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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

2014 Subaru Forester: New Looks and a Turbocharged BRZ Engine

Subaru has released the first photos of the 2014 Forester crossover. As the images convey, Subaru hasn't strayed too far from the design that's served granola nation well since the first model made its debut in 1998. And that's not terribly surprising—the Forester accounts for about a quarter of Subaru's sales in the U.S. READ MORE ››

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from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com


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Modified 2013 Honda Accords Bite Exotic Liveries, Look Awesome—And One Has 401 hp [2012 SEMA Show]

OK, so the 2013 Honda Accord sedan and coupe featured here don't exactly copy exotic-car color scheme, but they're awfully close: We thought Porsche 911 GT3 RS as soon as we saw the two-door, and the sedan vaguely recalls the classic blue-and-white Maserati livery. Both are currently being displayed on the Honda stand at the 2012 SEMA show.

Bisimoto 2013 Honda Accord Coupe Grand Touring

Using the excellent new V-6 Accord coupe as its base, Bisimoto's car adds a mess of power, performance, and aesthetic upgrades. The six-pot has been uprated from 278 to 401 hp with the help of a nitrous system and a cat-back exhaust. The chassis features a new anti-roll bar and springs, a set of 19-inch wheels wrapped in Falken Azenis rubber, and new brake rotors and calipers all around. A vinyl wrap hugs the body panels, a Honda Factory Performance body kit lowers the stance, ghosted Honda emblems are fitted, and a massively massive rear wing has the deed to the decklid. Finally, the interior gets a leather-wrapped roll cage and—aha, we knew it!—GT3 racing seats. (OK, so they're not Porsche seats; they're Bisimotoworks pieces.) If you think this Accord GT3 RS Grand Touring is over the top—we think it's pretty wicked, actually—Bisimoto also created a 600-hp Hyundai Elantra GT for this year's show.

2013 Honda Accord Sedan by DSO Eyewear/MAD Industries

This blue and white, four-cylinder Accord is almost entirely about style–the performance pieces are limited to minor items like a K&N air filter, the exhaust system from the Honda Accord Sport, Falken Azenis tires, and a set of Eibach lowering springs. The list of non-performance baubles, however, is extensive and includes a Honda accessory body kit, illuminated door sills, brake-caliper covers, 20-inch matte-black wheels, and a full complement of replacement PIAA light bulbs (including the interior lights!). A 3M matte-blue vinyl wrap is applied to the hood, trunklid, and roof, and some interior bits have been covered by the same stuff. Speaking of the cabin, it's smothered in tan and black faux suede, including the seat inserts, headliner, pillars, and rear package shelf, and a dual-amp, 800-watt sound system with a set of 10-inch subs makes noise. Billet aluminum pedals look shiny, and an Escort Passport 9500IX radar detector warns of incoming bogies. As if you'll hear it over the stereo. While most of this stuff isn't to our taste, we do think that the result is attractive; if nothing else, it's a good example of how well the new Accord works as a canvas for customization.

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from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com


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VW Gives Vegas a Dose of Beetle Mania [2012 SEMA Show]

Volkswagen is celebrating this year's SEMA show by reintroducing Beetle Mania to Las Vegas. The gang from Wolfsburg has brought six Beetles to the show, allowing a number of tuners to have their way with the latest VW icon. Follow the jump to check out the photos and more details from all of VW's SEMA show cars.

VWvortex Super Beetle

Using the Golf R's all-wheel-drive platform, our friends at VWvortex have teamed up with APR to boost horsepower of the Beetle's 2.0-liter turbo four to more than 500 hp in the Super Beetle you see above. The engine was extensively modified with high-strength connecting rods, bearings, pistons, and wrist pins. There is a high-flow cylinder head and intake manifold, a modified fuel system, a hi-po intercooler, and an upgraded ECU. Boost is provided from an APR Stage IV GTX turbocharger. The engine is mated to a manual transmission. The Super Beetle's powertrain is matched by an H&R adjustable coil-over suspension, H&R motorsport bushings, H&R sport sway bars, and H&R front uprights designed for the Audi TT RS.

The Super Beetle's interior is relatively modest, with Recaro sports seats as the biggest eye-catcher. Its exterior is covered in a Matte Azure Blue Metallic wrap and accentuated by 19-inch wheels. In what could be interpreted as a nod to the Beetle and Porsche 911′s common roots, VWvortex has designed a body kit with front and rear fascias that take styling cues directly from the Porsche 911 GT3; the Super Beetle lettering on the tailgate resembles that classic Porsche lettering as well.

