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28/10/2010 | By: Amy Tokic

Do you have room on your iPhone for more app? You’ll want to make room for the AAA TripTik Mobile, a free app that offers small-screen navigation.

You don’t have to be an AAA member to get it (but being a member gets you access to some extra features of the app), the AAA TripTik Mobile gets you where you need to go while letting you know what you’ll find along the route. There’s a scrolling list of Point of Interest (POI) icons for AAA approved hotels, restaurants, attractions, car garages and gas stations.

If you want to stop at one of these POI, just tap on pinpointed icon to get more information, such as address, phone number and AAA reviews and diamond ratings. If you need to stop for gas, the gas station icon shows the brand and price of unleaded and premium fuel.

Right below the POI icons are the Explore and Navigate buttons. The Explore function lets you type a destination in a search box, while the Navigate functions allows typing in a route after hitting a Directions icon. This app also remembers previous routes you’ve typed in.

After your course has been set, the TripTik gives you a turn list, and you can use the Edit icon to change your route. You can use the Co-pilot function to get spoken directions or shake the phone for the next set of directions. For turn-by-turn directions, just hit the arrow under the top border with the Edit, Co-Pilot and Directions button.

There are plenty of icons to play with on this app, including a target that zooms in on your current location and one that opens a screen for your AAA number and phone number, as well as call for roadside assistance, join AAA and give the organization feedback via email.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

28/10/2010 | By: Jason Siu

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We’ve checked out Oakley Designs’ rendition of Ferrari’s 458 Italia before and now we’ll have a chance to see it in person in the HRE booth at this year’s SEMA show. By far one of the cleanest styling packages we have seen for the new Italia, the British tuner looks to to give it the American spotlight with its North American debut at the largest aftermarket show in America.

Since the Oakley Design 458 comes exclusively with HRE P40S Monoblok wheels, it’s no surprise Oakley Design opted to go with a co-branding opportunity in HRE’s booth. And for those that don’t know the details behind Oakley Design’s 458 Italia, it gets a power boost from 562-hp to 618-hp thanks to a remapped ECU and larger carbon fiber intake box.

The exterior is accented with a new front spoiler that provides plenty of additional down force while the rear gets a spoiler with Gurney flap.

We’ll be sure to check out this beautiful model in person with live coverage of the 2010 SEMA Show starting November 2nd. Until then, check out our SEMA Preview here.

Press release available after the break.

GALLERY: Oakley Design Ferrari 458 Italia SEMA Car

italia rear Red[3].jpg

28/10/2010 | By: Derek Kreindler

General Motors will buy $2.1 billion worth of preferred stock as part of a move to pay off its $49.5 billion in federal bailout loans.  GM will also launch a series of measures to reduce its debt by $11 billion.

GM will make contributions to the UAW pension fund, to the tune of $6 billion, and secure a $5 billion line of credit from a series of banks, which should help reduce its total debt obligations by a total of $11 billion.

“These actions will bring down our leverage by $11 billion by reducing debt and improving our pension funding position,” GM CFO Chris Liddell said in a statement.

[Source: Automotive News]

28/10/2010 | By: Derek Kreindler

More than 75 percent of India’s population lives on less than $2 a day, but that hasn’t stopped Bugatti from selling their Veyron supercar in the country, where a 110 percent import tax has pushed the car’s price to $3.6 million USD.

“People have more spending power and are getting more aware of owning beautiful things,” said Satya Bagla, head of Exclusive Motors Pvt., the dealer for Bugatti, Lamborghini and Bentley, in an interview with Automotive News.

Ferrari will launch its California supercar in India in 2011, and Rolls-Royce has already begun selling cars in the subcontinent. India’s wealthiest 100 people have a combined net worth of $300 billion, or about one quarter of the country’s GDP. This extreme concentration of wealth means that there is a small, but affluent clientele for luxury goods.

[Source: Automotive News]

28/10/2010 | By: Derek Kreindler

2009_suzuki_equator_018

Suzuki, everyone’s favorite forgotten automaker, is still alive and kicking, and set to bring a number of vehicles to SEMA, including two Kizashis and an Equator pickup truck.

First up will be the Kizashi Bonneville Special, a 500 horsepower turbocharged Kizashi that was able to hit nearly 204 mph at the famed salt flats, setting a new record in its class. Joining it will be the Delta Tech Kizashi, which is festooned with LED lights and a body kit from noted Cavalier tuner RK Sport, making it the polar opposite of the Bonneville Kizashi.

