Autoblog

Click above for hi-res gallery of the Mazda Kiyora concept

Mazda has confirmed its Paris Motor Show lineup, which will be led by the Kiyora concept, a water-themed, Nagare-styled city car built on a new platform that features a "next generation" direct-injected four-banger. No additional details have been relayed at this time, other than it's supposed to be lightweight and efficient, in keeping with Mazda's "Sustainable Zoom-Zoom" approach. (As an aside, you should know that it's quite amusing to watch grown adults actually say this stuff with a straight face at press conferences.) Also officially confirmed now is the updated MX-5, complete with the new happy face that hit the web on Wednesday. It's joined by the Mazda6 MZR-CD 2.2L diesel and the Mazda2 MZ-CD 1.6L diesel, both of which are also world premieres. As always, we'll be in Paris to bring it to you live next month.


[Source: Mazda]

Click above for Chery Eastar convertible gallery

In case you were jonesing for a dose of weirdness from the Chinese auto industry today, Chery has complied. Behold the Chery Eastar convertible. China Car Times' headline asks, "The thinking man's Bentley?" Perhaps, if said man is doing his thinking after hitting the all-you-can-eat peyote buffet. Note the deftly-removed B-pillar and beautifully integrated extension between the front and rear doors, complete with a gap in the weatherstripping along the sills. Listen, we have no idea if this is some one-off novelty or something that's actually being considered. What we do know is that a Saabish-bodied 4-door luxo-vert with a Lexus-y nose and Mitsubishi Mirage rear end is exactly the kind of thing that makes following the Chinese auto industry so entertaining.


[Source: China Car Times]

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the ClubSport R8 Tourer

HSV's ClubSport R8 Tourer has officially arrived, giving our friends from Down Under the means to haul stuff, ass and any combination thereof as long as they part with $65K AUD. The super-duper Commodore SportWagon has got LS3 V8 power with 425 horses and 405 lb-ft of torque ready to transfer its rear tires to the ozone layer. To further underscore the undeniable awesomeness of this package, the standard gearbox is a six-speed manual. An automatic is available as an option, as are 20-inch wheels and a full-leather interior. Chances of us seeing this here? Essentially zero, since Pontiac is getting the Ute (G8 ST) instead of the wagon. That's just a shame. Sure, it's no Wagon Queen Family Truckster, but a hypothetical Pontiac G8 Safari GXP would deliver raucous fun for the whole family.


[Source: HSV]

Follow the jump to watch "Car of Tomorrow"

Hmmm, make that long weekend entertainment. Let's close out the theme of vintage car 'toons with one of the best of them all. Once again, Tex Avery dishes out the laughs with "Car of Tomorrow", an all-time great that, among other things, gleefully jokes about running down pedestrians ("Just let 'em try to get away") and pokes fun at those ever-decisive women drivers. Unfortunately, the embedded version after the jump is the censored edition of the cartoon. The P.C. police at Time Warner (which also owns this site's parent, AOL) evidently felt that America could no longer handle the Indian convertible (with a teepee top) and the "sport roadster that's popular in China" (it's a snazzy rickshaw) when the short aired as part of Cartoon Network's ACME Hour. Fortunately, you can still check out the original, uncensored version on the web; it's just not currently embeddable. Follow the jump to watch the final installment of this holiday weekend's impromptu nostalgia 'toon trilogy. This was fun. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

[Source: YouTube]

Follow the jump to watch "One Cab's Family"

Judging by your comments, watching "Susie the Little Blue Coupe" yesterday brought back memories for many of you. Another thing that became very apparent is that you also hold Tex Avery's 1952 short, "One Cab's Family" in extremely high regard, and commenter "raf 280z" stuck a link to it in the thread. Like Susie, the Cab family's story is an endlessly re-watchable classic. Mom and Dad taxi welcome their adorable little boy into the family garage (note the wallpaper border inside -- one of many great touches), but as junior gets older, he gets a little rebellious, and trouble follows -- big trouble. So, grab your kids, sit back and enjoy it after the jump. "Nurse, check his oil, fill 'im up with gas and we'll take him home!"

[Source: YouTube]

Follow the jump to watch the short

Thanks to frequent commenter and tipster "catgirlshyla" for sending in a link to Walt Disney's Susie the Little Blue Coupe, an animated short that originally debuted theatrically in 1952. As you can plainly see, the Disney/Pixar gang used Susie as the inspiration for how to give life to the rides in 2006's Cars -- eyes in the windshield; grilles and bumpers forming mouths. It's just as effective and charming (perhaps even more so) in decades-old hand-drawn animation as it is in 21st-century CGI. The story's very straightforward -- it chronicles Susie's life cycle from new car to used car to junk heap. Don't worry, there's still a happy ending -- it's vintage Disney, remember. Anyway, this is good stuff. Follow the jump and enjoy.

[Source: YouTube]

Inside Line has the skinny on BMW's new product unveils for the upcoming show season. Paris and L.A. are the headliners, with the City of Light chosen as the backdrop for the official public debuts of the all-new 7 series (including an ActiveHybrid variant) and facelifted 3 Series. While those cars will get their fair share of attention, all eyes will likely to be on the concept X1, which will also make its world debut in Paris.

The baby ute should be to the X3 what the 1 Series is to the 3. As for its "concept" status, if Bimmer concepts in recent years are any indication (think M5, Z4 Coupe, and M3), the X1 show car and production vehicle should be essentially one and the same. The next major unveiling involving a roundel-wearing car will take place this November in Los Angeles, where the redesigned Z4 will be introduced. According to Inside Line, it'll go on sale in January. As for the X1? Time will tell. Details on if and/or when it'll be offered in the States aren't available yet.

[Source: Inside Line]

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Audi R8 GT3 car

The courtship between Audi and GT3-class racing teams has officially begun with the automaker's announcement that it has developed a GT3 version of the R8 sports car dubbed "R16" internally by its project overlords at Audi Sport . The rear-drive racer (GT3 regulations prohibit AWD) features a six-speed sequential gearbox, mostly production-spec suspension components, plus an updated front end and a large rear wing designed to keep it planted to the tarmac. No additional tech specs have been revealed at this time. Factory driver Frank Biela was at the wheel for the prototype's roll-out, and customer deliveries are expected to take place next fall. Look for the car to see wheel-to-wheel action against the likes of the Aston Martin DBRS9 and Jaguar XKR GT3 during the 2009 European racing season. We patiently await its inclusion in a future Gran Turismo update so that we can try it out, too.


[Source: Audi]

Click above for hi-res gallery of the Lada C-Cross concept

The Moscow Auto Show is underway and Damon's on site with camera in hand. The car you see here is the Lada C-Cross Concept, which looks kinda like a Chinese knock-off of a last-gen Euro Ford Focus with added ground clearance. The C-Cross show car presumably gives a sneak peek at what a future AvtoVAZ car-based crossover might look like, and if we had to guess, a production version probably isn't too far off. We'll pass on it, though. Our hearts and minds forever belong to the Lada Niva, whose old-school looks are like visual comfort food. Plus, something tells us that this C-Cross thing wouldn't do nearly as well underwater.


[Source: The Auto Channel]

All photos Copyright ©2008 Damon Lavrinc / Weblogs, Inc.