Steven writes:
Sajeev and Steve,
Ok guys need some advice, I am the owner of an 2001 Volvo XC wagon with 166,000 on it, I have owned it about 2 years and drive about 40k a year all over the North East for work. It is paid off but in the last 6 months I have put about 4 K in it, new tires, new brakes all around water pump, T belt, new moon roof (do not ask), the previous owner replaced the tranny at 110k and put a new cat convertor at 100k. Read More >
We all ran by them this morning on the way to the Fusion introduction. Two signs. One sign said, “FORD PRESS EVENT”. The sign below it said “SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS”. The arrow pointed a different way. Who are “social media influencers”, anyway?
What was the “Volt Lounge”, and why were so many prominent auto-related Twitterati spending time there today instead of walking the NAIAS show floor?
The photo above is a plane that reportedly left Detroit tonight. Why did Audi reportedly feel the need to fly dozens of bloggers from NAIAS to CES, at their expense?
Photos courtesy of Cars In Depth. Click here for a complete gallery of photos.
Before I get into the details of Acura’s press conference at the NAIAS, as the Acura presser was unfolding I couldn’t help but compare the affect at Honda’s luxury brand to the mood at Lexus. Both Honda and Toyota have had to dea; with supply chain and production disruptions caused first by the Tsunami that struck northern Japan and then complicated by large scale flooding in Thailand. More to the point, both companies were introducing new sports cars at the Detroit show. Acura announced the revival of the NSX model name and Lexus showed a sleak concept sports car called the LF-LC. Both cars are intended to change the image of their companies, but the sense that I got at Acura was “we’ve made exciting cars before and we’re going to get our mojo back”, while the vibe at Lexus was “See? We really don’t make boring cars”.
Acura used the NAIAS to introduce three new models that executives says will be the first stages of a two year process that will result in a complete makeover for the Acura lineup, a revival of Acura if you will. The goal of that makeover is a 40% increase in sales to 180,000 units in 2012, driven by what Acura says is their threefold mission statement: Value, sustainability and “time is luxury”, Acura’s characterization of aids that ease the driving task.
Chrysler’s so sure their electric minivan has the power to stomp the competition, they had Ndamukong Suh sit in the thing.
No, I’m serious.
That’s Ndamukong Suh.
The minivan is the Chrysler 700C. What’s different about it, besides the Dustbuster-meets-Nissan-Quest looks?
With spotty Internet coverage at Cobo, some of the photographs and stories created for TTAC’s readers during the day are just now making it our desk. So, here are some comments on the Veloster Turbo and Genesis Coupe from Speed:Sport:Life’s Byron Hurd:
Scion debuted a “racing” version of its FR-S at Detroit today. The word “racing” appears in quotes because this vehicle will actually compete in Formula DRIFT, which is no more “racing” than it is “championship chess”. When a real racing FR-S appears — and it certainly will — it’s likely that the Grand-Am Continental Tire Series or Speed World Challenge will be its first port of call.
Race teams who want to make sure their FR-S arrives in time to participate in the 2012 season might want to take advantage of another bit of FR-S news… a “hand-raiser” opportunity to be one of the first eighty-six owners in the United States.
“SL” traditionally stood for “Sport Leicht” or “Sport Light”, but the last SL to be truly worthy of that name was the original 300SL. With aluminum-intensive construction, the new SL is meant to be considerably lighter — 275 pounds, SL550 v. SL550 — than its remarkably chunky predecessor. “Light” is relative. With a 429-horsepower V-8, the SL550 will be quick. So “Sport”, too, after a fashion.
The hilarity came when Mercedes reps made a claim about the SL that is unlikely to ever be true…
Our man Ronnie Schreiber was on the ground for the introduction of the Acura NSX concept. It’s supposed to be an Ohio-built, SH-AWD wondercar. Ronnie will have detailed notes for us later. Until then, check out Speed:Sport:Life for the best NSX photo gallery on the Web right now!
With the Hyundai Veloster getting a 201 horsepower turbocharged engine, the Genesis Coupe needed some love. Aside from the visual changes, the Genesis Coupe gets a power bump across the board, as well as chassis tweaks.
Rotating alone on a turntable: the Subaru BRZ. Looks good, if you ask me. Unfortunately we couldn’t touch the dashboard for all of you dash-touchers out there… more shots after the jump.
Since its introduction, the Bentley Continental GT has been a fascinating lesson in how “luxury” operates. Fundamentally identical to the VW Phaeton, the Conti sold for twice as much — and did volumes between ten and thirty times what the uber-VW ever managed in the United States.
This platform is about to celebrate its tenth year in production. How do you revitalize it when there are plenty of $70,000 used Contis out there? Simple: you turn down the power.
You’re looking at the Q3 Vail. Named in honor of a place where the self-important meet for a little apres-ski, the “Vail” features a butched-up body kit and all sorts of technical details that, let’s face it, have nothing to do with the Q3 your mom will end up asking you about leasing in six months. More photos from Zerin Dube of Speed:Sport:Life after the jump.
“You know,” Mark Templin of Lexus told the press, “the first time I saw this car, I was speechless.” I know I have that quote correct, because it was in the copy of the speech handed out after the press event.
Speeches about speechlessness aside, however, this is the new styling direction of Lexus. That much is obvious from the pinched grille. What else can we learn about it?
The new 3! All new! And it looks like it finally has some decent brakes. About three and a half inches longer, it’s also now finally available in Audi “Atmospheres” the Sportline / Luxuryline / Modernline trim levels that BMW has used, in one fashion or another, in Europe for Averylongtime.
What you see before you will be the best-selling Porsche 911. It is sad but true: in the watercooled era, the convertible has generally outsold the coupe. For that reason alone, Porsche was eager to introduce a droptop 991. Add all-wheel-drive and a PDK transmission, and you have a sickening parody of Butzi Porsche’s original 901 concept a great way for high-net-worth people to get to their yoga lessons.
Recent Comments