sub5zero.com

New 2012 Ford Police Interceptor: Keep Your Friends Close...

Zack Klapman — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:09:35 +0000

Well I'm not sure if calling them the enemy is exactly fair, the police are there to protect us, after all. But as any car enthusiast knows, encounters with the law are inevitable and rarely fun. Regardless, Ford will be offering a new police car to officers around the country and sending the standard work-horse, the Crown Victoria, to the bone yard. Ford announced today its 2012 Ford Interceptor will be available to officers in late 2011, and will be chock full of all types of new goodies and gadgets to fight bad guys.

I never thought I would say this, but the Taurus looks simply intimidating. The outgoing Crown Victoria was intimidating because you knew the trouble it brought, and if it was behind you it was because you had done wrong and were about to be told so by a man with a gun. Not this one. The headlight housings are blacked out, and in place of fog lights are LED running lights, that have a strobe function. There are also blue and red LEDS surrounding the new, projector headlights. The push-bar has integrated red and blue strobes, as do the side mirrors. If you tell this cop you didn't see him behind you, he should have legal permission to arrest you for being too stupid to operate a car.

2011 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Carbon LE: Lighter, Faster, Stronger

Zack Klapman — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:50:16 +0000

Lately, car manufacturers have seemingly been focused on only one thing: gaps in the market. The Toyota Venza filled a gap I didn't know existed, somewhere between city-capable SUVs and passenger cars. BMW did the same thing with the 5 series Grand-Touring, an ugly car that's apparently for people who need more room than a trunk provides but want less space than a wagon would give them. I guess if you're constantly transporting acute triangles, it's the car for you.

Either way, the people that call the shots are building a car for everything and anything they can think of. I find this highly annoying. Except here: Chevrolet has built a new Corvette to fill the gap between the Z06 and the ZR1, called the 2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition. Finally a crossover vehicle that makes sense.

1967 Shelby G.T.500CR Classic Look + Modern Parts = Automotive Nirvana

Zack Klapman — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:43:00 +0000

One of the most exciting stories from SEMA '09 was Carroll Shelby giving the official go-ahead to Classic Recreations to build a continuation of the 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, called the 1967 Mustang Fastback Shelby G.T.500CR "Performance." Classic Recreations was the only shop ever given such a priviledge. At SEMA all they had were drawings and specs of the proposed car, and even those had me salivating (check out our story here). This was a huge undertaking, because the GT500 is one of the most coveted and loved muscle cars of all time.

After Nicolas Cage drove one ( "Eleanor," a modified GT500 that never liked being stolen) in the 2000 blockbuster re-make "Gone in 60 Seconds" the population of those that fawn over the GT500 only grew. What was once loved only by hot rod fans and guys in their 50s was now loved by everyone.

First Drive: 2010 Jaguar XKR Convertible Review

Ari Cox — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:37:19 +0000

Back in 2005, Jaguar's hottest selling model of all time ended its production run. That car was the XK. In the spring of 2006, the 2007 model emerged as a completely reworked vehicle that Jaguar hoped would continue to see record sales. The challenge for the company has been competing in a segment - Large Premium Sports Cars - that doubled from the mid 90s to the mid 2000s. Jaguar sought to blend the two major groups - grand tourers and sports cars - into a single kickass car.

That generation ran through 2009 offering a 4.2-liter V8 good for 300 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque as well as a supercharged variant providing 420 hp and 412 lb-ft of torque. But with everyone stepping up their game, Jaguar quickly realized that even though they had satisfied their goal, they certainly had no BMW M6 or Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG killer…

Spoon Planning Tuning Options for 2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Coupe

Ari Cox — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:32:30 +0000

The 2011 Honda CR-Z hybrid just made its official production debut in January and is already a hotbed of tuning activity. It's a foregone conclusion that the car will receive Type-R treatment from Honda's in-house mod shop and Mugen has revealed initial details on a body kit, wheels and interior accessories they plan to offer once sales commence. Now, Spoon has jumped into the mix...

