Giving us all a little break from the green car parade at the LA Auto show, Porsche gave North America it's first look at the 2008 911 GT2. Based on the current 911 Turbo, the 911 GT2 is a beast, not designed for your average LA attorney. We had a few minutes with David Pryor Vice President of Marketing of Porsche Cars North America. David, a 911 driver, summed it up like this, "The GT2 is the perfect blend between the Porsche Turbo and the GT3." The GT3, At 415 horsepower, is the most powerful naturally aspirated six cylinder engine in any production car.

Continue reading "Green, Schmeen: Porsche Gives North America a look at the New 2008 911 GT2 at Los Angeles Auto Show" »

Posted by Dan Hall at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Giving us all a little break from the green car parade at the LA Auto show, Porsche gave North America it's first look at the 2008 911 GT2. Based on the current 911 Turbo, the 911 GT2 is a beast, not designed for your average LA attorney. We had a few minutes with David Pryor, Vice President of Marketing of Porsche Cars North America. David, a 911 driver, summed it up like this, "The GT2 is the perfect blend between the Porsche Turbo and the GT3. The GT3, at 415 horsepower, is the most powerful naturally aspirated six cylinder engine in any production car. The twin turbo GT2 has ONLY 530 horsepower.

Continue reading "LA Auto Show - Green, Schmeen: Porsche Gives North America a look at the New 2008 911 GT2" »

Posted by Dan Hall at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The LA Auto Show was beginning to feel a birthday party for Ed Begley. Fuel cells, hybrids, bluetec, plug-ins, clean diesel. How about a brief introductory course in the "New European Driving Cycle"? While technology is making green more interesting all the time, you can't replace horsepower with the warm and fuzzies of a green car. Thank God for Porsche. Certainly, our friends from Stuttgart won’t let us down. Wrong. Porsche came to the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show with a green pitch, albeit somewhat tempered.

Continue reading "Porsche Cayenne Hybrid Protoype" »

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The new Porsche Cayman is the Most Ideal Premium Sports Car in its first year on the market. Sports cars are not known for their functionality and utility, but are known for high image, high performance and sex appeal. Cayman delivers. As might be expected, the Cayman is highly rated for exterior styling and handling. As with virtually all Premium Sports Cars, more power is always better – and the Cayman is no exception.

Posted by Keagan Patrick at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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By winning the 2007 Ideal Vehicle Award, the Porsche Boxster wraps up a clean sweep of all three AutoPacific awards for the year – the Vehicle Satisfaction Award, the Motorist Choice Award with Intellichoice and the Ideal Vehicle Award. This sweep is extremely rare and was duplicated by only one other vehicle this year. The Boxster scores particularly well with respect to handling and also exterior size, passenger room and cargo space. The Boxster is top of its class in terms of power and acceleration, but the numbers tell the tale: more power please!

Posted by Keagan Patrick at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The Motorist Choice Award is in its second year and is a collaboration between AutoPacific and IntelliChoice.com. AutoPacific, widely known for its industry expertise and research, and IntelliChoice, known for its comprehensive cost of ownership information, designed the Motorist Choice Award to help consumers identify the most satisfying cars and trucks that are also the least expensive to own.

Using data from AutoPacific's national Vehicle Satisfaction research and the IntelliChoice Best Overall Value information, AutoPacific and IntelliChoice have developed a unique tool that can be used by consumers to help them sort through the myriad of choices in today's automotive marketplace.

Here are the 2007 Winners of the 25 individual segment awards:

SEGMENT - Winner

Aspirational Luxury Car - Lexus IS
Compact Car - Mazda3
Compact Crossover SUV - Chevrolet HHR
Compact Pickup - Toyota Tacoma
Compact Sport Utility/ORV - Toyota Tacoma
Economy Car - Honda Fit
Image Compact Car - Volkswagen GTi
Large Car - Toyota Avalon
Large Heavy Duty Pickup - Chevrolet Silverado HD
Large Light Duty Pickup - Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Large Luxury Car - Cadillac DTS
Large Sport Utility - GMC Yukon XL
Luxury Crossover SUV - Acura MDX
Luxury Mid-Size Car - Nissan Maxima
Luxury Sport Utility - Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Mid-Size Car - Volkswagen Jetta
Mid-Size Crossover SUV - Honda CR-V
Mid-Size Sport Utility - Toyota 4Runner
Minivan - Honda Odyssey
Premium Luxury Car - Lexus LS
Premium Mid-Size Car - Nissan Altima
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV - Nissan Murano
Premium Sports Car - Lexus SC
Sports Car - Porsche Boxster
Sporty Car - Scion tC

The press release can be found below the fold.

