According to the Deutsch car rag Automobilwoche, Toyota is considering the development of a replacement for its sports coupe Celica some time in 2009. The Celica ran from 1971 through to 2005 when Toyota killed it off to focus on building boring cars.

This news sounds good right? Well there’s a catch for anyone in North America. It seems that at this point in time, Toyota only mentions the European market as the recipients of such a vehicle. Toyota would be wise to offer something sporty for over here as well, since… well, Hyundai is starting to look better and better every day!

The Celica replacement may even be rear wheel drive. Toyota and Subaru were supposedly working together on a sporty RWD model. The Suboyota could possibly fit the bill for a Celica replacement. Besides, Scion is rumoured to be getting a RWD model in the near future, so wouldn’t it make sense for Toyota to change the sheet metal a bit and put their logo on, selling it as an upmarket version?

What do you think about all this?

[Source: Autoblog]

The General must be proud, because for the first time in over a decade, a GM product has been crowned the Car of the Year by Motor Trend. (The Corvette won last time.) The 2008 CTS that the boys at Motor Trend tested made use of a direct injection 3.6L V6 engine producing 304 horses, a six-speed automatic, and FE3 performance suspension. They were not only impressed with the smooth power delivery, but the entire package. Their 0-60 test run brought them a time of 6.3 seconds, and stopping from 60 to a halt only required 109 feet of pavement. Not too shabby at all!
Performance wasn’t the only deciding factor either. Believe it or not, both interior and exterior designs were taken into consideration too, and the CTS still came out on top. I’m not suggesting the CTS is ugly. Far from it. But you can’t deny that traditionally speaking, Cadillac and most GM brands in general have struggled to impress anyone with their chintzy interior build quality.

This award represents another victory in GM’s attempt at turning themselves around. Hopefully Motor Trend has fans across the pond, as Cadillac doesn’t quite have the same reputation in Europe as it does in North America. You reading this, Mr. Clarkson?!

Thanks for the tip, Brian!
[Source: Motor Trend]

Perhaps Hennessey Performance Engineering is best known for their twin turbo Hyper-Vipers. Indeed, nobody can make the Dodge Viper more more potent then the boys over at Hennessy, but the company is about to show you they are more than a one trick pony. They are preparing a mid-engined supercar of their own, called the Venom GT.

Built from lightweight composite materials, Hennessy hopes to shoehorn their 1000hp twin turbo Dodge Viper V10 engine into a package that tips the scales at no more than 2700lbs.We’re pretty bad at math, but fortunately someone else figured it out for us. The weight/power ratio is an astounding 2.7 lbs/horse. Figures like that translate to a 0-60 time of roughly 2.5 seconds, and a top speed that could make a bullet weep from inadequacy.

Now, if you’re looking at the concept photo shown here, and thinking “Hmm, that looks like a Lotus” you’re not alone. That sketch was penned by a British auto designer named Steve Everitt. Evidently, Steve was inspired by the Lotus Elise/Exige, but probably figured he could butch it up a bit.

Hennessy plans on creating 2 different concept cars by 2009 to gauge public interest in the vehicles. Their plan is to begin production at their factory in Houston shorty after, and are hoping that existing Hennessy Viper owners will make up the beginning of their customer base.

Now, I honestly did want to remain professional here, but then I remembered that I don’t actually make any money from this site so screw it. HOLY CRAP, This car is wild!

What are your thoughts on it? Love it or hate it, please leave a comment.

[Source: Autoblog]

(Make the jump for the press release)

Read the rest of this entry »

Subaru has unveiled its North American WRX STI specs at the LA Auto Show. The engine is a 2.5L H4 producing 305hp and 290lb-ft/lbs of torque.

The Scooby has been outfitted with an updated version of their Driver Controlled Center Differential (DCCD) AWD system. Power can be distributed between 41/59 to 50/50 front/rear. There’s three automatic modes, track, street, and snow, with a manual mode that can override the system. A driver selectable stability control system comes standard to keep things in check should the driver find themselves in a hairy situation. Brembo brakes and massive vented brake rotors ensure that the WRX STI stops on a dime.

The 2008 Subaru WRX STI is priced to begin at $34,995 American, making it one of the most affordable high performance year round daily drivers on the market.

