Tyler McQuarrie, best known for his sideways style in the Formula D professional drifting series, proved his versatility as a racing driver by dominating the Toyo Tires World Challenge GTS class at Long Beach throughout the weekend in the LPL/DRS/Switcars/LCS/Dayco/M&T Lotus Exige 240 S. McQuarrie’s win was made all the more impressive by the fact that this was the World Challenge debut for both the car and the driver.

Having out-qualified class points leader P.D. Cunningham and his famous Realtime Racing Acura TSX, McQuarrie started on pole and got a jump on the field on the first lap. Shortly after the green flag dropped, Cunningham made contact with another car and had his Acura’s hood open into the windshield on lap one, forcing him into the pits and ending any challenge the Series’ all-time wins leader could have given McQuarrie.

“I had a great start and actually got by a couple of GT cars,” McQuarrie said. “I didn’t have a working radio in the race, so I didn’t actually realize who was behind me. I looked up at the screen on the second lap and saw one of the Acuras head to the pits with the hood up. I dialed it back just a little bit when I felt I could.”

“I have to really thank the LPL and DRS team. They only got this car about five weeks ago and really did a fantastic job with it. To be able to run it here at Long Beach—to run both weekends, is really awesome. I think April in Long Beach is a little bit like May in Indy. It’s a special time and to win here is just awesome.”

The GTS win was the first time a Lotus had won a race of any kind at Long Beach since Mario Andretti won the 1977 Formula One event in a John Player Lotus.

Acura/RealTime Racing’s Esayian finished a distant second to McQuarrie in the No. 34 Acura TSX for his third podium finish in as many races and GTS points leader Cunningham finished 6th after the early incident with his hood.

[source: World Challenge]

Toyota is expected to announce today that it will comply with a $16.4 million U.S. Transportation Department fine, imposed for a four month delay in notifying the government of faulty gas pedals on some of its vehicles. The fine is the largest civic penalty ever imposed on an automaker by the U.S. government.

According to AP’s sources Toyota does not want to accept liability for the delay but that by paying the fine it will essentially accept full responsibility. If Toyota were to dispute the fine it could result in a court case with the Federal Government – which is only likely to reflect even worse on Toyota.

According to reports earlier this month, the Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood claimed to have documents showing that Toyota knew of the sticking accelerator pedal problem in September but did not issue the recall until January.

The recall at issue is for 2.3 million vehicles, including models like the Corolla and Camry.

Until now the largest civil fine paid by an automaker to the U.S. government was $1 million, paid in 2004 by General Motors for taking too long to issue a recall for faulty windshield wipers.

[Source: The Associated Press]

Korean car manufacturers Hyundai and Kia have been making quite the buzz lately. From clever marketing campaigns to assistance programs to entice consumers into their products, both manufacturers are now staple competitors in the ever-growing automotive market.

Part of their brilliant success is developing the right partnerships with the right people. Hyundai has done a fantastic job marketing in several forms of motorsports while Kia has signed with the NBA and has targeted the younger crowd with customization as their theme (a la Scion). Both manufacturers have recently announced a partnership with turbocharger manufacturer BorgWarner. Hyundai’s ix35 and Kia’s new Sportage (debut at Geneva 2010) will be equipped with BorgWarner’s fourth generation variable-turbine geometry (VTG) turbochargers. The turbo will complement the 2.0L four-cylinder diesel engine currently found in both vehicles.

There is a whole lot of technical information on BorgWarner’s VTG turbos, but we’re not here to bore you with that. Simply put BorgWarner has replaced straight turbine vanes with a patented S-shaped vane design. This helps improve thermodynamics, response and control. Both vehicles will be available in Europe in the near future. VTG turbos are best known for their debut in the current Porsche 911 Turbo.

Now if only Hyundai could get some Borg Warner VTG technology for it’s 2.0T gasoline engines – which already make as much as 274-hp on cars like the new 2011 Sonata. 

[Source: The Car Tech Blog]

With literally tens of thousands of wheel designs on the market, there are only a select few that rise above the rest. Rays Engineering’s Volk Racing TE37 is just such a wheel. The simple six-spoke lightweight design has been seen outfitted on vehicles from 1988 Honda CR-Xs to 2010 BMW E92 M3s.

