Simona Alina
Filed in: Nissan | Nissan GT-R | car tuning

Earlier today we showed you a video of the GT-R R35 at the Tsukuba circuit. Now is time to tell a little more about this GT-R tuned by famous Japanese tuner Mines.

As you could seen in the video the GT-R is pretty fast: it manages a time of 1m 3.1s around the track. And there is a good explanation for this. Mines decided that 480 hp is not enough for the GT-R. Rumors say that Mines updated the engine to an unbelievable 550 hp! But, that all we can tell at the moment as it seems this is Top Secret. Not for long!

The final version of the MinesGT-R will feature high-flow air filter and exhaust, an adjustable suspension package with Mines’ Eibach spring kit, uprated brake rotors and pads, a new air scoop, carbon-aero mirrors, high-capacity fuel injectors and carbon canards on the front spoiler.

Source:GT Channel

Source: Nissan GT-R by Mines

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Audi’s future lineup from now up until 2012 has been revealed in the latest issue of Quattro Quarterly, a publication released by the Audi Club of North America, giving us insights into several new models including the long rumored mid-engined R4 model. The list also confirms the launch of the V10 powered RS and Targa versions of the R8, A5 Sportback, four-door A7 Cabriolet and the aforementioned R4 sports car. Click ahead for the full list.

* September 2007 - B8 A4
* September 2007 - C6 RS6
* January 2008 - A3 Cabrio
* March 2008 - B8 A4 Avant
* June 2008 - A3 Facelift
* July 2008 - Q5
* August 2008 - TT-S
* September 2008 - R8 V10
* December 2008 - Q7 Hybrid
* January 2009 - A5 Cabrio
* February 2009 - RS5
* March 2009 - R8 Targa
* June 2009 - A7 Coupe
* July 2009 - Q3
* August 2009 - TT-RS
* September 2009 - A5 Sportback
* December 2009 - A1
* February 2010 - Q5 Hybrid
* June 2010 - New D4 A8
* October 2010 - New A3
* January 2001 - A7 Cabrio
* January 2011 - New C7 A6
* May 2011 - C7 A6 Avant
* June 2011 - R4
* October 2011 - A1 Cabrio
* January 2012 - A4 Facelift
Via: Autoblog

Source: Audi’s future lineup revealed

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Dan Roth
Time Warp, Auction Action, Etc.

Now here’s a Fiero bodykit that’s worthwhile. TransFX, a California-based custom car maker responsible for several GM concepts as well as lots and lots of Batman’s cars, boats, and planes, built four of these bodies for a Universal Studios project. Designed to be mounted on a stretched Fiero chassis, only a single roadgoing version exists, and the Volo Auto Museum will sell that to you for $65,000. You could spend less than one third that price and pick up this body shell, allowing you to then dream up your own undercarriage. We think it’d be good with a Porsche Boxster plugged in underneath.

What you get for $14,000 is a very cool futuristic bodyshell on casters. The outside might look an awful lot like a car, but climbing underneath tells the whole story. There’s nothing to this car, yet. Its just waiting for you to marry your chassis to its bodywork. Then you’ll have the task of creating the entire wiring harness, installing all the lights, the interior, and about a quintillion little issues that always crop up with kit cars, which this essentially is. What we want to know is what ever became of the project these props were commissioned for. We also hope that whoever wins the auction at least uses a Fiero GT as a donor. It just wouldn’t do to put this car on a 2M4. The Iron Duke is definitely not an engine befitting Batman. Then again, the GT’s 2.8 is merely suited to Boy Wonder. Now, a Northstar starts to show promise. Hmm.

Thanks for the tip, Jordan!

Gallery: Fastlane Movie Car

Source: eBay Find of the Day: “Fastlane” Future Car

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Sam Abuelsamid
Filed under: Transportation Alternatives, On Two Wheels

Riding a bike to work is a great way of avoiding the hassles of traffic, parking and high gas prices. Unfortunately it can bring along its own problems. You need a place to stash your bike, and there is of course the issue of getting chain grease on your pants. British designer Mark Sanders has designed a new type of bicycle with a triangular frame that breaks down in only six seconds. The pedal power is transferred to the rear via kevlar belt instead of the typical metal chain. The belt means no grease and the fold-up design makes it easy to store. The Strida isn’t cheap, with two models available at $499 and $799. The more expensive one is a little lighter and uses disk brakes in place of drums.

