Chevrolet Camaro goes to South Korea – Click above for high-res image
decided several years ago to begin heavily promoting as its global mainstream brand even in markets where its existing brands like Opel and Daewoo were a dominant force. Today, at the Busan Motor Show in South Korea, GM Daewoo president Mike Arcamone announced that the would lead the way in GM’s efforts to market Chevrolet in South Korea.
For now at least Chevrolet and Daewoo-branded vehicles will coexist in the Korean market. However, while we were in China last week GM officials told us that the Daewoo brand, which has been somewhat tainted by past quality issues, would eventually be phased out in favor of Chevrolet. When the new launches next year it will likely be badged as a Chevrolet even though GM Daewoo is in charge of engineering the car.
Tribute 2010 Chevrolet Camaro – Click above for high-res image gallery
On Christmas day, 2007, Constandina Tutten was informed that her husband, Army Sergeant Joseph Tutten had been killed in the line of duty in Iraq. Sgt. Tutten was a squad leader with the 82nd Airborne, and had fallen to an IED while helping to clear Tikrit of insurgents. After hearing Tutten’s story, member TheSpyMaster enlisted the help of a few others to help create a tribute 2010 in honor of anyone who has given their lives in service to this country.
What started as a simple customization with aftermarket wheels and smoked taillight lenses grew into an all-out show car. New and a wild body kit helped nab the Camaro top honors at a few local car shows, but that wasn’t enough for TheSpyMaster. The guy topped the whole thing off with a complete American-themed vinyl wrap.
While the look won’t be for everyone, you have to respect TheSpyMaster’s dedication in his efforts to get America’s service men and women the respect and honor they deserve. Check out a smattering of images in our gallery below, but be sure to head on over to Camaro5 for the fully monty.
Autoblog builds an LS9 V8 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Ah yes, the classic small block . No other engine in history carries as much nostalgia and looks poised to push its mouse motor well into the future by adding new technologies designed to clean up the mill’s emissions and improve fuel mileage. Expect these engines to show up in applications from sportscars like the and to pickup trucks and SUVs.
According to GM, all of its next-generation small block V8s will use aluminum engine blocks in addition to being E85 compatible. We can also expect to see direct injection added to the small block’s repertoire for improved efficiency and power production. Finally, the combustion chambers will see a redesign that will promote fuel efficiency.
Naturally, an update to an existing engine line requires a suitable investment, and this one is no different. GM will be investing nearly $900 million and will add or retain more than 1,600 jobs in Towanda, NY; St. Catherines, Ontario; Defiance, Ohio; Bedford, Indiana and Bay City, Michigan. More details can be found in the press release after the break.
2010 Lingenfelter Camaro runs the 1/4 mile – Click above to watch the video
Earlier this week we told you about , the largest gathering of current generation Camaros and their owners. While GM’s big news from the event was a three mile long parade of Camaros, others, like Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, were all about the drag racing at the South Georgia Motorsports Park.
The Decatur, IN maker of go-fast Chevys brought out their new LS9-powered 2010 Camaro packing 855 horsepower. The supercharged V8 has been fortified with various LPE performance parts like a more aggressive camshaft, CNC ported heads, JE forged aluminum pistons and a smaller supercharger pulley. Despite being equipped with a six-speed manual, the Lingenfelter Camaro posted a best run of 10.36 seconds at 139.5 mph. Thankfully the camcorders were rolling, and we have visual evidence of the car’s capabilities. You can see a similar run (10.41 at 139.9 mph) in the video posted .
We had nearly forgotten about the . It’s not that we don’t love the idea of forcing the 8.4-liter V10 from the mighty into the nose of Chrysler’s muscle car, it’s just that cars built for SEMA typically have a shelf life shorter than an unpeeled banana. So it came as some surprise when our keen-eyed spy shooters happened to spot the roided-out 600-horsepower cruising around public streets.
For whatever reason, the car had been let loose from the company test center, and was spotted doing ridiculously pedestrian things like parking in lots and obeying traffic laws. You know, instead of leading high-speed pursuits from one gas station to the next or making entire warehouses of tires weep for their tortured brethren.
