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Chris Harris reviews the Geneva show highlights. Heres the cracking Porsche 918 Spyder
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Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Sedan, Infiniti 
20th Anniversary Edition 2010 Infiniti G37 - Click above for high-res image gallery
Has it really been 20 years? As a matter of fact, yes. Infiniti has been selling its upmarket wares in the U.S. for two decades and to commemorate the occasion its releasing three special edition G37 coupes, sedans and convertibles.
Limited to 200 variants of each model, Infiniti has outfitted the 20th Anniversary Editions with Monaco Red interior, maple trim and a sexy Graphite Shadow exterior, along with Premium and Navigation packages. Included in the kit are heated and cooled seats, summer rubber, a blacked-out grille, new side sills and revised fascias, with a standard rear spoiler on the coupe and sedan.
Pricing and availability is yours for the taking after the jump and sales are set to begin towards the middle of next month.
Continue reading Infiniti celebrates 20 years with limited edition Gs Infiniti celebrates 20 years with limited edition Gs originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Hybrid, Recalls, Hatchback, Toyota 
Not one day after a high-profile incident involving a Prius taking off on its owner in Southern California, were hearing reports that another one of Toyotas popular hybrids has suffered unintended acceleration in New York. This time, instead of the car eventually succumbing to the will of its braking system, it crashed into a stone wall. Fortunately the owner was reportedly just pulling out of her driveway in Harrison, NY and the car only accelerated across the street, though the collision allegedly sent "some pretty big boulders" flying, said one police chief.
The 56-year-old driver reportedly suffered non-life threatening injuries, and like the incident in Southern California a day earlier, a floor mat trapping the accelerator pedal has been ruled out as a cause. The 2005 model year Prius driver side floor mat was reportedly tied to the seat base with plastic ties.
The 2004-2009 Prius is included in an earlier Toyota recall for floor mats that may entrap the accelerator pedal, but the Japanese automaker does not have a fix ready for the cars, which may include reshaping their pedals, replacing floor mats and altering the shape of the floor. These cars are not, however, included in Toyotas other major recall involving drive-by-wire accelerator pedal assemblies that could stick due to wear and other environmental conditions. That leaves no obvious explanation as to why these two Prius models took off on their owners. Toyota has stated it will join California and the U.S. government in investigating the first vehicle, though hasnt commented on whether it will investigate the vehicle in New York yet.
[Source: The Detroit Free Press]Report: Another Prius accelerates unintentionally in New York and crashes originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal 
In what might turn out to be one of the biggest games of "he said, she said," in the history of the world, Maritz Research, an automotive market research company, is claiming that the governments Cash for Clunkers program actually boosted auto sales by much more than previously thought. Maritz is crediting the program with 765,000 new vehicle sales, higher than the 677,000 claimed by the government, and much, much higher than the 125,000 sales that Edmunds.com famously quoted. In fact, its more than double the Department of Transportations own estimate of 346,000 sales.
Maritz surveyed 36,000 new car and truck buyers who bought their vehicles during the time Cash for Clunkers was in effect, between July and August of 2009. The company figures a full 542,000 sales came from people who hadnt planned on buying a car otherwise, spurred by the government program. Maritz also includes 223,000 people who came to dealerships after hearing of the program, and even after they discovered that they didnt qualify, bought anyway.
Perhaps even more interesting were the findings on how the program affected future sales. It was believed by many that Cash for Clunkers might have just sped up sales in the short term, advancing sales that would have naturally occurred in future months or years. "The results provide strong empirical evidence that CARS did not impede future sales," said Maritz vice-president David Fish, "Vehicles were sold to people who dont normally buy them."
According to Maritzs findings, Cash for Clunkers buyers tended to be long-term car owners. Maritz says that nearly 80 percent of trade-ins had more than 100,000 miles on them and that 50 percent were more than 10 years old. Better than 60 percent of buyers told the pollsters that they plan on keeping their new cars as long as possible, meaning that many of the people who took advantage of the program came from non-regular customer pools.
The Maritz report could be used to support additional incentive programs like Cash for Clunkers in the future, but there are already detractors. For its part, Edmunds.com is already saying that there is a big difference between the analysis of sales figures it performed in its own study and Maritzs conducting of a survey that could contain flawed or leading questions. The issue is certainly not settled yet.
[Source: CNN Money | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]Cash for Clunkers more than twice as effective as first thought? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Truck, Recalls, Safety, Toyota 
Last November, the Toyota Tundra recall to address premature rusting frames was expanded to include trucks from the 2000-2003 model years. That recall, though, only applied to 20 states and Washington, D.C. - those areas where cold weather and road treatments could cause expedited corrosion.
Today, however, The Associated Press reports that the recall has been further expanded to include Tundras from those model years in all 50 states. Toyota apparently hasnt said how many trucks that means it is recalling, but if you have one of those Tundras, you might wish to give your dealer a call.
[Source: The Associated Press via Google]Report: Toyota Tundra frame rust recall to go nationwide originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Auctions 
1996 DeTomaso Guarà - Click above for high-res image gallery
The DeTomaso Guarà was the last project of company founder and namesake, Alejandro de Tomaso. First shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1993, the Guarà could be had as a closed-roof coupe or open-top barchetta. A more practical canvas-roof Spider was eventually added as well, but only five were ever made. The Guarà was based on the 1991 Maserati Barchetta Stradale concept and was built from 1993 through 2004, when the struggling Italian automaker went into liquidation.
