July 2011

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Cadillac 2012 SRX with New V6

After yesterday's announcement on the changes for the 2012 SRX, Cadillac has now put a price on its updated crossover model, a key highlight of which is the new 308-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 engine that replaces the current version's 265HP six-cylinder unit.

The 2012 SRX goes on sale in August carrying a standard price of $36,060 including $875 destination charge for the front-wheel drive model. That's a $570 increase over the entry-level 2011MY SRX which starts from $35,490.

Apart from the new V6, other upgrades and changes in the SRX for 2012 include standard Bluetooth on all trim models, an optional heated steering wheel, a xenon Blue Metallic exterior paint option that will be available this fall, an all-ebony interior option with contrasting stitching, and a new 20-inch wheel finish option plus revised suspension on all models.

GM Says 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Will Treat Your Buttocks Like Royalty

There's more than meets the eye when it comes to the development of a new vehicle and its individual components, and like all automakers, GM pays particular attention to the design of the seats – let's not forget, that's where the driver and passengers will spend their time in the car.

Understandably, the design process becomes more complicated in the event that the car is a global model like the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, which will be offered in nearly 100 countries on six continents, including the U.S. where it will arrive in showrooms next year.
Read more »

Saab Delays Payments to White-Collar Employees

When it comes to Saab, it seems that for every dollop of good news that trickles out from Sweden there are multiple bad news.
On Tuesday, the cash-strapped Swedish automaker said that its white-collar workers will not receive their next payment (at least not on time) because the company has not yet been paid by its investors.
Read more »

Cadillac Prices 2012 SRX with New V6 from $36,060

Yesterday, we told you about Red Bull Racing's intentions to enter the car-making business. With the team being in Germany for the local Grand Prix, Infiniti, which looks like the most probable partner if Red Bull Racing's plan receives the green light, grabbed the opportunity for a little promotion activity at the Nürburgring. Read more »

McLaren to Enter Three MP4-12C GT3s at 24h Spa Race [Video]

The 24-hour race of Spa-Francorchamps that will take place the following weekend will be the first time a McLaren racecar premieres at a 24-hour endurance event since 1995, when the F1 GTR made its maiden appearance in the 24 hours of Le Mans.

The 275-horsepower Mazda MX-5 GT racecar, which competes in the 2011 Britcar Production GTN Championship, has inspired the Japanese firm's UK division to develop a pair of limited edition models based on the MX-5 and the Mazda2 for the local market.

The word "inspired" should be taken very loosely as the Sport Black Editions of the two Mazda models do not feature any performance upgrades and are all about bespoke color choices and additional standard features.

Four years after the presentation of the CTR3, and it's time for Porsche tuning specialist RUF to tweak its mid-engine supercar.

The newest CTR3 continues to use the Porsche 911-derived 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged six-cylinder boxer engine, but thanks to a series of modifications, output has been boosted from 691bhp and 890Nm (657 lb-ft) to 750bhp and 960 Nm (708 lb-ft) of peak torque.

The more powerful CTR3 accelerates from standstill to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.2 seconds and to 125 mph (200 km) in 9.6 seconds, and can reach a top speed of 236 mph (380 km/h).

Video: The Mother of All Car Jump Fails

Take a good look at the opening picture above: what you see are the backs of two men in racing costumes, what they see is the road from several feet above the ground in a 90-degree angle…

But let's rewind. What you're about to watch is two stuntmen trying an ambitious jump in what appears to be a Dacia of the 1300 series. According to the person that took the video, the time is 1995 and the place is the Romanian city of Alba Iulia.

For whatever reasons, the jump didn't go as planned and as a result, the Dacia flew into the air only to drop down like a brick well before reaching the ramp on the other side. Amazingly, at the end of the clip we can see the driver and the front passenger walking out of the car alive!

As you probably expected after the introduction of the 2012 Pilot, Honda also announced the first details on its updated for the new model year Ridgeline pickup truck.

The big news is the addition of a new member to the Ridgeline family called Sport that supposedly targets customers looking for more personalized and slightly sinister looks.

The latest Cadillac SRX has been on the market for just two model years, but for 2012, General Motors is making some important tweaks to improve the crossover model's performance.

While GM had made the announcement on the 2012 SRX back in April, the company came out today with additional information and revised performance figures, just before the SUV goes on sale.

