Kafka Paint Color Wheel Cww on 2040-parts.com

No sign of global auto meltdown at Tokyo Auto Salon

With more than 600 cars on display and a record number of exhibitors, nothing at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon tuner show hinted at the global economic downturn. As always, there was a great mix of styles, from hard-core, 1,000-hp, supertuned machinery to weird customized scooter tricycles. Auto manufacturers tried hard to capture the minds--if not the wallets--of the younger-than-30 crowd with customized versions of production cars, while tuners were busy persuading power junkies to choose them for their next engine modification.

MINI Countryman (2010/2011) – The Video

MINI Countryman 'On the road' video below It’s been a bit of a MINI week this week. Or rather a bit of a MINI Countryman week. We started off a couple of days ago with the latest teaser video for the new MINI closely followed by a leak from MINI of a handful of pictures of the new crossover MINI.

New BMW 3-series bows, performance-oriented 335iS joins the lineup

A new performance-oriented 335iS model endowed with an M-sport styling kit and unique chassis settings heads the list of changes BMW brings to its facelifted 2011 3-series coupe and convertible. Set to slot into the lineup between an upgraded 335i and the M3 when it goes on sale in March as an exclusive for North America, the 335iS runs a tuned version of BMW's N54 engine, as found in the recently unveiled Z4 sDrive35iS, coupled to either a standard six-speed manual or an optional Getrag-engineered seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine of the 335iS adds a special software package to bump power to 326 hp and lift torque to 332 lb-ft--or to an even gutsier 369 lb-ft for short periods via an overboost function that unleashes added turbocharger boost pressure.