The highly anticipated member of the Infiniti G Series sports a three-piece hardtop that retracts in 30 seconds with a push of a button on the center console.

Company officials distinguishes the 2009 G37 from the line up of the series with its widened track, new look for the body panels, structural enhancements, and suspension.

The clam shell car will blaze on the road with its 325 horsepower 3.7L V6 engine with 267 lb-ft torque. The powerful engine is coupled with magnesium paddles to handle a 7-speed automatic transmission system. Another option is to pair the power plant with a manual gear box with six speeds.

Buyers may opt for a specially designed Bose sound system that automatically configures itself depending on the noise level, speed, and the position of the hard top.

The manufacturer will also release a Sport 6MT model which is hyped up with 19-inch wheels, higher quality cushions for a more comfortable ride, and upgraded braking system.

Two hundred Premier Edition units will also be released to boast of cozy custom made leathers, maple wood finishing, nine spoke aluminum 19 inch wheels, and an adventurous black grille.

The Infiniti G37 convertible will definitely give the luxury line of Nissan a facelift and a good shot on facing the productions of BMW and Audi with their popular BMW Z4 & Audi TT series.

The Black Hornet is an amazing tribute to the “Green Hornet” that Shelby used to test the then ground breaking technologies of the 1960s. In partnership with Restoration Hardware, Shelby is challenging all car enthusiasts to participate in the online car auction that runs from December 2-12, 2008. The Black Hornet bidding starts at $100,000.

Three-quarters of the Black Hornet sale will be given to the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation, which helps children suffering from life-threatening illnesses around the world, and also promote the donations of organs and tissues.

The Shelby EXP500 CSS “Black Hornet” was built by Barry Smith, proud owner of Legendary G.T. Continuation Cars. The Black Hornet is an exact replication of the Green Hornet. It is painted a Stetson black to pay tribute to Shelby’s preferred headgear. It is equipped with a 428 Cobra Jet V8 engine with 335 hp and four-speed manual. It also bears the signature hood scoops and stripes of classic Shelby cars. The Black Hornet is the lone authorized replica of the Green Hornet and is included in the Shelby Worldwide Registry. It has been in Shelby’s collection since 2003.

Recently displayed at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas, the Shelby EXP500 CSS “Black Hornet” is said to be worth $175,000 with big chances to increase in value depending on the Shelby collectors looking for the ultimate toy this Christmas.

The 2009 Toyota Venza is a product of the mixture of the sport utility vehicle’s attitude and the passenger car’s convenience. Although Toyota’s latest vehicle can be reminiscent of a station wagon, the car rides low in real time. Car enthusiasts also believe that when subjected to the right car pimping, the Venza would definitely be the anti-SUV.

The said latest offering from Toyota is also an ideal choice for cargo haulers and family vacationers. Like its competitors (Subaru Forester, Legacy and Ford Flex to name a few), the Toyota Venza can also accommodate cargos.

Although the unit has not so many breakthroughs to boast off, the unit can still wow the buyers with its improved versions of the current car technologies. Smoother ingress and egress are possible since the Venza has lowered rock panels. High Intensity Discharge or HID was also made to support the car’s auto-dimming feature.

The interior of the Toyota Venza is also noticeable. Both the front-wheel and all-wheel drive model units exudes high use of the car interior. It is also commendable that the company was able to come up such a design without putting the user’s driving experience to risk.

The 2009 Toyota Venza was a product of the company’s Calty Design Studios. The car is said to be targeting the North American crowd.

Trucks and pick-ups have lost their grounds when fuel prices increased. The priced of petrol has gone down but industry figures reveal the vehicles, like the F-150, are still on a downward trend. September sales figures disclose that pick-up sales are 26.7% lower.

The lower fuel prices may mean better chances for Ford’s F150 and other big vehicles to be launched by next year. Ford is anticipating though the entry of small European cars by next year which will play a big role in painting the picture.

Ford aims to have small to medium sized cars complement their big ones to remain competitive in the future.

The company has cars like Ford Fiesta on top of its list due for release in North America by 2010. Subcompact lines of cars in the likes of Ford Focus will follow suit.

Officials are even considering bringing to the US the redesigned Ford Ka which will be introduced to the European market early 2009. The Ford Ka is even smaller than the Ford Fiesta.