Two years ago, Chrysler was saved from oblivion when the federal government provided a $15 billion bailout and orchestrated a rescue plan that gave the Fiat Group the management control of the company.

Last week, the Italian automaker raised its share in Chrysler beyond 50% for the first time, to 53.5%.So Fiat saved Chrysler in 2009, right? Well, yes, but 2011 is another story altogether.

You see, Chrysler’s US sales increased by 21% in the first six months of the year, whereas Fiat’s European deliveries dropped 12.7% in the same period. But that's only half the story. With the exception of the Maserati and Ferrari brands, the Chrysler Group will contribute to the alliance €155 million for June alone, while Fiat €175 million for the past three months.

While American buyers will have to wait until October to see the iQ in Scion's showrooms, over in Europe, the Japanese carmaker's 3+1 seat mini has been on sale since the beginning of 2009.

But despite being in the market for more than two years, the iQ hasn't really caught the attention of the aftermarket tuners. One of the few companies to warm up to the iQ is Bulgarian customizer Vilner, which has introduced a more luxurious take on the Toyota's interior.

Fisker’s environment-friendly hybrid sports sedan, the Karma, can hardly be called a slouch but if someone were to tell you that it could reach “Bugatti Veyron levels of performance” you'd probably look at them a little askance. But that's exactly what Henrik Fisker recently supported during an interview with British weekly magazine Autocar.

More specifically, the founder of the company said that the development of a reliable multi-speed gearbox could offer electric-powered vehicles a huge boost in performance.

USA’s biggest car manufacturer, General Motors,  is scheduling a series of new vehicle launches for its four brands in  the next 18 months. And the dominant theme here, both in passenger cars  and trucks, will be improved economy figures as GM prepares its vehicle  lineup to meet the more stringent fuel-efficiency standards.

For  example, the Detroit automaker plans to introduce 8-speed auto  transmissions and downsized turbocharged engines in its new pickups, and  also intends to fit more models with the eAssist light-hybrid  technology.Both Chevrolet and Cadillac  will launch two key models next year: the former the new Malibu  mid-size sedan (in early 2012) and the Spark minicar (at a later date),  and the latter the new ATS compact sedan and the XTS full size sedan in  the second half of the year. 

Last, but not least, GM also plans to launch its next generation of full-size pickup trucks and SUVs in 2013 and 2014.

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Life After Death: Automakers Find New Uses for Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Batteries

Hybrids and electric vehicles are more environment-friendly than conventionally powered models. However, one question many eco-conscious consumers bring up is what happens to the batteries at the end of their life cycle in the vehicles.

GM and Nissan estimate that batteries in their Volt and LEAF models respectively will have approximately 70% of their “life” remaining after a decade on the road. So, far from being useless, they can be utilized as back-up power sources for home use.

While New Yorkers get ready to embrace a new generation of boxy taxis like the Ford Transit Connect and the Nissan NV200, city dwellers in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, were introduced to a different and far more appealing form of the yellow cab: a Porsche Boxster sports car. Read more »

Report: GM to Launch Key Fuel Efficient Cars and Trucks in the Next 18 Months

USA’s biggest car manufacturer, General Motors, is scheduling a series of new vehicle launches for its four brands in the next 18 months. And the dominant theme here, both in passenger cars and trucks, will be improved economy figures as GM prepares its vehicle lineup to meet the more stringent fuel-efficiency standards.

For example, the Detroit automaker plans to introduce 8-speed auto transmissions and downsized turbocharged engines in its new pickups, and also intends to fit more models with the eAssist light-hybrid technology.

An online leak resulted to a photo of Honda's 2012 CR-V Concept appearing on the internet earlier today, but now the Japanese carmaker has given in and released a high-resolution image as well as initial information on the crossover model.

Honda said that the concept will make its first public outing at the Orange County International Auto Show in Anaheim, California, in September 2011, and go on sale in North America by the end of the year, and in Europe in Autumn 2012. This means we will probably see the final production model at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

If you’ve ever owned a car that’s even slightly upmarket or exotic, you’ll know that insurance premiums can be a real headache. However, some owners are combating this by claiming that their vehicles – among them Porsches, Mercedes-Benzes, Audis and BMWs – are for…farm-use.

