Autoblog

Hot Wheels Honda Racer arrives in May. The kid in you is excited

John Neff — 2008-04-22T13:52:00+00:00

Filed under: Concept Cars, SEMA, Honda, Toys

Click above for high-res gallery of the Hot Wheels Honda Racer

Last November at the 2007 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Hot Wheels unveiled a troop of concepts to celebrate its 40th anniversary. These new Hot Wheels cars were not designed by everyone's favorite 1:64 scale model toy maker, but rather were all new designs penned by designers from Lotus, Chevy, Ford, Mitsubishi, Dodge and Honda. The Lotus Concept, Mitsubishi Double Shotz, Dodge XP-07, Gangster Grin from Ford, Chevroletor (GM), and Honda Racer, along with Hot Wheels' own HW-40, are going on tour around the United States in August, so keep an eye out.

The first of these concepts to actually become a toy will be the Honda Racer, the design of which is inspired by the 'H' in Honda's corporate logo. There's room for a driver and navigator in the side-by-side shape of the concept that features a paint scheme inspired by Honda's participation in F1 back in the day. A fictitious Honda V10 VTEC that displaces a theoretical 2.0L per cylinder (that's a 20-liter engine for those keeping score at home) powers the red-and-white racer. The Honda Racer's design, Guillermo Gonzalez, says rather than bean counters and engineers imposing restraints on his creativity, the only parameters when designing his Hot Wheels car were that it had to fit in the trademark orange track and be able to do a loop. With a 20L V10 and the assistance of good old gravity, we're sure a loop is well within its means. You'll be able to buy the Honda Racer next month when it begins arriving on store shelves in May. Until then, check out the high-res shots Honda released of the Honda Racer in our gallery below.

Gallery: Hot Wheels Honda Racer

[Source: Honda]

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Ford GTX1 production comes to an end

Alex Nunez — 2008-01-06T20:22:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Sports/GTs, Supercars, Ford

Click image for hi-res gallery of the GTX1

Gennadi Dedign Group has announced that the end draws nigh for the company's limited-run Ford GT roadster conversion, the GTX1. Over two years of production, the plan was to make 600 total cars available. 100 would be SEMA Edition replicas of the Valencia Orange show car shown above and in the attached gallery. The other 500 would be regular customer cars. According to Gennadi, only 100 cars or so have been ordered and completed, and whatever the number stands at when orders are officially ended on August 31, 2008 will be the final production run. The SEMA editions, in addition to the roof conversion, also received a host of additional upgrades including racing seats, adjustable shocks, Wilwood brakes, a power boost to 700 horses, a hidden rear bumper, and other some interior tweaks, too. Incidentally, we recently saw one of the finished customer cars (it sported the Tungsten paint job) in Greenwich, CT not long ago. With the roof in place, it can easily be mistaken for a "garden variety" GT -- which we would have done if not for the GTX1 labeling aft of the front wheel. Little did we know that it was one of a much smaller group than Gennadi probably anticipated building. If you've got a Ford GT and a hankering for an arier experience, you've got until August to let Gennadi have its way with it.

[Source: Gennadi Design Group]

Gallery: Ford GTX1

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Let there be light - Visualeyes Rayzer rethinks auxiliary lamps

Dan Roth — 2007-12-13T09:57:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, SEMA, Safety

Vehicular lighting is a crapshoot. Some vehicles offer a great swath of even coverage from their headlamps, while others make you feel like you're squinting through welding goggles at night. I went through the trouble to retrofit one of my cars with Cibié lamps running overwattage H4 bulbs. That effort required a couple hundred dollars of parts, a good amount of labor to wire up relays and triggers, and not everyone is willing to expend such time and money, even if it means you won't overdrive your lights so easily. Sweden's Visualeyes has trotted out the Rayzer, an auxiliary lighting system that mounts from the inside and projects a beam through the windshield. We're taking the product's SEMA appearance as an indication of legality in the US. From the amount of end-user modifications we see on a daily basis, nobody's enforcing the rules on lights, anyway. The system has been patented and was developed by former race car driver Lars Svelander after a close call with a deer.

