The current generation model houses a high revving 4.2-liter V8 in its engine bay, but we can now tell you the brand new supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine is planned to be deployed when the new version comes out.
Mercedes cannot afford to rest on their laurels, the all new GLK was unveiled in full production form at Auto China in April and this followed a long running PR campaign which included two pre-production GLK concepts – the Freeside and Townside.
Power is set to come from Audi's 261hp 2.0-liter FSI engine that is currently employed in the sporty S3. Additionally the X-bow is set to get an optional full height windscreen and removable hard-top.
We already knew that Top Gear is the most popular car enthusiasts show on the planet, but few would have believed that anyone wanting to be in the audience of the show would have to wait a massive 21 years.
The initial reaction is this is the work of a budding designer, but the fellas over at Jalopnik have gained a bit of inside intel stating that these accurately depict what the final models will look like.
Ahead of it's launch towards the end of August, Mazda have confirmed the all new 2009 Mazda6 pricing will start at $18,550 for the entry i SV, equipped with a 170-horsepower 2.5-liter I-4 engine and a six-speed manual transmission.
What would normally be considered inanimate is transformed into an elegant and modern design object. In fact, Audi goes so far to imply that the design forecasts the design of future of Audi products and shapes!
Bearing a Toyota 3.5-litre V6 producing 280 PS, the all new model, still codenamed 'Project Eagle', represents Lotus' first new model since the iconic Elise debuted in 1995.
Instead, all production, which includes a closed back version, will take place in Pacheco, Argentina. The closed back variant will not be available in Europe.
If this proves to be true, SSC "will soon break the engineering challenge of our time." If not, they risk their reputation and business. Additionally, the world record certificate on the wall will be meaningless.
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The trend is clear in the auto industry: fuel efficiency and greener cars. Especially in the power hungry US the tides are really changing. Diesels are now cool, smaller engines sell better. First BMW announced that the new BMW M5 will get a turbo V8 replacing the NA V10 it has now as they are quite pleased with the turbos they have now.
Audi is also getting with the program and the new RS4 will get a V6 turbo instead of the current NA V8. It will be an improved version if the 3.0L V6 powering the S6 expected to put out at around 350 hp. Audi is claiming that the reason for the change was to get better low end torque but I think it’s marketing sweet talk. The market for gas guzzling V8’s is shrinking and car makers have to adapt. While fuel efficiency is good for everyone it’s not exactly the greatest age to be a car enthusiast.
Barack Obama is the democratic presidential candidate and he reminded that the entire world is passing through a big economic crisis. This crisis comprised the automotive industry too. Obama supports the General Motors' strategy and this is an interesting situation if we consider the fact that the man who has the best chances of becoming the next president of the U.S. believes that U.S. automakers are very important to the economy’s success.
General Motors remains one of the most important economic's foundation of the U.S. Its fantastic brands such as Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall are known all over the world for their style and elegance.
And here we are in front of a new important example of in what way a car can contribute to people's success.
The rumors about the upcoming 2010 Cayman and Boxer appear to be true. The design is, as always, just incremental which, for Porsche, is a good thing. It isn’t sure that this is in fact the official design so there’s no reason to get to deep in to it. Suffice to say it looks good.
The more interesting changes are under the bonnet because, apparently, the S versions of the Boxter and Cayman will be getting Direct Injection, the same as their older brother the 911, which should bump the power up to 320 hp for the Cayman with the Boxter falling 10 hp short. They’ll also be getting Porsche’s new 7 speed semi-auto gearbox the PDK along with a limited-slip differential for good measure.
A 25 hp increase along with a new gearbox doesn’t seem to much performance wise, considering that the 911 will also get them. But the rumor is that the reason the current generation didn’t get LSD even as an option was because it’s performance was to close to the 911 already. Now with the same gearbox, LSD, and almost as powerful engine as the Carrera but on a lighter and nimbler car the Cayman may actually be faster than the 911 while also significantly cheaper. These are just speculations at the moment and the very fact that it may be faster than the 911 with these upgrades make me a little cautious as to the truthfulness of these claims. We’ll have to wait and see but if they are true the Cayman will be one hell of a buy.
