Archive for July, 2010
X Games 16: Rally practice day reveals new challenges
Filed under: Motorsports X Games 16 Rally Practice Day – Click above for high-res image gallery The practice day for the X Games 16 Rally competitors is in the books, and despite plenty of preparation the teams face some unexpected challenges at the new venue. The drivers first took to the makeshift dirt track at the L.A. Coliseum early yesterday afternoon and quickly found that the setup isn’t ideally suited to automobiles – or at least anything with bumpers. The course features two major elevation changes, going up and out of the stadium and then back in again, and nearly all of the drivers are having difficulty with the latter. The entrance back into the stadium is so steep that drivers are forced to either come in extremely slowly or catch air and plow the front end of the car into the dirt.
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July 31, 2010 by admin with Comments (0)
Tags: games-practice, practice, rally-practice, X Games, x games 16, x games 16 superrally, x games rally, x games rally car racing, xgames16rallyracing, xgamesrallycarracing
Video: The Smoking Tire gets to play with the Firebreather
Filed under: Aftermarket , Coupe , Performance , Pontiac The Smoking Tire drives the Firebreather – Click above to watch video after the jump Matt Farah and the crew from The Smoking Tire just can’t seem to get enough of the 2011 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Convertible they had for this year’s Bullrun. With the cross-country party over and nothing but a mountain of citations looming in the distance, The Smoking Tire set out to give the big Blue Oval one last goodbye. Of course, they couldn’t spend an entire episode pouring over every last detail of a vehicle that regular viewers know all too well. Instead, the show lined up a quick stint behind the wheel of the Classic Design Concepts Firebreather. Think of it as what the 2010 Pontiac Firebird would have looked like if the Poncho had survived the GM apocalypse and the company’s designers had been on acid. If you can get past the wildly rear sheet metal and the drooping front fascia, there’s a supercharged version of the 6.2-liter V8 in the Chevrolet Camaro on which it’s based
Posted in category: Auto Shows, Performance Cars
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Tags: aftermarket, Camaro, chevrolet, chevrolet camaro, classic-design, classicdesignconcepts, design, Firebreather, jump, performance, Poncho, pontiac firebrid, pontiacfirebrid, smoking-tire, sports
Online Find of the Day: Holy Abomination Batman – It’s a customized 1985 Porsche 944!
Filed under: Aftermarket , Classics , Coupe , Porsche , Humor , Specialty 1985 Porsche 944 Batmobile Tribute – Click above for high-res image gallery This author will be the first to admit that he’s not exactly overflowing with love for the Porsche 944, but don’t expect any amused looks from this camp about seeing this car degraded into a stumpy rendition of Tim Burton’s Batmobile . Sadly, that’s just what seems to have happened with this particular 1985 944. According to the seller, the car still boasts the stock 2.5-liter four-cylinder and a five-speed manual cog box, so you won’t be outpacing baddies anytime soon. A NOS Sniper system has been installed on the car, but thankfully, it’s never been used. We’re guessing hitting the go-go juice would be a heckuva lot of fun – but probably just once. A few of the movie car’s more outlandish traits have made their way to this poor Porsche, including those wild batwing fins and a pair of replica .223 machine guns that light up for effect
Posted in category: Auto Shows, Classics Cars
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Tags: 944batmobile, Batmobile, batmobile tribute, classics, entry, humor, movie car, moviecar, particular-1985, Porsche, porsche944, porsche944batmobile, seller, tribute car
Already? GM Planning to Increase Chevy Volt Production by 50 Percent
The new Chevrolet Volt extended range electric vehicle won’t go on sale before November – and only in seven States at launch, yet General Motors has already revealed plans to lift annual U.S. production capacity by 50 percent, from 30,000 units to 45,000 units, in 2012. The announcement on the production increase came as U.S. President Barack Obama toured the Detroit-Hamtramck facility, where the Volt is being built. Earlier this week , GM put a price tag on the Volt that will sell for $41,000 before any tax deductions or subsidies. A $7,500 federal tax credit designed to speed up entry of electric vehicles into the market will reduce the cost of the car to $33,500. In addition, GM said it will offer a lease program on the Volt with a monthly payment as low as $350 for 36 months plus $2,500 due at lease signing. According to the U.S
