Autoblog

The first-gen Cobalt SS failed to deliver with a supercharged 2.0L Ecotec four-cylinder producing 205 horsepower and a cast of supporting components that did little to hide the Cobalt's rental car roots. But then something entirely unexpected happened. The GM Performance Division completely reworked the Cobalt SS for 2008, swapping in a more powerful turbocharged engine, upgrading the rest of the mechanicals, and tweaking the entire package on the world's most demanding race tracks, including the famed Nürburgring in Germany.

The result is – and we're not kidding here – the most impressive performance car to wear a bow-tie badge on sale today*. Exactly how General Motors turned a bottom-of-the-pack, front-wheel-drive econocar into a class-leading sport compact is revealed after the jump.

*My colleagues thought it best to explain this statement. There's not a bow-tie badge to be found on the Corvette and you can't find a Camaro SS on a dealer lot anywhere yet.


Photos Copyright ©2008 John Neff / Weblogs, Inc.

Hard as it may be to believe, the word "hummer" didn't always bring up visions of obnoxious, polarizing SUVs. In fact, there was a time not so very long ago that uttering that word evoked something entirely different, namely cars powered by Wankel rotary engines. For the past three decades, the world's sole purveyor of rotary-powered automobiles has been Mazda. The "Zoom-Zoom" brand has always been a little different from its compatriots. Back in 1963, a young Kenichi Yamamoto was heading up the research department at Mazda and latched on to the concept developed a decade earlier by Felix Wankel.

Just as two-stroke engines were all the rage for a time in the early 1990s and fuel cells in the middle of this decade, the Wankel rotary seemed to be the next big thing in the 1960s and early '70s. For a time it seemed every major automaker had licensed the design from Wankel and was trying to commercialize it. Some like NSU did build rotaries while General Motors and Daimler Benz built an assortment of concept cars. By the mid-'70s, all had given up except Yamamoto-san and Mazda. From the original 1967 Cosmo, Mazda has built an unbroken string of hummers culminating with the recently updated 2009 RX-8 R3. The pony-keg sized power plant isn't the only unique element of the RX-8, which you can read all about that after the jump.

Gallery: In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3

Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

I received an Indy 500 poster on my birthday in 1986 that featured a Yellow C4 Corvette pace car leading the pack. My dad hung the poster above my bed, and I can honestly say that I stared at it every night for years. The Corvette was my dream car for my entire childhood, but as an adult I turned my attention to European rides like the Porsche 911 and the Ferrari 360 Modena.

When the C6 Corvette hit the scene for the 2005 model year, the Bow Tie brand's halo vehicle again had me pining for some General Motors muscle. GM gave the base Vette the same 400 horsepower as the C5 Z06, and I figured it was all the power I could ever want. That is, until the 2006 Z06 came along. The Z06 was kicking ass on the track and in enthusiast magazines, and it was toppling competition that far exceeded the Corvette's $70,000 price of entry. We never had the Z06 in the Autoblog Garage, so we were more than happy to take it off Chevy's hands for a week. Hit the jump to see if the Z06 met our lofty expectations from childhood.


All photos copyright ©2008 Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid/Weblogs, Inc.

It's not a good time to be any other car in Cadillac's lineup besides the CTS. While the brand's new sedan racks up accolades and fresh converts, the other vehicles wearing a wreath and crest badge stand around like the siblings that didn't grow up to be president.

Then there's the 556-hp CTS-V, Cadillac's brand new halo car, a role that used to be played by the XLR hardtop convertible. The XLR has a V version, too, but it has only 443 units of whoopass under its hood. It was, however, refreshed for the 2009 model year and can now be found resting comfortably in the shadow created by everyone crowding around the CTS-V. Let's see if the 2009 Cadillac XLR-V deserves its fate in the shade.


All Photos © Copyright John Neff / Weblogs Inc.

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lamborghini Murcielago LP460

As we all know, there are supercars, and then... there's the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640. It has been called old and overweight, it has been called impractical and overpriced, it has been called out for its propensity to make 10-year-old boys lick its windows. When we got word that the LP640 would be stopping by the Autoblog Garage for a weekend, it was our chance to see if the childhood dream was still potent enough to answer adult desires. We've driven the Bugatti Veyron, Bentley Continental GT Speed, Porsche GT2, Corvette ZR1, Dodge Viper ACR and even Lambo's own Gallardo LP560, and they were showstoppers. But when we finally met this Lambo, we had only one thing to say: Great googlymoogly!