Rotiform Beetle

Tuner Rotiform is going for a classic, customized look with large, concave wheels colored in red. Mirrors are glossy black, and a chrome strip is applied to the lower part of the doors. An air suspension system and a re-engineered rear axle are added in order to allow the Beetle to lay-frame. A Matte Gray Aluminum wrap enhances the desired, somewhat menacing look of the asphalt-kissing Rotiform Beetle.

European Car Magazine Beach-Battle Cruiser

European Car magazine has created a Beach-Battle Cruiser, following the concept of a Beetle for the beaches of California. Surfing is serious business, of course, and the military-inspired paint will gain you respect wherever the waves are breaking—just be sure to stay out of the sand with those 19-inch Fuchs Performance wheels and high-performance tires.

The powertrain is upgraded with a large Revo Technik turbocharger, new intake and exhaust systems, and a software upgrade, boosting horsepower to an estimated 400. Inside, the seats are upholstered in military green suede and leather. You wouldn't want to soil such a precious interior after conquering Malibu Beach, and therefore, European Car has added a deployable shower system to keep the sand out of all those nooks and crannies.

FMS Modern Beetle

Tuner FMS Automotive has created a tasteful gray-and-black two-tone paint scheme, complete with a matte-black hood, for its Modern Beetle show car. TSW wheels, a slightly lowered suspension with H&R springs, and a dual-exhaust system provide not-so-subtle enhancements to an already sporty base car. We could do without the horizontal LED lights, however.

FMS Classic Beetle

As the yin to its Modern Beetle interpretation's yang, FMS Automotive has restored a 1956 Beetle to perfection, and then added some more trick bits. It now features extensive bodywork, two-tone paint, a high-performance powertrain, and an upgraded chassis with four-wheel disc brakes and large aluminum wheels. The interior is fully clad in leather; headrests were deemed dispensable—which is fine by us, given this car's purist approach.

GAS Chopped Top Beetle

Galpin Auto Sports has created a chopped-top Beetle with many '50s and '60s styling elements. Candy Apple Red metal flakes accentuate the Onyx Black paint job, and they are found on the dashboard as well. The roof is lowered by 5.5 inches at the A-pillar and 2.5 inches at the B-pillar and the windshield is steeply raked forming that classic chopped look. The all-American legend of chopped-top performance cars lives on in this interpretation of the Beetle.

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from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com


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Volkswagen Prices Beetle Fender Edition at $25,235, $28,925 with Turbo

VW has announced sticker prices for its 2013 Fender Edition Beetle, which will be available with both the base 2.5-liter five-cylinder and the upgrade 2.0-liter turbo four. The special bits include starburst-pattern painted interior trim, brushed-chrome mirror caps, and a 400-watt, nine-speaker Fender audio system. Every example will be painted black, have bi-xenon headlamps, and wear Fender badging and 18-inch retro-look wheels.

The lesser car starts at $25,235 with a six-speed manual, a $2145 premium over the 2.5 with Sunroof trim on which it's based. If you want the car to shift for you, the DSG automatic can be added for $1100, but we found that version to be slow and a performance bummer in a recent test of the 2.5. Stick with the stick if you care about driving at all.

Of course, those enthused by both driving and the prospect of owning a guitar-branded car are likely to upgrade to the Beetle Turbo anyway; getting one of those with a manual and the Fender package will cost $28,925. In force-fed Fender cars, the underlying Beetle is a Sunroof and Sound model and specifying the DSG runs $1070. The DSG Turbo is more than two seconds quicker to 60, so it's a good thing that model also gets leatherette sport seats with cloth inserts. You know, to keep folks in their places.

The 2013 Beetle Fender Edition hits dealerships at the beginning of next month. Jam on it if you want to jam with one.

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from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com


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Morgan Threatened By Tree Fungus

Morgan's wood-framed sports cars are facing an existential threat; a species of fungus that infects ash trees, which are the source of wood used on Morgan's legendary sports cars.

Ash has been used for over a century, but the situation could necessitate a switch to other kinds of wood. Ash dieback, as the disease is known, has been ravaging ash trees in the UK, and usually kills 90 percent of trees that become infected.

Steve Morris, Morgan's Operations Director, told the Daily Mail

'Ash has very good properties for stability and the way it can be formed. We have been using ash for traditional building for 100 years. It is possible that we would have to look at other types of wood. This news is a worry for us and we are taking it very seriously. It would be a shame if the problem escalated.'

A statement on the Morgan website claims that the company has a two year supply of ash wood, and that it could also be sourced from France, Germany, the United States and Belgium.

