Auto restoration specialist Casey Putsch built himself the world’s only jet turbine-powered Batmobile, and now it’s for sale on eBay for the low price of just $620,000.  The Batmobile design includes a turbine, but the movie prop cars used small-block Chevy V8s instead, so when Putsch decided to make his own, he built in a 365 HP turbine from a Boeing naval drone helicopter.  Despite that, the car weighs only 2,800, so it should be fairly quick.

Best of all, this Batmobile is street-registered in the US, so you can drive it to work every day.  Inside, you’ll find a pretty barebones cockpit, featuring a center-mounted iPad 3G for GPS navigation and avionics.  Oh and you can feed the car Jet A, kerosene, or diesel.

So if your life would be incomplete without rollin like the Dark Knight, pick up your new ride on eBay.  For the rest, check out the photos and videos below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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After more than 30 years, Ford has finally retired its Crown Victoria sedan, the last traditional rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered, body-on-frame American sedan.  Best known through its Police Interceptor variant, which comprises more than 70% of America’s police fleets today, the Crown Victoria offers old domestic mainstays like a soft suspension, front bench seat, and steering column gear shifter.  The Panther platform it’s built on dates back to 1979 and also lies under the Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car, which are being retired as well.

Ford stopped consumer sales of the Crown Vic in 2008, but sales to police department and taxi fleets have remained strong.  Ford has new police offerings in the works, based on the Taurus sedan and Explorer SUV, but many police departments believe the Crown Vic is still the best option and have driven up sales by stockpiling cars over the last few months.  Yet the same sturdy, easy-to-repair body-on-frame construction that makes the Crown Vic the highway patrol’s car of choice also makes it heavy and inefficient (16 mpg city), which Ford can hardly afford in an era of increasingly tight fuel economy requirements (manufacturers must average 35.5 mpg by 2016 and 54.5 mpg by 2025).

The Crown Vic was introduced for police duty in 1983 and became the dominant patrol car in 1996, when its main competitor, the Chevy Caprice, was discontinued.  Today, Chevy has a new Caprice (based on an Australian Holden sedan) for the police, and Dodge offers a police-spec Charger sedan.  Both are rear-wheel-drive, unlike Ford’s new police offering, the FWD/AWD Taurus.  All offer better performance and fuel efficiency than the Crown Vic, but police fleets remain skeptical.

Despite its dominance in the police and taxi markets, the Crown Vic has seen its share of controversy in the last few years.  Its vertically-mounted steel gas tank is located between the rear axle and trunk, making it susceptible to puncture in a rear crash and leading to strong and instantaneous fires.  Ford faces dozens of lawsuits in the early 2000s following a number of deaths linked to the tank design.  The carmaker eventually settled the cases and in 2003 began to install protecting the gas tank from rear-end puncture.

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1. San Francisco loses last domestic car dealership

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Golden Gate City has lost its last domestic car dealer.  Since San Francisco Ford Lincoln Mercury closed last week, the city lacks a single Ford/Lincoln, GM/Chevy/Buick/Cadillac, or Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer in its 47.6 square mile territory.  The dealer’s original owner returned its franchise three years ago to Ford, which has been running the shop since.  Ford Lincoln Mercury president Mel Turner said that when Ford’s attempts to sell the dealer fell through, the company had to make a “very tough decision” to close its doors in San Francisco.

While Ford is recovering nationally, with a new set of globally-competitive models that are selling well and boast higher quality almost at par with Japanese rivals, San Francisco car buyers don’t seem to have caught on.  Mike Hollywood, a sales manager at Ellis Brooks Chevrolet — a seven-story, 195,000 square foot facility that stop selling Chevrolets 2.5 years ago and will soon become a flagship Nissan/Infiniti dealer — said, “People in San Francisco just weren’t buying Cadillac Escalades. You can’t even park them in the parking structures here.”

Meanwhile, dealers of import brands, from Audi to Toyota, Scion, Honda, VW, Mazda, BMW, and Mercedes are doing great business just down the road from the former Ford dealer.  Dennis Fitzpatrick, regional VP of the California New Car Dealers Association, said “It’s a tough market. Imports have a much bigger share in San Francisco.  ”When you can sell 100 imports a month as opposed to 25 domestic, and what with the rents and real estate, it’s tough to make a U.S. car dealership pencil.”

