The first Datsun 240Z rolled into American showrooms in 1969. Four decades later, we've got our hands wrapped around the thick, leather, multi-function steering wheel of its direct descendant, the all-new 370Z. With a 332 hp V6 and a six-speed manual transmission directing power to the rear wheels, our outlook is decidedly positive as we head out on the street (our First Drive on the track was back in December). Is all of the hype surrounding this new coupe justified? How does it compare to the GT-R? Just how did the all-new Z-car fare after a week in our garage? Find out after the jump...

Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

There is nothing better than finding a few stray horses that were previously unaccounted for. Honda engineers were running tests on the Accord's 3.5L V6 engine when they realized it was spinning the dyno with more horsepower and torque than originally thought. It caught the Honda team off guard, as the powerplant has received no design changes to warrant the extra power. Regardless, the marketing folks have been quick to update the power ratings of the 3.5-liter 24-Valve SOHC i-VTEC powerplant. Here are the new numbers for 2009: 271 hp replaces 268 hp on all V6 models, 254 lb-ft. replaces 248 lb-ft. on automatic transmission models and 251 lb-ft. replaces 248 lb-ft. on manual transmission models. One would have to assume that the 2008 model made the same power, it just wasn't noticed... Thanks for the tip, Steve!

[Source: Honda]

Land Rovers have run Jaguar's rorty AJ V8 engine since Ford got tired of sourcing engines from BMW. CAR magazine has dug up information on some mules running around in Finland with a new 4997cc engine underhood. Their photographers also caught the vehicles while they hung out in a parking lot full of tantalizing 2 and 7 series Volvos. While the AJ is a great motor, it's well into its design life. Range Rover's new engine is being developed with Bosch, and sports direct fuel injection to boost efficiency while keeping power up and emissions down. Output is rumored at 350 horsepower in naturally aspirated form and 460 ponies come to the party when a supercharger pressurizes the intake. The new engine will wind up in the engine compartment of Land Rovers, Range Rovers, and Jaguars, and will be part of a freshening of Landies and Rangies expected to drop soon.

[Source: CAR]

The current standard-wheelbase Spyker C8 Laviolette

Spyker may be down, but it's not out. The Dutch exotic automaker has fallen on some hard times, but that's not going to stop it from moving forward with at least some of its plans. The C12 Zagato has been postponed indefinitely, but at the upcoming Geneva auto show in March, Spyker is expected to unveil an improved version of its existing C8 Laviolette.

As wonderfully quirky as the current C8 is, owners complain of constricted space. In response Spyker has stretched the wheelbase, giving more space in the cabin while improving the vehicles proportions. The C8 Laviolette LWB will feature an elongated version of the current model's glass roofline. A long wheelbase Spyder version is expected to follow sometime thereafter, benefiting from a proper motorized convertible roof instead of the largely useless folding rag on the current short-wheelbase model. It's a small step forward for the ailing company, but a step forward nonetheless.

Follow the jump for a video rendering of the upcoming C8 Spyder LWB doin' the turntable thing.

[Source: Spyker Owner Forum]

It seems that the Impala's replacement has found its way onto the auto pages of a newspaper in much the same way that the Cadillac CTS Coupe did a while back. You could argue that there's no way this is anything but a calculated effort on GMs part. There's really no way to be sure, but with our local dealers still still using images of the DN101 Taurus when advertising the '08, the suspicion might be warranted. Think about it for a second and you realize that dealers don't just get this stuff by mistake. That's our conspiracy theory, and we're sticking with it.

Why would the General toss images of cars yet to be announced out there so publicly? We don't know, but perhaps it's a way to test styling or generate buzz. Or, maybe GM had nothing to do with it and the dealer found this rendering in a year-old issue of Motor Trend, which is probably the most likely scenario. Either way, we like the swoopy Volt-ish lines of the whateveritis. Our current Impala is rather anonymous, though it is the best Lumina ever made. If this car really is what it's masquerading as, we're excited to see it in four color instead of grayscale half-toning.

Thanks for the tip, Jacob!

click above image to view more pics of the Passat CC in high-res

Remember when Volkswagen launched the Phaeton, and everyone was like, What the heck are they thinking? Yeah, that was awesome. But it left a huge gaping hole in Volkswagen's product line-up between the Passat and the Phaeton. Wolfsburg tried to bridge the gap a little with the previous-generation Passat W8 4Motion, but that didn't do so well and was quickly taken off the market. The Passat CC unveiled earlier this week in Detroit helps fill the void, and the next Phaeton is expected to go down-market, but the gap is still so wide between the sedans that Volkswagen is reportedly considering making another one to slot into the line-up. Since the Phaeton isn't sold in the U.S. anymore, we assume this gap-bridging car is destined for the European market only.

This isn't mere rumor, speculation or conjecture. It comes straight from the mouth of Volkswagen's design chief, Klaus Bischoff, who revealed at the Passat CC's unveiling "We are planning another model between the Passat CC and Phaeton." Well, there you have it.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport via The German Car Blog]

Speculation over a potential second model from Bugatti has been a colossal roller-coaster. There were rumors of a super-luxury sedan, an entry-level roadster and a targa variant of the existing Veyron.

