Latest Cars News Blog: 2009

Silver’s on Top

Mercedes McLaren SLR

Here is some really hot news that you can celebrate over the weekend. Our gurus have learned that silver remains the world’s top choice in car colors—for the ninth year! If that doesn’t make you want to buy a German car right now, you have no racing blood in your veins.

In a variety of hues, silver paint lies on top of one of every four vehicles sold in the U.S. and covers 35 percent of new European cars and 34 percent of Asia-Pacific cars. We have this on good authoritiy from Jane Harrington, manager of color styling and automotive coatings for PPG Industries, as reported in the Detroit News and on MSNBC.

However, Jane didn’t really tell us why silver has remained so popular—other than saying it “looks great on any car, shows off all of the lines and helps people blend into the crowd.” What? Helps people blend into the crowd? Our take is that silver is popular because people want their cars to look like money. Anyhow, here are some great-looking silver cars, courtesy of flickr.

Ferrari F430 Spider

1962 Silver Corvette

BMW Alpina Z8

Buick Skylark

Which do you like best? Why do these cars look good in silver?

—jgoods

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Car-On-Car Action Video Gets Us Hot And Bothered For The Weekend [Super Cars]

The cinematic qualities of most automotive videos leaves us wanting more, but Advan Tech Studio knows what we crave. The video proof after the jump gets us real hot and bothered for the weekend.

We showed you a little 30 frame-per-second video of a Mustang burnout last summer and little did we know the awesome cinematic genius behind it was Advan Tech Studios. Take a peak below at the awesome collection of their work from 2008.

[Advan Tech Studios via TeamSpeed]

Unique Volkswagen “Up!” Concept

VW Up! Concept

There are a whole line of vehicle concepts under the “Up!” umbrella from VW, meant to explore the possibilities of a new power source centered around the world’s first high temperature fuel cell and lithium-ion battery system. With announcements on automotive innovations being made almost on a daily basis, it would be easy for VW’s achievements to get lost in the fray. However, there are good reasons why this concept shouldn’t.

The properties of current fuel-cell technology require that it be operated within a very narrow temperature range. If the temperature rises too much, the recovery of energy simply will not work. That is why fuel cell designs usually have large and complicated cooling systems that manage heat and humidity. VW’s new fuel cell design features a special membrane of electrodes designed to make the cells more effective at high temperatures, which has a hand in keeping cost and weight considerably lower than other systems. To help distribute weight more evenly throughout the vehicle, the two main components of propulsion are housed in different areas of the vehicle. The zero-emissions electric motor and lithium-ion batteries are housed in the back of the car and under the rear seats. The high temperature fuel cell, on the other hand, is located up front. In addition to the fuel cell, which extends the car’s driving range by 155 miles, energy can be supplied further by either an electrical outlet or a large solar panel on the roof that can supply up to 150 watts of energy into the battery.

Deflatable Up! Interior

Because the engine is in the rear, a whole host of interior and exterior design elements are possible that otherwise wouldn’t be. Besides the front trunk, there is also one in the rear and interior cabin space can be further increased by a clever system that allows air to be sucked out of the seat surfaces via a valve. This means that the seats can be adjusted to mold to the individual body of the occupants who are seated, or completely deflated and folded to increase space when moving larger objects. VW says that the 11 foot long “Up!” will have the roomiest cabin in its class.

More immediate production versions of the “Up!” could feature either new turbocharged gasoline or diesel-powered engines with a displacement of only .6 or 1.2 liter 3-cylinders. VW claims that this would be enough for the car to accelerate to 62mph in 13.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 75mph while maintaining fuel economy near 80 mpg. Whether the “Up!”, in any form, actually makes it to production, it is clear that the technology that is the centerpiece of its design may find use in future models.

38-Hour Willie Rally Completed, Powered Entirely By Willie Nelson BioFuel And Lots Of Cheetos

On Wednesday, Nik Bristow and Brian Pierce arrived in LA after successfully completing the course mapped by the Gumball Rally in a record 38 hours, 37 minutes, and 41 seconds. Dubbed “The Willie Run 2008″, Bristow and Pierce’s cross country trek was made in a VW Jetta TDI, powered entirely by Willie Nelson’s BioWillie brand biodiesel. “I know the trip sounds crazy, but it’s more important now than ever,” Bristow explained to Autopia before the trip, “We’re on the cusp of a very important election where oil and energy are universal top concerns, and biodiesel is one of the cleaner, more viable fuel alternatives out there. We need to get the word out.”

