Cool Cars: July 2010

Toyota’s New Sport Concept Model.FT-86 Concept

Toyota’s New Sport Concept Model “FT-86 Concept” Unveiled: Tokyo Motor Show 2010

2011 Ford Explorer Pictures

2011 Ford Explorer

2011 Audi A7 Sportback Pictures and Wallpaper

2011 Audi A7 Sportback

The always smiling 2010 Mazda3, which was recently shown at the 2008 L.A. Auto Show, will hit dealerships in the first quarter of 2009. No other information about the Mazda3’s arrival date has been announced. You’ll need to call your local dealership to order one, a Mazda representative said. Two out of the three Chicago-area dealers we talked to have already taken orders for the 2010 model. One required a $1,500 deposit and a guarantee that you pay the manufacturer’s suggested retail price when the car is released; the other said a deposit was negotiable.

Mazda 2010

2010 Ford Taurus

Filed under: Ford, New Cars, Mike Garrett, SHO, Taurus

The SHO will hit dealers this summer, and it should be interesting to see how the reborn SHO does against its sport sedan competition..

Ferrari 458 Italia Rear

Chevrolet Camaro Black

The new Black Concept behind the new Camaro is creating raving reviews about vehicle in black, arguably the most noticeable among the four of the new cars on display in the General Motors section. According to the designer Lee himself, he would pick the black Camaro as a personal choice.

For Lee, the Black Concept is the understated, aggressive, and sinister of the four Camaro cars. He likes the spooky feel of the Black Concept. This car can be manufactured for daily driving by anyone, even by those who are not car enthusiasts.

But what makes this car stand out aside from its black exterior? Well, the Black Concept has features above par, with its 21-inch black chrome wheels, splitter, rocker panels—all can be bought on retail from a Chevy retailer for roughly below $30,000.

The Black Concept drifts away from the traditional colors General Motors usually come up with. This sleek black ensemble is designed to lure the younger generation of car enthusiasts. Not far from the generation he is luring, Lee shares the same enthusiasm for this new concept. Being a potential trend setter, the Black Concept is a concrete example of what an easily upgraded V6 engine with 300 hp can appear like. The Black Concept of the Camaro is expected to yield huge returns and get enormous market share for the General Motors.

AutoVAZ Lada C

Lada, the venerable AutoVAZ brand that was once a Soviet-era clearinghouse for ten-year-old Fiats, is on the move. And by "the move," we mean they're building brand new cars of 1990s vintage. And to show off its new direction, Lada showed up in Geneva with the Lada C, a prototype of a car it probably has no intention to build, but that looks like a rally hatch version of Mitsubishi's Concept X. Sure, it's probably just a fiberglass body dropped over a Fiat 124 chassis. But dammit, it shows they've got pluck, like the crew of the Battleship Potemkin. Or those guys from "Weekend at Bernie's." – Mike Spinelli

2010 Mazda 3,Desings

The enigmatic and strange man who runs the Burlapp Car Page has a couple shots of what he claims is the next Mazda3. While we know we're expecting a new 2010 Mazda3, these shots look more concept than production, so we're assuming that's not what we're seeing here. While not as way-out-there as the 2018 Mazda3 design contest, could these be accurate renderings of what to expect from a concept of the next generation of Mazda's zoom-zoomin' C-segment hatchback? Mazda should hope their new car actually ends up looking like this, because it'd totally be a winner. One more shot below the jump.

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Luxury Sedan

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedans have a history that dates back for more 50 years. Beginning with the 1947 model, the E-Class now enters its ninth generation with a refreshed exterior and more advanced technology and safety features than ever before.

Slightly larger inside and out, the competes against such premium models as the E-Class sedanBMW 5 Series, Infiniti M, and Cadillac CTS. Sitting an inch lower to the ground, Sport sedans have squared-off exhaust tips, "twist" rocker panels and a grille with three horizontal bars, above a massive air intake. Luxury-model grilles contain four bars, with a smaller air intake.

Interiors feature an abundant selection of hand-polished burl walnut wood. The sedan's

gearshift lever has moved from the floor console to the steering column, operated electronically. Five-level Ambient Lighting, taken from S-Class sedans, aims to reduce eyestrain. E550 Sport sedans have a three-spoke steering wheel with thumb notches (optional for E350 Sport), versus a plain four-spoke wheel for other models. Seats are 14-way power-adjustable.

Heading the list of safety features is newly standard Attention Assist, a drowsiness monitor that tries to alert a dozing driver. Steering-angle sensors consider more than 70 variables, starting with your profile, over the first 20 minutes of driving. An audible warning is accompanied by display of a coffee-cup icon. Standard enhanced Pre-Safe Braking can provide partial or full-power braking in emergencies. Nine airbags are standard, including driver's knee and pelvic bags.

Additional safety items are optional. Radar-based Distronic Plus maintains a pre-set distance from the car ahead, working like an "invisible rubber band," according to Bernhard Glaser, general manager for product management. Night Vision Assist Plus recognizes pedestrians ahead, using twin infrared beams. Adaptive Highbeam Assist provides the best possible illumination, reaching up to 1000 feet ahead. Lane Keeping Assist uses a camera above the windshield to analyze lines in road, delivering three steering-wheel vibrations when the car begins to leave its path. Blind Spot Assist monitors the area 10 feet back and 10 feet to the side.

Today's Mercedes-Benz sedans are lighter on their feet than those from a few years back, while roomy and comfortable for long-distance treks. On reasonably smooth surfaces, occupants of an E550 Luxury sedan can barely discern bumps and other road imperfections. Even when a jolt occurs, it's stifled virtually instantly, transmitting minimal annoyance to the interior.

