Muscle-car enthusiasts were pleased to welcome the advent of the new Dodge Challenger SRT8. Overlooking its immense weight for the old-fashioned appearance and brawny Hemi power, they have already gobbled up all the cars due for production next year. However, Hurst wasn’t satisfied to leave it alone, but has decided to prepare a high-powered model complete with a set of Hurst accessories for SEMA show this November. The vehicle will be available soon for purchase through Dodge dealers.

Picture this: Youre milling about the 2007 Pebble Beach Concourse dElegance, and a brand-new car sits among the old: the 2008 Infiniti M. Spokesmen jump up and down calmly, ahem explaining that its new, but you hardly notice any changes from the M you have seen for the past two years on the road.

Nissan is getting ready to shake up the C-Segment vehicle class in Europe and Asia with the introduction of its new Qashqai at this year’s Paris Motor Show. Described as a “catalyst for change”, the Qashqai may be just the vehicle that Nissan needs.

Two years ago at the Frankfurt auto show, Porsche announced it had begun work on a hybrid Cayenne program, but the company has remained quiet since then, except to tell us it has remained partnered with VW on the SUVs development.

The new MG Motors company, formed out of the Rover Group asset takeover by China’s Nanjing Automobile Corp. is planning to enter North America in 2008 with a network of at least 300 dealers in the U.S.

It’s been a long time since a domestic automaker has enjoyed a major hit in Europe. Actually, it’s difficult to remember such an event ever occurring. Certainly Mustangs and Corvettes have sold moderately well over the years, but nothing quite like Dodge’s new Caliber.

In Europe, Chevrolet has had great success in the World Touring Car Championships with its Nubira (Optra) sedan. It’s done an admirable job fending off BMWs, Seats (a Spanish brand owned by VW) and other European carmakers. In celebration, Chevrolet decided to use the WTCC as a theme for the Ultra.

The Mazda3 shocked compact buyers when it first came to market. Not only did it perform better than most competitors it was up against, but even in base trim it offered an interior quality that rivaled some premium brands. The entry-level 3 continues forward into 2007 more or less unchanged, but for those looking for a little more action on the road and track, a range-topping MAZDASPEED3 is being added for the coming year.

Alfa Romeo is on the rise again with a new range of products, and has officially green-lighted the 8C as a production car. It will debut in Paris at the end of the month as Alfa Romeo’s new flagship car.

after countless side-projects from high-performance Brabus-tuned cars to diesel-electric hybrids, it was only a matter of time before something truly radical, and truly silly would happen.

alled the APX, it\342\200\231s a crossover vehicle that is to the Porsche Cayenne as the Elise is to the 911. Standing for \342\200\234Aluminum Performance Crossover,\342\200\235 the APX is a Lotus engineering excercise produced to communicate the full potential of the advanced Versatile Vehicle Architecture Lotus has developed for use under everything from this quasi-SUV to the upcoming supercar.

Can the man who led the turnaround of commercial airplane manufacturer Boeing be the right stuff for Ford Motor Company? Bill Ford, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company up until yesterday certainly hopes so, as he has just stepped aside to make way for a new President and CEO, Alan Mulally, and continue as Executive Chairman.

GM has latched onto E-85, an 85% blend of corn-based ethanol with regular petroleum, as the way into consumers’ hearts. On paper, it’s perfect. In addition to swaying those who want to be green, E-85 can provide the corn-belt, all-American image that Toyota’s hybrids will never be able to – no matter how many plants they build in the US.

It’s good to know that automakers are still making true blue concept vehicles, and the Mazda Nagare is defiantly one of them. It’s Mazda’s big debut for LA, and it’s all different kinds of interesting.