Autoblog: News Thread

[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Classic Reflection Coachworks makes modern Corvettes classic again

Filed under: Time Warp, Convertibles, Sports/GTs, Chevrolet

click above for more images
People love older classic cars because of their excellent craftsmanship and timeless styling. Others prefer modern cars for their greatly enhanced safety, engineering and reliability. What about having their cake and eating it too with the benefits of both the old and new? Sounds great, but there are a few people out there who can afford to manage it. For those who can, Classic Reflection Coachworks (CRC) is there to build what its customers desire. In this particular case, we're looking at Corvettes, America's only classic sportscar. By classic, we mean that it's been built since the early '50s and has gone through six easily identifiable generations. One of those classic generations can be replicated on a much newer C5 chassis by CRC, and we've got lots of photos of the resulting transformation. Along the way, the original fiberglass body is replaced with a new carbon fiber shell, which was designed to look similar to a 1962 Vette. The cars you see in these photos belong to Keith Loyd from Scottsdale, Arizona. The black car will be auctioned off in a primetime spot at the upcoming Barret-Jackson auction, so if you belong to that rarefied group who will be bidding there, keep your eyes peeled for that.
[Source: Classic Reflection Coachworks via MotionParts]
Gallery: Classic Reflection Corvettes



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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Rendered speculation: Alfa Romeo 169

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Alfa Romeo

With the Alfa Junior hatch gearing up for production, the 8C Competizione being delivered to customers and the 159, Brera and Spider gorgeous-ing up roads around the world, the next item on Alfa Romeo's plate is the 169, its upcoming flagship sedan.
Although the 169, spy shots of which we brought you back in February '07, could be based on a modified Maserati platform or potentially on one borrowed from Jaguar, it's slated to return to rear-wheel-drive either way, which puts it in a better position to take on Europe's very best sports sedans.
The image above, of course, is just a rendering, but draws on existing and anticipated brand styling cues. We hope the actual production version will be more sexy and, well, more Italian than this illustration, and we also hope it'll make it across the pond with its stablemates.
[Source: The Hollywood Extra]

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: GM cancels new DOHC V8 engine program

Filed under: Trends, GM
The Northstar V8 has been a great engine for General Motors, but there's no denying that it's past its prime. GM had been working on an engine program to replace the Northstar with a new high-tech DOHC V8 for its luxury cars, but revealed today that the program's been cancelled. It's kind of easy to see why, as the General's 3.6L direct-inject V6 offers V8-like horsepower with less weight and better fuel economy. In fact, we bet more people choose the 3.6L DI V6 when ordering a Cadillac STS than the 4.6L Northstar V8 since the former is only down 14 horsepower on the latter (320 vs 306). Wouldn't you? And when an honest-to-goodness V8 is really needed, say in a performance model like the CTS-V, GM's got plenty of Corvette engines from which to choose that get exemplary fuel economy on the highway. And that's really what all this is about: looking ahead to the day when a 35 mpg CAFE standard has to be met. Gone will be the days when top-level luxury cars were offered with V8 engines just because they were the most powerful and torquey motors of the time. If the same power can be achieved in a lighter, more efficient V6, expect most automakers to start ditching V8s quickly. Acura's never had one, and the upcoming Lincoln MKS isn't getting one. So is it really surprising that GM may scale back on offering V8 engines, as well? To be clear, the only thing announced today was that a program to develop a new DOHC V8 has been cancelled by GM. Without another overhead cam V8 to take the Northstar's place, however, we think the times they are a changin'. Now, imagine a Cadillac powered by a diesel V8...

[Source: Automotive News]
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[Stuart]

I've never seen anything like it.
Quite funny.

 

[top brake]

! am a huge fan and previous Alfisti but sorry that looks horrible

 

[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Says Rick Wagoner: Volt might come in 2010... or it might not

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Chevrolet


Bob Lutz has staked a fair amount of his and GM's reputation on the Volt. Even though he has said since the beginning that the Volt needs battery technology that isn't ready for the mass market yet, he also said that the Volt would go on sale by the end of 2010.

Rick Wagoner, though, in a 50-minute Q&A session with journos and bloggers, said that the Volt launch date is "fluid." Citing, again, the lack of battery technology that the Volt would need, he said, "We continue to put massive resources into production as soon as possible. 2010 would be great, but (we) can't guarantee that at this time. We'll keep you posted regularly on our progress."

