Honda Hiway Aluminum Tin Street Sign on 2040-parts.com

Gronholm makes explosive debut at Pikes Peak

By Alex Michaelides Motor Shows 24 July 2009 11:55 Finnish rally ace Marcus Gronholm averted disaster to make a promising debut at the 2009 Pikes Peak international hillclimb. The world rally champion’s attempt was severely hampered when the rear tyre of his Ford Fiesta exploded, forcing him to limp home to a still-respectable fifth position in a time of 11min 28.963sec. Japanese rally star Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima claimed first prize in his Suzuki SX4 with a time of 10min 15.368sec.

Future products: Infiniti adds models at top, bottom of lineup

In an effort to broaden its product coverage, Infiniti will launch a more expensive model and a less expensive one. The brand also will get two alternative powertrain technologies next year. G25: The luxury marque's entry-level sedan will go on sale this month in a bid to reach deeper into the near-luxury segment.

Land Rover previews Discovery Vision Concept ahead of NY show

Land Rover has given a first taste of the Discovery Vision Concept, which will debut at the New York International Auto Show later this month. The concept introduces the design themes that will define both the next generation of Freelander/LR2 and Discovery/LR4 models. Land Rover had previously announced that it would align its models under three pillars - 'luxury' for Range Rovers, 'leisure' for Discovery models – of which the Freelander/LR2 becomes – and 'dual purpose' for the long-awaited replacement for the Defender.