Autos News

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That’s right, the latest addition to Jaguar’s fleet at its Nürburgring Nordschleife engineering test center is the Jaguar XJ Supersport with Sport and velocity Pack option packages. This is the brand’s very first taxi at the racetrack three-time Formula 1 champion Jackie Stewart called “The Green Hell.”

The Jaguar XJ Supersport, with Sport and velocity Pack option packages, obviously has a bit more ability than a traditional taxi though.

For instance the XJ Supersport is based on Jaguar’s latest all-aluminum long wheelbase and Jaguar’s “Nürburgring taxi” boasts 505-horseStrength from its 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine. It can achieve a top velocity of 174mph. It doesn’t have a fare meter though, which I don’t think many passengers will mind.

“We’ve been running a successful Nürburgring driving program from our Nordschleife engineering test center now for some time, as it’s the very best place to demonstrate the dynamic abilities of the current Jaguar XF, XJ and XK models.” told Frank Klaas, Global Head of Communications, of Jaguar and Land Rover brands.

Finished in non-standard matte-grey paint with the exterior Sport Pack, the Jaguar Nürburgring taxi is specified with the velocity Pack. This raises its electronically limited top velocity from 155mph to 174mph. Otherwise the Jaguar taxi is a mechanically standard XJ Supersport (without the velocity Pack option.)

Inside there is obviously ample room for four adults passengers to enjoy laps around the Nürburgring. Although a few of the XJ’s usual creature comforts have been replaced in order to keep its occupants securely in place during the fast laps consisting of intense high velocity turns and straights that are quite long.

Gone are the frivolous standard leather-trimmed heated and cooled seats. Installed in their place are four race seats which are each equipped with four-point harnesses. This just tells you what you are in for and what the Jaguar is capcapable of. As well a full bespoke roll cage, fitting of a Jaguar race car, completes the interior changes.

“Of these models, we found it’s the XJ Supersport that most often surprises journalists with its velocity simply because they perceive it to be a large luxury car.” added Frank Klaas.

“The XJ is both those things, of course, but its aluminum architecture means it’s rigid and lightweight too, which make it a very good car on track. To underline that fact, our engineering team created this special Nürburgring taxi version in which our trained drivers can safely take passengers on very hot laps!”

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While most car companies tease us with a fifteen second video to wet our appetites, Bugatti’s teaser video of the 16C Galibier is 4:44 minutes long. But no one ever accused Bugatti of being just another car company. The French carmaker has shown us the upcoming four-door supercar from every angle and it’s very impressive.

Just think of the Bugatti 16C Galibier as a four-door Veyron. While it’s still a concept, the car has received an amazing amount of attention. And why wouldn’t the fastest four-door sedan in the world grab the amount of coverage it has in the media? Since it was unveiled in 2009, the car has been gotten more ink than any other concept car.

So why is it taking Bugatti so long to bring the 16C Galibier to production? With a previously confirmed sales date of Fall 2012, the super sedan apparently is another three or four years away from reaching production. According to Auto Motor Sport, Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Durheimer, wants the car to be more Strengthful. In describing the Galibier, Durheimer told, “it’s just not outrageous enough.”

From a car company who produces the Veyron, it’s no wonder they want the Galibier to be the “most exclusive, elegant, and Strengthful four door automobile in the world.” The exclusive car company has high expectations for a car that will reportedly exceed the Veyron’s $1.7 million sticker price. The fear, at least according to Inside Line, appears to be that the Galibier is still not the “conversation stopper” that will end the argument.

According to the Bugatti boss, the current 800 horseStrength isn’t anything more than tuners can already deliver, and he doesn’t want tuners involved in the discussion. The company wants to set the benchmark for a brand that has a history and tradition of being the epitome of exclusivity.

For Bugatti, it means more than just bumping up the horseStrength in the Galibier. It means adding touches like porcelain trimmings in the interior, polished aluminum fenders and doors, and eight exhaust pipes that exit the rear of the super sedan.

Durheimer has told that there will never be a brand new release Bugatti that is weaker than its predecessor. We assume that means not only will the production 16C Galibier 16-cylinder engine be putting out in excess of 1000 horseStrength, but the 3000 cars that will ultimately be produced, will be the finest examples yet of Bugatti’s passion for producing the most luxurious, elegant and extraordinary designed cars on the planet.

Check out the Bugatti 16C Galibier video.

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The rise of electric vehicles is making for a shift in the corporate alignments behind producing the vehicles we buy. This week the SAE World Congress (yearly meeting of the Society for Automotive Engineers) met, and the opening keynote by GE’s Chairman and CEO, Jeff Immelt, exemplified that shift. For the CEO of an electronics giant like GE to keynote the SAE World Congress is as symbolically interesting as when Daimler’s Chairman, Dr. Zetsche, gave a keynote at CES last Winter. Immelt came to the SAE meeting to discuss GE’s role in providing the infrastructure to support electric vehicle deployments, and to declare that GE is committed to electric vehicles. GE also chose the SAE World Congress to demonstrate the brand new release GE WattStation line.

