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September 20 News Topics

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Chocolate. Bacon. Cheesecake. Really, really good, but they don't beat track day in a GT-R.

Aaron Turpen    September 20, 2013 - 3:31AM

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Nissan GT Academy graduates going to Nurburgring for finals

Two of Nissan's latest GT Academy graduates are going for the Blancpain Endurance Series final round, vying for titles in teh Pro-Am class of this 2013 series. Nissan and Ferrari are only one point apart in this breakneck series. Plus watch a video interview of Steve Doherty about the race.

Aaron Turpen    September 20, 2013 - 3:27PM

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On the track, I had a hard time in it too, but I got some coaching from Fiat's amateur race driver in Europe (happened to be there as one of Fiat's reps) on how to drive the car and it improved immensely in my eyes. You turn later than you normally would to maximize the corners, since it has no wheelbase and doesn't "slide" (as he put it). Shifting was good, I thought, and my chief problem was just fitting in the car itself. With a helmet on, I'm 6'5"+ and had to keep my head uncomfortably bent to drive the car. Not nearly as much as I did in the Mini, which I did one lap in and said "to hell with this" but enough that I'd wished they'd brought the Cabriolet.

The exhaust sound is signature Italian. Open the hood and these little Fiat 500s have that "ptthbbtt phhhbbbbttt pttthhbbttt" sound they're known for. I think it's fun. Reminds me of my favorite car ever, the Citroen 2CV.

Patrick Rall    September 20, 2013 - 7:02PM

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The Fiat 500 Abarth is, in my opinion, one of the best sounding stock cars sold in America today. The clutch and shifter are a little unusual but Ive had the Abarth a couple times and I absolutely love it. Ive driven the Abarth extensively on a road course, autocross course and 3 mile over along with putting about 1,500 miles on them on the street and i freaking love them...and im not by any stretch a compact car guy.

Aaron Turpen    September 20, 2013 - 3:32PM

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EXCLUSIVE: Mazda donates $15,000 to save animals stranded in the Colorado flooding

The Colorado floods have devastated the area and to help, Mazda has donated $35,000 in relief effort funding, $15,000 of which will go to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley to help save stranded and lost pets. This unique donation is welcomed by Colorado residents who've lost their beloved companions in the storms and chaos.

Note that while the story itself isn't exclusive, I know many people in the affected areas and am not far from it, so I talked to a few of them and got some interview quotes to use for this.

Aaron Turpen    September 20, 2013 - 4:00PM

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Will Nissan enter the 3/4 and 1 ton pickup market?

Nissan has made some announcements over the past few months that hint at the possibility of a heavy-duty pickup for their lineup, one that might give the Detroit 3 some competition in the commercial and consumer towing sectors.

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