Mazda Working on Small Roadster?

Good news for summer: Mazda is said to be working on a small roadster based on its home market Mazda2. Yes, they already make the Miata, one of the best sportscars ever made, but a new, small addition to the family could be fun as well.The Mazda2 is one of those Japan-only supermini cars that are Honda Fit-sized, and designed to offer as much practicality in as small a space as possible. Recently

It All Comes Down to Cadillac

When General Motors Corp.’s top executives were choosing this year which brands to keep and which to ditch, Cadillac was unquestionably deemed to be a valuable asset that should be part of a new GM.The most iconic of GM’s brands, Cadillac is known worldwide. In its heyday, it rolled out some of the most beautiful cars ever built, the fin-tailed sedans of the ’50s and ’60s that symbolized American

Pickens Pushing Natural Gas Bill

Senate leaders, joined by Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens, unveiled a bill yesterday to jumpstart the production of vehicles that run on natural gas. The legislation, dubbed the NAT-GAS bill, was introduced by Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Robert Menendez, D-N.J.It would increase tax credits for buying a natural gas-powered vehicle from $5,000

2009 Infiniti EX35 Review - Luxury That Defies Classification

IntroductionClassifying automobiles used to be so simple. You had cars, for carrying people around, and trucks, for carrying stuff around. At some point, someone decided it would be nice to have a car that could carry both people and more stuff, and so the hatchback and wagon were born. But what if you wanted to carry both people, stuff, and take it off road? Presto! The truck-based sport utility

2009 Infiniti M45 Review - the prince of understated luxury and performance

IntroductionI had written Infiniti off as a brand some time in the 90’s. Their flagship model Q45 was bloated land yacht and their G20 and J30 models were underpowered failures that never made a dent in any luxury brand, Japanese or European. Infiniti couldn’t even beat American luxury cars at a time when Lincoln and Cadillac were everyone’s whipping boys. But things change. Carlos Ghosn became

2010 Mercedes-Benz G-Class Gets Minor

Big, square, cubic, rectangular, quadrangular, dependable, and still here, after all these years, Mercedes-Benz G-Class is getting only a minor face lift, but it’s an excuse to talk about one of the most adorably practical rides out there. Why adorable? Well just look at the thing. It can’t be anything but what it is: A truck. Yes, it’s a very expensive truck, and yes, it is beloved by people

2009 Infiniti G37 Sedan Review - An all-star sports car with four doors

An Infiniti car can always be seen out on the local roads and highways. They always receive strong reviews and compliments in many magazines and websites. Once I got into the G37, I understood all the hype. The Infiniti G37 is a stylish and powerful sedan with all its features adding up to a very attractive package. All the attention to details that went into designing and building this car are

Update: BMW X6 Price and Package

BMW X6 now is the most popular dynamic car around from BMW.It does own a great features and performance.I know i rants a lot about this one model, BMW X6.It just that i can't resist what does it has to offer.From BMW blog i found this BMW official update price.


BMW X6 xDrive 50i - $63,000
# Premium (ZPP) - $1,750
# Sport w/19″ tire package (ZSP) - $3,100
# Cold Weather Package (ZCW) - $900
# Rear Climate Package (ZRC) - $900
# Premium Sound Package (ZPS) - $2,000
# Active Ventilated Seat Package (ZAV) - $1,100

BMW X6 xDrive 35i - $52,500

* Premium (ZPP) - $1,750
* Sport w/19″ tire package (ZSP) - $3,600
* Cold Weather Package (ZCW) - $900
* Rear Climate Package (ZRC) - $900
* Premium Sound Package (ZPS) - $2,000
* Active Ventilated Seat Package (ZAV) - $2,100
* Technology Package (ZTP) - $2,000

