Hasta La Gadget!

A Lexus sedan might not be the first donor car you think of for a beefy road-destroying super cruiser, but TMG’s Sports 650 take on the LS 460 could well shatter the superiority of meaty Mercedes and BMWs. The independent performance brand is better known for crafting Toyota’s F1 cars, but Toyota Motorsport Gmbh turned its hand to road-going cars with the Sports 650, a 5-liter V8 monster with a sub-4s 0-60mph sprint.

In fact, the TMG Sports 650 is expected to do the 0-60mph dash in 3.9s, and go all the way to 200mph if you have sufficient road. To do that, it pushes 650PS (641HP) through an 8-speed gearbox (with manual override) courtesy of twin turbos, sufficient to get what’s a 2,050kg, 5.1m long “heavily modified” barge to the limits.

Brembo carbon ceramic brakes help rein things in when you run out of tarmac, clamping down on special lightweight 20-inch wheels, and there’s multi-link suspension with coil springs and Sachs dampers. TMG isn’t talking pricing yet, but tells Motor Authority that production of the TS-650 could get the green light if there’s sufficient interest.

If that does happen, it would mark TMG’s transition into a performance tuning industry dominated by German marques. BMW’s M division and Mercedes’ AMG team are well known for turning the luxury car company’s more expensive models into autobahn beasts, though Lexus has dabbled with F-branded sports variants, and Jaguar is expected to reveal a super-cat of its own at the LA Auto Show this week.

TMG Sports 650 hones Lexus luxobarge into Japanese monster is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Chevrolet’s 2013 Sonic is a spritely little city car, and as of the new year it will have a perky digital personal assistant in the shape of Apple’s Siri. Targeted at cash-strapped but mobile-obsessed college leavers and first-car owners, the 2013 Sonic is the first in Chevrolet’s line-up to feature the MyLink Siri integration, though it won’t be the last. We caught up with Chevy ahead of the new Sonic’s infotationment system making its debut at the LA Auto Show to see how iPhone and automobile play together.

Just as college is a time of BYOB (bring your own beer), the 2013 Sonic is Bring Your Own Siri (BYOS). Bluetooth hooks up the in-dash entertainment system – which focuses on a large touchscreen in the center console – with your iOS 6 device, whether iPhone or iPad, and, once they’re paired, you get all the usual media streaming and hands-free calling. That’s hardly new, but the Sonic is the first to borrow Siri to take responsibility for road use.

Hit the button on the steering wheel and Siri fires up as normal: you can access almost all of the features you’d use regularly, so you get speech-triggered calling of people in your phone book, the ability to listen to and respond to messages, and ask what’s on the calendar for today. However, Chevrolet has sensibly left out anything that would require too much attention being paid to the iPhone’s display, so that the driver can keep their eyes on the road.

The system is called “Eyes Free” and it basically leaves the iPhone or iPad’s display turned off. It makes no difference to Siri’s usability, but it does mean that the sort of queries that would normally trigger a web search don’t work when you ask them via MyLink. Otherwise, all the prompts are fed through the car’s speakers, and a microphone suspended above the driver proved capable of picking up our voice even with background noise.

With a starting price of $12,995 (including destination fees) the 2013 Spark is hardly going to be a Corvette – it’s not even Impala level, the 2014 model year of which will debut Chevy’s next-gen MyLink system in the spring of 2013 – in fact, it’s really just a container for mobile Siri use. By offloading the more advanced functionality to a smartphone (which many buyers will already have) it helps keep the Spark’s price down by not needlessly replicating features; it also means there’s no need to sync your phone with the car to have your contacts on both, and since we generally upgrade our phone more frequently than we do our car, it’ll be easier for Chevrolet to tweak MyLink to support whatever new Siri functionality Apple has in the pipeline.

Chevrolet Sonic and Siri integration hands-on is written by Vincent Nguyen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ford has officially announced that the Fiesta ST will be coming to North America. Ford currently offers the larger Focus ST in the US, and its smaller brother the Fiesta ST should be just as fun to drive. Previously the Fiesta ST was only available in Europe, and fans of small, turbocharged hatchbacks should be thrilled to hear it’s coming to the US.

