In this week’s installment of “Just Because You Can Afford the Car, Doesn’t Mean You Can Drive It,” we have an offering from Surrey, B.C. RCMP there will be using video posted to Twitter to track down what happened when two Dodge Vipers went head-to-head – almost literally – in a drag start off a light gone wrong. The video, posted Monday evening, reveals two freaked-out people in the car with the camera.The red Viper, to the right, takes a left turn into the black Viper almost directly off the light. Maybe one driver thought he was at a drag strip, the other at NASCAR? Either way, all that throttle was under a very inexperienced foot.Warning: The video features foul language.Watch the clip: you can hear the unmistakable sound of two high-powered cars acknowledging their intent as the light turns green. B.C., like many jurisdictions, is introducing more speed cameras and harsher penalties, and much of it is because of drivers like these. These two clowns were on Highway 10, but as you can see, this route is in Surrey at an intersection and is much more residential than freeway. The fact they’re doing this at 7 pm makes it lethal to more than just the idiots behind the wheels of the two cars.While police aren’t saying at this point if the vehicles were racing or not (they didn’t get far enough off the light before the red Viper handed in his race card) they are saying they will be analyzing the footage taken from a car behind the crash. Just another reminder everything you do is no doubt being recorded, and will be used against you.Take it to the track,
Origin: Street-racing Dodge Vipers in B.C. show off more horsepower than skill
Jaguar Land Rover owner open to further partnerships
The head of Jaguar Land Rover’s parent company is open to the British firm seeking further partnerships with other car makers – saying it is the “only way” to fund the necessary investment in future technologies. Jaguar Land Rover has suffered heavy losses in recent months due to falling sales, which have also hit the profits of its Indian parent firm Tata Motors. But JLR is facing the need to invest in electric powertrains, autonomous systems and mobility services for the future. Jaguar Land Rover has agreed a partnership with the BMW Group to jointly develop electrified powertrain components. Autocar has learned that partnership is set to expand to include engine sharing – and, as revealed in this week’s magazine, could lead to select JLR models being built on BMW Group platforms in the future. Speaking at Tata Motors’ AGM, chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said that he was open to more partnerships in the future. “Like any other auto company, JLR has to invest in future technologies to address the move away from (internal combustion engines) to hybrid and electric,” he said. “It also has to invest in future models, make necessary investments in areas like shared mobility, and also beyond that. That’s very important to stay alive in this ecosystem. “All this means is there is a need for capital investment if you want to be future-ready. The only way to handle this need for (capital investment) is additional investment through partnerships, because we want to spread the investment. There are many discussions underway, from tactical to strategic.” Asked about future partnership opportunities, Chandrasekaran added: “These opportunities keep coming and we keep evaluating every one of these opportunities and as long as it is in the interest of Tata Motors, we will forge such partnerships so that we are able to address the capex.” Tata was recently reported to be in talks to sell Jaguar Land Rover to the French PSA Group, which it denied at the
Origin: Jaguar Land Rover owner open to further partnerships
Man spends daughter’s college fund on 1972 Ford Bronco he used to own
Gateway Broncos Fuelie edition recreation 1966-1973 A Reddit user who took money earmarked for his six-month-old daughters college fund to buy back 1972 Bronco petitioned others asking whether or not he did the right thing.User my1972pony had, as a teenager, a classic 1972 Ford Bronco his dad bought for him he would drive it to high school, and had lots of great memories tied to the truck.He and his dad would spend hours working on it, found a real true passion in the off-roader, and it even brought him and his father back together after a rough patch.When he was 19 however, he decided to sell the Bronco, and two months later his dad died of a heart attack.AITA for using money we earmarked for our 6 month olds college fund to buy back the exact 1972 Ford Bronco I owned as a teenager? https://t.co/GuSTnLs3QC pic.twitter.com/A5BL4Z7ShV relationships.txt (@redditships) July 27, 2019Fast-forward to 2019, and my1972pony gets married and has a daughter, and one day while driving through the warehouse district, spots a Bronco that closely resembled the one he used to own. Way back when, he and his dad glued a penny under the dash, and when the seller let him check for it, the penny was there, confirming this was indeed his high school ride.A deal was made for US$23,000, and he drove his high school car back home.It sounds like a heartwarming story between a man and his reconnection with the last memories of his father until you realize that $12,000 of that money was given to him by his wifes parents to set up a college fund for their daughter.Eventually, his mother bailed him out on the college fund. That should fix everything, right? Maybe, if he hadnt lied to his wife and said he sold the car to get the money back. Sorry dude, you messed up this