Hat tip to Reddit Autos

from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com


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How Hurricane Sandy Could Affect Auto Sales

Hurricane Sandy
As the East Coast starts to recover from a hurricane that could end up costing more than Katrina, European automakers, whose ports of entry lay in the storm's path, are still assessing damage. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey closed all shipping facilities late Sunday night; as of this writing, they remain closed.

A few days' closure could create momentary supply shortfalls for many European automakers. A study released last October for the Port Authority found its ports alone handled more than 738,000 vehicle shipments in 2010. Ports from Boston to Baltimore represent entry points for automakers, from Subaru to Volvo. Most involve European brands, which largely send their vehicles here. Through the first nine months of 2012, about two-thirds of European auto sales were brought to North America, according to Automotive News data.

A few days of port closures could disrupt dealership supply, especially as European automakers keep it tight. Audi, BMW, Mini and Porsche dealerships all began October with fewer than 40 days' supply of cars, according to Automotive News. Mercedes-Benz dealerships had 44 days, but only Volkswagen (91 days) and Volvo (81 days) began the month above the industry's 58-day average.

"We typically ship cars to dealers within days of them arriving at the port," BMW spokesman Tom Plucinsky said. "All our facilities have been closed for the last two days, so it's too early to say what the effects of the storm are on our inventory."

With several days' lead-up to Sandy, early shipments could mitigate supply issues. Steve McDonald, a Chicago-area Mini dealer, said "everything shipped" before the storm, "so there wasn't much sitting at the port."

Audi spokesman John Schilling said the brand ships cars for the northeast into Davisville, R.I. The port closed Monday and reopened Tuesday, and Audi received no reports of vehicle damage.

"Short term, we've seen disruptions from power outages and customers postponing deliveries, as might be expected," Schilling said. "Longer term, we are still assessing what, if any, impact that Hurricane Sandy might have caused."

Volvo ships cars into Newark, N.J., as well as Baltimore and Southern California. "We're not sure when normal shipping will resume back into Port Newark as the power is still out," spokeswoman Laura Venezia said.

What about cars damaged at dealerships? The National Automobile Dealers Association told Cars.com that the 12 states affected by Hurricane Sandy are home to 4,750 new-car dealerships. Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told Bloomberg TV that as many as 800 Ford dealerships affected by Sandy remain closed, but most were able to shelter their cars.

"The reports that we've gotten, and maybe it's a bit anecdotal at this point, is that there was a lot of advanced warning about the storm coming," Shanks said. "Many of the dealers that had their facilities that were in exposed areas actually, several days ago, started moving inventory away from the risk of the storm."

In the long run, sales could spike back up as people need to replace storm-damaged cars. Pete DeLongchamps, vice president at Group 1 Automotive, which owns 121 dealers in 15 states and the United Kingdom, told Automotive News a "significant spike" came in Gulf Coast auto sales after Hurricane Katrina once shoppers received insurance payments. But he cautioned that every storm can be different.

Katrina and Sandy hit very different cross-sections of America, for one. Census estimates pegged median household income in Louisiana at $40,658 in 2011. In New Jersey, it was $62,338. East Coast drivers have more cash – but in some areas, they may need their cars more.

"If you have a car in this area, it's probably because you have to have a car," IHS analyst Rebecca Lindland told Cars.com. "It's very inconvenient in Manhattan and in the boroughs to have a car. People don't tend to have a car just for convenience, because it's really inconvenient. They tend to have a car because they have to. So that's going to drive replacement demand."

There's a flip side, though. The storm may prevent potential trade-ins, especially if drivers need to spend the money fixing a damaged roof or flooded basement.

"There's going to be just as many people … who may have been in the market who say, 'I can't replace my car because now I have to pay my insurance deductible,' " Lindland said. "It's not only too soon to tell, [but] we won't really know why somebody didn't buy a car in October or did buy a car in November."

from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/


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Mopar Shows Off Some Prototype Parts for Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 [2012 SEMA Show]

Jeep's 470-hp Grand Cherokee SRT8 is pretty bad-ass as it sits, all pumped-out bodywork, crushing curb weight, and V-8 rumble, but Chrysler's Mopar parts division may be working up some performance pieces for the big beast. At Mopar's SEMA stand, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 that had competed in this year's One Lap of America event was on display, and it came packing a few prototype performance add-ons.

So far, even the prototype stuff is pretty tame—a set of lightweight wheels, a rear spoiler, and a suspension lowering kit—but the Grand Cherokee SRT8 is a beguiling and huge target on which to slap some upgrades. The latest iteration of the high-performance SUV doesn't have a whole lot of performance-oriented love right now in the Mopar parts catalog, so hopefully these modest pieces are a sign that things may soon change. After all, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 already has formed the basis for the Alpine and Vapor special-edition models; compared to whole models, what's a few performance upgrades?

