If These Walls Could Talk: John DeLorean's Roman sculptures for sale

Filed under: Etc.

John DeLorean's bas-relief sculptures - Click above for high-res image gallery

To call John DeLorean eccentric would be an understatement. Envisioning a stainless steel-bodied sports car with gullwing doors and actually bringing it to market requires no less a character.

The auto magnate had a flair for the extravagant, and to satisfy his tastes had a series of bas-relief sculptures created for his Manhattan apartment. There are ten pieces in all, some measuring up to four and a half feet across. They depict a variety of Roman-themed scenes, from children playing to a trio of nude soldiers, and are up for sale at prices ranging from $650 to $3,150. So if you don't have a modified DMC-12 to take you back in time to ancient Rome, at least you can have its creator's art collection to transport you there in your mind.

Gallery: John DeLorean's Roman sculpture collection

[Source: d-vers.com]

If These Walls Could Talk: John DeLorean's Roman sculptures for sale originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota taking "devil's advocate" approach to product development

Filed under: Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota, Design/Style

If you don't get pinched by the wiper arm on the new Toyota Yaris, you have the company's new "devil's advocate" product development philosophy to thank. The approach entails a team of engineers doing things with the car that Toyota wouldn't normally be able to fathom. The events of the past year have shown that people will do wacky things with their cars, like making floormat layer cakes, and this spurred management changes like more local authority for North American operations.

Toyota has installed more executives in its American plants and given the U.S. arm of the business its own decision-making power on recalls, rather than waiting for word from the home office. A single database of internal and external vehicle quality discussions is also being put together to make Toyota's reaction more nimble.

There are critics of the efforts. Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety doesn't find a new attitude in Toyota's response to quality complaints much of a departure from the past, calling it "pretty much the same-old, same-old." Sean Kane of Safety Research & Strategies opines that Toyota is "biding their time" and still tends to blame the victims rather than solve issues like the ones recently plaguing the company.

Whether Toyota's reactions are percieved critically or complimentary, there is at least the indication of a desire to rectify a damaging situation, and you can now be sure that many engineering mules are undergoing strange experiments deep in the bowels of some Toyota R&D bunker to quantify the effects of ECU pins shorted by a french fry.

[Source: Advertising Age]

Toyota taking "devil's advocate" approach to product development originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FGR Midalu 2500 V6 is our kind of naked crazy

Filed under: Europe, Motorcycle

FGR Midalu 2500 V6 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Ever since the Tatra 87 sauntered out of production, we haven't really paid the auto industry of the Czech Republic much mind, but thanks to the efforts of a government-funded motorcycle manufacturer, that's about to change. FGR has officially taken the wraps off its first production bike, and the machine looks to be a steaming pile of awesome.

At its heart is a 2.5-liter (yes, 2.5 liters!) V6 mill with a yank-you-off-the-saddle 240 horsepower. There's a heap of carbon fiber on board to keep weight as low as possible, and as a result, the bike weighs in at a relatively feathery 595 pounds (claimed).

If the figures aren't enough to pick up your pulse, the bike's design should be. FGR scrapped the traditional fairings for a naked look that shows off that monstrous V6 and plenty of milled aluminum. Combined with a short tail and a vertical, six-pipe exhaust treatment, the Midalu looks meaner than ought to be legal.

If you want one as badly as we do, you better get ready to fork over a sizeable stack of cash. FGR hasn't said exactly how much it will ask for its first production bike, but since the company is only shooting to produce six units in the first year, you can bet these things won't be cheap.

Gallery: FGR Midalu 2500

[Source and Images: VisorDown]

FGR Midalu 2500 V6 is our kind of naked crazy originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Judge: First Toyota lawsuits likely to go on trial in 2013

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota

It looks like it will be some time before Toyota enters the court room for the very first of the mountain of lawsuits that were bundled by a federal judge in relation to sudden-acceleration claims.

