About a month ago, I reported on the on again, off again auction of 207 or so assorted collector vehicles seized by FBI in connection with the fraud indictment of Jeffrey Lane Mowen. The sale had been postponed from January 6 thanks to some not very credible maneuvering by Mowen’s lawyers, who were attempting to convince a judge to assign minimum values based on the cars’ presumed appreciation while they were in legal limbo. Government appraisers (what?) came back to presiding U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Warner with numbers, and Mowen’s lawyers appealed further. According to Deseret News,

“Instead of submitting such specific objections, defendant’s written submission consists of rambling, conclusory, and overly broad objections,” Warner wrote. “Furthermore, to the extent defendant has identified any specific vehicles, he provides only speculative arguments about vehicle values and generalized criticisms of the government’s appraisals.”

The sale is now on for April 1 and 2. While there are some interesting cars, as one of our commentors said, “I’ve seen this “collection” and there is not much there…The majority of these cars aren’t appreciating they are just getting older.” As we mentioned before, it’s heavy on questionable modifications and replicas.

So to build interest, auctioneers Erkelens and Olson have added a second day, with 50 more cars from an unrelated collection. Suddenly, this is a major auction of over 200 cars, bikes, boats and whatnot. This unnamed sale dovetails nicely with the Mowen cars, as it’s heavy on Fords and street rods.

The sale may have some controversy attached, but it’s certainly well-publicized, and Salt Lake City doesn’t see many auctions. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

Filed under: Truck, Work, Nissan, Misc. Auto Shows

Historically, America's commercial vehicle marketplace has been dominated by domestic automakers. Besides a small percentage of Sprinter sales from Dodge while under Daimler ownership, the fullsize van market has really only been occupied by Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Nissan is ready to change all that, and its opening salvo in the commercial vehicle marketplace is its NV series of vans.

Nissan's NV series - "NV" rather unimaginatively stands for Nissan Van, for what it's worth - relies on three different designations, NV1500, 2500 HD and 3500 HD, and two different roof heights (the High Roof is only available on the NV2500 HD and NV3500 HD models) to provide a platform for every conceivable need. Opting for the tall version will provide enough room for most people to stand up inside with no need to duck.

Interestingly, Nissan's research indicates that commercial van owners are the least satisfied of any vehicle segment, and as such, the automaker says that the NV design is that of an armored car a 'clean-sheet' approach resulting from one of the most researched projects Nissan has ever undertaken. That research has yielded a vehicle that utilizes a fully boxed steel ladder frame and rear-wheel drive with either a 4.0-liter V6 or an optional 5.6-liter V8. Both engines are mated to a standard five-speed automatic transmission.

No matter which engine or roof style is chosen, the NV will come with a user-definable interior layout that can accept standard-size drywall or plywood or any number of aftermarket cargo solutions. Up front, there are a number of storage pockets and compartments to hold whatever is needed, while High Roof models offer an overhead console for additional storage options.

Pricing is not yet available, but Nissan promises the NV series will hit authorized commercial U.S. dealerships before the end of the year. Want to know more? Be sure to check out our gallery of high-res images below and click past the break for the official press release.



[Source: Nissan]

Continue reading Nissan unveils NV commercial van, available in three different flavors

Nissan unveils NV commercial van, available in three different flavors originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Auctions

The DeTomaso Guarà was the last project of company founder and namesake, Alejandro de Tomaso. First shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1993, the Guarà could be had as a closed-roof coupe or open-top barchetta. A more practical canvas-roof Spider was eventually added as well, but only five were ever made. The Guarà was based on the 1991 Maserati Barchetta Stradale concept and was built from 1993 through 2004, when the struggling Italian automaker went into liquidation.

