Video: Walter Röhrl reunited with WRC-winning 1984 Audi Quattro on famed Monte Carlo stage
11th Mar 2010
Walter Rörhl throwing an Audi Quattro WRC racer up the Col de Turini – Click above to watch video after the jumpCan we pause for a moment and give it up for Walter Röhrl? Here's a racer whose professional career began in 1973, first person to win the World Rally Championship twice, winner of the Pikes Peak race and the title Rally Driver of the Century in Italy and Rally Driver of the Millennium in France, and who simply never gave up the habit of winning or doing fast laps.
Autocar got the man back in the Audi Quattro with which he won the 1984 Rally Monte Carlo – Quattros took the first three positions, in fact – and sent him up the Col de Turini to see if he and the car still had it. Follow the jump to find out, and for a little more context, there's a video ...
Review: Ducati Hypermotard 1100 EVO SP induces grins, wheelspin and wheelies
11th Mar 2010
Ducati Hypermotard 1100 EVO SP – Click above for high-res image galleryWe're going to get ahead of ourselves a little bit with our review of the new Ducati Hypermotard 1100 EVO SP. We spend lots of time riding various two- and four-wheeled vehicles, and very few – indeed, possibly none at all – garner the same kind of ear-to-ear grins as Ducati's oversized supermoto. It's totally ridiculous and absolutely wonderful.
Sure, it's fast. Yes, it's beautiful. But what is this bike's mission in life? Is it meant solely as a hooligan machine with either the front or rear wheel aloft at any given moment? Is the temptation to leave black stripes and huge plumes of white smoke in your wake from ever...
Video: Fiat heir makes game-winning assist at Lakers-Raptors?
11th Mar 2010
Fiat heir Lapo Elkann makes the Lakers' game-winning move – Click above to watch video after the jumpLapo Elkann is the grandson of Fiat founder Gianni Agnelli and is said to be heir to several Fiat thrones. While courtside at the Staples Center in Los Angeles watching the Lakers play the Toronto Raptors, Yahoo Sports reports that Elkann interfered in a play that gave LA the win.
With the score tied and only seconds left, the Raptors' Jose Calderon (pictured) was chasing a ball headed out of bounds when Elkann swiped it away. The Lakers were given possession and Kobe Bryant did his game-winning thing. You can see a recap of the event in the video after the jump, and for you rightfully sore Raptors fans, ...
Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster final form revealed in patent drawings?
11th Mar 2010
Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster patent images – Click above for image galleryNot that there's anything new to report from last week, when we saw a
prototype Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster at the factory in Affalterbach, but if you're the type that gets giddy over sketches then these are for you.
As sussed out by
Auto Bild, these images are said to be German patent office filings for the roadster. Apparently they sneaked out for a stein one evening and were lured back to the home of the Internet. While it's true that black-and-white drawings can only tell you so much about a car, w...
Speculation: Alfa 4C coming to Pebble Beach?
11th Mar 2010
Alfa Romeo says it achieved its objectives with the stunning
8C Competizione. Now the brand known for the
quadrifoglio wants to make the same kind of splash – only bigger – and rumor has it that it will do so by unveiling an Alfa 4C at this year's Pebble Beach Concours.
Automobile reports that the 4C will be a "a compact, lightweight sports car concept," shorn of high-zoot and high-dollar goods like carbon fiber and a Ferrari engine. Instead, it will use a 250-horsepower four-cylinder and could be rear-wheel-drive. Price for the limited-to-5,000 vehicles is being estimat...
Chevrolet to employ new "Excellence for Everyone" ad campaign
11th Mar 2010
General Motors is working hard to improve the image of its core brands, and the largest GM division, Chevrolet, will be getting some fresh new marketing in the near future. The theme, "Excellence for Everyone" will debut in ad spots over the next two months.
In a web chat yesterday, GM's North American president Mark Reuss told the
Detroit Free Press that Chevrolet will be using the Camaro and Corvette more frequently in its advertising to improve the brand's overall image. "When have you ever seen 'Vettes and Camaros in ads for Equinox and Malibu?" Reuss stated. And speaking of the Malibu, Reuss says that GM needs to "re-energize the car," so expect a new set of ads focused around Chevy's well-liked mid...
"America's Worst Driver" set to air on Travel Channel
11th Mar 2010
We know some habitually bad drivers, and we're guessing you do too. Problem is, there isn't much we can do to keep them off the road until their license is taken away. Thanks to a new show on Travel Channel, we at least have an opportunity to humiliate them, or perhaps more.
The new program, called "
America's Worst Driver," airs Sunday night at 10 PM Eastern and Pacific Time and is hosted by Last Comic Standing Season 3 winner Alonzo Bodden. It looks for the four worst drivers from a city, as nominated by their friends and family, to compete for the dubious title. But there is more than a mean moniker at stake here, folks. The loser from each city, or the worst of the chronically bad lot, will have his or her car crushed (by Carasaurus no less) and re...
Report: Aston Martin considering custom vehicle program for customers
11th Mar 2010
Aston Martin Rapide Silver Blonde - click above image for high-res image galleryTo many of us here gathered around WheelsNews's virtual water cooler, the star of the Geneva Motor Show wasn't the electrified Porsche 918 Spyder, but rather the
Touring Superleggera Flying Star, better known as the Bentley Continental Shooting Brake. Disagree? We say to each their own.
And according to the UK's AutoExpress, that's what
Austin Martin's saying, too. The legendary British car maker will be offering a custom vehicle program to those with the right mix...
Ex-VW exec named head of Fiat North America
11th Mar 2010
Ex-Volkswagen and Ford executive Laura Soave has gone from creating the events that help sell cars to being the one in charge of selling them. Yes, Fiat has named Soave, the woman who helped put together the 50th Anniversary Barbie New Beetle in charge of reintroducing the Fiat brand to the United States after retreating from North America's shores more than 25 years ago. Of course, Soave, 37, has also done more substantive things, including being VW's head of advertising and communications for the company's large(ish) passenger cars and SUVs. At Ford, Soave held down various positions, including "Brand DNA Manager."
Soaves' official title as Head of the Fiat Brand for North America not only installs her at the top of the pyramid, it puts her name on the profit-and-loss bottom line and has her answering directly ...
Source: Chrysler
