Pictures of the next BMW M3
'brooksthepro' over at SB Euro Club forums has snapped some revealing pics of the new M3 (smacks a bit of planted 'spy photos' to me)...but regardless are the most revealing yet.Light disguise covers the sills and front and rear fascias, but the rest, including the bulging hood and fenders is visible.
Take a look at the whole set over here:
SB Euro Club - New M3 Spy Photos!
2008 Viper to get 600+ hp
Winding Road has some spy photos of a powertrain test mule for the next Viper.
Expected to debut with new styling as a 2008 model, the new Viper is expected to aim for king-of-the-hill status with an expected 600-650hp from it's new V-10.
Read all about it here:
Winding Road Blog - Spy Shots: 2008 Dodge Viper
Expected to debut with new styling as a 2008 model, the new Viper is expected to aim for king-of-the-hill status with an expected 600-650hp from it's new V-10.
Read all about it here:
Winding Road Blog - Spy Shots: 2008 Dodge Viper
The Car Connection - Pontiac to go rear-wheel drive and cars-only soon!
The Car Connection is reporting a rumor that Pontiac has decided to tightly focus their 'performance' image in a wholly unexpected way.
Beginning with a concept car to be shown in Detroit in January that will preview both Pontiac styling as well as architecture - we will see that Pontiac is going to become an exclusively rear-wheel drive brand.
In addition, expect Pontiac to abandon all non-car vehicles (Montana, Torrent, Vibe should all go bye-bye).
The transition will replace practically all the current cars in Pontiac's stable over the course of 5 years.
So, to all of you who were wondering how exactly Pontiac and the new Saturn were going to be different...there you go.
Read TCC's blurb at:
TCC - Weekly Car Guide: June 2, 2006
Beginning with a concept car to be shown in Detroit in January that will preview both Pontiac styling as well as architecture - we will see that Pontiac is going to become an exclusively rear-wheel drive brand.
In addition, expect Pontiac to abandon all non-car vehicles (Montana, Torrent, Vibe should all go bye-bye).
The transition will replace practically all the current cars in Pontiac's stable over the course of 5 years.
So, to all of you who were wondering how exactly Pontiac and the new Saturn were going to be different...there you go.
Read TCC's blurb at:
TCC - Weekly Car Guide: June 2, 2006
Kappa-watch - Daewoo version of the Sky?
Funny, it seemed that the Solstice was the reason for the Kappa chassis. But, more and more often, it appears that the Sky is the darling of the platform.Earlier this year, we saw that the 2.0l turbo Sky Red Line was going to be sold as the Opel GT (in fact, the RL had not yet even been officially announced).
Now Daewoo is getting into the act.
While Opel gets only the turbo, Daewoo will only get the normally aspirated 2.4l from the base Sky for their G2X.
What we have here is proof positive what GM has been talking about when referring to the way they plan to leverage their global might without diluting their brands. Daewoo is not sold here anymore (except as entry level Chevy's and Suzuki's). Opel doesn't play here either. Saturn only sells cars in North America.
So, you take one halo car and generate 3. Notice the difference between this and when GM used to slap a different grill on the same car and sell it across the street from one another (if not in the same exact showroom). These cars will never, ever see each other on the street. A German driving an Opel GT will never be reminded at a stoplight that he could have bought the same car at Saturn or, heaven forbid, the Daewoo dealer.
All three brands get a halo car to pull folks into showrooms without the potential negative feelings of the car not being truly special.
This might just work after all.
GM to increase Kappa production
Kappa = Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, Opel GT
Dealers = greedy
Customers = angry
GM = increasing Kappa production as much and as fast as it can in order to help take the edge off the situation. Will Solstices (Solsti?) and Skies soon be commonplace and stacking up on dealer lots? Not likely given the limitations of hydroformed body panels (a low volume technique pioneered by GM for these cars).
Any increase in supply will likely be more than accounted for by the feverish demand. I, for one, am hoping that GM doesn't screw up a good thing by building too many of these lovely cars and having to discount them (if only because of the ill will that would result with the customers who felt they had to pay full sticker price - or more - for their Kappa).
Dealers = greedy
Customers = angry
GM = increasing Kappa production as much and as fast as it can in order to help take the edge off the situation. Will Solstices (Solsti?) and Skies soon be commonplace and stacking up on dealer lots? Not likely given the limitations of hydroformed body panels (a low volume technique pioneered by GM for these cars).
Any increase in supply will likely be more than accounted for by the feverish demand. I, for one, am hoping that GM doesn't screw up a good thing by building too many of these lovely cars and having to discount them (if only because of the ill will that would result with the customers who felt they had to pay full sticker price - or more - for their Kappa).
How Bourgeois spots camo-ed Equinox SS
The HB blog has some nice photos of a lightly disguised Equinox. Differences? New front fascia with what appear to be brake cooling ducts, big 5-spoke wheels that reveal the only Equinox with rear discs, dual exhausts.Imagine this with the same high-feature 3.6l V-6 with variable valve timing (260hp-ish) and you can see a nice sporty version of the Equinox.
Worthy of SS badging? Maybe not. But expect it one way or the other soon.
See more photos at:
How Bourgeois - HB Ride Spotting: Chevrolet Equinox SS
Porsche to debut Cayman (minus the S)
Given Porsche's trend lately to use an S to denote a slightly higher performance variant of an existing model, and that the new Cayman debuted as the Cayman S...folks have been wondering if/when a non-S model would show up.
The answer from Porsche? July.
The non-S Cayman will have a 2.7l flat-6 (down from the S' 3.2) with 245hp (down from 295).
Also down? The price. Cayman will start at $49400, down almost 10k from the Cayman S.
The answer from Porsche? July.
The non-S Cayman will have a 2.7l flat-6 (down from the S' 3.2) with 245hp (down from 295).
Also down? The price. Cayman will start at $49400, down almost 10k from the Cayman S.
TCC Drives 2010 Camaro
The good folks over at thecarconnection.com have had a chance to take a spin in the Camaro concept car.
Interestingly, they state that the concept is built on a prototype of the new Zeta chassis that will underpin the actual production car (that has not been officially announced, though is almost certainly will be eventually). Also, the headroom of the concept is barely adequate for the 6-foot author - so expect a higher roof on the production Camaro.
Read all about it here:
TheCarConnection Drives Chevy's Camaro - The Car Connection
Interestingly, they state that the concept is built on a prototype of the new Zeta chassis that will underpin the actual production car (that has not been officially announced, though is almost certainly will be eventually). Also, the headroom of the concept is barely adequate for the 6-foot author - so expect a higher roof on the production Camaro.
Read all about it here:
TheCarConnection Drives Chevy's Camaro - The Car Connection