Hasta La Gadget!

Detroit Electric, which is the modern incarnation of an early 1900s’ electric car maker, has announced that it will unveil an all-electric sports car at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show. Little information is available about the vehicle, but a single picture has been released showing off the vehicle from the front, which you can check out after the break.

The picture, which is featured above, doesn’t show us much — a faint outline, mean-looking hood, LED headlights, and side mirrors. The vehicle is a two-seater and will feature LED headlights, but aside from that, no other features, absolute price or release date were provided. Mention of the car first appeared in 2008 when Detroit Electric came to fruition.

If the initial information about the sports car that surfaced years ago is to be believed, the vehicle will be priced somewhere around $25,000. A spokeswoman for Detroit Electric stated that the all-electric sports car will be available to buyers in the United States, slated for production this coming August in Michigan. According to Edmunds, the Michigan plant where the car will be produced has a 2500 vehicle capacity.

Fortunately, we don’t have to wait too long to find out more details about this intriguing all-electric vehicle. On April 3rd, Detroit Electric will provide the public with more details about the sports car, shortly after which the car will be unveiled. One piece of information the maker did supply is that during the event in a couple weeks, Detroit Electric will announce a “major partnership” with another automaker.

[via Edmunds]

Detroit Electric to unveil electric sports car at 2013 Shanghai Auto Show is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

SRT has announced the 2014 Viper TA. The TA portion of the name stands for Time Attack and signifies a spec-package for the 2014 Viper that’s designed for extreme performance on the road racing course. The vehicle will be highly limited edition and will come in a single exterior paint color called crusher orange.

SRT will offer only 33 2014 Viper TA models that will be available starting in Q3 of 2013. The vehicle is configured in house by SRT in collaboration with professional road racers and the vehicle is street legal. The 2014 Viper TA will make its public debut on March 27 at the New York auto show.

The vehicle is based on the SRT Viper and is the lightest vehicle in the 2014 Viper lineup. Parts to make the vehicle more race worthy are mostly pre-developed components straight from the SRT parts catalog. The parts give the vehicle a 50/50 weight distribution and the largest tire contact patch in the production car world.

The car gets suspension that is upgraded specifically for track work and to maximize the performance of the vehicles Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires. The tires are mounted on light weight SideWinder II wheels. The shocks for the car are two-mode Bilstein Damptronic that has firmer levels of damping and a smaller spread between modes that one is using the current Viper GTS model. The vehicle also has firmer springs and road racing derived stabilizer bars along with a lighter carbon fiber structural X-brace. The car will use the same 8.4-liter all aluminum V10 under the hood producing 640 hp and 600 pound-foot of torque. Pricing is unknown at this time.

[via SRT]

2014 SRT Viper TA is ready to hit the track is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Chrysler has warned owners of 2013 Dodge Challenger models running V6 engines to park up their cars and avoid driving them, after a potential fire hazard that has already caused multiple incidents forced a recall. Seven accidents are currently known about, where the wire harness in 2013 model year cars with the V6 power plant can overheat; however, Chrysler says it is unaware of any injuries as a result, and almost half of the affected Challengers haven’t even been sold yet.

Of the 4,459 cars being recalled overall for the issue, approximately 2,500 have been bought and delivered to drivers. The rest are still with dealers, Chrysler says, which should make addressing the wiring problems more straightforward.

However, those who do have an affected Challenger could find the recall puts a temporary freeze on their muscle-car fun. Chrysler has warned owners that not only should they not drive the 2013 V6 model until the wiring harness has been replaced, they should even park it outside and away from other buildings and cars, just in case it catches fire before the fix is applied.

Owners will get a free loaner while they wait, and the car company is speeding the recall process by trying to contact all of those affected by phone rather than waiting for them to check their mail.

Chrysler wouldn’t confirm to USA Today which particular component in the wire harness is at fault, describing it only as “a single batch of misconfigured electrical components” that resisted engineers’ attempts to address the flaw. It’s unclear how much the recall will cost Chrysler, and indeed how long the fix will take to apply.

Danger Dodge: Put 2013 Challenger in park warns Chrysler is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Toyota has recalled a huge number of its popular FJ Cruiser SUVs – 310,000 to be exact. The recall was made due to a safety hazard posed by the driver and passenger seat belts, which could potentially fail due to how they are positioned in the vehicle. Most of the vehicles being recalled are in the US, but some of them are located elsewhere.

Toyota announced the recall in a press release, stating that the driver and front passenger seat belts are fixed to the rear doors, which have panels that aren’t strop enough to handle them. If the driver of an FJ Cruiser repeatedly closes the door “forcefully”, there’s a chance the panels may crack, resulting in a weak seat belt that may not hold up in the event of a crash or rough braking.

The FJ Cruisers being recalled including the latest 2013 model all the way down to the 2007 model-year. The majority of them – 209,000 – were sold in the United States, while a fairy hefty 52,000 were sold in the Middle East. The remaining SUVs were sold throughout China, Australia, Canada, Latin America, and Oceania.

Unfortunately, a solid method of correcting the problem has not been determined, with the manufacturer still considering its options. Once it decides on a repair method, owners of the affected models will be notified and can take the vehicle to the dealer for a cost-free repair. This follows other recalls Toyota has suffered, including one earlier this year where it recalled over 1 million vehicles due to problems with wipers and airbags.

[via NBC News]

Toyota recalls 310,000 FJ Cruisers due to seatbelt issue is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Honda has ended up recalling 250,000 vehicles because a brake defect that would randomly and automatically apply pressure to the brakes for a split second when the driver began to apply the brakes. Honda said that the brake force applied would sometimes “exceed the driver’s intended input.”

Honda has received several complaints about the issue, but says that no accidents or injuries have been reported. Still though, Honda says that the malfunction could cause an accident or serious injury. One Honda owner even went as far as to start a petition with the NHTSA after she sent in a complaint to Honda with no recall to come of it.

After the organization reviewed the petition, Honda ended up announcing the recall. In the US, the recall affects 101,000 Honda Pilot vehicles, 60,000 Acura MDX vehicles, and 21,000 Acura RL vehicles from the 2005 model year, along with 800 Acura MDX vehicles from the 2006 model year. on a global scale, the recall could affect even more of these vehicles.

Specifically, the recall deals with the Vehicle Stability Assist, which is what Honda calls its electronic stability control system. Honda says that the malfunction is caused by an electrical capacitor being damaged during the manufacturing process, as well as an electrical ground bolt that may have not been tightened enough during assembly.

[via NY Times]

Honda recalls 250,000 vehicles over brake issue is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.