Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy picks up dates for 2010, adds SLS and Pro-level courses]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/10/mercedes-amg-driving-academy-picks-up-dates-for-2010-adds-sls-a/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/10/mercedes-amg-driving-academy-picks-up-dates-for-2010-adds-sls-a/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/10/mercedes-amg-driving-academy-picks-up-dates-for-2010-adds-sls-a/#commentsFiled under: , ,

AMG Driving Academy at Lime Rock - Click above for high-res image gallery

What do you do after hitting success with a trial product? Bring it back and make it bigger, of course. That's just what Mercedes-Benz has done with its AMG Driving Academy, a program that our own Editor Paukert attended the course last fall at Lime Rock to his great amusement and education.

This year's courses will put participants in the Mercedes E63 AMG, SL63 AMG, C63 AMG, SLK55 AMG and, new for this year, the SLS AMG gullwing. After working your way up through Basic and Advanced courses, you're ready for Top Gun testing in the new Pro level course, which means an "intense curriculum" and open lapping at Road Atlanta. Follow the jump for all that goes on this year's academy including dates and locations, and have a look at what you can be doing in the gallery of high-res photos below.


Gallery: AMG Driving Academy at Lime Rock Park


[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Continue reading Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy picks up dates for 2010, adds SLS and Pro-level courses

Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy picks up dates for 2010, adds SLS and Pro-level courses originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AMGamg driving academyAmgDrivingAcademyBenzdriving academydriving schoolDrivingAcademyDrivingSchoollime rockLimeRockMercedesmercedes-benzmercedes-benz amgMercedes-benzAmgracing schoolRacingSchoolWed, 10 Mar 2010 18:01:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19391229/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/03/10/mercedes-amg-driving-academy-picks-up-dates-for-2010-adds-sls-a/19391229/article-detail.xml 19391229 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/03/amgraceskul_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/03/amgraceskul.jpg <![CDATA[Drop the Hammer: Getting schooled with AMG Driving Academy at Lime Rock]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/02/drop-the-hammer-getting-schooled-with-amg-driving-academy-at-li/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/02/drop-the-hammer-getting-schooled-with-amg-driving-academy-at-li/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/02/drop-the-hammer-getting-schooled-with-amg-driving-academy-at-li/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

AMG Driving Academy at Lime Rock - Click above for high-res image gallery

The world's sickly economy not withstanding, selling luxury vehicles is easy. From the suppleness of a swatch of leather to the exquisite graining on a piece of rare wood veneer to having every electronic gewgaw available at one's fingertips, what defines a luxury car is essentially self-evident. To a substantial degree, everyone knows quality and true luxury when they see and feel it. The same cannot be so easily said when it comes to matters of high performance.

Selling luxury may be easy, but as AMG has figured out, selling high-performance is a heck of a lot more fun.
As one of the globe's premiere aspirational brands, Mercedes-Benz would appear to have the luxury selling routine knocked. But the company's AMG performance division has become an increasingly prominent part of its portfolio and bottom line, and these vehicles attract a different sort of customer and require a different marketing approach. Thankfully, as AMG has become increasingly important to Mercedes, its product line has risen in quality and dynamic performance. But while luxury and quality are easily conveyed, how do you sell four-wheeled thrills?

The thing is, as an automotive marketer, you can preach how great your sports car is until you're blue in the face, but until you're able to really show people how superior your vehicle is, you're never going to win them all over. And if you're like AMG, your offerings have become way too fast and capable to be safely exploited on public roads. So what's Mercedes to do? Why, give current and potential owners the chance to explore the dynamic limits of both their automobiles and themselves in a fun, legal, educational, and most importantly, safe environment. Enter the AMG Driving Academy.

Mercedes has offered its AMG driving program overseas for some time now, but this year is the first time they've brought the experience to the States. With events at Connecticut's storied Lime Rock Park, Florida's Palm Beach International Raceway, and California's legendary Laguna Seca, the venues Mercedes has chosen are certainly top-notch. But what about the experience? We had to find out for ourselves.


Gallery: AMG Driving Academy at Lime Rock Park

Continue reading Drop the Hammer: Getting schooled with AMG Driving Academy at Lime Rock

Drop the Hammer: Getting schooled with AMG Driving Academy at Lime Rock originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advanced drivingAdvancedDrivingAffelterbachAMGAMG Driving AcademyAmgDrivingAcademyC63 AMGC63AmgDriving schoolDrivingSchoolE63 AMGE63AmgfeaturedLime RockLimeRockMercedes AMGMercedes-Benz AMGMercedes-benzAmgMercedesAmgracing schoolRacingSchoolSL63 AMGSl63AmgSLK63 AMGSlk63AmgTommy KendallTommyKendallMon, 02 Nov 2009 14:58:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19218228/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/11/02/drop-the-hammer-getting-schooled-with-amg-driving-academy-at-li/19218228/article-detail.xml 19218228 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/11/01_amgdrivinglrp_opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/11/01_amgdrivinglrp_opt.jpg <![CDATA[VIDEO: Corvair to Nader: Kiss my unsafe quarter panel!]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/23/video-corvair-to-nader-kiss-my-unsafe-quarter-panel/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/23/video-corvair-to-nader-kiss-my-unsafe-quarter-panel/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/23/video-corvair-to-nader-kiss-my-unsafe-quarter-panel/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



YouTube serves up another cool video. Corvairs are hella cool, and they were tarred and feathered out of existence by zealots. They were no worse than other cars on the road at the time, but they were picked up as all that was wrong with motoring safety by Ralph Nader. Cars in in the late '50s when the Corvair was developed were all less safe than what we have now. 50 years of scientific study and applied engineering will do that for you. This video offers up some great scenes of a Corvair being herded around Lime Rock's track, as well as some off-road adventures. This is marketing propaganda, so of course the little chuffer comes off as unburstable. It also shows the infancy of the rigorous vetting processes cars must go through now. The handling test is especially hilarious, as the edit is made just as the tail of the rear-engined Corvair starts to come around. Showing a spin is not the best way to demonstrate platform stability. We get to see Corvairs rolled over, driven off slopes that are larger than would be wise, and fording streams. Hyperbolic advertising aside, it's pretty cool to see an early 'Vair abused in such a gratifying manner. Unsafe? pfft! Then as now, it's mainly the loose nut behind the wheel that causes problems.

