Ford And Microsoft Are Hohm-ies

The car above is the Ford Focus Electric. Ford and Microsoft say it will be the first of many vehicles to use Microsoft's new technology, Hohm. The news release begins thus:Imagine a future where your garage is smart enough to tell your car when the least expensive time is to charge your plug-in electric vehicle. Where, based on settings that you can adjust from a laptop or smartphone, you could optimize the energy efficiency of your home appliances, lights, air conditioning or heating and, maybe most importantly, your car.If that's intriguing to you, you can read the entire news release here. If it's slightly troubling, you can read what Bob...

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Lutz: Americans Won't Be Driving In 30 Years

General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, an auto show floor and reporters are always a recipe for a good quote. But this is one we could have gone forever without hearing."Maximum Bob" told reporters at the New York International Auto Show today that Americans won't be driving themselves 30 years from now...the cars will do it for them. Read it yourself at The Detroit Ne...

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Mazda 6 Diesel: 43 MPG Highway?

Mazda's CEO is telling The Detroit News that its new diesel engine will get hybrid-like numbers "without any electrification."  As in 43 MPG highway in the 2012 Mazda 6.Full story here....

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2011 Chevrolet Volt: First One Built

The first "manufacturing validation" example of the Chevrolet Volt electric car went down the assembly line earlier this week.The Detroit News reports that several hundred more will be built for evaluation and testing before production of for-sale cars begins this fa...

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2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible Unveiled At NY Auto Show

More pulse-quickening stuff from the New York International Auto Show as Bentley showcases the 2011 Continental Supersports Convertible.The juicy details: Twin-turbo W12 with 621 horsepower that can run on both gasoline and E85 bioethanol. 0-60: 3.9 seconds.0-100: 9.6 seconds.Top speed: 202 mph.  It's 198 pounds lighter than the Continental GTC Speed model.                          And the Supersports Convertible features a "unique, driver-focused cabin".For you? $280,400.Full press release from Bentley ...

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2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon Unveiled At New York Auto Show

An oxymoron died today.The one that pairs "station wagon" with "lust".Behold the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon.556 horsepower from a 6.2-liter V8.Six speed transmission. Manual or automatic, you pick.Magnetic ride control, Brembo brakes, dual 3-inch exhausts.                           And that's where you get to sit. Perforated sueded 14-way adjustable microfiber seats, a Bose 5.1 surround system with a 40 gig hard drive....Full details in the official GM Media release here....

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Toyota, Police Investigating New Unintended Acceleration Claim

76 year old Myrna Marseille of Wisconsin was parking her 2009 Toyota Camry at the local YMCA when she says it accelerated suddenly...into the Y's wall.She insists her foot was on the brake, not on the gas. Toyota tells WISN-TV it's investigating. Potentially helpful...the Sheboygan Falls Police Department is right across the parking lot from the Y....and has security cameras that may have caught the entire event.Watch the story from WISN-TV he...

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Dodge Grand Caravan SXT Review

Ignorance is bliss.During my week in the Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, I was won over...the user-friendliness, utility and ease of driving erased misgivings I had about the materials inside being a cut or so below that of a Honda Odyssey.It was delivered without a window sticker, so I checked the Dodge website. Base price $27,825. Reasonable, bordering on a bargain.I knew it was loaded...but I didn't realize how loaded until I asked for a copy of the sticker. This minivan had more than $13,000 in options...jacking the bottom line all the way up to $41,385. No longer reasonable nor a bargain.So what could I live without if I were playing with my own...

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2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee: Build In May, Sell In July

The product drought is coming to an end for Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealers. The 2011 Grand Cherokee begins production in May and should begin arriving in showrooms by July. Full story from Automotive Ne...

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2011 Nissan Juke

The smaller-than-a-Rogue Nissan Juke crossover got its official auto show introduction in Geneva a few weeks ago, but Nissan put on on display in New York Tuesday night ahead of the Wednesday opening of the New York International Auto Show.Automotive News was the...

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Nissan Leaf Orders Begin April 20; Price $25,280 With Tax Credit

Nissan says it will begin taking North American orders for its electric vehicle, the Leaf, on April 20. The New York Times reports the sticker will be $32,780, but a federal tax credit gets it down to $25,280...which pretty well puts it head-to-head with the Toyota Prius. There's also a $2,000 charger, but a federal tax credit will reimburse half of that co...

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100 MPH+ In An Oldsmobile Bravada. Shots Fired. Just Another Day In L.A.

The CHP spots an Oldsmobile Bravada on I-15 near Cajon Pass, runs the plate and finds out the car is wanted in connection with an attempted murder in Indiana. And the chase is on...all the way to Universal Studios....with gunfire in stopped traffic...innocent motorists mere feet away.  Full story from the Los Angeles Times (with different video from KTL...

