2009 Subaru Impreza WRX: Sorry About Last Year's 'WRX'

The 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX is a bold statement from the Japanese sport compact maker: We admit our mistakes with the WRX, and we at Subaru are listening to you.

When Subaru unleashed a completely redesigned Impreza and Impreza WRX line for 2008, the reaction from their cult-like following, the Subaru tuner community and the general public was mixed at best. The new Subaru WRX, with its softened suspension, better road manners and smoother power delivery was an attempt to bring in fresh faces to the sport compact scene, those who thought the loud, snarly, outgoing 2007 Impreza WRX was for high school kids only.
Sounds great, right? Not so fast. The die-hard Subaru WRX community gave it a big thumbs down. They did not want a budget BMW, or a glorified Toyota Corolla.

They wanted the evolution of the legendary Impreza line they knew and loved. They saw the old Subaru WRX as much more than the sum of its parts, a ready-and-willing canvass for the thousands of aftermarket parts Subaru AWD sport compacts tend to attract. What they got was a larger, bulkier Impreza chassis that was called all kinds of bad names by the automotive press. The word "Corolla" comes to mind.

The Subaru Impreza sport compact sedan in all its variations, ever in competition with AWD offerings from Mitsubishi and losing market share to the likes of the Mazdaspeed 3 and Volkswagen GTI, needed a shot in the arm. Reaching into the Subaru parts bin, the Japanese company that has become synonomous with all-wheel-drive has given the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX a larger turbocharger and an entirely redesigned Subaru exhaust system, resulting in a huge boost in horsepower for a total of 265.

The other area of attention is in the handling department. Last year's Subaru WRX couldn't even manage the same skidpad and laptime numbers as its predecessor, so for 2009 the Impreza WRX has received some much-needed handling tweaks. The Subaru parts department has made big increases in the rigidity of the suspension, with spring rates tightning up by large factors. Larger stabilizer bars should give the 2009 WRX better composure on the road and on the track.

An all-new standard Subaru WRX bodykit rounds out the package, and while it still looks a little bloated, the new 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX should do more to please fans of the most respected name in AWD sport compacts.

The official Subaru press release, reprinted in its entirety below, makes countless references to each and every way in which the 2009 Impreza WRX is better than the outgoing model. At least they've learned from their mistakes...

Engine

Power bhp: 265

Torque lb-ft: 244

Type: Turbo Intercooled Engine

Source: Rsports Cars

The Golden Roller: Rolls-Royce Golden Drophead Coupe

It's a truth universally acknowledged that the most extravagant examples of over-blinged, taste-deprived millionaire-mobiles tend to come from aftermarket tuning houses.

But, as proof that a reputation for taste and class doesn't preclude the occasional dalliance into ghastly over-the-topness, this delicious little number, this golden Drophead Coupe, comes straight from Rolls-Royce.

It was created as part of the Rolls-Royce 'Bespoke Programme', which allows customers to have pretty much any colour scheme and interior choice, no matter how hideous. Surely there are laws against this sort of thing.

As you've probably guessed, this golden Roller is headed for the Middle East: Abu Dhabi to be precise.

Our favourite touch? The gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy on the bonnet. How long do you reckon that's going to last?

Source: Top Gear

Pontiac G8 Sport Truck Name Just Pontiac G8 ST

Much to the misfortune of our Jalop friends and despite a huge online competition that saw more than 18,000 different names being entered, GM decided to stick with the totally bland “G8 ST” where ST stands for -you guessed it- Sport Truck. “Frankly, we were blown away by both the volume and quality of the names that were submitted,” said Craig Bierley, BPG product marketing director for cars and crossovers. “G8 ST was one of the most popular suggestions, plus we noticed a far broader trend toward simple, easy-to-remember names.”

And what about the “El Camino” nameplate given the G8 ST’s resemblance to the classic Chevy? “We actually thought very long about El Camino,” said Bierley. “In the end, we felt it was more appropriate to honour the El Camino’s unique place as part of Chevy’s heritage and not use that nameplate on a Pontiac.” What do you think about Pontiac’s decision to “keep it simple”?

Lincoln MKT Concept

Lincoln has given the MKT crossover the green-light, with the production version set to debut in Detroit this January and sales beginning sometime next year.