Mercedes-Benz offers U.S. buyers a choice of two engines, both available in either Luxury or Sport trim level. In E550 sedans, a 5.5-liter V-8 again develops 382 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque, driving a seven-speed automatic transmission. E350 sedans contain a 3.5-liter V-6, still rated at 268 horsepower and 258 pound-feet.

Estimated fuel economy is 18/25 miles per gallon (city/highway) for V-6 models, and 16/23 mpg for E550 sedans. Mercedes-Benz's transmission can skip as many as three gear ratios when downshifting, depending on the situation. A Hold function prevents "creep" at stoplights. Instead of coil springs, an Airmatic air suspension is installed on all V-8 sedans.

Transmission downshifts with the V-8 engine are not only impressively smooth, they occur promptly. Gear changes are hardly discernible. Expect assertive, refined acceleration at any speed. On certain surfaces, one Luxury sedan suffered slight steering-wheel vibration; other models felt fine.

Luxury-sedan steering feels too light and slow-responding to suit some drivers, so that sedan doesn't feel wholly comfortable on curves, or even some straight-aways. Shoppers who favor the most confident control might prefer a Sport V-8, which sticks to the pavement with greater tenacity. Steering feels a tad tauter, more in accord with directional changes.

As expected, response is more ordinary in a V-6 model: sufficiently strong, but lacking the

V-8's finesse. Still, the V-8 commands a sizable extra cost. In any version, seats keep you neatly in place. Front space is ample all around, though headroom could be a tad higher. The center controller knob isn't easy to make out, but must be studied.

On sale since June '09, the rear-wheel-drive 2010 E350 sedan has a Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price of $48,600 (plus $875 destination charge). That's actually $4,600 lower than the equivalent 2009 model. Choosing an E550 raises the tariff to $56,300; plus another $2,500 if you want 4Matic all-wheel drive. All-wheel drive sedans go on sale in September, followed in November by the superstar 518-horsepower E63 AMG sedan. Mercedes-Benz also intends to introduce a BlueTec diesel sedan next spring.

Toyota Caldina GT4

Toyota Caldina GT4 White Styles Aero Dinamist

Toyota Caldina GT4

The Gen 7 Celica was introduced in 2000 and was a completely new vehicle. This new version of the marque is almost certainly the last as Toyota have said they have no plans to extend the model line. When launched the Gen 7 Celica had an all new engine in the form of the 1.8 litre 1ZZ-FE and in 2002 this was joined by the even better 1.8 litre 2ZZ-GE which produced around 190bhp.

The Generation 7 looked completely different from previous models with it's sleeker, swept back, more angular design.

To the dismay of many devotees, there was no Gen 7 GT4 version. This omission was probably due to the fact that Toyota seemed to have no plan to get back into the Rallying world. Having said that though, the Gen 7 Celica still handled particularly well due to it's excellent chassis.

The 190 brake horse power delivers a performance that's and flexible.

At launch, only the 1ZZ-FE VVTi engine, producing around 140bhp, was available. This was much less than the 2.0 litre 3S-GE in earlier cars. Although seen as underpowered, the Generation 7 was resaonably quick and delivered a far better fuel economy than earlier cars.

Toyota and Yamaha combined to produce the 190bhp 2ZZ-GE engine and this was offered in later models of the Gen 7. The Variable Vale Lift engines supplied much more fuel and air to the engine when the revs counter went above a certain limit. This gave the Celica a completely new lease of life and a very distinctive characteristic; up to the point where the variable lift occured, the car was very similar to the VVTi models, but above that an extra 40bhp became available, and the sound of those extra horses was a deligfht to Gen 7 owners.

Toyota announced the discontinuation of both the MR2 and Celica in July 2004, however, the supply of pre-owned cars is still plentiful.

New 2010 Audi A5 Cabriolet Car

The New 2010 Audi A5 Cabriolet Car is one of the few European cars that has as much impact as a convertible as it does as a coupe. Audi’s rounded fender forms have been with us a long time, yet they still capture a sense of modernity that the extruded forms of BMW, the surface flash of Mercedes-Benz and the elaborate proportions of the Infiniti and Lexus convertibles can’t match.

That fastback roof has been cut away, creating a shapely two-place roadster. We're certain the buxom rear fenders may ignite debate amongst Z fans, but Nissan claims their form, coupled with the soft top's profile, helps the Roadster resemble the coupe when the top is up.

Honda S2000

The current Honda S2000 is one the biggest cars in the tuner market and motorsports world by far, and that is why we are watching the development of the next generation S2000 with a very close eye. Japanese Performance Car News is reporting on some new S2K rumors that come not surprisingly, from a Japanese car magazine. According to the latest speculation, the new S2000 will be released for the 2010 model year and will be available with both a 2.4L four cylinder AND a 3.5L V6. Hrm...a V6 S2000 I mean "S3500"? Sounds a little strange to me...

2011 Citroen C4 Pics Gallery

2011 Citroen C4

2011 Citroen DS3 R3 Pictures

2011 Citroen DS3 R3

Frankfurt Auto Show: Suzuki Kizashi Concept Car

Suzuki's got themselves a concept car here at the Frankfurt Auto Show and it's called the Kizashi. We don't know much else about it mostly because we can't seem to find a press release on it, but it looks kinda sweet, don't it? The one thing we do know is that according to MoneyControl India, which may be a website about controling the world's banks, India's banks or just about personal finance — they think it's going to be built and Suzuki will be sending a lot of them over to the land of the big Tata. We'll see. We'll also let you know if we get a press release on it.

2009 Auto Show: Crazy cars and future cars.

I went to the Canadian International Auto Show last weekend and I took way too many pictures! I’ve covered hip hop cars and rock cars so now it’s time for some crazy cars and future cars. The theme of this year’s auto show was “the future” so there were a lot of concept cars and they all look wild. See all of the pictures after the jump.