porsche

Teen trades old cell phone on Craigslist, gets Porsche

This is the story of enterprise in hard times. It is the story of a teen who dedicated himself to improving his lot. It is the story of how one young man turned an old cell phone into a Porsche. Without any money changing hands.

Steven Ortiz is a man who understands what it is to be committed. So, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, he spent around six hours a day on his iPhone, trawling Craigslist's barter section, seeking deals that would somehow make his asset base seem more impressive.

While his enterprise hasn't quite reached … Read more

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder with Porsche Panamera

When the Panamera showed up in our garage, we were hesitant to approach it. This strange-looking vehicle garnered plenty of approbation when photos began to emerge on the Internet over the last couple of years. Would its strangeness rub off on us?

Figuring the inside had to be nicer than the outside, we made our way into the cabin. Here we found classic Porsche luxury, part of the reason people pay so much for models under this marque. And it got better when we started it up, the big V-8 made a pleasantly refined noise.

But driving it removed all … Read more

Car Tech Live 172: Is it okay to drive stoned? (podcast)

Ford gets Google maps, GM gets Google maps, and Google maps gets navigation for Europe and Canada. We take a drive in the oddest-looking Porsche yet. And is it okay to drive while stoned?

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 172 SHOW NOTES

• Ford steering Google Maps into its cars

• GM revving up Google Maps for OnStar customers

• Airbiquity brings Slacker radio into the car

• Google Maps 4.2 steers Navigation to Europe, Canada

• Researchers study effects of driving stoned

Gadgettes 186: The 'what if all our oil leaks into the ocean?' episode (podcast)

With all that oil gushing out of the hole in the Earth, we have to ask ourselves this question. And if this happens, what then? Well, flying cars and pedal powered Porsches, obviously. Even Eli, our special guest, knows that!

Rocket car blasts off on Coke and Mentos

Personal electric mini-plane could fly by 2013 (thanks Frontline!)

Audi ‘travolution’ syncs cars to traffic lights, saves fuel

Pedal-powered Porsche is world’s lightest, slowest

Firefox plug-in blacks out BP across the Web

BP Global PR

If It Was My Home

Nuking the oil spill: a crazy idea that’s building steam… Read more

Pedal-powered Porsche is world's lightest, slowest

The Ferdinand GT3 RS currently on display at Austria's Museum of Modern Art Linz is the lightest Porsche ever. It's also the greenest, the shiniest, and, well, probably the goofiest.

Built using a cardboard and PVC tube frame with an aluminium foil skin, the Ferdinand GT3 RS weighs a scant 220 pounds. The vehicle features skinny, low-rolling resistance bicycle wheels and tires that are driven, not by an exotic flat six-cylinder or a hybrid drivetrain, but by pedal power supplied by the driver's legs. Not only is the Ferdinand GT3 RS the lightest Porsche ever; it's … Read more

5 best SUVs for twisties

We think of SUVs as lumbering beasts rolling sedately down the road, approaching slight turns with trepidation lest there top-heavy bodies tip them. However, a few models stand apart. They can tear through corners as if they were plot twists on Lost. We found five SUVs that, despite their bulky bodies and high riding style, handle better than most cars do.

Technically, all of these vehicles are crossovers. Although they have typically SUV-like bodies, they all have a unibody, rather than body-on-frame, design. Having a unibody construction helps them with handling, but all of these vehicles use technology to … Read more

Porsche counts on new Cayenne, V-6 Panamera

Although U.S. auto sales are up 17 percent through April compared with 2009 auto sales, Porsche's U.S. sales have grown only 3 percent. But Detlev von Platen, the CEO of Porsche Cars North America, expects sales to pick up when the redesigned Cayenne SUV and the V-6 version of the Panamera sedan go on sale this summer.

Porsche faces other challenges in the longer term, such as how to meet its federal fuel economy target of 41 mpg by the 2016 model year. That requirement may force the German automaker to develop new small and fuel-efficient models, a possibility now that the company is merging with Volkswagen AG. Von Platen says discussions are under way with VW about possible platform and technology sharing.

The 46-year-old native of Germany took over at Porsche Cars North America in April 2008. Previously he ran Porsche France for 10 years. Von Platen was interviewed in late April by Automotive News Staff Reporter Diana T. Kurylko.

Q: Why has your sales increase so far this year lagged behind the rest of the industry?

Von Platen: We are seeing the first signs of market recovery in the United States. The market was up 16 percent for the first three months, but we cannot see the same recovery rate in the segments where we are--especially the luxury sports-car and SUV segments. … Read more

Car Tech Live 168: Is OnStar about to kick Sync's ass? (podcast)

Researchers show cars can be hacked wirelessly. OnStar strikes back--can it use Android to whip Ford Sync? The latest Garmin Nuvifone is minus the fone part. The most powerful Porsche. Ever. And we drive the Infiniti FX35 "High-StyleUV".

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 168 SHOW NOTES

• Researchers take control of a car wirelessly

• OnStar hopes Android will allow it to beat Ford Sync

• Garmin Nuvi 295W is a Nuvifone without the pesky phone

• Porsche GT2 RS is the most powerful ever.

• 17 hottest concept cars so far in 2010… Read more

17 fantastic concept cars

During the last international auto show season, we saw a range of concept cars, some with wild, futuristic designs and some that look like they could roll out of a garage today. Three particular themes emerged amongst these design studies:

Hybrid and electric power trains Small city cars Personal electronics integration

Obviously, automakers are making serious efforts to build more fuel efficient cars, prodded by new European and U.S. regulations. BMW and Porsche joined hybrid stalwart Toyota with new gas-electric concepts.

Automakers are also planning for growing urbanization with small cars that are easy to park and maneuver through … Read more

New Porsche 911 releases 620 horses

The thing to keep in mind about Porsche is that the company basically makes road-legal race cars; hence the Porsche 911 GT2 RS. This new model, limited to a production run of 500, wrings 620 horsepower out of its 3.6-liter flat six-cylinder engine. Of course, that kind of power wouldn't be possible without twin turbos and clever tuning.

That horsepower finds its real world expression in 3.4 seconds to 60 mph, a top speed of 205 mph, and a lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife in just 7 minutes and 18 seconds.

The 911 GT2 RS … Read more