LTXTech News and Articles

The Ultimate Avatar/Signature How-To Guide I've made two videos showing how to upload both avatars and signatures.... ...

Holden looks set to secure a billion dollar export program and get the Chevrolet Camaro muscle car in return.

Charismatic General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz has today confirmed Chevrolet's interest in the Holden Commodore as a "four-door Corvette" sports model in the USA and also revealed the new Camaro muscle car is likely to be sold in Australia.

Lutz's confirmation of Chevrolet's interest in the Commodore backed up GM North America boss Mark Reuss' comments made exclusively to Drive at the Detroit motor show.

However, his announcement that the Chevrolet Camaro - which is based on a shortened version of the Commodore's Zeta architecture - was a surprise.
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The history of the Chevrolet Camaro is littered with bold styling options and even bolder colors. "Bold" doesn't always equal "good," but there have been a lot of both since the 1967 introduction of Chevrolet's original pony car. At SEMA this year, we saw more custom Camaros than we thought possible, a few of them done up by General Motors itself. The General even promised that we'd see some of those Camaro option packs on the regular production models in the future. One special Camaro that really caught our eye was the Synergy, mainly because of its eye-popping green paint.

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The ZR1 might be the fastest Chevrolet Corvette to ever come out of Bowling Green, Kentucky, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved upon. That's where Lingenfelter Performance Engineering of Decatur, Indiana comes in. They've built some of the fastest Corvettes in the world, plus some other pretty wild tuned Chevys. Their latest super-Vette is this Jetstream Blue Metallic ZR1 that Lingenfelter took out to the drag strip at Maryland International Raceway last month. The result? A best pass of 9.813 seconds at 145.74 mph.
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Remember when Jalopnik built a 638 HP LS9 V8 for a Corvette ZR1? Cool, right? Well, GM's considering a program to let ZR1 buyers do just that. It's a totally awesome idea that's every super car buyer's wet dream. During one of the many booze and schmooze events surrounding the Detroit Auto Show, a GM official let us know they were considering letting ZR1 buyers put together the very engine destined for their car. That sentiment confirmed to Jalopnik by Tom Read from GM's Advanced Powertrain Technology Communications — telling us "we are considering this program."

Though only a possible program at this point, it would allow buyers an unparalleled opportunity to have a hand in creating their own super car. It's one of the ideas floating around "new GM" we think should be put into place as soon as possible. Talk about an amazing way to connect customer to product.
Our guess is Read's floating the idea with us to hear what you, the commenters and enthusiasts, have to say. So, let 'em know what you think in the comments below.


Source: Jalopnik
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"A celebrity connection can make any car's value pop. Today, Nice Price or Crack Pipe wants to see if you think this six-figure Z28 rocks, or if it just gives you the blues. Yesterday we went all Art 101 on an artistically painted 733. While the car did receive a 63% drubbing in the vote, there were a surprising number of you who came out in favor of the garishly-hued sedan, choosing to base your vote on the desirability of the underlying car instead of its technicolor dreamcoat. One thing you all could agree on was Bob Ross and his amazing fro.

Moving from the stuffy and elitist art world to the spandex-wrapped, cocaine-fueled world of hotel-room trashing rock, leads us to a $275,000 1985 Camaro IROC Z28. Now, you might think that, while the IROC Z was the top of the Camaro line, it'd have to be pretty special to solicit that kind of cheddar, and you'd be right. This white over gray coupe with fewer than 800 miles on the clock is a rolling Rock & Roll hall of fame, having been signed by nearly every act that performed at the JFK Stadium Live Aid concert back in '85.

In case you've forgotten, Live Aid was a global concert orchestrated by the legendary promoter Bill Graham, Boomtown Rats lead Bob Geldof, Larry Magid and Allen Spivak in support of Ethiopian food aid. The main concerts took place at JFK in Philly, and Wembley Stadium in the U.K.. Additional, smaller concerts were held simultaneously in Australia, Germany and elsewhere. The web page dedicated to the car's sale has a ...

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Grand Sport. It’s one of the most storied monikers in Corvette’s illustrious racing heritage and it is returning the lineup. Chevrolet announced the new, 2010 Corvette Grand Sport at the 12th annunal C5/C6 Corvette Birthday Bash, held at the National Corvette Museum, in Bowling Green, Ky.


