It Makes a Fine 3-Series Alternative..

After an extensive redesign for the 2009 model year, Infiniti has decided that the 2010 G37 sports sedan only needed minor trim and cosmetic enhancements. But don’t cry into your Corn Flakes just yet. Despite fierce competition in its segment, the Infiniti G37 sedan still stands as one of the best entry level luxury cars on the market today.

Both great looking and fun to drive, the Infiniti G37 is one of the few Japanese luxury sports sedans that can claim to threaten the crown of the iconic BMW 3-series. Both offer sweet shifting manual transmissions, both have rear wheel drive (with awd optional) and both offer two door and folding hardtop convertible variants. The big difference is that the BMW costs a whole heck of a lot more for the 3-series than Infiniti charges for the G37.

Here are five reasons you might want to buy an Infiniti G37.

More Power—If the Infiniti G37 is one thing it is very generous with horsepower. Whereas you have to order the far more expensive BMW 335i to get 300 horsepower, each and every G37 driver gets 328 horsepower as standard. If that much power isn’t enough for you maybe you should seek professional counseling. The only problem is that with power this effortless the Infiniti G37 might ruin you for any other cars.

Refined Interior—No matter which color leather or trim option you choose, the interior of the G37 always looks like a class act. The 2009 redesign saw a big improvement in interior styling and the optional wood trim actually looks like real wood—not something you would ever say about the interior of a Lexus. For sportier drivers there is also polished aluminum look trim that gives the interior a more modern and futuristic appearance.

Every year Car and Driver selects the 10 Best cars of the year. Winners typically range from high end cars such as the Porsche 911 Turbo on down to the lowly Honda Civic. Perennial winners include the BMW 3 Series and the Honda Accord. The cars selected are the best overall cars in any class for any given year. This year, Car and Drivers has selected the Ford Fusion Hybrid as a Best winner.

The Fusion Hybrid is the only hybrid car to make this year’s list. As Car and Driver magazine notes, “It’s an unlikely claim, but the Ford Fusion Hybrid is in fact the most advanced car on this list. Through the body of this unpretentious family sedan runs the sturdiest bridge between the tech of the 20^th century and that of the 21^st.”

The Fusion gained the award for numerous reasons. Car and Driver cited the car’s intelligent power tracking gauge display and the constant challenge to achieve the highest mileage numbers possible as both interesting and entertaining. The Fusion offers the best of both worlds. It can be driven for fun or for mileage. The car really requires no sacrifices as it handles sufficiently to offer fun driving and performs admirably.

The ability of a car to combine elements of fun driving with everyday practicality are rare. Few cars can offer up a combination of these attributes. The Fusion does it with ease. The car can easily return 41 mpg if driven with economy in mind and likewise provides strong acceleration and precise handling when required.

As Car and Driver magazine said, “Fuel economy numbers, handling, ride, interfaces-there is only virtue, no vice, making the Fusion Hybrid the most mainstream and thus the most important alt-fuel car on the road. We admire it as much for what it isn’t (polarizing, showy, cramped) as for what it is.”

Back in 1965 Ford motor company introduced a new car to do battle with the Chevrolet Corvette, this car was called the Mustang, Chevrolet realized an opportunity to introduce a new car of their own to do battle with the mustang, this car would be released to the public in 1967, and called the camaro.

This started the pony car era of the muscle car wars, a pony car was a smaller version of a muscle car, a muscle car was usually defined as a full sized car, like an Impala, or a Chevelle, with a large powerful engine installed in it.

But this wasn’t the idea behind the pony car, the idea behind the pony car was to shave a few pounds off of a muscle car, and leave the big powerful V8 engine in the car to gain an extra advantage, and it worked like a charm, these car did exactly what they were supposed to.

When the motor companies trimmed this extra weight off of the car it produced a car with a shorter and wider look, which basically made the new car have the appearance of a sports car, combined with a muscle car, and these car sold like wild fire.

After a the dealers seen how these cars were selling they began to build their own special versions of them, the dealers stepped forward with the creations that would turn in to American’s most powerful car ever built, they had also added options like all aluminium engines to trim more weight off of these cars.

It was about to create cars like the Shelby GT 350-H Mustang, and the Shelby GT 500-H Mustang, both of these cars came as a standard version, and a -KR version which was much more radical of a car, the -KR stands for race.

