2010 Ferrari California Black Tan 5408 Miles Magneride 20 Camera Yellow Rev on 2040-cars

Auto blog

World Car of the Year finalists announced

To say the 2014 Geneva Motor Show was packed full of news is an understatement as big as the show's home at the Palexpo convention center. Despite everything that we were able to cover during this year's show, there's still more coming out of Switzerland, including the announcement of the finalists for the 2014 World Car of the Year Awards.
We reported on the original list of finalists over three weeks ago, and now, that initial list has been pared down to three finalists for each of the five awards. The finalists were announced at a press conference by frequent Autoblog contributor and co-chair of the awards, Matt Davis (above).
The finalists for the overall title of 2014 World Car of the Year are the Audi A3, the BMW 4 Series and the Mazda3. The World Luxury Car of the Year will be either the Bentley Flying Spur, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the Land Rover Range Rover Sport, while the Performance Car of the Year will be awarded to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the Ferrari 458 Speciale or the Porsche 911 GT3 (which, um, yeah...).

Ferrari California T is a topless turbo turismo

As expected, Ferrari has today officially pulled the covers off the latest version of its front-engined California grand tourer ahead of the car's impending live debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The headline news, again as expected, is a new 3.9-liter turbocharged V8 engine. Ferrari promises zero turbo lag from its innovative new engine, which is rated at 560 horsepower and 557 pound-feet of torque.
That's 70 more horses than the last California, which, coupled with its 49-percent increase in torque, allows the new California T to accelerate from 0-62 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds. Fuel mileage is improved by 15 percent, and emissions are down 20 percent. Also, for what it's worth, Ferrari promises "the most exhilarating soundtrack any turbo has ever yielded." Sounds pretty good to us...
There's plenty more of interest besides the new turbocharged engine, such as the retractable hardtop that turns the four-seater into a convertible in 14 seconds, improved steering response, reduced roll and pitch when cornering and carbon-ceramic brakes.

Watch this Ferrari 288 GTO get a top-flight detailing job

Detailing was once the last thing we had any interest in doing, and if such a thing were possible we had even less interest in watching someone else detail some other car. We don't feel that way anymore, fascinated by the minutiae uncovered in while watching Todd Cooperider and Polished Bliss detail some examples of Prancing Horses.
Next up on the detailing honor roll is Larry Kosilla of Ammo NYC. Company founder Kosilla said he has wanted to be the best detailer on Earth ever since he was a kid, and his company makes products to serve detailers with that kind of passion. Now, we can watch him put his knowledge and elbow grease to work on a Ferrari 288 GTO.
The biggest issue with the eighties wondercoupe is that it is made of three different materials, each of which will cause the same coat of paint to react differently to the same products according to Kosilla. There's also the fact that he's working in what appears to be a rather poorly lit garage, but by the time he gets to the end of the two-day job it's clear he knows exactly what he's doing. Detailing school begins in the video just below.