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| Michael Schumacher gets speeding ticket in Germany Posted: 04 Sep 2008 08:50 AM CDT  See that dude in the pink t-shirt standing by the police car? That’s Michael Schumacher. The former F1 pilot was caught speeding near Karpen, Germany recently who seems to have lost its touch. After some time ago we told you about him crashing a Ferrari prototype and with rumors going around about him being involved in a Fiat incident, now he was caught doing 140 km/h (87 mph) in a 100 (62 mph) zone in an Audi A4 Cabrio. Considering his speed, his license should’ve been suspended, but yeah, he’s Michael Schumacher and he only got a 3 points penalty and a €75 fine. Michael, who ironically is a member of the Commission for Global Road Safety, said: “I’m very sorry, this is something not in my character. Driving fast should only be done on a track.” Source: Jalopnik   |
| The 2010 Chevy Camaro, only one month away Posted: 04 Sep 2008 08:11 AM CDT  This morning we showed you the official photo of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro released yesterday by GM. Meanwhile, we found out that GM dealers will start taking orders for the Camaro and for the Camaro SS next month. Yup, that’s right, the Camaro is only one month away so you’d better have that deposit ready, because it trully is a remarkable car. Though production will start in February 2009 and the first customers will get their cars in March, Chevrolet Spokesman Terry Rhadigan said: “We think there could be pent-up demand [..] The advice is to get to your Chevy dealer sooner than later.” He noted that buyers “may have to put a deposit down” to get in line for the Camaro, but that requirement is completely up to Chevrolet dealers. The V6 Camaro pricing will start in the low $20,000, while the Camaro SS is expected to be priced around $30,000. Source: Inside Line   |
| Lexus IS Coupe-Cabriolet to debut at Paris Posted: 04 Sep 2008 07:56 AM CDT  The premium coupe cabriolet market is a very attractive one for car manufacturers and the BMW 3 Series Cabrio and the Audi A5 Cabrio are two of the most beautiful cars around, no doubt about that. And now it seems that Toyota also wants a piece of the action because, according to Carscoop, besides the IS facelift, the Paris Motor Show will mark the debut of the Lexus IS Coupe-Cabriolet. That great news and we’re really waiting to see the car live at the French show. What’s really interesting is that, according to Carscoop’s sources, the model that will be on display in Paris will be marked as a concept, but except for some minor changes, it will basically be the production-ready version, that will go on sale next summer. Source: Carscoop   |
| US BMW 3 Series might get four-cylinder engine Posted: 04 Sep 2008 07:29 AM CDT  According to Inside Line, BMW is considering adding a four-cylinder engine to its engine range for the United States. To be honest, that’s not a big surprise, considering that Mercedes already announced that, starting with 2010, a four-cylinder diesel will be available. Plus that the 167 hp engine on the 320i and 120i sells very good in Europe, managing to get great fuel economy figures. BMW project director Oliver Friedmann told Inside Line that bringing the four-cylinder engine to the US “would have a desirable effect on many fronts”. However, he added that North America is not ready for the diesel version of the 2.0 liter engine, which is one of the best engines in the BMW range. Source: Inside Line   |
| Porsche sales down 45 percent in August Posted: 04 Sep 2008 07:12 AM CDT  Porsche has announced that in August they’ve only sold 1,516 vehicles in their largest market, the US and Canada, which means a 45 percent drop in sales. Even though Porsche said that the weak sales were caused by the model changeover of the 911 series cars and sales drops happen when carmakers make the model changeovers, 45 percent is quite a big drop. The main reason is the decreasing demand for fuel “thristy” sports cars all over the US, .The face-lifted 911 model with a new, more fuel-efficient engine will be released in the US this month and that was one of Porsche’s main concerns regarding the facelifted 911, which has now more fuel efficient engines. A big drop was registered by the Boxster model, entry-level buyers’ choice, who sold 66 percent units. United States and Canada is not the only market where Porsche’s sales went down. The other two important markets, the UK and Germany also registered less vehicles sold (25 percent in the UK and 18 percent in Germany). Porsche also attributes the drop to the changeover of the 911. Source: Financial Times   |
| Heartbreaking: Bugatti Veyron taken plowing on a field Posted: 04 Sep 2008 04:57 AM CDT  Exotic crashes seem to happen more and more, it’s early autumn and people still want to push their powerful cars to their limit, such was the case with this Bugatti Veyron, which was crashed by his owner on a nearby field in the West Berkshire region in Great Britain. The pictures are really painful to look at, especially for us car lovers, the one million euro car, effectively plowing the field, like a tractor, with wood in its hood and headlamps. No word on the condition of the driver, but since the accident wasn’t so bad, we don’t think he’s badly injured. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same about the car, which is definitely in a bad state, check it out in these pictures.    |
| Hyundai Genesis Coupe by HKS to appear at SEMA Posted: 04 Sep 2008 04:43 AM CDT  Ever since Hyundai released their new performance coupe, the Genesis, tuners have wanted to get their hands on it, the agressive design and performance of the car being good, but by no way perfect in most of their oppinions. Such was the case with HKS, which created this version of the Korean coupe, and is to be unveilled at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas, one of the biggest custom car show in the world. The modifications made by the Japanese tuners include the HKS GT Turbo engine upgrade, a custom exhaust and intake system, a new ECU and a new suspension, which will be fully adjustable. On the outside, HKS brought designer Ken Style which created a custom bodykit for Hyundai’s Coupe. Driver comfort is the name of the game for the inside of the car, the Japanese employing all their tehnological gadgets, including their CAMP2 that shows the driver almost 24 types of data received from the car computer, and also calculates the fuel consumption and costs in real time. All in all, quite a modded car, but can’t really reach the quality of the Art of Speed model done by Hyundai themselves, but we’ll just have to wait and see them in real life at SEMA. Source: MotorAuthority   |
| New render and details on the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Posted: 04 Sep 2008 04:38 AM CDT Recently General Motors have put on their site the first official render and performance data of their top-spec SS (standing for Super Sport) version of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. And this version really deserves the Super Sport badge, being powered by a 6.2 litre V8 which comes with a choice of either manual or automatic transmission, both with 6 speeds. Here start the differences, if you opt for the manual transmission, you’ll be getting the 6.2 litre V8 LS3 engine which can deliver up to 422 hp with 553 Nm of torque (or 408 lb.-ft.). Instead, if you choose an automatic gearbox, you’ll be gettin the 6.2 litre V8 L99 engine, which has, besides the standard LS3, GM’s Active Fuel Management system, which enables the engine to run only 4 cylinders on normal driving conditions, like in the city. This engine is capable of 400 hp and 535 Nm (395 lb.-ft.) of torque. Coupled with the automatic transmission, the SS will achieve an average of 23 mpg or 10.2 l/100km. Source: CarScoop   |
| Citroen to debut the Hypnos hybrid concept in Paris Posted: 03 Sep 2008 04:40 PM CDT  The Paris show is getting closer and closer and news about new cars that will debut in France are all over the place. According to Carscoop, another car that will make its first appearance will be the Citroen Hypnos crossover concept that will be built on a hybrid platform. Citroen says that the car will be powered by a 200 hp engine that will be able to get 52.3 mpg (4.5 liters/100 km), while CO2 emissions will bu just 120 g/km. Nothing official so far, these are only rumors, but we’ll come with an update soon. Source: Carscoop   |
| 36 mpg Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid concept scheduled for Paris Posted: 03 Sep 2008 04:32 PM CDT  Hyundai is ready to join the hybrid war and they’ve announced that the Paris Motor Show will mark the debut of their most recent development, a Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid concept. Powered by a 2.4 liter petrol engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and paired with a 30kW electric-assist motor powered by lithium-ion batteries, Hyundai claims that the SUV will get 36 US mpg (44 UK mpg or 5.35 liter/100km) will CO2 emissions are kept at 148g/km. That's important for places like the UK, where cars are taxed based on their emissions. More details and information will be revealed in Paris. No further details, but we’ll be at the Paris show and we’ll let you know once we get more info, so stay tuned. Source: MotorAuthority   |
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