Audi R8 V10 plus Spyder Makes U.S. Debut During Monterey Car Week

Audi R8 V10 plus Spyder Makes U.S. Debut During Monterey Car Week

The Audi R8 V10 plus Spyder will make its U.S. debut this weekend during Monterey Car Week. The automaker is celebrating their Motorsports heritage and showcasing their top performance vehicles for attendees. Audi plans to display race cars that have inspired their production counterparts at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, including the R8 LMS GT3, the RS 3 LMS, and the R8 LMS GT4.
Performance Pinnacle
 
On Friday, August 18th, the Audi R8 V10 plus Spyder will debut for U.S. car enthusiasts at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. The event features some of the world’s finest and rarest automobiles, and for Audi, it’s the perfect venue for a vehicle they define as their “pinnacle of performance.” The R8 V10 plus Spyder has the same naturally-aspirated V10 as the R8 LMS racecar, prompting Audi to describe the R8 as, “the best representation of how the production models benefit from developments and technologies first used in Motorsport.”
The R8 V10 plus Spyder hits 60 mph in 3.3 seconds with its naturally-aspirated 5.2-liter V10 and seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission. It’s the fastest production convertible Audi has ever produced.
Audi R8 V10 plus Spyder. Photo: Audi of America, Inc.
VIP Events
Beginning Thursday, August 17th and running through Sunday, August 20th, Audi will have an exclusive driving experience for VIP guests at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Invited guests will get behind the wheel of an R8 V10 for the Audi Sport Performance Drive, complete with a tour around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Audi fans will also enjoy the display of race cars that have inspired the brand’s Sport line, revealed earlier this year at the New York International Auto Show. On display will be the R8 LMS GT3, which shares half of its parts with the R8 street car, and the R8 LMS GT4, which shares more than 60 percent of its components with the R8 Coupe. Audi will also display the all-new RS 5 Coupe and the Sport quattro S1. This year happens to mark the 30th anniversary of Walter Röhrl’s record setting climb to the top of Pike’s Peak in the S1.
Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan.
Photos & Source: Audi of America, Inc.



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Letter From The UK: Car Production In Crisis

Letter From The UK: Car Production In Crisis As production thins from an ongoing Brexit debate, the future looks uncertain.
How will the auto industry in the UK weather the current storm; is there a silver lining?     
Geoff Maxted of DriveWrite Automotive Magazine examines in this Letter From The UK.
With the industrial problems of the 20th Century long forgotten, it seemed as if Great Britain had secured a strong and burgeoning future for the car industry with the likes of Nissan, Toyota, and Honda among the foreign brands building cars in the UK. Alongside them are Mini, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover and Vauxhall, despite this latter group being original British brands but now all foreign owned these days; but the cars are at least still made in Britain. Things were looking good and jobs seemed secure.
Then we had the Brexit vote.
Drop In Production: The Brexit Quagmire
Sadly our politicians and their European counterparts had other ideas. We are, like a man trapped in quicksand, now firmly stuck in the gloopy Brexit quagmire of confusion and uncertainty. It’s had a knock-on effect too: Official figures show UK car output fell 14 percent in March of this year. Only 126,195 cars were made. That’s the 10th consecutive monthly drop, thanks to the combined issues of a slowdown in foreign markets like China, and of course the Brexit insecurity, whether justified or not.
Not for the first time, the industry has repeated its warning that the sector stands to suffer a lot more if the country leaves the European Union without a deal, pointing to exports which account for nearly four out of every five cars made in Britain, being down by 13 percent. Further they predict output would fall in 2019 to 1.36 million vehicles from 1.52 million last year and that’s assuming, in their view – and, for balance, it is an opinion that is not universal – that some form of transitional deal with the EU is done.
Bentley employs over 4000 people at its Pyms Lane headquarters in Crewe, Cheshire. On average, it takes 130 hours to build a Bentley Bentayga (pictured here) and every vehicle on the production line undergoes a 500 to 650 point checklist before the final sign off. The Pyms Lane factory in Crewe has been the home of Bentley since 1946. Photo: Bentley Motors.
Continued Slowdown: One Hard April
April figures continued to show a decline across most sectors with registrations of the ever popular super-mini and small family car segments surprisingly low. Even zero-emission, plug-in hybrids experienced a significant decline. It has to be serious when the most popular vehicle types take a hit.
It wasn’t that long ago the motor industry was on track to produce two million new vehicles annually by 2020. That aim now seems impossible with our international reputation as a stable and attractive business environment undermined. Thus the forecast, should we rely on World Trade Organization rules which may include import tariffs when trading with the EU, is grim: a strong reduction in builds and the added consequence of damage to employment.
Of course, nobody really knows which way the pendulum will swing; the industry may ride out the storm, but from the cheap seats, it is not looking good.
Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.
Related: The Brexit debate is causing confusion for the automotive industry.
Waiting With Bated Breath
And so we wait, making sure not to hold our breath for a speedy resolution. The UK government has delayed the Brexit deadline until October to try and resolve this thorny issue. If our dithering politicians and the negotiators on the other side of the channel are to sort this out, then they need to pull a rabbit from the hat a bit sharpish. It is after all a matter of economics when you come down to it, and we can but hope they see it because it affects us all.
Questioning The Future
The British people have lost faith in their leaders. Major government sponsored projects like the North-South High-Speed Railway (known as HS2), the Crossrail metro in London, and even a new emergency radio system are delayed and way over budget. The level of incompetence at the top is staggering, yet they are blind to it all. No wonder the motor industry doesn’t know what to do next.
Geoff Maxted is a motoring writer, photographer, and author of our Letter From The UK series. Follow his work on Twitter: @DriveWrite

