#Fiat to purchase bankrupt #Hostess Brands @Autoblopnik

Italian automaker Fiat has announced their plans to purchase Hostess Brands, saving the legendary American bakery from liquidation.

“Iconic Hostess products such as the Twinkie®, the Ring Ding™, and Wonder Bread® are a perfect match for our company,” Fiat’s American spokesperson Suavé Ristorante told Autoblopnik. “Hostess products are delightfully small, cheaply made, and not particularly good for you, which is very much in line with Fiat’s brand values.”

Fiat plans to restart manufacturing of Hostess products immediately, addressing critical long-standing quality issues such as the uneven chocolate coating on the ends of Yodels™. Fiat engineers also plan to reduce the number of Twinkie® cream-filling holes from three to two in order to conform with European snack cake regulations.

Ristorante was careful to note that the U.S. market is critical to Fiat’s success with Hostess. “Despite a rapid rise in China’s share of the junk food market, Americans currently consume 78% of the world’s fatty snacks,” Ristorante says, adding that Hostess will continue to focus on American consumers, though future versions of the Hostess products may be partially based on European desserts in order to maximize commonality and economies of scale.

Junk food enthusiasts expressed doubt as to whether Fiat would really leave Hostess unchanged.

“Sure, maybe they’ll crank out a few Sno Balls® and Ring® Dings™ as we know them,” said Fatty “Fats”™ Fatass, Editor-at-large-and-we-do-mean-large of Practical Snacking® magazine, “but how long do you think that will last? The Italians® have tried to sell desserts in this country in the past, and they simply weren’t up to American standards. Have you ever tasted cavallucci? That shit is nasty.”

Ristorante denied that Fiat would radically alter Hostess’ iconic products.

“We will make changes where they make sense, such as the source of the flour and the type of rendered animal fat used to make the cream filling,” he explained, “but the look, feel, and taste of the products will stay the same. A Twinkie® will always be a Twinkie®. It will never be a rebadged tiramisu.”

© Autoblopnik™

From Autoblopnik.Com
http://autoblopnik.com/2012/11/19/fiat-to-purchase-bankrupt-hostess-brands/


This was too good not to share.

Are You What You Drive?

2013 Land Rover Range Rover

The old Detroit adage was "you are what you drive." Actually much of the automotive industry, not just American automakers, have drummed this into people's heads for decades. I have heard people use this phrase with glee (when they have a car they just love) as well as with disdain (when they have a car they would love to drive off a cliff). Is it really true?



There are many stereotypes revolving around people who drive different types of vehicles. I have owned a variety of vehicles, and always notice with a little twist of humor that people treat me differently depending on the car I drive. For example, when I had my little Volvo S40 (which for those of you who don't know is a compact Swedish sedan) I would regularly get cut off by the "big truck crowd" or guys driving full-size pickups. I even had one cut me off on the freeway, slam on his breaks and then gun it so a cloud of diesel exhaust spewed all over my car as he waved a finger out his window. After my car was in a little fender bender and then had to take a trip to the body shop, I was given a rental full-size pickup truck to drive around. I immediately noticed the other full-size pickups on the road treated me like royalty, but a new group started to target me: middle-aged women in economy cars! I kid you not, I would have women in Civics, Mazda Proteges, Corollas, etc ride up so close behind the truck I could barely see the roof of the car in my rearview mirror, meanwhile in my side mirror I could see them yelling and making faces at the back of the truck. What I couldn't believe was that if I had slammed on the breaks, these women would have been pulverized by a vehicle that weighed at least twice as much as theirs.

When I drove a Japanese SUV I had people in American SUVs try to show off all the time, and while driving my Saab I would have BMWs try to race me and Lexus drivers cut me off constantly. Driving a minivan now, I have the lovely joy of women (yes, pretty much just women and not men) treating me like I am the scourge of the earth and shouldn't be allowed on the roads. I could go on, but I think you get the point.I think it's pretty safe to say quite a few people have bought into the belief that the vehicle makes the person.

Does owning a Ford Raptor make you a more active person?

I would argue that a vehicle doesn't transform who you are. To an extent the vehicle does affect how you drive: I don't go nearly as fast in my current vehicle as I did in my Saab, and when I had an SUV I wouldn't hesitate to plow through deep water on the road. I would argue, though, that the person chooses the vehicle, and that different people gravitate to specific vehicles for a number of reasons. It's not always cut-and-dry like some try to pretend, but I do think that the type of vehicle you drive says a lot about you and the stage of life you're in.

