2010 Lexus IS 350C Convertible First Drive

Let’s admit this right now, Toyota is boring. Somehow the boringness really works for them as they are staying afloat in this slumping economy selling some of the highest quality vehicles to mainstream America. In my opinion, the only excitement from Toyota can be found in the Lexus brand starting with the new Lexus IS. Lexus has taken the IS to a new level with their newest drop-top, the Lexus IS Convertible. Inside Line (Edmunds) took the new 2010 Lexus IS 350C for a drive and discussed some of what the new IS Convertible has to offer.

With 306-hp on tap in the Lexus IS350C, do you think it is the better choice when compared to the BMW 335i convertible? What about the new Infiniti G37 Convertible or Volvo C70? Here we go again, Lexus is still chasing BMW.

2010 Lexus IS Convertible / IS250C / IS350C

Lexus is throwing another dart at the blue-and-white bull’s-eye that is BMW. Toyota’s luxury division knows that 30 percent of BMW 3-series sales are coupes and convertibles and it wants a seat at that buffet. Introduced nine years ago and well into its second generation—Toyota doesn’t act without exhaustive study, apparently—the entry-luxury IS sedan finally gets an additional body style: a hardtop convertible.

In dealerships by the end of May, the two-door, four-seat IS250C and IS350C feature an aluminum hardtop roof that relies on 15 electric motors and 37 sensors to crack into two panels and seamlessly belly-flop into the waiting trunk. The process takes 20 seconds.

In most other respects, the IS convertible varies not a nanometer from the established Lexus path. Though every exterior panel and molding on the IS C is unique to the convertible (except the hood), it looks to untrained eyes like a sedan that has met a hack saw. The engine choices—a 204-hp, 2.5-liter V-6 and 306-hp, 3.5-liter V-6—are identical to the IS sedan’s. So are the transmission choices, which mean a six-speed manual is available in the IS250C and a six-speed automatic in both models. As expected, the IS convertible features Lexus fit and finish and, somewhat less appealingly, Lexus dynamics.

Keep Reading: 2010 Lexus IS Convertible / IS250C / IS350C - First Drive Review

2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible - Short Take Road Test

If you think we’ve got a man crush on the BMW 3-series, walk into an Infiniti showroom sometime. Nissan’s upmarket brand is practically stalking the 3. Nearly half of Infiniti’s floor space is given over to Far East facsimiles of the BMW 3-series family: There’s the G37 sedan, the G37 coupe, an EX35 with the X3 on radar lock, and now this G37 hardtop convertible. All Infiniti needs now is a despised former chief designer.

Like the 3-series cabriolet, the new two-door G’s top stacks itself into three sections and disappears behind the rear seats (albeit in 30 seconds versus the BMW’s 23). Also like the convertible 3, this car weighs two tons. Our scales measured it at 4136 pounds, which is 454 more than a manual coupe and nearly 800 pounds more than the Nissan Z on which both are based.

That extra weight is in the roof’s armature and motors, as well as the gussets and braces that backfill some of the torsional stiffness sacrificed to open-air motoring. Other changes from the G37 coupe include an exhaust system that robs the car of five horsepower and a rear suspension whose top mounting points were moved to accommodate the folding roof.

In addition to a lower price, what the G has always offered in response to the 3-series is a certain lightness of control feel and freneticism of powerplant. But the G37’s extra weight dulls the eagerness that defines the other Gs. Kick down the 3.7-liter V-6, and the car seems to think hard for an instant before committing its considerable heft forward. Also, the noticeable body flex over broken pavement leaves the impression that the G37 could actually use a few more braces. Infiniti must have decided that enough added weight was enough, lest drivers think that the car was carrying a rhino in its trunk.

Keep Reading: 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible - Short Take Road Test

Brand Spankin’ New Images: Aston Martin One-77, you can never get enough of it

And just when you thought you’d seen enough of the Aston Martin One-77, the Gaydon, Warwickshire automaker has dropped a bunch of new images of the most exclusive Aston ever built. We’re not going to sit here and kill your time so just check out a little refresher and head over after the jump for the high-res image gallery.

Refresher: Power comes from a 7.3L V12 producing more than 700-hp. The engine is mated to a new 6-speed gearbox that allows the One-77 to go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds with a top speed of over 200 mph

McLaren announces plans for new facility to produce a range of high-performance sports cars

Last month, Chairman Ron Dennis confirmed that McLaren is working on a line of new high-performance cars, including a successor to the F1. Today, Dennis announced plans for a new facility for the “British-built range of high-performance, high-technology sports cars.” 

Known as the McLaren Production Centre (MPC), the facility will be located adjacent to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. The plant will have the capacity of building up to 20 McLaren sports cars per day. Dennis said that proposed investment would create over 800 automotive jobs.

So what’s the first high-performance sports car planned to come out of MPC? McLaren says that the MPC will release its first “high performance and highly efficient sports car” in early 2011. According to that, we’re guessing it will be the much talked about P11 (codename) that is currently being tested in Woking.

Power for the P11 is expected to come from a 6.2L V8 turbocharged engine from AMG. It will make more than 500-hp allowing for a 0 to 60 mph time in 4 seconds with a top speed of 200 mph.

Click through for the press release.

Press Release:

McLaren Automotive announces plans for new British high technology production facility

- Ron Dennis reveals details of proposed investment supporting over 800 jobs

- McLaren answers UK political and industrial calls for high-tech manufacturing and engineering work supporting exports

- McLaren Production Centre planned to build McLaren Automotive’s range of high performance sports cars from 2011

Ron Dennis, Chairman of McLaren Automotive, announced today plans for the UK home of a brand new British-built range of high-performance, high-technology sports cars. Located adjacent to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England, the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) is a proposal that would provide an important investment in the UK automotive and high-tech manufacturing infrastructure.

An application for planning permission was submitted yesterday (May 19 2009) to Woking Borough Council for the facility that would have the capacity for up to 20 pure McLaren sports cars per day. Aiming to be the UK’s most modern and efficient automotive production facility, MPC would provide employment growth at McLaren supporting over 800 automotive jobs and an estimated additional 1,500 indirectly in the local economy.

The planned building of MPC would also support sustained growth of the McLaren brand in providing high-value, high-tech manufacturing and engineering employment in the midst of the global recession. With its first product, a high performance and highly efficient sports car due to be delivered in early 2011, McLaren’s globally respected road car and racing car development skills are set to redefine the automotive engineering environment in the UK.

Ron Dennis said: “Ever since we revealed the McLaren F1 sports car in 1992, it has been a long-held dream of mine to launch a McLaren sports car company. Designing, developing and selling globally the best sports cars in the world is just half of that equation; building them to previously un-matched levels of quality, with ground-breaking technologies in a production facility in the UK is key to satisfying that dream. I believe that if the McLaren Production Centre is given the go ahead, it will be an engineering centre of excellence of which McLaren and the UK can be proud.”

Following a thorough planning process McLaren submitted a formal planning application that takes the McLaren Technology Centre’s (MTC) successful 2003 development as its lead precedent.

Six years ago, McLaren worked in partnership with Woking Borough Council and the Horsell Common Preservation Society to build an award-winning ‘Foster+Partners’-designed headquarters that offered extensive public access to its grounds and restored previously contaminated land. MTC’s build and integration into the landscape enabled sustained growth of McLaren Group companies to 1500 employees, adhered to strict planning controls and legal obligations and won a Royal Town Planning Institute award for its planning delivery. It is Ron Dennis’ aim that the McLaren Production Centre will follow a comparably successful process.

Dennis continued: “It would be easy enough to consider building McLaren sports cars in existing productive and experienced foreign factories; a number of which are knocking on our door. However, McLaren is a great British company founded over 40 years ago that should, in my view, continue to design and build our own products.”

McLaren’s plans for the MPC further support recent political and business calls for the creation of high-tech manufacturing and engineering jobs to support the UK’s growth out of recession. A Woking Borough Council decision on McLaren’s planning application for the McLaren Production Centre is anticipated at the end of July.

The proposed ‘Foster+Partners’-designed manufacturing centre complies with all key planning principles set by the existing planning consent and features a building sunk into the ground to minimise visual impact, substantial new areas of tree planting and re-contouring to effectively disguise above-ground views, and improves access to public land for recreation.

