en | fr | de | it | es | pt | ru
blog.niot.net
Video: Robbie Maddison jumps a motorcycle 120 feet to top of Arc de Triomphe in Vegas

Ever since Evel Knievel made jumping a motorcycle into a national phenomenon, there seems to be an endless supply of insane (and inane) stunts with which to occupy our imaginations. The latest feat was performed in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve and involved launching Robbie Maddison -- the man who performed a different jump in Sin City last New Year's Eve -- over 100 feet and landing at the top of the Arc de Triomphe at the Paris hotel. Of course, what goes up, must come down, and so did Robbie. Fortunately, he managed to stick the landing but he reportedly injured his hand in the process. Watch the whole bit go down on the video -- complete with the obligatory cut-shots to his rightfully concerned significant other -- after the break. In related news, Robbie Knievel also made a (less impressive) Vegas jump that night, and that video can also be seen after the break.
more ...
posted : 1/5/2009 @9:49:28 PM

In the Valley of the Sun, Part I

This week, Autoblog steps out of California for the day, heading due east towards Arizona. That's right, we're headed to Phoenix, and this is the time of year to do it. It may be unbearably hot all Summer, but the Fall and Winter are the reasons why Phoenicians call the Valley of the Sun home. Trust me. There are plenty of good places to point your car in Arizona and we'll be taking a look at a few of them as this series progresses. Today, we head due South for a three-hour tour of great roads and rugged terrain.

We've started our day's journey at the South Mountain Park Scenic Drive, which, at 16,500 acres, happens to be part of the world's largest park. At its peak, the drive will take you 2,330 feet skyward and you'll have an excellent perch upon which to view the fifth-largest city in the United States. All right, we can appreciate the nice surroundings, but we're here to drive. Let's got going.
more ...

posted : 12/3/2008 @8:21:20 PM
Ferrari kicks off young driver development program

In the ever-increasingly competitive world of F1 racing, many teams have begun scouting for drivers earlier and earlier in their careers. In the past, smaller teams would scout the talent, and then the bigger teams would poach them with their vast resources. But in the wake of the immense success of McLaren's rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton, nobody can afford to rest on their proverbial laurels. Now, following existing programs at rival teams Renault, Honda, Toyota and McLaren, Ferrari is launching a young driver development program of its own. The initial news came in last week from team principal Stefano Domenicali, and has now been substantiated by a new joint announcement from Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo in conjunction with Gino Macaluso, head of Italian racing federation ACI-CSAI. The Scuderia will offer test drives to Mirko Bortollotti, Edoardo Piscopo and Salvatore Cicatelli – the top three finishers in this year's Italian Formula 3 championship. If Ferrari decides to contract any of the drivers for a future race seat, they would be the first Italian driver for the Scuderia since the colorful Ivan Capelli (who, incidentally, won the Italian F3 title in 1983) raced the crimson cars way back in 1992. Now excuse us while we go sign up for next year's Italian F3 season.
posted : 10/27/2008 @4:08:45 PM
Toyota opens second facility in Michigan, adds 400 jobsMichigan has been begging for good news from the auto industry lately, and the Great Lakes state got some from a company that was once considered public enemy number one. Toyota has officially opened a brand new $187 million technical center in York Township that will provide 400 more jobs to the beleaguered state while giving the Japanese automaker additional manpower to develop more new vehicles for North America. The York Township facility will compliment the 700-person Toyota research and development center in Ann Arbor that has been operational since 1997. The Ann Arbor facility has performed R&D duties for various vehicle including the Avalon, Tundra, Sienna and upcoming Venza. The added jobs at the new facility only represents a small portion of the thousands of jobs Michigan residents have lost over the past decade, but having an automotive force like Toyota investing in your state is a very good start, indeed.
posted : 10/15/2008 @7:59:29 PM
REPORT: Cadillac gets green light for smaller, RWD sedanDespite being priced to compete with the smaller BMW 3 Series sedan, the Cadillac CTS is as large as the German marque's 5 Series. Similarly, the STS competes with the 5 Series in pricing but matches the top-level 7 Series in size. Rumors of a smaller Caddy to zig alongside the benchmark 3 Series in size have been running rampant for over a year and now we hear the sedan may have finally been green-lighted. Expect the new entry-level Cadillac to be built atop GM's upcoming rear-wheel-drive Alpha platform. We have had nothing but good things to say about the latest Cadillac CTS, so we naturally have high hopes for the new, smaller Caddy sedan, which could also sprout a coupe and a convertible. To this point, GM has never quite hit the sweet spot with the premium division's smallest offering in Europe, the Saab 9-3-based BLS, and we are anxious to see how the new Alpha Dog can compete.
posted : 9/24/2008 @9:50:46 PM

General Motors dedicates new powertrain engineering center

General Motors dedicated its new Powertrain Engineering Development Center in Pontiac, MI on Friday. On hand were CEO Rick Wagoner, Powertrain EVP Tom Stephens and the usual array of elected officials trumpeting their involvement in making the new facility happen. Prior to the speech making and pushing of the ceremonial start-up button, we got a tour of the new 450,000 square foot facility that GM proclaims as the largest, most advanced powertrain development center in the world.

