1973 Pontiac Firebird Esprit 6.6l on 2040-cars

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2020 Porsche 911 Speedster spied with an angry driver

Porsche gave us details and showed us a concept of the 911 Speedster at the Paris Motor Show. Today, we bring you spy shots of what appears to be the production version of that concept with a few changes on board. They're rather minimal modifications, but the Speedster's driver appears especially angry with our spy photographer as he extends his middle finger directly toward the camera. Sorry, not sorry, Mr. Test Driver. Public testing of pre-production cars always comes with photo risks, and Porsches tend to attract more attention than others. You'll notice what appears to be a Cayenne Coupe prototype we've previously spotted running around with the 911. The Speedster Concept we saw in Paris had epic retro mirrors and fuel cap on the front hood, but both those design touches are absent from this pre-production car. It's tougher to see, but we lost the vents in between the two humps, as well. Everything else appears to have made it to production-spec. We can't say we're surprised these concept car features probably won't show up on the production car, but it is a tad deflating. You'll notice the Speedster is based-off the 991.2 generation of 911 and not the new 992. Porsche did a similar thing when the 997 generation was coming to an end with a Speedster model paying tribute to that car's life. The chassis is said to utilize parts from the 911 GT3, and the wonderful naturally aspirated flat-six engine gets carried over from that car, too. Porsche didn't specify if power will be exactly the same as the GT3, but we'll be expecting about 500 horsepower and a 9,000 rpm redline. We were told the six-speed manual would be offered on the Speedster in Paris, too. Let's just say that we strongly approve of that combination. Production will be limited to only 1,948 cars and begin in the first half of this year. We'll expect a reveal with a full spec breakdown soon, possibly for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Even Ferrari swept up in latest Takata recall expansion

The scope of Takata's deadly airbag problems continues to widen. Eight manufacturers announced recalls Friday that affect more than 12 million vehicles, according to documents filed with federal regulators. The automakers include Honda, which is recalling 4.5 million units, Fiat Chrysler with 4.3 million, Toyota with 1.65 million, and Subaru, which is recalling almost 400,000. Some of these cars include the Saab 9-2x and Pontiac Vibe that Toyota and Subaru made for General Motors. Mazda will recall 730,000 vehicles and Nissan has 400,000 affected units. The smallest numbers were posted by Mitsubishi, with 38,000 Lancers manufactured from 2006 to 2007, and as a noteworthy high-end manufacturer, Ferrari is calling back 2,800 vehicles. These are all US-market cars. Beyond America, the Japanese Transport Ministry has announced seven million additional vehicles will be recalled, which means 19.6 million vehicles across the globe are affected by recalls announced. The defects have been traced to an insufficiently manufactured airbag inflator, which lacks a drying agent that would prevent the inflators from deteriorating over time. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, which have become unstable and are prone to exploding and showering vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal shrapnel. A private equity firm, KKR & Co., has been named in a possible buyout of the struggling Takata. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Recalls Ferrari Honda Mazda Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Subaru Toyota Saab Safety

Autoblog Classifieds finds: 1987 Pontiac Fiero GT

Autoblog's free Readers' Used Car Classifieds section is a great place to list your car for sale, and because these are readers, they often list really interesting cars. Occasionally we find interesting listings, and tell you what's special about them. This 1987 Pontiac Fiero was listed for sale at the time of this writing, but if the listing expires by the time you read this, feel free to browse for other great finds. Thirty years after General Motors stopped building it, the Pontiac Fiero might have finally emerged from the darkness. First, it was a humble commuter car that just happened to be a mid-engined coupe, then it was a re-skinnable basis for Fierorraris or other slightly strange kit cars, and then it made some Worst Cars of All Time lists due to its econobox ingredients, including its Chevy Citation suspension parts. But after a few decades, even the most mediocre car will become interesting as most of the examples built have been run into the ground; why not then the Fiero? The story of the Fiero is paralleled by a number of GM products, as it improved constantly the longer it was built, and by the time of the last model years it was quite decent indeed. And then the plug was pulled. The Fiero might not be a Toyota MR2 or even a Fiat X1/9, but it was made in two body styles, the notchback and the fastback, the latter of which looks especially good now. The Fiero also remains quite affordable, and the plastic body panels do not rust, unlike with the two aforementioned cars. This 1987 car advertised for sale at Autoblog Classifieds does not yet benefit from the 1988 cars' improved suspension, but thanks to its low, low 47,000-mile odometer reading, it looks to be in tip-top shape. The automatic transmission is just the three-speed affair, though, rendering the V6 car here more of a cruiser than a fiery hot canyon carver. Perhaps that has contributed to its good condition, along with the lack of possibly leaky T-tops. Could the Fiero have aged better than your Hall & Oates tapes? Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.