Options

* Alcantara/Leather Combination - No cost
* Nappa Leather - $1,000
* Metallic Paint - No cost
* Running Boards - $300
* HD Radio - $350
* Heated Rear Seats - $350
* Rear-View Camera - $400
* Heated Front Seats - $500
* Automatic Tailgate - $500
* Satellite Radio - $595
* Soft Close Doors - $600
* BMW Assist w/Bluetooth - $750
* Sport package wheel upgrade (20″) - $950
* Comfort Access - $1,000
* Multi-contour Seats - $1,200
* Heads-Up Display - $1,200
* Active Steering - $1,400
* Rear Seat Entertainment - $1,700
* Navigation with RTTI - $1,900

Note: The xDrive50i comes standard with Navigation with RTTI and Multi-contour seats

VW Scirocco coupe(Scirocco 2.0TSI) from APP Europe

APP Europe had compile a great collection of parts combination from five branded parts into VW Scirocco coupe. The design that put into this Scirocco 2.0TSI were using parts from Rieger Tuning, KW Automotive, Wimmer Rennsporttechnik, CFC and MR Car Design.It is totally great looking sporty coupe car.


The Scirocco's 2.0-liter turbocharged engine benefits from an upgraded ECU that costs €2,500 or US$3,300, courtesy of Wimmer Rensporttechnik, that boosts output from 200HP to 261HP and peak torque from 280Nm(206 lbs-ft) to 380Nm (280 lbs-ft) allowing the coupe to reach a top speed of 263km/h or 164mph.

Furthermore, the Scirocco gains a sport exhaust system from MR Car Design (€1,599 or US$2,100) while the same company also provided a new limited slip differential (35%) for €2,990 or US$3,950. These changes call for an update on the DSG's software that will cost you an another €890 or US$1,180.

Braking power is provided by APP's high performance brake system (€3,220 or US$4,260) with 4-pistons and two-part slotted discs sized 355x32 mm while KW Automotive is the company of choice for a set of coilovers (€1,529 or US$2,020).

The new bodykit that includes a front apron (€599 or US$792), side skirts (€328 or US$433) and a rear apron with an integrated diffuser (€329 or US$435) is from Rieger. The optic highlights such as the black roof and red pin stripes are from CFC (prices weren't announced).

Last but not least, APP Europe equips the Scirocco with a set of 19-inch, 3-piece bi-colour aluminium wheels (complete set for €5,200 or US$6,870) wrapped in Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta high performance tires.

MINI Clubman :First Official Photos

First glance,at this MINI Clubman i was smiling.It was a specially modified MINI Cooper S Clubman and a 6.80-meter or 22-foot Airstream trailer!
These are the first official photos of a one-off concept of a specially modified MINI Cooper S Clubman and a 6.80-meter or 22-foot Airstream trailer that was created in collaboration with Danish furniture producers, Republic of Fritz Hansen. The design study will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the INTERNI Design Energies exhibition that takes place in Milan on 22 – 27 April 2009.


The concept behind the project is the creation of a mobile base for surfers and beachgoers alike. As such, the designers of Republic of Fritz Hansen kitted out both the American travel trailer and the MINI Clubman with unique features.

Design details include the use of what MINI describes as "surfer-dude wetsuit" neoprene, fresh colors and flower prints which are common on both the Clubman and the Aistream trailer.
The trailer comes with a waterproof interior that is outfitted with numerous chairs, a table and even two surfboards halves, which double up as shelving. A special feature of the trailer is that it fully opens on one side revealing a built-in sun-bathing bed.

In the Clubman, the designers of the Copenhagen-based Republic of Fritz Hansen removed the rear seat bench and stripped out the boot to fit four specially made securing shells with purpose-built mounts that can accommodate diving gear equipment, including flippers, a mask, wetsuit and oxygen tanks.

MINI Clubman :First Official Photos

First glance,at this MINI Clubman i was smiling.It was a specially modified MINI Cooper S Clubman and a 6.80-meter or 22-foot Airstream trailer!
These are the first official photos of a one-off concept of a specially modified MINI Cooper S Clubman and a 6.80-meter or 22-foot Airstream trailer that was created in collaboration with Danish furniture producers, Republic of Fritz Hansen. The design study will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the INTERNI Design Energies exhibition that takes place in Milan on 22 – 27 April 2009.


