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Acura to Debut New MDX Concept At New York International Auto Show (3/31/2006)

Celebrating its 20th anniversary as a brand, Acura announced plans to debut a concept version of the all-new MDX luxury sport-utility vehicle, April 12, at the New York International Auto Show and released an artist^s rendering of the new vehicle. Scheduled to debut later this year, the 2007 Acura MDX will be the second generation of Acura^s luxury SUV to be designed, developed and manufactured exclusively in North America. "The 2007 MDX will speak clearly to the advanced image of Acura and promises to put MDX solidly at the front of the pack with a striking new image, new technology and performance unmatched in the segment," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "The designers and engineers working on this new MDX have a tremendous passion for this product that will be evident in all aspects of its design and performance."

Launched on March 27, 1986, Acura was the world^s first Japanese luxury nameplate and the first to challenge established European and American luxury marques. Its 20-year history of innovation includes the first Japanese exotic sports car, the highly-acclaimed Acura NSX, and numerous technology firsts including the first automotive applications of in-dash navigation, Bluetooth(R) phone integration and DVD-Audio surround sound. Acura was also the first Japanese luxury automaker to develop and manufacturer its vehicles in North America, beginning with the 1997 Acura 2.2CL coupe. Today, nearly two-thirds of all Acura vehicles sold in America are designed, developed and manufactured in North America.

In 2006, Acura will introduce two all-new models - the 2007 Acura MDX and the completely new RDX premium entry SUV. Equipped with an innovative new 2.3-liter turbocharged engine and Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, the RDX combines sport-utility function with sports sedan handling and performance. The RDX will launch this summer as a 2007 model.

2007 Audi A4 and S4 Cabriolets Coming to the New York International Auto Show(3/31/2006)

The all-new 2007 Audi A4 and S4 Cabriolets will make their North American debut at the 2006 New York Auto Show. A restyled exterior and two new available engines featuring Audi^s FSI direct injection technology mark the biggest changes to the A4 Cabriolet. The 340-hp S4 Cabriolet has also been enhanced to further express the cars high-performance prowess.

The A4 and S4 Cabriolet^s exterior has now been integrated with Audi^s corporate design, the singleframe grille. The S4 Cabriolet receives the same styling cues as the S4 sedan: "S" specific grille treatment, larger air intakes, V8 badges on the fenders, four oval exhaust pipes, and 18" wheels.

The A4 Cabriolet is now available with two of the recently named Ward^s 10 Best Engines: the 200hp 2.0T FSI turbocharged four-cylinder and the 255hp 3.2 V6 FSI. Audi^s legendary quattro all-wheel drive system is available on the 2.0T model and standard with the 3.2 model.

The S4 comes with another recent Ward^s winner, the 340hp 4.2 V8 and quattro all-wheel drive.

The A4 Cabriolet has a four-link front suspension and the highly complex self tracking trapezoidal-link rear suspension. Both consist primarily of light-alloy components resulting in a low unsprung mass..These new components help the new A4 Cabriolet achieve sporty handling characteristics while maintaining a compliant ride.

Both Cabriolet models benefit from Servotronic speed-sensitive steering providing more direct response and greater feedback for the driver.

A1 GP FEATURE RACE RESULTS (3/31/2006)

A1 Team Mexico became only the third team to win a double header over an A1 Grand Prix of Nations weekend when Salvador Duran took victory in the Feature race at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The team started with a gamble by using slick tyres on a track that still had damp patches. The only other team to take the same decision was A1 Team Brazil and at the end of the day it proved to be the right one.

It was A1 Team France that got the best start leading Mexico into turn one and building up a 2.7 second lead by the end of the first lap. The pit stops started early with the leaders France coming in at the end of lap three followed by teams that included Portugal, Great Britain and Germany. Germany had the best stop and leapfrogged both Great Britain and Portugal during the stop.

