Autoblog

Click above for a huge high-res gallery of the RS*R Scion tC drift car.

We've enjoyed our fair share of front-wheel-drive hijinks in empty parking lots with our right hand firmly grasping the e-brake, but in the end, tail-out antics are always more enjoyable behind the wheel of something with the proper wheels driven. "Proper," however, isn't the way we'd describe how Scion decided to go about campaigning a tC in this year's Formula Drift series.

With backing from Toyota, the aftermarket firm RS*R converted a run-of-the-mill tC into a rear-wheel-drive monster utilizing a BEAMS-built 3S-GE engine and taking advantage of the Toyota Avensis/Caldina all-wheel-drive chassis on which the tC is built. RS*R ripped out the abysmal 2AZ-FE 2.4-liter four-pot from the stock car, fabbed up a series of new mounts to facilitate the transverse to longitudinal conversion and dropped in the 3S-GE after fitting the four-cylinder with an HKS GT3037 turbo, intercooler, Blitz dual SBC boost controller and an AEM EMS engine management system. Approximately 400 hp is now routed to the rear wheels through a Tilton triple carbon clutch and a G-Force, five-speed sequential gearbox. RS-R coilovers keep things suspended on all four corners, and are hidden by the custom wide-body kit and Enkei RPF1 wheels wrapped in Toyo Proxes R1R rubber.

The RS*R tC will be piloted by Ken Gushi, the youngest driver ever to compete in the D1 series, beginning at the season opener on the Streets of Long Beach on April 12th. Hit the jump to read the full press release and check out Formula D's website to see when the competition will be heating up in your area.


[Source: Toyota]

Click above for a photo galllery of Skruffse's RWD C30

While Volvo's C30 has wily charms in its stock configuration, we could see how it'd be even more entertaining with the power being sent to the proper wheels. While we're talking revisions, a honkingly large turbocharger and external-reservoir dampers would be welcome additions, too. The race-ready ride height is dead sexy, and while it's a crazy thing to do to a perfectly good brand new Volvo, Sweden's Skruffse has carried out some beautiful fabrication work. The use is obviously racing of some sort, and with wide tires at all four corners we're surmising that it's something that involves turning, versus drag racing. Seeing this car's tow rig - a first-generation V70, it all comes together -- those willing to strip the C30 down like a stolen Pinto and rejigger the chassis are true Volvo nuts. We're pretty sure the warranty has been voided, though.


[Source: CarScoop]

That didn't take long. After Monday's article in the Detroit News reporting that Ford's U.S. operations were going to be developing its own RWD platform here in the States, the FoMoCo crew from Down Under refutes that story saying, "It's too early to speculate on that." With the dollar not holding up like it used to, the idea that Stateside Ford engineers would develop their own left-hand drive, RWD architecture seems sound, especially considering that the Falcon's underpinnings can't support switching the controls from starboard to port. If Ford's U.S. team can manage to provide both, then there's going to be a serious glut of manufacturing and engineering jobs in Australia if and when it happens.

[Source: CarPoint via TTAC]

We dug the hot new Genesis Coupe at the New York Auto Show, but not everybody can head out to Gotham to see Hyundai's future tuner de force. Hyundai knows it has a good thing on its hands, and has now shared it with the world in web form. The Genesis Coupe's official site includes everything from technical specifications and available equipment to photo galleries and videos. That ought to help you kill the year-or-so wait for the Genesis Coupe's arrival in dealer showrooms. We noticed that Hyundai hasn't gotten around to posting video of the car's smoke-laden intro in New York, so we've added ours after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Mike!



[Source: Hyundai]

Click above to watch the video

UPDATE: Hyundai Motor America responds to the cranky South Korean reviewer. Click here.

The Hyundai Genesis has had a lot of positive speculative press, and there are a lot of journalists anxious to get behind the wheel of the rear-wheel-drive sedan from South Korea. A quick check of the Genesis stat sheet shows that Hyundai is delivering an awful lot of luxury and performance for what promises to be a very low price, but at least one South Korean journalist isn't all that impressed. After the jump is a seven-minute review of the Genesis sedan that absolutely trashes the South Korean Domestic Market sedan in its native tongue.

The reviewer liked the acceleration from the 3.3L V6 and we agree that it sounds great, but from there things get ugly. The Genesis sedan had too much body roll, its driving characteristics were far from dynamic, the brakes were mushy and the tires struggled to grip the road even when they weren't being pushed that hard. The on-camera reviewer summed up the Genesis by saying that luxury equipment does not a luxury vehicle make. We're hoping the Genesis is far better than this reviewer's description, but we won't know until we get behind the wheel to judge for ourselves. Thanks for the tip, Bobae!


