Category Archives: News

Record number of Shelby Cobras to take part in Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Posted on by Drew Phillips

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Shelby Cobras at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Last year, the Monterey Motorsports Reunion announced that the Shelby Cobra would be the featured marque for 2012 in honor of the company’s 50th anniversary. It’s shaping up to be quite the celebration. Earlier this month it was announced that no fewer than 45 competition Cobras will be racing on the track come August, with owners from across the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Canada in attendance. In fact, demand to participate was so high that several entrants actually had to be turned away.

Shelby Cobras won’t just be on the track, though. The event expects at least 200 Cobras, real and replica, to gather in the infield car corral. Shelby and Ford Motor Company will also bring a collection of historic Cobras to display in the paddock. In other words, if you’re a Shelby Cobra fan then start making plans to attend right away.

You can read the official announcement from the Monterey Motorsports Reunion below.

Continue reading Record number of Shelby Cobras to take part in Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Record number of Shelby Cobras to take part in Monterey Motorsports Reunion originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 20 May 2012 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hold On, Holden: Next Year’s Chevy SS is Not Just another G8

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Chevrolet’s plans for its rear-wheel-drive 2014 Chevy Super Sport launching early next year on the NASCAR circuit are becoming clearer by the day. We’d previously assumed it would be the car Bob Lutz wanted to import from Australia after General Motors pulled the plug on Pontiac in 2009 (the 2009 Pontiac GXP is pictured). But [...]

Car Wars report predicts Hyundai, Kia will lose market share

Posted on by John Neff

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The annual “Car Wars” report by Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy predicts that, despite their seizing of U.S. market share over the last few tumultuous years, Korean brands Hyundai and Kia will give it all back and then some to companies like Ford, General Motors and Toyota by 2016.

Murphy bases his predictions not on tea leaves or crystal balls, but rather the rate at which automakers launch new products. Ford will replace 26 percent of its product line over the next four years, a number that represents 46 percent of its volume, while General Motors will replace 25 percent and Toyota 24 percent. On account of these new product launches, Murphy says Ford can expect to add 0.8 percentage points of market share, General Motors will recover 0.5 points and Toyota will add another 0.3 points.

Other automakers that won’t be so aggressive in turning over their lineups with new models include Chrysler, Honda, Nissan and the European brands, which Murphy surmises will all remain flat in terms of market share.

Hyundai and Kia, meanwhile, will be introducing fewer new models than the rest and therefore, Murphy predicts, will see a 0.5 decline in U.S. market share.

Of course, these are all just predictions and can be blown to bits with the next unforeseen economic crisis or natural disaster, just like the last three years were. And there are other factors that might affect market share for each automaker during the next three years, including the availability of raw materials, exchange rates, union contracts, recalls and a million another minor things that might grow to become big things, not the least of which is consumers deciding they actually like all those new products being launched.

Car Wars report predicts Hyundai, Kia will lose market share originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 18:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Lexus CT 200h review on Bullz-Eye

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Bullz-Eye.com reviews the 2011 Lexus CT 200h from inside, out. Before our test model 2011 Lexus CT 200h Premium arrived, I had not driven or been a passenger in this hot new hybrid, so I was anxious to see what all the fuss was about. I knew the car wasn’t very big, so there were [...]

Lexus Takes a New Stance on Hybrid Technology

Posted on by HybridCars.com

By Huw Evans

Lexus-hybrid

With the launch of its latest hybrid, the entry-level ES300h, Lexus is embarking on a different path when it comes to gasoline/electric vehicle technology. The ES300h is the first car from the brand that’s a full parallel hybrid, meaning that it can operate on pure electric power as well as gasoline and combined/gas electric propulsion. Previous Lexus hybrids, such as the LS600h and GS400h, relied on electric motors purely to boost power to the gasoline engine, with negligible gains in fuel economy.

First revealed at this year’s New York auto show, the 2013 ES300h uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle gasoline engine teamed with a version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive found in the Camry Hybrid to deliver 200 horsepower and fuel consumption of 39 miles per gallon combined.