I’m sure you’ve seen the movie gone in 60 seconds, the Mustang that Nickolas Cage drove was a GT 500 – H Mustang, these cars turned out to be the cream of the crop in muscle cars for the Ford motor company, they were not your normal muscle cars.

In the spirit of competition the Chevrolet dealers would decide that they had o do battle with these two Mustangs, and as a result cars such as the Yenko Camaro, and the Baldwin Motion Camaro were born, these cars were every bit the cat that any GT 350, or GT 500 Mustang was.

Half a Million with Get You Priceless Thrills

What will $461,000 get you? It’ll take you from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds. It’ll get you to a top speed of 209 miles per hour. It will get you a world-class hyper car, wrapped in luxury, backed by history, and brooding with sheer excitement. These are just some of the things you could say to describe the all-new 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV. But just what is new Lamborghini? Read on and you’ll find out.

SV stands for Super Veloce. It is a title that has been attached to high end Lamborghinis towards the end of their production phase. Super Veloce also means superfast in Italian. The LP stands for longitude posteriore, which is a reference to the rear mounted engine of the car. 670 is a reference to the 661 hp that the newest of Lamborghini super cars commands. Finally the four stands for the fact that this Lamborghini Murcielago is an all wheel drive car.

All of these facts and figures are fine but what is this car really like? Even though this newest version of Murcielago is outfitted with paddle shifters, it is still considered a manual transmission car. But for those of you who have not had the pleasure of sitting in a Murcielago it also has an automatic setting that requires no shift input from the driver. The Super Veloce comes with a lifetime subscription to Sirius satellite radio. This car also has Bluetooth headset capabilities, as it hooks up seamlessly with any Bluetooth enabled cell phone. The Murcielago also has navigation standard and has an auxiliary out to plug in your iPod or other MP3 device. It has quilted leather seats like those of a Bentley flying spur with a Mulliner package, for those of you who are familiar with Bentley’s lineup. This high-end Murcielago has a backup camera that is visible through the navigation screen in order to help you park since visibility through the rearview window is almost nonexistent. The Murcielago also has launch control which allows the driver to utilize the car’s full power from takeoff.

Jane Richy asked:


The Finn had a final time of 1 hour, 30 minutes and 54.2 seconds on the 2.74 mile circuit. This is his second F1 win of this season after the opening at the Australia Grand Prix, and the 11th overall in his F1 career. With this victory he is now in the fourth place in the general classification with a total of 42 points.

This triumph came in the right moment, after Ferrarri’s President Luca di Montezemolo said “We are waiting for the real Raikkonen, the one that everybody fears”. Raikkonen hopes this is the beginning of additional wins for the Ferrari’s team and himself “We needed that. It’s good to get the win. We are back in the right place. It’s a nice feeling …we have worked hard to get back and can still improve.”

In the third position came the rookie star, Lewis Hamilton from McLaren and his team mate –double World Champion Fernando Alonso in the seventh place after having problems with a brake sensor during the morning practice and then his gearbox blew while on his first lap. Alonso said that he was disappointed with the results but he is looking to improve in the next stage.

Hadi Imran asked:


This Car Ferrari was founded by Scuderia Ferrari.the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari S.p.A.. Ferrari’s cars are among the most desirable of vehicles to own and drive, and are one of the ultimate status symbols of wealth in the world. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has largely enjoyed great success, especially during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, late 1990s, and 2000s.1929–1946

Enzo Ferrari never intended to produce road cars when he formed Scuderia Ferrari in 1929 as a sponsor for amateur drivers headquartered in Modena. Ferrari prepared and successfully raced various drivers in Alfa Romeo cars until 1938, when he was officially hired by Alfa as head of their racing department.

In 1940, Alfa Romeo was absorbed by the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini as part of the Axis Powers’ war effort. Enzo Ferrari’s division was small enough to be unaffected by this. Because he was prohibited by contract from racing for four years, the Scuderia briefly became Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari, which ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories. Also known as SEFAC (Scuderia Enzo Ferrari Auto Corse), Ferrari did in fact produce one race car, the Tipo 815, in the non-competition period; it was thus the first actual Ferrari car (it debuted at the 1940 Mille Miglia), but due to World War II it saw little competition. In 1943 the Ferrari factory moved to Maranello, where it has remained ever since. The factory was bombed by the Allies in 1944 and rebuilt in 1946, with the war ended and the Mussolini government overthrown, to include a works for road car production. Right up to Il Commendatore’s death, this would remain little more than a source of funding for his first love, racing.

