Erika Martin got all touchy feely with a whole swath of different kinds of car interiors. She is considering her favorite color, material and stitch. "Pretty in Purple" is all we can say.
Xynthia ripped into France merely hours after our arrival. Packing
gale-force fury, the ruthless wind and rain battered the coast before
moving inland with its crushing blow - sadly, it was the country's
deadliest storm in more than a decade. While we were spared most of its
rage, the countryside outside Paris was a soggy debris-laden mess - not
exactly optimal conditions to test the latest flagship sedan from Jaguar.
Soldiering forth - and more intrigued than ever with the all-new saloon
- we ignored the rain and spent a long day trekking around the drenched
landscape with both the short- and long-wheelbase models...
Honda announced today it'll debut the Acura TSX Sport Wagon — you can't call anything just a wagon anymore — later this month at this year's New York Auto Show. This will be followed up by a quick trip to the dealerships in the "late fall" i.e. expect to wait until at least October.
It's unfortunate they're going to add a premium to it, but It makes
sense to bring it here as the Acura since the TSX already shares a
platform with the Euro Accord and there's already the U.S. Accord-based
Crosstour. As for pricing, the Honda Accord Crosstour starts at
$29,670, just higher than the Acura TSX starting price of $29,310. It's
big brother the ZDX starts at $45,495 so we're hoping the TSX slots
somewhere in between...
There was news last week that BMW's upcoming lease program for the BMW ActiveE concept, an all-electric 1 Series, would be limited to 200 units in the U.S.
BMW would like everyone to know that final distribution numbers for the
ActiveE program have not yet been decided, but that there will be at
least twice that many here. BMW announced today that the ActiveE fleet
"will be at least as large as the MINI E fleet which is currently in
operation. There are 450 MINI Es on the road in the US right now."
The point BMW is trying to make is that it is totally committed to
electric drive vehicles. For example, drivers of the Mini E who are
enjoying their vehicles - something BMW says is common - and want to extend their leases by a year will be able to do so. The Mini E will be "prominently featured" at the upcoming New York Auto Show, and we'll see if we can't track down more details about the upcoming ActiveE program at that time.
You know those ‘Made in China’ tags that comes with just about every piece of merchandise you buy these days? Well, now you can add something to that seemingly endless list: a Bugatti - or ’Bugatty’, as its called - Veyron mobile phone. We’re
not kidding; there really is one. Not only that, but it’s got
some pretty nifty features too, including a 2.4-inch touch screen, an
FM radio, a camera, Bluetooth connectivity, and dual-sim capability.
The
downside of this novelty phone – that’s the only way to
describe it, really – is that it doesn’t come with any
warranty whatsoever and the price tag is pretty steep - $200 for one -
relative to what you can get with that same amount of money if you just
bought the more tried-and-tested brands...
Two years ago, we wrote about Lotus' Safe and Sound hybrid technology which added a V8 soundtrack over the quietude of a hybrid's electric motor. That demonstrator was a Toyota Prius, but at the Geneva Motor Show Lotus had an Evora 414E Hybrid
equipped with several versions of aural enjoyment: a V6, a V12 and a
non-ICE audio stab at what an electric car could maybe possibly sound
like. Think Buck Rogers. Car and Driver magazine's technical editor Michael Austin sat with a Lotus engineer and tried it out. Follow the jump for the first strains of the future.
Legacy trailer — in HD! Best part? Forget about light cycles, we've seen those already in person. The new hotness is the first glimpse of the "light runner" — a two-seater car.
You can see the new shrouded-in-tire-smoke (from light tires?) Tron
mobility device at about 1:40 into the clip. The Dude most definitely
abides...
A
driver says his Toyota suddenly accelerated to 90 mph, taking him on a
terrifying 30-mile ride on a San Diego County freeway. With the help of
a California Highway Patrol officer, the driver was able to bring the
car under control. NBC’s Miguel Almaguer reports. (Today Show)
Saturday March 13 LIVE at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern
www.TalkRadioOne.com
Steve Parker's The Car Nut Show
Not only has Toyota become the butt of millions of jokes while buyers avoid their sales lots, but local news seems obsessed with reporting on any Toyota involved in any accident. Is this fair? The Orange County (CA) District Attorney has filed suit against Toyota for knowingly endangering the public with defective products. Where will it all end? Does Toyota stand a chance of ever recovering their market share and, most especially, their reputation? And Congress is taking a hard luck at the Bush Administration's version of NHTSA ... like Wall Street and the SEC, did W's NHTSA look the other way as evidence against Toyota mounted? This plus the latest on Hummer, Saab, Ford and all the rest, plus your calls at 213-291-9410. Join in the conversation!
Sunday March 14 LIVE at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern
www.TalkRadioOne.com
Steve Parker's World Racing Roundup
NASCAR has been underway for what seems like months now, but this is a truly big racing weekend ... IndyCar and Formula 1 both launch their 2010 seasons, F1 in Bahrain and the US open-wheelers on a new street course in Sao Paulo, Brazil. F1 still rakes in billions, while IndyCar continues their losing association with Versus cable, a 10-year deal which guarantees continued low viewership for the series (four races, including the Indy 500, will be on ABC-TV this year). Plenty to talk about so you join in, too! 213-291-9410.
Say you had to choose between a sleek new Hyundai or a beautiful woman, what would you do? Whipnotic hit up the second DUB Magazine custom party, and let’s just that there were so many “hot models” that you didn’t even have to decide!
Email
