Budding automotive gearheads (along with a few of us here at Autoblog HQ) have one more piece of pedal car hotness to add to their Holiday wishlists: a new 2/3rd scale trike from Morgan. In the modern era, this classic British sportscar manufacturer offers a series of old-school four-wheelers complete with wooden substructures hewn from ash, but Morgan's early years focused on three-wheeled cyclecars that used V-Twin motorcycle engines mounted right in front of the grille and powering the two front wheels. Founded in 1909, Morgan Motor Company is celebrating its first 100 years in business by offering a limited edition run of these SuperSport Junior mini trikes.
Scheduled for production in August of 2009, Morgan's new pedal car has a price tag of £2,510 – about $3,700 in the States – and only 500 will be produced. The entire human-powered vehicle is made from only the highest quality materials, including a non-functional aluminum engine up front – just like the classic Grand Prix model from the early 1900s. A quick glance at the images in our gallery below already has us pondering what it would take to adapt a little Briggs & Stratton in its place.
It was the GM-powered Carnegie Mellon team that took first prize at the DARPA Urban Grand Challenge last year. Now the team will be sending its entrant, nicknamed "Boss," to the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the weekend of April 19 - 20. There, in front of cheering race fans, the autonomous vehicle will strut its stuff on the track and at speed against competitors "Junior" from Stanford, and "Ben" from the University of Pennsylvania and Lehigh University.
It's a demonstration, not a race, so don't expect these vehicles to put up a fight against the ultra-fast Champ Cars (no worries - they won't be sharing the track at the same time). In all honesty, with running speeds estimated at about 15 mph, these four-wheelers will err on the slow side of caution if given the chance. Nobody can predict, however, how well the driverless vehicles will complete the 1.97-mile Grand Prix course, but we're willing to bet that the DARPA entrants hit fewer walls than the "stars" participating in Saturday's Celebrity Race.
Whether by design or just poor timing, the latest reports have Alfa Romeo presenting its highly-anticipated upcoming MINI rival to local dealers on March 18, just after the Geneva Motor Show where it was expected to debut. Following the first orders that will be taken in Italy in June and initial deliveries in September, the new Alfa hatch will be officially launched at the Paris Motor Show in October.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: after scrapping the names Junior and Furiosa, Alfa Romeo will reportedly call its new entry-level model "MITO". The name is a combination of the cities Milano and Turino, where Alfa Romeo and Fiat are respectively based. Pre-production prototypes are just about ready but, according to reports, will have to be destroyed in compliance with new Italian laws – which means we won't be seeing any more Enzo-powered Ferrari 348s up for auction. The production MITO, meanwhile, will offer a range of engines starting with the base 1.4-liter four producing 95 or 105 horsepower, followed by turbocharged versions with 135 or 165 hp, topped by a 230-hp 1.8-liter turbo and a 120-hp 1.6-liter JTDM turbodiesel. A host of electronic wizardry will be offered, including a Ferrari-style Mannetino switch on the steering wheel, stability control, and Alfa's Q2 electronic differential, all in a package designed to ape the 8C Competizione – not a bad place to start.
When NASCAR gets together with the food industry, the results can be very interesting. Take NASCAR-branded meat, for instance. While branded beef might be best for tailgating, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s new candy bar called the Big Mo' is described as best when accompanied by "playing pool and just kicking back and having a good time like you always do." We're usually smoking and drinking when shooting pool rather than eating candy bars, but to each his own. Junior fans who've always wanted a taste of the NASCAR celebrity will soon be able to sink their teeth into this milk chocolate bar filled with either caramel or peanut butter. Junior himself was involved with the Big Mo's development, and by involved we mean he ate a lot of prototypes to get the taste just right. The big bar of NASCAR deliciousness is being produced by R.M. Palmer Company, a veritable no-name in the candy bar business that hopes to give Hershey and Mars a run for their money with its celebrity-backed candy bar. Hardcore Junior fans take note: there's a sweepstakes being held to promote the Big Mo's debut, the grand prize for which is a "Weekend at the Race" prize package that includes lunch with the driver himself. You have to buy a Big Mo' to enter, though. Good luck finding where they're sold.
It's been bandied about for some time, but Valeo is looking to finally make it a reality. The supplier is developing a camless engine that utilizes electromagnetic solenoids to drive the valves, providing unlimited control of the valves, reducing emissions by up to 20-percent and improving performance in the process.The system, which is also being developed by both Jacobs Vehicle Systems of Connecticut and Lotus Engineering, has had its share of fits and starts. Packaging issues have caused problems for all involved, particularly on engines with three or four valves per cylinder.
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