It’s a go for the Dodge Challenger concept. At the Pepsi 400 in Daytona, Florida, DaimlerChrysler is expected to announce its plans to build the production version of the sensational, retro-styled Dodge Challenger concept it debuted earlier this year in Detroit. The Dodge Challenger stole the show at this year’s NAIAS with its old-school looks, a dead ringer for the original 1970 Challenger and its exciting 425hp, V-8 engine.

The new Dodge Challenger will be built with the same basic chassis found on the Chrysler 300 and the popular Dodge Charger. The first new Dodge Challenger is expected by 2008. This could be a renaissance of sorts for muscle cars in the U.S. automotive scene; after the resounding success of the Ford Mustang, General Motors Corp. is expected to bring back the Chevrolet Camaro, another popular pony/muscle car.

When it comes to pricing, Chrysler’s sales and marketing exec, Joe Eberhardt, said that the new Dodge Challenger may be priced a little bit higher than the Ford Mustang, which is currently priced at $19,000 to $26,000.

Summer is in full swing and 4th of July is only a few days away. For most Americans, this is the best time to go on a road trip. However, before you hit the highways, you better check on one very important part of your vehicle – the braking system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that over 2,600 deaths and 100,000 disabling injuries happen every year because of neglected vehicle maintenance. Thus, it really pays to have an auto professional or mechanic check up every part of your vehicle, especially your brakes. Here are some important reminders to help keep your brake system in top shape and always ready for a road trip.

Have your brake system checked and analyzed annually – For best performance, you should have your braking system checked by a technician, preferably one who is certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence or ASE. Your technician should inspect every part of your car’s braking system such as brake lining, rotor, hoses, brake lines, brake fluid level, brake lights and others.

Change your brake fluid regularly – It is recommended that you have your brake fluid changed ever 24,000 miles or two years. Brake fluid will become contaminated over time because of the moisture that gets absorbed from the vehicle’s hydraulic system. This moisture can lead to brake malfunctions, rust, corrosion and other problems. This can lead to dangerous brake failure.

Look out for the symptoms of a bad braking system – Drivers should be aware of the signs of defects in the braking system. These include excessive squealing noise accompanied by burning smell when braking.

Other symptoms that indicate a problem in your brakes are: vehicle pulls to the left or right when braking, brake lights and warning lights come on when driving; brake pedal goes down too far or feels to hard, vibration in the brake pedal, steering wheel, or the entire vehicle when braking.

As part of its efforts to help curb global warming and dependence on foreign oil imports, Japan is planning to adopt a new policy requiring all new cars to run on 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline by the year 2010. The country’s Environment Ministry is already studying the cost and implementation. Japan is one of the top contributors to air pollution. The country also imports almost all of its oil and is ardently looking for alternative fuel sources.

Japan aims to have all cars on its roads running on flexible-fuel technology by 2030. As of now, the number of cars running on ethanol-gasoline mix is still insignificant, although Japan allows ethanol mixtures of up to 3%. To help start up the market, the environment ministry will start large-scale production of ethanol fuel in the sugarcane-rich island of Miyako. The plan is to use the ethanol for the island’s 20,000 cars over the course of three years.

However, there are some hindrances that have to be hurdled. First, ethanol fuel is more expensive than gasoline. Second, the planned 10% ethanol mix does not comply with the standards met by flex-fuel vehicles from U.S. automakers, which can run on 85% ethanol blends.

Ford Motor Co. is planning to produce a hybrid version of its large SUV, the Expedition, complete with a new European V-8 diesel engine or gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain. The automaker has yet to confirm but Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of product development for the Americas has said that the company is developing hybrids and diesels. This plan comes amidst the continued downward trend for Ford’s SUV sales.

Expedition sales fell by 29.8% in May compared to the same period last year. There is also an 82-day supply overload in dealer lots. The planned Ford Expedition Hybrid will compete with hybrid versions of GM’s Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, both available in the market by late 2007. A hybrid Chrysler Durango is also scheduled for a 2008 debut.

Finally, the unique, environment-friendly, two-seat smart car will be available in the U.S. automotive market by 2008. DaimlerChrysler, makers of the smart car has announced that a new version of the smart fortwo will be available in three models for the American market. The smart car is already a familiar sight in European streets and has had quite a success in Canada. DaimlerChrysler wants to replicate this scene in the U.S. A few months ago we reported on the DaimlerChrysler’s plans to offer a smart SUV called the formore.

The smart fortwo will take advantage of the increasing demand for affordable cars with excellent fuel economy. The fortwo has an average of 40 miles per gallon on combined city and highway driving. Also, fortwo has a three-cylinder, 700cc engine offers considerably lower fuel emissions compared to other cars. DaimlerChrysler also emphasizes that the fortwo is ‘outstanding from the standpoint of safety’ as it features engineering and safety features such as air bags, electronic stability control and excellent performance in crash tests. Meanwhile, the fortwo is expected to come with a price lower than $15,000.

