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The higher-ups at Toyota may have decided to axe the replacement for the Lexus SC convertible, but don't get too used to the idea of a world without a wind-in-your-hair Lexus. Word has it they've given the green light to a convertible version of the current IS sedan. Of course, lopping off the doors and roof of a four-door is hardly unheard of, as that's just what Audi did to make the A4 convertible, but while that 'vert is set to be replaced by the A5 cabrio, Lexus is going the opposite direction.

Lexus IS cabrio is tipped to come in 250 and 350 varieties, with Lexus reasoning that there'd be no market for an IS-F convertible. But fret not, as the same reports suggest that a lightweight IS-F sedan is on its way, again going the opposite way of the Germans as BMW just canceled the M3 CSL program.

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(from Mini Press Release) 'MINI WEARS BISAZZA' - TAILORED MOSAIC OUTFITS ADORN FOUR MINIS

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - May 13, 2005... This spring, four MINIs morph into mobile mosaics as internationally renowned Bisazza transforms two MINI hardtops and two MINI convertibles into one-of-a-kind works of modern art. Bisazza craftsmen have encrusted each MINI with over 30,000 colored glass tesserae, creating four "artomotive" masterpieces in the themes of a Zebra, Summer Flowers, Tartan plaid and a Dama. The tesserae, each one-half inch by one-half inch in size were used to transform the vehicles, with 31,700 tesserae laid on each convertible and 37,004 on each coupe.

Two of these stunning works - the Tartan and the Dama - are on display at the Conran Shop in New York City from May 14 to June 5. The cars are part of Conran's exclusive British Influence exhibition, curated by Max Fraser, celebrating 'all things British.' The exhibition is also concurrent with the 17th International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) from May 14-17 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The ICFF is North America's leading trade fair for avant-garde interior design with 500 exhibitors from all over the world expected.

The mosiac-ed MINIs are on tour around the world at select design and furniture exhibitions. The cars debuted in Milan at the Salone Internationale del Mobile, April 13-18, 2005. The two other MINIs - Zebra and Summer Flower - are also currently on display in Berlin Mai in Berlin from May 5-16. "The partnership between MINI and Bisazza underscores a shared philosophy that values designs that are as thrilling as they are sexy, as classic as they are innovative," said Jim McDowell, Vice President, MINI. "We are thrilled to engage with such an avant-garde partner."

About Bisazza
Since its founding in 1956, Bisazza has led the world in creating the most innovative glass mosaic products. The company pursues a dual objective: to preserve the traditions of the earliest Italian arts-and-crafts industries and mosaic techniques, while simultaneously developing into a cutting edge manufacturer characterized by a strong entrepreneurial spirit, an ability to predict market evolution, and a readiness to incorporate modern manufacturing techniques.

Bisazza products are used for the construction and refurbishment of interior and exterior spaces, swimming pools, fitness and wellness centers and can be found in prominent hotels, boutiques and residences worldwide.

Headquartered at Alte, in the northern Italian province of Vicenza, Bisazza has three additional production facilities, nine global branches located in Australia, France, Hong Kong, India, Germany, Spain, the UK , USA, Russia and dedicated showrooms in Milano, Moscow, New York and Berlin.

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The Ninja 250R is playfully referred to as the Ninjette, and has been considered one of the better beginner bikes since its introduction over 20 years ago. This year's redesign is radical, with new bodywork, more power, beefed up brakes, and—most tellingly—the inclusion of a gas gauge. The Ninja 250R is a great commuter bike for those willing to trade some horsepower for fuel efficiency. Best of all, the Ninja is priced at only $3499.

One of the most important features to consider for new riders is seat height, and the 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R's saddle sits only 30.5 in. from the ground. It has a rear cowl that can be replaced with a passenger seat for an extra $99. Hidden underneath its sporty bodywork—which is available in green, red or blue—is a carbureted, liquid-cooled, DOHC 249 cc parallel twin engine with exhaust routed through a 2-into-1 system.

The powerplant is now quieter and packs better low- and midrange power—oh, and a tastier exhaust note too. Retuned intake and exhaust ports smooth out the power delivery, and maximum torque is a modest 16.2 lb.-ft. at a stratospheric 9500 rpm. But with only 333 pounds to haul around (plus rider), that number becomes bigger than it sounds. The engine is mated to a traditional six-speed gearbox.

Slowing this tiny package is easy with a two-piston, 290 mm petal-disc setup mounted up front, and a 220 mm disc at the rear wheel. The 37 mm fork is nonadjustable, but the rear Uni-Track suspension has five-way preload adjustability. Larger 17 in. wheels not only accommodate the larger brakes, they also enable vast possibilities for tire fitment.

