Notícias soltas

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Bertone alegadamente à beira da bancarrota; Comprador turco diz-se interessado em comprar

 

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Last Volkswagen camper vans are made in Brazil

 

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Os fabricantes automobilísticos procuram uma normativa de homologação comum entre os EUA e a UE

Já era tempo.

 

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Destaque para o Volvo XC90 que após completar 11 anos ainda está entre os mais seguros.

 

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Cuba autorizará a livre importação de automóveis novos e usados

Medio siglo de prohibiciones y restricciones han marcado el mercado automovilístico cubano. En la actualidad es muy normal ver vehículos de los 30 y 40 circulando por sus calles, así como un gran número de Ladas de los 70 y 80, siendo uno de los parques más viejos del planeta.

Según las últimas informaciones el Consejo de Ministros de Raúl Castro ha aprobado una medida que permitirá la libre comercialización de vehículos, ya sean nuevos o usados, por ciudadanos cubanos o extranjeros. Hasta ahora las compras estaban muy limitadas y por ejemplo los cubanos debían pedir una autorización especial (que tenía que aprobarse) para poder acceder a un vehículo a estrenar.

Galería:Coches en Cuba

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La prohibición del libre mercado automotor lleva vigente desde 1959 y ha convertido las calles de la isla en un auténtico museo del automóvil. Con la nueva ley y la apertura del mercado, esa típica estampa cubana irá desapareciendo en pro de automóviles más modernos, seguros, eficientes y económicos.

¿Significa esto un boom de ventas? No creemos. Una cosa es que se liberalice el mercado y otra bien distinta que los ciudadanos tengan los medios para adquirirlos, al menos totalmente nuevos. Posiblemente la revolución llegará con los vehículos usados. En cualquier caso es una buena noticia para los cubanos y el propio país, que da un pasito adelante en su modernización.

 

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2014 Detroit Show Officials Outline First Batch of Premieres

 

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Um Lego que funciona.

 

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Lykan, agora em vídeo.

 

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Buick Wildcat Design Concept como rival do BMW Z4 e do Jaguar F-Type

Let's be honest now; the only reason that Buick survived the cut during General Motors' government forced restructuring is the brand's huge success in China, where business is literally booming: Chinese consumers buy around four times as many Buicks as their U.S. counterparts with sales of about 700,000 units in 2012.In its home market of North America, Buick doesn't enjoy the same affection as it does in China, and its current portfolio of models isn’t exactly helping change perceptions. One independent designer who still believes in the marque is Marc Senger. Not only that, but he also came up with a vision on how to re-ignite passion for Buick.

A Boston-based designer who now works for product development studio Eleven, Senger says he has "never quite escaped the gravitational pull of working in Detroit", which makes him our kind of guy.
Senger sent us his work on the Buick Wildcat design study, which is named after and inspired by Buick's renowned fiberglass-bodied 1954 concept car. It's a two-seater roadster envisioned with a supercharged V8 engine (we gather in its top form) to compete against the likes of the BMW Z4 and Jaguar F-Type.

Below you will find Senger's description of the concept along with a multitude of photos and a nifty video animation. Read through and leave your feedback on the design in the comments that follow.
By John Halas

[From Marc Senger]
"GM’s 1954 Buick Wildcat II concept is widely considered among the most stunning show cars in GM history. It embodied Buick’s combination of effortless luxury, with a spry underbelly of raw performance worn on its sleeve.
This new Buick Wildcat aims to recapture original designer Harley Earl’s instinctual take on the luxury roadster, with a thoroughly modern bias. It will compete in a segment dominated by European prestige models (BMW Z4, Jaguar F-Type, Audi TT, etc), but will deliver a truly American driving experience. An experience aided by a Buick-specific supercharged V8, spiritual ‘54 cues like open fenders, “floating” headlights, liquid-smooth feedback, and relatively compact proportions. The low, 35-inch high cowl is the sole, yet critical shared dimension between the ’54 car and my own.

One may argue this segment is Cadillac\'s territory to fight, but I feel the Buick brand is in need of an engaging halo-car to redefine what Buick performance could be today: An oxymoronic, Jekyll & Hyde blend of brute force and buttery elegance. If Buick wants to attract a younger segment, this could be an aspirational gateway."