But now Rays Engineering has found a way to make one of the world’s best wheels even better. Forget the adage of, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” because clearly the TE37 wasn’t broken and didn’t need fixing. Nonetheless, the new Volk Racing TE37 Super Lap (SL) sports a fancy gunmetal finish and is done in what Rays Engineering is calling “Mold Form Forged.” In layman’s terms though that just means the TE37 SL is even lighter than the TE37 we’ve been feasting our eyes on for the last decade and change. Mackin Industries, U.S. importers for Volk Racing, reports that the TE37 SL is geared and targeted towards track use, with the majority of the applications being at least one pound lighter than its TE37 counterpart.

Current sizing is available in 17×7.5, 17×8.5, 17×9, 17×9.5, 18×9.5, 18×10, 18×10.5 and 18×11 with a variety of offsets for each size. Another timeless classic mildly refreshed for the future; we’re sure to see Volk Racing’s TE37 around for many more years to come.

GALLERY: Volk Racing TE37 Super Lap

Given that it’s now spanned almost a full decade, the Fast & Furious franchise can likely be labeled as a success, at least from a commercial standpoint. Last year’s film, the fourth installment, dubbed Fast & Furious, (new model, original parts), saw a bit of a return to the original script and original cast, but with more emphasis on proper cars.

If modified vintage muscle is your thing, then watching this latest F&F film brought about a veritable feast of automotive eye candy. Among them was the F-bomb Camaro, that takes center stage in the final act. Well, not one to shy away from the spotlight, the F-Bomb is hitting the limelight once again, this time because it’s up for sale. The 1973 Chevy Camaro, looks street tough with it’s skinny front tires, side exit exhaust and matte green paint with contrasting stripes, grille and bumpers. However being a movie car, all is not what it appears. In place of a reportedly 1,500 horsepower twin turbo V8 is an evergreen 350 Chevy small block, coupled to an automatic transmission. Nevertheless, it is a genuine Hollywood film vehicle, not a replica. Currently up for sale by Volo Auto Cars, part of the Volo Museum in the Illinois town of the same name, the asking price is $39,998. While that may seem a lot for a garden variety Camaro, even a second gen, consider this: While you could build your own replica for less, this is the real deal. And imagine how cool you’d look when your friends come over on a Saturday and see this thing in the garage. While we’re on the subject of Fast & Furious specials, apparently one of the Buick Grand Nationals used in the movie was also up for sale recently, but no word on the Chevelle or the bad guy’s Torino.

Get more info on the F-Bomb Camaro at the link below

GALLERY: Vin Diesel’s Fast & Furious F-Bomb Camaro

[Source: VoloCars]

Several photos of what appear to be a Subaru WRX STI Spec C sedan have been captured, showing the big-winged 4-door testing on the Nürburgring. Notable differences on this model and the standard WRX STI Sedan just unveiled at the New York Auto Show, include black alloy wheels, gold brake calipers and a new front lip.

If in fact it is a Spec C model then, like its hatchback brother, it will get a long list up upgrades including, but not limited to, a more powerful 304-hp engine, lighter aluminum hood and smaller battery, plexiglass windshield and windows, stiffer springs, a larger rear stabilizer bar, stiffer sub-frame bushings and new shocks.

With Subaru recently announcing its return to WRC with the homologation of the Spec C model, it’s likely that this sedan is also being built for the same purpose. What that means is we expect Subaru to announce a very limited number of production models, followed by word that the new WRX STI Spec C sedan is also admissible to compete in WRC competition.

Follow the link below for more pics:

[Source: Carscoop]

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Yes, the above video features a car parking itself. “What’s the big deal,” you ask, seeing as certain Lexus models can already park themselves?

This Passat is different. The car, nick named Junior 2 (Junior being the autonomous Audi TT-S), has been modified by the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory at Stanford University to valet park itself. The system uses a night vision camera, cruise control radar, and two tiny laser sensors to both navigate through a parking lot, find an empty space, and park. And besides, the Lexus doesn’t entirely part itself, it still requires a driver in the car to operate the pedals – and to push the auto-park button.

