The Altima Coupe is official

Back in October, a blurry photo of what was being called the Altima Coupe surfaced on the Internet. Rumor was that it might have a rear-wheel drive platform, making it an Infiniti G35 Coupe on a budget. Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the Altima Coupe will be produced, as a 2008 model. The bad news is it will be front-wheel drive, just like its four-door counterpart.

The front, from the fenders up, is pure Altima. But the rear, as it sweeps back, following a G35-like roofline, is new for Nissan. Engine options are unchanged with the powerful VQ35 six-cylinder, or the QR25 four-cylinder. Even though the Altima Coupe will send power to the ground through the front wheels, buyers can choose between a CVT or 6-speed manual transmission. Sharing the some of the same sexy styling of the G35, the Altima Coupe is guaranteed to be a hit with coupe buyers.

GTTT footage on Jalopnik

In case you haven't noticed, the GTTT is one of my favorite cars to blog about. My most recent post was about the GTTT's appearance at the local road course. While I took pictures, others shot video. A friend of mine, Carl, uploaded his video to YouTube (embedded above). About a week later, Jalopnik.com stumbled across the poorly-shot footage and posted it.

A few of the comments following the Jalopnik post criticize the driving in this clip, but the keys to the GTTT aren't going to be handed over to just anyone. The driver during this clip is no stranger to high-horsepower cars, even though he overshot the 120-degree right-hander after the straight. It happens to the best of us. This is obviously a small track, way too small for cars with this much power to be able to really stretch their legs, but why not have some fun anyway. Seeing and hearing a pair of twin turbocharged Ford GTs was an experience that doesn't happen every weekend at your local track. You can even see yours truly in the white hat at the 1:27 mark, taking a break from pictures.

Chinese car with an identity crisis

The D120, spotted on Autoblog, looks a lot like a Hyundai Tiburon redesigned by someone on acid, is the Chinese automaker DongFeng's sports car shown at the Beijing Auto Show this past weekend. Don't be surprised if you've never heard of DongFeng Motor Co., or DFM, the company only produces vehicles in China, and actually ranks second out of the five Chinese automakers. They've built trucks and buses under their own name, but have also joined forces with other global carmakers such as Nissan, Honda and Peugeot to produce specific models of those brands in China.

Sadly, this DongFeng "sports car" is only powered with a 137-hp, 2.4-liter engine, making it just as slow as it looks. Translated by Google, the Autoblog Chinese post on the D120 gives more details about the features of the car, but the garbled Engrish doesn't make sense of this accordion-like structure on the hatch.

Parallel parking for dummies

The 2007 Lexus LS460 is getting a lot of hype about its ability to park itself, supposedly. Even a bunch of automotive journalists had a hard time figuring it out. With the use of cameras, sensors and some serious software, the LS460 can parallel and perpendicular park without the driver's input. By the way, how lazy have we gotten? If you can't parallel park, then you shouldn't be behind the wheel.

This isn't the first technology to try to make the task of parallel parking easier. A group of mechanical engineering students at the University of Toledo put together a system in an older Toyota that allows the back end of the car to swing into a parking space. Hydraulics push down a single wheel turned 90 degrees from either of the four normal wheels. An electric motor makes the wheel move when it's on the ground. While the UT students' design isn't fully automatic like the Lexus, it sure seems to do a better and certainly quicker job. The video of the Parallel Parking Device (PPD) in action is embedded below.

The GTTT in action at GIR

Remember the "GTTT"? Sunday afternoon, it made an appearance at the road course at Gainesville International Raceway for a private track event. Wearing some new black stripes and flames, the GTTT was unloaded off a massive Stage 6 Motorsports trailer at the entrance of the track. The car had been on this track before, but this was the first time in twin turbo trim, which has now put down 1181 horsepower on a built motor and upgraded fuel system.



According to Sav Charudattan, who drove the GTTT at 17 pounds of boost for one 10-minute session, the car is still just as easy to drive as it was at the 600 horsepower level. Due to the Hoosier R6 race tires on the rear, the car hooks up relatively well, but understeers in the corners similar to an AWD car, he said. It now makes somewhere between 700 and 750 at this boost level. At 20 pounds, it's closer to 900 horsepower. The car is noticeably more loose on the track when the boost is turned up. The car was just showcased at SEMA by SCT, but the GTTT doesn't belong in a booth, it belongs on the track or street.

