The Demo Site

Eaton, a company primarily known for making superchargers that make your vehicle go like stink, but guzzle even more gas, is also in the series hydraulic hybrid (SHH) business. The drive system in a hydraulic hybrid replaces the conventional drivetrain; the engine is effectively rendered a "pump" for the hydraulics, and energy is stored in two different accumulators that then power the wheels. Fuel savings of 50-70% are achieved by the system being much lighter than a traditional drivetrain, along with regenerative braking and the fact that the engine can be turned off when stopped and when decelerating.

The first real-world application of Eaton's SHH will be in a number of UPS delivery trucks next year. No auto manufacturer has any plans to create an SHH -- because of the lack of batteries, when the engine is cut off, electrical systems like the radio and climate control are also shut down. Eaten has a cooperative working agreement with the EPA to develop its hydraulic hybrid system, and has selected IBM to develop software to refine the system. Thanks for the tip, Gavin!

[Source: Eaton]

Ings Lancer Evo X body kit

Japanese tuning house Ings has prepared a kit for the Lancer Evo X consisting of a front bumper and a Z-Power Wing. The bumper houses not only the odd-ified upper intake, it also wears new canards, brake ducts, and intercooler shrouds. The Ing site has little to say about the kit, but it looks to have been tuned on a race-tested car. If you're keen, you can order the bumper here in either fiberglass or hybrid aero, a combination of urethane and fiberglass. It won't be available for a few months, so you'll have to be happy with the pics in the gallery below for now.

Rolls-Royce Sapphire

The bespoke department at Rolls-Royce has come up with another special edition Phantom to go along with the already released Phantom Pearl, Phantom Silver, and Phantom Tungsten. This one is the Phantom Sapphire, and unlike its rarefied stablemates, it gets built on the long wheelbase spaceframe.

The Milori Sapphire exterior wraps itself around two options of interior treatment: navy blue leather with seashell highlights, or seashell leather with navy blue highlights, and each is finished off with walnut burr veneer inlaid with a diamond-pattern. For those in the back enjoying themselves, a cool box below the rear seats will chill two bottles of bubbly in an aluminum billet receptacle. When it is time to imbibe, the parcel shelf hides hand-engraved crystal tumblers, and time is kept with a Rolls-Royce clock set with a diamond-shaped sapphire. And for the driver - who should never be left out of events like this - a Conway Stewart fountain pen set and solid silver key fobs that come in a lacquered, walnut veneer box. The price: No object. Thanks for the tip, James!

[Source: Sybarites]

Harldy-Davidson Nightster

It's a tough time to be selling any kind of vehicle in the United States, including motorcycles. Harley-Davidson has been hit just as hard as anybody else, and it's the more expensive line of bikes taking the brunt of this sales slowdown. The Motor Company's Sportster line is still selling fairly well, with its relatively attractive price and fuel efficiency conspiring to keep the V-Twins moving off the showroom floor. HD must really want to capitalize on those sales, as it's just announced a unique incentive to purchase a new Sportster, or alternatively to trade in your recently purchased model.

All 2008 and 2009 Sportsters will be sold with a guarantee that HD will offer the full MSRP of the bike when it comes time to trade up to a Big Twin (aka, non-Sportster) or VRSC model. Already ridden off the showroom floor? No problem, all previously sold 2007-and-newer models get the same deal. Fine print? Of course: XR1200 sales don't count; participating dealers only; offer valid between Dec. 26, 2008 and Mar. 31, 2009. Doesn't sound like too bad a deal for those already in the market.

Nissan GT-R FIA-GT1

Japan's Auto Sport magazine has procured a handful of shots and some preliminary specs on the FIA-GT1-ready Nissan GT-R, and judging by the modifications and performance stats, Nissan is planning an all-out assault on the series and a possible campaign at LeMans.

In order to get the GT-R up to snuff, NISMO has fitted the super coupe with a full body kit, GT-style wing, plexiglass windows, upgraded brakes, wheels and ducting, along with a hood reminiscent of the unit fitted on the SuperGT GT500 class GT-R. Informed speculation says that Nissan has ditched the twin-turbo'd 3.8-liter V6 in favor of a V8, possibly the 4.5-liter VK45DE used on the SuperGT racer.

The Nissan GT-R LM is rumored to be putting out 542 hp and 448 lb-ft of torque with a curb weight of 3,417 pounds and a price tag somewhere in the ballpark of 18,000,000 yen, or just under $200k US. Production is rumored to be limited to 300 units total, with 10 vehicles being built each month.

The LeMans car would only be sold to teams competing in the enduro, with a price tag of 65,000,000 yen ($720k US), 592 hp, 506 lb-ft of torque and tipping the scales at 2,976 pounds. There's still no confirmation when Nissan will begin campaigning the GT-R in a series outside of SuperGT, but don't be surprised to see an LM-spec car in at least one series in 2009.

Bertone's Alfa BAT 11 concept car

Nobody does television car shows like the Brits. Top Gear may be the king, but it has bred its fare share of imitators. Not only have Top Gear's producers began setting up franchises in Australia, Russia and the United States, but the BBC's local rivals have given birth to other shows like Final Gear and Sky Motoring... the latter of which has now released its own portfolio of awards.

The most intriguing award is arguably the show's choice of the Bertone BAT 11 as its Best Concept Car of 2008. The enigmatic design exercise was commissioned by collector Gary Kaberle while the stoic design house was in the midst of turmoil en route to bankruptcy and eventual restructuring. Due to the studio's financially distraught condition, the concept - a continuation of the original BAT 5, BAT 7 and BAT 9 cars - was only unveiled outside the Geneva Motor Show this past March. Based on the underpinnings of the Alfa 8C Competizione, the resurgent Bertone is reportedly considering putting the angular exotic into limited production.

Meanwhile, Sky Motoring handed out more than dozen other awards, including giving the nod to the Volkswagen Scirocco as its Best New Car of the Year, French automaker Citroen as the Best Manufacturer, and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 as the Best New Exotic. Click here to check out the rest of the Sky Motoring 2008 awards.

F&M Vulca S

Faralli & Mazzanti have assembled one example of their Vulca S coupe. Built on an aluminum chassis covered with hand-beaten aluminum panels, the Vulca isn't as extreme as the Antas, but it is just as original. Outside are hand-drawn lines that curve with more boldness and grace than those on its sister car, and inside is an interior awash in diamond stitched leather and contrasting wood. The exotic coupe's name again pays tribute to the Etruscans: Vulca da Veio was a famous Etruscan sculptor.

According to the folks at F&M, the Vulca S gets a 5.8-liter V10 engine of unspecified provenance pumping out 630 cavalli. One source thinks it's a derivation of the BMW 5.0-liter V10, but if F&M stuck to their Italian roots it could also be a bored version of Lamborghini's 5.3-liter. Only ten examples of the Vulca are planned, with some of them swapping the V10 for various V12 engines offering between 445 and 600 hp.

The price of entry? About €280,000, or in the neighborhood of $394,000 USD.

Another casualty in the collateral damage of auto industry woes: Graduating car designers are no longer finding jobs. The LA Times reports that in years past, manufacturer representatives would attend the Pasadena's Art Center College of Design's senior showcase and welcome a few visionaries into the hallowed world of car design. Now, manufacturer representation is down to one or two (if any), and those who show don't always end up hiring. For students who weren't chosen by manufacturers, the fallback was often working for a supplier, but these days, prospects there are just as bleak.

The fallback plan now for studious car design aspirants tends to be interiors or the world outside of car design. Those who can find any place at all in the car world will settle for penning A/C vents for now, and those who can't are looking at consumer appliances like cellular telephones. Although we have no doubt that current designers can deliver worthy goods when given the freedom to do so, as car enthusiasts, we look forward to when the gates open up again for the greatest minds of the collegiate generation.

