New York has now become the second state in the country to offer RFID-embedded driver’s licenses. Following Washington State’s lead last year, the radio-frequency identification (aka RFID) licenses will be offered at a $30 premium over the standard driver’s license. The benefits of the RFID license include their ability to do double-duty as a driver’s license and a U.S. passport for those who frequently enter New York from Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean (of course, you will still need a “real” passport to enter the state from other international destinations). Authorities say that only an ID number, no personal info, is stored on the chip. Regardless, as some embedded chips may be read from a distance — and not necessarily a direct line of site — authorities in New York will still offer standard licenses for those on the paranoid side… or they can run out and purchase an RFID-blocking wallet. Thanks for the tip, Yash!
GM’s Chevy Sequel has now become the very first electrically-driven hydrogen vehicle to move 300 miles on just one tank of hydrogen, and that too on public roads producing zero emissions.
The long 300-mile ride started at General Motors’ Fuel…
After a far-too-long hiatus, we’re back with podcast #62, in which we recap the New York Auto Show. A large contingent of Autobloggers attended the show, and we’re hot to talk about what we saw. The first target we take aim at is Subaru, which trotted out its newly restyled Impreza, WRX and Tribeca. Caspar Milquetoast, your cars have arrived. Ford actually did something bold by translating the Fairlane concept in to the Flex production vehicle. Opinions are split on whether it’s exciting, or just some kind of bastard offspring from a MINI/Scion xB tryst. Let’s just call it a modern interpretation of the Country Squire, without the woodgrain vinyl appliqué. Also over at the Ford stand was special-edition Mustang #6,463: the Shelby GT500KR. Whoopdedooyeeha! Sure, it’s badass, what more needs to be said? GM had three well-turned-out microcars that we were all calling the Triplets. The Groove, Beat and Trax are variations on a theme, and they definitely generated buzz. We’re glad to see the General doing small cars, as well as some of the new developments over at the HUMMER area.
Speaking of buzz, the Hyundai Genesis concept takes aim at high end luxury/performance sedans from German and Japanese manufacturers. As is their wont, Hyundai will be pricing it around 30 grand to start, and offering V8 power sent to the rear wheels, all wrapped in a handsome (if derivative) skin. Speaking of handsome skin, Infiniti dropped the G37 on us, and it’s not only a significant upgrade from the outgoing G35 coupe, it stands apart from the G35 sedan, as well. While ogling the G37’s tight lines, we bumped into the EX concept that was exceptionally well done. We wrap up by briefly touching on the de-cuted Liberty, the Lexus LX570, which no longer looks like a Land Cruiser with a different grille, and finally, our visit to Mercedes on our way back to the windowless confines of the media room.
SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes LISTEN to the show now ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
There have been some minor rumblings, as of late, about Subaru’s future offerings, including information about the Impreza WRX and its STI variant. The new Impreza will likely debut in New York this April, with sales beginning in August of this year, while the STI will probably bow in Frankfurt, and go on sale in early 2008.
The other rumor making the rounds is that the Legacy wagon will no longer be available starting in 2008, however the Outback wagon will still be around for those of you who prefer its higher ground clearance and off-road cred.
Also coming to NY will be the ‘08 Tribeca, complete with 3.6-liter H6 and a revised look (thank God). Sales of the new Tribeca are rumored to begin in June.
Considering that Subaru’s appearance in Detroit was kind of a let down, we’re looking forward to seeing more compelling product coming down the pike.
Autocar is reporting that Subaru will volly a strike against Mitsubishi in early April when it debuts the all-new Impreza at the New York Auto Show. The body style will be a five-door hatchback with styling similar to that of the B5 TPH concept that first appeared last year in Tokyo. Power will reportedly come from your choice of a 1.5L or 2.0L flat-four boxer engine. Autocar’s shocker is that the popular WRX model that slots between the everyday Imprezas and the high performance STi model will be cancelled, and that we won’t see the new STi until 2008. Autocar doesn’t cite its source for this information, and it seems highly unlikely to us considering that Mitsubishi is planning to make its Lancer Ralliart more powerful than previous generations in an effort to face the WRX head on. All will be revealed in the Big Apple come April, but for now we sit and wait.
There have been some minor rumblings, as of late, about Subaru’s future offerings, including information about the Impreza WRX and its STI variant. The new Impreza will likely debut in New York this April, with sales beginning in August of this year, while the STI will probably bow in Frankfurt, and go on sale in early 2008.
