Badass cars have been a big part of the Transformers movie appeal since it was announced that the (new at the time) Chevy Camaro would play Bumblebee (and come on, I love the original Transformers just as much as the next 80′s kid, but would you really want to see an old VW Beetle play the part?)

Plus, have you seen the Transformers Edition Camaro? Hell yes.

We’re getting a pretty good idea of the cars that are going to be featured in the upcoming Transformers 4 movie starring Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci and Kelsey Grammer, due out June 2014. And it’s shaping up to be a pretty impressive list, too.

One recent addition: the incredible Lamborghini Aventador – please don’t crash it, please don’t crash it…

This is not a comprehensive list, of course, but just the cars they’ve told us about so far. When we hear about any other cars added to the team, you’ll know about it.

Of course, we’re open to speculation as much as anyone else, so feel free to speculate the hell out of this!

Here’s the current list of cars in Transformers 4 along with a few statements from some cars through the @Transformers Twitter stream – we’ll update it as they update us.

Click on any of the images for a high-res version, and let us know what you think about the lineup so far!

Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

“Unveiling yet another surprise…the extraordinary and exhilarating 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Coupe”

Chevy Sonic RS Rally Car

“The Ultimate Sonic RS, just pure fun”

1967 Chevy Camaro SS as Bumblebee

“Bumblebee re-envisioned in the form of a highly modified, vintage 1967 Camaro”

Oh hell yes…

Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse

Oshkosh Defense Hound

“The always rugged & reliable Hound, one of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles from Oshkosh Defense”

Chevy Corvette Stingray

Peterbilt 379 as Optimus Prime

The article The Cars of Transformers 4 appeared first on Automoblog.net.

Have you ever seen the movie Redline? It’s a 2007 racing flick that featured cars like the Koenigsegg CCX, Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini Murcielago, Ford GT, Porsche Carrera GT, and loads of other badass supercars. Sounds like a plot for a pretty badass movie. Here’s the trailer:

But it sucked. Bad.

The movie itself was contrived and full of cliches. On IMDB it scores a 3.8 out of 10 (which I think is a bit generous,) and is filled with reviews such as “Easily the worst automotive movie or any movie ever made. This makes Showgirls look like Citizen Kane.” If you feel like wasting an hour and a half, the full movie can be seen on Youtube right here.

So, the throw-hot-cars-in-a-movie-and-profit formula doesn’t always work then.

So what makes us think that the upcoming Need for Speed movie, which not only might follow the same formula, but is based on a video game with no inherent plotline, might work?

Let’s take a look…

Why it might suck

First, let’s take a look at the movie plot for each.

Redline:
A gorgeous young automobile fanatic – and front to the hottest unsigned band on the West coast – finds herself caught up in illegal drag-racing competitions organized by exotic car fanatics.

Need for Speed:
Fresh from prison, a street racer who was framed by a wealthy business associate joins a cross country race with revenge in mind. His ex-partner, learning of the plan, places a massive bounty on his head as the race begins.

mmhmm… what about F&F?

The Fast and the Furious:
Los Angeles police officer Brian O’Connor must decide where his loyalties really lie when he becomes enamored with the street racing world he has been sent undercover to destroy.

Seeing a recurring theme here?

Take a look at an “On the set” short for the Need for Speed movie:

McLaren P1, Saleen S7, Bugatti Veyron, a fake 900 hp Mustang, Lamborghini Sesto Elemento…you can’t say it’s not full of badass cars.

So why didn’t F&F suck?

Because it wasn’t about racing, it was about a subculture. And it had developed characters, was a genuine action film, and even contains little life lessons. The first movie was good, but I started to lose interest after the next two, and embarrassingly I still haven’t seen F&F6 yet. I’ve heard it’s good, and I definitely need to give it a watch.

And that’s precisely why I’m worried about the NFS movie. It’s about racing. To make it good they’ll have to do a helluva lot more than car chases and stunts, no matter how many kick-ass cars are involved. Otherwise they’d do better to just put some of the racing clips up on Youtube and call it a day.

Why it might kick ass

The Games

I’m a nerd for the Need for Speed series of games. I play the hell out of them. And if the movie team does a half-ass decent job, they’ll throw all sorts of references to the game into the movie.

The Cars

I already mentioned quite a few of the cars shown in the clip above – McLaren P1, Lamborghini Sesto Elemento concept, Saleen S7, Koenigsegg Agera R, Mustang, Bugatti Veyron…it’s hard to beat that lineup, and once we hear about the finalized list of cars in the movie, you’ll be hearing about it.

