After its debut last year, the 2010 Infiniti G37 Convertible has been under the spotlight. Even with a slight jump in price, the car still has a very competitive tag price of $44,350 side by side its German rivals.
Let’s see how the Infiniti G37 compares to the other cars in its segment.
The A5 Cabriolet from Audi has a slightly lower price of $42,000 but comes with 211 horsepower 2.0L 4 cylinder engine. The S5 Cabrio comes close to a match with the G37 in terms of specs with V6 that outputs 333 horsepower but the tag is a hefty $58,000. The G37 boasts of a V6 3.7L engine that roars at 325 horsepower.
The Lexus IS C kicks off in the market at $39,440 for the 2.5L variant that rolls at 240 horsepower. The IS350C comes closer at $44,890 but its output falls short at 306hp.
The 3-Series of the BMW offers 335i and the BMW 335is which gives you 300 and 335hp, respectively, but if you will get a convertible the 335i will cost you $6,000 more and the 335is convertible a whopping $15,000 at $59,075. The BMW 328i seems to match the price at $45,000 but the 230 horsepower will be a weakling compared to the G37 engine.
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Infiniti is again considering production of an entry level car or a full range of models which will be based on front wheel drive system. The performance cars of the brand like the Infiniti M and Infiniti G will not be part of the plan and remain as rear wheel drive.
The core of the Infiniti brand is their performance cars. The carmaker has been offering FWD and rear wheel drive cars since 1991. The I35 was the last front wheel drive unit to roll out their factories in 1991 but this was discontinued in 2004. Back in the days, Infiniti decision makers only 
gave a go for RWD units believing it is the best way to compete with other luxury brands like Mercedes Benz and BMW.
At the recent 2010 Detroit Auto Show, a Nissan executive revealed that their studies show that car owners really do not care if they are driving an all wheel drive or a fwd vehicle. The company cited competitors like the TSX which is a FWD and the AWD or FWD TL from Acura.
At present, the production vehicles of Infiniti are all using their RWD platform. Moving forward, the carmaker wants to deliver on a different platform without compromising the riding experience of Infiniti buyers. Mercedes-Benz is doing well with the A and B Class units overseas while the Lexus is gearing up for the production version of their concept car LF-Ch so Infiniti will be fine launching products to compete with these.
The details of the plan were not disclosed but we will be keeping you posted.
The gala opening night of the Barrett-Jackson Collector auction in Arizona served as the stage for the unveiling of the 2011 Shelby GT350 derived from the 2011 Ford Mustang GT.
The 2011 Shelby was specifically designed in commemoration of the 1965 Shelby GT350 and the Shelby Cobra. The 2011 GT350 comes roaring with a supercharged V-8 5.0L engine derived from the stable of Mustang.
The 2011 Shelby GT350 is a product of collaboration of the Shelby American team with experts from Goodyear, Borla, Ford Racing, Cragar, and Baer. Everything revolves around the idea of making a car that is very fast but has very good handling. The idea came into life with the design of the small but powerful engine derived from the Mustang.
The Shelby GT350 will be rolling out in the traditional white donning the Guardsman blue stripes as it was known in Le Mans. The V-8 power plant is coupled with a six speed transmission on manual control. The supercharged engine has a Blue Shelby valve covers. Baer brakes are set up as 6 piston kit for the front and 14-inch rotors for the back, and matched with cooling ducts for all the corners.
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Hyundai went out to impress everyone at the SEMA motor show last year by unveiling seven versions of their Genesis Sedan and Coupe. The Korean car maker Hyundai has cut their cost a bit and will only show one version of their Genesis Coupe at this years auto show.
Hyundai is collaborating with GReddy Performance Parts to produce components for the Genesis Coupe going on exhibition. The high-performance car parts will be showcased during the SEMA as the X-Gen Street Genesis Coupe. The parts will go on sale right after the SEMA.
The GReddy vehicle will be a tuned 2.0L turbocharged Hyundai Genesis Coupe that will have modifications fit for everyday driving or something that can be driven during the weekend to zoom on the racing track.
The car will be pimped out with some turbo upgrade, cat-back exhaust configuration, coil over suspension, large intercooler, racing downpipe, and GReddy brake calipers.
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Mazda plans to raise about $1 Billion to help push for the development of their new hybrid vehicles and future technologies. The Japanese car manufacturer hopes to beef up their funds by selling treasury stocks and new shares.
A reliable source from Mazda was quoted in some reports that it will issue around 363 million shares of the company. This figure translates to about 25% of the existing stock of the carmaker. There are also some information that it will be selling 96.8 million shares it acquired from majority stakeholder Ford.
Mazda did not show early interest on developing hybrid or electric vehicles like the other Japanese car manufacturers. The North American division of the company categorically declared that they will not go into production of such vehicles if they are not sure if it will click with the market. As the demand for greener vehicles becomes the trend, Mazda changed its view and is hoping to produce hybrid units soon.
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Lexus is just celebrating its 20th year in business but the Luxury line of Japanese carmaker Toyota has taken the U.S. market by storm and is now considered the best selling brand. Due to the recent economic downturn, competition is catching up and BMW is just behind by a couple of thousand units.
BMW may be set to out maneuver Lexus for the sales crown in the United States. The August sales report reveals that Lexus has so far sold 131,469 vehicles which is a far cry from their usual 300,000 cars they are selling per year before the recession struck.
The luxury car segment has seen its market cutting down its spending as the economy went into recession. BMW makes good use of the opportunity and tries to catch up and grab the title held by Lexus for almost a decade now. BMW was slightly ahead of Lexus looking at the June sales figures but the latter was able to rebound by July.
BMW is hoping though that their rule as sales leader will not be short lived. There are now signs that the economy is recovering as well as the car market so there is a good chance that the demand for luxury vehicles will also spring back to life.
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The recent auto show in Frankfurt was graced by two Audi R8 facing two different directions. On one platform is the R8 Spyder and the other is the e-Tron Concept. The Audi 2011 Spyder zooms on a V10 with a Lamborghini DNA while the 2009 concept car e-Tron is undeniably all-electric green.
The Audi R8 Spyder sports a V-10 5.2L power plant in its engine bay that is capable of giving out 525 horsepower with a torque of 391 pound-feet. The R8 Spyder speeds up from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds. Top speed is pegged at 195 mph despite an additional 200 pounds compared to the coupe with a hard top.
It comes with a soft top as originally preferred by the engineers in Germany. Other sleek features are seat capable of bouncing off heat and seatbelts with built in microphones to make hands free mobile phone calls easier to handle.
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The noteworthy rudeness of the French has become a popular joke of the late. Today, however, a survey revealed that New York City is the center of all road rage in the entire United States. Perhaps the driver’s rowdiness on the road compliments the on-foot civilians as well. Read: The New York Attitude.
While some places in the U.S. are still bad for hot-headed drivers, a study made by Autovantage revealed that New York City is probably the worst place for such drivers. Miami used to hold the title for having the most number of angriest drivers in the entire nation.
Autovantage surveyed the 25 largest cities in the U.S. and they presumed that the heavier the recurrent traffic becomes, the level of road rage increases dramatically. The study surveyed a total of 2,518 people.
According to the survey, the biggest source of road rage is the use of mobile phones. Obviously, even if you’re sending a text message or talking to someone despite a hands-free feature, you are still distracted and causing disturbance among your fellow drivers and commuters.
New Yorkers are the #1 offenders of mobile phone use and they are also the people most likely to give hand gestures and release expletives. After all, it’s a normal day in the Big Apple.
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While the global financial crisis has been sweeping the entire nation, the rising environmental concerns and decrease in sales have also lowered General Motor’s odds of raking in potential buyers for the Hummer.
Fortunately, GM confirmed last week that one foreign company is interested in the Hummer sale. Tengzhong, a Chinese company manufacturing industrial machinery, has already sat down with GM to sign a memorandum of agreement over the sale, which is assumed to be concluded later this year.
The Tengzhong-General Motors deal would result in more than 3,000 jobs in the United States which includes manufacturing and engineering, plus more Hummer dealerships in the country. The sales agreement also includes several plans to invest and fund in potential Hummer products that may include more models and powertrains.
Yang Yi, Tengzhong’s boss said in an official statement that he has no desire to take over Hummer technology or facilities. He will, however, strive to expand Hummer on an international level. He disclosed that the same management team of Hummer will stay to ensure the standard of the brand’s design and quality.
Jim Taylor, Hummer’s CEO revealed at Automotive News that Tengzhong will keep the 150 Hummer dealerships in the United States, however, they might have a hard time keeping up with the new standards in fuel economy. In order to meet the 2016 fleet-wide 35.5mpg standard measures, a few changes will be made along with new models, including the H4, and powertrains.
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Among the fastest, grandest, and meanest cars in the industry today, the Bugatti Veyron is perhaps the one with the biggest share in the fame game.
Despite the luxurious package and heavy price tag, loyal Bugatti customers still wants more. Ergo, the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, an exclusive “roofless” version is being manufactured in the company’s state-of-the-art Molsheim facility in France with an initial 150 units to boost. The Grand Sport debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance sometime last August.
A pre-production test drive was hosted by Bugatti for enlisted customers at Cannes last May. With the Veyron’16.4 Grand Sport’s production in full swing, the car company decided to tour the countryside is called for.
Recently released photos show the Grand Sport dashing though the magnificent Napa Valley hillsides. We see that car’s dark interior perfectly compliments its snow white exterior. This color scheme allows the “roofless” feature of the Grand Sport to stand out even more.
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After its debut last year, the 2010 Infiniti G37 Convertible has been under the spotlight. Even with a slight jump in price, the car still has a very competitive tag price of $44,350 side by side its German rivals.