Continue reading "2007 Motorist Choice Awards Announced" »

Posted by George Peterson at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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AutoPacific Take on Porsche Boxster Win – In a close race with its sibling (the Porsche Cayman), owners rate the Boxster number one sports car in the 2007 Motorist Choice Awards®. They find the Boxster extremely fun to drive with excellent handling, braking, power and acceleration. Contributing to the win were owners ratings for overall quality, reliability/durability and reputation.

*Owners also rate drivers seat comfort as superior; but that rating may have been scored subsequent to the feel-good endorphins still being pumped into their brain just thinking about the excellent handling, braking, power and acceleration.

IntelliChoice take on Porsche Boxster win - The Porsche Boxster does not stand out within the ownership cost analysis, but neither does it sink. The Boxster performs well in both fuel and maintenance costs.

Posted by Keagan Patrick at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Porsche Boxster Wins AutoPacific 2007 Vehicle Satisfaction Award for Sports Car:

"Sports cars are supposed to be exhilarating to drive, but sometimes difficult to live with. Owners of the Porsche Boxster indicate it delivers on exhilarating, but is not difficult to live with," says AutoPacific president George Peterson. "Boxster owners rated their car highly for Power/Acceleration and Braking. But what might not be expected is that (relative to other vehicles in the segment) the Boxster was well rated for Cargo Space/Capacity, Cupholders (yes, cupholders!), and Interior Storage. Somebody in Stuttgart is listening!”

Posted by Keagan Patrick at 09:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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You could tell from the smiles on the faces of the suits from Cadillac that they had just come from something special. The Cadillac Escalade had just won the Playboy 2007 Car of the Year Award. Jim Taylor, Cadillac General Manager was lugging around a golden trophy with a totally blinged-out Playboy bunny glued to it and a discreet plaque proclaiming Escalade's win.

Playboy Magazine has just named their 2007 Cars of the Year. Included in this year's list were:

Playboy 2007 Car of the Year - BMW Z4 M

Best SUV - Cadillac Escalade
Best Sports Coupe - Porsche 911 Carrera
Best Bang for the Buck - Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500
The Al Gore Special - Lexus GS450h
Best Two-Way Player - Volkswagen Eos
Best Pickup - Toyota Tundra
Best Cross Dresser - Mazda CX-7
Best Roadster - Saturn Sky Red Line

Oh yeah, about the presentations. Apparently, a hostess Playmate gave the executives a tour around the Playboy Mansion. A former Playmate, the young lady was extremely well spoken, knew her stuff and presented Playboy in a very favorable light. What I'm saying is that she wasn't the airhead blonde bimbette that may have been expected at Playboy.

Posted by George Peterson at 02:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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2008 Porsche Cayenne Revealed in Detroit
Among the many introductions expected at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week is that of an updated Porsche Cayenne. The first real sports-car-meets-SUV gets new engines to go with minor styling changes that improve aerodynamic efficiency. The new Cayenne arrives in U.S. dealers in March 2007 for the 2008 model year. I, for one, am looking forward to driving these new, sleeker, more powerful versions of the Cayenne. While it's been several years since I've been behind the wheel of one, it took only one afternoon driving the Cayenne S and Turbo for me to appreciate the impulse that could lead to buying a $90,000 SUV. Adding horsepower and beefing up the available features list should make for an even nicer product.

