Is there a Toyota Prius oversupply ?

I think that there may be an over supply of Toyota Prius (s) in Southern California? I was doing my daily real estate search and mail pick up and counted no less than 10 Prius on my drive home. They remind me of the vehicle in Mr Bean the 3 wheeled Robin. They always seem to cut in front of you and slow down, or the drivers want to race. Don't get me wrong, it is good to be environmental and I thank the drivers, including friends of mine for making up for the lousy gas mileage I get in my vehicle, but please with all respect to Toyota, it is time to find something else to be the trendy car of the month, year, decade??? How about a Tesla :?

2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Neiman Marcus edition

The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Neiman Marcus edition has sold out in... 3 minutes. The 100 vehicles allocated to Neiman Marcus is going to be delivered first to their buyers before the general public. The 2SS model has a 6.2-liter V8 engine and the purchaser's choice of a 426-horsepower six-speed manual or 400-horsepower six-speed automatic transmission. The NM Edition Camaro convertibles feature an exclusive tri-coat exterior paint in Deep Bordeaux with ghosted stripes. The Pirellis ride on exclusive 21-inch five-spoke wheels with Brilliant Red detailing. The beautiful Bordeaux hued convertible top is highlighted with a silver painted windshield surround. Brembo® high-performance disc brakes, StabiliTrak electronic stability control system and 4.5-link independent rear suspension. Inside the vehicle is Amber leather with Brilliant Red accents on the center console, steering wheel, and shift knob.

The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible is the result of some hard work by the designers at Holden in Australia. Nice car, not sure about the price though???

Be careful when you overtake...

see more Funny

Cadillac STS V

The Cadillac STS V is bigger than the CTS V and more the size of a BMW 750i. This sleeper Cadillac has a 4.4 liter supercharged V8 putting out 469HP (350KW)and is capable of 0-60 in under 5 seconds stock standard. The STS V was produced from 2006-2010 and had a MSRP of $77,000 +/- when new.
Super comfortable to drive, comes with the mod cons like satellite radio, navigation, on-star, cd stacker in dash, Brembo brakes and a heavy duty rear end.
Around town I can tell you first hand that the car consumes about 8-9 mpg, but on the highway 20-22 mpg has been obtained.
Take the car to D3 Cadillac and you can potentially get 600+hp. Fun times.
I like mine in black, but also looks good in silver.

Would have been nice if the guy cleaned his car before filming...

2011 Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Camaro?

What would you chose?

Both would be v8, both would be manual.

McLaren MP4-12C tested by Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton

This car is going to be a screamer!!!

f1grandprixmanager.com

It is the time of the year again when you should sign up for the supreme F1 game and try to beat me. My team name is "Good"

Good Luck

Schumacher signs for Mercedes GP for 2010

F1 legend and 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher has signed with Mercedes GP (Formally Brawn and Honda) fro a 3 year period. This means that Michael will once again be partnered with Ross Brawn who has been with him during his previous world championship years. Michaelwill be 41 years old when the season starts making him the oldest driver on the grid. 2010 is going to be a brilliant year in F1. Wonder if Ralph will get the same idea?

Kimi Raikkonen moves from F1 to WRC for 2010

Kimi Raikkonen previously a brilliant F1 driver at Ferrari (World Champion 2007), McLaren and Sauber will be moving away from Formula 1 and competing in the 2010 season of the WRC. Ferrari paid out his contract 1 year early to allow double World F1 Champion Fernando Alonso to take the seat opposite Massa for 10. Raikkonen will be racing under the Citroen Junior banner for the WRC championship team. Kimi will campaign in all but one of the 13 rounds next year, sitting out the New Zealand event which is a bit of a shame as I would have liked to see if Kimi can keep up with my old neighbor and NZ rally expert Patrick Malley.

2009 Cadillac CTS-V Hennessey V700 605 RWHP

This Cadillac has 605 Rear wheel Horse Power with it's modified supercharged V8 Corvette ZR-1 engine. It does 0-60 in McLaren F1 territory and can hit close to 200 Mph. It sounds fantastic. All cars should sound like this. Turn up the volume.

Rolls Royce Ghost 2010

The beautiful looking RR 4 officially got it's production name today. That would be the Rolls Royce Ghost. The vehicle will be powered by a 6.675 liter twin turbo V12 pumping out HP north of 500. This car will be smaller than it's big brother the Phantom and will probably be a lot more fun to drive. I'd expect that a few "drivers" may be delegated different jobs when the owner of the RR Ghost wants to drive it them self rather than being chauffeured.
Rolls Royce CEO Tom Purves announced the vehicles name at the Shanghai Motor Show. The new Ghost will be built at the Goodwood manufacturing facility on the south coast of England as a 2010 model towards the end of 2009.

