american cars
SEMA 2009: Ford Unveils 411-hp F-150 SVT Raptor and 500-hp FR Raptor XT for Off Road Racing
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As though Ford didn’t have enough going on at the 2009 SEMA Show, the automaker today announced two big updates for the amazing F-150 SVT Raptor. First up is official confirmation and performance numbers for the new, larger V8 engine. Possibly the only weak point in the Raptor was its relatively average 320-hp 5.4-liter V8…
SEMA 2009: Vaughn Gittin Jr. RTR-C Mustang Gets a Full Carbon Fiber Body
Easy one of the most eye-popping cars at Ford’s SEMA Show booth is the Vaughn Gittin Jr. RTR-C 2010 Mustang – and that’s saying a lot considering Ford’s massive presence at this year’s show. With a complete carbon fiber body, all we know is the folks at German tuner Mansory (know for building cars like…
SEMA 2009: Mr. Norm’s Garage Rolls into SEMA With a Rainbow of Challenger Convertibles
With the SEMA Show officially starting tomorrow, we were in town early and thought we drop by to see what we might stumble upon. It was hard to miss the tasty Skittles rainbow of convertible Challengers parked out front. Dodge tuner Mr. Norm’s Garage was displaying five of the drop-top Challengers in different colors and…
Report: Dodge Officially Unveils Challenger for NASCAR Nationwide Series With Two Car Penske Team
Dodge has officially unveiled its 2010 Challenger NASCAR racer (at least from one angle) with an announcement that it will field a two car team in next year’s Nationwide Series, run by Penske Racing. “As the performance brand of our new company, we are excited to expand our relationship with Penske Racing and introduce the…
Report: GM Expects First Monthly Sales Increase in Almost Two Years
GM’s sales numbers for October must be good because the company is already announcing that it expects to post its first monthly sales increase in 21 months. Still several days away, Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s executive director of global market and industry analysis, told the Detroit Free Press the good news. Looking back to October of…
SEMA Preview: Specter Werkes/Sports Twin-Turbo Corvette GTR Gets Carbon Fiber HRE Wheels
HRE wheels has teamed up with Michigan-based Corvette tuner Specter Werkes/Sports to build a seriously impressive ZO6, which will showcase the wheel maker’s new carbon fiber rims. HRE has been working on a line of carbon fiber wheels for quite some time now – even displaying a prototype version at last year’s SEMA Show. The…
Leaked: 2010 Saleen Mustang S281 Revealed Ahead of SEMA Debut
Prior to its official SEMA Show debut, several photos of the Saleen S281 version of the 2010 Mustang have leaked onto the net. With all the controversy surrounding the Saleen brand as of late, it’s no surprise that this pony car won’t be displayed along with the stable of Stangs at Ford’s booth. Then again,…
Breaking: Fiat to Kill-Off Nine Chrysler Group Vehicles Including Sebring, Grand Caravan
A week ahead of a planned Fiat/Chrysler press conference in which Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of both automakers, was to outline the future of Chrysler, much of the information has been revealed in an in-depth report in the Wall Street Journal. But before we get to the new products that the Italian-owned automaker is planning…
SEMA Preview: SpeedFactory 700-hp Challenger SRT8 Headed to Sin City
Ready to give the Lingenfelter Camaro a run for its money, the team at SpeedFactory will unveil a 440 cubic-inch Dodge Challenger SRT8 with as much as 700-hp. The power increase comes thanks to a supercharger, but that’s not all. The 440 cu.-in. (7.2-liter) engine is a big step up from the already huge 6.1-liter…
SEMA Preview: Ford Explores Three Sides of Fusion With Custom Hybrid, Sport and 4-Cylinder Models
Mid-sized sedans aren’t exactly the type of vehicle that spring to mind when you think of the SEMA Show, but Ford will be presenting three versions of its impressive new family car in Las Vegas next week. Each of the three vehicles represents a different part of the Fusion’s spectrum, with a hybrid offering, a…
SEMA Preview: Lincoln to Display Customized MKS, MKZ and Ugly Ducking MKT at SEMA
Lincoln has been hard at work refreshing its lineup over the past few years and the luxury arm of Ford has chosen to display three of its newest vehicles at the 2009 SEMA Show: a 2010 MKZ, a 2009 MKS and a 2010 MKT. But before the two luxury sedans and one crossover made their…
Report: Ford Outlines Massive 2010 Mustang Presence at SEMA Show
The 2010 Mustang is here and its only fitting that the most customized car in the world will be the focus of attention at the 2009 SEMA Show. Ford will have eight Mustangs, modified by tuning and race shops on display. Plus, there are certain to be numerous others at the show. Tuners like 3dCarbon…
Report: Fisker Expected to Build New Affordable Plug-In Hybrids at Former GM Plant in Delaware
Having recently been awarded a $500 million loan by the U.S. government to build affordable pug-in hybrids, Fisker Automotive is expected to build those cars at a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce tomorrow that the California-based Fisker company will revive the Boxwood Road facility in Wilmington….
