By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Last week Ryan and I got the chance to drive the new 370Z Roadster back to back with the NISMO 370Z in Northern California. And I’m not talking about a quick test drive around the block. I’m talking about several hundred miles on the twisty backroads near Santa Cruz. We flew down to San Jose, signed a waiver and the Nissan folks tossed us the keys, along with a suggested route which included a catered lunch and a place to swap cars. Is this a cool job or what?

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Driving the 370Z Roadster and NISMO 370Z in Northern California" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

There’s really no other way to say it; the teaser for oncars.com’s three-part Tesla Model S feature is straight-up sexy. Now, I’ve given Tesla plenty of crap over the company’s slow crawl into the auto industry. Between the delays with getting its Roadster to customers, to the opening—and closing—of the Detroit office to the flaky trannys, it hasn’t been an easy road for the Silicon valley start-up. Some in the press even said the Roadster would amount to vaporware. But my gut says the future holds good things for Tesla, and I love styling of the Model S. In my opinion, it kind of looks like a cross between a Maser and the new Jag XF. Here’s hoping it doesn’t wind up as an exotic.

By Craig McAlpine

imotormag

When Vantage owners told Aston Martin that their car needed more ‘oomph’ Aston listened. Say hello to the new 4.7-litre 420hp V8 Vantage. From the outside there was certainly nothing wrong with the V8 Vantage—it’s a stunning-looking car, no matter which angle you look at it. I reckon it looks even better than its big brother, the DB9, too. Check out the full review with tons of pics!

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I’m not a huge fan of the 789, but the Anteros by N2A Motors looks pretty good. What do you think?

Electric cars have long been anticipated as the next step in the evolution of the automobile, but attempts to market them haven’t yielded much, and their future has swung uneasily between fantasy and reality. In sci-fi literature and film, it was largely expected that in the 21st Century, we’d all be zooming around in electric—if not flying—cars, and since it’s 2007, you’re probably wondering what it would be like to get behind the wheel of one. Well, wonder no longer, the wry smile on will.i.am’s face says it all. "It’s like driving a Lambo without gas," he said. "It’s fast, homie. Funny that last time we were on Hummer. Now, I’m on an electric car."

Continue reading "will.i.am: A Shock to the System" »

Yesterday, I drove back from Deadwood, Oregon, and made a little detour so I could take 101 along the Pacific. Even thought I get nervous when I’m too far from tall buildings or Thai food, it was still awesome. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Transformers star Shia LaBeouf, was arrested for DUI early yesterday morning after an "unsuccessful" turn left his truck upside down in a LA intersection. Seriously, why don’t drunken celebrities just take a cab when they get wasted? Are they really worried about a $20 fare? Perez Hilton
• If you kill someone while sending a text message in England, you’ll get a stiffer sentence than you would if you were talking on the phone. Is it fair? Who knows. The one clear thing here is just how awful it would be to be responsible for a traffic death. Auto Express
• The first Ferrari California has been spotted in the wild, and even thought I don’t like the idea of a Prancing Horse with a convertible hard-top, I still think it looks pretty good. What do you think of the blue? World Car Fans
• Well, if there’s one thing that all model of cars have in common, it’s that sometime, somewhere, somebody is going to wreck one. For the Tesla Roadster, Friday was that day. Jalopnik

Normally I hate wings, unless you’re talking about a Superbird. But I almost like this one on Alex’s M Roadster. What do you guys think about wings?

Yesterday, I linked to a article which said Toyota might best the General to become the world’s number one automaker. Well, they either did, or they didn’t, depending on who you believe. Automotive News is calling it for Toyota, and the Detroit News is going with GM. Personally, I’m blaming Florida. Here’s the rest of the news:

• There’s no cladding on the drop-top Aston Martin DBS in these shots. Maybe the testers figured all the snow would work just as well: Auto Express
• Bob Lutz says that even with gas prices at record highs, US drivers won’t embrace small cars. Maybe he just wants to sell more V8s: Automotive News
• Of course, he might be right. Maybe consumers will just shun cars altogether, and start taking the bus: Seattle Times
• One company that is betting American’s will embrace small cars is smart. They’re so confident, they’re relying on word-of-mouth to move units: Automotive News
• Tesla says they’ve solved the tranny issues that have been plaguing its Roadster, and they’re going to start cranking them out in March. But that’s not the whole story: Wired

I told you I have Cobras on the brain so you’re gonna have to bear with me a bit. Check out this mean Factory Five roadster, recently completed by a guy named Sergio, who is a regular at FFCobra.com. This shot is the photo of the month over at FFCobra.com and you can see the thread on the completion of his car here. The car definitely looks cool without the normal windshield, but I think I’d feel like a dork driving around wearing a motorcycle helmet.

I’m predicting 2008 is gonna be a great year for gearheads. Why? Cause a ton of cool cars will be hitting dealer lots. Here’s my list of the ten hottest cars for 2008 (and this is our last year-end top ten list, I promise).

1. Nissan GT-R. ‘Nuff said.

2. Dodge Challenger. Though I still have to see it in person.

3. Tesla Roadster. Ignore the doubters and the haters.

4. Mustang Bullitt. Worth it just for the Dark Highland Green.

5. Corvette ZR1. The Veyron is silly–this is a real supercar.

6. Impreza WRX STI. Sure, it won’t win any beauty contests, but it’s better than ever.

7. Mitsubishi EVO. Might not please the purists, but this is a much improved car.

8. BMW 1-Series. Long live the 2002.

9. Chevy Malibu. Does Detroit finally have a Camry beater?

10. Pontiac G8. V8, RWD, good looks and under $30k–what else do you want?