Aurelia Butler

Porsche tested two 911 prototypes with jacked-up suspensions and off-road tires on the side of a volcano.The prototypes were heavily modified versions of the 911 Carrera 4S, which has all-wheel drive and 443 horsepower.Along with stripped-down interiors and safari-esque styling, the prototypes scaled the volcano with an enhanced drivetrain and a handy winch. The Ojo del Salado in Chile is the highest volcano in the world. With slopes made of treacherous terrain and areas where temperatures are well below freezing, it’s the last place anyone would expect to see a Porsche 911. Well, look again, because as these photos show, Porsche has literally taken its iconic sports car to new heights by testing a pair of safari-style 911 prototypes on the side of a volcano. Are they a sneak peek at the rumored Dakar version? It kinda seems that way.PorscheNot Your Lawyer’s 911Obviously, the two prototypes involved in this wild experiment aren’t ordinary 911s. While they’re both based on the 443-hp all-wheel-drive Carrera 4S, the 992-generation coupes have been heavily modified. Porsche did keep their original seven-speed manual gearboxes, though. Bravo! On the other hand, the rest of the cars are barely recognizable with their extensive exterior alterations that include flared fenders, meaty off-road tires, rooftop cargo racks, and custom liveries. One of the latter’s color schemes is the same as Porsche’s 963 LMDh race car and the other features a 911 theme created by Weissach designers. PorscheVolcano-Scaling HardwareFitted with heavy-duty portal axles, the 911 prototypes have a towering 13.7 inches of ground clearance. That’s a half-inch more than the Ford Bronco Raptor. The high-riding Porsches also feature lower gear ratios for improved crawling ability at low speeds and manual locking diffs for max traction. The 911s have underbody protection made of tough heat-resistant synthetic fibers, too. We’re not sure if it can protect against lava, but the Ojo del Salado is a dormant volcano—so we’re told.PorschePorscheIt’s not clear what type of suspension the 911 prototypes are using, other than it’s clearly not a stock setup. It buoys a quartet of 12.2-inch-wide tires, all of which are mechanically linked by a device that Porsche calls a “warp connector.” We’re told it’s designed to maintain maximum traction during extreme wheel articulation. Should either of the lifted 911s get stuck (as seen below), both have a front-mounted winch to yank ’em out. PorscheHow’s the Weather Up There? The team that tested the Dakar-esque 911 prototypes was led by adrenaline junkie, er, adventurer and endurance racer Romain Dumas. He took the jacked-up sports cars as high as 19,708 feet. Not only were temperatures said to be around -22 degrees Fahrenheit, but the air was paper thin. The journey included such obstacles as boulder-strewn slopes, ice fields, and walls of snow. You know, typical stuff that 911 drivers encounter. However, Porsche says Dumas and his team accomplished their mission. Porsche”This was a truly memorable and special moment in a place that’s both beautiful and brutal at the same time, ” said Dumas. “I guess the only machines anywhere in the world higher than us today were aircraft!”This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Toyota is looking to increase pricing at a rate “limited by customer expectations” pertaining to individual models, Automotive News reported.The expected increases are coming after the company experienced regional operating losses in its fiscal year which ended in September.The price increases are also expected in Europe, where the company also experienced regional quarterly losses. Death, taxes, and rising car prices: three unending guarantees. Following quarterly regional losses and sharply increasing input costs, Automotive News reports, Toyota is planning to pass rising costs down to the consumer. The paper reports that Toyota executives just need to decide exactly how significant the increases will be. A Toyota spokesperson contacted by Car and Driver declined comment.”We are really racking our brains trying to come up with the appropriate pricing level,” chief communications officer Jun Nagata said at Toyota’s November 1 quarterly earnings announcement. “We have begun to reflect those higher prices into the vehicle as much as possible.”More on PricingIt’s common for new-vehicle MSRPs to increase by amounts at least by a few hundred dollars every year, and in some years, to see an increase midyear. One solution Toyota is looking into, according to the report from Automotive News, is increasing the frequency of price jumps. Another method of raising prices that a lot of automakers, including Toyota, have been using recently is to drop base models, effectively raising the price of entry. Just last month, the company dropped the base L sedan from its Corolla lineup, resulting in an $1125 higher starting price . Pricing for the hatchback Corolla jumped by $1800 on the SE, and $2315 on the XSE—although Toyota also cut the starting price of the Corolla hybrid by $1250. Dropping the base option generally means losing the car with the lowest profit margin for manufacturers. It also effectively raises the floor of ownership for buyers. According to the report, consumers’ expectations of pricing is one of the factors Toyota executives are using to gauge increases. The warning of impending price increases came during a quarterly earnings announcement on November 1. According to the report, the company needs to make adjustments to offset regional operating losses for the North American arm of the company. Automotive News Europe notes that Toyota is also considering price increases are also in Europe, and for similar reasons.The automaker has revised its annual production target downward, with purchasing chief Kazunari Kumakura partly blaming an