The line-of-sight position is purported to be more effective and has the benefit of leaving the outward appearance unmarred. We'd be worried about throwing light spill onto the hood, or too close to the front of the car, for that matter. Too much light in the wrong place is a detriment to night vision, but putting more lumens down the road could improve your chances of not overdoing it. The Rayzer uses a pair of HID bulbs and is wired into the car's lighting system to illuminate when the high beams are in use. There's also a fail-safe circuit that will shut the Rayzer off if oncoming vehicles are detected - a good thing when you're blasting light through your windshield. No price has been announced, but trading the hours of cutting, crimping, and snaking wires for the ease of a 15-minute installation by a non professional sounds good to us, especially if it works as well as the pictures make it appear.

Thanks for the tip, Andreas!

[Source: Visualeyes]

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SEMA Concept 'Cuda to be sold at Barrett-Jackson

Drew Phillips — 2007-11-30T10:31:00+00:00

Filed under: Concept Cars, SEMA, Auction Action, Chrysler

click above image for more pics of the Concept 'Cuda

It appears that whoever took the trouble to have Metalcrafters build the one-off Concept 'Cuda got tired of it pretty quickly. Just a month after the 'Cuda made its first appearance at the SEMA show, Barrett-Jackson has announced that the car will be offered to the highest bidder come January. The winner will essentially be getting a modified Dodge Charger chassis with custom 2-door carbon fiber bodywork covered in Lamborghini Pearl Orange paint, a functional shaker hood feeding air to a 6.1-liter Hemi V8 and 22-inch Zenetti wheels wrapped with Pirelli P Zero tires. Before potential buyers plunk down hundreds of thousands of dollars for the car, they might want to see if Metalcrafters would build a second, and if so, how much it would cost.

[Source: Barrett-Jackson via Motortrend]

Gallery: Chrysler Cuda Concept

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Autoblog Podcast #81

Dan Roth — 2007-11-22T09:35:00+00:00

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Podcasts, SEMA, Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Trucks/Pickups, Green, Tokyo Motor Show, Ford, GM, Honda, Pontiac, Toyota

Now here's something worth giving thanks over. The podcast makes its return in time for you to load it on your iPod for the drive over the river and through the woods. We've been away at shows, so of course we do some recapping of whatever highlights struck our fancy at Tokyo, SEMA, and LA. We start Autoblog Podcast episode #81 by discussing pickups, though. New spy shots of the 2009 F150 have surfaced and that pushes us into a wider ranging discussion about pickemups. From there, we try to send GM the message that messing with the nose of the Solstice is a bad idea, and the very last car they should be worrying about, anyway. No current Pontiac discussion would be complete without mention of the G8, so we make sure to pontificate about that for a while, too. John, Damon, and Alex take a little time out to ~~gloat over~~ discuss what's currently in the Autoblog Garage, touch on the fact that the Scirocco's not coming stateside, and partake in a scorching GM vs. Honda/Toyota green car debate. It's all over in 52 minutes, thanks for waiting so long, we'll do it again soon!

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Tractorri Lamborghini Mustang is strong like bull

John Neff — 2007-11-12T14:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Coupes, Supercars, Ford, Lamborghini

click either image to enlarge

The SEMA Show in Las Vegas is huge, which is the only explanation we can muster for why we didn't see the Tractorri Lamborghini Mustang there ourselves. Built by John Haugh from Cleveland, OH (w00t!), the car you see is basically a 520-hp mid-engine, all-wheel-drive Lamborghini Gallardo wearing the heavily modified body panels of a Ford Mustang. Out back the rear taillamps of the Gallardo have been incorporated along with a gaping grate through which one can view the Lamborghini hardware. The interior is also mostly Lamborghini, though the door panels obviously come from the Ford.

We know, some of you are asking why anyone would embark on such a project, but why sweat the details when there's a freakin' mid-engine, all-wheel-drive Mustang staring back at you? Just count your lucky stars that there are people out there who will build something like a Mustang-bodied Lamborghini for the rest of us to enjoy. Oh, and we extend an open offer to buy Mr. Haugh a beer at The Winking Lizard in Lakewood so he can show us this insane coupe in person.