[Source: Auto North]

Honda’s latest offering for you tree huggers environmentally engaged citizens out there is the FCX Clarity, a zero-emission, hydrogen powered fuel car that gets some impressive mileage stats. Honda tells us that the FCX Clarity will get a combined fuel-economy of 68mpg with a vehicle range of up to 270 miles! Based on Honda’s new V Flow fuel cell platform, the company announced plans to begin limited retail marketing of the vehicle in the summer months of 2008.

How much is it gonna cost? I couldn’t really tell you, to be honest. Full details of the production and limited retail sales won’t actually be announced until much closer to launch. I can tell you that current plans consist of a three-year lease term with a price of $600 per month, including maintenance and collision insurance.

Now my only question is WHY MUST IT LOOK LIKE A PRIUS?!

[Source: eGMCarTech]

Popular Mechanics has chosen the new BMW M3 as the winner of the 2008 Automotive Excellence Award in the category of Performance.

One of the deciding factors for the M3’s victory was its versatility both on and off the track as well as its “mastery of refining and redefining the entire performance envelope.” In case you forgot, the M3 is propelled by a 4.0L V8 that produces 414 horses. A feat of engineering mastery in itself, this engine gets over 100hp/L of displacement, something that once upon a time was only achieved by the likes of Ferarri.

Other categories included design, which was won by the Nissan GTR, luxury, won by the Cadillac CTS, Versatility, won by the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Caravan.

Congrats to all the winners. We’re sure you deserve it. Maybe not as much as Driver’s Life deserves to win Blog of the year, or its author (yours truly) deserves to win “most eligible bachelor” but probably pretty close.
[Source: Popular Mechanics]

Hyundai revealed yet another daring concept car at the LA Auto Show, this one a little more risque. Designed to appeal to the Y-generation, the Veloster concept coupe evokes a futuristic, high tech feeling.

The name supposedly stems from a combination of the words “velocity” and “roadster” and Hyundai execs hope to combine an iconic design with great value and robust construction.
Specs remain under wraps for the most part, but we can tell you that this car will be built on a FWD platform, and powered by a 2.0L DOHC 4 cyl engine mated to a 5 speed manual transmission.

We really like the direction Hyundai is taking, and they are definitely buzzworthy. The styling of this vehicle is a bit too radical, even for this member of generation Y. What are your thoughts?

[Source: 4WheelsBlog.com]

It really is a shame we couldn’t be there in person for the unveiling of the Genesis Coupe at the LA Auto Show. Nope, instead we have to live vicariously through our friends at Autoblog. There, they managed to get some juicy details about this thing, as well as some awesome photos.

Here’s the facts:
The Genesis Coupe and the next generation Tiburon (or its replacement) are 2 different vehicles.
The car you see here is adorned with all kinds of carbon fiber goodies, however this is not a final production model. Obviously to keep cost down, the carbon fiber stuff will likely have to go when we do get to see the production model in March 2008.

Hyundai used the BMW E46 M3 (last gen) as a performance and quality benchmark. Boy are we glad they did! The top notch engine for the Genesis Coupe will be Hyundai’s 3.8L V6 which produces 300 horses. A slightly less powerful turbocharged 4 cyl will also be available. Brembo will be supplying the brakes, and a limited slip differential will be helping to ensure power makes it to the ground as efficiently as possible.

All we know is that this thing is freaking SWEET and we can’t wait to get our hands on more information for you.
Make the jump to read Hyundai’s official press release!

[Source: Autoblog]

Read the rest of this entry »

A few months ago, Chevrolet had a website set up for people to vote online for their favorite of 3 potential small cars. The Beat came out victorious, with 1.9 million votes cast in its favor.

Today, GM execs announced that the Beat will be the next generation small city car in Europe. Chevrolet General Manager, Ed Peper, spoke at the LA Auto show, and was quoted as saying: “The people have spoken. The vote count tripled all previous GM online consumer surveys, telling us Beat resonated with customers all around the world. Chevrolet was overwhelmed by the positive reaction to each of the three mini concept cars, but Beat was a sound winner.”

No pricing information has been released yet, but we can give you a few performance specs to ponder:
The concept vehicle was powered by a 1.2L turbo engine that drives the front wheels. The concept came with an automatic transmission, though we would guess that in a car as sporty looking as this, a manual transmission would also be available.

GM is rumored to be considering bringing the Beat to the North American market too.

[Source: Left Lane News]

Honestly, We’re not entirely sure what this guy was attempting to do here, but we’re guessing he felt a bit like a douchebag afterwards. According to the YouTube user who submitted the video, the Veyron was being driven by a test driver at a local meeting in France.