TRD Spices up New Toyota Aqua / Prius C Hybrid with Sport Package

Toyota is losing no time in pushing out its aftermarket proposals for the all-new Aqua hybrid that will be marketed as the Prius C in markets outside of Japan and which will make its North American debut at the forthcoming Detroit Motor Show in January. On the same day that the regular Aqua went on sale in its home market, Toyota's TRD racing and performance division announced a slew of tuning upgrades for the sub-compact hatchback.
Starting with the exterior package, TRD's offerings include a new front apron with additional air vents and optional LED daytime running lights, matching side skirts, a roof spoiler, and a rear apron that incorporates a diffuser in a matte black finish.
For the interior, there's a new TRD push-button start while performance mods are limited -for the time being- to a sports exhaust system with a pair of chrome tailpipes, larger alloy wheels and a suspension package with new springs and shock absorbers that lower the car's ride height.
TRD said that it will release more styling accessories and performance mods in the near future.

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Dodge Bids Farewell to Caliber Crossover and Nitro SUV

The end of 2011 brings about the death of two much-criticized Dodge models, the Caliber crossover and the Nitro SUV, both of which were conceived and developed during the time Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler reigned over the Chrysler Group. The last examples of the Caliber and Nitro models rolled off Chrysler's Belvidere, Illinois and Toledo North assembly plants respectively this month.
Introduced in 2006, the Caliber was designed to replace the Neon in the same fashion that Nissan tried to win the European C-segment (think VW Golf) with the Qashqai crossover, but without the same success.
The Caliber left a lot to be desired, especially in the powertrain/drivetrain department and its rent-a-car like interior.
Monthly sales of the compact five-door model peaked in May 2008 with 12,856 units, dropping to a pitiful 412 units in November 2009, with Dodge delivering 1,202 Calibers last month.
The Caliber's replacement will be introduce in a couple of weeks at the 2012 Detroit Motor Show with the new 2013 Dodge Dart, which is a compact-sized sedan model based on the platform architecture of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
The Nitro SUV made its debut in 2006 as a more masculine and sportier Dodge derivative of the second generation Jeep Liberty with which it shared its platform but not the latter's more hardcore all-wheel drive hardware. It too suffered from a cheap interior while it's on-road dynamics were poor.
The best sales month of the Nitro was in March 2007 with 7,532 deliveries, while the worst was in July 2009 with 1,115 units, with Dodge selling 1,661 units in November 2012.
In a recent interview, Fiat-Chrysler Group CEO, Sergio Marchionne, said that "This car should never have been built” referring to the Nitro.

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Bummer: Sitting on the Trunk of a Car that's About to Leave is a Very Bad Idea [Video]

Common sense says that you shouldn't lie down and get cozy on a vehicle's trunk when the driver is inside and the engine is running, but some people just need to learn their lesson the hard way. We can't say for sure if the driver saw the young lady flashing her legs on the Lada's trunk or not, but fact is that he sped off with the laws of physics coming into play from then on.
After her hard encounter with the road, we believe this woman will think twice before she throws herself on a trunk again…

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Just For Fun ... Never Play with a Frog [Video]

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Mika Häkkinen and Jenson Button Burn Their Initials on the Ashpalt with a C63 AMG

It's a strange cocktail to say the least: two of the world's finest professional drivers, two-time F1 champion Mika Häkkinen and 2009 F1 champ Jenson Button, get into a 450-horsepower Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG sports saloon to promote a 'don't drink and drive' campaign from renowned Scotch whiskey brand Johnny Walker by burning their initials on the asphalt. You can watch the ad for yourself in the video after the break.

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NTSB Push to Ban All In-Car Cellphone Use May Hurt Automakers

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) and the U.S secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, are both trying to reduce road accidents caused by distracted driving. So far, their efforts have resulted in 35 states, and the District of Columbia, banning the use of handheld cellphones or texting while driving.
Driving is, indeed, a serious activity that requires all of your attention. According to the Department of Transportation’s December 8 release, distracted driving caused 3,092 fatalities in 2010.
The National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB], on the other hand, has embarked on a crusade to ban the use of all mobile devices while driving – even with hands-free devices.
"The safety board has investigated a lot of accidents", said Deborah Hersman, NTSB chairman. "Many times the distraction that is there is not just about the manipulation of something or a visual distraction. It's about a cognitive distraction. It's about not being engaged in the task at hand."
The NTSB wants all 50 states to enforce the ban. But if such a proposal goes through, car manufacturers that are increasingly introducing infotainment systems in their newest models, such as Ford’s Sync, will have to remove many of their features.
While the NTSB is willing to make concessions for certain functions like navigation systems or GM’s OnStar, technology analysts like Strategy Analytics’ Roger Lanctot say that this will be a very costly measure.
"There are billions of dollars of smartphone development activity that would be thrown out the window. You'd have a lot of dark screens in cars," said Lanctot.
He also noted that if the NHTSA or the Congress get influenced and pass new legislation, car manufacturers will have to spend millions of dollars in downgrading the systems in their customers’ existing cars and, of course, redesigning those on new ones.
Ford replied that external research shows that hands-free, voice-activated technology such as the one used on Sync "significantly reduces risk by allowing drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road."
Our take on the matter is that, like most things in life, it's not all black or white. Technology exists to make our lives easier and safer. Using a handheld cellphone is certainly not a clever idea. Banning everything in the name of safety is, well, a bit far-fetched.
Accidents do happen and will happen for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, some of them cause fatalities. Most of them are not related to the issue raised by the NTSB. Should we ban car usage once and for all? What about airplanes or trains? Maybe we should just all stay home. There you have it: no personal responsibility at all. Just beware of the oven or that kitchen knife…

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2012 BMW 5-Series M Sport Goes Chrome Green

Vinyl wraps can be had in all sorts of colors and designs, but while the majority of drivers usually select normal colors in metallic or matte shades, some owners gravitate towards extreme solutions. And what could be more extreme than a chrome green wrap around a 2012 BMW M5 5-Series F10 sports saloon?
The car you see pictured here was created in Russia by applying a chrome vinyl wrap at first and then a translucent green wrap on top to create the flashy green chrome effect. And if you're wondering, the owner ordered the saloon in an Alpine White finish.
We're told that aside from the change in color, the 5er also sports additional parts from BMW's own M Sport Package program as well as from independent tuners Hamann Motorsport and AC Schnitzer.

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