Men Free Blog

Ferrari previously announced their One to One personalization program back at the Geneva Motor Show a few weeks ago and now it’s coming to North America. One to One is for those who just can’t settle for an “off the rack” Ferrari, as if there is such a thing, yet the program allows purchasers of the new 2008 612 Scaglietti to have their new toys tailored to their whims.

Beginning with the Park Avenue store in New York this week customers can work with a specialist to select the materials and accessories they want in their 612 to create a truly bespoke Italian exotic. Once the desired combinations have been chosen, the cars will be assembled in a dedicated corner of the Maranello factory. Along with the usual shrieking V-12, the latest edition of the 612 includes Ferrari’s new electrochromic roof and SuperFast electro-hydraulic shifted gearbox. If you have to ask the cost… just peruse the gallery and drool.

source:autoblog

Ever since Nissan took the Altima upmarket in both size and prize, the Maxima has suffered from an identity crisis. In the Nissan/Infiniti lineup, this premium front-wheel-drive sports sedan suffered a middle-child syndrome while slotted between the less-expensive yet still capable Altima and the more aspirational rear-wheel-drive Infiniti G35 sports sedan. Nissan hopes to give the Maxima a new voice in its crowded lineup of large sedans with the new 2009 model that comes in your choice of a 3.5 S or 3.5 SV trim. Clearly, it packs a visual punch.

The new design is something Nissan calls “Liquid Motion”. It’s dynamic, for sure, with peaks and valleys among flowing lines and sharp creases that combine to form a muscular shape. See a little of the last-gen Nissan Skyline GT-R in that grille? We do, and that’s not a bad thing, though the new wraparound L-shaped headlamps may not go over well with everyone. Despite the large front and rear overhangs, Nissan actually shrunk the Maxima’s length and wheelbase while widening its track. Call the design what you want, but it’s not derivative and the expressive flanks make it truly look like a four-door sports car.

source:autoblog

Again with musical accompaniment from the Young Lords, Maximum Bob Lutz heralded the return of the El Camino Pontiac G8 Sport Truck to the U.S. market for the first time in over two decades. Joining Lutz to make the sales case for how wonderful the new G8 ST was Fifty Cent who the company claims is a loyal Pontiac owner. We’ve already heard all the specs on the new Ute, so we won’t bore you with them again here. Click to visit our previous post with all the deets. The platform is a longer wheelbase version of the one under the G8 sedan, and the suspension remains all-independent, although the rear end has been beefed up to provide some load carrying and towing capacity. This thing is no replacement for a Silverado in terms of capability, but for those that need to grab some bags of mulch from your local big box store or tow a pair of jet skis to the lake, the ST provides a much more car like ride and performance pretty close to the G8 GT sedan. The Sport Truck has the same 361-hp 6.0L V8 as the G8 sedan, along with the six-speed autobox through which 385 lb-ft of torque flow to the rear end. Sometime between now and late next year GM will announce what the real name of the ST, is but you can make your voice heard (whether anyone is actually listening is another story) at www.pontiac.com/namethiscar.
source:autoblog

It’s a rare occurrence when honest applause breaks out in a press conference over a new model, let alone a transmission. But that’s exactly what happened when Maximum Bob talked up the Pontiac G8 GXP, and specifically its optional six-speed manual transmission. Mated to that highly coveted cog swapper is the 6.2-liter LS3 V8 pulled from the Corvette, making 402 hp and 400 lb.-ft. of torque. If you opt for the 6L80 auto ‘box, you can check your manhood and an extra two lb.-ft. of torque at the door.

In addition to the upgraded engine and manual tranny, the GXP benefits from the 19-inchers originally shown on the G8 concept, Brembo brakes (sized 14-inches up front and 12.76 inches out back) and some revised suspension bits. Zero-to-60 times are down to 4.7 seconds and the G8 GXP (along with the Solstice coupe and ‘ute) are all due to hit dealers later this year.

