Viva la revolution! After years of looking at spy photos , renderings and concept versions &mdash the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 is here, for real. Powered by the 6.1-liter HEMI V8, this HEMI orange muscle car puts out 425 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque. for a total of 69.8 horsepower per liter. How fast is it?  read more »

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser. BMW's teaming up with everyone's favorite mapping monopoly, Google Maps, to bring a new addition to the BMW Assist Safety Plan. It's called "MyInfo," and it's a service which, in addition to sounding hip and techie-cool through deletion of the spaces in the name, will allow BMW Assist subscribers to send business locations, street addresses and their associated phone numbers to their car via some magical connection between the two companies databases. Look at it kind of like a way to use their ConnectedDrive feature from your home. You may already have intimate knowledge of what that's like if you've ever opened up a browser and spent any time at Google's "Local Search" page.  read more »

Porsche's German leadership team in Stuttgart has just announced the appointment of a new minister of all things Bruce to run Porsche's Germans in Atlanta. The new president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America is none other than Detlev von Platen, who will succeed Peter Schwarzenbauer, who has just been named to the management board of Audi AG. So who is this von Platen? Well, he's coming stateside from his stint in the trenches and hedgerows of Porsche France where he served as the CEO of all that is froggy and precise. Detlev's got some hella big shoes to fill. Under Schwarzenbauer's leadership, Porsche Cars Nor-Am placed four consecutive sales records. Not too shabby if you ask us. For Porsche's sake, we hope the new fearless leader's able to do similar work. Full press release in all of its precision after the jump.  read more »

The Nissan Denki Cube Concept is something you've probably already seen. In fact, you probably saw it this morning when we caught the electric Nissan Cube sunning itself in advance of its press conference. What did we learn at the press conference? Fleet-use electric vehicles by 2010 and commercial vehicles by 2012. The big news is that the LA Auto Show this fall will see the introduction of the next generation Cube for the North American market. Press release, pictures of the Denki Cube and shots of two rather unfortunately customized Cubes below.  read more »

What better way to kick off the sales of your new muscle car, the last relevant piece of new product you're going to introduce for a while, than to invite a couple of guys who are best known for selling motorcycles. Paul, Sr. and Paul, Jr. of American Chopper fame were on hand to show off the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 . And what did we learn that you may not have learned from any of the sixteen or seventeen Challenger posts that already ran today? Dodge was smart enough to low-ball the 0-60 mph in the initial press release, as the actual car gets a more respectable 0-60 time of 4.9 seconds with a top speed of 170 mph and a quarter-mile in the 13's. There is also video of it jumping, as seen in this image of questionable authenticity , but it only goes about 8 inches off the ground. Press release below the jump -- in case you missed it the last time. 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Overview All-New 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 ? Iconic Dodge muscle car returns after a 35-year absence ? Design stays true to Challenger heritage while delivering a host of modern amenities and "race inspired, street legal" SRT DNA ? Powered by a 6.1-liter HEMI V-8 engine that produces 425 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque ?  read more »

April 1, 2008 - Ann Arbor, Michigan - Toyota Technical Center (TTC) a division of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., today announced the establishment of the Toyota Research Institute of North America (TRI-NA).

Toyota plans to spend $100 million during the next four years on advanced research activity in North America and will utilize existing facility space at the Toyota Technical Center Ann Arbor campus.

Toyota has been pursuing Sustainable Mobility, which addresses four key priorities: advanced technologies, urban environment, energy, and partnerships with government and academia.  read more »

The all-new 2009 Infiniti FX had made world premiere at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, now, this Infiniti luxury crossover hit the U.S. market as debut at the New York International Auto Show.

The 2009 Infiniti FX will be offered in three models when it goes on sale at Infiniti dealers in the United States and Canada beginning in June 2008.  read more »

The newest addition to the Porsche SUV lineup, the Porsche Cayenne GTS, is going to set you back $69,300 when it goes on sale next month, putting it closer to the $57,900 Cayenne S than the $93,700 for the Cayenne Turbo. Unfortunately, the performance is also closer to the Cayenne S with a 405 horsepower version of the 4.8-liter DFI engine, as opposed to the 500 horsepower version in the Turbo. But if the Turbo is out of your price range but a recent stock split means you can do better than the basic Cayenne S, the GTS might be for you. Press release below the jump.  read more »

Saab has just announced that the 2008 Turbo X — the new range-topping version of their 9-3 sedan — will start at $54,995 — just shy of 55,000 loonies. Do the math and that's $53,898 in real money, $11,388 (USD) more than the car will start at south of the Windsor-Detroit line. Yet vehicle sales in Canada remain strong, despite continuing price disparities and in contrast to US sales, which are on the decline.  read more »