Cover Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.



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BMW, Intel, Mobileye, FCA Unite For Ambitious Autonomous Driving Initiative

BMW, Intel, Mobileye, FCA Unite For Ambitious Autonomous Driving Initiative


BMW Group, Intel, and Mobileye announced a signed memorandum of understanding with the intention for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to be the first automaker to join them in developing a global, state-of-the-art autonomous driving platform. The three entities will leverage each other’s strengths, resources, and expertise to expand the autonomous platform’s technology, development, and market effectiveness.
Expertise & Support
FCA’s role in the venture is fairly extensive, as they will provide technical resources, engineering support, and insight to the North American market. FCA also brings their geographic reach to the table with the sales volume necessary to reach the car buying public. The trio will utilize the co-location of engineers in Germany and other areas worldwide for successful implementation.
Teamwork Mindset
Collaborations like these are becoming more common as a response to the challenges of automated driving. Recently, Volvo, Autoliv, and NVIDIA announced their plans to bring a Level 4 autonomous car to market by 2021. General Motors, in March of 2016, acquired Cruise Automation, a San Francisco, California company focused on autonomous driving programs and software. GM and Cruise Automation have been testing driverless Bolt EVs on public roads in San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona since June 2016; the companies recently began doing the same in Detroit, Michigan.
AutoSens, a global summit facilitating technical discussions on the future of vehicle perception technology, advocates and encourages collaboration. The next AutoSens event, beginning September 19th in Brussels, Belgium, will see some of the world’s most prominent engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and automotive professionals in one place addressing the challenges of automated driving.
“In order to advance autonomous driving technology, it is vital to form partnerships among automakers, technology providers, and suppliers,” said Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer, FCA. “Joining this cooperation will enable FCA to directly benefit from the synergies and economies of scale that are possible when companies come together with a common vision and objective.”
Earlier this year, FCA delivered 500 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans to Waymo to boost the tech company’s autonomous driving program. Photo: FCA US LLC.
Central Scale
In July, BMW Group, Intel, and Mobileye announced a partnership to make driverless vehicles a reality. The focus is on finding and implementing production solutions by 2021 for highly automated (Level 3) and fully automated vehicles (Levels 4 and 5). Developing a scalable architecture that can be used by multiple automakers, while still maintaining each manufacturer’s unique brand characteristics, is vital.
“The two factors that remain key to the success of the cooperation are uncompromising excellence in development, and the scalability of our autonomous driving platform,” said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “With FCA as our new partner, we reinforce our path to successfully create the most relevant state-of-the-art, cross-OEM Level 3 to 5 solution on a global scale.”
“The future of transportation relies on auto and tech industry leaders working together to develop a scalable architecture that automakers around the globe can adopt and customize,” added Brian Krzanich, Chief Executive Officer, Intel.
Photo: BMW Group.
Open Invitations, Collective Efforts
BMW Group, Intel, Mobileye, and FCA, together with the recently announced development partners and system integrators, are inviting other automakers and technology suppliers to join them. The goal is the successful adoption of an autonomous driving platform that bolsters an industry-wide solution. Looking back, one could compare the implementation of crumple zones (Mercedes-Benz) and seat belts (Volvo) to these desires for an “industry-wide solution.”
Like crumple zones and seat belts, autonomous driving is an engineering and design concept ultimately focused on occupant safety with the intent of mass adoption. Just as crumple zones and seat belts work in conjunction with other passive safety systems, autonomous technology must act in a similar fashion.
“The combination of vision-intense perception and mapping, differentiated sensor fusion, and driving policy solutions will offer the highest levels of safety and versatility, in a cost-efficient package that will scale across all geographies and road settings,” said Professor Amnon Shashua, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Mobileye, an Intel Company, of the collaboration.
The high-strength steel architecture of the Chrysler Pacifica at the 2017 North American International Auto Show at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan. The individual colors correspond to different materials, including their grades and properties, used to manufacture the vehicle. Photo: Steel Market Development Institute.


