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The Lotus Seven is one of the oddest and most rewarding cars ever built. Colin Chapman's bug-eyed masterwork has inspired countless copies. Three years ago, we met a large percentage of them at the Tail of the Dragon. Lightness, ho!
The first-generation BMW M Coupe is a raw, angry sort of beast, the kind of asylum-think car we cannot help but love. It's a machine devoted solely to the art of being bonkers. Let's take a look at its credentials.
That's right friends. I'm leaving. Bye-bye. Nice knowing you. See you around. Ciao. Today—Thursday, January 31, 2008—is my last day at Jalopnik. The first question is of course why? Well, basically what Spinelli said when he handed over the reins, but with 1/8th the responsibility. But allow me to quote:
The Alex Winter/Brooke Shields/Randy Quaid 1993 B-movie extravaganza Freaked had very little to offer in the way of quality, but it did feature Mr. T wearing a dress. The plot was simply an excuse for make up artists to ply their fading trade in the few remaining years before computers took over the Hollywood effects biz. Still, Mr. T saying, "But now I know who I am. I can say to the world, 'Hey, this is me. I am woman, and I like me'" is about as good as movies can hope to get. Why am I bringi
Ah yes. I can see it now. You and your significant other makes plans with another couple to scamper up the coast for some wine tasting north of Santa Barbara. You book rooms at the fabulous Madonna Inn and the eye-popping tour IV at Hearst Castle. Hell, you even managed to swing reservations at the Hitching Post. But what vehicle is wonderfully sublime enough for this journey? Obviously, it would need to seat four adults comfortably, haul all their luggage and of course, sport lots of ashtrays.
Four cars, two bullets. But where to aim? After two days worth of ruthless bickering enlightened discussion, you have selected the Fantasy Garage's four bottom feeders. First to act is the RUF RT12, the car that achieved the 2nd highest number of "out!" votes. Interestingly, this non-CTR Yellowbird RUF was also the first car inducted into this here Garage. Will it meet the same fate as the second ever inductee, the Maserati Quatroporte? That's for you to decide.
There I was, minding my own business. Just surfing the web, looking for PCH candidates. I actually found a good one — the diesel Citroen. Now, I make blogger money, which means I'd have to up my online poker ROI from -3% to 3,219%. Sadly, $6,000 is just out of the question. Then suddenly, I saw it:
When it comes to cars, opinions run rampant. One of the aspects that initially attracted me to Jalopnik was the site's omnivorous take on the automobile. A vehicle need not have to have a V8 driving the rear wheels for it to be lauded and cooed over. As long as the car was great on its own merits, this joint "loved" it. Which I found wonderfully refreshing, as that philosophy lined up perfectly with my own. It also seemed to attract a crowd of like minded automotive iconoclasts (i.e. you jerks).