During its production run, 10 to 12 Barchettas and about 50 Coupés were built, along with the handful of Spiders. The early cars, including all of the Spiders, were powered by a BMW 4.0-liter V8 putting out a modest 272 horsepower. Later cars, and all, um, two of the cars that have somehow found their way into America are powered by a 320-hp version of the Ford 4.6-liter V8 from the Mustang Cobra. The Guarà was made of fiberglass, Kevlar and other composites on an aluminum backbone, making it fairly light. Performance was decent with a 0-60 dash of about five seconds flat and a top speed quoted between 168 and 171 miles per hour for this 2,500-pound mid-engined sportscar.

The car's racecar-like pushrod suspension made it a bit of a handful to drive on city streets, but its handling limits were pretty high by all accounts. This particular car is in Woodland Hills, California, and is painted a perfect Modenese yellow. It has just 10,000 miles on the clock and is being offered at the princely sum of $100,000. That might seem like a lot of coin for a fairly anonymous exotic with a Mustang engine, but considering its rarity and its association with the name DeTomaso, it could be a fun addition to someone's collection. Are you listening Jay?

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: 1996 DeTomaso Guarà is a rare treat originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

From Eddie Stakes comes this ad for a 1968 AMC Javelin, “the first of the AMX cars.” So, if we read literally into this, is the AMC Javelin the tool of the hunter or the hunter itself? Will it eat up all the Mustangs, Cougars, Barracudas and Firebirds once it’s hunted them down, or is it just meant to spear them for the fur bikini chick? And it’s a little ironic, donchathink, that AMC had just chucked the Marlin a year before this ad came out.

At long last, Google Maps has routes specifically for bikes.

With the click of a mouse, the new feature allows you to plot the best (and flattest!) ride from Point A to Point B. Several cities, including New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, have bike-specific mapping sites. But Google is rolling it out in 150 cities nationwide and announcing it Wednesday at the 10th Annual Bike Summit in Washington, D.C.

“This has been a top-requested feature from Google Maps users for the last couple years,” says Shannon Guymon, product manager for Google Maps. “There are over 50,000 signatures on a petition.”

The news thrilled bike advocates, who have for years been pushing — and petitioning — the search giant to include bike routes on Google Maps. No longer do they have to rely upon paper maps or open-source DIY map hacking or crazy-cool helmet-mounted heads up iPhones.

“This new tool will open people’s eyes to the possibility and practicality of hopping on a bike and riding,” says Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. “We know people want to ride more, we know it’s good for people and communities when they do ride more — this makes it possible. It is a game-changer, especially for those short trips that are the most polluting.”

Cyclists will have to map their victory lap from their desks, because Google’s cool mapping tool is available only on a computer for now.

“Making the bike-route tool available on Google Maps for mobile devices is a high priority,” Guymon says. But it’s a priority without a launch date.

To create the mapping tool, Google developed an algorithm that uses several inputs — including designated bike lanes or trails, topography and traffic signals — to determine the best route for riding. The map sends you around, not over, hills. But if you really want to tackle that Category 1 climb, you can click and drag the suggested route anywhere you like, just like you can with pedestrian or driving routes. Users can suggest changes or make corrections to routes using the ever-present “report a problem” feature on Google Maps.

Google kicked its bike-mapping effort into high gear in October when it started using improved datasets that provided more specific information about trails, street details and more granularity on college campuses. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy provided Google with information on 12,000 miles of bike trails nationwide, and the League of American Bicyclists helped gather data on bike lanes and so forth.

“We’ve got a five-person team in Seattle that has spent the majority of its time working on this project since October,” says Guymon.

To test the tool, bike-commuting Google employees vetted suggested routes against their own experience, pointing out discrepancies on routes or time allowances.

Google Maps for bikes has a unique look and feel. Bike trails are prime cycling turf — “They’re like the highways for cyclists,” Guymon says — so they’re indicated in dark green. Streets with dedicated bike lanes are light green. And streets that don’t have a bike lane but are still a decent route because of their topography, light traffic or other factors are indicated by dotted green lines.

Don’t go looking for turn-by-turn GPS-based navigation though. That feature remains strictly auto-centric.

Freelance reporter Mary Catherine O’Connor lives in San Francisco, with her dog, husband and three bikes.

