Monthly Archives February 2015

Toyota Camry and Corolla Special Editions Announced

In the upcoming Chicago auto show, Toyota is going to bring us the 2016 model year facelifted Avalon, and also special editions of the brand’s hot-selling Camry and Corolla.

There is no mechanical changes for the Camry and Corolla special editions. Major changes are mainly in wheels, exteior/interior colors. All special edition Camry and Corolla get push-button engine start as standard.

The Camry Special Edition will only be available on the SE trim, equipped with the 2AR-FE 2.5L 4-cylinder engine, good for 178 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque, 6-speed automatic transmission is the only choice...

Our Exclusive Analysis of the Brand-new Ferrari 488 GTB Engine

Yesterday we covered the news that Ferrari is announcing the new 488 GTB, which is going to replace the current 458 Italia. In that report, you may find the fact that both of the 488 GTB and California T’s engines have the same displacement (3.9L), the same cylinder numbers (V8), and they are both turbocharged. So here comes a question: are these two engines the same? To answer this question, let’s first take a look at the below photos.

Image 1: 3.9L Turbo V8 in the 488 GTB

Image 2: 3.9L Turbo V8 in the California T

Basically speaking, these 2 engines share the same cylinder block, and the valvetrains are pr...

Ever think of the result of driving a car and then crash with an airplane? Here is an amazing example.

Yesterday an ATR-72 from TransAsia Airways, crashed into a river shortly after take-off from a Taipei airport. Just less than one second before hitting the ground, the airplane’s wingtip hit a Volkswagen taxi which was driving on the bridge. A footage captured by the dash camera from another car behind it showed us this unbelievable scene.

Both the driver and a passenger in the VW suffered minor injuries.

2016 Acura MDX Information Released

The current 6-speed transmissions used in Acura/Honda cars have been scolded by some owners about its mediocre shifting quality and performance, especially under heavy-duty applications like the MDX.

Today Acura announced full details about the 2016 model year MDX. The biggest change is the 6-speed unit mentioned above, will be replaced by a 9-speed transmission which has been used on the new TLX.

According to Acura, the new 9-speed unit is 66 lbs lighter than the previous 6-speed one, and it shifts 25% faster too. The direct-injection 3.5L V6 engine remain unchanged...

Ferrari 488 GTB Debut

Nowadays turbocharging is common across the whole automobile industry, even for exotic sports cars which require instant quick throttle response. This is exactly true for Ferrari. For example, the 2015 Ferrari California T has already using a turbocharged 3.9L V8 engine which outputs 553hp.

Today Ferrari announced the 458 Italia successor, named “488 GTB”. The new model is using the similar  3.9Lturbocharged V8, with enhancements and upgrades (Ferrari did not mention details in the press release) to boost the output to 661 hp and 560 lb-ft of torque.

Although it is not the first time that Ferrari employs turbocharging in its recent models, this is ...