Saturday 24 October 2015

Poll: Ford Focus RS or Honda Civic Type R?

Poll: Ford Focus RS or Honda Civic Type R?

Poll: Ford Focus RS or Honda Civic Type R?

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Two kings of the hot hatch realm battle it out in this week's AutoGuide.com poll.

Neither cars have been unleashed in the U.S. yet, but both will soon be terrorizing our streets and making much more expensive sports cars very nervous.

The Ford Focus RS was the subject of last week's poll, where we put it up against the BMW M2 … and the Ford won! This week, we put it up against the Civic Type R, a car fanboys have been drooling over since forever.

The Focus RS is an AWD, 350-horsepower hatch, and while the Civic is a front-driver with 306 hp, it's the fastest front-wheel drive car to ever go around the Nurburgring.

But which hot hatch would you rather have? Answer our poll below.

BUT FIRST: Read more about the Focus RS here and the Civic Type R here

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Auto Mechanics Help Recreate Famous Renaissance Paintings

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Talented photographer Freddy Fabris has recreated several world-famous Renaissance paintings with auto mechanics.

Blending two worlds that seemingly would never meet, considering automobiles didn't exist during the Renaissance period, Fabris enlisted the help of an old Midwest car shop to translate painting into photography.

"For many years, I wanted to pay homage the great Renaissance masters," explained Fabris on Huffington Post. "Translating painting into photography was a challenge I looked forward to. I wanted to respect the look and feel of the originals, but needed to come up with a conceptual twist that would create a new layer to the original. To take them out of their original context, yet maintain their essence.

SEE ALSO: BMW Art Car Collection Celebrates 40 Years

For inspiration, the photographer selected a few famous works of art including The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, The Anatomy Lesson by Rembrandt and The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. He then expanded the series with portraits inspired by Rembrandt.

[Source: Huffington Post]

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Petty’s Garage Creates 727-HP Hellcat-Hunting Ford Mustangs

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Petty's Garage has created a highly modified Ford Mustang GT King Edition that can have up to 727 horsepower.

That peak power isn't by coincidence, since the Dodge Hellcat models have 707 hp, meaning Petty's Garage's creations were built to bring "hell for some cats," as the company says. The custom Ford Mustangs will be offered in three editions: King, King Premier and King Premier convertibles. The standard King coupe will be limited to 243 units, while the King Premier coupe will see only 43 produced. The most limited of the three models will be the King Premier convertible, reserved for just 14 owners. Those interested can order the cars through a local Ford dealership.

Each model starts with a Ford Mustang GT before Petty's Garage adds a Ford Performance supercharger to the 5.0-liter V8 engine. Adding 235 hp, the supercharger brings the standard King model up to 670 and comes with a three-year, 36,000-mile warranty. Other modifications include custom engine calibration, a cold-air intake and a MagnaFlow exhaust. For those who want to conquer some Hellcats, a supercharger upgrade is available to bring performance to 727 hp.

SEE ALSO: Eight Custom Ford Mustangs Invading 2015 SEMA Show

The Ford Mustang GT King Edition from Petty's Garage will start from $67,495 while the King Premier has a $90,495 starting price. Justifying the larger price tag on the King Premier version are different HRE wheels, a big brake upgrade that includes six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers with two-piece rotors. Inside is leather-trimmed interior while the exterior gets a BASF custom tri-color stripe package featuring iconic Petty blue, red and white stripes.

Options for all three models include wheel bushings to minimize wheel hop and coilover racing suspension. Standard are HRE wheels in a 20×9- and 20×10-inch variety paired to Continental Extreme Performance summer tires. Extreme-duty TrakPak Ford Performance halfshafts along with three-way adjustable front and rear sway bars are also outfitted to every vehicle. The rear axle also receives an upgrade.

"I've always liked the look of the Mustang, and the 2016 model gives us a great base car to work with," said Richard Petty. "These new King edition Mustangs are pretty much the way I'd build my own. They are great fun to drive, and have a signature single exhaust."

Discuss this story on our Ford Mustang Forum

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Volkswagen Diesel Prices Drop 16 Percent: KBB

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A recently analysis shows that Volkswagen diesel vehicle prices have declined nearly 16 percent in the wake of its diesel scandal.

Kelley Blue Book examined average auction prices and new-car shopping activity on its website to see just how much Volkswagen diesel vehicles' prices have declined a month after the German automaker announced it cheated on EPA emissions tests. The average auction price of Volkswagen diesel models have dropped nearly 16 percent since the news broke while the average auction price of the company's gasoline-powered vehicles has declined 2.9 percent. New-car shopping activity on the affected TDI models has seen an average drop of 2.4 percent.

SEE ALSO: Volkswagen Confirms EA288 Diesel Engine Aren't Cheaters

Seeing the most significant declines in shopping activity were the Volkswagen Golf SportWagen and Golf models, dropping 6.2 and 3.7 percent, respectively. The only TDI models that saw an increase in activity were the Audi A3 and Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, jumping 1.6 and 3 percent, respectively. It's worth noting that Audi A3 shoppers are increasingly cross-shopping competing models such as the Lexus NX, BMW 2 Series and Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class.

"According to Kelley Blue Book Field Analysts, some auctions are still holding off on selling the affected Volkswagen inventory," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "While Volkswagen diesel auction prices are in decline, we could see larger fluctuations depending on how this inventory is handled."

Discuss this story our on Volkswagen Forum

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Mazda Ignition Switch Recall Affects 4.9M Older Vehicles

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Mazda has its own ignition switch call that affects 4.9 million older vehicles worldwide.

The Japanese automaker has announced that too much grease on electrical contact points in the ignition switches can carbonize and reduce electrical insulation. Over time, continuous use can cause electricity to flow between the points and make the switches overheat, potentially causing smoke or even a fire. In the U.S., 1.36 million vehicles are affected with the recall covering the 1990-1996 323 and Protege, 1993-1998 626, 1993-1995 929, 1993-1997 MX-6, 1989-1998 MPV and the 1992-1993 MX-3.

SEE ALSO: 2015-2016 Mazda3 Recalled for Potential Fire Risk

According to Mazda, the issue doesn't affect the cars' operation or safety devices and there have been no reported fires, crashes or injuries in the U.S. Worldwide however, there have been 13 reported fires but no injuries.

The automaker will start replacing ignition switches starting next month through its dealerships.

Discuss this story on our Mazda Forum

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Support this LEGO BMW E30 M3 Evo Right Now!

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The latest LEGO Idea that has grabbed our attention is a rad BMW E30 M3 Evo.

The concept was created by Amir Pasha and is currently gathering supporters and needs your help so that it can be produced. Like other LEGO Ideas, it needs 10,000 supporters before it gets approved and that's when a board of set designers and marketing representatives take a closer look at the idea to see if it's worth producing and selling. If the project makes it past the board, creators will work closely with LEGO to finalize the set, will receive royalties on sales and will be recognized as the product's creator.

SEE ALSO: Help Make the LEGO Ford GT a Reality

Unlike other LEGO Ideas we've seen, Pasha's E30 M3 has actually received a nod of approval on BMW's official Facebook page: "LEGO, we would also love to see the Lego E30 M3 realized, as Amir embodied the spirit of our classic BMW."

Pasha is a student studying mechanical engineering and hopes to one day build a real BMW E30 M3 of his own. For now, BMW owns his heart and you can help make one of his dreams a reality by supporting the project by clicking the source link below.

[Source: LEGO Ideas]

Discuss this story on our BMW Forum

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