Hasta La Gadget!

Range Rover has been offering its attractive smaller SUV called the Evoque for a while now. The vehicle is available in Europe as a coupe and a five-door model with a wide range of customer options. The standard vehicle comes in three different design themes including Pure, Prestige, and Dynamic allowing users to choose a vehicle that suits their lifestyle.

At the Geneva Motor Show, Range Rover has announced a new personalization option called the Black Design Pack. This design pack aims to make the already attractive Evoque even more stylish and assertive with a host of black exterior details. The package includes things like black 20-inch nine-spoke forged wheels that haven’t been offered as an option in the past.

The design pack also removes any bright finished objects on the exterior of the vehicle. The exhaust finishers on the back of the vehicle were also painted in black and complemented by a gloss black rear bumper and inner and outer sump guard. The Black Design Pack also darkens the front headlights and fog lamps.

In the back, the taillights have been modified with a clear effect so they don’t appear permanently red. The Range Rover lettering across the front of the hood and the tailgate as well as the rear spoiler are also done in black. This Black Design Pack was first seen earlier this year on the Special Edition model, which is available in two special colors including Sicilian yellow with black contrasting roof or black with a Sicilian yellow roof. The Black Design Pack will be available on the Dynamic class Evoque starting in April.

[via Range Rover]

Range Rover announces new Black Design Pack for Evoque is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ford has recalled approximately 196,500 2004 through 2007 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans because of an issue with corrosion that could result in a safety problem with the third-row seats. Those vehicles account for the recalls in the United States, with another 33,500 or so vans being recalled elsewhere globally, although primarily in Canada.

Specifically, the issue deals with the third-row seats experiencing corrosion in such a way that they cannot be folded down properly and locked in place. Ford told the NHTSA that it doesn’t feel the corrosion issue poses an “unreasonable” risk, but it has proceeded forward with the recall in order to avoid problems with the administration.

The recalls taking place in the United States are limited to Washington D.C. and 20 states: West Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Michigan, Massachusetts, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Vermont, and Rhode Island. This includes vehicles that were registered in these states.

According to Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker, owners of one of the affected models outside of the states where the recalls are happening should contact their local Ford dealer if they feel there’s a corrosion issue with their vehicle. Those in the areas where the recalls are taking place will have the mounting bracket moved and the area susceptible to corrosion both fixed and reinforced.

[via New York Times]

Ford recalls 196,500 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans due to corrosion issue is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Something that doesn’t happen terribly often has taken place at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show – Rolls Royce has unveiled a new car, the Wraith. The beastly car has a solid, streamlined design and a beyond-most-people’s-budgets starting price point of $320,000 USD/245,000 Euro. You can check out a video of the Wraith in action after the jump.

As AutoBlog points out, a quick glance at the Wraith will invoke images of Rolls Royce’s Ghost, with both being essentially the same. Buyers will get their money’s worth with the Wraith’s underhood V12 and insane 620-horsepower. There’s a satellite-aided ZF transmission, and the vehicle boasts 590 pound-feet of torque.

You can see the Wraith in action in the video above, which is decked out with a dark atmosphere and soundtrack that suggests it will make drivers feel like Batman. One of its more interesting features is the aforementioned satellite-aided transmission, which utilizes GPS to keep track of the roads the driver is upon. By doing so, it can automatically queue the gear needed for the road ahead.

Aside from that, the Wraith will feature all the trimmings you expect in Rolls Royce, such as Canadel paneling, Starlight Headliner 1,340 fiber optic lights for a starry sky simulation in the dark, coach doors, and Phantom-grade cowhide leathers. Says the maker, the Wraith’s interior “cocoons you from the outside world.”

[via AutoBlog]

Rolls Royce Wraith unveiled at 2013 Geneva Motor Show is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Chevrolet officially unveiled the 2014 Corvette Convertible at the Geneva Motor Show this week. We obviously already saw the regular fastback version of the car when it was initially unveiled back in January, but now we finally get to see the car with its top down, ready for some summer driving on California’s Highway 1.

Chevrolet says that the convertible features “an all-new, fully electronic” top that can be lowered and raised using the car’s key fob, meaning you don’t actually have to be in the car to activate it. The top can also be opened or closed while driving as well, at speeds of up to 30 mph. Who knows what would happen at faster speeds, but we wouldn’t dare to test it out.

Of course, unlike other expensive convertibles, the 2014 Corvette convertible comes with a soft top rather than a retractable hard top, and this has been a Corvette staple for many years, so it makes sense that Chevrolet is wanting to stick with tradition. However there are a few changes to the car besides just the top being chopped off, although they’re rather minor.

The side vents located by the rear wheels are gone from the convertible version, apparently so that the car can make room to store the top, which features a hard tonneau cover to protect the top when it’s down. And sadly, the convertible loses the awesome fastback style of the 2014 Corvette coupe, but we suppose that’s a tradeoff when you want the wind in your hair.

Chevrolet officially unveils 2014 Corvette Convertible is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s easy for some drivers to think a GPS device is only useful if you’re going on a trip to a destination that you’re unfamiliar with. However, the right GPS device can help you more on your daily commute to and from work and around areas that you know and travel all the time more than you might expect. One of the key features of GPS devices for many users is real-time traffic information.

With real-time traffic information, the GPS device can recognize traffic jams and route drivers around them before they get stuck for hours. I think this is the best feature in many high-end GPS devices. TomTom has announced that it will be equipping coming Mercedes-Benz vehicles with its HD Traffic service.

That HD Traffic service promises accurate and up-to-date traffic information to help Mercedes drivers get to the destination more quickly and save time as well as fuel. The traffic service will be available for Mercedes customers in 12 countries within Europe starting this summer. TomTom says that the real-time traffic information will automatically be included in high-end Comand navigation system as a three-year service.

Research conducted by the German Aerospace Center in 2012 found that the TomTom traffic information is able to save commuters 50 minutes of travel time per week working out to about 40 hours per year. Having used TomTom’s real-time traffic information in the past, I can say that it does work and will frequently offer you an alternative routes to save even a few minutes on your commute.

TomTom to provide Mercedes drivers with real-time traffic info in Europe is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.