The other rumor making the rounds is that the Legacy wagon will no longer be available starting in 2008, however the Outback wagon will still be around for those of you who prefer its higher ground clearance and off-road cred.
Also coming to NY will be the ‘08 Tribeca, complete with 3.6-liter H6 and a revised look (thank God). Sales of the new Tribeca are rumored to begin in June.
Considering that Subaru’s appearance in Detroit was kind of a let down, we’re looking forward to seeing more compelling product coming down the pike.
So speculation about the new look of the Subaru Impreza continues unabated. This time, the images come courtesy of an unnamed Japanese car mag, with renderings that look all-too lifelike.
The images we’ve seen thus far (linked at the bottom) show the new nose getting a smoothed, yet mildly awkward nip and tuck, while these images seem to have more of basis with the current shnoz, rather than an outright redesign. The tautly drawn headlamps are far and away the trickest element we’ve seen and the downsized hoodscoop, integrated with the subtle power bulge, also gets our thumbs up. In the rear, the WRC-inspired wing is present and accounted for and, at least with this rendering, we see how it’s going to be incorporated with the new hatch. It still looks cumbersome from a design standpoint and will provide a serious impediment to rearward visibility if it makes it to production.
As we’ve said before, time will tell, and the Impreza’s official unveiling is just over a month away in New York. We’ll be there and we can’t wait.
Follow the read link for the rest of the images and thanks for the tip Brooksie!
So speculation about the new look of the Subaru Impreza continues unabated. This time, the images come courtesy of an unnamed Japanese car mag, with renderings that look all-too lifelike.
The images we’ve seen thus far (linked at the bottom) show the new nose getting a smoothed, yet mildly awkward nip and tuck, while these images seem to have more of basis with the current shnoz, rather than an outright redesign. The tautly drawn headlamps are far and away the trickest element we’ve seen and the downsized hoodscoop, integrated with the subtle power bulge, also gets our thumbs up. In the rear, the WRC-inspired wing is present and accounted for and, at least with this rendering, we see how it’s going to be incorporated with the new hatch. It still looks cumbersome from a design standpoint and will provide a serious impediment to rearward visibility if it makes it to production.
As we’ve said before, time will tell, and the Impreza’s official unveiling is just over a month away in New York. We’ll be there and we can’t wait.
Follow the read link for the rest of the images and thanks for the tip Brooksie!
Autocar is reporting that Subaru will volly a strike against Mitsubishi in early April when it debuts the all-new Impreza at the New York Auto Show. The body style will be a five-door hatchback with styling similar to that of the B5 TPH concept that first appeared last year in Tokyo. Power will reportedly come from your choice of a 1.5L or 2.0L flat-four boxer engine. Autocar’s shocker is that the popular WRX model that slots between the everyday Imprezas and the high performance STi model will be cancelled, and that we won’t see the new STi until 2008. Autocar doesn’t cite its source for this information, and it seems highly unlikely to us considering that Mitsubishi is planning to make its Lancer Ralliart more powerful than previous generations in an effort to face the WRX head on. All will be revealed in the Big Apple come April, but for now we sit and wait.
Ever-tightening emissions requirements, teamed with consumers’ lust for today’s high horsepower numbers, have led to some creative valve timing and lift schemes. Infiniti’s G37 will be pack some interesting tech underhood when it debuts at the upcoming New York International Auto Show. There are actually two new developments working in conjunction to give independent control over valve timing and lift. Nissan has dubbed the control technologies Variable Valve Event and Lift and Continuous Valve Timing control, or VVEL and C-VTC, respectively. VVEL uses a clever arrangement of links to actuate the valves, and moves the fulcrum for the links via a seperate shaft actuated by a DC motor. By moving the fulcrum, the valve lift is varied.
The Autoblog team hit the New York auto show with full force, and we captured everything the show had to offer. In fact, the 2007 New York show represented the most videos we’ve ever done for an Auto Show, and we started our own video page on YouTube to house it all. The new Hyundai Genesis, Subaru WRX, Ford Flex, and NISMO 350Z were only a few of the things we saw in New York, and we’ve captured a bunch of the news in the video after the jump. We hope you like it.
With the dust still settling from our trip to the New York Auto Show, we decided it would be best to focus only on cars from the Big Apple this week. There were plenty of great photos, from exotics and vintage hot rods, to new products like the Subaru WRX and Ford Flex. You can check out videos from the New York show here, and all the latest news and information can be found here. We’ve also added links below to some of the more exciting galleries from New York.
