Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Honda Insight Concept

Honda is reviving an old name for its new Global Hybrid that goes on sale next spring by calling it the Insight. The new five-door hatchback "Prius-Killer" will be the most direct competitor yet for Toyota's iconic hybrid. Learning from the lesson that hybrid buyers apparently prefer their cars to be recognizable as such rather than being derivatives of existing models, Honda has modeled the new Insight after its low volume FCX Clarity fuel cell car and will be debuting it as a concept at the Paris Motor Show next month before it goes on sale as the least expensive hybrid in the world in 2009. Recent comments by Honda have hinted at a price starting at $18,500 for the Insight, which goes on sale 10 years after the original. Unlike the tiny two-seater that had limited appeal and utility, this new one is expected to appeal to a much wider audience. Honda is planning for worldwide sales of 200,000 units a year with 100,000 going to the U.S. market.


[Source: Honda]

click the R10 for a high res gallery from the Detroit race

The only real question in the P1 class of the American Le Mans Series this year was which Audi driver pairing would capture the championship. Audi only faced one actual challenger all season long in the LMP1 class from the Intersport Racing team, and they weren't really in the same class, if you know what we mean. Going into this past weekend's Detroit Sports Car Challenge, the pairing of Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner were leading their teammates Marcel Fässler and Emanuele Pirro with an opportunity to clinch the drivers' championship. Some mishaps for the Luhr/Werner team early on, however, suggested the battle would go on until at least the Petit Le Mans next month. Luhr hit a tire wall hard on lap 13 and Fässler went on to cross the finish line third behind a pair of Acuras in the LMP2 class. But the Fässler/Pirro car was disqualified after the race for being underweight, leaving the LMP1 drivers' title to Luhr and Werner. Hopefully the entry of Acura and Corsa Motorsports' hybrid racer in the LMP1 class for 2009 will give Audi a real challenge. If only we could convince Peugeot to run the full ALMS schedule with its diesel-powered 908s, LMP1 would be as much fun as the P2 and GT classes.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Audi]

Click above to enlarge

Hyundai made a huge splash at the New York Auto Show this year with its Genesis Coupe, and it's looking for a repeat performance next month at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The Koreans are working with several aftermarket tuners to create special coupes for the tuner show and they just passed along a photo of one of them. This example was created by HKS USA and includes the usual array of body work mods along with plenty of mechanical upgrades. Hyundai hasn't provided details on the engine re-work yet other than noting it's got an HKS GT Turbo package, so presumably this car will use the 2.0L turbo four-cylinder as its starting point. Since the guts of the engine are being beefed up, we can safely assume this thing will be running considerably higher boost than a stock Genesis. Hopefully the HKS Hipermax III fully-adjustable suspension will help make all this power usable on the street as well as the track. The Genesis Coupe may just yet prove to be a very formidable competitor to all those new Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers appearing over the next few months, and we can't wait for our chance to drive one.

[Source: Hyundai]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

After decades of decay, Cadillac began a transformation in the waning years of the last century that would allow the brand to compete against modern luxury brands. Decrepit beasts like the late Eldorado and Seville were euthanized and, while the decision to switch mostly to alpha-numeric naming was dubious, Cadillac finally started creating cars that could compete directly with the best from Europe and Japan, and the first generation CTS was one of them.

In spite of this progress, the Germans still had something Cadillac lacked, namely AMG, M and RS models. So Cadillac devised the V-Series, the first of which was the 2004 CTS-V. Just as BMW does with the M3 and M5, Audi with the RS4 and RS6 and Mercedes with innumerable AMGs, the CTS-V had a bigger, more powerful engine; beefier brakes and tires; a suspension to match and an upgraded interior. This, however, is an arms race that has yet to subsie in spite of ever higher fuel prices. With BMW, Mercedes and Audi now offering even more powerful engines, Cadillac has stepped up to the plate with an all-new CTS-V and we had a chance to drive it at the even newer Monticello Motor Club in New York. With a new supercharged LSA engine closely related to the LS9 in the Corvette ZR1, the CTS-V makes some big promises. Read on after the jump to see if it delivers.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click on Helio Castroneves for a high res gallery

As the first season of the reunited IndyCar series winds down, the open wheel racers took to the Belle Isle track to close out the Detroit Grand Prix weekend. Scott Dixon sat on the pole holding a slim lead over Helio Castroneves in the season standings with three races to go including this one. If the race is still sitting on your DVR and you don't want to spoil the surprise, just enjoy the gallery for now, it won't spoil your appetite. Otherwise follow the jump for the results.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click the C6.R for a high-res gallery from the race