Geiger Cars Bi-Turbo Chevrolet Corvette Z06 makes 890-hp

This isn’t the first time Geiger Cars has taken on the Chevrolet Corvette Z06; however, this time around instead of stopping at 592-hp, Geiger decided to take the Z06 all the way up to an eye watering 890-hp.

“Only a madman would want to increase the output of this fast car.” says Geiger. Well, founder Karl Geiger is that madman.

The massive amounts of extra power comes from Gieger’s Bi-Turbo package that takes the displacement up to 7.6L and adds two high-performance turbochargers. Maximum torque comes in at 693 lb-ft while top speed comes in at 220 mph. Geiger also added larger and more powerful brakes for some much needed stopping power.

2009 Lexus LF-A Nurburgring 24-Hour race version unveiled

Lexus today released photos of its new 2009 Lexus LF-A 24-Hours Nurburgring Race version. Lexus said that the race version was “developed with an eye toward commercial release.” Lexus engineers will use feedback from the 24-Hour Race to tune the production LF-A’s performance.

Power comes from a 4.8L V10 making more than 500-hp. The Lexus LF-A will race under the team name - GAZOO Racing.

Click through for the full list of specifications.

2009 Lexus LF-A Nurburgring 24-Hour Race Version:

Specifications of Lexus LF-A Competing in 24 Hours Nürburgring Race

Entry category/class Division 2 SP8 (engine close-to-production)
Team name GAZOO Racing
Engine Type V-10
Displacement 4,805 cc
Maximum output More than 367kW (500PS)
Body Length 4,530mm
Width 1,880mm
Height 1,200mm
Wheelbase 2,605mm
Material Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP)
Vehicle layout Front-mid-engine, rear-mid-transaxle, rear radiator
Transmission Paddle-shift sequential, manual
Tires Front/rear size 305/30R20
Type Racing (Bridgestone)

Outline of 24 Hours Nürburgring Race

Name 37th 24 Hours Nürburgring1
Dates May 21-24, 2009 (main competition runs from May 23-24)
Venue Nürburgring (Nürburg, Ahrweiler, State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)

GM to offer limited-edition 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Bumblebee Package

Jason Drees of Symdon Chevrolet-Pontiac in Wisconsin has just confirmed that GM will be offering a limited-edition 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Bumblebee package, which will be available to order starting June 1. Production of the limited-edition Bumblebee 2010 Camaro will run from June 24 to December.

The package will be available on LT and SS models and will feature the Rally Yellow with black Bumblebee stripes and Transformers badging on wheel centers, sill plates and embroidered console lid.

Transformers 2 Bumblebee 2010 Chevrolet Camaro:

Epic Fail! How Do You Manage To Look So Silly In a Ferrari F430 Scuderia?

How Do You Manage To Look So Silly In a Ferrari F430 Scuderia? You forget how to put it into gear!

Obviously the guy portrayed in this video has some serious issues. He is in a Ferrari F430 Scuderia and somehow does not know how to put the car into gear. Now, if you own such a vehicle (base price: $281,618), you may want to read the owner’s manual on how to put it into gear… or at least listen to the sales official when he goes through the demonstration of the vehicles features. We all know Ferrari does not drop the ball when it comes to educating a new owner of one of their Formula 1 outfitted vehicles especially in the case of coming equipped with an F1 style sequential manual gearbox. For some reason I feel like ripping the head off of this guy but I will keep my composure for now. Maybe the person driving this vehicle is not the owner… or maybe he is just a complete idiot (look at the silly sticker on the side). You be the judge, enjoy the video after the jump.

Stats on the Ferrari F430 Scuderia

• Base Price: $281,618
• Drivetrain: Rear Wheel Drive
• Curb Weight (lbs): 2975
• City (MPG): 11 (Est)
• Hwy (MPG): 16 (Est)
• Horsepower: 503 @ 8500
• Torque (lb-ft): 347 @ 5250
• Wheelbase (in.): 102.4
• Length (in.): 177.6
• Width (in.): 75.7

Height (in.): 47.8