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2009 BMW 7-series

2009 BMW 7-Series Thinks It's KITT, Has Human-Detecting Night Vision

Although we showed you the new 2009 BMW 7-Series in all of its unofficial glory on Thursday. Well, now we've got the official details from BMW, and we've included the full press release for the new 7-Series after the jump. Sure, focus all you want on the horsepower (407 HP in the 750i and 750Li, 326 HP in the 740i and 740Li) or the torque (600 Nm of torque in the 750i and 750Li, 450 Nm of torque in the 740i and 740Li) or even the 155 MPH electronically-limited top speed, but the one thing that's sticking out in our minds is the new "individual pedestrian recognition" night vision system. That's right, the new BMW 7 will tell you when there's a person walking in front of the car, even at mid-double-digit speeds. See, there's a little icon of a person and everything. We're just wondering whether there's a similar icon for moose, deer or other woodland creatures. We'll have to see once we get behind the wheel ourselves in rural Michigan.

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4:30 PM on Sat Jul 5 2008
By Ray Wert
710 views, 15 comments

Latest by tonyola: @NovaloadMissesPolar: Oh yeah, I can appreciate your sentiment. In 1976, my older brother and I took my beaten-up '65 Mustang convertible, removed the rear seat to open up more room, and chained the spare to the bulkhead. We filled the car with more »

Top Gear

Telegraph: James May, Richard Hammond "May Leave" Top Gear Unless BBC Meets Salary Demands

The UK's Telegraph is telling us today James May and Richard Hammond, two of Top Gear's threesome of hosts, have yet to sign new contracts recently presented to them by the BBC. According to the UK daily, they're holding out for the same multi-million pound deal received last month by Clarkson in his new contract. The Telegraph even goes so far as to say the two "may leave" the show if their contract demands are met. However, the only source they've been able to get a quote from on the record is none other than James May, who very clearly states

"The only reason I haven't signed my contract yet is because it has not yet been finalized. The current one doesn't expire until the end of July. I'm sure a new one will be sorted out soon. I'm not stomping around about Jeremy's contract with BBC Worldwide. Quite frankly, I couldn't give a **** about it."

But, the Telegraph's sources say different. More »

2:29 PM on Sat Jul 5 2008
By Ray Wert
844 views, 32 comments

Latest by v8corvairpickup: I say give them a PCH per season. Whomever is able to get out of Hell gets Clarkson's yearly salary, the other two get the 350K. more »

Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation

Oh, Say Does That Car-Spangled Banner Yet Wave Over Jalopnik's Day Of Auto Flag-Elation?

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Project Car Hell

PCH, Red, White, And Blue Flames Edition: Austin America Or Rambler American?

For the first time, a single car part beat an entire car in a Project Car Hell matchup, according to the results of our most recent Choose Your Eternity poll. Today we're going to celebrate the Fourth of July, but not by getting all liquored up and firing large-caliber handguns into the sky. No, we're going to celebrate our freedoms by sentencing ourselves to years of thankless labor in the garage, on vehicles so patriotic that they're literally named after America.
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5:20 PM on Fri Jul 4 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,469 views, 44 comments

Latest by bygeorge: Thanks for the clarification regarding the lights. There used to be more differentiation between the bottom and top levels of a particular model (now there are just more models to choose from). Now this practice is reserved largely more »

Offbeat News

Uday Is Gone, But Baghdad Car Freaks Still Have It Rough

Saddam Hussein's son Uday used to confiscate any cool car that caught his eye on the streets of Baghdad, so in those days it was best to drive the Kadett and leave the BMW stashed away. Those days are gone, but new dangers lurk for the brave Iraqi who wants to customize his ride. The LA Times has a story on three young Iraqis who have done their best under the circumstances; yes, we might cringe in horror at the sight of a pimped-out M3 or a Mustang convertible with a huge TURBO emblem on the hood, were we to run across such cars here in the US of A, but — given the context of 2008 Baghdad — we can't help but admire the determination these guys are showing. [Los Angeles Times]

3:00 PM on Fri Jul 4 2008
By Murilee Martin
4,884 views, 33 comments

Latest by Racingindrag: @Elhigh: I say RPG-7; it has that nice phallic touch to it, opposed to the plain ol' WWII bazooka. Just my 2 cents... more »

Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation

The Shriner's Parade Is At 3PM

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Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation

America, Truck Yeah!

