Blog on 2040Parts

Autoweek in review: C7 Corvette partly leaks, Edsel's secret shopper, Dax Shepard visits

Omega manufacturing made a public name for itself this week as the supplier inadvertently revealed the front nose of the new Corvette C7 in every detail imaginable. A big whoops for the supplier and a speculator's dream come true before the C7 reveal at the Detroit auto show in January. Edsel Ford II had a secret shopper as Autoweek senior online editor Rory Carroll went to the RM Dingman Collection auction on assignment.

Senator pushes NHTSA to revisit Toyota accelerator issue

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is pressing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to take another look at questions about what caused Toyota Motor Corp.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage roadster to start at $233,340

Aston Martin dropped the details of its UK-onlyV12 Vantage roadster on Tuesday, and the news is good. The new convertible will boast 509 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque from Aston's signature 6.0-liter engine. The roadster shares many of the technical features and specifications from the hardtop version, though some elements had to be changed to accommodate the folding soft top.

Jaguar F-Type on video at Goodwood FoS

We have video of Jaguar’s Mike Cross taking the new Jaguar F-Type up the hillclimb at Goodwood as Jaguar show off their new toy. We thought we were pretty much done and dusted with news from this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, but as Jaguar has finally managed to edit a video of the new Jaguar F-Type at the FoS we thought it worth revisiting one more time. Jaguar made a bit of a show of the camouflaged F-Type at Goodwood – its first public outing – with guards standing outside the container the F-Type was housed in to keep sticky fingers and prying eyes at bay.

London F1 Grand Prix plans completely serious, says Ecclestone

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone says the recent publicity stunt by Santander for a London F1 Grand Prix are in fact a serious proposal. We recently saw plans for an F1 Grand Prix in London surface as something of a publicity stunt for Santander, with an impressive video (below) featuring McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Jenson button. The start of the London F1 Grand Prix is envisaged at Buckingham Palace and takes in the Mall, The Embankment, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and a host of London’s iconic landmarks in a Grand Prix at night expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors.

PSA Peugeot-Citroen: Factory closures & 8,000 job losses planned

PSA Peugeot Citroen has revealed it is to close one factory, cut job numbers elsewhere and shed a total of 8,000 jobs as demand for its cars dwindles. When we reported last year that Peugeot Citroen were planning to idle their plant in Trnava, Western Slovakia we said that this was just the tip of the iceberg for Peugeot Citroen, and that they would have to take far more drastic action if they were to survive. They must have been listening.

De Tomaso boss arrested by Italy’s tax police

Gian Mario Rossignolo, Chairman of bankrupt De Tomaso, has been arrested by Italian Tax Police over misuse of public funds. There was always something a little odd about the plans of Gian Mario Rossignolo for De Tomaso. Not at first, it’s true, but when De Tomaso delivered the Deauville Crossover as the opening salvo we all knew the new De Tomaso was an accident waiting to happen.

McLaren 12C Spider gets topless, goes sideways

McLaren has released a glossy launch video to accompany the release of the new 12C Spider supercar. It looks as if the boys and girls from Woking are determined to destroy the reputation for anodyne, 'boring' supercars at McLaren, given that the 12C Spider spends most of its time going very sideways in this clip. Then again, given the 12C Spider's hardware, it's not hard to see why it's such a lairy beast when off the leash.

Video shows McLaren MP4-12C Spider in action

While McLaren Automotive revealed the new MP4-12C Spider on July 3, there was a noticeable lack of “in-motion” film that automotive enthusiasts often crave. Well, hold your breath no longer. The wait is over.

GM puts Girsky in charge of Europe operations

General Motors has put vice chairman Steve Girsky in charge of its troubled European operations, replacing Karl-Friedrich Stracke. GM said that Stracke will handle special assignments from chairman Dan Akerson. GM said Girsky will serve as "acting head" of its European operations while it searches for a replacement executive.

