Car and Driver Blog

Renault to Revive Gordini Badge

Jens Meiners — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:14:25 +0000

1976 Renault 17 TS

On November 10, French automaker Renault will bring back the famous Gordini badge. Many of us don’t remember, but the company started by Italian-born race driver and businessman Amédée Gordini (1899–1979) was a significant force in European motorsports from the 1930s on.

In the 1950s, Gordini teamed up with Renault and was in charge of developing stunningly fast versions of the otherwise pedestrian Renault Dauphine, Renault 8, and Renault 12 sedans. The quirky Renault 17 coupe, sold in the U.S. in the 1970s, was called the Renault 17 Gordini with the top-of-the-line engine.

The Gordini badge then disappeared and faded from memory, but now it’s coming back. Details are sketchy, but we expect the Gordini moniker to adorn the most powerful hot hatches in the Renault portfolio, with the range potentially stretching from the Twingo and Clio to the Mégane coupe.

Renault R8 Gordini race cars

It’s just another example of European carmakers taking a hard look at their history to recapture some of the past excitement, when cars were light, loud, and fun to drive. Undoubtedly, Renault was motivated to some extent by the Fiat Cinquecento (500) and Grande Punto Abarth. The resurrection of this former sports-car brand has been a smashing success for Italian automaker.

Stay tuned for more detail and initial photos after the press conference next week.

2010 Suzuki Kizashi Pricing Announced – Car News

Steve Siler — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:36:48 +0000

Kizashi takes on the VW Jetta with prices starting under $20K.

Just one month before it hits the American market, Suzuki has released pricing of its new Kizashi mid-sized sedan. The Kizashi will be available in no fewer than 11 grades of trim, starting with the base Kizashi S at $19,734 with a six-speed manual transmission and front-wheel drive. Even the base S will come standard with some unexpected goodies such as a pushbutton start, dual-zone climate control, eight airbags, nine-speaker sound system, and ambient nighttime illumination. The CVT adds another $1,500 to that price, and AWD adds another $1,250 which is only available on CVT-equipped cars.

Keep Reading: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi Pricing Announced – Car News

2009 SEMA Show: Meanwhile, Back at the Sands

Michael Austin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:03:05 +0000

With announcements from OEMs, celebrity appearances, and an endless supply of booth models, SEMA gets all the attention during the few days known as Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week. But the other part of AAIW is the AAPEX show over at the nearby Sands Expo Center. If you’re confused by all the acronyms, AAPEX stands for Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo, and it takes up nearly all of the available 1.8 million square feet at the Sands. It’s basically split into two sections: upstairs and downstairs.

The AAPEX show floor

Upstairs is a standard trade show on a massive scale. Everything, and I do mean everything, that has to do with automotive parts and accessories can be found here. The visual landscape is dominated by giant displays from major players like Bosch and Continental, but there’s always a tacky air freshener company booth nearby. And you can find specialists for any area of the car, such as General Seal Corporation, which specializes in, well, seals. The great thing about AAPEX is that it focuses more on the trade part of trade show, whereas SEMA is definitely more about the show. The Sands is far less crowded, which means it’s easier to actually talk to someone about their products. And instead of booth models, AAPEX show stands are populated with actual employees that work on the products they’re representing. Plus the Sands even has a bathroom with a Dyson Air Blade hand dryer; take that, Las Vegas Convention Center.

I just thought that superhero guy looks awesome. Plus, you can’t get parts without Taiwan, according to the sign.

Can you point me to where Pretty Good Motor Company is located?

AAPEX is a fine trade show, which actually means it’s kind of boring. That is, of course, until you go downstairs. Some parts of this section of the Sands exit to the street, so the lower level isn’t technically a basement, but it sure feels like it. The concrete ceiling is lower than the upstairs, the lighting is harsher, and the booths and products are far shoddier. Down here it’s like a model United Nations of parts suppliers, with representation from China, India, Turkey, Taiwan, Mexico, Columbia, Hong Kong, and Korea. The rows of pre-fab booths are packed with companies with awkwardly translated names like Ningbo Yumway Automobile Parts Co., Ltd. (not to be confused with Ningbo Lucky Foreign Trade Co., Ltd.), and Okay Motor Products (Hangzhou), Inc. My personal favorite was Grace News, Inc., which manufactures neither grace nor news, but wrenches.