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2013 SRT Viper to require dealer certification; hardcore model planned? [w/video]

Posted on by Chris Paukert

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2013 SRT Viper GTS - Live at 2012 New York Auto Show reveal

On Thursday night’s Autoline After Hours, SRT boss Ralph Gilles sat down with show hosts John McElroy and Peter DeLorenzo, along with Autoblog and AOL Autos staffers to talk all things Viper. Among the interesting tidbits disclosed about the 640-horsepower supercar are plans for a new dealer certification process designed to encourage the sort of purchasing, service and ownership experience that buyers of six-digit cars have come to expect.

According to Gilles:

“It’s going to be a qualified dealer situation… The ones who do the dealer training in terms of the tech. I want a tech. I want a display car. I want all these things. There’s going to be a list. It’s not going to be impossible, it’s just that someone has to put in the extra effort and say ‘I’m an SRT dealer.’”

Off the air, Gilles told Autoblog that Chrysler officials have already approached a number of dealers with a strong record of Viper and SRT sales to discuss how the certification process will work, gaining valuable feedback in the process. A document outlining the new certification program will go out to Dodge dealers next month.

Chrysler has yet to announce official pricing and the Viper won’t go on sale until sometime in the fourth quarter of the year, but that hasn’t stopped a queue of customer deposits from piling up. According to Gilles, one particularly strong Viper dealer already has around 90 such deposits in-hand. Considering that Viper sales averaged about 1,600 units in past years, that’s a substantial figure.

In other news, Chrysler officials have been making a big point of talking about the 2013 Viper’s newfound refinements, from reduced NVH to nicer interior materials and improved drivability thanks to the institution of technologies like stability control and traction control. Gilles says that great care has been taken to ensure the model’s core personality still shines through, but given that much of the Viper’s mystique is centered on its raw, leg-burning, hairy-knuckled persona, we couldn’t help but wonder aloud if the new model’s refinements have left room for a stripped-out hardcore version for Viper purists and racers. With raised eyebrows, arms gesturing wildly and stifling a smile, Gilles wryly said: “I love how you think. Next subject!”

To watch the Autoline After Hours episode in its entirety, scroll down.

Continue reading 2013 SRT Viper to require dealer certification; hardcore model planned? [w/video]

2013 SRT Viper to require dealer certification; hardcore model planned? [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes-Benz Readying Fuel Cell Sedan for 2017 Launch

Posted on by HybridCars.com

By Huw Evans

M-B-Hydrogen-FCV

According to Sascha Simon, head of Advanced Product Planning at Mercedes-Benz USA, the company is on track to launch an updated B-Class F-Cell for 2015 in California, with a “regular” sedan slated to follow in 2017.

However, Mercedes-Benz is adamant that its fuel cell vehicles look and feel like regular passenger cars as much as possible, thus the sedan is likely to be a derivative of the E-Class. The reasoning is that customers are more likely to consider fuel cell vehicles if they’re familiar with the shape and form of the car, despite its method of propulsion.

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Green Vehicle Use Could Seriously Hurt Government Revenue

Posted on by HybridCars.com

By Huw Evans

nissan-leaf-driving

While many governments around the world have actively encouraged motorists to switch to greener forms of transportation, a prominent Think Tank in the United Kingdom says they could cost in other ways.

More specifically, a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and commissioned by the UK’s Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Foundation has said efficient vehicles could blow a huge hole in official revenue collection.

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Volt Drivers Average 900 Miles Between Fill Ups

Posted on by HybridCars.com

By Philippe Crowe

Red-2012-Chevy-Volt

Chevrolet declared that Volt owners have now collectively saved a supertanker of gasoline.

According to Chevrolet, since the electric car with extended range went on sale, Volt owners have compiled 40 million miles on electricity and avoided the use of more than 2.1 million gallons of gasoline. Based on $3.80 per gallon of gas, this means total savings at the pump of almost $8 million.

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