GM critics -- like the Toyota rep who called the Volt "vaporware" -- will take this as a sign that GM is waffling. GM supporters will say, correctly, that this doesn't mean the Volt won't come out in 2010 -- it simply isn't assured. We would love to see the Volt appear tomorrow. Short of that, we'd love to see GM get the batteries it needs to deliver the Volt on time.

[Source: Detroit News]
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: By the Numbers: 2007

Filed under: Earnings/Financials, By the Numbers
Toyota passes Ford as second largest automaker in the U.S.; Mazda grows the most in 2007

The final sales numbers for 2007 are in, and to be honest, they're better than we expected. Of the 34 brands we track sales, 19 showed an improvement in their daily average sales rate last year. The majority of those that didn't, we're sad to say, are either domestic U.S. brands or brands that are owned by a domestic U.S. automaker.

Big ups to Mazda, though, which won our coveted Biggest Winner of the Year honor by growing its daily average sales rate 9.8% and selling nearly 300,000 vehicles. We can't say we're surprised that Jaguar is our Biggest Loser of the Year after posting daily average sales rate that fell 24.4% last year. We'd also like to call out Jeep for posting a 3.0% improvement thanks to the hot-selling Wrangler Unlimited, as well as Lincoln, which, despite all odds, increased its daily average sales rate by 8.8% and sold an additional 11,000 vehicles last year. There are other plenty of other proud automakers in the list below we don't have room (or time) to mention.

Of course, the biggest news in auto sales for 2007 is that Ford Motor Company was supplanted by Toyota Motor Company as the second largest automaker in the U.S. Toyota sold 2,620,825 units in 2007 compared to Ford's 2,572,599. We weren't all that impressed with ToMoCo's final tally of a 2.7% daily average sales rate increase, but that's all it needed after Ford posted a 12.7% decrease. General Motors, of course, is still well ahead of both with 3,866,620 units sold, while Chrysler could be breathing down Ford's neck with 2,076,650 sales if we expected that number would increase in 2008, which we don't.

Note that there were 307 selling days last year compared to 306 selling days in 2006, so the figures below represent the change in daily average sales rate (average number of vehicles sold per day) and not the change in raw number of units sold.

Biggest Winner of the Year
Mazda

9.8% at 296,110 (2006: 268,786)

Biggest Loser of the Year
Jaguar

-24.4% at 15,683 (2006: 20,683)

BRANDS
Acura

-10.8% at 180,104 (2006: 201,223)
Audi

3.4% at 93,506 (2006: 90,116)
BMW

6.7% at 293,795 (2006: 274,432)
Buick

-23% at 185,791 (2006: 240,657)
Cadillac

-5.7% at 214,726 (2006: 227,014)
Chevrolet

-6.5% at 2,265,641 (2006: 2,415,428)
Chrysler

-10.5% at 543,011 (2006: 604,874)
Dodge

-2.1% at 1,058,402 (2006: 1,077,579)
Ford

-13.9% at 2,101,244 (2006: 2,433,086)
GMC

4.8% at 505,746 (12/06: 481,222)
Honda

4.5% at 1,371,438 (2006: 1,308,135)
HUMMER

-22% at 55,986 (2006: 71,524)
Hyundai

2.2% at 467,009 (2006: 455,520)
Infiniti

4.5% at 127,038 (2006: 121,146)
Jaguar

-24.4% at 15,683 (2006: 20,683)
Jeep

3.0% at 475,237 (2006: 460,052)
Kia

3.5% at 305,473 (2006: 294,302)
Land Rover

3.4% at 49,550 (2006: 47,774)
Lexus

1.8% at 329,177 (2006: 322,434)
Lincoln

8.8% at 131,487 (2006: 120,476)
Mazda

9.8% at 296,110 (2006: 268,786)
Mercedes

1.8% at 253,433 (2006: 248,080)
Mercury

-7.2% at 168,422 (2006: 180,848)
MINI

7.0% at 42,045 (2006: 39,171)
Nissan

4.5% at 941,200 (2006: 898,103)
Pontiac

-13% at 358,022 (2006: 410,229)
Porsche

1.0% at 34,693 (2006: 34,227)
Saab

-10.3% at 32,711 (2006: 36,349)
Saturn

5.7% at 240,091 (2006: 226,375)
Subaru

-7.0% at 187,208 (2006: 200,703)
Suzuki

0.6% at 101,884 (2006: 100,990)
Toyota

2.9% at 2,291,648 (2006: 2,220,090)
Volkswagen

-2.3 at 230,572 (2006: 235,140)
Volvo

-8.6% at 106,213 (2006: 115,807)