Kind of self explanatory

The lower level of AAPEX is the trade-show equivalent of the back alley of an ethnic neighborhood: densely packed, filled with the sounds of foreign tongues and with a slight whiff of danger in the air. I half expected to turn some dark corner only to hear a sales pitch from a man with a thick accent wearing a trench coat. “Hey boss, you want fuel pumps? I got great deals. You want brake drums? Tell me what you need, I get it. Best prices.” In reality, the place wasn’t quite that shady, but I avoided eye contact just to make sure I didn’t accidentally sign up to buy 10,000 sets of air springs. Many of the parts on display at SEMA or upstairs at AAPEX are made by the companies in the basement of the Sands, or at least copied by them as cheaply as possible. I assume there are a number of reputable companies here too, as some booths flaunt the OEM affiliations of the parts on display.

Delicious happy spicy bushings

If you want flash and excitement, stick to SEMA. But if you want to see how the sausage is made in your aftermarket parts, you will find AAPEX as strangely fascinating as I do.

[View with PicLens]

2009 SEMA Show: Meanwhile, Back at the Sands

2009 SEMA Show: 10 of Our Favorites – Feature

Car and Driver — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:39:54 +0000

A bunch of us went to SEMA and found a bunch of awesome stuff.

There’s a lot to see during a three-day visit to the SEMA show. We narrowed down that lot to a list of the vehicles that we liked best.

Scion xB by Five Axis

Five Axis tends to turn out pretty choice customs, and this Scion xB is certainly no different. The clean design incorporates matte brown wheels tucked under fender flares reminiscent of those from a 1970s Z car. Further details, such as the custom matte taillight covers, make this one of our show favorites.

Chevrolet Corvette GTR by Specter Werkes/Sports

One of the most tasteful modified Corvettes we’ve ever seen, this Specter Werkes GTR has an 800-hp twin-turbo LS7 to back up its good looks. We’d swap out the incongruous exhaust tips for something more conventional, but the rest of the package is oh-so right.

Keep Reading: 2009 SEMA Show: 10 of Our Facorites – Feature

Daily Downshift: November 5, 2009

Car and Driver — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:15:46 +0000

+ Day Two of our SEMA coverage has revealed even more questionable customs and crazy concepts. Check out the cars that caught our eyes, and browse the mega gallery of this year’s creations. [Car and Driver]

+ We head to Ferrari’s Fiorano test track to spend some time behind the wheel of the 2010 458 Italia. [Car and Driver]

+ After eight lackluster seasons, Toyota is withdrawing from Formula 1. [Car and Driver]

+ Porsche has released official information and images of the 2011 Boxster Spyder. It’s sexier than a regular Boxster and serves up the power of a Cayman S. Hot! [Car and Driver]

+ The 2010 BMW M3 GTS gets official. [Car and Driver]

+ Check out these three vintage Hondas we came across while walking the SEMA show floor. [Car and Driver]

+ Ford has just announced that it will introduce inflatable seatbelts on the 2011 Explorer. [The Detroit Bureau]

+ At 101 years old, Virgil Coffman has to be one of the coolest Camaro drivers on the planet. [Autoblog]

+ Volkswagen/Audi and Stanford are looking to break new ground, with a completely autonomous Audi TT S that has hit 130 mph at Bonneville, and will race up Pikes Peak in the future. [New York Times]

+ “My tank is full” is apparently the new slogan for the Ram brand. What does that even mean? [Jalopnik]

+ One major issue with Ethanol in the United States is that it’s made from a feedstock that is food for billions of people around the world: corn. BP has just announced that it may be able to start producing cellulose ethanol on an industrial scale as early as next year. [Reuters]

2010 Honda Accord Sedan with Mugen Accessories – Auto Shows

Erik Johnson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:19:13 +0000

Big H broadens the Mugen catalog to include its Accord family sedan.