All photos Copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4

A 5.2-liter V10 with 560 horsepower, 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, a top speed of over 200 mph and one of the most beautiful modern designs to ever come out of Italy. It's the new Gallardo LP560-4, and Lamborghini wants us to drive it. There are certainly more lucrative ways to make a living than being an automotive journalist, but it's moments like this that we know we made the right career choice. The best news is that we got to drive the new LP560-4 with about two dozen Lamborghini owners. Lamborghini of Orange County recently opened up a new dealership in Newport Beach, and they invited all of their customers down to see the new showroom and go for a Sunday drive. We tackled some of California's best back roads in the LP560-4 with other Gallardos, Murcielagos, and even a few Diablos. Follow the jump to read on.

All photos Copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

A recent night of excitement: driving the Camry XLE to the Super Wal-Mart. So lame, but that's not the car's fault. Like Wal-Mart, the Camry has been excoriated as a work of Satan, antithetical to all that is American, never mind where it's built. Despite the gleeful way everyone always lobs shots at Toyota's midsizer, there's a lot of virtue here. After all, there has to be some kind of hook to this car attaining such vaunted status, besides the bounce-lending automotive cult of personality. Since nobody actually reviews the Camry – we just complain about it as it outsells everything else – we rustled up an XLE powered by Toyota's 2.4-liter four cylinder and tried it out.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Dan Roth / Weblogs, Inc.

Is "four-door coupe" an oxymoron or a clever twist on automotive design rules? That was a popular question among the 50 or so journalists invited to drive Volkswagen's new CC from Atlanta to Nashville last week.

The seemingly contradictory term was apparently first used to describe the Rover P5 Mark II in 1962, but was revived more recently when Mercedes introduced its CLS in 2004. In both cases the cars' low rooflines defied conventional saloon styling and needed a unique descriptor for marketing pizazz.

When rumors of the VW CC began to leak out, some speculated the CLS would be its main target. But Volkswagen learned from the disappointing U.S. acceptance of the Phaeton: Luxury buyers pay for brand cache as much as they do for supple leather and high-tech gadgets. This time around, says Brett Scott, VW's product planning manager, they expect many of their customers to be Camry and Accord shoppers attracted to the CC's stand-out styling.


All photos Copyright ©2008 Chris Tutor / Weblogs, Inc.

Chrysler pays the bills with big sellers like the Dodge Ram and Caravan, but when it comes to passion and excitement, the 2009 Dodge Challenger sits with the Viper atop the Pentastar throne. The new Dodge Challenger is retro done right, with the wide stance and long hood of the original mixed with the clean lines and aggressive dimensions of a modern pony car. For the 2008 model year, Chrysler introduced only the SRT version of the Challenger. The first production model sold for $400,000 at auction, and the entire stock of HEMI-packing, Mopar goodness was history faster than it takes to hit 125 mph on a barren back road.

The reality of today's high gas prices combined with strict new fuel economy standards means that, unfortunately, it's unreasonable for every Challenger to pack a fire-breathing, neck snapping 425-hp, 6.1L V8. So for 2009, Chrysler added the R/T Challenger with an extremely competitive 375-hp 5.7L Hemi and a less expensive Challenger SE with a corporate 3.5L V6 engine pumping out 250 ponies. We wanted to see if the SE model could satisfy our hunger for rear drive performance and classic muscle car looks, so we took in the entry level Challenger for a stay in the Autoblog Garage.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Chris Shunk / Weblogs, Inc.

Next January's Detroit Auto Show will mark the 20th anniversary of the Viper's debut as a concept. Back then, every car in Chrysler's lineup was still derived from the K-Car. The K-cars saved Chrysler from the jaws of bankruptcy, but an executive named Lutz decided the automaker needed a new halo car to generate some excitement as a new decade dawned. Another old guy named Carroll Shelby was sprucing up Daytonas and Omnis at the time, so they decided to revive an idea from earlier in his career. Together they created a minimalistic two-seater with a humongous engine that became an instant American classic. That basic premise lives on today in the 2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10 with only slightly less minimalism. Read on to find out what it's like to live with a snake for a week.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.