From time to time, an idea pops up which causes you to say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Often, these concepts seem to make so much sense that they absolutely must be implemented as soon as possible. Andrew Leinonen’s concept for a floating solar-powered power station may just be one such idea. Using a lighter-than-air vessel, like a blimp, which can be maneuvered pretty much over anyplace in the world, power could be granted to disaster areas and other needy places using solar cells embedded all over the blimp which would turn the suns rays into electricity. It’s possible that a vessel such as this could be tethered to the ground using “power boxes” which would be deployed from the airship using long power-carrying cables. The concept features twelve one-hundred-twenty volt outlets along with two two-hundred-forty volt outlets which would be able to offer power where it’s needed most.
Way back in September 2006, Saturn ran a commercial in which a bunch of people saw the brand’s cars out in the real world and exclaimed, “That’s a Saturn?” Obviously meant to communicate that you would be surprised to see the new Saturns of the day and how far they had come, the commercial really just got annoying fast to the point where the word ‘Saturn’ started sounding weird because it was said so many times.
The commercial apparently wasn’t much for the actors to make, either. Steve Hall at AdGabber found a different version of the commercial, which we’ll call “That’s a f@#$% Saturn!”. It seems after they had gotten the footage that Saturn’s ad agency requested, the actors, director and production crew had some fun and made a different, rated R version of the commercial that probably more closely resembles reality than the canned responses in the original commercial. Check it out for yourself after the jump along with the original commercial, and don’t worry, the BLEEPS hide anything that would offend your boss, spouse or kids. Thanks for the tip, Mark!
Click above for high-res gallery of the 1957 Chrysler Diablo Concept
When we think of the words ‘Chrysler’ and ‘Diablo’ together, memories come to mind of a time when the American automaker owned Lamborghini and unveiled a successor to the iconic Countach model. But that’s not what this is. The Chrysler Diablo Concept actually dates back to 1957 when it was the star of the U.S. auto show circuit. Most of the Autoblog staff wasn’t alive back then, but they tell us it was like when the Dodge Viper Concept first debuted in 1989. The car was originally conceived by Chrysler’s renowned design head, Virgil Exner, and is an example of aerodynamic design study in the ’50s. It’s said that the car’s shape was inspired by watching ink blots blown by 200 mph winds across the surface of plastic models, which we don’t really see in the svelte shape but we’ll take their word for it. The 22-foot-long car is built on a shortened 1955 Chrysler 300 series chassis and features a soft convertible top that was added by the Italian styling firm Ghia, who tweaked the car’s design by reworking the fins and painting it red (it was originally black) before the car debuted on the 1957 U.S. auto show circuit. The Diablo reportedly cost Chrysler over $250,000 to develop, and we imagine that it will sell for a lot more when it goes up for auction at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in the RM Auctions’ Sports & Classics of Monterey event. Check out some gorgeous high-res photogrophy of the Chrysler Diablo Concept in the gallery below because, like us, that’s probably as close as you’ll ever get to it.
Shortly after reaching an agreement with Ford, the Canadian Auto Workers union announced the rather surprising news that it had reached tentative agreements with both General Motors and Chrysler. These deals come about four months before the deadline for a deal was to be hit and stand in stark contrast to the protracted negotiations that recently took place between the Big Three and the CAW’s American counterpart, the UAW. Under the new deal, GM promises to keep its Oshawa, Ontario plant open until 2012 and offers buyouts worth up to $125,000 to workers at the Windsor transmission plant, which will soon be shut down. Chrysler, for its part, agreed to continue producing minivans at its Windsor assembly site, continue producing the 300C in Brampton, Ontario and keep its Toronto casting plant open until 2011.
CAW President Buzz Hargrove calls the tentative deals “a win-win” for both the union workers and the automakers. Union workers in Canada will get the chance to vote on the contracts later this month. A GM vote is planned for Friday, May 16. Chrysler’s contract vote will follow on Saturday, May 17.