Photo: Bikeportland.org/Flickr

It doesn’t look like a car, and it doesn’t look like it would fly, but what is believed to be the world’s oldest “roadable aircraft” is for sale.

The antique was built in 1934 by Frank Skroback and at the very minimum provides proof that people have long dreamed of cars that can be flown like airplanes. Or are they airplanes that can be driven like cars? No matter, because whatever you call it, it’s being auctioned this weekend in Atlanta.

In addition to the wild machine, the winning bidder scores extensive documentation, including the 1921 patent on the design and correspondence demonstrating Skroback’s attempt to sell his vehicle.

This isn’t the first flying car to hit the block. A Taylor Aerocar was auctioned more than a year ago. The Taylor is probably the most famous — and successful — example of an aircraft you can drive. Or car you can fly. Unlike the Aerocar, nobody can seem to find proof of Skroback’s vehicle ever taking flight. It looks like little more than a fuselage with six small wings attached.

Red Baron’s Antiques, which is selling the plane, says it is 21 feet long, and each wing has a 7-foot span. Those wings look like they may come up a bit short in providing enough lift. But even if the wings could lift the stubby fuselage off the ground, a lack of any substantial vertical control surfaces would likely mean controlled flight would be tricky at best. There are some small rudder-like appendages on the rear wings, but they hardly look big enough to provide any sort of directional stability.

No word on what the engine is, but with the the obvious drag and small wings, our guess is that it had better be more powerful than it appears if this thing has any hope of even getting the tail wheel off the ground. It’s safe to say the guys at Terrafugia have nothing to worry about, in terms of somebody putting Skroback’s contraption into production.

Photo: Red Baron’s Antiques

We won’t see electric cars racing through the streets of Paris in June. They’ll be racing through the streets of Barcelona in October instead.

The EMXGP pulled the plug, if you’ll pardon the pun, on racing in the City of Light and pushed back the race date to give teams more time to develop their cars. Mark the new date — Oct. 16 and 17 — on your calendars.

eGrandPrix Spain kicks off a week of activities surrounding sustainable technological development on the road and on the track. The idea is to show that going green doesn’t mean going slow. In addition to the eGrandPrix, there’s the Zero Carbon Transport Conference and the TTXGP electric motorcycle racing series grand finale in Albacete on Oct 23 and 24.

All told we’re looking at a big stage for green racing. More info about the conference, tickets and all the rest expected soon. Stay tuned.

Photo: Tesla Motors

A Dutch journalist has exposed a loophole in airport security after carrying several liters of liquid on a transcontinental flight to Washington, D.C.

Alberto Stegeman and two colleagues carried six Bacardi rum bottles filled with water aboard flights from Amsterdam to London and then on to Dulles International Airport. The ruse was pretty straightforward, too. They bought the one-liter bottles at the a duty free shop in Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport a week before their flight. Then they returned home, emptied the bottles and filled them with water.

With the bottles filled with water, the three returned to the duty free shop on the day of their flight and paid for the bottles again as if they had just picked them off the shelf. The cashier sealed the bottles and marked them with their ticket and flight information. The three passengers then had no trouble carrying the bottles aboard the aircraft.

Stegeman explained the ruse in a news program that aired on Dutch television. It comes on the heels of a BBC report that showed the so-called “underwear bomber” wouldn’t have brought down Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day if he had succeeded in detonating the bomb in his pants.

This isn’t the first time Stegeman has exposed a security loophole at the Schipol airport. In 2008 he worked with a colleague who secured a job as a baggage handler. Together they managed to get a fake bomb and drugs aboard several aircraft. Because of that report, airport security recognized Stegeman as he attempted to carry the rum bottles aboard the plane and summoned additional guards and a supervisor to check him out, according to The New York Times. Stegeman says the bottles were not checked.

Stegeman’s report has prompted Dutch officials to add extra security checks at duty free shops and stop the sale of liquids at some stores.

Photo of Schipol airport: Flickr / JenWaller

French automaker Peugeot-Citroen is going nuts for electric vehicles, but rather than building them it will slap its logo on boatloads of Mitsubishis.

