Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Mazda AZ-Wagon
Late Sunday night, Mazda issued a press release from the mothership in Japan touting the arrival of the new home-market AZ-Wagon kei car. Those of you who paid attention to Autoblog last week may be experiencing twinges of deja vu as you look at the enclosed photos. Yes, you have seen this car before: the new Mazda AZ-Wagon is simply a rebadged version of the new Suzuki Wagon R, just like it was before. The regular AZ-Wagon is the standard Wagon R, while the AZ-Wagon Custom Style (above) is the Wagon R Stingray. We'd happily sign up for one, but alas, Mazda's Stateside rebadge-o-rama is limited to the Tribute and B-Series.
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Suzuki Wagon R and Stingray Limited
In Japan, Suzuki expects the Wagon R to eclipse the 3,000,000 units sold milestone this month. To commemorate, it has launched Limited versions of both the Wagon R and its Stingray variant (whose front-end styling looks very similar to the old Toyota bB). The new limited edition variants give Japanese drivers slightly flashier boxes in which to transport themselves. Among the features included in the cars' special packages are new grilles and foglamps, Alcantara-covered seats, leather-wrapped steering wheels with silver contrast stitching, and rearview mirrors with LED turn indicators. The 660cc kei-spec engine is untouched, and the cars can be ordered beginning today. Prices range from ¥1,115,000 for the 2WD Wagon R to ¥1,314,600 for the 4WD Stingray. Needless to say, we want both.
Gallery: 2008 Suzuki Wagon R Limited & Stingray Limited
Now you don't have to leave the lovely visage of your favorite ponycar languishing in the dark of the garage anymore. California Car Cover Company is offering shelves that pay homage to Shoebox Chevies, '59 Caddies, C3 Corvettes and '65 Mustangs, so you now have a boomeriffic place to stash various and sundry little bits that would otherwise clutter a more pedestrian shelf. Prices range from $19.99 to $79.99, far less than even a set of sparkplugs for the old clunker that's spent the last decade and a half leaking on your driveway, and we bet that it'll take less time to mount one of these to the wall than it will to get that old Quadrabog rebuilt and tuned.
Last week, Suzuki started offering a new WagonR variant, the Stingray, for sale at its Japanese dealerships. The WagonR Stingray is, for the most part, just a WagonR with a new front end similar in appearance to the old Toyota bB (Scion xB).
In addition to the standard HID lights, mirror-mounted turn signals, new grille and front bumper, the Stingray receives an all-black interior treatment and model-specific 14" wheels. A color-shifting black/bronze paint is available, and keyless entry and start are included on all Stigray trim levels. Three kei car engine options are available: a 54-horsepower normally-aspirated 658cc 3-cylinder with VVT, a turbocharged version putting out 60 horsepower, and a direct injection turbo good for 64 horses.
It will be sold alongside the other existing WagonR models.
Click on the image for a high-res gallery of photos of these cars
1967 Chevrolet Grissom Corvette 427 - #6645
This little red Corvette has quite a pedigree. Although it was originally Lynndale blue, the Rally Red paint was applied 25 years ago. It has just 31,499 documented original miles, a 427/435hp tri-power engine and a 4-speed M-21. It also features the HD suspension, off road exhaust, transistor ignition, leather seats, Strato-Ease headrests, tinted windshield, AM/FM radio, speed warning indicator, telescopic steering wheel, and redline tires. It's had a professional body-off restoration that is documented with the included photos. Another multiple award-winner including NCRS & Corvette Bowling Green. Pretty impressive 'Vette, but obviously it's the fact that NASA astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom was the original owner that helped net this car a $232,500 price at auction. Read the whole fascinating back story from the Russo and Steele catalog after the jump.
When word of a 600-hp Dodge Viper first crossed our desks, we immediately figured that the on-again, off-again super Corvette "Blue Devil" project would immediately get a green light for production. The current Z06 produces a stout 505 hp, about 5 hp shy of the current Viper's 8.3-liter V10. We knew, however, that General Motors would never let a 95-hp deficit stand. Thus, it's not much of a surprise that the Detroit Free Press is reporting none other than Bob Lutz has indicated that Blue Devil/SS/Stingray/whatever is definitely a go. Lutz's exact words were, "the Corvette vehicle line executive will not take that lying down." His comments were made at a meeting yesterday with analysts, at which he also stated, "It is very important for Corvette to be the most powerful, most capable, best handling sports car in the United States." Them sounds like fightin' words to us. Rumors about the Blue Devil peg its power at well above the 600-hp mark, which means not long after the 2008 Viper's steam-rolling rear tires hit the street, a new top-dog will arrive sometime in 2009.