2010 Jaguar XJ

The photo above ( Courtesy of Auto Express ) is that of the 2010 Jaguar XJ. The new XJ looks to have taken some styling cues from the handsome XF and is gunning for 7 Series and S Class business.
Rumor has it that the base engine will be 385 HP V8 with a 503 HP Supercharged V8 at the flagship model designed to give the S63 and the 760 a run for the money.
A diesel option is also likely.
I look forward to seeing the new model in the flesh and I wish Jaguar great success.

2010 BMW 760i / Li

BMW has outdone themselves with the new twin turbo V12 engine announced for the upcoming 760 series. BMW designed a new engine from the ground up to replace the previous normally aspirated 453 HP V12. The new twin turbo unit has considerably better fuel economy (about 4.5% better) has a lot more power ( 400kw / 544hp @ 5000 rpm ) and maximum torque is 750 Newton-Meters (553 lb-ft) at 1500 rpm.

This car has tire shredding power and can sprint from 0-62 mph in about 4.6 seconds. Best you keep your eyes peeled if you think you are fast in your M3. Also new to BMW is an 8 speed transmission a la M Benz.

It is entirely likely that the new engine will find its way into the Rolls Royce Phantom which is hovering around with the old engine, but time will tell.

It is nice to see BMW using turbo engines, getting fuel consumption and emissions down and bringing the power back.

2009 Corvette ZR1 according to Jay

This is a magnificent car.... Well done GM.

Hydrogen fueling pump in West Los Angeles

I was getting my haircut at my usual place, which led to taking my car to be cleaned at the usual place and interestingly enough there is a hydrogen fueling pump just across the road on Santa Monica Blvd at the shell station. Upon close inspection it looked to be all hooked up, but alas there were no Hydrogen Bmw 7 series or Honda Hydrogen cars lining up. While the service station my have made the investment and at this time not getting a return, it is a great sign of things to come.

Mini E (Electric)

As per a BMW press release on October 18th 2008. The BMW Group will be the world's first manufacturer of premium automobiles to deploy a fleet of some 500 all-electric vehicles for private use in daily traffic. The MINI E will be powered by a 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery, transferring its power to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox nearly without a sound and entirely free of emissions. Specially engineered for automobile use, the battery technology will have a range of more than 240 kilometers, or 150 miles. The MINI E will initially be made available to select private and corporate customers as part of a pilot project in the US states of California, New York and New Jersey. The possibility of offering the MINI E in Europe as well is currently being considered. The MINI E will give its world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19 and 20, 2008.

The MINI E's electric drive train produces a peak torque of 220 Newton meters, delivering seamless acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 152 km/h (95 mph). Featuring a suspension system tuned to match its weight distribution, the MINI E sports the brand's hallmark agility and outstanding handling.

By introducing the MINI E, the BMW Group is underscoring the resolve with which it works towards reducing energy consumption and emissions in road traffic. The BMW Group is drawing on its unique technological expertise in the field of drive systems to develop a vehicle concept enabling zero emissions without renouncing the joy of driving. Putting some 500 cars on the road under real daily traffic conditions will make it possible to gain widely applicable hands-on experience. Evaluating these findings will generate valuable know-how, which will be factored into the engineering of mass-produced vehicles.

The BMW Group aims to start series production of all-electric vehicles over the medium term as part of its Number ONE strategy. The development of innovative concepts for mobility in big-city conurbations within the scope of "project i" has a similar thrust, as its objective also includes making use of an all-electric power train.

The energy storage unit: cutting-edge lithium-ion technology engineered specifically for use in the MINI.

Based on the current MINI, the car will initially be available as a two-seater. The space taken up by back-seat passengers in the series model has been reserved for the lithium-ion battery. When in use in the zero-emissions MINI, the battery unit combines high output with ample storage capacity and a small footprint with power ratios that are unrivaled in this field of application so far. The lithium-ion storage unit will have a maximum capacity of 35 kilowatt hours (kWh) and transmit energy to the electric motor as direct current at a nominal 380 volts. The rechargeable battery is made up of 5,088 cells grouped into 48 modules. These modules are packaged into three battery elements that are compactly arranged inside the MINI E.

The energy storage unit's basic components are based on the technological principle that has proven itself in practice in power supplies for mobile phones and portable computers. The MINI E's lithium-ion battery can be plugged into all standard power outlets. Its charge time is strongly dependent on the voltage and amperage of the electricity flowing through the grid. In the USA, users can recharge a battery that has been completely drained within a very short period of time using a wallbox that will ship with every MINI E. The wallbox will be installed in the customer's garage, enable higher amperage, and thus provide for extremely short charging times. Wallboxes fully recharge batteries after a mere two-and-a-half hours.