This week, music come from The Michael E. Thomas Band with “Going to New York“. Enjoy! %Gallery-2463% %Gallery-2466% %Gallery-2436% %Gallery-2423% %Gallery-2363%
We’ve been wondering where Nissan was going to fit in on the docket of next week’s Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS), but InsideLine confirmed our suspicions - they won’t be having a press conference at all. Instead, the Forum concept will be set on stage and Nissan will turn its attention to the New York Auto Show in March. There, Nissan plans to take the wraps of the redesigned Maxima that’s destined to go on sale later this year.
Darryl Harrison, Nissan’s North American spokesperson, told InsideLine that the Maxima will be “all new” but he didn’t go into details about what changes would be made. He also said that a “couple of other things” would be on display in the Big Apple and that Nissan’s presence at the Chicago Auto Show would be minimal.
After a far-too-long hiatus, we’re back with podcast #62, in which we recap the New York Auto Show. A large contingent of Autobloggers attended the show, and we’re hot to talk about what we saw. The first target we take aim at is Subaru, which trotted out its newly restyled Impreza, WRX and Tribeca. Caspar Milquetoast, your cars have arrived. Ford actually did something bold by translating the Fairlane concept in to the Flex production vehicle. Opinions are split on whether it’s exciting, or just some kind of bastard offspring from a MINI/Scion xB tryst. Let’s just call it a modern interpretation of the Country Squire, without the woodgrain vinyl appliqué. Also over at the Ford stand was special-edition Mustang #6,463: the Shelby GT500KR. Whoopdedooyeeha! Sure, it’s badass, what more needs to be said? GM had three well-turned-out microcars that we were all calling the Triplets. The Groove, Beat and Trax are variations on a theme, and they definitely generated buzz. We’re glad to see the General doing small cars, as well as some of the new developments over at the HUMMER area.
Speaking of buzz, the Hyundai Genesis concept takes aim at high end luxury/performance sedans from German and Japanese manufacturers. As is their wont, Hyundai will be pricing it around 30 grand to start, and offering V8 power sent to the rear wheels, all wrapped in a handsome (if derivative) skin. Speaking of handsome skin, Infiniti dropped the G37 on us, and it’s not only a significant upgrade from the outgoing G35 coupe, it stands apart from the G35 sedan, as well. While ogling the G37’s tight lines, we bumped into the EX concept that was exceptionally well done. We wrap up by briefly touching on the de-cuted Liberty, the Lexus LX570, which no longer looks like a Land Cruiser with a different grille, and finally, our visit to Mercedes on our way back to the windowless confines of the media room.
SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes LISTEN to the show now ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
The Autoblog team hit the New York auto show with full force, and we captured everything the show had to offer. In fact, the 2007 New York show represented the most videos we’ve ever done for an Auto Show, and we started our own video page on YouTube to house it all. The new Hyundai Genesis, Subaru WRX, Ford Flex, and NISMO 350Z were only a few of the things we saw in New York, and we’ve captured a bunch of the news in the video after the jump. We hope you like it.
With the dust still settling from our trip to the New York Auto Show, we decided it would be best to focus only on cars from the Big Apple this week. There were plenty of great photos, from exotics and vintage hot rods, to new products like the Subaru WRX and Ford Flex. You can check out videos from the New York show here, and all the latest news and information can be found here. We’ve also added links below to some of the more exciting galleries from New York.
This week, music come from The Michael E. Thomas Band with “Going to New York“. Enjoy!
After being endlessly mired in the ’80s, the Autoblog Podcast has now climbed its way up to #90. Alex took a sick day, so John and Damon hold the fort. We’ve been in New York, and that’s the main focus of the podcast, although we have had more than just John’s Alero in the Autoblog Garage. Ford’s sale of Jaguar and Land Rover comes up, as does some of the news that’s ensued between the end of the New York show and now.
We’ve got a new podcast-specific email: podcast at autoblog dawt com, so please send in your questions about the show, about us, or about anything car-related you want to know, and we’ll make up the best answers we can. Thanks for listening!
SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes ADDthe Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator DOWNLOAD the show now
Last week at the New York Auto Show we had trouble getting a cab in front of Javitz Center, but somehow the cats at Garage 419 were able to shut down 11th Ave. long enough to race a couple muscled-up Porsches. Pitted in a street racing battle are a Farnbacher Loles GT3 cup car and a Farnbacher Loles Cayman GTR. Both Porsches aren’t lacking for power either, as the rear wheels pushing each Stuttgart stud are tested to the limits during the race and at the post-event dueling donuts.
