Diesels have always had a huge efficiency advantage over other piston engine technologies. Unfortunately, in addition to that efficiency, diesels also had a few negative characteristics: noise, smell and black soot. In recent years governments have…
Category: Autoblog
Daimler Buses NA tops 3,000 hybrid bus orders
Hybrid buses are becoming an increasingly common sight in cities around North America and Daimler has grabbed the largest share of the market. Daimler Bus North America has now received orders for over 3,000 of its Orion VII hybrid buses. Over 2,200…
Volvo C70 to get turbo-diesel
Volvo is adding a four cylinder engine to the C70 coupe lineup this fall. The 2.0L turbo-diesel puts out 136hp and 236lb-ft of torque and gets 38.6mpg on the EU combined cycle. The engine has a particulate filter as standard equipment to meet the…
Review: 2009 Honda S2000 is a champ to the end
2009 Honda S2000 – Click above for high-res image gallery
It's been ten years since Honda released the S2000 to celebrate its golden anniversary, but since Autoblog's inception, we have somehow never managed to publish a proper review of the…
Analysis: Company offers aftermarket brake override for Toyotas
With all the news reports about issues with unintended acceleration in Toyotas in recent months, it was only a matter of time before an aftermarket company stepped up with a purported solution. Santa Barbara-based Solutions Group Inc. is now…
Porsche to offer proper paddle shifters on all models?
2010 Porsche 911 Turbo – Click above for a high-res image gallery
The new Porsche 911 Turbo is packed with sports car goodness, primarily with the inclusion of a new steering wheel with proper paddles for tapping your way through the gearbox. The…
Is Toyota developing a Smart competitor in Michigan?
For at about the last six months there have been at least four Peugeot 107s running around in the vicinity of Livonia and Ann Arbor, MI with manufacturer plates. Since Peugeot doesn't sell their products in the United States, it was unclear why they…
First renderings of Rhys Millen's Hyundai-powered Pikes Peak challenger
RMR Hyundai Genesis PM580 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Last week, we learned that Rhys Millen has been busy preparing a new unlimited class challenger to try to recapture the overall Pikes Peak Hill Climb record that his father held for…
REPORT: Daimler sells 4% of Tesla to Middle East investment fund just two months after acquiring it
Tesla Roadster – Click above image for high-res gallery
Just two months after buying 9% of Tesla Motors, Daimler has reportedly sold nearly half of that stake. According to Reuters, a 4% percent of the electric car startup is now owned by Aabar…
2009 Orphan Car Show: 1927 Graham Child's Hearse
Graham child's hearse – Click above for high-res image gallery
We headed down to the 2009 Orphan Car Show in Ypsilanti, MI on Sunday and the first orphan we stumbled upon was this unusual hearse. This one off was built in 1927 as a prototype for a…