After the jump we’ve embedded a second video, taken from the back seat as all of this is taking place. And yes, it’s controlled via an iPhone app. Color us impressed when the system learns how to find us cheap parking…

[Source: BotJunkie]

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After his retirement as the head of GM’s Art & Color Design Studio, Harley J. Earl was presented with this unique 1963 Chevrolet Corvette roadster. Equipped with a 327 cubic inch V8 engine and four-speed manual gearbox, the unique blue Corvette is scheduled to cross the block at Mecum’s 23rd Annual Spring Classic Car Auction at Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, May 22.

After owning the car for two years, Earl sold it to a retired U.S. Army veteran. The vehicle then disappeared for roughly a decade, finally resurfacing again at the Corvettes at Carlisle event. In 1981, a school teacher by the name of Joe Clark purchased the one-of-a-kind Corvette from some amateur racers and began collecting information surrounding the rare Chevy sports car. Today, the Harley Earl ’63 has been restored to its former glory, including the stainless steel side exhausts, racing stripes and uniquely trimmed interior. The car comes with its original hand written Shop Order code, authenticating it as a one off, factory built special. When it does go up for auction, enthusiasts and collectors will have a chance at owning a rare piece of automotive history, a car that belonged to one of the greatest automotive stylists in history.

For more info on the car and the auction visit Mecum.com

[Source: Old Cars Weekly]

Chrysler has announced that it will begin offering Ram customers a spray-on bedliner option for its 2010 model year 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks. Dealers will be able to order the factory-installed upgrade beginning immediately.

The spray-on bedliner option will be available on all Ram Truck trim levels (ST, SLT, TRX, Power Wagon and Laramie), all cab sizes (Regular, Quad, Crew and Mega) and all bed lengths (5-foot, 7-inch; 6-foot, 4-inch and 8-foot). Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price is $450.

“Creating a stand-alone brand for Ram Trucks has allowed us to concentrate on how customers are using their trucks and what new features they’d like to see,” said Fred Diaz, President and CEO, Ram Truck Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. “Spray-on bedliners are very popular with pickup owners, and we felt this factory-installed, factory-warranteed option would be a welcomed response to our customers. We’ve taken our new lineup of award-winning Ram Trucks and made them even better.”

The new Ram Truck factory-installed spray-on bedliners come with a 3-year, 36,000-mile warranty. They offer owners a number of benefits including a 10-pound weight savings over drop-in bedliners; a reduction in noise, vibration and harshness (NVH); chemical and abrasion resistance; improved in-bed traction and an improvement in perceived value.

“We expect the spray-on bedliner could quickly become one of our most popular Ram Truck options,” said Joe Veltri, Vice President of Product Planning, Chrysler Group LLC. “More than 90 percent of all truck owners want pickup bed protection, and spray-on bedliners are sometimes preferred over drop-in bedliners. Now Ram Truck offers both.”

Chrysler Group has extensively tested its spray-on bedliners for UV stability and surface adhesion. The protective material is sprayed to a standard thickness of 3mm on horizontal surfaces — including the tailgate — and 2mm on vertical surfaces.

[Source: Chrysler LLC]

Every time we set our eyes on the new VW Scirocco (like at the Nitto Tires booth at the Tokyo Auto Salon), we were jealous to say the least that North America will never get this beauty. This decision was made in 2008 by Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen’s CEO, stating that the Scirocco would negatively affect GTI sales. The sad thing is, we feel that not bringing the Scirocco to America negatively affects overall VW sales. We believe there are plenty of enthusiasts out there that would purchase a Scirocco that wouldn’t even look at any other VW chassis.

Nonetheless, the Scirocco is making splashes worldwide as Volkswagen just announced that they’ll be fielding three Scirocco race car concepts at the Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race starting on May 12. Much like Porsche is working with campaigning their hybrids on the track, VW will be campaigning these race cars with a modified engine to run compressed natural gas (CNG). These CNG engines are 2.0L TSI motors and by running on natural gas they reduce CO2 output by 80-percent over a traditional gasoline-powered motor. Amazingly it still produces 330-hp.

The fastest test time that one of these Sciroccos has achieved is 8:47:335, which is very promising for VW. Overall there is a lot of new technology embedded in this vehicle, showing that times are changing – even on the race track.

We’ll be sure to keep an eye these Sciroccos (and the rest of the field) at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race and report back.

[Source: MotorAuthority]