Autoblog

Lamborghini invades Miami with Aventador parade, high-speed runs at airport [w/video]

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:15:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Etc., Videos, Lamborghini, Luxury

Lamborghini is only starting to throttle the engines on its 50th anniversary celebrations. The company lined up fifty of its Italian jobs for a cannonball run down the south runway at the Miami International Airport, the Aventador Roadster breaking 200 miles per hour, then ran them all through the streets of Miami to be properly introduced to one of their most ardent clienteles.

Contrary to the appearance of the image above, no airplanes had to wait to taxi behind the ground-based flyers. Not that any of them would have had to wait long, though, since the 700-horsepower Aventador Roadsters were exceeding the lift-off speeds of commercial airliners by at least 30 mph.

There's a press release and a video below, along with a gallery of high-res photos of the day's events. Enjoy.

Continue reading Lamborghini invades Miami with Aventador parade, high-speed runs at airport [w/video]

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Hundreds of 5-year-old municipal vehicles found in Miami that were never used

Chris Tutor — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:59:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Hatchback, Toyota

Have you ever bought a brand new cars only to forget where you put it? How about 300 of them? Probably not - unless you're Miami-Dade County, which was recently reunited with 298 vehicles it bought brand new between 2006 and 2007.

The county "discovered" this fleet of no-mileage vehicles after reading about them in a Spanish-language newspaper there (see the source for more images). Most of the misplaced motorcade is made up of Toyota Prius hybrids whose warranties either expired with very few miles on the odo or will very soon.

Looking to save some face, the county has rushed at least 123 of the hybrids into service. The Toyota warranty covered the hybrid bits for eight years or 100,000 miles, but we're not sure if that covers cars parked for five of those eight. We're also not sure what that much time in Miami heat and humidity does to an unused hybrid powertrain, but it can't be good.

The county, as you probably guessed, is looking into how it lost so many cars. The leading theory is that they might be part of Carlos Alvarez's time as mayor. He was the mayor during the period the Toyotas were purchased, but a 2011 recall election successfully removed him from office. Apparently the voters "felt, among other reasons, that he had been behind multiple acts of misappropriation of funds."

We've tried to contact Toyota to see what kind of warranty support these cars will get but haven't had any luck so far. We'll update with their response.

Hundreds of 5-year-old municipal vehicles found in Miami that were never used originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pininfarina designing luxury condos in Miami [UPDATE]

Noah Joseph — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:27:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Design/Style

Didn't get your deposit down in time to secure a condo in Porsche Design Tower? Not to worry, because just across town - that town being Miami - Pininfarina has been contracted to design another building.

Developed by the Related Group, 1100 Millecento Residences (pictured) is being designed by Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott at 1100 South Miami Avenue. So where does Pininfarina come in? Aside from Ott citing the famed Italian automotive design house and coachbuilder as a primary influence in his work, the developers have brought Pininfarina in on the project to design the interior space of the building - the first such project it's undertaken in America.

That includes all 382 apartments in the 42-story tower, along with the ninth-floor pool deck with club room, the rooftop infinity pool with private cabanas, the fitness center and the private theater. We're told to expect a lot of exotic woods and Italian leather. But then we'd expect no less from any project Pininfarina might undertake, automotive or otherwise. See below for the brief press release.

UPDATE: New gallery of high-resolution images added.

Continue reading Pininfarina designing luxury condos in Miami [UPDATE]

Pininfarina designing luxury condos in Miami [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Porsche Design Tower opening in Miami complete with car elevators

Noah Joseph — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:01:00 EST

While Porsche styles its own sports cars, SUVs and sedans, its consumer goods division, Porsche Design, styles all manner of goods: watches, phones, yachts, bars, appliances, tools, toys, clothing and accessories... even condominium buildings. At least it does now as a new project on Miami Beach prepares for construction.

Called Porsche Design Tower, the project is a joint effort between the design studio and real estate developer Gil Dezer. The 57-story block on 2.2 acres of prime Collins Avenue real estate is set to incorporate 132 housing units, each with its own parking spaces. That bit is straightforward enough, but it's where the slots are situated that is the novelty.

Rather than have residents park downstairs and take elevators up to their condos, the project includes three robotic car elevators that allow residents to take their cars right up to their pads. It's not the first project that incorporates car elevators, but is the first planned by Porsche Design, and could lead to similar projects across the United States. So even if you don't want to live in your Cayenne, you can still live with it.

Porsche Design Tower opening in Miami complete with car elevators originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch the Florida Highway Patrol chase down a speeding Miami cop in his own squad car

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:31:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Videos

You're a Miami police officer, so high-speed blasts down the highway probably aren't anything new to you. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that when you're late to your off-duty moonlighting gig, you'd run your marked, Miami-Dade Police cruiser up to 120 miles per hour through traffic and do whatever it took to clock in on time, right?

For officer Fausto Lopez, this also means leading an on-duty Florida Highway Patrol police officer on a five-minute chase down the turnpike when she wanted to pull him over for reckless driving. And since it's hard to get to work in handcuffs, we imagine Lopez didn't make it to his gig at the appointed hour.

There are two videos of the tense incident after the jump, the first is an ABC News report, the second is priceless dash-cam footage of the pursuit. As Lopez is being cuffed, he apparently says, "Oh man, I can't believe this." He's not the only one. Lopez is apparently only been charged with one count of reckless driving.

Continue reading Watch the Florida Highway Patrol chase down a speeding Miami cop in his own squad car

Watch the Florida Highway Patrol chase down a speeding Miami cop in his own squad car originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eGarage aims to provide an Internet home for supercar enthusiasts

Jeff Glucker — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:04:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Koenigsegg

eGarage Koenigsegg CCX - Click above for high-res image gallery

A new automotive website is getting ready to hit the Internet. Called eGarage, the site's goal is to become a haven for supercar enthusiasts. The team behind eGarage wants to prove it's serious, so it has teamed up with HRE Wheels to dress up a pair of hyper-exotic supercars.

At the 2011 Supercar Experience in Miami, eGarage will show off a Koenigsegg CCX and SSC Ultimate Aero. The CCX wears a set of new 595 RS HRE Wheels and a matte-white wrap.

Currently, eGarage.com is just a splash page displaying a car-centric rewording of the U.S. Marine Corps' Rifleman's Creed. (Really, guys?) We'll withhold full judgement on the site's true potential until we see the finished product. If nothing else, the CCX and Ultimate Aero indicate that there should be plenty of hardware to drool over once eGarage goes officially live.

[Source: eGarage]

Continue reading eGarage aims to provide an Internet home for supercar enthusiasts

eGarage aims to provide an Internet home for supercar enthusiasts originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buick launching contest for social network fiends

Jeff Glucker — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:31:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Buick, GM

Buick is on the hunt for a younger demographic and it's hoping to find it with the help of a new social media campaign. Called the "Quest for the Keys", Buick is turning to Facebook, Twitter and a variety of location-based services such as FourSquare and Gowalla, to have social media users hunt online for clues. The clues will be doled out over the course of three weeks before culminating in a one-day offline scavenger hunt.

Seven cities are currently slated to take part: Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York and Austin. Participants in each city are on the hunt for six keys, each worth $2,000. From that pool of 42 key-finders, three winners will be randomly chosen. The lucky final three will then get to choose a vehicle from the current Buick lineup, including the all-new Verano.

For more information, check out the press release after the jump.

[Source: Buick]

Continue reading Buick launching contest for social network fiends

Buick launching contest for social network fiends originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 BMW X5 xDrive35i proves 'new' is a relative term

Rex Roy — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:58:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, BMW, First Drives, Luxury

2011 BMW X5 xDrive35i - Click above for high-res image gallery

If the new 2011 BMW X5 looks familiar, it's because it is. Autoblog has already shown you under the hood, running in the snow, and even on the assembly line.

Beyond this early exposure to the 2011 model that is set to go on sale in May with a starting price around $47,000, the reality is that there's not much that visually differentiates the 2011 model from the 2010. The revised styling of the "new" X5 is so subtle that from the profile view, the two are nearly indistinguishable.

The real changes for 2011 come under the hood, where the X5 now gets BMW's most current gasoline-fired engines and the company's eight-speed automatic transmission. Additionally, the 2011 X5 (we have a hard time referencing it as new) will now be offered with technologies already available on many other BMW models. Get the details and our driving impressions after the jump...