OZ Racing will market a new alloy wheel specially designed for Ferrari called Mito Rosso III, an example of style and technical excellence of “Made in Italy”. Mitto Rosso III, the new wheel from OZ has a five spoke design, easily recognizable, classic but innovative at the same time.
The 20 inch Mito Rosso III wheels will be available for the following models: Ferrari 430, Ferrari F599, Ferrari Scaglietti. For all wheels, original OZ central cover may be replaced with the Ferrari logo from an authorized dealer.
It sure looks like the tiny Fiat 500 is the car to be customising these days, after two versions fromAbarth and several other tuning houses, it seems that Ferrari also wants some of the cars as “courtesy cars” for their clients.
Hearing this, Fiat has decided to release 200 limited edition 500’s exclusively for the Maranello based manufacturer. These models will feature the top 1.4 litre engine capable of delivering 100 bhp and as a special feature will have a custom made exhaust system made by Ferrari’s home manufacturer, Magneti Marelli, that will sound similarly to the models of the Scuderia. Also on the outside the car will have a traditional bright red paintjob, red brake calipers and sporty 16 inch alloy rims.
On the inside, the Sport version which was the base for this model, was enriched with features like all leather interior, electric sunroof or hi-fi sound system, and also has the words “Limited Edition” on the kick plate.
Lately, rumors fly around about the 3 pointed star manufacturer giving up the costly sandwich structure of the current A and B class in favor of a small 4 door coupe named CLA. This is only one of the four distinct products that will take over the A and B class positions.
While giving up the sandwich structure, we can only ask ourselves if the new models will line up with the rest of the fleet and have proper RWD so we won’t hear enthusiasts complaining that “its not a real Mercedes” anymore.
The German Car Magazine Autozeitung has generated an artist’s impression of what might the CLA look like, although we will not know for sure until around 2012. Furthermore, the small coupe will probably be built in the new plant Mercedes is starting in Hungary.
SSC's owner Jerod Shelby gives Jay a walk around and divulges development work on a 220 mph 4-door sedan plus a green project which refers to the recently announced Ultimate Aero EV, the first 100% green supercar...
With $1 billion investment into the economy and 2000 direct jobs to the tri-state area, VW plans to build 150,00 vehicles per year, which includes a new midsize sedan designed specifically for the North American market.
This sexy little roadster would be well suited to fit on the roads of Europe and could fill a gap left in the market after the monumental failure of the Smart roadster.
The Ford Taurus is America's version of the Mondeo and judging by these latest shots caught recently by our spies, the all-new 2010 model will get some styling cues from it's European counterpart – albeit slightly toned down.
That's right, contrary to earlier belief this is a smaller brother to the current Porsche Cayenne - various media reported it could be named the Roxster - this is actually the first sight of the icon itself: the new Porsche Cayenne.
The news is sure to come as some relief to Finnish firm Valmet after they recently lost their contract to build the Porsche Boxter and Porsche Cayman after 11 successful years and 200,00 units to Austrian firm Magna Steyr.
The Ze-O is no concept! When unveiled at the British Motor Show later this month, we will be seeing the model in full production form. Plans are to start sales this Autumn in the UK with Europe set to receive the model in 2009.
It is still over a month until the full debut commences, but the Japanese automaker has wasted little time by releasing the first tell-all images and details of the vehicle which will be dubbed "Kazamai".
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According to a recent report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the most stolen car in the United States, last year, was the 1995 Honda Civic. What’s interesting is that 7 out of the first 10 most stoled cars are Japanese. On the other hand, an FBI report says that motor vehicle theft in the U.S. is headed for an 8.9% decrease in 2007, with final data set to be released later this year. Probably gas is too expensive even for thieves.