“Scuderia Ferrari” literally means “Ferrari Stable”; the name is figuratively translated as “Team Ferrari”. (It is correctly pronounced “skoo deh REE ah”.)

shelved plans for an IPO because Fiat Auto has now returned to profitability, thus removing pressure from the group.Enzo Ferrari’s true passion, despite his extensive road car business, was always auto racing. His Scuderia started as an independent sponsor for drivers in various cars, but soon became the Alfa Romeo in-house racing team. After Ferrari’s departure from Alfa, he began to design and produce cars of his own; the Ferrari team first appeared on the European Grand Prix scene after the end of World War II.

In 1949, Luigi Chinetti drove a Model 166M to Ferrari’s first win in motorsports, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Chinetti drove for all except twenty minutes of the Grand Prix race. He soon became the American dealer for Ferraris and established the North American Racing Team, Ferrari’s official racing arm. The dealership is reported to have kept the company in business through sales to wealthy Americans, such as Briggs Cunningham, who bought the first one Chinetti sold through the new dealership.

The Scuderia joined the Formula One World Championship in the first year of its existence, 1950. José Froilán González gave the team its first victory at the 1951 British Grand Prix.

Alberto Ascari gave Ferrari its first Drivers Championship a year later. Ferrari is the oldest team left in the championship, not to mention the most successful: the team holds nearly every Formula One record. As of 2005, the team’s records include fourteen World Drivers Championship titles (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004), fourteen World Constructors Championship titles (1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004), 179 Grand Prix victories, 3,445 and a half points, 544 podium finishes, 174 pole positions, 11,182 laps led, and 180 fastest laps in 1,622 Grands Prix contested.

Notable Ferrari drivers include Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Chinetti, Alberto Ascari, Wolfgang von Trips, Phil Hill, Olivier Gendebien, Mike Hawthorn, Peter Collins, John Surtees, Jacky Ickx, Mario Andretti, Niki Lauda, Carlos Reutemann, Jody Scheckter, Gilles Villeneuve, Didier Pironi, Michele Alboreto, Gerhard Berger, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Jean Alesi,Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkonen, and Felipe Massa.

The Scuderia Ferrari drivers for the 2006 F1 season were Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa. At the end of the 2006 season the team courted controversy by continuing to allow Marlboro to sponsor them after they, along with the other F1 teams, made a promise to end sponsorship deals with tobacco manufacturers. A five year deal worth a reported $500 million was agreed.[citation needed]

The drivers for 2007 are Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen.

Ferrari road car timeline, 1947-1967 v • d • e Next ->

Type 1940s 1950s 1960s

7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Sports 125

S 166

S 195

S 212

Exp 225

S 250

MM 250

Monza 250?GT

Tour de France 250?GT

SWB 250?GTO

159

S 250

S 250

Export

GT 166

Inter 195

Inter 212

Inter 250

Europa 250?GT

Europa 250?GT

Boano 250?GT

Ellena 250?GT

Coupe/Spider 250?GT

Lusso 275?GTB 275?GTB/4

2+2 250?GT

2+2/GTE 330?GT 365?GT

America 340

America 375

America/MM 410

Superamerica 400

Superamerica 500

Superfast 365

California

Claudia Beckford asked:


This past weekend we witnessed the Ferrari team take once more the lead; as the Brazilian driver Felipe Massa won the third race of the Formula One calendar – the Bahrain Grand Prix. Massa is Ferrari’s second driver but he counts with an extend background and plenty of experience which helped out to obtain the first points of the new season.

Another impressive performance was that of BMW-Sauber Polish leading driver Robert Kubica who began the race in pole position but eventually lost spots and finished third in the overall race. BMW boss Mario Theissen made a odd remark regarding their new hard-line approach as it is clearly reflected on the constructors’ championship standings – currently in first place – basically the first time in the team’s history as well as their three consecutive podium appearances in the last three competitions.

Despite Kubica’s his third position arrival and fourth for team mate Heidfeld they gathered enough points to be placed in first position just one point from team Ferrari.

“It’s true we are ahead of schedule – which concerns me a bit because if we go on like this we will get criticised for third or fourth place in future!” joked Theissen.

On the other hand, the alarms have been going off at the McLaren team due to the recent agony leading driver Lewis Hamilton has had to put up with. First there was his mistake at the start of the race followed by a distraction coalition into Renault ‘s vehicle driven by the Spaniard Fernando Alonso; as the two drivers speeded up out of turn three, Hamilton came close to Alonso’s back axle and rode up on his right rear tyre losing its front wing. A very unfortunate fate for Mercedes which doomed Hamilton’s chance and transformed it into the worst race finish; thirteenth position.

