We’ve seen so many variants of BMW‘s X6 by now that we’re not even sure which one is our favorite anymore. But it’s clear that the aftermarket has really embraced BMW’s performance SUV despite its odd identity crisis. This time it’s AC Schnitzer with a widebody X6. Interestingly AC Schnitzer hasn’t officially released this kit yet, with the vehicle making its first appearance at the National BMW Festival out in the United Kingdom.

AC Schnitzer is well known for tuning BMWs and their styling has always been unique. Simply put, it’s hard to mistake AC Schnitzer’s body kits. Clearly what we can see on the X6 is a full body kit (front bumper, side skirts, rear bumper, rear trunk and roof spoiler), alongside widebody arches that allows 11-inch wide wheels to look comfortably at home.

A set of traditional AC Schnitzer wheels also outfit the car. We found this X6 to be one of the cleaner yet more aggressive ones out of all the X6s we’ve seen, with the widebody fitting the style of the X6 quite nicely. As for the Aston Martin-inspired frong grille, well, we’ll pass on that.

We’re sure it’s just a matter of time before someone in the United States pops up with one for us to check out.

GALLERY: Widebody AC Schnitzer BMW X6

[Source: Vivid Racing]

Fall is in the air. Besides looking to the calendar, you can always tell that autumn is just around the corner because the new cars for 2011 are making an appearance in a big way (manufacturers introduce new models throughout the year, but autumn remains the official start of the new automotive year). So with a new year of vehicles popping up, new-car buyers ask themselves the age-old question: Am I better off to wait for the new models to come out or should I buy a leftover at the end of the season? The answer: maybe.

Every five years or so, car makers completely redesign models, from making updates to mechanicals and styling midway to a full redesign. On the plus side, these new models come with the latest safety and convenience features, and updates to engines, transmissions, and technology mean improved fuel mileage and performance. On the minus side, they pretty much always cost more (this includes the models that only have a slight redesign), and don’t even about getting a discount.

If you’re going for a leftover model, there are plenty of pros on the benefits side of the list. You’ll be able to save some money upfront, because dealers want to clear old inventory. These cars come with a full warranty, and if you are a long-distance driver, buying a car at year’s end will give you one more model year to spread your miles over. Also, according to reliability surveys, new models have more problems on average than those that have been on sale for a year or more. This means the last year of a model’s production is often the most reliable.

On the down side, the leftover car is a year old the moment you drive it off the lot, which means you’ll lose a money of the depreciation if you trade every couple of years. And if your leftover has been replaced with a redesigned model for the new model year, it’s likely to depreciate even faster.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

In what perhaps marks a breath of fresh air, especially amid the almost constant one-upmanship in full-size pickup tow ratings, Toyota has actually reduced them on the 2011 Tundra.

The company is one of the first manufacturers to test and certify its pickups against a new draft trailer towing standard set out by the Society of Automotive Engineers – J2807. Labeled as ‘Performance Requirements for Determining Tow Vehicle Gross Combination Weight Ratings,’ J2807 finally allows for a true ‘apples to apples’ comparison between various pickups and instead of manufacturers setting their own proprietary testing conditions. Although it has yet to be implemented across the industry, J2807 represents the result of a combined push by various pickup manufacturers, including Ford; GM: Chrysler; Toyota and Honda, as well as a number of hitch and trailer companies.

When applied to the 2011 Tundra; J2807 has seen tow ratings drop as much as 1,100 pounds in some cases. For example, a 2WD regular cab is now rated at 10,400 (a drop in 400 lbs from last year); a 2WD Double Cab at 10,100 lbs (down by 500 lbs) and the 4WD CrewMax at 9,000 lbs (down from 10,100 – a reduction in 1,100 lbs).

Part of the J2807 test includes timed acceleration on level ground and a 12 percent incline; understeer; trailer sway response and maintaining speed on real world grades, plus using trucks with higher ‘more realistic’ curb weights than in the past, which has a sizeable impact on towing. According to Toyota spokesman Sam Butto, “even though the [max trailering] numbers have dropped, the Tundra’s performance hasn’t been compromised – we’re following a new standard to measure trailer towing.”

[Source: Pickuptrucks.com]

What can you afford these days? It’s not a set of wheels, because numbers released recently show that the average American family can’t afford a car.

New car prices have slowly begun to creep back up, and thus, are out of reach for some Americans. During the recession, the average family could have paid off a new car in as little as 22 weeks. Today, it takes 23.6 weeks of median household income to purchase a new car. But it’s better than in 1997, when the average was more than 30 weeks.

These stats are coming from Comerica Bank, which keeps track of auto affordability as an index. In the second quarter of 2010, the average price of a new car ($27,950) rose $200 from the same quarter a year ago. But there’s a silver lining in this dark cloud – the interest rate on the average car loan was 4.1 percent, down 0.2 percent from the previous quarter.

“Affordability was flat in the second quarter as rising expenditures on the new cars were offset by lower interest rates,” says Dana Johnson, chief economist for Comerica Bank. “Although the national recovery slowed in the second quarter, consumers were still willing to pay more for new vehicles.”

The slight increase in the cost of a car, lower interest rates and an increase in personal income has kept affordability mostly in check in 2010. During this current quarter, the average family income went up 2.4 percent while interest rates for car loans fell to a 4.1 percent average.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

Claus Ettensberger, founder of CEC Wheels, was fortunate enough to have some of the Lexus PR types bring a Lexus LFA around so he could take a little test drive. What these Lexus people didn’t know was that Claus doesn’t just sell wheels, he’s CLAUS, which means he must drive completely crazy all the time.