[Source: Strida, via GizMag]

Source: Strida folding bike that collapses in six seconds

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By Bill Visnic

The U.S. House of Representatives finally approved a massive energy bill whose cornerstone is the long-debated increase of fuel economy standards to a 35 miles per gallon average for both passenger cars and light trucks by 2020.

Trouble is, just when auto companies, politicians and environmental interests seem able to agree the public insists on something resembling “action” regarding auto fuel economy, the bill faces an almost certain roadblock in the Senate – not to mention a threatened veto from President Bush – because it retains a provision to reduce tax breaks for Big Oil and mandates large utilities produce at least 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources.

Both are measures eco-evasive Bush and Republican stalwarts say derail any prospects of the bill’s passage in the Senate.

Deal or No Deal?

The House’s sudden puckishness in the face of certain Senate opposition brings to a screeching halt what appeared to be the fast-tracking of an uneasy compromise to move forward with the proposal for the new 35-mpg Corporate Average Fuel Economy measure.

For weeks, Congressional leaders tooted the trumpets of compromise in proclaiming the serious hike in CAFE was imminent. Although the co-called “bumper sticker” number of a combined 35 mpg average is a marked increase over the respective 27.5 mpg and 22.2 mpg those vehicles are expected to attain today, most industry sources say any forthcoming deal is more about political expediency than relieving the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

There will be tangible benefits, some of them immediate, if the proposed new vehicle fuel economy standards eventually are agreed upon by Congress and the overall energy bill is signed by President Bush.

But “the devil will be in the details,” says Ron DeFore, communications director for SUV Owners of America.

The most important of those details:

• Light trucks reputedly will continue to enjoy lower fuel-economy targets than passenger cars, although trucks must be figured into each automaker’s overall fleet average. Thus the definition of what constitutes a “truck” – and who crafts that definition – will be exceedingly important.

“As long as there is differentiation (between cars and trucks), there’s always going to be a ‘game,’” says Anthony Pratt, also a senior analyst at Pricewaterhouse Cooper’s Automotive Institute.

Some of the vehicles that have famously driven through the same loophole in today’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations include Chrysler’s PT Cruiser, advantageously classified as a truck for CAFE purposes because it has removable rear seats, and Subaru’s Legacy Outback, which earned the company scorn when it deliberately fiddled with the redesigned ’05 car’s ground clearance and other details so that that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which administers CAFE, would call a “truck” what clearly is a car.

• It also appears any new fuel-economy legislation will continue to offer automakers the ability to win extra CAFE credits for producing “flex-fuel” vehicles capable of running either on gasoline or E85, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline – a fuel that ostensibly reduces dependence on foreign oil and is proven to cut emissions.

Retaining flex-fuel CAFE credits reportedly was staunchly defended by many politicians. Some industry sources suggest it is the presence of the ethanol credit that has enabled several automakers – chiefly the U.S. domestics – to meet CAFE standards over the past several years.

The House version of the bill – which passed on Dec. 6 by a 235-181 margin – contains a provision to boost ethanol production to 36 billion gallons by 2022, a 700 percent increase from today’s levels.

The Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers says that as of March this year, there were about six million flex-fuel vehicles on the road. And with good reason: thanks to a bizarre formula for calculating these vehicles’ fuel economy, each flex-fuel vehicle earns its maker an outsized claim towards meeting CAFE. That is the reason many automakers spend perhaps as much as $100 per vehicle to endow some of their highest-volume models with flex-fuel capability.

An example from the blog of a former automotive engineer: a pickup truck with combined fuel economy rating of 18.6 mpg, if outfitted as a flex-fuel vehicle, is credited as a 31-mpg truck for CAFE purposes.

Currently, automakers can pump out enough flex-fuel vehicles to boost their full-line CAFE by as much as 0.9 mpg (from 1993 to 2004, it was 1.2 mpg). This doesn’t sound like much until the CAFE performance of a few of the largest producers of flex-fuel vehicles is examined. In 2006, the most recent year for complete figures, the light-truck fleet standard was 21.6 mpg; Chrysler and GM’s final truck CAFE squeaked in at 21.7 mpg. Nissan finished at 21.9 mpg, Ford at 21.1 mpg. Clearly, earning an extra 0.9 mpg makes a difference.

Most critics say the phantom promise of flex-fuel vehicles comes from the fact the preponderance of them rarely, if ever, are fed the fuel – largely because it would be all but impossible: of the approximately 170,000 fuel stations in the U.S., only about 1,200 offer ethanol. The fuel is not available at all for retail sale in seven states. And there has been controversy regarding how much the nation’s intake of foreign oil actually is reduced by using the domestically produced E85.

35 MPG No Engineering Picnic

The targeted 35 mpg overall standard “is not insignificant,” says Dan Montague, also a senior automotive analyst at PWC’s Automotive Institute. “E85 credits will help to compensate for the fact it’s difficult to get there.”

The PWC analysts and DeFore of the SUVOA, a group that essentially has campaigned against CAFE standards of any type, saying such regulation essentially distorts market forces, say the inevitable “remixing” of vehicle fleet to meet the 35-mpg standard won’t come any faster or any less painfully because of new legislation.

And that pain will be most felt, they say, by domestic automakers because their current fleet mix is biased 57 percent toward light trucks. Meanwhile, sales for the so-called New Domestics (import automakers, essentially) currently are weighted a much more manageable 36.7 percent toward trucks.

Consumers ultimately will pay for the new 35-mpg standard “through a drastically increased price of the vehicle,” says DeFore. His group estimates the cost could be $7,000-$8,000 extra for an average-sized car.

‘Remixing’ of U.S. Market Inevitable

PWC’s Pratt says with gasoline commonly exceeding $3 per gallon, “Are we at a place where consumers are willing to pay for fuel efficiency?” He says it appears buyers are discernibly choosing more fuel-efficient vehicles, noting this year’s marked downturn in sales of large pickups and many truck-based SUVs. He says it seems obvious “recreational” truck purchasers have abandoned the segment.

The PWC analysts say the more immediate effects will include an accelerated use of more efficiency-enhancing powertrain upgrades, such as direct injection and advanced transmissions. And they say diesel engines could be a valuable tool, what with its potential to immediately improve fuel economy by as much as 25 percent or more. Analysts and many major suppliers say diesel could capture as much as 12-14 percent of the U.S. market within 10 years.

If a bill is passed that contains the fuel-economy measures, it appears it will be, for now, more about political expediency than actual improvements.

“Perhaps it’s a step forward,” suggests Montague. “But CAFE is not altogether efficient. It’s not really working.

“Remixing (of the car-truck ratio) is partially going to happen,” he adds. “But people won’t give up their truck-based vehicles. They will demand those vehicles are more efficient.”

PWC’s analysts also say automakers ultimately have agreed to the proposed standard because “they’ve accepted the fact this is a done deal.”

It’s a long time until 2020, and those suspicious of all motives in the debate say the appeasing nature of the fuel-economy deal – never mind the separate battle raging over Big Oil’s taxes and renewable-electricity mandates – simply means all sides are willing to agree publicly while buying time for behind-the-scenes maneuvering to more-favorable conditions.

Or waiting for a political and environmental majority in America that is at least a paler shade of green.

Source: New CAFE: Higher Number, Same Problems

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Earlier today, we showed you the Abarth Horse-Powered Energy Drink (click here) that was available at Fiat’s stand in Bologna. We’re not sure whether Hyundai handed out any Italian sauces at their Bologna Motor Show stand, but we did like their journalist advert for the all-new i10 (click here for more info and pictures) which made its world premiere in Italy.

Source: Hyundai’s i10 Bologna Show Advert

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Simona Alina
Filed in: Mercedes | awards

The innovative DIESOTTO concept developed by Mercedes‑Benz has won its first major international award. In recognition of this forward-looking drive system, the well-known UK magazine Autocar presented its prestigious “Safety and Technology Award” to Mercedes-Benz at a ceremony in London.

Autocar’s editor Chas Hallet acknowledged the development achievement of the DIESOTTO concept as impressive leading-edge technology with a high degree of practicability and the potential to ensure a bright future, both for the automotive industry and for motorists. The DIESOTTO drive system combined with a hybrid module, as featured in the Mercedes-Benz F 700, demonstrates that a large and comfortable touring saloon is capable of returning a fuel-consumption figure of just 5.3 litres per 100 kilometres, enabling a drastic reduction in CO2 emissions without compromising on driving comfort and pleasure. As the search for greater efficiency becomes increasingly pressing, neither a car having a high-powered engine nor continuing to further develop the internal combustion engine needs to be called into question.

The award was accepted by Dr. Günter Karl, responsible for advanced petrol engine design in the Group Research & Advanced Engineering Powertrain. "Our DIESOTTO concept shows how, in the medium term, a petrol engine can be made just as efficient as its diesel counterpart and how the internal combustion engine will remain a key drive concept when it comes to meeting private-transport requirements," said Dr. Karl.