SEMA Preview: Lincoln Tuner Mobsteel Bringing New Ford Taurus SHO to Vegas
Ford has once again reached out to resto-mod tuner shop Mobsteel to build a display car for the SEMA Show that kicks off next week. Specializing in rebuilding 1960s Lincoln Continentals, Ford noticed two of these cars at SEMA a few years back and had the Mobsteel crew build a custom Ford Flex for last…
SEMA Preview: Lingenfelter to Give Trans Am New Life… and 655 Horsepower
Get out your old Whitesnake muscle shirt because the Trans Am is back… sort of. The Corvette and Chevy tuning experts at Lingenfelter have announced that they will bring a modern Trans Am to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas next week, taking inspiration from the 1971 second-gen TA. That means it will have a…
SEMA Preview: Hurst Camaro Fetches $61,900 at eBay Auction
The first ever Camaro to be built by Hurst Performance Vehicles has been sold for a sum of $61,900 at an eBay auction. The car makes 445-hp and is outfitted with a complete modification package including Hurst wheels, an Eibach suspension, a Magnaflow exhaust, as well as a selection of Hurst aerodynamic modifications and, of…
Leaked: Chevy Silverado Baja Off-Road SEMA Vehicle Accidentally Revealed in GM YouTube Video?
Recently General Motors posted a video on YouTube teasing six-new Camaro stripe designs that will be on display at the 2009 SEMA Show. In the backdrop for the video there is also a rather wild looking pickup truck, which is believed to also be a special projected also headed to SEMA. Reported to be called…
Report: Chevy Contest Asks You to Name the Volt’s Paint Color and Win a Test Drive
No doubt if you’ve ever looked at a picture of Chevy’s upcoming, revolutionary plug-in hybrid, the car has been painted sliver. But “silver” isn’t exactly the sort of name that helps to sell a car or to properly brand it. And besides, there’s more to the paint than silver, as it has a bit of…
SEMA Preview: 750-hp Lingenfelter Camaro to Debut in Hotchkis Booth
After building up a reputation as a top level Corvette tuner, Lingenfelter engineering is taking what they know about the Chevy sports car and adapting it to the bowtie brand’s newest performance machine, the Camaro. Set to be unveiled at the 2009 SEMA Show in just a few weeks, Lingenfelter has taken a Camaro SS…
Report: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Named “Truck of Texas” by Texas Auto Writers Association
Each year the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) gives out accolades to vehicles in different classes, but none carry the quite the prestigious honor as the “Truck of Texas” title. For 2010 TAWA has awarded the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor as the “Truck of Texas,” making this the seventh year in a row that a…
Report: Dodge Challenger Gets Limited Edition Plum Crazy Paint for 2010
Dodge has announced that for 2010 it is resurrecting the Plum Crazy paint color. The eye-catching shade of purple will be available on Challenger SRT and R/T Classic models, which will also get black dual wide side stripes or optional white stripes. All Plum Crazy R/T models will get Plum stitching on the seats, while…
Report: Ford Catching Honda In Hybrid Sales Race
Ford is closing in on its Japanese rivals in the hybrid sales race. So far in 2009 the American automaker has posted a 73 percent gain in its hybrid sales with a total of 26,016 vehicles sold. That number is roughly 4,000 short of Honda’s total hybrid sales at 29,958 units, but the percentage of…
Spied: 2011 Buick Regal Caught in Michigan
Thanks to a quick thinking amateur spy photographer, we now have a single photo of what the upcoming 2011 Buick Regal will look like. Caught outside the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Grand raids, Michigan, the car was reportedly being photographed for future editorial or advertising images. A gentleman who goes by the name Nathan,…
Report: Upcoming Buick Regal May Get Sporty 280-hp GS Model
Just a week after GM announced the return of the Buick Regal nameplate, reports suggest the General may be preparing to launch a high-powered GS trim level. All versions of the car would be based on the European Opel Insignia platform (shown above) but the GS trim model would get the LaCrosse’s 280-hp 3.6-liter V6,…
