If you remember correctly, AMS Performance made a promise to set a new quarter mile time record for their newest baby, the AMS ALPHA 12 GT-R. On July 26, 2011, Tuesday, AMS Performance made history.

Last Tuesday, with better weather conditions this time, AMS Performance returned their AMS ALPHA 12 GT-R on the track field. Despite the poor foot time figures of 1.668 60, the ALPHA 12 GT-R still went down in history as the very first 8-second R35 GT-R. It was driven by Ivan Philips, the Special Projects Technician, who accelerated the car at went 8.975 at 169.49mph. Moreover, the ALPHA 12 GT-R also broke the 60-130 time speed record when it zoomed in 3.34 second from 60-130mph.

That’s an impressive record set by the ALPHA 12 GT-R, making it the fast street car from 60-130mph. For this, kudos goes to the US tuner company, the AMS Performance, for making history.

It’s not only what’s under the hood that makes the ALPHA 12 GT-R an impressive, street-legal sports automobile. The interiors carry a Bose audio system, carbon fiber dashboard, power steering technology, an alloy-leather combo on the shifter, and alloy trim on its doors.

AMS Performance expressed their gratitude to their sponsors some of which were Darton Sleeves, Nagtroc.org, Manley Performance, Ferrea Racing Components, JE Pistons, Kelford Cams, Dodson Motorsport, Exedy Clutch, Nissan Motorsports, Sheptrans.com, Cobb Tuning and Injector Dynamics. Lastly, they are thankful to their loyal GT-R customers for their continued support and enthusiasm.

The collaboration between car marque Aston Martin and famous design house Zagato is one that should not be missed especially if they come out with a product like the Aston Martin V12 Zagato. The two companies recently unwrapped the fusion of their creative juices at the shores of Lake Como. Aston Martin also took the V12 Zagato for a spin at the Nurburgring track to prove to everyone that the car is not just all about good looks.

Aston Martin went low profile when asked if the V12 Zagato will reach consumers. There are reports now that a few will be built and also suggests that the five decade old tandem of Zagato and Aston Martin only produce cars for those who want the best of the best for their rides. In short, the V12 Zagato comes very expensive.

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BMW has stated many, many times that they have absolutely no plans in the future on making an official M version of the current F01 7 Series.  While that might still hold true, they are going to be making something better and it is the brand new 2011 Alpina B7 BMW.

This particular car is something that is not only awesome but at the Chicago Auto Show next month, they are going to be bringing back the 2011 Alpina B7 BMW for showing.  It has a sweet 4.4 liter twin turbocharged V8 under the hood, this little bugger produces right around 400 HP, which for a car it’s class, that is pretty good.

If you are looking for power and luxury in one car, the 2011 Alpina B7 BMW is going to be it next year!

Cadillac aficionados in Europe has a good reason to smile about as the car manufacturer recently announced the roll out of the Platinum Edition of the Escalade in the European market. Cadillac adds the Platinum Edition boosting their luxury options for their current SUV lineup.

The Platinum Escalade offers a ton of extras atop its standard counterpart. The interior boasts of high end Tehama aniline leather, entertainment system with DVD for rear-seat passengers, wood inlays, aluminium trimming for the instrument panel, and it rolls on 22 inch chrome rims. The spotlight is also on the cooled and heated cup holders for the Platinum version.

The Escalade also come standard with features like keyless entry, xenon headlamps with forward lighting technology, hard drive-base nav system, and leather seats that are electrically adjustable.

The Platinum Edition of the Cadillac Escalade has a tag price of £69,724 but right now you can only get it at the Bauer Millet dealership in Manchester. This will surely attract businessmen, rock stars, soccer players and similar crowd who want to be different from those rolling on a BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne, and Ranger Rover.

Cadillac is also pushing for the hybrid version of the Escalade that has a V8 6.0L petrol powerplant working in combo with an electric motor to deliver a 332 bhp output.

Ford is preparing the new Focus ST side by side the next gen Ford Focus in Paris this coming October.

According to Ford, the Focus St is said to have a new Ecoboost powerplant to take the place of the 2.5L 5 cylinder engine of its older sibling and the current RS variant of the Focus.

