Car News
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Nissan's performance and tuning arm, Nissan Motorsport - or Nismo - is prepping an S-Tune package for Japanese buyers of the all-new 2009 370Z, but so far there's been no official word that the kit would be headed to the U.S. Now a report has emerged that the kit will be coming to America, and it will be here by June 2009. The report is still unofficial, but according to the gang at GTChannel, the kit will indeed be sold in the U.S. in about six months. The 370Z was just released for official sale in the U.S. yesterday but it has been on sale in Japan for most of December. For the 350Z...
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Video: Behind the scenes prototyping BMW's new Z4Developing an all-new iteration of a beloved car is no easy feat. Improving on the existing strengths while introducing as few new weaknesses as possible and at the same time improving value and performance is as tough a balancing act as you're likely to find. But BMW thinks it's done the job with...
Ralph Hanson -
Geiger Hummer H3 V8 KompressorHummer's troubled present and uncertain future are no impediment to tuners hell-bent on creating the most insane vehicles possible, and this blown V8 Hummer H3 is a prime example. Today the Germans at Geiger Cars, already known for some outlandish Hummer creations, have unleashed the H3 V8...
James Martinez -
GMAC drums up $21.6 billion in debt-for-equity swapsGMAC has leveraged the recent promise of U.S. Treasury funds to boost its lending capacity, and now it has generated another $21.2 billion in cash via debt-for-equity swaps with its bondholders. The fund raising is part of the company's' effort to raise enough cash to meet the regulatory...
Nelson Ireson -
Pininfarina exits contract building, focusing solely on electric vehiclesThis year has been a hard one for a lot of people, companies and industries. It has been an especially tough one for Pininfarina, losing its CEO, Andrea Pininfarina, to a traffic accident in August. Today news is breaking that the company has decided to end its stint as Italy's last contract...
Alex Kaufmann -
Ford unveils automated parking system for Lincoln MKS and MKTThe 2010 Lincoln MKT crossover has officially been revealed at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Click here for all the details and images. Ford is introducing an automatic parking system in the flagship Lincoln MKS sedan, as well as the upcoming Lincoln MKT seven-seat luxury crossover, to help drivers...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Earlier this week reports emerged that Mexican billionaire and second-richest man in the world Carlos Slim had all but purchased Honda's F1 team as the Japanese carmaker exits the sport, but Slim has since denied any such interest. That leaves the door open for another possible buyer in the form of Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya. The Indian billionaire's enthusiasm for F1 is undeniable. In addition to buying into the former Spyker team, Mallya is working with Bernie Ecclestone to get India added to the F1 calendar. If such a deal does move forward, it will most likely be at a street race...
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GM, GMAC rev up incentives thanks to Treasury fundsYesterday the U.S. Treasury announced it would be backing GMAC with $6 billion in total funding, and today both the car finance company and General Motors, which gets 85% of its customer loans from GMAC, announced a wave of new incentives and programs to drive up sales. GMAC announced it would be...
Nelson Ireson -
GM logs 10,000 advance orders for new CamaroThe new Camaro looks poised to take a favored position in the new muscle car wars with its strong entry-level V6 offering and over-the-top SS power, and buyers are already agreeing - to the tune of 10,000 pre-orders, according to General Motors. The first cars ordered were primarily SS models with...
Nelson Ireson -
Dyno tests confirm Nissan GT-R drivetrain loss, power ratingsTesting cars for power ratings is a tough and tricky business - accounting for different conditions, locations, equipment and techniques can make it tough to generalize results. And to make matters worse, there is often a lot of guesswork employed to get between real, delivered wheel horsepower and...
Ralph Hanson -
Nissan 370Z goes on sale today, priced at $29,930A simplified trim lineup and just a handful of available configurations for 2009 make the new Nissan 370Z a simpler car than its predecessor, but paradoxically, new features and options have made the car considerably more complex. Starting sales today at $29,930 for the six-speed manual-equipped...
Nelson Ireson -
Report: Alonso in secret agreement to join Ferrari F1 team by 2011Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso has reportedly inked a secret deal with Ferrari that will see the Spaniard joining the Scuderia Ferrari team in 2011. According to Reuters, the contract is for a four year stint, however there are several clauses that will allow both Ferrari and Alonso to...
