NSX Perfection

I’ve always loved the NSX, and while it is still highly regarded in certain circles, it’s often looked at as overpriced, underpowered, dated and so on. With a lifespan of 14 years where it went relatively unchanged while others caught up and surpassed it (at least, on paper), it’s an understandable view. While the NSX remains a phenomenal car in factory form (it quickly and deservedly earned the moniker of “the everyday supercar”), it only gets better when put in the right hands and, in my opinion, is one of the very best platforms to come from any manufacturer. That’s why a car like this 700+hp widebody ‘94 NSX just makes me all warm and fuzzy. When I first met the owner and saw the car in unfinished form, I immediately wanted to shoot it. Fast forward two and half years later and this is the results of that shoot. Check out the full article, more photos and the rest of the issue at Desert-Motors Magazine.

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Chevy Camaro Convertible Delayed and Z28 Canceled

The 2010 Chevy Camaro is finally starting to roll off the production line, but there are rumors that two of the hotly anticipated variants are in jeopardy.

The Detroit Bureau is reporting that the Camaro convertible and Z28 variants are being delayed and may eventually be canceled due to the budget crisis hitting GM and its many suppliers. The main issue with the Camaro convertible has to do with the collapse of the German company that was supposed to supply it. It was originally planned that the convertible would launch about a year after the coupe, but since GM now has to seek a new supplier, the convertible could be delayed even further.

As for the Z28, it may just cost too much to produce according to Gene Stefanyshyn, Camaro’s Vehicle Line Executive. Stefanyshyn estimated that it would cost GM approximately $50 million to bring it to market. The Z28 would have featured well over 500 horsepower and would have been the halo car for the Camaro lineup.

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2010 Lincoln MKT will start at $44,995; EcoBoost, AWD add five grand

Filed under: Car Buying, Detroit Auto Show, Crossovers/CUVs, Lincoln

Click above for live, high-res images of the new 2010 Lincoln MKT

Ford just announced pricing on the 2010 Lincoln MKT we saw earlier this week at the Detroit Auto Show. The Ford Flex's big brother will go on sale this summer for a starting price of $44,995 with the base V6 and front-wheel-drive. EcoBoost and all-wheel drive together add five grand to that total, so prices for the premium model start at $49,995. You can get AWD by itself though, along with the base 3.7L, at $46,990. While all MKTs will come with tons of standard features, the company is also offering a few options.

For instance, the Elite Package will be available for $5,000, which includes a bowl of alphabet soup with things like Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Collision Warning with Brake Support (gives the driver a "head-up" warning on the windshield), Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), Cross Traffic Alert (BLIS for backing out of a parking space), Voice-activated Navigation, and a power-opening Panoramic Vista Roof. Stand-alone options will include Active-Park Assist (literally "steers" the MKT into a parallel parking spot while the driver controls the throttle and brakes), 20-inch polished wheels, a DVD system with dual headrest-mounted LCDs, second-row buckets that are heated and cooled, a second-row console-mounted refrigerator, and class III trailer-towing capability.

A fully loaded 355-hp EcoBoost AWD MKT should come in around $55,000, or a few thousand less than a similarly equipped Audi Q7. The Lincoln promises better fuel economy, more interior space and some features you can't even get on the Audi, like the Active-Park Assist. There's a full press release after the jump and our gallery of the MKT from Detroit available by clicking any image below.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: 2010 Lincoln MKT live

Live photos copyright (C)2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading 2010 Lincoln MKT will start at $44,995; EcoBoost, AWD add five grand

2010 Lincoln MKT will start at $44,995; EcoBoost, AWD add five grand originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyundai is Awesome. Even Honda Admits It!

Remember when Hyundai was a joke?

When Japanese automakers entered the U.S. market, they changed the very fabric of the American auto industry. The cars they offered were small, inexpensive and quickly built a reputation for reliability that exists to this day.

Toyota, Honda and Nissan happily took market share away from the U.S. automakers and never looked back.

Today though, the Japanese are forced to glance backwards because South Korean automaker Hyundai is storming forward and steadily taking customers away; just as Japanese companies did to the U.S. automakers.

The irony comes full circle with this quote from Honda CEO Takanobu Ito:

Hyundai is awesome. They are undoubtedly a threat because their products are cheap, and the quality is improving.

To say Hyundai’s quality is “improving” is like saying the Pittsburgh Steelers are Super Bowl contenders. Hyundai isn’t improving, the company has improved to the point where I believe it could build a better Honda than Honda does.

Toyota’s chief even went so far as to say that his company is “grasping for salvation” and is in the final stages of corporate decline.

