AUTO CAR NEWS: December 2010

Friday, December 31, 2010

Zaniest thing I've seen in a while, the Jade Warrior from 1985

Skip the first 30 seconds

Learned about it from http://zelastchancegaragedu78.blogspot.com/ information from http://www.dragzine.com/news/the-jade-warrior-a-truly-insane-and-one-of-a-kind-ride/

The creation of British motorcycle racer Angus MacPhail, who built it himself in his garage, it's called the “Jade Warrior,” did the quarter mile in under 8 seconds a quarter century ago without the use of nitromethane. That's riding on the tip of a bullet.

It was powered by an inline 4-cylinder that blended MacPhail’s own engineering with that of a Ford Cosworth and sported a Roots supercharger producing somewhere between 400 and 500 horsepower.

The frame was, obviously, a completely one-off piece that was built monocoque-style – with a main center section made of alloy and put together with Araldite adhesive and Monel rivets. A well-designed body with ground effects incorporated helped keep it stable and hooked up at close to 200 MPH. Angus claimed it was actually very easy to navigate down the track.

Ferrari 599 Fiorano (camouflage paintwork)

V12 / 5.998 cc / 620 PS / 448 lb/ft @ 5.600 / 0 - 62 mph: 3,6 s / Vmax: 207 mph

(click images for a larger view)

Happy New Year 2011!

Wishing everyone subscribed to CarSalesIndia.com a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year! Have a great year ahead!

Coolest damn thing you'll see all week. 1913 Harley, heavily optioned,TANDEM !, unrestored, with a quick history and instructions how to start it. WOW

the bike's options are discussed for the first 5 minutes, then the bike is started up and the procedure is wonderfully demonstrated, step by step. (starts at minute 5:30)
Thanks Mike! This is great!

The Camelback locomotive design, used in conjunction with the exceptionally wide Wooten firebox, not safe though

The "Camelback" design, which straddled the cab over the center of the boiler, allowed the exceptional width of the Wooten firebox, which burned lower BTU anthracite coal from Eastern Pennsylvania.

The Locomotives in the picture were also called "Mother Hubbards" among other names. They were discontinued from freight service because if a side rod broke, it would wipe out the cab and if on the engineer's side, the engineer also. In yard service they were much safer because of the lower speed which was not so likely to break a rod and sling it through the cab.
photo from http://www.shorpy.com/node/9335?size=_original

Meals on...Exotic Wheels: Gotham Dream Cars Helps Feed the Elderly, so you Best Give a Damn

In charity-oriented news, Gotham Dream Cars recently assisted Pascack Valley, New Jersey's Meals on Wheels program in delivering food to some of the area's age- and hunger-impaired citizens. Edibles were brought door-side via cars like a Viper SRT-10, Lamborghini Gallardo, and Maserati Quattroporte, among others. The best part? Well, that depends.

Most people would say it's feeding those in need. Normal, right? Unfortunately, the press seems to think the story is the cars. That's right; instead of people who require help, the exotic transportation became the story. It's insane.

While the U.S. car market is still underachieving compared to the best results of the last decade, December sales are expected to significantly contribute to the annual forecast of about 12 million sold vehicles, as 2010 is clearly ending with an uphill trend, according to industry analysts.

“That's a long way from the 16 million and 17 million sales rates that we experienced for the better part of this decade. But we're coming out of 2010 on an upswing and I think this bodes well for 2011”, said Ford Motor Co. sales analyst George Pipas.

While looking for the designs of the Smart Roadster model we showed you in our previous post, we stumbled upon these drawings of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz SLK used for trademark filings. Being that an official video of the 2012 SLK has already been leaked online (you can watch it after the jump if you missed out), these pictures simply offer some additional -and unobstructed- views of the roadster model with the retractable hardtop.

As far as hooning goes, one would think that a simple burnout should get you in the least amount of trouble. However, the owner of this Honda Civic almost lost his car while dazzling the crowd [...], as after about 40 seconds the tires suddenly burst into flames.

So, what have we learned today? Well, first of all, avoid overdoing the burnout if your car is tied to a block of concrete. Also, always keep a fire extinguisher at hand, because it turns out that putting out flames with some refreshments isn’t very effective. Who would of thought it? Watch the video after the jump.

