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2008 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet - Official Photos & Info - Car News

2007-05-08T01:31:00.020-07:00

We almost didn’t write about this car since, well, there’s so little cutting-edge news here, but then we said, “What the heck?” since it’s such good eye candy. So here goes:

Hear ye! Hear ye! Behold the 2008 Porsche 911 Turbo cabriolet! A car that looks, well, like a 911 Turbo with the standard 911 cabriolet’s fabric top! Woo-woo!

Okay, however unsurprised we may be with the Turbo cab’s appearance, it’s not as if we’re not salivating. We find the 911 Turbo cabriolet as delicious as the current 911 Turbo coupe. The convertible will be powered by the same frighteningly powerful 480-hp 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six as the coupe and offered with the same choice of six-speed manual or Tiptronic S automatic transmission.

The additional weight and rigidity compromises of the convertible will dampen performance just a tad, with only a claimed 150-pound weight gain. When the hardtop is capable of a 3.4-second sprint to 60 mph, who are we to bicker about a few 10ths when the sun is beaming on our smiling faces?

Slated to be released this September, the 911 Turbo will be Porsche’s fastest open-topped car since last year’s $440,000 Carrera GT, and the most expensive car in Porsche’s current lineup. Base price in Europe will be equivalent to roughly $172,000, a $30k smack above the previous generation car, so we fully expect its U.S. price to be lower than that.

Spied: 2009 Hummer H3 SUT - Car News

2007-05-08T01:31:00.019-07:00

Not a moment too soon, Hummer is adding more variations of its smallest and most-fuel-efficient model, the H3. First is the upcoming V-8–powered 2008 H3 Alpha. Next up: the long-awaited H3 pickup, likely to be called the “H3 SUT” or the “H3T.”

The H3 pickup should hardly come as a surprise; after all, the baby Hummer was first previewed as a pickup, the H3T concept, back in 2004 at the Los Angeles auto show. That truck had only two-doors and a conventional-length bed. The production version, however, clearly reflects the market’s taste for crew-cab pickups over standard-cab pickups.

Built on a wheelbase that’s been stretched about a foot, the H3 SUT is more or less identical to the H3 SUV from the B-pillar forward, but aft of that, you’ll find longer rear doors and a pickup bed that measures about four feet wide by four and a half feet long. The open-box version features a side-hinged tailgate that swings open from the right side (the closed version features a similar design). It’s possible, however, that the truck’s tailgate could fold down as well, as seen on the Honda Ridgeline and the ill-fated GMC Envoy XUV. That could also explain why the spare tire is mounted beneath the cargo area rather than on the tailgate.

It’s unclear what changes are in store for the H3’s cramped five-passenger cabin, particularly for the rear seat, but it appears that, if anything, the rear seat could grow a tad. Certainly, that seat will fold flat to create more cargo space. Also enhancing the trucklet’s versatility are several removable accessory cargo compartments ranging from small to large. Unknown at this point is whether the H3 SUT will feature a folding middle gate à la H2 SUT or if it will be offered with a full-length fabric roof like the H3 Open Top concept (which GM has yet to approve for production). And, GM, if you’re listening, please, please, please, offer something like that ribbed-fabric cargo-box cover that’s trying—unsuccessfully—to mask this prototype’s tush. We can’t figure out which it reminds us of more: a 19th-century chuck wagon or a M*A*S*H-era Jeep. But we do know we completely dig it.

What we’re sure we’ll see when the H3 SUT arrives in the fall of 2008 is a choice of engines, including the 3.7-liter inline five-cylinder, which currently makes 242 horsepower and 242 pound-feet of torque in the standard H3, and the newly installed aluminum-block 5.3-liter V-8 from the H3 Alpha, where it produces 295 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque.

All H3 variants will share a four-speed automatic transmission and, of course, Hummer-grade off-road capability (just look at those approach and departure angles!). We don’t expect much to change in terms of towing capability, which maxes out at 6000 pounds for the V-8 model and 4000 for the inline-five. Curb weight will probably rise about 300 to 400 pounds over that of the current H3, which tips the scales at a none-too-dainty 4800 pounds.

