Jalopnik
Commenter Of The Day
Commenter Of The Day: Perfect Strangers Edition
Few shows in the annals of television history are as widely known and completely strange as Perfect Strangers. Employing the typical "fish out of water" scenario that has been abused by sitcoms for the entire breadth of the medium, there's a certain quality of Perfect Strangers that sets it apart from more beloved and successful shows like The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. One need to look only to the show's genesis, which saw series creator Dale McRaven (who also created Mork & Mindy) trying to capitalize on the patriotism America felt after the 1984 Olympics in LA. No joke. The story of an immigrant trying to enjoy the promise of America, Perfect Strangers is our story. More »
max mosley
Max Mosley Threatens FIA Will Go To Crap If He's Ousted, Officially Channeling Nixon
We'd rather not devote time to Max Mosley and his ongoing attempts to screw up racing like he's screwed up his life, but the story keeps getting crazier and crazier. After being asked to avoid F1 events and, basically, being benched for Monaco, Mosley has issued a letter stating that FIA will be ruined and Formula One destroyed if he's voted out in the big "vote of no confidence" meeting this June. This is basically the Nixon approach. The nation will be ruined and the media, who are blowing everything out of proportion for political reasons, will win. Snippets from the crazy letter discovered by Autosport.com below. More »
Choose Your Eternity
The extremely cheap, extremely sketchy (putatively) NSX-engine-powered Acura Legend obliterated the dime-a-dozen turbo Civic in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll, which is about what we expected. So what if we could find not just an NSX engine but an entire car for cheap (well, maybe entire isn't the right word here, but you get the idea)- what then? Well, then we have quite a dilemma when trying to find something to stack up against the Acura, a car that's equally cool, in spittin' distance of the NSX's price range, and hideously expensive when it comes to part obtainment. Perhaps it's an impossible task, but let's see how things sort out in today's Detroit-versus-Japan matchup!
More »
PCH, Ten Grand To Glory Edition: Acura NSX or '59 Corvette?
The extremely cheap, extremely sketchy (putatively) NSX-engine-powered Acura Legend obliterated the dime-a-dozen turbo Civic in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll, which is about what we expected. So what if we could find not just an NSX engine but an entire car for cheap (well, maybe entire isn't the right word here, but you get the idea)- what then? Well, then we have quite a dilemma when trying to find something to stack up against the Acura, a car that's equally cool, in spittin' distance of the NSX's price range, and hideously expensive when it comes to part obtainment. Perhaps it's an impossible task, but let's see how things sort out in today's Detroit-versus-Japan matchup!More »
2009 Toyota Tacoma
2009 Toyota Tacoma To Get Better Fiddle, Argent-Painted Grille
The Toyota Tacoma has played second fiddle to darn near everybody for its entire life. Early on it was the domestics, now its the full size Toyota Tundra. That doesn't mean its standing still as far as updates go. We managed to find this dealer product brief buried within the Toyota Nation forums cataloging, detailing what buyers can expect to see on the sales floor soon. The most notable upgrades including the audio system, LED tail lights, and a new backup camera. More »
4:40 PM on Fri May 16 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
896 views,
15 comments
Latest by TheTooth: @meng_mao: I hope so. That would be sweet. more »
24 Hours of Lemons Altamont
Huge Wing, Eyeballs Propel Make:Way Escort To 33rd-Place LeMons Finish!
Even though we vowed to crush Team Make:Way's Escort like a drained beercan beneath our hobnailed racing shoes (as the Lord Humungus would say about their car, what a puny plan!), the little slushbox-equipped Escort managed to evade the wrath of Odin and hang on for a respectable 33rd-place finish at the race. They had a scary moment when a front wheel parted company with the vehicle on the track, but for the most part they kept on knocking out lap after lap. Good work, Make:Way, and next time we hope to see some junkyard turbocharging on that thing! [MakeWayRacing.com]
Novelties
Nooooo! Two Sweet Pontiacs Destroyed For Sake Of Art
We've heard of this "Jonathan Schipper" before through his exploits slowly grinding scale models and throw-away IROC-Z's together. Now he's gone and mashed a Pontiac Firebird into a Pontiac Trans Am, both examples of sweet malaise goodness. True they may have been on the underpowered side when stock, and their engines have been removed for this exercise, but they were masterpieces of hair-over-neck styling before this literal mash-up. Seeing these two run face to face into each other over the course of four days is pure pain, or pleasure, depends on how you feel about Pontiacs. [Auto.Coone.com]
Down On The Street Bonus Edition
Saab 95 Survives San Francisco Streets, Plus Bonus Lancia
When WhatWouldJesseDo isn't working on his Datsun 411, Mini, Puma GT, or the Black Metal V8olvo, he's doing his day job across the Bay in San Francisco. That's a city in which most street-parked cars get scraped, bumped, and dinged with depressing regularity, yet plenty of cool old machinery still thrives on its streets. Here's a very clean Saab 95 and an equally clean Lancia Fulvia that Jesse sees regularly in North Beach.
