Surrounded by hybrid and fuel cell cars of every type and size the stars of the annual Big Apple motorfest remain the muscle cars.

Dodge was right at the top of the power band with its revival of the classic Challenger Coupe, a modern rendition of one of the 1960s leading muscle cars.

“Our all-new 2009 Dodge Challenger is a modern-day muscle machine representing the best from the past and present,” said Mike Accavitti, Dodge Brand and SRT Global Marketing director.

“Thirty-five years after the debut of the original, we are bringing Dodge Challenger back — and loading it with the essential hardware, styling and technology that is desired by today’s buyer.”

The Challenger is the first coupe to be produced off Chrysler’s 300C and Charger rear-wheel drive platforms — themselves donated by Mercedes-Benz from the previous generation E-Class sedan.

While Chrysler Australia has shown an interest in getting the Dodge powerpacks, there is no indication which, if any, of the three models to go on sale in North America.

At the top of the Challenger family tree will be the SRT8, with an exclusive 317kW 6.1-litre Hemi V8 mated either to a six-speed manual transmission or a five-speed automatic.

With 569Nm of torque, the SRT8 will manage 0-100km/h in less than five seconds.

Mid-range shoppers can still enjoy the Hemi V8 experience with the 5.7-litre in the R/T producing 276kW and 540Nm coupled to the five-speed auto and 280kW and 548Nm with the new six-speed manual — good enough to launch the car to the 100km/h mark in under six seconds.

If it’s looks rather than outright muscle you seek, then the 3.5-litre V6 (186kW and 339Nm) in the SE model could be the answer.

Throughout the development of the Challenger the design team stayed true to the concept revealed at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, refining and modernising elements from the original Challenger.

“Our designers wanted to capture the mind’s-eye view of what people today remember about the Dodge Challenger from 35 years ago,” said Trevor Creed, senior vice-president design. “Their challenge was to excite today’s customer by capturing the emotion of the original Challenger, while offering today’s comfort and performance.”

On the exterior, the long, raised performance hood with scoops and recessed grille with round dual headlamps are reminiscent of the original Dodge Challenger.

The bold A-line, or character line, that runs from stem to stern gives the all-new 2009 Dodge Challenger an instantly recognisable muscle-car profile. Retro dual rectangular exhaust outlets complete the look from the rear.

Inside the car the trapezoidal theme of the door-panel cove and gauge cluster, dark headliner and slanted shifter console are inspired by the original Challenger.

The modern car offers class-leading rear seat space for a two-door coupe.

Meanwhile, Holden did its part to keep General Motors revved up, with a pair of 6.0-litre Commodores transformed into a couple of go fast Pontiacs.

A restyled SS Ute will become Pontiac’s new segment-busting sport truck while an even warmer version of the Commodore SS will be launched as the performance star in the G8 range.

Less muscle car than finely toned athlete, Hyundai’s Genesis Coupe completed its journey from concept to production car.

The purpose-built rear-wheel drive sport coupe — featuring two performance-focused engines — a 158kW 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder and an all-aluminium, 228kW DOHC 3.8-litre V6 engine — is a replacement for the rather aged Tiburon Coupe.

The Genesis Coupe is Hyundai’s most dynamic performance car ever.

The three-door version of the critically acclaimed and popularly successful hatch should arrive here in the second half of the year. Details have yet to be confirmed but it would likely slide in under the $16,500 Neo.

Meanwhile, the appearance at last month’s Melbourne Motor Show of Mazda Motorsport Australia’s latest “Extreme” car has shown the brand has not lost its much-vaunted “zoom, zoom, zoom.”

The decision by the Hiroshima marque not to build a second generation of the much-praised Mazda6 MPS has caused much dismay here. It has also created the absurd situation whereby the so-called Mazda Performance Series consists of one model, the MPS 3. But before you can say “Mazda Performance Singular,” Mazda Australia has produced the Mazda2 Extreme, the fourth in a line from the RX-8 (2004), first-generation Mazda2 Extreme (2005) and the Mazda3 MPS (2007).