Driven by electricity: reliably, affordably and free of emissions.

A full recharge draws a maximum of 28 kilowatt hours of electricity from the grid. Based on the car's range, a kilowatt hour translates into 5.4 miles. Besides the benefit of zero-emissions driving, the MINI E thus offers significant economic advantages over a vehicle powered by a conventional internal combustion engine as well.

The heavy-duty battery delivers its power to an electric motor, which transforms it into thrilling agility. Mounted transversely under the MINI E's bonnet, the drive train unleashes its full thrust from a dead standstill. This provides for the car's fascinating launch capability. The MINI E's intense driving experience is augmented by its dynamic deceleration potential, which is also directly coupled to the accelerator pedal. As soon as the driver releases the gas pedal, the electric motor acts as a generator. This results in braking force, and the power recovered from the kinetic energy is fed back to the battery. This interaction ensures extremely comfortable drives - especially at medium speed with constant, but marginal, variation. In city traffic, some 75 percent of all deceleration can be done without the brakes. Making substantial use of this energy recuperation feature extends the car's range by up to 20 percent.

Signature MINI agility in a new guise.

Weighing in at 1,465 kilograms (3.230 lbs), the MINI E has an even weight distribution. Minor modifications made to the suspension ensure safe handling at all times. The Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system has been adapted to this model's specific wheel loads.

The MINI E's brake system comes with a newly developed electric underpressure pump. Its Electrical Power Assisted Steering (EPS) is the same as the one used in mass-produced MINIs. Both brake and steering assistance react to driving conditions and are thus extremely efficient. Even the air conditioning's electrical compressor only operates if desired or necessary.

Design: unmistakably MINI, undoubtedly new.

At first glance, the MINI E is obviously an iteration of the brand. But its design, which is the blueprint for the zero-emissions two-seater, has been complemented by a number of visual cues that point to its revolutionary drive concept. All of the units produced for the pilot project will have the same paintwork and bear a serial number on their front fenders.

The MINI E's coachwork sports an exclusive combination of metallic Dark Silver on all panels but the roof, which is clad in Pure Silver. What distinguishes the zero-emissions MINI is a specially designed logo in Interchange Yellow, depicting a stylized power plug in the shape of an "E" set against the silver backdrop. It has been applied to the roof, in smaller dimensions to the front and back, to the charger port lid, the dashboard trim, and - combined with the MINI logo - to the door jamb, in slightly modified form. The color of the roof edges, mirror housings, interior style cues and seat seams will match the logo's yellow tone as well.

Moreover, the central gauge and the battery level indicator behind the wheel of the MINI E, which replaces the MINI's rev counter, feature yellow lettering against a dark grey background. The battery level is displayed in percentage figures. The central gauge includes an LED display indicating power consumption in red and power recuperation in green.

MINI E customers will be part of a pioneering mission.

A 500-unit, limited-production MINI E series will be manufactured through the end of 2008. The project will thus attain an order of magnitude that clearly exceeds the size of currently comparable test series. Putting the MINI E on the road on a daily basis will be a pioneering feat to which both the drivers and engineers of the first zero-emissions MINI will contribute as a team.

MINI E customers will join forces with BMW Group experts to assist in the project's scientific evaluation. MINI E engineers accord high importance to staying in touch with the drivers on a regular basis, as this will help them analyze driver behavior besides vehicle characteristics in order to gain the most accurate and realistic picture of the demands placed on a vehicle with a purely electrical drive in the select usage areas.

Special charging station and full service for every MINI E.

The cars will change hands based on a one-year lease with an extension option. Monthly lease installments will cover any required technical service including all necessary maintenance and the replacement of wearing parts. At the end of the lease, all of the automobiles belonging to the project will be returned to the BMW Group's engineering fleet where they will be subjected to comparative tests.

The MINI E's lithium-ion battery can be charged using a wallbox provided to MINI customers. Only lockable garages or similar buildings will qualify as homebases and power stations for the MINI E.

Maintenance by qualified specialists.

The electric drive's high-voltage technology requires that maintenance work be done by qualified personnel using special tools that are not included in MINI service partners' standard toolboxes. In light of this, a service base will be set up on both coasts, staffed by service engineers that are specially trained to perform maintenance and repair work on the MINI E's electrical components. In the event of drive malfunction, these experts will provide professional support at the customer's local MINI dealer or the service base's specially equipped workshop. Technical inspections will take place after 3,000 miles (just under 5,000 kilometers) and at least after six months.

Production in Oxford and Munich.

