roads are ice cold, it's always a good idea to take it easy and be as gentle as a butterfly with you car's gas and brake pedals, especially when performing a turn or slowing down.

We guess that the gentleman driving this older generation Nissan Maxima had to learn his lesson the hard way. To be fair, he wasn't going fast, just faster than what road conditions permitted at the time, something he wouldn’t have had to do if he waited a few seconds for the cars on the street to pass by.

More often than not, replica sightings on eBay capture our attention for all the wrong reasons, but once in a while, we find ourselves taking a second look to see if what we're dealing with is real or not.

Such was the case with this Ferrari Enzo replica listed for sale in Germany, which was unearthed by CarScoop reader Bilal A.

Granted, the shape of the rear window covering the engine bay and the way it connects to the roof, or most parts of the interior including the gated shifter and the regular steering wheel, are a dead giveaway to the trained eye, but you have to admit that, overall, the builder of the car did a pretty good job.

Last month General Motors informed its Chevrolet dealers of the requirements they should fulfill if they want to keep selling and servicing the Volt from January of 2013.

Among the prerequisites for Chevy dealers is an additional US$5,100 they had to pay for specialized tools needed to service the extended-range hybrid, the bulk of which, US$4,735, accounts for a battery de-powering tool. This is needed to drain the battery and remove sections of it, rather than the whole pack, and send them back to GM for repair.

It may not seem important but it was big enough of a deal for some dealers to stop carrying the Volt.

Driving on a city road as if Frank Martin (from The Transporter film series) is chasing you is never a good idea and it can get you and other people in trouble or even worse, as was the case with this BMW owner.

The video commentary says the accident happened in Taiwan, with the footage showing the BMW driver knocking down a bicyclist, who we're not sure if he was crossing the road from a side street or if he was in front of the car at the time.

Is bigger more beautiful, as some like to believe? Well, as with most things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we will let you decide whether Ultimate Auto's custom Dodge Challenger SRT-8 Widebody is a looker or not after we tell you a few things about the build.

As its name states, the highlight of Orlando-based Ultimate Auto's version of the Challenger SRT-8 is its wide aero package featuring composite body panels that make space for ginormous 24-inch alloy wheels in a custom matte charcoal finish from Savini, which on the rear axle, are wrapped in equally massive Pirelli 405/25-24 tires.

The Blue Oval has announced that U.S. sales of its Ford brand will surpass the 2.2 million mark in the year that ends today, adding that it has three vehicle nameplates in the global top 10, according to the latest vehicle registration data from research firm Polk.

This is the second year in a row that the Ford sells more than 2 million vehicles in the States, the only brand to do so since 2007.

It's one of the most exclusive exotic supercars in the world, with Lamborghini having built only 21 coupe models of the Reventon, keeping one of those cars for itself to display at its museum, and 15 roadster versions, only three of which are right-hand drive (RHD).

For their first video, the gearheads over at The BHP Project had the unique opportunity to get behind the wheel of one of the RHD Reventon Roadsters and shared the experience with us.

Car Dash Cam Records Plane Crash on Moscow Highway

A Moscow car driver was both fortunate to make it out alive and at the same time, unlucky to witness the wreckage caused by a Tupolev Tu-204 airplane belonging to Russian carrier Red Wings that careered off a Moscow runway on Saturday at the moment he was passing by with his car and his dash-camera turned on.

The twin-engined medium-range jet airliner that is capable of carrying up to 210 people, was arriving at the Vnukovo International Airport from the Czech Republic when for unknown reasons, it overshot a runway and crashed through the fence skidding onto a nearby highway.

It's been more than two-and-a-half years since CarScoop reader Shawnz from Singapore piqued our interest with a custom project for a unique looking Mazda RX-8 Coupe.

To refresh your memory, back in February of 2010, Shawnz had sent us pictures of his project car, which at the time, was still being built and honed.

As a student, Shawnz had limited funds and time to complete the car of his dream, but he never let go and today, he can proudly present to us his finished creation that he likes to call the Blacknightz RX-8.

"After hard savings and refining the drawing board and the power mods...presenting the Decepticon to the Veilside 4509 GTR Supra," Shawnz told CarScoop in an email (if you're wondering about the Veilside Supra, click here for pictures).

The first of many new products to come from the Maserati and Alfa Romeo brands over the next few years in the premium segments is the 2013 Quattroprote full-size, luxury sedan.

Now in its sixth generation and probably more mature than ever – some will say, too mature…- the new Quattroporte will make its global premiere in a couple of weeks' time at the Detroit Auto Show before it goes on sale worldwide at prices few will likely be able to afford.

