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Mazda Shows Off Mazda2, Mazda3 and MX-5 in Doodle Design

admin — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 05:42:00 +0000

As part of its sponsorship of the “O2 World Tour” event held in Hamburg, Germany, the Japanese firm raffled off a Mazda2, Mazda3 and an MX-5 / Miata Roadster, all of which featured the same drawings from doodle-design artist, Carl Heinz Daxl.

We can’t but wonder how long will it take for the three owners of the cars to remove the ‘doodly’ finish…

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Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Flies to Museum Terrace

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:44:55 +0000

Mercedes-Benz had the folks that transferred the all-new 2010 SLS AMG coupe to the roof terrace of its Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, open the supercar’s gullwing doors during the air-lift. Luckily, the silver colored SLS AMG did not need to use its metal wings as the operator of the 120-ton hydraulic crane successfully placed the car 42 meters up on the museum’s roof terrace.

The 571-horsepower SLS AMG coupe, which had its world premiere just recently at the Frankfurt International Motor Show, will be on display at the museum between the 6th and 16th of October 2009.

Normally, the 465 square meter outdoor area of the Mercedes-Benz Museum is not open to the public, so it’s definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in the ‘neighborhood’.

“This will be a very emotional experience for our visitors,” commented Michael Bock, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz Museum GmbH. “This super sports car stands for excitement, passion and high-tech. As museum for the past present and future of the automobile we provide an ideal setting for the exclusive presentation of the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.”

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VW Polo 3-Door Goes On Sale in UK, Price Starts From £9,435

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:23:52 +0000

About a week before the first five-door examples of the new Polo are delivered to UK customers, Volkswagen has announced pricing for the three-door model that is available for order now with first deliveries set to take place in early January 2010. Both body styles share the same engine and trim levels, with the entry-level version of the three-door model, the 60HP 1.2 S starting at 9,435. According to Volkswagen, the same five-door Polo costs 10,035.

Current petrol engine options include a 1.2-liter unit with 60HP and 70HP and a 1.4-liter that makes 85HP, while the diesel range comprises of a .16-liter TDI with 75HP and 90HP..

UK Police Employs Mitsubishi i-MiEV

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:06:39 +0000

While police officers in the States are getting ready to welcome the 2011 Chevrolet Caprice, in the UK the boys in blue -well, at least some of them- will soon be cracking down crime with the help (?) of Mitsubishi’s all-electric i MiEV. The five-door micro car was showcased in full police livery at the National Police Show in September and according to the Japanese automaker, since then the company has been swamped with requests from UK Police Forces to trial the i MiEV.

Mitsubishi said that the first production versions of the i-MiEV are set to arrive in the UK in November 2009 and will be on the road in December 2009, with West Midlands Police being the first department to run the all-electric micro car in full operational use.

The four-seat, bubble-shaped i-MiEV gets an electric motor that makes 47kW / 64HP and 180Nm (132.8 lb-ft) of peak torque. Power is delivered to the rear-wheels with Mitsubishi claiming a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 81mph (130km/h).

Certainly not the best choice if you’re trying to pursue someone but we gather that the i-MiEV will most likely be used by urban cops for light tasks.

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Audi Offers to Place an R8 V10 Poster on Your Garage for Just $469.99

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:58:09 +0000

So, you’re probably wondering by now whether or not we’re pulling your leg, right? Well, if you read the title carefully, you’ll have noticed that we said “on” and not “in” your garage. To explain. Being realistic and all, Audi is well aware of the fact that with a six-figure price tag, very few people in this world can afford to park a 535HP V10-powered R8 5.2 FSI in their garage.

With this in mind, the creative folks of Audi’s Canadian division came up with the next best thing to owning the vehicle itself: a 1:1 scale, life-size print of red R8 V10 for your… garage door.

At first we thought it must be some sort of marketing / advertising gimmick, but Audi of Canada actually offers the special print for sale on its official website at a price of $469.99 CAD (about $430 US or 293 at today’s exchange rates).

