Ducati
can say they’ve introduced their latest generation of the
middleweight Monster with the 696 not more than a year ago, but there
are always founds ways to upgrade the nimble Italian legend and for
2010 they offer optional ABS. So it was about time to reconnect with
the Monster’s versatile character in order to come up with a
report and the fact that the 2010 model year is a very light and
powerful naked only spices things up a little bit.
Retaining the
very essence of a Monster, the 696 blends beauty with comfort and
practicability. The result is an overall better performing and more
attractive looking Italian naked with a famous name that is better than
any possible commercial...
There is just something about the old Corvettes that people just love. Check out a Corvette that was purchased for two hundred bucks and now is worth six figures.
2009 proved to be a very successful opening campaign for Audi's new customer race car, the R8 LMS.
Eight cars were sold to a variety of teams and between them, the cars
won 23 races and three national and international GT championships. For
2010, Audi has produced a new evolution version of the R8 LMS, and by
mid-April, the German automaker expects to have delivered a total of 20
cars.
The alterations to the 2010 evolution R8 are apparently targeted at
improving service life and making the car easier for crews to work on,
with plans calling for changes including a new six-speed gearbox. An
upgraded cooling system is designed to help the R8 perform better in
high temperature conditions and new openings in the body work will
allow crews to inspect wear parts without pulling everything apart. The
first two 2010 cars were have been delivered to UK-based United
Autosport, and another 10 are slated to go out over the next several
weeks. Teams running 2009 cars will also have an upgrade kit available
to bring their cars up to the new spec...
After
soccer this week, I noticed this Volkswagen Corrado owner trying to
find a parking space underneath a Texas-sized offroad GMT400 Chevy.
Immediately I thought: isn't it great seeing enthusiasts from different
auto cultures working together to solve congestion problems?
To this day, Koua Fong Lee – who is serving time for vehicular homicide
– maintains that sudden, uncontrollable acceleration is to blame for
the crash that killed three. Joe Fryer of Minneapolis affiliate KARE
reports. (Nightly News)
Here’s the BMW M3. Not as fast as a Bugatti Veyron. Not as many horses as a Lambo. And it won’t outbid Rolls at a Barrett Jackson auction. But pound for pound, it’s the ultimate driving machine on the planet. It’s been around since the 1980s, but the 2008 model is the one that has Beamer-heads freaking out. The high-revving engine is a 4-liter V8 with about 411 horsepower. You’re also looking at a carbon fiber roof and aluminum suspension. So yeah, they’ve scaled back on power and shed some poundage. But don’t worry they haven’t muffled the beasts growl. It’s just more about precision and drivability. The perfectly-engineered sports car. And at a sticker of sixty grand, you’ll have enough leftover to fly to Germany and kill at the famous Nurburg Ring yourself.
Late last month we wrote a lengthy post about problems with an ABC News report that purported to show a Toyota Avalon
racing out of control without setting a diagnostic fault code. While we
primarily focused on the technical side and analyzed whether the
problem was realistic, the crew at Gawker took a hard look at the video
in question and noticed something fishy.
It appears that an editor or producer at ABC felt they could pull a
fast one on the audience and used some B-roll in the report showing the
tachometer needle sweeping rapidly from near idle to over 6,000 rpm.
That clip was injected at the precise moment when David Gilbert
triggered his simulated sudden acceleration. As you can see from the
screen cap above, the shot of the tachometer clearly shows the warning
lights for the parking brake on, the doors open and the transmission
indicator in park. The camera operator shot this segment separately so
it could be used to illustrate a point in the report, and ABC claims
that getting a steady shot during the test would've been both difficult
and dangerous.
This is Francesca Lavezzo, the improv comic from the Bay area who crashed her Honda repeatedly into a Ferrari dealership. After tasing her, police now believe she wasn't angry at Ferraris, just high.
Lavezzo
reportedly crashed her Honda Civic multiple times into Ron Tonkin Gran
Turismo of Northwest Portland yesterday around 4:00 am. Police later
apprehended the woman after she crashed into a fence trying to elude
police. She initially resisted arrest and was tased and taken to the
hospital for observation and then to county lockup according to KGW-TV. Police don't think alcohol was involved but believe she was likely on drugs. Just look at her mugshot, it's like from Prom Queen to Meth Queen with an attitude.
So who is Francesca?
According to her resume from the L.A. area 11th Hour Comedy Troupe
she's a professional actress/improver who studied at U.C. Berkeley and
loves glass blowing. Most intriguing is this statement from her
biography indicating a history of road rage:
"Francesca has been in Los Angeles long enough to realize her
"man-size" is beneficial of times of road rage but not when it comes to
auditions."
Here in the United States, Mercedes-Benz's product portfolio starts off with the C-Class sedan.
Those familiar with the alphabet may realize that there are at least
two available letters before 'C' that would theoretically allow the
German automaker to offer something a bit less expensive before
graduating up the ranks to the likes of the E-Class and S-Class, in all their assorted variations.
Wouldn't you know it, Mercedes has seen fit to fill those two
pre-C-Class slots with an A- and B-Class across the pond, and we've
been hearing rumblings for quite some time that one of these models
might make its way Stateside before too long. Those rumors continue
today with this report from Automotive News, which suggests that a compact car and a small SUV may soon be in the offing in the U.S.
Mercedes-Benz plans to launch the next version of its B-Class in Europe
in 2011, and that's the likely candidate for conversion to be sold here
in the States. Included amongst the powertrain options will reportedly
be some kind of fossil fuel alternative, perhaps either an electric
version or one powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Ferrari 458 Italia
has drawn considerable praise and acclaim since it made its official
debut at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. And if we’re
betting men - which, we aren’t, by the way - we’d push all
our money in and say that we don’t see the 458 Italia lose any
ground among all the supercars on top of anybody’s wishlist.
And
when it comes down to it, we’re not the only ones who think the
same thing. How else would you explain the ever-increasing number of
renderings and tuning houses that have all taken stabs at tinkering
with the 458 Italia?
The latest one rendering we have comes from
a Swedish chap named Emil, who gave the 458 Italia some pretty nifty
additions, including new side skirts to fit widening, and an air
exhaust in the rear spoiler. It also has a modified exhaust and
modified air evacuation around the rear window, and changed to a
slightly larger engine...
We knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when. Now, Acura has officially announced that it will be unveiling the 2011 TSX Sport Wagon at the New York Auto Show at the end of this month, with the first examples hitting dealerships in late fall.
In Acura's brief press release after the jump, the automaker mentions that the standard sedans
make due with either a 201-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder or the
recently introduced 280-hp, 3.5-liter V6, both of which are only
available in front-wheel drive form. Unfortunately, Acura has yet to
confirm which engine/drivetrain configuration will be available in the
Sport Wagon, but we're holding a candle for the RDX's 240-hp, turbocharged 2.3-liter four pot and Acura's SH-AWD system. However, we have a sneaking suspicion that our (and your)
preferred powertrain combo isn't a possibility, so that candle may burn
our hands by the time the TSX Sport Wagon debuts in the Big Apple...
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