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Fatal Tesla Autopilot crash, Porsche debuts 2017 Panamera | Autoblog Minute

A roundup of this week's car news includes the first fatal Tesla Autopilot crash and Porsche's reveal of the 2017 Panamera. Senior Producer Chris McGraw reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] A motorist is killed while using Tesla Autopilot. In what is believed to be the first fatal accident involving Tesla's autonomous driving feature, the Model S failed to stop when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S, and the car drove underneath the truck. Tesla said the trailer's white paint set against the bright sky were the reason the driver and the Autopilot didn't stop the car. Tesla also called this accident a "tragic loss," and pointed out that it's the first death involving Autopilot in more than 130 million miles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [00:00:30] has opened a preliminary evaluation of Tesla's Autopilot. Its evaluation will look at the design and performance of Autopilot during the crash. Find more details at Autoblog.com. The 2017 Porsche Panamera made its official debut this week. With a clear styling link to the Porsche 911, we think this is the best looking Panamera yet. The new Panamera's body is made mostly from aluminum, minus some high-strength steel and optional large panoramic roof overhead. A completely new range of engines powers the second-gen Panamera, starting [00:01:00] with a twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-6 that puts out 440 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque. The Panamera Turbo boasts a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 with 550 hp and 567 lb-ft. Both the 4S and the Turbo come with standard all-wheel drive and an eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission. Porsche is claiming that this Panamera set the Nurburgring record for a production sedan finishing just 14 seconds quicker than the outgoing model. We expect to see the 2017 [00:01:30] Porsche Panamera hit deals in January of 2017. Find more details at Autoblog.com. I'm Chris McGraw. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Porsche Tesla Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video

Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.

Driving 50 years of Porsche 911 history

Raiding The Porsche Museum For A Fun Track Day
It seems everyone is celebrating anniversaries this year: it's Aston's hundredth, Lamborghini's fiftieth, Ford Mustang's fiftieth, Chevy Corvette's sixtieth - and Tesla just turned ten or something. It's been a little out of hand, frankly, all these forced marketing festivities, but if we had to pick one milestone to really celebrate hard and party all night, the Porsche 911 would be at the top of our list.
Get ready for a major 911 blowout bash at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show. It was on September 12 back in 1963 at this very show where Porsche unveiled its "901" painted in a rather boring shade of beige. Though drably finished, the car caused a worldwide frenzy in the budding German sports car sphere.