The Fiesta ST will be exclusively equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. Ford expects the little car to be a segment leader in performance and fuel efficiency. Ford launched the Fiesta ST in Europe in 2005 where is available as a five door and a three-door. For now it seems US will only get the five-door version.

The heart of the little Fiesta ST is a 1.6-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine producing an estimated 197 hp and 214 pound-foot of torque. By comparison, the 2013 Ford Focus ST produces 252 hp and 270 pound-foot of torque. Ford also notes that 177 pound-foot of torque in the Fiesta ST is available from only 1600 RPM.

The Fiesta ST is projected to offer 34 mpg and the ST version of the Fiesta will have a unique grill and chin spoiler. The Fiesta ST will also be fitted with bright tipped dual exhaust pipes, a high mount spoiler, and 17-inch wheels. The vehicle also gets a unique suspension and a quicker steering ratio. Pricing for the Fiesta ST is unknown at this time. Hopefully, we will learn all the details at the 2012 Los Angeles auto show.

Ford Fiesta ST Confirmed for North America is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Chrysler plans to show off its upcoming 2013 Town & Country S minivan at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. The vehicle has a sleek design and offers a variety of features, including a Blu-ray player, a ParkView rear camera, Blindspot Monitoring, and rain-sensitive windshield wipers. This is rounded out with a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine, and a decent fuel economy of 17mpg in the city and 25mpg on the highway.

The Town & Country S comes in Brilliant Black, Stone White, Billet Silver, and Deep Cherry Red, and features “revised trim that adds contrast” to the minivan’s exterior. There’s a black chrome grille, blacked out bezels around the headlights, and 17-inch polished aluminum wheels with pockets painted black. According to the press release, the headlight bezels have delayed availability.

Keeping in line with the “black” theme, the interior is monotone black, with Black Torino leather seats featuring grey stitching. The appliques are glossy Piano Black, as are the center and upper consoles and the headliner. You’ll find the “S” logo embroidered on the seats and featured in the instrument panel as well as on the exterior of the vehicle.

Chrysler’s CEO and President Saad Chehab offered this statement. “We tailored the new Town & Country S for the active and style minded consumers. It’s the downtown style for the Town & Country’s uptown looks. It’s more than fitting that we unveil this vehicle in Los Angeles given Town & Country S represents yet another modern take of ’313′ in the ’310.’”

[via Chrysler]

Chrysler Town & Country S minivan slated for the LA Auto Show is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday we heard that Damian Dinning, who served as the head of Nokia‘s camera and imaging department, was leaving the company. He’ll be ending a 9 year tenure on November 30, but when this announcement was made, there will still a few mysteries left to figure out. Why was he leaving? Where is he going next? The suspense surrounding Dinning’s departure was apparently short lived, as he explained everything in a statement to PureViewClub today.

As it turns out, this was a personal decision to leave the company, as Dinning says that Nokia is moving “a number of key strategic roles” to Finland. Since he and his family are based in the UK and don’t particularly want to move to another country, Dinning decided it was time to step down from his role at Nokia. After clearing the air surrounding his departure, Dinning proceeded to praise the “unsung heroes” who are responsible for the progress Nokia has made in the imaging field, and then revealed that photography isn’t his only passion.

He also happens to be passionate about cars, and cars are what he’ll be working with next. Dinning announced in his statement that he’ll be taking a position at Jaguar Land Rover, saying that he’ll be using in his knowledge in smartphone arena to help the company make advancements in the field of connected cars:

As for my future, I am moving to an industry I’ve wanted to be part of for a very long time. My experience in telecoms and smartphones provides me with a great opportunity to make a difference in a company whose own development is inspiring at a time of great change. I am thrilled that I’ll shortly be joining Jaguar Land Rover where I’ll take a role
driving future innovations in the exciting new field of Connected Car.

Earlier in the week, Dinning said on Twitter that he’s excited for December 10 to roll around. Since his last day at Nokia will be November 30, it stands to reason that his first day at Jaguar Land Rover will be December 10. We’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for more details, but in the meantime, be sure to check out PureViewClub to read Dinning’s full statement!

Damian Dinning explains Nokia departure, joining Jaguar Land Rover is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.