© Source: popularmechanics
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We know what you're thinking, because we're in the same lamentable position ourselves: you'd totally order up that uber-exclusive Hermes edition Veyron, but you're not a big fan of the brown and tan paint scheme. Fortunately Bugatti has heard your cries, brother, and announced the availability of new color options for the Veyron Fbg.

The announcement actually came from Monterey but was quickly overshadowed, somewhat ironically, by the unveiling of the open-top Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport and the subsequent auction of its first example for $3.2 million. The unveiling of the new-tint Hermes Veyrons took place at the Quail motorsport gathering on Monterey Peninsula, where Bugatti revealed the four new color schemes available: "indigo blue and vermilion", "indigo blue and lime green", " black and garance red" and "Prussian blue and blue jean".

We're not entirely sure what all these colors are, exactly, and given that Bugatti put them in quotation marks, we're not sure they're sure, either. They undoubtedly would have shown us pictures of all four, but given that these 1.5 million euro hyper-exotics are made to order and available only from the end of the year, we doubt examples of each color option have been made yet. Of course they all come decked out with the H-pattern grille, eight-spoke wheels, lavish calfskin interior and exclusive package of specially-made Hermes luggage.

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Actually, there are a few things. But why don't we start at the beginning? Remember the retro-styled Jaguar S type sedan? Not a bad car, but there were aspects that never were quite right. It seemed … old. But the new XF is the first Jaguar in a very long time that doesn't look like your dad's car. It's modern—hip even.

Under the hood is the carry-over twin-turbo 60-degree V6 diesel from the S-Type. It's actually a Peugeot/Citroen design—now four years old and built in Dagenham, Essex at a plant belonging to Jaguar's former owner, Ford. The compacted graphite iron block, aluminium-alloy head engine has twin camshafts per bank, four valves per cylinder and weighs just 445 pounds.
In other words it's modern, clever and lightweight.

It's also powerful, delivering 204 hp and 320 lb.-ft. of torque though a six speed automatic and on to the rear wheels. And that's enough to sprint to 60 mph in 7.7 seconds and manage a top speed of 143 mph. But this big cat also delivers a friendly European Combined cycle economy of 31.3 mpg, hough we could only average 29.4 mpg in our tenure of mixed driving, including a couple of 100-mi. journeys.

If the S-type had a glaring fault it was that cheap interior. It looked a bit as if it had been won at the Minnesota State Fair. The XF has changed all that. And now Jaguar's mid-size sedan surpasses nearly all the opposition including BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Made with the traditional materials of wood, leather and aluminium, the XF's design brings the whole equation up to date with wit and charm. The rotary gear selector that rises out of the center console, the air vents that blink open like an Owl's sleepy glare when the car is started—they all work well and never once feel contrived. Even the RAF roundel sticker on the dash, which hides a proximity switch that opens the glove box is clever and original. Not everyone likes the front seats, but we found them supportive and accommodating. The rears are suitable to anyone up to six feet in height and the trunk is generous, even though access is a little restricted and the floor isn't completely level.

Jaguar XF can smooth out a backwoods road without floating or pitching, and still match a BMW 5-Series when it comes to all-guns-blazing, flat-top cornering. The steering system gives the driver huge confidence when the fires are lit and the hammer is down—it's so accurate and makes this machine very easy to place. Likewise the brakes are linear and powerful with an easilly judged pedal effort. Around town, the 3,904-pound XF will cruise like a stretch, button-back chesterfield, its occupants perhaps slightly more aware of the road surface that in an old S-Type, but also more comfortable in the way the car handles the bumps and pot holes.

© Source: popularmechanics
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Hyundai has added a hatchback version of its Elantra compact sedan to battle it out with cars like the Dodge Caliber, Toyota Matrix, Mazda3 hatchback and Nissan Versa.

Standard equipment includes four-wheel-disc antilock brakes, six airbags, a tire pressure monitoring system and stability control, something not standard among the competition. Other features new to the Touring model are standard USB and auxiliary audio inputs. The center stack design has also been changed.

Power still comes from the same four-cylinder engine, but for an economy car it isn't completely anemic.

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There isn’t another car like the Mazda RX-8 on the road today – for a number of reasons.
First, it’s a true four-place sports car, with rear seats even average adults can fit into, so long as those up front are average size too. And getting in and out of the back seats is remarkably easy thanks to narrow, rear-hinged doors similar to those on the old Saturn quad coupes.

Second, the RX series is still powered by a rotary engine, just as it was when the RX-7 made its debut 30 years ago. In fact, the RX-8 is the only car left on the road using a rotary. In Mazda’s version, as the two three-sided rotors both rotate and orbitally revolve, each side of the rotors gets closer then farther from the wall of the housing, compressing and expanding the combustion chamber similar to the vertical strokes of a piston in a reciprocating engine.

With more than two million rotary engine cars built since the first Cosmo Sport in 1967, Mazda has persisted with the design while other manufacturers have dropped by the wayside. That faith in the rotary’s reliability was proved in 1991 when the Mazda 787B became the first Japanese car to win the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race.

The Renesis rotary in the current generation RX-8 is the latest version of the engine developed by German engineer Felix Wankel during World War II and perfected in the 1950s. It has been named to Ward’s list of 10 best engines multiple times. The Renesis rotary revs higher than ordinary reciprocating gasoline engines – even higher than Honda’s S2000 roadster whose 2.2-litre inline four redlines at 8,000 rpm. The RX-8’s tachometer goes all the way to 10,000 rpm, but redlines at 8,500 where peak output of 232 hp is reached.

The RX-8 looks like it means business, especially with our test car’s ground optional effects kit. And its looks aren’t deceiving.

Incidentally, although the tires are not run-flat there is no spare, unless you order one as a dealer-installed accessory for $595. The space-saver spare is then mounted in the trunk, cutting into a generous 290 litres (10.2 cubic feet) of luggage room that Mazda claims will hold two sets of golf clubs. Without the spare, an emergency inflation kit is found under the trunk deck.

Although the RX-8 seats four, its 2,700 mm wheelbase is just 15 mm longer than that of a Chevrolet Corvette and the overall length of 4,424 mm is 9 mm shorter.

© Source: autonet
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Part of the misconception with hybrid cars has been the production and disposal of the hybrid batteries. Some simply don’t even consider the process, others have been turned away from hybrid cars as a result. To tackle the problem, Toyota Australia has released some information regarding the process. The Big T says there has been a recycling process (in Australia) for the battery packs of its hybrid-technology vehicles for the last seven years.

Toyota organised the battery recycling process well before the Prius launch in 2001. A similar method has been followed around the world where Toyota sells its hybrid cars. “Toyota Australia regards the batteries as a key ecological issue and has had a recycling solution in place for more than seven years,” Toyota Australia senior executive director sales and marketing David Buttner said

The hybrid Camry, which the federal government is funding to the sum of $35 million dollars, will be produced in Australia from 2010 and uses the same nickel-metal hydride batteries as in Prius.

So what happens when your hybrid battery needs recycling? The more important question should be: will it ever need recycling? So far over 10,000 Prius cars have been sold in Australia and only 17 battery packs have had to be replaced. Three have been completely recycled while the rest are being used for research and training.

Toyota’s Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) batteries don’t contain Cadmium, despite what many think. The plastic, metal and copper wire from the batteries are recycled locally while circuit boards and battery elements are exported for recycling.

In case you have an accident and the battery is damaged, Toyota has briefed roadside assistance and emergency service workers how to handle damaged hybrid vehicles.

Recently a Prius taxi was shown to have managed 500,000km on one single battery.

© Source: caradvice
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2009 Toyota Camry SE V6 Better quality video. Shown in black color. Acceleration shown.



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(from General Motors Press Release) 2009 Corvette lineup includes the Corvette coupe and Corvette convertible, each powered by the 430-horsepower (321 kW) LS3 V-8, and the incomparable Corvette Z06. Equipped with the 505-horsepower (377 kW) LS7 engine and built on a lightweight chassis, the Z06 is a street-going descendent of the championship-winning Corvette racing program.

The Corvette convertible now features a power-operated soft top with the 2LT package; an easy-to-operate manual top is standard on the new 1LT convertible. Both configurations use a five-layer fabric that conceals the underlying structure for a good top-up appearance, plus it helps preserve the car’s excellent aerodynamics and reduces road noise.

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Cars.com's Kelsey Mays drives the 2009 Audi A4 and gives his impressions of the German sports sedan. It competes with the BMW 3 Series, Cadillac CTS and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.



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A source deep inside Toyota has managed to sneak out some pictures and information regarding the facelift for the new Toyota HiLux, with production of the new model starting this month.

Although from what we can gather the only significant change is the slight redesign of the front and minor improvements to the interior.

The Thai-made HiLux will also receive cruise control on SR5 manual transmission double cab models.

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(from Aeon Press Release) Aeon was founded in 2000 by Keith Wood and John Hewitt to design and build a three-seater track/road car. John and Keith have a wealth of experience between them. John comes from an engineering background, serving his apprenticeship with the M.o.D. In his early years he built and raced karts and trials cars, and for the last 17 years has prepared cars and competed in sprints and hill climbs. Keith started his career as an apprentice in a drawing office, but for the past 18 years has owned and run a company that manufactures specialist off-road, amenity, agricultural and four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Reliability and Durability Testing at Mira
The Aeon GTі vehicle spent several weeks with MIRA Ltd in Nuneaton Warwickshire. MIRA is a leading independent provider of product engineering, research, testing and certification to the worldwide automotive industry.