Finally, a customized Equator by ICON Vehicle Dynamics will appear, featuring a custom suspension, an exhaust header and an off-road wheel and tire package. SEMA may be the only time you ever see a Suzuki Equator, so if you don’t have a good reason to head to Vegas, you do now.

[Source: Suzuki]

28/10/2010 | By: Derek Kreindler

Bill Caswell, who famously campaigned a $500 BMW 318i in an FIA-sanctioned rally event, will be bringing his car to SEMA – and turning it into a Baja style off road racer.

The build will take place over the course of the SEMA show, with the roll cage on day 1,the suspension on day 2, rear suspension on day 3, and items like the front brush guard, fuel cell, light bar and final roll cage work on day 4. The car will then compete in the SCORE Baja 1000′s Sportsman class.

Hit the jump to watch a video of the Baja BMW

[Source: Carscoop]

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28/10/2010 | By: Derek Kreindler

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Lamborghini is opening up its first official dealers in Mexico, with locations in Mexico City and Monterrey. With Mexico getting wealthier, thanks to both new industry (the world’s richest man is now Mexican) and some more illicit entrepreneurs setting up shop, the market for a Lamborghini showroom is now present.

The outlets are being run by Martin Josephi Wellman, an auto industry veteran who previously ran Volkswagen’s Mexican operations.  We will refrain from making jokes about sombreros, the local cuisine or gold plated weapons, even though any of these would go perfectly with a Gallardo LP-570.

28/10/2010 | By: Huw Evans

Built Ford tough is a slogan that’s been around since dinosaurs ruled the earth, but as somebody once said, if it works, why mess with it.

That’s probably a good thing if you’re Phil Marsella from Palm City, Florida. Phil spends a lot of time earning a living by transporting Greyhounds to race tracks and families across the United States.

That means a lot of driving. How much? Well put it this way, a Ford F-250 Super Duty (like the one above), which he purchased four years ago now has more than 1 million miles on the odometer. “Actually, when it reached 999,999 – the odometer stopped working,” he says, “but I still turn between 7,000 and 10,000 miles a week – so today, the total is more than 1,014,000 miles.”

Although Phil’s F-250 still has a long way to go to eclipse the record set for the highest mileage vehicle (it’s currently 2,800,000 recorded by a 1966 Volvo P1800), Marsella’s pickup has reached the same distance many big rigs do before requiring a major overhaul. What makes it even more remarkable, is that it’s powered by a Triton Gas V8 not a PowerStroke diesel. “I’ve never seen a truck with this many miles on it besides a semi-truck and never on a gas engine,” says Buddy Hawkins, a mechanic that works on Phil’s F-250.

And racking up such huge mileage, how much has Marsella actually spent on maintenance? Try $67,000 in four years, much of which revolves around near constant oil and tire changes. And he’s nowhere near done. The truck, affectionately named Betsy, plans to be around for quite some time and if Phil continues at his current pace, he should crest 3 million miles within the next six years. “She’ll last forever,” he says, “but  in the meantime I need to get that odometer fixed.”

[Source: NBC Miami]

28/10/2010 | By: Amy Tokic

Hitch a ride to Disney World for the theme parks newest ride – Cars. Set to be opening in 2012, the ride will follow the release of the new movie, Cars 2, which will hit theatres in the summer of 2011.

The picture above is a sneak peak at Disney’s California Adventure Park latest addition. And the park just isn’t sticking with a car-themed ride – it’s also planning a whole section of the park dedicated to the Pixar film, which will open around the same time as the movie release. Perhaps you should start making your travel plans for next summer now. It’s the perfect opportunity to unleash your inner child while fueling your need for speed.

[Source: Motor World Hype]

28/10/2010 | By: Derek Kreindler

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Aston Martin‘s most opulent supercar, the $1.7 million One-77 was spotted doing laps of the Nurburgring recently, and the V12 shriek should be enough to move all 77 units directly to the garages of the UAE.

For whatever reason, 22 units are still unsold, so you can still pick one up even if you’re not royalty. For the rest of you plebes, hit the jump to check out the One-77 lapping the Nurburgring.

[Source: AxisAC]

Hit the jump to watch the video

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