As much as we’d love to stroke your crazed dreams of a production Challenger SRT10, the truth probably has more to do with the fact that some lucky soul managed to sneak the car past the suits at HQ for a quick run around town. Still, with the Viper singing its swan song and a few shelves of V10s lying around and looking forlorn, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine a limited production run of the Challenger SRT10 that would send both the Chevrolet Camaro SS and the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 into fear-induced convulsions. Hey, it doesn’t cost us anything to dream.
2011 Fiat Uno – Click above for high-res image gallery
The crew at Carscoop have managed to get their hands on a bevy of images of the new Uno. Judging from the photos, it looks like the company will be offering its tiny hatchback in two varieties – the standard base model and the Uno Way. Expect the Way to boast a slightly taller ride height and off-road inspired looks once the cars hit markets in Brazil, Europe and Russia.
There’s no word on whether or not the Brazilian-built machines will find their way to the U.S. via Fiat’s new partnership with , but judging from what’s rumored to be under the hood, we doubt it. Odds are both the standard Uno and the Way will get their grunt from tiny 1.0- or 1.4-liter engines – not exactly American fare.
The new Uno resurrects a name that had been abandoned by Fiat since the early 2000’s, and the company says we can expect the model to slot between the Panda and the Grand Punto when it hits the scene.
2010 Camaro5 Gathering – Click above for high-res image gallery
Last weekend, Camaro5 sponsored the world’s largest gathering of fifth-generation and their owners in Valdosta, Georgia. Over 1,000 of the cars descended on the town, and itself stopped by for the shindig. The company brought along a few treats for the crowd, including folks like Al Oppenheiser, Peter Kosak, John Fitzpatrick and Cheryl Pilcher – all names tied to bringing the car to life.
Not only did members of the team show up to meet the crowd and answer a few questions, but a heavily camo’d 2011 Camaro, VIN 002, was brought along as well. Attendees also got to drive through Valdosta in one big parade – a stunt that resulted in a line of 2010 Camaros three miles long. At the end of the drive, Camaro5 hosted drag races, autocross events and a car show at South Georgia Motorsports Park. Sounds like a good time to us, a fact proven in the high-res image gallery below. for a peep at the press release.
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Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Paukert and Dan Roth are joined by the car executive we all wish we could be when we grow up, General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. After an hour of peppering Bob with questions about his career, we come away better informed as to where the man stands on the industry’s future, how GM will fare, his favorite concept cars, what he plans to do in his retirement, and – pivotally – how to get your wife to let you buy a MiG fighter jet. It’s a hour and thirteen minutes of class lecture from Mr. Lutz. Enjoy!
Autoblog Podcast #175: Bob Lutz!
In the Autoblog Garage: Long-term Subaru Legacy 2.5GT
Buick Enclave
Hosts:
, , ,
Guest:
Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of General Motors
Runtime: 1:13:46
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It’s time for Americans to stop being scared of small cars and diesel engines, and the Golf TDI is the first vehicle to potentially assuage their fears.
The savior of magazines could be the Apple iPad. But is the first offering from Car and Driver enough reason to drop our subscriptions?
Lexus has issued a stop-sale on the GX after Consumer Reports announced the ‘ute’s stability control system is unsafe. We investigate why.
Word has it the ever-voracious is about to sink its teeth into even more talent. Kasey Kahne just announced he won’t be renewing his contract with Motorsports at the end of this year, meaning the guy probably has his eyes set on making his way to the same team as Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Jr. and the rest. Needless to say, the internet is rife with rumors of the move.
Kahne currently pilots the No. 9 Budweiser car, and has snapped up 11 wins during his time as a pro-driver. Despite deciding not to re-up with Richard Petty Motorsports, the King himself had nothing but praise and well-wishes for Kahne, so it doesn’t look like anyone’s left on bad terms.
The only hitch in Kahne’s rumored move to Hendrick lies in the fact that the team doesn’t have an open slot at the moment, meaning a current Hendricks driver would have to be eying another opportunity elsewhere. That doesn’t sound overly likely to us, especially considering that most of the drivers are locked into contracts that run well beyond Kahne’s supposed 2012 sign-on deal.
