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It was one of the most anticipated rally car jumps of the year, and only Travis Pastrana could pull it off. At least that's what the ESPN commentators said prior to the big leap off the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach, CA.
He was shooting for 250 feet - over water - and anything other than a perfect jump would pretty much put him somewhere in Long Beach harbor. Not a bad trick for New Year's Eve, see it for yourself below.
The car was built by Late Model Racecraft in Houston, TX. It runs an LSX V8 with a Procharger and a 6L80 automatic transmission.
Source: Camaro5
"The music is so serene..." croons the sleepy Coldplay-infused soundtrack, but as we noted when official photos came out in November, the 2011 Volvo S60 is far less bland than that. It's downright attractive. It goes on sale here in the third quarter of 2010. And here's the first official video for the car.
The tuning potential of the 2011 BMW 5 Series is undeniable, what with the twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V8 in the 550i and the single, twin-scroll turbo (N55 inline-6) in the 535i. The Netherlands-based tuner Racing Dynamics has announced its early plans for the F10 5 Series, and big horsepower numbers top the list.
BMW rates the 2011 550i at 407 horsepower from the factory, and Racing Dynamic claims it can find 612 hp. The 535i will make 306 hp in stock form, but the tuner plans to get 405 hp out of it on its way to a 5.3-second 0-to-60-mph time -- 0.7 second quicker than BMW's claim for the stock sedan.
Wisely, a limited-slip differential will be on offer as well, along with the expected big brake kit, lowered suspension and forged 21-inch wheels.
Bimmer Today (in German) via BMW Blog
Remember when we gave you the scoop on the 2012 Hyundai Veloster coupe about six months ago? Well, now what looks to be the first spy photo of a prototype has surfaced. Just look at that sloping roofline and tiny footprint, what else could it be?
Seems about right given that we were told that the production coupe would be "Accent-sized" and come powered by a 1.4-liter four-cylinder with 140-horsepower. Compared to the concept, the only noticeable difference is the addition of a B-pillar compared to the concept's hardtop.
Production is still two years away, so expect to see many more spy shots of the 2012 Hyundai Veloster, or whatever they decide to call it, over the next 24 months.
Updated: Final practice video added after the jump. Warning: It's a bit of a tease.
Unless you're afraid of flying cars or really hate energy drinks, you're understandably excited about watching Travis Pastrana attempt to jump a Subaru WRX STI rally car from the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach, California, out onto a barge floating in the harbor on New Year's Eve. That's tomorrow. Today we took a few minutes to talk to Pastrana and his top tech, Gregg Hamilton, who formerly wrenched for the Subaru WRC team. We also looked at the cars (there are 2) and walked part of the jump ramp. And we learned it's 240 feet from the end of the pier to the barge.
The STI on the right in the above photo is the primary jump car, because "it's the most expendable," says Hamilton. This is the car that is said to have "crashed" in practice, though whatever happened, the damage was only cosmetic, Hamilton told us. In addition, this STI was driven by Dave Mirra in the X Games. The second STI is a back-up in the event of a mechanical failure.
Evidently, the cars are exactly like any other Subaru Rally Team USA car, though a different, less restrictive restrictor plate lets the 2.2-liter boxer four-cylinder make more power -- about 400 horsepower and 451 pound-feet of torque. Unnecessary stuff like the navigator's seat, the spare tires and the underbody protection have been deleted to lighten the car to 3,000 pounds from 3,400. The windshield is plastic.
Additionally, the front aero package has been removed to enable Pastrana to better "fly" the car...
Lots more photos and info after the jump.
Ken Cole, vice president of governmental relations for General Motors, will retire after 8 years on the job. In his place, GM's interim CEO, Ed Whitacre, will install his own men, John Montford and Bob Ferguson, both former AT&T executives.
Cole was tangled up in all the Capitol Hill battles during the year of upheaval at GM; his counterpart at Chrysler, John Bozzella, has already moved on to take a position with Cerberus Capital, former owner of Chrysler. Cole will stay on with GM as an advisor "until his retirement later in 2010," according to GM.