Origin: Man spends daughter’s college fund on 1972 Ford Bronco he used to own
Screen-used ‘Ferris Bueller’ Ferrari replica heads to auction
A replica of a Ferrari 250 California GT Spyder used in the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is coming up for auction.According to Hemmings, the vehicles used on-screen were made by a small company in California called Modena Design, from which John Hughes, the director of the film, requested three vehicles.Since the company was just a small upstart at the time, they had to lend the production a customer car, as well as two more cars which were said to be incomplete when delivered, to be finished by the staff at Paramount.The current owner of the car for sale says this is not the one that fell out of the back of the garage in the infamous scene, but could possibly be the one used in the Star Wars jump scene, due to reports it came with a crushed exhaust and some body damage. It is impossible to tell, though, because the vehicles were mostly used interchangeably for the film.The vehicle sits on a custom tube frame and sports a fibreglass body, plus an aluminum nose (so it would look more real when it gets kicked in by the Cameron character in the film). Under the hood, there isn’t a 3.0-litre Ferrari Colombo V12, but there is a 351 Ford Windsor V8. The previous owner intended to daily-drive the car, so he had the Windsor engine stroked to 427 cubic inches, and added a Tremec five-speed in place of the automatic. It now makes 564 horsepower, a serious bump over the 280 horsepower of the real deal.A few other changes were made to improve the handling, including the addition of a front coilover suspension, front and rear disc brakes and larger 16-inch wheels with lower-profile tires.The vehicle is expected to bring between US$300,000 and $400,000 at the Mecum auction in California on August
Origin: Screen-used ‘Ferris Bueller’ Ferrari replica heads to auction
This new tire concept captures electricity as it rolls
Tire company Sumitomo hasn’t reinvented the wheel, quite, but it has come up with a pretty brilliant way for your car’s tires to recuperate a bit of energy as they roll along. Developers at Sumitomo Rubber Industries got a hand from researchers at Kansai University in Osaka, Japan to develop a tire concept that uses a device called an “Energy Harvester” to gather small bits of static electricity (a.k.a. “frictional charging”) generated within the tires. Inside the tire are two layers of rubber with an electrode for each, and a negatively and positively charged film that interfaces the two and rubs together when the tire rolls down the road and repeatedly deforms. Now, these tires aren’t going to add range to the next-gen Tesla or anything, but Sumitomo suggests the Energy Harvester could eventually replace batteries as a power source for small things like tire pressure monitors or “other automotive devices.” The Japan Science and Technology Agency, a national research and development agency, has recently signed on to help support the project, so it may not be too long before they roll out some sort of
Origin: This new tire concept captures electricity as it rolls
Reader Review: 2019 Honda Civic Type R
OVERVIEW Street-legal racer without compromise PROSPerformance, handling, no compromise utility CONSNo blind spot monitoring or forward collision prevention technologies, busy rear end, I had to return it! VALUE FOR MONEYGood WHAT TO CHANGE?Add blind spot monitoring and forward collision prevention to the list of standard fare. HOW TO SPEC IT?Theres only one way to spec it, and this is it. In Europe, the hot-hatch phenomenon has been at a roaring boil for many years. In this regard Canada has been left out in the cold with the exception of the Ford Focus RS, Subaru Impreza WRX STI and VW Golf R. The Hyundai Veloster N adds another to the mix. However, when Honda released its latest Civic Type R, it gave the Great White North the forbidden fruit so many have lusted after for so long.It is a supreme ride that lives up to advanced billing and then some. The Driving team pitted the Golf R and WRX STI against the Type R last year. It cleaned their clocks despite being the only front-driver in the shoot out.The heart and soul of the Type R is the 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder shoehorned under the hood. This sweet mill twists out 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque at 2,500 rpm. The beauty is the power band is sustained over the entire operating range. Remarkably, given the outright performance at play, the engine does not bog down and become a temperamental handful when driven in an urban environment. My only wish is for a meatier exhaust note the bark needs to match the Rs bite! A big part of the driving experience is the six-speed manual gearbox. The throws are short and the gear spacing likewise. As such, under hard acceleration, the engine is never allowed to drop out of its sweet spot. It also has a rev-matching system that blips the throttle on a downshift, which means no more missed shifts. What goes unsaid is the rev-matching replicates the lost art of heel-and-toe shifting, so it makes an ordinary driver feel like a rally racer.The combination delivers a very fast turn of speed. The Type R runs to 100 kilometres an hour in 5.7 seconds, which is good. However, it is the mid-range that blows the driver away. With a three-second 80-120 km/h passing time this thing piles on speed at an alarming rate, especially if youre brave enough to run to redline in second, third and fourth gear! Normally, making the front wheels do all the driving, all the steering and the majority of the braking causes enormous headaches if you do two of the three things at the same time. Not here! The credit goes, in part, to the helical limited-slip front differential. Instead of spinning a wheel out of corners the Type R digs in and delivers otherworldly handling thats basically vice-free.The adaptive suspension then hunkers down and relishes being pushed the harder it is worked the better the Type R seems to react. The handling prowess is underscored by the steerings feel and the feedback. As a result, the Type R hammers into a corner and maintains the drivers line with a rare and very enjoyable precision. Mercifully, it also benefits from the biggest brakes ever fitted to a Civic. These things allow full-on braking time and again without running into the dreaded wall of fade.The plus is the ability to customize the drive. Comfort mode is ideal for the purring about the city; Sport is the right mode for those times when a little more fun is demanded. Then theres the +R setting. It firms the dampers, puts more weight in the steering and brings the engine to a roaring boil. Now you have a legit hot hatch that dusts its peers when the road, or track, takes a turn for the better. The Rs cabin is all about the driver. The oh-so-red body-hugging buckets, perfect driving position and chunky steering wheel make the car and driver feel as one. Likewise, the clean and precise instrumentation delivers everything demanded of a track-ready ride.However, not all is perfect. While the Type R gets Hondas LaneWatch blind spot system to cover the right side of the car a camera shows all and displays it in central infotainment screen. Unfortunately, theres nothing other than the mirror to cover the left side and theres no rear cross-traffic alert or forward collision prevention technology. An optimist may point to the fact few will pass the Type R, but the fact is it needs a true blind spot monitoring system because the rearward sightlines are tight.Remarkably, the Type Rs track ability does not come at the expense of utility. With the rear seat upright theres 728 litres of cargo space and 1,308 L with them folded. These numbers are identical to other Civic hatchbacks.Yes, the Honda Civic Type R is expensive and it has out-there styling. While the oversized rear wing is functional adding 30 kilograms of downforce at 200 km/h, it is outlandish and not going to suit all tastes. However, for those who want a legitimate racecar that doubles as a grocery getter, the Honda Civic Type R is
Origin: Reader Review: 2019 Honda Civic Type R
Aston Martin shares slide further after 2019 loss posted
Aston Martin’s share price has taken another hit after the firm announced a pre-tax loss of £78.8 million in the first half of this year. The price is now below £5 a share for the first time, hitting a low of £4.40 as trading opened this morning before rebounding to £4.88 after Aston held a press conference. The losses were blamed on lower-than-expected sales in Europe and expansion costs – but company boss Andy Palmer insists the firm’s ambitious growth plan remains on track. The publication of Aston Martin Lagonda’s latest results came a week after the firm issued a profit warning in which it cut its wholesale forecasts. That first caused shares in the company to dive to less than £6 per share, compared to £19 when the firm first floated in October 2018. Aston’s retails sales in the first half of 2019 were up 26% year-on-year, with growth in the USA and China off-setting a steep decline in the UK and Europe. Wholesale volumes – cars being distributed to dealers – were up 