A second teaser shot for the upcoming Infiniti G37 Convertible has found its way onto the web, and the timing couldn’t be better considering the debut of the Lexus IS250C today at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. Both cars will be setting their sites on the BMW 335i convertible, and the G37 ‘vert will be packing a 328-horsepower 3.7L V6 in its holster when the time comes. Other features include a three-piece folding hardtopIts and a seven-speed automatic transmission, as well as a completely redesigned rear end to accommodate the new roof. The G37 Convertible’s official debut isn’t until the LA Auto Show in November, at which time we’ll get to fully see how the G37 Coupe translates into a convertible.

When it was first unveiled, the Volkswagen New Beetle’s only mission in life was to emulate and modernize the look of the classic air-cooled Bug that was so popular in America during the ’60s and ’70s. The New Beetle’s first restyling was so minor that you’d be forgiven for not even knowing it had been changed. Not so for the next update, a hardtop of which is due for the 2010 model year with a convertible following one year later. Such ergonomic deficiencies as a huge expanse between the driver and the windshield were acceptable in order to get the look right the first time around, but not any longer. Therefore, expect to see some radical changes for the cute little Bugger that will make what Volkswagen’s own Walter De’ Silva calls “a much more mature product.” The word “mature” doesn’t quite jive with the current New Beetle, so we’re pretty interested to see how far this redesign will go.

With Ferrari’s road and race cars taking advantage of the latest emerging technologies, someone inside the marketing department in Maranello has taken the bold initiative to bring the company’s PR into the same realm by utilizing popular electronic media. For its latest supercar, the highly-anticipated Ferrari California, the company has been releasing bits and pieces on a dedicated, flash-enhanced website, and the latest installment has just hit cyberspace.

For this episode, Ferrari has teamed up with the wiz-kids at Polyphony Digital who are the brains behind the Gran Turismo franchise. They offer up an adrenaline-pumping virtual reality video of the California racing through the virtual streets of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in the same style as the game’s intro. And now that they have the car scanned, it shouldn’t be long before you can download the California on your PS3 to drive in the game. We hope. Follow the Source link below, click “virtual test drive” and “play film” to watch the clip. Oh, and clear some time in your schedule, because the video will make you want to play video games all weekend. Enjoy.

C“We’re not building a cheap Ferrari”. That was the oft-repeated party line from Maranello as the Prancing Horse marque was plainly working on the new California. Well no kidding, not at these prices.

The first example of the Ferrari California was sold during its American unveiling in Santa Monica this week, garnering a top bid of $520,000. The event was attended by a handful of Hollywood celebrities, and even the Governator dropped by. Half a million can buy you a lot of car, and the California is expected to retail for about a third of that amount, but of course that’s not the point: proceeds from the sale will go to the After-School All-Stars charitable foundation.

Ferrari seem to content with cutting the roof off of everything these days. The F430 Spider remains the company’s hottest-selling model, with the new California on the way. A roadster version of the 430 Scuderia is anticipated to make its debut at Mugello in November, and now spy shots have surfaced showing what sources suggest is a convertible version of the 599 GTB Fiorano.

Although the test mule in the spy shots has a fixed roof in place, reports note that the roof appears ill-fitting and mismatched in color to the rest of the body. If that’s anything to go by, Ferrari could be planning a successor to the Superamerica version of the Fiorano’s 575 predecessor and the 550 Barchetta that came before that. The former featured an intriguing Fioravanti-designed glass roof mechanism, however the 599 Spider would, in all likelihood, employ a similar folding hard-top to the clever mechanism found on the new California, to the possible inclusion of the Fiorano’s aerodynamic buttresses. Following the revival of the GTB (grand touring berlinetta) designation on the existing 599, the convertible would likely take on the GTS (grand touring spider) nameplate, while installment of Ferrari’s new quick-shifting SuperFast3 dual-clutch transmission could help mitigate the extra weight. Of course this is all pure speculation, so stay tuned.