Automotive industry marketers would agree with me. I often see automakers' profiles for buyers of different vehicle models. For example, once I saw Honda's for Accord drivers. I don't remember everything about the profile, but I do remember that they found the average Accord driver vacuums out his garage rather than sweeping it. While you can't say that everyone who drives X vehicle is exactly the same, you can say that most people who drive the same vehicle share some key traits. I do believe the list of similarities between drivers with the same vehicle grows tighter the more "niche" the vehicle is in the marketplace. For this reason, I think this is why there is such a strong Subaru culture or a similar group of people who drive Mazda Miatas. Meanwhile, you will find a less homogenous group of Camry drivers, although most Camry drivers do share some key traits (just not as many as Subaru Forrester drivers). 

I could also launch into a big, deep discussion about vehicle customization and what it says about people. I wrote up a 60+ page paper (complete with photos) for a college class on this very subject, and trust me I could write a 500+ page book on it. But we'll leave it for another day, and maybe even for a future book. 

Perhaps we should modify what we say about a car being an extension of a person. I guess we could always say "what you drive reflects who you are" but that just wouldn't be very catchy.

Infographic: Which James Bond vehicles contributed most to box office bottom lines?

Skyfall, the latest in the Bond franchise, killed it at the US box office on opening weekend, it's $88.4-million haul more than doubling the second-highest-grossing film. Mostly sticking to the best of British, the film's protagonists spend a lot of time with a Jaguar XJ, a Range Rover Sport (with a lot of Evoques in the background) and a Land Rover Defender. A Mercedes-Benz S-Class gets some love in Shanghai and the opening action scene in Turkey goes all out on some Honda CF250Rs.

 Skyfall is also the return of the Aston Martin DB5, sporting the same number plate as it did in its first appearance in 1964's Goldfinger: BMT 216A. British car financing site Car Loan 4 U wondered which cars have helped Bond get the girl most money in theaters, and lined up the haul for every film alongside the rides they are known for.

 If cars were the measure of receipts, then the DB5 owns it. The Ion Productions team will hope it can work its magic again, and it's looking good so far. Check out the full list of movies and cars in the infographic below.

Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force concept is a G-Class for the future

Looking to create an entrant for this year's LA Design Challenge, Mercedes-Benz came up with the Ener-G-Force to fit the theme of Highway Patrol Vehicle 2025. Mercedes-Benz says that the styling of the Ener-G-Force builds on many cues from the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, and like the original G-Wagen introduced in 1979 as a civilian version of a military vehicle, it didn't take much imagination to envision a civilian version of the Ener-G-Force. Of course, it wouldn't be a futuristic concept vehicle without some sort of advanced powertrain, and the concept unveiled today delivers on this front as well.

From a design standpoint, the Ener-G-Force infuses many elements seen on the G-Class but with a much more modern interpretation giving it a new, yet recognizable appearance. These cues include the sunk-in headlights, turn signals/running lights mounted atop the front fenders, the long, flat roofline and the low, rectangular taillights, but the Ener-G-Force ditches the G-Class' boxy lines in favor of a more rounded shape.

One of the interesting elements of the concept is the roof rack. While it looks like a cargo rack that could be used for a safari, it is actually a way for the vehicle to collect water to store in tanks to then be transferred to a converter that creates hydrogen to power the fuel cells. The batteries for this system are built into the rocker panels, and the hypothetical range for this conceptual system is 500 miles of zero-emission driving. For off-roading purposes, the system uses four independent motors at each wheel and a roof-mounted scanner that adjusts the suspension to best fit the road conditions and terrain.

The Ener-G-Force was one of six entrants for the 2012 LA Design Challenge, and the winning design will be announced on November 29 as a part of the LA Auto Show. Scroll down to read more about the Ener-G-Force in a press release from Mercedes-Benz.

From AutoBlog.Com http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/16/mercedes-benz-ener-g-force-concept-is-a-g-class-for-the-future/

Watch Sam Hubinette and Jen Horsey run Targa Newfoundland in a Fiat 500 Abarth

We'd grown pretty accustomed to seeing Sam Hubinette sling a Dodge Challenger around a drift course, but the guy knows how to do more than go sideways. Back in September, the Crazy Swede partnered up with Jen Horsey to take on the Targa Newfoundland in a Fiat 500 Abarth in the open class. How'd the team do? The plucky little hatch snagged second place, finishing just one second behind Paul Dyer in his 300 horsepower Mistubishi Lancer Evo IX. That's no mean feat considering the Abarth puts down just 160 ponies of its own.

