Thursday, September 21, 2017
5 It Girls Just Wore the Same Shoes on Swarovski's Red Carpet
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Kaia Gerber and Gigi Hadid Just Wore the Wildest Matching Runway Looks
You Can Pull Off Prada's Runway Style Trick in 2 Seconds
VS Pink Just Brought Back 2000s Ads Featuring Miranda Kerr and Behati Prinsloo
Faraday Future’s Nevada Factory Plans Officially Dead
It’s been just over two years since we first heard about Faraday Future. At the time, the electric car startup was pretty much operating in secret but had already poached several big names in the car industry. Less than six months later, FF announced plans to invest $1 billion in a Nevada factory. But financial issues quickly arose, and earlier this summer, FF stopped work on the Nevada plant. This week, FF finally threw in the towel.
The Nevada Independent reports that Faraday Future’s Nevada plant is officially dead. The startup sent a letter to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development giving up its status as a “qualified project.” That required FF to write the state a check for $16,200, as well as forfeit about $620,000 in tax incentives that had been held in a trust.
“The Faraday project is basically dissolved at this point at absolutely no cost to the state and local governments,” said Steve Hill, executive director of Nevada’s GOED.
Rendering of Faraday Future’s proposed factory in Hanford, California.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean FF is done for good. It’s been working to raise more money since May, and last month, it leased a smaller factory in California to hopefully begin production on its all-electric FF91 next year. Whether that will still happen, though, remains to be seen.
As it turns out, starting a car company from scratch is hard. And very expensive.
Source: The Nevada Independent
http://ift.tt/2xlj1TLGenesis Won’t Build an A3 or CLA Competitor
Genesis recently showed off its smallest sedan yet, the G70. Slotting in under the full-size G90 and midsize G80, Genesis’ newest car is aimed squarely at the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. But if you’re waiting for Genesis to go even smaller and take on the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA, you’ll probably be disappointed.
Speaking to Australia’s CarAdvice, Manfred Fitzgerald, Genesis’ senior vice president, said that Genesis has no plans to fill out its range with a sedan smaller than the G70. “I don’t want to comment on the moves of the others. We have a pretty clear strategy planned out with what we want to do. Therefore the sedan lineup is pretty complete with the G90, G80, and G70,” he said.
Part of the reason for that is that Fitzgerald doesn’t think Genesis has the brand cachet to justify selling a smaller, cheaper car. “We have so much still to accomplish, and so many white spots still on the map, if you will, so there is enough room for us to play it in the conventional way,” said Fitzgerald.
At the moment, that means adding three luxury SUVs to the lineup by 2021. Considering how popular SUVs are these days, especially small and midsize crossovers, that move makes sense. But that doesn’t mean Genesis only has SUVs in the works.
“There’s so much room for us, as a new brand, to establish ourselves,” said Fitzgerald. “A GT is obviously something that, as a designer, you most want to do. It’s the most emotional car that you can actually design, so I would not rule that out, like many other vehicles out there as well.”
Does that mean the Vision G concept could still make it to production as some sort of revived Genesis Coupe? A Genesis spokesperson told us last year that such a car was in development. Its production chances might hinge on how well those three SUVs sell, however.
Source: CarAdvice
http://ift.tt/2xlbDIbGet Excited for “Forza Motorsport 7” With Latest Trailer
“Forza Motorsport” is one of our all-time favorite racing simulators. Staffers have spent hours upon hours driving, racing, drifting, and rallying through Forza’s many titles, including its latest edition, “Forza Horizon 3.”
However, with Forza’s newest title, “Forza Motorsport 7,” we’re ready to lose a week’s worth of work glued to our TVs and only venturing out of our living rooms for bathroom breaks and to order more pizza.
In Forza Motorsport 7, Turn 10 Studios is pulling out all the stops, with this iteration of the game including more than 700 cars from around the world that players will be able to use, customize, and race to their heart’s content.
