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Lamborghini Building Track-Oriented Murciélago
Recently spy photographers captured a Lamborghini out testing on the Nürburgring, and while it was speculated this model might be the upcoming replacement for the Murciélago, that seems unlikely – especially as that car won’t debut until 2012. Instead it appears as though Lamborghini might be resurrecting the Jota name and building a track version…
General Motors Agrees to Sell Saturn Brand to Penske
General Motors has reached an agreement with the Penske Automotive Group on the sale of its Saturn brand. An official announcement is expected to be made by both parties later today. The Penske Automotive Group was thought to be one of the front-runners in the bidding war, which also reportedly included Nissan/Renault, Mitsubishi and investment…
Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrids Will Hit the Streets This Year
Toyota has announced that it will lease 500 plug-in hybrid-electric Prius models starting this year. These will be the first plug-in version of the Prius on the road and will feature new lithium-ion battery packs, which hold more energy than the conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries used in other hybrid systems. Of the 500 vehicles, 200…
BMW M7 Spied Testing in Germany
Thanks to the folks over at WorldCarFans we have these spy photos of an upcoming high-performance version of the new 7 Series. Likely to be called the M7, BMW isn’t being shy about it as the vehicle was caught out testing without any real camouflage. A new front bumper reveals significantly-sized air intakes and a…
Honda CrossTour Spy Photos
Just last week we reported on Honda’s upcoming Accord-based Crossover and now thanks to VWVortex member GoVdubSPEEDGo, we have these amateur spy photos of the vehicle taken in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There is no denying the car’s relation to the Accord, with the exterior taillights and that strong line running across the…
Ferrari Patent Reveals Plans For A Turbocharged Engine
Last week we brought you news on a new four-wheel drive hybrid system that Ferrari is working on and now it appears as though the Italian maker of exotic cars is exploring turbochargers for future production models. Much like how the 4WD Hybrid setup came to light, the new turbocharger system was revealed due to…
General Motors Bankruptcy Official
While President Obama and General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson are both expected to hold press conferences today, officially GM has already filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. Once the world’s largest automaker and a symbol of the success of free market economics, GM is now a symbol of failure. In the 1950s it employed over…
800 Horsepower Ford Fiesta to Take On Pikes Peak
In an attempt to drum-up interest in the launch of the Fiesta in North America, Ford is putting on a serious publicity stunt by running two 800 horsepower versions of the economy car in the legendary Pikes Peak race. Ford is eager to appeal not just to econonomically-minded individuals with the Fiesta sub-compact, but also…
Honda CrossTour Coming This Fall to Compete With Toyota Venza
We’ve been waiting for Honda to come up with an Accord-based crossover since the moment Toyota pulled the wraps off its Camry-based Venza concept at the North American International Auto Show last year. It’s no surprise that Honda would build a vehicle to go head-to-head with the Venza (pictured above) and apparently the company isn’t…
Upcoming Lotus Esprit May Get 500 Horsepower Lexus V10
The upcoming Lotus Esprit may be powered by a 500hp Lexus V10 according to a report in the U.K.’s EVO magazine. Lotus has a long time partnership with Lexus parent company Toyota, using its Celica-sourced 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine for the Elise and Exige, as well as its the Camry-sourced 3.5-liter V6 for the Evora. According…
Red Bull Cola Banned After Tests Reveal Drink Contains Cocaine
Red Bull’s new Cola beverage might not be as popular as the brand’s energy drink, which is strange considering it’s addictive ingredient. No, not caffeine. Try cocaine. That’s right, during recent tests on the beverage it was found to have trace amounts (4 micrograms) of the illegal drug, prompting officials in six German states to…
Acura Four-Door Coupe In the Works?
