Amid the hoopla of the New York Auto Show and GM’s preview of the upcoming Pontiac version of the Holden ute produced in Australia – what we’d call the El Camino of today – comes a dissenting opinion, presented by one Peter M. DeLorenzo, the voice of AutoExtremist.com.
DeLorenzo thinks the things going to bomb.
DeLorenzo’s opinions are never equivocal, though his crystal ball sometimes needs Windex. After all, it was Lorenzo who said that the next Corvette was a sure thing for 2012 and would be mid-engine.
On the ute, his point is that the sport truck doesn’t fit into either the Pontiac line-up or the professed image of Pontiac for, as Bob Lutz put it in New York, “seductive performance.”
In fact, DeLorenzo doesn’t believe there’s any market for such a truck, under any nameplate. And then he asks why Pontiac doesn’t, instead, seek to exploit those of its model names that still have meaning, such as GTO and Trans-Am.
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Jean Todt has officially left Ferrari, where he served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, having been promoted to that position after being head of the Formula One race team. Todt’s resignation was officially announced at a Ferrari shareholder meeting in Italy yesterday. Todt remains on the Ferrari board of directors.
Speculation is now circulating that Todt’s next stop may be as head of the FIA, the international sanctioning body for Formula One and other classes of racing. Todt ran the Ferrari racing operation for over a decade and a half and is a close friend of FIA president Max Moseley. Moseley’s term as FIA president expires in 2009 and he is not expected to seek another term in that position.
It is not clear how such a move would be received in other quarters, but it is believed by some observers that Todt would have Moseley’s backing, were Todt to seek the office.
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To commemorate its sixtieth anniversary, Holden is showing off a two-door concept car that’s getting rave reviews. The Detroit Free Press was so impressed, it led the story by saying, “Where do they find the time? General Motors Australian unit just revealed yet another eye-catching vehicle from the global family of rear-wheel-drive cars developed in the automaker’s Melbourne engineering center.”
Well, maybe.
But, then again, maybe not.
The sharp-eyed, which includes the observant folks at Motor Authority and Motor Trend, have noted that the new Holden Coupe 60 looks remarkably like a Zeta platform based Pontiac GTO proposal originally floated in drawing form several years ago.
The Holden concept features the same roofline, same side coves and the same wheel placement as the GTO drawings.
It is, in short, the same design.
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Rumors abound on the internet these days that General Motors has given the green light to a Zeta platform based replacement for the Cadillac DTS and STS and for the Buick Lucerne. The platform, which is first to be used for the upcoming Chevrolet Camaro and is the basis for the current Pontiac G8 produced in Australia, will be rear wheel drive. A single car will replace both of the current Cadillac models.
That’s the story, anyway. GM, of course, does not comment on future product plans.
But, let’s assume the rumor to be true, partly because it makes sense and partly because it is pleasant to assume to be true that which one wishes to be true.<
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At least that’s what one Pontiac dealer’s employee is claiming, based on what he saw on the GM dealer website, under information about available options on the 2009 G8 GXP. He posted it on G8GT.com, with a request that the word be spread.
So, we’re obliging.
That’s a reference to the LS3 as an available option on next year’s G8 GXP. The LS3 is the base engine in the Corvette, an engine that produces, in the ‘Vette, 430 hp.
What was that about Pontiac building excitement?
According to MotorTrend, Nissan might start working on a four-door sedan based on the GT-R platform. If build, it will be sold under the Infiniti badge.
The four-door sedan will share the same hardware as the Gt-R, including the 480-horsepower twin-turbo 3.8-liter VR38 V-6 engine, all wheel drive, and the rear-mounted six-speed DSG-style auto-clutch transmission.
But even so, a sedan version will require a new bodyside, plus expensive revisions to the carbon fiber intensive front structure. Thi will mean an extra $3000 to $5000.
Also the magazine reports that Americans and European customers will never pay $85,000 for a sedan with Nissan badges. This is why they believe it will come under the Infiniti badge.
Even more this kind of sedan would help Infiniti to compete in the performance sedans market.
