Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Tuners, Coupes, Supercars
click above image to view more pics of this bright orange Gemballa Mirage GT
The folks at H&R had this Gemballa Mirage GT sitting in their area at SEMA, and even though it was real orange, it was real purty. We’ll take an orange Gemballa, however, over a glitter one any day. Unfortunately, although there was an H&R logo on the hood, no one at the booth could tell us anything about it. With the added carbon fiber bits over the “regular” Mirage, it looks to be a Black Edition Mirage: check out the carbon fiber inserts in the side skirts, the carbon fiber struts for the mirrors, and the black strip of CF weave in the hood. And those afterburner exhaust tips? Oh yeah. Check it all out in the gallery of hi-res pics.
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Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Tuners, Convertibles, Economy, Scion
click above image to view more detail pics of the beechwood Scion xD
It’s a Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe on a Scion xD budget. So the Drophead uses teak for its rear deck where Dalek uses beechwood, but it’s wood nonetheless, right? The wood out back is actually a bit much (that rear armrest simply can’t be comfortable), but the rest of the car rings the right notes. The speedster windshield and chop give the car a nice landspeeder-on-wheels look, and the exterior details have been shrunk — like the mirrors — or muted, like the black chrome badging. Inside the car is packed, but much of the stuff is hidden like the monitor, most of the sound system, and even champagne flutes that the makers claim is there, but we couldn’t find. And what speedster doesn’t look better or go faster with a skull for a gearshift knob? Follow the jump for the full specs, and be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res shots.
Continue reading SEMA 2007: Dalek does a Scion xD in beechwood
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Did you hear that? It was the sound of fourteen gauntlets being thrown down by import automakers in the halls of Congress. That’s the number of foreign car makers including Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai that have said they can meet a CAFE standard of 35 MPG — they just can’t do it by 2020 and request “several more years.” How many more is several? No one says, but it’s a start.
The group in question is the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, which has decided to stop trying to fight the 35 MPG standard that’s being proposed. Mike Stanton, president of the group, has called that figure “a pretty sacred number” on Capitol Hill.” That group, though, is different than the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which is the Big Three, Toyota, and five others. They say the Association’s position isn’t at odds with theirs, which makes sense because no one is saying that 35 MPG isn’t achievable. Everyone just wants more time to do it, and again, the Association hasn’t said how much additional time it wants.
The import makers haven’t decided whether they still want to fight the merging of car and truck standards into one single standard for an automaker’s entire fleet. It will continue to fight Congress’ wish that more cars run on mostly ethanol, and it doesn’t want to keep certifying domestically-made and imported cars separately. We would tell you that the debate over federal CAFE standards should come to an end later this year as some analysts claim, but we have little faith a final agreement will be reached.
[Source: Auto News, sub req’d]
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The rumormill looks to have been accurate. It hasn’t been announced, but the leaked photo abobe confirms it: Maybach is set to unveil the 62 Landaulet at the Middle East International Auto Show later this month. Based on the Maybach 62 sedan and powered by its 612-horsebower biturbo V12, the Landaulet’s front seats are fully enclosed and separated from the rear passenger compartment by a removable divider. Back seat passengers, however, get a sliding soft roof that lets them take in the sun from the comfort of the trick Barcaloungers that pass for back seats in the Maybach.
When it’s revealed in Dubai, it’ll be billed as a concept. Despite that title, it’s completely reasonable to expect that the rumored 20-vehicle production run is an absolute lock, given that the cars guaranteed to be sold at pretty much any price Daimler chooses to ask for them. For the oil-rich sheiks likely to be snapping them up, money is not a concern. They see things, they want them, and they acquire them. It’ll be no different with the Landaulet. These people buy widebody jets for personal use. You think a super-expensive car’s going to give them pause?
[Source: Motor Authority]
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Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Tuners, Coupes, Economy, Scion
click above image to view more detail shots of the Ron English Scion tC
It’s Warhol again, with his dictum that “art is what you can get away with.” Exhibit A: a purple scion bedecked in buttons of “ying-yang” art that randomly light up like a christmas tree. Look closely at the pic above and you can see that some yin-yangs are brighter than others because they’re lit through the bodywork. We’re not especially big fans of the billet wheels, eiher. There’s something a bit too, oh… ugly… about them. Nevertheless, the car got our attention (it was blinking, after all), and isn’t that what art is supposed to do? The neatest things about the car for our money (or our show pass, as it were), were the holograms over the windows with some 3-headed alien chicken-looking-thing, and an Eragon-ish dragon. The actual artwork on the car was done by pop artist Ron English, whose other well known work is starting to freak us out. Follow the jump for the full specs, and be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res pics.
Continue reading SEMA 2007: Purple Scion tC by Ron English is lite brite
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Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Tuners, Sedans/Saloons, Ford
The boys over at Galpin Auto Sports have made a name for themselves by creating some very over-the-top vehicles, and they’ve applied some of their handywork to a Ford Fusion we found at Ford’s SEMA display that was particularly impressive. The 3.0-liter V6 has been pumped up to 400 horsepower via a turbocharger system and custom headers, which is always nice. The suspension, meanwhile, has been upgraded with H&R coilovers and Steeda Autosports front and rear sway bars. A 3d Carbon body kit is also accented with M&M Auto Arts Candy Orange racing stripes and custom black paint as well as a carbon fiber front splitter and rear wing. We also dig the new vented hood and the headlight covers that sculpt the Fusion’s gaze into a mean scowl. Inside is a custom leather interior by Katzkin, a suede steering wheel and a custom 6-point roll cage. Yes, it’s still a Fusion, but it’s one seriously bad ass Fusion.
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Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Economy, Sedans/Saloons, Scion, Toys
click above image for more high-res pics of the Ridemakerz Scions
Ridemakerz and Scion have joined forces on a program that lets you create your very own Scion “Ride” without the hassle of credit checks and car insurance. Seven customization steps allow 649 million unique tuning possibilities for your toy car, and when you’re all finished, you get a 12-inch-long Scion xB in fiberglass-over-foam. It comes with custom plates of your choosing and a Certificate of Title that has a RIN — Ride Identification Number. And if you want to go all out, you can even add radio control. Check out the 7:8 full-scale (or so) 5Axis model from Troy Sumitomo that the company had on display. Follow the jump for the press release, and be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res pics.
Continue reading SEMA 2007: Ridemakerz lets you customize a (little) Scion
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Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA
That’s an 11-inch lip on these wheels! These rims from Royalty Luxury Alloys are called the Masterpiece and according to the signage, they feature the world’s first 11-inch lip. The look is a bit deceiving, because the spokes are set in the middle, but bow far back into the rim to create the world’s only 11-inch lip. Custom rims are all about getting noticed, so if deep lips are your thing, it looks like you’ll now have to crank it up to 11 to stand out from the crowd.
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Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA, Tuners, Scion
Click the image above to view a couple of Scion’s SEMA entries.
“These are our people!” has always been Scion’s mantra at SEMA. Car customization and personalization is the cornerstone of Toyota’s “youth”branded division, despite the number of retirees buying up xBs to shuffle between the doctor’s office and the Elk’s Lodge.
While there were a number of Scions adorning the show floor, the automaker’s own booth only had a couple of vehicles worthy of our attention… and your time.
Two models, an xB and an xD, both featured chopped roofs and plenty of show-only go-fast bits. The latter, built by Team Koshak, featured a wet injection Nitrous Express system, Magnaflow exhaust, custom 19-inch rollers, and an Extreme Dimension body kit swathed in Samurai Green Tea paint. Inside, it’s all about eye-grabbing accouterments, sometime at the expense of good taste. While the Status Racing seats blend a bit of functionality with an attractive design, the blue and green plaid upholstery apes the Mk V GTI in the worst possible way. You can check out the rest of Team Koshak’s mods on their display plaque and peruse the gallery below to see both vehicles at the Scion stand.
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Filed under: Economy, Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Hyundai
Hyundai’s rolled out a new city car, the i10, which they feel is so good that it will double Hyundai’s sales in that segment. Manufacturer propaganda always ladles on the glowing prose, but after reading through the specs, we were nodding in approval, too. A quick glance at the pictures had us thinking “modern day Excel,” but that’s not the case. Comprehensively equipped, the i30 comes standard with air conditioning, power windows, six-speaker stereo, and four airbags. The 1.1 liter four cylinder, providing about 60 horsepower, returns fuel economy in the 50 miles per gallon (US, 60 mpg Imperial) range, and low emissions.
Styling, well, it’s in the very small car idiom, and it’s not breaking any new ground. Tall and short, the i10 is not ugly, and in these days of $90-plus per barrel oil prices, small is ever more beautiful. The i10 will be exported from India, which will be the sole manufacturing base for the car. With the tight supply of Honda Fits, we could use another A-class ride for low dollars on these shores, maybe if we ask real nice?
[Source: Hyundai]
Continue reading Hyundai i10 revealed in India
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