Cars Tips: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

2013 Ford Focus ST U.S. Pricing Leaked, Starts from $23,700*

We are not sure when Ford is planning to release official pricing for its U.S. market 2013 Focus ST, but a leaked dealer document discovered on the FordSTNation forums by the team over at Jalopnik tells us that the hot hatchback will start at $23,700 when it arrives in dealerships across the States within the next few weeks.

The aforementioned MSRP does not include a destination and handling fee (*), which should be the same as the rest of the Focus lineup at $795, bringing up the price to $24,495.

We also see the cost of some options including the moonroof at $895, the navigation system at $795, the Tangerine Scream Tricoat Paint at $495, and the engine block heater at $35. There are also two equipment packages named 201A ($2,505) and 201A ($4,840), though we don't get any details about their content.

Last month, it was reported that Volkswagen is mulling the development of a sporty looking compact sedan in the likes of the Passat CC (pictured above) based on the running gear of the next Jetta saloon.

Today we learn via a new report from Car&Driver magazine that even though Volkswagen's top brass is positive about the idea and could soon reach a final decision, company sources from Europe reportedly said, "It is highly unlikely that the car will make it to U.S. dealers".

What started out as a war of words between a 47-year old taxi driver and a 23-year old passenger quickly escalated to a hit-and-run incident that took place in Montreal, Canada, around 4 am this past Sunday, April 29.

Canada's Ottawacitizen identified the cab driver as Guercy Edmond, 47, of Laval, and the young man as Benoit Kapelli, 23.

The police have yet to determine what caused the conflict though at least two separate eyewitnesses recorded the incident on film. According to the first person that videotaped the scene, it all started when for unknown reasons a passenger slammed the door of the Toyota Camry cab.

"It began with one of the passengers slamming the door to the cab too hard on exiting the cab," wrote YouTube user Ilaneloc.

"Cab driver jumped out and confronted him on the sidewalk while the other passengers remained inside to pay. I left the scene as the verbal conflict escalated, presuming it would run itself out... I returned home to hear the commotion outside, where the conflict had escalated and the cab driver was aiming his cab in the wrong direction down St-Laurent towards the former passengers," explained Ilaneloc.

Business is booming for South Korea's Hyundai Group that reported its first quarter results. The Hyundai brand sold an impressive 1,072,679 new vehicles worldwide (domestic: 154,800 / overseas: 917,879) in the first three months of 2012, up 16.7 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Hyundai Motor's net income climbed 30.6 percent to 2.45 trillion won (US$2.16 billion) in the first quarter, while its operating profit jumped 24.9 percent to 2.28 trillion won (US$2 billion).

For those that find the regular TT RS models not fast enough, Audi has announced that the new and more powerful TT RS Plus editions of the Coupe and Roadster will go on sale in Britain in early May, with first delivers expected in the summer.

The Plus package represents a £3,085 premium over the standard RS with prices ranging from £48,945 for the manual Coupe to £52,265 for the dual-clutch transmission Roadster.

The vast majority of bikers involved in an accident, no matter how small it may appear to be, will at least sit down to take a breath even if they are not hurt, but not this scooter rider who crashed into the side of a Toyota Camry while attempting to cross through a road without paying attention.

The man literally spun around himself almost touching the ground and immediately left the scene running towards the same direction he was heading with the scooter!

If you have any idea what just went on here, feel free to enlighten (or humor) us in the comments section that follows below the video.

Being the number two automotive group in the US, and the fifth largest worldwide behind Hyundai, is no mean feat for Ford. Having an almost non-existent 2 percent share in the world’s largest car market, however, is.

Last year’s Thai floods resulted in a US$92 million loss for Ford's Asian operations in 2011. Adding insult to injury, Ford also reported a US$95 million loss in Asia for the first quarter of 2012. To make things worse, during the same period, its sales in China declined by 14 percent while both General Motors and VW gained market share.

