December 14, 2006
The last W203 C-Class sedan rolled off the Sindelfingen plant today. The vehicle, in iridium silver, is bought by a customer in the United States. Since the W203 was launched, the plant has produced about 630,000 units in total for customers all around the world. What does this mean to you? It means that they’re getting ready for the new C-Class, which is set to be unveiled at NAIAS in Detroit in a couple of weeks.
January 3, 2006! That’s the date I’m waiting for all my life. Jaguar released an announcement today that it will release a new concept on January 3 and will set to debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Nothing else was announced except the image you see above. We see from the image that it will have four doors and taillamps which look like it was ripped from the Aston Martin. It could be just a concept, or it could be the new XJ or XF, who knows? Only time will tell.
One word: Fun! I saw this video on YouTube and boy, it sure looks fun to be driving like that. Although in Japanese, the video shows a race-off between major luxury marques. There was the Audi A8, the new Lexus LS460, the Jaguar XJ-Series, and the BMW 745i. I was disappointed to see that they didn’t incorporate the Mercedes-Benz S-Class into the race since it fits into the category.
Anyways, watch the video for the winner. I won’t say who, but the race was pretty close anyways. I think you know who came in last. The video is courtesy of YouTube.
December 13, 2006
Chevrolet announced today that it will add a “Sport” trim to the 2008 Equinox. As part of this trim, it will come with a lowered suspension, new 18-inch wheels, as well as a powerful 263-horsepower engine. Transmission will come from a 6-speed automatic with sequential shifting. Estimated 0-60 is at less than 7 seconds, pretty good for a SUV this size if you ask me. And good news, off-roaders, the Equinox Sport will be available with either front wheel drive, or all wheel drive. Inside, the Equinox Sport will have a more supportive seat, with side bolsters to help reduce motion when cornering.
Continue reading for full press release and check out the high-res gallery, which also includes wallpapers for widescreen users!
Mazda announced today that it will showcase the Mazda CX-7 British Stylish Concept at next year’s Tokyo Auto Salon along with the CX-7 MazdaSpeed Concept, both of which are based on the new CX-7 crossover vehicle. Mazda will also host 17 customized and tuned vehicles at the show, which will take place from January 12 to the 14th next year.
The CX-7 Bright Stylish Concept is a chrome finished CX-7 with an aerodynamic kit on throughout the exterior.
[Source: Mazda]
Six finalists for the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards have been announced. The winners will be announced at the opening of the North American International Auto Show. The juries, who were made up of international automotive journalists, selected the Honda Fit, Saturn Aura, and the Toyota Camry as finalists in the car category, while the Chevrolet Silverado, new Ford Edge, and Mazda CX-7 were chosen as finalists for trucks.
My predictions for the winning car should be the Toyota Camry, as it has already won numerous awards and is among the favorites of most automotive reports, if not, then the Saturn Aura is set to win the award for its revolutionary design and quality on a General Motors car. As for the truck, it will most likely be the Mazda CX-7 or possibly the new Ford Edge, since both of these share the same crossover treatment and have become a favorite among most automotive journalists.
One of Top Gear’s most anticipated announcement, Top Gear unveiled its list of Car of the Year’s today in its newest issue. The list includes vehicles of all ranges from each category, including the new Lexus LS600h hybrid. Sport utility of the year went to the new Freelander 2 from Land Rover while the compact car of the year went to the Mini Cooper S, which was no surprise.
However, to find the overall Car of the Year, you’ll have to purchase the newest issue of Top Gear magazine. Continue reading for the complete list of winners from each category.
An anonymous tipster has just informed us that Ford is planning to expand its lightning-fast Mustangs with new bodystyles, including a 4-door sedan, as well as a wagon. The new 2009 Mustang is expected to be based on the Giugiaro Mustang concept from the Los Angeles Motor Show due to its popularity.
The Mustang has had quite a lot of different bodystyles, which range from the coupe, to the convertible, as well as a fastback. These have all been two-door versions of the Mustang. With the new introduction of family size Mustangs, Ford is hoping to increase interest of the Ford Mustang suitable for large-size families.
Official photos of the new Volvo XC60 Concept set to debut at the Detroit Auto Show were leaked today onto the web. According to sources, the XC60 Concept will be largely based on the Freelander 2 and the Iosis X concept. It will also be the first vehicle to be designed under Volvo’s new manager of design, Steve Mattin.
The design breaks away from the boxy style on current Volvo’s, as well, we can expect to see more designs such as these on future Volvo vehicles. On the inside, as expected for a concept, the design is futuristic and we see that there is a floating center console fitted on the XC60 concept.
Power will likely come from the S80 sedan, including an available V8 engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The XC60 will likely be fitted with the all-wheel-drive system, as is the XC90.
Continue reading for additional images!
The Hamster’s back in action and so is Top Gear! Richard Hammond attended the Top Gear Cars of the Year Awards last Thursday, celebrating his first day of filming for the new season of Top gear. If you haven’t been paying attention, Hammond was injured from an accident in a 300-mph jet vehicle back in September.
Andy Woodman, from Lego, presented Mr. Hammond with a scaled model of the Vampire jet car that he was powering, as well as a Lego version of the Top Gear studio set. Hammond was also named one of Top Gear magazine’s Men of the Year. The first new episode of the new season will begin to air on January 28.
General Motors launched the first rollover crash test facility a few weeks ago, here’s the video that explains the work behind it, as well as clips of vehicles undergoing testing. At this point, rollover crash testing is pretty much useless since they only account for 2% of the total accidents happened every year.
December 12, 2006
So we knew a long time ago that Nissan was going to debut the crossover vehicle, the Rogue, which will be smaller than the current Murano. But Nissan has announced that it will also unveil a design called the Nissan Bevel, which will be a multi-purpose vehicle which won’t be very large in size and will have a heavy-duty interior, similar to that of the Honda Element.
Both of the vehicles will be introduced at the North American International Auto Show next year in 2007, so stay tuned. Continue reading for the complete press release by Nissan.
Lexus announced today that the base and starting price for the ES350 luxury sedan will be increased by 0.9 percent, which means it will increase by $300, raising the manufacturer’s suggested retail price to $33,470. The pricing will take effect on vehicles arriving after January 2 of 2007.
The one millionth Toyota Yaris produced rolled off the assembly line today at the manufacturing plant in France. Must be a big feat to accomplish, so heads off, and good job to Toyota! You rock my socks. Continue reading for the complete press release.
This was certainly an interesting read. Wheels24, an online automotive website, has posted its list of gayest cars or straightest cars, based on reader votes. The Peugeot 207, shown above, was voted the gayest car, while the Audi RS4 was voted for the most straight car, with its aggressive stance and masculine appearance.
Gay car votes
1. Peugeot 207: 7 155
2. BMW 3 Series Coupe: 3 378
3. Jaguar XK: 2 571
4. Honda Civic Hatch: 1 776
5. Alfa Romeo 159: 1 293
Straight car votes
1. Audi RS4: 9 824
2. Toyota Fortuner: 2 629
3. Dodge Caliber: 1 808
4. VW Jetta: 979
4. Lexus IS250: 936
Sexiest rear-end votes:
1. Alfa Brera: 6 608
2. BMW Z4 Coupe: 5 722
3. Opel Astra GTC: 2 270
4. Renault Clio: 1 071
5. Nissan Tiida: 505
If you’re worried that your car is listed on this list, which you wouldn’t be anyways, you are safe to know that the votes are based on the readers of Wheels24. I guess a car is considered gay if it has rounded appearances to it.
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