In other words, the insurance companies are being led to believe that these high priced luxury and exotic models are being used to haul bales of hay and the like and rarely leave their owner’s properties. In turn, these owners are paying as much as 20% less on their insurance premiums.

The two natural disasters that hit Japan on March 11, the 8.9 offshore earthquake and the subsequent Tsunami that devastated the country and took many human lives, has also hit hard production and sales of Japanese car manufacturers.

Toyota said on Monday that its domestic passenger car production for the first half of 2011 dropped by 38% to 947,090 units and its overseas production by 11.7% to 1,923,408 units compared to the same period in 2010 units due to the lack of parts.

Undoubtedly, the video you're about to see would have elicited a chuckle or two even if the radio controlled missile-car hit a by-stander, but the fact that it knocked the person holding the remote control off his feet (we mean that literally) and into the air makes it twice as fun to watch.

See the incoming RC for yourself in the video after the break.

Chevrolet found the perfect opportunity at the Donington race of the WTCC (World Touring Car Championship) to launch the hatchback version of the Cruze in Britain. While Yvan Muller was winning both rounds of the race in the Cruze WTCC, further advancing his lead on the championship, journalists were able to use the country roads around Donington to get their first taste of Chevy’s new hatchback. Read more »

2012 Honda Pilot Goes Under the Knife, gets a New Face

Tis' the season for changes at Honda. After the news on the 2012 CR-V Concept that previews the soon-to-be-launched production model, yet another official photograph of a new Honda model is making the internet rounds. This time it is the redesigned 2012 Pilot SUV.

The facelift comes three years after the introduction of the second generation Pilot in 2008. The most noticeable change is the brand-new and simpler looking three-slate front grille that replaces the oddly styled fascia of the outgoing model.

As digital music sales rise, compact discs seem to be heading the way of the cassette –for those of you old enough to remember them, that is. For example, in the UK digital sales account for 98% percent of the market. That’s evolution: just as the cassette made the 8-track player obsolete and then gave its place to CD-players, now purely digital content is making CD players a thing of the past. Read more »

Report: Red Bull Mulling to Build Road Cars with the Help of Infiniti

Enzo Ferrari didn’t initially intend to manufacture road cars when he started his Scuderia Ferrari team in 1928. It wasn’t until almost two decades later, in 1947, that the first road car bearing the prancing horse, the V12 125S, was produced mainly to finance his team’s racing activities.

Ferrucio Lamborghini founded Lamborghini Trattori in 1948, a successful manufacturer of tractors and other agricultural equipment. In 1959, he opened an oil heater factory, and later started producing air conditioning equipment. Naturally, he became very wealthy.

If Alfa Romeo follows its most recent timetable, the 4C mid-engine sports coupe should arrive in European showrooms sometime in the first half of 2012 with a few examples making their way into the U.S. by the end of the year.

But let's not forget, it's the Fiat Group we're talking about here; the same company that has turned Alfa Romeo's U.S. introduction into something a joke by constantly pushing back the launch for the past decade.

Last Sunday, after the finish of the German Grand Prix there was a McLaren, a Ferrari and a Red Bull on the podium. No surprise there. So what else is new? Red Bull and McLaren obviously have the best cars from the start of the season, winning all the races except the previous one. Especially Sebastian Vettel has such a big points lead, that he looks to have this year’s driver’s title in his pocket even with half the season remaining. Read more »

2012 Honda CR-V Concept: First Official Photo Leaked Onto the Web

Circulating around the internet today is an official photograph of the 2012 Honda CR-V Concept that previews the production model that is scheduled to follow by the end of the year.

In June, Honda had announced that it would present a new generation of its popular compact crossover model; however, the Japanese company had not disclosed any specific details on the vehicle other than it would sport a "new design inside and out, new features and new possibilities".

Well, it was no big secret (not after some tell-tales spilled the beans facing the Germans’ wrath) that Mercedes-Benz was planning to unveil the Black Series edition of its C63 AMG Coupe during the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.

Now the company has gone ahead as planned and revealed the C63 AMG Coupe’s hardcore sibling, the C63 AMG Coupe Black Series. The most potent version of the C-Class Coupe does not stray away from the successful formula of the models that carried the Black Series tag before it.