Initially, the guys had hoped to make the trip in 36 hours, but fuel miscalculations and their grand arrival during LA rush hour set them behind schedule. “We spent the last hour and a half in stop-and-go traffic,” Bristow told Wired.com, “It was a little anti-climactic after driving across the country.” Other than a brief stop in Phoenix to stock up on more BioWillie, however, Bristow and Pierce completed the trek non-stop as per their original goal, even going so far as to forward all of nature’s calls to a Stadium Pal condom catheter.

Next year, Bristow and Pierce hope to make it in under the 36-hr time limit, and are already preparing for Willie Run ‘09. “We’re gonna run it by Willie,” Bristow said, “We’ve gotta have the patron saint sign off on it, but we’ve had a ton of people say they want to take part.”

[News Source/Photo Cred: Autopia]

Breaking News! GM's Bob Lutz to Retire at the End of 2009

GM has announced that Bob Lutz, GM's Vice Chairman of Global Product Development is going to transition into a new role starting on April 1, 2009 as Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor. Lutz's new role will allow him to provide strategic input into GM's global design until his retirement at the end of 2009.

Thomas Stephens will take over as the Vice Chairman of Global Product Development.

GM Reportedly Cancels Plans for Engine Plant in Flint, MI

It is being reported that contracts for GM's new engine plant in Flint, Michigan have been canceled.

The $370 million plant was supposed to produce the 1.4L engine for the upcoming Chevy Volt and Cruze in turbocharged and naturally-aspirated forms. GM spokesperson Sharon Basel, confirmed the news to the Flint News. Basel also stated that GM remains committed to the area and could possibly build the engines at one of the existing plants in the future.

The plant would have created 300 new jobs for the suffering town of Flint.

For now the engines will be produced by one of GM's European plants that already builds variants of the "Family Zero" engines, which range from 1.0-1.4L in size.

Spy Shots: Chevy Camaro Convertible Caught Testing Down Under

The 2010 Chevy Camaro finally enters production this March, but GM has yet to officially unveil the convertible version. We've seen countless photos of the new Camaro, but here are two more of the convertible testing in Australia.

According to Bob Lutz, GM has reportedly pushed back the release date of the Camaro Convertible until sometime in 2011.

One more push for Best Major Blog votes!

There have been some interesting events in the Best Major Blog survey since we last spoke. Autoblog still has the most votes in polling for the Best Major Blog award, but the previous front runner, cjane enjoy it, has gained back a lot of ground over the weekend. Thanks to your help, Autoblog stands at 10,809 votes and cjane enjoy it is right behind with 10,490. We're canvassing the streets, knocking on doors and cold calling constituents to ward off our resurgent opponent, and we're calling on you for one last push.

You can click here to vote for Autoblog at the 2008 Weblogs Awards website, or use our own embedded polling station after the jump. We promise you won't regret it. There will be a lot of positions to fill in the new Autoblog empi... er, republic. How does Minister of Transportation sound?

Continue reading One more push for Best Major Blog votes!

One more push for Best Major Blog votes! originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Science of Car Faces And Why We Love - Or Hate - Them

Have you ever looked up into the sky and seen a face on the moon, or in a cloud; or looked at a tree and seen a face in the bark? It happens all the time, all around the world, people see religious figures in their toast or in a woodgrain pattern. It’s because the human brain is hardwired to see faces. In fact, we have a whole section of the brain devoted specifically to it, the Fusiform gyrus, we’ve talked about that before.

Humans can look at a persons face for a tenth of a second and know what their intentions are. To see if that facial recognition reflex extends to automobiles, a team of researchers led by Karl Grammer of the University of Vienna asked 40 young adults — half women, half men — to rate the front ends of 38 recent-model cars, all of the same color.

The researchers first classified the “expressions” on the cars using a computerized system of standardized measures for human faces that indicate degrees of masculinity or femininity, and different emotions, based on the size and position of facial features.

Then they asked participants to rate each car’s “face” for 19 different factors. For example, they asked if the face was more child-like or adult-like, friendly or hostile, male or female, etc. They were also asked if the car’s front end even looked like a face at all. Finally, they picked the vehicles they liked.

More than a third said that 90 percent of the cars reminded them of a face, and all of the participants indicated headlights for the “eyes” and a radiator grill for the “mouth.”

Their ranking of emotions matched the ones generated by computers in most cases, according to the experiment, reported this week in the journal Human Nature, published by Germany’s Springer group.

As for preferences, both men and women showed a clear liking for cars they described as mature, dominating, masculine, arrogant and angry — characteristics the researchers bundled together under the heading “power”.

These cars had a low-slung bonnet and wide front, associated with with the square jaw and prominent chin of stereotyped masculinity. Topping the list of “power” cars were top-of-the-line BMWs and the Chrysler 300C, 340-horsepower alpha-male of an auto with a V-8 under the bonnet.