Turbonetics introduces the TurboTach

This past week at the annual SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas, AutoBlog discovered the TurboTach, a slick gauge and datalogging tool that will be made by Turbonetics that displays turbocharger speed. Knowing this kind of data can be invaluable for turbocharged tuners when trying to determine if their turbo is surging, choking or operating efficiently. It's like hooking your turbocharger up to an EKG machine.

It looks like Turbonetics plans to sell the TurboTach as a package with their turbochargers, since the center sections will need to be modified to fit the required speed sensors. More details will be available after Turbonetics actually releases the product to the public. The only bad news is that cars with twin turbos will require two TurboTachs.

Teen wrecks father's new GT500

Speaking of the GT500, this video has been finding it's way all over the internet today. Automotive blogs, forums and funny video sites have been posting this clip of a 14-year-old cranking up his dad's new GT500, popping the clutch by mistake and ramming through the garage. It's hard to tell how much damage was done to the car in the shot of the aftermath, but I'm sure the boy's pride took the hardest hit. I hate to post two Ford-related videos back-to-back, but this video is just too funny to ignore.

Brits pay $76k for the GT500?

For Ford fans in the UK, the new 2007 Shelby GT500, a 500-horsepower supercharged Mustang, comes at a price. £40,000, nearly $76,000 in the US, to be exact. In a video on YouTube, Fifth Gear personality, Jason Plato, slides the GT500 around the track while evaluating if a £20,000 increase to import the muscle car over to the UK is really worth it.

Plato doesn't let those 500 wheel-spinning ponies under the hood distract him from telling it like it is. He describes the interior as "crap," and he's absolutely right. American automakers have always seemed to cut corners on the fit and finish of cheap interior materials. The fact that the GT500 still uses that lame retro-style font on gauge digits doesn't help either. Plato is also critcal of the handling, and he has every reason to be. For this kind of a money and with this much power, handling needs to be nothing short of spectacular, usable for more than just weekend trips to the dragstrip.

Roadtripping in a McLaren F1

So, what do you do with your $1.2 million McLaren F1 supercar? Keep it clean in the garage? Take it to the track? How about a 1000-mile roadtrip riddled with real world obstacles such as potholes, adverse weather, and construction zones? That's exactly what Miles Collier and his wife did through Montana, after just spending $300,000 to bring the car back to its brand new luster. A roadtrip in an F1 is not for the faint of heart.

Collier, an avid car collector, tells a particular experience with what he calls the "mother of all construction zones" during his trip. The McLaren already has a five-inch ground clearance which can make any driveway, railroad track crossing, or any other minor change in pavement level a nerve-racking affair. Navigating two lanes of gravel, Collier followed a road grader and roller to make it through the construction, a pace that was so slow it couldn't even be done in first gear at idle. It takes a very special automotive enthusiast not to lose their mind when a small rock, throw up by a piece of road construction machinery chips a $70,000 paint job or $30,000 windshield. No matter what the price, cars were meant to be driven and Collier doesn't let the possibility of this being the world's most expensive roadtrip scare him, even if he's driving one of the world's most expensive cars.

The Altima Coupe

A couple days ago, some fuzzy pictures of what is being called the Altima Coupe surfaced on the internet. It looks like an Infiniti G35 with a 2007 Maxima-styled grill, but the significance of the two doors, instead of four, is enormous. If this coupe platforms shares the same rear-wheel drive configuration as the G35, the Altima coupe will essentially be the rebirth of the 240SX.

There is certainly a segment for the Altima coupe to fall into, competing against entries such as a the Honda Accord coupe and Toyota Solara. Perhaps an Altima convertible isn't too far off as well. The Altima coupe will still appeal to buyers who are considering cars in the segment, but making the car rear-wheel drive would set it apart from all others. Enthusiasts will embrace an entry-level rear-wheel drive Altima, especially one that wears the SE-R badging.

A V6-powered "Corvette"?

Rumors that General Motors will produce a V6-powered Kappa platform (Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky/Opel GT) car that could possibly wear the "Corvette" badge sometime in 2008 have just gotten a little more believable. A post on Jalopnik.com claims that the inside info from a well-known Corvette dealer may be true, but it won't be called the "Sting Ray," once rumored by Motor Trend magazine.

Who cares what it's called, a V6 Corvette is a step back in time for Chevrolet, not a way to lower the price and attract additional buyers. When the Corvette first came out in 1953, it originally had an inline-six cylinder engine, but once a V8 found its way into the Corvette engine bay, Chevrolet never looked back. The Corvette is an American icon and without its eight cylinders, it would be like an American flag with only 40 stars. Besides, the Kappa platform will be fine with the turbocharged four-cylinders that are due out next year.

