William Maley

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 9, 2013 Just a couple days after Chevrolet announced that 2015 Corvette Z06 will debut at the Detroit Auto Show, the fine folks at Automobile Magazine got their hands on some new spy shots of a Z06 mule undergoing some testing. Now the pictures reveal some information that we have known about since Chevrolet showed off a teaser shot such as the enlarged brakes, the unique black multispoke wheels, and air vents on the fenders to keep the brakes cool. One item that is very notable is a raised hood, possibly bulge or scoop. A source tells Automobile that the Z06 could be packing a supercharged version of the Stingray's 6.2L V8, hence the raised hood. Called LT4, this new engine could pack between 600 to 650 horsepower. Now there are two other engines in the running as well. Previous rumors have said the Z06 will use an updated version of the 7.0L V8 or a turbocharged V8 of some kind. The front end features some changes as well, mostly for improved cooling and aero. Source: Automobile Magazine William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 8, 2013 Land Rover is reportedly working on a pickup version of the new Defender. What Car? has learned from the brand's design head, Gerry McGovern that the new variation will be a ‘premium’ product to compete with the likes of the Volkswagen Amarok. Sources say the truck will be offered in a crew cab and boast best-in-class off-road capacity thanks in part to a permanent four-wheel drive system. McGovern says the truck could go on sale as early as 2017, a year after the new Defender goes on sale. Source: What Car? William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 7, 2013 The Suzuki Kizashi, a model that was loved by many automotive writers and journalists (your's truly included), but never made a mark on consumers, will not get a second chance. According to Drive.com.au, Suzuki is unlikely to develop a replacement model. “That’s my headache. Kizashi was a very unlucky car,” said Suzuki’s Australian managing director Masaaki Kato. “We had so many arguments about the question: how to handle Kizashi. At that time, frankly speaking, we should not have introduced the car into the market in 2009. But you see, we made a big investment to develop this car… after heavy and hard discussion, we decided to introduce this Kizashi.” Aside from the poor timing of the launch, the Kizashi also had problems with poor brand recognition, and being in-between a compact and midsize sedan. Kato also revealed that Suzuki was working on turbocharged and V6 versions, along with a wagon before the company scrapped them due to the poor sales. Source: Drive.com.au William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article

Happy Birthday

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 5, 2013 Infiniti has teased their showing for the Detroit Auto Show. The Q50 Eau Rouge is a vision of what a high-performance Q50 could look like. The 'Eau Rouge' comes from the famous early corner at Spa-Francorchamps, the race track where the Belgium's Formula One Grand Prix. Infiniti has very close ties to the Red Bull Formula One team and has been expanding their partnership by bringing in Sebastian Vettel as the Director of Performance. The image released by Infiniti show a front air dam and side mirrors crafted from carbon fiber, and what look to be openings in the hood. "Performance is a key pillar of Infiniti's DNA, and this car expresses a deepened design interpretation of that. The Q50, with an abundance of technologies, provides a great basis for an extreme performance version, embodied in the design of Q50 Eau Rouge," said Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti's Executive Design Director. Source: Infiniti William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. Press Release is on Page 2 Dec. 5, 2013 Infiniti to Reveal Formula One Inspired Concept at Detroit Show Hong Kong – Infiniti will reveal a Formula One inspired concept car based on the Q50 premium sports sedan at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The concept car represents Infiniti's design vision of a high performance variant of Q50. Called "Q50 Eau Rouge," the car is named after the world-famous corner at the Formula One track in Spa-Francorchamps, a corner which requires extraordinary strength, courage and commitment; it has seen some of the most incredible driving feats in Formula One history. For Infiniti, the Q50 Eau Rouge concept blends road car technology and a thoroughbred motorsport vision. The Q50 Eau Rouge features aerodynamic styling treatments and design elements which are influenced by Infiniti's partnership with Formula One world championship-winning team Infiniti Red Bull Racing. "Performance is a key pillar of Infiniti's DNA, and this car expresses a deepened design interpretation of that. The Q50, with an abundance of technologies, provides a great basis for an extreme performance version, embodied in the design of Q50 Eau Rouge," said Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti's Executive Design Director. View full article