A federal judge has said he wants the first of the cases to be tried in the beginning months of 2013. That means the pre-trial discovery of evidence should be wrapped up by the end of 2012. U.S. District Judge James V. Selna made the announcement at a hearing on January 14. For those keeping track, Toyota is staring down the barrel of around 400 lawsuits related to the recall of over 8 million vehicles.

According to Bloomberg, Selna specifically urged trial lawyers to select "bellweather cases" designed to test the claims of both plaintiffs and the defendant sooner rather than later. According to the report, attorneys on both sides of the cases have agreed to Selna's time table.

Meanwhile, another set of personal injury cases are set to go to trial in Texas in February or March of 2012.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Judge: First Toyota lawsuits likely to go on trial in 2013 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will you have to pay for returning half-charged rental EVs?

Filed under: Etc., Chevrolet, GM, Nissan, Electric

Enterprise Rent-A-Car will soon offer customers a variety of electric vehicle options, from the Coda sedan and Nissan Leaf to the Chevrolet Volt. Which begs an interesting question posed by our brothers-from-another-mother at Engadget - If an electric car or plug-in hybrid is returned without a full charge, are we going to be charged?

At the present time, Enterprise (the largest rental car company in North America) has no plans to charge for EVs needing a juice boost. Enterprise is going to install charging stations on site and the vehicles will get a fresh batch of electrons upon being returned. Hopefully we'll see other rental companies adopt the same policy, but time will tell.

[Source: Engadget | Image: Enterprise]

Will you have to pay for returning half-charged rental EVs? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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KBB looks back at a year in the life of Toyota

Filed under: Etc., Recalls, Toyota

Toyota had a very interesting 2010. It was seemingly filled with an endless series of negative articles and shifting consumer perceptions. But has the automotive-buying public really been swayed? Kelley Blue Book decided to take a look back at Toyota's tough 2010 in a special report titled Toyota: One Year Later.

The answer to the question regarding consumer perception is a tricky one and can be answered with both a yes and a no. New car sales were flat compared to the rest of the automotive industry, which saw sales improve in the aftermath of the economic meltdown of 2008 and 2009. However, the values on used Toyota vehicles has held strong.

New car shoppers are reportedly very aware of Toyota's recent recall woes and feel the brand has been tarnished as a result. Yet 40 percent of those polled also believe the automaker has responded properly and fixed its various issues.

KBB has broken down Toyota's trying 2010 with valuable data garnered from its in-market shopping site and used car valuation analysis. Consumers have also been surveyed and all the information has been packaged into a report that's definitely worth a read, especially if you're considering buying a Toyota.

Click here (Warning: PDF link) to read it yourself.

[Source: KBB]

Continue reading KBB looks back at a year in the life of Toyota

KBB looks back at a year in the life of Toyota originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vanity plate auction puts dent in Texas deficit

Filed under: Auctions, Etc., Government/Legal

In 2009, Texas launched a plan to raise funds by way of increasing fees attached to vanity plates. Through the website MyPlates.com, a Lone Star state resident could order the custom plate of his or her choice for a set fee. Hoping to bring in a few more bucks on the backs of license plates, Texas recently held an auction at Cowboys Stadium for some very particular vanity plates.

Thirty-three plates in all were on the block and around $140,000 was ultimately earned for their sale, though only $78,000 will reportedly go to reducing the state's debt. A plate bearing the name MICHAEL was the lowest sale of the evening with a winning bid of just $800. The big winner must be an Enzo fan because he or she paid $15,000 to own FERRARI. Many of the other plates had sports-related words on them like COWBOYS, RANGERS and GO HORNS. Those three sold for $11,500, $10,000 and $10,500, respectively.

The plates are valid for 25 years and each owner is given first right of refusal when it comes time to renew. Families can also hold on to the plates by transferring them to other family members. The custom plates can even be sold to new owners, which could earn a nice profit for the couple in the image above if the Cowboys win the Super Bowl.

[Source: Biz Journals | Image: AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez]

Vanity plate auction puts dent in Texas deficit originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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