Overshadowing pretty much all of the other big “reveals” at the Melbourne International Motor Show was GM Holden’s two door performance concept, the Coupe 60. Yes, it’s smells like the next “Monaro”, however at this stage it doesn’t look like the Coupe 60 will see production.

The throbbing 6.0 litre V8 engine was one of the highlights of the show, and drew plenty of attention to the Holden stand. In true concept fashion the Holden Coupe 60 stands out on 21-inch centre-lock alloy wheels. The engine is also calibrated for E85 ethanol fuel.

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Here’s something to file under the “you don’t see that every day” category. A car company actively promoting the achievement of an entirely average crash test rating.

That is exactly what Nissan are doing with their spin doctors working overtime to highlight the fact that their Nissan Navara has been retested and has scored a 3 star safety rating. In the age of the 5 star car, a 3 star result is underwhelming at best. But why would the folks at Nissan be actively promoting there newly acquired 3 stars?

Simple. In the original crash test the Navara scored a struck-through 1 star result in the EuroNCAP crash testing program.

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In the five-star rating system, the 2008 Smart sedan got four stars for protecting the driver in a frontal impact. It got three stars for the passenger in frontal impact and three stars for resisting a rollover.

In the side-impact test, the car’s door came unlatched–causing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to footnote the score with a “safety concern.” But the door problem did not subtract from the car’s five-star rating for side impact.

Results were made public on Thursday, April 3.
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With this very fresh example (it had only 120 miles showing on the odometer), we were hesitant to lay down the hammer, at least with the gusto we normally reserve for Porsche’s mid-engine sports car. After a few miles, however, resistance proved futile: The commute home did include a few spirited jabs of the throttle.
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In 1905, Tilt, the son of a shoemaker, began building cars, but he was making only trucks by 1911. His name eventually became synonymous with one of the engineered functions of his cabs: They were tilted forward to allow for engine maintenance.
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Notable is the return to the historic Trois-Rivieres street course in Quebec after a five-year absence. The Atlantics will headline activities in Trois-Rivieres on Sunday, Aug. 17, for the first time since 2003, when A.J. Allmendinger won en route to claiming the series championship.
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“John Middlebrook has made tremendous contributions to GM in a variety of roles over the past 49 years,” GM CEO Rick Wagoner said in a statement. “He is well-known and highly respected and admired throughout the industry as a true sales and marketing professional.”

Browning, 48, has been GM Europe’s head of sales and marketing since 2001.
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Mosley’s call for the meeting comes in the wake of critical statements issued by Formula One manufacturers BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Toyota. A meeting date has not been set.

“The full membership of the FIA will be invited to attend the meeting at which the widespread publicity following an apparently illegal invasion of the FIA president’s privacy will be discussed,” the FIA said in a statement. The FIA noted that Mr. Mosley is preparing legal proceedings against the (more…)