NA: Mitsubishi

COMPANIES
BMW Group

6.7% at 335,840 (2006: 313,603)
Chrysler Group

-3.4% at 2,076,650 (2006: 2,142,505)
Ford Motor Co

-12.1% at 2,572,599 (2006: 2,918,674)
General Motors

-6.5% at 3,866,620 (2006: 4,124,645)
Honda America

2.5% at 1,551,542 (2006: 1,509,358)
Nissan North America

4.5% at 1,068,238 (2006: 1,019,249)
Toyota Motor Co.

2.7% at 2,620,825 (2006: 2,542,524)
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: By the Numbers: December 2007

Filed under: Earnings/Financials, By the Numbers

Our fingers are bleeding after so much number crunching (look for By the Numbers: 2007 coming up next). As you can see, the last month of the year was not pretty for most automakers. The number of red arrows in our list below are almost too numerous to count. Mitsubishi, however, took the biggest hit, seeing its sales fall off 40.4% compared to last December.

Moving right along to the major automakers, Ford Motor Company and General Motors both saw declines last month, with sales shrinking 9.2% and 5.2%, respectively. Chrysler LLC, however, managed to eek out a 1% improvement. BMW was up a percent as well, while Honda America remained flat. Nissan North America fell 2.4% in sales, and even Toyota Motor Co. couldn't pull out a win, falling 1.7%.

Since there were the same amount of selling days last month as there were in December 2006, the figures below represent both the change in raw number of units sold and the daily average sales rate.

Biggest Winner
MINI

44% at 3,562 (12/06: 2,472)

Biggest Loser
Mitsubishi

-40.4% at 5,904 (12/06: 9,910)

BRANDS
Acura

-7.7% at 17,582 (12/06: 19,056)
Audi

-29% at 8,502 (12/06: 11,897)
BMW

-2.4% at 30,199 (12/06: 30,945)
Buick

-9.9% at 14,400 (12/06: 15,986)
Cadillac

-5.6% at 21,436 (12/06: 22,715)
Chevrolet

-4.5% at 185,626 (12/06: 194,369)
Chrysler

-13% at 48,384 (12/06: 55,839)
Dodge

11% at 92,235 (12/06: 88,489)
Ford

-9.0% at 173,648 (12/06: 190,914)
GMC

8.9% at 45,503 (12/06: 41,770)
Honda

1.3% at 114,210 (12/06: 112,722)
HUMMER

-23% at 5,333 (12/06: 6,928)
Hyundai

24.2% at 46,487 (12/06: 37,365)
Infiniti

-3.5% at 12,655 (12/06: 13,112)
Jaguar

-2.0% at 1,522 (12/06: 1,553)
Jeep

-3.0% at 44,804 (12/06: 46,087)
Kia

-19.8% at 24,068 (12/06: 30,004)
Land Rover

-18.7% at 4,887 (12/06: 6,014)
Lexus

-7.2% at 34,555 (12/06: 37,235)
Lincoln

-21.4% at 10,065 (12/06: 12,806)
Mazda

25% at 24,933 (12/06: 19,912)
Mercedes

-2.9% at 27,301 (12/06: 28,115)
Mercury

-8.5% at 12,631 (12/06: 13,809)
MINI

44% at 3,562 (12/06: 2,472)
Mitsubishi

-40.4% at 5,904 (12/06: 9,910)
Nissan

-2.2% at 76,900 (12/06: 78,663)
Pontiac

-7.8% at 30,211 (12/06: 32,772)
Porsche

-2.0% at 2,891 (12/06: 2,947)
Saab

-22.3% at 2,748 (12/06: 3,535)
Saturn

-12% at 18,196 (12/06: 20,686)
Subaru

-9.1% at 18,739 (12/06: 20,613)
Suzuki

0.6% at 7,361 (12/06: 7,317)
Toyota

-0.7% at 189,844 (12/06: 191,087)
Volkswagen

3.0% at 20,543 (12/06: 19,942)
Volvo

9.6% at 9,341 (12/06: 8,525)

COMPANIES
BMW Group

1.0% at 33,761 (12/06: 33,417)
Chrysler Group

1.0% at 191,423 (12/06: 190,415)
Ford Motor Co

-9.2% at 212,094 (12/06: 233,621)
General Motors

-5.2% at 323,453 (12/06: 341,327)
Honda America

0.0% at 131,792 (12/06: 131,778)
Nissan North America

-2.4% at 89,555 (12/06: 91,775)
Toyota Motor Co.

