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Quick Spin: 2011 Dodge Avenger

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Dodge, Quick Spin

An Old Dog Learns A Few New Tricks

2011 Dodge Avenger

2011 Dodge Avenger – Click above for high-res image gallery

Chrysler has chosen vastly different fates for its Sebring and the Dodge Avenger, despite the two essentially being identical vehicles. While the Sebring underwent a complete personality makeover for 2011 and emerged with new sheetmetal and a new nameplate to match, the Avenger was left to soldier on with more conservative tweaks. The Dodge version of Chrysler’s midsize sedan still wears the same basic body lines as before, masking over the significant adjustments to the vehicle’s interior, drivetrain and suspension. While the Chrysler 200 may be stealing (okay, borrowing) the show, the 2011 Avenger is no less improved, at least when equipped with the company’s new 3.6-liter V6 engine.

With 283 horsepower and respectable fuel economy, the new six-cylinder turns the Avenger into a vehicle that no longer takes its driving cues from capital punishment, though lower-rung trim levels don’t fare as well. Buyers who opt for the old 2.4-liter four-cylinder will be met with visions from the vehicle’s less-than-award-winning past, including plenty of engine vibration and fuel economy that’s not on par with new hardware coming out from the competition. All this begs the question: Is there room for both the Dodge Avenger and the Chrysler 200 under the new company tent?

Gallery: 2011 Dodge Avenger: Quick Spin

2011 Dodge Avenger

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Quick Spin: 2011 Dodge Avenger originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick Spin: Audi Quattro Concept

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Audi, Specialty, Quick Spin

Thirty Years After The Original, Audi Wants To Build Another Masterpiece

Audi Quattro Concept

Audi Quattro Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

Blue and red flashing lights filling the mirror after a spirited canyon run are never welcomed. Yet this time, I’ve fully embraced them. Why?

I’m driving down California’s Pacific Coast Highway in Audi’s one-of-a-kind Quattro Concept with a full police escort. In front, law enforcement is clearing the road ahead as if sweeping for mines, pushing civilian traffic off to the side. I’ve got another unit behind me, shooing the restless natives off my flanks. The parade is impressive, but I’m wary of the pageantry. Are the cops there to solely maintain a generous cushion around the multi-million dollar concept, or has Audi paid them to keep me from rocketing off into the sunset off with their turbocharged 190-mph sports coupe?

I’m tempted to floor it and find out.

Gallery: Audi Quattro Concept: Quick Spin

Audi Quattro Concept

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Quick Spin: Audi Quattro Concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick Spin: 2011 Dodge Journey

Filed under: Crossover, Dodge, Quick Spin

An Also-Ran Matures Into A Real Competitor

2011 Dodge Journey

2011 Dodge Journey – Click above for high-res image gallery

With all of the Chrysler models receiving updates both significant and otherwise, it’s understandable if you’ve gotten a little lost in the fray. Here’s what you need to know: One of the most surprising bright lights to come out of the company’s refresh bender is the 2011 Dodge Journey. While the 2011 Dodge Charger and Durango may have stolen the spotlight with their new sheetmetal, the Journey has transmogrified into a small family hauler that offers plenty of horsepower, acceptable fuel economy and a massively updated interior. There’s even one of the quickest and largest touchscreens of any vehicle we’ve come across nestled in the dash.

Given Chrysler’s recently discovered love of installing much-improved interiors in its vehicles, the newfound goodies indoors should come as no surprise. But the company’s engineers seem to have spent just as much time tweaking the crossover’s driving character, resulting in a complete package that has turned it from being a washed-up never-was into a competitor almost overnight.

Gallery: 2011 Dodge Journey: Quick Spin

2011 Dodge Journey

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Quick Spin: 2011 Dodge Journey originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick Spin: FireBreather Camaro

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, Specialty, Design/Style, Quick Spin

FireBreather Camaro

FireBreather Camaro – Click above for high-res image gallery

Hollywood movies are chock full of kick-ass superhero cars. There are radical vehicles, like the Batmobile and Mach 5, and then there are the gussied-up street cars like Eleanor, Greased Lightning and Austin Powers’ Shaguar. Aside from the extreme styling, most of the mechanized celebrities from Hollywood are only capable of conjuring their supernatural performance on-screen. Step aside Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and make room for FireBreather.

