Gallery: Review: 2008 Pontiac G8 GT

Continue reading Correction: Pontiac G8 GT will NOT have an optional 6-speed stick

Correction: Pontiac G8 GT will NOT have an optional 6-speed stick originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: 2009 Nissan Maxima

Correction: Diesel Maxima coming with automatic and maybe a stick originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumormill: Ford may drop manual from Super Duty lineup originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

click above to view the pre-production D12 at the 2007 Geneva show

Like one of their exotics sitting impatiently on your driveway, Spyker isn't content sitting still, so the bean-counters will just have to keep up. Despite deep financial woes troubling the company, Spyker is forging ahead with new models. Following the announcement that the new long-wheelbase version of the C8 Laviolette would be hitting the show stand at Geneva, Spyker has reportedly confirmed that the radical D12 Peking-to-Paris SSUV, possibly with American muscle, will in fact begin production next year. This confirmation, however, has only been reported by one website that doesn't cite its source and claims the news comes from an investors conference at which Victor Muller, the President of Spyker's management board, made the announcement. Unfortunately, we could find no other evidence that Spyker itself has confirmed the D12 is headed into production.

The production of the exotic sport-ute would be part of Spyker's plan to expand into emerging markets in Eastern Europe where performance SUVs are valued most among the growing upper class. Meanwhile, because half of its sales are in the United States, Spyker is also forced to cave in to demand for an automatic transmission in the C8, which is also reportedly confirmed for the fall.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Gallery: Pre-Production Spyker D12 Peking-to-Paris

Spyker D12 SSUV to begin production in 2009 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

No manual option for the 2008 Pontiac G8?! originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Oct 2007 07:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Driving a manual shift automobile is a bit like riding a bike in that most people only have to learn once. For two young men, learning how to drive a car the old-fashioned way never happened at all. As a result, when they tried to carjack a ride with a manual tranny, they didn't know what to do with the mysterious third pedal or the wiggly stick. When faced with this situation, most people would throw in the towel and find a victim with an automatic, but the mother of 18 year-old Joshua Johnson didn't raise a quitter. Johnson and his juvenile cohort tried in vain for several minutes to start the car before deciding to run. By then, however, the police were within arm's reach, and the two boneheads were caught. Since a firearm was involved in the crime, Johnson is facing a lengthy stay behind bars. We don't think they have driver's training in most jails, so that lesson will have to wait a long time.

[Source: 11 Live]

Thanks for the tip, Phil!

Crooks who can't drive stick get caught originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 09:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not unlike other exotic Italian marques, Maserati has a tendency to dramatize the offering of any slight variation of its cars just a bit. It's somewhat excusable when you consider that, aside from the MC12 supercar, their line-up consists essentially of two models. But while it'd be all too easy to overlook and dismiss the launch of the Quattroporte Automatic, for Maserati this is more than just a new transmission - the newest offering from the Trident marque represents Maserati's venture into the mainstream. It's a bit sad in a way, that even under the wing of the all-conquering Fiat conglomerate, a brand like Maserati can't remain a niche marque. But in the "real world" even the fabled Trident brand needs to turn a profit to stay afloat, so they saddle that screaming Italian V8 with a torque converter for smoother shifting in the hope of attracting customers who'd otherwise buy a Jaguar or a BMW.

Maserati delivered the first seventy Quattroporte sedans equipped with the ZF-sourced transmission to European dealers just two short weeks after its official unveiling at the Detroit auto show. The ceremony took place in the picturesque courtyard at the military academy in Modena, near the Maserati factory. While we can't quite get our heads around the idea of Cadillac, for example, presenting their latest sedan at West Point, the Italians (with good reason) take real pride in their automobiles - plus it made for a beautiful photo-op, and we've got the shots for you in the gallery (and the release after the jump).

Related posts:

• Detroit Auto Show: Maserati Quattroporte Automatic
• Masermatic: Quattroporte now available with six-speed auto

Gallery: Maserati Quattroporte Automatic dealer hand-over

[Source: Maserati]

Continue reading Automatic for the People: Maserati delivers first 70 Quattroporte Automatics

Automatic for the People: Maserati delivers first 70 Quattroporte Automatics originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Jan 2007 08:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click on the image above to get to our high-resolution image gallery.

