According to sources of the MotorAuthority the German tuner G-Power has taken it upon themselves to do a little transplants between relatives. It seems the speedy straight-six in the M3 CSL does not pack enough punch for some fans, so G-Power hollowed out the space where the straight-six once resided and filled with with the M5’s 5.0 liter V10. Then they took it a step further and modified the V10 just to give it a little more thrill.

With the transplant completed G-Power now has a BMW M3 that is launching from a standstill with 428-ft lbs of torque and searing up the road with 550-hp. The zero to sixty speed for the pumped-up M3 is 4.2 seconds while the “wow” factor would seem nearly instantaneous. Coupled with the engine transplant G-Power also provides the KW automotive race suspension kit necessary to keep all of that V10 power from spilling out all over the road. Since there are no rails upon which it rides such improved handling would be necessary.

For a nominal fee G-Power would be delighted to perform the same transplant in any current BMW 3-series coupe, Z4, X5 or new M3. The V10 conversion gives you super car speed and performance in a small, posh package. That would be one way to jump-start the morning commute without the need for coffee…  just a few jolts of adrenaline.

Source[MotorAuthority]

Volvo has devised a road monitoring system designed to keep the tired and distracted on the road. Their motivation is a step toward prevention so that maybe all the safety features they fill there cars with will not be necessary. Volvo’s target is the 90% of accidents that are caused by an unalert driver (where the acquired that percentage is unclear). So starting here at the end of 2007 Volvo will begin to install their Driver Alert System in their V70, XC70, and S80 models.

The system begins with a camera resides between the rear-view mirror and the windshield. The entire system is activated at 40-mph and has two separate alert systems: Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Driver Alert Control (DAC).

No matter what circuit the Formula One circus visits they are nearly always greeted by a sea of red. The “Tifosi” are the real die hard fans who follow the prancing horse no matter who drives for them or whatever the results, although winning is preferable to coming in second or third!

To reward the fans and also to celebrate their fantastic 1st and 2nd places in the Turkish Grand Prix last weekend, the team have released through the Ferrari Store, a limited amount of signed Ferrari F1 baseball caps, which have been signed by both drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.

For those who have the urge to buy this special limited edition, the cap will be delivered in a bright red Ferrari box and comes with a certificate of authenticity, just so you can prove to your friends that the item is real, and not just a $10 cap that you have signed yourself, (Now that’s an idea!) and all this for around $600.

The signed baseball cap and box etc will be limited to only 50, so for real Ferrari F1 fans time may be as limited as the caps themselves, whether this could count as an investment or not is very debatable, even a limited edition of 50 may not be worth much more than the price paid, however the “Tifosi” would no doubt disagree.

To view the official page and the only pace to buy the caps visit the Ferrari Store.

Source [Auto Blog]

If the word streaming out from the HyundaiExchange is any indication Hyundai is looking to break-out strong into the luxury sedan market. Hyundai’s recent emergence into the limelight of the auto industry is not by accident and is not going to fade away. They already have one of the best warranty programs for their new cars and now they are planning to introduce what they hope will be one of the best luxury sedans on the market. The primary means (besides style and quality) by which Hyundai plans to get their Genesis sedan to the top will be with a new 380-hp engine and a lower price than their competitors.

From styling, to attitude, to performance, to image… the Jaguar XF shows with its pre-Frankfurt Auto Show unveiling that it waits for nobody. The XF’s leap from concept to production car in 2009 will mark the end of the S-Types unheralded run. Panned by some for being more Ford Taurus than Jaguar the S-Type failed to satisfy many of the Jaguar enthusiasts. The XF may show some signs of the design times with some Lexus and Mercedes-Benz influences but this new Jaguar will be looking to make a name for itself all on its own.

The 2009 Jaguar XF is stretched for comfort and fueled to move. The body of the XF is a bit stretched over the old S-Type’s size and that cabin capacity is filled with creature comforts for the occupants of the car.

With so many cars lined up for their first public unveiling’s to occur in the final auto shows of the season the buzz competition is tight. While we spend months covering speculations, renderings and masked test mules any lull in that coverage can cause a trail to grow cold. So just in time to keep interest high and curiosity peeked an official brochure of the new Mitsubishi Evo X has been leaked out via a Lancer Forum and is building the buzz anew for the new car.

The brochure itself is in Japanese so some of the details will require translation. However with any familiarity with auto brochures the visual story and stimulation from the leaked brochure develops the Evo X into quite an interesting action packed-drama. Increasing the action are the reports of the horsepower and performance within.

If anyone needed a reason to give up smoking, then this has to be up there with the best of them, as it could have resulted in some very serious consequences.

The car owner, Shane Reas of Fort Worth in Texas had a shock while sitting in the car he reached over and picked up the lighter, whether he tried to light it or not, is unclear, but all of a sudden it exploded in his hand, causing him to drop it and no doubt get out of the car pretty quick.

However the car was not so lucky and subsequently continued to burn, resulting in the car virtually being totally destroyed and really lucky for all concerned that was the only damage, clearly this could have been more serious.

According to the Forth Worth Fire Department, this sort of event is not totally unheard of, as the disposable lighters are made of plastic and if it is in direct sunlight the gas can actually begin to reach its boiling point and you can just imagine how dangerous that is. If you must keep one in the car, it should be either in the glove compartment or somewhere else that does not get direct sun.

This has to be a wake up call for all smokers who drive, imagine what would happened if the car owner was driving along the freeway at the time of the incident!

Source [Snafu-ed]

http://snafu-ed.blogspot.com/2007/08/car-burns-after-cigarette-lighter.html

Today’s auto shopper has more knowledge available to them than at any other time in automotive history. The internet has opened up a space for complete coverage of all things automotive where all details and insights for all new cars are available and for nearly all used cars. Recently one more investigative tool has been made more accessible to shoppers when Consumer Reports announced that it will make the crash videos of nearly 200 cars available online.

Crash tests availability to the online community is a long time coming with some spotty coverage having been loaded into websites like YouTube in the past, but complete coverage to this time has been quite restricted. The videos made available are for both new and used cars but do not include every car ever tested, but maybe someday they will.

Inhabitat.com is a design focused blog that deals with everything from sustainable living and housing to transportation. As part of their Transportation Tuesdays series they turned their attention toward the five sexiest green sports cars to tempt their palate. In their Top 5 you will find a concept car, a limited production car and a future production car.

Toyota FT-HS in the photo above did make their Top 5 it is not number 1. However with its hybrid drive system and stealth-angled appearance it might be tough to keep it from being the top option on our own dream green list.

Take the leap over to Inhabitat.com and view the list for yourself. While you are there take a look at some of their other ideas and articles as it is a well done site for design and sustainable ideas.

Source[inhabitat via autobloggreen]

Starting September 1st, 2007 the Z4 will be joining the list of BMW’s 1-Series, 3-Series and 5-Series cars to receive their “Efficient Dynamics” system. The design of the system is intended to make the cars more eco-friendly by reducing their carbon emissions. While the other model BMW’s received their alterations in the form of regenerative braking and combined alternator/starter bolt-on’s the Z4 will be receiving its efficiency aid in the form of rear axle transmission.

All versions of the Z4 will be recieving the efficeincy improvements except for the Z4M. Below is a the listing in detail of the improvement each engine type has improved by: