Cadillac gave the first showing of the 2010 SRX today at Pebble Beach today. The design for the new crossover is heavily based on the Provoq concept car that went around the car show circuit earlier this year. General Motors will release full details on the car later this year.
The new SRX is expected to switch to GM’s Theta platform, which would make it smaller wheelbase than the current SRX. The switch would also means that in two-wheel drive form, the power will now go to the front wheels (an all-wheel drive version should be an option.) The SRX has become an important car for GM as it is a smaller and more fuel-efficient an alternative to Cadillac’s other SUV offering, the Escalade.
Sometimes technology isn’t a blessing. Not only did video kill the radio star, but also General Motor’s travailing showcase know as Motorama.
Motorama used to travel all around the U.S. in a caravan of specially built “Parade of Progress” busses, all used to showcase GM’s new cars and new innovations. But once television was in every household, the Motorama changed. It was still a grand spectacle, but the Motorama no longer came to your doorstep. By the mid-50s Motorama would only set up in the major cities but could be broadcast to homes nationwide through TV. The last one was held in 1961.
Enjoy as GM’s Vice President of Global Design, Ed Welburn reminisces about the Motorama and the dream cars of GM’s past before they are showcased next week at Pebble Beach (including the Chevrolet Biscayne.)
There is a certain expectation from the American market when it comes to special edition cars: WE WANT SPEED – especially when there is an “S” added to the name. Which is why Jaguar may be doing the smart thing by not bringing the XKR-S over here. It may be the sharpest XK around the corners, but the XKR-S shares its 175 mps top speed with its lesser siblings. It’s not to say that true auto enthusiasts in North America don’t appreciate the car; it’s just the people with the money to pay extra for the XKR-S won’t understand why it’s special.
Upgrades include stiffer springs and dampers front and rear, 8 percent quickened steering rack, thicker rear anti-roll bar, lighter 20-inch forged alloy wheels and wider rear tires. "We developed an XK with the chassis we fancied as our everyday driver," says Mike Cross, Jaguar’s handling guru. "A bit more focused than our typical customer would usually want but still comfortable and safe in all road conditions, including the wet." Very British indeed.
But its likely Jaguar will not be holding the best XK at home very long. The XKR-S is rumored to be a preview of the chassis that will be a part of XKR’s facelift next year. This should come to the U.S. and include a new 5.0-liter V-8 making 500 horsepower (80 more than the current car.)
Car enthusiasts love looking at their beloved four wheeled children, sometimes more then their two legged family. That can be the problem with garages, you can not watch TV, eat dinner, or drift off to sleep while staring at your beloved automobile. Well thanks to a team of Berlin architects you can. The team has designed the ultimate living space for you and your machine: the drive-in apartment.
The car is driven onto an elegant but heavy-duty lift that is strong enough to hoist an armor-plated vehicle, or even lift a limo directly to the loft-style apartment. Drive it off and park it in a conservatory, known as CarLoggias, with only a large glass wall separating it from the living space. Feel free to wipe it down with a diaper whenever, or even start it to impress your friends with the sweet thrilling notes of the engine. The CarLoggia is open and roofed so the exhaust fumes can quickly escape.
This year’s Gumball 3000 starts in San Francisco and ends in Beijing in time to watch some the Summer Olympic Games. For those of you who don’t know the Gumball is a rally/tour where participants take their performance cars on 3000 mile run on public road, while the drivers “party” along the way. Although it looks like an excuse for the ultra-rich to flaunt their supercars (and it mostly is,) it also gives the rest of us a chance to see some great cars actually clock some real miles. Enjoy this latest clip from the San Diego part of the run that includes some great supercars and two of the three Dahm triplets from Playboy.
The Gumball 3000 is the in its tenth year. It was started in the spirit of the “Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash”, better know as the “Cannonball Run”. The four actual Cannonball Runs in the 70s inspired the two movies of the same name in the 80s. Brock Yates, the founder of the Cannonball Run races and writer of the original movie, lists the movie “The Gumball Rally” as one of the bastard children of his race. It’s likely that this is where the Gumball 3000’s name comes from.
Do yourself a favor and track down a copy of “The Gumball Rally”. It features some great classics including an original Shelby Cobra and Ferrari Daytona. The movie is a must-see for any car nut, plus it features a pre-crazy Gary Busey.
Last year’s redesign of the Ford Focus revived sales of the little car, so for 2009 Ford is looking to continue the rebirth of the Focus with a new coupe version. The hatchback’s replacement is now on sale at a starting price of $16,875.
The Coupe version will be powered by a 2.0-liter, Duratec 20 dual-overhead-cam (DOHC), and an inline 4-cylinder engine that delivers 143 horsepower when combined with a five-speed manual transmission and 140 horsepower when paired with a four-speed automatic transmission.
Also available is a super-clean, 130-horsepower Duratec 20E engine that qualifies Focus as a Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV) in California emissions states. The 20E’s tailpipe emissions are cleaner than some hybrid gas-electric vehicles’. The Duratec 20 and 20E in Focus Coupe are mated to a five-speed manual transmission and achieve EPA-estimated fuel economy of 35 mpg highway.
General Motors is lifting its skirt higher to show off a little more Volt. The latest pictures released today show off a tiny bit more of the gas-electric hybrid than what we saw in the Good Morning America interview earlier this week. This is a good move on GM’s part to keep all the blogs buzzing about the car. After all, this is the Volt’s second entry this week, and all we see is a little more of the body.
The Volt undoubtedly is the make or break car for General Motors. If it is successful with the new sedan, the Volt can put them at the forefront of technology. But if the car fails to live up to the promise of 40 miles on an overnight (around six hours) battery charge, then it may feel a large backlash from the media that has been following the car.
It’s the rumor that General Motors won’t let die: will the Corvette be exported to China? America’s greatest production sports car was shown a the Shanghai Motor Show last year, and last month a spy shot caught a black one outside the Chinese government’s automotive quality and inspection department (they licenses cars for manufacturing in China.) But the Automotive News is reporting a GM spokesperson in China says there are no immediate plans to bring the sports car to China, before adding: "Never say never."
A great way to insure continued production is economies of scale: producing more cars brings down the total cost of production. The Corvette should be no exception. Unfortunately exporting in left-hand drive only has left the car a novelty in places like England and Japan. So by sending (or producing) Corvettes in China, they could utilize their power as a premium marquee - GM is seen as a high mark of quality in China. This will help General Motors save money on the manufacturing and design, and in an ideal world, that will translate into more cash for GM to invest in more great Corvettes at home like the ZR1.
This Sunday at Pebble Beach the Spyker C8 Aileron will make its U.S. debut. Faithful readers will have already seen this car from its debuts at the British and Frankfurt Motor Shows, but we are always looking for a good excuse to show pics of these curvy sports cars.
This appearance will mark Spyker’s 8th presence at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance since the rebirth of the company. The C8 Aileron is a longer wheelbase version of the C8, allowing for more room and convenience options such as an automatic transmission. Expected to enter production by the end of the year, the car will still be powered by the 4.2-liter V-8 from Audi making 400 hp. That should be good for a top speed of 187 mph and acceleration from 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds. No official U.S. pricing has been announced, but expect to pay over the C8 Laviolette’s $278,000 for this new version.
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