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Just Around the Corner: Nissan GT-R Spec V
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Nissan\’s GT-R (pictured) is already a global critical success, and now the Japan market is getting a Spec-V version. (Photo courtesy of Nissan Motors Corporation Inc.)
TOKYO — If you were impressed by the Nissan GT-R, wait until you see the limited-edition Spec V, to be launched in Japan on January 8. No plans have been announced for it to come to North America, Nissan says.
The Spec V arrives barely 12 months after the base model landed in domestic showrooms in December of 2007, and just six months since its debut in the U.S. market.
As this is published, three weeks before the launch, Nissan was remaining tight-lipped about details of the road-going racing car. The company briefly tested a camouflaged prototype at Germany\’s famed N?rburgring in October, but information on this car… Read the rest of this entry
Suzuki Getting Out of FIA World Rally Championship
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Factory Suzuki SX4s will roar through the underbrush no more now that the automaker is pulling out of the FIA World Rally Championship. (Photo courtesy of American Suzuki Motor Corporation)
HAMAMATSU, Japan — Suzuki Motor Corporation has announced that it is getting out of the FIA World Rally Championship and won\’t contest the 2009 series. The decision was made because of the world economic situation, the automaker said in a statement.
In 2008, Suzuki participated in the WRC series with two SX4 WRCs. The company first took part in the Junior World Rally Championship in 2002 and moved into the WRC in 2008. Suzuki said it will continue to support customers who enter JWRC and Swift Cup events.
Suzuki said it \”foresees the shrinking trend in long-term periods of time rather than a short-term phenomenon\” and plans to \”focus on…core business functions.\”
BMW Recalls 2007-08 Mini Cooper S to Replace Tailpipe
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BMW is recalling, in a less than cheerful way, the 2007-\’08 Mini Cooper S to swap out the tailpipe with a shorter one. (Photo courtesy of BMW North America, Inc.)
WASHINGTON — BMW is recalling 28,450 2007-\’08 Mini Cooper S vehicles to replace the tailpipe with a shorter one, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
\”The centrally located tailpipe extension protrudes slightly behind the rear bumper,\” said NHTSA\’s recalls summary of the problem. \”It is possible for inadvertent contact to occur with a person\’s leg. If the tailpipe extension is hot during inadvertent contact, a burn could occur.\”
However, in BMW\’s documentation filed with the federal government, the German automaker… Read the rest of this entry
Detroit Automakers and Bush Wait for the Other Shoe…to Drop
KABUL, Afghanistan — The White House does not expect to make an announcement today on the fate of the domestic auto industry, according to Reuters.
President Bush, who ducked in time to avoid shoes thrown by an angry Iraqi journalist during a surprise weekend visit to that country, said on Monday in Kabul that an announcement on the auto industry rescue was not imminent.
In the meantime, General Motors said it would slash another 250,000 vehicles from its North American production forecast for the first quarter of 2009. The latest cuts involve 20 assembly plants, including three each in Canada and Mexico. The cuts also affect the automaker\’s Bowling Green, Kentucky, plant, which builds the Chevrolet Corvette and the Cadillac XLR, as well as GM\’s Lansing Grand River plant that builds the Cadillac CTS and the Cadillac STS.
The debate continues to rage about which direction the… Read the rest of this entry
Steve Saleen Will Build 2010 Signature Series SMS 460 Mustangs
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No word yet on the SMS 460 Mustang pricing, volume predictions or shipping schedule. (Photo courtesy of SMS)
ORANGE COUNTY, California — A key question for Steve Saleen\’s people on Monday was whether his 2010 Signature Series SMS 460 Mustang will be shown in January at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. The answer is no, but Saleen wanted to be at the head of the pack anyway when it came to announcing high-performance modifications on the 2010 Ford Mustang.
