At the 1977 Geneva Auto Show, Porsche introduced the world to the 928, a – gasp – front-engine GT car that would compete with some of the great touring cars of its day. The portly Porsche achieved limited popularity over its 17-year run, but served as a sign of things to come when the Cayenne was introduced seven years later. Porschophiles the world over decried this latest offering as another bastard product that would water down the heritage of the automaker. No matter how much profit may have been generated by the Cayenne, or the Boxster for that matter, respect from Porsche’s die-hard fanatics waned. Continue reading 2012 Porsche 928: Images and speculation
Categories:Porsche
The weekly New York Times Automobile section is always a good read, with articles written by people who clearly like cars, and topics that you just don’t often find in the buff mags. Take this week’s gem, a piece by Peggy Minnis on her daughter’s search for a new vehicle. Now, you may be thinking that car shopping isn’t exactly the most newsworthy topic, and for the most part, you’re right. The Times piece has an angle, though. 
According to an article in Italiaspeed, it seems you may be able to equip your next prancing horse with all-wheel-drive. What’s being called “insertable 4×4” can be equipped in both Ferrari’s mid-engine and front-engine vehicles and will only be activated if the computer senses a loss of traction. However, unlike systems utilized by Lamborghini, Ferrari drivers can choose between traditional rear-wheel- and the four-wheel-drive when and where they wish.
Back in June, BMW released all the details about their new M6 convertible, except one – price. Well, the mystery has been solved and those of you who want to own what could possibly be the fastest production drop top in the world can get it at the bargain price of $105,095, including shipping. As a comparison, the carbon fiber, fixed roof model will only set you back $96,795, with shipping and the highfalutin Neiman Marcus Individual M6 will liberate $139,000 from your corporate expense account. 
Brabus may have beaten them to the punch by a few weeks, but you knew nothing was going to keep the engineers at Carlsson from getting their mitts on the big, bold Mercedes GL-Class SUV. The Carlsson CK50 begins life as a Euro-market GL 500 (currently, we only have the GL 450 here in the States). The base car is no slouch, dishing out some 388 horsepower, but we’re talking Deutsch tuners here, and with these guys, horsepower numbers beginning with number “3” are routinely laughed at. 
For the 2007 Model Year, VW is introducing some new special editions to the mix. The familiar “Wolfsburg Edition” returns in the form of a specially-badged 2.5L Jetta that also features 16″ alloys, a sunroof, leatherette (we won’t call it pleather…oh wait, did we just do that?) seats, the winter package and upgraded floormats. Depending on the tranny buyers shoose, it’ll retail for either $19,360 or $20,435. Five color combos are available. 
Toyota will begin selling their newest iteration of the Corolla in Japan later this month and the image above is a stark departure from the recently debuted Auris concept in Paris. The new JDM Corolla is a subtle redesign and will not form the basis for future sedans sold stateside, which will draw more cues from the Auris and come equipped with a 2-liter engine. 
Dahlback Racing, Swedish tuners of all things German, has tuned this 2004 Volkswagen Golf to 900 break-horsepower. The computer-controlled twin turbochargers vary the boost to channel anywhere between 600 and 900 horses to the tarmac through 285/30-ZR20 Bridgestone Potenza S-02 riding on twenty-inch rims. All that power is enough to propel the smokin’ hot hatch to 60 in 4.5 seconds on to a top speed of 183 mph, which is impressive, but you’d think it could do better with that kind of juice. 
Audi AG has announced the European pricing for its new TT S-line trim. When we first reported on the TT S-line, all we were able to do was bring you the photos Audi released and make some observations based on what they showed. Today, we finally have the rest of the story. It turns out there are actually a pair of S-line packages – S-line sports and S-line exterior. The car depicted in the photos is equipped with both. 
The Chrysler Group has gotten tons of PR mileage out of the popularity of the Dodge Caliber, to the point where dealers haven’t been able to keep them in stock and consumers have to beg for a test drive (new Calibers net more profit than demos, after all). Unfortunately for the automaker, the Caliber’s stablemate, the Jeep Compass, isn’t enjoying the same successes. As the first car-based Jeep to hit the streets, the Caliber’s sales have been lower than projected despite the vehicle’s distinctive styling and sharp interior. 
The Audi super-forum, Fourtitude, recently had a chance to sample the automaker’s newest attempt at iPod integration in an S8, while joined by Audi of America’s Product Planning Manager Filip Brabec. The new system, dubbed the Audi Music Interface (AMI), builds on the MMI system in the A3, A4, S4 and RS 4 models. Although the system appears to be one of the best at getting full functionality out of Apple’s iPod, 
Motor Trend put together a list of future vehicles to come out of Stuttgart over the next few years and although most of the vehicles listed have either already debuted (Targa, GT3 RS) or are common knowledge among devout readers of Autoblog (GT2, Panamera, 928), the article contained a few minor revelations, in the form of new models and technological hurdles.