"Today we already use aspects such as direct petrol injection in our latest models, for example in the Mercedes-Benz E 350 CGI and in the Mercedes-Benz CLS 350 CGI. During subsequent stages of development, further DIESOTTO modules will be gradually phased into series-production development."

Dr. Karl added: "We are very pleased to receive the Autocar award. For us, it represents confirmation from an independent source, highlighting the fact that this technology is set to play an important part in ensuring mobility in tomorrow’s world. It encourages us to continue working intensively in order to achieve this aim."

DIESOTTO technology - an innovative further development of the internal combustion engine - made its first appearance in the Mercedes-Benz F 700 research vehicle at this year’s International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt. With its new controlled auto ignition, direct injection and turbocharging system, it combines the high output of a petrol engine with the exemplary torque and low consumption of a diesel engine. The four-cylinder drive system with two-stage turbocharging in the F 700 achieves the same level of performance as the current S-Class with a 3.5-litre V6 naturally-aspirated petrol engine or the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel.

Source: Internal

Source: Mercedes Diesotto wins Safety and Technology Award

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But isn’t Nissan’s supercar-killer already rated at 480hp? Well, yes and no. It’s rated at 480PS, or metric horsepower, which translates to 473hp - as we reported shortly after the original release of the GT-R. Now, as Nissan submits the GT-R for SAE power certification before it goes on sale in the U.S., Nissan is aiming to put the power at an even 480hp, or 486.7PS.

The Japanese market car will still keep its rating of 480PS, so we have to wonder if Nissan’s home market will feel slighted by the roughly 1.5 percent bump in power. Nissan engineers are reportedly aiming for the 480hp mark, although Edmunds says just how they’ll achieve that power bump is as-yet undetermined. We speculate that it will be a simple matter of fractionally increasing the boost provided by the twin-turbos. At least that seems like the most mechanically obvious route to increased power on what we have to believe is already a highly-tuned motor.

It’s fairly likely that Nissan’s 480hp goal is intended to keep pace with its key rival, the Porsche 911 Turbo, which checks in at an SAE-verified 480hp. The Porsche still holds the edge in torque with a tarmac-turning 460lb-ft (623Nm) compared to the GT-R’s 434lb-ft (588Nm). And the 911 Turbo can be fitted with an optional Sport Chrono Turbo package that bumps torque up to a massive 505lb-ft (684Nm) thanks to a temporary overboost function. Nissan’s GT-R V-Spec will no doubt up the ante even further, but until then it looks like Porsche has a bit of an edge in overall output.

Of course comparing the Porsche’s base price of $126,200 to the GT-R’s base price of just $69,850 makes you ask yourself if you’d rather have a smidge more performance and a nicer interior or a GT-R and $60,000 worth of trackdays.

Source: Nissan GT-R shooting for 480HP SAE certification

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Alex Nunez
Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Cadillac

Inside Line has scooped up some exclusive, fully-naked shots of the Detroit-bound 2009 Cadillac CTS-V, and we’re pleased to report that the super duper version of Caddy’s excellent CTS is looking good. In the V-Series tradition, the grillework is all mesh, making the car instantly recognizable when viewed from up front. A deeper, aggressive front air dam, sill extensions, nice-looking 10-spoke wheels and a revised rear fascia are also part of the package. Larger exhaust outlets and a sizable but well-integrated hood bulge hint at the muscle the V packs underhood. The engine specifics are still being speculated, with a normally aspirated LS7 or blown 6.2L V8 being bandied about. Either way, expect around 525 horses from whatever winds up sitting under that bulge when the car’s rolled out at the Detroit show next month. We’ll be there, and we’re pretty stoked.

Thanks to all who emailed tips!

[Source: Inside Line]

Source: Spy Shots: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V fully uncloaked

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Well, somebody should. Dallas News columnist Chuck Bloom steps into the branding breach left open by FoMoCo's inability to define itself in the marketplace. In fact, Bloom doesn't just know what a Ford is, he's it: a Fat Old Rumpled Democrat. I know: nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. While Bloom's Op Ed raises the now-familiar Chevy Silverado-friendly America-first, look what they done to my factory jobs Ma socio-economic mindset, he distills the argument down to something altogether more interesting. "I have always believed that no man needs to own a Rolex or any other expensive watch in order to tell time. A Bulova or Timex does the same thing at a fraction of the cost. After all, isn't that the 'function' of a watch? Same holds