-1.7% at 224,399 (12/06: 228,322)
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: One dude caused oil to hit $100/barrel

Filed under: Etc.

It was reported here yesterday that the price of a barrel of oil hit $100 for the first time ever. What actually happened was that one guy bought oil slightly above market price just so he could say "I was the first schmuck to buy oil at $100 a barrel!" The trader hasn't been identified, but after buying the minimum lot of 1,000 barrels from a colleague, he then sold them right back at a loss. It isn't clear what oil was trading at when he bought the barrels, but for his $100 per barrel order, he got $99.40 per barrel return. That means his moment of worldwide fame cost him $600, along with a few hours of jittery markets. Even if it was artificially induced, he was the first, and it probably won't be long before people are spending that much for real: Goldman Sachs predicts oil to be at $105 by year's end.
[Source: Daily Mail]

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: More common sense - Cellphones make you a bad driver

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Driving


In light of the "backwards-travelling wave" that researchers recently discovered as a cause of congestion, another study has pinpointed a possible major contributor. The University of Utah's Traffic Lab uncovered that drivers paying more attention to yapping on their phone - hands free or not - add to the suffering of us all. Talking while driving leads to drivers who take considerably longer to change lanes when following slow-moving vehicles, drive slower overall, and take longer to arrive at their destination.

Any benefits from slower speeds and more deliberate movements are mitigated by the distraction of a conversation. Thinking along the lines of chaos theory, even the small slowdowns created by poky drivers can grow into exponentially larger traffic problems quickly. Then, when we're all stuck in the stop and go, we call someone else and bitch about how bad the traffic is. Sounds like what they've really discovered in Utah is the fuel for a perpetual motion machine. Car stops, jaw continually flaps.

[Source: Reuters, Photo: hotrodscustomstuff.com]
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Czech Up: Skoda plans its own VW Up! derivative

Filed under: Concept Cars, China, Euro, Plants/Manufacturing, Volkswagen

The Skoda Fabia (not sold in America) is pretty small. It's based on the Volkswagen Polo platform (also not sold in America). But Skoda chairman Reinhard Jung wants an even smaller car based on the upcoming production version of the VW up! concept, and that also won't be sold here in all likelihood. Where it will, however, is in Russia, India and China.
These rapidly growing markets where Western automakers have been undertaking an equally rapid expansion via joint ventures with local companies are where Skoda wants to expand production. Currently the Czech subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group produces about 60,000 vehicles each year between the three enormous countries, which it plans to double to 120,000 units annually over the course of 2008. But by 2010, Skoda is targeting annual production of 350,000 in those markets.
Volkswagen has shown several concepts that preview a small car range, including the original two-door Up! in Frankfurt, the Space Up! van in Tokyo, and the Space Up! Blue in Los Angeles. Earlier reports suggested that the van derivative could make it to the US market, while Skoda as well as SEAT derivatives will be manufactured around the world for global sale.
[Source: Just-Autos.com - subscription required]

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Spy Shots: Renaultsport Twingo 120

Filed under: Spy Photos, Euro, Hatchbacks, Renault
Anyone who knows hot hatches knows that Renault is king. While other championship-winning automakers put their racing experience into six-figure supercars, Renaultsport puts its into grocery-haulers to turn out such splendidly chuckable pocket-rockets as the Clio 197 and Megane 225. Evidently firmly entrenched in the belief that good things come in small packages, Renault's performance racing division is turning its attention to the company's latest - and smallest - little Euro-runner, the redesigned Twingo.
These candid spy shots show that the Twingo has clearly been hitting the gym, with flared wheel arches and new bumpers. Power is tipped to come from a reworked version of the Twingo GT's 1.2-liter turbocharged four, massaged to produce 120 hp, 20 more than stock and hitting the magic 100-horsepower-per-liter mark. That'd be good for a 0-60 run in about 8.5 seconds, and with an anticipated UK price tag of around &pound;12,500 it'd make a solid competitor to the likes of the Suzuki Swift Sport, Fiat Panda 100HP and Ford SportKa.
Speculation says it will be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva show in March, and based on the apparent readiness seen in the spy shots, we'd call that a good bet and will bring you more from the show floor in three months' time.
[Source: Auto Express]