The company is studying well the marketability and profitability of the small cars in the North American market. The profit margin for the full size pickups begins at around $10000.

Ford is suffering like other car manufacturers, losing around $8.6 billion through the 2nd quarter. A higher figure is expected to be revealed when the company reports its 3rd quarter performance.

Here! one of the 2 most clear photos that have been sensationalized in the Internet. It is said that this car, called the Chevrolet Cruze will replace the Chevrolet Cobalt in other countries and will replace the Optra in India. Because of its looks i had my eyes opened wide! The car was so delicious to gobble it down. The car will hit the European market in the year 2009, er.. i.e, next year.

When the Optra was introduced, it had so many plus points, also won the “car of the year 2004″ too. That was like 4 year ago, when the Optra was like God of the segment, also known as Chevrolet’s boost. The price started decreasing due to heavy competition from the likes of Honda and Toyota, which left Chevrolet in third place.
So officially, this product will be made in 15 types in GM’s brands. The pictures that have been illustrated is not completely the Optra one would get here in India, this is more of a Cobalt, though there wont be drastic changes in the new Optra’s design, only the front and rear will be changed a little.

If you ask me.. if given an awesome engine with decent mileage, the Civic better find shelter.

Toyota, which is currently running on poor sales as they have no new car available that can liberate sales. Toyota will start off with the new Toyota Corolla sedan soon. Toyota, on seeing Honda launching the Honda Civic hybrid, plans to bring the famous Prius hybrid sedan. This step has been taken as an answer to the high fuel prices and to support the “eco-friendly” tag.

“We are preparing to bring Prius into the Indian market though we have not set any timeline yet,” Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd vice-chairman Vikram Kirloskar told in an interview.

Currently, Toyota is preparing and developing the skills to service it and to make the spare parts required for the car. The Prius sedan has great respect for itself in the wide USA market.

The Prius might be on the costly side, but when you plan to buy it for a long time, its a great buy as the cost of running is very low, with high mileage and low maintainance.

The Prius expected price is between 18-23Lakhs. The Prius runs both on fuel and electric power. This might be the future for India.. Hybrids.

Well, here it is. Ford has officially revealed its all new Ka. Ford will debut the small car in the Paris Motor Show in October. This car is like a mini version of the Fiesta hatch. Is this the car that is told to be Fords small car for India? Lets find out!

Ford has earlier said that a developed version of the Ford Ka will be Fords next car.
The actual idea is to make a car that fulfils the demands of Indian needs. Tweaking the size, making it 4 door and installing a 1.4L Diesel engine or a 1.2L or 1.3L petrol engine and price it between 4.5L to 5.5L.

Though these specs are not confirmed, i am pretty sure that this will be fords small car.

What follows, in no particular order, is a short list of some of the more interesting offerings that’ll soon be materializing in showrooms near you:

2008 Mercedes Benz C350
The folks at Daimler like to pretend the redesigned C Class got most of its styling DNA from Mercedes’ flagship S Class. Who are they trying to kid? Sure, if your eyes sweep over the new C Class sedan, you’ll see a linkage to its stylish big brother. But it’s equally clear that Mercedes’ designers taped pictures of BMW’s 3 Series to their computer terminals as they went about concocting the C Class’s exterior.

With the exception of the car’s front grill fascia, the C350’s aggressive, angular new sheetmetal is evocative of nothing if not the 3 Series. There’s a clear-cut need for an automotive paternity test when it comes to determining the C Class’s lineage.

From a driving standpoint, the C350’s genes are all Mercedes. Which is to say the little Mercedes handles quite well, but doesn’t deliver the taut steering and suspension feedback the 3 Series is renowned for. That’s not a knock, because few cars do.

The new C Class’ 270-horsepower V6 accelerates strongly, and is rated at 18 mpg in the city, 23 mpg highway. The redesigned Mercedes, which starts at $37,400, is much handsomer than its predecessor — even if we’re not sure who the daddy is!

2008 Scion xD
The term ‘econobox’ once evoked images of laughably bad fit and finish, air conditioning invariably being an option, and powerplants featuring a squirrel on an exercise wheel. So it’s a revelation to drive the new Scion xD and discover $14,550 buys you Toyota-level quality, a peppy 1.8-liter, double overhead cam four-banger, and keyless remote entry, power windows, air conditioning and an iPod connector on the standard-equipment list.

