2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel Long-Term Test Wrap: Big as a House, Great for Towing One

2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel Long-Term Test Wrap: Big as a House, Great for Towing One:

As big as a house, but more useful.

Pickup sales are a popular indicator of housing-market health, but the inhabitants of the house that Walter P. Chrysler built were worrying about other measures of fiscal fitness at the time this heavy-duty Ram was introduced. Between the truck’s first public appearance at the February 2009 Chicago auto show and its launch nine months later, Chrysler filed for and emerged from bankruptcy. During that same time, new housing construction hit its low inflection point.

Keep Reading: 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie Mega Cab 4×4 Diesel – Long Term Road Test Wrap-Up

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2012 Volkswagen Golf R: U.S. Pricing and Specifications Released

2012 Volkswagen Golf R: U.S. Pricing and Specifications Released:

The U.S.-spec Golf R, which we confirmed way back in December of 2010, has finally been detailed and priced. (How slow has this car been to get here? Super-slow: We first drove a European example on January of 2010, and we’ve also spotted test mules for the next-generation model.) Output from the uprated 2.0-liter turbo four officially stands at 256 hp and 243 lb-ft of torque, increases of 56 and 36 over its GTI sibling. And, as previously reported, all-wheel drive is standard and the only transmission on offer is a six-speed stick. As you probably know, this serves as a replacement for the second-generation R32, which also featured AWD and had 250 hp from its narrow-angle V-6.

Der über Golf will be available here in both three- and five-door body styles, with the former starting at $34,760 and the latter at $36,860. The $2100 difference between the two can be chalked up to VW forcing five-door buyers to add a sunroof and navigation system; they’ll also get keyless entry and start and premium audio. A three-door with the same addenda will run $36,260.

That, friends, is not inexpensive, especially considering that a comparably equipped three-door GTI Autobahn model—which has the sunroof, nav, and premium audio, and is the only way to get leather upholstery—runs $30,705. You’re probably also wondering about weight; we figure the three-door R will tip our scales just over 3400 pounds, or 300 more than a three-door manual GTI.

The Golf R goes on sale in early 2012; you can use the intervening time to convince yourself that it’s really a slightly less powerful, budget Audi TTS.

Head here for full information and more photos of the 2012 Golf R.

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Full-Size Ford Transit Van Confirmed for U.S., May Be Called T-250, T-450, and T-550

Full-Size Ford Transit Van Confirmed for U.S., May Be Called T-250, T-450, and T-550:

Businessfolk and van fans speculated for months, and a press release issued today by the UAW finally confirms that the full-size Transit van is coming to the U.S. The van will be “in-sourced” to the U.S. from Europe, meaning that Ford will move a portion of Transit production—it will continue to be built overseas as well—to a Ford factory in the States. According to the UAW, the Transit will be assembled at Ford’s Kansas City facility, which presently builds the F-150 and outgoing Escape. The new 2013 Escape will be built in Louisville, Kentucky, freeing up capacity in Missouri starting next year; factoring in retooling time, we’d expect to see American-built Transits rolling off the line by 2013.

We have also learned that Ford filed trademark applications for T-250, T-450, and T-550 this past week, a strong indication that these will be the names used for the Transit. Just as Ford dropped the old Econoline name from its current mega-van in favor of “E-series” a few years ago, we suspect the new Transit will wind up being called the T-series. This will also help avoid any confusion with the smaller, car-based Ford Transit Connect in Ford’s commercial-vehicle lineup. The trademark application describes the use of the monikers as being for ”motor vehicles, namely, vans and cutaway van chassis, and their structural parts; exterior insignia badges for motor vehicles.”

For its part, Ford itself isn’t yet ready to fully confirm that the Transit is coming to America. A spokesperson tells us that the E-series and Transit will be part of the company’s “global vehicle-platform approach,” the same philosophy that spawned global versions of the Focus and Fiesta. The spokesman added that Ford “fully recognizes that today’s E-Series customers in North America have differing needs from Transit buyers in Europe, Asia, and other markets.” We take that to signal some changes to the Transit for U.S. sale; you may recall that the Fiesta was similarly tweaked.

So how long until we get a Transit Sportvan like the one pictured above? A diesel-powered, manual-transmission van certainly is in the pantheon of coolest vehicles ever.