The first safety car period came when A1 Team South Africa slid off in turn six on lap five. This period gave Mexico the opportunity to pit but the lead they had at the beginning of their 42.2 second pit stop was lost when they came out just behind France whose earlier stop had taken 40.1 seconds. However, it was not the new champions who were leading the race as A1 Team Lebanon had still to make its pit stop so Graham Rahal was able to lead until the safety car came in at the end of lap 10 and he was beaten into turn one by France.

The Lebanese driver did not however succumb to pressure from the third place Mexican team and in fact stayed there until lap 23. A bad day for A1 Team Netherlands continued with a drive through penalty for overtaking during a safety car period which Jos Verstappen took at the end of lap 13 but this was swiftly followed by even more dramas when he was black flagged again, this time for speeding in the pit lane. For the driver, this was one penalty too far and when he came in at the end of lap 18, he got out of the car and had no further part in the race.

Although all the cars were changing on to slick tyres there were still damp patches on the track which were catching several of them out including Malaysia on lap 15 when a spin dropped the team down from thirteenth to twenty-first and A1 Team China on lap 17.

A1 Team Brazil was still in with a shout for third place in the championship before the race but when the car was seen to cruise slowly round and pit at the end of lap 20 that chance evaporated. While the team kept sending the car out again it was not for championship points. They are now only in with a mathematical chance of winning the race, lying 18 points behind current third place sitter A1 Team Great Britain.

On lap 26, Mexico at last got by A1 Team Lebanon and A1 Team Germany also attacked, although with not so much success as they were kept at bay for several corners and it was only after a wheel-banging incident that Lebanon were relegated to third. It was a short-lived third as on lap 27 the car spun but continued letting Germany, Great Britain and Portugal by although they were all lucky not to have a collision. The Lebanese car took this opportunity to pit for new tyres and after a 41 second pit stop, re-joined at the back of the field. It was only a short time later when the car arrived at turn three on lap 28 and it was all over for A1 Team Lebanon as a spin left the car stranded half-way across the track and the safety car had to be deployed again so that it could be removed from this dangerous position.

The safety car pulled off at the end of lap 32 but this was by no means the end of incidents on the track although it was not deployed again. On lap 33, New Zealand spun and dropped from seventh to fifteenth. On lap 35 the Czech Republic spun from ninth and while everyone took avoiding action, A1 Team China arrived at the scene of the incident already going backwards. Both cars were left on the edge of the track while racing continued with France leading.

It was then at the end of lap 36 that the situation at the front of the field took a dramatic turn when Mexico overtook France and it became obvious the new champions had a technical problem which turned out to be the car stuck in third gear. France tried to struggle on but eventually had to pull off the track on lap 38 while lying fifth. Due to safety car periods, the chequered flag came out early at the end of lap 40 with Mexico leading Germany and Great Britain across the finish line.

A1 Team Mexico are one of only three teams to win both a Feature and Sprint race at the same circuit. Speaking about his second win of the day, Salvador said: ‘It was a nice race, I was on slicks which I think was the right choice. We figured if there were no yellow flags we could pull out a gap and if there was a yellow flag we could go into the pits and change the tyres. Unfortunately France got past me in the pits, and then it was difficult to get past people on track.’

Finishing his last race for A1 Team Germany on the podium, Timo Scheider said: ‘It was a good race, but in difficult conditions. This was my last race in A1GP before I go back to DTM, and I’m happy for the team that we got a podium. Thankfully we benefited from Nicolas not finishing the race. Overall I’m very happy I did A1GP. I hope I can do A1GP again, so many people have said to me that it is a spectacular series, and great to watch. There is real racing and real overtaking, not just in the pits like in Formula One.’

Also finishing his last race of the season in A1GP, Robbie Kerr said: ‘I’m a bit disappointed that Timo was able to pass in the pits, and its unfortunate to go out without a win. But generally the season has been brilliant, and I must thank the team, John Clements and John Surtees. Hopefully I will be back next year, it’s been great to represent Great Britain. It was unfortunate that Nicolas had problems, but obviously I was quite pleased because I benefited from it. France have done a great job all season and congratulations to them for winning the Series.’