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Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Paukert and Dan Roth are joined by Reilly Brennan of AOL Autos. After discussing what’s in the Autoblog Garage, attention turns to the Ferrari 599 GTO, the ongoing Chevrolet Camaro-Ford Mustang V6 cage match, wacky interior awards from Ward’s Auto, Audi beating Mercedes in the most recent sales numbers, and the Daimler-Renault/Nissan tie-up. We hit some questions and then skedaddle just under the hour and twenty mark.
Autoblog Podcast #174: with Reilly Brennan from AOL Autos
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[] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
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Review the show in iTunes and take our
With performance convertibles, it’s all about compromise, but the S5 Cabrio holds its own… and then some.
Flogging an M5-powered BMW 3 Series in the Formula Drift season opener proves to be too much for a few custom suspension components. Next stop, Road Atlanta, and drifting domination.
It’s the first time the Ferrari 458 Italia has landed on our shores, and we were there with camera in hand.
Also of interest:
Genesis against 2011 Mustang, 2010 Camaro and Challenger
2010 Chevrolet Camaro interior – Click above for high-res image gallery of interior award winners from Ward’s Auto
Do you own a Miura? If not, we’re going to presume that you spend way more time looking at the interior of your car than the exterior. If you do happen to have a Miura parked in your garage, we suggest you stop reading immediately and go gaze upon its sensuous exterior lines for a few hours.
Still here? Great, that means you don’t own a Miura and the interior of your car is an extremely important consideration. Which begs the question: What car has the best interior in any given class? Attempting to answer that query is none other than Wards Auto, which has just released its annual Auto Interior of the Year Awards for 2010 after analyzing the innards of 40 vehicles that are either brand new for 2010 or at least significantly updated.
Somewhat surprisingly, the only automaker to take home more than one trophy was . The new won for popular-priced truck under $39,999 and the took top honors in the sportscar category. Other winners include the in the popular-priced car under $29,999 category and the for “Design Versatility.”
Want to see the rest? Check out our high-res image gallery below for a visual listing of all the winners and click past the break for the official press release.
By now, we’ve all read the various incarnations of the muscle car shoot-out, which means that had the crew from Motor Trend decided to simply line up the V6 versions of the 2010 , 2010 and 2011 against one another, odds are you could have picked the podium without breaking a sweat (or reading the article). And that’s why we’re guessing the editors decided to throw in the for spice.
At first glance, this feels like the easiest game of “which one doesn’t belong” ever played, but on closer inspection, the Genesis 3.8 looks right at home among Michigan’s Neapolitan pack of muscle cars. The Hyundai boasts 305 horsepower from its sizable V6, which is more than any of the big domestics. How does it fair against the entry Mopar, Bowtie and Blue Oval? We’ll go ahead and spoil it for you by saying that MT didn’t just invite the Korean coupe to the dance. It named it belle of the ball, too.
Why did the Genesis Coupe take the gold, even ahead of re-powered 2011 Mustang? According to MT, the Hyundai simply feels more like a sports car than the rest of the suspects. Funny – we thought they were testing muscle cars…
For now, at least, car sales seem to be on an upward trajectory in the States, and according to AutoTrader, and seem likely to be beneficiaries of the newfound consumer interest. In March, the most viewed new car on AutoTrader remained the Chevrolet , outpacing the and . Now that Ford is releasing all new powertrains for the 2011 Mustangs it will be interesting to see if the Camaro can retain its momentum.
Speaking of momentum, Hyundai continues to pick up velocity with its new Sonata. While the was only ranked 10th overall, it was #1 among mid-sized sedans for the first time ever, beating the standard-bearing , , and . The Sonata jumped from 22nd place in March 2009, while the Accord dropped from seventh to 12th. Another big winner was the new Chevy , with a 186 percent increase in pageviews, taking it from 12th to eighth place overall.
There’s the Prius and there’s the Tesla. But for well-to-do eco-conscious consumers, there’s nothing in between. The S400 fills that microscopic middle ground in typical Mercedes luxury.
