| Name That Shifter, No. 139: 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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On Monday, we presented this week’s shifter and asked you to identify the make and model of the vehicle whence it came. We had figured that a few of you would recognize the shifter, but a lot of you did. The first commenter to do so was Rickster, who will receive a Save the Manuals button [...]
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| Ratios Galore: A Deep Look at ZF’s 9-speed Automatic |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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When is enough, enough? When it comes to transmissions, the available ratios from any trans maker are on a steady climb into two-digit territory. Take ZF’s newest for example: the 9HP. It’s a nine-speed transaxle for transverse applications sporting a 9.8 ratio spread (that’s good) and it promises 10-percent better fuel economy when compared to [...]
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| Freaky Five-Door: Audi Prices 560-HP 2014 RS7 from $105,795 |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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Audi’s A7 luxury five-door is one of the most attractive cars on the market, but it has since birthed the higher-performance S7 and now, this: The 2014 RS7. Compared to the S7 and regular A7, the RS7 packs an additional 140 and 250 horsepower, respectively. Now Audi has revealed how much more than those two [...]
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| Benz’s Ultimate S-class to Compete in $250K Bracket, According to CEO Zetsche |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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Mercedes-Benz is readying its ultra-luxury version of the new S-class, which is being designed to take over at a slightly lower market position than the ill-begotten Maybach. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told Automotive News that the vehicle—likely called S-class Pullman, although the name is unconfirmed—would play in the $200,000–$250,000 range, rather than in the $400K-plus [...]
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| 2015 Lexus GS F Spy Photos: The GS Gets F’d Up |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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What It Is: A completely undisguised Lexus GS sedan prototype decked out in high-performance, F-style gear. Lexus’s high-performance F sub-brand is similar in concept to BMW’s M or Mercedes-Benz’s AMG, but has thus far only churned out the IS F sedan and the LFA supercar as full-fledged models, as well as a passel of F [...]
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| VW Launches Its Own Car-Net Mobile App on Certain 2014 Models |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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After a short fling with OnStar that broke up in 2005, Volkswagen buyers have missed the magic satellite’s capability to unlock their cars or dial 911 immediately after a crash. Now that Hyundai offers its own telematics system (known as Blue Link), VW’s eye in the sky is back under a completely new name. VW [...]
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| Audi Cutting Distracting Apps from 4G LTE Service, Only Available for 2015 A3 |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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Because Audi drivers are important, they need to access information immediately. As they’re riding your backside in the right lane, they’re checking stocks and grabbing Google searches with their fingers, all thanks to an embedded 3G data modem. Now that Audi is increasing data speeds for its vaunted MMI system by nearly tenfold, we can [...]
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| Lotus is Getting a Lifeline, But New Esprit Is On Ice |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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After spending decades trying to do too much with too little, Lotus now is just spending very little. Former CEO Dany Bahar’s plan for a five-to-six-model Lotus range was never completely serious—it was more meant to showcase Lotus’s expertise-for-hire—but development had progressed quite far on a new Esprit. Work on that sports car has, apparently, [...]
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| Benz is Getting Busy: Outlining the Next Year of S-class Debuts |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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Based on what our sources in Stuttgart are telling us, Mercedes-Benz wants its new S-class to be all things to all (relatively affluent) people. We’ve already driven the new S550 and the latest S63 has been revealed ahead of its arrival on showroom floors early next year, but the three-pointed star has a handful of [...]
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| 2013 Nissan Altima Commercial: Dancing with the Cars [The Ad Section] |
Aug 2nd, 2013 |
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The number one unwritten rule in advertising is Get Noticed, so score one for ad agency TBWAChiatDay for creating an automotive commercial that’s definitely different. But, unfortunately, that one is all it scored. This bizarre spot opens on a highly stylized couple in their driveway, facing the garage. They don’t need a car, because he’s [...]
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