Driving Sports

Western Automotive Journalists Gather For "Media Days" At Laguna Seca

The Western Automotive Journalists organization gathered this week in beautiful Monterey, Calif. to test drive the 2008 sports and luxury car field from virtually every automaker doing business in North America. Journalists from up and down the west coast arrived to test the full fleet of 2008 cars on the winding mountain roads of Carmel Valley and at speed on the track at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Yes, that's the new Nissan GT-R parked next to the NISMO Edition 350Z in the photo to the right. Yes, they're as good as you think they are.

Events such as this serve a number of purposes, including a rare chance for side-by-side tests of comparable cars from different automakers, and also to allow a relaxed atmosphere to talk shop with the manufacturer representatives. But I wouldn't lie to you and tell you it was anything like working - this event is big-time fun.

Spicy Kim Chi: Hyundai's 2010 Genesis Coupe

Looks like Hyundai is getting serious. First, it buys redonkulously expensive airtime during this year’s Superbowl to broadcast a less-than memorable ad (hint: it featured a car driving. On a road.) Then, at the 2008 New York Auto Show, Hyundai goes and drops a good looking, rear-wheel drive, 300hp coupe on us.

Let me repeat that: good looking. 300hp. Hyundai. Someone smack me, please.

Block/Gelsomino Take Threepeat at 100 Acre Wood Rally

The plan in the Rally America season is to hold just one true snow rally. Sno*Drift in January leads off the season, and some competitors skip the event in favor of the much more temperate Rally in the 100 Acre Wood held in Missouri a month later. But this year, Mother Nature caught many teams with their long johns down as winter weather again dominated the results at the second round of the 2008 rally racing championship series.

The day before the event, snow, ice, and freezing rain paralyzed the nation’s heartland and kept drivers, co-drivers, and some teams waiting for the St. Louis airport to reopen. Several participants had to make forced drives at the last minute to arrive in time to start the event, but when they did start, the conditions were anything but hospitable, leading to one of the most difficult 100 Acre Wood rallies in recent years.

L'Estage/Richard Win Canadian Rally's First Round

Hyundai takes manufacturer's victory in the hunt for the  2008 Canadian Rally Championship

MANIWAKI, Quebec -- Defending Canadian Rally Champion Antoine L’Estage took the first win of the 2008 Canadian Rally Championship Presented by Subaru on Saturday, besting a competitive field of top drivers at the Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki, Quebec.

“It’s a very good start, I’m very happy,” said L’Estage at the finish.

It’s the second win of the early season for him and co-driver Nathalie Richard, who also took victory at the U.S. season-opener two weeks ago. L’Estage said it took a push late in the day in his Hyundai Tiburon to secure the victory in icy conditions.

Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and co-driver Marc Goldfarb finished second overall in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

Hyundai Hedges Hydrogen Hunch

Hyundai's new hydrogen-powered, zero-emission concept, the i-Blue Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), debuted in North America at the 100th edition of the Chicago Auto Show this week. Developed at Hyundai's Design and Technical Center in Chiba, Japan, the i-Blue concept illustrates the design direction for a future FCEV production model. The all-new i-Blue platform features Hyundai's third-generation fuel cell technology, currently being developed at Hyundai's Eco-Technology Research Institute in Mabuk, Korea.