The News Auto

Hyundai is a haunted company. It is trying to shake to ghosts of crappy cars. It is saddled with the image of former offerings like the Excel that, well, didn’t. This has been a great motivator for the South Korean company. It has been substantially raising the level of build quality since its introduction to the U.S. in 1986 because Hyundai doesn’t want to jinx its name, again.

The last few Hyundais we’ve has in the TopSpeed test fleet have been truly impressive. It fells like a Japanese car at a lower price. This is exactly what Hyundai wants because it is taking dead aim at Toyota and Honda. But what I wonder about is no matter how good its cars really are will Hyundai ever be taken as seriously as it’s Japanese benchmarks?

Posted Aug 31st 2008 5:33PM by Noah Joseph
Filed under: Sports/GTs, Supercars, Spyker, Special/Limited Editions

Take your exotic sports car and put it in a room with its racing counterpart. Put on some R&B, dim the lights and wait nine months. It’s a winning formula that has worked for some of the world’s best automakers and resulted in such stunning performance vehicles as the Ferrari 430 Scuderia, Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, Aston Martin DBS and Porsche 911 GT3 RS, to name just a few. Now Spyker is getting ready to cue up the Barry White with the upcoming LM 85.

Named for the starting position of the Spyker C8 GTR2 racer at Le Mans, the LM 85 will be the latest race-derived, hardcore exotic sportscar. It will be based on the short-wheelbase C8 Laviolette, but lightened and tightened. Power could be as high as 450 horses, while the suspension is expected to be stiffened and weight removed to get a 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph) figure near 3.8 seconds and top speed bumping the 300 km/h (186 mph) mark. Only a highly symbolic 24 examples are expected to be built in an effort to bring the niche Dutch automaker back from the brink.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport and Motor Authority]

Posted Aug 31st 2008 3:47PM by Jonathon Ramsey
Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Geneva Motor Show, Rolls-Royce

The RR4 — the Rolls-Royce that asks that you “don’t call me ‘baby’” — is slowly undressing, striptease-like, before its final reveal at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. Previous spy shots hinted at rear suicide doors, or coach doors as Rolls-Royce refers to them, and now it is official: the hinges on the rear door are on the rear of the door. The car has plenty of Phatom-esque cues, and although it doesn’t look anything like the initial sketch, it looks like it could be a very attractive proposition when it shows up for the big dance. Still no word on engines, but we have no doubt its output will be something along the lines of prodigious. Thanks for the tip, Andrus!

[Source: Global Motors]

CRUISING OLD ROUTE 27
In A 2008 VOLVO C70 CONVERTIBLE/HARDTOP
By Steve Purdy
TheAutoChannel.com
Detroit Bureau

I hooked up last week for just one day of a five-day cruise called the Old U.S. 27 Auto Tour. Only the second year for this tour it stops along a nearly 300-mile route at a variety of Michigan venues including the State capitol and includes more than 300 cruisers.

With the popularity of Route 66 cruises and similar events promoter Craig Parrish decided to put this one together to celebrate old highway U.S. 27, one of the first north/south Midwest routes of the national highway system finished in the 1920s. If you wanted to take the time you could travel U.S. 27 (or its modern day equivalent) from northern Michigan to southern Florida. Parrish wants to eventually get Old U.S. 27 designated as a “Heritage Route” throughout its entire length so that it becomes part of the National Scenic Highways list, like the better-known Route 66.

My friend photographer Margaret Hehr and I decided we’d catch up with them for a day in the middle of the cruise, shoot some photos and hang out a bit. We left early and met up with the group at the famous old Doherty Hotel in Clair, a small town billing itself as the gateway to northern Michigan. Clair is situated at the northern edge of the flat southern Michigan farmland, once the bottom of a huge lake just after the glaciers receded, and the beginning of the glacial moraines that define the sandy, gravelly hills of the northern half of the Lower Peninsula.

Our ride for the trip is a pretty, bright-red Volvo C70 convertible/hardtop – the perfect ride for such a jaunt on a hot summer day. I’ve gone all summer without doing a review of a convertible, so it’s about time for some open-air touring. The morning was rather cool but that did not deter us from putting the top down as we left Margaret’s place at O-dark-30 headed north.

This Volvo is powered by a turbocharged, in-line 5-cylinder making about 227 horsepower and 235 pound-feet of torque – not overpowered, to be sure but plenty competent. Our tester is a six-speed stick making for more fun driving than would be the case with the automatic, I contend. Acceleration is good and we feel no appreciable turbo lag.