Click the Read link below to visit themustangnews.com where there are more pics of the Tractorri Lamborghini Mustang.

[Source: The Mustang News via Carscoop]

Gallery: Tractorri Lamborghini Mustang

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Shelby Terlingua Mustang adds one more to the fray

Dan Roth — 2007-11-07T08:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Time Warp, Ford, Shelby

Uncle! UNCLE! Here's the scoop. Shelby's dusting off another name from the 1960s to affix to the flanks of yet another clapped out version of Ford's Mustang. Damn. Was it like this back in the day, too? Terlingua was a racing team in the 1960s that campaigned a GT350 with ferocious bunny livery. The new Terlingua models dropped at SEMA (which might as well stand for Simply Everything Mustang Always), and they're actually pretty intriguing. We'll forego the bestickered body baubelization, but in the engine room, they've gotten creative.

Rather than focus all the attention on the GT, the base V6 gets some lovin' from the Terlingua package. $7,995 buys you handling and braking upgrades as well as a supercharger that helps the V6 churn out 375 hp. That's one we'd love to sample. Armchair quarterbacking postulates that it might be a bit more nimble than a GT, with a slightly less massive mill and possibly superior weight distribution, but of course, we're just blowing sunshine without actually looking at hard numbers. Ain't speculation fun? Of course, the obligatory 20-inch rims probably do more to hinder performance, but they rev up the style, if that's your thing. Other Terlingua goodies are a continuation 1967 Mustang with more modern engineering, and a specially tweaked '65 427 Cobra.

[Source: Autoweek]

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SEMA 2007: Revisiting the DashDAQ

John Neff — 2007-11-06T13:52:00+00:00

Filed under: Gadgets, SEMA, Tech

Last year at the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, we reported on a unique piece of hardware called the DashDAQ. It looks like a third-party sat nav, but it's actually an open source Linux-based computer that suction cups to your windshield. Commenters at the time went ga-ga over what could be done with the DashDAQ after plugging it into their OBD-II port. Unbeknownst to us, the company was listening and returned to SEMA in 2007 with the actual product that just went on sale a couple weeks ago.

Called the DashDAQ Series II, the $695 production model walked away from this year's SEMA Show with nine new product awards. The DashDAQ is still as open source as it was last year, but has grown up a bit and added more processing power and more inputs in the form of two serial connecters, two USB ports and an SD card slot. Any type of sensor can be plugged into the unit and its data displayed as long as you've got drivers for it. Out of the box, though, the DashDAQ can display a gauge cluster in a variety of skins, display and clear diagnostic codes, and show you data points from any of your car's sensors while simultaneously logging them for future analysis.

One of the big knocks against the DashDAQ last year was that despite looking for all the world like a navigation system, it didn't have the hardware or software to perform that function. Well, it still doesn't, but they have addressed the issue by making it simple to plug in a third-party GPS unit. A company named Elektrobit is currently developing sat nav software for the DashDAQ, but you can of course use other Linux-based GPS programs. Since it's open source, just imagine the possibilities. You could have your car's true speed or even lap times clocked accurately via GPS just like the pros, but for thousands less.

We're going to have one of our more computer literate bloggers take a DashDAQ Series II for a spin in the near future. In the meantime, the company, its engineers and software designers are listening, so tell them you think.

[Source: DashDAQ]

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SEMA 2007: Infill G4 in-dash PC

Frank Filipponio — 2007-11-05T18:35:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, Audio, Gadgets, SEMA, Trends, Tech

While cruising through the enormous American Racing display area at SEMA, we spotted a pretty cool Mustang that made us stop for a closer look. While the car itself will be detailed elsewhere, one of its trick features really stood out. There was a keyboard on the passenger seat. Thinking it might have to do with a programmable engine management system or something, we were told that it was actually controlling a fully functional Windows XP in-dash computer. The computer system is made by a company called Infill and this was its newest G4 offering. The system features a 40 GB hard drive, 1.5 Ghz Pentium 4 CPU, 512 MB RAM, 800 X 480 6.5" Sharp touch screen display, wireless internet, a 3-second boot up time, built-in GPS, 3 USB ports, rear-view camera display compatibility and a DVD-ROM (What, no Blu-Ray?).

