The Toyota GT 86 is being hyped as a drift car extraordinaire, which seems to be a fitting title after watching the video below.
This video comes out of Japan, and shows off two GT 86s, (which will be badged as Scion FR-Ss in North America), drifting around an impromptu pylon marked track. Both the drivers are out having some fun, and showing off their skills for the crowd.
Check out the video abelow, and let us know what you think of the Toyota GT 86 in the comments section below.
1,400 metric tons of diesel fuel is difficult to imagine from an average consumer perspective. That’s enough to power a diesel compact car for about 350,000 miles, much more than it would probably ever drive.
That’s also how much diesel Nissan will save every year thanks to a new transport ship which launched on its maiden voyage last Friday. The Nichioh Maru is the company’s newest freight liner and it’s making a splash in the green technology world thanks to it’s innovative design which offers an 18 percent fuel savings over similar ships without the technology.
The ship features 281 solar panels on the deck which power LED lighting throughout the ship. It also has a specially coated hull to reduce drag and is about the length of 1.5 football fields (557 feet).
The Nichioh Maru carries up to 1,380 cars and travels at a top speed of 24.4 mph or 22.1 knots to make two domestic round trips per week totaling just over 2,200 miles. Nissan released a video featuring the ship, you can watch it below.
You might be familiar with the sound a Le Mans car makes while whipping around the track, but this year Toyota is going to change all that.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Japanese giant is entering in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, set to start this June. Yesterday we reported a story revealing some of the mechanical details behind the TS030 hybrid, Toyota’s strategic play to work back into the Le Mans good books.
The hybrid, they hope, will trump the diesel competition this year. Their car will feature a 3.4-liter naturally-aspirated V8 paired with Toyota’s hybrid drivetrain, which will take advantage of a capacitor system instead of the lithium ion batteries found in production cars.
Until today we had only seen still photos and ready specs, but thanks to a fresh post on YouTube, we get a chance to hear what the car sounds like on the road. You don’t see or hear anything interesting for the first 30 seconds of the video, but it ends with the TS030 Hybrid turning onto the track and launching. As you probably imagine, the difference between the electric motors and the V8 is striking. You can watch the video below.
Mercedes-Benz is going guerilla with its marketing tactics for the new A-Class by placing camouflaged cars around Germany stamped with QR (Quick Response) codes to give those lucky enough to scan them a chance at some prizes.
While that’s good news for a bunch of lucky Germans, the rest of us will have to settle for a new video showing the body shape, headlights and bits of bumper. The video is just a small teaser for the full reveal which will happen in Geneva this March.
If you’re in Germany and see one of the “specially marked” vehicles, whip out your smart phone and scan the code. It could lead to a visit to witness the A-Class debut in person.
Last month our spy photographers spotted a camo-wrapped A-Class being tested but we weren’t sure about the mechanical details. Since then we’ve learned that it will likely feature a 1.8-liter turbocharged four cylinder mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Most models will feature front-wheel drive, though the AMG variant will get 4Matic treatment.
Expect to hear about the A-Class hitting the road in Europe by the end of the year, but not in the U.S. until mid 2013. There will, however, be a four-door coupe hitting the American market based on the same drivetrain later this year.
We’ll be covering the A-Class reveal as well as other breaking news from Geneva starting on March 6.
Watch the promo video after the jump.
[Source: Motor Authority]
Ford is setting new records for fuel economy (and style) in the mid-size sedan segment with the debut of the new 2013 Fusion today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Available with three gasoline engines, including a 37 mpg highway 1.6-liter EcoBoost, a Fusion Hybrid will deliver 47 mpg city and 44 mpg highway. Taking fuel economy a step further will be a plug-in hybrid with 100 mpge.
For more on the 2013 Fusion watch the video below:
Unveiled on the eve of the Detroit Auto Show, we had our first chance to run our paws over Cadillac’s new luxury sports sedan, the ATS. The car is a bold move by Caddy, which claims the ATS was built not just to compete along segment hallmarks like the BMW 3 Series, but to beat them.