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from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com


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Mazda’s MX-5 Guru Reveals Details On The Next RX-7

Putting an end to the vicious cycle of rumors and conjecture, Mazda's sports car chief revealed that they will bring back the RX-7 in 2017, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Cosmo sports car.

Nobohiru Yamamoto, who is now head of the MX-5 program, told Australia's The Motor Report that the RX-7 will use a stretched version of the Miata platform, and weigh roughly as much as the 2775 lb Toyota 86. Japanese market versions will have a small rear seat, while North American versions will be two-seaters.

Power will come from the new 16X rotary engine, a naturally aspirated unit capable of nearly 300 horsepower. Yamamoto said that a large single turbo caused too much lag, and a sequential twin-turbo setup like the previous RX-7 was "not ideal". But Yamamoto didn't rule out a turbo either for future production. But even in naturally aspirated form, the power to weight ratio should exceed the last RX-7 sold in North America.

Also absent from the RX-7 will be any kind of KERS or hybrid system. Mazda currently doesn't have any sort of technology in that space, and according to Yamamoto ""…a pure sports ca…must be internal combustion." Lightweight aluminum body panels and special catalysts will help the car meet tough emissions and fuel economy standards.

Unfortunately, all that will come at a price. The RX-7 will apparently be more expensive than something like a Nissan 370Z or a Toyota 86. All that engineering comes at a price, and the RX-7 will be positioned to reflect that.

from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com


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Fisker Flambe At New Jersey Port Damages 16 Karmas

16 Fisker Karmas waiting at a New Jersey port caught fire, with all 16 cars burning to the ground.

Photos of the aftermath were obtained by Jalopnik, which also obtained this statement from Fisker

"It was reported today that several Fisker Karmas were damaged by fire at the Port of Newark after being submerged in sea water during Superstorm Sandy. We can report that there were no injuries and none of the cars were being charged at the time.

We have confidence in the Fisker Karma and safety is our primary concern. While we intend to find the cause as quickly as possible, storm damage has restricted access to the port.

We will issue a further statement once the root cause has been determined."

Anyone with a science background (or anyone that got better than a C in Chemistry…): how do the vehicles go up in flames after being submerged in sea water. Anyone? Buller?

from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com


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Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Subaru Legacy

Subaru's updated-for-2013 Legacy is a handsome-looking sedan with a capable all-wheel-drive system, says Cars.com reviewer Kristin Varela. The interior, however, needs work. Despite the rest of the car being overhauled for the new model year, the cabin looks and feels dated, Varela says.

2013 Subaru Legacy Review

from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/


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Ford Racing Introduces Upgrade Parts for Focus ST, Power Kit Coming [2012 SEMA Show]

Among the many customized machines in Ford's massive display at SEMA this year, we came across this collection of Ford Racing factory upgrade parts for the new Focus ST hatchback. Ford Racing parts support for the Focus ST is hardly a surprise—after all, the outfit churns out performance gear for most every Ford model. But the stuff is intriguing because, as we found after driving the ST, it's so darn good in stock form. Nevertheless, good things can be made better, and we've learned that Ford Racing's ST suite of bolt-on parts is more than up to that task. Better still, Ford Racing representatives told us that a power kit for the ST's 252-hp turbocharged four is on its way.

The Focus ST performance bits Ford Racing brought to the show include a lowering kit ($229), a Stoptech big-brake kit ($2995), and last-gen European-market Focus RS 18-inch wheels ($289 apiece). Ford Racing still is deciding on prices for an ST performance muffler, an adjustable coil-over suspension kit, a cold-air intake, and a short-throw shifter kit. All of these items either are or soon will be available in the Ford Racing catalog. Of course, the most intriguing performance upgrade of all was missing from Ford's display: a power kit. Ford Racing reps say the power boost likely will consist of an ECU reflash combined with some hardware like a cold-air intake. The company is aiming to increase the 2.0-liter turbo four's output by 10 percent, which translates to roughly 25 more hp—for a total of around 277, for those to whom math does not come easily. Expect the power kit to appear mid-way through next year, with pricing very much to be decided.

Unlike Mopar's "stage" turbo kits for the old Dodge Neon SRT4, however, Ford Racing will offer just a single power kit calibration; no big turbo kits are in the works. That's fine by us, because we think the stock ST's 252 hp give the car's front wheels more than enough of a workout as it is. But who can resist more power? Especially when it comes part of a sweet package like the Focus ST.

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from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com


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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

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