The Dita Von Teese-style burlesque unveiling of the 2010 Ford Mustang continues today with another image showing the dash and steering wheel, along with brief glimpses of the new IP, seats and passenger-side door panel. Riveting, no?

We couldn’t help using our elementary Photoshop skills to lighten up the artificially dark picture, and after a couple of tweaks of the virtual knobs, the new switchgear and matching stitching on the steering wheel and seats came into view.

Compared to the current ‘Stang, the new dash is more steeply raked and the materials appear to be of a higher quality, but until we’re able to run our hands over it all at the LA Auto Show this November, we can’t be certain.

The five previous teasers are available in our gallery below, and it looks like we can expect nine more images to be “unlocked” on the2010mustang.com between now and the its official unveiling.

Saab unveiled the 9-X BioHybrid Concept hatchback last March at the Geneva Motor Show, and it will be joined next month at the Paris Motor Show by this: the 9-X Air BioHybrid Concept. Both vehicles are said to herald the coming of a production Saab 9-1 small car, but the 9-X Air goes a step further and replaces the original concept’s closed roof with a flat-folding canopy top that’s said to celebrate the brand’s history in the convertible building business. Aside from that, the concepts appear to be almost identical right down to sharing the same turbocharged 1.4L Saab BioPower engine producing 197bhp. We’ll bring you more pics and info of the Saab 9-X Air BioHybrid Concept straight from the show floor in Paris next month.

Next January’s Detroit Auto Show will mark the 20th anniversary of the Viper’s debut as a concept. Back then, every car in Chrysler’s lineup was still derived from the K-Car. The K-cars saved Chrysler from the jaws of bankruptcy, but an executive named Lutz decided the automaker needed a new halo car to generate some excitement as a new decade dawned. Another old guy named Carroll Shelby was sprucing up Daytonas and Omnis at the time, so they decided to revive an idea from earlier in his career. Together they created a minimalistic two-seater with a humongous engine that became an instant American classic. That basic premise lives on today in the 2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10 with only slightly less minimalism. Read on to find out what it’s like to live with a snake for a week.

Chrysler gave us the keys to a convertible Viper SRT-10 in what is arguably the best color ever applied to the V10 sports car. Snakeskin Green was a new color added for the 2008 model year update and our tester also had the optional painted-on bumper to bumper black stripes. Everyone who laid eyes on it loved the green and it literally shimmered in sunlight. Since we had the convertible instead of the coupe and it wasn’t raining, the first thing to do was drop the top. Aside from having to open the trunk, lowering the top of a Viper is nearly as simple as that of a Miata.

A single latch in the middle of the windshield header releases the roof and it drops down in one smooth motion. Close the the trunk and you’re done. There are no motors or actuators involved, and the top stows and raises without having to press anything down or snap anything in place. It’s very simple, just like everything else about the Viper.

This iteration of the Viper was developed when Chrysler was owned by Daimler, and in many ways it’s the polar opposite of a Mercedes-Benz. While cars like the AMG S63 and the SL550 are both ridiculously fast, they are also enormously complex. Even with all the power they possess, stability control systems tend to sap away their liveliness and, with everything actuated electronically, the cars feel synthetic.

There is nothing synthetic about a Viper. It is one of the loudest, most raucous cars in the world. With the top up, you have to duck down to get in as you step over the wide sill. With the top down, you just step over and fall into the seat. The Corvette ZR1 we recently drove has one serious flaw: its seats. Here the Viper wins hands down. These SRT seats are well bolstered and hold you firmly in position. Unfortunately, the Viper’s packaging means the position of the steering wheel and pedals relative to that amazing seat is slightly less than ideal.

The Viper’s 600-hp 8.4L V10 is set well back in the chassis with its 6-speed gear box directly behind it. That means there’s a wide tunnel that offsets the pedals slightly to the left. The steering wheel, however, is offset slightly to the right of the seat’s center line. None of the offsets are enough to detract from operating the car, but they are noticeable. The Viper was one of the first cars offered with adjustable pedals and they are fortunately retained on the current model. The shift lever, meanwhile, sits directly atop the gearbox and works best with deliberate but not forced manipulation. Like the ZR1, the Viper has a twin disc clutch that provides the necessary torque transmission capacity without requiring excessive force on the clutch pedal.

