A 1971 Plymouth turned into a ViperCuda has been spotted on eBay. As the name indicates, the vehicle is powered by a V10 powerplant sourced from the Dodge Viper of today. There is more to this vehicle beyond what you see which started as a convertible 1971 Plymouth Barracuda from 1971 that is dependent on a potent 5.2L V8 engine.

The conversion was done by Hudson, Florida firm Time Machines. The team started with the acquisition of the V10 engine and chassis of a wrecked Viper from 2001 with an odometer reading of 23,000 miles.

After stripping the body of the Barracuda from its original chassis, Time Machines fabricated the hybrid platform which incorporates a lot of parts from the chassis of the Viper including the independent suspension.

The rear seat was removed and the designers customized the interior as part of the ViperCuda conversion.

The V10 that gives out 450 horsepower is connected to the six speed manual transmission of the Viper while the ‘Cuda still rolls on its stock 18 inch rims in front and 19 inches rear rims hugged by 275/35/28 rubbers in front and 335/30/19 Pilots by Michelin.

The ViperCuda has a tag price on eBay of $179,900.

Yes, Kia tapped nail artists to do the commercial for the Kia Picanto . They did not print them on the nails or transferred the graphics, but hand painted them. Each frame took two hours on a press on nail.

Watch the videos below and see for yourself what Kia went thru to push the Picanto to its target market:

The Kia Picanto was first unveiled back in 2004. So far it has gone thru two facelifts, and the latest of which was in Geneva last March. The redesigned Kia hatchback follows the modern design lines of the rest of the range. The 2012 Picanto will be offered as 3-door or a 5-door.

Buyers can also choose from three variants of the engine and two transmissions. The entry level powerplant is a small 1.0L unit with 3-cylinders which will come in two versions.; a gas variant and a bifuel enine that runs on LPG and petrol. The gas variant will give out 68 horsepower and a torque of 70 pound-feet. The bi-fuel version can produce 81 hp and 69 lb-ft of torque.

A bigger inline-four 1.25L engine will also be available. This engine will give the Picanto 83 hp and a torque of 89 lb-ft.

The three powerplants for the 2012 Picanto are coupled with a 5-speed manual transmisison. There is an option to get an automatic gearbox with the 4-cylinder engine.

The car comes in a 6 speed transmission. Most common is the manual transmission, however there is an automatic version that many people prefer. However, a common complaint of those that drive automatic transmission high performance vehicles is the loss of power because the car does not have a manual transmission. Fuel economy wise, the car gets an estimated eighteen miles per gallon on the highway, and twelve miles per gallon in the city. This mileage is actually better than most performance cars of this caliber receive, which puts the DBS at the head of many people’s list of dream cars to own.

Because of the way that the car is designed, the majority of the weight is divided between the front and rear wheel bases. This makes the DBS have superior handling when compared with other sports cars that are of the same quality. In addition, Aston Martin has added an element called Adaptive Damping System which takes into consideration how the driver is driving, weather and road conditions to make sure that the car performs flawlessly. In addition, to help the handling, the car uses specially designed tires. These are Pirelli P-Zero tires in order to get the best traction and they also accommodate the light weight of the vehicle, which is once again an aspect that helps the car to perform even better (designed especially for the Aston Martin Range). The main material used throughout the car is carbon fiber, even the interior carpeting uses a lightweight fiber to make sure that no performance is lost because of weight issues.

The interior of the Aston Martin DBS is something that most people speak highly of. It does utilize the same carbon fiber inside, in order to decrease the weight of the vehicle. However, do give off a luxurious appearance, it utilizes stainless steel, aluminum and leather throughout the car. The seats are made from leather, while the trim is a combination of alloy and silver. Needless to say, the interior is where many people find that the Aston Martin DBS really put their imagination to work. The key that starts the vehicle is also made from a glass and stainless steel and is termed an Emotional Control Unit. Overall, the Aston Martin DBS is one of those cars that enthusiasts love, however, it will cost the consumer a pretty penny to own.

There are many different versions of the Zonda, including the Zonda Roadster, Zonda Cinque, Zonda F Club and so on. The difference between each version is usually the engine size and the amount of horsepower that the car can deliver. However, the overall design of the Zonda was inspired by jet fighters, this can be seen in the looks of the car. If you have never seen a Zonda, then picture the famous Batmobile that Batman used in many movies, then take this a step further, with four pipe exhaust, huge rear spoiler, and a wide front end like the Chevrolet Corvette. The car was rumored to have been influenced heavily by the look of jet fighters as well as leaning on the Sauber-Mercedes Silver Arrow Group C cars. The jet fighter aspect of the car is readily seen with the design of the car.

Engine wise the car varies with each year. At the beginning of the Zonda, the engine was a 6.0 liter engine. The car could do a quarter mile in 12.1 seconds, which is extremely fast. What makes these cars even faster is the material that they are made of, which is carbon fiber. This is one of those aspects that has carried forward to current generations. The 2000 Zonda utilized a 7.0 liter engine, while the 2002 Zonda used the largest V12 engine that has ever been made. Needless to say, power is a main concept of these cars, which is why so many sports car lovers drool over this car.

Price wise, these cars cost a pretty penny, which is to be expected given that there are a limited number of vehicles produced each year. The first version of the Zonda cost around $400,000 in US dollars. However, as they improved upon the car and engines became bigger, the price increased. Right now, the current Zonda would cost around $1.2 million US dollars. Hence, it is very uncommon to see these vehicles driving around on the roadways.

Pagani has really taken their time with the Zonda and produced a vehicle that most people dream of owning. The company takes the car and each year improve over the previous year. The Zonda car is commonly found at many high class auto shows, showing of the technology that the company has put into the vehicles. In fact, they are often awarded with various prestigious awards. Most recently, the Zonda received the best Italian Luxury Award by the Hurun Report. Overall, the Pagani Zonda is a one of a kind car that though many of us will dream of owning, it will remain a dream.