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CHP Officer On Mulholland: "Go Ahead, Make My Day." Motorcyclist Obliges.

Really kinda speaks for itself, doesn't ...

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NASA To Help Investigate Unintended Acceleration

Gee, maybe it is rocket science. Despite decades of experience and data indicating that the vast majority of unintended acceleration incidents fully investigated end up being cases of drivers standing on the gas instead of the brake, the Obama administration has decided to launch not one, but two investigations...one by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) with the help of The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) and the other by The National Academy of Sciences...to get to the bottom of the unintended acceleration incidents that have been plaguing Toyota and other manufacturers. How long? 15 months....

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NSFW (Not Safe For Work) Safe Driving Promos

If you told me the above was a documentary about what's behind a lot of sudden acceleration claims from Toyota Prius drivers, I wouldn't argue.But it's actually one of several safe driving spots from Australia, targeting young, distracted drivers and being just a bit rude to cut through the clutter. See the rest he...

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Lincoln Hybrid MKZ Unveil At NYC Auto Show

Lexus is rolling out the hybrids, so why not Lincoln? Expect an announcement this week at the New York Auto Show that there will be a 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.Not that big a stretch, really...given that the MKZ is a derivative of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, both of which have hybrid models. We loved the Milan Hybrid...but will the MKZ be different enough to justify the Lincoln price tag? The Detroit News talked to at least one analyst who isn't so sure. Story here....

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Mazda To License Prius Hybrid Technology From Toyota

You'll see Mazda hybrids on the street in 2013, but there'll be Toyota technology helping to power the new Mazda Sky engine. Full story from The Detroit News here....

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Carbon Motors: All We Need Is Cash

A week ago, BMW was telling us that it had landed a big deal with Carbon Motors to supply its purpose-built police cruiser, the E7, with six-cylinder diesel engines.Today, Carbon Motors says it's all good...if the U.S. government loans it $310 million.Story from Automotive News here....

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China's Geely To "Liberate" Volvo

It's a done deal. Volvo is now the property of Chinese automaker Geely, whose founder says Volvo is a "tiger" that needs to be "liberated".Part of that "liberation" is wider distribution, and the production of 300,000 units a year in a Chinese factory. Full story from Automotive Ne...

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Toyota Death Toll: 102

The Los Angeles Times says its review of public records indicates 102 people have been killed in Toyota vehicle accidents linked to unintended acceleration.Two things to remember when reading the piece: One, that the number of reports increases when a problem is reported and many of those reports are later found to be unrelated to the problem. And two, that in the vast majority of cases fully investigated where a cause can be found, unintended acceleration incidents end up being a case of drivers standing on the gas pedal when they believe (and have reported, if they survived) they were standing on the brake.Full story from the Times he...

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Hitman Challenger UPDATE: The Real Deal Revealed (updated 5:50 PM)

The mystery (well, at least part of it) of "Hitman" and the $29,100 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 auction is over.Brad Davis at Glenn E. Thomas Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep confirms that the dealership did honor the $29,100 auction as Hitman said...but for a different car of arguably higher value.  Jonny Lieberman at Autoblog got it right...Hitman (real first name Alex) went home in a new 2010 Challenger SRT-8 instead of the 2009 with 500 miles on the odometer.  Davis tells me the '09 was sold to another client last week while the auction was in dispute.Hitman was offered his pick of three 2010 Challenger SRT-8s and chose a black one. The '09 was blue.Hitman...

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Consumer Reports Demonstrates Stopping Distance Difference With Brake Override

Brake override cuts the gas when you apply a certain amount of pressure on the brake. There's a push to make it mandatory, thinking that it will help end cases of unintended acceleration. Never mind that most of those cases thus far have shown that the drivers weren't on the brake at all, but instead standing on the gas pedal.Well, Consumer Reports says whether your acceleration is unintended or not, brake override cuts the stopping distance of your car...which is a good thing. And, because they know we worry...CR also says brake override won't affect "enthusiast drivin...

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Challenger SRT-8 Auction Watch: The Hitman Cometh, Leaveth Questions

Yesterday, we told you about the strange online silence of  "Hitman", the purported winner of a $29,100 eBay auction for a 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT-8. Well, last night at 9:47PM PDT, "Hitman" surfaced on the forum, acknowledging, but not answering any of the questions:A lot of questions and rumors definitely coming to light after this whole experience from different sources that are making claims. Many requests to post pictures and give an explanation of how it went down in the end. Plan of posting pics and all that good stuff after I work on getting a couple of coats of wax and the right shine. It's only been a few days of driving it around...