The Veyron was a pet project of former VW Group CEO Ferdinand Piech, who remains chairman of the VW supervisory board and is said to be keen on moving ahead with a follow-up to the Veyron. When Martin Winterkorn took over, however, he was reported to have shelved any plans for an additional model, prompting Bugatti CEO Thomas Bscher to resign. Bugatti then shifted to the control of Bentley CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen, who, after shoehorning the Veyron's engine into a Bentley Arnage luxury sedan, revealed last September that there would be an additional Bugatti coming.

Reports are now surfacing which indicate that the new model could be an even more expensive, even faster supercar than the Veyron. Whereas the Veyron, for all its enormous, time-bending power and speed, was designed as a comfortable grant tourer, the new model would be a tighter, more track-focused supercar. Power would likely come from a retuned version of the Veyron's 8-liter quad-turbo W16, which was long reported to be under-rated in its power production of 1000 hp, and is tipped to produce 1175 hp in the new version. Artistic renderings from German magazine Auto Motor und Sport depict the car with styling more akin to a Le Mans racer, with a protruding front splitter and an enormous rear wing.

The vehicle, currently rumored to be code-named "Project Lydia" after Ettore Bugatti's wife, would exceed the 400km/h top speed of the Veyron in pursuit of a Nurburgring lap time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. While these reports could very well turn out to be no more substantial than previous ones, if Bugatti did built Project Lydia in a reported run of 70 examples for a whopping ?2.5 million apiece, it would easily eclipse anything else out there.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport via Motor Authority]

With the Clio and Laguna having recently undergone complete replacement, Renault is now turning its attention to its middle range, and the automotive paparazzi have caught camouflaged mules undergoing testing on the open road.

Scheduled to bow at next September's Paris show, the third-generation Megane is expected to do away with the current model's sharp creases in favor of a smoother silhouette. The spy shots show that the current Megane's distinctive upright curved rear glass will give way to a more streamlined greenhouse, drawing on the lines of the new Laguna sedan. The range is anticipated to include three-door and five-door hatches, an estate wagon, a two-door coupe and a hardtop convertible. The new Megane's normally-aspirated 1.4-liter base engine is expected to be replaced by the Clio's 1.2-liter turbo, but otherwise the engines should carry over from the current model's, ranging all the way to the 225-horsepower turbo Renaultsport version.

[Source: Auto Express]

While it might be a dubious pursuit to rehash old B-level (or lower) TV series for a new generation, the possibility of a crap product has never stood in the way before. Indeed, the retreading of Knight Rider is underway, with shoots already taking place. Love it or hate it, it will hit the small screen, and if you can get over the fact that it's not the original, it might be fun. If it's rotten, it won't hang around long anyhow. It's not like the original series was Citizen Kane, so let's just be thankful that there's a new shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist.

Hollywood blog The ODI managed to finagle some time on a location shoot for the new series and snapped some stills. There's no shots of the new KITT, but our old pal the Knight Industries Two Thousand is there in this garage scene. The premise apparently is that the old KITT is being rebuilt in a garage/lab after being totaled. The shop is set up with automotive parts and tools, as well as much-later F-Body than the original (check out the taillights). We would have imagined that KITT's powerplant was something more exotic than a carbureted small block with an Eaton-style supercharger. Maybe that's the engine they removed to put in the exotic hydrogen turbine, or nuclear reactor, or whatever. Can we get a rewrite?

[Source: The ODI via SpoilerTV, Photos: The ODI]

UPDATE: 60+ images added to the gallery.

Click the image above for more high-res images.

The second-generation Honda Fit drops in Japan on October 26th. The new Fit refines the basic recipe of the current car, marrying innovative packaging and a carved-out interior with efficient mechanicals. Honda has also added a sportier "Road Sailing" trim level that adds a larger engine. The A-pillar has moved forward and stretched the wheelbase two inches, utilizing that space to add four-mode "Ultra Seats" that flip and fold in a variety of ways to increase cargo capacity, or even create a bed when set to "Refresh mode." They've also found room for ten (!) cupholders in there somehow, but Honda swears that the interior volume is equivalent to one of its mid-size sedans.

Five new exterior colors bring the available hues to a total of 12, and the exterior design has evolved into something more handsome than the current Fit. It's still not terribly stylish, but for its homeliness, but we doubt that anyone would argue that the outgoing Fit looks better. A 1.3-liter i-VTEC engine is the base powerplant, upgradeable to a 1.5-liter unit, and both powerplants are available with an all-wheel-drive system when mated to a 5-speed automatic. There's also a CVT and a five-speed manual available to transmit twist to the road. Prices start at about $9,800 (1.14 million Yen) and go up to about $14,600 (1.7 million Yen).

Honda's full press release is posted after the jump.

[Source: Honda]