An outing of luxury sports car enthusiasts in Japan ended in an expensive freeway pileup – smashing a stunning eight Ferraris, a Lamborghini and two Mercedes.

Police say they believe the accident Sunday was touched off when the driver of one of the Ferraris tried to change lanes and hit the median barrier. He spun across the freeway, and the other cars collided while trying to avoid hitting his car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAtelRZCFWc

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport debuted in style: it broke the world speed records for a series car averaging 431 km / h on the VW Ehra-Leissen test circuit.

The production for Bugatti Veyron Super Sport will start in autumn 2010 and the official launch will take place in august at Pebble Beach, California.

Picture gallery:

Vehicle Make / Model: Model Year(s):
CHEVROLET / EQUINOX 2010
GMC / TERRAIN 2010

Manufacturer: GENERAL MOTORS CORP. Mfr’s Report Date: DEC 18, 2009
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 09V489000
N/A
NHTSA Action Number: N/A

Component: VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER SYSTEM
Potential Number of Units Affected: 59031

Summary:
GENERAL MOTORS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 CHEVROLET EQUINOX AND GMC TERRAIN VEHICLES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 103, “WINDSHIELD DEFROSTING AND DEFOGGING SYSTEMS AND WITH FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 101, CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS”. THE SOFTWARE IN THE CENTER INSTRUMENT PANEL CAN CAUSE THE HEATING, AIR CONDITIONING, DEFROST, AND RADIO CONTROLS, AS WELL AS THE PANEL ILLUMINATION TO BECOME INOPERATIVE.

Consequence:
DRIVING WITHOUT A FUNCTIONING DEFROST SYSTEM CAN DECREASE YOUR VISIBILITY UNDER CERTAIN DRIVING CONDITIONS AND COULD RESULT IN A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING
.
Remedy:
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE COMPUTER MODULE IN THE CENTER INSTRUMENT PANEL FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JANUARY 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 OR AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.

Notes:
GM SAFETY RECALL NO. 090298. OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .

Automotive News reports, “Chrysler Group will show off two vehicles at next month’s Detroit auto show hinting at future collaborations under Italy’s Fiat S.p.A, according to two sources familiar with the plans.”

One of the concepts is, according to Automotive News, “A Lancia Delta mid-size hatchback with a Chrysler grille.” It’s the other one that’s generating a lot of chatter. And some voltage.

According to reports, Chrysler is intending to show an electric Fiat 500. The 500 is a popular car in the European market, and Chrysler and Fiat hope it can take on the Mini Cooper here. Autoblog says, ” We’ve heard that the automaker’s erstwhile ENVI group was disbanded and assimilated into the rest of the company’s product development workforce, so we’re curious to see the integration of a battery-powered drivetrain into the little urban runabout. Will it be a fully-functional vehicle or just a mock-up of what could potentially be possible?”

Bloomberg reports, “Chrysler’s decision on whether to put the car into production is unknown, said the people, who declined to be identified because the details aren’t public. Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said last month the company plans to produce about 56,000 electric vehicles annually by 2014, and Chrysler may base its initial model on the Fiat Doblo van.”

With the electric Fiat 500, Chrysler and Fiat may have more than just the gas-powered Mini in their sights. Bloomberg says, “An electric Fiat 500 gives Chrysler a competitor to Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s Mini-E electric car. BMW began leasing a limited run of Mini Cooper plug-in electric cars this year.”

With its small size and light weight, an electric subcompact like the Fiat 500 or Mini-E could make sense for a lot of urban dwellers. However, with Chrysler keeping quiet on when or if the electric 500 could be produced, and most areas lacking the infrastructure required to charge the cars, most consumers will likely have to wait a little longer before taking advantage of the technology.

The Mansory individualisation program based on the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 gets launched initially by a limited edition with our Middle East Partner, Prestige Cars Abu Dhabi, exclusively. In spring the Linea Vincerò will be introduced to the public at the Auto Salon 2009 in Geneva.

Vincerò ‘I will win’; Nessun Dorma, probably the most famous tenor aria from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot, gave its name to the overall concept of the current individualisation project from Mansory.

The story is descended from the Persian novella 1001 days. This on the one hand refers to the standard PS – motorisation / the standard PS figures of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, on the other hand it should remind of the origin of Kourosh Mansory, CEO and founder of the Mansory Cooperation. At last the 3 acts of the opera gave the idea for the strictly limited edition of the Linea Vincerò.

Source: ConceptCarz

The 2010 Shelby GT500 was spotted on the streets of Detroit by KGP Photography. Although heavily camouflaged some key elements were visible that confirm this is indeed the 2010 Shelby tested on the public roads.

Pictures:

Source: jalopnik

Audi top executive Rupert Stadler told Welt am Sonntag in an interview published on Sunday that he saw great opportunities in electric cars and expected diesel and battery technology to dominate in the coming five to ten years.“By then we will offer cars without exhaust emissions,” Stadler said.

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In the United Arab Emirates, the lower number you have on your license plate, the more important you are.

The number ’5′ license plate has been recently auctioned in Abu Dhabi, UAE, for an astounding $6.8 million. It has been purchased by a local stock broker and put on a Rolls Royce Phantom that’s worth 10 times less than the plate.

Next month the number ’1′ plate will be auctioned – he says that he is willing to pay up to 20 million for it.

CNN story:

Amateur video of the car:

Renault (owner of the Romanian Dacia Group) lined up a new concept at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai, China.

The Logan ECO2 Challenge is a diesel powered specially prepared car, designed for extremely low fuel consumption and low emissions. It managed to consume only 4.69 liters of fuel in the 172 km race, with 71 grams CO2/km emissions (which is pretty good considering that the Toyota Prius emits 104 grams / km).

That’s 86 miles per gallon!

Ford released some information about the new Focus ST, expected to be made available for purchasing in Europe in early 2008.

The new ST facelift will have the usual Orange color and the general feel of the latest Ford models like the new Mondeo. A special version will probably be created in a blue color for the UK.

The car will be powered by the same 2.5L turbocharged 5 cylinder engine developing 220 hp, getting to 60mph in about 6.5 seconds.

Pictures of the new facelift: