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Asian
chefs create unreal life-size F1 car from bread
 The
Culinary Executive Chef from the Royal Plaza On Scotts in Singapore,
who led a team of six chefs, two artists, two technicians, two
culinary staff members and five young volunteers from Metta Welfare
Association to create bake the machine you see in the gallery
below: Asia's Largest Race Car Made From Bread. We wonder... is
there some other bread-based race car vying for the world record?
According to Klik.tv, there are a thousand individual loaves and
22 different types of bread in the life-size F1 car. More numbers:
it took 33 pounds of yeast, 14 liters of water, 4.4 pounds of
salt and nearly three gallons of varnish to finish this delightful
creation. We bet it's the best smelling race car ever.
More
information & pictures
Audi
to unveil RS3 in Frankfurt
 The
Frankfurt Motor Show is fast approaching with a slew of exciting
debuts. And you can bet Audi will use the semi-annual home-turf
show to debut some savory pieces of machinery, but just what those
will be is still a matter of speculation. Earlier reports suggested
the new A8 could bow in Frankfurt, along with ruminations of drop-top
or even electric variants of the R8 supercar. But the latest reports
indicate that Ingolstadt is secretly preparing the RS3 hot hatch
for its close up. More
info
Porsche
unveils sportier 2010 911 GT3 RS
 Porsche
has unveiled details and photos of its 2010 911 GT3 RS. The new
model gets a host of upgrades that should make it even more potent,
including an additional horsepower from a naturally aspirated
3.8-liter flat-six (previously 3.6-liter) that brings total output
to 450 bhp –15 more than its GT3 counterpart. As expected, power
is routed through a six-speed manual transmission with shorter
ratios than the one in the GT3. Handling has been further improved
with a purpose-built PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management)
suspension, a wider track both front and rear made possible by
larger wheel arch covers.. More
info
Officially
Official: 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid 7
 The
embargo dam began cracking earlier today with the premature release
of the X6 ActiveHybrid's details, so BMW decided to open the floodgates
and reveal all its Frankfurt-bound hybrids ahead of the show,
beginning with the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid 7. The big sedan uses
a different electric drive setup from the coupe-shaped 'ute: a
mild hybrid co-developed with Mercedes-Benz that combined with
an electric motor and a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8, yields 455 hp
and 516 lb-ft of torque. The V8 has been upgraded from the standard
400 to 440 hp (with the extra 15 hp coming from the electric motor)
More
info
2010
Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback starting at $19,190, Ralliart at $27,590
 The
hatchified version of Mitsubishi's Lancer was confirmed earlier
this year to go on sale as a 2010 model. For the first two-thirds,
it's a normal Lancer, but out back there's a smidge of extra length
and a newly fattened C-Pillar for the practical hatch profile.
Not only is it sporting smart-looking hatchy excellence, the Lancer
Sportback glowers at the Subaru Impreza and says "bring it."
Tweaking an Impreza's nose is best done when you're rocking the
$27,590 Lancer Sportback Ralliart. The entry GTS serves up the
style and utility for a reasonable $19,190, but the 2.4-liter
four cylinder's 168 horsepower. More
info
First
Drive: 2010 Cadillac SRX 2.8T
 The
SRX has some moves, the direct injected 3.0-liter V6 isn't exactly
Fred Astaire. It provides just enough motivation for daily driving,
but for customers that need more – particularly for those who
want to fully enjoy the SRX's underpinnings – Cadillac has decided
to offer a second, more aggressive engine to the mix. But with
300 horsepower, the 2010 SRX 2.8T – the first production Cadillac
in the US fitted with a turbocharger – aims to please buyers looking
for more pop in the pedal.. More
information & pictures
2010
Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate leaks out ahead of Frankfurt debut
 Although
the Frankfurt Motor Show is still a month away, images of the
2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate ("wagon" to us 'Mericans)
have leaked out ahead of its official reveal in Germany. The E-Class
Estate joins the thoroughly revised sedan and coupe variants of
Merc's mid-sizer and will undoubtedly grow both longer and wider
than the outgoing five-door. Although the majority of the interior
has been ported over from its siblings, the Estate's party-pieces
are its folding rear seats that can be laid flat, a new cargo
area nestled within the trunk and a set of rear-facing jump seats
bound to make the kiddies car-sick on the Autobahn. More
info
Review:
2010 Volvo XC60
 With
a six-speed automatic transmission handling shifting duties and
delivering the 3.0-liter inline-six's 281 horsepower and 295 lb-ft
to all four wheels, the XC60 feels a bit heavy off the line, but
there's plenty of pop available once you get all 4,174 pounds
moving forward. Although topping the two-ton mark hardly makes
the XC60 a bantamweight, it's the lightest crossover among its
competitors, and when you slip the transmission into manual mode,
the XC60 delivers even more punch from a standstill, though we'd
still recommend shying away from stoplight drags. More
information & pictures
Officially
Official: Ferrari 458 Italia announced!
 After
months of speculation and spy shots, Maranello has finally revealed
the mid-engined V8 replacement for the Ferrari F430. The all-new
Ferrari 458 Italia won't be shown in public until September's
Frankfurt Motor Show, but the official details were released early
this morning. A new direct-injected 4.5-liter V8 ups the ante
underhood, pumping out 562 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque.
The redline? A screaming 9,000 rpm. Eighty percent of the F458
Italia's torque is now available at a low 3,250 rpm, thanks in
all likelihood to the new engine's 12.5:1 compression ratio.More
information & pictures
2010
Suzuki Kizashi unveiled!
 Suzuki
may be one of the most ironic. For some reason, the small automaker
of mostly small cars chose a World War II memorial in suburban
Detroit for the global reveal of its most aggressive attack yet
on the heart of the U.S. car market. Suzuki has always been a
bit of an outlier in this market, although the company has been
a strong player in the Japanese mini-car scene. Its most successful
entry to date here in the U.S. has been the compact SX4. Now,
it's trying to encroach on Camry/Accord/Fusion territory.
More
information & pictures
Review:
2010 Mazda3
 Introduced
in 2003 and produced until this year, the first generation was
a segment buster. For about the same coin as its competitors,
the Mazda3 gave you more: More sportiness, more refinement, more
space and, being a Mazda, more reliability. The Mazda3 was just
a better car. And of course there was the beloved MazdaSpeed3
– aka lightning in a reasonably-priced bottle. For 2010, Mazda
has built a new, slightly larger 3 packed with polarizing styling,
a bigger engine and more creature comforts. More
information & pictures
Review:
2010 Nissan GT-R
 First
and foremost, we should cover what's new for 2010. The big news
is bye-bye launch control. We found the GT-R's penchant for grenading
transmissions humorous (from a distance), but alas, farewell.
However... maybe it's still there? Maybe Nissan was only telling
people launch control had been deleted? We found a very deserted
stretch of road, put the transmission and suspension into R mode,
turned the VDC all the way off, planted our left foot on the brake
pedal and pushed the throttle with our right. Instead of the tach
zinging up to 4,500 rpm, fuel cutoff happens right around 2,000
rpm. Launch control is deader than last. More
information & pictures
When
Insuring a Sports Car, Emphasize the Positives
 Owning
a sports car is a car lover's dream. Shopping
for sports car auto insurance rates can be the nightmare.
By making an effort to understand the assumptions insurance agencies
make about your machine, you will better position yourself to
negotiate favorable premiums by countering perceived negatives
with verifiable positives. Some of this assumptions will include:
• Sports cars are more susceptible to theft.
• They are more expensive to repair. More
info
Review:
2009 Audi TTS
 The
Audi TT is a highly entertaining package -- good looks, great
personality, terrific cabin feel, solid handling and a good price.
Yet with the TTS here and the TT-RS on the way (well, not for
us Americans, but...), the TT becomes something like The Girl
Next Door who you just found out has two hotter siblings. That
doesn't mean you have to stop loving The Girl Next Door... but
you're eyes may have a tendency to wander. Autoblog spent a week
with the middle sister who was out to steal our hearts with an
upgraded turbocharged engine, brilliant all-wheel drive and a
flamboyant paint job. More
information & pictures
2010
Transformers Special Edition Chevy Camaro unveiled
 General
Motors officially announced the 2010 Chevy Camaro Transformers
Special Edition. The $995 appearance package can be applied to
LT (V6) and SS-trim Camaros in Rally Yellow with or without the
optional RS package.
* Autobot insignia fender badges and wheel
caps
* An embroidered Autobot insignia on the center console
* Gloss-black rally stripes with Transformers logos
* Transformers-logo doorsill plates More
info
Officially
Official: Acura unveils 2010 ZDX crossover
 After
its conceptual debut at the New York Auto Show in April, the 2010
Acura ZDX officially joins the coupe-like crossover fray this
winter. Acura has dropped a brief release and a trio of photos
of the production variant, and like recent Honda and Acura concepts,
the ZDX was nearly production ready when it debuted in NY. The
only notable changes over the concept are the headlights, tail
lamps and a few details in the lower front fascia. Under the hood,
the ZDX gets the same 300-hp 3.7-liter V6 as in the RL and TL,
paired up with Acura's first six-speed automatic transmission,
along with torque vectoring Super Handling-All Wheel Drive as
standard equipment. More
info
First
Drive: 2010 Buick LaCrosse
 2010
Buick LaCrosse is the most important vehicle launched by the brand
in decades. Buick, nearly consigned to the dustbin of history
a few short years ago, is now one of General Motors' four remaining
"core" brands. And if it weren't for the Chinese market's
love affair with the marque, there's little doubt Buick would've
followed Oldsmobile into the afterlife. Instead, GM is attempting
to (once again) refashion the brand as a serious competitor to
Acura, Lexus and Volvo, and the LaCrosse is the opening salvo
in the battle for hearts, minds and market share – not to mention
pocketbooks. More
information & pictures
Officially
Official: 2010 Audi A5 Sportback revealed, not coming Stateside
 After
teasing us with a video of the 2010 A5 Sportback, Audi has finally
dropped all the details on its all-new mid-size five-door liftback.
Building on the curvaceous body work of the A5 coupe and cabrio,
the Sportback adds an extra set of doors, along with a tailgate
to blend a bit of functionality with its form. European buyers
will be able to pick up a Sportback starting in September with
a choice of six engines split evenly between gas and diesel units,
all of which come equipped with direct injection. Like the A4,
the 2.0-liter TFSI four comes in 180 and 211 hp flavors, along
with a choice of Audi's 3.2-liter V6. More
info
Review:
2010 BMW X6 M
 The
2010 X6 M (and yet-to-be-tested X5 M) represents the most dramatic
shift in BMW's Motorsport division since its inception – and it's
not because they're the first crossovers branded with the tri-tone
"M" badge. This high-riding duo are the first M machines
ever to be equipped with all-wheel drive. The first fitted exclusively
with an automatic transmission. And the first (and surely not
the last) to pack a pair of turbochargers. M has evolved, but
BMW hasn't lost the plot – it's completely rewritten the screenplay,
added Michael Bay firepower and harnessed the electronic might
of a supercomputer farm to tie it all together. More
information & pictures
Review:
Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport
 The
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport is a violent, taunting, confounding
and punctiliously engineered maelstrom. It is a handmade wonder
built in a castle, and yet resembles a slightly squashed jelly
bean. It has a $30,000 stereo, but it's too much work to actually
listen to it. The 16-cylinder, quad-turbocharged engine with 1,001
horsepower and 922 lb-ft of torque is programmed not to let you
damage it, but in just one afternoon, the leather-trimmed coachwork
on the doors will be a mess of shoe marks. The car's brake rotors
are chaperoned by 28 brake pistons, but using them forcefully
is like begging someone to plow into the aforementioned engine.
