Win a Dodge Nitro R/T

 

By: Jeffrey RossAutotropolis.com 

Every once in a while, an event sweeps over the blogosphere that lessens the competitive nature and proves that the Internet truly is a community. For the automotive blogging community, that event is a celebration of a site’s new design. 

From May 23 through June 15, Autoblog.com is teaming up with Dodge to give readers an added reason to check out its new look. Autoblog is giving its readers 23 chances to win a fully loaded, 2007 Dodge Nitro R/T. Readers can enter to win Dodge’s midsize SUV once a day until the contest ends. 

The Nitro is Dodge’s latest SUV and features the aggressive styling that Dodge is known for. The R/T model comes with 20-inch wheels, a 260-horsepower, 4.0-liter V6 and Dodge’s MyGIG™ Multimedia Infotainment System. The MyGIG™ system features 3D GPS navigation system, a 20 gigabyte hard disk drive, USB and AUX input jacks and supports JPEG/MP3/WMA formats. While the Nitro’s fuel economy of 17 in the city and 21 on the highway is not breathtaking by any means, for a 4,000 pound midsize SUV it provides some relief for the pain at the pump.  

Autoblog was first launched in 2004 and offers readers a one-stop site for any and all automotive news. From new car releases and spy shots to consumer information and exclusive road tests and more, Autoblog covers a wide variety of topics to provide its readers a comprehensive and informative site.  

With the MSRP for the Nitro R/T starting at $26,265, the Autoblog contest is sure to get plenty of traffic. Click here to enter for your chance to win.

Toyota Camry’s at GM Showrooms

As posted just recently on alike automotive sites, GM plans on having a new Toyota Camry and Honda Accord placed along side of the new Saturn Aura and Chevy Malibu in hopes to persuade buyers to purchase the “lower” priced vehicle. In GM’s tactics with this new clever move they plan on having a Toyota Camry maxed out with the maxed price tag will in the 30 grand range for the Toyota Camry. While the Saturn Aura tops out around 28 grand there ultimate hopes will be roping buyers to choose the lesser priced vehicle. While this just might work for some customers, what about those loyal to the new big 3 contender, Toyota. What about the customers who will still pay that extra couple grand for that legendary quality standard Toyota has used to place them in the rankings of the big 3 in

America? Then, what about the people that say so kindly to the sales man “The Toyota Camry is the Motor Trend Car of the year” while the sales man fights back with a “The Saturn Aura is the North American Car Of The Year”. Then you have this little salesman fight going on in the middle of the Saturn dealership. Okay, so some of you think this is far fetched, but is it really?

I really do not think this is such a wise thing when customer start to do a little homework on the Camry vs. the Aura vs. the Malibu… they might accidentally configure a new Camry on Toyota.com with a reasonable price (well under 30 grand) without all of the dealer options GM chose for there display model along side of the Saturn Aura and/or Chevy Malibu in the local showroom. To get a Toyota Camry to cost over the 30 grand mark you will have to start adding “other” options such as dealer installed items which also can be had with the purchase of a new Aura or the upcoming

Malibu. They don’t tell you this when you try to buy. I must sound pretty biased by now, but I am just bring the facts to the plate to make the general buying public aware and alert. Hey, it could easily work in the other direction with

Toyota having and new “North American Car Of The Year” vehicle sitting in the showroom of a

Toyota dealer right next to the “Motor Trend Car Of  The Year” vehicle of their own.

Just my food for thought for today. My advise, do your research and you will be back to read my follow-up to witnessing this instance at one of my local Saturn or Chevrolet Dealers soon when GM implements this new strategy.

 

Vans Race – Top Gear Video

 

Top Gear Richard Hammond races a bunch of beater vansFunny Video… Enjoy!

Hydrogen Van – More Big City Alternatives

By: Jeffrey Ross
Autotropolis.com

When most manufacturers test their latest technologies and designs in real-world situations, they like to keep them shrouded in secrecy and black vinyl. When it comes to alternative fuel technologies, more manufacturers are putting the vehicles out in the open for everyone to see. General Motors has clean-diesel transit buses running around the country and Ford Motor Company has hybrid-electric Escapes replacing the iconic yellow taxi cabs in New York City.

Starting today, Ford will launch a small fleet of Ford E-450 shuttle buses in Orlando, Fla. that run off hydrogen fuel. Unlike other recent attempts at hydrogen vehicle technology, Ford’s version uses a conventional internal combustion engine that uses hydrogen as a fuel instead of gasoline. Other recent hydrogen vehicle prototypes convert the hydrogen into electricity for electric motors which, in turn, emits water as a byproduct.

