KY drives

After a quarter century since the 2nd generation Dodge Challenger stopped production, the the classic muscle car is back again with a vengeance. The 3rd generation Challenger, the SRT8, is bigger, heavier, more luxury, meaner, and way, way more powerful than its predecessors.

2008 Dodge Challenger, the classic muscle car

This baby churns out 425 bhp with a massive 420 lbs/ft torque off the 6.1-liter HEMI V8. A 5 speed AutoStick automatic transmission is mated with this engine. A set of 20″ wheels complete the package. Although the car weighs a hefty 4140 lbs, it is still able to do 0-100km/h in less than 6 seconds and a 1/4 mile time below 14 seconds. We shall wait for the real world results before the end of this year.

Other than the in-your-face exterior that is both very effective and aesthetically pleasing, the race inspired interior is equally as good. The simple black and blue lume color scheme is a stark contrast with the loud orange exterior, but somehow jives very well.

luxurious and classy interior

Of course, for the US $40k you pay, the Challenger SRT8 does come with other bells and whistles like GPS, keyless entry and hands-free system. Then again, for a car this impractical with the current fuel price, who cares? All we want is to have some tire-burning fun. I’m sure there aren’t many people from the 6400 cars booked this year who’ll use it as a daily driver.

After hanging around the car industry for around 2 decades, the Korean manufacturer Kia Motors is finally gaining some respect by coming out with models that are actually very attractive, especially in terms of look. The Kia Soul 2009 is a production car that was first shown as a concept car at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show.

Kia Soul concept in the Autoshow

The design of Soul is very distinctive and quite unlike any other compact SUVs, the chief designer at Kia Motors Europe Gregory Guillaume was quoted saying “The all-new Kia production car will be a car that defies classification and encourages customers to build an emotional bond with their new purchase by providing a creative platform that they can customise to match their car to their own character. It will appeal especially to the young-at-heart - whatever their age”.

Kia Soul on the road

A 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine mated with a 5-speed automatic transmission would be driving the Soul. Although an SUV, this car is most likely to get only front wheel drive, there is no 4 wheel drive version as yet. You can call this a car-type SUV rather than something you would want to take off road.

To give you an idea on the power from this car, the current 2.0 liter engine used in Kia Spectra produces 138 bhp. Pretty tame for an SUV, hopefully they boost up the power output a little since the Spectra is certainly a lighter car.

This car is definitely going along the line of Mini Cooper and VW Beetle 2.0, with attractive styler that will likely to capture the younger crowd. Pricing should be around US $16-18k when it is launched this summer.

Audi came up with the A3 Clubsports concept car that really shines not only in the way it looks but also in terms of the overall performance package.

In the heart of this compact 2-door 4-wheel drive sports sedan is a heavily tuned 2.0 liter TDI diesel engine that churns out 221 bhp with a massive 332 lb/ft torque that you would expect from a diesel. A six speed gearbox completes the package. The car is capable of 0-100km in about 6.6 seconds.

Audi A3 Clubsports quattro

The car was built specifically for an annual VW and Audi get together in Austria, lets see if Audi will bring this baby to the market. With that kind of performance and look it should be able to sell very well alongside popular offerings such as the VW GTi