Alfa Romeo Teases New Model for 2013, will Likely be the Production 4C Coupe

If there's one thing Alfa Romeo has graciously afforded us these past years, it's broken promises – be that its fabled return to the U.S. market or a swarm of new models covering just about every segment in the market, none of which ever happened.

That might change now that parent company Fiat has made the decision to aggressively compete in the lower and mid premium segments with Alfa Romeo and in the upper levels with Maserati.

Among the few foreign automakers that will be present at next month's Tokyo Auto Salon is General Motors with its Chevrolet brand that will display three new models.

These include two customized concept cars, the Sonic Street subcompact and the Captiva Freedom Rider crossover, plus a limited production special, the 2013 Camaro Giovanna Edition.

Watch a Tug of War Between a VW Touareg V10 TDI and a Chevrolet Silverado Duramax V8

It seems that pickup truck owners throughout the country have a thing for competing in amateur pulling contests.

Only a couple of weeks ago, we witnessed the finesse, skill, and let's not forget, the…ahem…sportsmanship between two drivers in a Chevrolet Silverado and a diesel-powered Dodge Ram Cummins battling it out on a parking lot before they moved on to challenge each other in a traditional fist fight.

So, what do we have in this video, that was brought to our attention by reader Patrick K.?

Europe may be in trouble but many of its automakers are performing just fine and the rest of the world seems to be doing okay, as global new car sales are tipped to exceed 80 million units for the first time ever.

Therefore, you could say that 2012 has been a good year for the automotive industry, which rolled out a whole lot of new models.

With only three days to go until the end of the year, we found ourselves asking out loudly: which newly presented production and concept vehicles impressed us the most?

The much promising GRMN Sports FR Concept Platinum study with a twin-charged boxer engine pushing out 325-horses that we showed you earlier on Friday won't be the only concept version of the Toyota 86 (call it Scion FR-S if you live in North America) coupe to go on display at next month's Tokyo Auto Salon 2013.

Toyota and its tuning outfits will put on show 10 customized vehicles, half of which have already been confirmed to be based on the 86 – we wouldn't be the least surprised to learn that the rest of the models are also based on the brand's rear-wheel drive sports car.

Car of the year is so old hat; picking the world’s best car, on the other hand, is quite an ambitious undertaking. It’s an intriguing one, too, and probably that’s the reason CAR magazine decided to go ahead with it for their December 2012 issue cover story.

We bet the editors had a difficult time trying to narrow down the finalists to a reasonable number. In the end, they came up with five cars from different segments.

There’s a luxury SUV, a four-door, four-seat supercar, two luxury saloons and a two-door, four-seater supercar.

The Chinese maker of all-electric vehicles that gained a lot of attention in 2008 when investor Warren Buffett bought a 10 percent stake in BYD for$230 million, is now actively looking to build an electric-bus assembly plant in the States.

Micheal Austin, vice president of BYD America, broke the news to WardsAuto, adding that the company has not yet decided on the location for the plant. "Clearly, there are a lot sensitive negotiations that must go on before any of that happens," said Austin.

Who knows why some people, or to be more specific, drivers, do the things they do. If you take a few minutes to watch the following video, you will understand what we mean by this.

One of the many recording devices used by Russian motorists captured a very bizarre incident in the country's capital city of Moscow. Approximately six seconds into the clip, we see the driver of a black Mercedes-Benz GL-Class making an illegal U-turn.

The issue of Porsche’s failed attempt to acquire Volkswagen in 2008 has surfaced again. Last week the automaker’s former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and ex-COO Holger Haerter were formally charged in Stuttgart, Germany with market manipulation. Moreover, Porsche filed a lawsuit against the Pendragon fund and its manager in an effort to keep the case in its homeland. Read more »

Suzuki Puts the Spotlight on its Wagon R Series with Two Concepts for the Tokyo Auto Salon

The troubled automotive division of Suzuki Motor Corp. will be heading to the Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 next month with an assortment of its latest production cars and two concept models.

For the tuning enthusiasts, the Japanese brand has prepared two studies based on the regular Wagon R and its more aggressively styled sibling, the Wagon R Stingray.

The €18.5 billion (US$24.4) refinancing deal struck between the French government and the ailing PSA Peugeot-Citroen group, which includes a €7 billion (US$9.3 billion) state guarantee, is causing headaches to the automaker for the second time in as many months.