No word yet on the SMS 460 Mustang pricing, volume predictions or shipping schedule, according to Axel E. Catton, spokesman for SMS, Steve Saleen\’s new company. Manufacturing is expected to kick off in the second quarter of 2009. There\’s not even an official image,… Read the rest of this entry
Tuner Special: Geiger Cars Lifts Hummer 10 Inches for German Celeb
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German movie star Jumbo Schreiner had a Hummer H2 SUT customized just for him. Naturally, the changes included a jacked-up ride height and an \”XXL\” decal on the side of the big truck. (Photo courtesy of Geiger Cars)
MUNICH, Germany — Geiger Cars has customized a Hummer H2 SUT for a German actor named Jumbo by jacking up the ride height, throwing on some big tires and slapping an \”XXL\” decal on the side.
The lifted Hummer, built for Jumbo Schreiner, rides on a 10-inch lift kit and chromed aluminum 20-inch wheels wrapped in Toyo rubber. The powertrain is the typical 6.2-liter V8 mated to a six-speed automatic, but Geiger has offered one concession to the environment. Jumbo\’s H2 SUT packs a 200-liter tank in the bed to carry clean-burning liquefied petroleum gas.
Geiger has… Read the rest of this entry
Formula 1 Adopts Radical Cost-Slashing Rules Changes
MONACO — Sweeping changes designed to cut the cost of competition in Formula 1 were adopted by the World Motorsport Council on Friday.
Both sanctioning body and constructors came together on the major revisions, in response to the surprise withdrawal of Honda from the sport on December 5. The changes were agreed to by the sanctioning body, the F?d?ration Internationale de l\’Automobile (FIA), and the Formula 1 Teams Association (FOTA), the constructors that field entries in the world Grand Prix series.
Unanimity among FOTA members — including the five automakers still involved in the sport and four independent teams — was described as complete and unprecedented. FOTA President Luca di Montezemolo praised the constructors\’ group for its action.
\”There is a common sense of the difficult moment of our sport,\” said di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari and chairman of parent company Fiat. \”[Friday] we could see the… Read the rest of this entry
Traffic Fatalities To Hit a Record Low in 2008
WASHINGTON — The number of people killed in traffic crashes is expected to fall to a new record low in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Early estimates show that 31,110 people died on U.S. roads from January through October, compared with 34,502 in 2007 during the same period.
Americans have been driving less and less since November 2007, according to the Federal Highway Administration, as vehicle miles fell 4.3 percent in March compared to a year ago. It marked the first time that U.S. travel in March has fallen since 1979 and was the \”sharpest yearly drop for any month in the history\” of the Federal Highway Administration, the government said.
Experts point to the sharp rise in gasoline prices as putting the brakes on driving. Gas prices hit a high of $4.11 on July 17, according to the AAA Daily Fuel… Read the rest of this entry
GPS Finds Jesus
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BrickHouse Security is offering free GPS to organizations needing to track holiday display thefts. This offer is from the maker of a wide range of tracking devices…including some plain old car tracking systems like this T-Trac, which weighs only 3.6 ounces and lets you track your car\’s whereabouts by Internet. (Photo courtesy of BrickHouse Security)
WELLINGTON, Florida — A community center in this bucolic town near Palm Beach had a better way to keep track of its holiday decorations this year. Embedded in the slumbering ceramic Baby Jesus in the center\’s Christmas cr?che was a GPS device.
The action followed two consecutive years of Jesus theft by teenage pranksters,
USA Today reported. New York City\’s BrickHouse Security, which sells tracking devices for cars as well as for \”teen tracking\” and \”spouse tracking\”… Read the rest of this entry
\”True Grit\” Is 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed Theme
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If this image makes your pulse race, you are a good candidate to make travel plans to be at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed next July. (Photo courtesy of Goodwood Festival of Speed)
GOODWOOD, England — The 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed will honor the \”unrelenting true grit\” of automotive icons ranging from Jackie Stewart to Mick Doohan.
\”The theme celebrates the drive and determination of motor racing\’s heroes, who overcame huge physical, mental and mechanical barriers in their quest for glory,\” said organizers in a statement. \”From Jackie Stewart\’s enduring victory at the 1968 German Grand Prix, despite his broken wrist, to Mick Doohan\’s courageous return to motorcycle racing in 1992 without full use of his right leg, there are countless amazing tales of performance far beyond what was thought possible for… Read the rest of this entry
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