Volkswagen continues to solicit ideas and views from the American public about the European Passat-based Alltrack concept it exhibited at this month's 2012 New York Auto Show.

This time, the German brand has released a new video with Serban Boldea, Product Manager for Volkswagen, walking around the Alltrack and asking viewers to tell the company what they would like to see on the tall estate model if it were to be offered in the United States.

The Esprit is one of the most famous and longest-living Lotus models ever having remained in production for close to three decades (!), from 1976 to 2004. Originally penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Esprit's design was freshened up initially by Peter Stevens in 1987 and later on by Julian Thompson in 1993.

Another landmark in the Esprit's lifespan was the presentation of a V8-powered model in 1996, the first of its kind for Lotus. Aptly named the Esprit V8, the British sports car was powered by an in-house developed, all-aluminum, twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V8 rated at 350hp (355PS) and 400Nm (295 lb-ft).

And it is this model that has fallen into the tuning hands of Germany's Cam-Shaft, which has introduced a new package with both styling and performance modifications.

A series of under-the-hood upgrades that include a software optimization, racing exhaust system, modified turbos and a new intercooler sourced from the Lotus Omega (Vauxhall Lotus Carlton), bump output to 485-horses (492PS). The tuner also replaced the stock 5-speed manual with a new 6-speed transmission.

In the 1994 runaway hit film Speed, LAPD officer Jack Traven and Annie Porter - with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in the respective roles, boarded a bus that had to keep moving above 50 miles per hour (80km/h) or a bomb would explode.

In the following incident that was captured by a dashboard camera of an adjacent passenger car along Alexandra Road in Singapore, there was no bomb on board but the full-size bus imitated the film speeding through a red light narrowly missing several vehicles and even a pedestrian crossing the road.

Just last week, Jaguar announced that its upcoming F-Type roadster would receive a tweaked version of the company's new 3.0-liter supercharged V6 pumping out 375hp (380PS) and 460Nm (339 lb-ft) of peak torque.

While the British automaker has made no mention (yet) of any other powertrain being offered in the F-Type, Edmund's InsideLine is reporting that a "very reliable source" told them that the car will also be available with Jaguar's 5.0-liter V8.

The production version of the pure electric Toyota RAV4 that we first saw in prototype guise at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show will make its world premiere at the 26th edition of the International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26), which takes place on Monday, May 7 in the City of Angels, the Japanese automaker announced today.

The new RAV4 EV has been developed in cooperation with Tesla that provides the electric driveline including the battery, motor, transmission and power electronics. Tesla will build the e-powertrains at its production plant in Palo Alto, California and then ship them to Toyota's Canadian facility for final assembly into the RAV4.

In 2009, Audi released a 98-minute movie called “Truth in 24”. The film documented the team’s preparation for the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hour race, the difficulties it faced before and during the event, the fight against the faster Peugeots and the eventual win of car number 2, driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo “Dido” Capello.

Last Thursday, the sequel to that documentary named “Truth in 24 II” made its world premiere in Los Angeles.

A cropped image allegedly showing the rear quarters of the next generation of the Renault Clio titled "Nouvelle Renalt Clio, Mondial de Paris 2012" has been making the internet rounds today after it was first posted on the Planeterenault forums.

The snapshot was reportedly taken from Renault's general shareholder meeting in Paris on Friday, April 27.

The shape of the rear passenger window with the hidden door handle and the lines around the lights match those of the prototype models we have seen testing in Europe over the past few months, so it is very likely that the picture is indeed the real deal.

Even if you foolishly speed your way through a cross road to enter a gas station you may want to slow down as you approach and perhaps even come to a full stop before you come face to face with the cash register…

Hop over the break to watch the video.

The sixth generation of the Chevrolet Corvette may have entered its final year of production but Detroit's most famed sports car is making its first official appearance in South Korea.

The Corvette will go on sale in Korea on May 4. It will be offered exclusively as a coupe powered by a 430hp 6.2-liter V8 engine linked to a 6-speed automatic transmission that allows for a zero to 100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 4.3 seconds.