Aeon’s first road car was completed and shown at the Exeter Kit Car Show in November 2003. Since then the Aero version and the Spyder have been completed.
Three models are now available:
- GT3 Spyder - open top with windscreen
- GT3 Coupe - full roof coupe
- GT3 Aero - open top with aeroscreen

Justin Yates joined Aeon as a customer in Jan 2007. His car was finished in March 2008 and is the car you see here.

Since Justin joined Aeon as a customer his relationship with Keith Wood grew and Justin is now responsible for all UK northern sales.

The model here is Justin Yates’s own Aeon GT3 Spyder – scoobydesign This is a factory spyder with track focused engine & chassis. The car was built by Justin Yates and can be replicated for sale as a special edition model (Aeon GT3 Spyder-scoobydesign) This car is fully road legal and is frequently used on UK highways.

© Source: seriouswheels
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(from ABT Sportsline Press Release) When the engineers and designers with ABT Sportsline intend to tune an SUV, you can be sure that the result will be an extraordinary vehicle. That has been the case with the Touareg, AS7 and Tiguan - and that will be continued with the new ABT Q5. The elegant crossover vehicle is by concept a premium model in the category of compact SUVs, but "such a wonderful car always spurs us to create something really special," says Hans-Jrgen Abt. The managing director of ABT Sportsline emphasizes that it is about "blending our philosophy with the character of the car." With the ABT Q5, this worked perfectly: The Allgu SUV is fast, beefy, sleek, extravagant, extremely versatile - and therefore evokes five wows.

The ABT Q5 is impressing, harmonic and superior from every angle. The front skirt with the integrated underride protection finds its equivalent in the rear skirt, which, in a very elegant way, also hides the tow bar extendable for use. The mighty front grille, the fender extensions and the dynamic door strip attachments form a unit. The rear wing, the 4-pipe-rear muffler and the BR wheel rim in size 20-inch also fit in optimally into the elegant overall picture. The ABT Q5 is indeed a car for all occasions: No matter whether in front of a luxury hotel or a beer garden, this vehicle fits in everywhere.

The Q5 follows its bigger brother from Kempten, the AS7, suit: the "S" in "SUV" means "particularly sporty". A genuine ABT always has significantly more power, even more so when all four wheels are powered. The two diesel engines sparkle with energy: thanks to ABT Power, the 2.0 TDI delivers potent 190hp (140kW) instead of 170hp (125kW). The 3.0 TDI delivers the most powerful performance for the ABT Q5: with ABT Power S, it achieves 310hp or 228kW (Series: 240hp/176kW) on any terrain. Particularly impressing: its maximum torque of 610Nm. Also the 2.0 TFSI is suited perfectly for the SUV from Kempten: thanks to ABT Power, 211hp (155kW) are turned into sporty 240hp (177kW).

When a power upgrade is made, suspension and brakes, too, have to be adjusted to the increased power. That is why Abt is offering a fine tuned package for the Q5: suspension springs, lowering of the car's center of gravity or also the well-proven ABT Level Control, an electronic lowering for the CDC air suspension (Continous Damping Control). Regarding deceleration, the ABT sports brake system provides for a maximum of safety, which meets the increased requirements: the brake disks with a diameter of 380mm are strong enough for the fast SUV - and behind the 20-inch-wheel rims type BR or AR, they also look extremely good.

The ABT Q5 is going to be available within the first quarter of 2009.

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The convertible version of Audi’s R8 supercar has been spotted testing in Germany without a hint of camouflage material. These latest images of the test car reveal that the new convertible will gain a conventional fabric roof but misses out on the R8’s trademark aluminium side blades.
Other major changes for the new Spider that are expected to make it to production will be additional air intakes located behind the seats as well as a pair of safety roll-over bars.

The placement of the fuel filler cap will also be changed due to the missing rear pillars, while changes under the sheetmetal will likely include extra chassis strengthening. While the base model will likely stick with the hard-top’s 420hp (313kW) 4.2L V8 engine, there’s talk that Audi may shoehorn the 5.2L V10 from the S6 and S8 sports-saloons into a mid-level model and reserve the 5.0L twin-turbo V10 from the RS6 for a high-performance RS-variant.

The differences between it and the standard V8 model will extend beyond just horsepower outputs. The chassis has reportedly been modified to accommodate the extra power, gaining upgraded suspension, steering and braking systems. This particular test car is thought to be the top end RS version of the new R8.

Tell-tale signs are the exhaust pipe and diffusers, which are the same as those fitted to Audi’s other V10 models, as well as the new grille design. Onlookers even claim the test car had the sound of a V10 and not a V8.

© Source: caradvice
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