We have received a couple e-mails inquiries recently. We decided to share them with our readers.

Pat wrote us about a “Chevy something” he spotted in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Mystified by his find, he wrote us to help figure it out.

We concluded that it must be a Chevy Captiva, which is sold in Europe. The Captiva, which went on sale overseas in 2006, can seat up to 7 passengers and has an optional 2.0-liter diesel engine making 150 hp and 236 lbs-ft of torque. The Captiva is designed to compete with other compact SUVs, like the Honda CRV.

David wrote us to find out the differences between the 2007 and 2009 Aston Martin DB9 Volante.

The differences are actually too many to list. Luckily, an Aston Martin press release goes over all the revisions for the 2008 calendar year.

2008 Aston Martin DB9, which includes significant enhancements to standard specification.These changes include a revised version of Aston Martin’s 6.0 litre V12 engine to deliver improved power and torque. Peak power of 470bhp (350kW) – increased by 20bhp (30Nm) - is now reached at 6,000rpm, resulting in a power to weight ratio of 267bhp per tonne (199kW/tonne) – an increase of 11bhp per tonne over the existing DB9.

Peak torque of 600Nm is delivered at 5,000rpm, providing even more accessible power for the driver, as well a greater performance feel overall. Accordingly, top speed is now 190mph (306km/h) and the benchmark 0-60mph time improves by 0.3 seconds for the Touchtronic transmission – which benefits from a new valve box and integrated transmission controls to achieve quicker gear shifts – to 4.6 seconds and by 0.1 seconds to 4.6 seconds for the manual gearbox.

The latest DB9 also incorporates a series of chassis developments for both the Coupe and Volante derivates. Bilstein dampers are introduced in addition to revised upper suspension arms and retuned suspension bushes to deliver improved ride quality; aiding greater refinement in the Volante and an enhanced sporting feel in the Coupe. The DB9 Volante also benefits from revisions to the front shear panel which increases torsional rigidity by 10%, further improving refinement.

The DB9 manages to combine all facets of style, quality and usability of a traditional Aston Martin without relying on retrospective detail or design. Accordingly, styling changes to the revised DB9 are subtle, reflecting the car’s timeless design and understated elegance.

Exterior styling changes include the introduction of a new standard 19’’ 10-spoke alloy wheel, new door mirrors and a revised anodised aluminium five-bar grille. In the cabin changes include a new centre console constructed from die cast zinc with a painted iridium silver finish and the introduction of a new Emotion Control Unit (ECU) – first seen on the DBS in 2007. The ECU – constructed from glass, polished stainless steel and polycarbonate - replaces the key used previously for the DB9.

The innovative DB9 introduced an exciting new era for Aston Martin. The 2+2 sports car set new standards in its class due to its astonishing combination of technology, agility and design. The car marked the beginning of a new era for Aston Martin and became the first car to be hand-made at the company’s state-of-the-art facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Sales of the DB9 started in spring 2004, and to date, more than 10,000 examples have been produced and delivered to customers around the world – surpassing the DB7 as the most successful Aston Martin of all time.

Deliveries of the updated DB9 begin during quarter two 2008, with prices from £113,950 for the DB9 Coupe and £122,950 for the DB9 Volante.

Curtis wrote us to inquiry about who currently produces the Maybach automobile. It was his understanding that the Maybach was first manufactured by Rolls-Royce, but had since switched hands to Mercedes-Benz.

Maybach has actually always been tied to Mercedes-Benz. Wilhelm Maybach designed the first car to wear a Mercedes badge in 1901. After leaving Mercedes in 1907, Wilhelm and his son Karl crafted their first Maybach in 1919. Maybach stopped making cars, and focused on engines for military, marine, and rail purposes, in 1941.

Mercedes-Benz resurrected the Maybach name in 1997 with the Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept. It later decided to market the car as its own standalone ultra-luxury brand to compete against Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

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Google Streetview, that wonderful little tool that can easily steal a few work days, captured five Porsche cars in the Colorado Mountains undergoing testing. The cars appear to be the new-for-2009 Porsche Boxster and Cayman as well as a 911 Targa. Go directly to the Google maps location by clicking here.

