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BMW Concept X1 arrives early on web

September 30, 2008

Filed under: Concept Cars, Paris Motor Show, Crossovers/CUVs, BMW

Click above for gallery of the BMW Concept X1
If the BMW X3 isn’t ugly or space-inefficient enough for you, here’s the Concept X1, which is a lightly veiled version of the production soft ute you’ll see in BMW dealers shortly. Yeech. We can’t fathom how it’s going to be that much different than the X3, seeing as BMWs famliy tree among 1 and 3 series vehicles is starting to look as inbred as English Aristocracy, but we’re going to go way out on a limb and suggest that it’s a little tighter in most dimensions while sharing powertrains. Styling-wise, as long as you ignore anything forward of the A-pillar, you’ll be okay. It’s largely standard BMW fare, just scaled down. We’re not quite sure what happened up front - it’s bad. From the visage that’s evocative of the 7 series to the [...]

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BMW Reveals X1 Crossover Concept

September 30, 2008

While the official debut at the Paris Auto Show isn’t set to take place for a few days, yada yada yada, photos of the X1 are now available on the internet. I think it looks like a modern BMW crossover thingy, which means it looks awful (reference X3, X5, X6). It looks dangerously close to [...]

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When 22’s Aren’t Enough

September 30, 2008

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First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 2-Mode Hybrid Pickup

September 30, 2008

The most remarkable thing about GM’s 2009 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2-Mode Hybrid full-size pickups is that they achieve EPA city/highway fuel economy ratings up to 21/22 mpg.

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PigTones offering Yoda, Terminator and Stewie nav voices

September 30, 2008

Filed under: Gadgets, Tech, Celebrities, Humor

“Left at the next exit you will turn,” or so we imagine none other than Jedi Master Yoda telling us as we attempt to pilot our land speeders toward some unknown destination. You can now download Yoda as the voice of your TomTom or Garmin GPS unit courtesy of a company named PigTones and a fee of $12.97. Not a Star Wars fan? Well, you should be (at least of the original trilogy). There’s always the Terminator. On second thought, who wants to be told to make a legal U-turn by the governor of California? That leaves Stewie from The Family Guy. He’s the megolomaniacal infant that’s hell bent on killing his mother, Lois. There are others to choose from too, some raunchier than others. Click here for the full list. Thanks for the tip, yash!
[Source: PIGtones via The Earth Times]

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VIDEO: Corvette ZR1 goes autocrossing

September 30, 2008

Filed under: Videos, Supercars, Chevrolet

Click above to view video after the jump
The Corvette ZR1 is the fastest, most ridiculously cool production Corvette ever produced. After taking the ZR1 for several hot laps of the Lutzring in Milford, we’d go as far as to say it’s one of the fastest vehicles we’ve ever driven. Journalists aren’t the only ones who have driven the ZR1 either, as a select few General Motors employees get to drive the 638-hp supercar as their daily driver. One GM worker by the name of Karen took the ZR1 to an autocross event in Ohio and put the supercharged LS9 Corvette through the cone gauntlet. Hit the jump to see and hear the ZR1 zip through the course. Unfortunately, the camera operator didn’t zoom in on the Vette or follow it very well, but it’s worth your :58 to watch if only to listen to the ZR1 [...]

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Spy Shots: Porsche Panamera suddenly not so bad

September 30, 2008

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Porsche

Click above for gallery of reader-submitted Panamera spy shots
We know when it happened, we just don’t know why it happened. Autoblog reader Joshua Silverman sent in some cellphone pictures of a Panamera he drove by in Denver, Colorado. And all of a sudden — like the Grinch’s heart growing three sizes — we liked it. Or at least, we got it.
Just to make sure, we had a look at the last set of Panamera spy shots, the ones that this very blogger lambasted as “still ugly,” and, well, we kinda liked those, too. We could see possibilities. When the car is given the S and Turbo treatment, we could even imagine, incredibly, beauty. Have a look at the photos below for yourself, and tell us if we should take a bow for discovering the vision, or take a nap. Thanks for the tip, Joshua!

Gallery: [...]

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Hammer Time: Mercury Milans Aplenty, Toyota Prius White Hot

September 30, 2008

If there’s a poster car for wholesale heaven, the Mercury Milan is it. No surprise in my neck of the woods. The oft-forgotten sibling of the Ford Fusion is flogged by a dealer network dwarfed by Ford’s name brand Goliaths. More to the point, around Atlanta, it seems like Lincoln/Mercury dealers are either [...]

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Hammer Time: Milans Aplenty, Prius White Hot

September 30, 2008

If there was to be a poster car for wholesale heaven today, the Mercury Milan would have been it. No surprise in my neck of the woods. The oft-forgotten sibling of the Ford Fusion is schlepped around by a dealer network dwarfed by Ford’s name brand Goliaths. In fact, around Atlanta it seems [...]

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Automotive X-Prize recommends EPA adopt MGEe rating

September 30, 2008

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Contests, Government/Legal, Green, Chevrolet, GM

Click above to view high-res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt
Now that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has an agreement with General Motors regarding how to measure the fuel mileage of the 2011 Chevy Volt, our attention turns to the EPA, which now has to decide what official mileage rating will appear on the new car’s window sticker and how to determine what that number will be. The first recommendation comes from the Automotive X-Prize, the foundation of which will award $10 million from Progressive Insurance to the winner of its competition to design a production-viable car that people would want to drive that gets 100 MPGe or more.
What’s with that little ‘e’ after the familiar miles per gallon? Basically, the X-Prize crew wants to convert all units of energy to a figure that’s equivalent to the power from a [...]

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