Montford (top headshot) will serve as a special advisor to Whitacre, while Ferguson (lower headshot) will hold the formal of title of vice president of government relations. They'll both be on the job January 1.
Nope. Tesla still doesn't have a plant to build the Model S electric sedan, as John O'Dell of Green Car Advisor reports that the company hasn't worked out a deal with the city of Downey, California. Last month Downey's mayor, Mario Guerra, announced that Tesla would build its second model at an 80-acre site there that formerly housed a Boeing/NASA factory.
Keep in mind Tesla has said it will start selling the Model S sometime in 2011, so the clock is ticking rapidly. The company was approved for $465 million in federal loans this year, and most of that sum is designated for developing a plant to build the Model S. The loan agreement stipulates that Tesla must refurbish an existing U.S. factory.
Green Car Advisor: No Deal Yet For Tesla 'Model S' EV Manufacturing Plant, Company Says
Although it just debuted for 2009, Kia has put its seven-passenger Borrego SUV on ice for 2010: There will be no 2010 Kia Borrego. The long-term prognosis appears doubtful, too, as a Kia official told the Car Connection's Marty Padgett, "TBD."
We questioned Kia's decision to launch a traditional, body-on-frame SUV, particularly one with a V8 engine, in mid-2008. Fuel prices were uncomfortably high when it launched, and though they've since moderated, most people aren't looking to old-school trucks anymore for family transportation. This makes it doubly hard for a newcomer to get noticed, and evidently, the Borrego hasn't. Only 9,500 have been sold in 2009 as of November.
Toyota recalled nearly 4.9 million vehicles in 2009 -- the most of any automaker in the U.S., the Detroit Free Press reports. This is the first time Toyota has ever led in annual recalls, and of course this milestone is the result of the floor mat debacle during which 4.3 million vehicles were recalled.
Free Press writers crunched the numbers on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site. Ford came up second with 4.5 million recalled vehicles -- most of them covered by recalls for cruise control switches that can catch fire, a chronic defect in older Fords.
Next up was GM was 2.2 million recalled vehicles, followed by Hyundai with just over 1 million and Nissan with 700,000+. Chrysler rounded out the top five with 590,000.
You can see the full list in the Free Press article.
Reuters is reporting that Saab will start production of the redesigned 9-5 sedan at its Trollhatten, Sweden, plant in January. Production of the 9-3 convertible will also resume, as General Motors continues to entertain purchase bids for Saab.
"We have the orders [for the new 9-5] and we have to deliver them as usual," Saab spokesman Eric Geers is quoted as saying. "We also have the orders for the 9-3 and others. The factory has to continue again."
Geers named Spyker among the active bidders, and a text message to Reuters from Spyker chairman Victor Muller indicated GM has extended the deadline to firm up a deal until January 7.
Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the track, along with comments direct from the test drivers. Enjoy.
Although it doesn't constitute a full redesign of the LR3, the 2010 Land Rover LR4 brings one very important upgrade: a 375-horsepower 5.0-liter V8. Thusly equipped, the LR4 has gets up to speed with an authority its predecessor never had.
We timed a 2005 LR3, which had a 300-hp 4.4-liter V8, at 8.9 seconds to 60 mph and 16.6 seconds at 84.0 mph for the quarter-mile. Click past the jump and you'll see the LR4 shaves quite a bit off those numbers.
Beyond that, the 2010 LR4 is still a very large, very off-road-oriented SUV with seating for seven. It has a permanent four-wheel-drive system with a standard locking center differential, an optional rear locker and numerous driver-adjustable terrain settings. Bottom line, there's a lot of hardware on the Land Rover LR4, and although this gives it considerable rock-climbing ability, it's not quite so useful at our paved test track.
Maybe Travis Pastrana doesn't need to bother with his Red Bull-sanctioned New Year's Eve jump attempt at the Long Beach Harbor. Johnny Greaves looks to have already broken Ken Block's 171-foot jump record with this apparent 301-foot jump.