 

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Drive resume os melhor dos seus vídeos deste ano em 50 minutos.

 

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Uma má notícia para o povo irmão do outro lado do Atlântico.

Autohoje - Brasil aumenta impostos sobre o automóvel

O Governo brasileiro vai aumentar em 1% os impostos sobre a compra de automóveis em janeiro. E esse imposto vai continuar a aumentar até ao verão.

O Governo de Dilma Rousseff prepara-se para aumentar de 2 para 3% o Imposto sobre Produtos Industrializados, conhecido como IPI, o que deverá representar um duro golpe no mercado automóvel daquele país, cotado como 4º maior mercado do mundo: o Brasil valia 3,5 milhões de automóveis por ano em 2012, apenas superado pelo Japão (4 milhões), Estados Unidos (13 milhões) e China (18 milhões).

O imposto IPI tinha sido reduzido de 7% para zero no ano passado, de modo a dar um impulso decisivo no mercado automóvel e estimular o negócio. No entanto, isso diminuiu seriamente a receita fiscal do Governo.

O cenário deverá agravar-se seriamente quando chegar o verão de 2014, ano de «Copa do Mundo» no Brasil, altura em que o imposto vai chegar aos 11% do valor do bem, para os veículos Flex (gasolina ou etanol), e aos 13% para os automóveis alimentados apenas a gasolina. Segundo o secretário-executivo interino do Ministério da Fazenda, Dyogo Henrique de Oliveira, «temos que cuidar para que as vendas continuem 'aquecidas' e que se mantenha o nível de atividade na indústria. Nós estamos entendendo que há um acordo com a indústria para que não haja 'repasse' para os preços nem demissões no setor face a essa recomposição».

No entanto, grande parte dos observadores económicos sugerem que será inevitável o reflexo no preço dos carros novos, e que esse reflexo poderá ser significativo. Além disso, está a haver uma grande contração de crédito bancário no Brasil.

Fiat, General Motors, Ford e Volkswagen podem ver as suas vendas afetadas pelo aumento fiscal. Estes quatro grandes construtores são responsáveis por 70% dos automóveis novos que se vendem anualmente no Brasil.

 

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Brad Pitt também aponta a entrar no filme Go Like Hell

Tras el éxito de Rush, la próxima gran película del mundo del motor es, sin duda alguna, Go Like Hell, un relato que, inspirado en el libro homónimo busca narrarnos las épicas batallas emprendidas por Ford para tratar de vencer en las 24 Horas de Le Mans a Ferrari.

Ya te contamos meses atrás que el primer gran fichaje en forma de actor fue Tom Cruise, aunque no nos hacemos a la idea del pequeño Tom haciendo de Carroll Shelby. Ahora es otro nombre famoso de Hollywood el que se suma a esta historia: Brad Pitt. Así lo revela The Hollywood Reporter.

¿De quién hará Brad Pitt? Pues ni idea. De Enzo Ferrari seguro que no... Lo único que le pedimos a Joseph Kosinki, director de Oblivion y director para esta peli de Go Like Hell, es que sea respetuoso con la historia real original, y la película sea un relato.

Desgraciadamente, mucho nos tememos que en un gesto más que seguro para las masas, Hollywood acabará metiéndonos escenas de amor en la película, y centrando en sus dos estrellas el nudo de la historia, vistiendo de éxito personal esta guerra que, en realidad, ganaron y perdieron grandes equipos de personas.

Foto: Gareth Cattermole/Getty

 

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Vejam este vídeo de um jogo que prova porque não devem conduzir alcoolizados.
(pelo menos para aqueles que ainda não se consciencializaram da enorme inconsciência e gravidade de o fazerem).

 

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Japoneses temerários conduzindo carros de Le Mans em vias públicas

 

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As vendas de elétricos na Europa sobem menos de que o esperado

 

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Uma coleção dos melhores vídeos publicados pela Autoblog em 2013

 

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Top 10 dos melhores acessórios para carros de 2013 segundo a Auto Express

After a year of reviews and tests, we name the 10 best car care and motoring products of 2013

This has been a great year for car accessories: we’ve seen lots of exciting gadgets, fun gifts and other fantastic kit launched. In the past 12 months, we’ve conducted more than 200 comparative product tests, reviewing everything from tools to technology and tyres to cleaning solutions.
We’ve also featured plenty of books, games, films and apps. So which have stayed in our minds or remained in use after we tested them? Here, we share our top picks of 2013. They’re not all test winners, but they are the memorable products we just can’t live without.