As a worst case scenario, you’ll have two hours of supercar racing and high-action crashes.

This all means nothing

You’re right, it doesn’t. We have no idea what the movie’s going to be like until it gets closer to release, which is set for March 2014.

All we have is previous examples to go by, so let’s just hope that the team behind the Need for Speed movie learned from the mistakes of Redline and others before it, and took what made other car movies a success and builds on it.

If they think all they have to do is show supercars racing and people walking away from explosions in slow motion, it’ll be a disappointment.

What do you think of the movie so far?

Don’t lie – even if you think the movie is going to suck, you’re gonna go see it. Are you excited to see more action?

The article Why the Need for Speed Movie Might Suck…or Kick Ass appeared first on Automoblog.net.

The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este has been taking place every year since 1929 in Lake Como, Italy. While it’s not the most popular car event in the world, it’s certainly one of the most prestigious.

There are usually about 60 cars there, all vintage and classics from the ’20s up to around the ’70s (except the modern concept cars,) and they’re all immaculate examples of automobiles. Aston Martin even unveiled the One-77 supercar there back in 2009. The cars are organized into different categories and given awards such as “Best in Show” and “Best Concept Car.”

Last month we saw some snapshots of beautiful cars taking part at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Today we’re showing you some of them from a different point of view.

We talked with award-winning photographer Piotr Degler Jablonski (he did the photos for W Motors for the incredible Lykan Hypersport) who shares his vision with us in some spectacular photos from the event.

Here’s what he told us about the show and the photos to follow:

It’s the most important classic cars concours in Europe (something like the european little Pebble Beach). With around 50 classic cars and 10 new concept cars every year. Many car collectors from around the world visit this event at the Como lake in Italy. Most of the photographs from the event are always during the day, but I wanted to give a different feeling to those incredible cars.

He portrayed some classics on the evening before the show at the garage of the Hotel Villa d’Este while the cars where getting some rest before the exhibition next day.

Here are the stars – click the image for higher-resolution:

1928 Mercedes Benz 680S (USA)

1939 BMW 328 (BMW)

1964 Ferrari 250 LM (USA)

1961 Aston Martin DB4GT (UK)

1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France (USA)

If you liked these photos, check out Piotr’s new project: Degler Calendar – a new calendar that will present a different and exclusive automotive theme every year.

They’ll release 2014′s theme once their Facebook page hits 1,000 Likes, and the photos will be shown late this summer.

To see more photos from the event, check out the coverage of the 2013 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este from our friends over at Petrolicious.

Which one of these cars are your favorite?

The article A Few Amazing Photos from Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013 appeared first on Automoblog.net.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article. All content and opinions are our own (as you’ll see.) We cannot be bought out. See our advertising guidelines for more details.

When Ford’s otherwise very European C-Max MPV (read: microvan, kinda like a Prius) came to North America last year, it made a pretty good overall impression.

Over here, it’s available in two main variations – the C-Max Hybrid, and C-Max Energi (a plug-in hybrid.) The latter of which gets an impressive 100 MPGe – which is a vague, barely-understood-by-anyone number the EPA came up with to compare cars that run on anything other than straight gasoline or diesel fuel.

But what you can do with that is compare it to other plug-in hybrids. And for the C-Max, Ford has their sights set directly for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, which gets 95 MPGe. So, the C-Max is a bit better there, but that’s also a little misleading because there are all sorts of other MPG-related numbers to confuse things during real-life driving.

Regardless, Ford’s latest ad campaign, which is apparently in collaboration with Huffington Post’s local section, target yuppies going about their daily business. Interestingly, the ads say absolutely nothing about the car itself, but each one is a sort of mini-documentary about each of our subjects (all late-20′s to early 30-something urban professionals in highly creative professions.)

Each one focuses on how they support their local community and go about their lives, with not-so-subtle hints about how the C-Max makes their lives easier.

Take a look at the ads below and let us hear your thoughts in the comments:

Alex – the Artist & Designer

Melissa – the Producer

Craig – the Chef

The article Ford Targets Yuppies in New C-Max Ads appeared first on Automoblog.net.

We all know that most of the world drives in the right lane of traffic as opposed to the left. We Americans and most of Europe poke fun at the UK for driving on the “wrong” side of the road, but do you know how much of the world drives on the left?

UK, obviously…Japan…maybe Australia, Singapore.

74 countries. 74 freaking countries drive on the left side of the road.

source: Wikipedia

Is Right Hand Drive Legal in the United States?

The simple answer: Yes, with some caveats. More on that later.

After all, nearly all postal vehicles are right-hand-drive, and we’re able to buy those once they’ve been retired from service.

But why would you want to?

Good question, and there are a few answers.

This is the only answer you need.

First, some cars are only available as RHD, like the Nissan Skyline above for example, and to get one in the States we have to import it grey-market-style. That’s done more often than you think.

Second, and you’ll see this almost exclusively in the “tuner” market – people want their cars to be unique and stand out from the rest. So there’s that.

Finally, some people need it to be RHD for business reasons. I guess that’s pretty legit.

So how can I get a RHD car?

You have basically two choices:

Conversion

DIY

Taking a LHD car built for the US and converting it is a pretty popular option. Just like anything, there are Pros and Cons.

You can go the cheap route and buy a conversion kit for a few hundred bucks and do it yourself.

But seriously, are you going to want anyone to see the inside of your car if it looks like this?

“Honey, I’m not sure this is baby car seat friendly anymore”

You could do up a proper conversion – buying all the necessary parts second-hand, taking the car apart, and converting it the time-consuming method. This will at least make it look decent.

But during the process, your car will likely look like this for weeks, possibly months on end:

A proper DIY conversion is probably your best option though, if you have the skills and parts/tools available. But keep in mind it’s really easy to screw this up if you don’t know what you’re doing and possibly kill yourself or another driver.

“Man, I really shouldn’t have hired that guy off Craigslist.”

Professional Conversion

There are quite a few companies that can complete the conversion for you, if you have the money. It’ll be far safer and carry a guarantee, but it’s expensive.

A quick look on US World Direct’s Facebook page suggests a LHD-to-RHD conversion of a 2013 Chevy Camaro base model costs $25,000, while a regular C5 or C6 Corvette (excluding the ZR1) will run you a cool $38,500. That’s not including the costs of transport, and they’ll only convert certain cars.

Needless to say, not many tuners who spent $5,000 on their car will go that route.

Importing it

This is a pretty good option, barring a few important points.

First, you have to remember that the US EPA and NHTSA have very strict emission and safety standards. Typically much more than other countries, which is why you see so many more models available in Europe than in the US. Car companies simply don’t want to spend the millions it takes to get a car EPA-certified unless they know it’ll be a big seller.

So, unless a car is a grey market import (like the Skyline mentioned above,) you’ll have to import it yourself.

And to do this legally, it’ll need to be either considered a show vehicle and not driven on public roads, or already pass all NHTSA standards. Meaning it’ll have to be a car that’s already sold here in the States with LHD. And even that’s not a guarantee.

You see, foreign car companies make their cars the best they can be, then they modify them a bit to comply with US standards, and that’s what we get – typically. Usually it’s 10-20 horsepower weaker, but a cleaner and safer car to drive. But something as simple as the placement of an intercooler on a turbo’d car can make it illegal to drive on US roads.

Without getting into details, since each car is different, you’ll have to make sure your import is road-legal.

Fine, now how do I import the damn thing?

Easier than you think, actually.

The first step, of course, is to find a RHD car you want. If you’re serious about this, you’ve already done that. Your best bet is buying a car in the UK or Japan – if it’s a European car, shoot for the UK, if it’s Japanese, go Japan. Typically it’ll be cheaper if it hasn’t already been shipped halfway across the world. After all, look how much it costs UK customers to buy American cars:

As if you’d want to drive a Hummer in London

Don’t get too cocky; European cars are much cheaper for them than for us.

Just look at local classifieds for the country in question and you’re good to go. There are also websites set up for Americans wanting to do just that (so you’re not looking at eBay Motors in Japanese.)

Once you find your car, make sure you won’t run into any problems with customs (that’s a whole article for itself and differs for each car.) Then find a shipping company you fancy and have them collect your car and send it your way.

Some car dealers already work with exporters, or you can arrange it yourself by searching around – there are hundreds of companies that will ship a car for you so you’ll have to get some quotes and search around. Expect it to cost anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000 or more depending on the value of the car and the company.

That’s it?

There are a lot of little details and laws that vary per state and per car that could be a hang-up for you, so make sure to do your own research.

This article is not a comprehensive guide – it’s a general overview that’s meant to be a generic guide for all vehicles to get you started. Make sure to look up specifics and ask around on forums for help from people who have already done this.

I’ve driven right-hand-drive cars in both the UK (left side of the road) and Europe (right side,) and let me tell you, it takes a lot of concentration at first, especially learning to shift with your left hand. It’s almost like learning how to drive again. But perhaps for you, the benefits outweigh the learning curve.

Have you ever considered converting or importing a right hand drive car?

The article How to Get a Right-Hand-Drive Car in the US appeared first on Automoblog.net.

Well, we’re certainly sad to see this day come, but we knew that sooner or later, the Pagani Zonda line was going to come to an end.

And here it is…the final version of the incredible supercar, the Pagani Zonda Revolucion:

Whoa.

It didn’t seem like there could be much done to top the amazing Zonda R, but the team at Pagani have pulled it off.

Built on top of a carbon-titanium monocoque, the Zonda Revolucion weighs in at only 2,359 lbs. To put that into perspective, that’s about the same weight as the Toyota Yaris or Nissan Versa at their lightest.

And keep in mind, the Zonda has a 6.0-liter V12 powerplant, but now it’s producing 800 hp and 538 lb-ft of torque. Imagine the Yaris with that kind of power.

It comes fitted with a magnesium sequential six-speed gearbox that changes gears in only 20ms, and the new Bosch-developed traction control system has twelve settings to fine-tune your setup.

I’ve always thought the Zonda was a better looking car than the Pagani Huayra, as good as it is, and a lot of that was due to its focus on styling and aerodynamics. I feel the Huayra sacrifices style for the sake of being slippery.

But with the Zonda R, Pagani’s made the aerodynamic system incredible, and the same carries over to the Revolucion with even better improvements.

The Revolucion gets new deflectors on the front, a vertical stabilizer mounted on the rear, and a DRS (Drag-Reduction-System) on the rear wing that the driver can change at any time within the cockpit. Holding down the “DRS” button on the steering wheel for more than two seconds engages automatic mode, which is a series of algorithms developed by Pagani during testing.

A new braking system developed with Brembo reduces weight by 15% and increases lifespan of the brakes to last 4x as long as the previous version. They also handle heat dissipation better, keeping the brakes from fading during track use. A big deal in a car like this.

And what’s the price for all this sexiness? A cool 2.2 million Euros, or about $2,874,300 in today’s US dollar.

Better start saving.

Check out the Pagani Zonda Evolucion photo gallery below for many more pics of this beast:

The article Pagani Says Goodbye to the Zonda with the Revolucion appeared first on Automoblog.net.

Needless to say, the Porsche 911 has been an incredibly iconic sports car over the years, and has been a baseline to everything from Nissan’s sporty lineup to the Audi R8, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and even some Ferraris. That’s quite an accomplishment.

The 911 has been around for 50 years now, and of course the Stuttgart-based iconic car brand isn’t going to let it go by unnoticed.

Meet the Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Edition:

To most of us, I’d say it looks like every other 911 out there. Heck, look at the lineup from the past 50 years:

(click for a larger version)

The fact that they’re able to continue selling the hoards of these cars that they have with only minor design differences is incredible.

But Porsche 911 aficionados will be able to differentiate the 50th Anniversary Edition from others.

So what are the changes?

Power!

Porsche is using the 911 Carrera S as a base for the 911 50, meaning it’s got the flat-six engine at the back and it’s rear-wheel-drive.

But instead of the standard 400 hp powermill, the 50th will get the otherwise optional Powerkit for US models, bringing that number up to 430 hp allowing the car to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds (or 3.8 seconds if you get the faster but not-as-fun PDK transmission,) reaching a top speed of 186 mph.

Design

Exterior

The thing that Porche-philes will first notice is that they’ve given the 50th Anniversary Edition a wide-body kit, which is typically reserved for the AWD Carrera 4 models. You’ll be able to get that kit painted in two new special colors – graphite grey (darker) and geyser grey metallic (lighter) – as well as trusty ol’ black.

Attached to the kit are high-gloss window frames and sporty exterior mirrors, chrome strips on the front air inlets, the fins of the engine compartment grille in the back, and the panel between the rear lights. Also between the rear lights you’ll find a 3D-effect “911 50″ badge.

Below the body, they’ve given it special matte black and polished 20-inch wheels as a throwback to the old “Fuchs” wheels, giving it a modern-retro look.

Interior

Inside, they’ve added the same “911 50″ logo to the headrest (embroidered,) tachometer, door sill plates, and cup holder panel, where you’ll also find a badge telling you the number of your limited edition model.

They’ve retro’d up the interior a bit as well, giving it instruments with green labeling and white pointer needles and silver caps on the instrument pivot pins. The full-leather interior is designed in agate grey or black with optional contrasting stitching, while the fabric pattern on the center panels of the seats are reminiscent of the “Pepita” tartan design from the 1960s.

Finally, Porsche have special-tuned the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system to make sure the RWD platform and wider track width get along with each other in the corners.

What about Exclusivity?

Of course you want to be special here. After all, the 911 50th Anniversary Edition starts at $124,100, which sits just a few grand under the 475 hp, RWD, 911 GT3 track-monster.

Appropriately, the Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Edition will be limited to 1963 examples (50 years ago…get it?)

When can I get it?

You probably can’t, but it’ll be officially unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, which is where the first 911 was debuted all those years ago.

Check out the photo gallery below for many more pictures of the Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Edition as well as some historical “Porsche 911 Evolution” pics.

The article Porsche Gets Sentimental – the 911 50th Anniversary Edition appeared first on Automoblog.net.

Well, there’s another thing the rest of the world can snicker at us about.

You see, as Americans, we aren’t exactly used to filling up our cars with diesel fuel. It’s been nothing but gasoline (for the most part) for decades, and now that diesel-powered cars are gaining in popularity in the States (this is a good thing,) we need to switch our brains over to start using Clean Diesel fuel instead of gasoline.

Apparently, far too many drivers of VW’s Clean Diesel TDI vehicles have been absentmindedly filling their tanks with gasoline out of habit, and ruining their engines (which is not, by the way, covered under warranty.) Ouch.

As a result, Volkswagen of America has sent out 209,500 “misfuel guard assembly kits” to drivers of diesel versions of the VW Jetta, Golf, and Jetta SportWagen built between 2009 and 2012. No word on what’s going on with drivers of the Beetle TDI and other TDI models. Looks like they’re just screwed.

The “Diesel Dumbass (I kid, I kid,) Misfuel Guard Assembly Kit” includes a guard, collar, fuel flap, and a new fuel cap with big yellow “Diesel” lettering on it.

The kits will be installed for free by Volkswagen dealers, and any 2013 or newer diesel models will have the kit pre-installed.

Last year, VW started putting labels on their TDI vehicles for this very reason, but that apparently didn’t help very much, which is what’s spawning this recall-like kit giveaway. I make fun, but to be honest I’ve almost put gasoline in a TDI review car (the 2010 Jetta TDI SportWagen for example) when I was filling up, so I can’t say much.

What with the ever-growing VW Clean Diesel TDI range and (hopefully) widespread diesel fuel growth in the States, it’s a good idea for all automakers to introduce a similar program.

What do you think about this? Should automakers keep this up or leave modern diesel-powered engines to Darwin’s Theory?

The article VW Gives “Diesel for Dummies” to American TDI Drivers appeared first on Automoblog.net.

There’s no doubt that Tesla Motors has been kicking ass recently. Despite popular pundits constantly trying to find something wrong with the Cali-based tech/car company, Founder and CEO Elon Musk has managed to take Tesla from a simple tech startup to a company that’s beginning to really scare the biggest car companies out there.

Within the past few weeks, they’ve managed to not only repay a $465 million loan from the US government in May, but more than double their stock price, pissing off thousands of short-selling Wall Street types who were sure Tesla was just a fad.

And to further twist the proverbial knife, Tesla just announced that they’re greatly expanding their (confusingly named) Supercharger network.

The Tesla Superchargers are high-speed charging ports that allow you to travel up to 200 miles on a half hour of charging. To put that into perspective, a regular 30A charging station gives you about 10 miles in the same charging time, and the supposed high-voltage chargers give you around 15 miles in 30 minutes. Fine if you drive to work, charge up during the day, and drive back, but if you want to take a trip somewhere you have to bust out the ol’ Camry.

This is a major step forward. They’re building an infrastructure for electric cars here, people. Long distance driving was the bane of EVs since the start, and not only do they have a plan to implement a solution, they’re doing it.

Currently, there are seven Superchargers spattered around CA and the New England area, and Tesla’s plan of expansion includes stations in Vancouver to Seattle to Portland, Austin to Dallas in Texas, Illinois and Colorado first, then a few months later, building some in the Midwest and some stations connecting Ottawa to Montreal, and across North and South Carolina into Georgia and Florida.

Basically, they’re building the damn things across the entire continent. Oh…and they’re entirely free for Model S drivers with the Supercharger option. Bet some of you are kicking yourself in the ass for not checking that box, eh?

Admittedly, they are taking an Apple-like proprietary approach to all of this, but they do have to recoup the cost of building a country-wide infrastructure by themselves somehow.

Tesla’s goal within a year is to allow Model S (and Model Whatever’s-out-by-then) drivers to be able to drive across the country, take any road trip, “LA to New York, Vancouver to San Diego, or Montreal to Miami” without spending a dime on fuel.

And by now I’m convinced that if anyone can do it, Tesla can.

The article Tesla Lets You Travel the Country – For Free appeared first on Automoblog.net.

Memorial Day – the day we as a country band together to remember those soldiers and service people who have given their lives protecting and serving the United States. And what better way to celebrate than to give away a bunch of free gasoline! I’m not really sure where the connection there is either, but who’s going to complain?

Oh, but you have to live around Southern Cali…

SoCal Honda Dealers have teamed up this Memorial Day to give away free gas to all…of those who drive Hondas.

Check out the video from last year’s event below:

So yeah, it’s pretty straightforward – stop by one of the free gas locations listed on their Facebook and Twitter pages – and probably be prepared to wait – and claim your free tank of gasoline.

Pretty sweet deal, considering the cost of gas recently. Although it’s been fluctuating and dropped in late April, it’s been steadily increasing since then. Check out this graph of the last 30 days of gas prices from GasBuddy.com:

So if you’re lucky enough to happen across one of these locations today, and if you’re driving a Honda, enjoy a free tank on them.

Now, if we could just get them to extend past Southern California…and other car brands.

The article Free Gas for Honda Drivers on Memorial Day! appeared first on Automoblog.net.

Hennessey, the Texas-based tuning company known for churning out such monsters as the 1000 hp Cadillac CTS-V, the Cadillac Escalade that beats up on a Nissan GT-R, and of course their own creation, the Venom GT which impressively took the top speed record from the Bugatti Veyron (controversial,) just whipped up what they call the Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV.

Based on Ford’s F-150 SVT Raptor – the truck of all trucks in my mind – at 411 hp and 434 lb-ft of torque, the team at Hennessey have made quite a few changes to the truck.

The most obvious of which is the SUV-ness of the whole thing:

Turning a Truck into an SUV

The Hennessey team took the $44,000+ truck and converted it into an SUV. And I mean a full-on conversion, as you can see from the pics.

The VelociRaptor SUV seats up to eight people:

And although obviously based on the F-150, ends up looking like a more aggressive Ford Expedition from any angle other than the front:

And it specs up to the Expedition quite well too, as far as seating and cargo are concerned.

So basically what you’re buying here is…

As far as utility goes, an aggressive-looking Ford Expedition with a monstrous engine.

So what about the power?

Hennessey’s VelociRaptor SUV keeps the same 411 hp, 6.2-liter V8 powerplant that’s in the F-150 SVT Raptor, despite the vehicle’s additional 600 lb weight.

The result: 0-60 mph in 7.5 seconds. Doesn’t sound awful for a vehicle of its size, sure.

Plus, you can upgrade it – Hennessey offers an upgrade to the F-150 Raptor truck, giving it a supercharged 600 hp, and offer the same upgrade on the SUV, which would let it hit 0-60 in 5.9 seconds – 0.7 seconds slower than the truck.

But here’s the thing…

The cost: $149,500

Given, they’re only making up to 30 of these per year, if there’s demand for them, but I still don’t get it.

I love the SVT Raptor – I think it’s the coolest truck on the road (next to the Lambo-smoking GMC Syclone,) and usually I’m a huge fan of Hennessey’s models, but I’m having trouble understanding this SUV.

People buy SUVs for utility – it’s in the name (Sport Utility Vehicle.) They buy it so they have a ton of space in the back to carry people and guns and deer and, I don’t know, boats and whatnot. That I get.

The Raptor was made to be a badass on-road and off, and look good doing it.

The SUV doesn’t accomplish that. Yup, it carries a lot of shit. Check. Off-roading? From the company’s press release: “the company suggests that buyers should intend using this vehicle for on-road as well as light to moderate off-road duties.”

So what are you suggesting?

The VelociRaptor SUV is a cool project that some people will get. They want a giant SUV that gets negative fuel economy and has space to carry a small house if need be. It’s special, there aren’t very many made, and that’s who it’s for.

But looking at the cost, it’s slow and impractical in every way compared to its competition:

Range Rover

The Range Rover Sport HSE we drove last month cost about $70,000 (they start around $60,000) and could get from 0-60 in 7.2 seconds thanks to its 375 hp 5.0-liter V8. It was also comfortable, refined, and can go off-road.

The new Range Rovers offer even more – the base starts at $83,545 with a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 producing 340 hp propelling you to 60 mph from a stop in 7.1 seconds, or you can go for the top-spec version (for an even $100k) whose 510 hp supercharged 5.0-liter V8 can get you there in only 5.1 seconds. And go off-road and all that.

Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG

Sure, it may look like you everyday suburb-cruising grocery-getter, but the Mercedes GL63 AMG isn’t your normal Soccer Mom ride.

With a massive 550 hp and 560 lb-ft of torque coming from its 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, the GL63 is able to knock off that 0-60 mph time in only 4.8 seconds.

That’s faster than a Porsche Cayman.

The current GL63 starts at $117,000.

So what’s your point?

All I’m saying is that for a starting price of $149,500, you have some more practical choices than the VelociRaptor SUV. I get it – a ton of work went into each one of these, you want unique, you want individual, you want American. That’s fine.

But for me, I’d always have that nagging feeling that I could be driving around a refined Mercedes or rugged Range Rover with more power, could be going off-road, faster, and have an extra $30-80,000 burning a hole in my pocket.

But then again, it wouldn’t say “SVT VelociRaptor” on the side, and I might just pull up to another one at the stoplight.

Which one would you choose?

The article Hennessey’s 600 hp VelociRaptor SUV – Beast or Disappointment? appeared first on Automoblog.net.

By now I’m sure you know we’re not particularly crazy about NASCAR over here at Automoblog. When there are so many motorsports that are far more complex and technical than driving a stripped-out muscle car in a circle, NASCAR seems to be a bit…let’s just say, simple. Don’t get me wrong, I think the cars they drive are incredible machines and on a track with some turns, It’d make for a very interesting sport.

But my feelings on the sport itself are irrelevant right now, and there’s no denying its popularity and community surrounding it.

Dick Trickle, the much-loved retired NASCAR driver, reportedly committed suicide yesterday at the tender age of 71.

Dick was well-known in the racing community as a fun-loving, whimsical character, and his apparent suicide came as a shock to everyone who knew him.

Lincoln County, NC police received a call believed to be from Trickle saying “there would be a dead body and it would be his.” When they tried phoning back, they got no answer. His body was found next to his pickup truck in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City shortly after.

Racing in one form or another in the ’70s and ’80s, Trickle finally moved to North Carolina in ’89 and quickly became a well-known NASCAR driver and personality.

In his 31 years of racing, Trickle won somewhere around an impressive 1,200 races before retiring in 2002 (although he continued to race short tracks years after that.) He was so successful that they literally lost count of how many races he won.

Have you seen Days of Thunder? You know, that late-’90s flick about Daytona 500 with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman? The main character’s name was Cole Trickle. Guess who that was based on.

The dude made an impact on the sport.

Dick Trickle, you will be missed.

The article Retired NASCAR Driver Dick Trickle Commits Suicide appeared first on Automoblog.net.

Ah, Mother’s Day, the second favorite day of the year for flower shops and chocolatiers.

In an attempt to sell SUVs and minivans to modern family-goers, car companies have come up with some funny and clever commercials aimed at making these vehicles slightly less boring.

Take a look at a few good commercials aimed at the modern Mother:

4. Family Friendly Vehicle – Kia Sorento

Not particularly funny, but this is one of a series of “documentary-style” ads Kia put out for the 2013 Sorento. They each go over individual features of the SUV aimed at showing mothers why it’s a smart vehicle for them and their little ones.

3. Safety Sacrifice “Ridin’ Dirty” – VW Tiguan

2. “The Motherhood” – Fiat 500L

Clever and well-done ad from Fiat that got some flak when it came out, but overall a good response. I think it’s funny.

Bonus: The Fatherhood

1. “Swagger Wagon” – Toyota Sienna

Easily my favorite Rapping Mom commercial, we posted about the Swagger Wagon when it was first released a few years ago.

Did we miss any of your favorites? Send these to your Mom and let us know what you think!

The article Happy Mother’s Day! Here are the Four Best ‘Mom’ Car Commercials appeared first on Automoblog.net.

Oh, those lovable Italians, always showing off and looking good.

Back in March, Lamborghini stole the spotlight at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show with the Veneno supercar – only three will ever be made (well, technically four if you count the one at the show which will stay at the Lamborghini factory,) and while mechanically it’s not much different than the Aventador, to say the Veneno looks extreme would be an understatement:

And now, for their 50th Anniversary, Lamborghini has created yet another crazy piece of…umm…interesting design.

To me, it looks like a scaled up version of one of those Hot Wheels extreme version toys, and will more than likely be made into one.

To Lamborghini and famed designer Walter De Silva though, it is, and I quote, “designed purely for hyper-sophisticated people who want only the most extreme and special things in the world. It represents hedonism taken to the extreme.” Which is precisely what Lamborghini should be.

Problem is, you can’t buy it. Nobody can.

Except this guy.

Again, the Egoista is mostly an exercise in design and aerodynamics; it’s powered by a similar version of the Gallardo’s 5.2-liter V10 but produces 600 hp.

It’s a single-seater, and the cockpit (which is made entirely of carbon fiber and aluminum,) requires an unusually complicated entry and exit. According to the press release, to get out of the car “the driver must remove the steering wheel and rest it on the dashboard, open the dome with an electronic command, stand up in their seat, sit down on a precise point of the left-hand bodywork, then swivel their legs 180 degrees from the inside of the cockpit to the outside of the vehicle. At this point they can set their feet down and stand up.” I’d call it a dance.

The whole car is modeled to closely resemble a fighter jet, which is an ongoing theme with Lamborghini.

The cockpit is bare-bones with minimal instrumentation but a heads-up display. They said it was designed with the concept of being able to take the cockpit and put it into a car or jet. And yes, it is removable.

From the side, the Egoista is meant to look like a bull about to charge with its horns lowered. As you may expect, it’s got all sorts of flaps that come up and down automatically depending on conditions and speed.

The lighting is meant to be more like an aircraft’s lighting systems; instead of focusing on front and rear lighting, the headlights are “LED clearance lights” to be seen from the side and front. On top of the two xenon headlamps, they’ve added two white front lights, two red rear lights, a red flashing light on the tail, two orange side markers, and two lights on the roof, red on the left and green on the right. Excessive? Exactly. Must be cool to see at night.

They’ve even went as far as to make the bodywork and wheels out of antiradar material. Which I’m sure is illegal as hell, but undeniably awesome.

And in case you’re wondering, “Egoista” is Italian for “Selfish.”

How fitting.

Check out the photo gallery below for more pics of the Lamborghini Egoista:

The article Lamborghini Feeds Their Ego with the Egoista Concept appeared first on Automoblog.net.

You really think that lame excuse about having to go pee is going to get the cop to let you off the hook? He hears that shit every day.

In fact, here’s a list of the most commonly used excuses when being pulled over, so if nothing else, you’ll know what not to say next time you see the flashing red & blues in the rear-view:

1. I couldn’t see the sign telling me not to do it: 20.4%

2. I’m lost and unfamiliar with the roads: 15.6%

3. I didn’t know it was broken: 12.4%

4. Everyone else was doing it: 6.4%

5. I’m having an emergency situation in my car. (spilled a hot drink on your lap, etc.): 5.4%

6. I missed my turn/exit: 4.8%

7. I had to go to the bathroom: 4.6%

8. I didn’t do anything dangerous: 4.2%

9. I was on my way to an emergency. (For example, to help someone who is ill or injured.): 4%

10. My GPS said it was the right thing to do: 2.2%

11. I’m just helping out; I wasn’t even supposed to be driving. (For example, your friend is drunk.): 2%

This survey was conducted by Insurance.com with a relatively small sample size (500 drivers) but it gets the point across: don’t make a lame, over-used excuse.

Be creative! If you’re going to BS, at least be good at it.

An even better idea: Be honest! I’ve heard from a few cops that they appreciate when someone is honest and have let them off with a warning as a result. As long as you follow the other rules (don’t argue, keep your hands in sight, call them “sir” or “ma’am,” etc) just admit your mistake and apologize.

Some of these, when in appropriate and honest context, like driving your friend home if drunk, or an obvious life-or-death emergency, etc may also be OK, but at that point a traffic ticket may be worth the cost anyway.

Men vs. Women

The study also separates how the different excuses were used between the two sexes. Men, for example, used the “I’m not supposed to be driving” excuse far more (90%) than women (10%).

Here are the results on how the two sexes tell it differently:

I couldn’t see the sign telling me not to do it.

Men: 38%
Women: 62%

I’m lost and unfamiliar with the roads.

Men: 35%
Women: 65%

I didn’t know it was broken.

Men: 39%
Women: 61%

Everyone else was doing it.

Men: 56%
Women: 44%

I’m having an emergency situation in my car.

Men: 67%
Women: 33%

I missed my turn/exit.

Men: 54%
Women: 46%

I had to go to the bathroom.

Men: 35%
Women: 65%

I didn’t do anything dangerous.

Men: 71%
Women: 29%

I was on my way to an emergency.

Men: 55%
Women: 45%

My GPS said it was the right thing to do.

Men: 82%
Women: 18%

I’m just helping out. I wasn’t even supposed to be driving.

Men: 90%
Women: 10%

Have you ever used any of these excuses when you got caught? Be honest! Have you found any excuses that work better than others?

Share them in the comments, help us out!

The article Have You Used Any of These Lame Excuses When Pulled Over? appeared first on Automoblog.net.