Gallery: First Drive: 2011 BMW X5

Continue reading First Drive: 2011 BMW X5 xDrive35i proves 'new' is a relative term

First Drive: 2011 BMW X5 xDrive35i proves 'new' is a relative term originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Audi teases the new A8 ahead of Sunshine State debut

Sam Abuelsamid — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:29:00 EST

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Sedan, Videos, Audi, Luxury

Audi A8 teaser - click above to watch the video after the jump

We still have a bit over a week until Audi officially pulls the wraps off its next-generation A8 flagship sedan in Miami. As a holdover, however, they have released a teaser video, and we've got it for you. The operative word here is tease. As usual, very little of the car is actually shown, although a variety of phrases are overlaid on the imagery which feature terms like "creativity," "aesthetics," and "art factory." From a couple of the images (including the one captured above), it appears that the new A8 will probably be more sculpted than previous models, and it will likely feature elements like the so-called "tornado line" used on the side of the A4 and A5.

As a brand headliner, the A8 will surely feature an "intensive abundance of research and ideas" such as the rumored touch pad interface with handwriting or gesture recognition for the controls. No doubt more details will be trickling out over the coming week, and we'll be on hand in Miami to give you the full details as the car is revealed. In the meantime, you can check out the video now by clicking past the jump.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading VIDEO: Audi teases the new A8 ahead of Sunshine State debut

VIDEO: Audi teases the new A8 ahead of Sunshine State debut originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gumball 3000 comes to a close in South Beach

Alex Nunez — Sat, 09 May 2009 09:29:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Etc., Supercars

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Gumballers' arrival at South Beach

Well folks, it's over. The wacky/insipid/annoying (all-of-the-above?) 2009 edition of the Gumball 3000 wrapped things up with the drivers' arrival in Miami Beach. Freelance journo and friend of Autoblog Myles Kornblatt was there, and he ends his coverage with one final photo gallery and this report:

There's something special about seeing ultra-rare cars at the end of an eight-day, 3000-mile road trip. By the time the 2009 Gumball 3000 ended in Miami on Friday evening not only were the drivers visibly road weary, but so were their vehicles. Supercars were built to be driven, and these machines had the dead bugs, brake dust and road scars to prove it.

One hundred and twenty-three teams participated in the 11th running of the Gumball, and according to rally VP Julie Brangstrup, everyone finished. "Every Gumballer has the spirit to do whatever it takes to cross the finish line." Unfortunately not all the vehicles shared their driver's determination, and so some rental cars finished as stand-ins for injured road warriors. One Gumballer was even on his third vehicle by the time he reached Miami.

Some enthusiasts see the Gumball as a rip-off of the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash (which has evolved into today's One Lap of America.) That's not completely true. The term "Gumball Rally" was first used on a 1976 road race film that Cannonball founder Brock Yates considers to be sort of a bastard child of his rally. The Gumball Rally was Hollywood's excuse to use some minor celebrates for an over-the-top take on the road race (it even features a pre-crazy Gary Busey.) Today, the Gumball 3000 uses a mix of famous, rich and half-crazed participants, who are more about the party than the time clock. Any enthusiast who has seen the film (anyone who is a car guy/girl should,) knows these good-timing Gumballers have as much character as a movie script.

Gallery: 2009 Gumball 3000 conclusion in Miami

Photos Copyright (C)2009 Myles Kornblatt / Weblogs, Inc.

Gumball 3000 comes to a close in South Beach originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 09 May 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One-Stop Miami Vice Living: Lux development offers free Lamborghini with purchase

Chris Paukert — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:26:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Supercars, Lamborghini, Lifestyle

Having just returned from the well-heeled shores of Miami for last week's Kia Soul drive, we know that exotic machinery stacks up on the city's streets like so much cordwood. In fact, we saw upwards of ten newer Ferraris in the course of an afternoon's drive (not to mention untold Bentley Continentals and Porsche 911s) - but we didn't see a single Lamborghini during our entire stay. Not even a Jalpa.

