Gronholm makes explosive debut at Pikes Peak

By Alex Michaelides Motor Shows 24 July 2009 11:55 Finnish rally ace Marcus Gronholm averted disaster to make a promising debut at the 2009 Pikes Peak international hillclimb. The world rally champion’s attempt was severely hampered when the rear tyre of his Ford Fiesta exploded, forcing him to limp home to a still-respectable fifth position in a time of 11min 28.963sec. Japanese rally star Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima claimed first prize in his Suzuki SX4 with a time of 10min 15.368sec.

BMW ActiveHybrid X6 introduced

BMW has released details and images of the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 BMW claim the X6 ActiveHybrid as the most powerful Hybrid car in production, with its total power output of 480 horses and 575lb/ft of torque. That’s a bit better than a Prius! All this power comes from the BMW 4.4 litre twin-turbo lump, coupled to a pair of electric motors that deliver 91bhp and 86bhp respectively.

Car companies, community & a cause

Last Saturday night (April 20) was one of those I-can't believe-I-get-paid-to-do-this kind of evenings. My wife Maria and I -- along with 550 of our closest friends -- were invited to attend the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute's 31st annual dinner. The name sort of says it all, and the dinner is a simple enough concept that even I get it: It's held to raise money.