It also features steering wheel controls to operate the integrated 5.1 channel A/V system. And if you want to control any of the computer's functions while under way, it also has text-to-speech capability and advanced KT-HUVOIS speech recognition. Not that we'd recommend using it while in motion, but this system can turn your vehicle into one heck of a mobile office or den. The entire thing is also entirely self-contained in the dash-mount unit -- no remote HD or peripherals - which is impressive. The company promises a 40-minute install in most applications at any decent install shop. We'll try to get you more details when they become available, but for now you can get more by clicking on the Read link below or the image above.

[Source: Infill]

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SEMA Sideshow: Hossfly V8 Barstools caught on video

Merritt Johnson — 2007-11-05T16:27:00+00:00

Filed under: SEMA, Etc., Videos

click above image to watch video of the Hossfly V8 Barstool in action

When the SEMA Show is over and it's time for the exhibitors to clear out of the convention center, it makes for an interesting spectacle to watch. Vehicles forbidden to operate on the street can be seen ripping down Paradise Rd. without consequence. It just so happens that during this time we caught a glimpse of the previously posted Hossfly V8 Barstools in action. While walking away from the convention center, the crowd around us began to part like Moses and the Red Sea. We could hear a vehicle approaching that sounded like a pissed off Camaro with an open header exhaust. Turning around we discovered that the commotion was caused not by a crazy muscle car, but by two stools on wheels. We luckily whipped out the camera in time and caught a clip of the barstools in action. The video doesn't quite do justice to the amount of noise generated by these contraptions. We can also only assume that after a week of sitting idle at the show, they were on their way to the nearest bar counter for a couple of cold beers. Follow the jump to see the video.

Gallery: Hossfly V8 Barstools

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SEMA Sideshow: Hossfly V8 Barstools

Frank Filipponio — 2007-11-04T18:02:00+00:00

Filed under: SEMA, Etc.

A company called Boss Hoss was offering one of the most unique rides in Vegas last week, and that's really saying a lot. Amidst the ocean of custom vehicles, this one seemed like just the perfect thing for covering the show, motoring over to one of the after-parties and bellying up to the bar. Compact and easily maneuverable, it also had a surfeit of power should one need to get somewhere in a hurry. We can say with some certainty that it had one of the best power-to-weight ratios of any vehicle in the convention center halls at SEMA, although the top speed is limited to 25 mph. Appearing to be a mounted display engine at first glance, a quick double-take brought the steering wheel and seat into focus. Sitting atop the small-block engine was... well, the driver's seat. Called the Hossfly, this novelty transportation device is available through California Boss Hoss as a kit or in turnkey form, and is essentially a V8 barstool. Little more than an engine on wheels with an elevated seat and steering wheel, it has a 5 gallon tank and is said to be capable of hauling up to 2,000 pounds. If like us you think this would be fun for a very short trip, know that the kits start at $8,000 - minus the engine. One other note: it does have a radiator to keep things cool below the seat, at least partially.

Gallery: Hossfly V8 Barstools

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SEMA Wheels: If 30 is the new 20, then 40 is the new 30

Frank Filipponio — 2007-11-04T14:46:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Trends

Where 20-inch rims seemed gigantic just a couple of years ago, the massive surge in 22s, 24s, 26s and the like mean 30s are becoming commonplace. No self-respecting donk would be caught rollin' on anything less than 30s these days, and last week at SEMA we even saw 32s, 34s and a pair of 42s (!) floating around the show floor, as well. We also spotted a few creative solutions to dealing with these new monster rims, like cutting out a car's fenderwells completely and a whole new tire mounting apparatus to handle these behemoths. You've already seen a couple of these megarims in some of our previous SEMA posts, but below is a gallery of some of the most egregious examples we could find. And lest you think size is all that matters, we've also included some colorful and fanciful offerings, as well as random shots of collections, sport rims, retro rollers and even a couple of monster truck tires we spotted that might portend the zenith of the tall tire trend. Enjoy.

Gallery: SEMA Wheels 2007

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SEMA 2007: Neff takes the Continental Tire XBOX Challenge

Chris Shunk — 2007-11-04T13:53:00+00:00

Filed under: SEMA, Etc.

