In keeping with Porsche’s long-held tradition of incremental evolution, pictures surfaced yesterday of a mildly tweaked 997 making its way around the Nurburgring. The exterior changes are expectedly subtle, with the front fascia getting larger air intakes, ala the new 911 Turbo, and a mildly stretched nose. Out rear, the taillights have been sunken into the bodywork to a greater degree and have finally moved into the 21st century with an LED setup replacing the old bulb-illuminated units. Continue reading Porsche 997 gets a subtle nip and tuck
Categories:Porsche
When I was in high school, my Dad had a mid-80s Subaru GL 3-door hatch with 4WD. The thing looked like a little silver dune buggy and I loved it, but sadly, he got rid of it before I wound up getting my license. The wee GL was a bit too small for his taste, you see, so he upgraded to a brand-new, fire-engine-red ’88 GL wagon (non-turbo, automatic with the push-button 4WD on the shifter). I used to eagerly await the snowy weather so that the Subie and I could frolic around the corners in my neighborhood. It was no high-speed machine, but it was a hell of a lot of fun and the thing seemed to adore snow, slush and other such winter slop. 
It’s an Altima Coupé. It’s a Laguna Coupé. It’s two, two, two cars in one. Auto Express magazine has another spy shot of Nissan’s new Altima 2-door we told you about recently. But there’s a twist. The car is wearing a Renault badge. Huh? How did Renault get the Coupé before Nissan? Company head Carlos Ghosn has announced plans to introduce a whopping 26 new Renault models over the next 3 years, and borrowing the underpinnings from the Altima, the new Laguna could be available much sooner. Renault means front-engine, front-drive, so this Altima Coupé fits into the Renault lineup quite nicely, especially in the UK. 
Honda has increased its stake in Yachiyo Industry — the manufacturer of its Life and Zest kei cars — to 51.14%. Previously, they held a 34.5% share. Higher fuel prices have resulted in a greatly increased demand for mincars, which receive special tax considerations from the government and combine fuel-efficiency, excellent use of space, and fairly surprising levels of equipment in remarkably compact packages at competitive prices. 
We came across Newport Convertible Engineering at the SEMA show a couple of weeks ago, and the company’s FJ Cruiser Convertible immediately caught our eye. Not only does this $10,000 conversion give FJ Cruiser owners a power-operated soft top in place of the standard steel roof, but it also eliminates the FJ’s giant C-pillar that creates a huge blindspot for the driver and makes back seat passengers feel claustrophobic. 
Looks like Wolfgang Bernhard may have taken the appointment of Martin Winterkorn as future Volkswagen AG CEO personally. Reports are swirling that Bernhard is likely to step down soon. Newspapers are reporting today that VW has asked for a commitment from Bernhard by Friday. German business newspaper Handelsblatt said Bernhard had threatened as early as May to resign if Winterkorn became CEO. 
BMW decided that it would do its hydrogen vehicle in a different way than most. Rather than building a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, BMW chose to stick with what it already knew well, internal combustion engines. Set to debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show at the end of this month, the resulting Hydrogen 7 uses a dual-mode drive that is driver selectable at the flip of a switch. 
This is a bit of an old commercial, but it’s a good one, and since it’s resurfaced on the net, we thought we’d give you a chance to enjoy it again… for the first time. The ad is for Mercedes’ proprietary 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system and its astonishing homewrecking capabilities. Will the husband make it through the blizzard to catch his wife in the arms of another man? Not in this weather. 
In the week of the release of the most recent James Bond movie Casino Royale, there are reports that Ford sent information to potential buyers regarding the well being of Aston Martin. It stated that Aston is on track to sell 7,000 cars this year and will generate sales of £479m (US $912m) and a profit of £57m (US $109m). It also states that the Gaydon plant capacity could be expanded to 9,000 vehicles if necessary. 
Toyota has just been named Advertising Age’s 2006 Marketer of the Year. Citing an appealing lineup of vehicle designs, advertising campaigns and promotional strategies that have made it a hit with American consumers, Advertising Age warns Detroit to keep an eye on its rearview mirrors. We would say to watch your side windows at this point. Toyota’s sales have continued to rise without the need for incentives and they even helped pull the entire industry out of a sales decline with additional help from Lexus and Scion. Strong product is only part of the equation, however. Even with great products, the wrong image can kill you. 
Late last month, VIPs got a sneak peek, and today Aston Martin officially pulled the wraps off its new V8 Vantage Roadster for the rest of us to enjoy. The subject of innumerable spy photos and fanboy drooling, the beautiful baby Aston’s looks are made even better when its triple-layer top is neatly stowed under its hard tonneau. Should the weather should become less than perfect, raising it back up is an 18-second operation that can be done on the fly as long as you don’t exceed 30 mph.