While the engine is under development, the goal is to increase performance by at least 20 per cent. It will be driven through the front wheels via the standard car’s five-speed manual transmission.

The suspension, though, has been worked over by tuner Murray Coote to deal with dirt road competition. The vehicle comes with sports-tuned springs and shock absorbers teamed with purpose-built 15-inch Bridgestone Potenza rally tyres and lightweight alloys. Within, there’s a roll cage, Sabelt race seats each equipped with five-point safety harness, Momo steering wheel and hydraulic handbrake.

While a Mazda Australia spokeswoman says there are no plans for an SP or Extreme version of the Mazda6, it’s to be hoped the same crew who conjured the turbo-charged MX-5 SP and the breathtaking RX-8 are let loose on the excellent though modestly powered mid-sizer. While only a fortunate few got the chance to drive the Allan Horsley-contrived RX-8 turbo, 200 will be able to buy the limited edition with the standard rotary engine.

At $55,840, the RX-8 Rotary Engine 40th Anniversary features a leather and Alcantara interior, leather-wrapped steering wheel, gear shifter and handbrake handle, and 40th Anniversary badging.

It gets Bilstein shocks, urethane, foam-filled front suspension cross member, high-gloss 18-inch alloys, floating rear spoiler, sunroof and blue reflector fog-lamps. The Hakaze Concept is also on show. The “compact cross-over coupe with roadster feel” is the latest Mazda Nagare concept.

Car exhausts (and power station chimneys) are copping almost all the blame for global warming.And if you believe the scientific community involved in the environment industry, global warming is the cause of just about all the planet’s present woes, from flooding to drought.

More carbon dioxide in the air is trapping the sun’s heat close to the Earth and spurring massive climate change, they say.

Governments all round the world are looking at ways of reducing the carbon footprint their nations leave and it is the car that is coming in for most attention. The bureaucrats reason that less car use by smaller vehicles will ease traffic congestion, reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted and mitigate the demand for more and more roads.

Large cities are imposing hefty taxes to dissuade people from bringing their cars into town. They are basing the sliding scale tax on the amount of carbon dioxide various cars produce, which is directly proportional to the amount of petrol they use — big car (or SUV), big engine, lots of CO2. In London, the tax is described as a “congestion tax” but in fact it is a pollution tax.

A new charging structure for entering London in a car comes into effect in October.

Drivers of vehicles emitting less than 120g/km will be exempt.

Drivers of cars emitting between 120g/km and 225g/km will continue to pay the standard $17 a day fee.

Those driving vehicles that record more than 225g/km will pay an increased daily charge of $54.

Motorists will be charged, on an e-toll like system, from 7am to 6pm Monday-Friday excluding public holidays.

In Australia there are calls for a similar emissions tax, so far rejected by the Victorian and Queensland governments, to be imposed.

Len Harper, of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Australia, told a recent Australian Roads Summit in Sydney that it should be up to motorists, not state governments, to decide if they want the tax.

“Where a congestion tax has been introduced, congestion has fallen by 30 per cent, public transport patronage is up 30 per cent, carbon emissions have been cut by 15 per cent and income is raised for improvements in public transport,” he said.

HerCar.com.au has launched what it claims to be the most comprehensive green car section on any women’s car website, called EcoAuto.

EcoAuto provides facts about cars and the environment; simple definitions for green motoring; tips on how to save fuel and allows motorists the opportunity to “carbon offset” their current car.

Founder and owner of HerCar.com.au, Melissa Pye, said; “Cars driven for personal use account for around 8 per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions."

“We investigate the pros and cons relating to diesel, petrol and hybrid vehicles and all the other contributing factors relating to green motoring.

“EcoAuto clarifies the green issues allowing our readers to make informed decisions."

“According to the FCAI, the number of diesel passenger cars bought in Australia in 2007 increased by 71.3 per cent over the previous year. With a growing interest in cleaner motoring comes an unprecedented amount of diesel models being offered."