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

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Dodge’s recent ads depict people taking back control of their driving experience from computers, and the latest spot for the Charger follows in the same pattern.  The sedan ironically no longer offers a manual transmission, but the ad is simple and works well.  A passive owner literally rips the head off of a nanny driver robot and channels a streak of irresponsibility, driving the HEMI-powered gas guzzler through town like a madman.  As in all of Dodge’s ads, the spot is narrated by a calm, deep male voice meant to appeal to Dodge’s target audience, which is almost exclusively male.

Ad video after the break.

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Mercedes-Benz just released some photos of its 2012 C63 AMG Coupe.  The coupe is based on the recently introduced 2012 C-Class Coupe, which is essentially a C-Class sedan with two door lopped off and a slightly lower roofline.  AMG’s smallest model is scheduled to be introduced at the New York Auto Show later this month and should hit showrooms by September.

Key specs are nearly identical to the 2012 C63 AMG sedan– the rear-wheel-drive coupe sports AMG’s 6.2L V8 engine producing 451 HP (or 481 with the optional AMG Development Pack) and a 7-speed Speedshift MCT transmission.  0-60 mph should come in 4.4 seconds, with an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph.  The AMG Development version boosts those numbers to 4.3 seconds and 174 mph, respectively.

Compared to its non-AMG siblings, the C63 Coupe gains a stiffer suspension, wider tracked, sharper steering, larger wheels, and more powerful brakes, along with an aggressive AMG body kit.

Press release after the break.

The new C63 AMG Coupe – excitement and high performance at its best
Two-door coupe delivers up to 481 hp

MONTVALE, NJ

The new 2012 C63 AMG Coupe designed by Mercedes-AMG combines distinctive design with a powerful drivetrain and dynamic handling. The new coupe joins the successful C63 AMG Sedan as well as the AMG family of coupes which includes the CLS63 AMG and the CL63AMG. The new coupe makes its U.S. showroom debut in September 2011.

The AMG 6.3-liter V8 engine in the C63 AMG Coupe delivers a maximum output of 451 hp and peak torque of 443 lb-ft. Reflecting its outstanding performance, the coupe is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph (electronically limited). With these specifications, the new two-door vehicle is poised to take the lead in its segment.

The new coupe shares all the technology updates from the 2012 C63 AMG Sedan and features the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission with standard “Controlled Efficiency” mode, and a new power steering pump that helps to reduce fuel consumption.

AMG Development Package for a maximum output of 481 hp

This reduction in fuel consumption also applies to the C63 Coupe when equipped with the AMG Development Package which generates 481 hp. This optional package improves acceleration from 0 to 60 mph to 4.3 seconds thanks to technology transferred from the SLS AMG. The forged pistons, connectin grods and lightweight crankshaft adopted from the gullwing model’s high-tech drive system save 6.6 pounds in weight. This reduces rotational inertia and enhances the agility and responsiveness of the high-revving, eight-cylinder naturally aspirated engine. Top speed increases as well to 174 mph (electronically limited). Visually, the AMG performance package can be identified by the variable intake manifold finished in titanium grey under the hood, the AMG high-performance braking system with two-piece front rotors and red painted brake calipers, the carbon fiber trunk lid spoiler and the AMG performance steering wheel in premium leather with an Alcantara® grip area.

Standard AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission

The AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission provides direct and agile power delivery. In place of the traditional torque converter, this innovative transmission features a compact, wet start-up clutch which reduces the power losses normally associated with conventional automatic transmissions and significantly lowers fuel consumption. The Controlled Efficiency “C” mode provides early, comfortable upshifts while maintaining the lowest possible engine speed and “soft” accelerator characteristics to help improve fuel economy.

The exclusive Mercedes-AMG power transmission offers a high level of versatility and performance. The “S”, “S+” and “M” modes deliver increased agility and are selected via the new rotary control knob familiar from the SLS AMG. Faster gear changes and higher revs add to the emotional experience as well as rev-matching in “S”, “S+” and “M” modes. Gear changes in the “S+” and “M” modes take just 100 milliseconds and the RACE START function allows the driver to harness the vehicle’s full acceleration capability.

Specific AMG sports suspension for quick acceleration and ride comfort

It’s not just the engine and MCT transmission which influence the C63 AMG Coupe’s aggressive character – the AMG sports suspension and AMG high-performance braking system are also key here. Compared with the standard suspension, the AMG coupe has a separate three-link front suspension, a reinforced multi-link independent rear suspension and a wider track front and rear. The stiffer elastokinematics, autonomous axle kinematics with more negative camber and larger anti-roll bars result in greater agility and lateral acceleration. Specially adjusted spring and damper rates have optimized both the responsiveness of the suspension as well as road noise and tire vibration.