The Japanese company has agreed to build 100,000 i-MiEV electric cars for the French company under a contract that runs through 2015, according to Automotive News Europe. It’s a smart move for everyone involved. Beyond helping Mitsubishi boost volume, cut costs and recoup its investment in the electric runabout, the deal allows Peugeot-Citroen to quickly and easily compete against Renault in the electric arena.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is determined to get EVs on the road this year. Nissan promises to have the Leaf EV in showrooms by November, and Renault rolls out an EV next year. Peugeot-Citroen agreed last year to buy 25,000 cars from Mitsubishi, then doubled the order late last year and again in February, according to ANE. The French company wants to sell 25,000 electric vehicles annually, split evenly among its two brands, but hitting that target will take awhile because Mitsubishi is still ramping up battery production. The Japanese company has the capacity to build just 9,000 batteries in the next year.

The Japanese-French EV will be called the Peugeot iOn and the Citroen C-Zero. Although mechanically identical to the iMiEV, they will have restyled bumpers and interiors and “different handling characteristics.” Peugeot-Citroen brand director Jean-Marc Gales told ANE the cars will be available by the end of the year. They’ll cost about 30,000 Euros, which works out to $40,770.

“We are not ruling out fleet sales, but our main target is urban private buyers with a sense of style and the environment,” Gales said.

As for the iMiEV, it’s already on sale for fleet use in Japan. Consumers will be able to buy them starting next month. The car arrives in Europe at the end of the year and in the United States in 2011.

The four-seat iMiEV uses a 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery with a claimed range of 100 miles and a recharge time of seven hours when plugged into a 220-volt line. Propulsion comes from a 47 kilowatt (63 horsepower) AC syncronous motor. Top speed is 80 mph.

Photo: Peugeot

Only fuel cell hybrids can save us?

Most these days claim fuel cells are a dream, but are America's plans for energy independence or serious reductions in global warming emissions any less of a dream?

Study after study demonstrates the fickleness of consumers towards embracing hybrid cars, especially plug-in versions. Likewise, according to most studies, achieving energy independence and serious reductions in global warming emissions via battery-powered vehicles requires gas prices as high as $7.00 or $8.00. Ironically, at such prices, most consumers would buy cheaper cars, not more expensive plug-in versions, studies have suggested.

More important, however, what are the chances of selling such a gas tax to America, or a robust enough cap and trade plan? It seems neither has any chance, despite the overwhelming evidence indicating the need for either one or both. Ultimately, Americans want everything without giving up anything.

Certainly, the key might not be fuel cell hybrids; however, can anything other than a major technological breakthrough - a dream - save America? Equally important, is there any chance America can achieve any such breakthrough without a leap of faith forward?

When America decided to reach the moon, for instance, our leaders didn't ask if it was possible, we had to make the impossible, possible. Is clean energy independence any different?

Time to start mining

Within a decade, American companies could run out of rare earth metals - essential materials for hybrid cars, wind turbines, computers, etc. - if China follows through on plans to stop rare earth exports according to experts.

Yet, one of the biggest rare earth metal deposits probably exists right here in America, but no one is mining these metals seriously because of the upfront costs needed to develop a separation plant to process these metals. According to experts, such a plant would cost about $1 billion dollars and require about 8 years to implement.

Even worse, since China is keeping the price of rare earths artificially low, competition is difficult to justify without direct government help.

Pilots are rallying behind Glenn Duffy, the air traffic controller suspended after allowing his kids to issue instructions to airliners at JFK airport, by ending their transmissions the same way Duffy’s son did — by saying “adios.”

The Federal Aviation Administration has come down hard after the incident was made public last week, launching an investigation and suspending its practice of allowing visitors inside air traffic control facilities, including control towers, at all FAA controlled airports nationwide. And Duffy has been suspended pending an investigation. That isn’t sitting well with pilots, who think the feds are being unduly harsh.

