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#51
23-03-2010, 09:10 PM
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Video: Two Honda HSV-010s crash and burn at SuperGT season opener
Filed under: Motorsports, Japan, Honda, Racing  Click above to view the video after the jump The 12 Hours of Sebring wasn't the only season opener to take place this past weekend, as teams across Japan descended on Suzuka for the first race of the 2010 SuperGT season. And spectators didn't just enjoy the inaugural outing of the new Honda HSV-010 GT500 racers, they saw two of the five Hondas crash in spectacular fashion. A slight drizzle at the start of the race resulted in the pole-sitting No. 18 Weider Honda, piloted by Takashi Kogure, to run off track and fall towards the back of the pack. Kogure later set the fastest time (1:55.555) during his fifth lap, working his way up to eighth place in the process. But one lap later, Kogure, the No. 32 Epson HSV-010 and No. 8 ARTA HSV-010 made an impromptu sandwich going into the first corner, sending the No. 18 and No. 8 Honda's into the wall. You can check out the race results, along with the crash and the aftermath in the video after the jump, and get an eyeful from Suzuka in the gallery below. [Source: SuperGT] Continue reading Video: Two Honda HSV-010s crash and burn at SuperGT season opener Video: Two Honda HSV-010s crash and burn at SuperGT season opener originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Commentsأكثر... 
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#52
29-03-2010, 06:10 PM
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Officially Official: Lexus LFA N?¼rburgring gets more specs, limited to just 50 units
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Europe, Japan, Lexus, Luxury  Lexus LFA Nürburgring package - Click above for high-res image gallery Lexus has finally dropped a few official savory details about its special-edition LFA Nürburgring. Word is there's an additional 10 horsepower on tap from the bat-guano V10, nudging the final figure to "more than 562" blistering ponies. To help handle the extra grunt and give the carbon-fiber wonder a little extra stick on track, the Lexus engineers have worked up a new aero package consisting of front and side spoilers, as well as a landing-deck sized fixed rear wing. And yes, they're all made of carbon. Lexus has also firmed up the suspension even further, and fitted it with the mesh alloys seen above with "dedicated high-grip tyres." Uh-huh. Even more surprisingly, Lexus has managed to trim the transmission's shift times to just 0.15 seconds, officially putting the LFA into the cog-swapping hall of fame. Lexus has managed to still get the LFA to 62 mph in around 3.7 seconds and net a top speed of 202 mph in spite of the car's higher downforce. If you want one, you better start bribing people now. The company plans on handing out just 50 examples within the standard LFA production run of 500 units. [Source: Lexus] Officially Official: Lexus LFA N?¼rburgring gets more specs, limited to just 50 units originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Commentsأكثر...
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#53
31-03-2010, 04:50 PM
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New York 2010: 2011 Nissan Juke is actually pretty neat
Filed under: New York Auto Show, Budget, Japan, Crossover, Nissan  2011 Nissan Juke - Click above for high-res image gallery Attention all you small crossover fans out there, now is the time to get excited. Nissan pulled back the curtain on the 2011 Juke and although we've seen it (at the Geneva Motor Show), we're still glad it's here. We're being implored to mention that some of us think the front end has a Pontiac Aztek quality about it. Others ("Hi, Mom!") feel different. Yeah, it's... not normal looking, but we've seen worse. At least it's not derivative. The rest of the Juke's styling, however, is much less controversial. Especially that rear three-quarter view. Sadly, Nissan has neglected to hold a press conference for the Juke, so we're still not sure exactly how much power this mini-ute is making. For now, we're stuck with the "180+ horsepower and 170+ lb-ft of torque" from its 1.6-liter direct-injected four-cylinder turbo, figures that are cited in the car's press release. There's a manual option for the front drivers, but CVT-only for the torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive versions. As soon as we can track down a Nissan employee with the details, we'll update the post. Until then, chew on this for more details. Also, while this here Juke is a right-hand driver, Nissan will be selling Jukes to us left-seat driving, high-rider loving Yanks come 2011. UPDATE: We've talked Nissan's people here in NYC and until the 1.6-liter goes through the EPA, those numbers are still estimates. Nissan will tweak the engine to hit its mileage targets, at which point horsepower and torque figures will be solidified. Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc. Continue reading New York 2010: 2011 Nissan Juke is actually pretty neat New York 2010: 2011 Nissan Juke is actually pretty neat originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Commentsأكثر...
