AutoWeek Daily Drive — Thursday, October 14, 2010

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTOSHOWS   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   MARKETPLACE Thursday, October 14, 2010                  We averaged 60.2 miles of range during more than three months of living with the Mitsubishi i-MiEV.... Good-bye, little buddy: After nearly four months, the i-MiEV goes back to Mitsubishi The perky and friendly Mitsubishi PR professional came to the office on Wednesday and drove off in my beloved i-MiEV after three and a half months of electric driving. It was a sad, sad day. This is not to say I don't appreciate the Toyota Plug-In Prius that I have now and about which I will blog for six weeks. It's just that I will miss the magnificent efficiency of the goofy little transport ...   2012 Iconic AC Roadster, an AW Flash Drive What is it? The 2012 Iconic AC Roadster is a beast of a little roadster and not just another Cobra knock-off. For $475,000, it probably shouldn't be. The Iconic AC Roadster is built in Livonia, Mich., under license from AC Cars in the United Kingdom, and each one will be entered in AC...   Fall foliage, a shade of things to come The best thing about fall, I will admit to those folks in the northeastern part of these here United States, is the palette of vibrant colors dotted along hillsides. That's the upside. The downside is far too severe: When the leaves change, it's a flash of beauty followed by four months of...   Formula One: U.S. Grand Prix boss says more announcements coming Tavo Hellmund, founder of U.S Grand Prix promoter Full Throttle Productions LLP, addressed the Real Estate Council of Austin on Wednesday and said a traffic study will be completed within 30 days. According to the Community Impact newspaper, Hellmund said the study conducted by Kimley-...   2010 Nissan 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition, an AW Drivers Log EXECUTIVE EDITOR--AUTOWEEK.COM BOB GRITZINGER: I am not terribly enamored with this version of the Z, though it's hard to argue with the car's subtle smokey appearance. I also really like the little touches, such as the way the side marker Z badge blinks when you lock the doors. Nice....   We hold these beliefs to be true Some automotive beliefs are so firmly rooted that I doubt we'll ever dispel them. Take the “high-test” myth, the notion that a car designed to use regular gasoline somehow appreciates a tank of the good stuff. I've stomped that out in my family, especially when the gasoline is going...   Formula One: Russia set for 2014 Grand Prix at Winter Olympics venue After trying for decades, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has finally succeeded in securing a deal to take Formula One to Russia. A race is now confirmed for 2014-2020 in Sochi, a Black Sea resort that is far from Moscow, where previous attempts to host an F1 event have been made. It is...   2011 Ford F-150 aims for fuel economy, power The 2011 Ford F-Series has been America's top-selling truck for decades. But in a nod to changing times, Ford is now also focusing on fuel economy for its iconic truck. The F-150, which is offering a V6 again this year, will get 23 mpg on the highway and 16 mpg in city driving using the...   Bring on the Muscle As I write this, I am sitting in my office after what is often referred to around here as the Week. Also known as Pebble Beach, the Week is a five-day car-love extravaganza, and it just keeps getting better and better, or at least bigger and bigger. Car shows, auctions, vintage races, tours,... You May Have Missed...   2011 GMC Sierra 3500HD Crew Cab SLT DRW, an AW Drivers Log EXECUTIVE EDITOR--AUTOWEEK.COM BOB GRITZINGER: Talk about your big muthas--this dually turbodiesel 3500 is all the truck anybody would ever need, and never need, unless their towing and work needs necessitate the regular hauling of houses, for instance. I suppose someone who tows horse trailers or...   Buick duplicates toughest roads in the world for virtual testing Buick is cloning real-world roads so they can be used to virtual test cars.Engineers use cameras and a laser to scan the road surface and to create a three-dimensional virtual copy.Buick has used this system to replicate the road leading to the Cerro del Cubilete shrine in Mexico. The stone road,...   Orphan Car Show highlights long-gone classics Marvelous as it is a setting for car shows, Riverside Park in Ypsilanti, Mich., does present a risk: The park is built in the floodplain of the Huron River. When organizers showed up to stage this year's Orphan Car Show--the nation's largest to feature cars built by companies that no longer do...   Payback is instant in a diesel Scene: A clutch of motoring press gathered before an intoning car-company guy. Guy singing the praises of its model electric. Ah, so. All car songs these days seem to be in the key of E. Electric smelectric. I grow weary. But the ears of carmakers are turned to consultants and focus groups who...   GM's ad spending nearly doubled in first half, Nielsen says General Motors Co. nearly doubled its advertising spending in the first half of this year, leading a rebounding auto industry's marketing push, ad-monitoring company Nielsen Co. said. In the first half of 2010, the auto industry spent $3.5 billion on advertising, up 27 percent from the year-earlier ...   Scientists give Honda greenest-automaker award for fifth straight year Honda took home the Greenest Automaker title for the fifth year in a row from the Union of Concerned Scientists last week. The company narrowly beat Toyota and Hyundai for the top spot.UCS's rankings judge automakers' environmental performance on a smog-per-mile basis, along with global-warming... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the AutoWeek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other AutoWeek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add AutoWeek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.