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Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation

Stars, Stripes, Scoops and Flares

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Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation

This Cop's Beat is America, Son

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Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation

Patriotism, Swamp Style

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Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation

If The ZR1 Makes You Feel Patriotic...

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Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation

The Sign Of The Cat...Under The Flag

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I Feel Gassy

Gas-Mileage Savings Calculator Shows True Cost Of Trading Your Guzzler For A Sipper

As much as it may hurt to have to fill up your car every month (or week), the price of gas still isn't high enough to make trading in for a hybrid a reasonable solution for most, a reality punctuated by the Gas-Mileage Savings Calculator from Edmunds. The calculator takes the value of a trade-in compared to the cost of a more-efficient vehicle and, based on driving distances and the cost of gas, determines how long it would take to break even. For example, we took a 2006 Explorer XLT V8 and compared it to a new Jetta SportWagen TDI at $4.25 a gallon and 1,200 miles a month. At that rate it would take four years to make up the difference. The price of gas would have to rise to a ridiculous $16.50 a gallon to break even within a year — and we don't expect those prices until 2010 or so. Press release below the jump. More »

9:30 AM on Fri Jul 4 2008
By Matt Hardigree
12,828 views, 56 comments

Latest by sven.kirk: The calculator is waay off. It also needs to factor in insurance, needed repairs, and maintenance. Also what kind of payments you have more »

Down on the Street

1975 Chevrolet Nova Custom

With just one Malaise Nova up until now in this series, it's time to set our thermostats at 66 in winter/78 in summer, lower our expectations of future prosperity, and travel back to the Bicentennial Era... when presidents got impeached, wars got lost, and the base V8 in a new Chevy Nova was a 155-horse 350. Actually, the Nova of this era wasn't a bad car; it was cheap and every component was made by the lowest possible bidder, but it was honestly cheap.
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9:00 AM on Fri Jul 4 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,380 views, 44 comments

Latest by NovaloadMissesPolar: @GTBruiser: I had a 73 too that I bought new --listed for like 2600. Orange! @Accordforall: Um, no Nova Clubs? Where are you from, exactly? more »

Jalopnik Auto Flag-Elation

It's The Most Patriotic Brat Ever, Dummy

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Novelties

It's Like A Three Stooges Bit, But With Cars

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moment of zen

Prius Owner Achieves Infinite Mileage With Minor Tweak

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Commenter Of The Day

Commenter Of The Day: Tricky Rhetoric Edition

There are numerous rhetorical devices politicians use to obscure or avoid the truth. One of them is the old "vacuous truth," wherein the true statement has no meaning. For instance, a candidate for sheriff in Texas once accused the incumbent sheriff of being derelict in his duties for not arresting a single communist, despite the fact that there were no communists to arrest. Another tactic is the assertion of a fact that has to be true because you're presenting two ideas with the same meaning, known as a "tautology." George H. W. Bush once famously remarked "It's no exaggeration to say the undecideds could go one way or the other." In Ray Ray's post about the 2010 Ford Mustang SVO, a few people complained that people don't buy muscle cars for fuel economy. To the haters, DCulberson had this to say: More »

5:40 PM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Matt Hardigree
1,569 views, 45 comments

Latest by SeanKHotay: I thought tautology had to do with tying ropes(?). Irregardless, even if I'm considered a knuckle-dragger with my dyeatribe, I still want to know how Ford gets off call this Ecoboost...SAAB, err, Saab's known about this for decades. I bet more »

In Brief

BBB Says MyGallons.com "Omitted Fact" In Advertising, Has No Contract To Process Transactions

FROM CONSUMERIST.COM: The BBB says its concerned about gasoline-hedging company MyGallons.com and its ability to live up to the advertising claims on its website. More »

5:29 PM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Meg Marco
9,192 views, 43 comments

2009 BMW 7-Series Thinks It's KITT, Has Human-Detecting Night Vision

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