It may not be the most aesthetically-pleasing car out on the market, but the Tango electric car does have Jay Leno’s stamp of approval. And in the auto industry, that speaks volumes.
The pencil-thin, yet surprisingly-fast electric car was the subject in the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage. In the episode, Leno talks with the inventor of the Tango, Rick Woodbury, and the two discuss the uniqueness of the car despite its rather peculiar appearance. In a rare moment of seriousness, Leno looked as if he was genuinely interested in what Woodbury had to say, which is pretty significant because the comedian wastes little time in trying to crack jokes at other people’s expense. One particularly important point that was stressed was the Tango’s use of lead acid batteries as compared to the lithium-ion variety, which Woodbury admits the company still doesn’t have the budget for. Nevertheless, the inventor of the Tango stressed that the company is proceeding plans with putting lithium-ions in the Tango in the near future.
After their conversation, Leno then takes the Tango out for a ride and is pretty impressed with the ride, even saying that the car’s unique ability to split lanes – according to 63 police officers Woodbury asked, all of them have said that it’s perfectly legal – makes it the perfect traffic buster.
Another Leno quip that made us crack was when he said that the Tango’s the only car that you can hang both your arms on both windows. The man hasn’t lost his touch.
The world debut of the new Audi A8 will not be happening on any auto shows in the near future.
No; for this occasion, Audi wants to hog the spotlight all to itself and rightfully so. The flagship A8 sedan will make its world unveiling at the Audi Pavilion on November 30 - the eve of the yearly art-fest ’Design Miami’. If you don’t know where that is, it’s actually
a temporary museum structure located in Miami.
Some of you might find the decision a little curious, especially since the upcoming LA Auto Show figures to be the perfect setting for the A8 to be revealed. But the decision ultimately rested on the shoulders of the folks from Ingolstadt and they figured that the A8 would be best-served to have the stage all the itself.
As far as the venue-of-choice is concerned, Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, decided that Miami’s Design District would be the ideal location because, as he said: "Our claim "Vorsprung durch Technik" also embraces design, which is one of the outstanding elements of the Audi signature. And as top design has now emerged as an acknowledged art form, we see the bridge between art and architecture as a logical step in advancing our brand."
We don’t really have any preference as to where Audi decides to unveil the new A8, although their decision to skip the auto show scene has led us to believe that they may have something up their sleeve as far as the world unveiling of the A8 is concerned.
BMW USA announced prices for the 550i GT - the only 5-Series Gran Tursimo version the US market will get. Sales will begin in spring of 2010 at a price of $64,725, including an $825 destination fee.
The 550i GT is powered by a 4.4L V8 engine that delivers a total of 400-hp and a peak torque of 450 lb-ft. The engine is mated to a new 8-speed automatic transmission and sprints the car from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.4 seconds, while top speed is 150 mph when equipped with the Sport Package (priced at $4,200).
The earlier report we had of the man who drove his Bugatti Veyron into a lagoon has been made a little clearer after a video was taken of the accident by a civilian who happened to be in the area when the ‘accidental dive’ took place.
Also, according to the Galveston Daily News, the identity of the man behind the wheel of the Veyron was one Andy Lee House, a man who, ironically, owns Performance Auto Sales, a shop that specializes in restoring exotic cars.
We can’t argue against the irony in this story, other than the fact that, contrary to previous reports, there were no pelicans in sight during the whole ordeal.
Suffice to say, it was just a case of a driver going too fast for his – and his cars – own good. Fortunately, he won’t have too much trouble looking for a place that can piece his Veyron back in tip-top shape.
After a highly-successful inaugural event last year, the GoldRush Rally is back for a much-anticipated second serving.
The 2010 GoldRush Rally, which is being billed as gR2KX, will take place from June 8-13, 2010. From what we’ve heard, the route for the second GoldRush Rally will being in Seattle going to Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, before concluding in Las Vegas.
The GoldRush Rally is a great way for car aficionados to get their fix of the latest and fastest machines in the planet today. Taking from the success of the inaugural this year, the 2010 GoldRush Rally is shaping up to be one for the books.
Check out this video for a small teaser of what to expect for the 2010 GoldRush Rally.
No other exotic car crash has gathered mainstream attention quite like the Bugatti Veyron’s splash into a lagoon in Texas, and rightfully so, considering that, a)it’s a Veyron, and b) the accident was too unbelievable to ignore.
Let’s backtrack for a second and review what went down. Last week, a man named Alan House was driving along Galveston, Texas in his Veyron when he inexplicably went off of the road and plunged straight into a nearby lagoon. The whole incident was captured by video and has become quite an Internet sensation in its own right.
And now, photos of the recently-plucked-from-the-water Veyron has shown up and judging from the look of things, Mr. House is in for a real wallet beating to get his Veyron to run again.
The German auto conglomerate recently purchased a vast expanse of land – reported to be around 256,000 square feet – to be the site for the brand’s new state-of-the-art dealership that will feature a slew of Audi and
Volkswagen cars. The soon-to-be dealership, which is located between 55th and 56th street and is along 11th Avenue, is the latest indication of VW’s intent to cross-over to the US and establish a strong footing in one of the most high-profile cities in America.
VW purchased the land from its current owners, Potamkin GM for an undisclosed amount although it’s being reported that VW has shelled out a whopping $125 million for the purchase and renovation of the area. As one of the most recognized dealers in the New York area, the Potamkin family’s GM dealership will remain in the area where it will be moving just a few blocks south of its current location.
In one of the strangest contests we’ve come across recently, Chevrolet has narrowed down the list of its ‘Volt Color Naming Contest’ to three finalists.
That’s right - a color-naming contest.
What’s even more surprising was the fact that over 13,000 people submitted their ‘entries’ for the contest, which, as we’ve said, has been narrowed down to three colors. These three colors are “EV-ergreen", which was submitted by Devin McQuarrie of San Jose, CA, “Viridian Joule”, which was submitted by Dave Thomas of Sanford, FL, and “environMINT”, which was submitted by Matthew Valbuena of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.
Voters can now cast their votes over at the Chevy Volt website with only one vote per IP address will be counted over the next two weeks. The contest will conclude on December 1 in Los Angeles where a winner will be officially announced. The three finalists will also be brought to LA for the official announcement and as a prize; the winner will get to take the Volt in its winning color out for a test drive, becoming the first outsider to be given the opportunity.
It’s not much for a prize, to be honest. We were kind of expecting Chevy to give the winner a Volt model of his own. After all, he was the one who thought of the color of the car.
The lightweight English sports car maker Lotus has just announced pricing for the U.S. market version of their latest creation, the 2010 Evora, a mid engine, V6 powered, 2+2 that is set to go on sale sometime in the first quarter of 2010. New Lotus Evoras will start at $73,500 for the four seater Lotus. The piston pumper is a 3.5 Liter unit sourced from Toyota that makes an adequate 276 HP and 258 lb-ft of thrust. Aside from the brand new lines, owners will enjoy going from 0 to 60 MPH in 4.9 seconds and hitting a top speed of 162 MPH while getting a very green 30+ miles per gallon while doing it. Judging from what we saw at the Miami Auto Show they will also look very good while doing it.
Remember that story we ran a few days ago about Marine Colonel Doug Hurley’s dramatic entrance in a Chinook helicopter before driving out of it with the Chevrolet Camaro pace car?
Well, here’s the video of the former Endeavor space shuttle pilot’s unforgettable entrance at the NASCAR Dickies 500 race at the Texas Motor Speedway.
We have to say, if there’s anything more show-stopping than this, we don’t know what it is.
Post a comment
Picture Gallery
RSS -
Webmaster free news |