Even with these changes, Cayenne is not likely to see its peak sales year again. Back in 2004, Porsche sold just over 18,000 Cayennes. Since then, sales have settled in the low teens. Though sales around 12,000 units annually is perhaps not so bad for a high-priced, niche vehicle, this facelift will do more to hold volumes than to increase Cayenne's overall sales.

The new engines are the most interesting elements of this change, as exterior tweaks don't go beyond new headlights, more heavily contoured wheel arches, a new diffuser-style apron and roof spoiler, and revised front air intakes. The new intakes improve air cooling and engine efficiency, of course. The air intakes are still different for each model and the new headlights are a smoother. These changes give each version of the Cayenne a better-integrated and less clumsy look between headlights and front fascia. Changes to the rear are more subtle, but the new taillamps and bigger rear spoiler make for a more purposeful look. For comparison, here are a couple of photos of the first Cayenne.

All three models, Cayenne, Cayenne S, and Cayenne Turbo, get more power and efficiency thanks to direct injection engines. Porsche's European press material estimates as much as 15 percent fuel savings in real-world driving. While Porsche's North American arm is holding U.S. specifications for the show itself, they will be similar to the European versions.

Continue reading "2007 Detroit Auto Show: Porsche Cayenne Has A New Face for the New Year" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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As LA celebrates the 100th Los Angeles Show, it’s fitting to be reminded that the historic Targa Florio (in Palermo, Sicily) and the LA Auto Show were was begun in that same year. With the launch of the 2007 Targa this weekend, Porsche thought they would do us the favor of reminding its USA audience of the history.

Created in 1906 by the wealthy automotive enthusiast and racer Vincenzo Florio, the Targa Florio was one of the oldest races in motor sports. The inaugural Targa Florio covered more than 270 miles on brutal mountain roads with multiple hairpin turns. Discontinued in 1977 due to safety concerns, it is still run as a rally race today

2007 Porsche 911 Targa

Today’s modern Targa is only slightly distinguishable from the 911 Coupe. In profile it can be identified by the aluminum trim that surrounds the daylight opening. The glass roof electronically slides under the rear glass for open top driving. In addition, the rear glass opens like a conventional hatchback.

2007 offers two firsts for Targa buyers. It is the first year that the panoramic roof has been featured on an all-wheel-drive version of the 911. Also, this is the first Targa to be offered with two engine options, a 325 horsepower 3.6 liter for the Targa 4 and a 355 horsepower 3.8liter for the Targa 4s.

Pricing for the 2007 Porsche 911 Targa 4 is $85,700 while the Targa 4S starts at $95,900.

Continue reading "LA Auto Show - 2007 Porsche 911 Targa" »

Posted by Dan Hall at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Automobile Magazine, hot on the heels of Autobytel, has just released their "2007 All-Stars Awards." Just as with the Autobytel Editors' Choice Awards, this is an award that you wonder what the validity is. Unlike the AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards and Ideal Vehicle Awards released each summer, Automobile's award does not factor consumer input into the equation. In fact, AutoPacific's awards are purely based on consumer ratings. Automobile's award reflects their own opinion. Not all bad, but when reviewing the results, it is wise to remember that these folks are enthusiast-biased to the max.

Automobile Magazine Announces Its 2007 All-Star Awards

November 29, 2006

Each year, the editors and bureau chiefs of Automobile Magazine convene to test, evaluate, and debate the performance, significance, and pure enthusiast appeal of the cars that have made the biggest impact.

“This year, we increased the number of All-Stars from six to 10, which reflects just how brilliantly the industry is doing at providing enthusiasts with even more choice,” said Gavin Conway, editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine. “As always, the hard part was deciding what to leave out of our constellation of All-Stars. In the end, these cars are what any connoisseur would have in their ‘dream garage.”

The 2007 Automobile Magazine All-Stars are:

* All-Star: Aston Martin V8 Vantage—This car could just about make the cut for its sensational looks alone, but it also offers a sublime driving experience and a truly inspirational engine.

* All-Star: BMW 3-Series—Remains one of the most complete cars on sale today, from its driving dynamics, quality of build, and the sheer pleasure of ownership it offers.