Nicolas Lapierre was leading the Feature race when technical problems forced him to retire. ‘We had trouble with the battery. The gear box was stuck in third and then the engine stopped. But this is racing and it was our first problem in 20 races. The team has been brilliant. We have had a great season, with 13 wins and winning the Series two races early.’

Asked if he would race in the second series of A1GP, Nicolas answered: ‘If I can I will. It’s been a great winter for Alex and I in A1GP. It’s been a lot of fun and the series is really nice. The qualifying sessions are very exciting, the PowerBoost idea is great, the format is basically really good. Being in A1GP has kept us racing over the winter and now we are ready for the summer season.’

	A1 Team	Driver	Time	Gap first
1	Mexico	Salvador Duran	1.00.52.974
2	Germany	Timo Scheider	1.00.55.016	+2.042
3	Great Britain	Robbier Kerr	1.00.56.091	+3.117
4	Portugal	Alvaro Parente	1.01.03.394	+10.420
5	Canada	Patrick Carpentier	1.01.07.157	+14.183
6	Ireland	Ralph Firman	1.01.13.779	+20.805
7	Italy	Mac Papis	1.01.16.173	+23.199
8	Australia	Ryan Briscoe	1.01.17.210	+24.236
9	Austria	Mathias Lauda	1.01.22.203	+29.229
10	Malaysia	Alex Yoong	1.01.23.046	+30.072
11	Pakistan	Adam Khan	1.01.24.365	+31.391
12	New Zealand	Matt Halliday	1.01.24.951	+31.977
13	Switzerland	Giorgio Mondini	38 laps	2 laps
14	France	Nicolas Lapierre	37 laps	3 laps
15	USA	Bryan Herta	37 laps	3 laps
16	Czech Republic	Tomas Enge	34 laps	6 laps
17	China	Tengyi Jiang	33 laps	7 laps
18	Brazil	Christian Fittipaldi	29 laps	11 laps
19	Indonesia	Ananda Mikola	28 laps	12 laps
20	Lebanon	Graham Rahal	27 laps	13 laps
21	Netherlands	Jos Verstappen	17 laps	23 laps
22	South Africa	Stephen Simpson	3 laps	37 laps

The bonus point for the fastest race lap of the day went to A1 Team France who recorded a time of 1.17.951 on lap 27 of the Feature race, with a speed of 166.4kph.

Series Points to date – A1 Grand Prix of Nations, California, USA

1	France	163	World Champions – Winners of the first World Cup of Motorsport
2	Switzerland	121
3	Great Britain	88
4	Brazil	70
5	Netherlands	69
6	New Zealand	67
7	Portugal	66
8	Ireland	61
9	Canada	55
10	Malaysia	54
11	Mexico	48
12	Italy	44
13	Australia	41
14	Czech Republic	41
15	Germany	38
16	USA	22
17	South Africa	20
18	Austria	14
19	Indonesia	10
20	Japan	8
21	China	6
22	Pakistan	4

The final round of A1 Grand Prix, the World Cup of Motorsport will be held at the Shanghai International Circuit, China on 31 March – 2 April 2006.

Sold Out! The $1.2-Million Bugatti Veyron Is Gone for 2006(3/31/2006)

The 1,001-hp Bugatti Veyron, which holds the distinction of world^s fastest production car, has sold out its entire 2006 run of 50 vehicles at some $1.2 million each.

Bugatti president Tomas Bscher told the German publication Automobilwoche recently that the company has firm orders in hand for 70 Veyrons. In response, he says Bugatti is planning to increase production to 70 per year to cut the current 14-to-15-month waiting period for this last word in automotive luxury.

The Veyron has an 8.0-liter, quad-turbo W16 engine and can exceed 250 mph. In February it was named MSN^s Car of the Year in the United Kingdom after gathering 47 percent of the popular vote and has reaped awards, superlatives and just plain lust from around the world.

What this means to you: Well, unless you want to wait a long time, you^ll just have to use that money to buy…a mansion, or a fleet of Honda Civics.