The R8 garage cover is available for three different garage door sizes but unfortunately for most of you that liked the idea, you’ll be thwarted to know that it’s only offered for Canadian residents.

Schloss Bensberg Classics automobile show: HD Gallery

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:55:20 +0000

Last weekend (sep 25-27, 2009) we had seen the first schloss Bensberg Classic Autmobile
show, which held in colognue, Germany at the Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg,18th century castle that has been converted into a luxury hotel since 2000.The three day event which was sponsored by Volkswagen Group, included a Concours d’Elegance competition day for classic cars and concept models as well as a Historic Rally along the roads of the Bergisches Land in North Rhine-Westphalia for vehicles built up until 1979.

The 1st Schloss Bensberg Classics Concours d’Elgance saw an array of production and prototype models making their way to Germany spanning from pre-war models such as the Bugatti 57SC Atlantic to 1960s and 1970s exotics and concept cars like the Lancia HF Stratos and Italdesign’s 1973 Audi Karmann Asso Di Picche coupe that’s pictured above as well as more modern prototypes including the Lamborghini Estoque and Cadillac Sixteen (V16).

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Boys in Blue Acquire Lexus IS-F V8 Police Car in the UK

admin — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 03:50:52 +0000

Humberside Police made automotive headlines today in the UK after the department announced that it has taken delivery of its first Lexus IS-F police car. The 168mph (270km/h) rear-wheel drive sports sedan that is powered by a 417HP 5.0-liter V8 engine will replace the current Subarus employed by the Roads Crime Section. Special decals and LEDs aside, the police version of the IS-F is equipped with 30,000 (about $50k or 34k) worth of on-board computers and communications equipment.

The department, which is responsible for policing the area covering the East Riding of Yorkshire, the city of Kingston, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, said that specially trained officers spent 12 months evaluating a number of high performance vehicles before reaching a decision.

Sergeant Mike Peck of the Humberside Police Roads Crime Section said: “The purchase of the vehicle was far from an easy decision and involved research and advice from the force fleet manager, financial managers and a vehicle dynamics expert.”

“The Lexus was tested during a 12 month period along with similar vehicles and proved itself to be ideally suited in providing a dynamically safe high performance chassis along with an electronically stable platform for the computer equipment. In the past this equipment has placed huge demands on vehicles but the Lexus IS-F easily met with our requirements,” Peck concluded.

Ferrari Opens His Dedicated Store at the Nurburgring Circuit

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:27:06 +0000

Following in the footsteps of other automakers such as Nissan and Aston Martin, Ferrari has opened a new dedicated store at the Nurburgring race track. The 240 square meter Ferrari Store which happens to be the Italian firm’s first shop in Germany, offers a wide variety of products from the Prancing Horse ranges for GT car customers as well as for enthusiasts while there’s also a special lounge area for meetings and a relaxation area directly overlooking the circuit itself.

And if you have been wondering why so many makers have been opening stores lately at the ‘Ring, the plan is to turn the world famous circuit into an all-year round “leisure and business center” – something like a ‘Disney World’ for car aficionados. For this reason, a great number of buildings are being added around the course including a dedicated shopping boulevard, an events and conference center and of course, hotels.

Chinese Hybrid Sports Car Mixes Audi R8 and Ferrari Styling Traits

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:49:17 +0000

It has come to the point where this blatant copying of Western car designs from Chinese auto manufacturers is getting totally ridiculous. The Tong Jian S11 that was reportedly revealed at the Shanghai Motor Show earlier this year but somehow escaped our radars, borrows several styling cues from a number of vehicles including the Audi R8-esque profile and the Ferrari-inspired tail design.

The Tong Jian S11 is said to be a hybrid sports car that presumably combines electric motors with an internal combustion engine. There are no specific details on the car’s mechanics nor if it is scheduled to enter production at some point.