Dax Shepard goes full throttle

Dax Shepard leaned on his Hollywood acting friends to fill out the cast of his new movie, Hit and Run, that hits theaters on Aug. 24. (Watch the movie trailer here.) But he wrote the script with his "stars" in mind--a hot-rodded 1967 Lincoln Continental and a Tatum Baja 1000 racer that he keeps in his garage.

McLaren 12C Spider: The video

Last week we had the reveal of the convertible version of the MP4-12C – the McLaren 12C Spider – and now we get the first video of McLaren’s convertible supercar. We did think McLaren would have released a video of the new 12C Spider when it was revealed last week, but they’ve obviously got the hang of their new video software now so we finally get to see the 12C Spider in action. McLaren has used cinema-quality RED camera technology to capture the 12C Spider in terrific detail as it first performs on track and then traverses the stunning roads in the mountains of Andalucia.

Vauxhall Ampera Earth – entry-level Ampera launched

The Vauxhall Ampera Earth has been launched as an entry-level Ampera with a lower spec. Costs £34,995 before Government grant. The Vauxhall Ampera car – Vauxhall’s take on the range extender Chevy Volt – is a clever and appealing car if it wasn’t for the silly price.

2013 Renault Clio Sport Tourer (Estate) revealed in video

The estate version of the 2013 Renault Clio – the Renault Clio Sport Tourer – has been revealed in a Renault promo video. It was only last week we had the reveal of the 2013 Renault Clio, a new Clio Renault hopes will revive the flagging fortunes of the Clio, a car that used to underpin Renault’s sales in the UK. As part of Renault’s PR offensive, they’ve produced a video outlining the design and production process for the new Clio; lots of arty types penning stunning shapes, new Clios undergoing testing and the shiny new Clio rolling off the production line.

2013 Ford Mondeo production delayed

It’s reported that the 2013 Ford Mondeo – due to debut at the Paris Motor Show in September – will not go in to production until Q3 2013. The 2013 Ford Mondeo – which is pretty much the same car as the new Ford Fusion in the US – was expected to arrive at the Geneva Motor Show in March. That it didn’t was a bit odd, especially as it’s colonial cousin, the 2013 Ford Fusion, was revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

Lamborghini Urus SUV 'to cost £135,000'

Although it has yet to be given the green light, the new Urus crossover would become the cheapest Lamborghini in the range, CAR has learned. The Lambo 4x4 was first shown in Bejing at the 2012 Chinese motor show - signalling Sant'Agata's intent to take on Range Rover et al with a sporting luxury SUV. How much the Lamborghini Urus SUV will cost The target price for the new Lambo SUV is in the area of €170,000 or £135,000 at today's exchange rates.

Europe’s most congested cities revealed

Drivers in Yorkshire face a delay of 36 minutes for every hour they drive in peak periods, according to a new study by sat-nav firm TomTom. It's enough to make Leeds-Bradford the seventh most traffic clogged city in Europe. The most congested cities in Britain While Leeds-Bradford was labelled the most congested city in Britain, the report also identified London and Birmingham as traffic hotspots.

Enter the I Draw Cars Summer Sketch Off on Facebook

Our friends over at I Draw Cars are holding a sketch-off over the next two weeks on their Facebook page. It couldn't be easier to enter - create a sketch in any medium you like, submit it to contest@idrawcars.com, look out for it in I Draw Cars' ‘Summer Sketch Off' album and share it with your friends. The sketch with the most likes, wins.

Opel/Vauxhall Adam

The Opel/Vauxhall Adam is GM Europe's entry into the premium sub-compact hatchback segment. Following the success of the Citroen DS3, Mini, Audi A1, Fiat 500 et al. it aims to offer an extensively customizable A-segment car with the appeal (and subsequent profitability) of a premium product.

McLaren’s Jenson Button & Lewis Hamilton get animated

McLaren has teamed up with Framestore to produce a series of animated – and amusing – cartoons showing on Sky F1. Somehow, despite having the British Grand Prix in one window and the Andy Murray match at Wimbledon in another on Sunday, we managed to miss this cartoon featuring McLaren, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button on Sky F1. It seems Sky F1 will be featuring a new cartoon from McLaren at every Grand Prix for the rest of the season, and if they are up to this standard they’ll be well worth looking forward to.