Kenneth Hall -
Buyers of the 2010 Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series coupe will be happy to know they are getting what they paid for, as Automobile has proved with its hands-on dynamometer testing of the car. Generating 573hp and 682lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels, the car's big V12 will still have its work cut out for it when drivers start aiming for the claimed 3.9 second 0-60mph (96km/h) time. By way of comparison, the Corvette ZR-1 weighs about 700lb (320kg) less than the SL65 AMG Black Series yet generates very close to the same amount of crank horsepower: 638hp (476kW) for the 'Vette, versus 651hp...
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Australian firm working on beefed-up Nissan GT-R gearboxRumors, reports and even the odd video of its slick dual-clutch AWD gearbox grenading itself into oblivion have plagued the Nissan GT-R since shortly after its release into the wild. A short while later we learned that using the undocumented AWD launch control feature could void the relevant...
Ralph Hanson -
Kirk Kerkorian Finishes Sell-Off Of Entire Ford StakeSignifying a final retreat from his expensive and unprofitable gambit made for a significant holding in Ford, billionaire Kirk Kerkorian has finished selling his Ford shares. At the peak of Kerkorian's holdings in Ford, he owned nearly 7% of the company's stock, spending more than $1 billion to...
Nelson Ireson -
Hartge BMW Z4 M with M5 V10 engine for saleShoehorning big engines into little roadsters is a classic operation - take the Breckland Beira V8 and Irmscher GT40 for a pair of recent examples - but the tuners at Hartge have accomplished what may be one of the most impressively OEM-looking engine swaps of recent times. The combination of BMW...
Alex Kaufmann -
Ginetta Working On Electric Version Of G50 Sports CarWith a half-century of car-building experience for both the road and track, the UK's Ginetta is now setting its sights on a truly modern goal: a high-performance electric vehicle. Details on the car remain closely held, but the car's first development steps are already underway. The G50 is...
Kenneth Hall -
BMW retires the Z4 M's straight-six engineFantastic engines are to car people like a fine vintage is to a wine enthusiast - not just to be used, but enjoyed, savored as some of the highest expressions of the art of their creation. But like all such things, they are fleeting. BMW's S54B32 engine, the straight-six 3.2L cast-iron motivator...
Nelson Ireson -
Japanese tuning house Branew has revealed some early shots of its customized 2009 Nissan 370Z - two weeks before the car is due to be unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon. The images reveal the new 370Z with handsome aerodynamic modifications and adorned in Branew's familiar satin white coloring, complimented by large 22in chrome wheels. The aerodynamic kit will include a custom front spoiler, side steps, a rear spoiler and a rear wing, as well as custom wheels. All the parts of the kit except for the wheels and the rear wing will be available in either carbon-fiber or fiberglass. The custom...
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U.S. market primed for minicar resurgenceWith the global economic crisis forcing consumers to tighten their purse strings, small cars with low sticker prices and high fuel efficiency are becoming more and more popular. While European and Asian markets have been popular with small cars for some time now, it is only recently that selling...
James Martinez -
Subaru Impreza WRX STI fitted with ings N-Spec bodykitJapanese tuning firm and manufacturer of custom aero parts, ings, has unveiled a bodykit for the new generation Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The latest kit is part of its N-SPEC series of bodykits, which includes a kit designed specifically for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. In addition to tuning...
Jeremy Weber -
First 2010 Ford Mustang, Shelby GT500, and Chevrolet Camaro to be sold at Barret-Jackson auctionNext year's Barret-Jackson vehicle auction promises to be a stunning event, with news coming in that the first 2010 Ford Mustang and the first 2010 Shelby GT500 will both be auctioned off at the event. As if that wasn't enough, the auction will also include bidding for the first 2010 Chevrolet...
Ralph Hanson -
Jeremy Clarkson picks Corvette ZR1 as best car of the yearMotoring personality and notorious Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been seen on camera many times commenting on the poor construction and design of American-built cars, but in a surprising development the outspoken Brit has chosen Chevrolet's Corvette ZR1 as his favorite car of the year...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Jaguar unveils XF Diesel S for EuropeJaguar has just taken the wraps off its most advanced and powerful diesel model in its history, the all-new XF Diesel S. Powered by the carmaker’s new AJ-V6D Gen III S 3.0L six-cylinder turbodiesel engine, the sporty, yet efficient sedan will accelerate from 0-60mph in just 5.9 seconds and...
Kenneth Hall