Archive for October 12th, 2008

Filed under: Diesel, Audi, Honda, Toyota
Over dinner in Amarillo, Texas on Saturday night, we sat at a table with Audi of America EVP Johan de Nysschen and discussed a range of topics. Among them was his impressions of other manufacturers backing off on diesel plans for the U.S. market. During the course of this drive,… »

Filed under: Aftermarket, Tuners, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Mercedes-Benz

Click the image above for a high-res gallery of the Kicherer CL60
If Drake, the ur-vampire from Blade Trinity, were a car, this is the car he would be. Starting with a CL600, tuning firm Kicherer didn’t waste time throwing pieces at the car’s already aggressive styling. Instead, Kicherer attacked… »

Filed under: Green, Audi

As the AMM fleet rolls across north Texas, my co-driver Steve Ewing and I are currently on the tail of the Q7 piloted by Kevin Kelly and the legendary Jim McCraw. Jim, a veteran of four One Lap of America events, is used to these long slogs. Actually, for Jim this is… »

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Lightweight, Pacific Region

Looking like just about every other three-wheeled, joystick-controlled, compressed air-driven car we’ve ever seen, the AIRPod by MDI will be available to lease in New Zealand soon. MDI has an agreement with IndraNet Technologies to market them in the land of the Māori and, according to an article in… »

Filed under: Concept Cars, Tuners, Sedans/Saloons, Lexus, Misc. Auto Shows, Australia

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept

At the ongoing Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, the same show where Australian sportscar-maker Elfin took the wraps off its new Type 5 Clubman, Lexus unveiled a new version of its IS 250… »

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Daily, Aptera

The Aptera Typ-1 asks a lot of questions of the car-buying public. Are you ready for a flightless bird vehicle? Do you know the difference between the legal crash test requirements of a three-wheeled versus a four-wheeled vehicle? Do you like the new design Oh, and did we mention the… »

Filed under: Ford, Mazda, Earnings/Financials, Rumormill

The financial peril that currently faces the U.S. domestic automakers is no secret, and according to Wall Street Journal report published yesterday, Ford is mulling over the possibility of unloading at least part of its controlling stake in Mazda to raise cash. Japanese media, via the AP, said that… »

Filed under: Supercars, Lamborghini

For most of us, once we’re able to sweet talk our way into Lamborghini Gallardo, going 192 mph isn’t that difficult. But Luc Costermans has at least one more major obstacle to overcome: he’s been blind for four years.
Despite that, he managed to borrow an orange Gallardo for an attempt on… »

Filed under: Diesel, Audi

The Audi A4 TDI that started off running on GTL
One of the VIPs that Audi invited to be present at the launch of the Mileage Marathon in New York on Monday was Sylvia Williams. Williams is the general manager of business development for future fuels at Shell. The main topic of interest… »