Australia: Queensland to Impound and Sell Unlicensed Drivers' Cars

Australian authorities seem to take car-related violations pretty seriously lately. Following yesterday’s news of the 4,400 confiscated “Hoon-Cars” in Victoria, today, it was announced that Queenslanders that are caught driving with suspended licences could have their cars impounded and sold from July.

Sounds a bit harsh but listen to this; earlier in April, a police operation at Oxley, south-west of Brisbane, led to 90 drivers appearing in court on the same day on charges that would most probably get their licence revoked. Nine of those people who lost their license jumped into their car and drive off but to their dismay, cops were waiting for them around the corner and they were arrested immediately! -Continued

"These are people who generally have thousands of dollars owing to the state and are not paying off those fines," Police Minister Judy Spence told reporters in Brisbane. "We decided that instead we would teach them a painful lesson and take their car off them from July 1."

Statistics show that while in 2003, disqualified drivers were involved in 4.5 per cent of Queensland road fatalities, that figure increased to a worryingly 9.2 per cent in 2007.

Via: The West

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300Hp VW Scirocco 2.0TFSi Ready For 24h Nurburgring Race

The racing version of the new Volkswagen Scirocco is all set to show off its sporting credentials at next month’s 24-Hour Race at the Nürburgring (23 -25 May) as the German carmaker completed a comprehensive endurance test at the Motorsport Arena at Oschersleben.

Volkswagen will participate in the race at the legendary Nordschleife with three Scirocco cars equipped with a 2.0-litre TFSI engine delivering over 300 hp and a direct-shift transmission with DSG technology including shifting paddles in the steering wheel.

Leading Volkswagen's line-up of drivers for the 24-hour Nürburgring race is two-time Le Mans winner Hans-Joachim Stuck and the two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz. -Continued

"The Scirocco has passed its first real ‘baptism of fire’ well,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "The racing version was developed and prepared by our technical staff in record time. With the endurance test, we’re perfectly within our truly tight schedule. The Scirocco is a real highlight: when watching the car on the race track for the first time, it simply looks cool."

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Google Maps Directions Gets Street View Imagery Aid

Google has enhanced its Maps driving directions service with the integration of the Street View feature. In the 44 regions across the U.S. where Google Maps Street View imagery is available, users will be able to see camera icons next to each step of their directions.

Click on the icon and a Street View image of the location will pop up along with an arrow showing the action to be taken. Users can click through their entire route through Street View, and when their journey is complete, a green marker will indicate the arrival at their chosen destination. We checked it out and we must admit that viewing the images alongside the direction was very helpful.

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BP and Shell Announce Record (Fat) Profits During First Quarter

While we’re hearing all kind of excuses to as why we’re paying more and more for gas, BP and Shell, Europe’s two largest oil companies announced (surprise - surprise…) record profits for the first quarter of the year.

In particular, Shell’s net income in the first three-months of 2008 rose to $9.08 billion, a 25% increase over last year. BP on its behalf stated that its profit increased by a huge 63% to $7.62 billion for the first quarter. Want more numbers? Well, revenue at BP jumped 44% to $89.2 billion while sales at Shell surged 55% to $114 billion…

In concern of the other oil companies, last week, the third biggest U.S. producer ConocoPhillips reported profits of $4.14 billion for the first three months of 2008 which translates to a 17% rise over the same period last year.

More fat first-quarter earnings are expected from the biggest two U.S. companies, Exxon Mobil and Chevron when they report their gains this Thursday (May 1) and Friday (May 2) respectively.

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2010 Nissan 370Z Coupe: Exterior and Interior Details Scooped

Yesterday we showed you a picture of a wall sculpture from a Nissan global meeting in Portugal that supposedly gives us a sketchy outline of the new 370Z (see here). Today, one of our readers mailed us these scans taken from a Japanese car magazine that reveal details of the forthcoming 2010 Nissan 370Z (called Fairlady in Japan) that is expected to be introduced towards the end of the year with sales following during the first quarter of 2009.

As anticipated, Nissan will replace the current Z’s 3.5-liter V6 engine with a modified version of the Infiniti’s new 3.7-liter V6 that’s rumored to produce around 350 Hp. The scans give us among other things, a first view of the 2010 Z’s interior and dashboard with its G37 inspired centre console along with shots of the front and rear end of the coupe. –More pics after the jump

Thanks for the scans Tim!

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2009 Renault Megane 5d & Coupe Fully Exposed

The forthcoming 2009 Renault Megane has been snatched without a trace of camouflage by the folks over at the French car magazine “Auto Plus”. And when we’re saying with no camouflage we mean it “in and out” as from the looks of it, someone either left the factory door wide open or Renault decided to give the French magazine an exclusive scoop-de-tour of the Megane.

As presumed, the five-door version features a differentiated design from its three-door (Coupe) sibling which is inspired from the Megane Coupe Concept that was unveiled at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.-Continued

Both variants of the 2009 Megane will make their public debut at the Paris Auto Show in September with European sales following shortly after. The Megane will rival the Ford Focus, VW Golf and other mainstream compact hatches.

Via: Motorpasion , Source: Auto Plus

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2Fast 2Furious Dodge Challenger R/T 426 Hemi Auctioned on eBay

Remember the 1970’s Dodge Challenger R/T from the 2002 “2Fast 2Furious” sequel to The Fast and the Furious Movie? Well that car is up for sale on eBay and even though it might not have matching numbers for its 426 Hemi V8 engine (it’s an R/T clone), the car was fully restored and has clocked only 80 miles on its odometer.

Question is, is it worth the $65,000 (or more as that’s the starting bid) that the seller is asking for? We’re no specialists, but it does sound a bit too much for a Hemi clone that only played a minor role in the movie. On a side note, we discovered that the car was sold last year at the Barret-Jackson Collectors Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona for $112,200… -More pics after the jump

Via: Cardomain , Link: eBay

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Nissan’s Wall Sculpture Hints at Next Generation 350Z Coupe

The fuzzy looking sculpture you see in the above picture was hung on a wall of a meeting room in Portugal where Nissan organized its annual product review. According to Edmund’s Senior Editor John O’Dell who took the picture, Nissan’s Design Chief Shiro Nakamura told journalists that the sculpture represents “a new Nissan that people would be seeing more of in the fall” – aka the next generation Z Coupe which will go on sale next year.

And if that wasn’t enough to stir a commotion, Nakamura decided to treat the journalists with a dark red design study that he said “contained elements of future design treatments for Nissan's upscale Infiniti division”. Even if these two pictures create more questions that the ones they answer, you have to admit that they do spark our imagination.

Via: Insideline , Pics: John O'Dell

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Video: BMW’s Head Designer Shows us the M1 Homage Concept

After seeing all the pictures this past weekend (click here for the high-res image gallery), it was about time we saw footage of BMW’s M1 Concept that draws its inspiration from the Bavarian carmaker’s homonymous 1970’s supercar. In this first video (we’ll show you another one later on), BMW’s Designer Director, Adrian van Hooydonk “talks his way around” the M1 Homage Concept at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2008.

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Subaru Launches New Accessories for 2009 Forester

Just weeks after going on sale in the UK market, Subaru is offering a new accessory range for its all-new 2009 Forester. The range includes typical crossover accessories like the front under guard for £350, rear under guard for £275, fog lamp mouldings for £35 and door mouldings at £195. Other items available are a roof spoiler at £240, a stainless steel bumper protector at £85 and foldable cargo tray at £60. Note however, that these prices don't include painting and fitting where appropriate. -One more pic after the jump

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