• jalopnik fantasy garage

    Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: What Now?

    We have finally filled the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage with a set of some of the most desirable, interesting, quirky, historic and noteworthy automobiles in the history of the art. This is not to say it is the definitive list of all things both fantasy and Jalopnik. A case in point was topping off the garage two weeks ago with the 1970 Chevrolet El Camino 454SS — some considered it absolute travesty we hadn't entered it sooner, others considered the entry phoning it in. It highlights the differences of opinion we all delight in discussing. We've got some ideas of our own on how to go forward with this honing process, but we're interested to hear from you. More »

    12:30 PM on Tue May 13 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    2,475 views, 110 comments

    Latest by LuciferV8: @snep: That's a good idea. I think we've already beaten the fantasy garage dog to death.Any more changes to the more »

  • jalopnik fantasy garage

    1970 Chevrolet El Camino 454 Super Sport

    Though many have been entered and some have been trimmed, we have only one space left in the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage. One more bay into which we may slide any dream machine we can think of. To this point it has been a journey of discovery, history, humor, debate, outrage and delight, but still there remains only one spot. This final place has been reserved in our plans for a long time though. Despite the stereotypes held in the public eye about this car, we could choose no other to cap off this endeavor and we therefore humbly submit for your approval — the 1970 Chevrolet El Camino 454 Super Sport. More »
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    12:40 PM on Tue Apr 29 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    9,868 views, 189 comments

    Latest by 1twothree: vote yes.Just look at the 1970 .It is awesome.Looks so cool going down the road.It also has , some real more »

  • jalopnik fantasy garage

    Auto Union Type C

    The LeMans-dominating Audi R10 is an incomparable engineering spectacle. Honed from the finest materials and tested by banks of supercomputers before the first part was even crafted, the LeMans Prototype car is only now being challenged three years after its birth by an improved Porsche RS Spyder. The irony here is though these two teams battle for the same prize, they share the same grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche. Today we examine the R10's oldest and most revolutionary ancestor: the Auto Union Type C. More »
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    12:00 PM on Tue Apr 22 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    5,972 views, 108 comments

    Latest by ZekeGodinka: Why didn't the post show the Type C Streamliner (record car)- it is so much prettier! more »

  • jalopnik fantasy garage

    Morgan Aero 8

    Perhaps now you understand the troubles we go through to select the lineup of the first 50 cars to fill the stalls of the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage. We presented to you theCaparo T1, warts and all, for consideration of the garage without the benefit of flowery prose or over the top hyperbole — the car itself is hyperbole enough. We wanted to see how a game-changing supercar would stand up to the harsh scrutiny of an unsoftened voting block because frankly, we're tired of everything getting in so easily. This is about whittling things down to a sharpened point, debating the merits and pitfalls of some of the greatest mechanical symphonies ever built, this should be a knock down drag out fight to get into the garage — that is unless we're talking about the Morgan Aero 8. More »
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    1:20 PM on Wed Apr 16 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    6,448 views, 169 comments

    Latest by FutureCarDesigner: All true beauty has some aquardness to it. Also, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This car is more »

  • jalopnik fantasy garage

    JFG Postponed, Too Much SAE

    Sorry kids, we knew you were looking to unleash the fire of a thousand suns on our latest selection for JFG and then vote it in anyway, but we're working our way through the scrum of the 2008 SAE World Congress to chat up the bigs and try to figure out if there's any news going on. Tune in tomorrow and we'll have the latest garage contestant ready for you to vote on. In the meantime, check out a garage built for fantasy-land.
    Image from Faildogs

    12:29 PM on Tue Apr 15 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    1,467 views, 14 comments

    Latest by OldeEnglishD misses Polar: @rlj676: PETA will be contacting you shortly....... more »