Garmin nüvi 2408LT-D sat-nav
RRP: £139.99
Sometimes, it’s not the most feature-packed device that catches our eye – it’s the best all-rounder. That’s especially true of Garmin’s nüvi 2408LT-D. It’s the cheapest sat-nav with live traffic updates on sale, and should be all most users ever need. It’s often passed around the office when colleagues are driving to remote destinations, and many return full of praise for its simple menus.

Dyson DC44 Animal vacuum
RRP: £277
One of the key criteria for picking our top products of the year is whether we’re still using them, and we can’t put down this handheld vacuum. It was too expensive to win our vacuums group test, but it was the top performer, and can tackle anything from a car interior to the workshop floor.

GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition action camera
RRP: £359.99
the team behind the brilliant videos on autoexpress.co.uk loves the GoPro HERO3 Black Edition, as it records great HD footage and decent slow-mo. Last month, GoPro unveiled an improved HERO3+.
This is slimmer and lighter, plus has an Auto Low Light function, which improves contrast on clips filmed in low summer sun. It also works on 200mph supercars, which is a big plus for our road testers – but it’s just as happy recording your driving or a skiing holiday.

Kärcher Window Vac WV60
RRP: £79.99
It’s no surprise to see a Kärcher in our top 10 products, but the Window Vac isn’t here for the reason you’d expect. Yes, it cleans the glass on our cars brilliantly, although we got good results with just a damp cloth rather than the enclosed trigger spray and cleaning pad. But it starred as a sort of powered chamois leather, drying bodywork fast.

Racelogic VBOX Sport data logger
RRP: £298.80
While it’s obviously pricier than a free smartphone app, the Sport is a lot cheaper than other VBOX data-loggers and it’s very user-friendly. Our road testers are big fans of its accuracy and how it works well when connected to an external antenna. Plus, it’s waterproof and shockproof.

Atera Strada DL bicycle carrier
RRP: £314.85
Towball-mounted bike carriers are all about convenience, but we were amazed by how many makers seemed to have forgotten that in our group test.
Atera’s Strada DL didn’t let us down, however. It arrives ready to drop on to the tow ball, supports itself while you adjust its position and locks securely in place.
The ratchet straps for the bike and wheel supports are easy to release and tighten, plus they can be adjusted to suit different bicycles and keep them apart. The bike mount also tilts and slides away to access the boot.

Race Glaze Refillable 0ppm Water Filter
RRP: £99.99
Don’t have the time to dry your car after washing? This is the kit for you: it removes the minerals in tap water that dry to leave unsightly water spots. Analysis showed it removed all but one part per million (ppm) from our 220ppm tap water.
It dried on the car, leaving a spotless finish without drying, unlike untreated water, which left spots. Not cheap, but the seven-litre filter should be good for 400-plus litres, depending on your mains water, plus it can be refilled for £39.

London Covers indoor car cover
RRP: £335 (car); £365 (SUV)
Custom-fit car covers are pricey. However, if you have an expensive car in your garage, you don’t want to risk scratching it with a belt buckle every time you walk past. That’s not an issue for us any more, though, as we’ve had a London Covers personalised car cover since March. It looks great in the colours we chose, the fleecy underside doesn’t damage our car’s paintwork and the tailored fit is perfect.

Michelin Stealth wiper blades
RRP: £13.99-£16.99 (each)
We were sceptical about these blades, as they promise the benefits of a flat wiper with none of the drawbacks. But during some of the worst rain storms we can remember, Michelin’s Stealth blades clearly delivered what they promise: the excellent wiping action doesn’t leave any streaks and there’s a noticeable drop in wind noise from the streamlined design.

Real Racing 3 app for iPhone
RRP: Free
We’ve racked up over 48 hours playing this – it’s that addictive – and we’re not even a quarter complete. The cars look brilliant and there are lots of realistic tracks. The pick-up-and-play factor is what earns this game a place on our list – you can tailor the driving assists to make it as easy or hard as you want, and the modes keep you interested.

