Facts And RumorsBoth the BMW and PTG M3 teams have pulled out of the American LeMans series for 2002 due to changes in the homologation requirements. The new requirements would leave the new M3 GTR virtually uncompetitive.
For some reason, the luxury tax has been lowered by a percentage point for the year 2002. This drop only applies to cars costing over $40,000 that weigh less than 3-tons-and the tax will go up again in 2003.
VW is not only planning to release an SUV, but also a minivan-type vehicle based off of the Golf chassis-and we're not talking about the Microbus.
Porsche is offering an X50 version of its 911 Turbo. The X50 package allows the engine to breathe a little better and boosts the horsepower from 415 to 450. The package costs nearly 18-grand and cannot be retrofitted to pre-2002 911 TTs.
VW is recalling 324,000 Mk 4 2.0L cars due to faulty oxygen sensors. When the sensor finally dies, your check engine light will illuminate and the fault code will say the engine's air/fuel mixture is running rich.
Momentum Motorsport's never ending 24v VR6 Mk 1 Cabrio buildup has recently entered an entirely new phase: Momentum has decided to turbocharge it. The power boost should push the Cabrio to achieve 300hp to the wheels.
LA And Detroit Auto ShowsAt this year's LA Auto Show there was nothing groundbreaking, but there were a handful of extremely drool-worthy new cars. Sure, we've left some important cars out of this list-most notably the '02 GTI 24v VR6 and the BMW sequential shifting M3-but we thought the cars we chose would hold your interest just as much.