Notable highlights include a low 3,400 lb curb weight, an optional 270-hp turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, real carbon fiber on the interior, Brembo brakes and magnetic shocks absorbers – a first for the segment.
For more on the new ATS, watch the video below:
Maybe the staff at Aptera watched the printer-smashing scene in Office Space too many times and felt like taking some frustration out on inanimate objects.
Whatever their reason the video footage of their antics is creating a stir. Last Sunday we reported that Aptera, the environmentally focused startup responsible for building funky-looking 3-wheeled EVs would cease to exist. They had no choice but to shut their doors after failing to find investors willing to match a $150 million Department of Energy loan offer.
Had they succeeded, Fox News reported that the company was aiming to market a family sedan similar in size to the Toyota Camry.
Aptera co-founder and former Chief Technical Officer Steve Fambro expressed his dismay on the Aptera forum yesterday, saying These were beautiful, fully functioning vehicles.” He went on to say that there was ”no viable or logical reason for this to have been done, only to prevent the founder from ever seeing their functioning [cars] work again.”
Fambro left the company in 2009 after a failed coup attempt aimed according to him at trying to save the company “from team B’s failed path of waiting for the DOE.”
The videos feature unnamed employees destroying what looks like body shells of the raindrop-like 2e. You can watch them below.
Anyone who has seen Japanese car commercials knows they can be a bit odd, to say the least. The 1990′s were chock full of weird celebrity endorsments (Jodie Foster and the Honda Civic, anyone?) but the next trend to hit was having directors treat their ads like art house films – and it’s here to stay.
If this were an American ad, we’d probably have lurid shots of the Subaru BRZ in full opposite-lock mode, with a garbled voiceover detailing the terms and conditions of a special lease offer. But this is Japan, and instead we get slow, tight glimpses of the BRZ while the best in adult alternative EZ-rock plays on screen. Whatever. Hit the mute button and enjoy.
Hit the jump to see the Subaru BRZ commercial.
A rite of passage of sorts for new Ferrari models, reports have surfaced of a brand new $300,000 Ferrari FF spontaneously catching fire and burning to the ground. The driver of the FF reportedly heard a bang coming from the rear following a rise of flames during his test-drive in Frankfurt, Germany. Pulling to the side of the road and escaping from the car, the driver of the FF sustained no injuries.
Last year news emerged of several Ferrari 458 Italias catching fire. Then, the cause was discovered to be an issue regarding the engine heat shields around the Italia’s V8. As the FF’s V12 engine is up in the front, one could assume that heat reflectors surrounding the FF’s exhaust may be the cause this time around. No recalls or investigations have been announced.
Check out the video of the fire below.
We’re not sure what it is about car crashes that fascinates us – so long as they don’t happen to us. We just love (and hate) watching videos of them occurring, and this one involves a remarkable Aston Martin Rapide on a public road.
The driver is Italian surf board designer Roberto Ricci, while the passenger, who captured the entire incident on video, is Mpora editor Dave White. It appears that Ricci turned off the Rapide’s stability control rather than hitting the “Sport” mode button and as a result, loses control of the car while on an exit ramp. The Rapide clearly slamms into a guardrail but none of the airbags deploy.
Fortunately after the accident both White and Ricci do not appear to have sustained any injuries, which is surprising considering how demolished the Rapide is.
Check out the video of the crash after the break – may be NSFW due to language.
![Meredes CLS Shooting Brake: Lookin’ Fine in Winter Time [Spy Photos]](http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/wp-content/uploads//2012/02/Mercedes-CLS-Shooting-Brake-thumb.jpg "Meredes CLS Shooting Brake: Lookin’ Fine in Winter Time [Spy Photos]")
Meredes CLS Shooting Brake: Lookin’ Fine in Winter Time [Spy Photos]
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Toyota GT 86 TRD Officially Revealed: 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon
