Jaguar Releases Details, Single Photo of F-Pace Crossover Before Frankfurt Debut

Jaguar is late to the luxury-crossover game, but the new F-Pace crossover will pounce onto the scene next month, making its official debut at the Frankfurt auto show before hitting dealerships sometime during 2016 as a 2017 model. Jaguar isn’t waiting, however, to release a few details about the new cat’s claws—its chassis—as well as this image of the final product in a wild wrap, showing a few more details of the front end than we’ve seen before.
We can’t be sure it’s actually going quickly, since we take dynamic pictures like this all the time and it might only be going 10 mph. But let’s just pretend that it’s carving a hard left-hander at seven or eight times that speed, and that its freshly described double-control-arm front and “integral link” rear suspension setups are under full cornering load. If that is indeed the case, the trucklet’s flat attitude is impressive, giving credence to Jaguar’s claims that the aluminum-bodied F-Pace will handle with precision and control—or like the “ultimate practical Jaguar sports car,” to use the automaker’s terminology. Speaking of Jaguar sports cars, Jaguar says some of the F-Pace’s technology—specifically its electric power steering and brake-based torque vectoring—measures up to the stuff it developed for the F-type.

There are still many many more details to learn about the F-Pace, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see more tidbits trickle out of Coventry before the crossover debuts in Frankfurt on Tuesday, September 15, at 10:30 a.m. local time

Link to original article - http://blog.caranddriver.com/jaguar-releases-details-single-photo-of-f-pace-crossover-before-frankfurt-debut/

Used-Car Prices Hang In There At High Levels

Used-car prices on average hit a record of $18,800 per vehicle in the second quarter, an eye-opening increase of $1,300 per vehicle on average from a year earlier, according to auto shopping and industry analysis web site Edmunds.com, in its latest Used Vehicle Market Report.
That’s important whether you’re in the market for a new or a used car or truck. Rising used-car prices imply rising new-car prices, too.
At a basic level, consumer demand is high. U.S. new-vehicle sales are expected to hit a near-record 17.2 million in 2015, and maybe set a new record in 2016, at around 17.5 million, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Beyond the basics, today’s used-car market gets complicated. To a great extent, the U.S. auto market is still reacting to the sickening drop in new-car sales in the Great Recession.

U.S. auto sales bottomed out in 2009, the year that General Motors and the then-Chrysler Group went through bankruptcy restructuring. Ford avoided bankruptcy, but all three companies downsized. Familiar brands like Pontiac, Saturn, and Mercury got kicked to the curb.

New-car sales in 2009 were only 10.4 million. Analysts said that was the lowest point for U.S. auto sales per capita since World War II. That was nearly 3 million units below 2008, and 2008 was nearly 3 million units lower than 2007.
That drop in new-car sales meant the exact same size drop in used-car inventory, since after all, today’s new cars are tomorrow’s used cars.

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Audi Readies Electric SUV To Outcharge Tesla Model X

The age of Tesla not being taken seriously by German luxury automakers closed a couple of years ago — and in a few weeks at the Frankfurt motor show, we’ll see a number of salvos from established automakers building electric models for high-end customers.

First up in the new wave: Audi, which today revealed this sketch of what it calls the E-Tron Quattro SUV concept, the precursor to a mid-size, battery-powered vehicle the company plans to launch in 2018 for regular production. According to Audi, the E-Tron Quattro will have a range of about 310 miles, impressive for a vehicle that’s somewhere between a Q5 and Q7 in size, due in part to some of the slickest aerodynamics ever developed for a SUV. One hint about its layout may be that Audi specified it seats only four; it’s likely that passenger space had to be sacrificed for battery room at that range.

Audi has been tinkering with pure electric vehicles for years, but has never built them in any real volume; its R8 e-Tron project was sold only as a special order car for more than $1 million a pop to European buyers. With the Tesla Model X due out by the end of the year, and BMW, Porsche and Mercedes all stepping up their electric car projects, the market for luxury EVs will only get more crowded from here.  

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Steve McQueen's 1976 Porsche 930 sells for $1.95 million in Monterey

1976 Porsche 930, originally ordered by Steve McQueen. Courtesy Mecum Auctions, unless otherwise noted. Click here for link to original article.

Steve McQueen had a passion for fast cars and a love of Porsche automobiles, so when the German automaker announced a range-topping 911 Turbo Carrera model (internal name, Porsche 930), the star wasted little time in placing his order. Described as the last automobile special-ordered by McQueen before his 1980 death, the Slate Gray 1976 Porsche 930 crossed the block in Monterey last Saturday, selling for $1.95 million with part of the proceeds going to charity. 

The 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera came standard with a 3.0-liter, horizontally opposed and air-cooled six-cylinder engine, rated at 234 horsepower in U.S. trim. While normally aspirated 911 models could be ordered with a five-speed manual transmission, early 930s came only with four-speed manual transmissions. Performance was spectacular for the day, with the run from 0-60 MPH taking less than 5.5 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 155 MPH. 

1976 Porsche 930, originally ordered by Steve McQueen. Photos by David Newhardt, courtesy Mecum Auctions, unless otherwise noted.

Steve McQueen had a passion for fast cars and a love of Porsche automobiles, so when the German automaker announced a range-topping 911 Turbo Carrera model (internal name, Porsche 930), the star wasted little time in placing his order. Described as the last automobile special-ordered by McQueen before his 1980 death, the Slate Gray 1976 Porsche 930 crossed the block in Monterey last Saturday, selling for $1.95 million with part of the proceeds going to charity. 

The 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera came standard with a 3.0-liter, horizontally opposed and air-cooled six-cylinder engine, rated at 234 horsepower in U.S. trim. While normally aspirated 911 models could be ordered with a five-speed manual transmission, early 930s came only with four-speed manual transmissions. Performance was spectacular for the day, with the run from 0-60 MPH taking less than 5.5 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 155 MPH. 

