CNN is reporting that deaths as a result of traffic accidents is at a ten year low while deaths in motorcycle traffic accidents are on the rise. While Transportation Secretary Mary Peters gives the credit to advanced car safety technology and aggressive traffic law enforcement, it’s more likely that the decrease in deaths is due to the astronomical rise in gas prices, which pushes drivers to choose higher mpg/hybrid cars or alternative transportation. Read the rest of this entry »

Impressions of the new Acura TL have already found their way online at Edmunds. Pictures of the car show a completely redesigned car that bears almost no resemblence to the model it replaced. The new TL seems to have an extremely high beltline, even when comparing to other new luxury cars such as the Mercedes Benz S Class and the Cadillac CTS series (looking at the technical stats reveal that this car is actually as big as the current generation RL). Perhaps consumers gravitate towards cars with high beltlines because they “seem” more comfortable and safer. Read the rest of this entry »

Volkswagen may enter the mid engined roadster/coupe market with its new concept car if reactions are positive at the Los Angeles Autoshow. This new car will be designed with a philosophy similar to cars such as the Lotus Elise, Mazda Miata, and Honda S2000; keep the weight low and throw in a small but high revving engine. Read the rest of this entry »

New photos of Audi’s new RS6 show a new front and rear fascia along with more information about significant changes in the new driveline. The new headlights are a lot more boxy than the previous generations (without any indication of the signature Audi LED DRL’s) and the rear bears much resemblance to the current generation A5. Read the rest of this entry »

New for all you lucky I-Phone users, the Dynolicious Car Performance Meter. While this type of gadget has been done before, it has never been presented in such a slick and convenient package. This new program utilizes the accelerometer feature in the I-Phone  (for tilting) to measure g-forces in any direction. Read the rest of this entry »

Honda fans are finally blessed with a video of the new NSX in action around the Nurburgring. While while its camo wrappings still make it hard for onlookers to see its true shape, our ears are treated to the musical note of the new Honda V10 engine (in the front this time!) putting power to all four wheels via a varient of the SH-AWD system. Read the rest of this entry »

The new E92 BMW M3 has hit the streets and before I have even seen one “in the wild”,  pictures of a wrecked one have already sprouted up on internet forums. They show a white M3 resting sideways (undercarriage side out) against some unfortunate family’s porch.

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Deviating from their usual formula of a lightweight car with a high strung small displacement engine, Lotus has announced plans and released a picture for the Lotus Eagle. More information and pictures will be available next week due to its actual unveiling at the London Motor Show on July 23rd.

For now, we know that the motor will be a 3.5 Liter Toyota V6 producing 275 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque. While this motor doesn’t seem to be the most high performance mill around today (I mean, the new Honda Accord and Toyota Camry have around the same power output), sufficient lightness should make the car fun to drive. Read the rest of this entry »

It looks like the “ordinary” Benz SL65 AMG may not be enough for some lucky people out there, because Mercedes Benz has recently announced the “Black Series” trim level which makes it the second Benz to feature this upgrade (the other being the CLK 63 Black Series).

The SL 65 Black Series will feature a twin turbo V12 engine that puts out 661 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque. The transmission is rumored to be simply a “Mercedes Five Speed Automatic” which seems odd due to the amount of manufacturers announcing/producing vehicles that feature dual clutch transmissions. Mercedes has claimed that this transmission can shift in 250 milliseconds which seems pretty quick until you realize that the Volkswagen DSG system on a GTi can bang off shifts in 8 milliseconds when the ECU is “expecting it”.

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It looks like even Ferrari cannot escape the pressure to “go green” that so many automakers are giving in to. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the president of the Italian supercar company, has announced their plans to create a hybrid supercar by 2015, in accordance to tightening European emission regulations.

The new hybrid supercar will use a Kinetic Energy Recovery system that is borrowed from Formula One development teams. KERBS sounds promising because if the energy is being created due to braking, why not harness it? Regenerative braking has actually been used in many other hybrid systems, such as the Integrated Motor Assist from Honda. However, Ferrari will not supplement this system with a battery unlike the other automakers.

Ferrari has also toyed with other green vehicle concepts such as the Biofuel Concept F430 which was unveiled at the 2008 North American Auto Show. Realistically, while enthusiasts may worry about green cars taking over, the end result of research and development (even into alternative fuel solutions) is always a more efficient product. Bring on the gas sipping supercars.