The new Grand Sport model combines the Corvette’s LS3-based powertrain with unique, wide-body styling and a racetrack-bred suspension for a distinctive, starting grid-ready performer. It is offered in both coupe and convertible body styles, with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. The LS3 6.2L engine is rated at 430 horsepower (321 kW)* and 424 lb.-ft. of torque (575 Nm)* with the standard exhaust system. An optional two-mode exhaust system elevates the power ratings to 436 horses (325 kW) and 428 lb.-ft. (580 Nm).


The Grand Sport replaces the Corvette’s previous Z51 package and brings a greater degree of handling performance, with wider wheels and tires; revised shock, stabilizer bar and spring specifications and specific gearing. The equipment enables cornering capability of 1.0 g, as well as a 0.2-second improvement in 0-60 acceleration vs. standard LS3-powered models.


Grand Sport coupe models equipped with the manual transmission are uniquely outfitted for racetrack competition, too, with a dry-sump oiling system, differential cooler and a rear-mounted battery.
The complete list of content and special features for the Grand Sport includes

• Wider front and rear fenders – including specific front fenders with integrated Grand Sport badges
• Z06-style front splitter and tall rear spoiler
• Functional brake ducts and extra cooling
• Unique 18-inch front and 19-inch wheels; painted finish standard and chrome finish optional
• Large 275/35ZR18 tires in front and 325/30ZR19 tires in the rear
• Z06-size brakes, including 14-i ...

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- General Motors has all but declined an offer from a local dealership owner to purchase its celebrated Pontiac brand.

The question on some people's minds is why?

With three other GM brands for sale and the automaker grasping for cash, local Pontiac fans are wondering why the automaker is essentially abandoning a brand wildly popular among muscle car enthusiasts.

"For the amount of cars the Pontiac brand sells, there's a number of car companies that would love to sell them," said Mundy Township resident Gary Pitts, former president of the Widetrackers, a local chapter of the Pontiac Oakland Club. "It's amazing to me they're doing away with Pontiac."

It all boils down to brand identity, a GM spokesman said.

The automaker announced last month it would phase out Pontiac as part of its restructuring plan to get more government aid. GM plans to devote its resources to the four remaining brands: Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC.
Pontiac products are completely intertwined with GM products, which would make it "extremely difficult" to tease out that brand and put it up for sale, said Tom Wilkinson, director of news relations with GM.
Saturn, Saab and Hummer, on the other hand, are very much free standing, he said.

Each of the three brands currently on the market has its own retail network and manufacturer, he said.

And while Pontiac is still popular among enthusiasts, there isn't as much strength behind the brand as there used to be, said Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

"They're more of a niche and smaller --Â not enough to bring (GM) a lot of cash," said Dziczek, director of the labor and industry group. "If it's not easily chopped off or not likely to bring a big price, there's not a whole lot of motivation behind marketing that."

Still, that didn't det ...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy Thursday. But a deal has been reached to combine the company with Fiat in order to allow Chrysler to stay in business.
The bankruptcy filing,which was made in federal court in New York, comes after some of Chrysler's smaller lenders refused a Treasury Department demand to reduce the amount of money the troubled automaker owed them.

In remarks at the White House, President Obama said that the bankruptcy filing is not a failure for the company but "one more step on the path to Chrysler's revival."

Obama vowed the bankruptcy process would be quick, efficient and controlled. A senior administration official predicted it would be completed within 30 to 60 days. The combination with Fiat is also due to close during that period of time.


According to government officials, a new company will be formed that will buy the assets of Chrysler - its plants, brands, land, equipment, as well as its contracts with the union, dealers and suppliers - from the bankruptcy court.

The company's liabilities and an unspecified number of Chrysler's 3,300 dealerships which now sell the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands will be left behind in the bankruptcy court.

Administration officials said the Treasury Department will provide Chrysler with about $8 billion in loans on top of the $4 billion in loans it has already received to get it through bankruptcy.
Officials said $3.3 billion of the new loans will be used to fund operations during bankruptcy, while the remaining $4.7 billion will allow Chrysler to function normally once it exits bankruptcy. In addition, the Canadian government will loan the companies $2.7 billion to help support Chrysler's Canadian operations.
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