The Murcielago’s replacement is set to arrive next year and we’ve got the first shots of Lambo’s new big bull testing in Europe.
It’s been teased and spied, and now it’s finally arrived. The Ferrari 599 GTO sheds a few pounds, gains a few ponies and takes out the automaker’s namesake around Fiorano.
It may have entered the world through a botched social media campaign, but the Accord Crosstour is selling and we find out why.
Stuffing an M5’s V10 into an E92 3 Series is no easy feat, but we tackle the task with GSR Autosport before the team campaigns its Frankenbimmer in this year’s Formula Drift season.
We still don’t have a name, but we do know that the M-fettled BMW 1 Series is on the way, and it’s shedding a bit more camo each day.
George Barris and the 2010 Chevrolet “Spirit” Camaro – Click above for high-res image gallery
If you happen to be in the greater Burbank area this weekend, you might want to swing by Community Chevrolet on Saturday. Legendary car customizer is scheduled to unveil his latest project – a kustomized 2010 2SS RS – by driving the car straight to the dealer himself. Called the “Spirit” Camaro, the car is designed to be affordable for the working class Joe, meaning there aren’t any wild power adders under the hood.
Instead, Barris focused on creating a unique exterior for the General Motors muscle car. The hood and front fenders all get a striking paint job in the buyer’s choice of either red or yellow, complete with pearl accents. The grille has been swapped for a new three-bar unit designed to give the car a classic feel. The look won’t be for everyone, but it could be your only chance to own an original Barris creation. You can order your very own through your local Chevrolet dealer, who will contact Community Chevrolet in turn.
made a name for himself by creating some of Hollywood’s most iconic cars and trucks. His work took center stage on shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, The Munsters and the original Batman. He even turned out the very first KITT for Knight Rider back before NBC had its way with the concept. So far, there’s no word on how many Spirit Camaros will be produced, or how much Barris will want for each one. Stay tuned.
Before your palms get all sweaty, let’s be clear – the boys and girls at Inside Line have put the 2010 LT and the base 2011 toe-to-toe. This isn’t the big bad SS vs GT throwdown the world has been clamoring for, but that’s fine by us. Both models dish out over 300 horsepower, and when it comes right down to it, there will be more V6 engines battling it out in high school parking lots that V8s.
So how’d they do? The big-boned , complete with its 3,790-pound curb weight, managed to dish out a 6.1-second 0-60 mph run, a 14.3-second quarter-mile time and .86 g on the skidpad. Coming down from 60 mph, the Bowtie delivered a stopping distance of 111.78 feet. Those are all solid numbers, to be sure, but they don’t quite stack up to what brought to the table with its pony.
The is a considerably smaller car in nearly every way, and right off the bat, it has 282 fewer pounds to lug around. With a curb weight of 3,508 pounds, the Mustang clicked off a 5.6-second 0-60 mph sprint, a 13.9-second quarter-mile and .91 g on the skidpad. Can you say “smoked?” Throw in 60-0 mph in 103 feet, and it’s clear Ford wanted to ensure that the ‘Stang not only puts the hurt on its arch rival from General Motors, but it’s also clear that the Blue Oval was seeking to build a solid all-around performer.
Before the Chevrolet faithful start clamoring about price, it should be noted that both cars fall within $1,000 of each other. The General clearly has a lot of work to do before the 2011 models roll out, but we have it that their engineers are hard at work. Fortunately for enthusiasts, this clearly isn’t the end-all, be-all… it’s just the latest volley.
RM’s Classic Muscle & Modern Performance Auction Cars – Click above for high-res image gallery
Muscle car fans and collectors take note – make sure to put June 19th down on your schedule. That’s the day that RM Auctions has set to schedule off a private muscle car collection in San Diego, and more than 80 fine examples of American iron will be looking for new homes.
The auction will be highlighted by some of the performance icons of the muscle car era including an ultra rare , a , a , a and a pair of . The best part? All of the cars will be offered at no reserve. You can read more details about the auction in the press release after the jump or head over to for the full list of cars up for sale.
