AutoWeek articles from September 2007

AutoWeek archives from September 2007

1963; Denise McCluggage reports in Competition Press that the new Triumph Spitfire model is coming to the United States. A '62 Maserati Tipo 151 Coupe, identified as a past Briggs Cunningham Le Mans racer, with a 4.0-liter V8 and plenty of spares, is for sale. The price: $7,950.(50th Anniversary countdown)
September 3, 2007... In what is dubbed the United States Road Race of Champions, sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America, Jim Hall wins at Daytona in a borrowed Cooper Monaco. Also in the field is Bob Holbert, who, like Hall, won $1,200 for the effort. The...

THE 'W' IS FOR 'WILD'; Golf GTI W12 is a real runner built from the best bits.(News)
September 3, 2007... Byline: MIKE DUFF Very few one-offs are designed to be driven, but that's not the way Volkswagen played things with the Golf GTI W12 concept. It looks like pure show candy: a 642-hp, mid-mounted W12 engine under cartoonish stretched...

TV: Sept. 7 - 9.(Competition)
September 3, 2007... Friday, Sept. 7 Formula One practice from Italy, 8 a.m., Speed (L) NASCAR Busch Series final practice from Richmond, Va., 10 a.m., ESPN2 (L) NASCAR Nextel Cup Happy Hour, 11 a.m., ESPN2 USAR Pro Cup Series from Bristol, Tenn.,...

EURO DOMINANCE; Sebastien Bourdais wins Champ Car's Belgium stop.(Competitions of car racing)
September 3, 2007... Byline: GARY WATKINS The last time the Champ Car World Series came to Europe, at Brands Hatch in May 2003, Sebastien Bourdais recorded his first series win. Four years and three titles later, he notched another European triumph, at Zolder,...

CHASE TAKES SHAPE; Playoff picture overshadows Edwards' Bristol win.(Competition)
September 3, 2007... Byline: AL PEARCE The largest daily newspaper in North Carolina recently ran a column about a "Secret Room'' deep within NASCAR's Daytona Beach campus. With tongue in cheek-at least, we think so-the writer suggested that the organization's...

WHAT WENT WRONG? Inside McLaren's Hungary debacle.(Competitions of car racing)
September 3, 2007... Byline: ADAM COOPER Formula One's summer vacation came at the right time for McLaren, and it was all smiles in the team's camp in Turkey after a strong effort to establish a working relationship between its two estranged drivers. Indeed,...

Drivers Log.(News)(Product/service evaluation)
September 3, 2007... GRITZINGER: For last year's Woodward Dream Cruise, Ford set us up with a Ford GT, a head turner in every sense of the phrase. While that car's blue-and- orange Gulf-style paint job alone cost more than all the extras combined on this Shelby GT,...

Guardsman of History.(Escape Roads)
September 3, 2007... Byline: LEIGH DORRINGTON The SHELBY Cobra is the most copied automobile in history, but seeing a virtually new example is an extraordinary experience. The story of the Cobra has been widely written. American Carroll Shelby found his...

WHAT A DUESEY! Venerable American marque takes back "The Trophee'' from the French.(News)
September 3, 2007... Byline: MARK VAUGHN A Duesenberg hadn't won at Pebble Beach in 13 long years of trying, and between 1994 and now, the winner board was lousy with beautiful French coupes and roadsters-Delages, Delahayes, Talbot-Lagos and, of course, those...

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Ferraris.(Ferrari S.p.A.)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Byline: MARK VAUGHN Take everything ever made in Italy-from fashion to Ferraris-corral it into about half a golf course, add some red wine, slather it in sunshine, and you have Concorso Italiano. It's as if giant earthmovers scooped up 100...

HITTING the Road.(competitions of car racing)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Byline: ROGER HART Stephen Brauer is a businessman and a former U.S. ambassador to Belgium, but as he saws at the big steering wheel of his 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Brewster Derby, he is in his element. "You have to really plan ahead...

Meanwhile, outside our car world . . .(50th Anniversary countdown)
September 3, 2007... Pope John XXIII dies on June 3. In Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream'' speech. President John F. Kennedy is shot and killed, Nov. 22 in Dallas; Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president. Lee Harvey...

SMOKIN' DEALS.(product information of General Motors Corp. Chevrolet Motor Div.)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Chevrolet's retro-inspired HHR and Kia's compact Spectra offer attractive cash-back incentives. A midsize SUV and a luxury sedan are also tagged with special finance offers. COMPACT 2007 Kia Spectra MSRP: $13,520; $1,500 to $2,000...

But Wait, There's More...(product information of automobiles)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Heard at Pebble Beach At the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, an annual stop for many car-company bigwigs, a Chrysler PR rep was asked which of his firm's execs were present. "We're still trying to figure out who our executives are,'' he...

VILLENEUVE ARRIVES IN NASCAR.(Competition)
September 3, 2007... Former Formula One, CART and Indianapolis 500 champion Jacques Villeneuve, 36, is headed for NASCAR. Toyota team Bill Davis Racing will enter him in several Craftsman Truck Series races this fall and the Oct. 5 ARCA race at Talladega...

EXTRA.(Briefs)
September 3, 2007... ZHUHAI OFF Champ Car officials will confirm any day now the worst-kept secret of their season (Competition, June 11): The race planned for China in October finally has been canned. As previously reported, the FIA would not give China a...

UNDER THE HOOD.(Briefs)
September 3, 2007... Online Chats The end of summer brings special guests to the AutoWeek offices. Recently, racers Graham Rahal, Ron Fellows and Allan McNish stopped by for online chats, as did the CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association and two Indy...

THREE-WHEEL LOWDOWN.(Revs)
September 3, 2007... Byline: GEORGE P. BLUMBERG 2008 TRIKEtec V2 ROADSTER German-engineered fun. 698-cc, 82-hp, turbocharged, intercooled, liquid-cooled inline-three; 1227-lb dry weight; quarter-mile in 16.6 sec @ 87 mph COMPETITIVE SET Boss Hoss,...

Indy Roadsters Take Center Stage at Historics.(News)
September 3, 2007... Byline: PATRICK C. PATERNIE The 34th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races celebrated the Indianapolis 500's roadster era of 1952 to 1965 with cars and drivers representing about a quarter of all Indy 500 victories on hand for the...

NO RUNAWAY; Ferrari finishes 1-2 in Turkey.(Competition)
September 3, 2007... Byline: NIGEL ROEBUCK Felipe Massa scored his first-ever Grand Prix win in Turkey last year, taking the pole and leading all the way. He repeated the feat this year, but teammate Kimi Raikkonen was in his mirrors all the way and finished...

DISASTER STRIKES DARIO; If Franchitti loses the IndyCar title, he'll remember Infineon Raceway.(Competitions of car racing)
September 3, 2007... Byline: CURT CAVIN Maybe a family feud is exactly what the IndyCar Series needed to spice up the end of its season. Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon is fine with that, after an incident between Andretti Green Racing's drivers at Infineon...

VW'S PASSAT COUPE NEARS; Wolfsburg aims to take on Mercedes.(News)
September 3, 2007... Byline: GREG KABLE Volkswagen has begun final development of its new Passat-based coupe before an expected debut at next year's Geneva motor show. The new four-door, seen here in near-production form during hot-weather running in Death...

THE TALE OF THE QUAIL.(News)
September 3, 2007... Byline: JOHN L. STEIN Billed as "A Motorsports Gathering'' for sports and racing cars, the fifth running of the Quail honored Briggs Cunningham's 100th birthday, the 75th anniversary of the Monte Carlo Rally and the 50th anniversaries of...

The 75-Year-Old Adolescent's World; Why everybody in our universe calls GM's vice chairman the car guy.(Revs)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Phil Berg Fit-and-trim 75-year-old Bob Lutz has a reliable gut sense of what is a cool car and what is not. Business stories about the General Motors vice chairman mention that he flies fighter planes and has had such a cool,...

Audi A4 Debuts at Frankfurt; New Audi A4 guns for BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.(News)
September 3, 2007... Byline: GREG KABLE Audi has poured radically new underpinnings, advanced gasoline- engine technology, a classy interior and the latest safety features into its larger and roomier fifth-generation A4. Pictured here for the first time,...

MARKET.(Escape Roads)
September 3, 2007... Byline: KEITH MARTIN 1968 Ford Mustang GT California Special Coupe Mecum Auctions: Back to the '50s St. Paul, Minn. June 23 289-cid V8, four-barrel, auto. Red and black with black vinyl interior. Claimed to be the only...

ECO-SMOOTH; GM shows even big SUVs can be green now.(News)
September 3, 2007... Byline: MARK VAUGHN If not for the dash display, you might not know this was a green(er) machine. The transitions between modes of GM's 2-Mode Hybrid SUV-all-electric, eight cylinders, four cylinders and varying combinations-are...

A BUYER'S MARKET.(News)
September 3, 2007... Byline: KEITH MARTIN Six classic-car auctions netted a record $135 million in Monterey Aug. 15-20, as the divergence that marks this year's market continues. The best cars increased in value, and the rest tailed off to affordable levels....

Within Limits.(personal narratives of Cory Farley)(Column)
September 3, 2007... Byline: Cory Farley This summer, i've gotten two speeding tickets. That's after a long hiatus, and I can't really complain. If speed limits are to be taken literally, I'm a little guilty every day. If speed limits are to be taken...

Something for Everyone.(Column)
September 3, 2007... Byline: KC Crain What do multiple car auctions, vintage racing, a Tour d'Elegance, the Concorso Italiano, the Quail and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance have in common? All take place on the Monterey Peninsula during one amazing August...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
September 3, 2007... Compare and contrast To belabor the obvious, your "Fleet Street'' (Long-Termers, Aug. 20) made the inane observation that while "a Honda Insight gets 50 mpg and can carry two people, [the Chevrolet Suburban] gets 16 mpg and carries...

EXTRA.(Briefs)
September 3, 2007... To Infiniti . . . Infiniti is looking at expanding its lineup. Nissan design boss Shiro Nakamura said the luxury nameplate is considering ideas such as a small car to slide in below the G line, a high-end coupe (which would be Infiniti's...

Beautiful beast.(Pebble Beach Co.)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is about style and sophistication, and this year-on the 75th anniversary of the '32 Ford-it was about hot rods, too, with nine Deuces on display. This one, the Berardini Brothers 404 Jr. Roadster owned by...

A BIGGER BANG; Dodge rolls out the same Viper, only more of it.(News)
September 10, 2007... Byline: NATALIE NEFF HURTLING UP THE HILL toward a roller-coaster complex, details from an earlier recon run start to blur. Take turn seven deep, turn in late, carry speed through turns eight and nine. Got it. Then brake slightly for 10,...

1964; Ford announces it has a new 200-mph GT car that "bears a striking resemblance to a Lola-Ford, although Lola is never mentioned.".(50th Anniversary countdown)
September 10, 2007... John Wyer is commissioned to race the vehicle in international events. One Ford official says, "If we can't buy Ferrari, we'll do our damnedest to go out and beat them.'' We will come to know the car as the Ford GT40. Also opening the year...

TV: Sept. 14-16.(News)
September 10, 2007... Friday, Sept. 14 * Formula One practice from Belgium, 8 a.m., Speed (L) * NASCAR Live, 1 p.m., Speed (L) * Go or Go Home, 2:30 p.m., Speed (L) * NASCAR Nextel Cup qualifying from Loudon, N.H., 3 p.m., ESPN2 (L) * NASCAR...

IF YOU GO.(News)
September 10, 2007... If you decide to take European delivery of a new car, here are some tips to remember. * Plan to arrive at least a day earlier than your scheduled delivery. Most U.S. flights arrive in the morning or early afternoon, and you'll need a good...

COME & GET IT! Our Audi S6 starts off its year in Germany.(News)
September 10, 2007... Byline: ROGER HART High-end Audis have long been the choice of German bankers, thanks to styling that's less ostentatious and gregarious than that from either Mercedes-Benz or BMW. But even German bankers love to zip along the autobahn,...

MONSTER MACHINE; Twin-turbo V10 pushes Audi RS6 to the limit.(News)
September 10, 2007... Byline: GREG KABLE Audi will drop a twin-turbocharged, 5.2-liter, 580-hp V10 engine under the lightweight aluminum hood of its second-generation RS6, boosting output by 145 hp over its twin-turbocharged, 4.2-liter-V8-powered predecessor....

SCHOOL'S IN SESSION; Jimmie Johnson puts on a racing clinic in California.(Competitions of car racing)
September 10, 2007... Byline: PETE LYONS Only 14 years have passed since Jimmie Johnson graduated from high school in El Cajon, California, and teachers there remember him well. So when he stopped by a few days before the California Speedway Nextel Cup race,...

GRONHOLM BARELY EDGES LOEB.(Competition)
September 10, 2007... Ford's Marcus Gronholm won the Rally New Zealand, round 11 of the World Rally Championship, with the smallest winning margin in series history. After more than 220 miles of competition on the twisty gravel roads of New Zealand's North Island,...

Extra.(Competitions of car racing )
September 10, 2007... VILLENEUVE DEBUTS Jacques Villeneuve tested for Bill Davis Racing at Chicagoland Speedway. Villeneuve drove a Toyota Tundra with the No. 27-made famous by his father, Gilles, and used by Villeneuve in CART. NASCAR Truck Series championship...

DELAYING THE INEVITABLE; Justin Wilson stops Sebastien Bourdais from taking the title in Holland.(Competition)
September 10, 2007... Byline: ANTHONY PEACOCK Justin Wilson took his first Champ Car win of the year in Assen, Holland, on a narrow and challenging circuit normally used for motorcycle races. The RuSport driver started from the front row by virtue of setting...

FRANKFURT FIESTA.(News)
September 10, 2007... Byline: BOB GRITZINGER Ford, stuck in neutral when it comes to small cars in the United States, will reveal a concept at the Frankfurt motor show that the company says provides a clear view of its global small-car plans. Called the...

ONE FOR THE CAPTAIN; Dumas gives Penske his due reward.(Competition)
September 10, 2007... Byline: GARY WATKINS The IndyCar Series was not the only entertaining show on Detroit's revived Belle Isle circuit, and it was fitting that Porsche factory drivers Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard claimed a last-gasp win to give event...

BELLES OF THE ISLE; Tony Kanaan leads Danica Patrick in an AGR tango at Detroit.(Competition)
September 10, 2007... Byline: CURT CAVIN From the presentation of historic Belle Isle to the controversial action on the refurbished street course, the Detroit Grand Prix redux was a smashing hit. In fact, except for a brief interruption of the media...

JUST THE WAX, MA'AM.(Revs)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Jacob Lingeman Those who detail cars for a living swear by the deep, rich shine delivered by carnauba wax. Derived from a plant native to Brazil, carnauba has a high melting point and is one of the hardest natural waxes available,...

DODGE DABBLES IN CROSSOVERS; While remaining faithful to minivans.(News)
September 10, 2007... Byline: EVAN MCCAUSLAND Although Chrysler won't stop believing in the minivan ("Crossover This,'' AW, Aug. 20), it has played it safe by developing a crossover as well: the 2009 Dodge Journey. Debuting at the Frankfurt motor show, the...

Meanwhile, outside our car world . . .(50th Anniversary countdown)
September 10, 2007... Meanwhile, outside our car world . . . Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa. China detonates its first atomic bomb. Warren Report concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassination of President...

Under the hood.(Briefs)
September 10, 2007... Teen Drivers We built it, and you came. More than 250 people attended the AutoWeek Teen Driving Safety Summit, in partnership with Dodge, on Aug. 28. By all measures, it was a tremendous success. For those who were unable to join us,...

Drivers Log.(News)(Product/service evaluation)
September 10, 2007... 2007 Lexus SC 430 In fleet: Aug. 17-24 As-tested price: $67,207 Drivetrain: 4.3-liter V8; rwd, six-speed automatic Output: 288 hp @ 5600 rpm, 317 lb-ft @ 3400 rpm Curb weight: 3840 lb Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 21/21.4...

Smokin' Deals.(Incentives)
September 10, 2007... Jaguar's updated XJ and the Land Rover LR3 kick off the new model year with special finance offers. A sporty coupe and small sport/ute also carry sizeable incentives. Sport/Utility Vehicle 2008 Land Rover LR3 MSRP: $49,300; 4.9 percent...

But Wait, There's More...(BWTM)
September 10, 2007... AND 2/4, AND 3/6, AND 5/10 . . . A Nissan document describing the Titan truck's transmission operation explains shift points in normal and "tow mode,'' at both full and half throttle. A footnote says: "At half throttle, the accelerator...

Market.(product information of Chevrolet Motor Co.)(Brief article)
September 10, 2007... Byline: KEITH MARTIN 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 Two-door Hardtop Mecum Auctions: Back to the '50s St. Paul, Minn. June 23 With 396-cid V8, four-barrel, four-speed. Red pearl and black with black vinyl interior....

MOTOR CITY MACCHINA; The Giugiaro Mustang shows what Turin can do for Dearborn, and vice versa.(News)
September 10, 2007... Byline: MARK VAUGHN Italdesign is the Turin firm that made the Maserati Merak, the BMW M1 and the Lotus Esprit, among many others. But the many others were almost all European. The company wanted to show American carmakers that it can do...