In the view of some; Alonso had deliberately lifted the accelerator but even Hamilton admitted that if there was anybody to blame was him not Alonso. Yet; Renault’s director of engineering Pat Symonds holds data to show the Spaniard driver had not wrong doing in the matter.

After the eminent blow the 23-year-old Briton had not many choices but to continue and end his battle only that this time the gap between him and his Ferrari rivals Raikkonen and Massa was deeper as it meant many precious championship points.

Bahrain has been tough on McLaren and Hamilton who is used to error free performances; perhaps it is time to reassess the dynamics of the team as the championship is becoming a three way battle; in which BMW Sauber is showing sufficient pace to overcome McLaren and fight for more wins.

Nevertheless, we are still three weeks from the following F1 race in Spain and the Spanish racetracks have always been McLaren’s territory and we know that from this point forward each race will be more difficult especially now that the lines have been crossed and the speed knights’ motivations are in full gear.

Peri Witny asked:


The former arch rivals have decided to have a close working and professional relationship to show the powers that be of Formula One of their united stand as the racing teams led by the two rivals formed a group that shall look after the teams’ interests. The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) was set up to represent the teams in negotiations with the governing FIA (International Automobile Federation) and commercial head honcho Bernie Ecclestone. Fota are headed by Ferrari president and Ecclestone critic Luca de Montezemelo.

McLaren top executive Ron Dennis decribed the two teams ties as profound and admitted that he did not foresee the rivals eventually joining hands. Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni visited McLaren’s Woking factory to meet the staff and Dennis. I guess with this newly formed relationship, it was but natural that executives from each side visit each others’ headquarters.

The two teams turbulent past reached its climax two years ago when Ferrari accused McLaren of possessing important technical data of its cars. McLaren was fined $100 million and stripped of all its constructors’ points. Not satisfied, Ferrari took legal action against McLaren with Dennis and other top officers interrogated by Italian police. Ferrari dropped all action though when McLaren issued an apology.

This season, FIA head Max Mosely has implemented new rules in Formula One, shaking up its present structure with the primary goal of cutting operational costs,  perhaps standardizing engines. For its part, FOTA will be responsible for all the teams’ interests. It shall provide the voice for all the teams.

All the teams do agree that the new rules may have provided each and eveyone significant savings in operatinal costs not only in this season but the future as well, FOTA are negotiating that the teams shall have a greater share in the commercial revenues than what they have at the moment which is peg at 50%.

Montezemelo said that Dennis, who shall concentrate on FOTA after divesting himself of the day-to-day operations of the McLaren Racing Team, is a first-class person with a first-class team. He further added that Formula One needed great competition on the track and great unity off the track.

Formula One teams found it necessary to form a group after the financial crisis hit most of the major economies. It also affected major teams like Honda as they placed their team up for sale. The radical changes in the rules have been approved first by FOTA before it was actually implemented for this season. FOTA intends to keep the teams work together for the advancement of Formula One as they continuously seek ways and innovative ideas that shall improve the sport. They also would like to address the issues confronting men nowadays like making the cars more affordable and environment friendly.

I just hope that Ferrari and McLaren do keep their partnership lasting. For the sake of the other teams.

Watch the Formula One results at ScoresPro.com/formula1/

Billy Bonds asked:


Born in Emilia-Romagna, and raised in Modena, Italy, Enzo Ferrari grew up with little formal education but a strong desire to race cars. During World War I he was a mule-skinner in the Italian Army. His grandfather, Alfredo, died in 1916 as a result of a widespread Italian flu outbreak. Enzo became sick himself and was consequently discharged from Italian service. Upon returning home he found that the family firm had collapsed. Having no other job prospects he sought unsuccessfully to find work at Fiat and eventually settled for a job at a smaller car company called CMN redesigning used truck bodies into small, passenger cars. He took up racing in 1919 on the CMN team, but had little initial success.