Well with both the housing market and the new car market in the dumpster, the developers at South of Fifth luxury condos and the folks at Lamborghini Miami are understandably keen to change that. As such, they've gone and teamed up to offer a "free" Gallardo Spyder with the purchase of an oceanfront luxury beachfront home.

While South of Fifth isn't being so gauche as to announce the price of their properties, one look at the new digs on the company's swanky Flash-heavy site would suggest that a Lambo payment is going to be the least of your financial involvements here. We've seen these sorts of rolled-up real-estate/automobile deals before, but never on this sort of scale.

If you're interested, check out the link below, and be sure to hurry - there are only seven of 28 units left.

Oh - one last thing about this deal has us a bit puzzled: Don't people buy Lamborghinis in part because they want something different from their neighbors? Thanks for the tip, Richard!

[South of Fifth]

One-Stop Miami Vice Living: Lux development offers free Lamborghini with purchase originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brothel Bus busted in Miami

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

We've all heard of party buses, right? For some folks, even the best party bus isn't exciting enough. When Christine Morteh, in Miami, Florida, decided to start a party bus business, she offered open bar for $40, stops all along South Beach, and... girls in G-strings, lap dances, and for $100, oral sex. Well, that sex-for-money bit is called "prostitution," and even in Miami, it's illegal. Who knew? Undercover detectives took a ride on the big black bus, made sure everything was as illegal as promised, and then shut down the party. In addition to Madame Morteh, 75 employees and customers were arrested. The excuse "I'm just trying to get to Ft. Lauderdale, how many more stops is that?" apparently didn't cut it. Thanks for the tip, catgirlshyla!

[Source: Yahoo]

Brothel Bus busted in Miami originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reader Find: Chevy Impala SS taxi at MIA

Alex Nunez — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 10:02:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Etc., Chevrolet

Click image for gallery of phonecam pics

Reader Ken Gesel did a double-take as he was waiting to pick up a friend at Miami International Airport. Amidst the merry-go-round of Crown Vics snagging fares coming out of Arrivals, there was something different. You can almost hear your favorite Sesame Street personality breaking into "One of these things is not like the others" as your eyes take in the 18-inch alloys, SS badges, and twin exhaust outlets. Yep, it really is an Impala SS taxicab, and Ken snapped off a few phonecam shots for us. Had we been walking out of the terminal, bags in hand, we'd have picked it over one of the garden-variety converted police Vics with black steelies. Next, we would have told the driver that that it was imperative he put that 5.3L V8 to work and get across the MacArthur Causeway as quickly as possible. After all, the sooner you get checked in to your hotel, the sooner you can get yourself to an outdoor table at Larios for some Churrasco and people-watching.

Thanks, Ken!

[Photos: Ken Gesel]

Gallery: Chevy Impala SS Taxi in Miami

Reader Find: Chevy Impala SS taxi at MIA originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 23 Dec 2007 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SPOILER ALERT: NASCAR Nextel Cup wraps up at Homestead

Noah Joseph — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:35:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Team-mates and title rivals Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson at Homestead

We'll freely admit that we don't give NASCAR much coverage here at Autoblog. It's the most popular form of motorsport in America by far, but push come to shove, there just aren't any big oval-track racing mavens on our staff. The F1 fans among us couldn't help but take notice when the grand prix drivers started streaming in to stock cars, but beyond that....

[Source: AutoWeek]

Continue reading SPOILER ALERT: NASCAR Nextel Cup wraps up at Homestead

SPOILER ALERT: NASCAR Nextel Cup wraps up at Homestead originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Miami remains No. 1 city for road rage

John Neff — Tue, 15 May 2007 14:07:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Safety

We used to think L.A. had the most incidents of road rage per mile in the country, but when visiting the city of Angels last November for the L.A. Auto Show were surprised that it wasn't as bad as we were expecting. That's probably because Miami, FL was rated as the city with the worst road rage in the country last year. Well, Florida's hottest destination for nightlife has again been named the city with the most road rage for the second year in a row. The road rage-rating survey that tracks these things was commissioned AutoVantage, a Connecticut-based auto club, and conducted by Prince Market Research.