[Source: LA Times]

Morgan SuperSport Junior pedal car

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.

[Source: Morgan]

Max Mosley has been head of the FIA for 15 years. Earlier this year, he pledged that when his term ends next year, he would step down - and that was before the infamous sex scandal. Yet even after the turpitude, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone - whose Christmas card brought the whole thing up again - noted there was no way that Max would step down, saying, "I've always said that Max will be the president until he dies" because he believes Mosley enjoys confrontation and power.

From the looks of it, Mosley is beginning to prove Ecclestone correct. The FIA president has now said that he will wait until next June to decide whether he will step down or not. That's only three months before his term ends, and unless a challenger decides to campaign while Mosley deliberates, it's unlikely that 90 days would be enough to unseat Lord Mosley. According to Ecclestone, Mosley won the vote of confidence after the sex scandal after bribing representatives from third world countries to back him. Between his power and political skill, it's hard to believe that Max will vacate his post until he decides to do it himself.

[Source: The Guardian]

A busted car theft ring has turned up a vintage Cadillac once owned by one of the Magnificent Seven. The five-finger-discount drivers out of Colorado, headed by Jeffrey Earle Piper, would steal expensive rental cars, change their VIN numbers and "sell" them. The new "owner", who was in on the whole thing, would then report "his" car stolen and collect on the insurance policy. One of the cars found among the loot: a $133,000 1959 Cadillac - looks like a Series 62 convertible - that once belonged to Steve McQueen. It's other claim to fame: a guest spot on the TV show MacGuyver. The mystery we're still trying to solve is which one of its owners put the Yeti pelt over the driver's seat? Hat tip to Derek!

[Source: Denver Post]

Everyone is bickering over Nissan pulling the plug on launch control on the Nissan GT-R… well maybe just the GT-R owners and those who plan on purchasing one. This may be one reason they pulled the launch control on the GT-R, the transmission just can't handle it maybe? Well, this GT-R had about 700HP so I guess something is bound to break!

Below is a video of the Samurai Speed Nissan GT-R blowing a transmission at the drag strip. You are supposed to see a Nissan GT-R run a time of 10.5 seconds at 128 MPH in the quarter mile but not this time. One GT-R makes it, the other is not so lucky. This is the sound of $20 grand going up in smoke… literally. God bless the owner of this car because he will have to pay out of pocket to fix this one. I am sure it wont be an issue considering the second video shows that this GT-R is tuned and that takes a bit of money!

As we approach the utopia of "a world without gas powered vehicles", all of the big dogs are rolling out their own version of an all electric vehicle. Toyota, who has had some experience with this in the past with the RAV-4 Electric Vehicle, is going to debut a battery electric vehicle concept at the upcoming 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. 

We knew Toyota would be jumping into this game, it was only a matter of time especially from the #1 seller of Hybrid vehicles.

We are not sure if they will be using a current Toyota chassis for the new battery electric Toyota but if we were to guess it would be based off of one of their smaller vehicles ie: Toyota Prius, Corolla or any Scion.

This tip comes in from a press released just issued today:

Toyota Will Debut Battery Electric Vehicle Concept at 2009 North American International Auto Show

TORRANCE, Calif., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ — Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. will display a battery electric vehicle concept at the 2009 North American International Auto Show. This display marks the world debut of this concept vehicle.

At next month's 2009 North American International Auto Show GM will be showcasing their new 2010 Chevrolet Equinox with Direct Injection. They say this will yield about 30 mpg on the highway. This will be the second generation Chevy Equinox. Many people have already seen the new Equinox on the streets of Cali in the form of a fuel cell vehicle. Many of the entertainment stars are spotted sporting the new Fuel Cell Equinox at popular events and shows.

The new 2010 Chevy Equinox should have a full featured options list including Bluetooth, USB audio, DVD entertainment and other new-age techie gadgets. Of course GM can now afford to do this because they have a few billion dollars to play with now due to getting a bailout right?