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Lexus Previews the LF-LC Concept


Detroit-bound sport coupe concept is called 'a design exercise to explore the future of Lexus design.' Member's what do U think of this one ?


By Joshua Condon Tue 2:01 PM
Lexus will unveil a sports-car concept next month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and late last week the company revealed both an image and a name for the vehicle. The car, which will bow Jan. 9, has been dubbed the LF-LC and was designed at Lexus' Calty design studios in Newport Beach, Calif.

The LF-LC shares more than a few visual reference points with the Lexus LF-A supercar, including a 2-plus-2 seating layout. No word, however, if the LF-LC shares the LF-A's 4.8-liter 552-horsepower V10 engine.

Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager, said, "The LF-LC blends both high technology and organic shapes to connect the driver to the machine."


[Source: Toyota.]

• Hyundai Brings Racing Game to Enormous Times Square Screen

'Hyundai Race' shows a virtual Veloster in action to midtown Manhattan. Do any MCF Member's like the Veloster ? ? ?


By Joshua Condon 13 hours ago
Those in New York -- or heading there for New Year's -- should try for the chance to play Hyundai's new Veloster-based "Hyundai Race" game, displayed on the towering Times Square LED screen at 47th and Broadway. You can even square off against a competitor thanks to the split-screen function.

The "Hyundai Race" application is iPhone-only, and players will need to connect to the Hyundai Wi-Fi network in Times Square to hook into the game, which uses the phone's accelerometer to steer the on-screen vehicle. Check out the game in larger-than-life action, below.



[Video: HyundaiWorldwide on YouTube, found at Autoblog.]

• Bugatti Veyron Hits the Drag Strip for a Fast Quarter-Mile: Video <~<~Click/Click~>EnJoy...It's a great RACE..WoW $'s

By David Arnouts


By AutoWeek 15 hours ago




The folks over at DragTimes have recorded a Bugatti Veyron 16. 4 while it ran the quarter-mile against a tuned Nissan GT-R at Palm Beach International Raceway.

While the French sports car looked out of its element, it was right at home doing what it was designed for, going fast.

The Veyron clicked off a 10.175 seconds at 139 mph and bested the GT-R by 0.8 second.


With a 0-to-60-mph time of 2.5 seconds, a top speed north of 250 mph, and a price tag of more than $1 million, it's appropriate the Bugatti has a blistering quarter-mile time.

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• Buick Reveals More of Upcoming Encore

Manufacturer's Facebook page shows sneak peek of new small crossover.


By Joshua Condon 17 hours ago
Buick has been slowly revealing the new 2013 Encore, set to bow at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month, on its Facebook page. So far we can see the top of the vehicle set against a sun-dappled background. Only two of the four panels have been revealed; the last is set to drop Jan. 10, when the vehicle is revealed in the Motor City.

Normally this type of slow reveal bugs me -- it's often a manufacturer looking to get multiple media hits for the same vehicle -- but this is what you get because it's the possibly slowest news day I've ever experienced. I've seen more auto news stories while asleep.

• Ready-to-Race Ford Focus ST-R Walk-Around: Video
  

By David Arnouts


By Joshua Condon 19 hours ago




The folks at Ford released a video Christmas present last week featuring Ford Racing's Andy Vrenko hosting a complete walk-around of the company's latest turn-key race car, the Ford Focus ST-R.

The latest spec racer is approved for competition in the Grand-Am ST, World Challenge TC and the Canadian Touring Car series (pending homologation approvals).

The engine and transmission are production-based components from the street-legal Focus ST. The turbocharged 16-valve, direct-injection 2.0-liter EcoBoost is recalibrated to work with race fuel. A six-speed Getrag transmission with a Ford Racing limited-slip differential puts power to the ground. Should `be a fun Go-Kart type ride ~> Member's what do you think ?