VP of powertrain engineering Dan Hancock explained that the center will be responsible for developing the systems that comprise GM's advanced propulsion strategy. GM is consolidating powertrain development operations from four facilities in Southeast Michigan at this new Pontiac location. When the 1,200 relocating staff have moved in there will be 4,300 staff on site. GM is using new systems being implemented to move forward with its Road to Lab to Math (RLM) strategy that will help reduce engineering development costs. The center will lead development of all manner of future GM powertrains from new gas and diesel engines to hybrid systems and the E-Flex system that will power the Volt. Read on to learn about some of the new systems GM is putting in place to help improve its powertrains.

posted : 8/7/2008 @9:12:55 PM
Praise the Lord and pass the license plates

Christians looking to evangelize are understandably thrilled with the idea of "I Believe" license plates, nevermind that they may be unconstitutional. While the first amendment protects individuals rights to free speech, the cross and stained glass themed plates with the phrase "I Believe" across the bottom were cooked up by the South Carolina Senator Larry Grooms and endorsed unanimously by the state legislature, and a similar effort is underway in Florida. On those grounds, the plates may constitute a state sanctioning of one religion over another, and that raises the ire of non-Christians and free speech advocates. The group Americans United for Separation of Church and State tossed a yellow flag on the field and blew its lawsuit whistle to block these plates from seeing the light of day, spurring a respectfully blistering outpouring of "you'll burn in Hell, thank you" messages from plate supporters.
more ...
posted : 7/12/2008 @5:12:59 PM
Maserati considering adding a smaller coupe to lineupMore Maseratis can hardly be a bad thing – unless you're one of the unfortunates trying to maintain a BiTurbo without losing your shirt. Modern Masers are sumptuous and beautiful, quintessential expressions of the Gran Turismo idiom. The gloriousness of recent trident-wearing Italians has led to a boom in sales. Maserati is looking at increasing its profitability by expanding the model range downward. A smaller Maserati sports coupe priced in Porsche 911 territory could give sales a further boost, though the swooning economy may not help the exotic brand move units. The car would be based on a hacksawed version of the Gran Turismo's platform, leaving room for only two occupants. A spiffy Maserati in the $80-100,000 range is expected to be capable of moving more than 6,000 per year, powered by the expected V8s, and possibly a V6 for increased efficiency. Mortgaging the house for this vehicle is likely a bad idea, but another choice in the segment and price range that it's expected to occupy has us nodding in approval.
posted : 7/12/2008 @5:01:47 PM
GM stock drops below $10 per shareAfter Merrill Lynch hinted bankruptcy concerns yesterday, and other Wall Street analysts spread additional gloom, shares of General Motors dropped $1.77 to close at $9.98 -- GM's lowest close in more than 50 years. While GM stock on Tuesday showed a bit of promise on the news that sales only dropped 18.2 percent in June (yes, it was supposed to be worse), nothing could slow the fall on Wednesday. Unfortunately for GM, the light at the end of the tunnel seems a far way off. Sales are plummeting, and those vehicles that do leave the lot are padded with generous financing and rebate offers (experts quickly point out that incentive-laden sales gains are often followed by slowdowns). With eight brands, 13,000 franchises, and a falling market share, many have begun (or continued) to question GM's ability to survive without insolvency.
posted : 7/5/2008 @1:28:35 PM
Fast and Furious muscles up

OntarioStreetCar caught sight of a transporter loaded with Detroit Muscle being used in the filming of the fourth installment of The Fast and the Furious saga, innovatively titled, Fast and Furious. This is one truck we'd gladly hijack with a crew of accomplices driving tuned Civics, as it's hauling, at minimum, a pair of Chargers, a Chevelle SS, and the wicked Torino GT you see above. Not included in the attached gallery are studio shots of Vin Diesel with a Grand National and yet another Chevelle, both of which you can see at OntarioStreetCar. The F&F films may be light on plot, but they're long on car porn, and we can say without a hint of embarassment that we are totally going to see this movie.
posted : 6/30/2008 @7:50:04 PM
< back ( 1 2 3 ) next >
:: new posts
:: popular posts
copyright 2007 (C) - powered by ceastudio