Here’s the full list of the 10 most stoled cars in the US in 2007:
1. 1995 Honda Civic 2. 1991 Honda Accord 3. 1989 Toyota Camry 4. 1997 Ford F-150 Series Pick Up 5. 1994 Chevrolet C/K 1500 Pick Up 6. 1994 Acura Integra 7. 2004 Dodge Ram Pick Up 8. 1994 Nissan Sentra 9. 1988 Toyota Pickup 10. 2007 Toyota Corolla
And according to another report from the NICB, here’s are the ares with the highest theft rate:
1. Modesto, CA 2. Las Vegas/Paradise, NV 3. San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos, CA 4. Stockton, CA 5. San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont, CA 6. Laredo, TX 7. Albuquerque, NM 8. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, AZ 9. Yakima, WA 10.Tucson, AZ
Here’s another update about one of my favorite cars. Hopefully, I’ll be one of the first to drive one through Europe and join the same club as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Until that day comes, here are the drag cars for the Mopar Mile-High Nationals near Denver, Colorado. The starting point was the Dodge Challenger SRT8. However the cars are striped down to save weight. Dodge has removed the body sealer, sound deadener, undercoat, wipers, air bags, rear seats, power steering, exhaust and protection beams from side and rear. Looking at this list we understand why they are meant to run down only on a 1/4 mile track. More than that it might get kinda tiresome. In total the cars lost about 1000 pounds of weight.
Also, the engine has a new position and stronger mounts. The engines are 6.1 or 5.7 HEMI or the 5.9 Magnum Wedge. Mopar will built about 100 cars. As far as pricing goes, brace yourselves. It is in the spirit of American affordability, starting at around $30,000. This has to be a part of the American dream!
With the XF being a great car and selling really good, it looks like Jaguar has set their eyes on the BMW M5, Mercedes Benz C63 AMG and Audi RS6, because next year we’ll see the world debut of the Jaguar XF-R. Rumors say that he car, which made its first appearance at the Goodward Festival of Speed, will be powered by a 5.0 liter V8 developing around 500 hp. As we can see from these photos, the car has a new front spoiler, a discreet rear flap, four exhaust pipes and a set of 20-inch alloy wheels which will be available exclusively for the version R.
Hummer just announced the pricing for the pickup truck version of the H3, the smallest SUV from Hummer. This was confirmed by General Motors at Shreveport, Louisiana. The pickup will begin production in the third quarter of 2008 and the project is getting a $73 million investment.
Does anyone care about this? GM has problems and not long ago told that wants to sell many of its brands, including Hummer. Not to mention that the current Hummer generation sucks. I mean, the first one was cool, the second one is ok, but this one…no thanks!
The H3 has been revealed first time in 2004, at the Los Angeles Auto Show, as a concept. The president of GM Norts America described H3 as “the brand’s first true pickup”. This four-door H3T shares its midsize chassis with the Chevrolet Colorada and GMC Canyon and its been described as “larger than a midsize truck, smaller than a full-size”. H3T is basically a modified version of H3’s basic architecture with a 3.7L 5-cylinder or 5.3L V8 available.
The H3T comes with 32″ tires, four-wheel drive, 5-speed manual or four-speed electronically controlled automatic, dual front airbags and side impact air bag, 5-year warranty starting at $31,495.
The Nissan GT-R seems to become something of an urban mith. Everybody is talking about it, but few have seen it. Now some Americans can say for sure that they know it exists becuase Nissan has finally delivered the first car to an American customer.
Daryl Alison was given the keys one minute after midnight. We hope he wasn’t too tired after all the waiting and the late hour to go around for a spin. There is a long line behind Daryl waiting to feast on the 480 horse power car. There are 1700 cars already ordered in the USA, and it seems not everyone is affected by the ever increasing price of gasoline.
The GT-R gets to 100km/h in around 3.5 seconds and it is said to have gone around the Nurburgring in 7 minute and 29 seconds, one of the best times in history.