“With nearly 90 diesel passenger cars and SUVs now available in Australia, the choice can be quite daunting. This is why we have compiled a list of every diesel model available by brand, including the recommended retail prices."

“I believe we are the only website in Australia to provide this valuable information.”

Emission levels

Light cars

Fiat 500: 1.2litre, 119g/km (1.3 110g/km)

Ford Fiesta XR4: 177g/km

Smart Fortwo Coupe: 113g/km

Small cars

BMW 118d: 119g/km

Dodge Caliber 2-litre: 191g/km

Fiat Grande Punto 1.3: 119g/km

Holden AH Astra: 177g/km

Honda Civic Hybrid: 110g/km

Mazda3 diesel: 160g/km

Toyota Corolla: 175g/km

Toyota Prius: 104g/km

VW Golf R32 V6: 269g/km

Medium cars

Mazda6: 199-211g/km

VW Jetta TDi: 157g/km

Citroen C5 V6: 247g/km

Large cars

Holden Commodore Omega: 260g/km

Toyota Aurion: 237g/km

Ford Falcon: 256g/km

Mercedes-Benz Maybach: 383g/km

Heavy truck

Volvo, Kenworth etc semi-trailer: 900g/km

Do you believe Australia should follow London’s footpath by introducing a congestion tax?

Newly appointed Ford Australia president Bill Osborne brashly predicts that not only will the Falcon survive a threat to its existence but it will overtake the Holden Commodore as the family car leader.

It’s a big call as, apart from beating the Commodore by a few dozen sales for the month of September 2003, the Falcon has not been a dominant force in the large car segment for more than a decade.

The FG Falcon arrives for duty in May with the eighth-generation family car coming at a time when the segment has been decimated chiefly by those either migrating to SUVs or by downsizing in both fuel economy and cabin space to medium and small cars.

The market for large cars has dipped by as much as 20 per cent on year-to-date figures to the end of February. The Falcon is down 1288 while the Commodore has dropped 1495.

Dark clouds continue to give the domestic family car bunch a gloomy future but Osborne remains optimistic that the sales erosion will not continue at such a rapid rate.

Ford says it has managed its run-out of the existing BF Falcon to the point where it will have a clean changeover with few run-out models remaining.

Osborne warns that he does not expect the large car segment to rebound to any significant extent although he says the FG will help rebuild Falcon sales.

He says the FG will ultimately overtake Holden’s VE Commodore but did not nominate a time frame or specify a market share figure.

"I won’t give you market share predictions at this point but I do believe it (Falcon) will ultimately attain market leadership," Osborne said.

"It’s something that’s not going to be accomplished overnight.

"But I think it is head and shoulders above our principle competitors in the market and I say that without apology.

"I have no fear of comparing this product head to head with the Holden or the Toyota (Aurion) offering because I do believe it is world-class."

Ford’s challenge is going to be spreading the message far enough and wide enough so that people will come and drive the FG Falcon.

"It’s up to us to convince consumers we have the best product in that market and up to our dealers to get people in the vehicles and drive them head to head.

"If you offer a product for a compelling and appealing price and tell enough people about it, eventually they will come."

However, Osborne says there is no silver bullet that will bring people back to large cars, saying that offering the best engineered sedan was crucial.

"Our simple strategy is to offer the best engineered and built sedan in the segment. It’s still an important segment for us and we plan to do well in the class."

In a year which heralds another milestone in the Falcon’s history, the Falcon-based Territory faces its moment of truth.

There is no upgrade for 2008 and the versatile wagon is treading water in sales volume in a segment where business continues to soar.

It is chiefly driven by Toyota’s Kluger and solid Holden Captiva business, while Mazda’s stylish and functional CX-9 seven-seater has provided incremental growth.

"I wish we had a freshened (up) Territory," Osborne said.

"We will be examining how we go to market with Territory for the rest of the year.

"It continues to be a very important vehicle for us and I would describe it now as holding its own."