[via GlobalMotors.net and Jalopnik]

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Top Gear host and car aficionado Jeremy Clarkson has picked the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 as his favorite car of 2008. Previously this year, Clarkson preemptively named the Caterham R500 as his favorite car of the year, after it clocked a faster time around the Top Gear track than, and at only 1/30 of the cost of, the Bugatti Veyron. He recanted his initial assessment by saying the Caterham was too “ugly and geeky” to qualify as car of the year.

He praised the ZR1’s supercharged V-8 for being both “docile and extraordinarily savage”. Despite some reliability issues, he concluded that “no other car that looks this good, goes this fast – in a straight line and around corners”.

The Corvette ZR1 was also picked for duPont REGISTRY’s 2009 Best Bang for the Buck award.

[via Times Online]

via duPont REGISTRY

Edo Competition and Audigier have brought their talents together for a limited run of Lamborghini Murcielagos. The Edo Competition Murcielago LP710 Audigier Edtiion, as it is called, will feature custom designs conjured up by the customer’s themselves. This will ensure that every unit produced is one of a kind.

The best part of this package is the internal upgrades, which brings power to total of 710 hp. Customers can also decide whether they want to convert their car to rear-wheel drive and in the process shed 90 pounds from the curb weight of the car. The LP710 is being touted as the fastest Lamborghini ever with a zero-to-sixty time of 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 224mph. The price for ultimate exclusivity and speed is double that of the already very exclusive and fast Murcielago or approximately $690,000.

[via Fast-Autos.net]

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G-Power’s M5 Hurricane RS, a 750-hp twin-supercharged version of the BMW M5 sedan, has just dethroned the Brabus Rocket as the fastest sedan in the world with a run of 228.4 mph. Formally, the bi-turbo V12 Brabus Rocket, which is based off of the Mercedes-Benz CLS, held the title with a 227.2 mph record.

[via BMW Blog]

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Mercedes-Benz has just unveiled the SLR Speedster—as it was originally dubbed by the auto media—as the SLR Stirling Moss, named after Sir Stirling Craufurd, a British race car driver that won victory after victory for Mercedes-Benz in the 1950s. Mercedes-Benz’s last foray with McLaren in the ultra-exotic sports car segment will have neither a top nor a windshield. To protect the car’s interior from the elements, two tonneau covers are carried in the boot of the car.

The same engine used in the SLR 722 will be utilized in the Stirling Moss, producing 650 hp and capable of hitting sixty mph in 3.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 216 mph, which is 8 mph higher than the 722 S Roadster. Production of the Stirling Moss will be limited to 75 units.  The first unit should start being assembled in June of 2009, once Mercedes has built its allotment of SLR roadsters. Read more here.

[via Mercedes Benz]

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Honda Chairman Takeo Fukui officially announced the 2011 V-10 Acura NSX has been cancelled as a result of the current economic crisis and a new focus on green vehicles.

[via Jalopnik]

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First, the Bugatti Veyron was named the world’s fastest production car. Then 9ff started work on its attempt, but was beat to the punch by Shelby SuperCar’s (SSC) Ultimate Aero. A couple months ago, we learned 9ff was not happy with its GT9’s second-place finish, and was going to vie for the title, again.

Now we have just learned that the 2009 SCC Ultimate Aero will make even more power, thus helping it retain its title, despite 9ff’s continued efforts.

[via AutoBlog]

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Hennessey Performance, via a pair of new turbochargers, upgraded boost control, and revised intake and exhaust systems, has increased the power of the already-blistering-fast 2009 Nissan GT-R to a stout 700 hp. Designated the Godzilla 700, the complete package will cost $24,500 installed or approximately $101,340 including the cost of the car. If 700 hp sounds like overkill, a 600-hp upgrade, called the Godzilla 600, will cost $14,500 installed or $91,340 including the car. Compared to the Corvette ZR-1’s, and our 2009 Best-Bang-for-the-Buck winner’s, MSRP of $103,000, the Godzilla 700 sounds like the deal of the decade.

[via Motor Trend]

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These are the first very-basic renderings of the Aston Martin Rapide. The real-life auto should be unveiled at one of the upcoming auto shows and then began delivery by the middle of next year, just in time to compete in a comparison test with the Porsche Panamera and maybe even the Lamborghini Estoque.

[via eGM CarTech]

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