Too Much, Too Soon?
The focus of the forthcoming autonomous world is, and should always remain on, consumer safety. Around the automotive industry, there are varying targets; some saying 2025, others 2020. This most recent collaboration between BMW Group, Intel, Mobileye, and FCA seems to hint at 2021. Either way, the industry targets for automated driving are soon; in other words, don’t say “it won’t happen in my lifetime.”
Despite crumple zones and seat belts being universal features, and advanced driver assistance systems being offered on more vehicles, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety data shows crashes claimed over 35,000 people in 2015. And while that figure is much lower than in 2005, the sheer number of fatalities, when compared to the relatively quick timelines given for automated driving, do require reflection and examination. On the surface, the ratio of fatalities to timelines looks out of balance. Indeed, rolling the whole system out too fast may hinder our otherwise noble objective of keeping drivers and passengers safe.
“Many of the leaders in this space have made a range of headline commitments to autonomous driving, but the industry still has a tremendous number of hurdles to overcome if those deadlines are to be met,” Tim Dawkins, an Autonomous Car Specialist with SBD Automotive, told us in June. “While the technologies are progressing rapidly, there are plenty of questions around liability, regulation, type approval, and infrastructure which are a long way from being resolved.”
Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan. 
Sources: BMW Group, FCA US LLC.



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What Does The Financial Turnaround of Lotus Really Mean?

What Does The Financial Turnaround of Lotus Really Mean?