The MINI E has already gone through the major phases of product development for mass-produced vehicles and passed numerous crash tests on the way. Aspects investigated besides passenger protection were the impact of collision forces on the lithium-ion battery and finding a non-hazardous location for it in the car. The MINI E's energy storage unit emerged completely unscathed from all of the crash tests mandated by US standards, which are especially high.

Production of the approximately 500 cars will take place at the company's Oxford and Munich sites and is scheduled for completion before the end of 2008. MINI's UK plant will be responsible for manufacturing the entire vehicle with the exception of the drive components and the lithium-ion battery, with the brand's series models rolling off its assembly lines concurrently. The units will then be transferred to a specially equipped manufacturing complex situated on BMW plant premises where the electric motor, battery units, performance electronics and transmission will be integrated.

To download photos and technical specifications for the MINI E, please visit the BMW Group PressClub at www.press.bmwgroup.com

Good on BMW for making this car. It will work well in places like NYC and Los Angeles. I may even get one myself.

HSV W427. The 500hp Australian BEAST.

Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) today announced the seven liter W427 program.

Tom Walkinshaw, who has been involved with making a few fast cars in the past, confirmed the price of the W427 will be $AUS150,000, plus on road costs. HSV will build up to 427 W427s, with vehicles being built to order. These will surely become collectors items up there with the SLR5000, VK Group A Brock, GTR XU-1 etc etc etc.

Each New Zealand and Australian HSV Dealer (64 in total) will be allocated one W427, as long as they have a firm retail order. Remaining W427s will be allocated to dealers based on 2007 sales figures.

Tom Walkinshaw has confirmed the final power output figure for the HSV W427. It will be 375kW (502.88HP) and 640NM of torque.

The Holden Special Vehicles W427 will go on sale in August. Looking forward to seeing what the 0-62MPH and 1/4 mile will be. I am guessing 4.3-4.5 to 62mph (100kph) and 13.0 for the 1/4.

The mighty Powertrain
- 7.0 Litre, LS7 Engine with HSV specific calibration
- Putting out 502.88 HP (375kw) @ 6500rpm & 640Nm @ 5000rpm
- Over radiator style cold air induction system – with high flow air filter.
- Dry sump lubrication system with 2 stage pump.
- Hand fabricated aluminium oil reservoir, with baffles for high G loading.
- Front mount, 13 row engine oil cooler
- Ceramic coated, high flow 4 into 1 extractors
- High flow catalytic converters and exhaust system (3” into 2 ¾”)
- Active bi-modal rear mufflers
- Exhaust back pressure management
- Improved noise quality
- High strength limited slip differential
- New high strength 6 speed manual gear box (TR6060)
- GMPT LS7 Clutch with new actuator and pedal assembly for high clamp loads

Save up your gas money.

2009 Cadillac CTS-V

It seems that the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V is going to be a tire smoking power house. Its 6.2-liter supercharged V8 is expected to produce 556 horsepower at 6,100rpm and 551 pound-feet of torque at 3,800rpm. Cadillac claims the CTS-V sedan will go from 0-to-60mph in just 3.9 seconds and through the quarter mile in 12 seconds flat. Now that my friends is FAST.

Top speed when equipped with the six-speed automatic transmission is limited to 175mph. Get the six-speed manual and you’re free to run all the way to 191mph. Autobahn type situation on our hands courtesy of Detroit.

Even with gas at about $5 per gallon, if it is as economical as it's cousin the Corvette ZO6 then this may well be the candidate for my next vehicle.

Saleen S5S Raptor

Famed US vehicle tuner and manufacturer has released a new concept called the Saleen S5S Raptor. The vehicle is powered by a hand built 5.0 V8 supercharged 650 hp engine. The car is likely to go into production within 2 years with a price of approx $185,000 This car is a good look and if it preforms as well as it looks it will certainly be a US built vehicle that will give Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini a good run for their money.

Unleash the beast.

BMW Gran Turismo

BMW has confirmed that the CS Concept is a design study outlining the company’s new flagship Gran Turismo model. The car will fit above the 7-Series when it hits markets in 2011, and will compete with other 4 dr coupes including the Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin Rapide,
Mercedes-Benz CLS etc

Gerhard Richter, a member of the management team of the BMW Motorsport, will be assigned project leader on the upcoming Gran Turismo, which means that this is going to be a fast beast.

Various reports say that engine choices will range from a V8 all the way up to a V12. A new report from a German magazine says that the BMW Gran Turismo will get a new V10 twin-turbo charged, direct fuel injection engine that is capable of producing up to 625-hp, which is just a little more than the Mercedes Benz S65 AMG. The report also says an entry level V8 twin-turbo will also be offered producing 450-hp.

What will BMW come up with next?