Auto Trends

All Photos Originally Uploaded by Cars dot com

The 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLR Sterling Moss Edition is nothing more than a dream for most. It is a tribute to the renowned British race car driver, Stirling Moss, who victoriously won the 1955 Mille Miglia race in Italy, using only his talent, an original Mercedes 300 SLR, and a wee bit of luck. The SLR Sterling started production in June of 2009 and is scheduled to run through December of 2009, producing a total of 75 of these masterpieces.

The Stirling will be blessed with supercharged 5.4-liter V-8, featuring 650 bhp. Its acceleration from 0-60 is expected to be somewhere within the range of 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 217 mph. The entire body shell will be handmade from carbon fiber sheets, with the remaining components and interior pieces topped off with either a high-quality aluminum, or supple leather. They really spared no expense!

The cost for admission of the Stirling Moss will be $1.05 Million (U.S. Dollars), but there’s a little more to it than that. Only those who have purchased a previous SLR worth $495,000 or greater will even be offered a chance at owning one of these babies. This is strictly a customer loyalty edition, which is sure to weed out most of the ultra elite, and go straight to the ultra-mega-alpha elite.

Take a gander at its specifications:

While the basic styling is decidedly impractical, it will be a lot more functional that it may at first appear. The aero-shaped windscreen and rear wind deflectors have been tested to strategically redirect airflow and bugs away from the driver and passenger’s face and teeth (you’d be grinning when driving this I’d imagine).

A nifty tonneau cover can be installed on the passenger side for a true one-seat, race car, experience. There is also a matching tonneau cover for the drivers side that can be locked into place, helping to keep nosy fingers and rain off its six-figure, supple leather upholstery. Upswing doors, functional air scoops and rollover bars will complete the total million dollar package.

This is one of those times when I wished I would have listened to my Mom and became a doctor, oil tycoon, or Tzar or something. Oh well, it’s free to look at the pictures!

While the inexpensive (Under $30,000) roadster segment of the automotive industry has been for the most fairy rather sparse, with only two real competitors in this price range, the Mazda Miata MX-5 and Pontiac Solstice. They can probably expect some more competition in the not too distant future.

It seems like every manufacture has a roadster these days. Audi has its TT, Chrysler its Crossfire, BMW its Z3/Z4, Honda its S2000, Porsche its Boxster, and the list goes on. There is also talk of several more roadsters hot off the rumor press which could be making their way into a driveway near you by 2012.

Photo via Auto Express

Rumor has it that Mini has a roadster in the works. They have been heading in that direction over the years, but have just taken the long route to getting there. The Mini Roadster will be based off of their current cabrio, minus the rear seats of course and extra curb weight. John Cooper Works will also be working on a souped up 223 horsepower version, which could end up putting down some serious track numbers unlike anything we have seen before from Mini.

Okay, so we don’t know exactly how this one will look, but probably a lot cooler than this rendition!

BMW (and Mercedes) might also be in the process of getting new roadsters. The BMW would be classified as a Z2, and most speculation puts it at somewhere around 150 horsepower (with a 300 hp turbo option), placing it right in competition with the Miata. We could probably also expect to see EV (Electric Vehicle) versions of these roadsters in the future, focused towards fans of the Tesla who don’t have $100,000 to spend on a two-seat “fun” car.

originally uploaded by AutoAlert - theautoalert.blogspot’s

Mazda might have a mini-roadster in the making, but only this time a rear-wheel drive. It won’t be a serious sport competitor with its rumored 1.0 or 1.3-liter engine, but it will make a nice entry level roadster, and would probably be a heck of a lot more fun to drive than the Smart Fortwo drop top. There is also speculation of a Madza MX-2 roadster, featuring as much as 160 horsepower from a turbocharged 1.6-liter powerplant.

2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS, originally uploaded by JDPower.com Photography

It is that time of year for the results of this years APEAL studies (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout). “APEAL” is the shortened description for when J.D. Power and Associates rolls out their list of appealing automotive attributes, and ask buyers to rate how last years automotive offerings stacked up to their expectations.

It was undoubtedly a rough year for most automotive manufacturers in 2008. Consumers witnessed the initial proceedings of bankruptcy, job loss, stock loss, gas price increase, and a host of other ups and downs, so it would not be surprising to find them rather down on the automobile in general. This however did not appear to be the case.

The Bloody Consequences of Higher Gas Prices, originally uploaded by lorenzodom

The Automotive Market Maybe Down, But Certainly Not Out
The overall consumer opinion of 2008 models was fairly positive, except for performance/fuel economy and audio/entertainment. The dissatisfaction with fuel economy has already been attributed mostly to the high gas prices of 2008, while electronics still remains somewhat of a mystery why it was rated lower than usual.

Unlike most years, consumers appeared to prefer freshened, previous models, to the all-new, redesigned ones. A few examples of this was seen in the popular opinion of such previous models as the Ford Focus, Dodge Grand Caravan, and Chevrolet Malibu. We also saw a lot of familiar faces from last year’s poll reappear with some old consumer favorites, such as Porsche Cayenne, BMW 3-Series, and Jaguar XJ Series.

With this said, Buick was one of the few who actually did enjoy noteworthy success by introducing an all-new, stylish vehicle. We are of course speaking of the Enclave, which may have very well brought a whole new generation back in touch with the aging Buick brand.

Ford deserves some extra applause for being surveyed as having one of the most improved models of 2008, the Ford Focus. Of the more disappointing models according to consumers was the Honda CR-V, Saturn Aura, and Lincoln MKX.

A few other noteworthy vehicles exhibiting top scores according to consumer opinion was the Mini Cooper, Volkswagen GTI/CC/Tiguan, Hyundai Genesis, Smart Fortwo, Dodge Challenger, Ford Flex/F-150, Nissan Armada/Maxima, Honda Odyssey/Ridgeline, Mercedes-Benz SLK/S-Class, and Chevrolet Avalanche.

Source: J.D. Power & Associates