Dodge in Germany(3/31/2006)

The time is right to launch the Dodge brand of automobiles in Europe^s biggest auto market, despite flat demand for new cars in Europe, the head of DaimlerChrysler AG^s (DCX) German distribution organization, Christoph Koepke, said Friday

"The brand stands for a clear statement and mindset of customers who don^t want to be mainstream, and we^re convinced that this approach will work," Koepke told Dow Jones Newswires during the Leipzig Motor Show.

Koepke took over the job in January 2005 and is responsible for the distribution of the company^s Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep, Smart and Maybach brands in Germany.

DaimlerChrysler is showing the Dodge Caliber in Leipzig, and the model will go on sale in June. Another model, the Nitro, is set to follow in 2007.

Until now, the company only sold the Dodge Viper sportscar in Germany through its Chrysler dealerships. The Chrysler brand, along with other U.S. automakers, has struggled to gain a foothold in Europe. Customers in Europe tend to favor local brands and their preferences for certain components, such as interior design, are too different.

"With the launch of Dodge over here we take advantage of the fact that DaimlerChrysler is a truly global car manufacturer," Koepke said. "The Dodge Caliber is a globalized car," he said. Some technical features have been modified for the launch in Germany to adapt with European preferences.

Koepke denied rumors that the marketing budget for the Dodge launch has been cut down as part of wider cost cuts within the company. "That^s not true," Koepke said.

Beside the Dodge Caliber, the German-U.S. automaker is also showing the revamped Chrysler PT Cruiser in Leipzig with improved interior design. The quality of the car interior proved to be more and more important for European car buyers.

DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said last month the Chrysler Group has to have more of a presence in international markets and that he sees growth potential especially in Western Europe and China.

Koepke told Dow Jones Newswires he expects the revamped version of DaimlerChrysler^s Mercedes-Benz E-Class model to be "a major step forward."

"Yes, we had a difficult time, but we^re convinced that the new E-Class generation will be successful," he said.

The company plans to launch a revamped version of the E-Class this year and showed the new GL-Class luxury sport utility vehicle in Leipzig.

The new models are "also important for our dealerships," Koepke said. A recent satisfactory survey among car dealerships indicated that Mercedes-Benz dealers were less satisfied with the company than those of other automakers. "These results were of course not nice for us, but over the last years Mercedes-Benz dealerships were very successful," Koepke said. "And I^m very optimistic that we^ll improve this in the future and get back to where we were," he said.

Last year, earnings at the Mercedes Car Group division were hurt by a record recall of 1.3 million cars due to quality problems, as well as sagging sales of the brand^s crucial Mercedes-Benz E-Class and C-Class models.

The division, formerly the company^s cash-cow, posted a 2005 operating loss of EUR505 million after a profit of EUR1.666 billion in 2004. It was the first ever operating loss at the unit.

The company^s board Thursday approved a decision to stop production of the Smart brand^s four-seater model ForFour and focus on the two-seater mini-car instead.

"This decision will have no impact on our distribution strategy," Koepke said.

Johnny Cash Cadillac For Sale(3/31/2006)

A 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood, once owned by country legend Johnny Cash, will be auctioned tomorrow (March 31st) in Florida.

The car has approximately 50,000 miles on the clock and comes with documentation proving the car belonged to Cash.

It has a black leather interior, chrome wire wheels and full air-conditioning and cruise control functions.

The body is still original although the car was given a new paint job two years ago.

The auction will take place at the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Collector Car Event on Friday. "What else would Johnny Cash ride in besides a big, black Cadillac?" Barret-Jackson said in a statement. "For any Johnny Cash fan, and I know plenty that will be present at our Palm Beach event, this is an opportunity to own a legendary car that has been in the ownership of one of the coolest performers our planet has ever seen.”

There is no reserve price on the vehicle.

WORLD^S BIGGEST BMW SHOP OPENS(3/31/2006)

BMW Motorcycles in Munich is opening at Frankfurter Ring 29, this week.

The world^s largest BMW Motorcycle Centre, offers a total area of 9,000 m2, and cost an amazing 5.6 million euros to build. It employs 79 staff in total.

