Car NEWS log

posted by admin on Feb 18

Compact cars led the sales ladder in Canada during the past year as the Honda Civic celebrates its 10th consecutive year atop the chart.

Very little has changes in this years Top 10 list. The top six cars are the exact same with final sales numbers similar in most cases. For the 10th consecutive year, the Honda Civic was crowned the best-selling car in Canada with total sales of 70,838 for 2007 up slightly from the 70,028 for the previous year.

From January 1 to December 31, 2007
Rank / Model (Last year’s position) / Total sales

1- Honda Civic (1) 70,838

2- Mazda3 (2) 48,236

3- Toyota Corolla (3) 40,474

4- Toyota Yaris (4) 34,424

5- Chevrolet Cobalt (5) 32,613

6- Toyota Camry (6) 28,218

7- Pontiac G5 (8) 25,211

8- Ford Focus (7) 24,013

9- Honda Accord (–) 22,102

10- Nissan Versa (–) 21,940

posted by admin on Feb 7

Challenger SRT8 live reveal in Chicago! Viva la revolution! After years of looking at spy photos, renderings and concept versions — 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? Good question. The performance “targets” were a 0-60 mph time in the low fives, a quarter-mile in less than 14 seconds, at least 0.88 g’s on the skidpad and a 60-0 mph stopping time of about 110 feet.

posted by admin on Feb 4

There are those who might think having webcams at the setup of an event like the Chicago Auto Show, which banks on being able to reveal the latest products, might be a bad idea. For obvious reasons, we’re not those people. In fact, we’ve been keeping our eye on the proceedings since the cams went up in the hope of spying something we weren’t meant to see. So far the most exciting thing we’ve seen is them setting up the display for the 2008 Dodge Challenger.

posted by admin on Jan 31

Dodge will introduce the 2008 Viper SRT10 ACR (American Club Racer) and expects to stir the crowd in the City of Angels. Dodge is also quite excited and has already released the details and technical specifications of the Viper SRT10 ACR ahead of its official debut in 2007 LA Auto Show.

According to Mike Accavitti, Director - Dodge Brand and SRT Marketing and Communications, Chrysler LLC: “With the all-new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, SRT has taken the ultimate American sports car and injected it with an extra dose of racing DNA. With the Viper SRT10 as the starting point, SRT engineered a combination of reduced weight, race-tuned suspension and aerodynamic improvements to create the ultimate Viper for the street and track.”

As expected in a Dodge Viper model, the all-new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR comes with a bold and aggressive exterior styling plus sporty appearance. Five paint color schemes are available for the Viper SRT10 ACR including Viper Red, Viper Black, Viper Violet, Viper Bright Blue Metallic, and Viper Very Orange. This is highlighted by a signature two-tone paint scheme with a black center section. A Viper SRT10 monotone paint with body color rear wing and dual painted Viper stripes is also available.

The 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR also comes with other exterior components like “fanged” front splitter, adjustable rear wing sculpted by CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), high mounted rear spoiler, lightweight filler panels replacing the fog lamps, and lightweight forged aluminum Sidewinder wheels. The wheels are painted with gloss black to complete the overall exterior package. Inside, the Viper SRT10 ACR also features some interior features identical to the Viper SRT10 base model but the ACR model added new features like the optional “Hard Core” package that reduces the car’s weight by about 40 pounds.

Powering the all new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR is a monstrous 8.4-liter aluminum V10 engine. This powerful unit can pump out a stunning 600 horsepower and pulls out 560 lb. ft. amount of peak torque. Features of this engine include deep-skirted V10 aluminum engine block, Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC shaped combustion chambers, Variable Valve Timing (VVT), and two-piece intake manifold. Unlike the Saab sports car models with Saab starter, the 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR is equipped with platinum-tip spark plugs in the ignition system.

Dodge offers the latest Tremec T56 six-speed manual transmission (TR6060) with the GKN ViscoLok speed-sensing limited-slip differential to complete the powertrain package.

According to Dodge, the 2008 Viper SRT10 ACR will roll out in the U.S. market starting in the second quarter of 2008 carrying a base manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of less than $100,000 USD.

posted by admin on Jan 23

Chrysler LLC unveiled the Dodge ZEO, an electric vehicle concept car with a 64kWh Li-ion rechargeable battery at the 2008 Detroit Motor Show (2008 North American International Auto Show, public showing from Jan 19 to 27, 2008).

It runs 250 miles (approx. 402km) for one battery charge. The manufacturer of the battery has yet to be announced, Chrysler said. The schedule for the commercialization is not decided, either. The name “ZEO” stands for “zero emission operation.”

It is a rear wheel drive car with a 200kW motor mounted on its rear side. It weighs 1,202kg. The time required to reach 60mph (96km/h) from the halt state is 5.7 seconds. The top speed is 209km/h.

“The motor and the battery account for most of the vehicle weight,” the company said.

It is a four-door (two sets of double doors), four-passenger car without the B-pillar. White LED is used for the headlights. The indicators and the center console are arranged using LCD displays on the instrument panel. All of the three concept cars exhibited by the company at the Show use LCD displays for indicators on the instrument panel.

The body measures 4,390 (L) x 1,743 (W) x 1,290mm (H), and the wheelbase is 2,792mm long.

Chrysler set up an in-house organization dubbed “ENVI,” which is specializing in the development of technologies for electric and hybrid vehicles, in late 2007. And the company unveiled three motor-driven concept cars at a stroke at this year’s show.

They are ecoVoyager, which mounts a fuel cell and a Li-ion rechargeable battery, Jeep Renegade, a diesel hybrid vehicle with a Li-ion rechargeable battery and Dodge ZEO.

posted by admin on Jan 19

Dodge pulled out all the stops for the launch of its new 2009 Ram pickup this morning, driving the truck out at the head of an honest-to-God herd of long-horn cattle.

The effect wasn’t as picturesque as had been promised when Dodge first discussed the “stampede” launch, as there was a lot more standing around looking cold on the part of the cattle than actual, stampeding. The occasional amorous gesture (re: mounting) on the part of the bulls was greatly appreciated by the journalists in attendance, if not Jim Press, who at one point was reduced to yelling, “Okay, look at the truck!” to the amused crowd.

As for the new Ram, Dodge seemed to be pitching the increased flexibility of the truck, noting that many more Americans are using pickups as primary and family vehicles these days. To this end, the new Ram will come equipped with more nooks and crannies than ever, including the vaunted RamBox storage system on the bed sides, and in-floor storage. (more…)