Autoblog

Hyundai reveals details about new U.S. headquarters

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Hyundai, Design/Style

While Rhys Millen's been having smoking-rubber fun at Hyundai's old headquarters, plans continue apace on the new building that will replace it. The $150-million cost is the largest Hyundai has ever spent on an office building in the U.S., and for that money, the LEED-certified, Gensler-designed structure will be 419,000 square feet, featuring four stories of glass above a two-story pedestal entrance. A show of Hyundai models will be visible from the freeway, a feature you see rather often in Europe.

Follow the jump for a press release with more details on the command center that Hyundai says "represents Hyundai's vision for the future and reflects the innovation and creativity that our brand has come to represent."

Continue reading Hyundai reveals details about new U.S. headquarters

Hyundai reveals details about new U.S. headquarters originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lamborghini roars back into Orange County

Jeff Glucker — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 11:35:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Performance, Lamborghini, Luxury

Lamborghini returns to Orange County - Click above for high-res image gallery

Orange County, California and Lamborghini have an interesting history. Once home to the world's largest Lamborghini dealership, Orange County has been without a Lambo retailer since 2009, when Lamborghini Orange County owner Vik Keulyian pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges. Now, two years later, an entirely new team is set to bring Lamborghini back to the OC.

Bill Story knows Italian cars. As an Army brat, his family was stationed in Germany, and during their time there, Story's father would take him on trips to Italy visit the Ferrari factory. Those trips to Maranello stayed with Story as he grew older, and he eventually decided to drop out of the US Naval Academy to pursue his passion for racing.

Read more...

Gallery: Lamborghini Newport Beach

Continue reading Lamborghini roars back into Orange County

Lamborghini roars back into Orange County originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyundai building new California headquarters

Zach Bowman — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:33:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Hyundai

Hyundai has announced plans to build a new North American headquarters in Orange County, California. The $150 million project will take nearly two years, create a projected 1,530 new construction jobs and generate a total economic impact of around $273 million. At least that's what the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation is hoping.

The Korean automaker is planning to start construction at its Fountain Valley Campus by mid 2011. The new facility will boast 500,000 square feet of both floor and garage space, effectively doubling the capacity of the current headquarters. Hyundai says that the building will be able to house a total of 1,400 employees - doubling the company's current workspace.

Hyundai has called Orange County home since it landed in America in 1985, and the company says that its new building underscores its commitment to the greater Los Angeles area. Hit the jump for the full press release.

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Hyundai building new California headquarters

Hyundai building new California headquarters originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Resume Chopping: TLC bringing back American Chopper, pitting family as foes

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Motorcycle, Celebrities

TLC, which in this case rather ironically stands for The Learning Channel, will once again be teaching us all what's it's like to live in a truly dysfunctional family. No, we're not talking about Jon and Kate, we're talking choppers. American Chopper, that is.

Unlike before, when the reality television series focused on the lives of one family and its quest to assemble raked-out custom motorcycles, it will now focus on, um, two families... sorta. Both of them will still have the same last name, but anyone who watched the show over the last season or so knows that the two Paul Teutuls don't get along in any shape or form.

As such, the show will reportedly follow both father and son as they build motorcycles in different shops, one of which we assume will be Senior's Orange County Choppers. The other will presumably be Paul Jr. Designs. Sounds to us like a giant case of Teutul overload, but what do we know? Thanks for the tip, Quest!

[Source: The New York Post]

Resume Chopping: TLC bringing back American Chopper, pitting family as foes originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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End of the Road: American Chopper chopped, fat lady sings

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Motorcycle, Celebrities

It's been a long time coming, but celebrity gossip site TMZ reports that American Chopper has finally been canceled. A spokesperson for TLC, which picked the show up after its first few years on The Discovery Channel, said, "The Teutuls will always be a part of the Discovery family and we congratulate them on a tremendously successful series run." The final episode will air February 11 at 9:00 PM.

It wasn't tough to see this one coming from a mile away. The hit show has seemingly been just a shell of its former self since two of the original Teutul trio have stopped speaking to their father and disappeared completely from the Orange County Choppers shop.

Recall also that Paul Teutul filed a lawsuit against Paul Teutul Jr. for over a million dollars a couple of months ago and it's easy to see that things have been going south for quite some time. Finally, now that the crew has built customs that run on everything from gasoline to ethanol, diesel, compressed natural gas, electricity and even a hybrid, there just don't seem to be any more alternative fuels left to conquer.

[Source: TMZ]

End of the Road: American Chopper chopped, fat lady sings originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top Gear draws fire for 'glorifying' 210 MPH ticket. Only it's a fake. [w/VIDEO]

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Bugatti

Top Gear talks Bugatti speeding ticket - click above to watch video after the jump

ESPN sports columnist Bill Simmons proposed a 72-hour reportage moratorium for the web - that way, news could be vetted before was broadcast to the entire universe. Had that been in effect, the story of Orange County resident Philip Robert Odegard might not have ended up on Top Gear and then upsetting Scottish authorities.