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The Scarlet Sticker: New Jersey Teens Branded By License Plate Sticker

Imagine the Springsteen lyrics if they'd come up with this idea in the 70s:  New Jersey is requiring drivers under 21 to affix a red sticker to the upper left corner of their license plates. They'll pay $4 for the decal, a $100 fine if they remove it, and police will be able to use the sticker as probable cause for pulling over drivers for teen-specific offenses like curfew violations.Full story from the New Jersey Star-Ledg...

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2011 Mustang V6: More HP Than Camaro Six, Cheaper Too

The legendary pony car battles of the 1960s usually centered around the most powerful V8 versions.Things change in 40 years. The 2011 Mustang V6 hits showroom floors next month with 305 horsepower...exactly one more than the Chevrolet Camaro six. Not enough to move your needle? Ford figured. So they're pricing the 'Stang six at $22,925...$535 below the Camaro's base price.Don't expect this to stand, though...GM's already reportedly at work on bumping up the output of their six-cylinder engine, and we could see a price war here as well.Give your Mustang an aggressive look with a Mustang chin spoiler from AmericanMusc...

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Steve McQueen's 80th Birthday

If he were alive, he'd be 80 today. So let's celebrate by watching the ultimate Steve McQueen car moment: the chase scene from Bullitt.For more on McQueen, the movie and the last-gen Ford Mustang Bullitt, go he...

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GM To Re-Calibrate Cadillac SRX Turbo Engine After Press Fleet Vehicle Dies On Regular Gas

We've all been there...the owner's manual says 91 octane minimum, but accidentally or to save a few bucks, we pump in some regular gas. What's the worst that could happen?Gunnar Heinrich of Automobiles De Luxe found out first-hand, shares it with us and prompts Cadillac to fix all its 2010 SRX Turb...

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Where's 'Hitman" And His Car? (Updated 12:36 PM MST)

The ChallengerTalk Forums have been on a rollercoaster ride the past week: Outrage over a member named "Hitman" being denied the keys to a 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 after a $29,100 winning bid on eBay was disputed by Southern California dealer Glenn E. Thomas Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep....support for "Hitman" when it was announced that he and the dealer were going to sit down face to face last Friday after eBay announced there was no technical glitch, as the dealer had claimed.....and celebration when, just after 7:00 AM PST Sunday morning, "Hitman" posted the news that the dealership "honored the $29.1K auction", along with a photo that showed a...

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Why GM Killed The Cadillac Converj

Despite the unveiling of the EN-V, there are people inside General Motors who envision a world where utter desirability and envirnomental responsibility aren't polar opposites. Case in point: The Cadillac Converj, the sensation of the 2009 North American International Auto Show.But the Converj is a no-go now, and Motor Trend's Todd Lassa's got the reasons w...

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GM EN-V Unlikely To Produce Envy Among Enthusiasts

General Motors says that by 2030, urban areas will be home to more than 60% of the world's then 8-billion people. Public transport will have trouble keeping up, GM says, so....Behold the EN-V, short for Electronic Networked-Vehicle. Seats two, electric powered, 25 mile range and with interactivity that will allow the car to consult GPS, select the best route and take it from there. The design? Evolved from Segway's P.U.M.A prototype.  It's a partnership with SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp) Group.The EN-V will be on display at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai from May 1 through October 31. Full details in the GM news release here....

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UPDATE: Daimler AG To Pay $185 Million To Settle Bribery Charges

Well, that didn't take long. Less than 24 hours after word that the United States Department of Justice had filed bribery charges against Daimler AG, the makers of Mercedes-Benz, comes news that Daimler will settle with the feds by paying $185 million.Full story from Automotive News....

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Jalopnik Calls BS On CNN's TSB

One of the best things about new media is that we acknowledge the existence and work of others in the same field and help it reach a wider audience. In radio and TV, where I began my career (and still work), the "other guys" are never mentioned, unless it's in connection with videotape of one of their reporters and a barnyard animal dressed in the outfit on page 38 of the Victoria's Secret catalog.Well, Jalopnik scores again...taking dead aim at CNN's story about a 2002 Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) that purports to show Toyota's known about electronic causes of unintended acceleration in its vehicles for eight years.I've been a Jalopnik...

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Consultants Say Toyota's Looking In The Wrong Places For Electronic Interference

Three British consultants meeting with U.S. investigators tomorrow say Toyota's never found evidence of electronic interference in acceleration because they don't know where to look and it's very difficult to detect.Full story from Automotive Ne...

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Bribery Charges Filed Against Daimler AG

 The United States Justice Department has filed charges against Daimler AG, maker of Mercedes-Benz automobiles, alleging a "long-standing practice of paying bribes to foreign officials."The feds say at least 22 countries were involved over a ten-year span and hundreds of payments to foreign officials worth tens of millions of dollars.Full story from Reuters at Automotive Ne...

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Funny Images Part 4

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Funny Images part 2

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World Famous Images

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Great Funny Latest Images

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