Found: Oldest Porsche Import in the USA is a 1952 356 Cabriolet

The owner of the "Strawberry Red" 356 Cabriolet pictured above has earned the bragging rights for owning the oldest Porsche model sold in America. The discovery was made as part of the My Porsche Classic Search, which was launched in August to celebrate the brand's 60th anniversary.

The Porsche Classic Search was conducted online with owners having to submit documentation that their Porsche was one of the earliest in its category to be retailed in the USA.

The oldest documented sale was this rare 1952 356 Cabriolet owned by Dr. Robert Wilson of Oklahoma City, Okla. According to the company, Wilson's car was imported in November of 1952 by Austrian businessman, Max Hoffman, in New York, who brought the first Porsche cars to the U.S. beginning in 1950.

The 356 Cabriolet, which is powered by a 60-horsepower 1.5 liter engine, was discovered in a salvage yard by Wilson many years after landing on this side of the Atlantic. Wilson bought the car and painstakingly restored it to its original condition.

Porsche said its search also yielded the discovery of an even rarer and older model, a blue 1950 356 Cabriolet owned by Richard Brumme of Annapolis, Md, which was one of the very first series production 356s built in Stuttgart, after the company relocated from Gmund, Austria. However, this car was not actually retailed in America so the title went to Wilson's 356.

Aside from the oldest Porsche sold in the US, the company also made a list of the oldest models in each range:

1965 911: Barry August of Clarksville, Md.


1965 912: Steve Torkelsen of Wilton, Conn.


1970 914: Ralph Stoesser of Marco Island, Fla.


1977 924: Jay Hoover of New Haven, Ind.


1977 928: Jim Doerr of Richmond, Va.


1983 944: John Denning of Covington, Wash.


1992 968: Jeffrey Coe of Trumball, Conn.


1997 Boxster: David Adrian of Worcester, Mass.


2004 Cayenne: Adam Reichard of Magnolia, Texas


2005 Carrera GT: Robert Ingram of Durham, N.C.


2006 Cayman: Eugenie Thomas of Martinez, Calif.

The Stuttgart-based firm said it plans to honor the owners of all of these cars with an exclusive badge issued by the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, and by featuring photos of the cars at the new "Sixty Years of Porsche in America" exhibit, which opened in the museum on Oct. 12. Furthermore, Wilson's 356 Convertible will make its way to Porsche's LA Auto Show stand in November.

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2011 Renault Laguna Facelift Priced Lower than Outgoing Model in Britain

Following their world premieres at the Paris motor show, Renault has released UK pricing and specification for the updated Laguna 2011 Hatch and Sport Tourer models ahead showroom launch in November. Despite the facelift, Renault claims that both models offer savings of up to £1,855 available compared to the previous range.

The facelift includes some minor exterior tweaks such as the reworked fascia with new headlamps and a restyled bumper incorporating a more prominent grille, plus equipment improvements and a series of engine enhancements that result in reduced emissions and greater fuel economy across the range.

For the 2011 model year, the engine line-up includes fully Euro 5-compliant engines, plus ten 'eco²' branded versions with sub-140 grams CO2. The least emitting engine in the Laguna range is the 1.5-litre dCi 110HP with 120 grams and a combined fuel economy of 60.1 mpg UK.

The Laguna is offered in three core trim levels, Expression, Dynamique TomTom and GT Line TomTom. The base Expression includes an Arkamys 3D Sound single CD/radio MP3 with Bluetooth and fingertip control, 16-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, aux input, ESC and front fog lights.

Aside from the navigation system, the Dynamique TomTom adds automatic parking brake, and headlights and wipers, cruise control, chrome twin exhausts (excluding dCi 110), dual zone climate control, electrically heated and folding door mirrors, hands-free keycard, rear parking sensors, multi-functional TunePoint (for portable music players) and speed limiter.

Finally, the range-topping GT Line TomTom benefits from 18-inch alloys, a BOSE sound system with 10 speakers and amplifier, 4Control four-wheel steering on the dCi 180 HP, pearl black electric folding door mirrors with memory, and leather and alcantara upholstery with electrically adjustable heated front seats.

The revised Laguna Hatch starts from £17,795, with prices for the more practical Sport Tourer version set £1,100 higher than those of the liftback model.

