Filed under: Hybrid, SUV, Japan, Technology, Mitsubishi

AutoWeek reports that Mitsubishi will wade into plug-in electric waters in 2013. The automaker’s head of electric vehicles, Yoshikazu Nakamura, said the vehicle will be an SUV similar to the 2009 Px-MiEV Concept and that the production version is already nearing the final stages of development. The concept got its pep from a tiny 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine working in coordination with two electric motors and a battery pack. Mitsubishi pegged the Px-MiEV as being able to travel for up to 30 miles one pure electric go-go, so there must be some pretty hefty battery technology onboard as well.

Whether or not the production SUV will use a similar drivetrain remains to be seen. We can say with some certainty that Mitsubishi is likely to simplify the vehicle’s name considerably. The automaker has already scrapped the i-MiEV moniker for the somewhat more palatable name of “i powered by MiEV” in the States. We can’t wait to explain that one to the fine people of the DMV.

Photos by Jonathan Ramsey / Copyright (C)2009 AOL

[Source: AutoWeek]

Report: Mitsubishi plug-in hybrid coming in 2013 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mitsubishi plug-in hybrid coming in 2013

Filed under: Etc., Design/Style

We internet types don’t always condone the idea of waking up at the crack of dawn on Black Friday for some mad-dash holiday shopping, but if there was ever a product we’d wait in line for, this might just be it. Starting this Friday, November 26, Nike will be selling its brand-new Dunk 6.0 DeLorean shoe, modeled after what is perhaps the most iconic movie car of all time, the DMC-12 from Back to the Future.

Our favorite stainless-steel sports car has been reinterpreted in the form of this seriously sweet pair of kicks, featuring a matte silver, no-sew constructed upper body. The shoe’s sole mimics the DMC-12′s 80′s-tastic taillights, and there’s even a Belfast stamp on the tongue, giving a hat tip to the Irish factory where John Z’s machines were originally produced. It even comes in a gullwing-inspired box.

No official details have been released as to how many pairs of these special shoes will be produced or what they will cost, though a few online sources have cited that 1,000 pairs will be available worldwide. Knowing our luck, these hot kicks will surely sell out faster than you can shout, “Eighty-eight miles an hour!”

[Sources: DeLorean Motor Company via Facebook, Sneaker Files via Twitter]

Limited-edition Nike Dunk 6.0 ‘DeLorean’ shoes run to the top of our holiday wish-list originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So you have a Holden Commodore SS Ute and, for some vexing reason, you want it to look more like the American-market Chevrolet Camaro. Well, we’ve got good news for you. An enterprising young soul from Victoria, Australia has worked up just such a kit. With new sheetmetal from the A-pillar forward and a custom Camaro nose cap, the end result is as close to a Camaro-meets-El-Camino mutation as you’re likely to find. This particular example was spotted outside of a Nashville, Tennessee tuner.

We have to say that while the Commodore SS Ute is as handsome as can be right from the factory, the Camaro nose doesn’t exactly do the car an injustice. There’s no word on exactly how much the conversion kit will set you back, though with all of the appropriate pieces and sheetmetal, we’d be surprised if the final price tag were less than $5,000 – before paint. Worth it? That’s a conversation you’ll have to have with your wallet.

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Safety

The initial findings have come in concerning the accident at the California 200 off-road race tragedy that left eight people dead three months ago. The race promoter, Mojave Desert Racing, was contractually obliged by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to keep spectators at least 50 feet away from the course. In turn, it was the BLM’s duty to monitor compliance with that stipulation, and sadly, neither of those things happened.

Just after the accident, A CNN report speculated on how close watchers might have been to the course and the Los Angeles Times indicated that they were within “a few feet.” With that in mind, it’s amazing that more people weren’t hurt or killed. The BLM has instituted new procedures for approving and overseeing races, and the promoter is waiting to have its license reinstated pending the outcome of the investigation. Top tip, Bo!

[Source: Los Angeles Times]

Report: Feds failed to properly monitor California 200 rally that killed 8 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Performance, Europe, Hatchback, Audi, Luxury

After months of spy shots and speculation, Audi has released its official information on the RS 3 Sportback. The mean little bruiser will come to the fight with 340 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque courtesy of a turbo 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine mated to a seven-speed S Tronic dual-clutch transmission. With over 17 psi of boost breathing on the five-pot, Audi says that the RS 3 Sportback is good for a 0-60 mph run of just 4.6 seconds. As you might expect, the company’s fantastic Quattro all-wheel drive system helps put all that power to the road.

Down below, the hatch makes use of a four-link suspension out back and a McPherson strut design up front with plenty of hardware crafted from aluminum to keep unsprung weight as low as possible. The whole kit and caboodle sits a full inch lower than the standard S3 thanks to more aggressive coilover springs and dampers.

Thus far, Audi has only confirmed the vehicle for sale in Europe, and we wouldn’t hold our breath waiting for it to come to the States. It retails for a tidy 49,900 Euros in Germany, which works out to around $68,000 USD. Even accounting for The Continent’s comparatively inflated vehicle prices, we’re thinking that this handsome hatch won’t be singing Yankee Doodle Dandy any time soon.

Hit the jump for the full press blast.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading Officially Official: 2011 Audi RS 3 Sportback unveiled

Officially Official: 2011 Audi RS 3 Sportback unveiled originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For all the trouble Toyota has endured over the past year, the Japanese juggernaut is still the top dog in the automotive kingdom. Volkswagen wants to change that with an ambitious goal to overtake Toyota in overall sales and profitability by 2018. VW currently has a long way to go to reach Toyota, but Automotive News reports that the German automaker plans to bridge the gap by investing 51.6 billion euros ($71 billion in U.S. dollars) though 2015 to beef up it’s product lineup.

