Next Gen NSX Makes its Way to GT5
Did all of you catch Acura's triple whammy yesterday? The RDX gets a cleaner design and ditches its turbo for a V6, the Civic matures into the all new ILX, and the 2nd generation NSX was announced. No one ever expected Honda/Acura to pull such an impressive 180 after such shortfalls of killing off the Integra/RSX, letting the RL stagnate for what seems like decades, and shoe horning a carrot peeler onto every Acura nose. Granted the NSX will feature a hybrid powertrain, but if "Earth Dreams" is as good as Honda has led on then we can expect a decent competitor to Nissan's GT-R or Lexus' LF-A. We can only look back and be somewhat relieved we didn't get the front engine, RWD, V10 batmobile. This concept keeps the mid engine, low slung look we all expect out of the NSX without compromising too much to price/packaging. Even more surprising is that Acura is confident in its Ohio team to develop and produce this car within the next 3 years. That's quite impressive and shows Honda/Acura means business with this NSX - tailored for us by us. So until we get to sit in one of these and dream of a exotic sports car lifestyle at an affordable budget, let's watch it virtually spin around the tracks of GT5! Pretty....
Marvel & Toyota Team Up
This has got to be one of the quirkier things to come out of Toyota's big marketing push for the Yaris - The "What The..?!" crew from Marvel and Toyota send Bruce Banner on a road trip with Dr. Strange to Cleveland, Ohio. For one thing I had no clue "What The..?!" made the jump from comic book to youtube videos, but I have become an instant fan of the Robot Chicken-like shorts. Obviously, Toyota is targeting a younger market with their newest Yaris with their meme contest at I Can Has Cheezeburger? and more videos at Funny or Die. For the most part, I think they have done some great ads for their "It's a Car!" campaign and this collaboration with Marvel is pure brilliance. Much better than the "Fit is Go!" campaign that came out of Honda. Anyhow, check out episode 1 of Marvel Superheroes: What The...?! - The Incredible Drive and get ready to go on a road trip! Come on Bruce! WEEEEEEE!
New Car in the Import Junkiez Garage
Looks like Christmas came a little early for us! I took a quick stroll halfway up the California Coast and picked up a 9th generation Civic. Instead of waiting 3+ months for an allocation, it took us about two week to find this little guy, well maybe not so little as the Civics have grown into the slot the Accords once held. Yup this Honda head spent time and money to actually buy a 9th generation Honda Civic Si - the sedan kind with the navigation. Yes the same 9th gen Civic that most reviewers and auto blog sites were hugely disappointed with, because not much has changed from the previous generation or at times much worse. The same 9th gen Civic that was stopped in the middle of its development to "cheapen" the car for American buyers who just saw the housing bubble burst in 2009 while in Japan they decided to nix the entire line. The same 9th gen where the Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito, took responsibility for the Civic's poor reception in North America while the President of American Honda, Tetsuro Iwamura, suggested that the company would consider moving the Civic's mid-model refresh from the usual model year of 2014 to 2013 (which means production would begin by the end of next summer) to fix the decontented Civic. There are no Car and Driver Best awards, MotorTrend COTY, or Consumer Reports recommendations for the line. Specifically for the Si, the shoehorning of an Acura TSX engine into the tiny Civic didn't win over the hardcore enthusiasts, just alienated them even more since the introduction of Honda's green initiative. Even with all that and a lack of an actual temp gauge, I still wanted one.
Hit the jump to find out why...
2011 LA Auto Show: Mario Kart 7
One of the most packed displays at the 2011 LA Auto Show wasn't the new Honda CR-V or even the Toyobaru Twins. It was Mario & Luigi displaying their karts from the just released Mario Kart 7 on the Nintendo 3DS. These karts are the real deal go karts that top out at 35 mph. West Coast Customs was entrusted by Nintendo to build these life-sized Mario karts for the debut of the 3DS game. Too bad Santa ain't got the pull to give me one of these little karts. I'd ditch my car in a heartbeat to go around town throwing banana peels and oil slicks at the other cars. Oh well, I guess I can settle for just the video game. 
Better Late Than Never: Scion FR-S’ First Drift
Just thought I would put this here in reference to this post "The Next Hachi Roku (AE-86)?". What was that exactly? The Speedhunters got some footage of Formula DRIFT driver, Ken Gushi, testing out the drifting abilities of the Scion FR-S for the first time. So even though the vid has made it's way through the Internet a couple weeks earlier, a word is a word and here's a glimpse of what the Toyobaru can do...on a wet track.
via the SpeedHunters
Update: Nissan Juke-R… almost done!
The final touches are being put on the Nissan Juke-R, the fastest crossover vehicle in the world.
and now some testing.
-infamousjj
Wanna test drive a Porsche?
Porsche plans to open a new test track for its Porsche Driving Experience at a facility to be built next summer in Carson, Calif., just down the freeway from downtown Los Angeles.
Southern California is by far Porsche's biggest market, so this move makes sense. Potential Porsche pilots will test the limits of adhesion on road courses, a drag strip and a skidpad wedged into the intersection of the San Diego and Harbor freeways. It'll be safer than driving on the freeway.
In addition to two road courses, the 200-foot skidpad and some low-friction surfaces, there will be off-road sections for trying out the Cayenne SUV. Also on hand will be vintage Porsches, conference rooms and a restaurant serving--we can only hope--schnitzel.
It follows an existing facility at the Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom. Another Experience Center is planned near Porsche's new U.S. headquarters in Atlanta.
via autoweek.com
- infamousjj
Nissan Juke-R… I want one!
Nissan decided to shake up the automotive world by combining a Nissan Juke and the monstrous Nissan GT-R, with a creation that they call the "Juke-R". This crossover is literally the ultimate compact crossover. Sadly, Nissan is developing only two of these concept vehicles - one left handed one and one right handed one. Both vehicles will be stuffed with the 2010 GT-R's twin turbocharged V6 motor as well as the GT-R's drive-train and suspension. The body was given a black matte finish and rides on the 20-inch GT-R alloy wheels. Although the Juke-R is just a concept, Nissan admits it could go to work on a sportier production of the Juke if public reaction to the hot crossover is positive. Well Nissan... we give it two thumbs up!
- infamousjj