Click above to view a high-res gallery of the Alan Aldridge MINI
The perpetual motion machine that is 1960s pop culture will once again reminisce about its faded relevance by rehashing something a Baby Boomer did back before they all became cokehead yuppies driving E30s. This time, the victim is an R56 MINI. Alan Aldridge, an artist and designer responsible for album art for some of the biggest names in the 1960s and 70s, in addition to illustrating children's books and serving as Art Director for Penguin Books, has whipped up a recreation of a project originally done in 1965 for a magazine cover. A MINI has been divided down the middle and painted with a male theme on one side and a female theme on the other. This retreading of past work is to kick off a retrospective display of Aldridge's work called The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes, and MINI's 50th birthday conveniently arrives in 2009, as well. Overall, artwork that appeals to hippies isn't really our thing, but at least it's for a retrospective, rather than just a man running out of original ideas. Press release after the jump.
If you're in the market for a new car, you'd better get your credit score in order first. Auto lending units are looking for top tier customers right now, and GM's captive credit arm is going so far as to mandate a FICO rating of 700 or higher. GMAC is requiring this measure in response to the instability in the global capital and credit markets. The move is likely to cost GM some sales, but according to credit information services company Experian, 74.3% of all auto loans went to consumers with a credit score of over 700. That number is up from the 71% average of 2007, and the number is likely to increase again next year as a result of our country's current economic calamity.
Mandating near perfect credit may sound like one of the best possible ways to ensure GM will see even lower sales totals at the end of October, but that's likely the only way GMAC can get loans from banks. The question isn't whether GM will be the only automaker to look for FICO ratings of 700+, it's whether any other automaker won't follow suit.
Roadkill is an ugly, smelly problem that can be expensive and flat-out dangerous for drivers. Outside of the occasional tall fence on the side of the road, there has been little to stop Bambi from chillin' in the middle of your local interstate. The state of Colorado is looking to change that with an ingenious new system that detects large animals on the freeway and warns drivers to be on alert. Colorado needs this technology, too, because up to 70% of its highway collisions involve animals.
The system uses an underground cable that senses large animals, then triggers electronic signs that give drivers a heads-up to the upcoming danger. Colorado will be testing the system on US-160, and the state has deployed radar detectors to see if drivers slow down when they receive the warning. If the system works, you can expect that it will proliferate in areas with high amounts of collisions between automobile and animal.
We now know that an Audi TT TDI would be good; and that 80+ mpg Toyotas are good. We also learned that the new movie "Fuel" is good. So, don't think too hard, but answer this question: is cheap gas good or bad? The answer: depends on what you're talking about, as we hear from Bob Lutz.
The people behind the latest Bond films seem to have a knack for destroying perfectly good Aston Martin DBSs. First they rolled one (repeatedly) in shooting Casino Royale. Never missing an opportunity to total a perfectly good Aston, they crashed another one in a rock quarry for the opening sequence of the upcomingQuantum of Solace sequel, but not before a factory test driver tanked another one into Lake Garda in northern Italy. And while you might figure a totaled Aston would, naturally, be worth less than a new one, you've evidently underestimated the clout of the 007 mystique.
Daniel Craig, the latest actor to take up the James Bond mantle, has revealed that the tanked DBS was extracted from the Italian lake and sold to a collector for an outrageous £200,000, some 60,000 thousand pounds sterling more than the £134k price of a brand new (and functional) example of the top-of-the-line British supercar. Somebody evidently needs to explain to said collector that the DBS in question was not a working example of the submersible Lotus from For Your Eyes Only. Rinspeed's got that one covered.
Much like its Porsche Design counterpart, there isn't really anything BMW DesignWorks won't try to make better, from an espresso machine to a custom interior for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. So it was only a matter of time before they put pen to paper and created a yacht, this particular example being a 60-foot offshore performance sailboat for the Zeydon boatyard of Belgium.
Meant, as with any BMW, to be just almost everything to almost everyone, the yacht, christened "WYSIWYG," is a regatta-oriented sailer as fast as it is luxurious. And no, your eyes don't deceive you: it's blue. Why? Because according to the heads of Zeydon, "it perfectly communicates the characteristics that determine our corporate identity: progressiveness, originality, courage, strict authenticity and infinite emotion." And it's got wooden racing stripes. Click the image at right for a high-res version and follow the jump for the press release.