The SEMA show is a labor of love in that it takes a lot of hard work to cover it properly, but there are few places on earth we'd rather be. While we often spend 10-12 hours on the show floor looking for the best (and worst) vehicles to post on Autoblog, sometimes we also get the chance to have a little fun.

Across from the press room was a hidden cove with two plasma monitors attached to a pair of XBOX 360s. Continental Tire was hosting an XBOX Challenge, and Forza Motorsport 2 was the chosen battlefield. Our own John Neff typically spends his free time enjoying his console of choice, and Forza 2 is often his disc of choice. Our Editor in Chief jumped at the chance to compete for such prizes as an iPod and a set of high-end Kicker speakers, and we were there to tape the results. Click play to watch the video above, and then hit the jump to see whether John walked away with a prize.

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SEMA Sideshow: Heels and wheels [VIDEO]

Frank Filipponio — 2007-11-04T08:57:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Lifestyle

Click for high-res gallery of some of the lovely ladies from Las Vegas

SEMA is unique in many ways compared to the other major auto shows we cover. One of these is the reputation the show has for the number of models hired for promotion that can be found throughout the convention center. It seemed everywhere we went there was a model handing out literature, signing posters or just standing next to products on display. In a sea of thousands of goods, many of the vendors understand how much a pretty face can increase traffic and lead to more potential sales. This being Las Vegas, it was getting to the point where just a pretty face wasn't enough anymore.

The outfits these gals wear started getting more and more outrageous a long time ago. That trend thankfully stopped a year ago and took a few steps back in the interest of decency. This year's models tended to be much more modestly dressed and wholesome looking, with a few notable exceptions. Check them all out in the gallery below, and be sure to view the video after the jump that was probably more fun for us to make than it is for you to watch, but we'll let you be the judge of that.

NOTE: Comments have been turned off on this post since these ladies have graciously posed for our enjoyment, not our judgment.
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Gallery: SEMA 2007: Heels and Wheels

Continue reading SEMA Sideshow: Heels and wheels [VIDEO]

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SEMA 2007 Spotlight: Magden M.1 Performance Computer

Merritt Johnson — 2007-11-03T17:28:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, SEMA

Since 1996 all vehicles sold in the United States have been equipped with an OBD-II system, also known as On Board Diagnostics. The reasoning behind requiring the system has a lot to do with the EPA and emissions, but it just so happens to also be a great tool for tuning. You may have noticed the required connector hiding around the dash in the vicinity of the driver's seat. Over time, various companies have developed OBD scanners and data loggers, but there were two of particular interest to us at the 2007 SEMA Show (we're covering the other later).

Magden Technologies brought out their M.1 Performance Computer, a compact box capable of logging the user's choice of OBD channels. The data is saved spreadsheet style and can be transferred via a USB dongle and the box also has the ability to log from user added sensors. The most interesting feature though, is the computer's ability to output video display. Combined with Magden's own touch-screen it makes for a pretty impressive interactive light show.

Gallery: Magden M.1 Performance Computer

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SEMA 2007 Spotlight: APS C6 ZO6 LS7 twin turbo kit

Merritt Johnson — 2007-11-03T14:34:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Tuners, Chevrolet

One sports car that really needs more power is the Chevrolet C6 Corvette Z06, right? The LS7 engine puts out 505 horsepower in stock form, so it could really use about twice that. Thankfully the folks at APS (Air Power Systems) developed a twin turbocharger kit for the C6 Z06 application. APS claims their power adders will get the LS7 generating upwards of 1100 rear wheel horsepower. Now, knowing the compression ratio of the LS7, the upper reaches of that power range will not be seen by anyone running pump gas. Regardless of the user's intended boost setting, the kit will esthetically fit in with the rest of the ZO6's engine bay. A few notable parts included in the kit are cast iron exhaust manifolds, rotomolded plastic intake piping, water cooled turbochargers and an oil scavenge pump to ensure the proper lubrication of the turbocharger bearings.

Gallery: APS C6 ZO6 LS7 Twin Turbo Kit

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SEMA 2007 Spotlight: Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax 2.0

Merritt Johnson — 2007-11-03T09:56:00+00:00

Filed under: Maintenance, SEMA

Some of us here at Autoblog actually care about how our cars look and take extraordinary measures to keep their finishes looking like a mirror. Meguiar's has unveiled its new line of car cleansing products for 2008, and they've developed an entirely new wax formula that caught our eye here at SEMA. It's debuting in Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax 2.0 and is coined Hydrophobic Polymer Technology. Hydrophobic is a term meaning water fearing, which chemists use to describe chemical compositions that actually repel H2O molecules. That's right, this stuff is actually scared of water, so much so that when water drops onto a hydrophobic surface, the polar structure of the wet stuff that creates surface tension causes the H2O molecules to bond to each other. This not only creates beads of water like normal waxes, but also encourages those beads to get the heck off your paint job, post haste. This advanced water repellent force makes Tech Wax 2.0 more advanced than your everyday wax, and we're eager to give it a try on our collection of cars.

[Source: Meguiar's]

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SEMA 2007 Spotlight: Greddy Nissan 350Z VQ35HR twin turbo kit

Merritt Johnson — 2007-11-02T19:03:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Tuners, Nissan

Nissan's VQ35DE engine began a rush of aftermarket development when it was thrown into the 350Z in 2003. However, come 2007 Nissan decided that the single throttle body setup of the 3.5L V6 engine did not amount to the best performance (aka they had to beat BMW in the power wars) so they added another, thus producing the VQ35HR. Of course this move on Nissan's part left the aftermarket world standing still as many popular performance products, particularly forced induction systems, developed for the VQ35DE did not translate to the HR version. That is why Greddy's new 350Z turbo kit caught our eye at the 2007 SEMA Show. It is the first available forced induction system for the VQ35HR powerplant. The kit uses cast iron exhaust manifolds, Greddy's own turbochargers, twin entry and exit intercooler along and Greddy's E-Manage engine management system that piggybacks on the Nissan ECU. Greddy claims it is good for 700-plus horsepower. Of course, that would come with proper engine tuning and stronger internal engine components, particularly connecting rods.

Gallery: Greddy 350Z Twin Turbo Kit

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SEMA 2007 Spotlight: Cusco tunes the WRX, develops easy-adjust LSD

Damon Lavrinc — 2007-11-02T18:02:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Tuners

Click the image above for more shots from Cusco.

Cusco has been bringing the knowledge gleaned from its racing exploits to consumers for more than a decade, and over the past few years, it's finally offered up its wares to those of us in the States. In particular, the Subaru WRX has been the mainstay of its success, so it didn't take long to begin developing new suspension components to make the new Subie stick.

Gallery: Cusco at SEMA

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Limited edition 427 ZL-1 big block V8 coming from GM

Drew Phillips — 2007-11-02T16:54:00+00:00

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Chevrolet

In the late 1960s the ultimate muscle cars were the ZL-1 Camaros and Corvettes. The full racing motor featured an all aluminum block and cylinder heads and could be ordered as an option in 1969 on the Corvette or as a COPO (Central Office Production Order) on the Camaro. Because of the huge price of the engine, only two Corvettes and 69 Camaros were ordered with the ZL-1. Although the motor was officially rated at 430 horsepower and 450 lb-ft torque, independent tests showed upwards of 525 horsepower. Motor Trend tested a ZL-1 at the track with drag slicks in 1968 and pulled off a 10.89 @ 130 mph. It's easy to see why the ZL-1 name is legendary.

Now, using the recently-discovered tooling that was used to build the original engines, GM Performance Parts is offering a new anniversary edition of the ZL-1 engine. Some of the design features have been updated, and the block casting has been strengthened, but it's essentially the same motor in the ZL-1 Corvettes and Camaros of 1969. It's even officially (under)rated at 430 horsepower and 450 lb-ft torque. Only 427 examples will be produced, although if you can't get your hands on one of those, you can get a very similar ZZ427 crate motor. See all of the features of the new ZL-1 after the jump.

[Source: GM]

Gallery: 427 ZL-1 Anniversary Crate Motor

Continue reading Limited edition 427 ZL-1 big block V8 coming from GM

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