Much has been said about the current financial crisis that America’s top automakers are experiencing. Sales continue its downward trend as demand for large and midsized SUV’s fall. May sales figures were down by 4.6% compared to last year. However, America’s automakers are producing much improved vehicle models generating a lot of buzz. There have been a number of exciting new sedans and coupes introduced such as the Saturn Sky and Ford Shelby GT500. Impressive new vehicle models have also come out from Detroit’s Big Three over the last few years.

To find out which among these new American vehicles are the best, BusinessWeek.com attempts to rank the newest domestic cars of 2006 according to reported reliability, government crash-safety ratings and total cost of ownership. Data were gathered from various sources such as Consumer Reports (Reliability), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Safety ratings) and Edmunds.com (total cost of ownership or TCO). TCO refers to the ownership expenses incurred over a five year time span including such costs as financing, taxes, maintenance, operating and depreciation costs. For this list, only cars with 2006 as the base model year were considered. Not all cars in the market were compared, however, due to the lack of complete safety and reliability data.

America’s best for 2006:

Small Car – Ford Focus

Sedan – Chevrolet Malibu

Wagon – Ford Focus Wagon

Minivan – Dodge Caravan

Small Truck – Dodge Dakota

Large Truck – Ford F-150

Luxury Sedan - Chrysler 300

Mid-Sized SUV - Jeep Grand Cherokee

Luxury SUV - Jeep Commander

Supercar/Exotic - Saleen S7

Hybrid - Ford Escape Hybrid

Coupe - Dodge Viper SRT10

Source: MSNBC

A few weeks ago we reported on the new role of the Chevy Camaro in the upcoming big-screen, live action adaptation of ‘Transformers’ – as Bumblebee, one of the original Autobot Transformers in the popular comics/series. There has been an outcry from Transformers fans due to the fact that the original Bumblebee in the series is a Volkswagen Beetle. Here’s the latest update on the much-anticipated movie – a glimpse of the Camaro Bumblebee apparently halfway through ‘transformation’ at the Transformers set. Thanks to the reader who provided us with a link to a forum thread featuring lots of photos of the Camaro as well as the Saleen Mustang police car that will also ‘star’ in the movie. ‘Transformers’ is a Dreamworks, Paramount and Hasbro production set to premiere on the 4th of July, 2007.

After Geely Automobile Company made its debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last January, the first Chinese automaker to be featured in the NAIAS, more automakers from China are setting their sights on entering the U.S auto industry, the largest automotive market in the world. Chery Automobile, another Chinese automaker is also planning to import cars by 2008, through Visionary Vehicles founder Malcom Bricklin.

The latest Chinese automaker with ambitions to enter the U.S. automotive market is Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co. The company claims that it will start production and sales of SUV’s and pickups as early as 2007. However, like its predecessor’s this Chinese automaker still has a long way to go before it can make a mark on the U.S. auto market. Currently, the total annual output of ZX Automobile is only a measly 7,480 vehicles. Also, its vehicle lineup doesn’t even meet U.S. safety and emission standards.

Source: Autoweek

The German Car Blog reports that Audi has begun production of the newest version of the Audi TT sports car. Audi has spent almost 230 million euros on new production technologies and equipments to ensure that the new TT is produced with highest quality standards and latest production methods. The production of the TT will be a joint effort between two Audi plants, the main plant in Ingolstadt, Germany where the TT’s body will be built and painted and the Audi Hungaria Motor Kft. in Györ, Hungary where final assembly will take place.

The assembly line at both plants have been redesigned and streamlined without any compromise in the quality of the vehicle, Audi says. The automaker is not about to gloss over the finest details. In fact, TT’s are regularly taken out of the production process and tested by laser measurement to ensure that everything is at its right configuration.

The new TT is an improvement on its predecessor especially in the way it is constructed, its overall body weight and weight distribution, longer wheelbase, and roomier interior. The body of the new TT is a mix of both steel and aluminum that weighs in at 3146 lbs, about a hundred pounds lighter than the previous version. The redesigned and freshened 2007 Audi TT is poised to be a fierce challenger in the luxury sports car segment, already populated by the BMW Z4 Coupe, Nissan 350Z, Porsche Cayman S and the Mercedes-Benz SLK. It will be available in North America by April of next year.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Toyota executives are currently in talks to revive the automaker’s sports-car lineup. Mr. Tokuo Fukuichi, a Toyota official based in France said that the new Toyota sports car model “is going to be a global project, not one aimed at one region more than another”. Meanwhile, Shinzo Kobuki, Toyota’s managing OIC of development of hybrid systems said that the automaker is aiming to produce sporty cars to compete with German luxury automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. Toyota has been criticized for being the last major car maker without a trophy sports car.

Last year, Toyota unveiled a hybrid sports car concept, named the Volta (pictured above) designed together with the legendary Guigiaro of Italdesign. The concept was later renamed as the ‘Priapus’. Despite the rather awkward name, the Volta/Priapus featured a stunning design, a powerful V-6 engine with electric motor providing 408 horespower, 0-60 mph acceleration in 4 seconds, and 30 mpg fuel economy.