The buses delivered to the Greater Orlando Airport Authority and the Orlando Convention Central District use a supercharged, 6.8-liter V10 that was modified to run the hydrogen fuel. The engines are highly efficient and can run in all-weather situations but most importantly emit lower levels of regulated pollutants and the dread carbon dioxide greenhouse gas. Ford claims that the hydrogen-fueled engines can be added to a hybrid system to further increase fuel efficiency. The modified V10s put out 235 horsepower and 310 foot-pounds of torque (down from the 305 horsepower and 420 lb-ft. of torque from the standard gasoline burner).

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was present to help launch the buses into service and was essentially put into place by former Gov. Jeb Bush’s H2Florida initiative. Four buses were initially unveiled, but four more will join the Orlando fleet this year. A special Chevron hydrogen fuelling station will make filling up the eight buses in Orlando more convenient. Ford plans to deliver 30 more of the buses nationwide by year’s end in addition to the five that were delivered in Canada last December.

In addition to the E-450 shuttle buses, Ford already has 30 hydrogen-powered Ford Focus Fuel Cell vehicles on the road.

NYC’s Taxi Fleet Going Green by 2012

Today the NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg sets out to turn the NY City Taxi fleet to green cars… meaning the ones that try to beat the high consumption of our platinum priced gasoline. In this quest they have added 400 additional hybrid taxi vehicles already… all new Ford Escape Hybrids. The whole plan is to have 1000 total of the new hybrids by October of 2008 and also by this date to require all cabs get 25mpg or better. Then to kick it up a notch by 2009 the requirement will be 30 mpg and to top off the deal by 2012 all taxies will be hybrid vehicles. The current “choice” taxi, the Ford Crown Victoria, gets about 15mpg in the city and the new Ford Escape Hybrid gets about 34mpg in the city. Hybrids take advantage of its super efficiency mainly for city driving by utilizing the electric motor in slow maneuvers and crawling traffic situations. While the 34mpg is great, some new hybrid taxi’s may see even better mpg figures than the EPA has estimated.  

Everyone is trying to beat these high gas prices, don’t you think?

 

Gas Prices Hit an ALL TIME HIGH – A NEW RECORD!

Okay folks… gas prices have hit an ALL TIME HIGH. Yes, that is right, the highest they have ever been in the United States of America (USA) if you do not adjust for today’s inflation. That means several years ago the price may have been just a couple cents over today’s national average gas price of $3.19 – $3.20 but at that time in 1981 the highest recorded price was $3.223… WOW. Of course during our high traveling Memorial Day weekend coming up all researches and experts will pretty much guarantee the prices will surge pass that $3.20 mark. Talking about highway robbery, literally!  We really can’t guest-a-mate the figures for the upcoming July holiday time this summer but we are pretty sure they will be “high” as they are now.

Boy does that Camry Hybrid look like a good buy right about now… although they can do without that Market Value Markup, what’s that all about?

Feel free to stop by our Gas Saving Tips and information section on our main site at http://www.automotiveaddicts.com/gashelper.html

2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid

GM showed us the new 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and GMC Yukon Hybrid models at the Detroit auto show. Well, it is now time for GM to shinny up its new Escalade with a new Hybrid badge.

Just like the Tahoe and Yukon gas-electric models, the Escalade hybrid will be a two-mode hybrid that supplements GM’s venerable 6.0-liter V-8 with power from two electric motors. During low speeds the vehicle can run on batteries only (electric motor), the engine only, or a synergized combination of both. At higher speeds another operating mode engages the electric motors and the cylinder deactivation at the same time hence providing a more efficient operation. GM claims that harmful emissions will drop significantly, and fuel economy will be boosted by some 25 percent compared with utes equipped with the 5.3-liter V-8. The fuel-economy disparity with the standard Escalade, which comes with the gluttonous 403-hp, 6.2-liter V-8, should be even more significant.
Right now, as a working prototype the Escalade hybrid is basically identical to the regular gas burning variant. GM says they plan on changing small items such as the grill and front bumper to make a distinction of the hybrid model from the rest of the pack. What is the point in having a hybrid in Hollywood if you can show it off?!

The Escalade hybrid is expected to go on sale in April or May of 2008 as a new 2009 model. Look to see the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid in upcoming car shows.

Top Gear – Cheap coupes that arent Porsches – Videos

Top Gear – Cheap coupes that arent Porsches

All 3 Videos – Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

A little bit from the old-school “sports” cars.

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