The MKT is built on the same platform as the Ford Flex, but Lincoln insists that the two models won't share a single body panel. Power will be provided by either a 3.7-liter V6 or a 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine, equipped with direct injection and a turbocharger, however a hybrid drivetrain will not be offered. A six-speed automatic gearbox, complete with paddle shifters, will be standard, along with seven-passenger seating, a power-folding third-row seat, heated and cooled, first- and second-row thrones and the SYNC in-car entertainment system. Options will include a new satelite navigation system, Sirius Travel Link, an auto-park feature (similar to that found on the Lexus LS460) and a Cross Traffic Alert system that alerts drivers to obstacles when backing out of a parking space(parking sensors?).

2009 Audi RS 6 - Twin Turbo V10, AWD, Coming to the United States!

The 2009 Audi RS6 is among the most beautiful luxury sports cars in the world. In the German horsepower war that is now bordering on ridiculous, Audi has positioned the RS6 against mid-size super luxury sport sedans from BMW M-Power and Mercedes-Benz AMG. Audi's RS line falls somewhere between the BMW ideal, that is to say making complete, well-tuned drivers cars with servicable amounts of power, and the AMG model of outputting as much horsepower as possible, and then trying to surround the AMG dream motors with components that can handle that incredible thrust.

Audi's RS6 Sedan, complementing the Avant, a wagon model that has been released in Europe, has been long awaited by Audi fans worldwide. The 2009 RS6 has styling following Audi's new design direction. All of the German luxury automakers are shifting away from the design fad toward shapely -- if perhaps overstyled -- models in favor of a more simple and clean designs. The RS6 does a performance number on the Audi A6 and S6 models, managing to look refreshingly exciting without screaming, "Hey, look at me, I have money and my car is faster than yours!" 2009 RS6 performance numbers are astounding. The mid-size luxury sedan, which can hardly be called a sleeper but will still surprise many a hardcore tuner at a stoplight fight, runs the 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, according to Audi. Real-world tests are not yet available, but as the RS6 has 580 horsepower on tap from a twin-turbocharged V10 (!!) it is possible that the RS6 will run slightly quicker numbers than Audi admits.

Like nearly all German performance cars, the Audi RS6 is electronically limited to 155 mph, but for those speed buffs who want to utilize the whole force of this sweet V10, Audi offers a performance boosting option for the RS6 that will raise the governer to 174 mph. Read on for the official Audi news release, with all the details on the forthcoming RS6 luxury sport sedan.

Engine

Power bhp: 580

Torque lb-ft: 479

Type: Twin Turbo V10

Performance

Acceleration 0-62 mph: 4.6 Seconds

Top Speed: 174 mph

Jason Heffner Builds a Performance Lamborghini Gallardo

Jason Heffner is in the business of building fast cars. We're talking about quadruple digit horsepower, spinning the tires at 100 mph and pulling-away-from-a-Bugatti-Veyron fast cars. You might remember watching a Heffner-powered twin-turbo Ford GT that could hit 222 mph in the standing mile. His latest project is this twin-turbo Lamborghini that's putting down 930 horsepower and 762 lb-ft torque at the wheels. This particular owner also wanted to cut some weight, and added a carbon fiber deck lid and rear diffuser, race seats, and lightweight wheels. Follow the jump to see the extensive upgrade list, or check out the photos below.

Source: Tuning News

Infiniti G37S Spotted at Pebble Beach

This weekend is of course the big Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Monterey, California, and a number of automakers will be on hand to debut vehicles there. Infiniti is one of them and will be showing off a few new models on the green fields of Pebble Beach, one of which is this, the G37S. What you see is not much different than the G35 out in dealers now, the difference is a few exterior tweaks including new wheels. What is different is that Infiniti's G sedan will get the same mechanical hardware found in the G37 Coupe. That means the superlative VQ-series 3.7L V6 producing 328 horsepower will be standard equipment, which necessitates the change in nomenclature for the 2009 model year from G35 to G37. Transmissions will include a 6-speed manual or Infiniti's new 7-speed automatic, and the brand is also offering a new optional brake package that adds 4-piston front/2-piston rear brakes and larger rotors. Those wheels are the new 18-inch wheel design with standard Scratch Shield self-healing paint. Infiniti will show more this weekend than just the G37S, including the G37 convertible and G37x.

Source: Auto Blog