[Source: Auto.joins.com via YouTube]

We're getting a bit tired of trying to keep up with what models GM plans to underpin with a rear-wheel-drive platform. Aside from the upcoming Camaro and the Pontiac G8, no other vehicles have received the divine anointment from the General's higher-ups due to impending CAFE regulations that will supposedly quell any developments on the RWD front.

However, The Car Connection has pretty much confirmed what we've already known: GM's plans for RWD vehicles will include both a rear-driven Buick and Cadillac. The new models will share the same Aussie-derived Zeta platform from the aforementioned Camaro and G8, with the rear-driven Caddy expected to replace the aging STS and DTS, and a Buick model taking over where the front-drive Lucerne left off.

Until we actually see one of these new models in the flesh (production or concept) we're not planning to hold our breath, but the idea of a RWD Buick seems at least plausible, particularly considering the impending demise of Ford's Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car line.

[Source: The Car Connection]

Click above for more high-res images of the FG Falcon G-Series

But is he getting one for himself? One could certainly infer that's the case based on this GoAuto article, which reports that the Ford CEO was so blown away by the Falcon G6E Turbo he sampled at an Australian test facility that he told Trevor Worthington (Ford Australia's product-development veep), "I want one." And that brings us to the question of the day: is the head of Ford really bringing over a new Falcon for himself to drive? Because while we in the peanut gallery generally agree that the Blue Oval stuff in Europe and Australia has it all over the American-market offerings (Mustang and F-Series excluded), there would be no greater acknowledgment of this than the CEO of Ford cruising around in a desirable RHD-only Aussie sedan while we make do with the Taurus, which even the execs recently made fun of. Americans will need to wait for the arrival of the new global RWD platform that's set to underpin multiple US-market rear-drivers sometime in the early 2010s, assuming Ford doesn't hedge like GM and use CAFE as an excuse to temper expectations regarding RWD models in the States.

UPDATE: We caught up with the folks at Ford this evening, and can now report that Alan Mulally is not bringing over a Falcon for his own personal use. We do believe the part of the GoAuto story where he's bowled over by the Falcon, though.


[Source: GoAuto]

click above for more high-res iamges of the V8-powered Scion xB

Forget about body kits, custom fiberglass enclosures for your woofer and LCDs in the headrests. This is the only way to make the Scion xB entertaining in our humble opinion. Oh yeah, Scion wants you to think its cars are more fun than a box of rocks, but like Flava Flav said, don't believe the hype. We'll even forgive the fact that there's a big, dumb carburetor sitting atop the Chevy-based small block. This first-generation xB is owned by a guy named Rick, who apparently knows his way around plasma cutters, nibblers and welders. It's not quite finished yet, as evidenced by the photos showing a stripped interior and lots of zip ties, but Rick's Scion is already quite the sleeper.

Peering inside the engine bay, it's the tidy dimensions of the small block FTW. A transmission hump/center tunnel had to be added, and the chassis was converted to rear-wheel drive, too. Keep in mind, this is the smaller, original xB. The overinflated second-generation would have even more space in the engine room for this sort of chicanery. There's obviously some time and money spent to give this ho-hum little box a big infusion of epic cool, and we bet that's all worth it when you can take in the looks of discongruity as you blow the doors off the unsuspecting.

[Source: Carscoop]

click above to view video

With all the hype surrounding the upcoming production versions of the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro, it's easy to forget that the Mustang is still king of the hill when it comes to pony car sales. We've had the very competent current model since Fall 2004, while any competition continues to be stuck in future-tense. Even without any direct competition, Ford has stayed on top of its RWD V8 American icon, and the 2+2 pony car is still the stuff of dreams. The marketing geeks at Ford picked up on the phenomenon, and the result is a :30 spot with some lucky Joe performing power slides and donuts in a red Mustang GT while the fuzz give him the thumbs-up. Ford added a hot brunette driving a Mustang convertible for good measure, and you've got the ideal REM of many-a-man. Check out the spot after the jump.

Thanks for the tip, Mike!

It's finally (semi) official: RWD cars like a new Pontiac GTO (and Holden Monaro) and Impala are "gone for now." Bob Lutz has been making noises about it for a while, and every announcement gets more and more certain that the front wheels will be pulling more GM cars.

Just a month ago, Lutz told Forbes "That's where the internal debate [on the Impala] is now -- no firm decision at this point, but my guess is that we will come down on the side of the front-drive car." By the time of last week's Detroit Auto Show, Lutz was telling GoAuto "I think the (Monaro/Pontiac GTO) is gone for now.... [T]hat's not the end of the market where we want to stimulate demand. We have to find ways to stimulate demand and desirability in cars that will get us closer to the 35 MPG average."

How will that be done? Perhaps by using the Alpha midsize platform and making CUV's. However, the Alpha still hasn't been signed off on, and won't be until GM figures out what -- and how many -- standards it will need to adhere to when the CAFE tug-of-war ends.

[Source: GoAuto]