Additionally, Forza has kept the dynamic weather introduced a few titles ago, as well as 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, 30 different tracks, and a brand-new campaign mode.
Some cars available to Forza Motorsport 7 players will include the new Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Ford’s GT race car, period-correct Mercedes-Benz SLRs, a host of insane Lamborghinis like the wild and ridiculous Veneno, and Aston Martin’s Vulcan.
In addition, there’s a host of top-spec race cars from different eras, including Porsche’s now defunct LMP1 919 Hybrid, Can-Am cars from the 1970s, and a set of 1960s Formula 1 cars.
The game will be available September 29 for those who bought early access Ultimate Edition versions of the game. While those opting for the regular-spec version can get their copies October 3.
Digital pre-orders will also get the Hoonigan Car Pack for free for both Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport 7. This includes Ken Block’s Hoonicorn V2, Baldwin Motorsport’s “Loki” K5 Blazer, the RX-7 Twerkstallion, an RWB Porsche 911 Turbo, Ken Block’s Ford Escort Gymkhana, the Napalm Nova, and a 1955 Bel Air gasser.
Check out the trailer below.
Source: Turn 10 Studios via YouTube
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Spied! BMW X3 M Caught Looking Production-Ready
Back in June, BMW took the wraps off the 2018 X3. At the time, we got a look at the base xDrive30i and the sportier M40i. But based on the latest spy photos we’ve seen, it looks like an even sportier X3 M is about to join the lineup.
Granted, we’ve heard for a while that an M-badged X3 was on its way, so it’s not a huge surprise. But as far as we know, BMW hasn’t officially confirmed that the X3 M is on its way. When it does land, expect the sportiest X3 to pack much more of a punch than the X3 M40i’s 355 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. We’ve heard it will get BMW’s new S58 engine, an upgraded version of the B58 inline-six found in the 340i and M240i. Expect about an extra 100 hp, bringing it to the 450-460 hp range.
The X3 M will need every bit of that power if it expects to outperform its rivals. Back in April, Mercedes showed off the GLC63 with 469 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, as well as an S version that makes 503 hp and 516 lb-ft. You can also already buy a Porsche Macan Turbo with the Performance Package with 440 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque.
As you can see, BMW’s got most of the M-specific bodywork covered, but you can still get a pretty good idea of what the new X3 M will look like. And other than more aggressive front and rear ends, you can see BMW’s fitted this prototype with a big ole quad exhaust. The biggest changes, though, are likely more than skin-deep: suspension and powertrain upgrades that will set the X3 M apart from its more pedestrian stablemate.
Check out the spy shots in the gallery below.
Photo source: CarPix
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Mercedes Invests $1 Billion in Alabama Plant to Prepare for EQ SUV
To prepare for production of its all-electric EQ SUV, Mercedes-Benz announced a $1 billion investment into its manufacturing hub in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Mercedes reports the planned expansion will create 600 new jobs for the region.
This sizeable investment will be spent on three different areas, beginning with retooling and reworking portions of the primary plant in preparation for the forthcoming EQ model. This will be the first all-electric SUV from the automaker, and one of the first products of the new EQ sub-brand. The Tuscaloosa facility currently produces all GLS, GLE, and GLE Coupe SUVs for the global market, as well as the U.S. market’s C-Class sedan. This is one of Mercedes’ busiest plants, producing more than 310,000 vehicles in 2016.
The new investment will also support the creation of a new battery production facility close to the plant. This is the fifth battery production facility for Mercedes, and will support the automaker’s efforts to completely electrify each segment of the Mercedes lineup by 2022. Construction begins next year, with full operation beginning after 2020.
A new Global Logistics Center is the third prong of the investment, providing Mercedes with stronger supply chain management and after-sales support, including the export of car-kits to overseas assembly plants.
This investment follows a $1.3 billion expansion in 2015 that included revamping the SUV assembly facility and adding a new bodyshop.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
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Ford Now Using Holograms to Design Cars
Traditionally, large clay models have been used to help car designers better visualize new vehicles as they’re developed. Computer renderings changed the process somewhat, but you’re still looking at an image on a screen, not an object in space. But with the help of augmented reality, that’s starting to change.
