We recently drove a Superformance Cobra MkIII R and loved it. The looks, the power, the feel – just a wonderful, special vehicle. Perfect? No, and we said as much. "[T]urning the wheel reminds you that the chassis layout dates back to the 1950s, if not earlier." Still, we were tickled by the straight line thrust. Truth be told however, we've experienced faster. If only someone would build a Cobra with even more power (remember the MkIII R has "only" 520 hp) and modern suspension.

Meet the CB/1. First thing's first: under the fiberglass hood sits a twin-turbocharged/intercooled Ford 385 V8 good for – get this – 650 horsepower and 640 pound feet of torque. Put that in your ZR1 pipe and smoke it. Speaking of smoking it, all that fury iS routed through a Porsche 930 5-speed transaxle. And the whole enchilada weighs just 2,600 pounds. The results? Zero to 60 miles per hour in a blistering 2.85 seconds and the quarter-mile in 10.5 at 135 mph. Whoa doggie, right? And the suspension is more than up to the challenge, pulling 1.15 lateral Gs. Full specs, after the jump.



[Source: Bell Engineering | Photos: Jeff Hartman]

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So, you think the new Forza 3 is pretty awesome, huh? Well that's because it is. But it's about to get a little bit awesome-er thanks to the combined miracles of the holiday season and the internet.

That's right, the internet is the modern equivalent of Santa Clause – just as tangible and bearing more gifts – and here's what it's got in store for us this year: the Hot Holidays DLC Car Pack from Turn 10 Studios, the game company behind the Forza Motorsport franchise.

The package includes ten new cars, and Turn 10's already confirmed eight of them (one for each night of Hanukah, if you ask those dreidel-spinning journalists among us): the 2010 Audi S4, Nissan GT-R SpecV, Ferrari 599XX, Ferrari 458 Italia, Mercedes SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, Lamborghini Murcielago MP670-4 SuperVeloce, Jaguar XFR and Porsche Panamera Turbo, plus two of the most devastating Le Mans prototypes – the #2 Audi R15 TDI and #007 Aston Martin Lola. (All links go to gallery of screen shots.)

The car pack is downloadable as of today (December 8) for 400 Microsoft Points directly on XBox Live, a magical place (headquartered at the North Pole, we gather) where no one gives a hoot if you've been naughty or nice. Check out the video after the jump and the screen shots in the gallery below, then try to figure out which car you're most stoked about taking for a virtual test drive.



[Source: Forza Motorsport]

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You know what the problem with Autoblog is? Not enough Romanian cars! To rectify this hateful situation, we present to you the all-new Dacia Duster, a compact SUV that "rewrites the 4x4 rulebook." What that means is that in Europe, most SUVs are in fact soft roaders. Totally useless in the rough stuff despite their fancy all-wheel drive systems and too expensive for the majority of the people to purchase. The Duster, on the other hand, is going to cost little (hey, it's a Dacia!) yet be quite capable when the going gets rocky, muddy and/or roadless.

We've seen a tricked out, snow-racing version of the Dacia Duster before, but that's not the borscht and potatoes of the new Duster, so to speak. Designed primarily with emerging markets in mind (Russia, Turkey, Brazil, Maghreb), the Duster will also be badged as a Renault and sold in continental Europe. Never forget that it was Renault who helped Dacia to get off the ground in the mid-Sixties by handing over the tooling to the Renault 8, which reemerged as the Dacia 1100 (and the totally awesome 1100S).

Despite its cute-ute looks, Dacia is claiming that the Duster is the real, all-terrain deal. The stats seem to back that up: eight inches of ground clearance combined with 30 degree approach and 35 degree departure angles reminds us of ye olde Jeep Cherokee (hey, the old AMC-developed Cherokee had a lot of French in it). While missing the Cherokee's low gears, the Duster gets a three-stage transmission featuring an auto torque-split mode, lock and two wheel-drive. The tranny tech is actually sourced from Nissan (also owed by Renault) and it figures to work really well. in fact, there is some speculation that the Duster is based off Nissan's Qashqai. Also helpful is that the Duster weighs just 2,816 pounds in 4x4 guise (2,596 pounds as a 4x2). Then you factor in a torquey diesel power plant (105 horsepower, 266 pound-feet of torque) and you've got yourself quite an impressive bad road beasty.