In November, talks about advancing the alliance with General Motors’ European operations into a full-scale merger were put on ice because the conditions under which the funds are to be granted rule out any job cuts from the French automaker.

If you must have a Land Rover and for some reason the compact Evoque is too big for your needs and tastes, then you're out of luck in the real world (at least for now), but in the creative realm of art, British design student Joshua Picton has imagined a new entry-level model for the company's sub-brand Range Rover, aptly named the Coupe Concept. Read more »

Jeep Driver is Having an Unexplainable Hard Time Backing Out of This Parking Spot

Granted, the Jeep Commander isn't a small vehicle, but at 188.5 inches (4,788 mm) long, the crossover isn't huge either, which makes it kind of tough to explain why this driver is having such a hard time backing out of the parking space.

As is almost always the case with people filming these type of incidents, the men behind the camera are far more concerned about cracking a joke than going out to help the woman who is clearly struggling to move her car…

After sharing the news about its new badging theme that will see all 2014 models gaining a 'Q' in their name, Infiniti has presented an official teaser video of the first car to adopt this naming strategy, the Q50.

And what exactly is the Q50, we hear some of you ask? Well, it’s the car that will replace the current G series sedan and which will be formally introduced in a world premiere at January's 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

Back in September, just before the Paris Motor Show kicked off, General Motors came out with an announcement saying that over the next 12 months, its Buick brand is set to receive five new or refreshed models.

Among the cars including in the list were the Enclave and Encore crossovers, and the 250hp Verano Turbo that we've already seen, and the Regal and LaCrosse sedans.

We still have to wait and see what Buick has in store for the Regal, but as far as the LaCrosse is concerned, these spy shots of a camouflage-free prototype found in China, pretty much tell us the cosmetic story.

From the moment Nissan announced that it will revive its dormant Datsun brand with the goal of conquering emerging markets, we knew that cars like the 240Z were out of the question.

At the time, one CarScoop commentator projected that the new generation of Datsun models "are going to be rebodied Dacias", which as it turns out, isn't too far from the truth.

Unless you're stuck in traffic, it doesn't really matter where you drive to enjoy an Italian exotic like the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, but doing so in a gold-wrapped example in an empty port in Miami, is an experience not many people will get in life.

Enter the world of NueVueProductions and its unnamed driver who had the unique opportunity to have some slippery fun with Prestige Imports Miami's Project AU.79 Aventador during the shooting of a short film in Florida.

The 2013 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon is turning out to be quite the event with many surprise debuts being announced as we approach closer to the grand opening that takes place on the weekend before the Detroit motor show in mid-January.

Today we learn that Toyota's motorsports and tuning partner Gazoo Racing will host the world premiere of a unique looking Toyota 86 coupe (Japan's version of the North American Scion FR-S) named the GRMN Sports FR Concept Platinum.

From the few cropped pictures we were able to get our hands on, we can see that the study will feature a unique body with different front and rear ends over the stock 86/FR-S along with some interior upgrades including bucket seats.

If the concept's name rings a bell, that's because under the sheetmetal, it shares its performance upgrades with the GRMN Sports FR Concept revealed at the Goodwood Festival in the UK this summer.

The man who played if not the, one of the most important roles in turning around the global reputation of Kia as the firm's Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, has been appointed to the role of president, the first non-Korean to hold that title in the automaker's history.

Schreyer, who will keep his position as Kia's design boss, is one of three presidents at the company. His promotion is a sign that the Hyundai and Kia group wants design to play an even greater role in the future as it continues its global expansion challenging Germany's car industry.

Imagine that there's a snowstorm going on outside with visibility limited to 30 feet (~10m) or less and you're driving a large truck; what do you do?

Well, we would like to think that in this scenario, most people would pull over to the side and cross their fingers that other motorists do the same, but that's not the case with this driver who is featured in the dashcam video.

After some Leaf owners located in hot-weather climates complained to Nissan about their car's lithium-ion battery losing performance , the Japanese automaker decided to take action and bolster its warranty program that will apply retroactively on all 2011 and 2012 models, as well as the new 2013 version starting from next spring. Read more »

Scoop: 2014 Volvo XC60 Facelift Captured Undisguised in China

As was the case with Volvo's subtly refreshed 2014 S80 sedan, the facelifted XC60 crossover has also been scooped without any camouflage in China, which, coincidentally or not, happens to be the home of the Swedish brand's owner, Geely.

Although there's always the possibility that the cosmetic changes seen on the XC60 may be for China only, we expect the facelifted crossover to be offered globally.

