Autoblog

Click either image for exclusive pics of Inside Line's road trip

Seems like you can't revive a modern day muscle car these days without having a classic movie tie-in. The Ford Mustang has got Steve McQueen's classic Bullitt, and the Dodge Challenger has got Vanishing Point. In fact, we've already seen one Vanishing Point-inspired Challenger meet its maker on Turn 2 at Road America. Inside Line recently had its first turn behind the wheel of a 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and also decided to pay its respects to Kowalski's opus. They took the brand new Challenger on a little road trip following the fateful path of Kowalski in the movie from Denver, Colorado to San Francisco, California. Just for kicks, they brought along a vintage 1970 Dodge Challenger that's a near perfect copy of the one used in Vanishing Point. The classic iron was, however, packing a slightly modified motor putting out 607 horsepower, but details, details... The article is definitely worth a read if only to vicariously absorb what it feels like to go 170 mph in a new Challenger, and the Inside Line team was also kind enough to supply us with a few of their spare high-res images for an Autoblog exclusive gallery below.


[Source: Inside Line]

Photo courtesy of Inside Line

According to our friends at Inside Line, there are seven U.S.-spec Nissan GT-Rs in the country at this moment. They have secured one of them, a white pre-production car handed over by Nissan's engineering team. (That's it above with IL's 308 long-termer.) With editors Scott Oldham and Ed Hellwig at the wheel, that car will get driven 3,000 miles over the next three days, and they're going to share the wealth! For added coolness, they'll bring the whip to a few selected Inside Line readers along the way, where the lucky fans will reportedly get to take Godzilla for a spin around the block. If that's not reader-love, we don't know what is. The entire trip's being blogged (and possibly vlogged, it seems) at Straightline, so check in over the next three days to follow their progress. It should be a good read. Here's hoping you get accustomed to that "comfort" mode, guys.

[Source: Inside Line]

The Inside Line gang has just returned from Japan, where they performed instrumented testing on Japanese journo Jun Nishikawa's privately-owned 2009 Nissan GT-R. The test car had 1,500 km on the clock and was equipped the same way the US-spec cars will be. Boy, did it ever bring the goods. Zero to sixty came in 3.3 seconds, and the quarter mile flashed by in 11.6 at 120.9 mph. This, according to Inside Line, makes the '09 GT-R the quickest car that they've ever hooked their test equipment to. Some time is spent detailing the GT-R's launch control system, which involves flipping the transmission and damper settings to R mode, killing the VDC, and basically doing a brakestand. Once you let go of the stoppers, you get what IL describes as "crushing acceleration." The full test also touches on the car's predictably good braking and handling. You can read the whole thing here.

After reading it, you're left with the impression that Inside Line feels even more can be wrung out of the GT-R once they get their own tester in the States on a better surface than the Japanese airstrip they used in this case. You can bet that they'll put it head-to-head with the 911 Turbo and Corvette Z06 for good measure. Until then, know that the 2009 Nissan GT-R, at $70,000, appears set to offer drivers some utterly ridiculous bang for the buck.

Thanks to all who sent in tips!

[Source: Inside Line]

The Jaguar XF will soon be upon us, and if we're to believe Inside Line executive editor Michael Jordan's "First Drive" report, this is indeed a good thing. He speaks of an attractive car that's inviting, engaging to drive, and downright fast when you get to the bottom of it. The XF runs to 60 in 5.1 seconds when equipped with the raucous 4.2L supercharged V8. Frankly, it sounds like it's as fun to drive as either the XJR or XKR, but it does its thing in a more modern-looking package than the big XJ and a more practical one than the admittedly breathtaking XK. We won't steal Jordan's thunder by rehashing his review here. Read it in full over at Inside Line. What we can say is that after reading it, we're eager to get our mitts on Jaguar's new four-door feline as soon as possible. We can feel the shift paddles at our fingertips already. S-Type? What's that?

