Not sure this ad slated for the Super Bowl is really going to attract the kind of attention Honda is hoping for. Do you?
Hyundai will once again flaunt its recently acquired riches by running not one, but two Super Bowl ads this year.
First up, it's Brett Favre, looking quite fresh and relaxed after throwing away the NFC championship game. Then, it's on to the paint shop. Here Hyundai shows off the paint procedure for the new 2011 Sonata, which it says is better than the Mercedes-Benz CLS. And what constitutes "better" paint? Uh....
Continue reading Hyundai Releases Two New Super Bowl Ads.
A new report by the Highway Loss Data Institute, an arm of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, says that states that enacted bans on using cell phones while driving haven't seen any notable changes in accident reports.
"The laws aren't reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use, and several studies have established that phoning while driving increases crash risk," says Adrian Lund, president of both the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and HLDI.
So take from this what you will. Anything that gets drivers to pay more attention to actually driving seems like a win in our book.
The papers are signed and the agreement is done. Nissan has sealed the deal on a Department of Transportation loan that will be used to modify Nissan's Smyrna, TN plant for production of the Leaf electric car and the lithium-ion batteries that will power it.
According to the press release, the plant will be capable of producing 150,000 Leafs a year and 200,000 batteries a year when fully operational.
Hope it works. That's a pretty big chunk of change to hand over for a completely unproven product. Then again, both Fisker and Tesla got half a billion each for cars that don't exist yet, so we'll see who pulls through first.
It's amazing how well the combination of Speaker Pelosi, Fiat President Marchionne and the rear of a 599XX brought out everyone's collective wit. There were many uproariously funny entries this week. The win goes to you, deserveliberty, for your amusing read on the politics of the automotive industry.
Here are the honorable mentions, all of which made us laugh.
This baby has a parachute in the trunk, it'll bail itself out! (sherief)
"The Italian Stallion... the car, not me" (e90_m3)
We're working on one made out of recycled Styrofoam; it runs on cow flatulence and won't exceed 45 mph! (roadburner)
Mrs. Pelosi, all this could be yours IF you play THE PRICE IS RIGHT! (vt8919)
And this is the new all electric family sedan by Chrysler. It gets a million miles to the gallon and will be sold next year for only $15,000. (dougtheeng)
Meet my invisible friend, who will help Chrysler turn a profit in 2010. Why yes, he is Jay Leno and he did come out of a bottle of motor oil. (greenpony)
"And this, Miss Speaker, represents our latest hybrid model. It runs on the hopes and dreams of its owner and emits only puppies." (eidolways)
We brought only the rear of this car here the front is still reviewed by the members of your congress. (f1ndler)
I'm sorry, but women in pantsuits can not get any closer than this to any Ferrari, otherwise all the sexy is drained from the vehicle. (ergsum)
There is candy in the trunk. Why don't you go have a look? (dougtheeng)
Thanks for playing, everyone. See you next week!
One of the writers at Jalopnik had an interesting conversation with a couple of GM officials this week: The possibility of allowing Corvette ZR1 owners to assemble the very LS9 V8 that will go into their cars is currently under consideration.
This ugly scenario went down on December 26. A 39-year-old Russian Interior Ministry lieutenant colonel clipped a snowplow as he went past in his Nissan Mistral SUV. He was evidently so upset about the damage, he pulled out an air pistol and shot a rubber bullet into the knee of the snowplow driver.
The officer scored a direct hit on a major artery, and the snowplow driver eventually died of blood loss... no word on whether anyone tried to stop the bleeding or rush him to a hospital. The lieutenant colonel has been charged with manslaughter.
We're not sure how many more demos of Gran Turismo 5 we can stand, but here's another from CES as Sony Polyphony Digital producer Chris Hinojasa-Miranda takes you on a partial lap of the Nurburgring. We just wish he hadn't said "Nuremburg-ring."
To the best of our knowledge, the full game will still be out in the U.S. this summer. And of course the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is the cover car.
Continue reading 2010 CES: Gran Turismo 5 Gameplay on the Nurburgring.
Some of the entries this week were uproariously funny.