At the submissive, friendly and childlike end of the spectrum were Nissan’s New Micra, Volkswagen’s New Beetle and the Kia Picanto.

(via AFP News)

Detroit 09': 2010 Lexus HS250h...Lexus First Dedicated Hybrid

Lexus has officially unveiled its first dedicated hybrid, the Lexus HS250h. The compact sedan shares many of its mechanicals with the third-generation Prius that is also being unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show.

The 2010 Lexus HS250h is powered by Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive system, mated to a 187-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. Overall the HS250h is slightly longer than the IS and a little wider than the ES.

Inside Lexus newest hybrid comes equipped with leather seats, moonroof, Lexus premium audio systems, and a new standard multi-media package. A new Hard Disk Navigation system is also available a retractable navigation screen. There is also a new wide-view front monitor that uses a camera mounted in the front of the car to provide a 190-degree front view via the navigation screen.

The 2010 HS250h will be in dealerships by late summer.

PCH, Joad Family Redux Edition: 1957 Cadillac Camper or 6-Door Rabbit Limo? [Project Car Hell]

Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Hard times is a-comin', and it's time to prepare for life on the move!

The global economic meltdown doesn't mean you have to take a break from Hell Projects. In fact, it's more important than ever that you break out your Hell Project skills in order to give you and your'n an edge when it comes time to hit the road in search of work, handouts, escape from rampaging urban mobs, etc… and that means building a vehicle that can haul you, your loved ones, and a large percentage of your personal possessions around the land. We're talking pots and pans, crates of squawking chickens, and mattresses strapped to the outside of the vehicle here, with maybe Grandma lashing down the spare engine with bungee cords as you horse-trade some crafty yokel for a sack of cornmeal to feed your white liquor still. Sure, you could just buy a diesel Econoline and be done with it, but it's not just enough to survive, like rats or roaches. You need to roam the land in style!

The 1957 Cadillac is one fine-looking car, no doubt about it, and Cadillac built bulletproof forged-crank engines back in those days, but even a Fleetwood wouldn't be voluminous enough for your Joad-style peregrinations. Time to go Winnebago shopping? Hell no, not when you could have this 1957 Cadillac camper, which is now sitting on eBay with a price tag just barely into four figures, no reserve, and an auction end time just hours away. It doesn't run at the moment, but as the seller says: "IT MIGHT FIRE UP WITH A FRESH BATTERY AND SOME FRESH GAS." Even if it doesn't, the junkyards are full of Cadillac 472s, and even a smogified 425 will get the job done. Check out that luxurious interior- plenty of room for everyone! Thanks to Ian for the tip.

That Cadillac camper is great, but you and your fellow Joads would be forced to panhandle twice as hard to keep it fueled up (or, even worse, you'd be forced to use your whiskey still to make 200-proof to burn in the engine). What you need is a vehicle with space for family members, pets, livestock, weapons, etc., yet doesn't go through gas the way the Federal Reserve is currently going through banknote-printing ink. You could get one of those Toyota truck-based campers, but living in one of those isn't really living. Instead, this 1985 VW Rabbit six-door limo will do the job. It's got plenty of space, an economical four-cylinder engine, and will show all those other losers at the hobo jungle that you've got class! The engine isn't in the car- something about an attempted VR6 swap- but the seller will include it in the deal. You might even consider grafting the bed from a VW pickup onto the back, for more carrying capacity. You might need a running start to get up hills, but that's no big hardship! Thanks to Nitroracer for the tip.

Great Depression II survival vehicle Hell Project?
( surveys)

Project Car Hell's Greatest Hits

Toyota to Halt Production for 11 Days Due to Declining Sales

Toyota has announced plans to idle its plants in Japan for 11 days in February and March due to declining sales in the U.S.

Last month Toyota reported a 37 percent sales decline and now vehicles are beginning to pile up. Last month was Toyota's sharpest decline in more than a quarter of a century. Toyota even performed worse than GM and Ford.

"I never expected the crisis to spread this fast and leave this deep a scar," Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe told reporters at a Tokyo event hosted by Japan's top business lobbies.

Nissan and Honda have also announced to cut production by at least 200,000 vehicles for the year ending in March.

What's Your Favorite New Car Of 2008? [Question Of The Day]

With 2009 just days away we thought it best to ask you what new car you loved the most this year. To help, some of the staff has put together their answers below.

If you haven't noticed, we're a somewhat eclectic and eccentric bunch of car nuts, so deciding on one vehicle was impossible. Instead, we've got some favorites from a sampling of our staff. To make things easier on our more literal readers, we've divided the question into your favorite car on sale this year and your favorite car which debuted this year but may or may not yet be on sale.