The new engine will be a jacked up version of the 2.0L 200 bhp Ecoboost being used by the current S-Max, Galaxy, and Mondeo models. The engine will most likely come to around 250 bhp so it can meet head on the Sport Megane of Renault and the 266 bhp Golf.

A more potent version of the Focus RS might also be designed from the 2.0L Ecoboost and have an output of around 300 bhp.

Ford will utilize their technology on torque vectoring to keep the the power that is being transferred to the front wheels balanced and provide the best grip on the road for the new ST. Sprinting from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour will not be an issue and it can be done in a matter of 6 seconds.

The top speed will be pegged at 250 km/h. According to insiders, the new Focus ST will also have a better fuel mileage compared to the older 2.5L unit. Ford will also give options for different driving modes via the installed drive software to suit the needs of owners.

The new Ford Focus wagon and hatchback will be rolling out in Europe by April of next year. The ST is scheduled to follow on the latter part of 2011.

Japanese carmaker Toyota reported that its luxury brand Lexus had a jump of 31% in US sales figures for the month of May as its incentive programs helped in edging its closest rival Mercedes-Benz.

Lexus was able to roll out from its US dealer showrooms about 22,216 vehicles this May making its year to date figure sum up to 90,098 vehicles. This shows a 24% improvement looking at the year in year out figures.

The sales figure of Mercedes-Bens jumped by 27% which translates to 19,184 vehicles pushing their 2010 to date total to 88,010 units or a 26% improvement from last year.

Through the month of April, Mercedes Benz was able to sell 1,000 more cars than its competition Lexus if the sales of its commercial van will be part of the comparison but if not Lexus has really a clear lead ahead of Mercedes. Lexus is the luxury leader in the United State for the past 10 years.

Looking at other car manufacturers, BMW’s sale fell by 3% and only reported 17,859 units sold for the month of May.

The sales of luxury cars slowed down a bit in the US as also reflected in the decline of numbers of Porsche and Lincoln. The luxury brands are also trying to push for their current M.Y. lineup so the buyers are more of the bargain lookers rather than the real luxury buyers.

Audi was able to sell 9,205 cars last May which is put their sales figure up by 23%. It has been the best May ever for Audi in the United States.

One thing that I learned this past week from all of the rain that happened in New England is that you should never, ever cross a road that is covered with water.  The reason for that is because there is a reason that it is closed and you definitely do not want to get stranded in the water.

The water is something that can absolutely ruin your car in every form and if you flood the engine out, it is definitely not fixable, which is not good.  You always want to either drive around the puddles or you want to take a different route.

Both of these options are definitely the best.  You also want to make sure that you keep your headlights on, as that is something that will help.

While allowing more traveling time is definitely important, there are a few other things that you will want to keep in mind whenever you are traveling in the rain.  One of them is the cruise control.  I know that I use the cruise control a heck of a lot and you want to make sure that you do not use it.  The reason for this is because you can lose control.

You can actually hydroplane on the road and that in turn, can cause a lot of accidents, as you could actually hydroplane right into another car, which is not a good thing.

You also want to make sure that you are braking really early as well, as your brakes are going to be slippery.

Driving in the rain is extremely difficult a lot of the time, especially when the rain is coming down extremely hard.  In this blog, we have explored a lot of cars, but have we explored how you can actually control your car during a rain storm?  April showers bring May flowers right?  If you live on the east coast, you are definitely seeing the truth behind this statement.

That is exactly what we are going to talk about in the next few blogs, just how you can drive in the rain safely and how you can truly keep from getting into an accident during a rain storm.  One of the first things you need to do is make sure that you are prepared – you can never be too prepared for the rain.

This means that you want to always allow more travel time whenever you are dealing with rain.

iPod. iPad. iPhone. It seems like, since Apple started doing it, everyone seems to think that if you put a lower case “i” on the front of something, it’s sure to sell.

It will, in fact, be the kind of commodity that causes the Tickle Me Elmo phenomenon, wherein people will shank each other to get a shot out of it. They will lie, cheat, and steal to get one.

And now, Hyundai is jumping on the bandwagon. How? With the i-Flow concept. It is alternately known as the HED-7.

Will it be a big seller? Is it worthy of the “i” phenomenon?