Speed:Sport:Life

Source: Audi USA

The new 2014 Audi SQ5 shown at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show is the first ever to be powered by a supercharged gasoline engine – in this case one producing 260 kW (354 hp) and 470 Nm (346.65 lb-ft) of torque The new top-of-the-line model, which was designed specifically for markets such as the United States, Canada and China, uses a 3.0 TFSI engine with forced induction. It sprints from zero to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 5.3 seconds on its way to a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).

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Chevrolet has released the second teaser for the all-new 2014 Corvette ahead of its reveal at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show (also called the North American International Auto Show depending on who you ask) on 1/13/2013.  The second trailer reveals the new digital gauge package in the 2014 Corvette and gives a little insight to the importance technology played in the development of the 7th generation Corvette.  We’ll be live on the ground in Detroit for the reveal in January and can’t wait to see the 2014 Corvette in the flesh!

The 2012 North American International Auto Show (AKA the 2012 Detroit Auto Show) kicks off from Detroit’s Cobo Hall this coming Monday and the S:S:L team will be there to cover it for you live.  The 2012 NAIAS marks the 24th year for the annual Detroit show and promises to be one of the better shows in recent years.  This year’s show will feature 40+ exhibitors, including the return of Infiniti and Nissan to the show.

Here’s what we know so far about notable reveals the 2012 NAIAS:

• Acura - Acura has been quiet for the last couple of years at the NAIAS but promise to make this year count with three new vehicle reveals including an all-new compact sports sedan dubbed the ILX, a redesigned RDX crossover, and a concept version of the next generation Acura super car.  We hesitate to call it an NSX successor just yet, but we will see what Acura has up their sleeves on Monday.
• Audi - Audi will be showing the refreshed A5/S5 and A4/S4 models for the first time on North American soil at the show, along with the 2012 A4 Allroad.  Rumor also has it that a Q3 based concept named Vail will make it’s world debut in Detroit.
• Bentley - Bentley will be debuting two new Continental V8 models which will be powered by the new 4.0 liter, twin-turbo engine found in Audi’s new S-cars.
• BMW - The new 3-series sedan will make its North American debut at the 2012 NAIAS.
• Buick - Buick has been teasing the new compact Encore SUV bit by bit on Facebook for the last few weeks, but makes its first official appearance at the 2012 NAIAS.
• Chevrolet - While nothing has been confirmed, there is a rumor that Chevy will have a surprise concept at their press conference and the blogosphere is convinced that it will be carrying the Chevelle nameplate.  We’re hearing the concept will be some electric Cruze coupe type vehicle.  Chevy will also be debuting the turbocharged Sonic RS.
• Chrysler -  The Chrysler Group will be revealing the all-new Dodge Dart compact, the Mopar tweaked Chrysler Super S, and the Dodge Charger Redline.  While the Dodge Dart is certainly the most important reveal for Chrysler at the show, the Charger Redline is what really piques our interest, featuring three available stages of Mopar tuning.
• Ford - Ford will be revealing the next generation 2013 Fusion sedan, Escape CUV and possibly the 2013 Shelby Mustang GT500 convertible.  We hear that the new Fusion will bear a striking resemblance to the Evos concept car and will be loaded full of tech that hasn’t been seen in a vehicle before.  Expect a heavy tie-in with the events going on in Vegas this week, as the new Fusion is the official car of the 2012 CES.
• Honda - The 2013 Honda Accord Coupe Concept will make its debut at the 2012 NAIAS and will show the direction of the ninth-generation Accord which is set to go on sale in the fall of 2012.  Honda’s concepts are usually nearly production ready so what you see is nearly what you’ll be getting in showrooms in the fall.
• Infiniti - Infiniti will have the JX Crossover on display as well as the ETHERA Concept which makes its North American debut.
• Lincoln - Lincoln is scheduled to have their own press event, which leads us to believe they will be debuting the new MKS and possibly MKZ sedans.
• Lexus - The 2012 NAIAS will be the stage for Lexus’ new LF-LC Concept which shows the future of Lexus design and hints at the successor to the SC coupe.
• Mercedes-Benz – MB will be showing off the new 2013 SL550 Convertible.
• Nissan - Nissan will be showing off the all-new curvier and more aerodynamic (and less off-road worthy) Pathfinder CUV.
• Porsche - Porsche will be popping the top on the new 911 with the world-debut of the 911 Carrera Cabrio.
• Toyota - Toyota will debut the NS4 advanced plug-in hybrid vehicle concept as well as the North American debut of the Prius c hybrid.
• Volkswagen - Volkswagen will be showing off some sort plug-in hybrid Jetta concept at this year’s show.
• Volvo - V stands for vaporware as Volvo will show off yet another plug-in hybrid concept, this time based on the XC60 SUV.  Volvo seems to pick one model every year to call a plug-in at the show followed by nothing ever coming of the concepts for production.

