Autoblog

Take one Audi R8, add a pinch of Satan's dandruff (it's potent stuff) and you get this: the R8 GT3. Spy photographers have caught this racing version of Audi's R8 supercar, which itself is named after the very successful diesel-powered R8 LeMans racer, circling the famed Nurburgring in Germany. As you can see in our gallery below, it looks all business with a Boeing-sized rear wing out back and asphalt-scraping carbon fiber splitter up front. Other mods made for racing include the large vent in the "hood" behind the grille, larger air scoops in the blades behind the doors, a plexiglass rear window and significantly wider track both front and rear. Our sources tell us that the suspension is supposedly entirely stock and the quattro all-wheel-drive system has been ditched in favor of rear-wheel-drive to meet current FIA GT3 regulations. As for the engine, the 4.2L V8 has supposedly been tweaked to produce 500 horsepower (up from 420). For all its wings, vents and fender flares, this R8 GT3 prototype reportedly only managed to lap the 'Ring in 8:41.00 due to slippery-when-wet conditions. Pay attention folks, as this is the turn-key racing R8 that Audi will soon unleash on teams who wish to crash the GT3 class in style.


[Source: KGP Photography]

The redesigned 2010 Nissan Cube will be unveiled in the U.S. tomorrow at the LA Auto Show, but Nissan's boxy little wagon is already making its way to Japanese showrooms, as evidenced by these shots of a transporter loaded with them. What you see here is what you'll see in LA tomorrow, only with one major difference: we'll get a reversed version of the car's asymmetrical layout. Stay tuned.


[Source: Newcar-News via TTAC, Motive]

The 2010 Mustang is finally out in the open (check out our Officially, Official: 2010 Ford Mustang post), and so far we like what we see. Ford has given its iconic pony car a very thorough makeover inside and out, with sexier, more modern sheet metal and interior materials that are far superior to the current model. The Mustang's basic powertrains carry over with a modest power boost for the V8 model, and Blue Oval brass ensure us that the Mustang's ride and handling will be greatly improved, as well.

We were able to get the Mustang's head exterior and interior designers, as well as the pony car's head engineer to give us as many 2010 Mustang details as possible. The video above is five minutes in length and worth every second watching, and we covered the talking heads with plenty of footage of Ford's newest Mustang to keep things interesting. Enjoy.

The 2009 HUMMER H3T Alpha arrived in the Autobog Garage on Election Day, and so it was my transportation to and from the local polling station to exercise my civic duty. I had the HUMMER in my thoughts when I went to cast my ballot, and looking at the paper before me was like seeing the fate of General Motors reflected in this year's presidential election.

Barack Obama was new, different and promised an uncharted path to better times, the physical manifestation for this country of what the Chevy Volt is to GM. John McCain was both fiery and familiar, a well-liked veteran returning once again with a vision for America that was the same but better, just like the new Camaro. If Obama is to the Volt as McCain is to the Camaro, then that would make our current president the HUMMER H3T. It's the lame duck truck.


Photos Copyright ©2008 John Neff / Weblogs, Inc.

There's not a whole lot going on for General Motors at the LA Auto Show, but the company's making some minor announcements via press release before the shindig in la-la land gets underway tomorrow. The Pontiac G6 receives a minor facelift as a 2009½ model, with updated front and rear fascias and some interior tweaks. Those interior improvements bring the G6 up to par with its platform-mate brethren and include new trim bits, the standard GM radio (in a 2007 G6 I drove, the radio had this ridiculous ribbing on the dials -- a very 90s-Poncho feel), "all-new" (read: GM partsbin) HVAC controls, and an optional MY LINK communication package that includes Bluetooth, a dash-mounted USB port and related tech. You can also get a more attractive 2-tone interior with leather or cloth seats as an upgrade over the standard (and dreary) all-black treatment.

Underhood, the G6 Coupe is now available with the 4-cyl/6-speed powertrain combo, complete with paddle shifting. A flex-fuel 3.5L V6 is also available at no additional cost over the gas version in the full range of body styles, so the dozen G6 shoppers who also have access to actual E85 pumps should be enthused. The convertible's 3.9L V6 carries over and the 3.6L "high feature" V6, as before, is exclusive to the GXP. By the way, the GXP does not get any facelift love, and thus the infamous "Street Edition" remains ugly enough to stop every clock in a 132-mile radius.