With this fall’s introduction of the V-8–powered H3 Alpha and the H3 SUT coming not long after, it appears Hummer finally has its priorities straight. What has taken so long for these promising new models to sprout, you ask? Hummer claims that since the launch of the H3 GM has channeled the brand’s resources toward introducing Hummers to dozens of overseas markets heretofore untrampled by them—at least not civilian versions. Not coincidentally, Hummer also recently ramped up production of yet another H3 variant, the right-hand-drive H3, at its plant in Struandale, South Africa, for the market there as well as Japan, the U.K., and Australia, to name a few.

How to Deal with Emotional Eating

2007-05-08T01:31:00.018-07:00

Why It Matters
Emotional eating can sabotage your weight management efforts. Getting a handle on your tendency to eat in response to emotions can be one of the most important factors in achieving long-term weight loss success.

What it Is
Sometimes, the desire to eat has nothing to do with a pesky rumbling in your stomach telling you that you need to eat. We get a strong longing for foods -- particularly fattening, comforting foods -- when emotions spike or plummet. We want to eat and (we think) nothing else will do.

How it Happens
For some, it takes a major event to trigger emotional eating -- getting fired or going through a divorce; for others, it's a constant struggle: the traffic on the way to work; the jammed photo copier; a tough day at the office the daily grind can lead to a seemingly unbreakable habit of turning to food to make it all better.

A Vicious Cycle
The worst part about emotional eating is it actually causes your problems to multiply. Eventually, instead of avoiding the issues you're stuffing down with food, you've created another one altogether -- weight gain, guilt about eating, worsening health ... and then it starts all over again.

Five Steps to End Emotional Eating
If you tend to give in to emotional eating, there are a few tactics you can use to regain control of your eating habits and get back on track.
Step One: Identify Your Triggers Learn How
Step Two: Recognize Hunger Signals Learn How
Step Three: Limit Trigger Foods Simply stop stocking your fridge and pantry with the foods you binge on.
Step Four: Don't Skip Meals Skipping meals almost always leads to over-eating.
Step Five: Create Alternatives to Eating Whether it's a bubble bath or curling up with a good book, planning other activities will help you relax and avoid binges.

Don't Give Up
When you trip up -- because you will (We all do!), don't give up. Forgive yourself and start over the next day. Learning from your mistakes and focusing on the positive will go along way in ensuring your continued weight loss success.

How to Calculate Your Caloric Intake and Use it to Lose Weight

2007-05-08T01:31:00.017-07:00

It's Relative
Technically, there's no magic number of calories we should all eat each day to lose weight. While most people can lose weight eating around 1,500 calories, you can assess your own personal caloric needs with a little math.

Why Estimate Your Caloric Needs?
To estimate how many calories you should consume in order to maintain your weight, you'll need to do a little math. By using a simple formula called the Harris-Benedict principle, you can assess your basal metabolic rate -- also known as your BMR.
(Then, to lose weight, you'll need to cut calories or burn extra calories and shoot for a level lower than the results you get with this formula.)

Calculate Your BMR
Your BMR is the amount of energy your body needs to function.We use about 60 percent of the calories we consume each day for basic bodily functions such as breathing.
Other factors that influence your BMR are height, weight, age and sex.
Step one is to calculate your BMR with the following formula:Calculate Your BMRYour BMR is the amount of energy your body needs to function.
Women:655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Men:66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
Please note that this formula applies only to adults.

Calculate ActivityStep two: In order to incorporate activity into your daily caloric needs, do the following calculation:
If you are sedentary : BMR x 20 percent
If you are lightly active: BMR x 30 percent
If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): BMR x 40 percent
If you are very active (You exercise intensely on a daily basis or for prolonged periods.): BMR x 50 percent
If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): BMR x 60 percent
Add this number to your BMR.
The result of this formula will be the number of calories you can eat every day and maintain the weight you are currently at. In order to lose weight, you'll need to take in fewer calories than this result.
As you lose weight, you can re-calculate the formula to assess your new BMR.