A recent posting over at liveatc.net features a radio call from a Delta pilot (.mp3 file) who tells one of the controllers who was working with Duffy at the time, “Thoughts going out to your co-worker there. I think it’s BS what he’s going through.” Other pilots are finishing their transmissions to the tower by saying, “Adios,” according to the New York Daily News.  That’s how Duffy’s 9-year-old son ended his communication with the pilot of an AeroMexico flight — who, by the way, responded with an “adios” as well.

During the transmissions, the young boy gives instruction to five planes operating at JFK. With the exception of his Spanish and obviously young voice, Duffy’s son gave the same instructions any controller would. Pilots given instructions by the boy seemed entertained and not at all concerned. Nevertheless, the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association have condemned the incident.

No word on when the ban on air traffic control tower visits will be lifted.

Photo: Flickr / Vidiot

The postal service likes the Bright Idea and wonders if it would make a good delivery truck.

The U.S. Postal Service has invited Bright Automotive to put an electric drivetrain in a standard-issue mail truck. Once the truck is ready to roll, the postal service will add it to its fleet for real-world testing in the Washington, DC area. The company joins the EV pioneers at AC Propulsion in developing prototype trucks for the postal service, which is considering ways to begin electrifying its fleet of 142,000 vehicles.

Although Bright unveiled its Idea plug-in hybrid delivery truck last year, postal brass want the Indiana company to electrify a Grumman LLV, or “Long Life Vehicle,” typically used for mail delivery. The startup automaker says adapting its technology and bringing EVs to the world’s largest civilian fleet will save the postal service big bucks.

“The adaptation of the electric drive system from our production vehicle uniquely distinguishes Bright Automotive’s LLV conversion in terms of technology, durability and cost,” CEO John E. Waters said in a statement. “In addition, our analysis and experience in vehicle electrification, vehicle ownership and financing, fleet maintenance, service, and infrastructure development, has shown that an electrified fleet will save the USPS millions of dollars annually, eliminate tons of emissions, and reduce dependence on oil.”

Bright Automotive plans to deliver the truck to the postal service in July. It will hit the streets of DC for one year to evaluate its performance.

Photo: Flickr / Brian Auer

Today is the 60th anniversary, again, of one of the most recognizable and beloved vehicles to ever clatter down the road.

The exact anniversary of the Volkswagen Type 2, known affectionately as the Microbus or just the Bus, is open to interpretation. Volkswagen says it’s 1947, when Dutch VW importer Ben Pon first sketched the design. You could argue it was 1949, when CEO Heinz Nordhoff approved production. Or you could say today is day because the Bus as we know and love it — split windshield, rounded front bumper that hugged the body, woefully underpowered engine — was produced from March 8, 1950 until 1967.

Since we’re the ones publishing the blog and we’ve got a cool pic of a vintage van, that’s the date we’re using. It’s also the date Life magazine is using, and it’s published a gallery of photos of Buses through the years.

VW built the first-gen Bus until 1967. The second-gen traded the vee’d split windshield for a flat windshield and a boxier body. The Bus hit the end of the line in Europe and the United States in 1979. Volkswagen sold a few gazillion of them over the years, and the hippies and surfers made ‘em famous. Our favorite is the top-of-the-line Samba-Bus, also known as the Deluxe (pictured). Gotta love the polished aluminum side trim, that huge fabric sunroof and 23 — count ‘em, 23 — windows.

The only thing that made it any cooler was the optional the safari windows that put hinges on the windshield glass so it opened out.

Photo: Andreas Feininger / Time and Life

The masses of Autopia readers have spoken. After enduring a pummeling at your hands over our choices of the best snowicane cars, we invited you to tell us what you’d drive when the drifts are taller than you are. And damned if you didn’t come up with an impressive list.

A few of them were completely impractical — ironic, given the hell you gave us for the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, a car we’ve actually driven in the snow many times — and a couple of them don’t, you know, exist. But that doesn’t make them any less awesome.

And so, with no further ado, here are the 10 perfect “snowicane cars” as selected by the readers of Wired.com.

