Click above for high-res gallery from Daimler's press conference
Just like any good political campaign, Mercedes came to the New York Auto Show touting nothing much as a whole lot. Actually, the faux political rally might have been less than compelling with its old news, but the new M Class sporting 50-state legal BlueTec diesel power is exciting. Almost as exciting as the very original 1965 190 D Mercedes had borrowed to illustrate its long-running experience with Rudy's coal dust motor. The senescent sedan will be helping MBZ recreate Bill Carroll's cross-country diesel-fueled journey to celebrate the U.S.-wide availability of what it's touting as the cleanest diesel ever. BlueTec allows the M-, GL- and R-class oil burners to earn ULEV and TierII/Bin 5 classification.
Mercedes says its new diesels are now as clean as gasoline powerplants, and once they drop BlueTec hybrids on us, emissions and economy will improve yet again. JD Power projects that fully 40 percent of vehicles will be diesel powered by 2017, and Mercedes wants to increase diesel sales beyond the current level of 22 percent. The newly tweaked M-Class should help move the powertrain off dealer lots. Sporting plenty of safety upgrades, new headlights, a Hannibal-Lechter inspired grille and some interior tweaks, the M-Class has returned from the gym freshly chiseled. It was not all utes and politely obscured minivans (*ahem* R-Class). Just before Mercedes wrapped the presser, they said, we're paraphrasing here, "Oh yeah, we also brought the SL, w00t."
Shockwave traffic jams -- the kind where you slow down and speed up (with others behind you doing the same thing) -- have finally been recreated in a controlled environment (woo-hoo!). Theories about the causes of traffic jams have been computer modeled before, but here hasn't been a live demonstration of how a body of traffic goes from highway speeds to a dead stop -- for no apparent reason -- until now.
A team of Japanese scientists put 22 cars on a circular track and told them to drive about 20-MPH. Sure enough, a few laps in, uneven gaps appeared between the cars. Then a group of cars got bunched up. The people at the back of the bunch sometimes had to come to a stop. The car at the front of the bunch would lurch away... only to rejoin the back of the bunch on the other side of the circle.
Now that the phenomenon has been recreated in "lab" conditions, the greatest minds of our generation can get to fixing it. Or, not really, since the cause of shockwave jams is conclusively shown to be -- tada! -- human error. Some folks just can't go with the flow when traffic needs it most. So while fixing human error might not be on the cards, at least there's some hope now for traffic jams. Watch video of the artificial shockwave traffic jam after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Ben!
It wouldn't be much of a stretch to assert that most of the transcontinental rallies out there don't hold much purpose beyond pure hoonage. And don't get us wrong, we've got nothing against hoonage. But the Fireball Run has a loftier goal in mind: finding lost children.
The participants aren't expected to actually chase down the lost kiddies as they cover ground, though. Each of the 100 teams participating is assigned a missing child report, and they take it upon themselves to make as much noise as possible about their adopted case in each of the cities they visit as they make their way from Baton Rouge, Lousisiana, to Grand Rapids, Michigan. All in all, 3,500 miles are covered over the course of nine days. As a result of last year's inaugural event, the participants helped the Child Rescue Network find 12 missing children. This year's event takes on an 80's theme (Burt Reynolds mustache optional) and runs from September 25 to October 4. The cost of entry is $6,800 per vehicle, with preference given to teams referred by existing ones. Check out FireballRun.com for more info.
While the name Virago may remind some readers of a certain '80s-era Japanese V-Twin cruiser, it's also the name of a hopeful British sportscar. We're not able to glean too much real information from its (not-so-great) website, but here's what we know so far: a 3.0 liter Ford Duratec engine offers between 230 and 280 horsepower, which, because of the light weight of the Virago, provides enough power for a zero to 60 mph run in the low five-second range, and top speed is limited to 155 miles per hour. Perhaps we'll find out more about the Virago Coupe after it's shown at the Top Marque show in Monaco, which is running from April 24 to 27. Feel free to browse our gallery of high-resolution shots of the Virago Coupe until then.
James Bond employed the use of numerous devices built right into his many Aston Martins to fend off the bad guys. Unlike Mr. Bond though, law enforcement agencies do not have the budget for elaborate contraptions aimed at making easier the task of rounding up criminals. Just because the police are strapped for funds, however, doesn't stop real world villains from using their abundant supply of greenbacks to turn the tables. On top of collecting powerful military grade weaponry, drug cartels in Mexico are now building gadget-filled get away vehicles. After a shoot-out in Mexico City, Police recently discovered an abandoned Jeep Grand Cherokee outfitted with a rear fogger system and road spike release mechanism. The devices were intended to ward off any chase vehicles in a decidedly theatrical fasion. In the end, the modifications on this particular Jeep were not even utilized since the Cherokee was abandoned by its passengers after ramming into a military vehicle. Even though the Jeep did not feature a full range of potential weaponry, it was at least a small sacrificial sampling. Who knows what else is up there sleeves. Thanks for the tip Mehul!
