Jalopnik

At $11,000, Is This 2002 Mercedes SLK 32 AMG a Good Deal?

admin Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Car body styles, Car classifications, Cars, Craigslist, Erhard Melcher, Hans Aufrecht, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jalopnik, Ke Huy Quan, King of the Hill, Mercedes SLK, Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-benz, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class, Paul T., Roadsters, SLK 0 Comments March 21, 2023

Staff, 2023-03-21 08:00:00,

For some, the most important aspect of today’s Nice Price or No Dice SLK 32 AMG is its fully-functioning top. For others, it’s the 349-horsepower supercharged V6. Let’s see if it’s priced to please both of those factions.

Regicide is not a term one hears every day, and in the case of yesterday’s 1990 Chevy Corvette ZR-1 “King of the Hill” it was actually the car that slayed. For most of you, its $28,500 price tag didn’t seem like a king’s ransom, earning the ZR-1 a solid 56 percent Nice Price win.

There are so many letters in the name of today’s 2002 Mercedes-Benz SLK 32 AMG that it may be hard for the uninitiated to make heads or tails of what they all mean. The neophytes needn’t worry, however. I’ve got your back.

First off, there’s SLK. That follows traditional Mercedes practice for its roadsters, denoting the models with the SL or Sportlich Leicht (Sporty Light) designation. On this model, that’s appended with K for Kurz or, in English, Short. This is all not to be confused with “Short Round” the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom character portrayed by recent Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner, Ke Huy Quan.

G/O Media may get a commission

How short, light, and sporty is this Benz? Well, that’s where the other three letters in its name come into (literal) play. AMG (named for its founders Hans Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher, and Aufrecht’s hometown of Großaspach, Germany) started out as an independent tuning business focusing on Mercedes…

,
To read the original article from jalopnik.com, click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

British Cars

Rivian’s Chief Engineer Is Going Back to McLaren

admin Automotive industry, Bill Russo, Business, BYD Co Ltd, Charles Sanderson, companies, electric car, Electric vehicle battery, Electric vehicles, Finance, ford motor co, Fred Lee, Gary Peters, general motors, GM, Guangzhou Automobile Group, Honda Motor Co Ltd, Jalopnik, Jang Young-Jin, Jeff Noel, Jeffrey Guyton, Joe Biden, Maria Cantwell, Mary Barra, Masahiro Moro, McLaren, McLaren Automotive, Nick Kalayjian, Randy Frank, Rivian, SAIC Motor, SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, Samsung, Samsung SDI, Steve Gawronski, Tesla, Tim Stevens, Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen, Volkswagen AG, VOLKSWAGEN GROUP, Wall Street Journal 0 Comments March 17, 2023

, 2023-03-17 09:50:00,

Rivian’s chief engineer has gone back to building British supercars, GM’s CEO is making a case for robotaxis in Washington, and things are getting desperate for Volkswagen in China. All that and more in this edition of The Morning Shift for Friday, March 17, 2023.

1st Gear: Back to Mac

The chief engineer Rivian poached from McLaren in 2018 has returned to Woking. Charles Sanderson will serve as chief technical officer at McLaren, after previously spearheading software at the British supercar maker. From Automotive News:

“Mr. Sanderson will now spearhead McLaren Automotive’s new technology roadmap and product innovation strategy,” McLaren said. Sanderson’s previous role at McLaren was head of software development.
Rivian said Sanderson had chosen to return to McLaren.
A Rivian spokesperson said Sanderson was part of the product development team reporting to Nick Kalayjian, chief product development officer, who has a strong leadership team and deep bench of talent.
According to his LinkedIn page, Sanderson started with Rivian in June 2018 as vice president of vehicle integration and development, a role he held for 15 months before moving to the chief engineer job in August 2019.

Sanderson’s exit marks the latest in a string of executive departures from Rivian, which has faced challenges in ramping up production of its R1T electric pickup and R1S electric SUV. The startup fell just short of its 25,000-vehicle production target last year, and many analysts found its…

,
To read the original article from jalopnik.com, click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

German Cars

I Added Apple CarPlay to My 20-Year-Old Porsche With Factory Parts

admin Automotive head unit, Car body styles, Cars, Convertibles, Coupés, In-car entertainment, Jalopnik, Motor vehicles, Porsche, Porsche 911, Porsche logo, Roadsters, Sports cars, Vehicle audio 0 Comments March 17, 2023

Staff, 2023-03-10 11:30:00,

One of the things that helped convince me to buy a 996-generation Porsche 911 (other than not being able to afford a 997) was the availability of something called Porsche Classic Communication Management Plus for 996s and 986 Boxsters. This system basically retrofits the 991-generation 911’s infotainment system into a 996 dashboard without the need to cut anything and with factory-like fitment. I just installed it, and while it wasn’t cheap, the upgrade makes my 2003 Porsche feel just about as cutting-edge as a new car.