* All-Star: Chevrolet Corvette Z06—A friendly daily-driver that’ll leave Ferraris and Lamborghinis for dead, the Vette is an all-American hero.

* All-Star: Chrysler 300C—This one is a classic American: big V-8, rear-wheel drive, and a unique style that absolutely charms. Practical to own, too.

* All-Star: Honda Ridgeline—A clear winner with its unibody construction that gives a tight, rattle-free ride; Honda quality; and its very clever underbed trunk. [VehicleVoice note: Ridgeline had a sweep of all three AutoPacific awards for 2006... Vehicle Satisfaction Award, Ideal Vehicle Award and Motorist's Choice Award]

* All-Star: Infiniti G35—Thanks to its superbly balanced chassis, terrific grip, and a punchy powertrain, this car challenges the dominance of BMW’s 3-series.

* All-Star: Lotus Elise—An undiluted driving machine that deftly combines light weight, electrifying performance, and near-telepathic chassis response.

* All-Star: Mazda3—Terrific to drive, stylish, spacious, and capable of 155 mph in turbo guise, this proves that small cars can aspire to greatness.

* All-Star: Mercedes-Benz S-Class—One of the best-built luxury cars on sale at any price, its features technology that truly makes life easier and safer.

* All-Star: Porsche Cayman—With an extra-stiff structure, Porsche engineers were able to deliver stability, grip, ride, and composure that are just about unmatched.

Criteria and Evaluation

The Automobile Magazine All-Stars are chosen by its staff, its worldwide bureau chiefs, and its contributors, following an intensive test drive of the year’s most innovative and important new cars. Vehicles considered for the All-Stars awards combine the following traits:

* Redefines an existing category or creates a new market segment
* Provides excellent value and performance for the money
* Exhibits an exceptional design
* Offers pure driving enjoyment

Posted by George Peterson at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Closing time for Harrods department store in London is at 8PM on a Friday night. Across from its Hans Road entrance is a mediocre but well-positioned Italian restaurant Zia Teresa. VehicleVoice correspondents grabbed a table across from the Harrods' door that was a great venue for the supercar version of Detroit's Woodward Dream Cruise. Of course, none of these cars could drive more than about 20mph down the street that was a narrow single lane with cars parked on both sides.

A brief inventory included: 1 Bugatti Veyron, 2 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyders, 2 Lamborghini Gallardos, 2 Lamborghini Countachs, 2 Lamboghini Murcielagos, 1 Mercedes SLR McLaren, 2 Porsche Carrera GTs, 5 Aston Martin V8 Vantages, numerous Bentley Continental GTs, one Bentley Flying Spur in black with orange bodysides, a Morgan, many mundane Porsche 911s and Cayennes, more 2006/7 Mercedes S-Classes than could be counted. Oh yeah, there were a couple of vintage Daimler limousines carrying shoppers to and from Harrod's.

Why this proliferation of super iron? Apparently, because of the difficulties in Lebanon, many vacationers from the Middle East opted for London this year. Where they congregated in the Edgeware Road area in previous years, this year their loci is Harrod's. A high percentage of the supercars were left hand drive with Arabic number plates. Probably air-freighted from Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Dubai.

Parked at the curb (kerb), Veyron shared space with a bicycles and chauffer-driven Range Rover in the background.

SLR illegally parked at end of Hans Road attracted dozens of admirers most taking mobile phone photos. SLR in the flesh and in traffic was underwhelming.

Getting even more attention than the SLR was this red Carrera GT with Arabic plates (SLR and Veyron also had Arabic plates). Note the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder cruising by in background.

Down the street, around the curve, there were more Lamborghinis parked in a two block area than would be seen in Turin at any one time.

Posted by George Peterson at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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With over 40 years of evolution and racing pedigree the 911 is the 2006 Ideal Sports Car. Owners acknowledge the ideal characteristics of the 911 and call for the least amount of change as a testament to the German engineering coming out of Weissach. Porsche 911 owners, while preferring more power and acceleration (what a surprise!), gave it top results for passenger area, comfort, and visibility.