The car will cost you €1.6 million More
information & pictures
Review:
2009 Ford Edge Sport
 Twenty-two
inch wheels. A chocolate bar shy of two feet, the 2009 Ford Edge
Sport has alloys the size of manhole covers. Despite being made
of aluminum, these wheels pull the eyes of onlookers magnetically.
The big rollers are not everyone's cup of tea, but they're the
defining feature of the Edge Sport – even the standard Sport model
kicks it with 20s. Ford adds even more visual slickness to the
Edge Sport with smoked lenses for the head- and tail-lamps that
go along with an uncommonly tasteful bodykit. More
information & pictures
Review:
2009 Smart ForTwo
 The
Smart ForTwo isn't for shy people. Even though Smart USA has sold
about 30,000 of these tiny two-seaters in the U.S., the little
rollerskate attracts a lot of attention. On the road or in America's
parking lots, the ForTwo is a conversation piece, and people don't
hesitate to come up and talk to you. Some will tell you about
the Smart they saw in Europe. Others will ask if it has the guts
to make it onto the highway. Most will assume it gets great gas
mileage (it doesn't). But one thing's for certain, during our
week with the ForTwo, there was a 100-percent conversation rate
wherever we went. Anthropophobes, be warned. More
information & pictures
Review:
2010 Honda Insight EX
 Unlike
the Toyota Prius, which carries a mid-size classification, the
Insight is much smaller, sharing many of its underpinnings with
the Fit. Since Honda doesn't want to put the Insight side-by-side
with the Prius (we'll humor them), maybe it's best to draw a comparison
between the hybrid and Honda's other sub-compact runabout. Not
quite. Compared to the Fit, the emphasis on optimal aerodynamics
has taken a big bite out of passenger room, with the peak of the
Insight's roof sitting four inches lower than the Fit's and then
sloping downward into the hatch. More
information & pictures
McLaren
planning hybrid supercar
 McLaren
has put up a job posting for a Senior Engineer for Powertrain
Hybrid Technology on its official website, which may offer a few
clues as to where the automaker may be heading in the near future
for its road cars. As far as rumors go, this one seems pretty
solid. One possibility is that McLaren will attempt to adapt the
KERS system from its Formula 1 race cars for street use. It's
widely agreed upon that McLaren's KERS implementation is the best
in F1 and both BMW and Ferrari are also thought to be working
on KERS for future road cars. More
info
Ferrari
599 GTB Fiorano HGTE Sport Package
 The
difference between the standard 599 and this hotted up HGTE package,
as the only visual differences include a tweaked fascia, new exhaust
tips, rear diffuser and bespoke 20-inch wheels. But underneath,
the factory-fettled 599 features a modified magnetorheological
suspension and revised springs, along with uprated tires and a
beefier anti-roll bar to coax a few more fractions of a G out
of Ferrari's super-GT. For around $42,000, you get all that and
more alcantara and carbon fiber, plus "Handling GTE"
embroidered into the sports seats. More
information & pictures
First
Drive: 2010 Porsche Panamera a 4-door sedan
 The
Panamera is physically more substantial in person than it appears
in pictures. By the tape, it is slightly larger than the Mercedes-Benz
CLS 63. Its overall length is 195.7 inches (2.7 inches longer
than the CLS 63), and the Porsche rides on a 115-inch wheelbase
(2.6 inches longer than the Mercedes). Its stance is significantly
wider too. The front track is 65.2 inches (up 2.2 inches) and
the rear is 64.8 inches (up 2.5 inches). The four-seat design,
with tapered back rests and integrated head restraints, is instantly
recognizable as classic Porsche. More
information & pictures
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