Fans of going as fast as possible in a straight line, which includes some of us at Autoblog, have reason to rejoice. Chrysler has officially announced that the drag package for its upcoming Challenger, initially shown at SEMA in late 2006, will be released on an unsuspecting public. Previous rumors have the drag pack getting hi-po versions of the 5.9-liter Magnum and Hemi V8’s, while jettisoning around eight-hundred pounds of dead weight unnecessary for mass-acceleration. The National Hot Rod Association is said to be going through the package as we speak in order to certify it for racing duty. After all of the necessary paperwork is complete, the Challenger is expected to race in the Stock Eliminator class. According to Chrysler spokeswoman Patricia Georgevich, Chrysler is looking at a possible introduction in July.
In the past several years the convertible were a real success. But there are up and downs: the segment fell below 300,000 new registrations last year for the first time since 2003, according to data by R.L. Polk & Co.
Polk said convertibles maintained about a 2 percent share in the U.S. light-vehicle market even though registrations dropped by more than twice the rate of the overall market decline.
"Although the convertible market continued to grow in 2005 and 2006 despite declines in the general market, it was not immune to 2007’s depressed economic climate," Polk consultant Mark Pauze said in a statement.
"Despite the increased availability of retractable hardtops, which have made convertibles more appealing to many consumers, they are still considered discretionary purchases and were impacted by reduced consumer spending and conservative economic attitudes."
The Ford Mustang remained on top of the segment with 32,694 registrations in 2007, but was down 33 percent from 2006. The Chrysler Sebring was No. 2 with 20,373 registrations, up 2.7 percent from 2006. Each of the top 10 U.S. convertible markets by registrations posted a decline in 2007 compared with the year before. That includes a 1.2 percent drop for both No. 1 New York and the 2006 leader, Los Angeles.
By 2015, everyone using diesel fuel in Minnesota will have a blend consisting of at least 20 percent biofuel thanks to a new law that was just passed. Governor Tim Pawlenty signed a bill this week that will increase the current 2 percent bio blend requirement to 5 percent in May 2009. In 2012 it doubles to 10 percent and doubles again 2015.
One of the concerns with using higher biodiesel blends has been the lack of a standard for anything greater than B5. Most new diesel vehicles are already certified for operation with B5 and Chrysler ships new diesel vehicles from its factories with that blend in the tank. A standard for B20 fuels is expected to be ratified by an SAE committee within the next few months. Once that standard is in place most carmakers have already said they will test and certify their diesel engines for use with the new fuel.
The Minnesota legislation also encourages the development of non-food based biodiesel feedstocks by requiring that at least five percent of the state’s biodiesel comes from sources such as algae, tallow and waste oils.
Spies have caught a Pagani Zonda mule during a brief respite from testing and at first glance, not much has changed. The greenhouse looks similar to the current version, while the front end benefits from a revised splitter and a softening of the previous model’s hard creases. While these changes are minimal at best, it’s not until you scope out the massive air intakes above the rear fenders that you realize that big things are afoot. Those new inlets are rumored to feed a supercharged version of an AMG-sourced 5.4-liter V8 – the same 680-hp mill that powers the McLaren SLR. Partnered with Pagani’s extensive use of carbon fiber and other lightweight components, there’s little doubt that the new Zonda will crack the three-second mark to 60 and continue on to a top speed of well over 200 mph. No production dates are available yet, but expect the new model to debut sometime next year.
The current GMT920 full-size SUVs from General Motors are very likely to be the last of their kind from the Detroit automaker. Even though new fuel economy standards give the big trucks a break based on their footprint, radical changes are likely for the next-generation models. A fully-equipped Tahoe is well over 5,500lbs and a big part of reducing fuel consumption in the next few years will be weight reduction. One step in that direction will be a shift from the body on frame designs these vehicles have used since their inception over to a uni-body structure. Ford already declared that the next-generation Explorer will be a uni-body and GM has their Lambda platform crossovers which are nearly as large as the GMT920s. Sales of the Tahoe are already down 10.5 percent this year and that trend is likely to accelerate. The next-generation models that are due to debut around 2012 will almost certainly make the jump to a smaller, lighter platform. In fact, a distinct possibility might be an SUV derived from the Zeta platform like the Denali XT pickup concept that was shown at the Chicago Auto Show this year. Without the pickup bed and with a slightly taller roof, this design could likely shave nearly 1,000lbs off the current SUVs. Regardless of the design direction that GM follows, the maxi-sized SUVs and pickups will likely never reach the sales heights they once did, meaning that GM is planning to scale back production capacity. The current 1.7 million annual capacity will probably drop to somewhere around 1 million. GM recently announced plans to cancel one shift at each of four truck assembly plants. Going forward, that production will likely be consolidated to fewer plants.
