Author: Joe Gustafson (Page 12 of 20)

Buick Gets Back to Racing

September 20, 2011 / Joe Gustafson

When you think of Sunday drives and Buick, you may think about elderly folks cruising around at 10mph under the speed limit, but you would be wrong. In fact, Buick recently took part in Silver State Classic Challenge at Nevada with its new Regal GS. The Silver State Classic is a race along a 90 mile of Nevada highway. The winner is determined by who can compete the 90 mile course fastest, while retaining the average speed set by each individual class.

Competing in the 120mph class, Buick finished their run in 45 minutes, a fantastic time for their class. The effort was good enough for a first place finish in a 37 member strong class. All of this was done in a showroom stock Buick Regal GS. Buick has a strong history of racing; hopefully events like this are foreshadowing their return to racing.

Source: Insideline

Buick, Racing

Buick Regal Nevada Silver State Classic

ACB: Quarter Mile in Under 4 Seconds

September 20, 2011 / Joe Gustafson

Everyone knows that NHRA funny cars are fast. So fast, in fact, that a driver pulls the same amount of G’s as an astronaut blasting into space. In other words, a funny car launches with the same force as something that punches itself out of Earth’s gravitational pull. However, even with all that power, funny cars have been unable to run the quarter mile in less than 4 seconds; until now that is.

Last weekend at zMax Dragway in North Carolina, Matt Hagan did a quarter mile pass in 3.995 seconds at a speed of 316 mph. He did this by taking advantage of both the cool, dense air during race day and the newly paved track surface. If you live your life a quarter mile at a time, don’t expect to live long enough to take more than a single breath.

Racing

drag racing funny car

Maserati Kubang Debuts

September 13, 2011 / Joe Gustafson

Maserati has shot its opening salvo in the premium SUV market with the Kubang. Based on the Grand Cherokee, the Kubang is set to compete with the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5. We have known about this model for a long time, but now we get a first glance of its looks.

It is definitely prettier than its competition by a wide margin. Whereas the Cayenne and X5 look overly large and bloated, the Kubang is svelte and refined. The name is even better. Say it with me, “Kubang.” It sounds like the main character in a 70’s detective show.

No word yet on performance specifications, but those details should be coming out soon enough.

Source: Autoblog

Auto Show, Luxury Cars, Maserati, New Cars, SUV

Frankfurt Frankfurt Auto Show Kubang Maserati Kubang Maserati SUV

New Camaro ZL1 to Pack 580hp

September 9, 2011 / Joe Gustafson

Chevy is quite serious about bringing the fight to the Ford GT500 with its new Camaro ZL1. So serious, in fact, that they are giving it a ludicrous 580hp, more than even the CTS-V. They are even claiming that the new ZL1 will not be only a straight line monster, but a truly track capable machine as well.

In order to make it track-ready, the new ZL1 will feature cooling for the differential and engine oil, and a new version of their magnetic ride control system. This new ride control system will offer five different traction modes, even one for VHT prepped drag racing surfaces. The ZL1 and GT500 fight is looking to be a knock down, drag out bar brawl. Get excited.

Camaro, Chevrolet, GM, New Cars

Camaro ZL1 Chevrolet Camaro Chevy Chevy Camaro ZL1 debut

Bugatti Galibier Development Stalled

September 8, 2011 / Joe Gustafson

When you are Bugatti, good is not good enough until someone calls your ideas crazy. For some, 800hp is more than sufficient for an executive sedan. However, this is not nearly exceptional enough for Bugatti and it’s new Galibier executive sedan.

Insideline.com reports that Bugatti boss Wolfgang Durheimer has halted the new Galibier because it is not an “argument stopper.” In order for him to be pleased with the car being launched, it must pack much more than the “anemic 800hp” figure. I expect that after he made this proclamation he let out a maniacal laugh and left the room to get back to his lair inside a volcano. We shall see just what the mad scientists at Bugatti cook up to please Wolfgang enough to release the Galibier to Bugatti’s billionaire clientele.

Bugatti

Bugatti Galibier Galibier horsepower