Getting a jump on Jinn, a film due to be released next year by Exxodus Pictures, Classic Design Concepts is introducing its own superhero car. Unlike the aforementioned movie props, relegated to static displays in museums or car shows, the satin-black hero in the upcoming supernatural thriller will make it into limited production and offer enough performance to back up its enhanced persona.

Autoblog caught up with the wickedly-styled Camaro coupe at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance a couple weeks ago. While the venue is hardly an ideal setting for putting any car through its paces, there was plenty of time to take in the FireBreather aura and persuade its supercharged 600-horsepower engine to remove more than a few layers of rubber from the rear tires.

As expected, there were many questions in need of answering. How was it transformed? Who’s behind the styling and what’s the logic behind the name? Most importantly, what’s it like to drive this real-life superhero car? These answers and more, after the jump.

Gallery: FireBreather Camaro: Quick Spin

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Quick Spin: FireBreather Camaro originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That was quick – Ferrari 599 Roadster preview confirmed

Filed under: Concept Cars, Convertible, Performance, Ferrari, Design/Style

That didn’t take long. As soon as the Ferrari 599 Spyder post went live this afternoon we started hearing from multiple sources that Ferrari did indeed preview a 599 “Roadster” in Monterey a few weeks ago and that the letter posted on Luxury4Play is authentic. It shouldn’t be that surprising, after all, we did a post predicting the unveiling a while back.

Apparently the invitees had to negotiate a tricky path after clearing a security gate to get to the venue. They all had to sign NDAs and their phones and cameras were confiscated. The car that was presented to them was a 599 convertible with a part-time fabric roof that included a removable glass panel for the back window. It was described as an occasional use roof, making this more of a barchetta than a spider in Ferrari parlance. Actually one person described it as nothing more than a piece of fabric that connected to both sides of the body. We’re thinking a Porsche Boxster Spyder-type arrangement.

This particular 599 roadster was rosso fuoco – a rare and expensive multi-layer red – and had silver buttresses. It also had a new wheel design. The best news about this new model was that the engine will come from the recently unveiled 599 GTO and that the convertible will weigh no more than the current 599 GTB coupe. It will be priced at a premium over the GTO and will be limited to just 100 units. There was no indication of what this new model will be called, but Barchetta and SuperAmerica were used on the 550 and 575 convertibles, so maybe one of those will be resurrected…or possibly another name from Ferrari’s past, like Monza. Sales were tentatively promised for Summer 2011.

That was quick – Ferrari 599 Roadster preview confirmed originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick Spin: Hurst Hemi Challenger Series 5

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Dodge, Quick Spin

Like a Viper With Rear Seats and a Proper Trunk

Hurst Hemi Challenger

Hurst Hemi Challenger – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’ve seen how Hurst Hemi Challengers are put together, but the last time we tried to drive one we couldn’t get above 25 mph because of the prototype wheels. To correct that hideous oversight, Hurst slapped a couple of production wheels on a black and a white version of their Challenger, and we took both out for their yearly physicals. Just like the song went, it was ebony and ivory living in perfect harmony. Like King Kong and the Abominable Snowman. Follow the jump for the story.

Gallery: Quick Spin: Hurst Hemi Challenger

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Quick Spin: Hurst Hemi Challenger Series 5 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nation’s first public quick-charge station opens up in Portland, OR [w/video]

Filed under: Government/Legal, Electric

Quick charge station in Portland, OR – Click above to watch video after the jump

The installation of what’s being dubbed “North America’s first public quick-charge station” is now complete at the parking garage of the World Trade Center building in downtown Portland, OR. The nation’s first public charger is capable of taking most electric vehicles from zero to 80 percent charge in just 20 to 30 minutes.

The grand opening was lead by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, who’s seen in the video below cautiously attaching the charging cable to the Nissan Leaf. As Engadget reports, use of the quick-charge station is free of charge, but entry into the public parking garage will set you back three dollars.