Buy a VW, get a guitar

As if their brilliant commercials didn't already catch your automotive attention, Volkswagen is giving buyers a custom First Act guitar with every Jetta, GTI, Rabbit or Beetle purchase. So, instead of plugging in an iPod to you VW's stereo system, you can plug up your new guitar and rock out.

Whoever is in charge of VW's marketing, keep up the good work! When I first saw the commercial featuring Slash with a amp-style stack of black GTIs, I thought they were just showing that the stereo could be used as a mobile amplifier; I had no idea they were actually passing out guitars with cars. But that's just how effective their advertising is. I didn't need a big "FREE GUITAR" dangled in my face, in typical American style, to make me take notice. Nothing needs to be said, just show the car and a Web link. Even without the First Act guitar promotion, VW had already caught the attention of the youth market with their commercials. So, when young car buyers start driving off the lot with their new musical VWs, let's hope they're not trying to play the guitar at the same time.

No Hummer H2s for two weeks

Not only are the massive H2s clogging up traffic at the pump with their pathetic fuel efficiency, but now they're cluttering up the dealerships too. Due to a Hummer sales slump, GM will shut down the Mishawaka, Ind. plant that produces the Hummer H2 for two weeks, starting Oct. 16. Perhaps it's a sign that the General Motors apocalypse is nigh. There are also rumors of up to 175 plant employees being laid off, but AM General denies and the union can't confirm.

Perhaps impulsive consumers have finally figured out that these 6,400-pound beasts get somewhere between 10 and 13 miles per gallon, disappointing fuel economy statistics that the H2s aren't required by the EPA to post on their high-dollar window stickers, like other, more practical, vehicles with a gross weight under 8,500 pounds. Shutting down the plant may be the most environmentally-friendly thing that the H2 has done since conception.

Z32 progress update

It kills me that I'm only able to work on my Z32 on the weekends. And by weekends, I mean Saturdays. And by Saturdays, I mean Saturday mornings, before rushing off to watch the Gators on gamedays. Despite the lack of time, I've still made some progress on the Z, except I've concentrated more of my time on eliminating emission-related systems, instead of actually fixing the damage.

It's amazing how I can still find beauty in the car, even when the front end is torn apart. The old lower core support is ready to come out. The power steering lines are no longer in the way. I just need the special drill bit that's made to drill out the factory spot welds. The tear in the driver-side of the core support scares me the most. I know I'm going to have issues lining up with the frame rail holes. I even have my new core support, a $200 part from Nissan. This one is for a twin turbo, which makes fitting my new Koyo aluminum radiator a whole lot easier. On the upper side of the engine bay, where I've been spending most of my time, the EGR valve is no longer connected to the block. It may require some cutting, but I'm going to try to remove the whole system without pulling the motor or dropping the transmission. My spare set of valve covers have been tapped, ready for the PCV line reroute, but I'm trying to figure out what to do with the inner oil baffles. After swapping out a fuel injector, a job much easier with the upper intake off, the not-so-freshly powdercoated plenum will be installed. I think the car could be done in about three days of solid work, but due my schedule it'll still be a while. After totally missing my October deadline, I'm not even going to bother setting another goal for myself.

On another note, I just finished installing an eight-gauge amp wiring kit in the 200SX. All my stereo equipment from the Z has found it's way into the new daily driver. I had already swapped over my JVC CD player a few weeks ago, but now it will be connected to my Kenwood amp, powering a 10-inch MTX subwoofer. I have a feeling a I'll need to fix my rattling spoiler very soon.

Christine on eBay

Christine, the possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury from the 1983 film, has been liberated of its museum captivity and is for sale on eBay, just in time for Halloween. The bid is currently up to over $75,000 and the reserve still hasn't been met. This is an expensive movie car, but the seller assures bidders that this was one of the vehicles actually used in the movie, number 14 to be exact.

According the Internet Movie Database, there were either 13 or 16 cars used in the making of the movie, depending on different sources. Well, it looks like 16 is a more believable number after Fury number 14 has surfaced. IMDb also mentioned that only 5,300 1958 Furys were built by Plymouth, which makes this movie car even more rare.

