New Products and Technology

Want to run a Solstice in SCCA? General Motors Performance Division engineers will conduct a technical seminar on building a Pontiac Solstice race car for Sport Car Club of America (SCCA) racing. Attendees will learn how to optimize a Solstice or Solstice GXP equipped with the available Z0K production option, receive details for use in producing aftermarket parts and components for Solstice performance applications, and receive a copy of the new Solstice Performance book available at GM dealerships. 

Early this morning, not far from Honda's U.S. facilities, we were lucky enough to get a quick glance at the next-generation Acura TSX. The new TSX will take on a more aggressive look, taking design cues from the Sports 4 concept car shown at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show.

The following information and photos are courtesy of the shooters at Brenda Priddy & Co.

We were originally told that BMW's new X6 would be a direct rival to the Mercedes CLS, but now that the concept has been introduced, we can see that it's definitely not.

Tight European emissions laws mean buyers won't be offered the WRX model in some European countries when the hatch arrives here later this year. But we can now reveal the first pictures of a storming new STI variant. While dealers will get the first five-door Imprezas late this summer, the performance STI won't debut until October's Tokyo Motor Show. As a result, customers will have to make do with the entry-level car until the flagship arrives in 2008. The STI is powered by a tuned version of the 2.5L boxer engine, turbocharged to produce more than 300 bhp and around 400 Nm of torque.

For the first time ever, the spy shooters at Brenda Priddy & Co. spotted a Camaro test mule in the United States. Most of the testing and development is taking place in Australia, Priddy says, and previously they’ve only been able to grab grainy cell phone shots of a Holden-badged mule.

At first glance, this may look like Honda’s “Airwave," a small Asian-market people-mover/wagon. The “Airwave” badge is covered with a small piece of electrical tape, as are the Honda badges. With a facelift expected for the Airwave in 2009, it would have been easy to assume that this was just a freshening (although it did seem odd to see two left-hand-drive versions of the Asia-only Honda).

The spy photogs at Brenda Priddy & Company snapped what looks like a minor-model change for the Lexus GS, including a new front bumper and reshaped air intakes. Priddy also expects Lexus will add a new grille and redesign the head and taillights. This mid-cycle update will be its first freshening, with a major change expected in 2011.

The following details on Jaguar's XF R mule is courtesy of Brenda Priddy & Co.  

"Jaguar has just recently shown pictures of their upcoming XF sedan, and, within days, we caught a “test mule” of its high-performance XF R version!

From Brenda Priddy & Co.:

"A late day of shooting means a late night filing stories, but the views of this Jeep pickup are worth the wait!

"Ignore the European plates," says spy shooter Brenda Priddy. "This all-new MINI Cabrio was caught here in the States!"

Priddy says the convertible will arrive shortly after the launch of the MINI Clubman early next year.