Claus is a 4-year veteran of the Bullrun Rally, and also participates in the Gumball3000, generally in some type of tuned German exotic. Well, now Claus has a new record to add to his rally trophies: the first person to be caught speeding in the Lexus supercar.

Hit the jump to watch the short video and see just how fast Claus was going. Ouch.

Continue Reading…

We all know that obesity has an adverse effect on our health, but did you know that is also has a detrimental effect on fuel economy and car safety? Those are the findings coming out of a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

General findings from this new report on obesity showed that there was a 1.1 percent increase (an additional 2.4 million people) in the self-reported prevalence of obesity between 2007 and 2009, and the number of states with an obesity rate over 30 percent has tripled to nine states (compare that to 2000, when there were no states that had an obesity rate of 30 percent). Not only does this become a concern for health, but also has repercussions when it comes to automobiles. The rise in obesity has forced these people, out of necessity, to buy larger vehicles, which increases gasoline consumption in the U.S. and fuel consumption increases with more weight in cars.

In 2006, a study done by Entrepreneur.com analyzed the amount of additional fuel consumed due to heavier drivers. They found that almost 1 billion gallons of gasoline per year can be attributed to passenger weight gain in non-commercial vehicles between 1960 and 2002. That comes out to .7 percent of the total fuel used by passenger vehicles annually. They also estimated that for every pound gained in average passenger weight, over 39 million gallons of fuel is used annually.

One the safety side of things, the obesity problem also increases the risk of crashes and injury is more prevalent due to the fact that obese drivers are less likely to buckle up because seat belts may not fit properly.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Car Crazy TV host and enthusiast Barry Meguiar is reported to be in stable condition in hospital in Monterey, according to a statement issued by Meguiar’s Inc. yesterday.

Meguiar, who took his family’s car detailing product business and turned into into a multi-million dollar operation; was attending the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance when he fell ill after contracting an undiagnosed virus, reportedly from filming his TV show outside the United States. He was immediately rushed to Monterey Community Hospital and taken into intensive care . Meguiar is one of the most popular figures on the collector car circuit and is often to be found at major events across the United States, including SEMA.

[Source: Autoweek]

We’ll be honest, we thought this whole matte black car craze would die out sooner than it has. We’re getting tired of seeing yet another poorly-done flat black car, but damn if this Infiniti G37 sedan doesn’t just look incredible. With the facelift on the new G37 sedan, we’ve been anticipating what the aftermarket would do with its new, more aggressive lines and this entry is everything we’ve been dreaming of.

Based out of Japan, Access Evolution decked out this sedan with products from their Exclusive Sport line. The matte black makes it a very aggressive VIP style rather than the sleek gloss black that’s normally related to the traditional “bad ass” VIP style. It’s amazing how simply making the car matte black instead of glossy black makes it sporty rather than luxurious.

The unique wheels are from Forgiato and really not our tastes, but they’re definitely unique and make the car stand out even more. The open wheel design really shows off the bright green Access Evolution calipers. The brake upgrade on this demo car sports 4-piston calipers and 14-inch rotors which can be had for $3,139.

The body kit itself is part of the Exclusive Sport line of products from Access Evolution that includes a badgeless grille ($805), front carbon fiber lip spoiler ($1,168), and rear carbon fiber trunk spoiler ($615). Overall the car is pretty simple but the combination of all the modifications (most noticeably the flat black finish) really makes the car stand out..

[Source: Jon Sibal]

GALLERY: Flat Black Infiniti G37 Sedan

Back in May, we thought it was the end of Gemballa when Uwe Gemballa went missing (in February) and his wife filed bankruptcy on the company. Most everyone believed that this would be the end of the beloved Gemballa brand but it looks like it won’t fade into the darkness that easily. What is interesting though is that this resurgence of the Gemballa brand will have nothing to do with its original owners and founders being that Uwe Gemballa is still missing.

Andreas Swartz and Steffen Korbach have stepped in, buying the rights to the Gemballa brand along with whatever was lying around. Swartz will be acting as the CEO of the new Gemballa and both plan on making announcements on Monday that will push Gemballa towards more of a true aftermarket manufacturer. They also have plans on tuning the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne in addition to Ferrari’s Enzo.

Instead of offering full out vehicles or stand-alone sets of wheels, Swartz and Korbach are aiming towards Gemballa-branded products that can be purchased as components so enthusiasts can build the cars themselves. Whether or not this is the best direction for Gemballa to go, it’s certainly the most profitable way. It’s easy to see much of the prestige will be diminished of owning anything Gemballa now that anyone can get their hands on it piece-by-piece, but hey – it’s the smart thing to do. We’re just more curious to see how the design of the products will look under new vision. Guess the drama of Gemballa continues…stay tuned!

[Source: Motor Trend]

Speed Week is going on right now out in Bonneville, so it’s worth spotlighting one or two record setting vehicles. This one is called the Speed Demon, a turbocharged streamliner built by George Poteet and Ron Main. Both are in their 60s and have been breaking land speed records for years.

The Speed Demon is a turbocharged, 31-foot long, 4200 lb streamliner and is quite possibly one of the fastest vehicles on Earth. On Wednesday it reached 409 mph at the three mile mark while on Tuesday it did 405-mph with an exit speed of 417-mph.

We have no idea what it’d feel like to be in any vehicle going 400-mph, but we imagine it’s out of this world. We’ll be scouring the Web for a video of this, so stay tuned if we run across one.

[Source: Car Tech Blog]