Autoblog

Any automaker – besides Little Tikes or Hotwheels – that tries to market to kids may find itself wasting precious advertising dollars. But as far as family cars go, Volvo seems to have made a name for itself making the safest vehicles in which parents – you know, the ones actually paying for and driving the car – can shuttle their kids around from school to karate class. Just ask any of the mothers sitting sideline at soccer practice and they'll tell you as much. That may go some way towards explaining why the Swedish automaker has taken such care in releasing the latest addition to its merchandise line.

While Volvo is hardly the first automaker to merchandise its brand image or even the first to create children's clothing, it's the first we've seen to launch one single kids t-shirt by itself. The Volvo Manager T-shirt for children bears the colors – namely green, to go with the earth-friendly DRIVe program – of the company's Swedish Touring Car Championship team on a tee made especially for the little guy, letting him (or her) in on the action while letting everyone know who's the boss: it's written there right on the back, printed on, like the rest of the badges, instead of embroidered to optimize the kid's comfort. Of course, Volvo Motorsport has a full line of gear for mom and dad as well, available on the company's website, but this piece itself is so simple that it's just, well... child's play. Details in the press release after the jump and images in the gallery below.



[Source: Volvo]

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Racing fans looking for that Monaco or Long Beach-style harbor-front open-wheel racing experience on the East Coast of the United States will be pleased to learn that plans are under way to bring an IndyCar street race to Baltimore's picturesque Inner Harbor. The plan, still being assessed by local officials, would involve a four-day event at the end of the summer (book-ending the season started by the Indy 500) for at least five years starting in 2011.

Baltimore Racing Development is bringing in consultants, including two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr., to evaluate the prospect, which would be based around a track running through downtown Baltimore, past Camden Yards and Oriole Park, along the Inner Harbor by the National Aquarium and past the Maryland Science Center. Organizers are looking at Indy races in St. Petersburg, Toronto and Long Beach as their model, projecting some $100 million in tourism revenue from 150,000 visitors during an four-day event that would eclipse the Preakness Stakes horse race as the biggest racing event in the area. Thanks to hoov23 for the tip!

[Source: The Baltimore Sun | Image: Stephen Munday/ALLSPORT/Getty]

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Last February, we revealed that a production version of the Hyundai Veloster was in the works and would likely hit the market as a late 2011 or 2012 model. At the time, we were hoping for a modern reincarnation of the classic Honda CRX, and it seems like Hyundai may be answering our calls.

Speaking to Inside Line, Hyundai of America's President and CEO John Krafcik says the new machine will look 70% to 80% like the Veloster concept that we saw firsthand at the LA Auto Show in 2007, and it will feature some sort of unique styling element. Says Krafcik, "It might be doors or a unique roof or something with the hatch. But it won't be like anything out there before in the small car segment."

Krafcik goes on to say the car will be significantly smaller than the firm's own Genesis Coupe (not to mention the Kia Forte) and it will be powered by a 1.6-liter four-banger fortified with direct injection that will offer up 140 horsepower while returning over 40 miles per gallon.

"Think of it like a four-passenger Honda CRX. It'll be a little car you can take out and wring its neck and still get good mileage," he said. "Fun and economical, with a great power-to-weight ratio." Sounds like a winner. All that's left to figure out is the car's name, which may or may not end up being either Veloster or Tiburon.



[Source: Inside Line]

Quick – What's the best-selling light-duty pickup truck in America? Did you say the Ford F-150? Not so fast. According to the J.D. Power Information Network (via our friends at PickupTrucks.com), General Motors sold more Chevy Silverado 1500 pickups (119,959 units) in June that Ford sold F-150s (107,778 units), and that's not a fluke.

It seems that the automakers don't actually break out the sales of each pickup line when reporting overall figures, so Ford lumps all F-Series (F-150, F-250, F-350...) sales together when it correctly lays claim to the title of Best-Selling Pickup Line in America. Ford's Super Duty series commands nearly 50-percent of the HD pickup market, which puts the Blue Oval on top of the overall sales race.

