Jaguar is celebrating its 75th birthday this year, and is set to launch a special edition XKR at this years Goodwood Festival of Speed to honor this milestone.

North Americans, as usual, will get the shaft with a detuned version of the European special edition which gets a ride height drop of nearly half an inch all around, and an additional 20 horsepower and 22 lb-ft of torque, bumping output to 530 horsepower and 483 lb-ft respectively.

North American buyers are offered the XKR175, which remains untouched in the power department but has its top speed governor lifted to 174 mph. Outside, a new body kit with a front splitter, rear diffuser, side skirts, red painted brake calipers and a rear spoiler complete the look, while red stitching, piano black trim and numbered door sill plates adorn the interior. 175 cars will be built for the United States and 15 for Canada, with prices starting at $104,500.

With plenty of lead up to its introduction at the 88th annual Pikes Peak Hillclimb, the Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Genesis PM580 didn’t deliver on any of its promises and instead was overshadowed by the Suzuki of Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima. Rhys Millen had set out to break the 10 minute barrier on the treacherous mountain and reclaim the record for his family. (Rhys’ father Rod set a record of 10:04.06 in 1994, which Tajima topped in 2007 with a 10:01.41).

Tajima once again came out on top on the weekend’s race, claiming his 5th consecutive overall win at America’s second oldest race with a 10:11.490. In second was three-time hillclimb champion Paul Dallenbach with a 10:39.534 run. As for Millen, he placed a distance third with an 11:06.208 run after his purpose built 650-hp Hyundai race car suffered mechanical problems. “Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong today,” said Millen.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb, which takes place annually on Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado, starts at an elevation of 9,300 feet and finishes at an elevation of 14,110 feet – where the air is so think drivers’ reaction times begin to slow and their race car engines lose 30 percent of their power. Drivers drift around 146 corners in 12.42 miles of track made up of dirt and asphalt, nearly missing guard rails and trees, while avoiding cliffs with 2,000-foot drop-offs.

[Source: Associated Press]

How much of your daily spending would you say goes to your car? Five percent? Ten percent? You’re close – we spent 14.5 percent of our daily spending on gas and other automotive issues last year – that comes out to $5,477. That’s more than households spend on travel, entertainment, clothes, shoes and hobbies combined.

Personal finance website Bundle surveys government reports, credit transactions and other data so they can tell us how we like to spend our money. They found that last year the average American household spent $2,208 on gasoline and $3,269 on other auto-related expenses.

The state that spent the most on driving is Connecticut, where households spent $7,652 on auto-related expenses. Spending the least was West Virginia, where drivers spent $4,258. When it came to spending on a city level, Austin was the top-spending city, where residents spent $10,128 on their cars. They spent almost five times what drivers in Detroit did ($2,124).

Breaking the numbers down to individuals, those who took the car to work by themselves spent the most on their vehicles, while those who carpooled spent the least. Households with children spent 21.5 percent more than those who didn’t, and young adults aged 18 to 25 used 18 percent of their daily spending to driving – that’s more than any other group.

See how your state fared on automotive spending last year after the jump

[Source: Wired]
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It’s time to hit the road, but you don’t have anything keep the kids entertained for the long drive. You don’t have to worry about buying a expensive DVD player – all you need is your iPhone or iTouch and the ingenious SeatBuddy.

The ideal travel companion (it works great on airplanes too), the SeatBuddy can hang from the glovebox or it hooks to your cars headrests with the Velcro. It doesn’t come with any fancy extras, like a built-in backup battery, or a solar charger, but it does give you everything you do need. Made from a safe rubber silicone that is manufactured in the USA, the SeatBuddy is thick enough to protect your phone from getting scratched and bumped, yet is flexible enough to be easily installed.

Invented by an airline pilot who could never find the perfect position for watching movies on his iPhone, SeatBuddy is durable, tough and can be used pretty much anywhere (when you’re not traveling, use it on the treadmill). It also comes with a set Velcro pieces so they can be attached to each other, which comes in handy when you have to use it in a place where the straps are clamped down. You can buy the SeatBuddy on their website, where they go for about $24 – money well spent when you think about the hours trapped in the car with occupied children.

[Source: Oh Gizmo!]

Look, when the BMW X6 was first announced we all scratched our heads. Don’t deny it, you did too. The X3 and the X5 have their place in the market, but the X6 is an oddity. Now we’re starting to feel wrong about judging this book by its cover. The X6 M has truly reshaped SUV performance (naturally, being an M model and all) and now we’re just band-wagoners praising what the 555-hp X6 M is all about.

So what exactly are we leading up to? Well a video has surfaced showing a completely bone stock Alpine White X6 M blasting the quarter mile in Bahrain at 12.5 @ 110 mph. That’s a stock SAV (we still think it’s an SUV) running 12′s. This just shows how well the X6 M actually performs in the real world. Sure it’s a pretty useless utility vehicle, but as a sports car, it delivers. Make sure to check out the video after the break. Maybe it’ll make a convert out of you too!

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How do you solve a problem like driving on the opposite side on the road? You just flip it over – and that’s exactly what Dutch architectural firm NL Architects wants to do with part of a road connection between Hong Kong and mainland China.

Here’s the problem – in Hong Kong, people drive on the left hand side of the road (it was a former British colony). However, in China, they drive on the right hand side of the road. You can see the problem with trying to merge the two.

But NL Architects believes they have a solution – they’ve proposed a “Flipper” bridge concept. And it really is quite cool to look at – the halves of the roadway split and cross over and under each other. This would allow traffic to blend seamlessly into the correct flow during the border crossing. Says the firm about their design: “The Flipper is a device that is designed to ‘celebrate’ the traffic switch. Can we turn the moment of swapping into an unforgettable spectacle?”