The AMG speed-sensitive sports steering with a direct ratio (13.5: 1) provides excellent road feel and contributes to the nimble driving experience. The precise steering is complemented by three-stage ESP¨, the Electronic Stability Program that enables three individual control strategies to be accessed at the touch of a button. The driver can use the ESP¨ switch on the center console to choose between ESP ON, ESP SPORT and ESP OFF modes. The AMG high-performance braking system with internally ventilated and perforated discs at the corners provide maximum responsiveness, short stopping distances and high fade resistance.

Confident and athletic: the design of the C63 AMG Coupe

Visually, the coupe version of the C63 AMG has a confident, athletic presence that is reminiscent of the high-performance SL63 AMG roadster. The C63 AMG Coupe has a sinister low profile, powerful shoulderline and a narrow C-pillar, combined with short overhangs, long hood, steeply raked windshield and long, sloping roof.

As is typical for AMG, the car has a striking, arrow-shaped front section with the new AMG front apron housing a high-gloss black horizontal edge, AMG-specific LED daytime running lights and side air outlets. The large Mercedes star sits on a wing-shaped transverse lamella in the new radiator grille, while a modified aluminum hood with powerdomes, emphasizes the strong character of the car. The new clear-lens headlamps are particularly eye-catching, especially when equipped with the optional Lighting Package which includes bi-xenon headlamps.

The wide front fender bearing the “6.3 AMG” script, AMG rocker panels and the new 18-inch 5-twin-spoke AMG light-alloy wheels painted in titanium grey with a high-gloss finish dominate the side view. Excellent contact with the road is provided by the wide 235/40 R 18 (front) and 255/35 R 18 (rear) tires.

At the rear, the unique AMG rear apron has a distinctive, black diffuser insert and three pronounced diffuser fins along with two chromed twin tailpipes of the AMG sports exhaust system.

High-quality, dramatic interior

Inside, the instrument cluster with integrated screen immediately recalls the new CLS63 AMG with three separate round gauges providing information on speed, engine rpm, fuel level, and coolant temperature. Other display options are available through the AMG main menu accessible via the multifunction buttons on the steering wheel. The three-dimensional TFT color display located inside the speedometer welcomes the driver by showing an AMG logo.

The specially shaped AMG performance steering wheel has been adopted from the CLS63 AMG and includes flattened top and bottom sections, metallic trim elements, grip areas trimmed in perforated leather, and aluminum shift paddles. The instrument cluster and center console are trimmed in high-gloss black piano lacquer while the dashboard and doors feature aluminum trim; optional carbon fiber or wood trims are also available. The rotary control for selecting the C, S, S+, M transmission modes and RACE START is situated on the center console.

The new AMG sports seats with integrated head restraints, EASY-ENTRY system and AMG badges have a sporty design with horizontal stitching. Combined M-B Tex/DINAMICA black upholstery comes as standard. DINAMICA is a new type of breathable man-made fiber which is pleasing to the touch and is characterized by low emissions and high durability. The side bolsters of the AMG sports seats are covered in M-B Tex while the center panels of the seat cushions are upholstered with DINAMICA. The C63 AMG Coupe is a proper four-seater with the rear seats featuring the same style of horizontal stitching as the AMG sports seats. Standard split-folding rear seats help expand available cargo capacity.

Optional leather interior appointments help individualize the inside with four single tone and three two-tone combinations.

High level of safety and new assistance systems

With nine airbags as standard, belt tensioners and belt-force limiters for all seats, the C63 AMG Coupe has extensive safety features. The airbags, which can deploy in milliseconds in the event of an accident, include front, side and pelvic bags for the driver and front passenger, a kneebag on the driver’s side, and windowbags.

With a number of driving assistance systems ranging from ATTENTION ASSIST drowsiness detection to Blind Spot Assist, the C63 AMG Coupe provides a comprehensive level of driver support and protection. The assistance systems are familiar from the flagship S-Class and are based on the latest radar, camera and sensor technology to help monitor and prevent frequent accident causes such as driving too closely, fatigue and darkness.

The new telematics generation featuring enhanced ease of operation

The C63 AMG Coupe also features a new telematics generation which offers greater operating convenience, larger displays, phone book transfer, Bluetooth audio streaming and a USB interface now accommodated in the center armrest. The optional COMAND system now features SIRIUS weather information along with the familiar destination search/route download via Google. The COMAND navigation system also includes a new 3D display with city views, the ability to record and retrace a specific route, specific personal destinations can be saved or imported via an SD card and four alternative routes can be displayed on the navigation map, one of them an economical variation.