As promised, the Detroit Auto Show marked Maseratis debut of the fully automatic transmission they're to begin offering in the beautiful Quattroporte sedan. The sumptuous Italian four-door was previously offered exclusively with the DuoSelect manu-matic transmission, derived from Ferrari's F1 gearbox and offered in the two-door Maserati range as Cambriocorsa. While the sequential transmission, which remains on offer alongside the new automatic, has improved greatly over the years, the bean-counters evidently thought Maserati could sell more Quattroportes if it had a smoother-shifting conventional automatic, with torque-converter and all. The transmission they fitted is a ZF-sourced six-speed unit; the high-revving Ferrari-designed V8, super-luxe interior, jaw-dropping Italian styling and everything else carry over from before.

Apparently viewing the Quattroporte as more vital to their North American sales, Maserati opted not to show the rest of their range at the Detroit show, so the GranSport and MC12 had to sit this one out to make room for three of their bigger brothers. The Quattroportes weren't lonely, though...Maserati brought in some leggy models to keep them company.

Follow the jump for the full press release; click here or on any of the images below to check out the high-resolution images from the factory and from the Detroit show floor.

Continue reading Detroit Auto Show: Maserati Quattroporte Automatic

Detroit Auto Show: Maserati Quattroporte Automatic originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Jan 2007 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Most people view a car as a mode of transportation. Enthusiasts see in the automobile something more: a stirring creation, a masterful feat of engineering, a triumph of design. For those in the former category, a Lexus or Mercedes would be the logical choice for a sports-luxury saloon. For those of us in the latter, we look for that indefinable X-factor that arouses passion and stirs the soul. That's why we here at Autoblog love the Maserati Quattroporte that so gracefully thumbs its nose at the more sensible offerings from Germany and Japan.

Unfortunately for automakers, remaining at the fringe just isn't enough these days. Certainly not for a major automotive conglomerate like Fiat, Maserati's parent company. Naturally, they'd like to see their cars emerge from the periphery and show real sales success. And they figure the one major factor holding back luxury sedan buyers from going for their Quattroporte is the transmission. The DuoSelect manumatic gearbox (called the Cambiocorsa in the two-door Coupe/Spyder/GranSport range, itself a derivation of sister-company Ferrari's F1 transmission) may offer better control than the typical automatic found in the competition's offerings, but although it's improved greatly, reviewers almost invariably lament its jerky shifts, especially on automatic mode. And that just doesn't fly with luxury sedan buyers, passionate or not.

Maserati has now released its long-awaited answer with the Quattroporte Automatic, eschewing the DuoSelect gearbox for a new six-speed unit from the transmission gurus at ZF. Unfortunately, a fully automatic gearbox means a torque converter, and that's sad news for the Quattroporte's Italian V8. The change in transmission also moves a bit more weight up front, changing the front-rear weight distribution to 49/51, as compared with the slightly more favorable 47/53 on the DuoSelect version. We'll just have to wait for full tests to see what kind of penalty that places on its performance, but we'll get a closer look at the Quattroporte Automatic next month as it makes its debut at the Detroit show to coincide with its release in January.

Interesting that with their M5, BMW just made a manual available to accompany its manu-matic, while one of its rivals, Maserati, has gone the other way.

Follow the jump for a couple more images.

[Source: Maserati]

Continue reading Masermatic: Quattroporte now available with six-speed auto

Masermatic: Quattroporte now available with six-speed auto originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Dec 2006 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Now this has disaster spelled all over it. (If you can read Chinese.)

Chinese carmaker First Auto Works (FAW) is demonstrating a sedan that drives itself. Equipped with two cameras hooked up to a computer guidance system of some sort, the FAW Hongqi (Red Flag) HQ3 prototype is designed to navigate its way through streets, avoiding obstacles, stopping at traffic signals and hopefully mowing down a minimum of pedestrians.

FAW demonstrated the car at the Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo, where it was limited to a snail-pace 37 mph, though the automaker claims it could safely operate at speeds up to 93 mph. If it actually works in real life, this would mark a significant step forward from the embarrassing demonstration of Mercedes' Brake Assist PLUS system and a challenger to vehicles entering the next DARPA Grand Challenge.

Personally, I'll just be happy if it can get an egg roll and crispy beef to my house while they're still hot.

[Source: Techdirt via Engadget]

Mau-tronic! FAW's Chinese robotic car originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Sep 2006 10:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

4-speed automatics on their way out originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Aug 2006 21:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GM makes another investment in new six-speed automatics originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Jun 2006 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GM invests another $170 million in shift to six-speed automatics originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 May 2006 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.