The former "Halmburger & Höflich" premises have been completely refurbished and now offer customers the opportunity to explore the complete world of BMW motorcycles over an area covering 3,000 m2.

Customers will not only be able to browse the new BMW motorcycle range, but check out around 200 used motorcycles. The service area is also at the cutting edge of technology. It provides 25 work stations for mechanics, with exhaust removal and special diagnostic equipment, including an electronic frame measuring unit.

BMW: a baby Phantom?(3/31/2006)

BMW appears to be planning a smaller Rolls-Royce.

BMW chairman Helmut Panke has told German motoring magazine ^auto motor und sport^ that the company is considering filling the gap between the BMW 7 Series and the ultra-expensive Rolls-Royce Phantom. He talked about a car costing €250,000 (£170,000), which would presumably be branded as a Rolls-Royce.

While one can understand that there is a gap to be filled, there is precious little difference between a €250,000 car and a €375,000 car - they will appeal to exactly the same buyers. If BMW wants to fill the gap, a new model priced at the level of a Bentley Continental (€180,000) would seem to make more sense.

No more cute little box, ladies, Toyota^s bulking up its RAV4(3/31/2006)

After a week spent driving the 2006 Toyota RAV4, it^s easy to conclude that the "mini-ute^s" engineers tired of having sand kicked on them and clipped a magazine advertisement promising that they, too, could bulk up.

But whether the new bulked-up RAV4 will also beef up sales is unclear. Toyota hopes to almost double last year^s number, which was about 70,000.

Through its first three generations, the RAV4 was a benign, cute box that sold mostly to women.

It did not pretend to be capable of off-road cavorting, and in seriously bad weather it often looked overmatched, even as it rolled along just fine -- sort of like a scrawny guy on the bodybuilders^ beach.

Toyota has added bulging fender flares, a serious, enwrapping rear bumper, and body lines that accurately mimic the larger Toyota Highlander SUV^s. Plus, it now comes with an optional six-cylinder engine that delivers 269 horsepower, a number I never expected to see associated with a RAV4.

And if you opt for the third row of seats (available in Limited and base models, not in the as-tested Sport) you^ll need the tug of its 246 lb.-ft. of torque. The four-cylinder, 166 horsepower, 165 lb.-ft. that came in the test model would not suffice.

With four people aboard, a bit of engine whine permeated the cockpit.

You would also need the more ample range of the five-speed automatic that comes with the bigger engine, rather than the somewhat twitchy four-speed automatic that accompanies the smaller power plant.

The new RAV4 comes in with either front- or all-wheel drive.

The interior is typically Toyota: spartan and highly functional.

The large knobs atop the center control stack make fine tuning for climate easy.

The rectangular series of buttons below that control audio, functions duplicated by controls on the steering wheel, are also easy to use.

The control stack is wrapped in a nicely defining brushed faux metal, and storage nooks are located everywhere, even behind the rear cargo area.

The second row of seats in the test model folds 60/40 and, with the car^s added length, allows for some substantial cargo hauling with two occupants up front.

With just 7.5 inches of ground clearance, this RAV4, like its predecessors, makes no boast about being a serious off-road vehicle, but in a few inches of snow it moved slowly and surely.

Front- and second-row legroom was ample, and the side-to-side space, as well as headroom, was noticeably more abundant than in past RAV4s.

To its credit, Toyota has made stability and traction control standard on the RAV4.

Unfortunately, driver and front passenger side air bags, and front and second row side-curtain air bags, are optional.

That leaves folks picking between safety ($650) and such other options as an upgraded sound system with MP3 capabilities ($590), or a tilting/sliding moonroof ($900). Studies have shown that, given a choice, people tend to pick gizmos over safety features -- as part of the need for instant gratification, I suspect.

But Toyota could certainly make the side bags standard on RAV4 while keeping the base price of the Sport model below $24,000.

Then drivers would enjoy a maximum of standard safety features packaged with a maximum of standard muscularity.