Filed under: Aftermarket, SUV, Land Rover, Off-Road

The Land Rover Defender may be nearing the end of its line, but over the course of its lifetime it has become the go-to vehicle for any number of off-road applications. They’re used on safaris and expeditions, by military forces and humanitarian organizations. And yes, they’re used by hunters. That’s why German firearms manufacturer Blaser has outfitted this special edition Defender for just such a market.

The Blaser edition Defender includes roof rack, underbody skid plates, trailer hitch, power winch, spotlight, snorkel intake, custom-embroidered leather seats and more. It’s decked out in what’s called Keswich Green, but to us looks more like Panzer green, and packs a 2.2-liter turbodiesel four with 122 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque on tap. But the party piece is the custom armory built into the back that can carry as many as five hunting rifles plus ammunition. Only 60 examples will be made available exclusively in Germany, each carrying a €49,500 ($64,400) price tag.

Blaser outfits special edition Land Rover Defender for hunting originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BMW is recalling certain 2012 BMW X5 SUVs because of concerns that it could roll away if the parking brake is not applied.

The Problem: An error in the transmission may not allow engagement of the parking lock even if the vehicle is put into the parking gear and the “P” is displayed on the gauge. Certain SUVs could roll away if the parking brake is not applied.

The Fix: BMW will start notifying affected owners this month, and will replace the automatic transmission for free. Concerned owners can also contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417.

Number of Vehicles Potentially Affected: Only six X5 xDrive 35i SUVs manufactured from December 19, 2011 to December 21, 2011 are at the center of this recall, and no reported  deaths or injuries have been linked to the recall.

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN – Ford Motor Company made net income of $20.26 billion in 2011 thanks to a one-time “special item” accounting procedure. That comes to $4.94 per share.

Strip that away and the Blue Oval’s ’11 net pre-tax profit was a healthy $8.8 billion. That’s up from $8.3 billion in 2010, and with a ’11 fourth quarter net profit of $1.1 billion, or 20 cents per share, results in 10 consecutive quarters of net income.

Revenues last year rose $15.4 billion to $136.3 billion, mostly on the strength of North America and Ford Credit. Like most of the car business, Ford struggled in Europe, where it posted a net loss of $190 million. Ford also lost $83 million in Asia, while its $108 million profit in South America was off 15 percent, thanks to strong competition.

Last year’s special item of $12.4 billion consisted of Ford’s release of most of its valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets, the website autoinformed.com explains. Ford ended the fiscal year with $13.1 billion in automotive debt.

So you thought the 500-hp Hyundai Veloster Rally Car was only good for racing, did you? Well, like any other hard worker, the Veloster racer appreciates a relaxing round of golf to bring down the race-induced adrenaline rush.

In the following video, driver Rhys Millen and team take a Hyundai Veloster rally car out on the greens and commission it to golf cart duty. As you’d expect, the Veloster goes beyond the narrow paved roads tailor-made for a normal cart. Instead, the rally car proves that a golf course doubles as suitable practice grounds for a rally car, with plenty of dirt, grass, and hairpin turns to keep things interesting. The Veloster even pulls out a heroic move at the end, which you’ll have to click and watch for yourself. Fore!

Source: YouTube

Knowing that many of its customers enjoy hunting in the great outdoors, Land Rover’s German wing has teamed up with German gun manufacturer Blaser to build a special-edition of the Defender SUV. The Land Rover Defender Blaser Edition is a special model limited to 60 examples.

The Blaser is based on a 2012 Land Rover Defender and equipped with a new, 122-hp 2.2-liter turbodiesel inline-four engine. Upgrades over a regular model include skid plates, front push bars, an electric winch, additional lights, and a roof rack that can be accessed by a small ladder. The body is covered in Keswick Green paint, with black leather seats and an aluminum shifter dressing up the interior. For better off-road performance, Land Rover has added heavy-duty wheels and raised the engine’s air intake.

The most important upgrade, though, is the lockable gun safe mounted in the back of the Defender. It can store up to five long firearms, so you can take your entire family out on a hunting spree. Below the safe is another compartment designed for ammunition and hunting equipment. The included photography shows the safe being used to transport some sort of hunting rifle with an attached scope.

Land Rover will reveal the Defender Blaser Edition publicly at the “Hunting and Dog” show in Germany. The show is expected to draw about 70,000 attendees and, according to Land Rover, is Europe’s most important expo show for hunting enthusiasts.

The Blaser Edition starts at €49,500 (about $64,500) and is limited to just 60 examples, all to be sold in Germany.

With tough new CAFE standards hitting in just four short years automakers are gearing up to bring up their corporate fuel economy averages. One way that’s proven popular with German automakers is incorporating small and efficient diesel engines throughout their lineups. That’s why it’s surprising that WardsAuto is reporting that the Audi Q5 TDI will be sold in the United States as a performance diesel crossover with a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6, partially to help it avoid stealing the fuel economy crown from the upcoming Q5 Hybrid.

When Audi first announced that they were going to roll out a diesel Q5, many naturally assumed that the 2.0-liter turbodiesel that currently serves under the hood of the Audi A3 and various other Volkswagen TDIs would be the engine of choice for the Q5 TDI in the United States. After all, diesels in the U.S. have traditionally been sold and marketed as eco-friendly green models, and a Q5 with the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 from the Q7 seemingly doesn’t make much sense.