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Baltic Mojo: Dartz Displays Loopy New Sports Car

Baltic Mojo: Dartz Displays Loopy New Sports Car:

In a tired world full of tired beings banging tired drums and singing tired hymns, it’s nice to see some people working tirelessly to further the cause of bat-guano bizarre. The fine Latvians at Dartz are just such folks. Freed from the tyranny of post-Stalin policy, the enterprising fresh faces hop from strength to strength in a dubious world of very wealthy people who may or may not need protection from man-portable artillery. After their legendary promise to Our Sea Brothers, Dartz displayed a rendering of a 2000-hp fastback-cum-armored-tow vehicle called the Nagel. Now they’re selling mojo.

Or as Dartz likes to call it, MOJO, which looks like what you would expect if Chrysler had hired Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and Syd Mead to redesign the Prowler. Also, Dartz mentioned JO-MOJO — which may or may not sound like something from a sketchy late-night personal ad. The MOJO is motivated by an unknown engine that looks suspiciously like it may have been yanked from some sort of V-4 motorcycle, while the JO-MOJO is powered by an unspecified electric motor and apparently uses solar power in some capacity. According to a post from Dartz on Luxury4Play’s message board, “WE KEEP TRADITIOS. INNOVATING. that means nothing wrong.” [Spelling and punctuation Dartz’s] They also mention that MOJO will appear at the 2012 Top Marques Monaco show. Clearly, that means nothing wrong.

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Ford Confirms No Hybrid Model for All-New 2013 Ford Escape

Ford Confirms No Hybrid Model for All-New 2013 Ford Escape:

Mixed in with powertrain details for the all-new 2013 Escape, Ford’s head product man, Derrick Kuzak, made a quick, passing reference to moving the (Escape’s) hybrid tech to the five-passenger C-Max, a model which will be available exclusively with hybrid or all-electric powertrains. A quick check with a Ford spokesperson confirmed that this means the death of the Escape hybrid. As a fairly successful and mainstream hybrid, we can’t say we totally agree with this move, but if the new 1.6-liter EcoBoost can return fuel economy similar to a theoretical new-gen hybrid, it makes sense from a cost perspective. We’ll deliver fuel-economy news and much more on the 2013 Escape soon: It’s scheduled to debut in Los Angeles next month.

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All-New 2013 Ford Escape to Drop V6 in Favor of EcoBoost Engines, Debut at 2011 L.A. Show

All-New 2013 Ford Escape to Drop V6 in Favor of EcoBoost Engines, Debut at 2011 L.A. Show:

Ford has announced that we’ll get our first undisguised look at the redesigned 2013 Ford Escape at next month’s Los Angeles auto show; for previous, camouflaged looks at the new compact SUV, head here and here. (You can also check out the Ford Vertrek concept, which faithfully previews the Escape’s styling.) The Blue Oval also confirmed some of the Escape’s powertrain details, stating that the new model will toss the V-6 option into the dumpster of irrelevance in favor of an all four-cylinder lineup comprised of one naturally aspirated engine and two turbocharged EcoBoost engines.

The base Escape will get a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with twin independent variable cam timing (Ti-VCT). Stepping up, the 1.6-liter EcoBoost four will make its North American debut. The range will be topped by the 2.0-liter EcoBoost that was recently installed in the 2012 Edge and Explorer, where it makes 240 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque. Both turbocharged engines feature EcoBoost hallmarks such as an aluminum block and head, Ti-VCT, and direct fuel injection. The 1.6 is said to make at least 175 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque, and is expected to better the current front-wheel-drive Escape hybrid’s 31-mpg EPA highway rating. All-wheel drive will return as an option, but there will not be a replacement for the Escape hybrid.

Watch this space for more details as we near the Escape’s big debut.

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Nissan Europe Stuffs GT-R Running Gear into Juke to Create Wonderfully Insane Juke-R

Nissan Europe Stuffs GT-R Running Gear into Juke to Create Wonderfully Insane Juke-R:

The Nissan Juke is a fun, different-looking small crossover with a powerful turbocharged engine and a frisky chassis—but Nissan’s Technical Centre for Europe and tuning outfit RML felt that it wasn’t frisky enough and decided to inject the Juke with some more R, as in GT-R. That’s right: They installed the GT-R’s twin-turbocharged, 3.8-liter V-6 engine, six-speed dual-clutch transmission, and all-wheel-drive system into a Juke. The result has been christened the Juke-R, and Nissan is referring to it as the “first-ever super crossover.” Given the facts at hand, we are having trouble finding a way to disagree with that statement, and it goes without saying that we are giddily eager to see what a Juke with hero-car power can do.