Picking the winner wasn't so hard because the Colin Chapman reference is just so apt in reference to the Lotus Super Trolley. Congratulations, wshuff.
However, narrowing down the honorable mentions proved difficult, because so many of them made us laugh hard. Here's how the list shaped out, but even if your entry isn't on it, it's still fair to assume we found it damn funny. Thanks for playing, everyone.
Low and high maintenance rolled into one. (mrryte)
Aisle 9... hot women. (robert4380)
Proof that a Lotus can indeed pick up women. (lmbvette)
"We build track-ready cars; wait until you see our track-ready shopping carts for holiday shopping moms!" (inlinesix)
Does it still have the problem with wheels sticking? That would really throw you off into the produce isle under hard cornering! (djsho91)
it has no bar at the back so you can't run and stand on the cart. damn british, taking all the fun away. (jackson611)
Fortunately, this one is not a 'stripper' model. (dougtheeng)
So, how's she handle? (zoomzoomn)
Lotus begins testing on new LF-A fighter. 5 wheel ultra steering (WUS) is being introduced as part of a revolutionary new drive system, its lightweight aluminium body features a rigid roll cage. Seating arraignment allows for one + one seating; tho don't expect to fit any more then a baby in the rear seat. Prices will start in upwards of a billion dollars and are expected to go even higher for a hardtop model. Slated for release in 2012, lotus hopes to bring in a new family of buyers into the supercar(t) niche. (93aero)
You can read all the contest entries here. Then, check the caption contest winner on our Long-Term Road Test Blog.
Because, really, why would you ever commit suicide if you owned a car as beautiful as an Audi A5? Oh, wait, that was a naive and insensitive question.
But that doesn't mean you won't want to watch this alleged ad. You'll either find it disturbing or funny, so watch out.
You think the Lotus Exige's handling is sharp? Well, wait until you test-drive the Lotus Super Trolley. We hear that fifth wheel makes all the difference.
Yes, indeed, another caption contest. Do your worst.
Then, hop on over to the Long-Term Road Test blog and submit an entry in that caption contest.
Yesterday we brought you semi-truck drifting. Today it's drifting in a Mercedes G55 AMG, and damn if it doesn't lift that inside wheel through the roundabout. This diversion comes to you courtesy of our vehicle testing assistant, Mike Magrath.
What comes after Ford's Sync voice control technology? It's called MyFord Touch, and soon MyLincoln Touch (and if you're really optimistic, MyMercury Touch) and it debuted at this week's 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
It's basically a new control interface that gives you dominion over nearly feature in your Ford. MyFord Touch doesn't replace Sync; rather, it integrates with Sync. Ford has recently announced new features for Sync, including in-car WiFi capability, smart phone apps and iTunes tagging when you're listening. More crucially, Ford has made a round of improvements to Sync's often fallible voice recognition and command capabilities.
Edmunds.com tech guru Doug Newcomb walks you through the major features of MyFord Touch in this video.
For a more detailed look at MyFord Touch and the new Sync features, check the Edmunds CarPool blog.
The driver didn't have a trailer hooked up a the time, but in our book, this still counts as delightfully insane.
The New York Times invited U2's Bono to write a guest column for the Sunday print edition. Bono has put together a top 10 list of ideas that "might make the next 10 years more interesting, healthy or civil." Number 10 on the list? "Return of the Automobile as a Sexual Object."
It turns out Bono is not a fan of crossovers. "We have the mundanity of our marriage to the minivan and the SUV and long-term relationships with midsize cars that are, forgive me, a little heavy in the rear cargo hold," he writes, noting that he came of age when the Jaguar E-Type set the tone for vehicle design.
He goes on to recommend (playfully) that the Obama administration should take advantage of its financial stake in GM and Chrysler and order up a round of truly attractive cars. Design consultation, he writes, should come from the likes of "Marc Newson ... Steve Jobs and Jonny Ive from Apple ... Frank Gehry, the architect, and Jeff Koons, the artist."
Of course, Bono would like it if those cars were green, too, noting that the Tesla Roadster and Fisker Karma manage to combine environmental friendliness and sex appeal.
If only it were that easy.
Kudos to Autoblog for finding this column.
Photo source: Top Marques Monaco
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