Official: Mazda previews hot MX-5 Miata Spyder and Turbo2 concepts for SEMA

Filed under: SEMA Show , Convertible , Performance , Hatchback , Mazda Truth be told, we find most SEMA concepts to simply be gaudy aftermarket overkill. These two Mazda models, however – now these are something we’d like to sink our teeth into. Let’s start with the MX-5 Miata Spyder concept. The most obvious alteration here is the removal of the stock MX-5′s folding soft top (or hard top) for the sake of a stretched canvas roof, similar to the rakish and flying buttressed Porsche Boxster Spyder .

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Official: Mazda previews hot MX-5 Miata Spyder and Turbo2 concepts for SEMA

Autoblog Podcast #237

Filed under: Motorsports , Podcasts , Government/Legal , Plants/Manufacturing , BMW , Chevrolet , Ford , Porsche , Toyota Cruze beats Camry, V8 Supercars to race in Austin, HOV stickers expire, 2012 Toyota Camry Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now! Episode #237 of the Autoblog Podcast is done, a day later thanks to us celebrating the 4th of July holiday. Chris, Zach, Dan and Chris Paukert start with the Chevrolet Cruze outselling the Toyota Camry in June. Other topics include Australia’s V8 Supercar race series invading Austin, California’s Hybrid HOV access stickers expiring and the 2012 Toyota Camry.

http://www.autoblog.com/podcasts/07-06-11-autoblog-E237.mp3

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Autoblog Podcast #237

Porsche celebrates production of 300,000th Boxster/Cayman

Filed under: Convertible , Coupe , Porsche 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder – Click above for high-res image gallery We’re big fans of Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman , and it appears we’re not alone. Porsche is celebrating 300,000 Cayman and Boxster models sold, almost exactly 15 years after the first roadster left the Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen plant in Germany. The lion’s share of those sports cars have been convertibles – the hard-hatted Cayman didn’t join the party until 2005 as a 2006 model. To put an exclamation point on production vehicle number 300,000, Porsche went all-out by building a Boxster Spyder with Platinum Silver paint and Carrera red leather interior.

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Porsche celebrates production of 300,000th Boxster/Cayman

Car and Driver returns to VIR for Lightning Lap No. 5 [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports , Performance , Videos Car and Driver presents Lightning Lap No. 5 – Click above for high-res image gallery The annual Lightning Lap roundup from Car and Driver is easily one of our favorite car magazine features of any of the past five years, and this year’s extravaganza at Virginia International Raceway delivers ones again. The five classes in the throwdown represent vehicles under $30,000, $30k to $60k, $60,000 to $120,000, $120k to $240k and the elusive “and up” category. C/D asked manufacturers to supply production vehicles that come equipped with the most track-ready options that any Tom, Dick and Harry can get straight from the factory, including uprated tires, brakes and sporting suspensions

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Car and Driver returns to VIR for Lightning Lap No. 5 [w/video]

Playboy’s 2011 Cars of the Year hit the casting couch

Filed under: Performance , Etc. , Mercedes-Benz , Luxury Are the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG’s gullwing doors just giant bunny ears? – Click above for high-res image gallery We all know the story, and we’ve all used the line: we read Playboy for the articles. Somehow no one ever takes us seriously, but the fact of the matter is that Playboy is a men’s magazine with a wide readership and articles focusing on everything guys want to read about: sex, sports, politics and yes, even cars.

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Playboy’s 2011 Cars of the Year hit the casting couch

Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 7.16.10

Review: 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder Porsche has built the penultimate Boxster, but what’s the price of perfection? Convenience, amenities and an over-inflated sticker. Road Race Motorsports creates Platinum Edition Suzuki Kizashi We’ve said several times that the Kizashi could use more power, and the crew from Road Race Motorsports has heard our pleas and boosted Suzuki’s mid-sizer to 300 hp.

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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 7.16.10