During its production run, 10 to 12 Barchettas and about 50 Coupés were built, along with the handful of Spiders. The early cars, including all of the Spiders, were powered by a BMW 4.0-liter V8 putting out a modest 272 horsepower. Later cars, and all, um, two of the cars that have somehow found their way into America are powered by a 320-hp version of the Ford 4.6-liter V8 from the Mustang Cobra. The Guarà was made of fiberglass, Kevlar and other composites on an aluminum backbone, making it fairly light. Performance was decent with a 0-60 dash of about five seconds flat and a top speed quoted between 168 and 171 miles per hour for this 2,500-pound mid-engined sportscar.
The cars racecar-like pushrod suspension made it a bit of a handful to drive on city streets, but its handling limits were pretty high by all accounts. This particular car is in Woodland Hills, California, and is painted a perfect Modenese yellow. It has just 10,000 miles on the clock and is being offered at the princely sum of $100,000. That might seem like a lot of coin for a fairly anonymous exotic with a Mustang engine, but considering its rarity and its association with the name DeTomaso, it could be a fun addition to someones collection. Are you listening Jay?
[Source: eBay Motors]
eBay Find of the Day: 1996 DeTomaso Guarą is a rare treat originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Truck, Work, Nissan, Misc. Auto Shows 
Nissan NV commercial vans - Click above for high-res image gallery
Historically, Americas commercial vehicle marketplace has been dominated by domestic automakers. Besides a small percentage of Sprinter sales from Dodge while under Daimler ownership, the fullsize van market has really only been occupied by Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Nissan is ready to change all that, and its opening salvo in the commercial vehicle marketplace is its NV series of vans.
Nissans NV series - "NV" rather unimaginatively stands for Nissan Van, for what its worth - relies on three different designations, NV1500, 2500 HD and 3500 HD, and two different roof heights (the High Roof is only available on the NV2500 HD and NV3500 HD models) to provide a platform for every conceivable need. Opting for the tall version will provide enough room for most people to stand up inside with no need to duck.
Interestingly, Nissans research indicates that commercial van owners are the least satisfied of any vehicle segment, and as such, the automaker says that the NV design is that of an armored car a clean-sheet approach resulting from one of the most researched projects Nissan has ever undertaken. That research has yielded a vehicle that utilizes a fully boxed steel ladder frame and rear-wheel drive with either a 4.0-liter V6 or an optional 5.6-liter V8. Both engines are mated to a standard five-speed automatic transmission.
No matter which engine or roof style is chosen, the NV will come with a user-definable interior layout that can accept standard-size drywall or plywood or any number of aftermarket cargo solutions. Up front, there are a number of storage pockets and compartments to hold whatever is needed, while High Roof models offer an overhead console for additional storage options.
Pricing is not yet available, but Nissan promises the NV series will hit authorized commercial U.S. dealerships before the end of the year. Want to know more? Be sure to check out our gallery of high-res images below and click past the break for the official press release.
[Source: Nissan]Continue reading Nissan unveils NV commercial van, available in three different flavors Nissan unveils NV commercial van, available in three different flavors originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars, Convertible, Hybrid, Performance, Porsche 
Porsche 918 Spyder Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery
We still havent stopped drooling over the Porsche 918 Spyder concept, a car that debuted at this years Geneva Motor Show. Its a sexy infusion of both Boxster and Carrera GT influences, with a dash of hybrid power thrown in for good measure. Whats not to love about a 500-horsepower, V8-powered roadster that can hit 62 mph in just 3.2 seconds? Oh, and did we mention that, because of its additional electric motors, Porsche claims that the 918 can also achieve up to 78 miles per gallon? We highly approve.
According to Autocar, we arent the only ones swooning over the 918. In fact, Porsche is apparently fully committed to building a serial version of the Spyder. No official confirmation has been made, but in speaking to Autocar, Porsche boss Michael Macht says, "There is no one inside Porsche who doesnt want to build the 918," later adding, "The 918 Spyder proves the answer to whether there can be high-performance cars in the future." If this concept does get the green light for production, we could likely see it hit the streets within the next five years. Well do our best to remain patient.
[Source: Autocar]Report: Porsche really, really wants to build 918 Spyder. Really. originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Convertible, Mercedes-Benz, First Drive, Luxury 
2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet - Click above for high-res image gallery
Convertibles have long been something of an acquired taste. Devotees steadfastly defend the unique sensation of elemental motoring that can only come when plugged in to ones surrounding breezes, noises and smells. Conversely, detractors have traditionally lambasted droptops for their lackluster foul weather performance, added weight, vulnerability, and creaky, ill-handling platforms. And while the naysayers may have had a point in the era of tonneau-covered British roadster pilots with their tepid heaters, dubious structural rigidity and leaky, masochistic roof mechanisms, modern topless numbers like this 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet give lie to the idea that convertibles make lousy year-round companions.
Follow the jump to find out why.
Photos by Chris Paukert / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading First Drive: 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet a smooth Spanish Fly(er) First Drive: 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet a smooth Spanish Fly(er) originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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