Following Chrysler’s new “Let’s Refuel America Gas Card” announcement, the critics spoke out quickly. While a guaranteed gas price of $2.99 a gallon for three years will certainly appeal to some people, other incentives might offer buyers better savings. To deal with the media fallout and to clarify a few questions about the card, Chrysler’s media-only blog, The Firehouse, has tackled the topic with a post discussing the deal and the media coverage.
Stuart Schorr, the senior manager of sales for Mopar and Dealer Communications, wrote that there have been hundreds, possibly thousands, of stories about the incentive around the country (three of these videos are available after the jump). A TV station in Wisconsin calculated possible gas card savings to the customer of $8,760. Of course, they used gas prices of $6.65 a gallon to get that number. Also, Chrysler will be sending out official “Let’s Refuel America” banners to dealerships in the coming days. Schorr also provided a list of ten questions (and answers) they’ve been hearing about the gas card, including one we’ve heard from our readers about what other incentives, if any, are available to people who sign up for the card. Check them out after the jump.
TOP TEN QUESTIONS ON HOW THE REFUEL AMERICA PROGRAM WORKS
Q: How do you figure out the gallons on the card? A: Take average MPG of any vehicle, divide into 12,000 miles and you get an annual allocation of gallons of fuel, for each of three years. For Example: Dodge Caliber, 24 MPG average. The customer’s card is allocated 500 gallons of unleaded fuel for each of three years. Total value is 1,500 gallons of gas x (price of gas - $2.99).
Q: Heavy Duty Ram trucks do not have a MPG on the sticker Price? A: We are using 15 MPG for all Ram’s HD and LD. That equals 800 gallons of fuel per year at $2.99. That’s a lot of diesel dollars.
Q: How do I get charged? What about the receipt I get at the station? A: While the gas price on the pump and on the customers’ reciept at the time of the transaction will show the actual gas price at that time, the customer credit card account is actually billed only $2.99 a gallon for their gas purchases and Chrysler picks up the difference. Regardless of the actual dollar figure shown on the reciept and the pump at the time of purchase the customer will only be charged at $2.99 per gallon. The customer’s Let’s Refuel America card must be connected to an active Visa or MasterCard credit card account.
Q: How do you keep the card from being used on other vehicles? A: The card can be used for any vehicle as long as the fuel purchased is the fuel specified for the purchased vehicle.
Q: Are there specific filling stations you have to go to in order to get the $2.99/gallon price? A: It is good at 97% of stations across the country.
Q: Is diesel fuel also $2.99 a gallon? A: The purchased vehicle has a recommended fuel: Unleaded 87, E85 or Diesel. The card can only be used for that specific kind of fuel, and yes the cost will be $2.99 for diesel. If you use a card for purchase of a different kind of fuel than is specified for the purchased vehicle, there are additional charges.
Q: Is it only Trucks and SUVs? A: No it is for the full line, starting with Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot and Dodge Caliber and minivans up to Dodge Ram pickup trucks. In fact in terms of incremental value compared to previous incentives, the greatest increase in value is with our smallest, most fuel efficient vehicles. Vehicles excluded include Viper, Challenger, all SRT models, Dodge Sprinter, Jeep Wrangler and Ram Chassis Cab.
Q: What happens if I sell my car? A: While the card is linked specifically to the purchase of an specific vehicle, the card then can be used by the customer for any vehicle and is not effected by the status of the original vehicle.
Q: I understand this offer is in lieu of other incentives. Explain? A: Customer has a choice of three basic options: Cashback incentive; lowered APR financing; or the Gas Program. On certain vehicles, like the Dodge Ram, the Gas Program option includes additional bonus cash. For example: Dodge Grand Caravan customers have a choice of $2,500 cash incentive; 0% financing for qualified buyers; or the three year gas program including $500 cash. Caravan gets 19 MPG for a three year total of 1,895 gallons of fuel at $2.99.
Following Chrysler’s new “