ongoing semiconductor-chip shortage and commenting, “I don’t know when the chip shortage will be resolved.” This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Subaru has teased the next-generation 2024 Impreza, showing off its hatchback roofline in a darkened image.Only a hatchback is shown in the image, so the sedan model may not be returning for 2024.The new Impreza will make its debut at the Los Angeles auto show, which starts November 17.Many automakers have abandoned their compact cars in favor of pint-sized SUVs. The Ford Focus has been dead since 2018, and Volkswagen now only offers the Golf in GTI and R performance trims in the United States. Subaru could easily follow a similar path, with the Crosstrek vastly outselling the Impreza hatchback upon which its based—128,979 units versus 25,490 units, respectively, through October 2022. But Subaru remains committed to its compact car, releasing a teaser for the next generation 2024 Impreza which will make its full debut at the 2022 Los Angeles auto show. The teaser doesn’t show much, with only the roofline visible in the dark expanse. The illustration shows a hatchback body style. While a sedan version of the Impreza could debut later, it’s also possible that the sedan won’t be returning for the 2024 model year and the Impreza will come exclusively with a hatch. 2024 Subaru CrosstrekSubaruMore Subaru NewsSince we have already seen the next generation Crosstrek, we have a pretty solid idea of what to expect from the 2024 Impreza. The design should mirror the new Crosstrek—squinty headlights, chunky taillights, and sharp bodywork—minus the plastic body cladding around the wheel arches and on the bumpers. We expect the 152-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder to carry over, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Crosstrek’s plug-in hybrid setup migrate to the hatchback as well. We’re also praying that the five-speed manual returns, hopefully mated to the Crosstrek’s 182-hp 2.5-liter four-pot. More details on the Impreza’s future will be unveiled when the Los Angeles auto show kicks off on November 17.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

The U.S. Justice Department yesterday said it busted a nationwide crime network responsible for stealing countless catalytic converters.The theft ring is said to have made tens of millions of dollars off of the stolen catalytic converters.The feds have arrested 21 people in five states and are seeking over $545 million in forfeitures. If you’re one of the people who recently had their catalytic converter ripped out and stolen from underneath their car, the feds might have just busted the criminals who did it. That’s because the U.S. Justice Department yesterday announced that it took down a nationwide catalytic converter theft ring.What’s a catalytic converter? It’s essentially an anti-pollution device that’s part of a vehicle’s exhaust system, and it contains precious metals that can be sold for a lot of money. If you’re wondering how much money, the FBI said the network of thieves, dealers, and processors made tens of millions of dollars off the stolen parts.Dude, Where’s My Cat?As part of the takedown that involved law enforcement officers at the local, state, and federal levels, 21 people in five states have been arrested and charged in two separate indictments. Federal grand juries in California and Oklahoma have filed separate charges for conspiracy to transport stolen catalytic converters and conspiracy to commit money laundering, among other similar chargers. In total, the U.S. government is seeking over $545 million in forfeitures.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Stellantis has issued a statement asking customers to stop driving 2005 through 2010 Dodge Challenger, Charger, and Magnum and Chrysler 300 cars that haven’t yet had their old Takata airbags replaced.The automaker said there are about 276,000 vehicles on the road that meet that description, even though Takata airbags have been under active recall for several years.The company said it has “sufficient inventory” of replacement airbags to service all those that need the recall.Stellantis, maker of Dodge and Chrysler vehicles, has issued a strong statement urging owners of older cars to stop driving them if they have not yet had their Takata airbags replaced. Issuing the statement under former corporate name FCA, the automaker said this affects 2005 through 2010 models of the Dodge Challenger and Charger and the Magnum, as well as the same model years of the Chrysler 300 sedan.The stop-drive announcement was issued as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a statement today saying two people have died this year in separate crashes where the Takata driver’s-side airbag in 2010 Dodge Chargers exploded. These are the only FCA models that are under the new stop-drive order, a spokesperson told Car and Driver.The TimelineTakata airbags have been an industry-wide problem since 2013, with millions of cars from dozens of brands being recalled worldwide over danger they could explode in a crash. FCA discontinued using the problematic airbags in 2010 for these models, the spokesperson said. The automaker started issuing recalls and offering free replacement airbags in 2015, and, it said in a statement today, has been “aggressive” about trying to get them replaced in its vehicles in the U.S., including “millions” of letters, phone calls, and home visits to potentially affected vehicle owners.However, according to the statement, there are still more than a quarter-million cars that have not had the defective airbags replaced.FCA says owners of potentially affected vehicles should stop driving them and contact the NHTSA recalls website or the automaker’s own Mopar Recalls site for more information.This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More