Recognizing that sales of electric vehicles have been slow to take off so far, Immelt told GE is “committed to the long-term development of this [electric vehicles].” The company has been involved for years supplying components in all levels of electrified vehicles, including on-board components, grid energy management systems, and the WattStation EV Charging station. Also because of the company’s long-term involvement with manufacturing hybrid-electric diesel locomotives, GE has significant technology in lithium and sulfur batteries.

“We see changes in energy, changes in transportation, as big windows of opportunity in this country,” Immelt told. That is, as the transportation “fuel” shifts from gasoline to electricity, it causes a kind of tectonic shift in corporate Strength alignments which will take years or decades to play out. The oil companies are the entrenched suppliers of transportation fuel, but as the automobile, motorcycle and truck manufacturers shift to electrified drive trains it means a diminished role for the oil companies, and an enhanced role for electronics companies. However this shift will not happen overnight, and while in the short term electric vehicle popularity will “ebb and flow” as the technology matures, GE is “going to hang around the hoop.” In other words, GE is in this for the long haul.

One sign of this is that in November 2010 GE committed to buying 25,000 electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles for its fleet, and that this would include 12,000 Chevy Volts. GE’s motivation behind this commitment is clearly a corporate self interest, by helping to foster adoption of electric vehicles will accelerate the shift towards electricity as the transportation fuel, in turn helping GE’s core business of selling equipment for the electricity infrastructure.

To date GE has purchased over 1,000 Chevy Volt’s and is looking to buy more such vehicles, not only the Chevy Volt but other cars from Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan and others. The vehicle purchases are slated not only for GE’s direct use, but in the vehicles the company leases to others as one of the largest fleet management operators in the world.

The GE WattStation is a line of electric car charging stations (EVSE) that was first shown in 2011. The brand new release version is a fully networked device with remote management features, and the ability to set usage pricing. The WattStation pedestal style charging station has a QR code on the front (a kind of barcode) that can be scanned with a smart phone equipped with the WattStation Connect software. That software then identifies the charging station and the pricing to use that individual station. The station has three ways to connect to the Internet, cellular 3G, Wi-Fi or Ethernet, so that each WattStation is connected to the WattStation Connect network. Station owners use the WattStation Connect network to access and manage their charging stations.

The WattStation Connect software was developed in close cooperation with Hertz, a car rental company that is deploying electric vehicles in its rental fleet. The remote management and price setting features are more in line with the needs of charging station network owners, rather than individual car owners for their use at home.

“GE has a full range of electrical distribution products required to support EV deployment and to move Strength from the grid to the road, helping our customers operate in a smarter, more networked world,” told Michael Mahan, product general manager, EV infrastructure for GE Energy’s Industrial Solutions business.

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People misplace personal items all the time. Whether it’s a pair of keys or even a cell phone; it happens. But what about being uncapable to find nearly 300 automobiles? As absurd as it may sound, officials in Miami-Dade County recently discovered 298 never-before-used Toyota Priuses. Officials found the fleet of electric vehicles after having learned of them via El Nuevo Herald, a Spanish language brand new releasespaper in South Florida. The majority of the cars had little to no miles on the odometer and possess original eight-year factory warranties. The vehicles in question were purchased in 2006 to the tune of $4 million dollars in taxpayer money. Due to the public and media onslaught, which was soon to follow, county officials immediately rushed 123 of the Priuses into circulation.

Although Toyota issues hybrid warranties up to eight years or 100,000 miles, the untold damage of being parked for six years is unlikely to be covered. Officials have not divulged the condition of the vehicles, but they have likely experienced rusting due to being parked in a hot and humid car lot for so long. Also, extensive damage may have occurred due to the unused hybrid Strengthtrain. The vehicles were parked in a parking building at 2100 41st Street Northwest in Earlington Heights.

Since losing 298 cars is not an everyday occurrence, an investigation is ongoing to determine how this fiasco happened. Miami-Dade County Commission President Joe Martinez, who is running for county mayor, launched the investigation on Thursday. Martinez spoke of the incident calling it “outrageous.” He went on to say, “These brand new release vehicles were bought out of control package and were stationed in a building for years. This is not the first time it happens. So you have to investigate this case and determine exactly what happened so it does not happen again” according to El Nuevo Herald.

Though not confirmed, it is believed that the Priuses got “lost” during the recall and ultimate ousting of Mayor Carlos Alvarez. Interestingly, Alvarez was dismissed from office due to the belief that he was responsible for multiple counts of misappropriated funds.

Despite being discovered this week, Commissioner Javer Souto disclosed that a county employee informed him of the vehicles and their condition in 2010. It is not yet known why is took so long to investigate the employee’s claims, but more brand new releases will certainly trickle out in the upcoming days.

Photo: Toyota

Source: El Nuevo Herald

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