6% year-on-year. Aston boss Palmer admitted that “this has been a difficult period and we’ve clearly seen the market reaction”. But he noted that the firm’s sales were up year-on-year, and added: “I’m confident we are taking the right actions and that we can successfully deliver our strategy.” While sales were up, driven largely by demand for the Vantage and DBS Superleggera, Aston’s revenues dipped in part because it sold fewer high-price Special models, reducing the average selling price of its cars. The firm anticipates sales of its Specials will increase later this year, particularly with the ultra-limited run DB4 GT Zagato Continuation due in the fourth quarter. In its profit warning last week, Aston Martin revised planned wholesale volumes for the full year. From 7100 to 7300 units originally forecast when it published its annual results in February, the target has now dropped to 6300 to 6500 units. Palmer said that reduction was a result of the firm being “responsible and disciplined in the approach to our balance sheet”, and was designed to ensure that supply of the firm’s cars did not exceed demand, which could force dealers to offer discounts. He added: “Retails are up, wholesales are up, market share is up – we’re just not as up in wholesale as we’d like. In order to protect the market position of the brand we thought it right and proper to cut the wholesale (numbers) to ensure that we don’t simply make the mistakes of history and have to discount cars to get them away.” Aston’s profits were hit by a one-off £19 million provision for a ‘doubtful debt’ charge, relating to the planned sale of some intellectual property rights in the previous year. The firm has also invested heavily in its ambitious Second Century growth plan, and particularly in developing the DBX SUV, which is due to be launched in December and go on sale early next year. Palmer said that Aston remained “focused completely” on the execution of the plan, and insisted that the wholesale volume revisions and falling share price wouldn’t impact that. “We recognise there are headwinds and continuing uncertainties, and you’d correctly expect us to keep our financing arrangements under review to ensure we have appropriate resources around us,” said Palmer. He noted the first has greater cash reserves than it did this time last year, and would be prepared to secure additional funding “from sources with which we’re familiar” if needed. He added: “Our basic intention is the execution of the (Second Century) plan. We have some short-term headwinds and one would hope we move through this short-term correction and then carry on with what we’re doing. “You always take opportunities to be leaner and fitter, and that we will do. We’ve seen through the development of DBX so far that the efficiency of the development is much greater than it was with DB11, (with) far fewer design changes, far fewer needs to correct things not modelled correctly. “That efficiency and things we learn through development are then cascased into (development of the) Vanquish replacement and eventually the Lagondas. We’ll take the opportunity of those learnings, but the plan remains
Origin: Aston Martin shares slide further after 2019 loss posted
Aston Martin posts £78.8m loss in first half of 2019
Aston Martin recorded a pre-tax loss of £78.8 million in the first half of this year, due to lower-than-expected sales in Europe and expansion costs – but company boss Andy Palmer insists the firm’s ambitious growth plan remains on track. The publication of Aston Martin Lagonda’s latest results came a week after the firm issued a profit warning in which it cut its wholesale forecasts. That caused shares in the company to dive: they are currently worth less than £6 per share, compared to £19 when the firm first floated in October 2018. Aston’s retails sales in the first half of 2019 were up 26% year-on-year, with growth in the USA and China off-setting a steep decline in the UK and Europe. Wholesale volumes – cars being distributed to dealers – were up 6% year-on-year. Aston boss Palmer admitted that “this has been a difficult period and we’ve clearly seen the market reaction”. But he noted that the firm’s sales were up year-on-year, and added: “I’m confident we are taking the right actions and that we can successfully deliver our strategy.” While sales were up, driven largely by demand for the Vantage and DBS Superleggera, Aston’s revenues dipped in part because it sold fewer high-price Special models, reducing the average selling price of its cars. The firm anticipates sales of its Specials will increase later this year, particularly with the ultra-limited run DB4 GT Zagato Continuation due in the fourth quarter. In its profit warning last week, Aston Martin revised planned wholesale volumes for the full year. From 7100 to 7300 units originally forecast when it published its annual results in February, the target has now dropped to 6300 to 6500 