Ultimate Fiero resurrection: Lamborghini Reventon replica

What to do when you want the style of a Lamborghini without the obscene payment? Seek refuge in GM's stunted program of 1980s awesomeness, the Fiero, that's what. Armed with time and skill, a steel fabricator from Canada named Woody has done an incredible job transforming a $60 mid-engined Pontiac wedge into an amazing homage to the Reventon. Obviously talented, the finished Woodighini is going to be incredible, Woody's done a fine job of transferring the Reventon's proportions to the Fiero's chassis.



When you're rocking Sant'Agata styling, you can't make do with an Iron Puke or even the L44 V6. Woody's tucking a hotted-up GM small-block under the engine hatch, fed pressurized atmosphere by a pair of turbos. The blow-through carburetor is a bit too stone age for our tastes, but we're sure it's not going to stand in the way of this car being a wheeled rocket. Flat out amazing work, and it's likely to have the same amount of attention lavished on it by passerby as a real Lamborghini gets; it's sure had as much extreme care in its crafting as anything wearing the Bull.

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Tata mulls Jaguar return to Le Mans

Ratan Tata would like to see Jaguar return to Le Mans someday, and seeing as he owns the British marque's new parent company, he probably has a lot of say in the matter. Tata expressed his wishes at his company's annual meeting at the end of July, but jag aficionados shouldn't get their hopes up just yet. There's no timetable attached, and when asked for further clarification, a Tata rep told Endurance-Info.com that nothing has been finalized. Jaguar and Le Mans were synonymous in the 50s, when it won the race outright 5 times between 1951 and '57 with its C- and D-Type racers. It later returned to the top of the podium in 1988 and 1990 with the XJR-9LM and XJR-12, respectively. It would be great to see the cat return with a factory effort in one of the prototype classes.

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By the Numbers July 2008: Everybody Hurts Edition

NOTE: There were 26 selling days in July 2008 versus 24 selling days in July 2007. All percentages are the change in the average number of vehicles sold per day or Daily Sales Rate (DSR), not the difference in actual number of vehicles sold for each month.

This is an easy month of sales to report. Every brand and automaker sold fewer vehicles per day on average in July 2008 versus July 2007 except for Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan and Nissan North America.

Of the major automakers, Chrysler LLC's average daily sales fell 34% while General Motors saw a 32.4% drop. FoMoCo saw its DSR fall 21.5%, and even Toyota felt the pain to the tune of an -18.7%. Nissan North America did post positive numbers, but just barely at 0.12%.

Some model specific news: The Ford F-150 is back to being the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. with July sales of 44,289. Check out the Top 10 at KickingTires Blog. Also, shortages in nickel-metal hydride batteries have once again kept Prius sales around 15,000 units/month, and though the Focus is selling well (up 26.2% so far this year), Toyota still sold twice as many units of the Corolla/Matrix last month (15,200 vs. 34,438).

Biggest Winner
MINI14.9% at 5,063 | 195/day
(7/07: 4,069 | 170/day)

Biggest Loser
HUMMER-65% at 1,877 | 72/day
(7/07: 4,895 | 204/day)

AUTOMAKERS
BMW Group-5.7% at 28,977 | 1,114/day
(7/07: 28,364 | 1182/day)
Chrysler LLC-34% at 98,109 | 3,773/day
(7/07: 137,728 | 5,739/day)
Ford Motor Co-21.5% at 161,530 | 6,213/day
(7/07: 189,920 | 7,913/day)
General Motors-32.4% at 235,184 | 9,046/day
(7/07: 320,935 | 13,372/day)
Honda America-9.2% at 138,744 | 5,336/day
(7/07: 141,049 | 5,877/day)
Nissan North America0.12% at 95,319 | 3,666/day
(7/07: 87,877 | 3661/day)
Toyota Motor Co.-18.7% at 197,424 | 7,593/day
(7/07: 224,058 | 9,336/day)

Follow the jump view the sales performance for individual BRANDS.