One of the characteristics we mentioned recently about the Porsche Carrera was how small it felt in comparison to other cars. Precisely the opposite is true of the Viper. The Dodge and Porsche only differ in overall length by 1.3 inches yet the Viper feels huge in comparison. Its hood stretches way out in front while the Porsche seems to disappear around you. The feeling of driving these two sports cars couldn’t be more different.


Besides smoke, the Viper also generates a lot of heat. The massive hood vents that were added for 2008 are definitely functional. You can see heat waves emanating from the engine compartment while sitting at a red light. When a redesigned Viper debuted in 2003, Dodge reverted back to side exhausts like on the early cars. Along with those came a large warning sticker on the rear of the door openings that cautions occupants to take care when exiting so as not to burn their legs on the hot sill.

Fortunately, the huge Michelin Pilot Sport tires provide grip commensurate with their size. Compared to the new Pilot Sport 2s on the ZR1, the Viper tires don’t break away quite as progressively, but they are still fairly manageable. Even without fancy stuff like magneto-rheological shocks or active steering, the Viper’s suspension is remarkably well sorted. The chassis feels stiff and solid and never exhibits signs of flexibility. Cowl shake was non-existent even on what they claim is a “road” in front of my son’s middle school. Speaking of which, dropping off your 13-year-old son at school in a Snakeskin Green Viper is just the way to get on his good side.

No one driving a Viper will ever confuse it for a luxury car. You feel every interaction between the road and the rubber, and that’s a good thing for a car like this. The ride is fairly stiff, more so than a new ZR1 with its MR damping system in Comfort mode. The Viper is not a car that should be chosen for daily driving duties, but it does a decent enough job that you won’t mind taking it out to for errands when the mood strikes you.

The Viper is a toy, and in many ways it is the anti-Tesla Roadster. Like the Roadster (at least when the updated Drivetrain 1.5 is installed), the Viper is absurdly fast and has limited utility. But where the Tesla is whisper quiet, the Viper is constantly rumbling along. At low speeds and part throttle it doesn’t sound particularly impressive, but it absolutely roars when opened up. Visibility is mediocre with the top up, and even with the top down the windshield header is rather low and makes it difficult to see traffic lights. Without any wind blocker available, there is plenty of buffeting in the cockpit even with the side windows up.

But none of this matters much because the Viper is about the open road where such mundane concerns are meaningless. Put on a ball cap, or better yet a helmet, and take the Viper out to play. At $93,000 including a gas guzzler tax and those $3,000 stripes, you won’t really care about its thirst for premium gasoline anyway.

Last month we noted that Citroen was gearing up to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its most iconic model, the 2CV. For those not familiar with the 2CV, it is to France what the Beetle was to Germany or the Cinquecento was to Italy. Although some suggested that Citroen could be preparing to resurrect the model with a retro throwback of its own, it now appears the French automaker has had its hands full preparing the Hypnos concept, the C6 Office and the new C3 Picasso. So to mark the 2CV’s birthday, Citroen is launching a special edition of its quirky little convertible called the C3 Pluriel Charleston.

The special edition takes the same name and paint scheme as the original 2CV 6 Charleston, but that only begs the question as to why a French automaker has named a French car for the French market after a city in South Carolina that the French can’t even pronounce. The Pluriel, now on the market since 2003, features an awkward multi-function roof that can be deployed in different configurations… a setup we hope Fiat manages to improve on with the upcoming 500 Cabrio Coach. The Charleston edition, meanwhile, upgrades with a leather interior, chrome trim, 15-inch alloys (don’t get too excited now) and a special interior.

There are many European cars we wish we could get in the United States. We’ll let the French keep this one.