One example of the little Fiat 500, shipped across the Atlantic by Fiat adventurer Jim Magil from Northern Ireland, made a big splash in the United States as it darted round down-town New York and Washington before heading on a trek right across the country to California.

"We arrived in New York on Thursday at lunchtime and immediately took the 500 into downtown Manhattan where it just stopped traffic," says Jim Magill. "We would stop at the cross walk and some people would shout 'Cinquecento' and wave. So much for New Yorkers being hard to impress!" It was then time to turn up at the Fiat Freak Out event.

Jim goes on to say: “We left and headed back north towards the Poconos to start of the Fiat Freak Out (FFO) activities. FFO was certainly spectacular, with over 200 cars and 500-600 folks converging from near and far for a great weekend of celebrating classic Italian cars. The big car show itself was Saturday, where I was mobbed by people wanting to see the 500 asking 'What size is the engine?' 'What's the fuel consumption?' and more importantly 'When can I buy one?'"

"That evening there was a gala dinner and we raised over US$1500 dollars for the Northern Ireland Hospice and received a special award for bringing the 500 so far to Freakout." The busy pace continued from Monday to Saturday with a route that took Jim and the Fiat 500 through Chicago, De Moines and Salt Lake City to Oregon where the car was displayed at the Mirafiori.com's annual Fiat meeting.

In keeping with this busy trip they then continued on to San Francisco, Las Vegas and finally Los Angeles, to make a total of 6000 miles travel in 2 weeks across the Continent of the United States, with detours to the historic Bonnerville salt flats in Utah and Death Valley, California. In Death Valley the 500 was tested to temperatures of 51 degrees C and altitudes of 5000 feet above to 283 feet below sea level and performed faultlessly allowing Jim and his co driver Alan to cover the distance in comfort.

Jim said "It was so comfortable in the 500 Alan and I would argue who would have to get out to take the photos in the scorching heat of the 'Valley'. We were so amazed how the 500 performed in these extreme conditions, it's testament to the build quality of the car!" Jim went on to say that they had so much confidence in the 500's ability to get them across America that they only took the standard tool kit and no spares with them on the trip and his confidence paid off with the only item the car needed bar fuel was a windscreen wiper that had a 'disagreement' with a bird in Oregon.

The pair will be returning to the UK this week but the 500 will remain in the US for a few more weeks attending mainstream shows such as the Monterey show at Pebble Beach and the Dream Cruse in Detroit.

via italiaspeed 

Ferrari has denied reports that Michael Schumacher was at the wheel of a prototype road-car that crashed at the Nurburgring last week.

We reported on Monday that Schumacher, the retired seven time world champion, was testing the 430 Scuderia test mule when it was written off at 250kmh against a guardrail on the Nurburgring's infamous Nordschleife layout.

But Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni insists that while Schumacher was in the passenger seat and had driven the car that day, it was road car test driver Raffaele de Simone who was at the wheel at the time of the crash.

"It is normal that test drivers swap seats to compare opinions," he is quoted as saying by Bild newspaper, which says eyewitness reports identified the actual driver of the car to be Schumacher.

Colajanni continued: "In this case de Simone lost control of the car and went into the guard rail."

He said both Schumacher and de Simone were unhurt. 

via en.f1-live 

Adam spent the first 15 minutes of his show this morning talking about the filming of the American version of Top Gear. He covers some things we already knew such as who the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car was, but he also talked about some behind the scenes stuff. Pretty interesting and worth a listen.

via finalgear 

Dynolicious is the first automotive performance meter available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Dynolicious uses the hardware built-in to your iPhone to measure the performance characteristics of your vehicle. No external wires or equipment is necessary, simply slip the iPhone into a cradle or cupholder and go!

Some of the performance metrics Dynolicious can measure:

• 0-60 Acceleration
• 1/4 Mile Elapsed Time
• Lateral G's
• Horsepower

Unlike other accelerometer-based performance meters, Dynolicious uses the advanced data-handling and display capabilities of the iPhone to make the most of your performance testing. Dynolicious maintains a history of test runs, showing you averages and trends in your results. Dynolicious also allows you to enter modifications performed to your vehicle, and will instantly show before-and-after results to easily identify gains or losses.

via dynolicious 

A leading UK monthly car mag has let the Ka out of the bag. Pictured ahead of the official embargo, it looks like my subscription to the well-known publication has paid off.

From this pic it certainly appears that the new Ka will look the part. It looks a lot like a baby version of the Fiesta, which is no bad thing. There is a touch of Corsa about it though, which is a bit disappointing

It's well known that the Ka will share its underpinnings with the Fiat Panda and 500, and be built alongside the Italian cars in the ironically named town of Tychy in Poland.

According to those in the know, the Ka will get 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrol engines and a 1.6 TDCi diesel engine.