Following the approach taken by rival Renault, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen is working on an entry-level car set to debut in emerging markets in 2011. The Renault Logan has done well in Russia and Romania, which has prodded this interest and action from PSA. The new five-passenger vehicle will be assembled in Turkey or Poland and sold in eastern and central Europe, Russia, Turkey, and North Africa wearing both Citroen and Peugeot badging. If successful, sales would also expand to include China and South America. Even if the vehicle sells well, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen CEO Christian Streiff maintains there are no plans to sell the new car in western Europe – regardless of Renault's strategy.
Photo of stock tires used on the GT-R that tackled the 'Ring in 7:29
Nissan released a second video of the incredible 7:29 lap time achieved by the GT-R earlier this year at the Nürburgring Nordschleife along with a photo of the stock tires that were installed on the car at the time. It did so to dispel accusations that the time might not be 100% authentic. Porsche in particular seemed highly suspicious, and boldly claimed its belief that Nissan wasn't using stock tires at the time. The new video starts with some off-track buildup and shows the 50kg of test equipment that was on-board the car at the time, as well. Although we don't speak Japanese, we think that's what they're talking about along with discussing the fresh stock tires that were fitted to the car. The actual lap starts about 4 minutes in and looks pretty authentic to us. We're sure there will continue to be questions and complaints from all sides in this controversy, and we know that this is starting to turn into a a bit of a melodrama, but we really can't help ourselves. You can catch up on the whole sordid affair by clicking here and check out the video after the jump.
When Hyundai publicly unveiled the Genesis Coupe at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, it did so with a barrage of stunt driving and indoor drifts that made us badly want to get behind the wheel. The marketing team over at Hyundai must have picked up on that vibe, because they've produced a nearly two-minute long commercial for the South Korean market that consists of a gun metal gray Genesis Coupe slip sliding across a baron landscape. The resulting montage of Genesis Coupe clips shows it drifting elegantly through a cloud of its own dust and makes us want the RWD coupe that much more. Good job, Hyundai Marketing Dept. The entire video was shot to look almost completely black and white, which makes the contrast of the Genesis Coupe's curves stand out in a most complementary way. We were somewhat disappointed by one graphic that states a 0-100 km/h time of 6.5 seconds, but that's in line with what we've been hearing for the V6 model (keep in a mind a 0-60 mph time would be a smidge quicker). Hit the jump to see the video for yourself, and let us know if you agree that it looks a lot like recent Mazda Zoom Zoom commercials.
Earlier today we told you the latest news on McLaren's upcoming "F1 Jr." P11 project. We even showed you a glimpse of what is believed to be a styling buck for the new F430/Gallardo fighter. Expected to show up in production trim about 18 months from now, the P11 will certainly be a tough secret for McLaren to keep. The P11 is one of the most highly anticipated sequels in automotive history, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that spy shots of running prototypes have already surfaced. This time it's Auto Express publishing a few pics of the car in the wild. Heavily camo'd, the car was spotted near the McLaren F1 shop in Woking, Surrey. Even in disguise you can see that the car looks like it will be as trim as we hoped it would be. Expected stats include a 6.2L AMG V8 possibly turbocharged to 500 hp, 1,100-kg curb weight, 0-60 in under four seconds and a top end of 200+ mph. AE also thinks pricing should fall into the £150,000-£200,000 range.
If you're in the market for a new car, you'd better get your credit score in order first. Auto lending units are looking for top tier customers right now, and GM's captive credit arm is going so far as to mandate a FICO rating of 700 or higher. GMAC is requiring this measure in response to the instability in the global capital and credit markets. The move is likely to cost GM some sales, but according to credit information services company Experian, 74.3% of all auto loans went to consumers with a credit score of over 700. That number is up from the 71% average of 2007, and the number is likely to increase again next year as a result of our country's current economic calamity. 
Following the approach taken by rival Renault, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen is working on an entry-level car set to debut in emerging markets in 2011. The Renault Logan has done well in Russia and Romania, which has prodded this interest and action from PSA. The new five-passenger vehicle will be assembled in Turkey or Poland and sold in eastern and central Europe, Russia, Turkey, and North Africa wearing both Citroen and Peugeot badging. If successful, sales would also expand to include China and South America. Even if the vehicle sells well, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen CEO Christian Streiff maintains there are no plans to sell the new car in western Europe – regardless of Renault's strategy. 
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