Last month we posted on a recent sighting of the infamous "Blue Devil" supercharged uber-vette that had been shot numerous times while undergoing testing.
We wrote at the time, "This latest shot comes courtesy of The Car Connection via a student near Milford, Mich. by the name of Yonni G. Mr. G. happened to have his Dad's camera in tow when this newest prototype blew by him at speed and judging by the quality of the shots, we hope he got a sizeable check from the folks at TCC."
Well, last night we got word that those stellar shots were part of an elaborate prank of sorts, put on by the folks over at Winding Road to see if the images would make their way onto the pages of their competition and other automotive resources. They succeeded, getting the faux-pics ran in Autoweek, Motor Trend and a variety of internet sites and blogs, including this one.
Follow the jump for more on the story of Winding Road's imitation super Vette...
There, we've gone and done it. From this day forward at Autoblog, and until we get confirmation from GM otherwise, the $100k, 600HP, 7-liter, supercharged V8 Corvette will now be known as the Z06 R. Why? 'Cause we're lazy and it's much easier to just add a letter than it is to spell out all the rumored monikers we've heard thus far.
This latest shot comes courtesy of The Car Connection via a student near Milford, Mich. by the name of Yonni G. Mr. G. happened to have his Dad's camera in tow when this newest prototype blew by him at speed and judging by the quality of the shots, we hope he got a sizeable check from the folks at TCC.
What else can be said about this newest pic? Not much, aside from some snide comments like, "Is that a hoodscoop under your camo, or are you just happy to see me?"
Rumors of a V6-powered Corvette model have been floating around for years but weren't taken very seriously until Motor Trend decided to spend some ink on it a few issues ago and predict the six-cylinder model would revive the "Sting Ray" name. The model would basically be a Chevy-branded version of the Kappa roadster that GM has liberally passed out to such brands as Pontiac (Solstice), Saturn (Sky) and Opel (GT). Chevy's version would be different in that power would come from a V6 rather than an inline-four cylinder, and rumor has it that it would be badged a Corvette. Kind of sounds like a long shot, but Rick "Corvette" Conti, the #1 Corvette dealer in Ohio (w00t!), cites sources somewhere in the universe that tell him the rumors are true and coming sooner than we think. He says the "Sting Ray" name, however, will not be used on this chuckable roadster that should come with a 6-speed automatic and a price tag right below $30,000. He also hints Chevy may drop a bomb in the form of this V6 Kappa at the Detroit auto show in January.
Personally, while a V6-powered Chevy Kappa car will be driving through my dreams tonight, it will most certainly not be wearing a Corvette badge. It's bad enough that Corvette faithful have to share platforms and parts with Cadillac (economies of scale, blah, blah, blah), but the dilution of this iconic car has to stop there. Nothing good will come of calling a V6-powered Pontiac Solstice clone a Corvette. Trust us. Call it the Equinabu, Impaleo or whatever, but don't call it a Vette. And what's with pimping out the Kappa roadster concept to every brand that's still breathing. Two in the U.S. is enough, how about a Kappa coupe for Chevy instead?
One Mr. Chris Doane, under the employ of the illustrious Brenda Priddy, was able to capture some shots of what will be known as the Corvette Z06 R or the Z07 or the SS or the Stingray or [enter speculative name here]. Although the only discernable difference between the Z06 and this mule is the large and awkward pre-production scoop, there's a lot more beneath the all-carbon fiber body panels to get excited about.
According to the report given to Winding Road by Mr. Doane, the soundtrack to the new 'Vette confirms that something in the way of a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 resides under the hood, which is expected to easily produce power figures cresting the 650 HP mark. With that amount of power on tap, plus the extensive use of carbon fiber and polycarbonate panels that may reduce the overall weight to below 3,000 pounds, it's safe to assume that the "Blue Devil" will reach 60 in about three and a half seconds.
Winding Road asserts that the Z07 will be made available in late 2007 as a 2008 model, with a price expected to be in the $100,000 ballpark.
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