Lexus has released two additional images of their LF-LC Concept which will make it’s world debut at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.  Created by Lexus’ Calty design studio, the 2+2 LF-LC concept could be a look into the future of a successor to the Lexus SC.

Stay tuned for full coverage from the 2012 NAIAS coming live from the show floor next week!

Porsche has confirmed that they will be unveiling the Cabrio version of the new 911 sports car for the first time at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.  After a long absence from the Detroit show, Porsche rolled out the 918 RSR Concept last year and is keeping their word of Detroit being an important show for them with the unveiling of the new 911 Cabrio.

We’ll be reporting from the show floor next week with live pictures and thoughts of the new models as they reveal them.  Be sure to follow us on twitter for real-time updates from the 2012 Detroit Auto Show at http://www.twitter.com/speedsportlife .

Nissan has released a very vague but telling teaser image of the new Pathfinder that will debut at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.  While we can’t see the details of the front or rear of the Pathfinder, it’s obvious that the boxy shape will be replaced by a much more dramatically sculpted and aerodynamic shape.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter for live-updates and photos from the 2012 NAIAS reveals!

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Oh, what we wouldn’t give to return to the fashionable ennui of last year’s Detroit Auto Show! Back in those oh-so-innocent days, the floor was crowded, the giveaways flowed like water, and no manufacturer could foresee any problem worse than perhaps falling back a place in their particular front of the never-to-end horsepower wars. We didn’t know the “Carpocalypse” was coming, didn’t know that car sales would crater the way they have, couldn’t begin to guess that within a year the domestics would be on their knees while Toyota and Honda experienced thirty-percent-plus volume drops. Oh well. That was then, this is now.

The floor traffic was way down at Detroit this year, even if the increasing numbers of obnoxious soap-averse Eurotrash with monstrous rolling-tripod HD video cameras made the press previews feel a little… close at times. What’s the point of using a twenty-grand rig to film three days of a show, knowing that you’ll be boiling it down to a press-pass-contract-specified maximum five minutes of 320×240 Flash video? This was the worst-smelling NAIAS in history; the mulchy aroma of the “eco-drive” basement area mixed with the sweat-soaked polyester tops of the foreign press to create an aroma best described as “paint-peeling”. Some of these dudes really should have been thrown in the ol’ Silkwood shower.

Still, there were times when, comfortably seated in the fixed buckets of a matte-blue Murcielago or relaxing with Audi-branded chocolate squares in a manufacturer lounge, it was possible to obtain a little perspective on the show. Forget the economy, the drama, the naked pleas for government assistance, and the relentless howl of anguished prima donna front-row photographers. It’s still a show about cars, which means we’re going to name the Rockers, Suckers, and Snoozers of the 2009 North American International Auto Show.

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By Byron Hurd

GM’s press conference on Sunday was not the most depressing of the day’s events (See: Chrysler), but it certainly wasn’t the most inspiring either. Wagoner’s communications team set him up with a healthy four hundred words that had nothing to do with GM’s financial trouble. Now that’s a solid corporate communications strategy when everything is business as usual, but when you’ve just been floated a loan by some 300 million of your peers, a little humility may be in order. (See: Chrysler — sensing a pattern?). But while ChryCo’s conference may have been the most depressing of the bunch, it was the non-event that was Pontiac’s presence at NAIAS that depressed, disturbed, and frankly offended me as both an enthusiast and as “member” of the press. If you’ve ever shown up to a party where you’re surrounded by dozens of people who were your friends just days before and suddenly don’t want to talk to you, look at you, acknowledge you, or even share the same hundred-square foot area of their apartment, then you know what it’s like to be Pontiac. You don’t know what you did (or didn’t do), but suddenly you’re the fattest, pinkest, most foul-smelling elephant ever to be under the table.

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Click to View Cadillac Converj & Sport Wagon Gallery

Photos by Zerin Dube and Carl Modesette

The Speed:Sport:Life 2009 North American International Auto Show Photo Gallery is live! 550+ of the best photos of the show that you will find on the web. We’ve taken the time to painstakingly color correct and enhance each photo to make sure you feel like you were there. All photos are viewable as large as 1200×800. We’ll have the 2009 Rockers, Suckers and Snoozers for you tomorrow, but for now we hope you enjoy the gallery.

Full index of photo galleries after the jump!

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Click to View Lamborghini Fashion Show Gallery

Story by Jack Baruth
Photos by Zerin Dube

Today saw the introduction of what was justifiably called “the most important product introduction of the 2009 North American International Auto Show”, the mostly-new, .25 coefficient of drag, Toyota Prius… Oh, the hell with that. You don’t wanna hear about the Pious Pod. You want pictures of beautiful women, exotic supercars, Nurburgring-veteran Vipers, bad-assed turbocharged Lincolns, and a half-million-dollar pair of Mercedes super-SLs… and we will deliver.

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