Honda Takes a Look at the Past and Future of the NSX Sports Coupe

Back in the early 1990s when the Japanese auto industry went sports car crazy churning out models like the third generation Mazda RX-7, the Mitsubishi 3000GT, the Nissan 300ZX and Skyline GT-R, and the Toyota Supra, one vehicle stood out from the rest and that was the Honda / Acura NSX.

The NSX taught American and European car manufactures a lesson or two on how to build a high-performance sports car that not only looked good but also was reliable and reasonably priced for what it had to offer.

The fact that it remained in production virtually unchanged for 15 years from 1990 to 2005 is a testament to the innovation of its original design.

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The Ferrari Graveyard from Japan's $4 Million Supercar Pileup

True, it's been close to two months since the world's most expensive car pileup took place in Japan destroying more than two dozen premium models including eight Ferraris and a Lamborghini with an estimated combined cost of US$4 million, but one of our readers pointed us this to video which we hadn’t seen before.

The clip shows some of the supercars involved in the accident including the white Ferrari Testarossa and several F360s at a parking lot somewhere in Japan. Apparently, this is where the cars were taken to after the mishap.

A whole lot of crumpled metal follows in the video below.

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Nissan and NASA* Launch New Spec Z Race Series for 350Z

Before you go all Newt Gingrich on us, allow us to explain that NASA is an acronym for the National Auto Sport Association. With that of the way, we can now tell you that Nissan and NASA have just announced the creation of an all-new Spec Z racing series for all trim variants of the 350Z from the 2003-2008 model years.

The single make series has the support of Nissan's Motorsports division, which will offer a contingency prize program that rewards the top three finishers at each regional competition weekend with up to $850. The top finishers of the season will also be eligible for a prize of up to $6,500 in cash support.

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BMW Classic Opens Online Parts Shop for Cars and Motorcycles Built from 1960 to 1990

If you happen to be a European owner of a classic BMW and either prefer to shop original parts directly from the automaker or you need a specific component that can't be found anywhere else, the German company has some good news in store for you.

BMW announced today that it has launched a new online shop dedicated to its classic models offering customers the opportunity to buy parts straight from their computer.

Currently, the BMW Classic Parts website is available only for customers in Germany but the service will be expanded to further European markets in April.

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Ferris Bueller is Back in a Mystery Super Bowl Teaser

One of the most famous movie scenes from the 1980s is from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" when Bueller's buddy Cameron accidentally pushes his dad's 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California out of the window and goes, "What did I do? What did I do?", and Bueller replies, "You killed the car."

It's been almost 26 years since the movie became a cult hit for an entire generation of teens and 20-somethings, and today, a mystery video appeared on YouTube showing a middle-age Mathew Broderick reprising his role of Ferris Bueller.

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BMW Car Club GB Announces its First Ever 'Z-Fest'

On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, the official BMW Car Club GB will host its first ever "Z-Fest" gathering at this summer’s Silverstone Classic from July 20 to 22, promising to bring together hundreds of Z1, Z3, Z4 and Z8 sports cars, all of which will participate in a special parade lap on the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.

“We wanted to do something spectacular to mark our anniversary and staging the UK’s first Z-Fest at the world’s biggest classic racing festival certainly fits that bill,” said Steve Miller, general manager of the BMW Car Club (GB).

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eBay Find: Fully Restored 1967 Datsun Sports 2000 Roadster

Even though the name Datsun Sports (or Datsun Fairlady in Japan) may not ring a bell to many readers, the series was a very important model for the carmaker, which we know today as Nissan, as it led to the creation of the Z series starting with the 240Z in 1968.

The Datsun Sports line was introduced in 1959 as an inexpensive alternative to the MG and Triumph roadsters, borrowing many styling cues from British models.

The first model, codenamed S211, used a tiny 1.0-liter engine with just 36-horsepower but the lineup gained momentum and in 1967, the Japanese carmaker introduced the last version of the series, the SR311/SRL311.

It was fitted with a much more potent 2.0-liter inline-four producing 133HP in normal guise and 150HP with an optional package featuring dual Mikuni/Solex carburetors and a special camshaft, linked to a five-speed manual gearbox which was uncommon for the time.

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1989 BMW 750iL V12 with Only 3,000 Miles but an Asking Price of $48k

In 1987, BMW made history with the presentation of its first ever V12 automobile (the company had made V12 engines before but they were used on aircrafts) and the first 12-cylinder German car in almost half a century, the 750i and its long wheelbase sibling, the 750iL from the E32 series.

Codenamed M70, the 5.0-liter V12 engine produced an output of 300bhp (304PS/224kW) and a peak torque of 450 Nm (332 lb·ft) and was linked to a four-speed ZF automatic transmission. The same powertrain also found its way under the hood of the 850i in 1989.

With more than two decades on its back and a hefty price tag at its time, the E32 750i / 750iL is not an easy find today - let alone in pristine condition, which makes this 1989 750iL that's up for grabs on eBay all the more interesting.

Located in Florida, the burgundy colored 750iL has only a mere 3,000 miles (about 4,800 kilometers) on its odometer, which virtually makes the car brand new!

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Prada Burns Some Rubber with 1950s Cadillac and Hot Rod-Inspired Collection

This is not the first time we've shown you footwear inspired by the world of automobiles, but unlike the rendered Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera heels and the one-off, promotional Opel Agila pumps, the tail finned high-heels from Prada seen here will soon go on sale. And that's not all.

In fact, Prada's entire haute couture line for spring and summer 2012 is a tribute to the fabulous 1950s and especially the American automobile industry with Cadillacs and hot rods taking a center role.

Among the more impressive offerings from an automobile perspective are the high heels, wedges and pumps with flame designs, chrome trims, tailfins and cone-shaped tail lamps!

However, don't go promising your other half a pair of Cadillac Coupe de Ville heels unless you're willing to put your hands deep into your pockets as these babies are expected to cost as much as $1,450 a pair. More photos after the break.

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Saab Museum Cars Looking for a New Home – See the Complete Auction List

There's a lot of blame going around over the bleak outcome of the efforts to save Saab, but life goes on and so does the liquidation of the Swedish company's assets including the collection of vehicles from its museum, which is located at the brand's headquarters in Trollhättan.

As we learned from the folks over at Saabsunited, Swedish law firm Delphi has posted a list of all the cars from the Saab museum that will soon go up for auction. The news is both good and bad, depending on how you look at it.

On one hand, some fans of the brand and collectors alike will have the unique opportunity to bid on production, racing and concept models that otherwise would have never been offered to the public.

On the other hand, Saab enthusiasts as well as gearheads would have surely preferred to have all the cars together in a museum where the public can see them.

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Is the Saab Museum up for Sale?

With Saab having bitten the bullet, probably for good this time, the administrators have immediately stepped in and started selling off its assets in order to pay the now bankrupt carmaker’s workers and creditors.

According to a report from the usually well-informed crew on Saab matters over at Saabs United, the bankruptcy administrators are already taking offers for the Swedish firm's Car Museum that is located in Trollhättan.

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Beware of Flying Objects: Cameraman gets Hit in the Head by a Piece of Tire

Every profession has its dangers, some more hazardous than others. For this cameraman who was filming an early 1970s Holden HQ sedan doing a heavy burnout at the Summernats festival in Canberra, Australia, the danger came from a flying piece of rubber that smacked him right in the head and knocking him down. Ouch...

Watch the video after the jump.

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Spare Some Change? eBay Seller Lists Porsche 928 GTS for $109k and BMW 850CSi for $67k

For many of us born in the 1970s and early 1980s, the Porsche 928 and the BMW 8-Series were amongst the most impressive sports / GT models of their time.

Sure we had posters of a Lamborghini Countach (preferably with a puffy haired and scantily dressed bomb shell spreading over the Italian beast) and the Ferrari F40 or the Porsche 959 hanging on our side of the bedroom wall, but these models were clearly a pure fantasy that only a select few could ever own.

The 928 and the 8-Series, on the other hand, were more attainable and practical daydreaming material.