New Cars
Look To The Swift! Suzuki Brings Germans Together With "Black And White" Editions
Suzuki is clearly firing back at Ford and their Focus CC Black Edition with this, the Suzuki Swift Black and White edition. Nothing says automotive harmony like matching hatchbacks. We got the chance to drive a very pedestrian version of the 2008 Suzuki Swift a few weeks ago and had a great time with it. This particular limited edition Swift comes in either black or white with special 16-inch rims, unique decals, a DVD/Nav system, 30GB hard drive and a few other tweaks. The body kit on the black Swift looks great, though we're still waiting for a GTI.[Suzuki via CarScoop]
Alternative Energy
GM Says Challenge X Is The Future, We Say We Want It Now
Looking at the array of biodiesel hybrids, ethanol hydrogen hybrids and fuel cells on display in Central Park this morning, the impression we got was GM is looking to these technologies as the future. All we could think was how much they should be the present. You see, this wasn't a display of pie-in-the-sky concepts or prototypes, but actual vehicles capable of competently carrying humans and all of them designed and built by students on a limited budget. If a couple of pubescent geeks still waiting for their first pocket protectors can put a functioning biodiesel hybrid on a driveway, why isn't GM doing so right now?More »
3:00 PM on Fri May 16 2008
By Wes Siler
502 views,
11 comments
Latest by Spekkio: The simple fact is that the automotive industry needs to radically change their priorities now. "But we have to give the customer what they want!" they scream. Well, I thought it was fairly well established that companies can (and do) manipulate more »
Novelties
Mercedes-Pens Is A Self-Explanatory Art Car
If you haven't had enough of the art cars yet, take a gander at Costas Schuler's Mercedes-Pens. The Santa Rosa, California, resident has a knack for pens—so much so it became his shtick by gluing thousands upon thousands of pens to his 1981 300SD turbodiesel Mercedes-Benz. Schuler uses the the art-car as a promotional tool for himself, who serves as an inspirational speaker and comedian. Schuler accepts pen donations, which can be mailed to him.More »
Gadgets
Paranoid Much? Try The GPS Tracker Defense Device
With GPS trackers becoming all the rage with overprotective parents, stalkers and jealous exes, it's only appropriate that a company has began manufacturing devices to counteract those GPS tracking devices. A spy-gadget company now has this Anti GPS Tracker available. It plugs into the 12V DC outlet of your vehicle and is capable of blocking GPS signals in a two to five meter radius. More »
Offbeat News
Get Caught Speeding In Canada, Endure A Lecture From The Teen Girl Squad
Michel Foucault's Discipline & Punishment focuses on the transition into the modern system of punishment, away from public embarrassment into a gentler and more measured approach. We Americans welcome Canada into the league of nations going the other direction. Speeders in Oshawa, Ontario are now being given the choice between getting a speeding ticket or having to sit through a poorly-written essay on speeding from a teenager. One driver broke down crying after having a teenager exclaim she was now dead because the driver chose to speed, though we're not sure if the crying was due to the emotional impact of the text or the labored rhetorical strategies most teens employ. Nevertheless, we think this is a great strategy as there's no one more self righteous than a teenage girl on a power trip. More »
Novelties
Save The Princess In A Lada Zhiguli
Found over yonder in Russia-land is this variant of the Fiat 124, presumably the Lada Zhiguli. What makes this Lada stand out among the millions of them is the matte black rims—not really, it's the amazingly accurate and detailed Mario paint job. The mural contains Goombas, pipes, coins, blocks, red-shelled Koopas and of course, Mario-himself.[Consolenewz.ru]
Nissan
This Is Why We Sucked: Car and Driver Does a Bunch of Crying About Skyline GT-R's One Lap Performance
FROM CARDOMAIN CAR BLOG: By Jen Dunnaway Editor Tony Swan of Car and Driver, who ran the Nissan GT-R in this year's One Lap of America, has apparently gotten a lot of static about finishing "only" 11th in the overall standings and feels understandably prevailed upon to justify the much-hyped supercar's performance. More »
Novelties
Ever Wonder What The Inside of McLaren HQ Looks Like?
We sure haven't. McLaren seems as nebulous as the Associated Press; sort of a cabal of nameless, faceless cretins with nothing but world domination in mind. They do however, have a world corporate and production headquarters a couple kliks outside of Surry in the UK. The 613,500 square foot facility was designed by architects Foster and Partners to reflect the high technology present at McLaren. But seriously, talk about cool working environment, not only does it host some serious hardware like the Mercedes McLaren SLR 722 GTR we saw get busted in New York, but it's got its own series of lakes.More »
2009 Ford Mustang
2009 Ford Mustang 45th Anniversary Edition, Revealed Uninspiringly
Turns out when we posted a photo of the 2009 Ford Mustang badge it rung a bell with Jaloper James Kenney, who has a quick eye and an even quicker shutter. This 45th Anniversary Edition 2009 Ford Mustang was sitting in the driveway in a neighborhood (should have put it in the garage). Clearly, Ford is answering our question about the Mustang's relevance with this fine vehicle. Notice those deluxe cloth seats and, if we're not mistaken, this vehicle is equipped with a whole six mighty cylinders (45 years of progress!). There is one detail that sort of jumps out at us, though.More »
1:00 PM on Fri May 16 2008
By Matt Hardigree
2,716 views,
47 comments
Latest by Novaload: Actually, the rumble was "low" -- seeing it was, "Lo, and behold!" more »
News
