Acura and Lexus aren’t the brands you’d normally think of when you think of Ford’s competition, but those are exactly the targets of Ford’s latest ad campaign for the new 2010 Taurus. Featuring a series of torture tests, the ads try to convey the level of quality and value offered by the big American sedan.

One ad depicts an interior quietness test, with a roaring jet-powered dragster between the 2010 Taurus and the 2009 Acura RL. Ford claims the Taurus is 5% quieter.

Another ad shows the Lexus LS460 and the Taurus following a gravel truck.

2010 Ford Taurus sedan

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Ferrari has released the first details of its newest supercar, the Ferrari 458 Italia, which represents one of the largest leaps forward in technology, performance and emissions ever seen from the legendary Italian automaker.

Its new 4.5-liter V8 engine produces 570hp (425kW) and 400lb-ft (540Nm) of torque, enough to blast the car to 62mph (100km/h) in less than 3.4 seconds and on to a 202mph (325km/h) top speed, yet it uses less fuel than the car it replaces – the already amazing F430. But these raw figures are just the start of the technological story of Ferrari’s newest model.

While the outgoing F430 was largely based on the 360 Modena that preceded it, the Ferrari 458 Italia is a completely new car from every point of view: engine, design, aerodynamics, handling, instrumentation and ergonomics are all new.

The car also benefits hugely from Ferrari’s F1 experience.

2010 Ferrari 458 Italia

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Suzuki has released three very different concept vehicles in the past 12 months, all grouped under the same ‘Kizashi’ heading. The most recent of these was the Kizashi 3, a stylish sedan concept unveiled at March’s New York Auto Show that was the closest of the three show cars to resembling anything close to a regular production vehicle.

A prototype for the new sedan was spotted recently testing in the U.S., and now we have the first image of the actual production version, which was snapped at a recent press event.

2010 Suzuki Kizashi spy shots

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Despite the worldwide economic slowdown and the auto industry suffering from steep sales declines, there are certain consumers that will not skimp, save, nor sacrifice when it comes to motoring. It’s those consumers that the 2010 V12-powered BMW 760 was designed for. Under the hood of this behemoth sedan lurks a 544 horsepower 6.0-liter twin turbocharged V12 mated to an all-new 8-speed gearbox. That power is capable of moving this 4850+ pound vehicle to 60 mph in a mere 4.5 seconds. Inside, supple leather and walnut trim fills the cabin. And with a base price tag of $137,000, the 2010 BMW 760i is perhaps one of the best examples of decadent excess on four wheels.

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Check out reviews on the ultimate driving machine and more soon.

General Motors’ announcement back in April that the Pontiac brand would be phased out by the end of the year and Saturn sold off, many of the automaker’s top models were immediately given a death sentence. Some of the cars that will be missed the most include hot items like the Saturn Sky, Pontiac G8 and of course, the Solstice Coupe and Roadster.

One of the first of many reports to come, Delaware’s The News Journal reports that production at GM’s 62-year old Boxwood Road assembly plant ceased on Tuesday.

2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe

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German tuning firm Mcchip specializes in optimizing the vehicle management systems and electronic control units of cars to eke as much performance out of them as possible, and its latest product focuses on giving the new Audi TT-RS a significant boost in the performance department - not that the standard TT-RS was lacking in power to begin with.

From the factory, the standard 2.5L turbocharged Audi TT-RS has 340hp being cranked out by the five-cylinder engine, and a fairly impressive 325lb-ft of torque.

2010 Audi TT-RS

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Along with today’s shock announcement that BMW is quitting F1 after the 2009 season, the automaker also announced a new focus on “sustainability and environmental compatibility”. This doesn’t mean that BMW’s future model range will be limited to unexciting fuel misers. Nothing could be further from the truth as the automaker will reportedly showcase a new sustainable sports car concept at this September’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

Late last year a high ranking insider revealed that BMW was working on a “green” super-sports car based along the lines of the M1 Homage concept.

BMW M1 Homage

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If a company going by the name of IFR Automotive rings a bell, it may just be because of its recently unveiled Aspid Sports Car, which combined an enclosed cockpit and composite materials with a classic Lotus Seven-style semi-open-wheeled layout. Now, the Spanish company says it is in the midst of developing a new technology for high-end sports cars that could give drivers the ability to finely tune almost every aspect of vehicle management without having to get their tool kits out - including the suspension settings, steering, ECU and throttle.

What IFR is referring to is not the sort of thing we’ve seen on BMW’s M5, where a number of settings such as ‘Comfort’, ‘Sport’, or ‘Track’ are given.

Aspid Sports Car official photos

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In March of last year, Aptera announced it had done all the development necessary to head to production, and that all it needed was to move into acquiring the right equipment and workforce to do so. Soon after the company revealed that a new infusion of $24 million in cash had been acquired, and then Aptera revealed an updated design for the original Typ-1 called the 2e. Now, Aptera has released a new teaser sketch for the interior of its first model.

The interior is said to be slightly larger than that of the Mini Cooper and upcoming Chevrolet Volt, with 24cu-ft of storage space on board – more than a Honda Accord.

Series 2 Aptera plug-in hybrid

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Most people may not associate Volvo with performance, but the Swedish company has been offering sporty, factory-installed options on a number of models in its range through its R-Design branch for several years now. Noticeably absent from the list of vehicles that get the R-Design treatment is the S80 sedan, but it seems that now Volvo is finally going to test the waters to see if there is a market for an S80 R-Design.

In order to do this, Volvo will be monitoring the success of an R-Design interior package in order to gauge customer reaction to a more expensive R-Design treatment for the exterior of the car, reports Autocar.

2010 Volvo S80

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