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2007-05-08T01:31:00.010-07:00

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2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster ?Official Photos & Info - Car News

2007-05-07T22:45:00.003-07:00

Usually, automakers debut important or exciting new cars at a major auto show, all the better to drum up consumer interest, my dear. We expected the same to be true of Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming SLR McLaren roadster.

Twas not to be, however. Just as the day was winding down and we were rinsing our coffee mugs after another productive day, Outlook perked up with this little tidbit: the first official photos and information on the SLR McLaren roadster.

When we were all partying like it was 1999 (because it was), Mercedes-Benz teased us with not one, but two mouth-watering Vision SLR supercar concepts. One had a roof, the other was a convertible. The Vision SLR coupe eventually became the stupidly fast and stratospherically priced SLR McLaren coupe, which Mercedes-Benz builds with racing partner McLaren Cars.

Now, four years into its product cycle, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren are finally giving their SLR coupe a droptop playmate, to be called the SLR McLaren roadster, and slated for sale this fall.
The just-revealed roadster, built at McLaren’s Formula 1 factory in Woking, England, will spawn one of only a handful of droptops ever to break the 200-mph barrier. It could prove to be the fastest open-topped automobile ever sold in this country by a major manufacturer when it appears on our shores as a 2008 model.

The SLR roadster will be pretty much identical to the current SLR McLaren coupe in terms of its lovely long-nose proportions and front and rear styling. It will also share the hardtop’s carbon-fiber monocoque chassis, carbon-fiber body panels, and cool butterfly doors. A semiautomatic fabric top (opens in fewer than 10 seconds), as opposed to a heavier retractable hardtop, will be fitted in the interest of cost saving.
Good thing, because we figure a premium of about 10 percent over the coupe’s $455,750 starting price. Although we can swing $499,000, once we crest that half-million mark, the missis is going to start nagging about dipping into the kids’ college fund.
Expect little or no diminution of performance from the 617-hp, 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 with 575 pound-feet of torque that powers the SLR hardtop. Mercedes is claiming a 0-to-60 time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 207 mph for the roadster, with an AMG Speedshift R five-speed automatic transmission.
The carmaker also promises the ability to converse at speeds above 120 mph with the top down, courtesy of its “aeroacoustics.” We imagine such conversations starting with “yeah, baby” and ending with “hope that wasn’t a speed trap.”
As appropriate as it would be to offer the roadster in the intensified 641-hp “722” guise—considering the original 1955 Mercedes-Benz SLR racer that Stirling Moss drove to victory in the Mille Miglia three consecutive years was actually a roadster—Mercedes disclosed no such plans.

2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake - Car News

2007-05-07T22:45:00.002-07:00

When is one more too many? After a six-pack? A twelve-pack? Eighteen? A fifth? Ford seems to be seeking an answer to that question as it pertains to special-edition Mustangs, with the announcement of another step-up in power—two steps, really.

Less than one month has passed since Ford and Shelby released the GT500KR (pictured above and in photo gallery) that we said would “rule over all Mustangdom, or at least until the next special edition comes along.” Well, the King of the Road’s rule was shorter than William Harrison’s 31-day presidency (he caught pneumonia while giving his inauguration speech). At least the KR didn’t have to die when it gave up its throne.

So what does it take to relegate the King to mere stable boy? A horsepower total in excess of 600—Ford is avoiding specifics for now—ought to do it right snappy-like. Ford Racing parts are to thank for the power boost, as well as improved handling. A supercharger upgrade kit squeezes that extra power from the blown 5.4-liter V-8, and a handling package includes adjustable dampers, lowering springs, stabilizer bars, and a front strut-tower brace. Externally, the Super Snake (pictured right) will resemble a GT500KR with different rocker stickers.

Interestingly, Shelby claims another tuning package will push this Mustang to “over 725” horsepower but gives no further details.