Three minutes of rubber-burning action is available after the jump, including a decisive winner in the main event. Make sure to check out the wild fish-tailing from the GT3 at the start of the race. The camera guy positioned between the two racers either has serious cojones for staying still or he has no idea how close he was to taking a Porsche to the mid-section. Thanks for the tip, j.f.!
Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Audi A4 Avant.
Wagon lovers rejoice! Audi’s new 2009 A4 Avant has made its official North American debut at the New York Auto Show. The press release, after the break, introduces us to the newest 2.0 liter TFSI four cylinder engine, variants of which have won “Engine of the Year” trophies three times. Coming in at 211 horsepower along with 258 lb.-ft. of torque, the A4’s base engine is reportedly capable of propelling the car to sixty in 6.5 seconds.
The impressive output of Audi’s new four-banger almost makes up for their decision not to offer the sedan’s 3.2 liter FSI V6 in the Avant. That engine features the newest version of the patented Audi Valvelift Technology (AVS) and offers up 265 horsepower. Six-speed transmissions will be offered in both the A4 sedan and Avant — no mention of Quattro systems or the new 7-speed DSG. It seems like Audi’s been holding back the new A4 for so long that we can hardly believe that we’ll see it in dealerships this October, but we’ll continue to sate your appetites with pictures until then.
Click image for a high-res gallery of the turbocharged Mitsubishi i
I’m the resident kei car obsessive here at Autoblog. That means I’m the guy who actually thinks, “That is awesome,” when he reads the (Google translated) announcement of yet another Suzuki Wagon R variant. Hell, I did twoposts on the one-off Hello Kitty Mitsubishi i. Keis are cool. So, you can imagine how happy I was to see that Mitsubishi brought along a small fleet of its i minicars to the New York Auto Show this year.
Mitsubishi’s focus at the show was squarely on the the all-electric i MiEV, which goes on sale in Japan next year and will be tested in North America this fall. The gasoline-powered version was on hand, too, though. I drove the i MiEV for AutoblogGreen, and was a passenger in a black i Turbo. Head over to AutoblogGreen for driving impressions of the i MiEV, and note that many of the observations there apply to both the electric and gasoline-powered cars.
The i Turbo you see here is powered by a 660cc 3-cylinder that delivers around 64 horsepower. It’s got around half the torque of the electric i MiEV and it’s buzzier-sounding (obviously), but it felt just as well-suited to city driving in New York as its battery-powered counterpart. It can comfortably transport four adults and a bit of cargo, too. Try doing that in a smart.
Mitsubishi is monitoring public reaction to the cars this week, so if you go to the show and like what you see, make sure to let them know. Me? I’ll happily take one in black — with a DAMD kit for optimum not-exactly-badassedness.
New York has now become the second state in the country to offer RFID-embedded driver’s licenses. Following Washington State’s lead last year, the radio-frequency identification (aka RFID) licenses will be offered at a $30 premium over the standard driver’s license. The benefits of the RFID license include their ability to do double-duty as a driver’s license and a U.S. passport for those who frequently enter New York from Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean (of course, you will still need a “real” passport to enter the state from other international destinations). Authorities say that only an ID number, no personal info, is stored on the chip. Regardless, as some embedded chips may be read from a distance — and not necessarily a direct line of site — authorities in New York will still offer standard licenses for those on the paranoid side… or they can run out and purchase an RFID-blocking wallet. Thanks for the tip, Yash!
After a far-too-long hiatus, we’re back with podcast #62, in which we recap the New York Auto Show. A large contingent of Autobloggers attended the show, and we’re hot to talk about what we saw. The first target we take aim at is Subaru, which trotted out its newly restyled 
There have been some minor rumblings, as of late, about Subaru’s future offerings, including information about the Impreza WRX and its STI variant. The new Impreza will likely debut in New York this April, with sales beginning in August of this year, while the STI will probably bow in Frankfurt, and go on sale in early 2008.
After being endlessly mired in the ’80s, the Autoblog Podcast has now climbed its way up to #90. Alex took a sick day, so John and Damon hold the fort. We’ve been in New York, and that’s the main focus of the podcast, although we have had more than just John’s Alero in the Autoblog Garage. Ford’s sale of Jaguar and Land Rover comes up, as does some of the news that’s ensued between the end of the New York show and now. 