We followed the new road now called U.S. 127 as it passes Dewitt, St. Johns, Ithaca and Mt. Pleasant, home of Central Michigan University and the Chippewa Native American reservation. The whole road was redesignated as U.S. 127 in 2002. We know not why. Margaret is impressed with the smoothness of the Volvo and how we’re able to maintain a conversation at 70-mph with the top down. We arrive in the parking lot behind the Doherty as the cruisers are just milling around getting ready for the driver’s meeting and the day’s activities.

Deciding to close up the Volvo while we spend some time shooting the 80 or so cars in the parking area, I push the ‘up’ button on the console between the seats. Nothing happens. An indicator on the dash says the trunk is not closed tightly. It is a tad temperamental. The whirr of motors and the gentle jerk of top sections starting and stopping let us know it’s working. The trunk opens up backward and out comes the top in sections. Smoothly but slowly it comes forward with sections seating against themselves and finally seating against the windshield, all-in-all a slick operation, I must say.

Strewn about the parking lot are an eclectic variety of cruisers, from street rods to antiques, modern Corvettes to classic old T-Birds, muscle cars, pony cars and a few old pickup trucks. My favorite is a wonderful old Studebaker Hawk driven by a women with a big grin.

The in-charge Mr. Parrish is joined by local Clare dignitaries, and a county cop (they have police escorts much of the trip) for the day’s instructions. Next stop is the Clare County Fairgrounds where the cars will be on static display for a few hours while the folks get to hang out in the 4H barns admiring the sheep, pigs, cattle and kids - being careful, of course, not to step in anything smelly.

It’s too early in the day for the carnival to get going but there was plenty of time for wandering through the merchant displays and gathering around the cars. By mid-afternoon we’re ready to head further north for a late afternoon and evening event at the Grayling Ford dealership.

Margaret and I put the top down again and hit the old road looking for hints of its history. A few of the buildings in Clare still have the ambiance of the old days but very few. Out on the road we find few hints of the road’s former glory – a deserted diner here, a falling-down roadside shop there and just one sign indicating that the road is the “Old U.S. 27. How sad.

Fortunately, the sun is staying behind some clouds so we needn’t put the top up or slather ourselves with sunscreen. This front-wheel drive Volvo is a pleasure to drive with a light clutch, precise steering and impeccable road manners. While the suspension is a tad stiff it is not obnoxiously so. On the rough sections of road we can feel a little flex in the body structure when the top is not securing the car. When the top is up it’s as sturdy and stiff as anything.

This Volvo C70 Convertible lists for $39,240. We have a few options on our test car (Dynaudio Package and a Premium Package as well as 18-inch wheels and a Convenience Package) that bring the bottom-line price to $44, 675.

We had a great time at the Grayling Scott McNamara Ford dealership where another static show brought in some more cars and another photo opportunity. A roasted pig and some local dancers rounded out the evening for us.

Just about dark we headed back south and kept the top down the whole way. There is something pure and exhilarating about a fast, top-down cruise on a cool summer evening. Perhaps next year we can hook up with another special car and do the whole route from Coldwater to Cheboygan.

Steve Purdy, Shunpiker Productions, All Rights Reserved

Posted Aug 31st 2008 10:26AM by Alex Nunez
Filed under: Etc., Videos

Follow the jump to watch “One Cab’s Family”

Judging by your comments, watching “Susie the Little Blue Coupe” yesterday brought back memories for many of you. Another thing that became very apparent is that you also hold Tex Avery’s 1952 short, “One Cab’s Family” in extremely high regard, and commenter “raf 280z” stuck a link to it in the thread. Like Susie, the Cab family’s story is an endlessly re-watchable classic. Mom and Dad taxi welcome their adorable little boy into the family garage (note the wallpaper border inside — one of many great touches), but as junior gets older, he gets a little rebellious, and trouble follows — big trouble. So, grab your kids, sit back and enjoy it after the jump. “Nurse, check his oil, fill ‘im up with gas and we’ll take him home!”

