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Friday, April 16, 2010

Spy Shots: 2011 Hyundai Accent caught testing near Disneyland

Spy Shots: 2011 Hyundai Accent caught testing near Disneyland: "

Filed under: Spy Photos, Budget, Sedan, Hyundai, South Korea

2011 Hyundai Accent prototype - Click either image for high-res image gallery

Typically when we show you spy shots, you're seeing photographs taken by people not directly employed by Autoblog. Today, however, is different. Yours Truly and Drew Phillips were driving back from San Diego after the Aptera state-of-the-state address. We were getting off the phone with Senior Editor Damon Lavrinc when I said, 'And Drew's going to pull out his camera and look to his right.' Thar she blows, a fully dressed up prototype, about to exit the freeway in heavy, mid-day Irvine traffic.

We pull up next to the car at the bottom of the off ramp. 'Don't look at them!' Drew advised, wanting to wait until we had at least one clear shot until we alerted them of our true nature. Still, we were scrambling to figure out what was idling next to us. At first glance, I thought the compact, obvious B-segment car might be a Ford Fiesta sedan. But every Fiesta we've ever seen sports rear drums, not big discs like this camo'd car. Also, the side mirrors looked different. However, we could see the top of the center stack and it featured lots of sharp looking chrome bits, quite like the diminutive Ford. 'It's definitely a Fiesta' I said confidently to Drew. 'Look at the interior.'

'Isn't that a Hyundai 'H' on the steering wheel?' Drew pointed out. And so it was. Then the light turned green. We got in their rear three-quarter blind spot, and Drew's Nikon suddenly exploded in a volley of 'Click-Click-Click-Click.' We tailed them until the next light and then Drew leaned across me and let 'er rip. At this point, the Accent's passenger (we had already determined that this must be the new Accent) had made us. Drew jumped in the back seat and slid his lens out the window and began firing. The jig was up - but the game was on. Click through to the jump to read the rest of what happened.

Gallery: Spy Shots: 2011 Hyundai Accent

Continue reading Spy Shots: 2011 Hyundai Accent caught testing near Disneyland

Spy Shots: 2011 Hyundai Accent caught testing near Disneyland originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Second-ever iPad car installation keeps it simple, maintains factory tech

Video: Second-ever iPad car installation keeps it simple, maintains factory tech: "

Filed under: Technology, Videos, Nissan

Second in-car iPad installation by SoundMan Car Audio - Click above to view video after the jump

The gang at SoundMan Car Audio was the first to install an Apple iPad into an automobile when they dropped one into the dash of a Toyota Tacoma pickup the very day the device was officially released. That install was pretty slick, but required a bit of customization to the dash and a relocation of the controls. Now that they've had more than a week to think about it, SoundMan has once again done a car install of the wündertablet, this time sticking it into the dash of a 2004 Nissan Maxima.

Follow the jump to see how the follow-up install went, but know that SoundMan has taken a remarkably different tack with this configuration, making a simple notched slot for the tablet to slip into, with a single plug leading to the existing audio system's aux jack. Slipping the iPad out of its holder reveals that the Max's stock navigation and back-up cam screen are still functioning in their original locations. Assuming glare isn't an issue, this install is very trick.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Second-ever iPad car installation keeps it simple, maintains factory tech

Video: Second-ever iPad car installation keeps it simple, maintains factory tech originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DIY Airplane Combines Four Seats, Turbine Power and Jet-Like Speed

DIY Airplane Combines Four Seats, Turbine Power and Jet-Like Speed: "

Flying the Remos GX to Florida was a lot of fun. And moving along at 130 mph while burning less than six gallons an hour is great — and affordable. But we’re no strangers to looking up the ladder to other options available for travel, especially if they include a cruise speed of 385 mph.

Here at the Sun ‘n Fun airshow this week, the massive nose on the Lancair Evolution is drawing stares as if it were some sort of monster. Turns out it is. The proboscis houses the secret to this little airplane’s massive speed capabilities.

The four-place airplane is the latest design from Lancair of Bend, Oregon. The company has been producing beautifully designed airplanes for more than 25 years. The Evolution is the company’s response to several owners who were adding turbine power to the company’s first four seat design, the imaginatively named Lancair IV.

The Evolution was designed from the beginning to handle the Pratt & Whitney PT6-135A turbine motor. The turbine power means the Evolution can cruise at 385 miles per hour if you’re in a hurry, or a still impressive 310 miles per hour if you’re aiming for max endurance.

Fuel flows a little faster through the PT6 than the Remos’ Rotax 912. At max cruise you can expect to burn just under 40 gallons per hour. The economy setting cuts the fuel flow nearly in half to a more reasonable 23 gallons per hour. It’s not super fuel efficient, but it means the Evolution can carry four people at more than 300 miles per hour and roughly match the mileage of a big SUV.

Expect to pay more than $700,000 for one by the time everything is accounted for. And that assumes you put in a lot of elbow grease. The Evolution is a kit plane and is assembled by the owner. Lancair says you can build one for yourself in as little as 1,000 hours.

If that seems like a lot of time and even more money, remember there aren’t too many garage projects that can rival the Lancair.