[Source: Inside Line]

Inside Line, owner of the world's coolest long-term tester, a 1984 Ferrari 308, decided to have a little fun by pitting the Magnum-mobile against a modern car in a bona-fide side-by-side comparo. Before visions of Boxsters, Corvettes, Elises or Z-cars lining up with Ferrari's 80s icon take hold in your noggins, understand that this particular test is a bit unorthodox. Maybe very unorthodox. You see, the car Inside Line compared the Ferrari to is... the Kia Sedona.

The entertaining write-up reminds us of the good old days of fun-to-read, silly comparos like the Chevy Beretta vs. the Beretta 92 handgun. This one actually has a modicum of validity, however, in that both test subjects are actually cars. One outperforms the other, and there's a substantial practicality gap there (the photos displaying each vehicle's bike-hauling chops are priceless), so the winner might come as a surprise. Or not. We're not going to spoil the fun. Go read IL's Ferrari vs. Kia comparo for yourselves.

[Source: Inside Line]

It's something many of us have thought while perusing the car listings. "You know, I could actually buy a 308," becomes part of our inner monologues as we see them tantalize us with prices equal to those of new cars normal people buy all the time. It's a fantasy of sorts. After all, for many of us Autobloggers, the 308 WAS Ferrari when we were kids. It was Magnum's ride. And it was cool.

And now, the gang at Inside Line has acted on the impulse so many of us have felt, but suppressed in fits of rationality and/or practicality. They bought a 308 -- an '84 GTSi Quattrovalvole, to be exact. We're completely jealous, of course. Inside Line's going to roll in the Ferrari shown above for the next year, reporting on it -- the performance, the expenses, the headaches, and the heartaches -- just as they would any other long-termer. And when they're done, we'll all know whether or not the siren's song emanating from the local car paper is worth succumbing to after all. One of the photo captions in IL's piece reads, "What would you rather have for the same money; this or a Toyota Camry?"

That's the kind of crazy talk empty bank accounts and broken marriages are made of. Installment one's posted here, Magnum, P.I. clips and all. Enjoy it. In the meantime, we feel the urge to catch up on some reading, ourselves.

[Source: Inside Line]

At first blush, the Altima coupe sounds like a Japanese Monte Carlo -- firmly midsized, front drive, fast roofline -- but that's where the similarities end. Inside Line put an Altima coupe with the lusty 270 HP V6 under the microscope and proclaimed it the best of the field. While the performance figures and spec sheet may reflect solid numbers that don't necessarily best the competition, there are some cars that have a je ne sais quoi that defies measurement. The Inside Line folks laid down the clipboard on the passenger seat and discovered that the Altima Coupe experience is more about how the whole of the machine works. It sounds to us like the Altima is channelling the G37, and thusly, it outclasses its peers.

Thanks for the tip, Mehdi!

[Source: Inside Line]

The MazdaSpeed3 has yet to go on sale in the U.S., so Inside Line booked a flight to Japan for a quick jaunt in the JDM market Axela MPS. Their first impression of the new pocket rocket is one of gushing praise. Mazda engineers benchmarked the Volkswagen GTI and apparently have easily eclipsed the hot hatch that started it all. The Mazda's 2.3-liter turbo four pumps out 264 horsepower and 280 ft-lbs. of torque, eclipsing the GTI's motor by 64 hp and 74 ft-lbs. of torque, respectively. Oh yeah, and it weighs 154 lbs. less. 60 mph comes in 6.1 seconds and torque steer is minimized thanks to a modified ECU that reduces torque levels in 1st through 3rd gears. If Inside Line is to be believed, the MazdaSpeed3 will be tight handling, have a decent ride and be up on utility compared with competitors like the Honda Civic Si. It appears the GTI and Civic Si just won't be able to compete. The MazdaSpeed3, however, still has to get through the 300-horsepower Dodge Caliber SRT-4 to officially claim its title of King of the Compacts.

[Source: Inside Line]