The paper based on the work of John Paul Lange and his co-researchers at Shell Amsterdam, Cheshire and Hamburg was published in on online journal called Angewandte Chemie International Edition last May 5, 2010. According to the study, when gasoline is blended with 10% and 20% of EV (ethanol valerate), it complies with the European gasoline requirements. Further, EV blended fuel increases the octane number without deteriorating properties.

These properties include gum formation and corrosion. Apparently, blending with EV can increase gasoline’s density and oxygen content, reducing its volatility and lowering its sulfur and olefins content. The non-compliant deviations of the blends volatility can easily be fixed by a minor reformulation of base gasolines. Authors also note that this is also being done for current ethanol fuel blending.

In lay speak, modern vehicles can use the valerate biofuel without having to modify their engines. This also means that pre-existing fuel stations can be used for the fuels distribution according to my friends over at the Alternative Car Fuels Blog.

To date, the biofuels already passed a number of tests. In one of the road tests, several current vehicles were used, and after driving for 250,000 km, vehicles with 15% EV on them didn’t show any negative effects on the engine, tank, or fuel lines.

After years of being away from home, the Krug Champagne Rolls Royce bread van is finally home. The family bought the vehicle back and it not sits safely in the House of Krug in Reims. Champagne’s Royce van is no longer delivering champagne to the stars, though. It now rests in its France home as a valued museum piece.

According to the report, the Rolls Royce van was actually a 1979 Silver Shadow II sedan before it was converted into a three-door commercial vehicle. The front seats were allotted for the driver and one passenger, and two refrigerators were fitted into the van’s open rear compartment. The iconic vehicle holds the Krug Crest and it retains its special cork key ring.

In December 1999, the Royce Van was auctioned off at $68,500. The reason why the vehicle fetched such a high price was because it was Champagne’s “moving billboard” for the longest time. The bidding started at a pretty impressive $35,000, and the company awarded with the iconic van had to pay almost double the starting bid for this once very luxurious car. The popularity of the van was also due to the fact that there were very few Rolls Royce station wagons produced.

The goal of Audi is to become the leading luxury car manufacturer in the global market by 2015 and during which they should be selling about 1.5 million cars annually.

Audi ranked third in sales for premium new cars sales in  2009 with Mercedes taking the second podium next to the top spot earned by BMW.

According to experts, Mercedes-Benz might have tough time trying to regain the number two spot this year with the way things are going. Audi, at the very least should get the second spot. Audi executives expect a continuous upward trend on their sales graphs for the rest of the year.

The primary factor for Audi outpacing Mercedes is the dominance of the brand in China. From January to March, Audi was able to sell 51,449 cars in China. Mercedes was only able to sell half of that figure or 24,100 units while BMW had Q1 sales of 34,179 according to BMW Talk.

The global sales of Audi for March were pegged at 110,400 units which is a 22.2% jump year in year out. The Q1 of last year witness a big drop in demand for the luxury segment due to the recession.

A recent car show in Hawaii showcased the future of what cars will be roaming around the streets of the island. Among those in display were cool electric roadsters and a Mini Cooper electric version. There were also companies that aim to put up charging stations.

The state of Hawaii has been stepping on the brakes for the use of petroleum in favor of renewable energy sources. Hawaii gets 90% of their energy needs from petroleum making the consumers susceptible to fuel price hikes.

The governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, wants to see the state getting 70% of their energy needs from clean sources as early as 2030. Electric vehicles will be playing a big and crucial role to achieve these goals since about two thirds of fuel consumption in Hawaii goes to transportation.

A research foresees 10,000 EVs rolling on the roads of Hawaii as early as 2015 and about 43,000 electric vehicles by 2020. The projection of course is a subject of debate since the affordability of the EVs will be an issue. According to EFCars.net, other concerns include the infrastructure for charging these vehicles and the life of the batteries of these EVs.

The study showed that an average driver spends about $1,750 for fuel. This can be cut down to about $625 when electric vehicles take over the roads.

The Sofia concept is a sedan made by a small design firm located in the outskirts of Moncalieri. The company is growing as it now provides full scale car designing, engineering, model building, prototype construction, and manufacture engineering.

The concept vehicle is a four-seater sedan that takes its design lines from famous Italian cars of the past and the curvy female body. It also revolves around a hybrid setup. The Sofia is just a design exercise though and we cannot expect the car to go to production by any chance.

The Sofia was unveiled just to showcase the design philosophy of the I.DE.A Institute and the talents of its teams. The chairman of the design firm revealed that they have formed ties to work with top car brands from Europe, South America, and Asia. Green Cars are Great, aren’t they?

Hosted by the Aalto Theater in Essen, Martin Kropp, the top designer for Volkswagen, was the one who took the award as the official representative for the Exterior Design Studio 1.  Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, the oldest and most celebrated design group in Europe has been handing the red dot Best of the Best awards since year 2000.

So far, Volkswagen’s Passat CC coupe is an award-winning model as it has also won the IF Product Design Award 2009, the Australian International Design Award, and of course, the red dot Best of the Best Award.

Choosing the winner for the red dot award is labor-extensive and exhausting as far as the design experts are concerned.  Each model entered in the competition has to be evaluated using the contest’s categories.  Car and design experts worldwide gather to see the latest in car design.

Naturally, the pool of judges and design experts are changed randomly to maintain impartial judging.  Also, random judges is an assurance their unbiased judgment maintain the good design standards.  It’s a tedious job for the judges according to Fresh Car News, but here is where future automobiles are conceptualized, shaped, judged, and eventually recommended for production.