The new C63 AMG Coupe will make its U.S. showroom debut in September 2011.

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This year’s Super Bowl had its fair share of entertaining ads.  Here’s our roundup of some of the interesting automotive ads:

Kia Optima – “One Epic Ride”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Volkswagen Passat – “The Force”

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Chrysler 200 – “Imported from Detroit”

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Chevy Camaro – “Miss Evelyn”

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Hyundai Sonata Hybrid – “Anachronistic City”

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Suzuki Kizashi – “Kizashi vs. Wicked Weather”

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BMW Advanced Diesel – “Change”

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Mercedes-Benz 125 Years – “Welcome”

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Cars.com – “The Reviews Are In”

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Cars.com – “Go First”

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Kia’s upcoming Super Bowl ad for the 2011 Optima takes an epic twist.  The spot features a bad cop stealing the all-new sedan from a couple; a yacht-cruising villain, however, has other plans and sends his RAH-66 Comanche-flying henchmen to bring the car to him.  But before he can get it, the Greek sea god Poseidon emerges and takes the car.  We won’t spoil the rest, but we have to mention that it features aliens and ancient Mayans.

The madness comes together to make one of our favorite Super Bowl ads this year so far.

See the video after the break.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Hydrogen-powered cars were once considered the future of transportation– a title seemingly now usurped by battery electric vehicles.  But hydrogen may be back, thanks to Cella Energy, whose system dispenses of the usual approach– big tanks of pressurized gas feeding into fuel cells emitting electrons and water.  Cella has developed a way of storing H2 gas inside microfibers, but more importantly, also in microbeads.

The hydrogen-infused microbeads, in a liquid suspension, form a synthetic fuel that can actually be burned in an internal combustion engine without modification.  Best of all, Cella says its fuel could be sold for just $1.50 per gallon when ready for commercial production.  No word on when that will be, though.

Via: GizMag
Source: Cella Energy

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Mercedes-Benz just announced at the Detroit Auto Show that it will be putting the electric version of its SLS AMG supercar, the E-Cell, into production in 2013.  The E-Cell sports four electric motors (one per wheel) that together produce 526 hp and 629 lb-ft of torque.  The standard SLS has a 6.2L V8 putting out 563 hp and 479 lb-ft, so the electric version is down 37 hp but up 150 lb-ft versus its gas counterpart.

Unfortunately, the E-Cell weighs a whopping 880 lb more (400 lb of which is in the 48 kWh lithium ion battery) than the regular SLS, which was already not terribly light at 3,571 lb.  Auto Express reports that the extra heft does have a decidedly negative effect on the car’s handling.  Mercedes says, however, that the weight should be reduced by the time the car hits production, and regardless, the motors’ massive, instant torque is an undeniable attraction.  The E-Cell even manages a respectable 125 mile range.

The normal SLS AMG attracts so much attention that should Mercedes choose to produce the E-Cell in the color it’s being displayed in (“AMG Lumilectric Mango”), you’ll always be the center of attention for miles around in one of these.  And hey, maybe the extra weight won’t matter, because with all the wide-eyed bystanders surrounding the car, you won’t be moving terribly fast anyway.

Auto Express driving impressions video after the break.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Mercedes’ new C-Class coupe is scheduled to be unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show in March.  Some European bloggers seem to have beaten Mercedes to the punch, however, releasing three leaked press shots of the new car.  The coupe shares its front-end styling with the facelifted 2012 C-Class sedan but is unique from the A-pillar aft.

Interestingly, this is not the first Mercedes two-door to resemble the latest C-Class.  For a while, the company sold the CLC (outside of America), which was actually a previous-generation (W203) C-Class Sportcoupe (hatchback) facelifted to match the current sedan’s (W204) exterior styling.  This time around, however, the car has standard trunk instead of a hatchback.

No further details have been confirmed, though we expect the coupe to gain the same engine options as the sedan- the C250 (a new 1.8L twin-turbo direct-injection inline-4 with 201 hp, 229 lb-ft), C300 (retaining its 3.0L V6 with 228 hp, 221 lb-ft), and C350 (a new 3.5L direct-injection V6 with 302 hp, 273 lb-ft).

The C-Class sedan and coupe are almost sure to get AMG, and possibly AMG Black Series, versions sporting AMG’s 5.5L twin-turbo V8.

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