If the name “Super Snake” sounds familiar, that’s most likely because a car with the same name was the headliner at Barrett-Jackson last January. That Supersnake was once Carroll Shelby’s personal Cobra, modified with two superchargers capable of making the scenery really blurry. Eight hundred horsepower was the official output.

Shelby built a similar 800-hp Cobra for Bill Cosby, who wisely sold the car before it killed him. A subsequent owner lacked that foresight and used the car to commit involuntary suicide shortly after acquiring it. Barrett-Jackson managed to set a record for American cars by selling Shelby’s Supersnake for $5.5 million.

Dodge has already announced that the 2008 Viper will have 600 horsepower, and the only people not talking about the 650-hp Corvette SS/Z07/Stingray/Blue Devil are the ones at Chevrolet who still think the car is a secret. As Ford’s only representative in the sports-car arena (unless you count bewinged Focuses with fart-can exhausts), the Mustang arguably had no choice.

It seems silly to one-up your own product, especially one called the “King,” before a single order has been filled. But hey, we’re no marketing geniuses, and as long as there are 600-hp cars being built, we’ll be happy to drive them.
Production of the Super Snake will begin in late 2007 at a price yet to be determined, but plan on paying Viper-level money for Viper-level power.

2007 Chevrolet Tahoe Review

2007-05-07T22:45:00.001-07:00

Chevrolet Tahoe – Review: The current generation Chevy Tahoe is so much better than the vehicle it replaces, it’s hard to believe they both came from the same company. Improved dynamically, stylistically, and in virtually every subjective and objective measure, Chevy’s full-size sport ute leaps to the head of the class, outdone only by its GMC and Cadillac stablemates. It’s not perfect, and the faults it has can be glaring, but overall, if you’re a boat-towing, motorcycle-hauling, big family-having, don’t-give-a-damn-about-gas-prices type, it’s hard to find a better overall choice. The biggest shame, of course, is that this best Tahoe ever may be something of a swan song, as the popularity of full-size SUVs is fading in light of politics and gas prices.

Our test vehicle was a loaded 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ, with few if any options left unchecked. The basic LT costs $39,320 (including a $900 destination charge), for which you get air conditioning, power everything, tilt steering, a 5.3-liter flex-fuel V8 engine connected to a four-speed automatic, and a towing package. The $8,860 LTZ package adds a power rear liftgate, leather upholstery, three-zone automatic climate control, 20-inch wheels and chrome grille and exterior trim among many other features. Our test vehicle also featured the $2,250 navigation system, the $1,295 rear seat DVD entertainment system, a $995 sunroof and the exceptionally helpful $250 rear view camera system. The total came to an eye-popping $52,970.

The 5.3-liter flex-fuel engine in our test Tahoe musters a respectable 320 horsepower and 340 lb.-ft. of torque. Floor it and you get acceptable acceleration, and there’s enough grunt down low to keep you pretty satisfied, but the problem is the old-school four-speed automatic. Though once four speeds were plenty, today Chevy’s lagging behind the five and six speeds of other manufacturers; a six-speed is coming, and it can’t happen too soon. The transmission is slow to downshift, and when it does, it’s with more lurching than today’s standards allow. Although this V8 features GM’s active cylinder management, which shuts down half the cylinders under light throttle and deceleration, we still recorded lousy economy of only 13.3 mpg.

Oh, c’mon. You don’t expect a 5,537-lb. body-on-frame sport utility to actually handle, do you? It’s not a backroad brawler, but its freeway and around town ride is excellent, and its relatively small turning circle helps with maneuverability. There’s very little body-on-frame jitter. We took the Tahoe on our favorite fire roads, a death-defying cakewalk for this four-wheel drive truck. Aside from the low-hanging chin spoiler and runningboards, it’s obvious the Tahoe is otherwise equipped for much more ambitious terrain. It easily absorbed the washboards and ruts on our trail, and was so untaxed that it wasn’t until the end of the drive that we realized we had somehow accidentally switched the drivetrain to two-wheel drive.