Ford has learnt valuable lessons in take-up rates following its failure to detect potential demand for the diesel variant of the new Mondeo medium car. The mix is up to 40 per cent for the diesel, a figure Ford undersold by 100 per cent, which has constrained sales performance.

"We are working to fix that. We undercalled the diesel mix at introduction and did not have enough diesel stock at the launch," Osborne said.

"I don’t think we will make that mistake again."

The Super Squalo, which means shark in Italian, uses a Ducati 999S Testastretta engine with a Sprintex supercharger that lifts power from 112kW to 152kW with 168Nm of torque.

Only 99 of the $75,000 bikes will be built by supercharger manufacturer Automotive Technology Group in Perth.

The company has launched its initial public offering to list on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) to raise up to $10 million.

ATG also manufactures and supplies Vee Two specialist and performance parts for all Ducati and certain models of Harley-Davidson and Honda motorcycles.

Executive director Steve Apedaile said they had launched to list on the ASX because they wanted to be a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative automotive technologies.

“Our aim is to be one of the world’s leading suppliers of superchargers to international automobile and motorcycle manufacturers,” Apedaile said.

“Vehicle manufacturers are under increasing pressure to reduce emissions and fuel consumption from their engines. The Sprintex Supercharger can help them achieve these goals while maintaining the higher performance levels demanded by the consumer.”

ATG is offering 24 million shares at $0.25 each to raise $6 million, with the right to accept over-subscriptions of up to $4 million. The offer closes on April 28.

Apedaile said the funds would be used to expand to sales of its Sprintex Supercharger products and increase Vee Two product sales worldwide by expanding manufacturing operations, worldwide distribution network and product inventory.

“We will also be expanding sales of Vee Two products as well as developing additional products by combining Vee Two and Sprintex, such as the Vee Two Super Squalo motorcycle.”

The Super Squalo has been styled by renowned British designer John Keogh to resemble the great white shark. It features Brembo radial brakes, Ohlins suspension, and Pirelli tyres.

ATG executive director Tony Hamilton said the Sprintex supercharger allowed manufacturers to not only increase performance engines, but also improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. “Supercharging delivers performance without guilt, and the Super Squalo is leading the way,” he said.

Music artist 50-Cent introduced the 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck at the New York Auto Show today, as well as other new Pontiacs, in New York. The sport truck combines the handling of a performance coupe with the cargo capabilities of a light truck. It provides both car-like fuel economy and a 0-to-60 time of 5.4 seconds. It can also carry a payload of more than 1,074 pounds. The sport truck is expected to arrive in dealer showrooms in late 2009.

For more on the Pontiac Sport truck, read Kevin Hepworth’s full story below..

Australia’s “working man’s sportscar” has cracked the biggest new car market in the world with the announcement that a Holden Ute will be sold by Pontiac in the US.

With General Motors already marketing the Commodore SS as the Pontiac G8, the news from New York that a ute will be added to the lineup from next year has sent local spirits soaring.

“It’s not every day that a manufacturer announces a vehicle that creates a whole new segment in a market, but with this, the first ute export to North America in the form of the G8 sport truck, it is exactly what Pontiac is doing,” GM Holden’s chairman and managing director Mark Reuss, said.

“The design, engineering and performance of the G8 sedan is already drawing praise from US media and Pontiac fans alike and we’re confident that the sport truck and the GXP sedan will be as warmly received.”

Speculation on a North American export opportunity for the Aussie Ute first surfaced at the Detroit Motor Show in 2002.

GM product boss Bob Lutz, the man who later that year championed the Monaro into North America as the Pontiac GTO, suggested it as a replacement for the classic Chevrolet El Camino.

That plan never eventuated but with the free trade agreement removing the 20 per cent tariff which had hindered the Ute previously GM decided to green-light the Pontiac program.

“The FTA situation certainly made it viable,” GM Holden’s John Lindsay said. “The numbers are not expected to be huge but it is great news for us.”