Dodge just revealed the 2008 Challenger SRT8 at the Chicago Auto Show and plans for the future have already started: the company expects to sell 20,000 to 30,000 of its retro-styled Challenger sport coupes a year once the full model line goes on sale; the Challenger family will probably grow next year to include lower-priced models with less-powerful engines. A convertible is also possible.
The company has also announced that the whole production run of 6,400 cars is sold out and will appear at dealers in the spring.
The Challenger will come with standard antilock brakes, electronic stability control, curtain air bags, six-speed automatic transmission and keyless ignition.
With a top speed of 170 mph and a price of only $37,995, the SRT8 is faster than the $82,900 500-horsepower BMW M5 super sedan and that the 6.1-liter Hemi V8 produces more torque than a $126,200 Porsche 911 turbo.
2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Picture Gallery
First came the Beetle. Then came the Mini followed by the 500. Is the Isetta going to join the bandwagon? Looks like it. BMW have apparently been working on a new range of eco-friendly and fuel-efficient cars. Auto Express reports that this new range could be named Isetta and would come with small turbocharged petrol and diesel engines. These engines will be cheap to build and would deliver excellent fuel economy and least emissions.
The Isetta was bubble car with 3 wheels. Just like its classmates, it was rear-engined and extremely small and easy to drive. It had refrigerator-like front doors which was its unique feature.
The trend of updating yesteryears small cars with style and technology in accordance to today’s requirements is becoming very popular. Especially the small cars seem to influence everyone. Is moving backwards the easiest way for manufacturing small cars? I’ll leave this open.
For many of us, this definitely won’t be on the shopping list for this year or the next. Maybach plans to put its 62 Landaulet into production. So how cheap is this one?
Its based on the Maybach 62 S and technically describing it, its a cross between a convertible and a sedan. It was unveiled in Dubai last November and as predicted, it was an attention-grabber as onlookers suggested that blokes at Maybach were supposedly inspired by an accident where a long wheelbase convertible rammed into one of their test mules.
Maybach elucidates the Landaulet as majestic open-air experience with the ultimate in luxury and comfort. This is another example of the old saying that reads- Accidents lead to inventions. But what unquestionably matters to us, is its price tag, as Maybach prepares this one for production sometime later this year.
Some claim strongly its US $1.19 million. Others claim it would come at around $685,000. Lets forget that and work out the premium you’ll need to pay over the Maybach 62 S.
$1.19 million would be a whopping $756k more than the 62 S. We need someone from Maybach to give us the exact details for us to finish this write-up.
And I know..this is lame.
2008 Maybach 62S Landaulet Picture Gallery
We met with Mark LaNeve on monday night at a diner organized by GM to promote their new concepts at the Detroit Auto Show. Mark confirmed the upcoming reveal of a small Hummer truck, a small Cadillac and a G8 based pick up. The first two vehicle will certainly be very close to the Hummer HX and CTS coupe jsut unveiled in Detroit earlier this week. It is just strange that the HX concept it so close to the hummer H3T concept from 2004, moreover we have the feeling that the new Hummer will not be a pickup only version. About the Cadillac, the 2 door concept pave the way for smaller Cadillac vehicle. Let’s just hope the smaller Cadi will not be a Malibu re-badged! God knows how much GM think the Malibu is the next best thing after their Volt concept of course.
about the G8 pickup, we already know what it will look like, as Holden, who build the G8, already have car pickup in their lineup. LaNeve just said that he is looking for a good name, anything aside of ’ElCamino’!
Wanna help Mark? Submit your baby names for the baby Cadillac and the G8 pickup. My personal take: Cadillac CTA and Pontiac Trucko!
Keep in mind that LaNeve is ’only’ head of Marketing, which means that even if he identified demand for those cars, other consideration such as engineering or budget might not allow those project to go through. Time will tell.
2008 Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept Picture Gallery
2008 Hummer HX Concept Picture Gallery
Hummer H3t Picture Gallery
2008 HSV Maloo R8 Ute Picture Gallery
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