Expect to see the car first at the Paris motor show, and then in a highly contrived cameo appearance in the new Bond film, Quantum of Solace, which opens on 31st October.

via tribes.cartribe 

TOKYO — Honda thinks that the zebra-pattern camouflage we saw at Germany's Nürburgring in June will disguise the new look of its V10-powered Acura NSX replacement. But our sources in Japan, using some insider hints, have disrobed Honda's flagship sports car more than two years ahead of its unveiling.

Given what we see in these renderings, the grand tourer is neat but not gorgeous, and follows the 2007 Detroit Auto Show concept car's lines closer than first thought. And that's a shame, because the two-seater Acura's expected price tag of $160,000 will place it right on top of much prettier rivals in the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Maserati Gran Turismo and Jaguar XKR.

Like the Nissan GT-R, the new Acura V10 has left inspired styling behind and instead has opted for a more practical aerodynamic exterior. The car's upslanting keyhole-shaped headlights and narrow grille seem somewhat ordinary sitting above a huge gaping airdam and ducts to channel gulps of cool air to the engine and brakes.

Our insider explains that Honda has employed as much F1 design as possible to generate maximum downforce and straight-line stability. That is why the NSX replacement was able to turn up at the Nürburgring and rattle off a red-hot lap time of 7 minutes, 37 seconds on its first attempt, and without any cumbersome rear wings. Our source predicts that when Honda returns to the 'Ring for the autumn testing season, it will almost certainly post a time under 7:30, giving the GT-R a real run for its money.

In contrast to Nissan and Lexus, which have used heavy rear transaxles in their GT-R and LF-A supercars to deliver equal front-rear weight distribution, Honda's trick for generating stability and downforce is pure aerodynamics. The Acura supercar will tip the scales at around 3,256 pounds, more than 550 pounds lighter than the GT-R. A quick look at the camouflaged test mule reveals extra-heavy padding around the C-pillar, which our insider hints is hiding F1-inspired design.

The secret: The whole rear section of the coupe is like one big rear wing.

Fitted with a 5.5-liter V10 generating upwards of 600 horsepower and 433 pound-feet of torque, the future Acura produces a thrilling exhaust note. And when speed is not the issue, the V10 deactivates five cylinders to save fuel and lower emissions. The V10 is bolted to a quick-shifting six-speed dual-clutch transmission driving the rear wheels, while a revised version of Honda's Super Handling AWD system generates the car's prodigious grip levels, enabling such a quick 'Ring lap time.

What this means to you: Aiming to be faster than the GT-R and ZR1 and yet delivering more luxury and a better ride than the LF-A, Honda is working hard to pull off a double-whammy. — Peter Lyons, Correspondent

via edmunds 

The German car-magazine auto-motor-und-sport published an interview with Ludwig Willisch from the BMW M GmbH today. He tells us some really interesting things, although I am not sure if I like all of them.

Willisch says that there will be no M3-Touring (E91), because there is no market for it. He says the same thing concerning the E92 M3 CSL, the 1-Series and any kind of a supercar like the M1 Concept shown some months ago. The M GmbH expects about 70% of the M3s delivered worldwide to be ordered with the new dual-clutch-transmission, but in the U.S. they expect only about 50% equipped with the M-DCT because many US-buyers prefer the manual transmission.

Future BMW-M-Models might well be turbocharged, but they will always offer higher rev-limits than normal BMWs. There are no plans for Diesel-cars from BMW M, but he does not say that Diesel-Ms are impossible. BMW M will offer ceramic brakes as option for some models in the near future.

There will not be an M-Version of the new F01 7-Series but the M GmbH, also responsible for BMW Individual, is expecting higher rates of Individual-7ers. The M GmbH is not sure if there will be an M-version of the next-generation Z4 since there is a small market for these cars and they are not sure if an M-version could bring in the costs of development. Well, they said this for the current E85/E86-Z4 for very long time too I remember…

The BMW M-division is currently working on M-versions of the BMW X6 and X5. They are expecting sales figures in the area of the M5-models. Willisch also says indirectly that these cars will feature a turbocharged V8-engine and, not a surprise, all-wheel-drive. He also assures the readers of the German magazine that these cars will offer a dynamic performance. He misses to tell us how a car that heavy complies with the idea of the M GmbH who’s “M” stood for “Motorsport” some time ago…

That’s it for now, we’ll be back soon with more exclusive news. But in the mean time, if you would like us to keep you updated on all the BMW news, please take a moment and sign up for our email updates.

via bmwblog 

Lotus won’t replace the Esprit until early 2011, company boss Mike Kimberley has said. The British supercar is being totally redesigned after Lotus put it on the back burner to fast-track the new Lotus Evora.

Now there are hints that the range-topping Esprit could be offered as a hybrid, possibly using a mix of Lotus and Toyota technology.

Kimberley has said he wants to offer “guilt-free, high performance motoring” and admits the company is “working on something”.