Buying car parts online

I can't remember what shopping was like before the internet. Not shopping in the sense of browsing, store-to-store, like a trophy wife with her husband's credit card, but for the sake of finding the best price on an item. In my experiences, I've always found that Pep Boys' prices were a little bit higher than their competitors, so I usually tried to avoid them. Sometimes Advance Auto Parts wouldn't have what I needed in stock, and it would take a day or two to get it. The internet changed all of that. I used to have three or four options to choose from around town, now I have hundreds of virtual storefronts to shop at, online, anytime. However, not all are created equal.

The good: RockAuto has the best prices, biggest inventory and fastest shipping of any place I've purchased from. Their online catalog is one of the best out there, very similar to the same databases that auto parts stores use. I just purchased some valve cover gaskets on Monday, and they arrived two days later on Thursday. I couldn't ask for anything more.

The bad: Auto Parts Warehouse sucks. I've only made one purchase from them, but the way it which it was handled, and the fact they still owe me more than $100, makes me never want to buy from them again. They offer a pretty wide selection of parts. I was actually able to find a wheel bearing from them that I couldn't find anywhere else, and for a great price. But after placing the order, thinking I would get my wheel bearing in three days, I only had part of my order. The wheel bearing was out of stock, which I wasn't informed of until I contacted "customer service" myself, and I still got charged for it anyway. Their customer service is terrible, and the wheel bearing that I never received still shows up on my credit card statement.

2008 Honda will be twice as efficient as a hybrid

During a demonstration drive of Honda's fuel cell-powered FCX Concept, the Japanese automaker announced that it plans to start "limited marketing" of a production vehicle based on the concept in 2008 to Japan and the U.S. The FCX isn't a new concept, but it has been improved over the previous concept vehicle.

According to an article in Winding Road, the newest FCX concept has 30 percent more travel range thanks to an updated fuel cell stack that is also 20 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter. This is an extremely efficient vehicle, about 60 percent, to be exact. That's three-times better than a gasoline-powered vehicle, and twice that of a hybrid. All these percentages add up to give Honda a good chance against American automakers. Be afraid, Big Three, be very afraid.

What does Honda mean by "limited marketing"? This most likely means that it will be "test seeding with a small amount of consumers and businesses," similar to what GM plans to do with its new test fleet of fuel cell-powered versions of the Chevrolet Equinox in 2007. However, these GM vehicles are only expected to have a 50,000 mile lifespan. That doesn't seem very optimistic, does it, Chevy?

Who is going to buy the VW Eos?

I can hear it now: "It's so cute!" Take a look at Volkswagen's retractable hardtop coupe, the Eos. Named after the Greek goddess of dawn, go ahead and take a wild guess at which gender VW is marketing the Eos to appeal to. The 1998+ Beetle was, and still is, a "chick car" and the Eos will probably be stereotyped in a similar fate. The previous Cabriolet softtop, which the Eos is set to replace, had about an 80% female ownership, according to a post on the VehicleVoice blog.

Volkswagen's Eos has the potential to be a key player in a very narrow and unique segment of affordable retractable hardtops, which includes other entries such as the Pontiac G6 and Volvo C70. The Eos' closest German retractable roof rival is the Mercedes-Benz SLK, but the SLK doesn't exactly fit into the affordable segment. However, when the optional 250-horsepower V6 is dumped into the Eos, raising the price to nearly $40,000, the base SLK280 seems worth it for only $4,000 more. But who would want a $40,000 chick car, other than, well, a chick? Good luck, Volkswagen.

Ford GT Twin Turbo - aka the "GTTT"

"My brain couldn't adapt on acceleration, dude," said Joe as he climbed out of the cockpit of his freshly twin-turbocharged Ford GT after his first test drive. "It was out of control."

"Out of control" is an understatement for this 1012-horsepower (at the wheels) monster. Spawned by Stage 6 Motorsports, the GTTT was converted from factory Ford supercharger to twin Garrett GT35R turbos in only five days back in April. It was the first of its kind, but Stage 6 has already started selling these kits to other GT owners. The amazing part about the setup is that it utilizes the stock fuel injectors to keep the 19 pounds of boost within a safe air-fuel ratio. In other words, the GT responds very well to higher levels of forced induction while still in "stock" form.

While the GTTT project was completed nearly five months ago, IMV Films had been following the build-up since day one and they have just released a documentary of the twin turbo installation, results, reactions and of course, racing. The crew is still fighting with traction issues on the drag strip, but the GTTT has already trapped 145 miles per hour, a trap speed that would indicate a 9-second elapsed time. According to Joe, an even bigger motor is on its way. After losing a street race with a Suzuki Hayabusa, Joe needs more horsepower - 1012 just wasn't enough.