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Forbes picks top 15 most overpriced vehicles

Filed under: Car Buying, SUVs, Trucks/Pickups, Dodge, Ford, GMC
Using a formula that takes into account what a buyer actually pays for a vehicle, J.D. Power APEAL Survey results and the Consumer Reports Owner Satisfaction Survey, Forbes has come up with the 15 vehicles for which you'll probably pay too. The most overpriced vehicle will cost you $7,158 more than it should. For some reason we couldn't see the 15th and final slide, so all we can tell you is that the 14th most overpriced vehicle will run you $2,447 extra.

The number one slot is held by the $37,105 Dodge Ram 2WD Laramie MegaCab, and the penultimate place was occupied by the $27,470 GMC Colorado. The list is dominated by domestic trucks and SUVs -- the only car on the list is the Mercury Grand Marquis (over by $6,480), and the only import is the Nissan Quest SE (over by $3,441). All of them are long in the tooth, on their way out, or about to be replaced. So if you're in the market for any of them, it's buyer beware time.

Since the Forbes equation factors after-purchase survey results that are of the touchy-feely subjective variety, the list is less a rundown of overpriced cars than it is of cars that have inflated purchase prices and with which buyers weren't totally happy. After all, is there anyone who doesn't think the Lamborghini Reventon is grossly overpriced? (But make no mistake, we'd buy all 20 of them if we had the money.)

[Source: Forbes]
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: VIDEO: Drifting a Porsche Carrera GT in the Alps

Filed under: Videos, Supercars, Porsche

click above to view video
Drifting a supercar takes a certain amount of fortitude in the trouser department. All the more so on narrow mountain roads. And even more so when the car you're drifting is the Porsche Carrera GT, which aside from being worth a good half-a-mill easy, is also reputed to be one of the most difficult cars to control.
That's what makes this video so damned impressive. If you're a fan of supercars, of Porsches or of drifting - and chances are if you're reading Autoblog you're in at least two of those camps - then this video can't be missed. Never mind that the spoken language is German. "Vroom" is universal.
Follow the jump, turn up the volume and sit back.
[Source: The German Car Blog]
Continue reading VIDEO: Drifting a Porsche Carrera GT in the Alps

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: A1GP boss: Ecclestone helped broker deal with Ferrari

Filed under: Motorsports, Earnings/Financials, Ferrari

When the A1GP World Cup of Motorsports started back in 2005, some saw it as a challenger to Formula One. But while the nation-based formula was creative, it stood little chance of posing any serious competition to F1 with all its decades of history, billions of dollars and millions of fans worldwide. The start-up open-wheel racing series, however, has managed to carve out a niche for itself as an additional feeder series, providing another stepping stone from which F1 can draw talent in addition to other second-tier racing formulae like F3, GP2 and Champ/Indy (at least, before the split).
In an interview with Italian sports journal Gazzetta dello Sport, A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira made a point of thanking his F1 counterpart Bernie Ecclestone, whom Teixeira credits with helping to broker the deal with Ferrari by which the Scuderia will design the cars and supply the engines for the entire series starting with the 2008-2009 season. (A1GP runs on the off-season in order to attract drivers and fans when other series are on break.)
Teixeira, who has also been tipped to be considering the purchase of an F1 team, also noted that he approached Ferrari for the mutually-beneficial deal. Ain't it swell when everyone plays nice together?
[Source: Autosport]

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: AutoblogGreen for 01.04.08

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green


Two bits of news on unusual vehicles yesterday on AutoblogGreen: A new "gleaming white" KTM X-Bow will be on display next week in the UK while the super-eco, single-seat Corbin Raven is still on the drawing board. Get ready. Meanwhile, California is suing the EPA and Toyota is still strong on giving all of its vehicles a hybrid option.

