Renowned Ferrari-tuner Novitec Rosso has finally released its first complete package for Ferrari’s latest model, the California. Novitec is known for twin-supercharged monster engines but this initial offering contains just a simple exhaust system and a recalibrated ECU. In total, power has been raised by 40-hp to 500-hp, with torque up 24 ft-lbs to 382. The 4.3-liter V8 engine can now also rev to a maximum rpm of 8300. In addition, the exhaust system can be adjusted using the manettino to deliver a more robust exhaust note.

Outside the car gets a new front lip spoiler, side skirts, a new rear diffuser and trunk lid spoiler. All parts are wind tunnel tested to reduce lift on the front and increase downforce in the rear and all are made from clear-coated carbon fiber.

A staggered wheel fitment is offered with Novitec’s own NF3 wheels in a 21×9-inch front fitment and 22×11.5-inch rear fitment, matched with 255/30/21 front and 315/25/22 rear Pirelli tires.

A complete suspension system if offered that lowers that car’s stance by 35mm. This same system incorporates an hydraulic lift feature than car raise the front axle by 40mm at speeds of up to 50 mph, making it easy to enter parking garages or avoid scuffing the carbon fiber front lip when navigating less than ideal roads.

Some time in the Spring we expect Novitec Rosso to release a high-powered kit for the California making in excess of 600-hp!

GALLERY: Novitec Rosso Ferrari California

After much speculation that IRL star Danica Patrick would enter NASCAR for the 2010 season, the hopes of those wanting to see the racing diva behind the wheel of a stock car seemed dashed when her IRL schedule was confirmed. But now it appears as though Patrick will also race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2010, with a limited schedule. The car will be sponsored by Go Daddy and will be a part of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team. An official announcement is expected later today in Phoenix, where Go Daddy is headquartered.

Patrick is likely to make her NASCAR debut on February 13th in Daytona Beach, FL. She has never actually raced competitively in a stock car but did do testing for the Nationwide Series back in 2002.

The Sporting News reports that earlier this year, every single NASCAR team owner expressed interest in hiring Patrick but said they would like her to get competitive in the Nationwide series before heading to Spring Cup. That seems to be the route she is taking.

We can only imagine the marketing potential that having a woman like Danica Patrick in NASCAR could create.

[Source: SportingNews]

Consumer Reports has just released some details of its Annual Auto Survey and the top ranked car for owner satisfaction is none other than the Dodge Challenger. According to the survey an amazing 92 percent of Challenger owners said they would purchase the car again. The Challenger unseats the Toyota Prius at the top-ranked car.

Taking second place at 91 percent is a hybrid, but it’s not the Prius. Instead it’s Ford’s new Fusion Hybrid.

Other top-ten finishers are perennial favorites like the Chevrolet Corvette and Porsche 911. The Acura TL AWD also rated highly.

The Consumer Reports Owner Satisfaction list is based on more than 380,000 responses from Consumer Reports and ConsumerReports.org subscribers for vehicles from 2007 to 2010. For a vehicle to make the top list at least 80 percent of a model’s owners must answer “definitely yes” when asked: “Considering all factors (price, performance, reliability, com-fort, enjoyment, etc.), would you get this car if you had it to do all over again?”

At the opposite side of spectrum, Consumer Reports also lists the vehicles that owners rate as the least satisfactory, meaning that less than half of the owners would buy the car again. The worst rated car was the 4-cylinder Chrysler Sebring (surprise, surprise), with just 37 percent voting favorably. The Dodge Nitro and Pontiac Torrent FWD also rated at the bottom of the list. In total, of the 10 vehicles that rated the lowest, three were Chrysler products and seven were GM products.

See AutoGuide’s Dodge Challenger Reviews here:

2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8

2009 Dodge Challenger SE

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Audi of America’s top man, Johan de Nysschen has confirmed that the upcoming Audi A7 will go on sale in North America. Many had already assumed as much, but until now Audi hadn’t even officially stated that the car existed. And with the A5 Sportback not destined for U.S. shores, the future of the A7 for North America was less than certain.