Most updates take place up front where Volvo's designers removed the inner lights between the headlamps and the grille, which has grown in size and now sits on the front of a redesigned and more pronounced hood. The headlamps themselves are also new as is the bumper.

The revamped exterior mirrors with longer turning signals, the addition of a chrome strip on the tailgate and the re-sculptured rear bumper with new exhaust tailpipes complete the exterior revisions.

Future Audi Models will Differ More in Design from Each Other, Says R&D Boss

Things are looking great for Audi: in the first 11 months of the year, its sales have already exceeded 2011’s total, recording a 12.7 percent increase and it’s nigh impossible to find a niche in which it doesn’t compete.

Alas, in their efforts to create a family look its designers have taken things a bit too far. In fact, in certain cases, it’s difficult to distinguish one model from the other, especially from the front…

That’s not nitpicking but a fact that even Wolfgang Dürheimer, the ex-Bentley boss who since September is Audi’s board member responsible for research and development, acknowledges.

The car that Mitsubishi believes will help it grow again and increase its sales on a global basis and especially in developing markets, the new Mirage, will join the brand's range in the United States next year, but we already knew that.

What a report from Car and Driver adds is that the Japanese carmaker's no-frills sub-compact will be revealed in U.S.-specification at the 2013 New York Auto Show in April, and that it will go on sale in September of the same year.

Reverend Francis Cook was employed by Bentley for the past 10 years. Once a week, he visited the VW Group-owned luxury automaker’s factory in Crewe, England, and chatted to its employees, run Christian courses and written messages in the company’s newsletters.

Just a few days before Christmas (…), he was told that his services were no longer required and he should vacate the premises.

“The reason I have been given is that there are too many people of different faiths to warrant a Christian chaplain”, Cooke told UK daily newspaper The Mirror. “There have been no complaints made against me and my position is to help people, and not just those who are Christians.”

When owners of new BMW models want to add some visual pizazz to their rides, their first choice is to tick the M Sport Package box from the options list, which usually comes with an aerodynamic kit and bigger alloy wheels for the exterior, and sport seats and trim for the interior. Read more »

Jay Leno Walk us Around Four Pristine Pieces of Corvette History

Most of you are already aware that American comedian and TV show host Jay Leno is a very serious car enthusiast who also likes to share his passion with others gearheads.

With the eagerly anticipated 2014 Corvette C7 just around the corner, Leno invited vice president of General Motors Design Ed Welburn to his garage. Welburn didn’t come alone, of course: he brought with him four Corvettes from the past.

General insurance company Swiftcover has released a list with the top 10 vehicles that are most likely to be stolen in Britain.

The company states it analyzed more than 2,300 theft claims among the UK vehicles it insured from February 2011 to February 2012, while taking into account the estimated numbers of cars on the road and removing models with less than ten cases of theft per year.

Well, despite the fact that this young prankster succeeded in frightening his victim, you could chalk this one up as a fail as at it came at a personal cost.

You see, some bright adults came up with the idea of hiding a kid in the empty engine compartment of an old Chrysler Sebring to scare a mechanic once he opened up the car's hood.

It was probably a matter of time before someone picked up the Consumer Reports review that accused Ford of misstating the 2013 C-MAX Hybrid and Fusion Hybrid fuel economy numbers and filing a lawsuit.

The publication contested the 47 mpg city/highway/combined figure and said that the two Ford hybrids had the “distinction” of recording the greatest difference between the EPA-approved mpg and the ones it achieved during its own tests.

For its second project after the Maserati Quattroporte that was released earlier this summer, German sports car tuner CDC Performance has worked over the most affordable Ferrari model, the California hardtop roadster.

Beginning with the engine, CDC Performance introduces a supercharger system complete with intercooling, and a custom made exhaust system fitted with a valve to control the V8's noise levels, bumping output from 483hp (490PS) to 594hp (602PS), and torque from 505Nm (372 lb-ft) to 600Nm (443 lb-ft).

In the past 10 years, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received nearly 3,100 complaints about sudden acceleration issues in Toyota vehicles. Those complaints alleged 93 deaths, but the Administration has confirmed a direct link in just five of them.

The issue made headlines in 2009 after a wrongly installed floor mat on a loaner Lexus ES caused the vehicle to crash, resulting in the death of the driver and his three passengers.

Toyota was forced to recall 7.1 million vehicles in the U.S. and another 5.3 in the rest of the world over the issue and was slapped with US$70 million in fines by the NHTSA as it failed to recall the affected vehicles on time.

Monday, December 31, 2012

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Thursday, December 27, 2012

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