McQueen’s car, chassis 9306800408, was ordered with a sunroof, dual mirrors, black sport seats and a limited slip differential. Upon delivery, its stock wheels (seven-inches wide in front, eight-inches wide in rear) were swapped for one-inch wider versions in all corners, and a manual switch was added to deactivate the rear lights in case the car’s under-the-radar hue wasn’t enough to escape detection.

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2015 BMW M4 Convertible Manual

 As the E92 BMW M3 was carving out its place in history, BMW’s self-appointed arbiters of purity immediately branded its optional sunroof the mark of a poseur. The sunroof precluded the carbon-fiber roof panel, which meant not only more weight but more weight higher up, thus raising the center of gravity. And any true M3 pilot acid-dips his helmet and goes shirtless on track days to achieve the lowest possible center of gravity.

Lead Head

By that thinking, the convertible is the bastard child of the M3/M4 family. Convertibles invariably weigh more than the coupes on which they’re based, but they don’t invariably weigh 14 percent more. Yet that’s the gain that this 4041-pound convertible represents over a similarly outfitted M4 coupe. A 485-pound weight gain is more what we’d expect when making a convertible out of a Chevrolet Tahoe. (Why not a Suburban, you ask? Because the proportions would be all wrong.) However, there is one bright spot in the M4 droptop’s weight gain—optimized distribution of the extra pounds. Whereas the coupe carries 52 percent of its weight over the front wheels, the complex mechanism that folds and stows the three-piece metal top shifts the weight bias rearward, to the point that 52 percent of the convertible’s weight is riding on the rear Michelins.

That mechanism is certainly responsible for a lot of the extra pounds, as is the roof itself. And then there’s all that structural bracing. Cut the top off, and you have to stiffen the remaining tub. In the M4’s case, they should have stiffened it even more. With the top down, a wholly un-M level of cowl shake takes over the M4. The sturdy top lessens the quivering when raised, but even then hidden bits emit rattles.

Excellence Extended

But not even an extra quarter-ton dulls the 425-hp straight-six’s enthusiasm. It still accelerates as though its torque curve were brick-shaped, with a vertical line at 1850 rpm making a 90-degree turn at 406 lb-ft and proceeding to the redline with nary a divot. The convertible matched the aforementioned, manual-transmission coupe at 4.1 seconds to 60 mph. They were even through the quarter-mile, too, at 12.4 seconds, although the convertible tailed by 4 mph. So drag racers, stick with the hardtop.
Dropping the top is the best way to listen to the blatty rip from the twin-turbo six’s quad tailpipes. As we’ve done with a handful of these cars now, we pulled up the trunk floor liner and removed the fuse for the sound-enhancing function, cutting the artificial flourishes BMW pipes through the audio speakers for a purer exhaust note.

Its weight may not slow down the convertible in a straight line, but it starts to have an impact when the road bends. We hit just 0.94 g on the skidpad—compared with 0.98 for the coupe—but, even if it doesn’t grip as tenaciously and is less willing to change direction, the convertible retains the M4’s characteristic tail-happiness and is still a near-perfect drift tool, particularly given the twin-turbo six’s fat lot of torque.
The M4 convertible’s sticker is equally swollen. At $73,495 to start, it wallops your wallet to the tune of $8300 over the coupe. A healthy options tab—including carbon-ceramic brakes, adaptive suspension, 19-inch wheels, and a bunch of luxury trimmings—pushed this example to $90,670. An M4 convertible could be optioned up to $100,000. Enough M4 goodness remains in the convertible that we still enjoy it in spite of its compromises, but at more than $90,000, it does get harder to love.

Link to original source - http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2015-bmw-m4-convertible-manual-review

George Takei: The King of Social Media Takes on Fitness and Trolls

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George Takei may be big on social media, but he’s not so big on other forms of interactive entertainment.

“I am not a gamer,” he admits.

When he finds a few moments to futz around on his iPhone 6, he gravitates more toward Twitter or Facebook than to Angry Birds or Temple Run. And yet he’s agreed to be the public face for a suite of upcoming gaming fitness apps from Fit Entertainment.

Takei, a lifelong fitness enthusiast who has participated in several marathons, will appear as the first celebrity avatar for the apps, which include Fit Go Run and Fit Go Step Challenge. He also plans to release his own fitness apps in the future.

“I was attracted [to this app] by the idea of proselytizing fitness,” he told Yahoo. “That’s something I do every day. And if we can get people to exercise via a video game, I think that’s a good thing.”

Running an online empire

When he isn’t exercising, Takei is lording over a massive online following: He boasts over 10 million fans on Twitter and Facebook. But he doesn’t do it all by himself.

While Takei spends parts of his weekends personally prowling social media, many of the posts on his accounts actually come from his staff.

“I’m not in front of the computer all day long,” he says. “[Takei’s husband] Brad took over, and now we have a whole staff that helps out, and I spend the weekend commenting on them. It used to be a pop-and-pop shop — rather than a mom-and-pop — but we have become a major industry.“

But while Takei enjoys interacting with fans, the legendary Star Trek star is increasingly worried about the mob mentality that’s come to dominate social media. Whether it’s the aggressive tactics of the Gamergate movement, the uproar that followed the death of Cecil the lion or the bullying of school kids, Takei is concerned about how we connect with one another online.

Having a drink with some old friends. (Photo: AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)

“The thing about social media is it’s very democratizing,” he says. “But the dark side can be very hurtful. Initially, the optimistic view was that social media was a chance to expand the town square, to a global town square where we can share ideas. But then the underbelly appeared. When [trolls] organize, they become a real threat to vulnerable people.”

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