Not only that, but you and your friends needn’t be contortionists to travel in the Scion xD, as was the case when the Yugo and its brethren inhabited the econobox niche. Not only does the xD comfortably seat four, but the rear seat can recline, or slide forward six inches.

Understand that purchasing a Scion xD won’t make you the envy of your block, nor will you be king of the road with 128 horsepower at your disposal. However, if you have a thing for well-built, reliable, cheap vehicles that burn gasoline like it’s an expensive, non-renewable fossil fuel, you owe it to yourself to check out Scion xD.

2008 BMW 1 Series Coupe
If you’re a car enthusiast, you’ve been itching to get your mitts on this vehicle. Not to mention your right foot.

The 1 Series Coupe is based on the iconic BMW 2002, which was built during the 1960s and is still considered the “ultimate driving machine” by old school Bimmer aficionados. Propelled by its rear wheels, the base model 128i Coupe has a normally aspirated 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder powerplant that pumps out 230 horsepower.

Not too shabby on a diminutive car weighing 2,900 pounds, but the coup de grace is the 135i Coupe, which is equipped with a twin-turbo 3.5-liter inline six generating 300 horsepower and 300 lb.-ft. of torque.

Zero to 62 mph rolls around in 5.3 seconds on the 135i, and top speed has been electronically limited to 155 mph.

Looking like a shrunken 3 Series, on paper the 1 Series sounds like serious fun. There’s also a sedan iteration that’s vaguely reminiscent of an old generation M Coupe when viewed head-on and from the side, but from the rear looks like an uninspiring European econobox hatchback. BMW has wisely decided not to import the sedan to the United States, while the Coupe’s rollout is slated for spring 2008.

2008 Volvo C30
To see one of the more innovative Web sites ever created to complement a new car launch, go to Volvo’s C30 site.

The manufacturer is clearly after younger, fun-loving, intelligent car buyers with an offbeat home page representing the funky-looking two-door C30. The littlest Volvo is destined to stand out in a crowd, with its huge blacked-out hatchback rear window, stylish wheels, a bold, flowing overall design and a base cost of $22,700.

Airbags can deploy from every conceivable nook and cranny, as you might expect of a Volvo. The list of safety features also includes a whiplash protection system that cradles occupants in the event of an accident.

You’d guess four cylinders might be under the C30’s hood, but actually a turbocharged five-cylinder engine resides there, supplying the Volvo with a more than ample 227 horsepower. As a result, it takes 6.6 seconds to move the speedometer from 0 to 62 mph, according to Volvo.

The head-turning C30 is slated to be available in summer 2008.

2008 Honda Accord
What does it take, exactly, to improve upon a legend? Every time Honda endeavors a Honda Accord redesign, the task is akin to breaking out oil paints in a bid to gussy up the Mona Lisa.

Suffice it to say the September debut of Honda’s new and improved eighth-generation 2008 flagship was one of the more eagerly anticipated unveilings in the auto biz. And as initial driving impressions start to drift in, automotive journalists seem to feel Honda’s rolling work of art has moved from wonderful to sublime.

Even though the 2008 Accord is in the $20,000 to $30,000 range, comparisons to Acura and Mercedes are bandied about. Acura influences can clearly be seen in photographs of the rakish-looking Honda coupe, while the somewhat more conservatively styled sedan looks vaguely Hyundai-like.

Engine options include a 2.4-liter, 177-horsepower four-cylinder and a 3.5-liter, 268-horsepower V6 incorporating Honda’s high-revving VTEC technology.

The new Accord offers more passenger room, thanks to being three inches longer, an inch wider and an inch taller, leading to dimensions that have given it large car status from the EPA. Wheelbase has also increased, 2.3 inches on the sedan, while the coupe went up 2.8 inches. The Accord legend is growing literally and figuratively.

2008 Nissan Rogue
Outwardly, the all-new 2008 Nissan Rogue SUV hardly looks like a scoundrel or a renegade, two ways of defining “rogue.” The variant Nissan must have had in mind is “a playful, mischievous person,” because the little, all-wheel drive Rogue is more likely to be characterized as cute than menacing or intimidating.

With a starting price of $19,250 and weighing only 3,267 pounds, the Rogue is Nissan’s starter SUV, going head-to-head with Honda’s CR-V. Dressed in fairly nondescript sheetmetal, the Rogue comes in two models: the baseline Rogue S and the $20,670 Rogue SL, which offers additional goodies such as larger wheels, steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters and xenon headlights.

If all-wheel drive isn’t your thing, the Rogue also comes in front-wheel drive. Both drivetrain choices will be powered by a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder engine producing 170 horsepower.

Cargo capacity is 28.9 cubic feet with the rear seats up, and 57.9 cubic feet with the rear row of seats folded.

Time will tell if Nissan’s fourth and smallest SUV is capable of making roguish inroads into Honda CR-V sales.

2009 Nissan GT-R
This car is a bit special, so we made room for it on our list, even though we don’t expect it as a 2008 Model Year release.

When a super high-performance car is made available overseas, but not here, it automatically becomes the stuff of automotive mythology. So it is with the mighty Nissan Skyline GT-R, which has been terrorizing boulevards in Japan since the late 1960s. Now this mega-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Godzilla is finally about to be unleashed on the United States. If you don’t think gearheads are amped over the GT-R’s impending arrival, check out some of the breathless banter posted on online forums dedicated to the car.

Information about the Nissan GT-R is more tightly guarded than the Manhattan Project. According to Nissan, it goes on sale in Japan in December for 7.8 million yen, which is roughly equivalent to $67,700.

U.S. journalists have snapped spy photos of the Nissan GT-R being put through its paces at Laguna Seca raceway in California, where it lapped the road course faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo in a head-to-head comparison.

VW hit the panic button when the sales of its flagship model Golf hit an all time low. So VW unveiled the new Mk6 Golf and now we have the GTi version. It will debut at the Paris Motor Show. The latest Volkswagen Golf GTI, uses the reskinned Golf’s wide, shallow upper grille to underpin the front of the hot hatch with a dominant, road-eating lower grille.

“The effect is to visually widen the GTI to make it look much more aggressive and sporty,” said exterior design chief Mark Lichte. The aggressive styling of the new Volkswagen Golf GTI will become the family look for the next generation of GTI-badged Volkswagens. This combination of design elements will become a consistent feature of all future GTI models, such as the Polo. “I’m not saying there will be a Scirocco GTI,” explained Lichte, “but if there is, it would have the same graphic treatment.”

More info on engines and changes after the break.

Given that the garden Mk6 is a fairly gentle evolution of the Mk5, it’s no surprise that the new GTI shares much of its looks with its predecessor. Look closer, though, and there are a few changes.

The visual emphasis on the base of the front bumper changes the stance of the sixth-generation GTI, claims Lichte. To reinforce this, the foglamps have been repositioned at the extremes of the lower grille. “On the old car the fogs were about 150mm in from the headlamps; now they’re outboard,” he said.

Volkswagen believes that the Mk5 Golf GTI appeared taller than it was because of the front grille and dumpy, three-piece lower intake. But whether such changes are sufficient to distinguish the Mk6 GTI from the Mk5 remains to be seen.

New alloy wheels would have helped, but VW has decided to continue with the current five-hole alloys, adding a minor tweak. Instead of being finished with grey paint, they’ve got gloss black inside the holes.

A strong plus point is the Mk6’s higher-quality interior. The Golf GTI builds on this with the extensive use of Audi-style illuminated switchgear and backlighting. Other parts such as the seats and steering wheel are carried over, but modified.

The flat-bottomed wheel is retrimmed with a different leather, while the seats get tweaks to the cushioning and trim material.

Other details that VW has worked on include the exhaust pipes. These have moved to the far left and right of the rear bumper moulding. “Large, single exhaust pipes positioned at the edges of the rear bumper will be a GTI feature in future,” said Lichte.

A key aim has been to beef up the Golf shape without a body kit or spoilers. “We’re really proud of the clean, simple shapes. We don’t want unnecessary add-ons that increase weight.”

When it goes on sale next spring, the new GTI will be powered by a version of the EA888 2.0-litre turbo engine used in the Edition 30 version of the Mk5 GTI, with 207bhp and 206lb ft of torque. In its latest guise the GTI covers the 0-62mph dash in 7.2sec and goes on to 149mph.

The Mk6 GTI will also benefit from DCC adaptive damping and VW’s XDS electronic differential.A 265bhp, four-wheel-drive R version is expected later to replace the V6 R32.

IAB

Source : Autocar UK and Top Gear