Odegard posted an image of a speeding ticket on his Flickr page. The ticket claimed he was busted doing 210 mph in a Bugatti Veyron in a "65 mph max" zone. Odegard's epic tale made it into the latest episode of Top Gear, where the hosts excitedly talked about the speeding ticket in their news section. Scottish Councillor Mike Raeburn then lambasted Top Gear for refusing "to see the effect this continual reinforcement of the 'speed is good' message has on viewers, particularly younger ones." The head of the Scottish Campaign Against Irresponsible Drivers also had harsh words for Top Gear.

The issue here, however, isn't speeding - it's speciousness. Odegard wasn't busted in a Veyron doing 210. According to some digging done by the O.C. Register, Odegard wasn't busted by the California Highway Patrol at that speeds in any car, let alone a Bugatti. He was clipped in a 2004 Infiniti doing 100. Which is a tale that probably wouldn't have ended up on Top Gear. Somewhere, at the bottom of this, though, it's still all Jeremy Clarkson's fault. You can watch the footage in question after the jump (talk of the ticket comes at around 4:15).

[Sources: Scotsman; O.C. Register; YouTube]

Continue reading Top Gear draws fire for 'glorifying' 210 MPH ticket. Only it's a fake. [w/VIDEO]

Top Gear draws fire for 'glorifying' 210 MPH ticket. Only it's a fake. [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford saves Crystal Cove meet

Frank Filipponio — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:28:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda, Volvo

CC is dead, long live CC. After getting the boot by the Irvine Company this past Saturday, Southern California car enthusiasts were concerned that the Crystal Cove car show would disappear all together. Not only were the car owners in dispair, but also the fans of these incredible vehicles from around the world who would search the web for pictures of what supercar or museum treasure had shown up last week. A worldwide cry went out from fans around the Internet, pleading for a place to host the meet so it could live on. Several offers of restaurants and beach parking lots came in, but in the end it was Ford Motor Company who stepped up and saved the show. Now that's a Bold Move we can get behind.

The story of how it happened is a little slice of what makes this such a great show and such a great home for auto enthusiasts. It seems a couple of executives down at Ford's Premier Auto Group building in Irvine were regulars at the weekly meet. Head of Styling Freeman Thomas and Communications Head John Clinard would cruise down to the show when they could to meet other car guys and see the cars that had turned out. When they found out about the show's impending demise, they started talking to people they knew who were involved with the show. A few ideas for a new home were being bandied about, but nothing that seemed likely to be able to handle the unique requirements of a weekly, informal, car fest that can attract as many as 1,000 spectators and participants on a good weekend.

Follow the jump for the rest of the story and a few pics from the final Crystal Cove meet.

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Continue reading Ford saves Crystal Cove meet

Ford saves Crystal Cove meet originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OC Auto Show: SSC Aero

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 19:32:00 EST

Filed under: Supercars, Misc. Auto Shows

Tucked away in a corner of the OC Auto Show Underground, where tuners come out to play, we found an SSC Aero. Sitting amidst a Novitec Ferrari F430, a Superformance LeMans Coupe, a Mosler that still had Bullrun stickers on it, the SSC nonetheless managed to stand out. The car is still a bit of an enigma, but promises to be one of the world's fastest cars once it gets into the hands of testers. We volunteered to probe the claimed top speed of 260 mph, but were politely denied. Click the read link to find out more about the car from our friends at Fast-Autos.net who saw three of the SSCs up in Monterey last year.

This is another one of those worlds'-fastest-car contenders that has yet to prove its claims, but on paper it should be up to the challenge. With a Corvette-based 6.2 liter, turbocharged V-8 producing over 1,000 hp, 250 sounds like a breeze. The curb weight is about the same as the Koenigsegg CCX at 2,640 pounds, so the extra 200 hp should make it a bit quicker too. Hopefully SSC will invite us out to track test it like the Swedes did.

(more photos after the jump)

[Source: Fast-Autos.net]

Continue reading OC Auto Show: SSC Aero

OC Auto Show: SSC Aero originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Oct 2006 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Loitering, Fifteen Minute Parking: Crystal Cove car show threatened by The Irvine Co.

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 14:28:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Etc., Government/Legal, Supercars

Three years ago, a couple of guys who had been attending one of Orange County's longest running early morning hot rod gatherings decided they needed a change. Mark Greeley and Bob Cheatley loved meeting with their friends and fellow "Donut Derelicts" at the corner of Magnolia and Adams in Huntington Beach every Saturday, but the 4 am wakeup time was getting to be a pain. Also, it was a bit of a drive. So they decided to meet a little later in the morning at the newly opened Crystal Cove Promenade right down PCH from them. Little did Mark and Bob know that this would eventually grow to be one of the most talked about exotic and classic car gatherings on the planet. Follow the jump for the rest of the story and links to previous galleries.

Continue reading No Loitering, Fifteen Minute Parking: Crystal Cove car show threatened by The Irvine Co.

No Loitering, Fifteen Minute Parking: Crystal Cove car show threatened by The Irvine Co. originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Oct 2006 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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