While this seems like the ideal situation to get modern functionality into your old 911, there are a few hitches with the system that initially gave me pause. The biggest one is cost. There’s no way around it; you’re paying around $1,500 for what is essentially a reskinned Chinese Android-based car stereo head unit with a Porsche logo on the front, and a bunch of Porsche factory wiring adapters. You also need to order a bunch of stuff that’s not included in the kit to mount the head unit, and being Porsche parts, they’re not super cheap.

Second is the fact that Porsche strongly recommends that a dealership install the system. I don’t have much experience doing car stereo stuff, and the possibility of being in way over my head was very real. Ultimately, documentation created by people on sites like Rennlist and 6SpeedOnline took some of the mystery out of what I’d need to order in addition to the kit for a clean factory-like install.

This is what…

,
To read the original article from jalopnik.com, click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

American Cars

This $119 Lego Kit Is the Only Way to Buy a New Ford GT

admin bugatti, Car body styles, Car classifications, Cars, Coupés, Ford, Ford Falcon GT, Ford GT, Ford Mustang, Jalopnik, Lego, Roadsters, Sports cars, The Lego Movie, the NASCAR 0 Comments March 17, 2023

[Staff, 2023-03-08 15:00:00,

Spot the difference.

Image: Ford/Lego

The Ford GT is an awesome car. Sure, the latest one might not quite capture the subtle cool of the original, but the second-generation model is impressive nonetheless. Good things must come to an end, though, and Ford announced last year that it was ceasing production of the iconic supercar. This means there’s now just one way to get your hands on a brand new GT: By visiting your local Lego store.

In case you missed it:

The new Ford GT kit from Lego is out now, and it’s a pretty fun looking substitute for the real thing — so long as you don’t plan on driving a GT anytime soon. But, let’s be honest, how many brand new GTs are actually driven by their millionaire owners anyway?

That, however, is a whole other story. So, what is the new kit? Well, it’s a 1,466-piece Lego Technics model that recreates the GT in 1:12 scale.

An image of the Lego ford GT kit. — Even better than the real thing.

G/O Media may get a commission

up to 80% off

Refurbished Chromebook Sale

Super Chromebook savings
Choose from two refurbished options, available at StackSocial. The Dell Chromebook 5190 11-inch Touchscreen 1.1GHz 4GB RAM 16GB eMMC is just $80, down from $289, which is 72% off. Or you can pick up the Acer N7 C731 Chromebook 11-inch 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM 16GB eMMC, which is $57, down from its usual price of $289. That’s a savings of 80%.

It’s an incredibly detailed model, which even features independent suspension at its four corners and a moving replica of the 3.5 liter…

,
To read the original article from jalopnik.com, click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

Electric Cars

I Don’t Want to Drive Internal Combustion Cars Anymore

admin AUDI, Battista, BMW, BMW i3, Boxster, Cayman, electric car, electric vehicle, Electrify America, EV, EVgo, ferrari, Green vehicles, Honda, Honda Accord, Honda Civic Type R, Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, Hybrid vehicles, HYUNDAI, Hyundai Ioniq, Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai Tucson, Jalopnik, Jeep, Kia EV6, Kia Niro, Mazda, Mazda CX, Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-AMG E63, Mercedes-benz, Pininfarina, Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche Panamera, Rivian, Rolls Royce, SONIC, Tesla, Tesla Roadster, Tiguan, Toyota, Toyota GR86, Toyota RAV4s, Transport, vehicles, Volkswagen, XC40 0 Comments January 30, 2023

[Staff, 2023-01-30 08:00:00,

Photo: Daniel Golson

Over the past few years I’ve been lucky enough to drive a large majority of the new cars on sale, from hot hatchbacks and family SUVs to ultraluxury sedans and supercars. I love getting to experience the amazing variety in the automotive industry, especially as the world is reaching a tipping point in terms of electrification. Recently, while spending a week with the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE, I solidified my thoughts on something that’s been brewing in my brain for a while: I don’t want to drive gas-powered cars anymore. In nearly every new car internal-combustion car I’ve driven over the past couple years, I’ve come away thinking, “damn, that would just be better as an EV.”