Chances of us getting it here? Slimmer than none. First of all, whomever it is that still owns to rights to the Plymouth brand (Chrysler, Fiat, Daimler, the UAW, Obama?) would have nothing but dollar signs in their eyes if a Duster showed up. Then, of course, there's the undeniable fact that car makers have a sick aversion to giving us cheap, simple, rugged utilitarian diesel trucks. However, you're more than free to purchase an X5 xDrive35d from BMW, and soon you'll be able to buy a reworked Infiniti QX56 that halfway resembles a FX. Good stuff, right? We'll be getting a glimpse of the Duster up close and in the flesh come Geneva, but that'll be fleeting. Press release can be found after the jump.



[Source: Dacia]

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The variable valve-timing obsessives at the Temple of VTEC have scored a leaked brochure of the 2011 Honda CR-Z, and in addition to getting a glimpse of the production version of the hybrid hatch, some specs and trim details were included in the document.

We finally have hard figures on the 1.5-liter engine's output (in JDM spec), with the diminutive four-cylinder putting out 112 horsepower (at 6,000 rpm) on its own and another 14 hp from its electric motor. Just as importantly, the engine creates 107 lb-ft of torque (at 4,800 rpm) with the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system boosting that by another 57 lb-ft at an oh-so-low 1,000 rpm. Coupled with either a six-speed manual or CVT gearbox, the CR-Z nets a relatively uninspiring 0 to 62 mph time of 9.7 seconds.

The dimensions haven't changed much from the "concept" we saw at the Tokyo Motor Show earlier this year, with a 160.6-inch overall length, 68.5-inch width, 54.9-inch height and a wheelbase that spans 95.9 inches. Unfortunately, no word on curb weight.

Since efficiency is the name of the game, the CR-Z will benefit from LED daytime running lights and turn signal indicators in the mirrors, along with three driving modes – Eco, Normal and Sport – each controllable from a dash mounted switch and with a different color surrounding the gauges based on the mode.

Check out the pics in the gallery below for more and get the full story in our CR-Z post from Tokyo.



[Source: Temple of VTEC]

The "Will she, won't she" debate is over – Danica Patrick is headed for closed-wheel racing in 2010. Patrick will race a partial schedule in next year's National Nationwide series in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, and she will also participate in one ARCA race. As a driver on the No. 7 team, she will be signed through 2011 to the JR Motorsports team that's owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Rick Hendrick, Kelley Earnhardt and Tony Eury, Jr. through 2011.

This bit of news is not to say that Danica is eschewing her open-wheel career – she will also continue to race her similarly day-glo green Andretti Autosport IndyCar, also in full GoDaddy.com regalia. The NASCAR events that she will race in will be interlaced with her IndyCar schedule, before, during, and after the open-wheel season.

Danica's first stock car race will be a February 6 ARCA race in Daytona, the day before the Super Bowl. As usual, her primary sponsors will feature Patrick in a slate of new commercials during the big NFL game, and we're willing to bet that they'll have a bit of NASCAR flavor. High-res gallery of her new ride below, official press release after the jump.



[Source: GoDaddy.com]

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The world's most infamous 2009 Cadillac Escalade, the one Tiger Woods drove into a hydrant and then a tree early in the morning of November 27, is heading to the body shop for repairs. Interestingly enough, the Escalade isn't owned by Tiger Woods – it's part of GM's promotional fleet. After the golfer's deal with Buick ended last year, Tiger made a deal with the automaker to keep a few cars for his personal use. His choices included a Buick Enclave and Cadillac Escalade... the black SUV that is now sporting a mangled front end and missing a couple rear windows.

As it's a promotional/marketing vehicle, the SUV goes back to GM for the automaker to decide its fate. Depending on the severity of the repairs, it may head back into the loaner fleet... or it may be replaced by a new vehicle. If it is replaced, the now-repaired Escalade will be pulled from rotation and sent to auction where it goes to the highest bidder. Of course, we can only imagine what the Cadillac would bring on eBay in its current shattered state.



[Source: Drive On, Photos: Florida Highway Patrol]

Like Jay Leno, many of us Autobloggers are oil-in-the-blood car freaks living in Los Angeles, California. Only thing is, we can't seem to recall Mercedes-Benz dropping off their new gullwinged supercar – the SLS AMG – at our garage. Of course, Leno is an international superstar that knows most presidents on a first name basis and we wear sweatpants most of the time. Oh, and we don't even have a garage, let alone two Miuras and an Espada, among dozens of other pieces of drooly metal.

And sure, we've driven the 2011 SLS AMG. In California, no less. Liked it quite a bit, too. Still, we think you'll get a kick out of the video. Why? Well, it's good to see the SLS in motion, even though from certain angles at least one of us (*ahem*) thinks it resembles a third generation Mazda RX7. We also like how Jay reviews cars, as if he's talking to his buddies during a long lunch. Which is probably pretty close to what's actually happening. We also like how he just keeps hammering and hammering the press car – something we can (*double ahem*) relate to.