For once in the car world, something claimed to be big news actually is big news. Somehow Lotus, despite making some of the best handling cars the world has ever seen, has been teetering on the brink of financial ruin since day one.
However, they are starting to turn big profits in what could be called a radical financial turnaround.
Coming Clean
Look, I make no claims about my biases. I freely admit my love for Colin Chapman and his cars. Even the ones he’s no longer around to make. If you were to ask me to list 10 or 20 of the world’s greatest cars, after a bunch of Italian ones, Colin Chapman’s Lotus cars would most likely take up the rest of the list. That guy could do more with less than almost any other designer I’ve seen. He could make four bangers stay with V8s, sixes fly past them, and when it comes to racing cars, you’d underestimate his designs at your own peril.
One thing Chapman could not do, however, was figure out how to be profitable while making cars and racing them. When I said Lotus was in trouble since day one, that wasn’t an exaggeration. The Lotus 7, one of the most sublime and best handling sports cars ever, was sold by Chapman to keep his business afloat. And that was back in 1959. The company has, near as I could tell, been living hand to mouth ever since. It has gone through a number of owners since Chapman’s passing, some of them with very deep pockets indeed, but Lotus has always been clinging on by its financial fingernails. That is, until now. At least according to the latest numbers out of England.
“Comprising of Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering, our Norfolk based company with 850 employees worldwide, improved quality, reduced costs, and increased margins resulting in the best sustainable performance for the business for many years,” reads a statement from Lotus. Pictured here is the Lotus Evora GT430. Photo: Group Lotus plc.
Big Numbers
Seriously, check this out: Lotus closed this financial year with £2.0 million in profit, versus last year, where they reported a loss £16.3 million. Lotus, or officially Lotus Group International Limited (LGIL), says this gain is “on plan.” Talk about a fine British understatement. And it appears even better if you look at it in terms of before tax profits and losses. £41.2 million lost the year before last; last year they bled £11.2 million in red ink, and then boom, a Profit Before Tax improvement of £10 million in the second half of fiscal year 2016 and 2017. Lotus says they can now concentrate on and return to a full year of profit before tax for fiscal year 2017/2018.
I know, this accounting stuff makes my eyes go all fuzzy too. And let’s face it, if I was good at numbers I could have had a real career and have been making money myself. But no. Instead, I am a writer. An automotive journalist, at that, so my question is: how. How did Lotus manage to finally make money after all these years?
Benchmark Strategy
For starters, Lotus focused on its strengths in engineering and core brand values. Lotus says they are now producing their strongest lineup of cars, which would be very hard to argue with, given the Evora, Exige, and Elise models, and the new Lotus 3-Eleven track car. Lotus calls their entire range benchmark sports cars, and I would not disagree with that.
And the Hethel concern (okay they’re Norfolk based, but Hethel is their ancestral home) is not resting on their laurels or blowing the cash on champagne and dancing girls. They say the positive cash flow paves the way for “future investment and the development of new models.” Translation: Cars that are even better than the Evora, Exige, and Elise. Contemplate what that might mean for a moment. Lotus has also expanded more than the size of its vault. They have more dealerships across the planet, up from 138 in 2014 to 215 today. Sales are up 57% in Europe with a six-fold sales growth in North America. Shoot, I know companies that would do anything to get numbers like that.
So what’s next? Where does Lotus go from here?
Lotus Elise Sprint in Metallic Grey. Photo: Group Lotus plc.

Future Plans
What Lotus says reads like typical corporate financial boilerplate. The road ahead for Lotus will be focused on “improved quality, reduced costs, and increased margins resulting in the best sustainable performance for the business for many years.” Typical stuff. For those of us whose numerical understandings stop with camber angles and power-to-weight ratios, what this all means is more cars like the Elise Sprint 220, the Exige Cup 380, and the Evora GT430, but – and this is important – cars that are logical engineering extrapolations on those existing ones. Or, as Lotus succinctly puts it, “each clearly demonstrates the company’s ambitions for the future.”
And all I can say is praise be! That Lotus can finally start making money and have the business savvy to build on that means two things: Lotus will be around for a while and their cars will get better and better. And point two is the most important, because their cars are already very, very impressive.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Photos & Source: Group Lotus plc.



