Wert drives Durango Hybrid, continues to be haunted by Audi R8
R8 in the Chrysler visitor lot as Ray drives the hybrid
Our friend, the illustrious Ray Wert, has been haunted of late by an Audi R8 in the environs of his suburban Detroit home, and today his German stalker followed him all the way to the Chrysler Proving Ground. As Ray was getting a taste of a prototype Dodge Durango hybrid, I spotted a black R8 parked in the visitors lot while I was making my exit. The mystery deepens? Until we figure it out, you can read all about the first Chrysler implementation of the Two-Mode hybrid system at AutoblogGreen.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bestmacs 10:02AM (6/22/2007)
G'day Autoblog team,
It's got to be one of the most amazing car-rescue stories of the year - and I'd love to see how the insurance claim pans out. I've just posted this story at http://david-mcmahon.blogspot.com/2007/06/that-sinking-feeling.html but I'd like to offer you the rights to reproduce the story for your readers.
Here's the story, as it appears on my blog ...
Photographer Mike Dugdale might find that one of his pictures becomes prime evidence in an unusual insurance claim. It's not your run-of-the-mill automobile
picture, however. It shows a battered, dark shape, barely recognisable as a vehicle, floating out on Corio Bay here in coastal Victoria, about an hour's drive from Melbourne.
A 19-year-old driver had a miracle pre-dawn escape on Wednesday after his car veered off a road and plunged down a cliff and into the ocean at Clifton Springs. Sergeant Darren Savickas of Victoria Police told Southern Cross Broadcasting the driver had missed a sharp left-hand turn and drove through a wire fence. ``It's gone through a wire barrier fence and off a cliff with a drop of about 80 metres,'' he said.
Fortunately for the teenaged driver, a nearby resident heard the noise, went outside to see what had happened and then called police. An amazing rescue unfolded as the police helicopter managed to locate the car floating in the Bay. Police and State Emergency Service members had to contend with a rising tide as they tried to free the driver, the only occupant of the car. He is now recovering in hospital.
And the car? It sank in Corio Bay, which is why Mike Dugdale's great picture, published in the Geelong Advertiser and the Herald Sun, might be critical in proving that it actually came to a watery end. To view the photograph, go to http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/06/20/4799_news.html.
Cheers
David
PS: If you want to reproduce the picture, I guess you can contact Mike Dugdale through the Geelong Advertiser site.
Reply
Mike 10:11AM (6/22/2007)
Hey "bestmacs",
Try this next time: http://www.autoblog.com/tips/
Nesting your blog posts in the blog of another site is just not good blog etiquette...
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Christian 10:40AM (6/22/2007)
Guys, it's probably the R8 that Car and Driver has at their Ann Arbor facility. It's been there for the past week or so for sure, I saw it for the first time earlier this week. I happen to live about 1 minute from their facility. It's that color.
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wally 12:30PM (6/22/2007)
It's Wolf's R8 !
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Stephen 2:08PM (6/22/2007)
Wasn't this about the Hemi Hybrid?
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pedmac 5:56PM (6/22/2007)
did they use nimh batteries or li ion ..?
whom is supplier .? panasonic or cobasys?
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Sam Abuelsamid 6:24PM (6/22/2007)
Chrysler hasn't disclosed who the battery supplier is, but in the full writeup I did on AutoblogGreen, I do indicate that they are nickel metal hydride.
pedmac 1:01PM (6/27/2007)
Hi Sam ..TKS yr kind response as always.
i was under the impression that the Tahoe/Yukon hybrids had Cobasys batt packs .. and that the Escalade had a Peve battery ( panasonic) batt pack .. seems a little weird since they are all Gm ? im trying to figure out what is going on at Cobasys .. since announcement of restructuring or sale ? u hear anything ?