[Source: Pontiac via finchannel.com]

Do you sense a pattern here? Not only has the Nissan GT-R won just about every comparison test on the planet, but it's also racked up a Popular Science Best of What's New award, Car of the Year honors from Automobile Magazine, and now the GT-R can add Motor Trend's CotY trophy to its mantle, as well. Calling it simply "Ichiban", the MT team praised Nissan's supercar-for-the-people as a standout in a pretty deep pool of contenders. While practically none of its CotY competitors even comes close to matching the GT-R's performance, several that are almost as good in their own right made the finals. Good as they are, the Honda Fit, Hyundai Genesis, BMW 1 series, Jaguar XF, Acura TL and TSX, Audi A4, Mazda6 and Volkswagen Passat CC just couldn't match the dominance of Gozilla. It would have been more difficult for MT to justify picking something other than the GT-R for this honor, and we can't think of any reason to disagree with their choice. Full press release after the jump.


[Source: Motor Trend]

[Source: Ford]

When BMW introduced its Lo Rider motorcycle concept on the unsuspecting public at the EICMA Show, officials for the German cycle manufacturer said that it designed the bike to be owner-customizable. Guess what? They weren't joking, and to prove it, the manufacturer has let loose more than a dozen renderings of possible custom Lo Riders. Much like what Harley-Davidson has done, BMW has created a single platform that offers customization through various saddles, handlebars, headlights and exhaust systems. By varying things like the seat height and footpeg location, the Lo Rider could offer either a very sporty ride or a machine for laid back cruising.

This theme is something new to BMW Motorrad, which has traditionally been much more at home designing long-distance touring mounts and standard bikes. More recently, the cycle maker has branched out into all-road style machinery under its GS label and super sporty bikes under its K-Series nameplate. In the late '90s BMW introduced the R1200C to combat the growing number of HDs and Japanese cruisers, and it is this custom crowd that the Lo Rider is aimed at. We hope to see more bikes from BMW that follow this pattern.


[Source: Motorcycle News]

It's obvious that Jeep is the most valuable nameplate Cerberus managed to snag when it took the ailing Chrysler Group off of Daimler's hands last year. No matter what happens to the Chrysler and Dodge brands, it is extremely unlikely that the Jeep brand would die, considering just how well-known and recognized the iconic name is around world. CNW Marketing Research studies indicate that the public-at-large would prefer to see all of the Pentastar's products wearing the revered Jeep badge.

Could Chrysler consolidate all of its vehicles under one brand? Theoretically it's possible, though extremely unlikely. While some models like the Dodge Ram (J-Series) and Dakota (Comanche) could be rebadged under the Jeep umbrella, the rest of Chrysler's line just doesn't fit. The Dodge Nitro is likely living on borrowed time already and Jeep is already selling the same model as the Liberty. The Caliber shares a platform with the Compass and Patriot, and is therefore redundant, and there doesn't seem to be a place for sedans in Jeep dealerships, let alone minivans.

Jeep's world-renowned reputation for die-hard products began with the Wrangler/CJ models and continued with classics like the Wagoneer and Cherokee. It would take significantly less time and effort to sully that hard-earned badge of honor, which is exactly what would happen if Jeep were to become a full-line automaker. Thanks for the tip, Jordie!

[Source: US News]

The Chevy Volt isn't quite ready to be unleashed on the public, mostly because its powertrain is entirely different than anything General Motors -- or any other automaker -- has ever produced. An extreme amount of testing is required, especially for the batteries, before GM is ready to put its Volt into dealerships. Having this extra time before pushing the car out has its advantages for the design team, which is free to make small, incremental changes to bits of the Volt that may have needed a little tweak here and there. For instance, Bob Boniface and his crew have revised the production car's center stack with an altered LCD screen perched up top with a hood that matches the one over the gauge cluster. The new screen has smoother edges and looks more integrated into the dash. Boniface says that many people thought the old screen design was movable, which it wasn't.

There are also new vents positioned vertically on either side of the iPod-like central cluster that hold all of the Volt's controls. Those buttons now offer a more tactile sensation in the form of "pill-shaped targets" on each control. Also included in the revision are new audible that sound when buttons are activated. While all of these alterations seems rather minor, we appreciate each of them and think this equals a big improvement over an interior that we already liked.


[Source: GM-Volt.com]