Follow the jump to read more about the nation’s first public quick-charge station and don’t forget to watch the Nissan Leaf as it inches its way in for an electron fill up. Hat tip to Raymond!

[Source: Portland General Electric, Engadget]

Continue reading Nation’s first public quick-charge station opens up in Portland, OR [w/video]

Nation’s first public quick-charge station opens up in Portland, OR [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Almost as Quick as the Car: Porsche builds 25,000th Panamera

Filed under: Sedan, Porsche

2011 Porsche Panamera – Click above for high-res image gallery

When the Porsche Panamera was introduced in 2009, skeptics panned the sedan as oddly proportioned and thoroughly unattractive. Later, as the media began to test and review the all-new Porsche, skepticism gave way to fanaticism as the Panamera’s amazing handling and jaw-dropping powertrains won over even some of its biggest doubters. Less than a year after the vehicle’s introduction, Porsche has ample reason to celebrate as the Leipzig factory has just built Panamera number 25,000. That’s peanuts for a mass-market automaker, but an incredible feat for a sports car maker that in most years is thrilled to produce 100,000 models globally.

Panamera number 25,000 is Ruby Red and packs a 300-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 that was added to the lineup back in May. The special Panamera will be delivered to the U.S. market, where to date 5,000 copies of the sedan have been sold. Porsche looks to keep up the Panamera momentum with a hybrid variant that is expected to bow in 2011. Hit the jump to get the details in the release.

Gallery: First Drive: 2011 Porsche Panamera V6

Almost as Quick as the Car: Porsche builds 25,000th Panamera originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick Spin: 2011 Tata Nano CX – Driving the world’s cheapest car

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Hatchback, India, Quick Spin

2011 Tata Nano CX – Click above for high-res image gallery

People love the idea of super-cheap transportation. Two generations ago, Volkswagen captured the world’s attention with the Beetle (known originally as “The People’s Car”), but when people finally drove the rear-engined VW, they realized it was more than just a cheap car – it was remarkably fun to drive.

India’s Tata Motors picked up on the people’s car idea several years ago. Motorbikes and pedal bikes are the go-to transportation options for millions in India, which presented an opportunity. But with the average price of a new car in the U.S. hovering around $30,000, an inconceivable sum in the developing world, Tata would have to do something very different. The tiny Nano was the result. It’s currently on sale in India starting at around $2,500. That sound you hear is over a billion people cheering because they can now envision themselves owning transportation with a roof that they don’t have to pedal.

The pint-sized sedan wowed crowds at its New Delhi introduction in 2008 and Tata began exporting the Nano throughout the developing world. Speculation swirled that the company would eventually target the U.S. after the car was put on display at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, but do we really want it here?

Gallery: 2011 Tata Nano CX: Quick Spin

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Quick Spin: 2011 Tata Nano CX – Driving the world’s cheapest car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick Spin: 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic is proof that money really can buy happiness

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Porsche, Specialty, Quick Spin

2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Porsche 911 Sport Classic, introduced late last year, never made it into North American showrooms. The Feds wanted it certified, and with a production run of just a couple hundred units, the German automaker couldn’t accomplish the task in a financially feasible manner. That’s a cryin’ shame, as the gray 911 sporting retro-styled Fuchs wheels and a ducktail is likely one of the best street vehicles to ever come out of Stuttgart.

As good fortune would have it, we crossed paths with a 911 Sport Classic factory prototype in France at the 2010 Le Mans Classic earlier this month. Not only were we able to spend three days with the ultra-limited-edition Porsche, but we had the opportunity to take her out for several hot laps of the complete Le Mans circuit. What differentiates the Sport Classic from the Carrera S, and what’s the story behind those retro-styled touches? How does the Sport Classic drive, and can it be compared to a track-ready GT3? Lastly, what’s the justification for such a high sticker price? Find these answers, and more, after the jump.

Gallery: 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic: Quick Spin

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Quick Spin: 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic is proof that money really can buy happiness originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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