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This McLaren Is Technically For Kids, But We Want One Anyway

This McLaren Is Technically For Kids, But We Want One Anyway

We can all recall times when we wanted to grow up in a hurry. We had those moments when we thought adults got to have all the fun, and naturally, when we arrived at adulthood, we were going to take full advantage of such freedoms. Now that we are adults . . . well, let’s just say taking naps are usually met with an open embrace.
Count the McLaren 570S Step2 Push Sports Car, something meant for children, in the same category. This mini-racer is just as much fun for us adults as it is for our kiddos.
Cool Kids
McLaren Automotive has teamed with The Step2 Company, a North American toy manufacturer, to create something special for families. The 570S Step2 Push Sports Car is, for kids, a way to inspire the imagination – in fact, the little cruiser makes a host of electronic sounds to give children the full experience of going fast. For us older folks, it’s a way to enjoy a leisurely stroll with our loved ones while still looking like the “cool parents.” Just as any machine in the McLaren lineup is a departure from ordinary transportation, the 570S Step2 Push Sports Car is a bit more exciting than the average stroller.



Shared Vision, Inspired Design
Step2 and McLaren Automotive have similar visions: for example, McLaren is recognized as pioneering carbon fiber technology – used in all its cars since 1981 – Ohio-based Step2 is recognized as pioneering the “push car.” Like McLaren knows the automotive enthusiast, Step2 knows parents and families; it’s amazing how many times parents and automotive enthusiasts are one and the same.
Designers from both companies worked together to replicate the essence of the real 570S. Some of the most interesting design aspects include Step2’s Whisper Wheels, which provide a smoother ride. Along with the aforementioned electronic sounds, the flat-based steering wheel is nimble and responsive. The storage area under the seat is for snacks, a smartphone, or first aid kit, while multiple cup holders allow parents to always have bottled water handy.
Pricing & Availability
The new McLaren 570S Push Sports Car, officially licensed by Step2, will be available exclusively through Amazon in September before rolling out later this year at other global retailers. The first color offered is Ventura Orange; price is $79.99.
Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan. 
Photos & Source: McLaren Automotive.



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Forthcoming 2018 Chevy Equinox Diesel May Lead Segment In Fuel Economy

Forthcoming 2018 Chevy Equinox Diesel May Lead Segment In Fuel Economy

Car shoppers looking for a few extra miles in the tank may be inclined to consider the 2018 Chevy Equinox. New figures from the EPA indicate the crossover’s front-wheel drive variant achieves 39 mpg on the highway with the available 1.6L diesel engine. In this configuration, the 2018 Equinox is expected to deliver stronger highway mileage than the 2017 Toyota RAV4 hybrid and Nissan Rogue hybrid.
Range & Performance
The FWD 2018 Chevy Equinox diesel boasts a 577-mile cruising range, ideal for longer trips and jaunts. For example, the Equinox in this configuration could handle a trip between Chicago, Illinois and Memphis, Tennessee, or from Boston, Massachusetts to Richmond, Virginia. If we left to see friends in Omaha, Nebraska from our offices in Detroit, Michigan, a 577-mile cruising capacity would cover nearly 80 percent of the drive.
The 1.6L is a clean-sheet redesign, developed entirely by General Motors with particular attention given to the engine’s control system. Development was facilitated by GM’s diesel product center in Torino, Italy, and involved more than 24,000 hours of computational analysis. Simulated and real-world testing totaled more than 4.35 million miles.
“It is very fun to drive, with torque on demand at all speeds – in fact, the engine delivers 90 percent of peak torque between 1,500 and 3,250 rpm,” explained Dan Nicholson, Vice President of Global Propulsion Systems, General Motors. “The strong torque provides the feeling of a larger engine, with exceptional smoothness and quietness.”
2018 Chevy Equinox. Photo: Chevrolet.
Power & Efficiency
The forthcoming diesel utilizes a variable-geometry turbo for better torque response (240 lb-ft.) at a lower rpm. The new diesel features stop/start technology to increase efficiency in heavy traffic; it’s also compatible with B20 biodiesel fuel. Chevy’s new diesel is part of a trio of all-turbocharged propulsion systems for the Equinox.
The vehicle also has a host of active safety features including Teen Driver, Safety Alert Seat, Surround Vision, and Forward Collison Alert with Following Distance Indicator, among others.
Pricing & Availability
The 2018 Chevy Equinox is available now, starting at $24,475. Pricing for the diesel model, when it hits dealerships this fall, starts at $31,435.
Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan. 
Photos & Source: Chevrolet.



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Jaguar XE SV Project 8 North American Debut Expected During Monterey Car Week

Jaguar XE SV Project 8 North American Debut Expected During Monterey Car Week

Monterey Car Week is becoming more and more of a touchstone for the entire gearhead world. It’s not just vintage races and fans and collectors and such any longer. Automotive manufacturers have clocked into the heavy concentration of not just car fanatics, but movers and shakers within the automotive world. People who will not only sing your praises, if there are praises worth singing, but high-end influencers who can start talking up your product.
Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) will be in Monterey this week for just such an exercise with the XE SV Project 8.
Best of the Best
Unless you attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed, this will be the first chance for anyone outside the factory to see the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 in the flesh, as it were. To refresh your memory, since we have coveted . . . I mean “covered” it here at Automoblog before, it’s a limited edition sports sedan that is, more or less, aimed squarely at the big Bahn-burners from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. The case could be made that it is also going up against various Japanese and American offerings, but I’d bet Jag would think the comparison was beneath them. As a matter of fact, although taking aim at the big Germans in implicate, Jaguar never mentions them by name either.
Jaguar states the XE SV Project 8 is the result of the Coventry concern wanting to “engineer the ultimate super sports sedan.” It’s good to have goals, but I bet there’s some very competent engineers in and around The Black Forest who might quibble with that statement. As it stands, the XE SV Project 8 builds on Jaguar’s success with the 2016 F-TYPE Project 7. The Project 7 sets the tone for the XE SV Project 8 and other examples in the brand’s second Collector’s Series of vehicles yet to come.
Jaguar XE SV Project 8. Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.
Power & Performance
The XE SV Project 8 has a targeted power output of 592 horsepower, which is more than enough to make it the quickest road going Jaguar. I was going to write “quickest road going Jaguar sedan” but no, Jaguar insists it is the quickest road going Jaguar period. Which is odd, knowing the XJ220 was capable of going much quicker than the XE SV Project 8’s announced top speed of 200 mph.
The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 hits that speed due to other elements besides nearly 600 ponies under the bonnet. There’s lots of functional aerodynamic, suspension, and interior improvements to the XE, making it “the brand’s most powerful, agile, and extreme performance vehicle ever.” Jag will not be making a ton of these things with global production limited to 300 units. Each car will be hand-assembled at the SVO technical center in Coventry, England (natch).
Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.


Around Town
Senior representatives from Jaguar’s SVO skunkworks will be on hand at a variety of events in Monterey throughout the weekend, both to answer questions and help potential buyers put down deposits and such. In addition to being at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca, the XE SV Project 8 will also be at two other rather prestigious events: The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering and the Exotics On Cannery Row.
The get together at The Quail Lodge, now gag-inducingly titled “The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering,” will have the XE SV Project 8 on display this Friday, August 18th. It will be easy to spot, sitting next to Jag SVO’s first go round, the 575 horsepower F-TYPE SVR. If you’re not into Jags per se, but find yourself at The Quail anyway, have no fear. There will be more than 200 other rare automobiles and motorcycles in the “exclusive garden-party setting” of the Quail Lodge & Golf Club. The event runs from 10:00am until 4:00pm and although I am a professional and cannot say what you should do in such a setting, I know what I would do.
The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 can also be seen at Exotics on Cannery Row. This is a free public event, meaning you can rub shoulders with the great unwashed masses. Exotics on Cannery Row showcases some of the “rarest and most exciting supercars of our time,” whatever might count as “rarest and most.” Without a sense of irony, Jag notes the Exotics on Cannery Row will happen “against the backdrop of Monterey’s historic downtown.” A previously lower socio-economic working class fishing port written about by Steinbeck before being gentrified into near-oblivion decades ago. But hey . . .
Exotics on Cannery Row runs from 3:00pm until 8:00pm, this Friday August 18th.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias toward lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Photo: Jaguar Land Rover.
Photos & Source: Jaguar Land Rover.