Nissan has released a video outlining a few of the modifications it made to the Juke to ensure a (relatively) smooth marriage of a 480-hp drivetrain (based on the hp numbers tossed around by the Nissan engineer in the video, the Juke-R will get the 2011 GT-R engine package, not the 530-hp unit from the refreshed 2012 model) and 3000 pounds of crossover. As you can see in the clip, the Juke’s floorpan was completely gutted to make room for the big longitudinal motor and AWD bits, but RML and Nissan also widened the car’s track and plan to add a pretty cool wide-body kit (seen in the sketch above). Nissan isn’t showing the completed car yet, but says the Juke-R will be road legal and that two will be made—one that’s left-hand drive, and another that’s right-hand drive. Check out the video below to watch portions of the Juke-R’s assembly.

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Watch AMG’s Performance Media Telemetry Display as an SLS Laps the Hockenheimring [VIDEO]

Watch AMG’s Performance Media Telemetry Display as an SLS Laps the Hockenheimring [VIDEO]:

Mercedes-Benz recently debuted its 2012 SLS AMG roadster (you can check out our first drive here), and among the car’s other notable features—including the debut of the SLS lineup’s adjustable suspension—it boasts a very cool AMG Performance Media (APM) telemetry function. It’s accessed and displayed via the central COMAND display, and offers driver-selectable, real-time info for lateral and linear acceleration, engine data, and lap times. Like the adjustable suspension, APM was introduced on the SLS roadster and added to the coupe for 2012; Mercedes says it will spread to other AMG models in the future. You can watch AMG Performance Media doing its thing in an SLS AMG as it tears around Germany’s Hockenheimring in the very cool Mercedes-sourced video below.

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Digital Celebrity: How to Get Your Car in the Sony Gran Turismo Game

Digital Celebrity: How to Get Your Car in the Sony Gran Turismo Game:

If you’re into cars, video games or haven’t lived “off the grid” for the past 13 years, odds are you’ve heard of Gran Turismo. A driving simulation game exclusive to the Sony Playstation, GT pioneered digital racing and modification with its 1998 launch, and made cars like the GT-R a household name long before Nissan exported the R35 Stateside.

Gran Turismo is now in its fifth iteration. Developer Polyphony and Sony have promoted Gran Turismo at the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas by hosting the GT Awards. The ninth-annual GT Awards picks the best customized vehicle within a specific category (Truck/SUV, Asian Import, European Import, Domestic and Hot Rod) exhibited at SEMA and awards the owner a trophy and glory.

For the grand prize and ensuing glory, albeit digital, Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of GT, will select an overall GT Award champion among the category winners. The overall winning car will go on to be modeled and made available in the game (images in this story are in-game renderings of previous champs). Think American Idol, only less jeers and a whole lot more gears.

For details or to submit your car for the competition, go to www.granturismoawards.com.

Related posts:

1. Gran Turismo 5 Release Date Announced
2. Gran Turismo Driving Simulator Teases With Night Racing Trailer

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Porsche Castle for Sale

Porsche Castle for Sale:

This Porsche won’t accelerate – at all – and it definitely won’t be your first choice for corner-carving driving excitement. But if your priorities include ample interior room and cavernous cargo volume, there is no substitute. The Stuttgart-based automaker is putting a Bavarian castle up for sale.

A Porsche spokesperson told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper the company would be parting with the 1.9 million square foot estate it purchased five years ago for the equivalent of $8 million dollars.

The AFP reports the intention was to turn the property, which is located near the Austrian border, roughly 80 miles southwest of Munich, into a luxury hotel. The plans never got off the ground, however, and the decision has been made to sell up. The website for the Schloss Bullachberg property states that it served as the residence to the Thurn and Taxis family until 1995.

While the estate would impress everyone at the country club, it’ll cost you the equivalent of 54 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolets. And really, where would you park the thing?

Related posts:

1. New 911 Turbo On Sale This Week
2. Fastest Production Porsche, Ever!
3. Porsche’s April Sales Up 82 Percent

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