The G8 sport truck is based off the new V8 SS Ute with a similar specification level and the same revised front styling treatment on the G8 sedan.

Buick-Pontiac-GMC general manager, Jim Bunnell, said: “Pontiac has never shied away from offering segment-defining vehicles. There’s simply nothing else like the G8 sport truck on the road today, and we definitely believe that there are customers who will be excited by its distinctive design, performance and cargo capabilities.”

The sport truck will be officially unveiled at the New York Motor Show on Wednesday and sitting alongside it will be a fourth Holden model wearing a Pontiac badge.

The new flagship, G8 GXP high performance sedan joins the G8 and G8 GT as Commodore-based Pontiacs.

The GXP sedan, production of which will start in Adelaide later this year, and the sport truck due next year means Holden’s Elizabeth plant will be producing 45 models off six variants.

The G8 GXP utilises GM’s new small-block LS3 6.2-litre V8 with 300kW and 546Nm. It will be the first Aussie-built Pontiac to offer both a six-speed manual and six-speed automatic gearbox.

“Two countries separated by a common language”.

It is unlikely that George Bernard Shaw was thinking of the classic Aussie Ute when he made his famous observation on America … yet it is still relevant.

To North Americans a Ute is an indigenous native, the people for which the state of Utah is named.

That language barrier has prompted Pontiac to turn to the public in searching for a name for its new G8 sports truck, built off the Holden Ute and to be unveiled at the New York Motor Show on Wednesday.

Pontiac has opened a website on which suggestions for a suitable name for the segment-busting new car can be lodged.

Pontiac’s marketing director, Craig Bierley, said the company was aware that the simple sport truck moniker did not fully describe the vehicle’s ability to blur the lines between sports car and truck (the US description of any range of SUVs and pick-ups).

The winning entry will be announced on April 15 - www.pontiac.com/namethiscar.

Hyundai has launched diesel versions of its Sonata, while its cute i30 diesel, which was named carsguide Car of the Year last year, now comes with a four-speed automatic transmission which will further widen its appeal.

Hyundai says the diesel Sonata, which goes on sale later this year, can return 6l/100km for the manual and 7l/100km for the automatic. The diesel produces 110kW and 305Nm of torque, which is close to the petrol engine’s output of 127kW and 227Nm.

Toyota has taken a different approach to reducing fuel bills by re-engineering the ever-popular Corolla so it can now run on LPG.

Gas costs about half the price of petrol, but the downside is that an LPG engine is not as efficient, produces less power than petrol and robs the car of valuable luggage space. That said, it is still worth considering.

Sprintgas Australia, which provides the LPG kit, says the LPG Corolla, with auto transmission, returns 10.9l/100km.

Toyota’s own fuel consumption figure for a petrol-powered Corolla is 7.4l/100km, but Sprintgas found the car consistently ran at a higher 10l of petrol per 100km.

So is it worth converting a small car to gas? LPG Australia spokesman Phil Westlake says yes.

“There’s a misconception that only larger cars are worthwhile converting to Autogas,” he said.

“More important than a car’s engine size is how often it requires refuelling.

“At 70 cents per litre for LPG, the Corolla costs around $7.63 per 100km to fuel. By comparison, at $1.30 per litre, the Corolla would cost around $13 per 100km to run on unleaded petrol.

“The real-world example shows an LPG-powered Corolla still saves around $5.37 for every 100km travelled compared to its petrol-powered equivalent.”

“Even considering recently higher Autogas prices, LPG remains priced around 50 per cent less than unleaded petrol so there are substantial savings to be had by converting a vehicle — especially one travelling average to high annual kilometres.”

The Italian car builder has released the first pictures of the Mi.To - and while we’re not sure about the name, the little hatch will no doubt revive memories of the much loved 1970s Alfasud.

The name is a conglomeration of parts of Alfa Romeo’s history - the first two letters of the marque’s spiritual home, Milan, plus the first two letters of Torino (or Turin), where it will be built. The sporty three-door small car will be officially unveiled in the metal midyear and it is likely to appear here 12 months after that.