We have seen many camper conversions based on Volkswagen's highly popular Transporter T5 vans but what makes this new offering from British firm Doubleback is the innovative extendable rear section.

All the driver needs to do is press a button and the rear end of the van almost doubles its size thanks to an electric slide out rear pod that adds close to 2 meters (~78 inches) to the length of the vehicle.

The new Mitsubishi Mirage sub-compact model has been officially confirmed for Canada while the Japanese automaker is also contemplating the launch of the five-door hatchback in the U.S.

According to Mitsubishi's annual presentation on full-year sales and financial results for the fiscal year 2011 that ended on March 31, 2012, the Mirage will go on sale in North America in the first quarter of 2013 (FY2012/4Q).

Mitsubishi spokesperson Roger Yasukawa told Autonews that the Mirage will be sold in Canada but noted that U.S. sales are still "under consideration" and that "it's still 50-50 right now".

There are a couple of reasons why Mitsubishi is holding back on its decision over the U.S. launch of the Mirage, the first being its tight marketing budget as the company plans to introduce the new Outlander.

After its motor show debut in Geneva last month, ABT Sportline has now announced the commercial launch of its modification package for the second generation of the New Volkswagen Beetle.

The German aftermarket firm starts with a power kit for the Beetle's 2.0-liter TFSI that bumps output from 197hp (200PS) to 236hp (240PS).

It has been three years since General Motors sold back its stake in Japanese car and truck manufacturer Isuzu after the Detroit company went into bankruptcy in 2009, though the two automakers never terminated their collaboration as evidenced by the new Chevrolet Colorado and the latest Isuzu D-Max pickup trucks.

Now we learn from Reuters that GM is interested in entering a new capital tie-up with Isuzu, reportedly to launch joint projects for commercial vehicles in Asia as well as Central and South America.

Aussie 1969 Ford Falcon XW GT Wagon Replica up for Grabs

Some will be surprised to know that the ridiculously fast family car is not a creation of the German auto industry that has dominated the segment in the past few decades with models like the Audi RS4/RS6, BMW M3/M5 and Mercedes C63/E63 AMG.

Back in the late 1960s, while American carmakers were obsessed with pony and muscle cars in coupe and convertible forms, Ford's Australian division gave birth to a vehicle that would change the industry: the 1967 Falcon XR GT sports saloon powered by a Mustang-sourced 225bhp 4.7-liter V8.

Holden tried to compete with the four-door Monaro GTS, but it was Ford that ended up creating the world's fastest production saloon in 1971 with the XY Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III propelled by a tuned 351 (5.8-liter) Cleveland V8 with up to 390bhp and a top speed of 250km/h (155mph).

Chinese Woman Kills Man by Squeezing his Testicles During a Parking Space Quarrel

Just reading the title of this story will make any man cringe, as this must be one of the worst ways to die…

The tragic incident took place in Haikou City in southern China earlier this week when an unnamed 41-year-old woman tried to park her scooter in front of a man's shop to pick up her kids from school.

According to reports from local news stations, the 42-year old owner of the shop came out and told her not to park in front of his store. The woman snapped back and words started flowing from both sides.

A design study is not meant to be static, but should be at a constant state of evolution, which is precisely what Lawrence Technological University design student Colin Bonathan is doing with his conceptual renderings for a replacement of the Chrysler 200.

In these latest drawings, which come a little over a month after we showed you Bonathan's previous take on Chrysler's mid-size sedan, we see a different execution of the front- and rear-end designs, while he also made changes to the shape of the roofline and the profile details.

Shut Up and Drive Races a 2013 Lexus GS F Sport on a Closed-Off Highway

In its premiere episode, Speed's new television show "Shut up and Drive!" with hosts Justin Bell and Townsend Bell took the brand new 2013 Lexus GS F Sport out to Northern Oregon’s twisty Rowena Loops.