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• Mitusbishi to Add Light Truck Variant to Global EV Roll-out

Electric truck would be intended for work duty. or try'in to do burn-outs


By Joshua Condon 20 hours ago
Mitsubishi plans to launch an electric light truck aimed at contractors, farmers and others who use light trucks for work purposes, according to a report in the Japanese business newspaper Nikkei.

The Japanese automaker, looking to rebrand itself as a global electric-vehicle leader, is looking to launch the truck by April 2013 as part of a larger eight-vehicle EV and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) rollout by 2016. This includes a global PHEV crossover, likely based on the Outlander, also by April 2013.

Mitsubishi has not revealed whether the electric light truck would head to the U.S., though the company did make it clear that the American market probably will not see all eight of the EVs and PHEVs it has planned. However, the first U.S. deliveries of the "i" electric minicar, on sale in Japan as the i-MiEV since 2009, will begin next month.

The company plans to double its 2011 fiscal-year global EV sales, to 42,000 units, in fiscal year 2012.

[Source: Automotive News.]

• It's the End of Saab as We Know It, and Dealers Feel Ambivalent

While most seem relieved, one loyal dealership vows to honor the dearly departed's warranties.


By Andrew Wendler Wed 4:11 PM
Despite the fact that General Motors had removed virtually all traces of Saab's Nordic DNA by the time the General's affair with a Northern European trophy marque came to an end, true believers clung to hopes that given enough time, cash and a indulgent owner, Saab would eventually rediscover its iconoclastic roots.


After a brief, unconsummated fling with Koenigsegg, Saab was successfully acquired by Spyker in January 2010, giving Saab enthusiasts reason to believe the brand stood at least a small chance of morphing back into the brand of choice for the quirky intellectual set.


But before even the the most fundamental plans could be solidified, the enterprise known as Saab Automobile AB (composed of subsidiaries Saab Automobile Powertrain AB and Saab Automobile Tools AB) found itself hamstrung by a number of factors, leaving approximately 188 U.S. dealers and more than 2,300 vehicles in purgatory. Not to mention saddling them with the financial weight of parts inventories, surplus technicians and, in many cases, Saab-specific buildings.

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• Jimmy Hoffa Buried Beneath GM's Detroit Headquarters, Book Claims

Former driver says disappeared Teamsters boss lies below the Renaissance Center HQ


By Joshua Condon Wed 1:05 PM
A new book called "Weasel: A Double Life in the Mob" by a former self-described "chauffeur and goon for mob bosses" (and as told to a Canadian journalist) claims that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa is buried beneath General Motors' Renaissance Center headquarters in downtown Detroit.

According to Marvin Elkind, at one time a driver for Hoffa, reputed mob boss Anthony Giacalone was in attendance at a 1985 Teamsters conference in Detroit when the Renaissance Center facility was under construction. As Giacalone, Elkind and others left the hotel across the street from what was to become GM's global headquarters, Elkind nodded toward the building's foundation and quipped, "Say good morning to Jimmy Hoffa, boys." `Taz,
what did U `do with Jimmy ? ?

[Source: Detroit News.]

• CarMax Accused of Misleading Consumers About Vehicle Rental History

Lawyers say company doesn't properly disclose vehicles once used in rental fleets, violated 2008 class-action suit.


By Joshua Condon Wed 12:13 PM
CarMax is being accused of violating the terms of a 2008 class-action lawsuit, and lawyers for the plaintiffs are asking a Maryland judge to find the automotive retailer in contempt of court. At issue is the assertion that CarMax does not adequately alert consumers when a used vehicle for sale was previously part of a rental fleet. Former rental fleet cars are worth less on the used-car market, as their full driving history and maintenance records are unknown.

CarMax will ask the judge to throw out the petition. A company representative said that CarMax "is in compliance with Maryland law” and that it uses a window sticker to identify some vehicle information, "which includes the word rental where applicable.”

Lawyers for the plaintiffs assert that information about a vehicle's time in a rental fleet is "camouflaged and deceptive" and that ambiguous terms such as "business use," "loaner" and "executive vehicle" are used to confuse or mislead buyers as to a vehicle's rental history.
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