The Black Series is powered by the "regular" C63 Coupe's naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 but thanks to AMG’s modifications that include forged pistons, conrods and crankshaft, a 50% bigger oil cooler and a new ECU, it churns out 517HP (60HP more than the standard model) and, more importantly, 620 Nm (457 lb-ft)of tarmac-tearing torque.

All this power is channeled to the 19-inch rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch AMG Speedshift transmission. The gearbox has four modes and its fastest gear change time, in Sport or Manual, is just 100 milliseconds. Performance is, of course, exceptional: the C63 AMG Black Series accelerates from a standstill to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 4.2 seconds.

The C63 AMG Coupe Black Series has a standard limited-slip differential. The novelty is that it’s electronically controlled and linked to the ESP stability control system, which itself has three settings, and unusually for a Mercedes, in its sportiest one is completely deactivated.

AMG’s engineers widened the front and rear tracks by 40 mm and 70 mm respectively, and also fitted stiffer anti-roll bars along with an adjustable coil-over sports suspension. The braking system comprises of 390 mm front and 360 mm rear discs, with six and four-piston calipers respectively.

Visually, the newest member of the Black Series clan gains a different front bumper with huge air intakes, bloated wheel arches, chunkier side sills and a redesigned rear bumper with quad exhausts.

Inside, the C63 AMG Black Series comes with a two-seat configuration, though Mercedes does offers a four-seat layout as an option. The car also gets red seat belts, a sport steering wheel covered in nappa leather and high-gloss black piano inserts on the dashboard along with the Black Series logo.

Mercedes-Benz offers two optional packages with self-explanatory names: the Track package, which features special Dunlop tires and a differential cooler, and the Aerodynamic package with carbonfibre aerodynamic aids on the front bumper and a carbonfibre rear spoiler.

Sales of the new C6 AMG Coupe Black Series are expected to commence in January, with a starting price in Germany of €115,430 ($165,722).

On a side note, Mercedes-Benz also announced that former McLaren-Mercedes F1 driver David Coulthard is the AMG divisions new ambassador. The 40-year old Scot will aid the AMG development team in testing and also take part in customer and press events starting with the campaign for the new, 557HP V8 biturbo E63 AMG.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

It’s Official: Mercedes-Benz Unveils Hot C63 AMG Coupe Black Series

Stretch it Real Good: 2011 Chrysler 300 gets into the Limo Business

Even though Chrysler’s new 300 is being marketed as a more elegant and mature proposal than its predecessor, that doesn’t mean it won’t garner the same amount of attention from extreme tuners, rappers, professional athletes and of course, your occasional limo builder, as the previous model did.

Only a few months after it hit U.S. showrooms, and we have if not the first, at least one of the first stretch limousine transformation of the 2011 Chrysler 300.

The modern automobile is a microcosm for our networked society. Everything from the brakes to the dual-zone climate control and from the windscreen wipers to the CD player is connected through a Controller-Area-Network (CAN) bus.

Like the nerves in our bodies, this network passes information from one component to another. It allows the anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control to work in unison, disconnects the cruise control when you step on the accelerator and allows the headlights to switch themselves on in low light conditions.

Truth to be said, the third generation of the Honda Odyssey is about as exciting to look at as a bowl of cheerios. And no, adding carlashes will definitely not change our view on the Japanese minivan’s styling or rather, the lack of it. Read more »

Lexus Invites Magazines to Drive 2013 GS, will be Offered Only with V6 Engines, gets Netbook-Sized Screen

Following the announcement on the time and place of the premiere of the all-new 2013 Lexus GS 350 –that would be the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 18th for those of you that didn’t read our previous story- the Japanese company lifted the embargo on the first test drive of the car in the States.

Invitees include names like Car&Driver, Autoweek and Motor Trend. Naturally, the exterior of the pre-production test cars were bagged in plastic, but their interiors were largely free of camouflage (see links below for photos) revealing an edgier LF-A-esque design with lots of stitched leather on the dashboard and a gigantic 12.3-inch information screen above the center console.

A few weeks ago at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Honda unveiled a concept study of the hybrid CR-Z prepared by Mugen’s European division.

The fettled CR-Z retained the regular model’s mechanical hardware including the IMA electric motor and the 1.5-liter gasoline engine, but the upgraded internals and the addition of a supercharger increased its performance by more than 50% over the normal model, to 200+ horsepower and 215 Nm (158.6 lb/ft).

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Friday, July 22, 2011

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