Video after the jump

Continue reading VIDEO: Corvair to Nader: Kiss my unsafe quarter panel!

VIDEO: Corvair to Nader: Kiss my unsafe quarter panel! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>60'sadvertisingchevroletcorvairgmlime rockLimeRocknaderrollovertestingvideoFri, 23 Feb 2007 15:58:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/837185/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2007/02/23/video-corvair-to-nader-kiss-my-unsafe-quarter-panel/837185/article-detail.xml 837185 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/02/corvair_video_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/02/corvair_video.jpg <![CDATA[The 9th Coronado Classic Speed Festival]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/09/the-9th-coronado-classic-speed-festival/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/09/the-9th-coronado-classic-speed-festival/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/09/the-9th-coronado-classic-speed-festival/#commentsFiled under: ,




The Coronado Classic Speed Festival was held in San Diego this weekend and we had people on hand to cover it for you. Part of the General Racing Ltd. historic racing series, it featured over 200 of history's top racecars. All racing within a few feet of the thrilled fans. This type of racing is so incredibly fun. Seeing some of the greatest vehicular icons in motorsports being driven the way they were intended to be instead of in a static display at some concours or museum. And that's what vintage racing is all about. The series comprises The Wine Country Classic in Sonoma, the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca, the Rolex Vintage Festival at Lime Rock, and this weekend's finale in Coronado. The emphasis in this series is on period correctness rather than outright speed, so the cars are pretty much the way they would have been in their prime. Twenty regular classes and the occasional Trans-Am, Can-Am or F1 race for good measure.

This was the 9th Speed Fest held on the same temporary 1.6 mile road course that uses the runways and taxiways of NAS North Island with Navy aircraft and ships in the background. Makes it easy to see the whole track and those backdrops are perhaps even more spectacular than the cars themselves. The vintage racecars in this series are chosen to compete on the basis of their historical significance and certified authenticity. So every one of the cars is period correct. In addition to the racing action this weekend, spectators could tour Vendor Village, the Meguiar's Car Club Corral and the New Car Dealers Association Classic Car Collection. A new feature, the SRT division of Chrysler was added as a major sponsor this year, and hosted the First Annual Speed Fest Car Show to benefit the Navy's Moral Welfare Recreation. More great action shots after the jump. Photos courtesy of Drew Phillips at Fast-Autos.net.

Continue reading The 9th Coronado Classic Speed Festival

The 9th Coronado Classic Speed Festival originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Oct 2006 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MINI Takes the States

So, a total of 3,347 MINIs are taking part in a multiple-stage road trip across America. What do you call that kind of thing?

MINI named it "The 2006 MINI TransAmerican Motortastic Road Trip To End All Road Trips Rally." That's quite a mouthful, so we'll stick with the easier-to-remember "MINI Takes The States." The two-week celebration of all things MINI begins and ends with the delivery of the first American-market MINI GPs. Between those deliveries, however, a lot of stuff will be going on.

The rally kicks off after this weekend's Monterey Historics, where Cooper is the featured marque. Before departure, 32 of the first 41 early-delivery MINI GPs will be handed over to their new owners. Some of them, presumably, will be part of the 700-plus car caravan headed on a cross-country odyssey that ends 14 days later at the Rolex Vintage Festival at Lime Rock.

Registered MINI owners will be joining and leaving the pack throughout the trip, though 175 cars are signed up to make the full coast-to-coast run. Between Monterey and Lime Rock, MINI has events scheduled for the rally participants at every stop, ranging from a John Hiatt concert in Nashville, tailgating at Busch Stadium, a photo-op under the ST. Louis arch, an all-MINI drive-in movie, track tour and parade laps at Indy, and much more.

The tour's "wrap party" will take place in New Jersey, where 9 more MINI GPs will be delivered and everyone will get treated to an Everclear concert set against the NYC skyline. Almost 1000 MINIs will drive the final leg from Jersey to Lime Rock Park in CT, where MINI will have a hospitality tent set up and offer a chance to drive in a parade lap around the circuit. Full info including the trip route, detailed event schedule, and entrant list is available at www.minitakesthestates.com.

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: MINI]

Continue reading Not-So-MINI Road Trip

Not-So-MINI Road Trip originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Aug 2006 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our quad-ring obsessed friends over at Fourtitude had the honor of experiencing the new RS4 under the expert direction of none other than Allan McNish. Before setting out on a hot lap of the Lime Rock road course, the former DTM champion, F1 driver and current LeMans winner waxed poetic about the ground-pounding power of the Audi R10, how it differs from the R8 and what the man himself drives during his down time.

After dropping off our Fourtitude friends in the paddocks, McNish and his teammate, Dindo Capello, went on to pilot the R8 to its final victory before being sent into retirement and the loving embrace of some lucky museum curator.

[Source: Fourtitude]

Lapping Lime Rock with a legend: Alan McNish and the RS4 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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