Interestingly, all three American automakers picked up full-size pickup market share at the expense of Nissan and especially Toyota, which saw sales of its Tundra plummet from 76,516 units to just 36,106 units in June of 2009 compared to one year ago. Click here for the full breakdown of full-size truck sales data.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

	Review: 2010 Cadillac SRX Cadillac wants the all-new SRX to be more expressive inside and out with state-of-the-art technology and superior driving dynamics. Does the 2010 SRX have what it takes?		Spy Shot: Redesigned Lincoln MKX Lincoln's new split-wing grille debuted on the MKS, has migrated to the MKZ and was expanded for the MKT three-row crossover, and now it's set to appear on the redesigned MKX crossover.
	Michael Bay made Megan Fox wash Ferrari for audition Since the role of Mikaela Banes required Fox to act as sexy as she already looks, we can see why Bay chose for her to wash a Ferrari as part of the audition, but the fact that the 'audition' took place at his home and the tape has gone missing does seem a bit "casting couch" to us.	Other news of import 2010 Hyundai Sonata spied with little camo Second New Grand Bentley teaser released BMW 5 Series GT may push out 5 Series Wagon Jay Leno filming Top Gear UK? Chevy targets gay demo with Camaro marketing Lexus IS convertibles selling like hot cakes

Camera phones are turning into quite an asset in this business, as readers of various automotive news sites across the interwebs and around the world have turned into legions of spy photographers. In this instance, one such reader-turned-paparazzo (apparently in Italy, no less) caught on video what appears to be some sort of Porsche Cayman Shooting Brake test mule.

Looking something like the product of a one-night-stand between said Porsche and either a Volvo C30 or an original BMW Z3-based M Coupe, the supposed mule is wearing all black, but apart from that, it appears to be undisguised. Of course, this could be a one-off made by someone with no official connection to Porsche (Rinspeed, anyone?), but then again, it could be a harbinger of a model to come. What do you make of it? Follow the link to view the spy video and voice your opinion in our comments section below. Thanks for the tip, Bill!

[Source: Top Gear]

Citing an unnamed though supposedly reliable source, the boys at Jalopnik are reporting that Jay Leno – fresh from his appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed where he's believed to have piloted an awesome McLaren F1 GTR up the hill – was spotted filming a Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment today with the blokes from Top Gear. What are the chances we'll get surprise appearances by Leno's Tank Car or EcoJet?

Assuming this rumor turns out to be true, we fully hope that Jay can properly represent American gearheads by outlapping Jamiroquai lead singer Jay Kay, who currently sits atop the Star leaderboard after knocking Simon Cowell off his perch as the quickest celebrity in Britain.



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Jalopnik]

Volkswagen has struck a deal worth "at least 10 million euros" with Wilhelm Karmann GmbH to keep the insolvent coachworks and specialty builder alive so it can reorganize a new company and "focus on building electric-powered cars." That's according to an unsourced report in the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung that can be found on Bloomberg. A separate report on HLN.be says that the EV deal is worth 20 million euros, the fruits of which are expected to go on sale in 2011.

Earlier this year, Karmann showed off an EV concept called the E3 Limosine, co-developed with utility company Oldenburg Energy Group (EWE). Last October, Karmann said it would help build some of DuraCar's Quicc! DiVas EVs. Thanks to Frederik for the tip!



[Source: Bloomberg, HLN.be]

Well, folks, it looks like that elusive peace is slipping away yet again as the members of the Formula One Teams Association reportedly up and walked out of a meeting today with technical representatives from the FIA.

The meeting of the Technical Working Group was convened to iron out the details of the regulation changes for the near future, and included the ten current teams – of which eight are members of FOTA – as well as the three new teams joining the grid for next year. As of this writing, FOTA has yet to explain its specific reasons for the walkout. However, their exit indicates that the supposed deal between FOTA and the FIA is anything but finalized after Max Mosley (who reportedly agreed to stand down as FIA president as part of the deal) said he may yet run again – and Bernie Ecclestone continues to give the sport a black eye.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty]