Find tech advice for business hereWhat is happening to the Mini in this Web video? Spray-can art! Here's yet another Mini promo video featuring things most people don't do to their cars. It's all to promote the new book "Wash Me," and it features some popular European spray-can artists.
Everyone is saying ENOUGH to driving while distracted; Volvo announces a plug in hybrid, while Mini wonders how to charge them; Chrysler gets rid of the book we never read, but always wanted; and we go for a ride in a really affordable performance car you wouldn't have taken seriously a few years ago.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Subscribe with iTunes (audio)
Subscribe with iTunes (video)
Subscribe with RSS (audio)
Subscribe with RSS (video)
EPISODE 137
SHOW NOTES• U.S. to hold a summit on driving while distracted--soon a stigma equal to drunk driving?
• Volvo promises its first plug-in hybrid, in showrooms by 2012
• CNET takes a drive in the new Nissan 370Z Roadster
• Mini finds out that charging an electric car isn't as easy as just plugging it in
• Hyundai Genesis Coupe on the road with the editors of CNET. Look out!
FRANKFURT--Early next decade, BMW of North America plans to sell an electric "megacity car" as a subbrand of BMW, similar to the brand's M high-performance cars. But further details are skimpy.
BMW is already preparing for that launch. Its yearlong trial with the Mini E electric car has opened the auto marketer's eyes to the maze of regulations facing plug-in electric cars.
"We are learning a heck of a lot just about the sheer infrastructure," says Jim O'Donnell, CEO of BMW of North America. "When we bring out another electric car, we will be in a great position because we know all the wrinkles."
BMW has 450 Mini E electric cars running in a yearlong trial in metropolitan New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles.
There should be more cars on the roads. But after more than six months of addressing regulatory hurdles, Mini has yet to get approval to install more than 30 additional fast-charge boxes in New Jersey. With a 240-volt box, the Mini E can be recharged in three hours rather than the 21 hours needed using 110-volt power.
"If you are in a house with a normal supply and you want to bring a 240-volt [charger], you have to have an agreement from the power utility," O'Donnell says. "New Jersey is the most difficult because there are so many local authorities."
An inspector from each municipality has to approve the installation to make sure it complies with local codes. The cost of the box ranges from $1,500 to $1,800. The box had to be approved by Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
What O'Donnell calls "the New Jersey problem" is compounded because "all the components are certified, but they say the system isn't certified," he says.
A BMW spokesman says the Mini E experience is a prelude to a more widespread launch of electric vehicles.
"We are dealing with only three metropolitan areas of the United States," he says. "Think about when you start to build the national network and all those local codes."
(Source: Automotive News)
The Citroen Revolte features suicide doors and a lounge-style rear seat.
(Credit: CNET)
Small is clearly in, as these concepts show. And since concept cars are a bellwether for upcoming automotive trends, expect downsizing to be commonplace among new cars. Most of these concepts are lightweight city cars, easily maneuverable and economical. Mini's entrants add a sporty flavor, while Citroen and Hyundai go for the futuristic. Mazda showed off a stripped-down version of its MX-5, more weekend racer than everyday driver.
For years, style was absent without an excuse from American subcompacts. But the days of slab-sided, no-frills hatchbacks may soon be history.
For decades, something was missing in the small cars designed, built and sold in the United States. It was gone for so long that most American consumers probably didn't know what it was.
But to Ralph Gilles, Chrysler Group's chief designer, the missing ingredient was obvious. U.S. subcompacts lacked emotional appeal.
"Small cars of the past were not necessarily done with passion," he said.
Generations of Detroit designers seemed to say: No one buys a small car for its styling, so why bother? Uninspired, appliancelike econoboxes? What else did you expect?
American subcompacts had none of the attributes found in the cool, quirky and even elegant small cars created elsewhere in the world, from the original BMC Mini to the first Peugeot 205 to the modern Citroen C3.
U.S. automakers were forced to churn out small cars to raise corporate average fuel economy averages, so they could keep selling big trucks. Small-car design? An oxymoron.
But consumer preference has shifted -- the result of higher gasoline prices, new fuel-efficiency standards and concern about climate change.
"Small cars and vehicles powered by four-cylinder engines have been on a steady increase since 2004," said Ford Motor Co. sales analyst George Pipas.
U.S. fleets must average 35.5 mpg by 2016, compared with 25.3 mpg this year. Combined with stricter emissions standards, it means the number of small-car nameplates for sale in the United States will increase.
And when a market segment gets crowded, automakers must rely on styling to set their vehicles apart from the crowd.
"It's not business as usual for small cars here anymore," said Moray Callum, Ford Motor's design director for cars.
The expanding lineup of new small cars means styling will get a lot more creative and appealing, just as it did with mid-sized cars recently. (Think of the modern Chevrolet Malibu, the new Ford Taurus and the current Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.)
... Read moreToward the end of last week, I previewed the final race of the 2009 Classic Endurance Racing season that took place this last weekend at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England. I was hoping to find some footage from the actual race that featured victor Bobby Rahal in his Lola BDG, but to my surprise there was no such video on the web. Sigh.
So I began tooling around Silverstone Circuit's official website to see what motorsport events they hold at this historic track. Through my web surfing, I came across what it is known as the Silverstone Classic, an annual event that's been around since the 1990s. The Silverstone website perhaps best describes the event as a "three day celebration of motoring excellence, which sees eight decades and arguably Europe's largest gathering of classic racing cars". Indeed, the Classic features a seemingly endless parade of classic racing and sports cars of European origin, along with open pit garages and other fanfare for its attendees.
This year's edition of the Silverstone Classic, held in July 2009, boasted over 20 different races in 2 days featuring different a variety of car styles, makes and models. The web video you're seeing here came from the most recent edition of the Classic featuring lots of oh-so British Minis going 'round the track. Unfortunately, one of these Minis takes a turn (literally) for the worst and ends up tipping over on its side and comes crashing to the asphalt top-down. If this driver is a professional race track driver, then it's an accidental happening that comes with the job. If this driver is an amateur, well...this is why race car driving is best left to the professionals.
BMW has confirmed that one of the new Mini models will be based on the Coupe concept.
(Credit: BMW AG/Mini)Remember that cute little Mini Coupe concept that was announced a few days ago? Neither do I, but perhaps you should take a second look because according to Chairman of the Board of Management, BMW AG, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, will be putting the Cooper Coupe into production at the Mini Plant in Oxford, alongside one other new model.
Specifically, the two new models will be based on the Mini Coupe concept and a concept that will be unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show.Details of the second model have not yet been announced.
Place your bets on whether the second model will be the rumored Mini Roadster (Speedster?) or the also-rumored Mini Crossman SUV; and stay tuned to our continuing coverage of the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show.
(Credit:
BMW/Mini)
Mini has unveiled details and photos of a Mini Coupe Concept, set to debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. The Coupe builds on the Cooper platform (confusing, isn't it?), but ditches the useless rear seats in favor of a sloping roofline and a coupe's profile.
The Coupe is identical to the Cooper S from the B-pillars forward and under the hood is the 1.6-liter turbocharged heart that we've come to love in the high performance John Cooper Works Mini. Out back the Coupe's new look includes a spoiler edge on the classic floating white roof that is one of the hallmarks of Mini's aesthetic.
Meanwhile, sources at Motor Authority have unearthed sketches for yet another Mini concept that may also be bowing at Frankfurt: the Mini Roadster. The Roadster is rumored to differ from the current Mini Convertible by having two fewer seats and a larger enclosed storage area. A removable (or retractable) hardtop would be nice, but if the Roadster concept ever sees the light of day, we expect it will be topped with a canvas roof.
Check out our gallery for more photos of the Mini Coupe Concept and stay tuned to our coverage of the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show for more details.
Mini Road Assist is free for Mini owners under warranty.
(Credit: Mini USA/Allstate Roadside Service)Mini USA announced today that it has developed, in partnership with Allstate Roadside Services, the first official roadside assistance app, dubbed Mini Road Assist for iPhone and Blackberry.
So the next time, you need a jump start, a flat tire changed, or an extra gallon of gasoline to get your Cooper home, you can just tap an icon on your iPhone or Blackberry and your personal info, the nature of assistance needed, and your current GPS location will automatically be beamed to Allstate Roadside Services' HQ and help will be dispatched, provided that you have a cellular data connection.
After downloading the app, Mini owners will supply their VIN, name, address, and other details to confirm ownership of a Mini vehicle. The system taps into the free roadside assistance that is available to all North American Mini owners as long as the vehicle remains under warranty. Mini owners who fall outside of the warranty safety circle due to expiration can still download the free app and use the roadside assistance for a fee set by the service provider.
Mini Roadside Assist is free to Mini owners and can be downloaded from Allstate Roadside Services.
Check out the video after the jump, which details the ins-and-outs of the app in greater detail.
... Read more
(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CNET)
The cash for clunkers program has proven so popular, Congress passed a bill to keep it funded. If you have a car built in the last 25 years that gets an EPA-certified combined fuel economy of 18 mpg or less, it qualifies for the credit. And to get the full $4,500 credit, the new car you buy has to get at least 10 mpg better than the clunker you scrap. We've picked out six cars we've reviewed this year that qualify for the maximum credit.
