Tag: Toyota

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Too Fast To Race: Group B Rally

As you know we are big fans of Group B Rally, it’s what we grew up with.  In the mid 1980’s when we were in high school, ESPN would show WRC and U.S. Rally Racing, as hard as that seems to believe in this day and age.

The Group B cars were turly monsters in their days, 5-800 horsepower was not unheard of, and much of the technology from the turbo Formula 1 cars made their way in to rally racing.  It came to an end at the end of the 80’s though as the cars became to fast, there were a few to many fatalities of drivers and spectators, so this shining moment of racing came to an end.

We found this series on YouTube and thought we would share it with you, it’s a documentry, broken up into seven sections to show you this history of this great series.

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RoAb #29 – The ‘In Hot Water’ Episode

This week our own Zach Bowman goes from the frying pan into the bubbling cauldron as he grabs the reigns from Craig Cole and dutifully attempts to steer RoAb in the right direction. But it turns out that Mr. Bowman isn’t the only one In Hot Water this week. A mysterious driver (or is he?) destroys a Zonda incurring nearly half a million in damage–and it’s still not totaled. Toyota, already feeling the heat over some gas pedal thingy, decides to go scuba diving in the bubbly depths when it decides to cheat in racing. A driver gets absolutely steamed when he sees an Obama bumper sticker and attempts to remove it the hard way. All that and more, plus our Blind Spot brings us a story of crocodile-skinned Bentleys, Zach and Steven Ewing pit VW Golf gasoline and diesel versions head-to-head, and it’s time once again for your favorite game show–this week, the West Coast edition!

 
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RoundAboutShow #27 The “St. Patrick’s Day” Episode

Date

It’s time for a taste of the Emerald Isle!  That’s right, St. Patrick’s Day is just a few hours away, so raise a glass with the RoundAbout crew and toast everything green in this “magically delicious” episode.  From a one-of-a-kind Chip Foose-customized farm implement to a South Korean road that’s green in a different way, we’ve got all of our Irish bases covered.  Among a plethora of other topics, we also chat about Ford’s brand-new Paddy wagon and expound on the dangers of grooming yourself while driving.  But there’s a whole lot more than that, so you’d better listen up.  Where else will you find out what Michelle Naranjo loves about Riverdance and where Zach Bowman’s hidden his pot-o-gold?

 
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Autoline After Hours With Jason Vines

Tonight the old crew is back together to do a deep dive into the news of the week, and Jason Vines, that outspoken PR veteran that we love, is back to give his two cents. Toyota Priuses are seemingly going haywire left and right, and we wonder: isn’t this a little too convenient? Plus, with Bryan Nesbitt out of the driver’s seat, Cadillac moves to distance itself from GM. All that and much more including your questions in our Rapid Fire segment. John McElroy’s in studio as usual as well as David Welch of BusinessWeek and Bloomberg and Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist.

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Autoline After Hours

t seems like the bad news just doesn’t stop for Toyota these days. Millions of vehicles have been recalled, with perhaps, more to come, tarnishing the auto giant’s record of high-quality workmanship. Now, members of Congress are calling for Akio Toyoda to testify stateside. To discuss the delicate art of Crisis Management on this week’s show, and what Toyota could have done better, we’re summoning an old friend for a deposition before our panel.

Jason Vines was at the helm of Ford Public Relations when the Explorer rollover crisis occurred in the 1990s. We’ll ask how a company can effectively diffuse a PR bomb and keep the situation from spiraling out of control. John McElroy’s onboard as usual as well as David Welch of BusinessWeek and Bloomberg and Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist.

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Got questions for Rapid Fire? Put “AAH Question” in the subject line and e-mail it to viewermail@autolinedetroit.tv

Or, leave us a message by calling 1-620-624-9291 or by clicking below!



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Autoline After Hours with ME!!!!

The Autoline crew is back from the Washington Auto Show just in time for another great discussion on Autoline After Hours. We’ll be talking about all the big news of the week: Ford’s huge profits, Toyota’s giant recall and Big Ed Whitacre’s takeover as permanent CEO of General Motors. This week we’re joined by our friend, Eric Trytko, the blogger and podcaster behind the website Rumblestrip.net. We’ll also be joined by David Welch of BusinessWeek and Bloomberg News and Mr. Autoextremist himself, Peter De Lorenzo.

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Pop-out Chat Window

Got questions for Rapid Fire? Put “AAH Question” in the subject line and e-mail it to viewermail@autolinedetroit.tv

Or, leave us a message by calling 1-620-624-9291 or by clicking below!



(Live show will continue)

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Quick Morning Notes From NAIAS

We will have a much more in depth review of the day later tonight, but wanted to give you some quick thoughts so far today.

Ford had a nice production for their Focus intro of which you can see a quick blurb here on the blog below, general reaction form the jaded press corps was good.

GMC brought you the Granite, what they call an “Urban Utility Vehicle”, what also could be know as yet another Xb copy.  1.4 liter turbo motor and suicide doors.  Interior looks good, this is one of those prototype not announced for production cars.

Buick showed off the new Regal and also the GS “Concept”  Look for that to be announced for production shortly.  Some big power numbers announced for the GS Regal, 255HP and 290TQ out of a 2 liter turbo motor.

As a side note GM needs to hire some new writers for Mark and Susan, the fake conversation they had to begin the presser was corny and awkward.

We skipped the Toyota presser and by all accounts it was a good thing, reports are people were falling asleep there, also Toyota needs some new writers as well, the jokes wouldn’t have made it at amateur night at the comedy club.

VW showed off a highbrid coupe which has been tagged as the next Jetta and Mercedes touted it’s highbrids, then showed off a Convertible E Class which has a spoiler that comes out over the windshield header to direct air over the back seat passengers.  Seems like engineering for engineering sake.

We are taking a break, and will post notes later in the day, pictures to come as well.

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RoundAboutShow #17 2010 Predictions

Every year on New Year’s Day we wake up in a pool of what we hope is our own vomit.  Staggering to our feet, we search for our pants, a shred of dignity and a cohesive, Zen-like theme.  In the process we also uncover a host of stories and news bites to fit that theme, however hungover or dehydrated they may be.  And whatever’s leftover, well, we talk about it anyway because it’s 2010!

Besides the obvious, like more ridiculous airport security hoops to jump through and enviro-nazis wailing about carbon and polar bears, what’s in store for the New Year?  Well, this week the RoundAbout crew plays prophet and tries to shed a little light on 2010.  The group reaches consensus on some of their predictions, but the automotive oracles are divided on other points – like Chrysler.  Even with imported new leadership, will the beleaguered automaker be able to pull through?  Has the new century smell worn off already after just one decade?  Find out on this week’s installment of RoundAbout!

 

 
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