With Lotus’ long-held expertise in lightweight structures, it has a wide-ranging engine development and alternative propulsion programmes on the go.

Kimberley is pretty scathing about early versions of the Esprit, which were under development before he returned to Lotus in 2006. “I lost it three times,” he said of its handling. “I also burnt out the clutch four times. Its engine wasn’t free-revving enough either.”

The new Lotus Esprit - there’s no word yet on whether this famous name will be revived – will use the same chassis platform as the new Evora, made wider and longer and with a new rear structure designed to accommodate a longitudinally mounted engine. It will also make use of the Evora’s compact double-wishbone suspension.

Besides this flagship Esprit, Lotus is working on additional versions of the Evora - there will eventually be six - including a two-seater, a convertible and an automatic. And work is also advancing on S3 versions of the Elise and Exige.

Kimberley claims that Lotus itself is in better shape since he arrived. The engineering side of the group, which the previous regime was thinking of closing down, has been rejuvenated. Lotus is currently working on 340 projects for 147 clients, Kimerley explained. “That’s not a record,” he said, “but not bad considering it was going to be rolled up.”

The company now has engineering centres in Detroit, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur as well as project in Abu Dhabi and India. Last year it made a modest £2 million profit after several years of losses, and that should continue to grow this year.

via autocar 

Here's one more reason, besides the gas prices and congestion taxes, to be glad you don't live in Europe: the awesome new Corvette ZR1 will sticker for twice as much there as it does in the United States.

Dutch importer Kroymans, which handles Corvette sales in Europe, said the ZR1 will have a sticker price of 136,000 euros. At current exchange rates, that equals $214,146.64. In the United States, the ZR1 will sticker for $105,000, which includes shipping charges and a gas-guzzler tax--but good look finding one for sale at that price.

Similar to the United States, the ZR1's European price includes a driver training course.

"There is a huge demand for this car," Kroymans spokesman Dick Braakhekke said. "It offers great performance at a relatively low price."

With a top speed of 205 mph (330 kph), the ZR1 will be at home on Germany's autobahn or doing laps on the Nürburgring, where it's handling was developed.

GM expects to export 70 ZR1s to Europe this year and around 150 units in a full year. Last year, Corvette sales totaled 1,244 units in Europe.

via autoweek 

Microsoft to build on auto unit

Detroit may be struggling to sell cars, but Microsoft Corp. sees nothing but room to grow in its push to wire them.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software company today will announce a massive new investment in its automotive business unit and tapped a Detroit native to lead the charge.

"We're doubling down. We're going to increase the headcount and operating expenses by 30 percent this year," said Tom Phillips, a 16-year veteran of Microsoft who will replace Martin Thall as the head of the company's automotive division. "We know that things are tough for the auto industry, but it's the perfect time to make this investment. There are new customers coming into the market, and they are looking for new experiences."

Microsoft works closely with a number of car companies to bring computer connectivity and infotainment to the automobile. The most visible fruit of those efforts is Sync, the product of Microsoft's collaboration with Ford Motor Co. that debuted last year and has already given the Dearborn automaker a much-needed boost with younger car buyers. It allows motorists to control their cell phones, music players and navigation systems with voice commands.

Phillips, who is currently the chief technical officer of Microsoft's specialized devices and services group -- a post he will continue to hold in addition to running the automotive operations -- told The Detroit News that Sync is just the beginning.

"There are a lot of technologies that are two to three years out that are going to provide even more connectivity and innovation," he said.

"There's such a disconnect between what people experience in their cars and what they experience in the rest of their lives. It hasn't really evolved that much."

Microsoft announced one today, saying it is now making its "Live Search" technology available to automakers. Using it, they will be able to develop in-car systems that allow drivers to search for nearby businesses.

Despite a deepening downturn in the United States, Phillips said the auto market is too big for Microsoft to ignore. The company already dominates desktop computing. He said the 820 million cars in the world are the next great frontier to conquer.

"Even if you get a 10 percent or 20 percent market share, you've got an enormous scale," he said.

Ford welcomed Microsoft's new investment in automotive research and development.

"Ford and Microsoft working together to deliver Sync has been a great experience and demonstrates what can happen when the power of two iconic brands comes together," said Jim Buczkowski, director of electrical and electronics systems engineering at Ford. "Ford Sync has proven to be a tremendous differentiator for us in the marketplace and working with Microsoft has been the key element in setting the industry benchmark for connectivity."

Ford recently passed the 200,000-unit sales milestone and is on track to deliver one million Sync-equipped vehicles by the end of next year. More importantly, Sync has dramatically increased Ford's appeal to younger drivers, according to company survey data. And it has helped Ford increase the average transaction price of its entry-level Ford Focus sedan by $1,000 over the past year.

"Clearly, the customers are recognizing the value and they are willing to pay for it," said Ford Americas President Mark Fields.

via detnews