KY drives

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

TruckinWeb is an online magazine that is devoted to everything truck and SUV related. You can find a host of information from custom reviews of trucks, to technical data, and everything in between, pretty neat if you are a fan of trucks and SUVs.

The web magazine also holds the Truckin Ride of the Month competition too, you just need to submit the pictures of your outstanding truck or SUVs via the website to stand a chance to win a free truckinweb t-shirt. For this month, the last day of submission is 17:00 p.m. PST 6/22/2007, and the voting process starts from 17:30 p.m. PST 6/22/2007 till 17:00 p.m. PST 6/30/2007. The top three highest voted trucks will win the t-shirt. You can submit up to 4 pictures, pretty simple process.

Other features of the site includes a price checker for new trucks in US, just select the make and model from drop down menu, and key in the zip code of the location you wish to purchase the truck and viola, instant price list. A pretty nifty information to have before heading to your local dealer.

There is also a forum you could ask questions should you need to find otherwise hard to find information. However, above all, the most interesting feature of the website must be the Multimedia section. There you can download wallpapers of your favorite ride, and there are plenty of videos too, though titled truck videos, most of them are bikini contests of girls with trucks, check it out!

To complete the portal, a trucking blog is built in too.

Continuing the declining trend of the big three American automakers, Ford is the latest victim overtaken by the unstoppable Japanese machine that is Toyota.

The sales of Toyota vehicles already surpassed DiamlerChrysler last year and now stands roughly at 15%, increased from about 10% from five years ago, while Ford is still struggling after it’s restructuring and predicted that their market share will stabilize at around 14-15% within 2 years.

This is with regards to the American market, Toyota is a very close second to GM globally. Even here in Malaysia, Toyota and Perodua (basically re branded Toyota cars) chalks up about 50% of the local market.

There seems to be no signs of Toyota going stopping their momentum.

source: cnn money

Ford presented the Mustang Giugiaro 2006 concept at the prestigious L.A. Auto Show. The external design is done by Italdesign, led by styling director Fabrizio Giugiaro, making it an American machine with an Italian shell.

This concept car has a panoramic roof, with the front wind shield, roof, and rear screen forming a single unit that provides almost 180 degree of unobstructive view. Not entirely sure how one can get away from the sun though. This Mustang also comes with the scissor doors made famous by Lamborghini.

the next American stallion?

Although this pony comes in at a hefty 1,500 KG, it does have an engine capable of 500 hp with huge amount of torque (480 lb/ft). Those fat 20″ wheels should come in handy to distribute the power onto the tar.

Will this concept make it to the road? We shall see, the major hindrance might be the unique roof though. A big piece of curved glass is expensive to produce and not easy to take care.

Specs at a glance:
Engine: front mounted, rear wheel drive,
estimated 500 hp, 480 lb-ft of torque
4.6L, 24-valve SOHC V8 Supercharged
Curb Weight: 3,307 lbs (1,500 kg)
Wheels (front/rear): 275 40 ZR20 / 315 35 ZR20

sources:
automobile.com
abc news

I went to the Shah Alam stadium for the autocross event that my friends were participating but instead bumped into this interesting 4×4 event just across the other side of the stadium. Much like autocoss events, the 4×4 challenge is held with the time trial format. Whichever car that finishes the course in shortest amount of time wins.

a jeep splashing through the mud

There are two participants for every car (4×4 jeep). Whenever the vehicle gets stuck, which happens frequently, the co-driver will have to go down and get the towing cable tied to the nearby tree to pull the truck out of the mud. Not exactly an easy task.

co-driver getting busy

I did not stay long at the area as it was starting to rain, but was able to snap a few photos. Interesting stuff, definitely a lot more work than normal racing.

The bernama article on this event.