Automotive News

Filed under: Coupes, Supercars, Porsche

click above image to view updated high-res gallery of 2008 Porsche 911 GT2

We thought we had our fill of the 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 when we caught it in Frankfurt ahead of the car’s official unveiling. Our live pics, as good as they are, don’t do the amped-up 911 Turbo variant justice. How does one capture 530 HP and a 204 MPH top speed in pictures? Click on the gallery below that contains 34 new images to find out. Back in the ’80s, these pics would have plastered our bedroom walls. Today, they’re our new desktop wallpaper. Enjoy.

[Source: Porsche]

 

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BOSTON, Mich., Sept. 28, 2007– With a display of advanced technology vehicles for transportation today and tomorrow, Ford is sponsoring the fifth annual AltWheels Festival in Boston September 28th and 29th.

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Filed under: China, Etc., Chevrolet

There are just so many ways to get in trouble with this post, we’re going to do our best to keep it as straight as possible.

A Chinese shopping mall recently held a contest to give away a Chevy Aveo. To win, 120 contestants sucked on silicone baby bottle nipples attached to the car, with the last remaining sucker taking home the car. They couldn’t touch the car with anything but their lips, and were only allowed two 10-minute breaks.

After 24 hours, six contestants remained. To winnow the field further, the finalists were told to stand only on one foot. Another three hours and 45 minutes went be before five dropped out, leaving Zhang Chunying as the mall’s biggest sucker. She was so worn out by the ordeal, she had to be carried away.

Just a few days ago, we told you about Jeep’s chocolate-licking contest, now we bring you sucking on a Chevy Aveo for the win? We say no thanks to both and instead will just take the buss.

More photos available at Sky News.

[Source: Sky News via Carscoop]

 

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Filed under: GM, UAW/Unions

Felix Salmon at Seeking Alpha says the short answer is, yes, but it probably won’t.

With the newly draw up contract between the UAW and GM, the automaker will transfer almost $30 billion into a what is basically a health care fund, with another $5 billion to $7 billion added down the road. As Salmon says, that’s more than enough to just buy the General outright, essentially turning it into an employee-owned company.

[Source: Seeking Alpha]

Continue reading Could the UAW buy GM?

 

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Filed under: Coupes, Etc., Honda

There’s high mileage, and then there’s this. A 1995 Honda Civic is for sale in Atlanta with, count ‘em, 939,899 miles. That’s 200+ miles a day. Every day. Including Sundays. For 12 years. It even has a Carfax report from when the car had 907,000 miles on it. According to the seller, the car runs like new, with no leaks, no noises, no oil burning, and not even a scratch on the body. In fact, the only blemish listed is that one of the dashboard lights doesn’t work, and that’s only sometimes.

The car is on its ninth timing belt, ninth water pump, and fourth clutch. But the engine and transmission are original, as are the floor mats. The car even comes with records. The most incredible thing isn’t the mileage, though. It’s how the owner put the miles on the car: driving on business trips from Atlanta… to Seattle… and San Francisco. We want to know what kind of business — or what kind of boss — makes a guy drive across the country and back, and then some, every single month for 12 straight years.

To paraphrase The Proclaimers, if you buy this car then you can drive a million miles and you can drive a million more…

Thanks for the tip, Ronnie!

[Source: CraigsList]

 

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Filed under: Etc., Australia

The relationship between Holden and the late Peter Brock goes back nearly forty years, and a good part of that time saw the Aussie racing legend compete behind the wheel of a Commodore sedan. During his illustrious career, Brock’s leadership of the Holden Dealer Team (HDT) racing outfit also saw several modified high-performance roadgoing Commodores hit the market before the group was disbanded in the late ’80s.

Now, the owner of one of the largest collection of Brock Commodores in Australia plans to revive the HDT nameplate in Brock’s honor. Queensland mining contractor Peter Champion currently owns over 40 Brock Commodores and now wants to build the kind of car Peter Brock would have built today using the latest VE Commodore. Champion and Brock had been friends for over a decade and even talked about releasing a new model months before his untimely death in a car crash during a race last September.

The new cars will likely be based on the VE SS, the same car on which the upcoming Pontiac G8 is based. The cars won’t have any mechanical modifications, although it will be offered if customers seek it, says Champion. Instead, the new HDT cars will receive bodykits and wheels designed to match the original racing Commodores from Brock’s era.