Of course, Greaves drives a TORC Pro 2WD Toyota truck, rather than a rally car, and he's sponsored by the "other" energy drink company. Plus, the measuring protocol in the video shows a level of precision not seen outside an elementary school playground.
After the jump, watch a video of what's said to be the longest ever jump by a semi truck. We hear Johnny Walker was the sponsor on that jump attempt.
Can't get enough of the Super GT-ified second-generation Acura NSX? Here's a nearly 11-minute video of the test session at Suzuka.
Build quality has long been a problem for the Chevrolet Corvette, and today's recall certainly won't elevation public perception of the car's fit and finish. GM has recalled 22,090 2005-2007 Corvettes to repair a faulty roof adhesive. Note that this recall only applies to the standard Corvette, which has a removable roof panel.
You'll know for sure that you have the problem if the roof flies off. Or before that point, you may notice "a snapping noise when driving over bumps, wind noise, poor roof panel fit, roof panel movement/bounce when a door or hatch is closed, or a water leak in the headliner," according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall text.
The adhesive currently used to attach the roofs was itself borne out of a 2006 recall that involved 30,000 Corvettes. That earlier recall was prompted by 11 reports of roof separation. However, the NHTSA has received claims from 100 owners who say the newer adhesive isn't doing the job, either.
IL News: 2005-'07 Chevrolet Corvette Recalled Over Roof Problem
The current Subaru Impreza WRX STI has been criticized for having too pedestrian a character for a 300-horsepower rally car. A 22-year-old graphic artist, "Pete," has set about to remedy that in Photoshop. Now it's a three-door with the engine moved to the back just because.
Many adjective-rich stories have been written about the glorious sounds of a V10 engine. But some people just don't get it. And some of those people have the audacity to dine and walk in Beverly Hills where this Porsche Carrera GT makes its home.
So Michael Schumacher will drive for Mercedes GP in 2010. Will his brother, Ralf Schumacher, be back in Formula 1 as well? That's one of the titillating newsbits floating around during a slow news week.
Supposedly, Ralf has already had an offer that he has turned down. And at least one F1 blogger is speculating that this offer came from the new USF1 team, which has yet to sign a driver for 2010.
Ralf Schumacher last competed in F1 in 2007 when he drove for Toyota. He left Toyota at the end of the season, and failing to secure a spot elsewhere, switched over to DTM racing.
When their Toyota Sequoia's navigation system advised them to turn on a remote forest road, a Nevada couple listened. John Rhoads and Starry Bush-Rhoads proceeded to drive down Forest Service Road 28 for 35 miles on Christmas Day before their four-wheel-drive Sequoia got stuck in 18 inches on snow. There they would remain for 2 1/2 days until their GPS-enabled cell phone got enough of a signal to relay coordinates to a dispatcher.
The couple was driving from Portland, Oregon, back to their home in Reno, Nevada. The nav system was apparently trying to find the shortest path to U.S. 395. Fortunately, Rhoads and Bush-Rhoads had plenty of food, water and warm clothing, so they were never in grave danger.
In the future, we'd probably also suggest they pack a shovel and some kitty litter. Another thought: Read a little more about your nav system and its route options and rerouting features.
Note: Obviously, this is not a screen shot from the Sequoia's navigation system; rather, it's a picture we took in our long-term 2009 Mazda 6.
Long goodbyes are painful (and bad for public relations), so General Motors is offering dealers a big incentive to sell off the remaining Pontiacs and Saturns, according to a Wall Street Journal report. GM will pay $7,000 for every car moved out of new car inventory and into rental- or service-vehicle fleets before Jan. 4.
Said vehicles must then be sold as used cars, but when the dealer passes the cash along to the customer, the savings could be quite significant. However, this can't be combined with the 0-percent, 72-month loan terms or the $6,500 rebate GM has already been offering.
The program is of course expected to inflate GM's December sales, though Saturns and Pontiacs have been very difficult to move in recent months, averaging a combined 13,000 deliveries per month. The problem? Dwindling inventories make it unlikely that you'll still find a car as desirable as this G8 GT. But if it's a G3 you want, step right up.
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