Letters.
September 10, 2007... You're fired! Not This is not the way to do it ("Disaster Strikes Dario,'' AW, Sept. 3). Take out your teammate on the last laps and possibly make him lose the championship. Michael Andretti should fire Marco. Racing should be more...

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS; NHRA's Super Bowl has its usual drama.(Competitions of car racing)
September 10, 2007... Byline: CURT CAVIN We now know what NHRA's new Countdown to the Championship looks and feels like. Tony Schumacher benefited; John Force did not. Schumacher's road to a fifth Top Fuel title got a whole lot straighter at O'Reilly...

Cars Mark Our Lives.(Column)
September 10, 2007... Byline: Dutch Mandel Yesterday I stopped the BMW at a scenic overlook to propose marriage to my girlfriend. It was along Northern California's 17-Mile Drive. We were going to Laguna Seca for a race, and the symmetry seemed right, since I'd...

TAKING A SHINE; Expert tips on getting a professional wax job at home.(Revs)
September 10, 2007... Byline: JACOB LINGEMAN With summer winding down, this is an ideal time to put a shine on your car, whether it's your daily driver getting ready for winter or your only-drive-in-the-summer classic that's headed for storage. First, let's...

Weight Wars.(Column)
September 10, 2007... Byline: William Agnew I hope it's not too long before the auto giants start to fight an all-out weight war. There's a conflict I can wholeheartedly endorse, and it is not a red state/blue state issue. After all, who could complain about a...

RARE BIRD; 1964 STUDEBAKER GRAN TURISMO HAWK.(Escape Roads)
September 10, 2007... Byline: BROOKS BRIERLEY One of the most successful automobile recyclings began in 1953 as the landmark Studebaker coupe designed by Raymond Loewy. For the 1956 model year, the financially troubled manufacturer could afford to add only a...

FUTURE FAST? IRL asks Art Center students for cars and tracks of tomorrow.(Revs)
September 10, 2007... Byline: PETE LYONS No rules. Just let your imagination run riot with potential race cars and racetracks of the future. Sound like a dream assignment? It's a real one that the Indy Racing League recently handed to students at the Art Center...

Extra.(News)
September 10, 2007... Synching up Volkswagen and Apple are in the early stages of discussions that could lead to them producing a car together, VW confirmed. Steve Jobs, CEO of the U.S. computer company, and Martin Winterkorn, VW CEO, reportedly met recently in...

Web Extra: Micro Mitsubishi.(Mitsubishi Motors Corp.)(Brief article)
September 10, 2007... If you caught our recent web report on the Mitsubishi i ("Smarter Than a Smart?"), here's a another twist on the tiny-car story. The Japanese automaker-whose four-door, four-passenger, rear-engine microcar is already on sale in Japan and...

Picture a Trip.(News)
September 10, 2007... If you're planning a trip to Europe or are looking for a reason to go there, taking delivery of a new car at the factory can make sense. First, your transportation needs on the Continent will be handled. Cross off a rental-car bill, as all...

Only one cruise that will do.(News)
September 10, 2007... Metro Detroit's annual brush with excess, the Woodward Dream Cruise, held true to its roots by bringing out some 30,000 cruisers and an estimated 1.2 million dreamers for the 13th edition of what has become the mother of all mom-and-pop car...

Getting the grille all fired up.(News)
September 10, 2007... Toyota Camry racer Michael Waltrip truly lights up his car in a crash on lap 38 of the Sharp Aquos 500. The race was at the California Speedway in Fontana on Sunday night of Labor Day weekend. Waltrip exited his car unscathed and ended up...

TEACH THEM WELL; AutoWeek Teen Driving Safety Summit.(News)
September 17, 2007... Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON Aiming to act as a catalyst for change and as a megaphone to amplify those working to improve driver education in America, AutoWeek hosted the inaugural Teen Driving Safety Summit on Aug. 28 at Oakland University in...

1965; Jackie Stewart claims his first-ever Formula One victory, at Monza in Italy.(50th Anniversary countdown)
September 17, 2007... For $3,000, you can pick up a 10-year-old Porsche 550 RSK with trailer, if you look in the Competition Press & Auto Week classifieds. Ford shows "two high-stepping vehicles'': the Mustang GT 350 and the 427 Cobra. A Mini takes the...

Fleet Street; Briefs on our other long-termers.(News)(Brief article)
September 17, 2007... Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Some call the SRT8's ride and handling horrendous, others sports-car-like. One staffer summed it up: "It's not something I'd buy myself, but its appeal is undeniable. Until you pull up to the gas pump.'' ...

