2010 Camaro Launched, Performance Package Photos Leaked

Barely two days out of the womb after making its official debut on Saturday at the Indy Bash 2008, the 2010 Chevy Camaro is already being pushed to overachieve. Published in a thread by the Camaroholics [we mean that affectionately] over at Camaro5.com, it appears as though GM is planning to offer an endless array of performance mod packages when the 5th gen 2010 Camaro becomes available for pre-order Ocobter 13th. Dollar details for the upgrades have yet to be revealed, but after viewing leaked photos of a 2010 Camaro sporting a few of the available enhancements, we ask, at what price, beauty?

Full gallery of all available options after the jump

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Mercedes-Benz conceptFASCINATION Set To Debut In Paris, Official Photos Are Frankly Alarming

Mercedes-Benz has announced plans the 2-door wagon conceptFASCINATION at the Paris auto show next month. Fortunately, Mercedes has no intention of ever pushing the fugly wagon into production, instead wisely opting to keep it as part of their traditional “design study” program. Ordinarily I’d dismiss the conceptFAIL as merely another piece of couture engineering that missed the mark, but Mercedes-Benz’s delusional public promotion of the concept wagon has me frightened.

According to Autopia, Daimler head Dr. Dieter Zetsche said of the conceptFASCINATION, “This design study continues the long tradition of exciting coupés from Mercedes-Benz in impressive style. With its emotionally appealing lines, ConceptFASCINATION offers a completely new interpretation of the coupé. Its aesthetic, dynamic looks and painstakingly crafted details ensure that this study meets the highest design standards.”

Were this description applied to any other Mercedes model, I’d raise my glass with a hearty “hear, hear,” but the conceptFASCINATION is, no exaggeration, one of the ugliest things I have ever seen Mercedes-Benz concieve. What vexes me is that I appear to be the only person who thinks so, or at least the only person who has said so, and I’m concerned that I’m witnessing an Emperor’s-New-Clothes phenomena occur here. Mercedes-Benz has always been the forerunner in luxury and innovation, and although I do derive a small measure of comfort in the fact that the conceptFASCINATION will never see development, I worry about its possible influence over future design. If memory serves me correctly, concept vehicles usually serve as unofficial previews of future models, and in their official press release, Mercedes-Benz mentioned that the concept’s basic structure was a direct derivation of the future E-Class coupe. Seriously, is this not a horrifying prospect to anyone else?

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Come Away With Me Lucille, In My Sick Nasty Oldsmobile

 

The 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass wasn’t even cool in 1986, so what could it possibly bring to the table now ? Enter: the car customization expertise of the Dirty South. This ride (more pictures below), which is currently up for grabs on eBay Motors (motto: “A Habit Both More Addicting And More Expensive Then Unfiltered Menthols”) is a 6-cylinder, 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass with 73,000 miles on it (mostly well-documented stuntin’ miles).

According to the seller’s description, the Olds has been professionally raised and sits on a well cared-for set of 24” rims. The paint is described as DuPont “Catalonia Splash” with “Louie Vaton [sic]” (I’m not sure if they misspelled it purposely to avoid copyright infringement, or Louis Vuitton’s French pronunciation presented an insurmountable obstacle for the phonetic speller) flip accents on the front trim. In keeping with the theme, the Cutlass’ interior has also been completely reupholstered in Louie Vaton leather.

This particular Olds is certainly an acquired taste, but I have a healthy respect for any automotive enthusiast who devotes time and effort into custom craftsmanship of any kind (especially if they execute it this well).

 

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Auto Makers Tough Choices: Should We Stray or Should We Grow

Recession? …Here.  Weak Dollar? …Present.  Isuzu?  …Isuzu?  …Isuzu?

Just like the housing market in the US the Auto Industry is not only dealing with their reorganizations from their gluttonous years but also with the economic situation that has gripped this country. As could be expected each auto maker has its own approach to handling such shifts, and it is there strategic efforts that will determine their future. Focusing for a moment on how the foreign auto makers are handling the American economic situation some are adding new plants and assembly factories, some are re-imagining themselves and others may be doing Pres. Bush’s least favorite thing… the cut and run.

To combat a slumping US dollar and to protect themselves from a loss of profit Volkswagen is looking to expand more into North America. While American companies still out-source their jobs over seas to nations with cheaper labor, the Germans are starting to look at America the same way… sorta speak. They can save money and salvage greater profits by moving some more manufacturing and assembly plants into the US. (more…)

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Road and Track put super cars to the test

Take six super cars, a 15,500 ft long Naval Air Station runway and a mission to hit 200 mph from a standing start, all makes for a high octane, adrenalin fueled contest.

The Road and Track team got together a Lamborghini Murcielago, Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren, Ruf RT 12, Lingenfelter Corvette, Bugatti Veyron 16.4 and last but not least the Hennessey Venom 1000 Twin Turbo Viper. Just a few cars off the street no doubt!! The cars were as they come, not race prepared cars and no special tires etc.

With one driver taking to the wheel, the test would be a straight forward blast from a standing start, and take it as quickly as he could to 200 mph, but there was a two mile marker which is the point where the driver would have to lift off and begin to slow right down.

Lamborghini Murcielago 0 to 200 mph, only managed to hit 190.1 mph by the two mile limit.
Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren 0 to 200 mph, did not reach 200 mph (199.5 mph) by the two mile limit.
Ruf RT 12 0 to 200 mph in 35.5 seconds.
Lingenfelter Corvette 0 to 200 mph in 26.5 seconds.
Bugatti Veyron 16.4 0 to 200 mph in 24.2 seconds.
Hennessey Venom 1000 Twin Turbo Viper 0 to 200 mph in 20.3 seconds.

So there you have it, the Hennessey tuned Viper is the winner, by quite a large margin. It is a bit of a surprise in the spread of speed and times set, considering that all the cars above, claimed to have a top speed in excess of 200 mph.

Source [Road and Track]

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=34&article_id=5679

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