Auto blog

Win a car while supporting a charity this holiday season

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze.  The leaves have fallen, there is a crispness to the air and there have already been multiple forecasts of snow, which can only mean one thing: We're coming up on Christmas. While you've been busy thinking about what kind of gifts you're going to give your loved ones, we here at Autoblog have been deciding which dream car we'd like to see in our driveway on Christmas morning. A car for Christmas does seem a bit extreme and expensive, but thanks to these Omaze sweepstakes, it doesn't have to break the bank. Here are the current sweepstakes we'd like to win this holiday season. Win a DeLorean DMC-12 - Enter at Omaze James Riswick, West Coast Editor: Let me be clear, the DeLorean is a pretty terrible car. Its speedometer doesn't even go up to the fabled 88 mph. Seriously, look at the pictures: tops out at 85. Also, who services a DeLorean? And how much would it cost to maintain one? $AlloftheMoney or just $MostoftheMoney? So owning it could be a total headache, but at least by winning one through Omaze, you'd be relieved of the financial burden of buying one in the first place. You'd also get the chance to own one of the most iconic cars of all time, one that transcends car enthusiasm and is instantly recognizable by everyone as the "Back to the Future" car. Plus, "everyone" doesn't know that the DeLorean was actually a pretty terrible car. So, I already own James Bond's car from 1995, why not Doc Brown's from 1985? Win a 2021 Bentley Bentayga V8 - Enter at Omaze Eddie Sabatini, Production Manager: Why am I choosing a +$200K Bentley SUV? Because even if I could afford one I'd never be able to wrap my head around spending money on one. So why not try to win one by donating what I can afford to a good cause? I first saw the Bentley Bentayga up close and personal at the Frankfurt Motor Show (I forget which year but I'll never forget this SUV). And although it looks like the Bentayga Omaze is offering up doesn't have the opulent tailgate setup I fell in love with when I saw it in Frankfurt, I'd still enter to win. Win a 1968 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Pagoda - Enter at Omaze Byron Hurd, Editor: Few automotive marketing efforts stick out in my head more than the Mercedes-Benz holiday spots and magazine placements.

Mercedes-Benz engines with 48-volt systems coming in 2017

As part of a big green push announced yesterday, Mercedes-Benz is jumping into the world of 48-volt power. The company will launch a new family of efficient gasoline engines next year and will begin rolling out 48-volt systems with it, likely in its more expensive cars first. Mercedes will use the 48-volt systems to power mild-hybrid functions like energy recuperation (commonly called brake regeneration), engine stop-start, electric boost, and even moving a car from a stop on electric power alone. These features will be enabled through either an integrated starter-generator (Mercedes abbreviates it ISG) or a belt-driven generator (RSG). (RSG is from the German word for belt-driven generator, Riemenstartergeneratoren. That's your language lesson for the day.) Mercedes didn't offer many other details on the new family of engines. There are 48-volt systems already in production; Audi's three-compressor SQ7 engine uses an electric supercharger run by a 48-volt system, and there's a new SQ5 diesel on the horizon that will use a similar setup with the medium-voltage system. Electric superchargers require a lot of juice, which can be fed by either a supercapacitor or batteries in a 48-volt system. Why 48-volt Matters: Current hybrid and battery-electric vehicles make use of very high voltages in their batteries, motors, and the wiring that connects them, usually around 200 to 600 volts. The high voltage gives them enough power to move a big vehicle, but it also creates safety issues. The way to mitigate those safety issues is with added equipment, and that increases both cost and weight. You can see where this is going. By switching to a 48-volt system, the high-voltage issues go away and the electrical architecture benefits from four times the voltage of a normal vehicle system and uses the same current, providing four times the power. The electrical architecture will cost more than a 12-volt system but less than the complex and more dangerous systems in current electrified vehicles. The added cost makes sense now because automakers are running out of ways to wisely spend money for efficiency gains. Cars can retain a cheaper 12-volt battery for lower-power accessories and run the high-draw systems on the 48-volt circuit. The industry is moving toward 48-volt power, with the SAE working on a standard for the systems and Delphi claiming a 10-percent increase in fuel economy for cars that make the switch.

Autoblog Podcast #404

Episode #404 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert and Brandon Turkus talk about the BMW i8 and i3, this week's SEMA show, the looming Ferrari spin-off and the passing of Tom Magliozzi, longtime co-host of NPR's Car Talk. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #404: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: BMW i8 and i3 SEMA Ferrari to be spun off Tom Magliozzi of Car Talk passes away In The Autoblog Garage: 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic 2015 Ford Mustang GT Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:54:34 Rundown: Intro & Garage - 00:00 BMW i8 and i3 - 36:18 SEMA - 01:00:53 Ferrari IPO - 01:12:44 Tom Magliozzi - 01:21:12 Q&A - 01:32:45 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Auto News Celebrities Earnings/Financials Podcasts SEMA Show BMW Ferrari Ford Mercedes-Benz SEMA 2014 mercedes gla45 amg