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Chrysler and Dodge to Recall More than 26,000 Vehicles in the U.S.

A new recall announced by the Chrysler Group will affect 26,397 owners of Chrysler and Dodge brand vehicles in the USA. The recall includes certain 2010MY Chrysler 300 and Sebring, and Dodge Charger, Avenger, Challenger and Journey, and some 2011MY Ram pickup trucks, because a power steering pressure hose may leak fluid onto a hot engine and cause a fire.

The U.S. automaker told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that dealers will inspect and replace if necessary the power steering pressure hoses free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin before the end of the October 2010.

Owners may contact Chrysler for more information regarding the recall at 1-800-853-1403.

According to reports, 13,000 vehicles are also being recalled outside the U.S. for the same problem.

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New Toyota Recall, this time for Toyota Avalon and Highlander, and Lexus GS300, IS250, and IS350

Toyota has announced a voluntary recall of some 740,000 vehicles in the United States to address a potential leak problem with a seal in the brake master cylinder. The models that are being recalled in the U.S. are the 2005-2006MY Toyota Avalon, 2004-2006MY Highlander (non Hybrid) and Lexus RX330, and 2006 Lexus GS300, IS250, and IS350. Another 600,898 vehicles were recalled in Japan and approximately 200,000 in China for the same issue.

According to the company, there's a possibility that a small amount of the brake fluid could slowly leak from the brake master cylinder, resulting in illumination of the brake warning lamp.

"If the brake warning lamp has illuminated and the vehicle continues to be operated without refilling the master cylinder brake fluid reservoir, the driver will begin to notice a spongy or soft brake pedal feel and braking performance may gradually decline," said the automaker.

Toyota said it will begin notifying owners of the involved vehicles through mail beginning in early November 2010. As with all recalls, Toyota and Lexus dealers will replace the brake master cylinder cup with a newly designed free of charge.

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Audi to Participate at the SEMA Show for the First Time, Displays include 710HP R8 Spyder

There's a first time for everything. For Audi, it's SEMA as this year's edition of the show will mark the brand's first ever factory-backed appearance at the annual tuning extravaganza in Las Vegas.

In addition to its lineup of after sales and electronics products, Audi will put on display six-vehicles including the driver-less Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak and a customized R8 Spyder tuned by STaSIS Engineering. The latter is equipped with a 5.2-liter supercharged V10 engine delivering 710-horsepower and 523 lb-ft of torque, and can complete the 0 to 60mph [96 km/h] sprint in 3.1 seconds.

"We're thrilled to be a part of the SEMA experience, and look forward to turning heads with our vehicles, demonstrations, and a sophisticated lineup of After Sales and electronics products that enhance connectivity and entertainment," said David Tait, Audi's lead After Sales executive and spokesman on the SEMA project.

"Our show cars will represent the pinnacle of what owners can do with an Audi, and unleash a variety of opportunities for our vendors, as well," he added.

Though no more specific details we given about the cars, Tait said: "Let's just say we'll have a few distinctive, concept items on the stand that definitely won't disappoint the unique SEMA audience".

The 2010 SEMA Show will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from November 2-5.

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All 500 Examples of 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS Sold Out

It took a bit longer than GM's $75,000 Neiman Marcus Camaro Convertible, which sold out in three minutes, but Porsche has managed to secure customer commitments for all 500 units of its limited production 911 GT2 RS less than two months after the supercar's world premiere at the Moscow Auto Show in August.

According to the Stuttgart automaker, here in the U.S., the company has pre-sold 133 examples of the 911 GT2 RS, all of which will be delivered to their respective owners in February 2011.

The new 911 GT RS is motivated by a 3.6-liter six-cylinder boxer engine boosted by two turbochargers with variable turbine geometry, producing 620-horsepower and 700Nm or 516 lb-ft of peak torque. Power is transferred to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox, with Porsche claiming 0-100km/h [62 mph] sprint time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 330 km/h [205 mph].

The company also states that the new 911 GT2 RS is the fastest and most powerful road-going Porsche ever built turning the Nürburgring race track in just 7 minutes and 18 seconds. Read more about the R in our previous post here.

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