Another week, another episode from our favorite TV Show, Top Gear. The high point of the show was the “Epic Race” between Jeremy, driving the superb Nissan GT-R, and Richard and James, using Japan’s flagship transportation method, the Bullet Train. It was a truly great race, filled with passion, frustration and fun times altogether, the team having a really hard time getting around Japan in their preffered ways of transportation. Jeremy because of the japanese only menu and GPS in the car, and the James & Richard because they had to commute between trains to get to their destination. The outcome is for you to watch, as I won’t spoil this great race.
Another interesting part in this episode was the test-drive of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, a true Alfa as Jeremy said, a piece of art more than a car and behaving like one. This week’s stars in a reasonably price car were BBC news presenters Fiona Bruce and Kate Silverton. Also, as a recurring gag, the Dacia Sandero is again present in the news segment.
Below is the video with the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, probably one of the most beautiful ever made. Enjoy!
Although GM’s CEO said the much anticipated VOLT is not guaranteed to go into production, and that the massive resources put in motion for the technology were not enough, we find out that there will be an European restyled version.
Opel and Vauxhall will both benefit from redesigned versions of the GM VOLT, however, it is expected that the prices will be steep, and we should expect price growth of around 10.000 Euros more than normal Opel/Vauxhall variants. That does not sound like a market hit to us, but it will be a good image booster for the company as this idea fits well within the current tendencies .
Expect the Opel/Vauxhall VOLT to hit European shores around late 2012.
As you all know, the British Formula 1 Grand Prix was held at the Silverstone Circuit two weeks ago. But what you might have not knew is that before the F1 cars took to the circuit, a charity auction was held, the winner having the priviledge of being driven by everybody’s favourite tame racing driver, Top Gear’s The Stig in a two seat F1 car.
The winner, a man who previously won a lottery, offered £35,000 for the chance of being behind The Stig on the circuit. And it was well worth it, the 3 laps done by The Stig gained praise from even former F1 champion, Fernando Alonso, having declared that “Whoever’s in that car is a seriously good driver, I’ve no idea who he is, but he’s definitely ex-F1.”. Stig impressing him by having managed to control the difficult handling car in the rain and gaining applause after recovering from a step-out of the back wheels.
As roumors fly around, Porsche is going to introduce its first hybrid. Weather it will be the Cayenne or the Panamera we’re yet to find out, but what we know for sure is that the company already registered Panamera Hybrid Logo with OHIM (The EU trade and design marks agency).
There’s no surprise in the design, it uses the known Porsche font, and it does not emphasis in any way the “hybrid”. It is plain and conservatory design. Something you do expect from a car manufacturer that has not radically changed the design since their first product.
The Cayenne Hybrid is going to use a VW V6 3.6 litre engine (after all, let’s not forget that Porsche does own important shares in VW, and making use of their engine and know-how is one of the reason they bought the shares in the first place) along with an electric engine. The fuel economy will be made by using the electric engine at steady speeds. We expect the same treatment for their hybrid sedan.
We can hardly wait the expression on people’s faces after the double shock: A 4 door Porsche hybrid.
Gas prices are going to a new world record. It seems driving a car will become more and more expensive. However, there is a solution to that: HHO (two parts Hydrogen and one part Oxygen) is a gas that provides heaps of energy and the end product is just water.
In fact Mobile Magazine said: “HHO provides the atomic power of Hydrogen, while maintaining the chemical stability of water”
HHO is already used for powering devices like electronics, mechanical tools and… cars.
Engineer Thomas Greene has just released a guide called Simple Water Fuel where he reveals the exact blueprints that anyone can use to save tons of gas on his or her car. There are already tens of thousands of drivers who use systems based on HHO to save big and reduce the emissions.
The most spectacular fact is that to assemble a system like this you will need only a few hours and some components that you can get from any hardware store. To put together the whole system it will cost you between $100 and $200.
Of course, you will need a guide to tell you how to do it. For more info about this check out SimpleWaterFuel.com.