The full list of worst road rage cities can be found after the jump, but the usual suspects are present and accounted for, including New York City, Boston, L.A. and Washington D.C. Only 25 major metropolitan cities were included in the survey, so while there was no check box for "Most Courteous", those at the bottom of the list should be considered the most stress free driving environments. Bringing up the back of the pack, and therefore the city with the least road rage, is Portland, Ore. Not surprising, since Portland has taken very progressive measures to reduce the amount of auto traffic in its city center.

Thanks for the tip, emulous1974!

[Source: Yahoo! News]

Continue reading Miami remains No. 1 city for road rage

Miami remains No. 1 city for road rage originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 May 2007 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Sentra SE-R hot laps with Tommy Constantine

Damon Lavrinc — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 13:05:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Nissan

During last week's ride and drive of Nissan's new Sentra SE-R, we were assigned instructors to ensure we didn't pull a Griffin and understeer one of their new rigs into a wall. There were several instructors from the local school on hand to give us a familiarization lap around Homestead, but there was one driver in particular that we wanted to catch a ride with.

Tommy Constantine campaigns a Nissan 350Z GT in the Grand Am Cup and in addition to being sponsored by the automaker, gets financial backing and, ummm, encouragement from Playboy. So much so that according to one of the PR people, it's a rare occasion that he doesn't come with two or three Bunnies in tow. Unfortunately, our time at the track was one of those rare occasions.

Regardless, we were able to grab a helmet when the rest of the journos were stuffing their faces with free grub and ride shotgun as Constantine flogged the SE-R within inches of its life. Just like many of the automotive epiphanies we've had over the years, this was yet another example why we'll stick to writing about cars and guys like Tommy gets to race them. Humbling? Yes. But we know where we fit in.

Check the video after the jump.

Continue reading VIDEO: Sentra SE-R hot laps with Tommy Constantine

VIDEO: Sentra SE-R hot laps with Tommy Constantine originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Apr 2007 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Miami declared tops in rude driving

Chris Paukert — Wed, 17 May 2006 08:01:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Etc., Safety

Perhaps its the fact that there are thousands of doddering septuagenarians plying area roads, but Miami, Florida has just been dubbed America's least courteous drivers. Or to put a finer point on it, they've got some road rage and rude driving issues. A new AutoVantage survey of 2,000 adult commuters in 20 major cities has concluded that Miami has the worst road etiquette. The Norwalk, Connecticut company's phone survey also found a lot of negative feelings in:

Phoenix, Arizona
New York, New York
Los Angeles, California
Boston, Massachusetts

And there must be something to the whole 'Minnesota Nice' thing, as Minneapolis topped the list of friendliest commuter cities. Other top finishers included:

Nashville, Tennessee
St. Louis, Missouri
Seattle, Washington
Atlanta, Georgia

AutoVantage questioned participants on everything from obvious displays of motoring anger (middle fingers, cutting off other cars, tailgating, etc.), turn signal use, talking on the phone, and 'driving too fast.'

[Source: The Associated Press via CNN.com]

(Top Tip, Evan!)

Miami declared tops in rude driving originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 May 2006 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercury Milan VOGA unveiled during Miami Fashion Week

John Neff — Tue, 09 May 2006 16:09:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Sedan, Ford, Mercury

The new Mercury Milan VOGA is being introduced right now during Miami Fashion Week in order to help the Ford brand attract the Hispanic dollar. Camilo Pardo, who designed another car you might remember - the Ford GT, designed the Milan VOGA. While the Milan VOGA lacks the 500 horses of the GT, it does add a nice dose of style to the Milan. Unfortunately Mercury is only going to produce one VOGA, which will be auctioned off on eBay in June at www.eBay.com/Milan. In our eyes the stainless blue metallic paint, 3D Carbon exterior ground effects and larger wheels would make a nice trim package for the Milan (perhaps wearing something smaller than 20-inch shoes). The VOGA also gets capped with a stainless steel roof.

Rosalyn Sanchez, who you might know from such cinematic masterpieces as Boat Trip, has been tapped to present the car. The proceeds from the auction will help benefit MANA, a national Latina organization.

More pics after the jump...

[Source: FusionUnleashed]

Continue reading Mercury Milan VOGA unveiled during Miami Fashion Week

Mercury Milan VOGA unveiled during Miami Fashion Week originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 May 2006 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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