Japanese tuner Noblesse has been steadily releasing numerous aftermarket bits and pieces for the new CR-Z ever since Honda launched its hybrid sport hatch . Among other parts, the company has developed a ground aero-kit with front and rear bumper aprons, side skirts, a rear diffuser and a large roof wing. These can be complemented by a lightweight carbon fiber hood, underbody aero parts, larger alloy wheels and a sport exhaust system. You can check out photos of Noblesse's Honda CR-Z offerings along with a video of a test car doing a circuit round right after the jump.

Bufori Geneva Supercharged

V8 / 6.059 cc / 435 PS / 420 ft/lb (569 Nm) @ 4.800 / 0 - 62 mph (100 km/h): 5,4 s / Vmax: 165 mph (265 km/h)

Supercharged: V8 / 6.059 cc / 560 PS / 509 ft/lb (690 Nm) @ 4.800 / kompressor

(click images for a larger view)

2011 Chrysler 200: Conflicting MPG Figures Hit the Maker’s Official Website

Even though the 2011 Chrysler 200 is set to debut in the U.S. at the end of January, many facts on the mid-size sedan remain unclear. The company hasn’t officially (…) released interior pictures yet, only a video, and mpg figures were also unknown. However, as some isolated reports about EPA ratings hit the internet today, we decided to investigate. We found out that Chrysler’s sedan won’t establish any records in the segment and that, ironically, the automaker can’t decide which is the correct EPA estimated mpg.

According to one page on Chrysler.com, the 200 sedan equipped with the 173 hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine returns 21/30 mpg city/highway, with both the 4-speed and 6-speed automatic transmissions. This is kind of strange to begin with, as you’d expect the more modern gearbox to have better numbers for the sake of marketing, if nothing else.

Back in 2001 at the Geneva Motor Show, Smart introduced a quirky roadster concept with no doors, no roof and no windscreen called the Crossblade. The Fortwo Cabrio-based concept eventually went into a limited series production the following year with Smart offering a total of 2,000 cars.

Fast-forward to today, and Smart appears to be readying a spiritual successor to the Crossblade as the firm's parent company Mercedes-Benz has trademarked these designs drawings of a two-seater roadster model.

Unlike the original Crossblade, which came without doors featuring instead steel safety bars at passenger shoulder height that swing upwards with the help of a gas-operated struts, the roadster model seen in these pictures gets a conventional set of doors. It also features a larger wind deflector surrounding the driver and passenger as well as Smart's trademark Tridion Safety Cell - albeit redesigned to look like separate safety bars.

Renault to roll-out 5 latest car models in India by 2013

The Indian unit of France based foremost car maker Renault is planning to start five new car models in the Indian market, over the period of next three years. The launch of these new cars will be in-line with company’s aspire of grabbing up to 5 % market share in the country’s auto market by year 2014. At first, the company will roll-out two of its most predictable vehicles – Fluence and Koloes – in the country.

The Renault Fluence is essentially a premium sedan that will be commenced in the Indian market in May 2011, following the beginning of its production at company’s Chennai plant from April 2011. The Fluence sedan is predictable to be shelved in the price segment of Rs 12 to 14 lakh, where it will be fighting for space with the similar to of Chevrolet Cruze, Toyota Corolla Altis, Honda Civic and upcoming Maruti Kizashi.

On the other hand, Renault Koleos is a dense sports utility vehicle (SUV) that will be rolled-out in the month of October, next year. The car is predictable to be placed in the price segment of sub Rs 20 lakh where it will be challenging with the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Honda CR-V, Ford Endeavour, Mitsubishi Outlander and Chevrolet Captiva.

Additionally, the company will roll-out 3 more car models in the period of year 2012-13, which comprise a small hatchback and an ultra low cost small car.

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president of the Packard Motorcar Company in a 1913 Packard doing a trailblazer journey across the USA scouting a route for the Lincoln Highway

photos from http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=428585&page=930

Conceived in 1912 by Carl Fisher, (founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway), the Lincoln Highway would be the first highway to stretch coast-to-coast. In those days few “improved” (graded) roads existed, and those few were only found within city limits. Long-distance auto trips weren’t something even considered by prudent individuals, but the highway would prove instrumental in making cars a viable mode of travel.