The view out the front of the Tahoe is commanding, and clearly one of the reasons people buy these kinds of vehicles in the first place. The big side mirrors aid in lane changes, although it’s a truck like this where a blind spot indicator like Volvo’s BLIS system would be most helpful. A quick over-the-shoulder gives you a view of thick pillars and headrests blocking the rear view; add people into the mix and you’re suddenly really glad those mirrors are so big. Watching a movie on the ceiling-mounted DVD screen renders the rearview mirror useless. The reverse camera and parking assist sensors simplify reversing, with the rear view duplicated in the navigation screen.

Driving the Tahoe at speed on anything twisty isn’t fun, and losing drag races to grannies in Buick Roadmasters isn’t much fun, either. However, if you’re cruising on your way to your favorite camping spot and have to bomb around off the beaten path to get there, or if you’re towing your boat out to the river for a weekend of splashtastic bliss, the Tahoe is fun by extension. And we’ll admit, the big ugly American in us kinda digs the guilty pleasure of driving something this big and thirsty. Then again, we get to expense our fuel bill.

Opinion:If only it had the acceleration you’d expect from a big V8-powered truck. It isn’t disappointing, it’s merely passable. But I’d think twice before I considered the vehicle in front of me passable. Chevy has done a great job of masking the typical handling characteristics of a truck, narrowing it to a slight vibration in the steering wheel. Except for the large step to get into the Tahoe, passengers won’t be able to tell if they are riding in a truck or a moderately priced luxury vehicle. The leather seats are comfortable and with the entertainment package it’s a great choice for long road trips. Perfect for ski getaways or towing your toys to the river or desert in comfort.

First Drive: 2008 Audi A5 and S5 - Previews

2007-05-05T02:54:00.000-07:00

By now, you’ve no doubt seen numerous pictures of Audi’s scrumptious new A5 and S5 coupes. Nice to look at, sure, but the question is whether Audi’s slinky sexpots are the kind of girls you want to have kids with, or the type that you’re better off just, um, you know.
Well, after sampling the pair for a day along the perilously twisty mountain roads of northern Italy, we’re making plans to expand the nursery, because these are the marrying types. They are not only splendid to behold but also bestowed with quite a dowry of luxury features and genuine talent on the road.

A Two-Door Coupe—What a Concept

Built on the next-generation A4 platform, dubbed B8, the A5 and S5 are long and wide, with a coupelike roofline and—what’s this?—a coupelike door count! Thank you, Audi, for reminding us of something that Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and certain others seem to have forgotten: coupes are cars with only two doors, period. As such, “duoportes” such as the A5 appeal only to specific types of people whose lifestyles do not include carpooling and who do not slog such things as other peoples’ kids, slobbering St. Bernards, or corn-fed colleagues. Coupes are for one person or one pair, and seldom more. They are personal and intimate; a reward, not an appliance.

A5: Stylish First
Emotional creatures that they are, coupes tend to be stylish first, and the A5 is no exception. It is breathtaking in pictures, but even more so on the road. Walter de’Silva’s talented team has tastefully advanced Audi’s passenger-car design beyond the current level that most already consider as tasteful and advanced as any in the automotive world. Gone is the semicircular roofline we’ve come to expect for the past decade, replaced by one with a more formal treatment for the rear-quarter glass (necessary to accommodate the heads of the rearmost pair of the A5’s infrequent quartet of passengers). The design departure on the roofline is somewhat of a surprise. That it is so gracefully applied is not.

The new nose—complete with soon-to-be-ubiquitous LED running lamps—is blunt and broad yet as sultry as Angelina Jolie 30 seconds after her wake-up call. On the A5, Audi’s single-frame grille finally seems natural, either because we’ve become accustomed to it, or because Audi’s other new coupes, the 2008 R8 and the 2008 TT, have made it look so good. The S5, of course, is a bit snootier in appearance with its egg-crate detailing and squared-off air intakes.
All that said, what is most distinctive on the new coupes is the character line that rises over the fenders to accentuate the big wheels, which measure 18 inches on the A5, 19 on the S5. The longer wheelbase and the longitudinal engine mounting allow for proportions nearly as correct as, say, those of the new Jaguar XK, only with tidy, BMW 3-series–like dimensions. And its unexpected width—something also likely to characterize the next A4—is quite evident from behind, where horizontal lamps and wide-set tailpipes accentuate the car’s girth. From every angle, it works. Very, very well.

