Auto Body Gilroy News: 3-31-13

March 31, 2013 by

Report: NHTSA looking for power to fast-track “noncontroversial” auto laws | Autoblog

by Jonathon Ramsey

When it comes to any new regulation that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration deems “not controversial and therefore unlikely to receive adverse comment,” it would like the power to implement the regulation without the standard period of public comment. It seeks the change in order to be able to clear and finalize “routine” rules in a matter of days. If NHTSA is granted the power it seeks, people could still comment on such regulations and request changes, but the agency could ignore the feedback and the requests.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has questioned the proposal, which would expedite the “direct final rule” process, citing the decrease in transparency it could entail and the ambiguous definition of “controversy” – what NHTSA thinks is a routine regulation, others could consider anything but.

The notice was posted on the NHTSA site on Tuesday…

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Hoodless: Top 10 Engines from Viva Las Vegas | HotRod

by Jesse Kiser
Here is a run down of our favorite engines from the show. There is a huge mix of engines and hard to tell what’s the most popular. If we had to guess, it would be a small block Chevy, but there are a surprising number of original flat heads powering these driven hot rods. Here… [Read More]

 

The Shelby Raptor Is A Crazed Power Hungry Beast Of A Truck | Jalopnik

by Travis Okulski

The Ford Raptor is a favorite of ours. More horsepower is also a thing that we like. So what if you give a Raptor to those lunatics at Shelby? You get this, the Shelby Raptor.

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VW Golf announced as World Car of the Year 2013 | Autocar

Matt Bird

Latest Golf is the fourth VW in five years to be awarded the titleThe Volkswagen Golf Mk 7 has been named World Car of the Year. It’s the 17th award bestowed upon VW’s latest hatchback since its launch last November.World Car of the Year is judged by 66 journalists from 23 countries. Contenders for this year’s title included the Porsche Boxster, Mercedes A-Class and Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ. The top honour was reserved for the Golf thanks to what the jurors called ‘fresh, progressive design, a new range of engines, plus an impressive list of equipment and safety systems’.VW’s Chairman Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn said of  claiming the title: ‘To win this award again shows that the Golf is and remains in a class of its own all around the world’. The latest Golf continues Volkswagen’s strong showing in World Car of the Year; not only did the Up receive the prestigious accolade in 2012, it was also awarded to the Golf Mk 6 in 2009 and the Polo in 2010.The Golf range is set to expand in the upcoming months. In 2013 VW will launch the latest Golf GTI and GTD, whilst an all-electric Golf and range-extender Hybrid are due in the near future.
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Auto Body Gilroy News: 11-9-12

November 9, 2012 by

Volkswagen versus iPhone 5 | CNET

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

The VW Golf R uses an iPod integration system common to many VW and Audi models.

When Apple announced the iPhone 5’s new Lightning connection, a replacement for the 30 pin connector of past iPhones, iPads, and iPods, it also announced an adapter to maintain compatibility with 30 pin accessories and docks. I tested the iPhone 5 with its biggest 30 pin accessory, a Volkswagen.

Volkswagen uses the same iPod integration system as Audi, which it calls the Music Interface. This system consists of a proprietary port in the car with adapter cables for 30 pin iPod connector, USB, mini-USB, and auxiliary input. As Volkswagen has not come out with a Lightning cable for its Music Interface, you have to get Apple’s 30 pin to Lightning adapter, and connect it to the car’s adapter cable. Not exactly an elegant solution.

iPhone 5 to Lightning adapter to VW Music Interface adapter. What could go wrong?

(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)

I previously tested the iPhone 5 in a Chevy and Nissan by plugging its Lightning cable directly into those cars’ USB ports. In each case, the integration worked perfectly, showing the iPhone 5’s music library on the car’s LCDs and having no issues in playing music through the… [Read more]

2014 Maserati Quattroporte, 2014 Audi R8, McLaren P1: This Week’s Top Photos | MotorAuthority

2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black SeriesThis week we saw the reveal of the new 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series along with the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte. We also received our first glimpse of the upcoming TMG Lexus LS 650 prototype, and we spied the McLaren P1 testing. We even drove the new 2014 Audi R8 models. Of course all of these things brought along terrific photos that…

 

SEMA Attendees Win Prizes Through SCRS Raffle Drawing | BodyShopBusiness

During last week’s SEMA Show, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists gave away a series of great prizes from sponsors of its RDE series.To…

 

2013 Honda CR-V, 2013 Ford Escape, 1972 Nissan Skyline GT-R: Top Videos Of The Week | TheCarConnection

2012 Honda CR-VAs the world counted down the days until we no longer had to endure political ads, we continued to post new video road tests for your viewing pleasure. Two of our new video road tests featured popular family crossovers: the 2013 Honda CR-V and 2013 Ford Escape. Speaking of those two crossovers, both of those video road tests topped our charts this…

 

Does what you drive to the polls indicate how you’ll vote? | ShopAutoWeek

Can Democrats and Republicans find some common ground behind the wheel?

A survey by totalcarscore.com, a Web site that does car reviews, product comparisons and automotive research, suggests a relationship between the type of vehicles people drive and how they’ll vote on Tuesday.

The Facebook survey of more than 600 U.S. participants identified as either Democrats/liberals or Republicans/conservatives allowed each respondent to select the type of vehicle he or she drives.

The primary findings show that 29 percent of Republicans/conservatives drive a pickup truck and 27 percent of Democrats/liberals drive compact cars.

But people in both parties agree they like SUVs and crossovers about equally with 20 percent for Republicans/conservatives vs. 18 percent for Democrats/liberals.

And here’s another area of common ground, surprisingly: Members of both parties dislike hybrid/alternative-fuel vehicles about the same. Hybrid/alternative-fuel vehicles came in last place for Democrats and second-to-last place for Republicans, just above the van/minivan segment.

Still, with 6 percent market share among Democrats, the hybrid segment is more than twice as popular with them as it is with Republicans, who drive hybrids only 3 percent of the time.

With the latest election polls showing the race for the White House at a tie, maybe it’s time the pollsters peruse the parking lot?

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