However, according to WardsAuto, Audi will be wedging the 3.0-liter 225-hp and 406 lb-ft turbodiesel V-6 under the hood of the Q5 TDI instead of the 2.0-liter, because the 2.0-liter diesel is actually more efficient than Audi’s hybrid gasoline-electric drivetrain, which would make the Hybrid Q5 a tough sell here in the U.S.

To get the full picture of what the Q5 Hybrid would have to go against, we can take a look at the European Q5 TDI’s numbers. The Q5 TDI with the 2.0-liter turbodiesel I-4 and Audi’s six-speed dual-clutch gearbox nets roughly 33.6 mpg, while the Q5 with the same transmission and the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 gets around 31.3 mpg. If Audi brought over the 2.0-liter turbodiesel into the U.S. Q5, it wouldn’t leave Audi much room to market a Q5 Hybrid as the green car poster child for the brand. With the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 slated for the Q5, it gives Audi a little wiggle-room with it’s first-ever hybrid and also gives the brand a sporty diesel crossover to take on the BMW X5.

With the A8 slated to get the 3.0-liter turbodiesel this year, and the A6 sometime after that, it allows the cost to be spread around the lineup. Audi of America chief Johan de Nysschen told WardsAuto that the V-6, “Already has been thoroughly developed for the U.S. for applications in the Q7, and it will be in the A6 and A8 as well, so we get economies of scale with that.” If that means more sporty diesels, then we can definitely get behind that.

Audi has released the commercial that it will show during this year’s Super Bowl, and it appears the company’s ad team drew inspiration from horror movies — and, perhaps, the Twilight film series. The commercial shows the new Audi S7 and highlights the car’s dazzling LED headlights by – of all things – slaying vampires.

The foreboding video shows crowds of people with vampire-liked fanged teeth partying in the woods. A man driving an Audi S7, its twin-turbo engine growling away, is rushing to the party with a case full of blood — far more appealing to vampires than a six-pack of beer. Unfortunately, the S7′s LED headlights turn out to have a disastrous effect on the gathering of vampires.

Audi’s “Vampire Party” spot will debut on TV during the Super Bowl on February 5. Until then, check out the video below.

Source: YouTube

Today’s TOTD calls on you for some car shopping advice. Forum member jwilber12 is considering a used 2002 E39 BMW 540i or a 2002 Audi S4. Naturally, he’s asking for advice of price, reliability, and all the fun stuff that comes from owning a decade-old German piece of engineering.

He’s hoping to find something in the 70,000- 100,000 mile range. A quick visit to Kelley Blue Book reveals a price range of $7500-9200 for the E39 and a surprisingly affordable $7300-7800 for the S4.

Although as commenter 11secJeepSRT8 noted, used German metal can potentially cost just as much in maintenance costs as it does to purchase. Is getting a short-term bargain worth the long-term cost?

Which one should he get? Or do you think he can find a better used super sedan for less than $10,000? Sound off in the comments below.

And thanks again to jwilber12 for today’s TOTD!

California’s emissions regulations are some of the strictest in the country, so when it announces that it may change its regulations on new cars, the other 49 states take notice. The state announced it will begin considering new regulations that seek to drastically increase the number of ultra-low or zero-emissions vehicles on the road by 2025.

It’s important to note that this isn’t the first time the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, has worked on this type of thing. The state’s aptly named Clean Cars Program actually launched in 2009, but the group is now considering an updated version of the program – the also-aptly-named Advanced Clean Cars Program.

Despite the mild name change, there are some significant revisions being proposed The state’s ultimate goal is to drastically reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent in the state by 2050, but the way in which it’ll get there is different than before.

The road to greener cars hinges on two waves, in succession. The first is a wave of what California calls “advanced low-GHG conventional vehicles,” which use advanced technologies to augment their conventional gas engines. Think things like stop-start technology; the combination of direct injection, continuously variable valve timing, and turbocharging; advanced transmissions with multiple clutches, infinitely variable ratios, or a high number of cruising gears. California would also lump conventional hybrids (think the non-plug-in Toyota Prius) in here. All in all, the state would like its new car fleet to, on average, reach the Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, or SULEV standards by 2025.

Second, the state wants to move to what it calls Zero-Emissions Vehicles, or ZEVs. This would include a number of different types of cars, including Plug-In Hybrids and Battery Electric Vehicles, as well as Extended-Range Electric Vehicles. The state wants to considerably up the number of cars like the Prius Plug-In, Nissan Leaf, and Chevrolet Volts within its borders, with ZEVs reaching a combined 15.4 percent of sales in 2025.

But CARB wants to go a step further: the proposals would begin to lay a groundwork for a dramatically increased number of fueling stations in the state that would serve alternative fuels like liquid hydrogen. Hydrogen fuel-cell cars would be lumped in with plug-in hybrids and classified as ZEVs, and the state is looking to amend regulations to compel gas stations to provide the fuel necessary to keep these going. This portion of the ACCP isn’t likely to happen quickly: California hopes to have five percent of stations offering clean alternative fuels by 2016.