Then, of course, while admitting that a dual-clutch transmission can shift faster than any human, he still states that he'd prefer three pedals. Seriously, our kind of guy. And really, if you think about it, Jay Leno is little more than every gearhead's fantasy writ large after hitting the lotto (vis-à-vis, cars at any rate). For instance, he starts this video standing next to his 1955 300 SL Gullwing. Meaning that we're so jealous, we can't stop smiling. Hit the jump to watch Jay at play in the streets of Burbank.



Photos copyright ©2009 Chris Paukert / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Jay Leno's Garage]

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In anticipation of the debut of the all-new 2011 Toyota Sienna at the 2009 LA Auto Show in December, the folks responsible for the minivan invited us to take a peek inside their Calty design center in Newport Beach, California. Calty Design Research is the Toyota design center that created production cars like the '78, '90 and '00 Toyota Celica, '07 FJ Cruiser, '07 Tundra, '08 Highlander, '08 Scion xB, and '09 Venza, as well as the Lexus LF-C, FT-SX, Scion t2B, Scion FUSE, FT-HS and A-BAT concepts.

It's not very often that they open the doors of this design center to the public – let alone journalists – so we jumped at the chance. We spent a day with the group directly responsible for the 2011 Sienna and also met with Calty and Toyota officials. It was an enlightening day in which we learned about what inspired this third generation people-hauler, what Calty offers to differentiate it from other Toyota design houses, and why full-size clay models are still so important in the world of design, among other things.

Follow the jump to travel with us past the velvet rope and into Calty.

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We're guessing you've heard about Toyota's massive 3.8 million vehicle recall for unintended acceleration. It appears to be an issue that could have potentially resulted in several deaths and reports of hundreds of accidents. Consumer Reports wanted to dig deeper on the matter, studying National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data for the 2008 model year. CR chose 2008 because the claims occurred prior to the widespread media coverage that has resulted in a flood of new complaints.

In studying NHTSA's accumulated 5,916 reports CR found that 166 involved unintended acceleration complaints. Of those complaints, 47 came from Toyota and five from Lexus, representing 41 percent of overall unintended acceleration complaints. That's obviously a disproportionate amount of reports for an automaker with 16 percent of the US market's overall share. Here's one complaint logged by NHTSA.

"I felt the vehicle [2008 Lexus ES 350] increasing in speed to about 90 mph, without depressing the accelerator. I had been on cruise control at about 73 mph... [A] passenger screamed at me to slow down. I was unable to do so, even after stepping forcefully on the brakes."

While Toyota had a disproportionate amount of unintended acceleration claims, the Japanese automaker wasn't alone. Ford received an also high 36 overall complaints, or 28 percent of all U.S. models. The F-150 appears to have been one of the Blue Oval's main culprits, and complaints ranged from a gas pedal that was too wide to an engine that decided to go buck wild.

"The engine immediately increased in rpm to the point where the rear tires began spinning on the gravel. I put the transmission in Neutral and the engine rpm increased. I removed my foot from the brake and the engine continued at a very high rpm. I then depressed and released the accelerator and the engine returned to a normal idle."

While Toyota and Ford have the lion's share of unintended acceleration claims, other automakers have a disproportionately low amount of complaints. Chrysler came in with 11 complaints, GM had seven, Honda had five and Nissan had three. Head over to Consumer Reports for its full report and more information on unintended acceleration.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

It seemed pretty obvious when we first heard that China's BAIC wanted Saab's tooling that it didn't want anything to do with purchasing the Swedish automaker's full monty. If BAIC wanted to be in the Saab business, clearly, it would have made overtures for more than just the retired tooling from the older versions of the 9-5 and 9-3. BAIC wants the cars and all the stuff that Saab made to make them, so as to have something else to sell in its home market. The rest of Saab, such as its Trollhattan headquarters and workforce apparently aren't of interest to BAIC, which just secured a line of credit from the Bank of China, presumably to finance this purchase.

General Motors is said to still have some suitors interested in the whole shooting match, instead of BAIC's cherry picking. Since the deal with Koenigsegg fell apart, Spyker has indicated interest in Saab, as has a private concern called Renco Group. Any deal will be carefully vetted by General Motors, and will have a short time-table for completion. If BAIC's bid for the parts of Saab carries through, the rest of the company will almost certainly head for liquidation. It's looking increasingly likely that there will be no stay of execution for Saab, no white knight riding in to save this Swedish automaker in distress. Still, it ain't over until it's over...

[Source: Reuters | Image: AFP/Getty]