A Driver’s Car Second
Now, to say the A5 is stylish first and a driver’s car second is no insult. It’s hard for any engine to outshine the sheer sex appeal of that luscious bod, and we knew this would be the case since we ran our first A5 spy shots months ago. But just how close the performance of the A5 and S5 comes to matching their beauty was a real surprise, with nearly faultless road manners and strong acceleration from the A5 and its 3.2-liter FSI (direct-injection) V-6, which is tuned to produce 265 horsepower in U.S. trim. Life is even better, of course, with the S5, which comes to the party with a 354-horse version of Audi’s versatile 4.2-liter FSI V-8. Torque comes in at 243 pound-feet between 3000 and 5000 rpm for the A5 and 325 pound-feet at 3500 for the S5.
On our brief drive of the A5 and S5, both with manual transmissions, we were thrilled. Audi’s 0-to-60-mph acceleration claims of 6.1 seconds for the A5 and 5.1 for the S5 are more than believable. Adding to the fun was the S5’s exhaust note, which was alarmingly (and addictively) loud, bellowing its song at a volume no one would expect from a car so well dressed (maybe it could teach the RS 4 to sing).

Even better, the engine’s longitudinal orientation and relocation farther back in the chassis optimize weight distribution, resulting in markedly better behavior than offered by the current nose-heavy A4/S4 sedans. Interestingly, however, in spite of its stickier tires and larger wheels, the heavier S5 seems to push a touch more in corners. Moreover, the standard-fare A5 surprised us with a more satisfying steering effort than provided by its more powerful brother, which is somewhat lighter than we’d like at any given speed. Brakes, as expected in any car of this caliber, are entirely competent and exhibited not a trace of fade along northern Italy’s twisty declines, where many an ancient Alfa (or lumbering livestock) might be asserting its God-given right to park itself in the middle of the road around any given bend.

Perfect Driving Position
As expected, the interior is a fabulous place to spend time while you discover what new things Audi has learned from BMW in terms of handling. The sport seats hold the driver firmly in place regardless of whether you are in the A5’s luxury-oriented leather chairs or the S5’s standard Recaros. Mucho aluminum trim has been smattered about, and we’re particularly fond of the A5’s take on Audi’s “teardrop” gauges. As with most of its competitors, the A5 won’t be a prom-night enabler on account of its snug (although ergonomically correct) back seat. Helping matters somewhat is the vast amount of light allowed through its tilting (but not sliding) optional glass sunroof.
An electronic parking brake and a push-button ignition system are standard equipment. The A5 also becomes the second model to offer the audio stimulation of a Bang & Olufsen speaker system (sans the cool pop-up tweeters of the S8). And, of course, the capable but complex MMI is there to serve and confuse.

Model Availability
The first to go on sale will be the S5, which arrives this fall with a six-speed manual transmission. The S5 will get a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters in the second quarter of 2008, at which point the A5 will join in with both transmissions. Audi’s latest iteration of Quattro all-wheel drive will come standard on all with a 40/60 front-to-rear torque split.
Even when pressed, Audi reps are still vague as to when the A4 cabriolet might defer to a convertible version of the A5, although it seems inevitable. There’s even talk of a five-door A5 “spaceback” model sometime thereafter. We also wouldn’t be surprised if an RS 5 appeared sometime during the 2009 model year with the RS 4’s direct-injected 4.2-liter V-8 with 420 horsepower.
The A5 will be priced around $45,000, plus options, when it lands next year. If you absolutely have to have one by the end of the year, prepare to shell out well over $50,000 for an S5, which, frankly, is a bargain for such a high-level combination of speed, style, luxury, and sex appeal. Get your ass in line. Behind us.