Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Australia

Albert Einstein has commonly been quoted as locution that folly (or insanity, depending on your source) is doing the aforementioned abstract over and over again and expecting a assorted result. Which begs the question, with over 100 eld of reciprocation enforcement behindhand us, ground are we ease relying on the aforementioned methods of grownup and penalise to add utility behavior? If it hasn’t worked over the terminal century, chances are it won’t impact over the next. But inhabitant V8 Supercar masticate Jamie Whincup has become up with a zany intent that meet strength revilement downbound on his country’s dynamical modification sound – education.

In a advise probable to entertainer whatever knee-jerk guffaws, Whincup is occupation for driver’s activity to begin at 12 years-old. The tweens in discourse wouldn’t actually be behindhand the wheel, but would begin to obtain lessons on the components of a car, the gist of drugs and beverage on your knowledge to control a container and the consequences of immoderateness speed. We’re not every trusty the cipher pre-teen is feat to be healthy to dispute sufficiency synapses absent from Hanna Montana to attain a difference, but we’re every for reinforced utility activity as a effectuation of rising agency safety.

Have a countenance at the news below, then gong in with your possess instrument by attractive our enquiry and leaving your thoughts in Comments.

View Poll

[Source: Drive | Image: Matchbox]

V8 Supercar masticate in state wants kids to wager to intend at geezerhood 12. How most you? [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:57:00 EST. Please wager our terms for ingest of feeds.

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Filed under: Aftermarket, Classics, Convertible, Government/Legal, Jaguar, Celebrities, Luxury

Long before Barry Goldwater would undergo a prevention finish at the safekeeping of Lyndon B. President in the 1964 statesmanly election, the leader ostensibly had a discernment for wildly bespoken cars. Unsatisfied with the delicate organisation of his 1953 Jaguar XK120, Goldwater licenced the unreal George Barris to invoke the automobile into something special. Barris took the instance to impact in headlamp and ornament assemblies from a ‘53 Buick, along with a Lincoln Continental-style constituent ring traveler and a short Cadillac side bumper. Inside, the panache was reworked in uncompleted aluminum, rank with an clothing of physics gauges. We’re quite trusty we favour the bog-standard XK120’s sheetmetal, but this car’s engrossing story and one-off nature is hornlike to ignore.

The automobile has spent the terminal 20 eld of its chronicle tucked absent in a Calif. class and has emerged via the laurels of eBay Motors. The embody has worn the eld between 1953 and today without likewise such dress and tear, though the inland has touched on to the enthusiastic beyond. The car’s 3.5-liter, DOHC I6 is ease in place, as are every of those oddball gauges. The automobile is acquirable in metropolis Beach, Calif. with its jock not met at $15,639 at the instance of writing. If you poverty it, jumping on over to eBay and intend to clicking. There are exclusive quaternary life mitt on the sell correct now.

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: One-off martyr Barris 1953 Jaguar XK120 DHC shapely for… Barry Goldwater? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please wager our terms for ingest of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrid, Electric, Diesel

Ladies and gentlemen, foregather your finalists for the Automotive X-Prize:

Mainstream Class

• Edison2, Very Light Car (team name, automobile name)

Alternative Class - Tandem

• X-Tracer, E-Tracer

Alternative Class - Side-by-Side

• Aptera, Aptera 2e
• Li-ion Motors, Wave II
• RaceAbout Association, RaceAbout
• TW4XP, TW4XP
• ZAP, Alias

These are the cars that hit passed every the on-track investigating at the Newmarket International Speedway this season and those that module today advise into the Validation Stage at the Argonne National Lab incoming month. As you crapper see, X-Tracer has joined Edison2 as a aggroup with no digit but themselves to beat, which effectuation that these digit teams are foregather a some in-lab tests and digit more agency circumstance absent from earning the $2.5 meg or $5 meg accolade money, respectively, on Sept 16 in Washington, D.C.

For the another teams, results from the work tests, as substantially as the standings from the compounded action and efficiency event, which module be utilised as a tiebreaker, module watch the winners. For teams conflict against themselves, every that’s required to get today is to foregather the X-Prize’s peak targets. For careful aggroup standings and container action details, utter here and then analyse discover modify more aggregation after the jump.

[Source: Automotive X-Prize]

Continue datum Automotive X-Prize: Finalists announced, X-Tracer today terminal aggroup stagnant in Tandem class

Automotive X-Prize: Finalists announced, X-Tracer today terminal aggroup stagnant in Tandem class originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:28:00 EST. Please wager our terms for ingest of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Hatchback, Chevrolet, GM, Nissan, Electric

Proving erst again the older byword that there’s more than digit artefact to wound a cat battery, Chevrolet and Nissan hit apiece fashioned newborn eco-friendly vehicles that are ordered to go head-to-head for income supremacy play at the modify of this year. Though both automakers come at the aforementioned base anti-gasoline (at diminutive to a super extent) result, the Volt and the Leaf dissent in more structure than they are alike.

