REVIEWS: 2009 Honda Fit Sport - Four Seasons Update - November 2009

If it seems we've been skipping the maintenance details surrounding our Honda Fit Sport, we haven't. Truth is, our Fit has been one of the most reliable, trouble-free vehicles to grace our Four Seasons fleet.

"Our Fit quietly managed to crack the 20,000-mile mark over the past weekend," wrote road test coordinator Mike Ofiara. "It doesn't require the constant attention that some of our other long-term test cars do, it doesn't call for service but for every 10,000 miles or so. The car is as tight today as it was when Honda delivered it ten months ago; its tires are wearing great and the brakes are still strong. The Fit is what you want a car to be: a reliable mode of transportation that returns good gas mileage."

At the end of the day, the Fit is just that. "It's a great commuter," writes copy editor Rusty Blackwell, "thanks to its excellent outward visibility, easy ingress and egress, and comfortable seats. The slick five-speed gearbox is a joy to operate, but like some of my coworkers, I wish that it had a sixth gear."

Blackwell also wishes Honda's rear seat had a little more versatility, especially when installing a car seat for his young daughter.

"Yes, if you drop the rear "Magic" seats, they create a very useful, low, flat load floor. But with the child seat strapped in the middle of the rear 60/40 bench (the Fit has a handy headliner-mounted high tether for the middle position), that's not an option. We have to pack carefully."

2009 Honda Fit Sport

Base price (with dest.): $16,930

Price as tested: $18,780

Overview

Body Style: 4-door hatchback

Accommodation: 5-passenger

Construction: Steel unibody

Powertrain

Engine: i-VTEC 16-valve SOHC I-4

Displacement: 1.5 liters

Power: 117 hp @ 6600 rpm

Torque: 106 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm

Transmission: 5-speed manual

Drive: Front-wheel

Fuel economy: 27/33/29 mpg (city/hwy/combined)

Chassis

Steering: Electric power-assisted rack-and-pinion

Turns lock-to-lock: 2.5

Turning Circle: 34.4 ft

Suspension, Front: MacPherson strut

Suspension, Rear: Torsion beam

Brakes F/R: Power-assisted ventilated disc/drum; ABS

Wheels: 15-in aluminum alloy

Tires: Dunlop SP Sport (all-season)

Tire Size: 185/55 R16 83H

Measurements

Headroom F/R: 40.4 / 39.0 in

Legroom F/R: 41.3 / 34.5 in

Shoulder Room F/R: 52.7 / 51.3 in

Wheelbase: 98.4 in

Track F/R: 58.1 / 57.4 in

L x W x H: 161.6 x 66.7 x 60.0 in

Cargo Capacity: 20.6 / 57.3 cu ft (rear/with seats folded)

Weight: 2534 lb

Weight Dist. F/R: 62 / 38%

Fuel Capacity: 10.6 gal

Est. Range: 315 miles

Fuel Grade: 87 octane

Standard Equipment

ABS

Front, side and side curtain airbags

Tire pressure monitoring system

Air conditioning

Power windows, locks, and remote start

Tilt and telescopic steering wheel

Trip computer

MP3 jack, USB interface

Options

None

2012 Lexus LFA - First Drive Review

There’s something slightly weird about this scene. We are about to drive the daunting 12.9-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife track in Germany. In a Lexus. Okay, it’s the exotic LFA, a Ferrari-fighting supercar that will cost about $350,000. But the company built its reputation on smooth, refined, and perfectly nerve-calming cars, so why does the LFA exist? In what parallel universe is this thing remotely Lexus-like?

Lexus claims multiple justifications for the LFA program. The car, it says, casts a halo over the Lexus F line of performance machines. It’s also a way for Toyota to explore new technologies, particularly carbon-fiber construction. And since Lexus says it will be selective about whom it will sell to—car collectors and high-profile individuals who use the car rather than park it—the LFA should raise the cachet of the brand as a whole.

For all that marketing happy-talk, the 2012 LFA is a serious outlier in the Lexus lineup and has had a convoluted gestation. The program started in 2000, and Lexus showed the first concept car at the Detroit auto show in 2005. Next, a convertible version appeared at Detroit in 2008, though it has since been canceled. In the interim, LFA prototypes were spotted testing at the Nordschleife, and further, two race-prepared cars entered the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in 2008 and 2009. But until now, the company hasn’t said anything about production intent. Lexus is finally ready to admit that a mere 500 will be made, with production starting in December 2010.

