Autoblog

It's a pretty serious charge to level at what is, admittedly, a trend. But John Manoogian, Cadillac's lead exterior designer, believes that fake side vents will wipe out the current trend of stylized-yet-functional side vents. Manoogian says "I've seen Chrysler 300s where guys are buying these stick-on portholes, and I'm thinking, 'What are these people thinking?' They are literally stick-on parts." Yet imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and if every other carmaker (including Saturn) and aftermarket shop has hopped on your coat tails... we'd think you'd pat yourself on the back. Sure, it might be aesthetically disappointing to see your lovingly crafted design turned into a chrome flake applique, but that's what happens to trends. Besides, there are far more egregious styling fakeries, as in companies copying significant chunks of another maker's entire design language, that haven't managed to kill original automotive expression. We doubt the lowly side vent spells the end. It's intriguing, though, when Manoogian says, "When it gets to be that ubiquitous, then we are going to have to say, 'We need to do something different here.' " Exactly. Isn't that what car designers are for?

[Source: Auto News - sub. req'd]

McLaren is always chasing after Ferrari. They've chased after them on the track for decades, and sometimes they catch up. They've chased them on the road, trouncing the F40 with the McLaren F1 supercar, but missing the mark somewhat with the SLR. But in the modern era where racing is only half of competition, McLaren is after Maranello on another front: branding.

Marketing is one area where, even more so than on the circuit, Ferrari has got the rest of the field beat. But McLaren is getting serious about that front of the competition, too. To that end, McLaren is retaining the services of John Allert, a leading marketing consultant and former CEO of Interbrand. Are McLaren-branded laptops and theme parks far behind? Too soon to tell, but expect to see the name – and maybe a recognizable logo – showing up more prominently in the near future.

Does all this sound completely frivolous, bearing no effect on actual racing? Not so fast. With the stands at nearly every grand prix painted with fans wearing red, Ferrari acquires for themselves something of a home-field advantage at every race, all the while raking in serious profits that can go back into the development of new technologies to edge out the competition on the track. It's a winning formula for Ferrari, and in F1, nobody retains that kind of exclusive for long.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

It's only cool when Lamborghini does it. Other carmakers can try, but it's only cool when Lamborghini does it. It may amount to chopping off the roof, cranking up the engine or simply slapping some decals on the side, but when the Raging Bull rolls out a special edition, it's show-stopping.

When Lamborghini teamed up with Versace to produce a special edition Murcielago LP640, they only built ten of the ultra-exclusive fashion accessory to beat all other fashion accessories. But now they've topped it with a one-off open-air version. Based on the new LP640 Roadster, Lamborghini painted this one black (the ten hard-tops were white) for Versace, who auctioned it off at a star-studded event in Beverly Hills to honor the late founder Gianni Versace. The one-of-a-kind Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 Versace Roadster raised $500,000 for the Elton John AIDS foundation.

Click below for more pics.

Gallery: Lamborghini Versace Roadster

[Source: Motor Authority]

John Cooper Works is the British tuning garage that created the original '61 Mini Cooper as a sportier version of the base model. So when BMW revived the MINI, they turned to the same garage, now headed by the founder's son Mike, to create a hotter new MINI. And with the release of the newer new MINI, John Cooper Works has come out with a series of enhancements to make the hot little hatch even hotter.

Buyers looking to raise the temperature on their new Cooper or Cooper S can opt for a wide array of extra bits. Up front there's a more aerodynamic front bumper, blacked-out grilles and carbon fiber air-scoop for the hood. Other carbon fiber bits include the tailgate handle and side mirrors. Around the back, buyers can opt for a "diffuser-style" rear bumper and a raised wing spoiler off the back of the roof. In between there are lower side sills and 19" rims in a variety of finishes, which join a polished-metal brace under the hood to improve handling and beefier brakes for added stopping power. Inside buyers can specify shift indicator lights, checkered-flag floormats, special sill plates and racing buckets.

All the parts are dealer-installed and come under the full factory warranty, so you don't have to worry about voiding the papers like with other aftermarket bits. Unfortunately they won't be available until 2008, a delay which would be expected from an independent aftermarket tuning house, but given the direct partnership with the manufacturer, you'd figure they'd have the parts ready closer to launch.

(More pics after the jump)

[Source: Auto Express]

Now we've seen some interesting races before, but this is something new: the Team Australia Speed Comparison, to be held in conjunction with the Lexmark Indy 300 later this month in Australia, will pit a MINI against a Porsche and a Champ Car.

The John Cooper Works MINI Cooper S packs a supercharged 1.6-liter four with 210 hp and runs 0-60 in 6.6 seconds; the 400-hp Porsche 911 GT3 reaches 60 in 3.2 seconds; and the Champ Car, packing a 750-hp Cosworth V8, will hit it in a cant 2.2 seconds. Sounds like a fight about as fair as David and Goliath, with The Rock thrown in for good measure.

Of course it's not a straight-up race, or anybody could predict the outcome – it's a single-lap handicap race: the MINI will head out first, followed by the Porsche and then the Champ Car. The starts are timed according to the car's capabilities so that, technically, all three cars should cross the finish line at the same time.

Gentlemen, start your engines!

[Source: Auto Racing Daily]