Posted by Keagan Patrick at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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An “ideal” is defined as an excellent or perfect example. In the first Ideal Vehicle Awards, announced today by automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific, owners rate their new 2006 model year cars and trucks by how closely they come to their ideal. The cars or trucks that owners would change the least are the most ideal.

Those carmakers that best understand their customers and create the vehicle their core buyer group desires has come closest to the ideal.

The top-rated vehicle and top-rated car is the Mercury Montego in the Large Car/Luxury Car category. In fact, Ford Motor Company sweeps the first three positions overall with the Ford Crown Victoria and Ford Five Hundred in second and third place. The top-rated truck is the Honda Odyssey Minivan.

The top-rated brand overall is Hyundai out-pointing Mercury and Lincoln for the most ideal vehicle honors.

Ford Motor Company and American Honda have three segment winners apiece. BMW and Hyundai have two each.

Of the sixteen Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA) categories, Japanese brands have seven segment winners, American brands have four, European brands have three and Korean brands have two winners.

The top-rated product segment is Large Car/Luxury Car confirming that Americans continue to value large, comfortable cars suitable for suburban and highway cruising.

Top-rated 2006 Ideal Vehicle brand: Hyundai
Top-rated 2006 Ideal Product Segment: Large Car/Luxury Car

Top rated 2006 Ideal Vehicles by segment:

PASSENGER CARS:
Premium Luxury Car: Lexus LS
Entry Luxury Car: BMW 3-Series
Large Car/Luxury Car: Mercury Montego
Premium Mid-Size Car: Hyundai Sonata
Mid-Size Car: Mercury Milan
Image Compact Car: Toyota Prius
Compact Car: Ford Focus
Sports Car: Porsche 911
Sporty Car: Acura RSX

SUT, SUV, and MINIVAN:
Sport Utility Truck: Honda Ridgeline
Luxury Sport Utility: BMW X5
Large Sport Utility: GMC Yukon
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility: Nissan Murano
Mid-Size Sport Utility: Hyundai Santa Fe
Compact Sport Utility: Subaru Forester
Minivan: Honda Odyssey

In addition to identifying segment winners, IVA also establishes numerical ideal vehicle ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck (except pickups) in the United States market. This results from calculating owner input across 11 specific areas related to a vehicle's exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver’s seat comfort, drivers seat visibility, interior technology, power, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments and tires and wheels. The 2006 ratings reflect input from buyers and lessees of new vehicles acquired September 2005 through January 2006. Pickup trucks are not incorporated because of numerous body styles included within each pickup line.

Posted by George Peterson at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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U.S. Sales in Summer 2006
Introduced at the 2006 Geneva auto show were the latest (997-generation, for those Porschephiles out there) 911 Turbo and 911 GT3. Sales in the States begin in summer 2006 for the Turbo and August for the GT3, with a base price of $122,900 for the Turbo and $106,000 for the GT3. Though we did not make Geneva this year, AutoPacific and VehicleVoice contributors did get the chance to see the Turbo in New York, and it looks terrific in the tin. For those who can afford it, this is a very nice Porsche summer, fuel cost be damned!

Continue reading "Porsche 911 Turbo and Porsche 911 GT3: $100,000 Fun for 2007" »

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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What a way to start the year and get the folks at VehicleVoice salivating! At the 2006 Los Angeles auto show, an appropriate venue given both Southern California's obsession with cars as status symbols and the proportion of customers who might be able to afford the $111,600 price tag, Porsche unveiled a 520HP version of its Cayenne, using the same 4.5L V8 as the Cayenne Turbo. Torque also gets a similar boost to 530 lb.-ft., with at least 510 of that available from 2500 past 5000 rpm. Porsche claims a 0-to-60-mph time of 4.8 seconds. Among the specific engine updates are larger intercoolers that increased cooling efficiency enough to increase turbo boost pressure.

The extra power comes with a modified suspension, revised Porsche Active Suspension Management software, more substantial braking power, and an optional exterior body kit. The Turbo S gets twenty-inch wheels, though there are two wheel designs to choose from.

We can't wait to drive one!

Posted by Stephanie Brinley at 07:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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