Pontiac’s full press release is posted after the jump, and our own live high-res shots can be seen in the gallery below (we’re going to be adding more as soon as the pandemonium surrounding the vehicle dies down.

source:autoblog

This very blogger wrote a post yesterday about the Saleen S5S Raptor. I didn’t mention the cars I thought the Raptor looked like, but a fair number of commenters did. This is what you should know: in person, the car looks like nothing else but the S5S Raptor, and it looks better than any car you think it might look like. It is, to put it plainly, all kinds of hot. Even in yellow, which is this blogger’s least favorite car color, I’d still pay for it. Saleen CEO Paul Wilbur said the Raptor is a concept, and he wanted the media’s feedback on building it. Mr. Wilbur: yes. Today. Like, now. Check out the hi-res pics and let Mr. Wilbur know what you think.

source:autoblog

Just like any good political campaign, Mercedes came to the New York Auto Show touting nothing much as a whole lot. Actually, the faux political rally might have been less than compelling with its old news, but the new M Class sporting 50-state legal BlueTec diesel power is exciting. Almost as exciting as the very original 1965 190 D Mercedes had borrowed to illustrate its long-running experience with Rudy’s coal dust motor. The senescent sedan will be helping MBZ recreate Bill Carroll’s cross-country diesel-fueled journey to celebrate the U.S.-wide availability of what it’s touting as the cleanest diesel ever. BlueTec allows the M-, GL- and R-class oil burners to earn ULEV and TierII/Bin 5 classification.

Mercedes says its new diesels are now as clean as gasoline powerplants, and once they drop BlueTec hybrids on us, emissions and economy will improve yet again. JD Power projects that fully 40 percent of vehicles will be diesel powered by 2017, and Mercedes wants to increase diesel sales beyond the current level of 22 percent. The newly tweaked M-Class should help move the powertrain off dealer lots. Sporting plenty of safety upgrades, new headlights, a Hannibal-Lechter inspired grille and some interior tweaks, the M-Class has returned from the gym freshly chiseled. It was not all utes and politely obscured minivans (*ahem* R-Class). Just before Mercedes wrapped the presser, they said, we’re paraphrasing here, “Oh yeah, we also brought the SL, w00t.”

source:autoblog

This past Wedneday evening, the Audi Forum in New York City hosted a gala party attended by celebrities and the weary automotive press in town to cover the New York Auto Show. The beautiful people on hand included Tom Brady (celebrity status: A), Tyson Beckford (celebrity status: B), Will Arnett (celebrity status: A-), Denise Rich (celebrity status: ?) and members of the Gossip Girl cast (according to my fiance, celebrity status: better than Tom Brady). Though Autoblog was not in attendance (thus reducing the list of A list celebrities), Audi was kind enough to send us pics of the special A5 it revealed that night (and Tom Brady sitting in the R8 TDI Le Mans concept from the Geneva Motor Show). Custom-painted by New York artist Hunt Slomen, the coupe features a swath of art that flows from the car’s hood and down across the driver-side door. The artwork is abstract, but we can make out white birds, which our single semester of Art History 101 tells us represents doves, which in turn represents peace. Or it could represent the jobless rate of carrier pigeons in this age of digital e-mail. The custom-painted A5 will be donated to Denise Rich’s G&P Foundation for Cancer Research and auctioned after it tours the country for a bit.
source:autoblog

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In the latest example that the U.S. dollar just ain’t what it used to be, some shops in New York City have begun accepting euros and other foreign currency as payment for merchandise.“We had decided that money is money and we’ll take it and just do the exchange whenever we can with our bank,” Robert Chu, owner of East Village Wines, told Reuters television.

The increasingly weak U.S. dollar, once considered the king among currencies, has brought waves of European tourists to New York with money to burn and looking to take advantage of hugely favorable exchange rates.

“We didn’t realize we would take so much in and there were that many people traveling or having euros to bring in. But some days, you’d be surprised at how many euros you get,” Chu said.

“Now we have to get familiar with other currencies and the (British) pound and the Canadian dollars we take,” he said.

While shops in many U.S. towns on the Canadian border have long accepted Canadian currency and some stores on the Texas-Mexico border take pesos, the acceptance of foreign money in Manhattan was unheard of until recently.

Not far from Chu’s downtown wine emporium, Billy Leroy of Billy’s Antiques & Props said the vast numbers of Europeans shopping in the neighborhood got him thinking, “My God, I should take euros in at the store.”

Leroy doesn’t even bother to exchange them.

“I’m happy if I take in 200 euros, because what I do is keep them,” he said. “So when I go back to Paris, I don’t have to go through the nightmare of going to an exchange place.”