THE UN-CAMRY? A year with the Nissan Altima may tell.(News)
September 17, 2007... Byline: WENDY WARREN KEEBLER Seven-Up used to call itself the Un-Cola, claiming to be fresher, juicier, "a bit different.'' The Nissan Altima might be the Un-Camry, something crisper, snappier, more flavorful than Toyota's family-car sales...

Drivers Log.(News)(Product/service evaluation)
September 17, 2007... 2007 Nissan Nismo 350Z In fleet: Aug. 28-Sept. 11 As-tested price: $38,695 Drivetrain: 3.5-liter V6; rwd, six-speed manual Output: 306 hp @ 6800 rpm, 268 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm Curb weight: 3352 lb Fuel economy (EPA): 23...

Remembrance.(Column)(Obituary)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Steve Thompson Like me, Dale Prochaszka was an Air Force NCO stationed in England in the late 1960s. While I was racing motorcycles, Dale was driving Formula Fords in the series run by the Jim Russell school at Snetterton. I'd met...

The One; Jaguar's new midsize sedan is `make it or break it' for the brand.(News)
September 17, 2007... Byline: MIKE DUFF Make no mistake, Jaguar is one sick cat. Sales are sliding around the globe, but the situation in the States is particularly dire. Salvation isn't going to come from any of the existing lineup. The X-Type and the XJ are...

CAR-A MIA!(Revs)
September 17, 2007... An exhibit of "Cars and Car-Toons'' by former New Yorker cartoonist Charles Addams is on display at the Bridgehampton Historical Society through Nov. 26. Addams, who died in 1988, was a longtime resident of Sagaponack, near Bridgehampton, New...

Buck Up for Safety.(Column)
September 17, 2007... Byline: Kevin A. Wilson America will license 6 million new drivers this year and next. More than 90 percent will take to the roads having completed only the standard 30/6 education: 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours at the...

Letters.(Editorial)
September 17, 2007... Not soon enough How in all that's common sense did ABC end its telecast of the IndyCar Belle Isle race with cars in piles, no victory lap, no podium or postrace interview? I'll bet if it was a sudden-death playoff between Tiger Woods and...

MERCEDES-BENZ F700; Shines light on next S-Class.(News)
September 17, 2007... Byline: GREG KABLE A dramatically styled Mercedes-Benz research vehicle unveiled at Frankfurt showcases a series of high-end features the company plans to incorporate into future production models. Dubbed the F700, the large luxury...

CONCOURS D'FOLIAGE.(Revs)
September 17, 2007... Byline: DON KLEIN A vintage Ferrari. New England's fall colors. Can it get any better than this? Turns out, Mother Nature is a car guy. And to prove it, all you need to do is take a drive up New England's Route 7 during fall foliage...

A New Breed of Bull; With the Reventcentsn concept, Lambo goes space age.(News)
September 17, 2007... Byline: MICHAEL TAYLOR It's clearly a LAMBORGHINI, but the Reventcentsn is not like any other Lamborghini the Italian supercar maker has ever produced. Heavily based on the Murcielago, the Reventcentsn is a concept car heading straight...

BIG BENZES; More cubic inches per cubic foot.(News)
September 17, 2007... Byline: GEORGE P. BLUMBERG More cubic inches per cubic foot With today's high fuel costs, the case can be made that more horsepower is more luxury. We favor luxury through power. So, the 2008 Mercedes ML550 and GL550 SUVs, with larger,...

RIDING THE STORM; McLaren blitzes Monza but faces big trouble off-track.(Competition)
September 17, 2007... Byline: NIGEL ROEBUCK Wins don't come any sweeter than this. In the days building up to the Italian Grand Prix, McLaren-Mercedes was under siege, and there was reason to believe that some were not passing up the opportunity to destabilize...

THE WAY TO GO; Dario Franchitti takes the title in what may be his final IndyCar race.(Competition)
September 17, 2007... Byline: CURT CAVIN Dario Franchitti didn't have much compassion for the manner in which Scott Dixon lost the IndyCar Series championship at Chicagoland Speedway. Running out of fuel on the next-to-last corner of the final lap might be...

LINE 'EM UP; Jimmie Johnson wins Richmond, and the Chase for the Cup is on.(Competition)
September 17, 2007... Byline: AL PEARCE NASCAR, Nextel and ABC-TV began the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 praying for the racing equivalent of the previous week's stunning Appalachian State versus Michigan college football game. They craved a tense, hard-fought battle...