The design was submitted to the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities International Design Ideas Competition and is called the Pearl River Necklace. This contest was held to come up with an inspiring design for a transportation hub planned for construction on an artificial island. The NL Architects’ entry did not place in the contest, but the innovative twisty bridge idea caught the attention of fans worldwide.

Kamiel Klaasse of NL Architects said that firm’s traffic flipper idea was “speculative,” but that “it was important to us to show that road design could be interesting and maybe even fun.”

[Source: PistonHeads]

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a real VIP in the eyes of your dealership? Maybe your dealership just offers a free cup of coffee or perhaps they’ve got a luxury lounge with big screen TVs, snacks, massaging chairs and a nice espresso machine. That, however, is nothing compared to the treatment you’ll receive if your a preferred customer at Endras BMW (formerly BMW Durham).

The Canadian dealership invited a group of 12 customers and staff on what it calls “the trip of a lifetime.” And we have to agree. The group flew to Germany to visit BMW’s headquarters in Munich and get an introduction to the new X5 M and X6 M. But it wasn’t just about looking at the high-priced and high-performance machinery. In true BMW fashion the group set out to drive a bevy of M cars through the German countryside and on the racetrack. Then they were treated to an even more ultimate driving experience – piloting BMW Formula race cars on the Nürburgring.

To see what VIP-status brings with it, check out the video entitled “Endras BMW Goes Home” after the jump:

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Maserati is strutting its stuff on the catwalk with its new line of yachting and golf apparel, casual footwear, leather bags and accessory creations. They introduced their retail swag at the Pitti Uomo fashion show at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence, a dynamic event that focuses on the men’s fashion scene.

Created with fashion houses Vuarnet, Suprem and Pellemoda, Maserati’s all-new merchandise collection falls right into the lifestyle that goes hand-in-hand with their luxury vehicles. In fact, the guest of honor in the Pitti Uomo booth is the Maserati GranCabrio, the first Maserati four-seater convertible.  Designed by Pininfarina, the GranCabrio embodies sophistication, elegance and classic style that complement the clothing and accessory line perfectly.

A fitting venue for this Maserati launch, Pitti Uomo is consistently chosen by top companies to present their collections and special projects. This year, Pitti Uomo is dedicated to the theme of Design Watching, from craftsmanship to contemporaneity, under the sign of identity and innovation of the greatest names in men’s fashion. A show that boasts historical roots and modernity, Italian spirit and international appeal, Pitti Uomo also encompasses all the values perfectly expressed by Maserati which can now be worn as well as driven.

[Source: Top Speed]

You multitask, so your cell phone should too. It’s a good thing the T-Mobile USA has just announced that the new Garminfone will be coming to a car near you soon.

This is the first Android-powered smartphone that comes equipped with a fully integrated Garmin premium navigation system. Set to hit stores soon, the full-touch 3G Garminphone is sleek and stylish, and sports large 3.5″ screen, so you can clearly see how to get to your destination. A few of the other cool features this phone will come with include:

• Integrated Navigation + Smartphone Experience: Garminfone delivers navigation capabilities beyond what other smartphones and standalone navigation devices provide. Customers can navigate to an address simply by clicking on it from a text message or e-mail, contact, calendar appointment, or web page. Garminfone can even remember where you are parked and navigate you back to your car. The 3-megapixel camera with autofocus automatically geotags images so you can navigate back to where your family vacation photos were taken, e-mail geo-tagged images to friends and family members, or post geo-tagged pictures on the Web for others to enjoy. Helpful Garmin travel applications such as dynamic, real-time traffic; weather local events; movie listings; and gas prices are pre-installed and easy to access and use.
• Garmin Navigation: Driving, walking and public transportation navigation with voice and on-screen directions and automatic re-routing are deeply integrated into the smartphone features of Garminfone to simplify navigating your daily life. On-board North American maps offer fast and reliable directions – whether in or out of cell phone coverage – and multiple overlapping positioning technologies ensure Garminfone customers have one of the best location and navigation experiences a smartphone can offer. In addition, Garminfone utilizes text-to-speech technology to speak street names, and the screen automatimobically switches between day and night modes for easier viewing while driving.
• Garmin Voice Studio: Garminfone is the first to feature Garmin Voice Studio, an Android application, which allows customers to record and share custom voice directions from family and friends.

This cell phone also includes a convenient charging window and dashboard mount that lets you navigate and charge the phone’s battery simultaneously. Other cool features include easy access to personal and work e-mail, including support for Microsoft Exchange e-mail, contacts and calendar; social networking; instant messaging; an advanced music player; and a 3-megapixel autofocus camera.

[Source: Press Release]

We guess that the standards “Don’t make me come back there” or “If you don’t shut up, I will turn this car around” just aren’t cutting it anymore. Drivers need some new empty threats, because a study has found that kids fighting in the back of a vehicle can impair the driver’s skills as much as alcohol consumed to the legal driving limit.

The study, which was conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) found that that when kids were kicking and screaming in the back of the car, drivers’ reactions times slowed by an average of 13%. That’s the percentage of drivers who had drunk the 80mg/100ml legal limit for alcohol (maybe they needed a couple of drinks to drown out all the crying and screaming). The delay in reaction added four meters (around 13 feet) to stopping distances when traveling at highway speeds.

And kids fighting also had some other effects on driving skills. Research found that back-seat squabbles led to 40 percent more instances of hard braking, and increased stress levels by nearly a third. And when you put these two factors together, you’ve got a car accident in the making.

Senior TRL researcher Dr Nick Reed said: “There was a noticeable impairment to driving caused simply by the noise of arguing children. Precautions should be taken.” We’re guessing that one of those precautions could include doing this.

[Source: Ride Lust]