Archive for August 2006
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 31st, 2006 1:38 PM
.
Apparently, while the rest of us were playing “license plate bingo” growing up, artist Aaron Foster was busy thinking up interesting ways to repurpose them. Foster has created a number of different styles of works using old plates, including the Mini seen above. The artist is also known for his maps of the US made up of the same, and he apparently does commission work, as well. Click on the link below for more of Foster’s art.
+ AaronFosterDesigns
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE
36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 31st, 2006 10:15 AM
.
Jaguar. Land Rover. Volvo. Aston Martin. All of Ford’s Premium Auto Group silver appears to be on the table as part of the automaker’s bid for profitability.
According to a Dearborn press release this morning, Ford is exploring “strategic options” for its 007 brand, with “…particular emphasis on a potential sale of all or a portion of the unit.”
The storied British marque has been a bright spot in the PAG portfolio, with an expanded lineup, acclaimed styling, improved quality, and most importantly– profitability. No decision has been announced regarding any of the Blue Oval’s other premium brands, but this is the first official release we can remember that’s openly stated one of its units is up for sale.
+ Winding Road: Aston Martin archive
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE
36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 31st, 2006 9:33 AM
.
What will the 2015 Audi Avant look like? Admittedly, it’s a bit long-of-lead to send our spy photogs off in search of prototypes, but that hasn’t stopped Milan’s Scuola Politecnica di Design from hosting an Audi-sponsored design show.
Last October, Walter de’Silva, the automaker’s design head, challenged students of the school’s Car Design Masters course to envision what the future Audi wagon would look like. Twenty student designers answered the call, with eleven of their proposals receiving the nod to receive further development. Their final works were recently brought together and displayed, and you can click on the link below for a slideshow of some of their efforts.
+ BusinessWeek: Students Imagine an Audi Evolution
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE
36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 31st, 2006 7:04 AM
.
Over the years, the passenger-car seatbelt has evolved from a simple lap belt to the three-point belt common today. Barring height adjusters, material changes and inertia reels, they’ve largely stayed the same for some time now, but that doesn’t mean automakers aren’t hard at work on the seatbelt of the future.
For its part, Ford Motor Co. has worked up a four-point system that more closely resembles a racing harness, with two knapsack-like over-the-shoulder straps that connect to a lap belt. Ford is also developing an airbag system that’s an integral part of the belt system.
(Click through to the jump for more on the seatbelt of the future)
+ Detroit News: Ford tests new seat belt ideas
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE 36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 30th, 2006 4:33 PM
.
Maybe a paucity of buttonry is part of the new Mini’s weight saving effort.
Photos and details on the runabout’s interior continue to creep out, including news of the inclusion of a BMW iDrive-derived controller on models fitted with optional satellite-navigation.
Instead of BMW’s metallic porkpie hat, the Mini receives a joystick-like appendage behind the gearshift. The main menu apparently offers “entertainment,” “communication,” and “navigation,” along with a link for system settings. Climate controls appear to have been left alone. For GUI-phobic consumers, the new system will offer voice command, which is good news for those who have yet to wrap their arms around any of the single-point interfaces now available.
+ MotoringFile: 2007 Navigation System to Include iDrive
+ Winding Road: Mini Archive
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE
36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 30th, 2006 2:32 PM
.
Mercedes-Benz appears to be readying a ride to contest Audi’s forthcoming R8 supercar for mid-engined supremacy. Auto Motor und Sport has revealed this Schulte-Nextline rendering of the car which they indicate is due around 2010.
Said to be powered by a variant of AMG’s 6.2-liter V8, this car is not to be confused with the higher-end P8, which was originally slated to come in at around $200,000. That car has reportedly been put on ice, presumably in favor of this less-expensive, larger volume model.
+ Auto Motor und Sport: Mercedes AMG-Sportwagen (via LeftLaneNews)
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE
36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 30th, 2006 11:22 AM
.
Hearing about a celebrity cracking up his or her car is nothing new. With the advent of the paparazzi and 24-hour news networks, it borders on a daily occurrence. Usually it’s some sports figure or Hollywood child star that gets pegged for a DUI or some other act of stupidity.
But word that Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic has just crashed a race car strikes us as something altogether different. Gasparovic was taking part in a “test drive” in front of the Slovakia Grand Prix when he had his off-track excursion. The 65-year-old was not injured.