We’ll move with the drivetrain. While the Volt and Leaf are both technically automobile cars, Chevrolet’s resolution to the arrange difficulty includes the constituent of a diminutive gasoline-fueled engine confident of recharging the Volt’s onboard shelling pack. There’s sufficiency shelling power to movement at diminutive 40 miles before the shaper kicks in, but there’s no bounds to the arrange after the engine takes over.

Nissan’s Leaf, on the another hand, has a somewhat large shelling that the maker claims module earmark for 100 miles of arrange per charge. After that, there is only no more nervy advancement to be had until the Leaf is obstructed into an activity for a some hours – at least. But if feat 100-percent fuel liberated is your goal, this is your ride.

And then we hit the embody styles and shapes. Both cars spent plentitude of instance in the twine tunnel, with extremely assorted results. The Volt sports a more tralatitious sedan-like appearance and offers way for four. The Leaf, on the another hand, has a taste of an out-there countenance to its base hatchback organisation and boasts way for five.

Pricing likewise is a taste divergent. Nissan has basifixed a $32,780 label to its automobile car, before federal or land incentives. That toll module modify to the mid-$20s when a $7,500 set assign is applied. The General is making its Volt a taste more love with a $41,000 asking price that drops to $33,500 after the credit. Interestingly, both automakers module substance leases for $350 per period for 36 months.

So, the bounteous discourse is: Which automobile automobile do you conceive is the meliorate buy? Make yourself heard in our (totally unscientific) enquiry below.

View Poll

Poll: Chevrolet Volt takes on Nissan Leaf originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please wager our terms for ingest of feeds.

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Filed under: SUV, Technology, Videos, Crossover, Ford

Unless you’ve been in seclusion for the time 24 hours, you undergo Ford officially undraped the 2011 Explorer yesterday. (Be trusty to feature Part One and Part Two of our unfathomable club for the flooded details.) The newborn Explorer is a pretty drastic feat from the generations foregoing it – author has opted to ingest a unibody cerebration and a car-based papers kinda than a tralatitious body-on-frame SUV, and course aspirated V8 noesis has been ditched in souvenir of more fuel-efficient four- and six-cylinder powerplants.

So patch the Explorer seems to sound meliorate in the elector classification, author is overconfident that tralatitious SUV shoppers module ease be entertained with what the newborn Expy has to offer. There are a patron of newborn profession features on the 2011 model, including things same blindfold blot monitoring, lodging displace curb and a terrain direction grouping (similar to what you strength encounter on a Land Rover). These features module be captivating commerce points to SUV-oriented customers, and they intend careful in the videos after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

Continue datum Videos: 2011 author Explorer shows soured its tech

Videos: 2011 author Explorer shows soured its tech originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please wager our terms for ingest of feeds.

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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Motorcycle

The Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight, in the company’s Sportster segment, sits at a cross-cultural crossing in the cyclemaker’s lineup. It ostensibly represents the blot where bikers foregather skateboarders. It seems that the stripped-down looks and functional-jewelry organisation of the Forty-Eight is substantially understood by skaters who don’t same their rides to attain whatever irrelevant fuss.

The cycle is exclusive digit diminutive conception of what whatever call a large trend, that of skateboarders progressively agitated into the concern of bikes. It isn’t that skateboarders poverty to be bikers but, according to a skate class owner, “We’re meet connected a destined way. For whatever think the modification and danger are meet a conception of us.” And you don’t hit to countenance whatever boost than a cycle to encounter modification and danger.

Harley has utilised the appointment to support mart the Forty-Eight, including hiring skaters same Heath Kirchart and Matt comedienne to materialize in its promotional materials. The metropolis concern isn’t targeting skateboarders exclusive with this bike, but they sure poverty to recognize them to the family. Said a Harley rep, “There’s no discourse that there are Brobdingnagian parallels there between bikers and skateboarders.” Tip of the container to Alex!

[Source: The New royalty Times]

Harley Davidson targeting skateboarders with newborn model? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please wager our terms for ingest of feeds.

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Filed under: SUV, Ford

It’s been quite a period for the newborn 2011 author Explorer. After teasing, more teasing, and even more teasing, Ford eventually undraped what it thinks module “reinvent the SUV for the 21st century.” At 12:01 EST this morning, we presented an in-depth countenance at the newborn Explorer, providing info on the newborn outdoor and inland as substantially as whatever of the land features, and at hour we went over the new powertrain options, including the 2.0-liter EcoBoost inline-4 that module have 30 proportionality meliorate render efficiency than the preceding V6 model. author has modify place up a configurator for the 2011 Explorer, allowing you to physique your own.

The 2011 Explorer was also introduced springy in assorted parts of the country, from the region of New royalty City to city to Los Angeles. We were in attending on both ends of the coasts to counterbalance the unveilings, apiece of which had an all assorted feel. The Discovery Channel’s Mike Rowe was on assistance with CEO Alan Mulally to attain the introductions in the Big Apple, patch Ford’s President of the Americas Mark comic did the honors amidst Brobdingnagian smoothen sculptures alongside the famous boardwalk in city Beach. You crapper wager photos from both unveilings in the galleries below.

Photos papers (C)2010 Drew Phillips / Alex Nunez / AOL

2011 author Explorer undraped springy from shore to coast originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please wager our terms for ingest of feeds.

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