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Italian Exotics Owned By The Late J. Geils Seeking New Homes

Italian Exotics Owned By The Late J. Geils Seeking New Homes

Lots of people know who J. Giles is. He was the guitar player and namesake for the Boston outfit who, after years of trying, but not really caring, suddenly had a string of top 40 hits. What a lot people don’t know about Jerome (his real name was John, but his singer, Peter Wolf, always called him Jerome) was that he was a no-doubt-about-it gearhead. He ran one of the nicest Lotus, Ferrari, and Maserati shops in the greater Boston area and, from what I’ve always read, everyone said he was a good guy.
Sadly, Mr. Giles turned off his Gibson Tweed amplifier this past April. And although we will never have the pleasure of seeing him play again, we are now invited to bid on eight vehicles: five cars and three motorcycles from his personal collection. Starting on Wednesday, August 16th, they are to be auctioned off at the 2017 Mecum Daytime Auction in Monterey, California
Angel In Blue
As you would expect, with this being the Monterey Vintage Week, Mecum’s Daytime Auction will be replete with some heavy-hitter exotics. Their auction catalog features such plebian rides as, oh, let’s see here, a LaFerrari, a Bugatti Veyron, a 2010 Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita and a “Knobbly” bodied 1958 Lister-Jaguar. For the car auction world, this is the big time. Maybe (maybe) only the Monte Carlo auction has more outright cache’ but you’d be hard put to convince me of that.
Crossing the block on Saturday, August 19th will be eight impressive rides from the late Mr. Geils’ collection, starting with a 1961 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2. This what Enzo drove as his work car for many years. They are “practical” in a certain way, with more comfort and convenience than most Ferraris of the era with the +2 back seat. They also had Ferraris evergreen 250 V12 engine that brought home the hardware when installed in the GTOs, SWB Berlinettas, and Testa Rossas. When it comes to Giles’ 1961 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2, this would be the original 3.0-liter V12 engine with the 5-speed transmission. The car is said to have a very “attractive blue and gray exterior color combination.”
This is Lot S44, in case you want to place bids and buy it for yourself.
1961 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 (Lot S44). Photo: Mecum Auctions.


Motoring Centerfolds
Lot S45 is a 1967 Lancia Flaminia 2.8 3C. These iterations of the Flaminias are big, elegant GT cars motivated by a multi-carb V6. They are sophisticated and stylish to this day. The sort of car, when you pull up to the valet’s stand at the restaurant, they say, “oh no sir, you can just leave your car parked right out front.” Like you’d hand the keys over to a 1967 Lancia Flaminia 2.8 3C in the first place.
Geils’ 1967 Fiat Dino Spyder will also be crossing the block. For the uniformed, this is the car that Fiat made in conjunction with Ferrari shortly after the two companies merged. It says Fiat on the outside, but under the engine cover lies a small displacement Ferrari V6. The same engine found in Ferrari’s very own Dino and the space age Lancia Stratos rally car. These engines flat out rip. Even better, this is a drop-top (the most desirable of the range) and well worth your respect. Lot S46, if you are interested.
The three motorbikes all are Italian iron as well. There’s a 1983 Benelli 900 SEI (Lot S49), a mean little sport bike with a, get this, straight-six engine. A 1976 MV Agusta 125 SS is Lot S50. It looks like it’s ready for the Isle of Man TT. Lot S51 is a 1970 Ducati 350 Desmo, a fine example of what a Euro sport bike from that era was. Oh, and if you’re a memorabilia collector, five of J. Geils’ personal racing suits are also being auctioned off (Lot S52).
And the cherry on top? All of his stuff is being auctioned off without reserves.
1967 Fiat Dino Spyder, 2.0L, 5-Speed (Lot S46). Photo: Mecum Auctions.
Registration & Tickets
The auction is open to buyers, sellers, and spectators. Bidder registration is available in advance for $100, $200 after the auction starts. This includes admission for two for each auction day. General admission tickets are available in advance for $20 per person, per day, and for $30 at the door once the auction begins; children 12 and younger receive complimentary admission. Portions of the auction will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network with a live stream of the entire auction on Mecum’s website.
So, if you’re looking for reasons or excuses to head to Monterey this year, we just gave you eight more. Now go! And crank the J. Geils on the way!
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Photos & Source: Mecum Auctions.