Ford announced today that its designers have spent the last year using Microsoft’s HoloLens to help them quickly change the size, shape, and texture of different design elements without the need to spend weeks or even months working up a new clay model. Using wireless headsets, the team sees a hologram laid over either a clay model or an actual car. Designers can then scroll through various design changes to see how they look from different angles.
“It’s amazing we can combine the old and the new – clay models and holograms – in a way that both saves time and allows designers to experiment and iterate quickly to dream up even more stylish, clever vehicles,” says Jim Holland, Ford’s head of component and systems engineering, in a release. “Microsoft HoloLens is a powerful tool for designers as we continue to reimagine vehicles and mobility experiences in fast-changing times.”
Sure, most of the announcement is public relations fluff to try to make Ford and Microsoft look good, but the technology being used is also really freakin’ cool. We’ve seen some similar things done with virtual reality in the past, but those required much heavier goggles with bulky wires. They also couldn’t virtually lay a hologram over a physical object.
Basically, the future is here, folks. And it’s awesome.
Source: Ford
http://ift.tt/2jOCk53World’s Greatest Drag Race 7: Which Car Will Win? The Answer Might Shock You
If Best Driver’s Car is the most exciting thing we do all year, then World’s Greatest Drag Race puts seven exclamation points at the end of that statement.
WGDR has been a staple of Motor Trend’s BDC online coverage since 2011—it’s a made-for-YouTube phenomenon. For the uninitiated, imagine a simple quarter-mile drag race complicated by the addition of more than just two competitors. How many more? Well, that’s what makes it World’s Greatest. In our inaugural running, we set 11 of the hottest sports cars alongside one another and launched them all down the 1,320 toward a checkered flag. Since then, we’ve never had fewer than nine competitors pull up to the start line and begin revving.
Prior to our airing of the original WGDR in 2011, we hadn’t heard of anyone drag racing this way, which might explain the popularity and host of imitators we’ve picked up over the years. As this is written, our previous six installments of WGDR total over 98 million views. There are dozens of copycat videos alongside ours, including several flattering fan recreations in video games such as Forza and Gran Turismo. It makes sense; even if you could round up a dozen of the hottest sports cars each year, where would you find a space both wide and long enough for all of the vehicles to go flat out for a quarter mile?
For the past six years, we’ve been lucky enough to have the use of a former Motor Trend test facility, the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine, California. But as that facility has slowly transformed into a mixed-use residential, retail, and community space, we’ve seen its once pristine runways get plowed up, parked on, or fall into windshield-chipping disrepair. We’ve needed a new venue for the past few years, and after a hard target search of public, private, and military airfields throughout California, our BDC production team, headed up by Luis Navarro, located an active U.S. Air Force base open to our crazy idea and willing to navigate the layers of Pentagon bureaucracy required to secure it.
Executive editor Mark Rechtin discusses the finer points of Vandenberg Air Force Base in his column, but all you need to know here is that its 3-mile runway is pristine, and its USAF stewards are hardworking and speed-friendly men and women who truly represent the best of America.
With this new venue, famous for launching traditional rockets one at a time, our seventh installment of WGDR is sure to blow past the mark of 100 million total views. We knew the Miata wouldn’t stand a chance, so to add a little intrigue we summoned the legendarily ludicrous Tesla Model S P100D to race in its place. Elon Musk is familiar with Vandenberg already; it’s been the launch pad for many a SpaceX rocket, and there’s a Supercharger on site.
Read more about 2017 Best Driver’s Car contenders:
- Ferrari 488 GTB
- Porsche 911 Turbo S
- Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
- Porsche 718 Cayman S
- Lexus LC 500
- Mercedes-AMG GT R
- Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
- Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport
- Aston Martin DB11
- Nissan GT-R NISMO
- Mazda MX-5 Miata RF
- McLaren 570GT
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