2013 Mazda MX-5 Facelift on the way

A mildly revised Mazda MX-5 for 2013 will be launched later this year with a new nose and tweaks to the brakes and throttle systems. It’s probably a bit of an exaggeration to call the 2013 Mazda MX-5 a facelift. In truth, it’s only really getting a slightly modified nose.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster: Official

Following the leak of Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster photos and an undisguised car in London we now get the official reveal of the V12 Vantage Roadster. The leak of photos we had of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster last week (assuming they were a leak rather than a Photoshop) managed to make the new soft top V12 Vantage look decidedly bland (not an easy thing to do with an Aston). But the photos of the V12 Vantage Roadster we had at the weekend were much more appealing; a white V12 Vantage Roadster obviously on an official photoshoot in appealing London locations.

Vauxhall Adam arrives

The Vauxhall Adam – Vauxhall’s new city car – has been revealed and will go on sale in January 2013 with a range of small petrol engines. It was clear when we revealed the Vauxhall Adam last week (well, its German sibling, the Opel Adam, anyway) on its first holiday in Spain to grab some pretty pictures that the official reveal would be close. And here it is.

Vauxhall Adam (2013) first official pictures

This is the brand new Vauxhall Adam, a highly-customisable city car that Vauxhall hopes will challenge the established premium superminis, like the Mini, Audi A1, Citroen DS3 and Fiat 500. But what's the thinking behind calling this Vauxhall 'Adam'? Try to ignore the name as best you can.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster (2012) first pictures

Aston Martin has finally taken the roof off the V12 Vantage, creating the new 2012 V12 Vantage Roadster, pragmatic nomenclature fans. Mechanically identical to the hard-top, it's on sale now, priced at a nice, round £150,000. Just a soft-top V12 Vantage, then?

Mazda MX-5 (2012) facelift pictures

Updated 2012 Mazda MX-5s have begun rolling off the company's production line in Hiroshima, Japan. The updates improve brake and throttle reponse, pedestrian safety, and give the MX-5 a slightly wider-mouthed look. Give me the 2012 Mazda MX-5's details The more aggressive front grille design is more aerodynamically efficient, according to Mazda.

A sideways look at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2012

Car design enthusiasts without even a passing fondness for a carefully calibrated engine note may struggle at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. A quiet place for the contemplation of automotive art it is not. However, the sheer scale and variety of vehicles on offer – crucially moving as well as static – is what makes the event, set within Lord March's huge country estate on England's south coast near Chichester, like no other in the world.

Update: Hyundai releases statement on Calif. lawsuit

UPDATE: Hyundai Motor America contacted Autoweek on Wednesday with a statement in regard to the case: Hyundai Motor America believes this case has no merit, as our advertising is accurate and in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In fact, we've reviewed our ads and think Consumer Watchdog and their client are dead wrong. A group called Consumer Watchdog announced that it is suing Hyundai on behalf of drivers who purchased 2011 and 2012 Elantras based on claims that Hyundai made in its advertising for the Elantra.

Volvo testing new safety features

Volvo outlined three new technologies that it says will help make the Volvos of the future a good deal safer: autonomous driving, “Intersection Support” and animal detection. Volvo says it's tailoring technologies to the way people drive, by which it means poorly. The company claims that “surveys from three different research institutes in the United States reveal that modern drivers spend 25 to 30 percent of their time behind the wheel doing other things, such as focusing on mobile communication.” Volvo's new technologies are said take this into account and “provide the driver with the right support at all times.” By using a camera and radar, future Volvos will be able to follow the car in front while driving in slow traffic using an autonomous-driving function.

Supplier reveals nose of 2014 Corvette

Canadian tooling supplier Omega Tool Corp. thought it was just showing off its capabilities in a promotional video. Unfortunately for Omega and the Chevrolet Corvette team, the video also reveals the front bumper cover for the redesigned 2014 Corvette, known as the C7.