Turns Out ‘E-Tron’ is a Crappy Name, Audi

The all-electric E-tron is expected to make production in the next few years, promising to be an efficient alternative to those who value performance but have a concern for the environment and how much they spend on gas. It is said to have similar performance of the Audi R8 but uses absolutely no gas. Cool idea.

What wasn’t a cool idea though, was naming it E-tron. While the name sounds cool and futuristic, obviously the whole world doesn’t speak English. Which means that different words have different meanings in cultures across the world. Audi is finding that out the hard way.

Turns out in French Etron is slang for feces. Obviously having a car named after excrement is not ideal. It would give way to way too many puns such as “that car is a piece of shit.” This isn’t the first time Audi has screwed up names. Remember when they insensitively created the Green Police? The same guy responsible for that in Audi’s research department must’ve come up with the Etrons name.

This also isn’t the first time a new car’s name meant something hilariously different in another language. GM came to the startling realization that the name of its top selling sedan, the LaCrosee, means rather crudely to masturbate in la Francais Quebecois. Luckily for GM, they came to this realization before the LaCross went on sale and named it the Allure in our market. Since then, GM has decided that LaCrosse will be the name of here and Canada too. They apparently don’t care about Quebec culture or references anymore.

[Green Car Ports]

JCW Mini Countryman Cometh?

On September 23rd BMW will introduce a new mini model and the pic above is the only indication they will gave as to what it will be.

Clearly it is a Countryman under that car cover. Right now educated guesses have the mystery Mini pinned as either a two door version of the Countryman, or a John Cooper Works edition of the Countryman. Since the whole point of the Countryman was to offer Mini loyalists the option of four doors in the first place, it’s unlikely that a two door Countryman would ever exist. You might as well just buy a regular Mini is you want two doors. Besides, there’s clearly a rear door handle sticking out in the pic above. So, John Cooper Works it is.

One troubling thing is that this image was taken from Mini UK’s website. Mini Canada or Mini USA have not been promoting this or any new Mini products so that leaves the possibility of a JCW Countryman being for Europe only.

[Top Speed]

FAIL or WIN? Toyobaru Prija is…Interesting

What do you get when a Toyota Prius mates with a Subaru Baja? A Toyota Prija of course.

Steve Woodruff is probably the only person in the world that thought combining the two ideas would be a good idea, but he went and did it anyway. The result is a rather ugly looking pick up that is probably the most efficient pick up in the world.

Woodruff claims his Toyobaru gets about 40 mpg (or 5.8 L/100 kms in Canadian speak) which is awesome. The added weight of the pick up bed hasn’t affected fuel mileage that much as it’s not far off from a regular 2006 Prius.

Even though the Toyobaru does amazing fuel wise, it still isn’t likely to have any towing capabilities. But hey, it still hauls a lot of stuff just like a pick up is supposed to. Woodruff didn’t mention how much the crazy experiment cost, but it was likely a lot. Which means any fuel savings would likely be a bit of a moot point. But in terms of the environment, it’s definitely a win.

Too bad it looks hideous.

[AutoBeYours]

FAIL: BMW X5′s Aren’t Meant to Barrel Roll

I never watched the Dukes of Hazzard, despite them having a car with a somehow sweet name on the show (the General Lee). However I know enough about the show to know that the General Lee was asked time and time again to perform spectacular stunts, not least of which is the barrel roll.

Now, the Dukes of Hazzard undoubtedly have a huge following and I’m not sure if the show ever had any “don’t try this at home” warnings, but it I’m guessing with the type of people that watched the show, a warning wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

Case in point, an owner of a BMW X5 decided to try the classic barrel roll stunt. I’m not sure how much the General Lee weighed, but it was surely less than the over five tonne X5. Plus, I’m sure each stunt required quite an intricate set up. These facts of common sense obviously escaped the X5 owner. The lack of reaction from the people recording the stunt would seem to indicate that they saw this coming too.

Watch his unfortunate results in the video above.

[Youtube]

Vancouver Using 3D Images to Encourage Safe Driving

This week is back to school for many students across the country which means drivers need to pay extra attention, apparently. I say ‘apparently’ because I never understood the concept of ‘extra attention’ while driving. Shouldn’t your attention be at its highest point no matter what the circumstances? You should be paying attention behind the wheel at all times, not just when children are about.

Anyway, to ensure people actually do pay attention, the BCAA has invested over $14,000 for a 3D projection image meant to test drivers’ reflexes. The image is of a little girl chasing a ball across the street. BCAA isn’t saying how exactly the projection works, but apparently it does somehow work and it’s pretty life-like.

Once a vehicle gets close enough, the image will be visible and the driver will likely adjust his/her speed. Once the driver gets close enough the image of the little girl will then disappear into thin air. Trippy. It will be especially trippy for most people in Vancouver because let’s face it – Vancouver is the chronic capitol of Canada. If you are walking down the street after a Bob Marley session and you see a girl, then she just disappears in front of your eyes, that would like cause some freak outs. Actually even if you were completely sober and you saw that happen, you’d likely freak out. Which may actually cause more accidents, ironically enough.

Anyway, this new campaign is only going to last for a week. Do you think it’s a good idea?

[Globe & Mail]

Oops! Next Gen BMW M5 Gets By With a Little Help From Its Friend

Being the successor to any generation BMW M5 is a tall order. Each variation has been been bigger and better and the next generation M5 is no exception.

There are few details coming out about the next gen M5 other than it is expected to retain the big German V8 found in the X5 M and X6 M with little or no tweaking to the engine. As a result 555 horsepower will be the order of the day. Nothing to sneeze at. That’s 55 horses more than the outgoing model.

As you’d expect, the next generation M5 is going to be faster than the outgoing model as well. Most manufacturers tend to use the infamous Nurburgring as their base for a vehicle’s performance and the next gen M5 was caught doing a few laps. Unfortunately, the next gen M5 isn’t quite ready for any photo ops yet as maxing it out on the ‘Ring recently proved to be too much to ask. It actually broke down on the ‘Ring and had to be towed by a family member back to base to nurse it back to health. The previous generation X5 was happy to help, but embarrassingly enough, the whole mishap was caught by sneaky photographers.

Clearly the next generation M5 isn’t ready for production, but when it is, you can be sure that it will set yet another benchmark in the sport sedan world.

Sidebar, those rims on the M5 are absolutely sick!

[Autoblog]