AutoWeek Daily Drive — Friday, September 17, 2010

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTOSHOWS   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   MARKETPLACE Friday, September 17, 2010                  The 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 Roadster... 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 Roadster: What I Drove Last Night In a world of sleek sports cars loaded with every sort of electronic goody available, the Dodge Viper stands in a cloud of tire-smoking defiance. Viper is old-school, subtle as a Muhammad Ali right hook to the jaw. No traction control, no stability control, no ABS. When you're driving the Viper at speed, you will need all your skills to keep the car on the road. And make no mistake; it is a...   2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring PRHT, an AW Drivers Log EXECUTIVE EDITOR--AUTOWEEK.COM BOB GRITZINGER: In looking up the changes for this model year, I learned that for 2010, the six-speed manual versions are fitted with something called an Induction Sound Enhancer. According to the Mazda product release, the system “delivers the engine's...   Auctions America revitalizes former Kruse sale Despite a few close calls and false starts, Auburn, Ind., remains a town where two large operators hold collector-car auctions at the unofficial end of summer. Worldwide Auctioneers continued at its regular space (though with a much larger sale), and the new kid down the street, Auctions America by ...   Lotus, Toyota celebrate engine deal Lotus CEO Dany Bahar presented Toyota president Akio Toyoda with a Lotus Elise this week at the British Embassy in Tokyo, celebrating the companies' long partnership. The Elise was equipped with Toyota's last 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i engine, the same engine found in older versions of the Lotus Elise and...   IndyCar: Driver shake-ups likely in off-season As the Izod IndyCar Series heads to Japan, site of the penultimate race of the 2010 calendar, rumors abound as to where drivers could land in the off-season. The Japan 300 will air at midnight on Saturday on Versus. But the subplots are almost as good. Here’s a sampling: -- Graham... You May Have Missed...   2012 Dodge Viper concept shown to dealers looks like an Alfa The 2012 Dodge Viper concept resembled the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione with a Viper face, a source said. The Competizione is a limited-edition supercar that was sold in select Maserati dealerships in North America.In 2009 Alfa Romeo brought 84 coupes and 35 Spiders to the United States for sale in...   Edwards joins '10 Race of Champions field The 2010 Race of Champions field will have to contend with a tough Team USA, as NASCAR star Carl Edwards has signed on to join X Games star Travis Pastrana in this year's event.The Race of Champions is an international competition pitting drivers from all countries against each other in one-on-one...   Porsche will return to Detroit auto show in 2011 Luxury carmaker Porsche AG is set to return to the 2011 North America International Auto Show in Detroit after a three-year hiatus. Porsche pulled out of the show in 2008, citing a desire for “more personal, direct ways to reach out and communicate to its potential customer base.”...   X Prize passes out $10 million bounty for green-car winners Progressive Insurance’s $10 million Automotive X Prize was shared among Edison2’s ethanol-powered Very Light Car, Li-ion Motors’ battery electric Wave II and X-Tracer Team Switzerland’s battery-electric E-Tracer No. 79, the X Prize Foundation announced at a star-studded...   2012 Ford Focus gets force-adjustable airbags The redesigned 2012 Ford Focus will use front and side airbags designed to tailor the deployment force to the seat occupant.Ford expects that the new airbags will reduce the chances of people being injured by a bag deployment. The 2012 Focus, which goes on sale next spring, will be the first Ford...   Formula One: Grosjean takes Heidfeld’s Pirelli test job Pirelli confirmed on Thursday that Formula One driver Nick Heidfeld will leave his test role with the Italian company to take up his new job driving for the Sauber team. Former Renault F1 driver Romain Grosjean will replace him for the next Pirelli tire test, at Monza, although the company did not...   Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup riders selected Fourteen riders and five alternates were chosen for the 2011 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. The official selection event was held over three days at Monteblanco in southern Spain.The Rookies Cup is a 10-race feeder series for 12- to 16-year-old motorcycle riders. All the riders use KTM RC125 bikes....   NHRA: Connolly returns to Pro Stock action Twenty-one time NHRA Pro Stock event winner Dave Connolly will rejoin the series Sept. 16-19 for the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Charlotte, N.C.Connolly's return, after a year-and-a-half absence because of sponsorship woes, was made possible by a business partnership between Industrial... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the AutoWeek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other AutoWeek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add AutoWeek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.