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| Toyota to present the Avensis Sedan at Paris Posted: 01 Sep 2008 07:58 AM CDT  Besides the IQ minicar and the Urban Cruiser crossover, Toyota is also planning on showing the Avensis Sedan for the first time, next month at the Paris Motor Show. We don’t know for sure whether the next generation Avensis will also get five-door hatchback and estate wagon models, but Toyota will definitely let us know after the French debut, including full specs and pricing. All we know is that the car will be built at the Burnaston plant in Derbyshire, UK. Stay tuned because we’ll be there at Paris and we’ll let you once we get more details. Source: MotorAuthority  | ||||
| The Transformers 2 Volt is not the real thing? Posted: 01 Sep 2008 07:32 AM CDT  On Friday we showed you the first photo and video of what everyone thought to be the production ready Chevrolet Volt. However, questioned by Inside Line, GM spokesman Rob Peterson said: “It’s obviously different from the original (2007 Chevrolet Volt concept), but this is not the final version at this stage. I’ve never seen that vehicle and I’ve never seen that color. You can tell it caught me off guard. I didn’t even realize it (the Volt) was out of the state of Michigan.” The prototype we saw in the video matches the teaser photos released some time ago, so we can assume that Peterson was really caught off guard and didn’t know exactly what to say. On the other hand, Inside Line suggests that the Volt (which was on the set for a day or two and it’s not going to be a Transformer) is actually a Chevy Cobalt or Malibu in a Volt body shell and the real thing won’t be like this. So, if you thought that the Volt starts shaping up, actually things got even more complicated. Is that the real Volt, is that only a concept car, is Peterson BSitting us? What do you think? Drop a comment here.
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| Extravagant Estate: Mercedes-Benz C320 by Kicherer Posted: 01 Sep 2008 06:21 AM CDT  The guys from Kicherer thought to change the pace, after tuning the SL 63, they targeted the estate version of the Mercedes-Benz C320 4Matic and turned it into this example of performance for the family. On the exterior, they fitted an AMG bodykit and further enhanced the new agressive look by lowering the suspension and fitting the car with 19-inch wheels with performance tires wrapped around. On the inside, Kicherer added a new speedometer, a new steering wheel which combines leather and wood, and a new two-tone leather trim. Performance-wise, the guys really went all out, squeezing another 41 horses out of the 3 litre V6, taking it to 265 hp and to a torque of 600 Nm. The result ? from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) ony takes 6.7 seconds. Here are the photos of this really nice estate. Photo Gallery: Mercedes Benz C Estate tuning by Kicherer
Source: CarScoop  | ||||
| BMW 3 Series bodykit by Wald International Posted: 01 Sep 2008 04:11 AM CDT  German cars are definite favourites for tuning and improving the performance, especially by european tuner groups, but that hasn’t stopped the japanese guys from Wald International to take a swing at BMW’s 3 Series, by fitting it with a superb bodykit. This kit made for the E90 3 Series is consisted of new reworked front and back bumpers, four new fog lamps grace the front one, side-skirts come to complete the agressive look on the sides of the car, and in the back, a trunk-lid spoiler finishes of the kit. Add to all of this, the 19-inch allow rims, wrapped with custom low-profile tires, and the custom exhaust system which gives a trully fantastic sound. Unfortunately the guys from Wald didn’t touch the performance settings, so you’ll have to be satisfied with only the fast look, because you won’t even stand a chance to a M3. One more photo after the jump.  Source: MotorAuthority  | ||||
| Futuremark designs stunning dashboard concept for Audi Posted: 01 Sep 2008 04:05 AM CDT  Futuremark has created a concept instrument and dash cluster for Audi. The system is a full, live dashboard environment all shown in 3D graphics. “We are delighted to work with Audi due to their professional expertise in the car industry,” said Petri Talala, Vice President and General Manager of the Handheld and Embedded Group at Futuremark Oy. If you wish to stop and grab something to eat or fill the car with gas, the GPS interface not only will point you to the nearest restaurant or gas station, but your dashboard will also adjust dynamically. Futuremark's has an upcoming automotive benchmark that is in development which will utilize real-world use cases such as car dashboard, info-system, and navigation workloads based on OpenGL ES 1.x and ES 2.0. Khronos APIs such as OpenGL and OpenGL ES will be widely adopted for rendering backend of digital instrumentation. Source: MotorAuthority  | ||||
| VW Scirocco road shots in Arizona Posted: 31 Aug 2008 11:37 AM CDT  We saw the new VW Scirocco live at the Geneva Motor Show in March, but so far we didn’t get the chance to see more photos of the car hitting the streets. But here are a couple of photos taken by one of our readers, Peder, who spotted a white Scirocco somewhere near Chandler, Arizona. He’s a lucky guy, because he lives close to the VW and Nissan test facilities near Maricopa, Arizona so he got the chance to see quite a few Nissan/Infinity and VW cars under development. We liked the car at Geneva and we’re sure it looks even better on the street. Thanks a lot Peder! Check out one more photo after the jump.   | ||||
| Nissan GT-R official performance parts from Nismo Posted: 29 Aug 2008 08:38 AM CDT  We’ve seen several tuning programs for the new Nissan GT-R, but now we have the official performance parts from Nissan, released by their in-house tuner, Nismo. The list is very impressive and includes a new Chassis Package (race-spec Bilstein Damptronic adjustable dampers, stiffer Nismo springs and 20 inch Rays forged aluminum wheels), Nismo-branded Recaro bucket seats with carbon-fiber backing and leather trim, new 70 mm titanium muffler set, new carbon-fiber under tray for the exhaust system. Of course, the price is also impressive, ¥5,460,000 (around $50,200), but all parts come with a three-year/60,000km warranty, which also covers the case when damages occur while driving at a race track (to maintain the warranty, after every track session, owners must send their cars to a Nismo authorized center). More photos after the jump. Photo Gallery: Nissan GT-R performance parts from Nissan
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| Revised Opel Corsa ecoFLEX gets 57.4 mpg Posted: 29 Aug 2008 08:23 AM CDT  Opel announced that, following the introduction of the new Astra ecoFLEX range, there have also been some upgrades made to the Corsa ecoFLEX model. The 75 hp 1.3 liter diesel engine received some upgrades that include longer transmission gear ratio, improved aerodynamics, 20 mm lowered suspensing, revised air intakes, 14 inch wheels fitted with low resistance tires and an overall engine weight reduced by 45 kg (100 lbs). The results? The revised Corsa now gets 57.4 mpg (4.1 liters/100 km) and 109 g/km CO2 emissions, comparing to 52.2 mpg (4.5 liters/100 km) and 119 g/km that the current model gets. Available with the 5 speed manual transmission, performances remain the same, meaning that the Opel Corsa ecoFLEX reaches a top speed of 105 mph (168 km/h). Source: Carscoop  | ||||
| Volkswagen Voyage makes an appearance in Brazil Posted: 29 Aug 2008 08:23 AM CDT  The latest addition to the VW Gol range, the Volkswagen Voyage (or Gol Sedan) was recenty spotted by one of Motortip’s readers in front of Palácio da Alvorada, the Brazilian president’s residence. The car has almost no camo at all, except for some white tape covering the rear lights, so we can get a pretty good idea of how the car will look like. The Voyage will make its debut at the Sao Paulo Motor Show, the largest one in South America, in October. Meanwhile, check out more photos after the jump. Photo Gallery: Volkswagen Voyage Spied
Source: Motortips (Via WorldCarFans)  |
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