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Nissan’s Rube Goldberg Idea Caused Us To Facepalm Ourselves

Nissan’s Rube Goldberg Idea Caused Us To Facepalm Ourselves

Nissan, for no real reason I can discern, has called their latest tech gizmo the “Rear Door Alert” when what it really is – or what it should be called – is “The Rear Seat Checker.” Beyond that confusing misnomer, what Nissan is attempting to do here, and always with the best of intentions (you know what they say about good intentions), is to help you remember the stuff in your back seat after you’ve parked.
You know, stuff like your children.
Destination: Litigation
The funny thing is, Nissan does not explicitly say the Rear Door Alert (RDA) is there to help keep your kids alive on a sweltering summer day. No, they only, sort of, imply it: “With summer heat on the rise, potential issues posed by interior car temperatures are even more real, but Nissan hopes its new Rear Door Alert may help reduce concerns.”
I have an informed guess as to why Nissan doesn’t come right out and say, “hey, are you a forgetful and harried parent? Worried about baking your kid (or pets) like a muffin while you’re at Twin Pines Mall shopping for lip gloss? Worry no more, thanks to Nissan’s new Rear Door Alert!” They can’t say that because I bet the legal team warned them along the lines of, “if you say we can keep kids safe and something still ends up happening, we’re going to get litigated back to the stone age.”
Cheese Alert
Nissan makes things clearer with this little tid-bit: “Elsa Foley, an industrial engineer and mother of two young children, and Marlene Mendoza, a mechanical engineer and mother of three, decided to work on an idea to help remind drivers to check their back seats before walking away.”
“We pushed each other along and knew we were on the right track one morning when Marlene discovered she had left a pan of lasagna in the back seat of her car one night after coming home after a long day at the office,” Foley said. “The worst thing was the car smelled for days, but it made me ask myself, ‘what if that had been something else back there?’”
Desiccated lasagna aside, it does sound like a helpful bit of tech, but the real flaw, if anything, is the execution.
The Rear Door Alert was developed at the Nissan Technical Center North America (NTCNA) in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The new feature will debut as standard equipment on the 2018 Nissan Pathfinder coming in September. Photo: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Comical Creation
The Rear Door Alert works in a clever but rather overly complex way. The RDA monitors the rear door switches to detect whether they have been opened or closed just before and after a trip. If the RDA system senses that a rear door was opened and closed prior to a trip, but then was not re-opened after the trip, (i.e. the vehicle was put in park and the ignition cycled off) the RDA system responds by displaying notifications on the instrument panel. If that’s not enough to get your attention, things escalate to “subtle but distinctive chirps of the horn.”
And this is where the RDA lurches into real Rube Goldberg/Larry Lightbulb territory: “Because there are so many scenarios in which a driver might open a rear door – everything from throwing in a gym bag to cleaning the car – the RDA system is easily configurable and can be turned off temporarily or permanently through prompts in the cluster display,” according to Nissan. In other words, this thing will keep nagging and badgering you until you either see to the problem, or jump through a bunch of techno-hoops and “reconfigure” your car. Gee, thanks.
Photo: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Medicated Motoring
Rear Door Alert is part of the ever-growing, ever-expanding list of “for your own good/you’re too stupid to do it yourself” safety contraptions found on most new cars these days. Nissan points out that most/all of these gadgets will be available on most of their more popular models except for those with manual transmissions and all NISMO versions. Gee, I wonder why that is? Maybe it’s because whoever goes out and buys your King Kong-inspired, Porsche-slaying GT-R is a gearhead capable of looking in the back seat.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias towards lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Photos & Source: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.



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