Photo: Jason Paur / Wired.com

Spy Shots: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS AMG lights up its rotors at the 'Ring

Spy Shots: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS AMG lights up its rotors at the 'Ring: "

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Performance, Paris Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS AMG - Click above for high-res image gallery

Each day we're inching closer to the 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS' debut, so the Benz Boys are hard at work on the AMG variant of its swoopy four-door which should go on sale soon after the new C218-based CLS hits dealers early next year.

The AMG version is expected to be packing Mercedes' all-new 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8, putting out 544 horsepower and 586 pound-feet of torque in standard guise, and 571 hp and a axle-decimating 660 lb-ft of twist when kitted out in the in the optional higher-spec trim. Power will find its way to the ground through the new E-Class' seven-speed automatic, while beefed up brakes and suspension components round out the high-performance package.

These newest spy shots give us a glimpse of those biggie-sized, glowing rotors, along with an SLS-inspired fascia and LED daytime running lamps. The arching roofline doesn't appear to have changed much over the outgoing model, while the rear end gains a new set of taillamps and trapezoidal quad exhausts.

Expect the new CLS to bow at the Paris Motor Show this fall, with the AMG variant - likely carrying the '6.3' designation - coming along quickly thereafter.

Gallery: Spy Shots: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS AMG

Spy Shots: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS AMG lights up its rotors at the 'Ring originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota may be readying fix for Lexus GX 460 safety concerns as NHTSA begins investigation

Toyota may be readying fix for Lexus GX 460 safety concerns as NHTSA begins investigation: "

Filed under: SUV, Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Lexus, Toyota, Luxury

2010 Lexus GX460 - Click above for high-res image gallery

That was fast. Just two days after Consumer Reports issued a 'Do Not Buy rating 'on the new Lexus GX 460 upon finding that it was possible to trip up the standard electronic stability control and initiate a potentially dangerous mid-corner tail-out drift of the big SUV, Toyota reportedly has a fix for the issue.

According to Japan's Nikkei daily, Toyota's solution to the GX's handling woes involves a reflash of the vehicle's electronic brain along with unspecified changes to 'other aspects of the vehicle.' Not particularly descriptive, but perhaps that shouldn't come as a surprise considering how complicated of an issue such handling foibles can be.

In related news, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is just now beginning its own investigation into the 2010 Lexus GX 460. NHTSA has procured the GX that Consumer Reports had been testing and is working to determine if the machine meets its own federal safety standards. No determination has yet been made as to whether the 5,400 or so GX 460s sold so far in the States will be recalled.

Gallery: 2010 Lexus GX460

[Source: Nikkei - sub. req. via TTAC, The Detroit News]

Toyota may be readying fix for Lexus GX 460 safety concerns as NHTSA begins investigation originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Rhys vows to bring Pikes Peak record back to Millen family

Video: Rhys vows to bring Pikes Peak record back to Millen family: "

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Hyundai, Racing

Millen family talks Pikes Peak - Click above to watch the video

The Millen family has quite a proud history at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, not quite up there with the Unsers, but certainly more than respectable. Rod Millen captured several class records at the Colorado mountain over the years, including an outright record of 10:04:06 set in a Toyota Celica in 1994 that stood for an astounding 13 years.

Last June, son Rhys took a Hyundai Genesis coupe to a class recor d in the two-wheel drive Time Attack class with a 12:09.397.

This June, Millen is headed back to the Peak with a new weapon that still wears a Hyundai badge and will still be slathered in Red Bull livery. There will be none of that production-based nonsense this time though. The younger Millen wants to take the overall record back from Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima. Millen is aiming to get the first ever sub-10 minute time at Pikes Peak and he and his team have built a new car dubbed the Genesis PM580. From the teaser video after the jump, we're guessing that this unlimited class car will feature plenty of carbon fiber and plenty of power, presumably 5.8-liters worth of Hyundai V8 based on the nomenclature. The new car is set to be revealed on Monday, but for now you can watch the Millen family talk about the glory that is Pikes Peak. Check out the video after the jump.

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Video: Rhys vows to bring Pikes Peak record back to Millen family

Video: Rhys vows to bring Pikes Peak record back to Millen family originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Competition-spec Ford Mustang to take on FIA GT3 European Championship

Competition-spec Ford Mustang to take on FIA GT3 European Championship: "

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Ford, Racing

Marc VDS Racing Ford Mustang GT3 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Ford's got a rich history of competing against European machinery on their own home turf. But while the GT40 (and the more recent reborn GT) and the Cobra cut their teeth on the old continent, the Mustang is another story. Ford wants the Mustang to compete overseas, and now a Belgian-Canadian joint effort is preparing to oblige.

Canada's Multimatic racing garage has prepared this new Mustang for the Marc VDS Racing Team, a competition outfit that also fields a pair of Ford GTs in the GT1 championship, as well as teams in Moto2 and rally raids. They'll be taking this Mustang to the FIA GT3 European Championship, where it will take on the best that the likes of Porsche, Alpina, Mercedes and countless others have to throw at it on some of Europe's finest racing circuits. It's already undergoing testing at Ford's Bedfordshire test facility (curiously not Lommel Proving Grounds in the team's home country) and will be piloted by a team of Belgian and Canadian drivers.

Will the VDS Mustang GT3 prove its mettle against Europe's finest? No telling just yet, but it sure looks the business. Check it out for yourself in the gallery below and the press release after the jump.

Gallery: Marc VDS Racing Ford Mustang GT3