[Source: YouTube]

Posted Aug 31st 2008 1:53PM by Jonathon Ramsey
Filed under: Coupes, Sports/GTs, Etc., Supercars, Lamborghini

One-third of American Top Gear, Tanner Foust, spent a day in the Lamborghini Reventon, and here’s his verdict: “Thumbs up big girl!” The fractional bit of additional horsepower didn’t mean much to him, but he did say the brakes were more capable, and, surprise, the car is quite wide and people like to stare at it. After six hours on Italy’s B-roads, that basically sums up his impressions. Since he didn’t have too much to say in print, we really do hope he’s saving the zingers for the show…

[Source: AutoFiends]

Posted Aug 31st 2008 9:02AM by Sam Abuelsamid
Filed under: Motorsports, Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Chevrolet

Click the C6.R for a high-res gallery from the race

As part of the revival of the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle last year, the Detroit Sports Car Challenge was added as the highlight of Saturday’s activities. The sports car race is back this year as the ninth round of the American Le Mans Series. For those who have never checked out an ALMS race, it’s one of the best and most exciting forms of motorsport anywhere. Highcroft Racing’s Acura ARX-01B captured the pole and led much of the first half of the race ahead of the De Ferran Racing Acura. If you TiVoed the race and don’t want to ruin the surprise, you can just check out the gallery and come back later to see the full results after the jump. Otherwise, you know what to do.

Gallery: Detroit Sports Car Challenge 08

Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
The Highcroft and De Ferran teams kicked off the Detroit ALMS weekend with the big announcement Friday that they would lead Acura’s move into the LMP1 category next year, then followed that up by grabbing the first two spots on the grid for Saturday’s race. The pair led the first half of the race before eventually giving way to the Andretti Green Racing Acura. The AGR car ended up leading the Highcroft machine across the finish line to take Acura’s second overall win and the first for the Andretti Green. Interestingly, during Friday’s press conference no mention was made of AGR. The Fernandez team that runs the fourth Acura will stay with the LMP2 program in 2009. I spoke to a representative from AGR before the race on Saturday and he told me the team was still negotiating with Acura about its ‘09 plans. At this point, they still don’t know if they’re staying with Acura, or even staying in ALMS, for that matter. After this performance, they’ve definitely shown they have what it takes.

Along the way, the Corvettes again led the way home in GT1 ahead of their lone challenger, an Aston Martin DBR9. The only other Aston in the race was a GT2 Vantage driven by Paul Drayson that got stuffed on the first lap. Lucas Luhr swung the back of the No. 2 Audi R10 into a tire barrier, and then complained to his crew about “no f***ing grip!” The other Audi made its way up to third overall and first in LMP1. Unfortunately, it was disqualified during post race scrutineering for being 2.5 kg underweight.

ANDRETTI GREEN AND ACURA ON TOP IN DETROIT

Andretti Green Racing fulfilled the promise and potential it showed all season with its first overall victory in the American Le Mans Series on Saturday. James Rossiter and Franck Montagny won the Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Boschas Acura swept the overall podium for the first time.

Rossiter and Montagny took the lead for good when it won the race out of pitlane with 69 minutes left. Montagny never gave up the lead and beat Patrón Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham across the line by 3.985 seconds.

Andretti Green won in the Series for the first time since taking an LMP2 victory at Sebring in 2007. That race marked Acura’s debut in the Series. Now late in its second season, Acura passed Porsche in the race for the manufacturer championship by four points.

Emanuele Pirro won in Detroit for the second time, and Marcel Fässler scored his first Series victory for Audi Sport North America. The Audi R10 TDI finished third overall and 20.114 seconds behind the AGR entry. Pirro and Fässler also ended a seven-race class win streak for Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner, who crashed out of the race on Lap 21.

The crash prevented the Luhr/Werner pairing from clinching the P1 championship.

Pirro and Fässler finished ahead of Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud as de Ferran Motorsports’ completed the P2 podium sweep for Acura. The top six cars finished on the lead lap.

Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta won in GT1 for the first time since late March with more than a minute in hand to beat teammates Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen. Three-time and defending class champions, Gavin and Beretta took the lead early on when the No. 4 crew got the car out of pitlane ahead of the sister car during the first round of stops at the 40-minute mark.

The Bell Motorsports’ Aston Martin DBR9 of Terry Borcheller and Chapman Ducote finished third in class for the third straight race.

Flying Lizard Motorsports scored its third 1-2 finish as GT2 championship leaders Jörg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler bolstered their class lead with their fourth win of the season. The pair of Porsche factory drivers stayed clean while Ferraris from Tafel Racing and Risi Competizione had their problems, and Johannes van Overbeek was hit while leading by Penske’s Bernhard.

Henzler, the class polesitter, crossed the line 6.570 seconds ahead of van Overbeek who teamed with Patrick Pilet. Mika Salo and Jaime Melo, last week’s winners at Mosport, finished third in Risi’s lead Ferrari F430 GT.

Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch
The Raceway at Belle Isle Park, Detroit
Saturday’s results1. (5) James Rossiter, England; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Acura ARX-01B (1, P2), 104.
2. (1) Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Acura ARX-01B (2, P2), 104.
3. Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Acura ARX-01B (3, P2), 104.
4. (6) Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (4, P2), 104.
5. (7) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (5, P2), 104.
6. (3) Guy Smith, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (6, P2), 103.
7. (11) Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Lola B07 46 Mazda (7, P2), 103.
8. (10) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Porsche RS Spyder (8, P2), 102.
9. (17) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (1, GT1), 100.
10. (13) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O’Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (2, GT1), 100.
11. (14) Wolf Henzler, Germany; Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (1, GT2), 98.
12. (18) Patrick Pilet, France; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (2, GT2), 98.
13. (15) Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (3, GT2), 98.
14. (22) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Martin Ragginger, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT2), 98.
15. (19) Robert Bell, UK; Harrison Brix, San Jose, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (5, GT2), 98.
16. (26) Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (6, GT2), 95.
17. (28) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (7, GT2), 94.
18. (20) Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Aston Martin DBR9 (3, GT1), 93.
19. (16) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (8, GT2), 92.
20. (27) David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (9, GT2), 89.
21. (21) Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Panoz Esperante Ford (10, GT2), 87, Accident.
22. (12) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (1, P1), 83.
23. (4) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (9, P2), 83.
24. (25) Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Doran Ford GT-R (11, GT2), 49, Accident.
25. (24) Marc Basseng, Germany; Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Francisco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (12, GT2), 38, Mechanical.
26. (8) Lucas Luhr, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (2, P1), 21, Accident.
27. (23) Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage (13, GT2), 1, Accident.
28. (9) Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Marcel Fässler, Switzerland; Audi AG R10/TDI (3, P1), 104.

Gallery: Detroit Sports Car Challenge 08

Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

SEE ALSO: Never Mind WHO Sarah Palin Is, WHAT Kind of Car Does She Drive?

John Adams, America’s first Vice President. We’ve come a long way, baby.
AUTO CENTRAL - August 31, 2008: More information was received yesterday about Sarah Palin’s choice of automobiles. First, The Auto Channel’s Rick Carlton (the person who uncovered pictures of Todd Palin driving a snowmobile), found an intriguing story about Sarah Palin being rear-ended while driving her Chevy Suburban to work…seems she eschews the pretentiousness of having a driver, and likes to do it herself.

Then, Kyle Busch, author of the book “Drive the Best for the Price” and National Automotive Examiner for the San Francisco Examiner online edition, contacted us to confirm that Sarah drives a Alaska government provided Chevy Suburban, and that she also drives a Volkswagen Jetta diesel.

Sportswoman Sarah Palin
Although Kyle didn’t indicate the model year of Sarah’s car, he did tell us that he drives an ‘86 VW Jetta with over 500,000 miles on the clock.

Unfortunately, no photos showing Sarah Palin driving either vehicle have surfaced.

Kyle Busch’s website, by the way, is www.DriveTheBestBook.com.

Since is nice to keep tabs on carmakers even if you can’t but their products in the U.S., it’s also good to see how they are being modified. RDX Racedesign has a new body kit for the Seat Leon 1P. The new kit consists in a new front bumper, with integrated daytime running LEDs just like the Audi S6, new turbo-look side skirts and a re-designed rear bumper with integrated rear air diffuser and central exhaust system. Price of the kit: 790 euros or $1,167. And of course, all the parts come with TUV approval.

Press release after the jump.

Posted Aug 30th 2008 7:01PM by Jeremy Korzeniewski
Filed under: Time Warp

Click the 1948 Tucker above for more from the San Diego Auto Museum

While on a recent trip to San Diego to ride some dirtbikes, we decided to check out some the sights that the city had to offer. Of course, being the car-obsessed nerds individuals that we are, it didn’t take too long for us to end up at the San Diego Automobile Museum. Tomorrow, we’ll bring you the best of what we saw on two wheels, but today is devoted to the cars. From some of the earliest four-wheelers (and three-wheelers) right on through to some Italian exotics from the ’60s, ’70s and ’90s, there was plenty there to keep our interest. Our favorite has to be the rear-engined Tucker from 1948 — very cool. We’ve assembled a gallery of pics below and have captioned them where appropriate. Enjoy!

Gallery: San Diego Auto Museum Cars