After closing a section of the public highway, the two men battled it out in the new Lexus sedan that sports a 306-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 and select chassis upgrades in F Sport guise.

Aftermarket tuning house Kahn Design has borrowed the Vesuvius package first seen on the Range Rover Sport and applied the styling touches on the British firm's smallest model, the Evoque.

The exterior makeover is rather subtle. Aside from the Vesuvius orange finish for the body, the package includes a Matt Pearl Grey color for the center section of the front and rear bumpers and the front and side air vents, plus a new set of 21-inch alloy wheels and brake calipers finished in Vesuvius orange.

A new Japanese commercial from Honda's corporate division attempts to show the passionate and innovative side of the company by displaying several products from its past, mainly focusing on cars but also including motorcycles and even agricultural machinery.

The advert's title loosely translates to "We won't be beaten". You can watch it for yourself in the video right past the break.

At this week's 2012 Beijing Auto Show, Italian design and engineering firm Bertone displayed the completed version of its Nuccio supercar concept, which we first laid eyes on at last month's Geneva Salon.

The fully functional prototype that is propelled by a mid-mounted 4.3-liter V8 engine with an estimated output of 480-horses caught the attention of an affluent Chinese collector who is interested in buying the car.

Nearly two years after Nissan discarded its flagship model series in Japan, the Cima nameplate returns for another round in the premium sedan segment.

The Cima was introduced in Japan in the late 1980s to rival the Toyota Crown Majesta. From the mid-1990s, the Cima was based on the equivalent versions of the Infiniti Q45 series.

For its re-introduction in the Japanese market, Nissan chose to base the Cima on the long-wheelbase version of the Infiniti M35h, a China market-only model that made its world premiere at this week's Beijing Motor Show.

Like its Chinese counterpart, the Cima features a 5.9-inch (150mm) longer wheelbase than the standard Infiniti M and a rear passenger area highlighted by the additional legroom and many comfort amenities like the entertainment system and the power-reclining, heated and cooled seats.

As if it wasn't bad enough that the owner of this Toyota Camry sedan parked the car illegally at the end of a crosswalk, thus forcing pedestrians to stand inside the road, the driver proves to be an even bigger tool by backing into a kid returning from school who was waiting to cross the street!

Head past the break to watch the video.

This week, we learned two new things about the 2013 Cadillac XTS, the first being that it features a new capless fuel filler assembly and the other that General Motors has plans to build the full-size sedan in China for the domestic market.

We will begin with the new capless fuel filler system that replaces the traditional twist-off cap, with Cadillac promising a cleaner and safer experience.

What General Motors did to the current day Chevrolet Camaro with the presentation of the ZL1 model powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged LSA V8, is very similar to what Southern California resident Bob Hall did to his Camaro, the difference being that Hall's model is from 1968.

It all began in 2009 when Hall bought a 1968 Chevy Camaro SS Convertible with the intent of performing a full restoration, but as the project evolved, he ended up creating a supercharged monster fitted with a lightly tuned 6.2-liter LSA V8 from a 2009 Cadillac CTS-V.

With the debut of the new V12-powered DBS sports car scheduled for the end of the year, Aston Martin reportedly wants to bid farewell to the current model that has been in production since 2007 with a special edition version.

An inside source from the British company told Car&Driver magazine that the final version of the current DBS will be called the Ultimate Edition and that production will be limited to 100 units, with about 30 of those cars to be sold in the United States.

Last November, Mazda announced that it would mark the end of production of the RX-8 sports car with the release of 1,000 examples of a special edition model called Spirit R, all of which would be unloaded in the Japanese market.

The automaker not only sold all of these cars but it also received a lot more orders than it originally anticipated and as a result, it decided to extend production of the RX-8 SPIRIT R by another 1,000 units until June 2012.

This is the video tale of a good son who gave his dad the ultimate birthday gift for any gearhead: a Ferrari 360!

We are not entirely sure if Nick DePalo from Florida actually bought the exotic supercar or if he rented / borrowed it from someone (maybe our Italian speaking readers can help with the translation), but his father sure enjoyed the ride.

