Here's the latest Gran Turismo 5 trailer deftly slipped onto the God of War 3 game disc. The big revelation here is night racing, and it of course involves GT5's "cover car," the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
Beyond that, this trailer is a sampler. Lots of Ferrari 458 Italia eye candy, plus more evidence of car mortality as an STI gets caught up in traffic. The Nurburgring and Indy are in the trailer, but so are city streets in Rome (right past the Pantheon) and Tokyo.
Fiat's is back! Well, not just yet, but come this time next year the Fiat 500 minicar will be in U.S. dealerships.
Which dealerships? Well, that hasn't been determined yet, but Fiat has taken one big step toward figuring that out by naming by naming a head of North American operations.
Laura Soave, who previously worked at Volkswagen and Ford, was announced as the new Head of the Fiat Brand for North American today. Soave held various marketing positions in her previous jobs and will report directly to Sergio Marchionne, CEO of the Chrysler Group.
This is the first shot inside the cabin of the 2011 Dodge Charger. As you can see, it's a definite step up from the current model although that's not saying much. Thankfully, Chrysler's designers didn't go too far overboard with the revamp as it all looks like pretty tasteful stuff.
This prototype was also missing the small piece of camouflage that concealed the C-pillar in previous photos. As you can see after the jump, this Charger will have a slightly different profile than the current model, more like the concept that appeared -- and then disappeared - so many years ago.
Production of this heavily revamped Dodge Charger is expected to start this fall, so expect an official debut in the coming months.
Do we know for sure that this is an S8? Not really, as our shooters never did get a peek under the hood.
But this car does have a few signs of possible "S-ness". Note the quad pipes in back and the sizable brake rotors lurking under those blacked out wheels. The tires are obviously "Arctic spec," so they don't add anything to the story.
Hard to tell which engine this big sedan will use. Some speculation says it will a version of the twin-turbo V10 currently used in the RS6. With nearly 600 horsepower, it would surely do the job.
Then again, there's talk that Audi is getting away from using V10s in favor of turbocharged V8s. Given that the recently-introduced RS5 received a 450-horsepower, normally aspirated V8, it stands to reason that Audi could add a turbo and blow past the 500 mark without much trouble.
Hard to believe it's been 20 years since Infiniti showed up in America with a bunch of fancy new Nissans. Yet, here we are in 2010 and the brand is still doing quite well. In fact, so well that it decided to commemorate its two decades in America with an anniversary edition of the G sedan, coupe and convertible.
Like most anniversary edition cars, there's not much substance here. All 800 cars (300 sedan, 250 each of the coupe and convertible) will wear Graphite Shadow paint and Monaco Red interiors. Unique wheels, summer performance tires and mildly revised front fascias are also standard on all versions as is a blacked out grille. Heck, the coupe and sedan even get a rear spoiler.
Clearly none of this stuff is enough to warrant a G purchase alone, but if you're already in the market for one it might be worth taking a look. Maybe they'll be worth something, someday. Or not.
A weird ailment has afflicted the automotive media for the last several years, the main symptom of which is coverage of commercial vans. It all started with the Dodge/Mercedes/Freightliner/MG Sprinter. Then it segued into the recently introduced Ford Transit Connect. So in the interest of fairness, we present the 2011 Nissan NV commercial van in all its industrial-chic pure whiteness.
The NV stands for Nissan Van, which makes this body-on-frame cargo champ the Nissan Nissan Van. But we digress. Unlike the Ford, this Nissan will be built in the United States, at Nissan's plant in Mississippi (which really hasn't had all that much to do of late). Further, the NV, which is available in Standard Roof and super-dorky High Roof versions, is a rear-drive workhorse offered with either a 4.0-liter V6 or a 5.6-liter V8. A 5-speed automatic will be the only available transmission.
No diesel-powered version or extended wheelbase variant have been announced. At 240.9 inches in overall length, the NV is about the same size as the smallest Dodge Sprinter was and a little more than five feet longer than the wee little Transit Connect. A Standard Roof version will hold "220+" cubic feet of stuff. The High Roof will swallow "300+" cubic feet of goods.
If you wipe the Ford E-series front grille off the thing, we think the Standard Roof NV has a certain Brinks-truck vibe -- in a good way. It goes on sale in late 2010.
General Motors announced today that the diesel engine in its 2011 Heavy-Duty pickup trucks will produce 30 pound-feet more torque than the diesel engine in the 2011 Ford Super Duty.
Well, technically, GM announced that its 6.6-liter Duramax diesel V8 produces 397 horsepower and 765 lb-ft of torque. But the significance of the torque number is lost on no one. The two heavy-weights in the heavy-duty pickup market have been engaging in a bit of you-show-me-your's-first. Ford, whose Super Duty goes on sale before the GM trucks, finally made its power ratings known in an announcementat the end of February.
GM's power and torque increases (up 32 hp and 105 lb-ft from last year's Duramax) come as a result of significant changes to the diesel V8 including a revised turbocharger oil circuit for increased pressure at the turbo, higher strength piston and connecting rod pin ends, a new piezo-actuated fuel injection system and other changes. GM notes that its diesel should be 11 percent more fuel efficient on the highway and allows for greater tow ratings. A Silverado 3500HD equipped with a fifth wheel hitch can tow up to 20,000 pounds.
Interestingly, GM says that a different version of the Duramax will power the chassis and box-delete models. It makes less horsepower (335) and torque (685 lb-ft) than the headline-grabbing version.
GM's 6.0-liter gas-fueled V8 makes 360 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque in pickup versions and 322 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque in chassis and bed-delete models. Both versions are less than the power figures of Ford's new 6.2-liter gas V8 (385 hp and 405 lb-ft).
And so, in this fashion both companies may lay claim to a win in the great pissing-match of 2011.
You like carbon fiber, right? Of course you do. It's all, you know, carbon-y black and racy. And, of course, it makes any vehicle onto which it is applied, like, superfast.
Might we then introduce you to the 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Carbon edition?
This limited-run, special-edition Z06 comes with a bunch of the magic-fabric. Carbon-fiber pieces include the hood and the black carbon fiber splitter and rockers from the ZR1. That bulged hood is the same shape as the ZR1's but lacks its peek-a-boo window.
Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the track, along with comments direct from the test drivers. Enjoy.
When the current-generation MDX first arrived nearly four years ago, it was a dramatic change, both in terms of styling and performance. The new Super Handling all-wheel-drive system turned the family hauler into a more performance-oriented luxury cruiser. Instead of being compared to a cushy Lexus, we thought it felt more like a BMW X5.
For 2010, Acura gave the MDX a modest set of upgrades. Most notable among them was a new six-speed automatic transmission. The 3.7-liter V6 got a few revisions, too, but its output remains nearly unchanged at 300 horses and 270 pound-feet of torque.
The suspension got a few minor upgrades as well. The Active Damper system was retuned to deliver a wider range of adjustment while various chassis points were reinforced for additional rigidity. MDXs with the Advance Package like our tester also get 19-inch aluminum wheels with 255/50 tires. Does any of it help? Check the numbers for yourself after the jump.
