RideLust

This is what happens when a car company simply cannot leave well-enough alone. Back in 1998 Volkswagen redesigned the iconic Beetle. It was based on a concept car called aptly, the Concept One which debuted at the 1994 North American International Auto Show and was clearly a modernized version of the original. The car looked perfect and the buying public fell in love with it. As with anything else though a product has a certain life-cycle and after a wonderful 12 year run VW decided to take another crack at it. What you are seeing are the first pics of Volkswagens newly redesigned 2012 Beetle as brought to us by Autoblog.com, and to be honest I think the 1998 version looks a lot better.
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Recently rescued Swedish sensation Saab just keeps struttin’ its stuff. First there’s news that Spyker, the quirky Swede’s savior and parent company, is nabbing leftover engines from BMW to throw in future Saabs. Now photos of the new Cadillac SRX-based Saab 9-4X have seeped out into the Internet. The fanatics over at Saabs United posted the photos a few days ago. The 9-4X was engineered when Saab was owned by GM and is basically a re-bodied SRX. Still, it has Saab style and should be equipped with the company’s potent turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 and AWD. The turbo 2.0-liter inline four may also be an option. The 9-4X is expected to be officially released at the upcomming Los Angeles Auto Show.

Source: Saabs United

There are times when you have to question the way in which automotive manufacturers go about releasing new vehicles. Take the new 2011 Dodge Charger for example, a car that is one of the most anticipated automobiles of 2011. For months now people have been speculating as to the styling changes of the cars exterior but instead of the manufacturer releasing pictures we must be content with crappy cell phone spy pics and now, a lousy dimly lit video at a police convention. My question is why? Why would Chrysler take this approach for a vehicle that is so eagerly anticipated.
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Now here’s something the automotive community has been waiting for. These are the first real shots of the new 2011 Dodge Charger as brought to you by Autoblog.com. Apparently these pics where nabbed on the set of the new Fast and the Furious 5 movie that is currently shooting in Puerto Rico. There has been a lot speculation as to the changes that would be made to the Charger during the redesign process. The changes however, although quite substantial are really not as drastic as people first thought.
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Can somebody please tell me why Dodge is so in love with putting drab gray interiors in their cars? What you are seeing here is an interior shot of the new 2011 Dodge Challenger and unfortunately it’s not as exciting as I would have hoped. One of the main criticisms of the redesigned Challenger, when released in 2008, was an interior that was lifted directly from the Charger, Magnum (now defunct) and Chrysler 300 sedan. It was functional, but not overly exciting as it lacked the visceral “POP” of the automobiles exterior.
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As the current owner of a Chrysler SRT-8 performance vehicle, I can tell you that they put a lot of thought and engineering into how these things were built. Whether you own a Chrysler 300 SRT-8, Dodge Charger SRT-8, Magnum or Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8, I can tell you from experience that these cars can run with the best autobahn burners out there. The original SRT cars were first released in late 2005, as 2006 models and were equipped with the then new 6.1 HEMI that put out 425 hp and 420 lb-ft torque. It’s a great engine, but over the last four years Chrysler’s competitors have been playing around and pumping out some even bigger numbers of their own.

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The Chrysler 300 first hit showroom floors in late 2004 where it became an instant success amongst car fans and dealers. It had a low-slung chopped roof line and was aggressively styled with design elements reminiscent of cars from the late 1960′s and early 1970′s. It was big, comfortable and was equipped with 3 different engine choices. A 250 hp V6, a 350 hp 5.7-liter V8 or the 6.1-liter 425 hp Hemi, which was released in 2006 as part of the SRT-8 performance package. The Chrysler 300 has now been around for six years and although over 350,000 have been sold the car is beginning to get a bit long in the tooth.
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There has been a lot speculation as to what the interiors of the new Charger / Chrysler 300 and new 2012 Dodge Magnum will look like. You see in the past Chrysler has been known to carryover interiors from model to model. Take the current generation Dodge Charger, Challenger and Chrysler 300. They all have what is essentially the same exact interior as the dash boards, seats and center consoles all match, it’s a big mess really. The 2011 / 2012 model years are a big deal for Chrysler as they have a bunch of new models coming out. The new 2012 Dodge Magnum is set to debut by the end of this year as is the new 2011 Dodge Charger.

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The boys over at Allpar.com are generally right on the old Mopar ball when they post something, so when we saw this spy shot of the upcoming 2011 Dodge Magnum we just had to post it. With the death of the Dodge Durango and the demise of the previous generation Magnum in 2008 it seems that the guys over at Chrysler felt it only right to combine the two into the SUV you see here. This photo however makes me wonder how different it will actually be than the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The new Magnum is supposed to have seating for seven, a longer wheelbase then the new Jeep and the new 5.7L VVT Hemi. I can also see, depending on how they market this thing it fitting into the same niche category as the GMC Arcadia.

If that’s the case then the new Magnum could be a quick favorite for those who want to stay primarily on-road and are looking at an AWD system for more of a safety feature then something that will take them trouncing through the woods.

Every year people wait for the new summer crop of movies to come out. We’ll look at reviews, read the blogs and choose for ourselves which ones we’ll go see to help us get through the rainy day blues when the weather goes south on that hot July day. Summer movies are there for one reason and one reason only; to help us forget about what is going on in the world around us for a 2-3 hour stint. Generally fun, action packed and completely mindless these summer flicks are usually short on story but big on action.

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