In an interview with de Nysschen, the folks at Autoblog have ascertained Audi’s plan for the car, which was first shown in concept form (as the Sportback Concept, shown above) at the Detroit Auto Show in 2009. The A7 will be a top-tier premium vehicle from Audi, priced just below the A8 but competing very much in the same space. The idea here is that Audi will now have the A8 for the more traditional buyers in the segment, which it believes will account for roughly 5,000 units sold each year, while the A7 will cater to younger buyers that might not have purchased  a top-dollar Audi in the past. Sales of the A7 are expected to be around 7,000 to 8,00 units, says de Nysschen. In terms of pricing, the A8 is expected to retail for a higher dollar amount in 2011, meaning a middle-of-the-road A7 should cost roughly $82,000.

Audi’s plan with the two cars is to more than double the brand’s presence in the top level of the market by doubling the number of vehicles available to consumers.

The Audi boss also said that the Sportback concept will serve as a, “very reliable indicator” of what the A7 will look like.

As for an S8 model, de Nysschen said that while nothing has been confirmed it’s “safe to assume, ” considering Audi always does a high performance version of its cars.

[Source: Autoblog]

Volkswagen is hell-bent on cracking the U.S. market and has decided to follow a production plan that will see it essentially follow in Toyota’s footsteps – for better or worse. Now that plan seems to include a possible entry-level sports car designed to compete against cars like the upcoming Toyota FT-86.

In an interview with Car & Driver, VW of America boss Stefan Jacoby stated that a concept sports car will be shown in the near future (possibly as early as the Detroit Auto Show in January). It will be a two-door coupe with a notchback design and will be targeted specifically at the U.S. market – much how the FT-86 has been described. The only other detail we have it that will likely be over 180-inches in length… again, roughly the size of the FT-86.

VW’s plan to crack the U.S. market will also include a new compact car (which will retain the Jetta name), as well as a New Mid-Size Sedan (NMS). Both of these will be built at VW’s new Chattanooga, Tennessee plant with the new Jetta arriving next year and the family sedan the year afterward.

[Source: Car & Driver]

After previous reports had suggested Infiniti’s stunning Essence concept would never be any more than a shinny piece of auto show metal, word has now emerged that the luxury automaker may turn this fantasy into a reality.

According to a report in Motor Trend, one Infiniti executive, Shiro Nakamura, once again referred to the hybrid supercar as ,” only a showpiece… for now.” This exciting news was then reiterated by another exec, Ben Poore, who said that based off of the car’s incredible reception, the company is still considering a production model and that no final decision either way has been made.

Infiniti has yet to confirm if it will show the car at the upcoming North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but it will be on display at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Canada in February, as well as at the Montreal International Auto Show in January, suggesting that Nissan’s luxury arm continues to probe the market to see if there is a demand. We hope there is!

GALLERY: Infiniti Essence Concept

[Source: Motor Trend]

hile on the subject of product updates, Infiniti’s brass was keen to drop a few more nuggets on us. Among them is a major redesign of the QX56 full-size SUV coming next summer. Poore says it will still be body-on-frame and retain the same towing capacity, but will be almost unrecognizable compared to the current vehicle. Also coming in the relatively near future is a pure electric vehicle, though Poore wouldn’t say much more than that it will be a performance-oriented luxury sedan. Another Infiniti exec, Shiro Nakamura, casually mentioned that the show-stopping Essence concept is “only a showpiece…for now.” Poore tells Motor Trend that reaction to the concept has been phenomenal and that the company is studying the possibility of a production model, but no decision has been made yet.

The simultaneous introduction of the Ford Fiesta and Mazda2 at the LA Auto Show last week marks the end of a long history of platform sharing between Ford and Mazda. After two decades of collaboration, Ford has decided to develop vehicles separately from now on, according to Ford president Mark Fields.

In the past year Ford has continually reduced its involvement in Mazda, selling off much of its stake in the Japanese automaker (from 33 to just 11 percent), in order to avoid bankruptcy.

The news comes as a blow to Mazda as almost its entire product lineup is based on Ford products, the the Mazda3/CX-7 based on the Focus platform, the Tribute based on the Escape platform and the CX-9 based on the Ford Edge platform. Interestingly, however, Ford’s popular Fusion sedan is based on the Mazda6 platform and the new Fiesta is based on the Mazda2.

Still, Mazda will now have to develop new platforms on its own, which some analysts have suggested it just isn’t large enough to do. Mazda recently announced it would raise $1.1 billion for research into hybrid powertrains as it became obvious that Ford wasn’t willing to share its new hybrid technology.

Ford does continue to hold a majority stake in Mazda and has said it will still work together with the Japanese automaker in certain areas – which may include both transmission and engine sharing. Ford did, after all, begin its business relationship with Mazda back in 1969 with a transmission sharing program.

The news does, however, leave Mazda with a very serious and very real problem.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Europe’s second largest automaker, French company PSA Peugeot Citroen, is considering purchasing Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors. News of the possible purchase comes from Nikkei English News, and had Mitsubishi’s shares up 13.4 percent in overseas trading.

A similar report in Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that Peugeot would take a 53 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors worth about $3.8 billion, with Mitsu taking a reverse 18 percent stake in the French automaker. This business sharing platform wold be similar to the one that Nissan and Renault engaged in roughly a decade ago when the French automaker bought the then-struggling Nissan.

The combined sales tallies of both companies in 2008 totaled 4.45 million vehicles, which would make any new company the sixth largest automaker in the world.

Some are skeptical of just what Peugeot sees in Mitsubishi, but there are many reasons to suggest why Peugeot is interested. For starters, Mitsubishi certainly has greater expertise in SUVs and crossovers – like the new Outlander GT (pictured above). Next up, this year Mitsubishi became the first automaker in the world to begin sales of an electric car, the iMiEV, and Peugeot is certainly keen on EV technology. Also, the added production output of more electric cars would make for bigger discounts.

Skeptics argue that the biggest problem with the merger is that while Mitsubishi does have a foothold in certain market’s that are foreign to the French automaker, Mitsu’s impact in those markets (like in Noth America) is insignificant. However, a brand like Mitsubishi does have a strong cult-like following, especially amongst performance car nuts, and would be much easier to build on than introducing a French brand.

The more realistic roadblock, however, is likely to be Peugeot’s limited resources having suffered significantly during the recent economic downturn.

The BusinessWeek report does suggest that the talks are ongoing and that a decision could be announced by as early as January.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Several years ago Hyundai announced its plan to be the most fuel-efficient automaker in the U.S. The news was met with much skepticism. But not that long afterward and an impressive new lineup of award-winning vehicles and the Korean automaker has already met its goal and is well on the way to achieving the 2016 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 35.5 mpg early.

The news comes as the EPA releases its Light-Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends Report for 2009, which rates Hyundai first at an average of 30.1 mpg. This also makes Hyundai the only automaker with an average of 30 mpg or higher. In second place is Honda at 29.7 mpg, third belongs to Volkswagen at 29.6 mpg, Toyota is fourth at 29.4 mpg and Kia (also owned by Hyundai) is fifth at 28.0 mpg.

Possibly even more impressive is that Hyundai has done all this without having a single diesel or hybrid in its lineup. Hyundai does, however, plan to introduce its first hybrid based on the all-new 2011 Sonata, next year. New turbochared engines and direct-injection engines are also planned.

“Our thoughtful application of cost-effective, fuel-efficient technologies has helped us achieve our goal of leading the industry in fuel economy ahead of schedule,” said Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik. “Now we hope to extend that leadership with the launch of our new direct injection, turbocharging and lithium-polymer hybrid technologies, all of which will be a part of the 2011 Sonata lineup launching early next year.”

Official release after the jump:

Continue Reading…

As Buick officially unveiled its new entry-level Regal model at the LA Auto Show last week, the General Motors brand announced that it would offer yet another model to slot in underneath this new offering. The new car, first shown in a Buick promo video and now spied in Germany, is expected to be based on the European Opel Astra  – also known as the Buick Excelle XT in China.

At Buick’s LA Auto Show press conference the company did show a brief glimpse of what the car will look like (pictured above). Now, however, we have a solid look at several prototypes spied testing in Germany.

As the photos show, it will arrive as a sedan in the U.S (as expected). One likely engine choice is a 181-hp 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. It will most certainly be front-wheel drive.

Judging from the pics it appears as though the smallest Buick will have more in common, design wise, with the larger LaCrosse, with a more powerful “waterfall” grille up front.

Now the question remains if Buick will keep the Astra name for North America (especially considering the Saturn Astra) or will it invent a new one.

GALLERY: Buick Astra Spy Photos

[Source: CarPix via Autoblog]