units. Palmer said that reduction was a result of the firm being “responsible and disciplined in the approach to our balance sheet”, and was designed to ensure that supply of the firm’s cars did not exceed demand, which could force dealers to offer discounts. He added: “Retails are up, wholesales are up, market share is up – we’re just not as up in wholesale as we’d like. In order to protect the market position of the brand we thought it right and proper to cut the wholesale (numbers) to ensure that we don’t simply make the mistakes of history and have to discount cars to get them away.” Aston’s profits were hit by a one-off £19 million provision for a ‘doubtful debt’ charge, relating to the planned sale of some intellectual property rights in the previous year. The firm has also invested heavily in its ambitious Second Century growth plan, and particularly in developing the DBX SUV, which is due to be launched in December and go on sale early next year. Palmer said that Aston remained “focused completely” on the execution of the plan, and insisted that the wholesale volume revisions and falling share price wouldn’t impact that. “We recognise there are headwinds and continuing uncertainties, and you’d correctly expect us to keep our financing arrangements under review to ensure we have appropriate resources around us,” said Palmer. He noted the first has greater cash reserves than it did this time last year, and would be prepared to secure additional funding “from sources with which we’re familiar” if needed. He added: “Our basic intention is the execution of the (Second Century) plan. We have some short-term headwinds and one would hope we move through this short-term correction and then carry on with what we’re doing. “You always take opportunities to be leaner and fitter, and that we will do. We’ve seen through the development of DBX so far that the efficiency of the development is much greater than it was with DB11, (with) far fewer design changes, far fewer needs to correct things not modelled correctly. “That efficiency and things we learn through development are then cascased into (development of the) Vanquish replacement and eventually the Lagondas. We’ll take the opportunity of those learnings, but the plan remains
Origin: Aston Martin posts £78.8m loss in first half of 2019
Most IPace drivers only need two charges a week according to Jaguar app
Most I-Pace drivers only need two charges a week according to Jaguar app The Go I-Pace app monitors car usage to see how an EV would fit user needs Almost 90% of potential Jaguar I-Pace owners could cover their weekly mileage with a maximum of two charges per week, according to data gathered by the company’s Go I-Pace app. The app measures daily car use, and helps show users how an I-Pace would fit their driving needs. Information from those already using the system show that 87% of drivers would only need two full charges a week to cover their required mileage, while 52% of drivers would only need to charge once a week. More than 35,000 trips have been logged by the app, with an average user covering 216 miles per week, and an average journey of 8.4 miles. Jaguar’s I-Pace has a WLTP range of 292 miles on a single charge. Joanna Hewitt, Digital Innovations, Jaguar Land Rover said: “The Go I-Pace app was designed to demonstrate how EV ownership can benefit drivers, particularly in understanding journey impact on range and how often they would need to plug in. Looking at the data we have had so far it is clear to see that not only is I-Pace ownership cost-effective, it is extremely convenient too.”
Origin: Most IPace drivers only need two charges a week according to Jaguar app
LEVC produces 2500th TX
LEVC produces 2,500th TX The TX now makes up one in ten black cabs in London The 2,500th LEVC TX has rolled off production lines in Coventry, and the popular electric taxi now makes up 10% of London’s black cab market. Around 2,000 of the total TX figure are operated in the capital. Although also available in 19 other cities across the UK – including Birmingham, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Manchester – London was the TX’s launch city and the home of the iconic black cab. LEVC has sold TX models overseas too, including countries such as Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. LEVC calculates that the range-extended 2,500 cabs have already prevented 6,800 tonnes of CO2 emissions, and NOx emissions are cut by 99.5% compared to its diesel-powered predecessor. The TX has transported 13 million passengers more than 21 million miles since launch in January 2018. With an electric-only range on a single charge of 80 miles, and a small petrol engine acting as an on-board generator, the TX has saved 850,000 litres of fuel from being used, and saved cabbies £3.85 million in total – around £100 per week for each driver compared to those running the old diesel cab.
Origin: LEVC produces 2500th TX
All about car 