Our unfulfilled teenage dreams could explain why as adults we waste so many hours on eBay and Craigslist looking for "the" deal and then click over to dedicated forums to convince ourselves that we can handle their maintenance costs…

In one of our usual trips on eBay, we stumbled upon a pristine BMW 8-Series that led to a low-mileage Porsche 928, which to our surprise, was listed for sale by the same person.

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The Finn who Accidentally Cheated his Way into Winning the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally: A True Story

Watching today’s World Rally Championship cars sliding at insane speeds on tarmac, gravel and snow, you marvel at the driving skills of the drivers. And rightly so: Formula 1 may be the king of motorsports, but it’s a two-hour sprint, while rallying is more akin to a three-day marathon.

Even so, while mustering the today's beasts amid strong competition is quite a feat, it is a piece of cake compared to what rally drivers had to face three or four decades ago.

“We did one 36-hour section non-stop, leaving from Monte Carlo and back again”, tells Sympatico.ca Autos, one of the “Flying Finns” of the 1960s and 1970s, Rauno Aaltonen. “The 100 best competitors started the next day at around 5 or 6 p.m. on the Mountain Circuit.”

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FoMoCo Recalling Close to Half a Million Ford Freestar, Mercury Monterey and Ford Escape Models

The Blue Oval has issued two separate recalls that collectively involve nearly half a million vehicles in the States.

The first action concerns 205,896 units of the Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans from the 2004 and 2005 model years as they may have defective torque converter output shafts.

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Living Legends: Oldest Mercedes 300 SL in Existence Shines at the Detroit Motor Show

Sad to say, many classic vehicles are often left to rot and inevitably make the dreaded trip to the crusher, after being stripped out of anything that can be recycled.

Thankfully, that’s not always the case and some vehicles survive even after 6 decades. Even though the first-ever 300 SL, a racing model from 1952, was destroyed, the second car that was built with chassis number 194 010 00002/52 survived as it was in Mercedes’ ownership.

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Purple Haze: Aussie Ford Falcon XA Coupe's Colorful Burnout

The Summernats is an annual festival for gearheads that takes place in the Australian capital city of Canberra in January drawing some 1,500 heavily modded street machines along with more than 80,000 visitors from Australia and overseas.

Among the highlights of the four-day long car fest is the burnout battle. In this year's event, one of the more impressive burnouts came courtesy of Gary Myers who fitted his tuned 1972 Ford Falcon XA Coupe with a set of purple tires.

You can see the result in the video that follows after the break.

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One of the Original “Eleanor” Mustang GT500 Film Cars Going under the Hammer

If you’ve seen the 2000 blockbuster film “Gone in 60 Seconds”, you may recall Angelina Jolie walking into a garage full of Ferraris and saying in her husky voice “Hello, ladies. I always was a sucker for a redhead”.

You’ll no doubt also remember the name of the protagonist's favorite car “Eleanor”, a 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 that master thief "Memphis" Raines decided to keep for last in his attempt to steal 50 cars in a single night to save his brother’s life.

It was also the name of the 1974 original film’s 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 – yes, in case you didn’t know it, the Cage-Jolie-starring movie was a remake.

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1970s Toyota Corolla Sleeper with Nissan V6 Turbo Runs 1/4 Mile in 11s

We all love us some cool sleepers and what a better mechanical wolf in sheepskin than a third generation Toyota Corolla sedan [KE30 series] from the mid-1970s with a completely stock look right up to the rear window shades sporting a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 Nissan engine under its tiny hood.

The ride comes to us from Australia and according to the blokes over at FullBoost, it was created in just four weeks' time. The force-fed VQ30 is linked to a ZX five-speed manual gearbox while the car runs on 14-inch tires.

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Opel Celebrates 150th Anniversary with a Video Presentation

As Opel begins the celebrations for its 150th anniversary this year, the German automaker has published a new video that traces its history from the foundation of the company by Adam Opel on January 21, 1862 up until today and its most recent offerings like the new Chevrolet Volt-based Ampera.

As you can see in the video after the break, Opel started off by producing sewing machines and then went on to build high-wheel bicycles, also known as penny-farthings (from the unevenly sized British penny and farthing coins) before Adam Opel's two sons entered into a partnership with Friedrich Lutzmann to produce the company's first automobiles in 1902.

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