Audi R8 Test Drive Goes Down with a Splash – Yep, it’s a Total Loss

Αs if accident-prone supercar owners weren’t enough of a hazard, we now have to deal with test drivers. And when we say test drivers, we don’t mean the professional sort but your everyday Joe who decides to take a supercar for a spin or in the case of the 33-year-old man from The Netherlands, for a catastrophic plunge. According to reports from the Dutch press, the 33-year-old man whose name hasn’t been released yet took the brand-new Audi R8 for a test drive near the town of Woerdense Verlaat when he suddenly lost control of the 420HP mid-engined supercar and ditched it into a river bank.

Luckily, no one got hurt but the Audi R8 that costs a staggering €157,630 or $232,500 in The Netherlands is considered a total loss. The Dutch press reported that while the speed limit on the particular road is 80 km/h or 50 mph, the R8 driver said he was going about 130 km/h or 80 mph. Unconfirmed reports say that he might have been going as fast as 200 km/h or 125 mph. Of course speed alone doesn’t (fully) justify the accident. According to the Dutch police, the accident may have been caused by a bump on the road at the point where the driver of the R8 lost control of the vehicle. -More images after the jump

Via: Autoblog.nl , Pics: Autojunk.nl

Nissan Recalling 169,202 MY 2007-2008 Sentras Due to Brake Problems

Nissan has issued a recall on 169,202 MY 2007-2008 Sentra sedans to address a problem with the brake cylinders. According to Nissan, due to the machining irregularity by the supplier, the internal seal groove in the body of some brake master cylinders may allow for a gap in the groove contact area of the seal resulting to a leak of the brake fluid from the master cylinder into the brake booster assembly. If left unaddressed, the leakage could lead to a brake failure. Nissan said that dealers will inspect the master cylinder/brake booster assembly and if brake fluid leakage is detected, the master cylinder will be replaced with a new one. For more information owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

2010 Chevy Camaro Sales Guide Leaked

And you thought that with the unveiling of the production version of the new Camaro things would calm down for a while... As this leaked (?) salesperson reference guide proves, that ain't going to happen any time soon as we’ll be hearing something new -official or unofficial- about the Camaro every so often until it arrives at U.S. dealerships in the first quarter of 2009. That is unless we all get a maximum overdose of “Camaroine” and GM decides to tone down its marketing efforts to avoid overexposing its new muscle car. –See the leaked sales guide after the jump









Via: Jalopnik , Source: 5thgen

Video: How to Destroy a Car Wash Machine

We’ve watched this video a dozen times but we still can’t figure out why the driver in the light blue Citroen C3 stamped on the gas pedal crashing and ultimately, destroying the automatic car wash machine. Maybe the C3 was equipped with Citroen’s quirky Sensodrive semi-automatic transmission and the driver wasn’t accustomed with the clutchless gearbox. Who knows. What we do know is that the man with the hat in front of the car was one lucky son of a gun. -Video after the jump

ABT Tunes the Audi RS6 Avant to 700HP

You’d think that the standard Audi RS6 Avant’s 580HP turbocharged V10 5.0-liter engine would be more than adequate for most petrol-headed drivers. Well, apparently ABT doesn’t seem to agree as the German tuner introduced an insanely beefed up version of the RS6 (see sedan here) Avant that delivers an output of 700 HP and a maximum torque of 800 Nm or 590-lbs/ft (standard car: 580 Nm or 427.8-lbs/ft). According to ABT, the tweaked RS6 Avant can “fly” from zero to 100km/h or 62mph in a breathtaking 3,9 sec (standard car: 4,6 sec) and on to a top speed of 320 km/h or 199 mph. -Continued

As expected, ABT also offers a range of accessories for the RS6 Avant including 20-inch alloy wheels available in various designs, a carbon fiber front lip spoiler, a carbon fiber rear diffuser, a rear wing and a custom made rear muffler with four tailpipes in matt black finish.

Cool Lamborghini Lighters and Cigar Cutters

Just because you can’t own a Lamborghini doesn’t mean you can’t dream of one. And if you happen to be cigar aficionado, what a better way to do this than to sit down and light one up with these awesome Tonino Lamborghini lighters and cigar-cutters. Tonino Lamborghini offers three different series of lighters in various colors priced from $135 to $157.50 with the coolest ones being by far the Forza Black (pictured on the left above) and Silver carbon fiber lighters. As for Tonino Lamborghini’s cigar cutter with its surgical steel blades that cuts cigars up to 58 ring gauge, its offered in three different colors all priced at $76.50. -More photos after the jump

Link: elighters - Photos Edited by CarScoop

2009 Honda Civic & Hybrid Facelift: 35 High-Res Photos and Details

Honda has unveiled details and official images of its 2009 MY Civic Sedan, Coupe and Hybrid models that will go on sale in the North American market in the forthcoming weeks. Styling changes on the 2009 Civic sedan and coupe models include a revised front bumper with larger air intakes, a new grille and according to Honda, new headlight and taillight colour combinations, featuring clear turn indicator lenses with amber bulbs – though you have to try really hard to see the difference. The Civic EX, Civic EX-L and Civic Si models also get new alloy designs.

Interior changes are equally minimal and they concern the addition of Bluetooth HandsFreeLink to Navigation-equipped models and a USB Audio Interface to the Civic EX, EX-L, Hybrid and Si models while cloth materials and patterns on seats, door linings and armrests (when equipped) have also been updated. For the 2009 MY, the electronic stability control (VSA) is now standard on the Civic EX-L and Civic Hybrid models. -Continued

Honda has also added two new sedan options for the 2009 MY Civic, the new Civic DX-VP and Civic LX-S. The Civic DX-VP Sedan gets standard air conditioning, an AM/FM/CD audio system and an auxiliary input jack, in addition to the 140-HP 1.8-liter i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine, 5-speed manual transmission (5-speed automatic available), power windows, 15-inch steel wheels and P195/65R15 tires.

As for the Civic LX-S, in addition to the Civic LX’s features, it features alloy wheels, sport-trimmed black cloth seats with synthetic suede bolsters and silver stitching, leather-wrapped steering wheel, a rear deck spoiler and a chrome exhaust finisher.

2009 Honda Civic Sedan

2009 Honda Civic Hybrid