 

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Carros globais vs modelos regionais - Autocar

Are world cars on the rise? Cars that can be sold around the world with a minimum of modifications are the dream of car makers, and for obvious reasons – it means that they don’t face the cost of developing a variation, or something entirely new, to suit specific regions.

Compare the list of candidates for the 2014 World Car of the Year awards with those eligible for the 2013 contest, and there’s quite a stark contrast.
Among the cars eligible for the 2014 contest, composed of cars launched this year, you’ll find just five whose reach is only regional, among them the Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Silverado, Opel/Vauxhall Cascada and Peugeot 308.

Perform the same exercise on the 2013 WCoTY candidates and there are no less than 12 regional models, including the Buick Encore, Cadillac ATS, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Spin, Dodge Dart, Dodge Ram, Nissan Altima, Nissan Sylphy, Peugeot 208, Peugeot 301 and Volvo V40.

Of course, this is only a snapshot across two years - look back to the 2012 list of eligible cars, and there are only four regional models there, although it was a thin year for new products.
Ford is the brand most publicly battling to unify its model range across the world: the Fiesta, Focusand Kuga are found in most major markets across the world and the Fusion/Mondeo duo will join them once Ford can actually start producing the car in Europe. Nissan is also shooting for a bit of uniformity with its latest X-Trail, which replaces the model of the same name here and in Japan, and the Qashqai-like Rogue in the US. But Toyota, Honda and Hyundai are pretty big on regional variations, and even Volkswagen produces a US-only, cost-reduced version of the Passat in the US.

And they seem to do pretty well with this strategy. Not Chevrolet, though, whose attempts to go global are rapidly unravelling with the brand’s withdrawal from Europe. And its offerings in Brazil (where it’s big) the US and Korea diverge noticeably anyway.

So the old debate about world cars remains as unanswered as ever, several manufacturers successfully deploying global or regional product policies. Ironic to note, though, that the ‘One Ford’ policy is allowing for the development of a new Escort for China alone. A more solid conclusion can be drawn about the innate strength of brands and their global appeal.

A BMW 3-series is a 3-series wherever it appears, and the same applies to virtually every premium offering out there, even a relatively inexpensive model like the Mini enjoying universal appeal. Where a product has strong brand appeal, the need to offer regional variations diminishes.

But while these specialised models may currently be on the wane, don’t expect them to disappear. And for the car enthusiasts who love these deviations, both major and arcane, that has to be good news.

 

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Japoneses temerários conduzindo carros de Le Mans em vias públicas

Este vídeo está com uma montagem espectacular. Deixou-me mesmo colado ao écran []

 

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Mas que bela máquina de café

V-12 engines are as much works of art as they are works of engineering, and have powered some of the most desirable cars on the planet. Still, there's a cheaper way to get your V-12 fix and one that'll do an equally good job of waking you up in the morning--the Espresso Veloce Serie Titanio V-12 coffee machine.

We say cheaper, but its £9,000 pricetag does work out at just under $15,000, and if you looked in the right places you could probably get an actual V-12 car for less than that. An old BMW 8-Series perhaps, or a Jaguar XJS. You'd struggle to fit either in your kitchen though, and the cars' respective engines wouldn't be nearly as beautiful to behold as the coffee machine, inspired by Formula One engines and crafted from the finest materials.
As Carsguide points out, each coffee machine is made from 90 components, many of which are machined from solid billets. Each is constructed from various alloys, while precision tungsten and argon welding joins some of the components. If there's a true pièce de résistance, it's the exhaust pipes from which the coffee is dispensed--each has spent 18 hours in a zirconium ball-polisher and given an authentic heat-tinting for that race car-style blue finish.

It's almost as advanced as a real engine under the skin, too, where coffee is dispensed via a high-pressure pump and a heat exchanger to pump boiling water through the head. Water is poured into the engine's oil filler cap while coffee itself is dispensed into piston-shaped stainless steel cups.
The entire machine resembles a half-scale F1 engine, and is even available in V-8 and V-10 formats. We're assuming that if you can afford the machine itself, you already have a kitchen work surface large enough to house the enormous lump of metal...

Fonte: Motorauthority