There is likely no end to the amount of fun one can have with an empty parking lot, a few cones and a willing vehicle. Add two capable machines to the mix and the enjoyment increases exponentially. When those happen to be two Toyota GT86 coupes, all that's missing is the not-so judicious application of one's right foot. Two pro drift drivers recently got the chance to fling the GT86 around in a quick battle, and the result is a video that shows just how controllable the GT86 is right out of the box.
While we could think of a handful of other sports cars that are as capable right from the showroom floor, the list of those with price tags as slim as the GT86 and its Scion and Subaru brethren is considerably thinner. Hit the jump for a few lessons in car control.
Continue reading Pair of Toyota GT86s duel in parking lot drift battle
We're almost ready to record Episode #268 of the Autoblog Podcast. Check out the topics below and you can join us live via UStream, as well, and we've embedded our UStream player after the jump. Thanks for listening!
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #268
Superbowl Ads
Fiat 500L previewed
Honda loses Civic Hybrid lawsuit
Driverless cars in 24 hrs of LeMons
Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #268 goes LIVE at 10PM Eastern
We don't envy the designers who pen bikes for the likes of Triumph or Harley-Davidson. Machines like the Bonneville and Sportster are inherently popular for their nostalgic looks, and die-hard fans are the first to cry foul when the bikes wander too far from the original recipe. As the Triumph Bonneville Speed Twin Concept elegantly illustrates, that's a crying shame. As the brainchild of English designers Roy Norton and Tom Kasher, the Speed Twin is a modern take on the classic Bonneville. The two started with a Bonnie as a base platform and proceeded to update the machine's aesthetics accordingly.
The conceit began with the simple notion of what the Bonneville could have evolved into were it not so saddled with the nostalgia millstone. The two contacted Triumph while working for a design studio shortly after college, and Triumph Product Manager Simon Warburton gave the concept the go-ahead. The result is what you see here.
The concept uses a heavily modified Bonneville frame in conjunction with muscular-looking girder forks. Barbour cloth covers both the seats and the grips. With an 865cc engine, Thruxton brakes and unique gauges and levers, the Speed Twin is distilled awesome. Warburton is apparently pleased with the final result as well, and says some of the elements may make their way to future Triumph models. Head over to BikeExif for the full story.
There is likely no end to the amount of fun one can have with an empty parking lot, a few cones and a willing vehicle. Add two capable machines to the mix and the enjoyment increases exponentially. When those happen to be two Toyota GT86 coupes, all that's missing is the not-so judicious application of one's right foot. Two pro drift drivers recently got the chance to fling the GT86 around in a quick battle, and the result is a video that shows just how controllable the GT86 is right out of the box.
While we could think of a handful of other sports cars that are as capable right from the show room floor, the list of those with price tags as slim as the GT86 and its Scion and Subaru brethren is considerably thinner. Hit the jump for a few lessons in car control.
Continue reading Pair of Toyota GT86s dual in parking lot drift battle
On this side of the Atlantic, one Volkswagen division's new product may not have a significant impact on those of another. That's because the German auto giant's brands are kept quite separate in North America. Less so, however, back in Europe, where a new VW is likely to reappear in due time as a Seat or Skoda.
Case in point: the new Up! city car, which is also sold overseas as the Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo. And, true to form, with the Volkswagen brand having enlarged its city car to a five-door, its Czech cousin has followed suit.
And so, starting in May (after its debut at the Geneva Motor Show), European buyers will be able to get their hands on a five-door Citigo, offering the same 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine (in either 60- or 75-horsepower guise) as the Up, Mii and three-door Citigo. Details in the press release after the jump.
Continue reading Skoda up!grades with five-door Citigo
We record Episode #268 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #268
Superbowl Ads
Fiat 500L previewed
Honda loses Civic Hybrid lawsuit
Driverless cars in 24 hrs of LeMons
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
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Here's a Super Bowl commercial that most of us probably missed, even those of you who stayed on the couch for all four quarters and didn't even get up during halftime.
It's a fantastic car-chase commercial that features a first-generation Cadillac CTS-V and a pair of iconic Panther-platform Crown Victoria Police Interceptors. The ad is promoting high-speed Exo service for Canadian cable provider Shaw, which explains the couch potatoes and flatscreens riding atop each car.
Check it out after the jump, and get another chuckle now that the newness of the U.S.-market spots has worn off.
Continue reading Canada's Shaw creates a Super Bowl commercial, Canadian-style
Today marks twenty years since Ford first announced its Special Vehicle Team, most famously known as SVT. With performance mastermind John Colleti at the helm, SVT produced some legendary cars during its first 10 years, beginning with the 1993 SVT Cobra (and its even more hardcore sibling the SVT Cobra R) as well as the 2003 F-150 SVT Lightning. Since then we've had numerous updates to each, most notably the the SVT Cobra of 2003-2004 lovingly referred to by Mustang fans as the "Terminator," plus new models like the SVT Contour and the SVT Focus built from 2002-2004.
Today SVT is alive and well with the lineup consisting of the Shelby GT500 and F-150 SVT Raptor, and we're guessing that back in 1993 no one could have imagined just how far the brand has come. A 650 horsepower Mustang capable of 200 mph or a Ford F-150 capable of running the Baja 1000 in nearly stock form would have seemed insane at the time. And it still does today.
Have a look at some of the vehicles produced by SVT over the past 20 years in the gallery above, and let us know what you think might come from Ford's performance division in the next 20 years in the comments section below.
If you've ever wondered what keeps small-business owners up at night, allow us to direct your attention to the video after the jump.
From what we can gather, the driver in the black sedan got into a fender bender in a parking lot outside of a motorcycle speed shop. Worried about what the long-arm of the law would have to say about the collision, the driver then proceeded to attempt to make a speedy getaway. Rather than throwing the vehicle in reverse, however, the operator opted for drive, sending the vehicle careening through the front glass, though untold merchandise and into the back wall. Then the driver does something a bit odd.
Rather than throwing in the towel, they go for the old wash-rinse-repeat by backing up, gathering speed and ramming the rear wall. Over and over. As far as we can tell, no one was seriously injured in the spectacle. We wish we could say the same for the bike on the showroom floor. Hit the jump to see the video, just skip ahead to 1:30 to save yourself some waiting.
Continue reading If at first you don't succeed crashing through a store...
We don't envy the designers who pen bikes for the likes of Triumph or Harley-Davidson. Machines like the Bonneville and Sportster are inherently popular for their nostalgic looks, and die-hard fans are the first to cry foul when the bikes wander too far from the original recipe. As the Triumph Bonneville Speed Twin Concept elegantly illustrates, that's a crying shame. As the brainchild of English designers Roy Norton and Tom Kasher, the Speed Twin is a modern take on the classic Bonneville. The two started with a Bonnie as a base platform and proceeded to update the machine's aesthetics accordingly.
The conceit began with the simple notion of what the Bonneville could have evolved into were it not so saddled with the nostalgia millstone. The two contacted Triumph while working for a design studio shortly after college, and Triumph Product Manager Simon Warburton gave the concept the go-ahead. The result is what you see here.
The concept uses a heavily modified Bonneville frame in conjunction with muscular-looking girder forks. Barbour cloth covers both the seats and the grips. With an 865cc engine, Thruxton brakes and unique gauges and levers, the Speed Twin is distilled awesome. Warburton is apparently pleased with the final result as well, and says some of the elements may make their way to future Triumph models. Head over to BikeExif for the full story.
