AutoWeek Daily Drive — Tuesday, January 6, 2009

HOME   |   LATEST NEWS   |   VEHICLE REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CLASSIFIEDS Tuesday, January 06, 2009 A favorite of enthusiasts, the S2000, appears to be on the chopping block.... Honda cancels V8 program, S2000 and CR-Z convertible, report says Fun appears to be on the chopping block at Honda. Plans for the successor to the S2000 sports car, a lineup of rear-drive Acuras, a proposed V8 engine and a drop-top built off the CR-Z hybrid are all dead, according to a report in a British magazine. The reason: Honda is rethinking its product plans as it grapples with the global downturn in sales and economic conditions, Autocar is... Pontiac kills the G8 ST sport truck General Motors told dealers on Tuesday that it has decided to cancel the G8 ST sport truck that was due to launch late this fall. The reason for killing the car is partly due to GM's "continuing vehicle review" to make the company viable for the long term, says Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson. That ... Bentley to debut Continental GTC Speed at Detroit show Bentley will complete its Speed portfolio when it introduces a freshened Continental GTC range at the Detroit auto show. Along with exterior and equipment changes, a new GTC Speed model is added with a more powerful version of the 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W12 that churns out 600 hp and 553... NEWS BRAKE: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009 In today's News Brake: Bentley unleashes its fastest convertible ever; 2008 was a crummy year for auto sales, and actor Nicholas Cage is parting with his Plymouth Barracuda ... But Wait, There's More!... Rolex 24: Law, Farnbacher set fastest times on last day of practice Darren Law and Dominik Farnbacher turned heads by turning the fastest laps in the Daytona Prototype and Grand Touring categories on Monday at Daytona International Speedway during the final day of testing before the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Law bested Michael Valiante's quick time from Saturday by... First Chevy Camaro, Shelby GT500 to be auctioned for charity Want to buy the first retail versions of two future icons? Get ready to pony up--for charity. General Motors is auctioning the rights to the first 2010 Chevy Camaro, and Ford is selling the rights to the first 2010 Shelby GT500 at the Barrett-Jackson auction Jan. 11-18 in Scottsdale, Ariz.... PERFORMANCE PROFILE: Caterham 7 R400 Superlight Is it a race car--or a road car? It's both and neither. It's a British kit car, with go-kart handling and a Ford engine. And it is a blast.... Kia's concept for Detroit wears Soulster name Kia is tipping its Detroit auto show hand a little more by releasing another teaser shot of the concept vehicle it plans to debut. The image shows the Soul-based concept's rear-quarter panel and also divulges the name Soulster, indicating that it's most likely a coupe. The new offshoot of the ... AUTO SALES: GM, Ford, Honda, Toyota drag industry to 36% decline General Motors, Ford Motor Co., American Honda and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. all reported sales declines of more than 31 percent in December as the U.S. auto industry capped its worst year since 1992. GM's plunge dragged its annual total to levels not seen since 1959, and Ford's year-end total... Ford leads Consumer Reports list of Detroit 3 picks Ford Motor Co. dominates a special list of Detroit 3 vehicle recommendations by Consumer Reports in its February issue. The magazine normally recommends cars in its April issue. But it singled out eight Detroit 3 vehicles early because consumers may be concerned about reliability while... Hyundai incentive includes job loss insurance During a focus group meeting in late November, Joel Ewanick, Hyundai Motor America's vice president of marketing, realized no matter how much cash Hyundai piled on the fenders, it probably wasn't going to get buyers into showrooms. Not when they were worried about losing their jobs. "The... You May Have Missed... DOWNSHIFT: A not-so-happy ending to 2008 An un-happy old year: For the auto industry, 2008 will go down as one of the worst on record with total U.S. auto sales of about 13.2 million units--down 3 million units from just a year earlier. Dale Jewett and Greg Migliore review the sales numbers, and talk about what it will take to get sales... Hollywood muscle: Nicholas Cage to sell Hemi 'Cuda at Arizona auction He memorably played a car thief in Gone in Sixty Seconds, but actor Nicholas Cage is offering his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda through legal means: the Hemi hardtop is one of the headliners at Russo and Steele's annual auction in Arizona later this month. Detroit muscle via Hollywood--and it's ... Dakar Rally: Carlos Sainz leads after three days Two-time World Rally Championship title winner Carlos Sainz led the Dakar Rally in his Volkswagen Race Touareg on Monday, after three stages. The Spaniard took the lead on Sunday and ended day three with a nearly four-minute advantage over Nasser Al-Attiyah in his BMW X3. The Qatari driver led... LMP2 prototypes get rules break in American Le Mans Series LMP2 prototypes racing in the American Le Mans Series this year will not have to run smaller rear wings as will their European counterparts. ALMS sanctioning body IMSA decided not to enforce new aerodynamic rules--announced in September by the organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans--on the LMP2... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the AutoWeek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other AutoWeek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add AutoWeek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.