Warning: The video embedded below contains some language that some viewers might find offensive.

Nissan turns to Toyota to build a true "hybrid"

Nissan's sluggish release of a hybrid-powered vehicle, in the form of the 2007 Altima, will give a completely different meaning to the word "hybrid." Using a setup nearly identical to the Prius, Nissan has licensed Toyota technology and will purchase some components directly from one of its closest competitors to build these efficient Altimas.

The heartbeat of the "hybrid" drivetrain will still use Nissan's 2.5 liter inline-four, the QR25DE, which has been used in the Altima since 2002. Paired with an electric motor, the crossbreed powerplant will have an estimated cumulative 200 horsepower on tap, but be able to switch over to electricity when cruising at rural speeds to conserve fuel. Unlike its Toyota counterpart, the hybrid Altimas will use a true continuously variable transmission, or CVT, a system that has already proved itself in the Murano since 2003.

According to a recent road test by Motor Trend, the pre-production hybrid Altima "has plenty of zip," a phrase not often associated with a vehicle capable of 40 miles per gallon and beyond. Motor Trend estimates a 15 to 20 percent increase in the cost of the Altima for the hybrid version, which should hit dealerships this fall.

Stability control made mandatory?

According to an article in USA Today, linked on Autoblog.com, electronic stability control systems may be required by law for all new vehicles sold in the U.S. Electronic stability control, also known as ESC, traction control, skid control, and several other manufacturer-given names, is a computer-controlled system that uses sensors and applies the brakes to individual wheels in order to keep the vehicle on a path which the driver can easily control. HowStuffWorks.com gives a more detailed explanation of how this system works. Some form of stability control is available on about half of all new cars sold in the U.S. Although the cost of the technology has decreased since its introduction into the market, the requirement for all automakers to outfit their vehicles with stability control would drive up the cost of new vehicles. Despite the increased vehicle costs, studies have shown that standard stability control could save as many as 10,000 lives per year. But are additional on-board electronics really necessary for driver's to keep their SUVs under control?

Automakers can add a variety of different driver aids to today's new vehicles. Systems such as stability control, anti-lock brakes and roll control can help the driver in certain situations, but even when they are all combined, an accident can never completely be prevented. Drivers make mistakes, but stability control only acts as a safety net. Stability control will never be able to teach a driver the correct way to counter-steer during a loss of traction. This is where driver education makes more sense than vehicle education. Smarter drivers are the solution, not smarter cars.

Image source: http://www.nisshinbo.co.jp/seihin/brake/asc_e.html

Welcome

Welcome to "autonography." This is a blog that's completely dedicated to automotive news, motorsports, and random acts of vehicular lunacy. This may encompass a broad area in the automotive world, but I think it's necessary for the reader to have a taste of everything out there. I had originally planned to just cover automotive industry news, but decided that was just too boring and corporate. I want to come from a more grassroots level of the automotive hobby and stretch outward to the industry as a source, not the other way around. Allow me to give a little information about my automotive background. My first car was a completely stock Volkswagen Jetta that served me well for basic transportation, but I quickly grew tired of its lack of performance. It was in 2002 that I decided to cross over into the world of rear-wheel drive and manual transmissions. I acquired a 1986 300ZX (Z31) and I've been a Nissan enthusiast ever since. My first sports car proved to be a handful, requiring constant attention, but by doing repairs and maintenance myself, I was able to gain automotive knowledge that is worth much more than the vehicle itself. A year later, I moved up a generation and purchased a 1992 300ZX (Z32) that has since been modified to be competitive on the racetrack. I’m a member of the SCCA and devote as much time as I can to racing, volunteering at the track, and helping my friends with their cars. I’ve only been racing for nearly two years, but it’s something I will continue to do for the rest of my life. I feel very strongly about driver education through participation in track events. Not only is it a blast for performance junkies like myself, but it allows you to improve your skills for the street as well. I am clearly a Nissan enthusiast. Ironically, I just purchased another one this morning, a 1996 200SX SE-R that will be my new daily driver while I work on my Z32. Despite my favoritism towards Nissan, I admire all kinds of cars and try not to have any bias towards one manufacturer over another. True automotive enthusiasts are able to appreciate all types of cars, both foreign and domestic. According to Albert Einstein, "enthusiasts understand each other." Are you an enthusiast?