There is a nice discussion going on over at AutoblogGreen regarding the act of lane splitting, which is when a motorcycle rides the dotted line in-between lanes. Lane splitting is a common practice in much of Europe, but here in the States it's only legal in California. Golden State law dictates that a motorcycle is only allowed to split lanes when traffic is moving very slowly or stopped and "must be done in a safe and prudent manner." NBC San Diego ran a little news piece on lane splitting and found that some drivers in California weren't even aware that it was legal, and others dislike the practice.
According to the video, the practice of lane splitting was initially allowed for safety reasons, and while many doubt that the practice is safe, data suggests that lane splitting reduces rear-end collisions involving motorcycles. So, what do you think? Is lane splitting a good idea? If so, should it be made legal in all s States?
Alfa Romeo's new Mi.To hatchback hasn't even seen the light of day yet and already it's spreading like wildfire across the automotive news media. Only days after initial details and images were released, already rumors are beginning to circulate of a convertible version. And why not? Alfa roadsters are eminently desirable, and since the Mi.To's styling was so directly inspired by the 8C Competizione's, why shouldn't it get a Spider version of its own?
Anticipated to hit the market in the summer of 2009 – a year after the hatchback's official unveiling – the Mi.To convertible's design and production could very well be outsourced to one of the myriad Italian design studios desperately looking for work and experienced in convertible conversions. (Several – including Bertone and Fioravanti – have already done convertible concepts based on the Grande Punto on whose platform the Mi.To is based). Alternatively, Alfa could do it all in-house, as it did with its other convertibles, potentially sharing development with Abarth. Meanwhile, Alfa could opt to squeeze in a pair of small rear seats, or alternatively pull them out as it did when converting the Brera to the Spider. If both were built, the Mi.To Spider would sit below the speculated Duetto revival in Alfa Romeo's drop-top line-up, and could very well make it Stateside to do battle with the MINI Cabrio.
We love our Xbox 360s here at Autoblog. We really do. But lately we've been thinking about trading in for a PlayStation 3. The cause is Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, the temptation only intensifying with every screen capture, new feature and list of drivable cars that crosses cyberspace. We recently brought you news of the Ferrari F2007, Kimi Raikkonen's championship-winning Formula One race car, being available in the new game. Today we bring you a video of said F2007 lapping the Suzuka circuit in Japan.
For those not familiar, well... you should be: Suzuka is one of the most famous race tracks in the world. It's owned by Honda and, on the grand prix set-up, features a unique figure 8 configuration with an overpass. The Japanese Grand Prix moved to the Fuji Speedway (owned by arch-rival Toyota... uh-oh) while Suzuka is undergoing renovations, but is due back on the calendar for next year when Raikkonen will undoubtedly try to beat his own lap record that he set there in 2005. Until then, GT5 will give you the chance to beat Kimi's time in his own car. Check out the (admittedly crude, but exciting) bootleg video after the jump.
Our friend Mike Levine, proprietor of PickupTruck.com, was trying out the new H3T pickup out in Moab, Utah this week and learned that the H3 will finally lose its hoary old five-cylinder base engine in favor of something a little more modern. A new flex fuel-capable direct-injected 3.6L V6 like the one used in the HX concept will become the new base powerplant for the H3 by 2010. The last remaining question is, will the H3 get a diesel? The answer is yes... eventually. We spoke with HUMMER's Martin Walsh at the New York Auto Show this week and a diesel is in the cards for the H3, and it will be different than the diesel six-cylinder being used in Europe. Since the 4.5L fits in anything that GM's small-block V8 does, the European diesel six is possible, but a smaller diesel seems more likely. To that end, we've heard rumors since last spring of a new diesel V6 being developed for use in the H3. We don't know when it's ultimately going to arrive, but it will, and change is clearly afoot on the powertrain side at HUMMER.
The greenest booth at the New York Auto Show didn't feature any particular car or vehicle at all. Instead, the now-officially-started Progressive Automotive X Prize will let anyone with the dream of a greener, better car step up to the plate and take a shot at the $10m prize purse. We'll have gobs of details about some of the competition vehicles later today, but if you'd like a shot of green goodness from the rest of the show, may we offer some pics of the Ford Transit Connect taxi concept, the Kia Koup or the '09 Honda Fit. You know, just in case you missed them.
Saleen makes new value-oriented Racecraft brand official
Officially Official: 2009 BMW 7 Series
Officially Official: 2009 Ford Focus RS
I want my FPV: Super sedans hit the desert in new TV spot
Happy Independence Day from Autoblog
Track Test: 2008 Roush 427R Trak Pak Mustang
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Porsche Cayman S
First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Traverse
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Mazda MX-5 Miata Retractable Hard Top
In The Autoblog Garage: BMW 128i Convertible