This Japanese wrench shop is introducing a host of tuning options. A suspension upgrade drops the ride height by 50mm with new coilovers in front and a spring/shock combo in back. Special calipers with 15-inch slotted discs take over braking duty. A new N1 exhaust system is in full effects with some ECU tweakage planned to add a little more kick. Spoon is also serving up some CR93 wheels in their signature blue hue to match the calipers. The body gets a minor revamp with a new carbon fiber hood, mirrors and front lip spoiler.

Top 5 Tuners of the 2010 Geneva Motor Show

Zack Klapman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:40:16 +0000

This year the 2010 Geneva Auto Show was like a buffet in which I hand-picked all the types of food. The manufacturers were the staples; steak, potatoes, a dessert platter, etc. I expected them to be there and taste good, as usual. But the real treats this year came from the tuners. They are the crazy geniuses that take a mass-produced car into their kitchens and create something extraordinary and (for better or worse) original. There were lots of tuners and coach-builders showing their wares at Geneva this year, and here are my 5 favorites in no specific order:

DUB Show Tour 2010 Anaheim Car Pictures - Custom, Modified, Exotic & Celebrity Rides

Ari Cox — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:56:46 +0000

The DUB Show Tour always presents a bounty of colorful, tricked-out and fantastical rides that are the fruits of thousands of hours of labor and boundless creativity. The show in Anaheim was no different and featured all kinds of exotics, sports cars, SUVs, classics and low-riders in every flavor possible. Snoop's 1967 Pontiac Parisienne, aka Snoop's Lakers ride, and his 1967 Fleetwood Cadillac 'Snoopdeville' were on display as was Nelly's DUB Edition wide-body 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0.

The bike stunt show was pretty wild as the Famous Stars and Straps riders busted out all kinds of wheelies, stoppies, burnouts and coffin maneuvers. While checking out all of the mad whips, The Game, New Boyz, J. Cole, B.O.B., IYAZ, Nipsey Hussle, Glasses, California, Nola Darling, U-N-I and Jay Rock performed. The squad from Power 106 FM hosted a live show with Big Boi, Tattoo, Luscious Liz, E-man and Fuzzy all did their thing. All in all, it was a good time and even the mid-day rain storm couldn't put a damper on the festivities.

2010 Geneva Motor Show: Koenigsegg Agera

Zack Klapman — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:31:55 +0000

What if you could take the punching power of Mike Tyson and fit it into the body of Bruce Lee? That seems to be the motivation behind Koenigsegg's newest hypercar, the 2011 Koenigsegg Agera. Koenigsegg chose the 2010 Geneva Motor Show to display it's new creation, which was made as a celebration of the Swedish manufacturer's 15th anniversary.

Koenigsegg is calling it a new car, but it's really just an improvement on the CCX. And that's fine, because I thought the CCX was a great car. Classic supercar looks, eargasm soundtrack and performance nipping at a Veyron's heels.

Garage Door Ad Makes Light of Toyota's Deadly Safety Recall

Ari Cox — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:47:34 +0000

We've all seen our fair share of controversial ads. Agencies are always looking to walk the fine line between funny and offensive and seem to more and more drop into the later category. For whatever reason, tragedies and follies serve as perfect fodder. In the case of mega ad agency JWT, they managed to craft up this beaut of a print campaign for Danish garage door maker Dansk Port Teknik.

It was inevitable that the sharks would strike at the bleeding legs of Toyota, with Ford, GM, Hyundai and Chrysler all offering serious incentives to get owners to trade in their potentially flawed rides for new models. But now we're starting to see a whole slew of jokers making fun of "unintended acceleration" in a variety of other venues and outlets. When will the madness end?

2010 Geneva Motor Show: TAG Heuer-Designed Tesla Roadster

Zack Klapman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:44:18 +0000

Expensive cars and expensive watches have been paired together as often, and for as long, as ice cream and chocolate syrup. Every year various watch manufacturers come out with special editions aimed at the performance driver. Usually they sport multiple chrono dials, exotic light-weight materials, and a price that is proportional to the car by which they're inspired.

The 2010 TAG Heauer Tesla Roadster is the same idea, flipped. Tesla and TAG Heuer joined forces to design a limited edition roadster, which they showed off at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen worked closely with the Swiss watch designers to develop a look that was true to both companies.