"My dad has always dreamed about driving the Ferrari, so for his birthday gift; we got him one," says DePalo on his YouTube channel. "When he took a seat in the car, he thought we got him some type of Total Gym/Bow Flex!"

Head past the break to watch the videos.

Volkswagen is bringing some sportiness to its Polo hatchback with the introduction of a new R-Line model in the UK that is available for order now with first deliveries expected in July.

The R-Line is based on the specification of the Polo Match and is available in Britain in both three- and five-door body styles but only one engine, the 1.2-litre 105 PS TSI petrol unit linked to a six-speed manual gearbox.

The horsepower wars just got a little bit more interesting as Ford announced the final SAE ratings for the supercharged 5.8-liter V8 engine in the 2013 Shelby GT500.

When the Blue-Oval revealed the Coupe and Convertible versions of the new GT500, it said the force-fed V8 produced an estimated 650 ponies and 600 lb-ft (814Nm) of peak torque, but according to the SAE ratings released by Ford today, the eight-cylinder unit has a peak output of 662-horsepower and 631 lb.-ft. (856Nm) of torque.

Who said that impressive rally scenes only take place in Europe? This insanely long jump was filmed during last weekend's 2012 Rally New York. Sitting in the front seats of the Subaru Impreza STI Rally car were driver Cyril Kearney and his co-driver Mark McAlister.

While the pair made the jump unscathed, unfortunately, they crashed their car on the next stage. You will find the video right past the break.

Neither the sharp lines of the Lamborghini Urus SUV nor the sculptured body of the Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe managed to convince a panel of judges at the Auto China 2012 in Beijing when it came to picking out the 'Best Concept' of this year's show. Instead, most votes landed upon the new MG Icon small crossover.

The awards were announced by U.S. car magazine Autoweek, which plans to present MG with an engraved trophy at a later date.

The countdown to the launch of the refreshed 2013 Porsche Panamera is definitely on with the Germans having entered the car's final development stages.

Carscoop reader Toldi filmed a couple of lightly disguised prototypes of the revised Panamera while exiting a gas station in a district of Stuttgart, Germany.

The official fuel economy numbers for the redesigned 2013 Ford Escape are in and the news is good for the Blue-Oval as all three of the available engines in the compact crossover achieve 30 mpg (7.8lt/100km) or better on the highway.

In more detail, the Escape's entry-level 168hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine returns 31 mpg on the highway, which is a 3 mpg improvement over the previous model's standard engine, and 22 mpg in the city.

As the official automotive partner of this summer's 2012 London Olympic Games, the BMW Group will provide organizers with a fleet of more than 3,000 cars and bikes that will be used for a variety of purposes from pulling boats out of the water to transporting judges, event directors and Games officials.

Today, the German company became more specific about its Olympic Games fleet that consists of low-emission, diesel, hybrid and electric cars, motorcycles and bicycles.

Unbelievable! Sewage Cover Sends Land Rover Freelander Into a Flying Somersault

Imagine driving on a quiet street at low speeds when of all a sudden, without any warning or another car involved, your vehicle goes flying into the air.

Crazy as it may sound, this is what happened to a driver of a Land Rover Freelander earlier today in the Russian resort city of Sochi, which by the way, will host the 2014 Olympics Winter Games…

If you watch the first video that was shot from a dash mounted camera on a following vehicle (don't take into consideration the date, it's wrong), you'll be inclined to believe that the SUV fell into an uncovered sewage hole on the road causing it to flip over.

Having received a mild facelift only a year ago, the current generation of the Ford Taurus sedan that originally debuted at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show isn't due for a redesign for another few years.

Nevertheless, Tyler Bame, a 22-year old automotive design student from Lawrence Tech in Michigan, drew up a couple of sketches that represent his idea for what a next generation of the Taurus sedan could look like.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Friday, April 27, 2012

Thursday, April 26, 2012

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