Joystiq has just reported of a collaboration between Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Polyphony Digital and BBC Worldwide that will make Top Gear fans hearts skip a beat. The abandoned airfield which Jeremy Clarkson frequently races cars around for the popular BBC motoring show will become a playable track in Gran Tourismo 5. Now fans of the show worldwide can play out their fantasies of being the Stig through the PS3!
Additionally, 40 downloadable episodes of Top Gear will be made available through Gran Turismo TV. The online channel is expected to launch on the PlayStation Network during 2008.
[Source: Joystiq]
We’d like to introduce you to the world’s most efficient hybrid road car. The Aptera Typ-1h is a funky, aerodynamic, streamlined 3 wheeled gas-electric vehicle that would look right at home in the year 2050. Built to be strong and lightweight through use of space age composite materials, the Typ-1h is capable of a 0-60 sprint in 10 seconds and reach a top speed of 90mph. Oh, did we mention it is also capable of achieving almost 300mpg? Not too shabby for a hybrid! Power comes from a small, water-cooled EFI Gasoline engine with closed loop oxygen feedback and catalytic converter mated to a lightweight 12KW starter/generator, making it very quiet too.
Despite looking like a teardrop, the interior boasts enough room for two adults, a child and just enough space left over for your golf clubs. Climbing into the vehicle is easy too, thanks to gullwing doors.
Safety was a concern for designers as well The Typ-1 boasts a 45″ frontal crumple zone, side-impact beams, airbags, and roll-over protection. With its wide stance, and aerodynamic design, the Typ-1 is also right at home at high speeds.
Aptera hopes to have the vehicle available for sale in the U.S. in the new year. Make the jump to see Aptera’s launch video.
[Source: Aptera]
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If you’re in the market for a new car, this list may be of interest to you. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has compiled their yearly list of safe vehicles. All vehicles are tested for their performance in three criteria: front, side, and rear crash worthiness, however a new requirement for 2007 dictates that the winning vehicles must offer electronic stability control. According to institute research, ESC technology significantly reduces the risk of a crash, especially those involving single vehicles, where the driver has performed an emergency maneuver and lost control. ESC doesn’t always come as standard equipment on vehicles, so the IIHS only tested vehicles equipped with the option.
We think some of the results are somewhat surprising, and suggest you make the jump to see the list.
[Source: IIHS]
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What you see here is was an SUV called the Landwind, manufactured by Chinese carmaker Jiangling. It has the distinct honor of being the first Chinese vehicle ever exported to Europe, arriving in the summer of 2005. In case you weren’t already aware, Chinese car makers are trying very hard to break into the North American Market, and will finally be displaying their products in the next Detroit Auto show. First though, their vehicles need to meet minimum standards in safety, emissions, noise, quality, etc. Not always an easy task, as our industry peers Autoblog showed us with their coverage of China’s “Brilliance” coupe.
If you recall, we reported on the safety concerns of SUV’s earlier in the week. Well, the JMC Landwind must go through the same paces as everyone else, and we’ve got a video showing you exactly how that one went… (Sorry, the audio is only in French.)
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This test, carried out for EuroNCAP demonstrated that the driver of this vehicle would not have survived a head-on collision at only 40 MPH.
The JMC Landwind is mostly derived from older imported technology and design, in this case the Isuzu Rodeo (Sold from 1991 to 1998). In China, the Landwind is called Baowei, and it is also available as a pickup truck, called the Baodian.
[Source: Wikipedia]
It’s been a pretty slow news day in the automotive world, and we wanted to reward all 3 of you that actually read Driver’s Life with something a little special.
We scoured the web looking for some cool videos to submit, and we came up with a good one. The video you are about to see features Jeremy Clarkson, host of Top Gear, counting down the top 10 cars of the century. Yeah, yeah. We know, its old. But its a goodie, trust us! Clarkson never fails to keep us entertained.
The first video counts down from 10 to 6.
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Make the jump to see the second video and find out who is number one!
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Well… Not really. But they did create an amazing advertisement for their C4. We figure it probably ended up paying off very well for the company to jump on the Transformers bandwagon, since there’s so much buzz right now. Plus, what could be better than free viral advertisement via YouTube, and blogs?!
Apparently some guys with far too much time and money on their hands actually took the next step and BUILT a transformer out of a Citroen. Check them out.
2 Awesome videos after the jump.
[Picture source: Gizmodo]
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You know what SUV stands for? Stupid Unsafe Vehicles. Well, I suppose that isn’t exactly fair. It all comes down to how they are being driven, right? Well, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, maybe not. The IIHS found that some late-model SUVs performed worse than cars in crash tests. Six SUVs; the Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Xterra, Toyota 4Runner, Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, were tested for front, side and rear crash protection. Both Nissans came out with good ratings (provided they were equipped with side impact airbags, which are optional in both vehicles.) Toyota’s 4Runner received a good rating as well, and is equipped with standard side airbags. The Ford Explorer with standard side air bags only got an acceptable rating. Ironic then isn’t it, that the Ford Mustang convertible even managed to get a 5 star crash test rating? The Chevy Trailblazer and Jeep Grand Cherokee only came out with marginal scores, despite also being equipped with standard side airbags for head protection. Neither vehicles come with similar technology for the torso, which ended up negatively affecting their test scores.
These results challenge a popular belief among consumers that occupants of sport utility vehicles are safer in some crashes because they are seated higher up and in heavier vehicles. The results must come as good news for those of you who despise SUVs and the people who drive them wrecklessly.
I guess the moral of the story is, if you want to be REALLY safe, get a Mustang convertible.
Bonus: Video report from the Toronto Star on the results.
[Source: AutoNorth ]
“Did you see me lay down the law? I am the lawgiver!”
Did you ever think you’d see the day where a Toyota Tacoma helps players pwns some n00bs in the World of Warcraft? Neither did we. But now you can. Toyota aired a commercial during yesterday’s football game featuring their Tacoma compact pickup truck. In case you’ve been living under a rock, or haven’t been hanging out with any nerds lately, World of Warcraft is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game. We hear its a pretty awesome game, although us Driver’s Life folks are a bit too cool for that kind of thing. Only kidding.
Wanna see a video of it? Yeah you do! Just make the jump.
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Looks like someone’s been talking, but Driver’s Life has been listening!
A list of the top 7 finalists for Europe’s prestigious Car of the Year award have hit the web, and we got it! The Spanish web site, Elmundo is reporting that the seven nominees for the title out of 32 candidates are:
1. Fiat 500
2. Ford Mondeo
3. Kia Cee’d
4. Mazda2
5. Mercedes C-Class
6. Nissan Qashqai
7. Peuugeot 308
Who do you think should/will win? I guess we won’t know for sure until the jury which consists of 58 member journalist, representing 22 European countries, will pick out seven models for the final round in November. Stay tuned to Driver’s Life for the announcement. Maybe your guess will be right!
For a full list of the 32 canditates, follow the jump.
[Source: Elmundo Via Carscoop]
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If you are a diehard fan of Top Gear, you’ll love this! Topgear.com just announced that they will be uploading extra footage of Sunday’s show. For example, believe it or not, the news segment we all enjoy is not actually filmed in one take. Now you have the chance to see hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May uncensored and uncut “cocking about” as if you were actually in the studio to witness the filming first hand! Additionally, each presenter will be posting updates to their blogs, just in case you wanted to read about what Clarkson thought of James’ sweatervest… No word if the Stig will have his own blog too… but I guess you’ll just have to check Topgear.com every monday to find out!
[Source: Top Gear ]