It seems as though the upcoming Acura ZDX isn’t the only new model Honda’s luxury arm is planning to release in the near future. Both German auto pub Auto Motor und Sport and Japan’s Holiday Auto are both reporting that four-door coupe is in the works and that is likely to be based off the…
Ferrari Registers Patent for Four-Wheel Drive Hybrid
A series of patents that Ferrari has filed for a four-wheel drive hybrid system have leaked out and in true Ferrari fashion they are more red than green. You see, the patents show several different layouts, all of which are designed to use a hybrid system where the electric motor powers one set of wheels…
BMW 5 Series GT Officially Revealed
BMW has just released the first official photos and details on the 5 Series Gran Turismo (GT). The “Gran Turismo” name was attached to this new model as BMW believes the car will bring the functionality of a hatchback or crossover to the luxury sedan segment in the same way a traditional Gran Turismo vehicle…
UAW Reaches Agreement With General Motors
As a government imposed June 1st bankruptcy deadline looms on the horizon, the UAW is reporting that it has reached a tentative agreement with General Motors and the U.S. Treasury. The specifics of the agreement will not be made public until the contract is ratified, however, the UAW did say that changes have been made…
Lexus Releases Pics of Two LF-A Racers
Ahead of the world famous Nürburgring 24 Hour race this weekend, Lexus has released a set of photos of not one, but two LF-A models that will compete for the title. Last year Lexus brought an LF-A test mule out to the race but announced that it wasn’t technically competing, which is a good thing…
General Motors to Reduce Dealership Network by 1,124
General Motors will cut 1,124 dealerships loose by October of 2010. The struggling automaker on the verge of bankruptcy sent letters out to the dealerships last week as it searches for ways to reduce it’s current dealer network of 5,969 to just 3,600. GM says it will not renew dealership agreements with the 1,124 companies…
Ford Planning Return of the 5.0
Few engines have received the iconic status of the Ford Mustang’s 5.0. The motor disappeared in 1996 but now appears to be ready to make a comeback. News of the return comes out of Australia where Ford Australia product development boss Russell Christophers has confirmed a new 5.0-liter V8 is currently undergoing development in the…
Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Sets Auction Record at $12M
A Ferrari has once again set a new record for the highest sale price at an auction. The 1957 250 Testa Rossa sold for 9,020,000 Euro (or roughly $12 million), topping the previous record holder, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT that reached $9.6 million last year. The 250 Testa Rossa hit the block in Ferrari’s…
Nissan GT-R Sets Another Nürburgring Personal Best of 7:26.70
The Nissan GT-R has once again bested it’s own lap time at the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife, posting a new personal best of 7:26.70. Unfortunately for Nissan, the new time doesn’t move them up any in the fastest lap rankings, as the Corvette ZR1 still holds a lap time that is three tenth’s of a second…
Ferrari To Quit Formula 1 Next Year Unless Rules Change
Ferrari has officially declared that if FIA president Max Mosley intends to go through with his plan for a two-teared budgetary system in Formula 1 he can count the prancing horse out. In a statement Ferrari’s board of directors declared that if the FIA goes ahead with it’s plans, “then the reasons underlying Ferrari’s uninterrupted…
GM Exectives Sell Off Stock As Sign That Bankruptcy Certain
GM Vice Chair Bob Lutz Kisses a Saturn Astra. Recently he kissed-goodbye to all his stock in the company. In a move that should probably be illegal (but isn’t) six General Motors executives recently sold off all their shares in the company. That’s right, those same guys who helped drive GM into bankruptcy traded in…
General Motors Cuts More High-Performance Models
Late last week we reported that GM was ceasing production of the Cobalt SS Sedan and now the automaker has confirmed several other performance models will get the axe. That’s right, the latest vehicles to face the guillotine in this French Revolution-style automotive bloodbath are three (or four depending on how you look at it)…
Future BMW 1-Series and 3-Series to Get Turbocharged 3-Cylinder and 4-Cylinder Engines
BMW has made it clear that it is working hard to deliver performance as well as fuel economy, doing away with larger displacement motors wherever possible and introducing turbocharged smaller-displacement powerplants that produce as much (or more) power. While BMW has been able to give impressive performance to sporty models like the 135 and 335…