Fiat worked up a quick video documenting Hubinette and Horsey's efforts over the long week, and you can check it out below. In addition to taking home the silver, the team also walked away with a few other honors, including the Presidents Manufacturers' Challenger award and the Next Generation Challenge title for vehicles with 1.6 liters of displacement and less.

  From AutoBlog.Com http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/15/watch-sam-hubinette-and-jen-horsey-run-targa-newfoundland-in-a-f/

2014 Ford Fiesta ST to pack 180-horsepower single-turbo engine

Ford's Fiesta launched into the US market with a splash thanks to a very well-orchestrated pre-launch PR campaign, but sales haven't proven all that robust over time, with Ford selling just 47,474 examples through October of this year (down 22.6 percent versus 2011).

Ford will be looking to reignite some of that early excitement with a new performance model, the 2014 Fiesta ST, and thanks to some leaked specs made available to Autoblog, we now have a very complete picture of what the tiny terror will look like.

Powered by a 1.6-liter EcoBoost four wearing a single turbocharger, our source says the ST will deliver 180 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque, with a temporary overboost mode to extend peak twist. Both figures represent very healthy increases over the standard Fiesta's 1.6-liter Duratec engine, which chips in 120 hp and 112 lb-ft of torque. Like its Focus ST big brother, the new model will feature a so-called "Sound Symposer" to deliver a proper enthusiast's soundtrack. Shifting duties will fall to a six-speed manual, and the front-wheel drive five-door will also feature torque-vectoring technology and a three-mode stability control system for more entertaining handling antics.

The Fiesta ST will ride on a uniquely tuned and lowered sport suspension paired with 17-inch alloys (an inch larger than those available on the lesser Fiestas) wrapped in 205/40R17 Bridgestone Potenza rubber, and braking will be augmented by four-wheel discs with high-performance pads instead of the disc/drum combination on lower models.

Aesthetically, the Fiesta ST will receive a full performance rework, with a gaping trapezoidal grill with a mesh honeycomb insert that's a close kin to that of the Focus ST, along with a body kit said to mirror Ford's World Rally Championship racer (interestingly, Ford has already announced it will exit the series after 2012). Other additions include a rear spoiler, dual chrome exhaust tips and blacked-out headlamp surrounds.

When the hot hatch launches sometime in 2013, it will arrive in the buyer's choice of seven colors: Green Envy Metallic, Molten Orange Metallic, Ingot Silver Metallic, Oxford White, Performance Blue, Race Red or Tuxedo Black Metallic.

Given that Ford debuted the Fiesta ST in concept form at the Los Angeles Auto Show last year, we'd be surprised if the production model didn't surface in the City of Angels later this month. No word yet on pricing or availability, but logic suggests it will need to come in well under the reasonably priced Focus ST, which starts at $23,700. 

From AutoBlog.Com http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/16/2014-ford-fiesta-st-to-pack-180-horsepower-single-turbo-engine/

Party sponsored by Lamborghini tried to airlift yacht into Austin lake for F1 race

This was the kind of understatement we didn't expect to encounter in the Lone Star State: on our way into Austin to attend the Grand Prix of the Americas, the man sitting next to us on the plane – an Austinite born and raised – said, "There's gonna be a lot of wealthy people here." You know, as if Texas didn't have its fair share already.

Wealthy people need wealthy things to do and not-as-wealthy people to arrange such things for them. Case in point is My Yacht Club, which follows the Formula 1 parade and other rah-rah events around the globe, hosting guests and parties on yachts. In Austin the event group has had to change its schtick; there's no way to navigate one 150-foot motor yacht into Austin's Lady Bird Lake. MYC principal Nicholas Frankl told KUT News, "We spoke to the Army Air Corps. They couldn't lift it." We believe he meant the Army Corps of Engineers, but no matter, they couldn't lift it either.

So MYC has switched to a land-lubbers venue, The Long Center where Ballet Austin, the opera and the symphony perform. In case you readers are worried about how guests will manage without chiseled Italian deckhands in epaulets, not only has Frankl promised that "the elements of decadence and luxury and coolness and exclusivity are all there," guests will get to guzzle 24-karat gold-infused champagne. Because the stars at night just aren't as big and bright without it, obviously.