Ray Wert: 2009 Corvette ZR1 / 2010 Pontiac G8 ST, 2010 Chevy Camaro SS, 2010 Honda Insight
I'd go with the 2009 Corvette ZR1 as my favorite new car of 2008. GM has brought high horsepower to the masses, with the power, cornering ability and exterior looks able to make any supercar fanboy happy. The car revealed this year that's got me most excited is a three-way tie — the 2010 Pontiac G8 ST, the Chevy Camaro SS and the Honda Insight. The first two are obvious. The third? Because it does the exact opposite of the ZR1 — it brings high fuel economy to the masses — and that's pretty cool too.

Matt Hardigree: 2009 Skoda Superb / Ford Transit Connect
Can you say Twindoor? I've made a references few to loving the Superb I fear some may have taken as a joke. It was no joke. The Czech-built, VW Passat-based Superb is an exceptionally well-conceived car. Europeans crank out tons of boring sedans for the mid-level executive and while some of them, like the 2009 Opel Insignia, are getting better, we think the Superb is the most thoughtful. The design is flawless, elevating the boring Passat to a level of stealth luxury only paralleled by the Phaeton. Even better, the Twindoor system finally combines the usefulness of a hatch with the lines of a sedan and the ease of a working trunk.

Though the Ford Transit Connect is old news in the Old World, I think the vehicle offers the kind of multipurpose design and compact size missing from America's commercial fleets. The prospect of an electric Transit Connect is also appealing

Wes Siler: 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX / 2010 Ford SVT Raptor
The new WRX is the right blend of price, practicality, under-the-radar looks, involvement and ridiculous pace. You could use it to haul manure, take road trips, carry friends or blow the doors off most supercars. It'd be a bargain at twice the price, but at $24,995 it's the best bargain on offer today.

Why the Raptor? Because deep down, I've come to terms with my inner 909. Anyone recommend a good place to get a tribal neck tattoo?

The Auto Insider: 2009 Corvette ZR1 / 2010 Ford Mustang

2009 Corvette ZR1 - I'm thoroughly impressed with the ZR1's capability to take on the worlds best at half the price and twice the speed. I like my cars like I like my women, cheap and fast.

2010 Mustang - Ford has done a great job with the updated Mustang and it still proves to be a great performance value.

Ben Wojdyla: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V / 2009 Nissan 370Z

CTS-V: 556 HP, six speed manual, godlike handling, obscenely badass interior.

2009 Nissan 370Z: The first car in recent memory to actually get smaller than its precedessor. It's more powerful, better looking, and more Z. What's not to like?

(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of The Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)

LeMons Arse Freeze-A-Palooza People's Choice Winner: The Bi-Polar Express Mustang! [24 Hours Of Lemons]

The People's Choice award at the 24 Hours Of LeMons goes to the team that best embodies the spirit of the event, and the crop of contenders at the Arse Freeze-A-Palooza was the best yet.

Chief Perpetrator Lamm determines the People's Choice winner by wandering the pits and seeking the opinions of the rabble (in the old days, the rabble had a chance to vote directly, but that turned out to be too much hassle). There were several really strong contenders, including the Family Truckster Pinto.

The Faster Farms Chickens team was also considered a People's Choice powerhouse, but they ended up taking the equally coveted Dangerous Banned Technology trophy for their bowling-ball-actuated ironing-board wing.

And, of course, you've got to include the mighty Porcubimmer on the People's Choice short list. Pricks outside! But it's hard to argue with a team that builds a 400-pound particle-board steam locomotive that towers eight feet above their Mustang, so in the end it was the train that got the thousand bucks in People's Choice prize nickels. It didn't handle so well on the track, but the drivers were polite and were pretty good about not getting in the way of the quicker cars. Congratulations, Bi-Polar Express!

Thanks to the Mad Science Boys and Mad Science Sr for many of these photos!

Commenter Of The Day: Paul's Boutique Edition [Commenter Of The Day]

After their commercially successful Licensed to Ill, the Beastie Boys produced the initially less successful but now well-regarded Paul's Boutique. The typical line on the album is it is now considered one of the best hip hop records of all time but was not understood by the public or their record company. While there is some truth to this view, and to the recognition of the album as setting a new benchmark in sampling thanks to the Dust Brothers, but it misses the negative side. The sampling is so good, mixing Elvis Costello and Sly And The Family Stone, it makes it seem easy, launching some particularly bad performances. Sure, Girl Talk and Dan The Automator can do it with skill, but don't expect Fall Out Boy's producers to be able to pull it off. Seriously, listen to "Shake Your Rump" and catch the combination of Afrika Bambaataa and Led Zeppelin in the same song. Do it wrong and they'll feed you to the bears leaving BlueRSX to make the hilarious photo captioning happen.

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