Next Generation 7-Series Breaks Cover
Jul 4, 2008
Although the following press release was scheduled for Saturday, July 5th, several other news reporting agencies have broken the embargo placed upon them. This is the first official information on the next 7 Series, which will officially debut at the Paris Auto Show in October. Click the picture above to read the full story about BMW's next-generation of luxury flagship.
Viva Obscurity! The Car Badge Game
Jul 3, 2008
As everyone begins filing out of their offices and trudging home and towards a weekend of beer, explosions, and sunburn in inconvenient crevasses, we at Motive wish you the safest and happiest of times; free from the iron grip of law enforcement, mercifully absent of any traffic snarls, and without any unplanned trips to hospitals.
Since everyone — ourselves included — is winding down, we thought we'd present a game. Scratch that, a challenge masquerading as a game: Everyone knows a Dodge ram head from a Pontiac arrowhead, but how many of you think the above logo is an early Volkswagen? How many think could describe, much less identify, the family crest that became the Buick tri-shield? Click through to our forums for the Car Badge Game, where our readers try to stump each other mightily with logos and emblems from the dark corners of our collective consciousness. Interest piqued? Just a little curious to test your mettle? Click through to the forums to see if you've got the stuff.
The Return of the Mustang Turbo - Fact or Crap?
Jul 3, 2008
The blogosphere is positively dripping with rumors today, most of them about the return of the Mustang SVO for 2010 — in the form of a 300-horsepower, 2.3-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder model that would replace the current three-valve V-8 GT and be five hundred pounds lighter, thanks to high-strength steel and the smaller engine. Which would be smashing — except it's not exactly truthful.
"There is no 'SVO' team," says one Ford PR rep. "SVT is going strong." As for the demise of the V-8? "Ford is committed to. . .deliver what Mustang customers want," says Ford's Alan Hall. "And for the foreseeable future, that is V-8 power." On the topic of Mustang receiving an EcoBoost engine, Hall says "Our strategy is to migrate [EcoBoost] technology to across a range of vehicles - from small cars to large trucks - where it makes sense."
So while there may be a turbo Mustang in the future and it might use an EcoBoost engine, there aren't any plans for it to supplant the V-8 powered Mustang any time soon.
NHRA Shortening Top Fuel Dragster Runs to 1000'
Jul 3, 2008
Following Scott Kalitta's fatal crash last month at Englishtown, the National Hot Rod Association has decided to shorten the length of top-fuel dragster races from a full quarter-mile (1320') to one thousand feet. Shortening the distance of the run will not only give drivers more run-off at the end of the track, but it also limits top speeds to ensure that there will be less kinetic energy to scrub off in the first place.
The move is interim while the NHRA analyzes potential safety upgrades and evaluates the underlying causes and failures that resulted in Kalitta's crash.
You Say You Want a Revolution? Too Bad, Here's Your 2009 7-Series Instead
Jul 3, 2008
Thanks to the miracle of Flickr and free email accounts, we can now present to you the first tiny pictures of the all-new BMW 7-series, sent across the vast expanse of the Internet well in advance of its offical reveal this Saturday morning.
Riding atop BMW's new F01/F02 (SWB/LWB) architecture — the first of many new Bimmers to drop the Exx nomenclature — the new 7 has integrated cues first seen on the Concept CS, including its snub nose, larger kidney grilles, and reverse-raked front fascia. Its side profiles have more complicated, yet less overwrought, surface detailing, and the rear loses the controversial "overbite" trunk cutline in favor of a traditional opening. Check out more pictures in our forums, and look back for the high-res photos and full press release from BMW once we have to go-ahead to post everything.
Toyota Throws Its Weight Behind Its... Houses?
Jul 2, 2008
As one of our readers said, Toyota building prefab housing was only a matter of time after Toyota got into NASCAR. Except it's not.
Since 1975, Toyota has been building pre-fabricated, steel-framed, typhoon-resistant houses. The venture isn't that big in Japan — it accounts for only $1.3 million of Toyota's nearly $262 billion in revenue last year — but the company is trying to promote it as a green alternative by tying them in with the next generation of Toyota Motor's plug-in hybrids.
The plug-in hybrids, due in 2010, will not only smart-charge during off-peak hours to keep utility bills down, but the car's on-board charger can serve as a generator to power the house in the event of a blackout.
Revenge of the Tuner Culture: The Japan-only Corvette S-Limited
Jul 2, 2008
American cars have always been square pegs in Japan, and the only way they'd let us into their round holes was if there were serviceman registrations in the glove box. As if to prove this point, GM Japan has released the Corvette S-Limited for the low, low price of ¥7.9 million. What does your Big Bag O' Yen™ Patent Pending get you? Bragging rights to one of only 30 cars produced, lots of grille mesh, a set of special wheels, and a lip spoiler. You can see the full set of specs here if you know your kanas from your kanjis.
Bear in mind, now, that your $75,000 doesn't even get you the 505-horsepower Z06, but the plebeian (if such an adjective can be applied here) 430-horsepower model. Meanwhile, we can buy a new Z06 for that much over here, and a new base coupe for a tick over $46,100. This, my friends, is totally what Lee Greenwood wrote that song about.
50% Shock, 50% Surprise, 100% "Holy Crap, that's a Kia"? - Kia Forte Teaser Images Land on the 'Net
Jul 2, 2008
Not that we feel a small amount of schadenfreude for those who shelled out to buy spy shots of a camouflaged Kia sedan a few days ago, but... neener! Kia's released three studio shots of its upcoming Forte, the replacement for its Spectra. There are no details, but what we've seen shows an immensely handsome small car, with taut lines and the kind of detailing we'd not thought the Koreans capable of. Not the kind of fun, either, because you know that as this car hits secondary and tertiary markets, it's going to be called the "Fort", the "Fort-E" and, rhyming with Porsche, "Fort-uh." See the full set of pictures in our forums!
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All rights reserved. No photos, news stories, graphics, or logos may be used or reproduced without written permission.
MotiveMag.com is an independent media publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any automobile manufacturer.