2012 Ferrari 458 Italia 4.5l V8 560 Hp $285k Msrp 7yr Maint on 2040-cars

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Even Ferrari swept up in latest Takata recall expansion

The scope of Takata's deadly airbag problems continues to widen. Eight manufacturers announced recalls Friday that affect more than 12 million vehicles, according to documents filed with federal regulators. The automakers include Honda, which is recalling 4.5 million units, Fiat Chrysler with 4.3 million, Toyota with 1.65 million, and Subaru, which is recalling almost 400,000. Some of these cars include the Saab 9-2x and Pontiac Vibe that Toyota and Subaru made for General Motors. Mazda will recall 730,000 vehicles and Nissan has 400,000 affected units. The smallest numbers were posted by Mitsubishi, with 38,000 Lancers manufactured from 2006 to 2007, and as a noteworthy high-end manufacturer, Ferrari is calling back 2,800 vehicles. These are all US-market cars. Beyond America, the Japanese Transport Ministry has announced seven million additional vehicles will be recalled, which means 19.6 million vehicles across the globe are affected by recalls announced. The defects have been traced to an insufficiently manufactured airbag inflator, which lacks a drying agent that would prevent the inflators from deteriorating over time. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, which have become unstable and are prone to exploding and showering vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal shrapnel. A private equity firm, KKR & Co., has been named in a possible buyout of the struggling Takata. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Recalls Ferrari Honda Mazda Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Subaru Toyota Saab Safety

Translogic 186: 1978 Ferrari 308 GTE Virtual Reality Test Drive

For years we've heard about how virtual reality will revolutionize the world, but only recently does the technology seem poised to hit the mainstream. From advanced headsets like the Oculus Rift, to simple cardboard viewers that turn your smartphone into a VR device, 360-degree videos promise to take us closer to the action than ever before. What does it all mean for the automotive world? Imagine first-person views from behind the wheel of your favorite car, at a famous track. Or, augmented-reality owners manuals. Or, in the instance of today's episode of Translogic, a ride-along in an all-electric Ferrari with host Jonathon Buckley. We partnered with industry innovators from 8112 Studios to bring you a 360-view test drive of a 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS, converted to an all electric "GTE" by EV West. Hear about the process in the episode above, and experience the 360-VR test drive using the player below. To experience the 360-VR test drive on your smart device, download the Littlstar app on the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android. Watch the 360-VR test drive on your computer using the Littlstar player below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Oculus Rift users can download the 360-VR video file here. YouTube users can watch here. Can't get enough of automotive VR content? Take a virtual test drive of the newest luxury vehicles with our Autoblog 360 app! Have an RSS feed? Click here to add Translogic. Follow Translogic on Twitter and Facebook. Click here to learn more about our host, Jonathon Buckley. Green Ferrari Technology Emerging Technologies Gadgets Smartphone Convertible Electric Performance Translogic Videos Original Video virtual reality

Race Recap: 2013 Italian Grand Prix is mistakes, gremlins and metronomes [spoilers]

The low-downforce, 5.793-kilometer circuit in Monza, Italy is known as the Temple of Speed, but only a few of the qualifying performances would have clued you into it. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in the Infiniti Red Bull Racing chassis' lined up first and second, and it didn't seem like Vettel had to work too hard to do so. Nico Hülkenberg truly lived up to his nickname, The Hulk, and put his Sauber third on the grid, a massive drive and turn-of-speed that even he didn't expect, especially with his teammate Esteban Gutiérrez down in 13th.
The rest of the top ten was what you might expect. Shenanigans at Ferrari ended up with Felipe Massa out-qualifying Fernando Alonso for fourth and fifth, a situation that led to Alonso calling his team either "stupid" or "genius," depending on how you translate his Italian, his sarcasm and his honesty. They were followed by Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas, the soon-to-be Infiniti Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso, the McLaren duo of Sergio Perez and Jenson Button and the second Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne.
Why wasn't Kimi Räikkönen at Lotus in that group? Because his car only had the pace to make 11th on the grid, so he said. And behind him, Lewis Hamilton - who "drove like an idiot," in his words - in the second Mercedes.