While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, Nissan’s senior vice-president Shiro Nakamura compared the whole situation to food by saying,

We have to offer the equivalents of sushi, tempura and kaiseki to compete against Korean barbecue.

I think what he was trying say, in a really weird way, is that Japanese automakers need to find a way to make sure consumers see the value in paying more for Japanese cars. I’m not sure that’s a winning proposition, as this Great Recession will only motivate more buyers to look for long-term value and reliability.

That’s an equation Hyundai has a very firm grasp on.

Will Hyundai continue its rise and overcome Japanese automakers? I think Mazda and Nissan are more at-risk than Toyota or Honda, but what do you think?

-tgriffith

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2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Sales Are "Simply Smoking"

The 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe has been one of highly anticipated cars for this year. With a choice of a turbocharged 2.0L 4-cylinder or a 300+ hp 3.8L V6 and standard RWD the Genesis Coupe has a lot of enthusiast appeal. According to Hyundai USA CEO John Krafcik early sales are "simply smoking."

According to Krafcik early sales of the Genesis Coupe have been better than the luxurious Genesis sedan, with significantly less marketing. The 2.0T have just begun to hit dealerships, so its too early to see what the product split will be like. But among the 3.8L models, over 50% leaving the lots are the Grand Touring models. The Grand Touring model starts at $28,250 with a manual transmission and $29,750 with an automatic gearbox (including a $750 destination fee).

It will be interesting to see what happens when the $24,000 performance-tuned 2.0T R-Spec model starts arriving. The entry-level 2.0T starts at $22,000.

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The Baddest Jeep Forward Control Truck in the World on eBay

We have to thank BangShift.com forum member (and college chum!) Paul Lafayette for the tip on this bonus eBay Pick of the Week. We believe this to be the most off-road-capable Jeep Forward Control truck ever. It has been battle tested as a competitor in the hellacious Four Wheeler Magazine Top Truck Challenge. The Four Wheeler site says this rig had more reader votes than any other “by a wide margin.”

See the eBay ad here.

We don’t know how the truck fared in that competition, but we can say that this thing has all the parts and pieces to make it an unstoppable force on nearly any terrain thrown before it. There’s planty of power on tap with a 520hp (modern) LS6 mill. There’s plenty of axle strength with Dana 60 units front and back, and there’s more than decent ground clearance with big 44-inch Swampers on all four corners.

We like the part where the seller tells potential buyers that the truck is road legal and passed the state inspection in New York, but he wouldn’t recommend the truck as a daily driver. We think it would be the perfect whip to take to drop the kids off at school with. They’d need to throw a rope ladder down to get out, but the soccer moms in their mini-vans wouldn’t know what to make of this big fellow.

We searched high and low for video, but failed to unearth any. Note that, in the photo below, it’s climbing a wall at a coin-op car wash.

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Vauxhall Dials Up Speed With Astra VRX 888

Vauxhall Astra VRX 888

If you’ve ever felt that GM has failed to reach its full potential with American consumers (I almost laughed when I typed that), you will likely feel validated in that belief to learn about the British performance version of the Saturn Astra.  The Vauxhaull Astra VXR has added a few numbers to both it’s name and horsepower courtesy of Triple Eight Engineering.

VRX 888

Beyond the special body treatment, differences between this speed demon and the factory diesel version are most significantly achieved by retuning the engine to develop 50 more horses.  Other uprades include a lowered and stiffened suspension, larger front disc brakes, four-piston calipers and special 18-inch black alloys wheels and tires.  0-60 mph is estimated to take 6.5 seconds in the VRX 888 with a top speed of more than 140mph.  Perhaps most impressive is the fuel economy which is estimated as close to 50 mpg in normal highway driving and certainly in the 40 mpg in the city.  Additionally, owners of gas versions of the VRX can not only benefit from the brake and suspension upgrades previously mentioned for the diesel, but get in on the power increase as well via an exhaust package by the aftermarket company Remus and/or a specially tuned Triple Eight ECU that coaxes an extra 48 horsepower from the Astra’s normal 2 liter engine. In total, Triple Eight is able to bring the total power of the gas burner to a jaw dropping 305 hp!

Although Triple Eight will only make 100 of these vehicles, nearly every component will be available for owners to upgrade their Vauxhall at special dealerships in Britain.  It would be refreshing if GM would foster the same relationship over here that it has developed in other parts of the world to revitalize a degree of excitement that it is surely lacking in entry-level vehicles.  While everyone froths at the mouth over the Volt and the fuel efficiency that is the centerpiece of its worth, the VRX tuned by Triple Eight proves what is capable with existing technology and cars already on the road.  One can only hope that more enterprising person(s) will continue to take it upon themselves to disprove the notion that vehicle gas mileage and performance are mutually exclusive in new cars.

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