The concept behind the project is the creation of a mobile base for surfers and beachgoers alike. As such, the designers of Republic of Fritz Hansen kitted out both the American travel trailer and the MINI Clubman with unique features.

Design details include the use of what MINI describes as "surfer-dude wetsuit" neoprene, fresh colors and flower prints which are common on both the Clubman and the Aistream trailer.
The trailer comes with a waterproof interior that is outfitted with numerous chairs, a table and even two surfboards halves, which double up as shelving. A special feature of the trailer is that it fully opens on one side revealing a built-in sun-bathing bed.

In the Clubman, the designers of the Copenhagen-based Republic of Fritz Hansen removed the rear seat bench and stripped out the boot to fit four specially made securing shells with purpose-built mounts that can accommodate diving gear equipment, including flippers, a mask, wetsuit and oxygen tanks.

Shanghai Motor Show-New Cars Show Off

With the Shanghai Motor Show now open we have plenty of new cars to talk about. None is more striking than Stile Bertone's Mantide released this morning. It's based off a Corvette ZR1 chassis and is one of the most spectacular designs released this year.Geely is also at the show with their GT Concept.

On the four-door front, BMW released the restyled 760Li at Shanghai and AMG brought along the S 65 AMG and S 63 AMG performance variants of the S-Class. Surprisingly three more executive sedans were announced: Jaguar's XJ, the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Aston Martin's Rapide. We should also mention the Opel Insignia VXR, Opel Insignia OPC and the FPV F6 E Concept.

Both SMS and Novitec have some exciting news. TuLesto is name of Novitec's new supercar which brings the F430 up to 770 bhp. SMS with Steve Saleen have designed one of the first kits for the 2010 Mustang called the SMS Mustang 460.

On the track, Rocketsports Racing will field the XKR GT2 in ALMS and Volkwagen will debut a variant of their GT4 Scirocco at the ADAC Nurburgring 24 Hours. RM Auctions also announced that a Ferrari 330 P4, better known as the 350 Can-Am, will be sold at their upcoming Leggenda E Passione auction

New Vauxhall Insignia ecoFLEX with 160HP and 54.7mpg UK

GM's British arm, Vauxhall, has introduced a new eco-friendly version of the Insignia to the UK market. The Insignia ecoFLEX is powered by a 2.0-liter CDTi diesel engine that produces 160HP and 350Nm from 1750-2500 rpm, with overboost to 380Nm. This is the same engine used in the standard 2.0 CDTi model, however, thanks to a series of fuel-saving measures that include improved aerodynamics and the use of low resistant tires, the ecoFLEX achieves a combined fuel economy figure of 54.7mpg UK (45.6mpg US or 5.2lt/100km), or 10 percent improvement over the 2.0 CDTi.

Preview:Bertone Mantide based on Corvette

Don't you just love the media's double standards? If its Chinese, it's junk, if its Western European or American it's a masterpiece. Excuse me, but the first thing that came to mind upon seeing Jason Castriota's Corvette ZR1-based Bertone Mantide Concept was 'hey, this thing looks like it came straight out of the design studio of some random and gawkily named Chinese automaker'. Sure it captures your attention as any concept sportscar would do, but this ain't no Italian beauty... Those that disagree with us may -and should- leave their thoughts in the comment section below.

Bertone Mantide Concept - CarscoopEven though we may not find its design alluring -at least in the classic Italian sense, compared to the Corvette ZR1 donor car, drag has been reduced by 25% to Cd 0.298 while there's also a 30% improvement in down force.

Bertone claims that the Mantide also promises greater performance than the ZR1, due to significant weight savings, achieved through the extensive use of carbon fibre for all body panels, interior trim, seats and even the wheels. The result is that the overall vehicle weight has been reduced by 100 kilos or 220 pounds over the ZR1.

Equipped with the Corvette ZR1's 640Hp supercharged V8, the Mantide sprints from 0 to 62mph (100km/h) in 3.2 seconds and has a top speed of 351km/h (217mph).

The Mantide made its global debut at the Shanghai Auto Show.