Alfa Romeo is aiming the Mi.To as a replacement for the Alfasud, last sold here in the mid 1980s. It says its little Sud was the benchmark small car of the 1970s that “redefined small car performance with a class-leading chassis, peppy performance and crisp styling.”

Some owners also may remember its questionable reliability, rust issues and other maladies, but then misty-eyed nostalgia takes over. But Alfa, which has worked hard to leave such issues behind, says the Mi.To is looking to compete with smaller vehicles. The Sud was built to compete with Volkswagen’s Golf, ground now covered by the Alfa 147.

Alfa says the Mi.To is just over 4m long and 1.72m wide. This puts it up against the Peugeot 207, VW’s Polo and the new Fiat 500.

The hatch will be offered in petrol and diesel guises. Pricing and specifications will be announced when it goes on sale next year.

A Bentley once owned by the late disgraced stockbroker Rene Rivkin — and now by a former Gold Coast vice king — could be sold for as little as 1c under a radical new auction system.

The Azure convertible was part of Rivkin’s luxury car collection auctioned off as part of a fire sale before his suicide in 2005.

It was snapped up for $281,000 by former Fitzgerald Inquiry figure Ron “The Pom” Kingsnorth, who in the 1980s owned one of the Gold Coast’s most notorious brothels, the Geisha Bathhouse.

British-born Mr Kingsnorth, once an associate of infamous London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray, says he is “a bad boy who’s gone straight” and is now out of the vice trade.

Now in his 70s, he has married “a nice young Ukrainian wife,” Olga, and is involved in property development.

He said he had decided to get into the “reverse auction” business as a sideline, and to raise money for charity.

Unlike traditional auctions where the highest bid wins, goods sold at reverse auction are knocked down to the lowest unique bidder — the person with the lowest bid no one else has chosen.

Last year, a $350,000 Broadbeach high-rise unit was sold at reverse auction for $62.92.

Promoters make their money by charging a bid fee — in the case of the Bentley, $9 (or three bids for $20).

The maroon convertible — which cost more than $700,000 when new and can go from 0-100km/h in six seconds — will be auctioned online for between 1 and $6000, to whoever makes the lowest unique bid.

But if the auction is a success, Mr Kingsnorth stands to make hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mr Kingsnorth said he was abused as a child in East London and was donating part of the auction proceeds to the Abused Child Trust.

He said that if the auction works, he plans to sell luxury homes and boats using the same method. People can bid for the Bentley online.

Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir says the Malaysian carmaker has turned the corner and is ready for growth. Proton has chosen China, India, Russia and the Middle East for satellite production bases.

It is also closing on an alliance with a big carmaker after failed talks with Volkswagen, Peugeot and General Motors.

Proton is expected to go with Mitsubishi in an ambitious deal that should increase its products and allow it to reach its sales target of 10,000 cars a year in Australia.

“The future looks better today,” says managing director Syed. “We are coming out with a series of models that are priced right and meet market requirements. The future is going to be really good but, at the same time, we are realistic in our approach.”

Syed was at the Melbourne motor show to research the Australian car industry and the opposition his brand faces.

He knows the company’s 1.3- and 1.6-litre engines are small by local standards but hopes the price of fuel will make Proton more attractive.

“Australia is very peculiar because of the requirement for large engines,” he says.

“We need to be careful that the car fits into what the market needs.”

Proton also plans a people mover and larger cars, probably in a deal with Mitsubishi.

And it will probably rename the Gen.2 hatch as a second Persona to realign its local line-up and add the compact Saga sedan for $13,990.

The first of the newcomers, the Persona sedan, will be here next month.

“We have a program that will have a new car every year from now on. Last year we launched the Persona; this year is the Saga,” Syed says.

“Next year will be an MPV, then a Waja replacement, then a D-segment car. So, as we go along, at least for the next five years, there will be a new product every year.”