The outgoing Mercedes-AMG E63, the EQE’s closest ICE equivalent, was a hilarious car. It was rowdy and fun to drive while still being an excellent luxury car with all the best modern tech features. Obviously I love AMG’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8, one of the most giggle-inducing engines on the market. I’ll be sad when the AMG V8 dies — it’s true that EVs can’t match the visceral drama of a loud, powerful engine. But for all the old-school character you lose when the gas engine goes away, Mercedes has introduced plenty of new, interesting drama with its AMG-specific EV powertrain.

Of course the AMG EQE has mega straight-line performance; that’s a given for an EV. Its 677 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque result in a 0-to-60-mph time of 3.2 seconds, on the quicker…

,
To read the original article from news.google.com, Click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

Italian Cars

Ferrari Really Wants You to Hear the Wail of its EVs

admin Business, Car classifications, Cars, ferrari, Ferrari NV, Ferrari SF90 Stradale, Finance, Flagship vehicles, Internet, Jalopnik, Motor vehicles, Sports cars, supercar, technology 0 Comments January 25, 2023

, 2023-01-25 11:00:00,

What makes a Ferrari?

Photo: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto (Getty Images)

When you think of a Ferrari, what immediately comes to mind? Is it the Prancing Horse emblem, a flash or scarlet, or the roar of a combustion engine? Well, while the brand’s personal palette and Cavallino Rampante aren’t going anywhere, the electric revolution could be set to change the signature sound of a Ferrari.

The Italian marque is set to launch its first electric supercar in 2025. After dabbling with electrification on the SF90, the next release will go all in on electrification. That means it won’t have the roar of a V12, or even the rumble of a turbocharged V6 hybrid. Instead, it’ll sound like every other electric car, which is to say not very exciting.

But, according to a report from Bloomberg, Ferrari has a very Ferrari solution to this.

A photo of a red Ferrari SF90 Stradale on a London street. — Ferrari’s first foray into hybrid power looks good.

Instead of composing a synthetic engine note akin to the one we heard when Dodge unveiled its idea of an electric muscle car, Ferrari is taking a different tack. The Italian company will, instead, amplify the sounds made by the electric motors that power the car. Bloomberg reports:

“Ferrari NV’s electric supercars will feature distinctive engine noise created through a new amplification system, according to a patent filed by the iconic Italian producer and cited by analysts at Oddo BHF.
“The patent covers a ‘reproduction device for the realization of a sound that…

,
To read the original article from news.google.com, click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

German Cars

At $99,500, Could This 2015 Porsche 911 Targa 4 be a Good Deal?

admin Cars, Convertibles, Coupés, Craigslist, Jalopnik, Motor, Motor vehicles, Porsche, Porsche 911, Sports cars, Targa 0 Comments January 21, 2023

Staff, 2023-01-20 07:30:00,

To be the hit of any party, you need to arrive in a car like today’s Nice Price or No Dice Porsche Targa and operate its fancy top a few times. Let’s find out what being such the life of the party might effectively cost.

One can imagine that if yesterday’s 1995 Jeep Wrangler Sahara had been a one-and-done model — you know, a “they ain’t building ‘em like that anymore” truck — it might have actually been worth its $38,000 asking price. It wasn’t, though. And, nice and low mileage as it was, the vast majority of you commented that there wasn’t anything about it that warranted such a price tag other than its mere novelty. The fact that any number of more modern Wranglers could be had for similar or perhaps even less cash led to its super-overwhelming 96 percent No Dice loss.

Image for article titled At $99,500, Could This 2015 Porsche 911 Targa 4 be a Party Favorite?

I think it’s safe to say that with its automatic Targa roof, Sapphire Blue paint, and never-skip-arm-day seven-speed manual gearbox, today’s 2015 Porsche 911 Targa 4 is, in fact, a pretty rare property.

That rarely-optioned row-yer-own gearbox has a lot in common with the PDK auto/manual, both being part of the effort by Porsche engineers to provide the 991 with a new rear suspension and transaxle assembly that allowed the rear axle line to be moved back by about three inches over that of the preceeding 997. Along with a longer 96.5-inch wheelbase, that tames some of the 911’s most infamous handling traits. Add to that the AWD of the Carrera 4 model and it’s incredibly hard to…

,
To read the original article from news.google.com, click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

German Cars

Bitcoin-Badged Mercedes-AMG GT Crypto’s Failure Mascot of WEF

admin Business, Car classifications, Cars, Finance, Jalopnik, Mark Haefele, Mercedes-AMG, Motor vehicles, Non-fungible token, Tesla, UBS Global Wealth Management 0 Comments January 18, 2023

Staff, 2023-01-18 12:00:00,

There are a lot fewer crypto bros and NFT nerds in Davos, Switzerland, for this week’s World Economic Forum, but one eye-catching visual reminder of the teetering crypto currency market remains: A bright orange Mercedes-AMG GT with a Bitcoin badge replacing the Mercedes three pointed star on the front.

