What’s worse than being wrong? Being almost right. We ran a news item on the upcoming Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera Spyder, aka the “Performance” , on Wednesday.
Now we get word that the car will actually be called the “Performante”, which is supposedly Italian for…Performance! Lamborghini will now follow the tradition of incredibly banal Italian car names, like the Ferrari Challenge Stradale (Challenge Street) or the Fiat Punto (Fiat Point).
[Source: Team Speed]
Green Car Journal has announced its candidates for its Green Car Of The Year award, with the five car field being composed of some pretty serious competition,
Naturally, the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf are the leading contenders, with the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid rounding out the field, and the Ford Fiesta being the sole nominee that runs solely on a gasoline engine and no electric components. Regardless, the Fiesta can still get 40 mpg on the highway, making it a worthy candidate.
The winner will be announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November
Hit the jump to see the official press release
[Source: Green Car Journal]
Audi is launching a revised version of their 3.0 TDI in the German market that sees a slight reduction in power in exchange for improved efficiency.
New new Q7 TDI will pump out 204 horsepower and 332 lb-ft through an 8-speed transmission and return 33 mpg, comparable with some four-cylinder sedans. 0-60 will take 9.1 seconds, compared to the standard 240 horsepower Q7 TDI that only takes 7.9 seconds. With a marginal reduction in mileage, the faster TDI will likely stay on our shores as the sole Q7 TDI, with the slower, more efficient car confined to Europe.
[Source: Left Lane News]
The folks over at Left Lane News have spied an undisguised Hyundai Accent after it was caught at a well-known hot weather testing location by the spies at Brenda Priddy & Co.
The Accent gets some differentiating styling cues from the Korean market Accent (known as the Verna over there) and, with the American car sharing some details with the rapid-selling Sonata. Specs haven’t been announced in advance of the car’s Los Angeles Auto Show debut, but a 1.6L direct-injection four-cylinder engine making 140 horsepower is expected to motivate the car, with a 6-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual.
[Source: Left Lane News]
One of the world’s most rare and magnificent cars is up for sale: a Porsche 911 996 GT1. Only 25 of these beauties were ever built and the one currently for sale is quite possibly the most rare of all. Why you may ask? Well, it’s never been driven, literally. It sports a big, fat 0 on the odometer.
Asking price is quite the pretty penny, coming in at 1,335,000 Euros (that’s a tad over $1,860,000). But what you get is an exotic that was designed for competition in the GT1 class at the Le Mans 24 Hours race. The 996 GT1 was sold as a street car strictly for homologation purposes.
It sports a 3.2-liter flat-six power plant that pushes out slightly under 600-hp and propels the supercar from 0-62 mph in 3.3 seconds. If you’ve got the cash and want to own a piece of real automotive history, better hit the source to get your hands on it.
The Smart Fortwo is the cat’s meow – literally – now that you can plaster the world’s most popular cat all over it (and no, we’re not talking about Garfield).
Smart has licensed the popular “Hello Kitty” brand and have added a line of car wrap designs that feature the beloved feline to the carmaker’s vehicle customization program.
“This is the first time that Sanrio will offer a Hello Kitty car in the United States,” said Janet Hsu, president of Sanrio Inc. “The modern, environmentally-friendly features of the Smart fortwo combined with super cute Hello Kitty designs deliver an exciting offering that responds to the demands of our fans for special edition lifestyle products.”
The Smart Expressions program will offer U.S. Smart car buyers a choice of three different full-body Hello Kitty designs, complete with a selection of color schemes. In total, there will be 22 full and partial wrap design and color combinations that you can pick from. And before you drive off with one of these designs, make sure that it’s topped off with plenty of oil to ensure that it purrs.
[Source: Car Scoop]
Maserati showed off a new variant of the Quattroporte GTS at the Sydney Motor Show, labeled the Quattroporte MC Sport Line.
While the MC moniker is normally reserved for cars like the MC12 supercar and the MC Stradale, the Quattroporte MC Sport Line is a mostly cosmetic upgrade with new exterior and interior fittings.
Carbon fiber accents on the inside of the cabin, as well as new sill plates feature prominently, and unique alloy wheels round out the rest of the package. As you can imagine, it will cost megabucks.
[Source: Maserati]
As part of Porsche‘s 60th anniversary celebrations, the company sought out the oldest Porsche in the United States. The title ended up going to the beautiful 1952 Porsche 356 Cabriolet seen above. With it’s 1.5L 60 horsepower motor and bright red paintwork, the car harkens back to the early days of Porsche, when the cars were imported by auto maven Max Hoffman.
The red car, which had to undergo a full restoration after being rescued from a junkyard, is joined by a blue 356 that is even older, but didn’t quite make the cut, since it was brought over from Europe, where it was first sold. Examples of other Porsche models will also make an appearance with the two 356s at Porsche’s Los Angeles Auto Show exhibit.
Hit the jump to see the official press release
[Source: Porsche]
General Motors’ Chinese division is on track to outsell its American unit, a not entirely surprising development in light of the sheer enormity of China’s auto market.
GM China has been bolstered by the strength of their two domestic nameplates, Baojun and Wulin (seen above), which are popular in export markets as well as in China.
Kevin Wale, head of GM China, predicted that the Chinese car market could see total sales of 17 million this year and 19 million in 2011. Wale credits government support, a rising middle class and a love of the automobile for the continued growth.
[Source: Autocar]
A total of 8.4 million recalled Ford models remain on our roads unfixed according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is urging owners to get their vehicles repaired.
The alarmingly high number is 60 percent of the vehicles affected by a 14 million car recall of Ford products dating from 1999 to 2009 for issues relating to leaky cruise control switches. The recall claims that the switches may leak into the brake system causing the vehicle to potentially catch fire.
According to an unnamed NHTSA representative the number of unrepaired Fords is particularly high, far exceeding the average. Normally 30 percent of recalled vehicles are not fixed within the first 18 months after a recall.
Ford has notified customers several times but its believed the poor rate at which the vehicles are being fixed is due in part to the cars already being quite old when the recall took place.
Models affected by the recall include 1992-2003 E series, 1993-2003 F series, 1995-2003 Windstars, 1995-2002 Explorers and 1995-2003 Rangers. A total of eight recalls were made for the same issue in different models over the period of several years.
Owners who are unsure if their vehicle has been recalled or if it has been fixed, can check by visiting www.MyFord.com
[Source: Automotive News]
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