Interestingly, Gasparovic has reportedly been racing for around 30 years, and has continued to do so despite being elected to office back in 2004. Sounds like our type of politician.
It was not immediately clear what type of race car Gasparovic was driving at the time of the incident.
+ The Associated Press: Slovak Leader Crashes Race Car, Unhurt (via Bismarck Tribune)
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE
36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 30th, 2006 9:22 AM
.
Last November, a group calling themselves the Rebar Group engaged in an unusual bit of viral street art by turning a metered parallel parking spot into an impromptu park. The San Francisco spot was complete with real sod, a bench, and a tree. The urban artists then put a small sign on the attendant meter, urging passers-by to keep their PARK(ing) project ‘alive’ by dropping a dime (or two).
The collective has now declared September 21 as “PARK(ing) Day,” and in conjunction with the Trust for Public Land, they’re asking for volunteers to join them in setting up similar installations around San Francisco. Learn more by clicking on the link below.
+ Rebar Group: PARK(ing) Day
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE
36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 30th, 2006 7:06 AM
.
Our newest work, Issue 13 has just gone live, and it’s a cover-to-cover read, if we do say so ourselves. Speaking of which, this month’s cover is unusually spectacular, but we can’t take the credit for that. Camilo Pardo, designer of the Ford GT, was kind enough to lend us a bit of his artistry, turning one of our GT500 vs. GT photographs into the memorable mural seen above. There’s even a making-of video in the issue.
Of course, Blue Oval dream machines aren’t all that’s inside. We look in on Mini’s John Cooper Works GP kit, Lexus’ technofabulous new LS460, and hoon around in a decommissioned Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.
As ever, if you’re not yet a subscriber, you can sign up here for a free 36-month subscription!
+ Winding Road: Download our new issue
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 29th, 2006 4:33 PM
.
Pardon us while we check our Armor All bottle’s label in the hopes that it functions as a disinfectant.
According to a new British study, steering wheels have been found to harbor more than twice as many germs than the average toilet seat — 41,600, as compared to 17,400 on the loo ring.
UK supermarket giant Tesco commissioned the study, which surveyed over 1,000 drivers about their car cleaning regimen (many apparently don’t have one). In total, just 13 percent of participants indicated they clean their vehicles regularly, and five percent admit they’ve never cleaned theirs at all.
Break out the antibacterial wipes, one and all.
+ Global National: More germs than a toilet seat (via Canada.com)
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE
36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 29th, 2006 2:56 PM
.
Perhaps working elbow-to-elbow with Tesla Motors is beginning to rub off. Lotus has just unveiled its Exige 265E, a research and development car that runs on E85.
Using a modified version of the supercharged 2ZZ VVTL-i (whew!) found under the hood of the Exige S, the 2,050 pound mighty mite throws down 265 horsepower — good enough for a 0-60 mph time of 3.9 seconds, and a top whack of 158 mph.
(Click through to the jump for more details)
continued →
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 29th, 2006 1:33 PM
.
“It wasn’t me, your honor… it was my friend from overseas. Honest!”
That’s apparently an all-too common plea for those ensnared by Australian traffic cameras. The phenomenon is becoming known as the “Einfeld Defense” after Marcus Einfeld, (a former judge) copped the same story in a statutory declaration last May. The woman the ex-official claimed was borrowing his car would later be discovered to have died three years previous.
Einfeld is hardly alone — some 13,000 people claim that someone from overseas was driving their car at the time one of Australia’s cameras caught them doing something illegal. All told, 212,000 car owners pled that someone else was driving their car when it was caught by speed or red-light cameras, or when it was issued a parking ticket.
According to Aussie protocol, the State Debt Recovery Office then transfers the fine to the person who is alleged to be the actual driver, but predictably most offenses are subsequently dropped, as it’s very hard to pursue remunerations from persons outre mer (real or otherwise).
+ Drive.com.au: Thousands use the Einfeld defence
+ Not yet a subscriber to Winding Road? Click here to receive a FREE
36-month subscription to our digital magazine
Next >
Cadillac CTS-V Laps Nurburgring in Sedan Record 7:59:32
Opel Insignia Hatchback Spied Undisguised 
The Rise of Hyundai: From Mitsubishi Borrower to Possible M-B Supplier
First Look At Possible New MG TF
So Long Super Aguri: Financial Woes Cause Formula One Team to Call it A Day