Cryptocurrency had a hell of a 2022; the industry lost $1.4 trillion, according to CNBC. The crash cleared a former crypto storefronts in Davos, Switzerland, during this week’s 2023 World Economic Forum:

The Promenade is the main street in Davos where companies and governments take over shops and cafes for the week. Last year, crypto firms from all walks of life took over the place. But since the market slide, there are far fewer crypto firms with flashy store fronts at Davos.
One shop selling non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, has disappeared. Prices of NFTs, which are digital collectibles, also plunged last year. What’s left are companies that survived the bear market and that are looking to expand their businesses.
[…]
There were also those in traditional finance who welcomed fewer crypto firms.
Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, was asked during an event hosted by the Swiss bank what he would like to see in Davos this year. He said he had seen it already: “It’s less crypto on the main street.”

Far fewer crypto store fronts doesn’t mean crypto is completely gone from the WEF stage, however. Someone with skin still in the crypto…

,
To read the original article from news.google.com, click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

German Cars

Misfire Mayhem and Trusting Your Mechanic

admin Cars, Convertibles, Coupés, Jalopnik, Porsche, Porsche 911, Sports cars 0 Comments January 14, 2023

Staff, 2023-01-13 18:00:00,
gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==

The gauge cluster of a 996-generation 2003 Porsche 911 with a check engine light lit. — What you don’t want to see on a casual drive in torrential rain.

So sometimes owning a cool older car isn’t all that fun. It can be pretty stressful and expensive because things you had planned to repair when it was convenient to do so start breaking when it’s decidedly inconvenient to do so. This is where I found myself this week with my new-ish to me 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera, but luckily, I have a good mechanic.

Now, I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention to the weather as of late, but we’ve been getting an insane amount of rain in California. While this wouldn’t really be an issue for most cars, in a 996 with questionable ignition coils that are relatively unprotected and a couple of inches off the ground, it can cause problems. Here’s the thing, though, I knew I needed to do this job thanks to my PPI, so I had already ordered the parts from FCP Euro.

By problems, I mean that I found myself trying to drive my wife to her job in one of the recent torrential downpours we had in normally sunny Southern California. Partway through this drive, I kept getting ignition misfires, which I knew thanks to a flashing check engine light. I managed to limp the very unhappy car home and scan the OBDII codes, which confirmed the misfires and also told me they were all on the same cylinder bank. I also got a catalytic converter efficiency code on that same bank of cylinders, which was unnerving.

Way Too Much Rain In Pasadena

The solution, at…

,
To read the original article from news.google.com, click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

Rest of the World

Mate Rimac Stopped Bugatti From Building an Electric Crossover

admin Aston Martin, Automotive industry, bugatti, Business, Car classifications, Cars, ferrari, Finance, Hypercar, Jalopnik, Koenigsegg, mate rimac, Molsheim, Porsche, Rimac, rimac automobili, supercar, VOLKSWAGEN GROUP 0 Comments January 11, 2023

, 2022-12-16 02:00:00,

Bugatti W16 Mistral — Image: Bugatti Autombiles

Bugatti Rimac is still a young company. It formed just 13 months ago when Porsche agreed to give Rimac a stake in the storied hypercar maker in exchange for a stake in Rimac business. Now a little over a year after the merger, the company has big plans. And in some cases, as Auto Express (via MotorAuthority) reports, that partnership has involved some things getting shot down.

Speaking to Auto Express, Bugatti Rimac’s CEO (and Rimac founder) Mate Rimac talked about how he wants the company to do amazing stuff. Like the successor to the Chiron which Rimac calls “bonkers.” While Rimac said that his company started developing a new engine not long after talks of his company taking control of Bugatti began, the Chiron successor will be special; a new hybrid hypercar.

“It will be hypercar rearranged as a hybrid. It’s completely new, so there is not one part carried over from any car; nothing carried over from Chiron, nothing carried over from Nevera. Everything is from scratch,” he said to Auto Express.

Rimac also asked about developing larger cars, something that can fit more than two people. While he didn’t rule it out, he did speak to something with the performance of a hypercar while having four seats being difficult to make.

I think it’s a really interesting concept where you have basically a hypercar with four usable seats – I really like the Koenigsegg Gemera, for example – but this kind of car comes with a lot of…

,
To read the original article from news.google.com, click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

1 2 3 4 ›»