Autos

The Nissan 370Z is one of my favorite affordable sports cars; it comes with decently good looks, lots of power, and comes with Nissan’s racing pedigree.  To celebrate that racing pedigree, Nissan has launched a special edition 370Z GT Edition based on the European model.  The car will only be available in the European market; we don’t know whether Nissan will bring it to North America.

The special edition 370Z comes in three body colors, Kuro Black, Pearl White, and Black Rose.  The cars feature retro inspired stripes on the rocker panels, much like the Z cars from the 1970’s (click here to see Unfinished Man’s RB25DET powered 1974 Datsun 260Z).

To the average guy/girl, most of the models of the Porsche 911 look like the same cars that were first introduced 48 years ago, but true car fans know that while the main lines of the car keep true to the original design, it’s the fine details in the designs that make each of the 911 models different while looking the same.  At first glance, the 9^th generation 2012 Porsche 911 (code named 991) looks like the previous generation (997), looking closely at the car reveals it’s a totally different animal.

The main difference is, the new for 2012 911 is a lot bigger than its predecessor; the wheelbase is 4 inches longer and the roof height has been reduced.  Combine that with a wider body and you get a sporty new design while still retaining the classic Porsche 911 lines.

Ford’s newly redesigned Focus has been a big success and to make the car even more successful, Ford is releasing an all-electric version of the sporty car.  The Ford Focus EV will compete directly with the Nissan Leaf; however, the Focus EV will cost a few grand more.  The Detroit car maker just released pricing for the Focus electric with an MSRP of $39,200 + $795 for deliver, for a grand total of $39,995, the Nissan leaf starts at $36,050.

The 2012 Ford Focus EV is powered by a permanent-magnet electric motor that produces 123 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque, the car has a top speed of 83 mph.  Power is sent to the front wheels via a single-speed transmission and the electric motor gets its juice from a 23 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.  Ford didn’t provide the range for the Focus EV but did say the batteries can be fully charged in 18-20 hours using a standard 120V outlet and 3-4 hours using a special 240V charging system.

I’ve never heard of Donkervoort Automobielen or even know how to pronounce the name but I do like their crazy looking roadster called the D8 GTO.  Donkervoort Automobielen is a Dutch car company who developed the D8 GTO in collaboration with Audi.

The D8 GTO roadster is powered by a 2.5 liter 5-cylinder turbocharged engine which is normally found under the hoods of the Audi RS3 and TT RS.  The 2.5 liter engine went through a major transformation and weighs 66 pounds less than in Audi trim and it produces 340 horsepower which can be increased to 400 with the flip of a red toggle switch on the dashboard.

Although I didn’t like the original Audi TT, the second generation won me over with its not-so-quirky styling and a beautiful interior.  The TT is a good performing sports car but if you’re looking for an all-wheel drive sports car that’ll really put a smile on your face, the TT RS is the car for you.  Now Audi has released details on a new version of the sporty little car called the TT RS Plus.

The 2013 Audi TT RS Plus is powered by a 2.5 liter turbocharged 5-cylinder engine that produces 360 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque, mated to a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed S Tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission sending power to all four wheels.  The TT RS Plus reaches the 62 mph (100 km/h) mark in

The 1998 Nissan Altima was probably our first nice family car out of all the Nissans we have purchased prior to that model.  Our family has been driving Nissans since the early 1990’s and I still drive a Datsun during the summer months. So for those reasons, I’ve always liked Nissan and the cars they put out. The new 2013 Altima has finally received an update and is looking a lot like the Nissan Maxima. The Maxima has a very aggressive and unique looking front-end which reminds me of a shark and now the same can be said about the Altima.

The latest model was revealed at the New York Auto Show. The wheel base of this new Altima (fifth generation) will keep the same wheel base as the 2012 Altima but will feature a wider front and rear track (increased by 1.4 inches). The 2013 Altima is expected to hit US dealerships this summer and customers will have two engines to choose from. The four-cylinder 2.5 liter QR25 will be putting out 182 horsepower (7hp improvement) and 180 lb-ft of torque. The second option is the 3.5 liter V6 VQ35DE which produces 270 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque.

When I think of a mass produced large luxury car the first thing that pops up in my head is the Mercedes-Benz S Class and then maybe the Audi A8 and Lexus LS.  For some reason the BMW 7 Series never crosses my mind, I wonder if most other car enthusiasts think the same way.

BMW is hoping to make their 7 Series flagship sedan more memorable with the 2013 model, although this model has been in production for 4 years and the 2013 model gets a minor facelift and a few upgrades.