He left CMN in 1920 to work at Alfa Romeo and racing their cars in local races he had more success. In 1923, racing in Ravenna, he acquired the Prancing Horse badge which decorated the fuselage of Francesco Baracca’s (Italy’s leading ace of WWI) SPAD fighter, given from his mother, taken from the wreckage of the plane after his mysterious death. This icon would have to wait until 1932 to be plastered on a racing car. In 1924 he won the Coppa Acerbo at Pescara. His successes in local races encouraged Alfa to offer him a chance of much more prestigious competition and he was lauded by Mussolini. Ferrari turned this opportunity down and in something of a funk he did not race again until 1927 and even then his racing career was mostly over. He continued to work directly for Alfa Romeo until 1929 before starting Scuderia Ferrari as the racing team for Alfa.

Ferrari managed the development of the factory Alfa cars, and built up a team of over forty drivers, including Giuseppe Campari and Tazio Nuvolari. Ferrari himself continued racing until the birth of his first son in 1932 (Alfredo Ferrari, known as Dino, who died in 1956).

The support of Alfa Romeo lasted until 1933 when financial constraints made Alfa withdraw. Only at the intervention of Pirelli did Ferrari receive any cars at all. Despite the quality of the Scuderia drivers the company won few victories (1935 in Germany by Nuvolari was a notable exception). Auto Union and Mercedes dominated the era.

In 1937 Alfa took control of its racing efforts again, reducing Ferrari to Director of Sports under Alfa’s engineering director. Ferrari soon left, but a contract clause restricted him from racing or designing for four years.

He set up Auto-Avio Costruzioni, a company supplying parts to other racing teams. But in the Mille Miglia of 1940 the company manufactured two cars to compete, driven by Alberto Ascari and Lotario Rangoni. During World War II his firm was involved in war production and following bombing relocated from Modena to Maranello. It was not until after World War II that Ferrari sought to shed his fascist reputation and make cars bearing his name, founding today’s Ferrari S.p. A. in 1945.

The first open-wheeled race was in Turin in 1948 and the first victory came later in the year in Lago di Garda. Ferrari participated in the Formula 1 World Championship since its introduction in 1950 but the first victory was not until the British Grand Prix of 1951. The first championship came in 1952-53, when the Formula One season was raced with Formula Two cars. The company also sold production sports cars in order to finance the racing endeavours not only in Grand Prix but also in events such as the Mille Miglia and Le Mans. Indeed many of the firm’s greatest victories came at Le Mans (14 victories, including six in a row 1960-65) rather than in Grand Prix, certainly the company was more involved there than in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s despite the successes of Juan-Manuel Fangio (1956), Mike Hawthorn (1958), Phil Hill (1961) and John Surtees (1964).

In the 1960s the problems of reduced demand and inadequate financing forced Ferrari to allow Fiat to take a stake in the company. Ford had tried to buy the firm in 1963 for US$18 million but had been rejected. The company became joint-stock and Fiat took a small share in 1965 and then in 1969 they increased their holding to 50% of the company. (In 1988 Fiat’s holding was increased to 90%).

Ferrari remained managing director until 1971. Despite stepping down he remained an influence over the firm until his death. The input of Fiat took some time to have effect. It was not until 1975 with Niki Lauda that the firm won any championships – the skill of the driver and the ability of the engine overcoming the deficiencies of the chassis and aerodynamics. But after those successes and the promise of Jody Scheckter title in 1979, the company’s Formula One championship hopes fell into the doldrums. 1982 opened with a strong car, the 126C2, world-class drivers, and promising results in the early races.

However, Gilles Villeneuve was killed in the 126C2 in May, and teammate Didier Pironi had his career cut short in a violent end over end flip on the misty backstraight at Hockenheim in August. Pironi was leading the driver’s championship at the time; he would lose the lead as he sat out the remaining races. The team would not see championship glory again during Ferrari’s lifetime.

Enzo Ferrari died in Modena in 1988 at the age of 90 at the beginning of the dominance of the McLaren Honda combination. The only race which McLaren did not win in 1988 was the Italian Grand Prix – this was held just weeks after Enzo’s death, and, fittingly, the result was a 1-2 finish for Ferrari, with Gerhard Berger leading home Michele Alboreto. After Enzo’s death, thee Scuderia Ferrari team has had further success, notably with Michael Schumacher from 1996-2005.

Made a Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1952, to add to his honours of Cavaliere and Commendatore in the 1920s, Enzo also received a number of honorary degrees, the Hammarskj�ld Prize in 1962, the Columbus Prize in 1965, and the De Gasperi Award in 1987. In 1994, he was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Enzo famously used purple ink in his fountain pen, although the reason for this remains unclear.

After the death of his son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari, Enzo wore sunglasses just about every day to honor his son.