• Pointing at the most polluting companies, the Chinese way
• How cell phones cause traffic jams
• California files suit against EPA to overturn greenhouse gas waiver decision
• Update on the Corbin Raven
• KTM X-Bow on display at Autosport International Racing Car Show next week
• Video: Kenguru, specialised electric car for disabled people
• Hybrid conversion shops soon a thing of the past
• New GM luxury V-8 is first victim of new CAFE rules
• Dongfeng investigating hydrous ethanol
• Using cow manure to produce ethanol in Texas
• Video: The BMW Hydrogen 7 goes to Hong Kong
• Florida Power and Light to test Azure Dynamics hybrid shuttle
• Happy New Fuel: E20 on sale in Thailand
• How cell phones cause traffic jams
• Watanabe: Each Toyota model will have a hybrid option
• Detroit 2008: BMW X5 xDrive35d and BMW 335d with BluePerformance
• Holy extensive gallery BAT(man)! Toyota's A-BAT fully revealed
• California has low-resistance tire laws
• Jared Diamond's Consumption Factor Challenge

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Dakar Rally cancelled

Filed under: Motorsports, Euro

Since 1979, the Dakar Rally has never been canceled. Individual stages have been eliminated, but never the entire rally. This year is marks the end of the run: Dakar organizer ASO have decided to cancel the race in light of terrorist threats from Mauritania. The rally was to run from Lisbon, Portugal to Dakar, Senegal from January 5-20.
Mauritania was formerly a French colony, and the ASO (Amaury Sport Organization, the same folks who put on the Tour de France) is a French organization. It appears that anything French is a target for the time being: on December 28, 2007, four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania by "a branch of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb," and threats have also been made directly against the race.
Eight of the race's fifteen stages were to take place in Mauritania. After being advised not to hold the race by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ASO felt it had no choice but to cancel this year's edition. It's regrettable, and a sad day for motorsport, but it had to be done. Follow the jump to read the full press release.

Thanks for the tip, Young!

[Source: BBC]

Continue reading Dakar Rally cancelled

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Detroit 2008: facelifted Mazda RX-8 leaked

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Mazda

As more and more artists' impressions of the anticipated Mazda RX-9 surface online, images have leaked showing us what the interim facelifted version of the current RX-8 will look like. The image, as you can see, comes from a scanned Japanese magazine.
The changes appear to be exclusively cosmetic. Up front, the grille has been revised to feature higher-mounted fog lamps under new, wider headlights. Around back the taillamps have been updated with four round LED rings. That's pretty much the extent of it, although the car pictured is a new RS version featuring 19" wheels, Recaro racing buckets and Bilstein shocks.
The facelift is reportedly targeted mainly towards American customers, and may not even make it to other markets. We'll bring you more from the updated RX-8's anticipated launch at the fast-approaching Detroit auto show.
[Source: Mazda-Madness.nl via World Car Fans]

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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: GM wants to reach out and touch you, launches GMNext

Filed under: Green, Marketing/Advertising, Tech, Chevrolet, GM

In September 2008, GM celebrates its 100th birthday, but the Detroit automaker is going to use the entire year to build up its centennial. The General has kicked off the celebration with its GMNext website, which is an interactive tribute to Jimmy Durant's little auto company. The site doesn't look at the past, however, as it focuses its web PR power to tout GM's drive for tomorrow's tech. As of right now, the site has 42 videos covering design, green initiatives, future tech, and more. It also has links to podcasts, upcoming events, and of course the musings of one Maximum Bob. Visitors to the site can comment on articles, submit videos, share ideas, and participate in online chats with company execs. The site is kind of like the GM FastLane Blog on steroids, and as usual the folks at home keep it interesting with their comments.

[Source: GM]
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[monkeyboy]

Autoblog: Aston Martin Racing releases sketch of Vantage GT2

Filed under: Motorsports, Sports/GTs, Aston Martin

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var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/motorsport/Aston_Martin_Racing_announces_Vantage_GT2_racer'; Aston Martin has officially completed the GT-class superfecta with the announcement of its new Vantage GT2. Aston Martin Racing has unveiled the first sketch of the GT2-class racing car, which is based on the V8 Vantage. The Vantage GT2 has been designed to be campaigned on either normal race fuel or E85 in race series that allow the bio-based juice, such as ALMS. It joins the stable of AM racers that already includes the Le Mans-winning DBR9 GT1 car, the DBRS9 GT3 car, and the Vantage N24 GT4 racer. The menacing GT2 car will be fully unveiled next week in Birmingham at the Autosport International show. Stay tuned for more.

[Source: Aston Martin]Continue reading Aston Martin Racing releases sketch of Vantage GT2

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