The annual SEMA show is always pretty Honda intensive, with dozens of modified versions of the company’s cars displayed by various tuners. Of course, Honda itself can play the game, and so it used the 2009 version of the Las Vegas extravaganza to debut a new line of factory-backed Mugen accessories for the 2010 Accord sedan.

Keep Reading: 2010 Honda Accord Sedan with Mugen Accessories – Auto Shows

Name That Exhaust Note, Episode 13: 2008 Caterham 7 Superlight R400

Car and Driver — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:00:51 +0000

On Tuesday, we posted an audio recording of a mystery car’s exhaust note. To hear it again, click play above. No one got it right this time—it was a 2008 Caterham 7 Superlight R400.

Like it? Download the MP3 and quiz your friends, make your own ringtone, or just lull yourself to sleep with sweet, sweet vehicular ear candy.

2008 Caterham 7 Superlight R400 Exhaust MP3 (Right-click to Save As…)

2009 SEMA Show: Honda’s Vintage Mini Mites

Michael Austin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:41:44 +0000

1971 Honda N600

At the SEMA show, every show car is unique and thus nothing is unique. There are so many tuned Camaros, Challengers, Mustangs, Corvettes, Imprezas, and Evolutions (and others; I just got tired of typing) that things become a blur of body kits and carbon fiber. What stands out is the truly one-of-a-kind, like this trio of museum cars at the Honda stand. Starting with a 1971 N600, which was the first car sold by Honda in North America when it hit the mainland in 1970 (it was sold in Hawaii in 1969). Weighing only 1356 pounds, the tiny N600 looks like the Japanese take on a Fiat 500. The Honda doubles the Fiat’s output though, with a 598cc two-cylinder pumping out 34 horsepower. Top speed is 80 mph. Yours for only $1395 1971 U.S. dollars.

Next to the N600 is the Bolus and Snopes 1974 Honda Civic 1200 race car. Campaigned in the SCCA GT5 class from 1985 to 1990 by American Honda district sales representative Bob Boileau, this Civic paved the way for the future of modified and race-prepared Hondas. It’s somewhat ironic that the rest of the show floor was noticeably lacking in Honda-based project cars, but that’s more a sign of the recent resurgence of the muscle car than any lack of enthusiasm on the part of Honda owners.

1984 Honda CRX Mugen prototype

Last in the trio is the 1984 CRX Mugen prototype. Mugen, an independent tuner started by Honda founder Soichiro Honda’s son, was picked as a factory tuning partner for the CRX, supporting racing enthusiasts. Inside the stripped interior is a pair of racing seats and a fire-suppression system. Underneath the skin (fitted with a Mugen body kit) nearly every component has been altered with Mugen parts, from the camshafts, valves, and springs in the 1.5-liter engine to a complete suspension and brakes. The tires, Bridgestone Potenza RE71, size 205/60-13, were about as sweet as things got in 1984.

2010 BMW M3 GTS – Car News

Jens Meiners — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:44:56 +0000

Finally, a real M car again.

We’ve seen a lot of fast and fascinating cars from BMW’s M division lately, including stuff like the X5 M and X6 M, possibly the baddest SUVs on the market right now. While we’ve had a lot of fun with those behemoths, we still can’t help but recall that the M division is supposed to be about lightweight performance powerhouses. But even the quintessential M car, the M3, has become somewhat portly in its current iteration, particularly the M3 convertible, which has a retractable hardtop that is as elaborate as it is heavy.

Keep Reading: 2010 BMW M3 GTS – Car News

2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder – Official Photos and Info

Steve Siler — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:59:05 +0000

Porsche’s latest Boxster adds lightness and hotness in equal measure.

We’ve long had big-time love for Porsche’s delicious Boxster, a car that—like its vaunted older brother, the mighty 911—seems only to get better every year. And so we celebrate Porsche’s addition of a third, range-topping model to the Boxster family: the 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder.

Keep Reading: Porsche Boxster Spyder – Official Photos and Info