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Wherever you find General Motors and Ford going at it, Chrysler is seldom very far behind. Except in Australia. The Land Down Under has its own unique touring car championship in the form of its popular V8 Supercars series, but the only contestants these days are Ford (with its FPV Falcon) and GM subsidiary Holden (with its HSV Commodore). That, however, could change in the near future.

Word on the Aussie street is that Chrysler Group Australia is entertaining the possibility of jumping into the popular series, likely with a vehicle based (however loosely) on the 300. Because V8 Supercars teams – which budget around million to run two cars for the season – are by regulation independent of any manufacturer, Chrysler would need to woo a few away from their current Ford or Holden partners, but several have reportedly approached the Pentastar automaker about the possibility.

The addition of a third manufacturer to challenge Ford and Holden would mirror a similar move made this season by BMW to challenge Audi and Mercedes-Benz (which was also rumored to be considering a V8 Supercars entry) in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM). Chrysler previously supplied the V8 Supercars series with the first-gen 300C SRT8, which serves as the pace car for several years.

According to Australia’s The Age, SRT brand CEO Ralph Gilles reportedly likes the idea, but stopped short of committing to any impending program. The prospect, however, could be made more feasible by a new, more cost-effective “Car of the Future” being implemented in V8 Supercars, much as the “Car of Tomorrow” was in NASCAR and the “Next-Generation Touring Car” was in the British Touring Car Championship. Another plus is the expansion of the series outside of Australia to locations like India, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and – most crucially – the United States as a support race for the upcoming U.S. Grand Prix Formula One race in Austin, Texas.

Chrysler considering entry into Australia’s V8 Supercar series? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last Summer Toyota showed off its Window to the World technology created in partnership with the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design. It turned a rear window into an augmented-reality screen that would keep kids interested in something other than asking “Are we there yet?” Now General Motors has showed off a similar bit of kit called Windows of Opportunity, developed with the Bezalel School of Art and Design in Israel.

GM’s Windows concept is aimed just as much at kids as adults. The team came up with four different apps that provided interactivity ranging from a virtual take on drawing on foggy windows to checking what was on other augmented windows on cars around the world. We’re probably a long way from seeing something like this in production, but you know you can look forward to the day when your kid monitors your driving style from his child seat. Follow the jump for the full press release and a short video on GM’s new tech.

Continue reading GM latest to explore turning rear windows into screens

GM latest to explore turning rear windows into screens originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Geneva Motor Show never fails to deliver when it comes to concept cars. Unveiled alongside the latest production models, concepts represent a way for automakers to showcase where their heads are at and where they want to be going in the future. But it’s not always automakers that present the concepts. Sometimes they come from design houses like Pininfarina.

These independent styling studios and engineering firms have come into some trouble lately as the automakers that used to contract their services for a variety of applications are increasingly relying on in-house departments. But Pininfarina has been resilient. Where others have closed, Pininfarina soldiers on. And this is its latest design.

Called the Cambiano after the town in which the company is based, this design study was first teased with a solitary cropped frontal image released on Facebook. Now a little over a week later, Pininfarina has released two more, showing part of the side in profile and the top from above. We’ll have to wait a little longer to see more, but from what we’ve seen so far, the Cambiano has our interests suitably piqued.

Pininfarina Cambiano concept comes into focus with two more images originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t call it a Ragster. Though it shares its basic body shape with the slammed New Beetle that debuted at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show, the Volkswagen E-Bugster is a completely new concept that’s based on the latest version of VW’s iconic Beetle. And it’s electric.

That electric motor puts out 114-horsepower (85 kW) and 199 pound-feet of torque, which out to be plenty to get this squashed Bug down the road with a quickness. Range is listed at about 100 miles, courtesy of a 695-pound lithium ion battery pack that resides both under the rear seats and trunk floor. A charging port is located under the VW logo at the car’s nose, and, depending on the charger being used, an 80-percent charge can happen in just 30 minutes.

The electric drivetrain is only half of the story. The E-Bugster’s most distinctive styling element is no doubt its chopped roof, which, when combined with the wide, flat windshield, makes the E-Bugster look like a 2012 Beetle that’s seen a California-based plastic surgeon customizing shop. Also take not of the 20-inch wheels, which remind us a bit of the Fuchs wheels seen on many retro Beetles all around the country.

But you don’t have to take our word for it. Check out our high-res image gallery of live photos from Detroit, and then watch a video that shows the E-Bugster topless after the break.

Continue reading Volkswagen E-Bugster Concept electric slides into Detroit [w/video]

Volkswagen E-Bugster Concept electric slides into Detroit [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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