  • jalopnik fantasy garage

    Caparo T1

    The question we continually circle around when examining this idea of a fantasy garage is 'What makes a fantasy car?' There are so many variables to consider; from the emotional impact, historical relevance, lusty body work, enviable performance, and so on, and so on. Certainly it is easy to rattle off a list of cars which blow the mind and bust the pocketbook, but developing a balanced palette of cars is no simple undertaking. You could easily fill warehouses full of dream cars slathered in history from the pre-war era and call it a day, but that's boring. Sometimes a car with absolutely no history, or even a bad history is just as outstanding. A car like the Caparo T1. More »
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    12:30 PM on Tue Apr 8 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    9,072 views, 185 comments

    Latest by Weather and darkness will not be an issue: ...because you know the police driving courses don't include excercises for downforced based driving. You'd have a lot of fuzzers more »

  • jalopnik fantasy garage

    The Last Duesenberg

    One can barely wrap the mind around the concept of the last of any marque. Is there somewhere squirreled away the final DeSoto, the final Austin? Did anyone care to keep them around in carefully managed condition, warding off the meddling hands of restorers — and if they did, does the story of the final car cast a shadow of awesome grandeur fit to honor its makers history? There are likely many automobiles which represent the final stroke of the transfer presses, the last report of an impact hammer, the final time the lights were turned on over the smooth, ordered assembly floor. But we doubt any of them have a story to match the 1937 Duesenberg Model SJ, number 397, the last Duesenberg. More »
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    12:30 PM on Tue Apr 1 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    7,039 views, 87 comments

    Latest by beercheck: @voodoojoo: Been away. Now I'm back and.....sniff.....I'm just so....happy!Nice job, Ben. This one would not have been one of my more »

  • jalopnik fantasy garage

    Hot Hatch Showdown

    With auto show season officially, mercilessly and thankfully over, the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage stands to be full in just six weeks. A short time by any standard, but especially so when distilling over a hundred years of automotive excellence into just 50 vehicles. Two weeks ago saw the induction of the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, a car so finely crafted only a communist would disapprove. In this week's edition, we switch gears entirely. Compact, lightweight automobile construction, responsive suspension, spicy engine and a slick manual transmission. It's a simple formula which, if done properly, not only results in a car with character, but one which transcends the bottom-of-the-barrel genre and becomes something of legend, something which can ascend to the level of fantasy. This week, we examine the hot hatch. More »
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    1:00 PM on Tue Mar 25 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    7,564 views, 135 comments

    Latest by petersterncan: @ppiddy: "The Omni is awesome fast, but while the GTI feels like a simple-but-decent car and has a little funky cachet, the more »

  • jalopnik fantasy garage

    Cadillac Eldorado Brougham

    Well, you've done it again - voted into the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage another glass-and-steel piece of history which some, but not all, agree would make for a great addition: the Lotus Eleven. Last week saw no progress towards filling the garage due to Geneva Motor Show shenanigans, but that just gave us some extra time to think about what to offer up this week. Sometimes it's hard to be objective when selecting nominees, this week's pick is a personal favorite from a bygone era of high rollers, big egos, and uncompromising style - the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. More »
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    12:40 PM on Tue Mar 11 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    6,022 views, 113 comments

    Latest by Amazonca: HAve someone ever seen CHAYKA? This one is the Russian Cadillac Eldorado. Enjoy! www.vipavto.com.ua/images/photo/Chayka_1.jpg www.weblancer.net/files/portfolio/302/30217/89418m.jpg signature: Smoking cheap cigarettes is one of the more »

  • jalopnik fantasy garage

    Lotus Eleven

    Though there was much gnashing of teeth over the Land Rover Defender last week, the British stalwart marched triumphant into the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage, with a convincing 82.8%. We now have 43 slots down and a mere seven left to fill. Things are beginning to get tight, so let's move on to something better able to fit in the tiny and uncomfortable spaces we've got left. With a wind-sculpted shape and dominating track record, purity of concept and unwavering devotion to engineering, this week's long-awaited entry proves that might does not always make right. Indeed, sometimes the victor is he who carries the lightest burden. More »

    12:00 PM on Tue Feb 26 2008
    By Ben Wojdyla
    5,893 views, 105 comments

    Latest by bozoerrebbe: Caterham made the Caterham 21. It's a se7en with "modern" bodywork, like the original Elan. The Elan was never a Se7en more »