As part of the revival of the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle last year, the Detroit Sports Car Challenge was added as the highlight of Saturday's activities. The sports car race is back this year as the ninth round of the American Le Mans Series. For those who have never checked out an ALMS race, it's one of the best and most exciting forms of motorsport anywhere. Highcroft Racing's Acura ARX-01B captured the pole and led much of the first half of the race ahead of the De Ferran Racing Acura. If you TiVoed the race and don't want to ruin the surprise, you can just check out the gallery and come back later to see the full results after the jump. Otherwise, you know what to do.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Acura has announced at the Detroit Grand Prix that they will enter the LMP1 class in the American Le Mans Series in 2009, adding to its existing LMP2 effort. Honda's premium brand entered ALMS in the lighter LMP2 class at the beginning of 2007 with the Highcroft, Fernandez and Andretti-Green teams and won a single race that year. This year De Ferran motorsports has joined the lineup and Acura has four victories, including an overall win at Lime Rock in early July.

For 2009, De Ferran and Highcroft will run the all new ARX-02A LMP1 car, while Fernandez and possibly one other team will continue with the LMP2 program. No mention was made of AGR. The new car is being developed in cooperation with existing partner Wirth Research in the UK. Honda Performance Development president Erik Berkman declined to reveal any other details about the new car. However, with the currently dominant P1 cars in North America and Europe being the diesel powered Audis and Peugeots, and a production diesel joining the Acura lineup next spring, a diesel powered ARX-02A would seem a likely choice. The new car will debut at the 2009 12 Hours of Sebring in March, but Berkman said no decision has been made on a Le Mans run yet.

[Source: Acura]

In the world of Hollywood where so many people are vacuous prima donnas, Paul Newman is one of the great exceptions. He is considered one of the greatest American actors and one of the classiest human beings. However, after 83 years, the Newman era is drawing to a close. About 18 months ago, Newman was diagnosed with lung cancer and he's not expected to live past the end of September.

Many fans of his acting are not aware of Newman's nearly four-decade long involvement in motorsports. Over the years he has racked up a second place finish at the 24 hours of Le Mans and a GTS class victory at the 1995 Daytona 24 hours... at the age of 74. For the last 25 years he and Carl Haas have owned one of the most successful IndyCar/ChampCar teams of the era, as well. Off the track and sound stage he has also raised over $200 million for charity through the Newman's Own brand of foods.

On August 13, the Lime Rock Park race track near his Connecticut home shut down for a couple hours so that Newman could take a few final laps in his GT1 Corvette. The world will certainly be a poorer place with his passing. If you haven't watched The Hustler, The Sting, or Butch and Sundance recently, now's probably a good time to put them in your NetFlix queue. Thanks for the tip, Luke!

[Source: SpeedTV]

Mercedes-Benz big bomber, the S-Class, is due for a mid-cycle refresh next year and we'll probably see its official form no later than the Geneva Motor Show in March. Judging from this latest batch of spy shots, we may actually see it much sooner, possibly as early as the Paris Motor Show in October. The fundamentals of the S-Class clearly aren't changing, but low investment parts like the grille, lower front fascia, mirrors and tail-lights get updates. The interior doesn't appear to have changed much either, but based on the driver's attempt to block the view, the S-Class may be getting a new COMAND system interface, which would be a welcome change. It's not known if Mercedes will offer a new BlueTec diesel engine in the S-Class here in the States, although that is a foregone conclusion for Europe. One new model we'll definitely see here is the S400 hybrid, which pairs the 3.5L V6 with a new mild hybrid system developed by Mercedes and BMW. The mild hybrid should also be the first mass produced automotive application of lithium-ion batteries.

[Source: EMercedesBenz.com]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Porsche Carrera S

As we approach the 45th birthday of the Porsche 911 and the dawn of yet another generation, we've finally managed to snag one in the Autoblog Garage for a full review. The 911 is the most direct descendant of the very earliest sports cars to wear that legendary German automotive name. It still uses the same basic layout as the first Porsche, the 356 (except for prototype No.1, which was mid-engined) with a horizontally opposed engine hanging out behind the rear axle. Of course, the 911 has two more cylinders now, and these days the engines are cooled by liquid rather then air, but the basic premise remains.

Even though the 911 has gone through five generations, with another refresh for 2009 arriving momentarily, it remains instantly recognizable as what it is. Even with what some may consider an archaic drivetrain layout, the 2008 Porsche Carrera S remains one of the finest sports cars in the world. Follow the jump to find out how it performed in our garage.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.