BRANDS
Acura-17.7% at 12,828 | 493/day
(7/07: 14,381 | 599/day)
Audi-11.9% at 6,804 | 262/day
(7/07: 7,127 | 297/day)
BMW-9.1% at 23,914 | 920/day
(7/07: 24,295 | 1,012/day)
Buick-44.5% at 10,013 | 385/day
(7/07: 16,654 | 694/day)
Cadillac-31% at 13,022 | 501/day
(7/07: 17,412 | 726/day)
Chevrolet-30.5% at 137,823 | 5,301/day
(7/07: 183,103 | 7,629/day)
Chrysler-44.4% at 20,858 | 802/day
(7/07: 34,631 | 1,443/day)
Dodge-23.4% at 54,546 | 2,098/day
(7/07: 65,742 | 2,739/day)
Ford-20.6% at 138,175 | 5,314/day
(7/07: 160,590 | 6,691/day)
GMC-42.5% at 27,447 | 1,056/day
(7/07: 44,060 | 1,836/day)
Honda-8.2% at 125,916 | 4,843/day
(7/07: 126,668 | 5,278/day)
HUMMER-65% at 1,877 | 72/day
(7/07: 4,895 | 204/day)
Hyundai-13.6% at 40,703 | 1,566/day
(7/07: 43,511 | 1,813/day)
Infiniti-10.3% at 9,249 | 356/day
(7/07: 9,526 | 397/day)
Jeep-44% at 22,705 | 873/day
(7/07: 37,355 | 1,556/day)
Kia-3% at 28,021 | 1,078/day
(7/07: 26,690 | 1,112/day)
Lexus-25% at 22,182 | 853/day
(7/07: 27,141 | 1,131/day)
Lincoln-8.8% at 8,819 | 339/day
(7/07: 8,929 | 372/day)
Mazda-20% at 22,418 | 862/day
(7/07: 25,853 | 1,077/day)
Mercedes3% at 20,733 | 797/day
(7/07: 18,586 | 774/day)
Mercury-20% at 9,412 | 362/day
(7/07: 10,852 | 452/day)
MINI14.9% at 5,063 | 195/day
(7/07: 4,069 | 170/day)
Mitsubishi-14% at 9,644 | 371/day
(7/07: 10,347 | 431/day)
Nissan1.4% at 86,070 | 3,310/day
(7/07: 78,351 | 3,265/day)
Pontiac-22% at 25,373 | 976/day
(7/07: 30,023 | 1,251/day)
Porsche-10.6% at 3,128 | 120/day
(7/07: 3,230 | 135/day)
Saab-42.4% at 2,026 | 78/day
(7/07: 3,247 | 135/day)
Saturn-20.2% at 17,603 | 677/day
(7/07: 20,368 | 849/day)
Subaru-2.7% at 16,271 | 626/day
(7/07: 15,438 | 643/day)
Suzuki-5.8% at 8,103 | 312/day
(7/07: 7,943 | 331/day)
Toyota-18% at 175,242 | 6,740/day
(7/07: 196,917 | 8,204/day)
Volkswagen-4% at 20,422 | 785/day
(7/07: 19,653 | 819/day)
Volvo-50.4% at 5,124 | 197/day
(7/07: 9,549 | 398/day)

Not Reported:
Jaguar
Land Rover

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2009 Audi A4 sedan and wagon priced

The 2009 Audi A4 sedan and Avant will be hitting lots later this year, and before dealers can begin taking orders in September, they've got to let people know what it'll cost to get behind the wheel of the thoroughly revised entry-level Audi.

Prices for the sedan start at $32,700, equipped with the all-new 2.0-liter TFSI four that sends 211 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque through the front wheels. Quattro will be available on the four-banger, along with Audi's six-seed Tiptronic transmission. Buyers that opt for the Avant will have to shell out $34,500 for the added hatch, extra cargo room and standard Quattro all-wheel-drive. If you choose the 3.2-liter FSI V6, the six-speed manumatic is standard, along with the Quattro system.

Dealers will have a limited supply of A4 sedans and wagons available for test-drives later this month and customer deliveries should begin later in September.

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No plans to release Mazda6 hybrid

Despite having the ability to snatch the 2.3-liter gasoline-electric hybrid from FoMoCo's arsenal – the same engine found in the Mazda Tribute Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid and 2009 Fusion – Mazda has decided to keep the new Mazda6 hybrid-free for the time being. Jay Amestoy, veep of public and governmental affairs for Mazda, told InsideLine that the automaker is content that the new 6 can hold its own against the competition, despite the high cost of fuel. "Our real-world MPG numbers will be strong, and we think the fuel economy is pretty good the way it is."

The 2009 Mazda6, equipped with the base 2.5-liter four and a manual transmission is rated at 20/29 mpg on the EPA's city/highway estimates, while the 3.7-liter V6-equipped model comes in at 17/25 mpg.

Sales of hybrids continued to rise, but consumer's tastes seem to favor dedicated hybrid models like the Prius, instead of hybrid sedans and cute 'utes based off normal models originally equipped with traditional powerplants.

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Edo Competition raises the bar with the Murcielago LP710/2

German tuner edo competition is determined to leave no supercar untouched, and the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 is the latest to undergo the conversion. Starting with the 6.5L V12, edo adds high performance camshafts, upgraded cylinder heads, and new high flow air filters. The exhaust system is also reworked, including new headers, high-flow cats, and new mufflers. The result is 710 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, good for a 0-60 mph sprint in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 224 mph. Additional modifications include a conversion to RWD, 19-inch alloy wheels, and a new aerodynamically efficient adjustable rear wing.

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Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport

Our buddy Richard Owen over at Supercars.net has revealed that the long-rumored targa-style Bugatti Veyron will officially be called the Grand Sport. We recently learned that the pop-top Bug will make its public debut at the Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance in a couple of weeks. What we didn't know was that Gooding & Company will be auctioning the first order slot on August 17th, right after the best-in-show trophies are handed out at Pebble Beach.


While an open-top Veyron will instantly appeal to some, the thought of removing a chunk of aerodynamically essential material from the roofline will have many others questioning their sanity. Have no fear, however, as Bugatti has developed the roof so that there will be no draft inside. Even with its top speed limited to just 217, this will be one of the fastest open top cars around. We'll get you more details as they become available, but for now, get thee to Pebble if this is the the car you've been waiting for. And bring more than $2,250,000, the expected starting price. Bugatti is planning to build just 80 of these Grand Sports.

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