Photo of a caravan in Mongolia on Aug. 16, 2009: neurmadic aesthetic/Flickr

When product designers at Seymourpowell sought to design a new luxury aircraft, they didn’t have a need for speed in mind. In fact, the Aircruise concept takes design cues from a high-end hotel, inviting guests to stay awhile.

It’s hard to believe less than a decade ago, travelers routinely crossed the Atlantic in under three hours on supersonic airliners. Instead of even faster crossings, Aircruise is one of a whole new breed of concept airships looking to reinvent air travel with day-and-a-half crossings from New York to London, where the vacation begins the moment passengers board the ship, and where leisure travelers arrive well-rested.

“The Aircruise concept questions whether the future of luxury travel should be based around space-constrained, resource hungry, and all too often stressful airline travel,” Seymourpowell design director Nick Talbot said. “A more serene transport experience will appeal to people looking for a more reflective journey, where the experience of travel itself is more important than getting from A to B quickly.”

That means a maximum of a hundred passengers including a staff of fourteen, individual sleeping quarters, a bar and lounge and the ability to “drop in” on wonders such as the Grand Canyon or Pyramids of Giza along the journey.

Seymourpowell calls the ship a “clipper in the clouds,” and it’s certainly reminiscent of the golden age of flying on Pan Am’s Stratocruisers — but a lot more environmentally friendly. Hydrogen provides lift while solar panels cover the top of the ship to augment the fuel cells powering on-board systems.

It’s that efficiency that caught the eye of Samsung, who commissioned Seymourpowell to refine their design with new CGI renderings and videos. Though it’s strictly a design concept, Seymourpowell created a detailed list of tech specs and Samsung says the concept could be realized by 2015.

Photos/Video: Seymourpowell

Buy Porsche OEM and Tuning parts on the Porsche Store
Browse by category or by brands like: Techart, 9ff, Gemballa, Agency Power and much more...

German firm SpeedArt have released their latest tuner job of the Porsche 997 Turbo. The SpeedArt BTR-II 650 EVO features a horsepower boost of 150 PS (110 kW / 148 hp), and torque increase of 150 Nm (111 lb-ft).

speedART BTR II 580
(Bi-Turbo-Racer – 2. generation , model 2010 with 650 hp)

The latest innovation of Porsche Tuner speedART is the tuned and modified version of the new Porsche 997 Turbo 3,8l with PDK-gearbox:

Power:
The speedART BTR-II 650 EVO (Bi-Turbo-Racer, 2. generation with 650 hp and Evolution-body kit). It is based on Porsche 997 Turbo with 3,8l engine and PDK shiftbox. The power increase of 150 hp and 150 nm consists of a modified motronic to enlarged the power boost in combination with bigger VTG-turbo chargers, a sport exhaust with sport cats and twin tail pipes plus sport headers/manifolds, sport air filter and enlarged intercoolers. The sport exhaust is available with sound control switch, too. The acceleration 0-100 km/h is 3,2 sec. and top speed over 330 km/h.

Body kit:
The body kit “BTR-II EVO” consists of an new designed front bumer with spoiler lip and gun-metal frames for more downforce and better brake cooling (EVO-version), side skirts, rear diffuser and a rear spoiler with movable rear wing. The rear wing is available in car colour or original carbon (car on pictures painted in bi-color-version).

Wheels and suspension:
Forged and weight reduced modular twin spoke wheels type “LSC FORGED = Light Spoke Competition” in 8,5″ and 12 x 20″ with 245/30 and 325/25 ZR20″ in many different colors (for rim and center star) availiable (price for complete set 6.640,- €)
Sportive and adjustiable sport suspension in many different variations from typ “street sport” up to or “race sport” incl. PASM function.

Additional modifications:
- individual interieur design:

* sport steering wheel for all models and with F1 shift paddles for PDK
* Sport seats with carbon shell in leather, alcantara or special design variations
* special leather or alcantara applications
* carbon interior parts in many colors availiable