[Source: Drive]

 

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Filed under: Coupes, Etc., Videos, Audi, Lifestyle

At least one magazine has not heard that print is dead. Not only is Intersection magazine — where cars meet fashion — not dead, it’s doing so well that it can trash an Audi TT for a photo shoot. The TT, a 3.2 V6, was submerged in a pool in Chipping Norton, England, for the magazine’s cover and an inside spread. And since you can’t exactly go selling cars that have been used as submarines, the car was destroyed afterward.

We hope they at least removed the engine, since it didn’t appear in the shoot. Then maybe they can dip the V6 in chocolate for the next issue. Follow the jump to watch video of the shoot.

[Source: German Car Blog]

Continue reading VIDEO: How to make art and ruin an Audi TT simultaneously

 

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Filed under: Trends, Sedans/Saloons

The Chrysler 300 is an overwhelming success for Chrysler. Ford’s Five Hundred wasn’t nearly as big a hit despite on paper being a strong competitor. The Chrysler’s advantage, of course, is bold design. The 300 has it, the Ford not so much. Automotive News even quotes an unnamed Ford exec saying the Five Hundred got a new look and a new name because, “it can’t do any worse than it has been.” Ouch. Ford CEO Alan Mulally himself is quoted saying the Five Hundred’s original look “may have been too conservative.” Ya think?

The Automotive News article points out that in the past, bold design in the mid-size sedan category was considered suicide. Take the third-gen Taurus. The car’s iconic jelly-bean shape went oval and sales dived. Honda and Toyota have historically counted on their evolutionary design strategy to sell tons of Camrys and Accords. But, as the article says, even those two Japanese companies are seeing how some well-placed design cues may appeal to even conservative car buyers’ emotions - if done well.

Continue reading after the jump.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Continue reading Imagine that… good design sells in the mid-size category

 

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Filed under: Car Buying, Maybach, Mercedes Benz

Audi has Bentley, BMW has Rolls-Royce (check out our review of the $400k Phantom!), and Mercedes-Benz has Maybach. Both Bentley and Rolls-Royce have proven to be valuable upper echelon assets for their respective parent companies, but Maybach has never made it that far. Expected to sell around 600 units per year, the exclusive marque only managed to move 164 units in the U.S. last year.

Mercedes recently made a move to minimize its losses by reducing the number of Maybach dealerships in the U.S. from 71 to 42. Though many Maybach dealerships are attached to Mercedes-Benz dealerships, owners were still forced to spend around a half a million dollars to build special “studios” that pampered the ultra-rich who were interested in a Maybach.

In order to close a Maybach dealership, however, Mercedes offers compensation those dealers who invested in the brand. Unfortunately, the automaker is only paying out 25 cents on the dollar, meaning a dealer who invested $500,000 is only getting $125,000 back. Buying high and selling low is not the best investment decision, but then again, neither is buying a Maybach.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req’d]

 

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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Ford, Misc. Auto Shows, Australia

click above image for more high-res pics of the 2008 Ford Falcon XR

Despite the fact an all-new rear-wheel-drive Falcon sedan is on the horizon, Ford of Australia saw fit to dress up the current range of higher-performance XR models for their final run. The ‘08 XR range features a new body kit with new side rockers and rocker extensions for the front bumper, as well as a new insert in the rear valance. The side mirrors are also new, and the XRs get a new set of 5-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels with a “shadow chrome” finish.

Ford of Oz also introduced a limited edition “XR by Craig Lowndes” Falcon Ute special vehicle pack available on XR6, XR6 Turbo and XR8 Styleside Box models. Don’t worry, we had to Google the guy’s name, too. Craig Lowndes is a well known V8 Supercar driver in Australia who jumped ship from Holden to Ford back in 2001. His namesake option package offers buyers $6,000 of equipment for just $1,000 above the Falcon XR’s base price. Only 650 Utes with this package will be made, and all will be branded with “by Craig Lowndes” badging.

We’ll bring you live coverage of these vehicles and more from the floor of the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney next week. Oh yeah, we go to that show, too.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford refreshes Falcon XR for 2008, adds special edition ute

 

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