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#54
31-03-2010, 06:50 PM
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New York 2010: 2011 Infiniti QX56 priced identical to 2010 model at $56,700
Filed under: New York Auto Show, SUV, Japan, Infiniti, Luxury  2011 Infiniti QX56 - Click above for high-res image gallery After a quite entertaining piece of both gravity and physiology-defying strangeness from some smiley Cirque de Soleil performers (Infiniti is the official sponsor of Cirque de Soleil), Infiniti's product boss Carlos Tavares took the wraps off the all-new QX56. Based not on the Nissan Armada chassis (like the previous QX56) but instead on the heavy-duty Patrol, the new QX56 is a large, eight passenger "5-Star Luxury" body on frame SUV. That said, Infiniti managed to shed over 100 pound of flab compared to the 2010 QX56. Speaking of the 2010 iteration, the previous QX56 is roundly regarded as one of the most awkward and ungainly looking luxo-barges, well, ever. In fact, if we were to put together a museum exhibit about the uncontrolled and obnoxious wild excesses of the just-ended SUV craze, the old QX would get top billing right next to a Hummer H2 and the Cadillac Escalade EXT. The new QX56 changes all that. It's world's better looking. We'd even go so far as to state that it has a certain Middle Eastern chic to it. Put it like this: if you had to cruise around your kingdom checking oil wells what would you rather be driving? Infiniti is billing the QX56 as an eight-passenger private jet. Mr. Tavares must have said the word "luxury" a dozen times in his ten-minute presentation. Judging by our time with the all-new 2011 M37 and M56, we can declare then when they want to, Infiniti is fully capable of building a world-class interior. In the 2011 QX56, even the third-row reclines. Oh, they've also seen fit to stuff seven-inch color displays into the backs of the front head rests. Hardware-wise, the QX56 is a body-on-frame full-size SUV sporting the same 5.6-liter variable-timing, direct-injection V8 as the M56, although in QX-trim it "only" makes 400 horsepower. However, while Infiniti had no official word on torque, they did explain the new QX56 can tow 8,500 pounds. And the big boy's seven-speed automatic allows it to get an almost, kinda respectable 20 mpg on the highway. Most noteworthy is the inclusion of a Hydraulic Body Motion Control system that Infiniti claims reduces body roll by 40%. It uses an X-corner fluid distribution system (similar to how the Audi RS4 is suspended) that moves suspension fluid from the left front damper to the right rear, and vice-versa. Infiniti also claims the system is so effective that new QX56 has less body roll than the BMW 5 Series. Either way, the QX56 goes on this sale this summer, starting at the exact same price as the old one, $56,700. Make the jump to read the press release. Live photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc. Continue reading New York 2010: 2011 Infiniti QX56 priced identical to 2010 model at $56,700 New York 2010: 2011 Infiniti QX56 priced identical to 2010 model at $56,700 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Commentsأكثر...
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#55
31-03-2010, 10:30 PM
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New York 2010: Scion reveals better looking, more powerful 2011 tC
Filed under: New York Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Japan, Scion  2011 Scion tC - Click above for high-res image gallery The big reveal for Scion at the 2010 New York Auto Show is staring you square in the face. Meet the 2011 tC. Scion describes the car as defining "refined aggression." They called it, "masculine," too. Even though the new car borrows fairly heavily from the 2006 Fuse concept (not to mention the outgoing tC), our collective jury is still out on the refined aggression part. But we'll go ahead and agree that the new model does indeed look more masculine, which is good for Scion, as the tC demographic not only skews young (most youthful in the industry it turns out), but very male as well. As for what's new, the engine is now a 2.5-liter I-4, up from 2.4 liters. Power is up as well. The new tC ships with a respectable 180 horsepower and 173 pound-feet of torque. That's plus 19 ponies and 11 pound feet. The suspension is now "sport tuned" and the power steering is electronic, which Scion assured us better allows the engineers to dial in more steering feel. Uh-huh. The new tC also gets better gas mileage than the previous car (no word yet on exactly how much better) and comes with two new transmissions. There's a six-speed automatic that features sequential-shift (Scion-speak for a manual shift mode) as well asa six-speed manual that promises more refined shifting than the old five-speed. Other goodies include 18-inch wheels and larger tires, bigger brake rotors (Scion claimed 16-inch rotors front and back during the press conference, but that's... insane) and a flat-bottom steering wheel. The tC has been our favorite Scion ever since Scion replaced the fist-gen xB with the fatter second-gen model. As such, it looks as if we have a new favorite. Press release, after the jump. Live photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc. Continue reading New York 2010: Scion reveals better looking, more powerful 2011 tC New York 2010: Scion reveals better looking, more powerful 2011 tC originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Commentsأكثر...
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