That’s a lot of coin by any stretch, and VW plans to spend that wealth in several key areas. A reported $38 billion will be spent to bolster the automaker’s current model lineup across VW’s many brands, enabling VW to “systematically continue its model roll out with a view to tapping new markets and segments.” Another $19.6 billion will be spent on cross-product investments and another $14 billion will go towards what AN calls “additions to capitalized investment costs.”

Volkswagen reportedly plans to hit 10 million global sales per year as early as 2015, but to increase sales so dramatically, new plants must be built. The German automaker will open a U.S. plant in Tennessee next year, and there are plans to build two more assembly plants in China in an effort to increase sales in the world’s largest car market to three million units per year within four years. VW’s plan to spend over $14 billion in China through 2015 isn’t even included in the $71 billion investment, either, as all China operations are run under a joint venture with FAW and SAIC.

Will Volkswagen reach it’s very ambitious goal to hit 10 million annual sales by 2015? We have no idea, but we can at least say that The People’s Car Maker plans to spend big while trying.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

	Motley Fool says consider selling Tesla stock before it’s too late But what do they know?		GE’s electric vehicle order to trigger fleet purchasing trend Tens of thousands of orders will do that.
	Fisker Karma solar roof production to begin courtesy of Quantum The roof is good for 4-5 miles a week.	Other news: Car2go Austin celebrates one-year anniversary; expansion coming soon Plug In America launches electric vehicle “accessories” page Consumer Reports: Low-rolling resistance tires fail to meet buyers’ expectations

AutoblogGreen for 11.22.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AutoblogGreen for 11.22.10

Instead of getting suckered into the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, a pea green calamity with excessive wood paneling and eight sealed-beam headlamps, a wiser move for Clark Griswold would have been to hold off until the first wave of high-performance station wagons rolled into showrooms. As it happened, just a few years after Clark traded in his Oldsmobile, sedans like the Volvo 740 and BMW E34 spawned the enthusiast-targeted Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon and BMW M5 Touring. Both five-doors would have given Christy Brinkley a serious run in her red Ferrari 308 GTSi.Those early gussied-up family haulers were the predecessors to the Audi RS6 Avant, Dodge SRT8 Wagon, BMW M5 Touring and Mercedes-Benz E63 Sport Wagon. None were intended to be volume models (in fact, two never made it to the States). Instead, each was fabricated to act as a flagship ambassador, a proof-of-concept to the performance capability of the five-door chassis and to deliver unchallenged bragging rights. Automakers didn’t build fast wagons because they had to – they built them because they could.

Cadillac, a company no longer content with letting others lead segments it once dominated, wanted to get into the frothy action. The luxury automaker felt an obligation to do “the right thing” and push for its own very unique five-door. The vision was clear – Cadillac wanted to build a CTS-V Wagon – and the concept was simple, making it difficult for management to contest (at the time, the organization was functioning inside circled-wagons). Since the platform and powertrain were already in existence, the ceremonial mating would be accomplished at minimal cost and everything could be completed at breakneck speed. Less than one year later, the all-new CTS-V Wagon is here.

Filed under: Classics, Rolls-Royce, Design/Style, Luxury

Though hood ornaments were once commonplace on high-end automobiles, they’ve all but completely gone the way of the dodo. Mercedes-Benz sedans still use the simple but iconic three-pointed star, and its upscale sister brand Maybach has its own Double-M. Some Bentley owners opt for the Flying B ornament, but the Jaguar leaping cat is even less common. Few carry the mantle as proudly as Rolls-Royce though.

The Spirit of Ecstasy has been the Rolls-Royce mascot for decades, and remains so today. Back in its heyday, though, Rolls dealers often displayed oversized sculptures – a couple of feet tall or more – of the Spirit in their showrooms. Afficionados, however, can still get these to display in their homes or offices thanks to an English studio called Priory Fine Arts.

Priory crafts replicas of the classic statuettes out of brass, optionally plated in silver or gold. You can get your hands on one for $3,150. The price is listed as negotiable, but the precious-metal leaf will undoubtedly add a few extra greenbacks. Have a closer look at the continuation sculptures – soon to celebrate the centenary of the 1911 original – in the gallery below, or follow the links to inquire about ordering your own.

[Source: Priory Fine Arts via Hemmings]

Priory Fine Arts flies the Spirit of Ecstasy with reproduction sculptures originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Nov 2010 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Priory Fine Arts flies the Spirit of Ecstasy with reproduction sculptures

Filed under: Motorsports, Lotus, Celebrities, Humor

You don’t get much higher stakes than Formula One. And while some teams have their own airplanes, there are a couple this season that have their own airlines: Richard Branson’s Virgin, and Tony Fernandes’ Lotus Racing and Air Asia.

As you may recall, the rivalry between the two tycoon-backed upstart teams escalated to such a point that Branson and Fernandes made a gentlemanly bet that was anything but: the owner of the team that fared worse in this year’s championship would have to cross-dress as a female flight attendant and serve as such on the other’s airline.

Well, Lotus edged out Virgin towards the bottom of the standings, so it’s Sir Richard who’ll be wearing Air Asia’s finest skirt and blouse. Fernandes is keen on placing his rival on a long-haul Kaula Lumpur-to-London flight, tickets for which he plans to auction off for charity. Looks like the negative effect of downforce isn’t the only kind of drag these guys will be dealing with in the offseason.

[Source: Autosport]

Richard Branson loses F1 bet, will cross-dress as Air Asia stewardess originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Richard Branson loses F1 bet, will cross-dress as Air Asia stewardess