Say what you will of the late John DeLorean, but when push came to shove, he never tired of searching for creative ways to promote his business interests.
One of the last initiatives he undertook was a time machine of sorts. Not quite like the one that immortalized his creation -- the stainless-steel, gull-winged DMC12 in the Back to the Future trilogy -- DeLorean Time was an initiative to sell a unique wristwatch.
While you could certainly argue that any merchandising initiative ndash; be it a timepiece or anything else ndash; is simply another way for an automaker to raise income through alternative means, DeLorean was a little more direct about it. With the purchase of the DeLorean watch, the buyer would be entered into an unofficial contract to get first crack at the DMC2, the ill-fated sportscar which DeLorean had hoped to build before passing in 2005. By selling enough watches, DeLorean hoped, he could raise enough money to get the DMC2 into production.
Follow the jump to view a video of John DeLorean promoting the watch, or follow the link to view more photos.
Posted May 7th 2007 11:38AM by
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No matter how nice we ask, beg or cajole, our pleas for a skid pad have fallen on deaf ears. We're not asking much. All we want is a safe place to hoon it up to our hearts content.
Instead, we're forced to live out our four-wheel drift fantasies by watching repeats of Top Gear and now this, a video of Volkswagen's IROC concept pirouetting around a damp slice of tarmac in what we can only assume is B-roll footage for a photo shoot.
The video is after the jump and in the meantime, we'll try to figure out what the right ratio of cookies and milk Santa requires to make our dreams a reality.
[Source: YouTube via ]
With the new C-Class sedan already firing on all cylinders, Mercedes-Benz is preparing its compact wagon variant.
Some intrepid paparazzi managed to catch the upcoming C-Class Estate undergoing apparent cold-weather testing with minimal camouflage, in a video that you'll find after the jump.
Although the wagon version of the baby Benz is not sold on American shores, rivals like the BMW 3-Series wagon and Audi A4 Avant have been available here, although their sales volume is not at the same level as it is overseas where small family wagons are a popular alternative to cumbersome and gas-guzzling SUVs.
Aside from the hunch-back, the C-Class Estate is virtually identical to its sedan sister, and offers the same range of engines that starts with the 156-hp C180 and extends up to the 272-hp C350, with a few diesels thrown into the mix.
"The Exelero show car did more for us than all the tweaks to the 57/62 series combined." That's what a source inside Maybach had to say about the gargantuan showcar when . The Exelero, more than any other, looked like it was built to transport Darth Vader.
But it wasn't. Nor was it built just to garner attention, although that factored big in the formula, as well. The purpose of the Exelero was to serve as a high-speed ndash; and high-profile ndash; test vehicle for German tire manufacturer Fulda, who decades prior had embarked on a similar venture with the original Maybach.
In short, the Exelero has the go to back up all that show.
In the video after the jump, witness the time-warping power and speed of the two-door performance coupe built on the platform of the Maybach 57, which itself is second only to its big-brother 62 in the rankings of the largest and most obscenely powerful cars on the market.
In so many ways, and in so many words, this is huge.
Posted Apr 27th 2007 7:26PM by
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We all learn the theory of what happens inside an internal combustion engine; a mixture of fuel and air is ignited by a short electric spark. Some people describe the ensuing event as an explosion, but the ideal is a controlled burn, but it's still so fast that it could be confused for an uncontrolled explosion. An engine is a practical application of thermodynamics, when it comes right down to it.
The piston moves by the pressure exerted by the burning fuel mixture, and as the piston moves down the bore, pressure reduces, and work is extracted from the fuel.
Of course, there's a lot more to it, but that's the basics. We're sure you had a little animated diagram dancing around in your head the first time you really tried to understand the common Otto cycle.
My mental flash player still fires up when I'm trying to figure out different cycles like the Atkinson. Wouldn't it be great to actually see inside the cylinder during combustion events? No, we didn't videotape our lawnmower with a plug -- this technique is far fancier.
Video and technique info after the jump
[Source: Hemmings]
This ad takes us back to our childhood, when transmissions came in manual and automatic. That was it. Today's kids have sequentials, continuously variable ratios, dual clutches, paddle shifters, manually-shifted automatics, automatic-shifting manuals and a gazillion other variations to confuse them when pretending to drive.
We could try to explain the technology behind Volkswagen's DSG transmission until we're blue in the face, or you could simply follow the jump to watch a couple of kids do it for us. It's so simple, it's child's play.
Disclaimer: No actual children were harmed by Autoblog or by Volkswagen in the presentation of this video.
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