Although the car is extravagantly expensive, Lexus says it will lose money on every one. We believe it. The last car that incorporated a similar level of technology, performance, and exclusivity was the $650,000 Ferrari Enzo. At $350,000, the LFA begins to look like something of a bargain. The LFA is an exotic, two-place, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive coupe. The chassis and body are made largely of carbon-fiber composite, just like those of an Enzo or a Mercedes SLR McLaren. Per Lexus’s scales, the car weighs 3263 pounds—less than a Corvette ZR1.

The engine is a 4.8-liter V-10 codeveloped with Yamaha. It’s a compact unit that makes 553 horsepower at 8700 rpm and revs to a giddy 9000 rpm. Maximum torque of 354 pound-feet peaks at 6800 rpm, with 90 percent available between 3700 and 9000 revs.

The rear-mounted, six-speed automated manual transaxle incorporates a Torsen limited-slip differential. Control arms comprise the front suspension, with a multilink arrangement at the back. To keep weight down, the suspension pieces and the remote-reservoir monotube KYB dampers are aluminum.

The Brembo carbon-ceramic brake setup consists of discs 15.4 inches in diameter and six-piston monoblock calipers up front, with 14.2-inch discs and four-piston calipers at the back. Forged aluminum 20-inch BBS wheels sit inside bespoke 265/35 front and 305/30 rear Bridgestone Potenza tires. There are four driving modes: automatic, normal, wet, and sport; the driver can also select manual shift speeds. In sport mode, the stability-control system allows for greater amounts of yaw, but the system can be switched off completely.

When it comes to the styling, there’s a definite Japanese aesthetic, what with all the sharp edges and matte-black vents. But it’s not a head turner like the Enzo or even a Lamborghini Gallardo. We definitely wouldn’t order one in matte black—one of 30 available colors—because it looks like someone forgot to paint it properly.

But there is function underpinning the somewhat sedate form. According to chief engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi, an advantage of using carbon fiber for the bodywork is that it’s possible to make very sharp edges and cutoffs that improve aerodynamic performance. The LFA has a reasonably low coefficient of drag (0.31), and Tanahashi says that the car produces more downforce than any of its competitors. Even the inside edges of the door mirrors are shaped to guide air into scoops over the rear fenders that feed the rear-mounted radiators. A large rear wing incorporating a Gurney flap pops up at speeds above 50 mph.

The interior is restrained but tasteful. The car we drove had a mixture of supple leather, carbon fiber, Alcantara, and “satin metal” adorning the cockpit. Lexus will offer seat coverings in 12 shades of leather or 10 alternate hues of Alcantara, with three color choices for the Alcantara headliner. “Roomy” describes the cabin, although luggage space is minimal. The supportive bucket seats have eight-way power adjustments, and the driving position is superb. The minor controls are as easy to find and use as in a standard Lexus sedan, and the LFA even has the same mouse-style operation for its multi­function center-console screen as in an RX350 sport-ute.

1969 Lamborghini

1969 Lamborghini 400GT Coupe

1969 Lamborghini 400GT Coupe - Over 10,000 Remarkable Cars and Trucks at RemarkableCars.com

1969 Lamborghini 400GT Coupe

1969 Lamborghini 400GT Coupe
Final Bid: $ 254,100.00
Russo and Steele Auction Scottsdale 2008
Consignment # 7488

This is a 1969 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2 with only 20,700 original miles. The chassis number is 1327, which is towards the end of the production run. It is possibly the lowest mileage car in the world. Only 242 of these were made and even fewer survived. No expense spared in its restoration. Interior was left alone as original for it has a charming cognac dark tan interior in awesome condition. Newer paint, new Weber carb's, restored Borranis, and engine was rebuilt. It is in show quality condition!

Russo and Steele
5230 S. 39th Street
Phoenix, AZ. 85040
Phone: 602.252.2697
Fax: 602.252.6260
Website: www.RussoandSteele.com

1969 Lamborghini 400GT Coupe Additional Pictures