Archive for January, 2010

Bullrun Season 3: Team Corvette – 10 Questions

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

A Question and Answer Period with Team Corvette from the 3rd Season of Bullrun

Michael Schlee

The 3rd Season of the hit reality television show Bullrun is right around the corner. Fans are getting excited as soon the chaos, mayhem and non stop action that is Bullrun will be on air. For those unfamiliar with Bullrun, it is a fast paced reality show that mixes all the best aspects of a road rally with the hardcore action from racing challenges. Think of it as an automotive obstacle course, on steroids.

Team Corvette

Recently I was able to sit down with Bruno Riberon, driver of Team Corvette. Together with his co-driver Lisette, they piloted their 1987 Chevrolet Corvette dubbed ‘Corvettron’ on the 3rd Season of Bullrun. Below, are his answers to 10 questions about his time on the show. (more…)

Bullrun Season 3: Team Mach 1 – 10 Questions

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

10 Questions with Team Mach 1 From the Upcoming 3rd Season of Speed TV’s Bullrun Reality Show.

 

Michael Schlee

 

Speed TV’s successful Bullrun reality show is returning for a 3rd season this winter. For those who do not know about it, you should. It is a fast past, adrenaline fuelled race across America that pits 12 teams against each other vying for $200 000 in cash. It is a car enthusiast’s ultimate dream competition.

Team Mustang Mach 1

Based on the successful Bullrun rally that began in 2004, the show takes place over the course of 10 days and involves checkpoints, challenges and explosions……lots of explosions.

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Booth Babes of N.A.I.A.S.

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

By Nauman Farooq

Call them company representatives, call them product specialists, but what most people call them by is “Auto Show Babes.”

Booth Babes of N.A.I.A.S.

Booth Babes of N.A.I.A.S.

No auto show is complete without them. They are about as significant to the auto show industry as gasoline is to the transportation industry.

While exotic sportscars can draw a crowd on their own, it is typically the more mundane means of transportation that usually gets adorned with beautiful women. So typically a Kia or Dodge would get the prettiest models to cause attention to their boring vehicles.
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Audi R8 Spyder

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

By Nauman Farooq

Audi stunned the world a few years back when it debut the R8 coupe. This stunning machine looked like more like a concept car than a production car. Its styling certainly got the attention of the public, who always had seen Audi as perhaps playing second fiddle to brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Audi R8 Spyder

Audi R8 Spyder

Not only did it look stunning, it had stunning performance too. When the R8 was originally launched, it was available with a 4.2-liter V8 that produced 420hp. A year later, an upgrade engine was available, the Lamborghini-sourced 5.2-liter V10. The hand-built V10 pumped the power upto 525hp (390 lb/ft of torque) and thus firmly established the R8 in the highly exclusive supercar category.

So much achieved in so little time, so one wonders where Audi could go next. The answer is to go topless.

Welcome everybody to the new Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI quattro. This is an open-top version of the R8 V10 coupe (no V8 on offer with this version, yet), and by doing so, they managed to do something that was impossible to fathom, they made the R8 look even better.
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Mercedes-Benz SLS

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

By Nauman Farooq

Ask any auto enthusiast as to what is in their mind the first ever production supercar, and they will likely tell you about the Mercedes-Benz 300SL (a.k.a. Gullwing) from 1953.

Mercedes-Benz SLS

Mercedes-Benz SLS

While the original Gullwing’s performance might not be anything special compared to modern supercars, but in its day, it was the fastest road car in the world, capable of speeds upto 245 km/h.

Now for 2010, there is a new Gullwing. It is called the SLS, and it is properly fast, with a top speed of 315 km/h (it can go faster still if you remove the electronic speed limiter).
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2011 Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Will New XTS Unseat STS and DTS?
Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

When I was a kid if you’d asked me which company made the biggest production car, I would have said Cadillac. There might’ve been larger Buicks out there and possibly even a Lincoln or two stretched farther than one of the crested wreath brand’s Sixty Specials or Fleetwood 75s, but my guess is that Cadillac’s flagship sedans needed every cubic inch of their top-line 8.2-litre V8 just to get them going.

2011 Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept

2011 Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept


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Show Time in Montreal: The 42nd Edition

Monday, January 18th, 2010

By Marc Lachapelle

It was a regular Friday morning in Montreal, yet people of all ages were already lined up for the opening of the 42nd major auto exhibition to be held in this city. The country’s first auto show of the year runs for ten days, this time around from January 15 to 24.

Racing simulator

Show Time in Montreal: The 42nd Edition

At 10 am sharp, the first wave was off, hoisted by escalators towards its first stop on the tour. Level 7 is better known as ‘7th Heaven. There they would find a collection of high-ticket sports and luxury cars but this year also the BlueCar, a sleek city compact conceived and built by the famed Italian design house Pininfarina. Its electric power comes from lithium-metal-polymer batteries developed by Batscap, part of the French group Bolloré, the second player in this joint venture. In October 2009, Bolloré had announced its $120 million investment in a battery production facility in nearby Boucherville, Québec.
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Hyundai Blue-Will PHEV Concept to make North American Debut

Monday, January 18th, 2010

First PHEV From Hyundai at Detroit Auto Show
Canadian Auto Press

The Hyundai Blue-Will PHEV showed for the first time last April at the Seoul Motor Show and is about to make its debut in North America at the Detroit auto show.

2012 Hyundai Blue-Will PHEV Concept

2012 Hyundai Blue-Will PHEV Concept

The Blue-Will (who thought that name up?) represents the first-ever plug-in hybrid from the Korean juggernaut that is Hyundai. In addition, the Blue-Will serves as somewhat of a test bed for new technologies on the horizon for Hyundai. It will also feature roof-mounted solar cells to recharge batteries, drive-by-wire steering, lithium polymer batteries, and a thermal generator that converts hot exhaust gases into electricity.
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Exotic Gallery at the N.A.I.A.S

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

By Nauman Farooq

No self-respecting auto show would be complete without exotic cars. Afterall, what is fun about going to a big auto show and all you see are boring cars like Toyota Camry’s and Kia Rondo’s.

Ferrari

Ferrari

However, since the economy crashed, it has been the supercar industry that has felt most pain. Many exotic car brands have reported about orders getting cancelled and new customers aren’t just rolling in.

This means these companies don’t have any money to put up lavish display’s at major auto shows anymore.
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Chrysler at the N.A.I.A.S.

Friday, January 15th, 2010

By Nauman Farooq

Last year, Chrysler made the type of headlines no car company ever wants to make.

Jeep Liberty

Jeep Liberty

First there was news of over spending by their executives, right at the time when the company was applying for bailout money.
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