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Tags: chevrolet, chevrolet-volt, extended-range, general motors, lease-program, monthly-payment, payment-as-low, production, reduce-the-cost, revealed-plans, the-production, Volt
First Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze sails into new era of small cardom
Filed under: Budget , Sedan , Chevrolet , First Drive 2011 Chevrolet Cruze – Click above for high-res image gallery Until now, General Motors hasn’t exactly taken the small-car market seriously. While Honda , Toyota , Nissan , Hyundai and Kia have built their empires on the hoods of pint-sized, fuel-efficient transportation, history has shown the captains of Detroit tend to offer up parts-bin afterthoughts. Cars like the Chevrolet Cavalier and Cobalt have left a sour taste in the mouths of buyers thanks to noisy and de-contented cabins, rough engines and build quality that would make a Yugo blush. As a result, Americans have developed a sort of Pavolovian retch when we hear the term “compact car.” But a new dawn may be approaching – one heralded by a rash of new straw-weight fighters that aim to bring a global small car philosophy to the U.S. GM intends to be part of that party with the introduction of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze , a sedan that, for all intents and purposes, is more of a landmark model for the company than the endlessly-hyped Chevrolet Volt . To get our meaning, you’ll need to throw all of your heinous memories about American-built small cars out the window beginning… now.
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Tags: 2011, chevrolet, chevrolet cruze, chevrolet-volt, chevroletcruzefirstdrive, chevy, copyright, first-drive, firstdrive, general motors, introduction, lordstown
2011 Nissan Rogue Receives Subtle Facelift
Having being on the market since 2007, it’s time for Nissan to give its Rogue compact crossover a mid-life facelift. Revealed ahead of the crossover’s first public outing this Staurday at the 23rd Annual International Z Car Convention in Nashville, the refreshed Rogue features new styling elements and equipment upgrades, while retaining the same mechanical hardware. On the outside, the 2011 Rogue gets a restyled grille and a more sculptured front bumper. The crossover also benefits from different front and rear spoilers, chrome side door guard molding trim accents, new front and rear tire deflectors and a chrome license plate finisher plus new alloy wheel options.
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Tags: chrome-license, Crossover, different-front, even-the-rogue, more-sculptured, plate-finisher, refreshed, released-closer, restyled-grille, Rogue, staurday, tire-deflectors
Ferrari 458 Challenge Testing Continues [New Photos]
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Video: Double Bill – C/D and MT pit Cadillac CTS-V Coupe vs. Audi RS5 vs. BMW M3
Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Videos , Audi , BMW , Cadillac , Luxury Click above to watch the video after the jump The Cadillac CTS-V Coupe has some serious performance chops. The potent angular coupe is loaded with a blown 6.2-liter V8 capable of 556-horsepower, 15-inch front and 14.7-inch rear Brembo brakes and a Magnetic Ride Control suspension setup. Impressive stats to be sure, but does Cadillac’s sleek two-seater have the goods to take on the BMW M3 coupe and Audi RS5 ? Both Motor Trend and Car and Driver have obviously been pondering the same question, as the competing buff mags dusted off their camcorders and cut up a pair of comparison videos featuring the three super coupes doing a m
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Tags: 2011cts-vcoupe, audirs5, BMW, bmwm3coupe, cadillaccts-vcoupe, cts-v coupe, cts-vcoupe, motortrend, videos, watch-the-video
Fiat Presents Redesigned Idea MPV for South America [140 Photos]
Fiat rolled out a facelifted version of its Idea small MPV initially for Brazil and then throughout South America. It remains to be seen if Fiat will also update the Idea in Europe. The South American model gets a new appearance that brings it line with Fiat’s more recent models such as the Linea and Bravo, as well as a revised engine lineup. The design upgrades are mainly to the front with larger headlamps, Fiat’s new company grille and a redesigned bumper. At the back, the rear lights are new while the tailgate is more sculptured and bumper has been reprofiled.
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Tags: Brazil, brazilian, brazilian-idea, design upgrades, european, flex, four-different, jpg, more-prominent, seen-if-fiat, update-the-idea