Y'all are getting testy! There is some serious cat fighting taking place in this morning's part 3. Early on, both the Buick GSX and the Charger/Challenger were in real danger of getting the knife. And why not? Muscle cars — while very cool — have been fetishized (and priced) to the point of irrelevance. Their OG MO was that they provided cheap power to the common man. Now they represent investment opportunities. Can I get a yawn? End rant. The good news for you Motown devotees is that Rambo's La
21 cars down, 20 more to go! Be sure to check out yesterday's part 1 and part 2. Maybe you can sneak in a couple of late votes. Not that it would matter much at this point. So, what did we learn? I'm a bit shocked to find the Garage's Roller is so passionately reviled and hated. I guess lotsa folks just don't have four-doored fantasies. And it looks like the RUF RT12 is toast. As for today, get ready for a slug fest. I could announce the cars right here, but that would kill the surprise. And we
Years ago in New York I was watching TV with my roommate. A trailer for the movie October Sky came on. That was the movie about the kids in the coal mining town who want to build rockets but their parents want them to slave away (like them) in the mines but a plucky science teacher steps in and encourages their hobby and now they all work for NASA. Something like that. Anyhow, after watching the 30 second spot, my roommate says, "rocket boys." I had just heard on NPR that the movie is indeed bas
Well sir, looks like the RUF is taking it on the chin. But hey, as we've seen, the RUF always takes it on the chin and then a much more fantastic car gets voted out (I cry for you, Exelero). Still, I'm hopeful. And we're losing two of our residents this week, so lots more action ahead! Looks like this round features the perennial JFG dog Corvette ZR-1 (some people just don't get it). However, you'll also be voting on the Vallelunga, a car I still don't get. Oooh, and there's that Phantom, too. A
Man, talk about oversights. Last week you wonderful people inducted the gorgeous-is-an-understatement BMW 507. And that means we now have 41 cars in our Fantasy Garage. As you know, whenever we hit a nice, round number like 40, it's time to dump a car. We should of done so last week, but last week was a rough one. So, we'll taking out the trash (so to speak) this week. Where to even start? Yeah, I have no idea, either. So, like we done did before, let's just commence with the voting and see wher
How'd you learn to communicate online? Back in 1996 I actually took a class called, "Anatomy of a Virtual Community." The idea was to figure out how and why online communities ticked. Of course, half the class at that time didn't have an email account, let alone a 14.4k modem, so... it sucked. However, I had a 28k modem and was on some IRC where we talked politics and music. And the folks who chatted w/me were smart cookies. Articulate, too. So there was no LOL, BRB, WTF or other abbreviated los
French cars. Caminos. Diesel swaps. Hayabusa swaps. Tatras. Hayabusa-powered diesel Tatraminos reenacting C'était un Rendezvous. All of these wonderful tropes meta-blend together to make Jalopnik, well, Jalopnik. But what are you driving? Does your car measure up? How would you even know? Lucky for you, you have us! Using advanced hyper-phrenology and the Laws of Planetary Motion as laid down by Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe and Brahe's prognosticating pet dwarf Jepp we have arbitrarily scientifi
I was born in 1975 right here Los Angeles County, so growing up I never experienced any real anti-semitism. One time when I was 8 my friend's mother made me go home after I told him there was no Santa Claus. And that's about the extent of it. Still, about once every 4 months I get treated to, "Hitler's mother was Jewish." Or the classic, "He Jewed me on that dime bag." But again, those are just soft, easily corrected guffaws. It was different a generation back. My Mom always tells the story of h
Well, well, well — what do we have here? Why it's one of our Fantasy Garage cars, the Facel Vega HK500! And it can be yours for the Buy It Now price of just $75,000. Or, you can see where the auction takes you. As of right now, just two bids. The car was purchased in Germany, driven around Europe and has been living in the rust-free car utopia that is the SF Bay Area for the past 49 years. You gotta love the people that bought these things — check this out:
You know who we don't spend enough time talking about? Max Hoffman. Max Hoffman? Yeah buddy, Max Hoffman. Those of you with steel trap memories will remember that Hoffman was the guy who convinced Mercedes-Benz to build and import the 300 SL, a car we all agree is six degrees of triple-rad. Hoffman also had Frank Lloyd Wright design him both a home and a Jaguar dealership in Manhattan and he's responsible for bringing the Porsche 356 Speedster to American soil. The BMW 507, too. What a guy.
Detroit Auto Show: Guess the Car, "Every time I see it.. it's just more beautiful." No, not the 2008 Lincoln MKT.
Detroit Auto Show: More breaking news — Jalopnik readers are not enchanted with SUVs, CUVs, wagons on stilts or the Ford Explorer America.
Detroit Auto Show: No one on planet earth — save the Loverman — likes the looks of the 2009 Honda Pilot.
Detroit Auto Show: A few facts about Jalopnik. Our readers' average age is 32, you love the Corvette ZR-1 and when it comes to Musical Motor City Mayhem, prefer Ted Nugent to Kid Rock.
Detroit Auto Show: What's that? Corinthian Leather? Has Chrysler brought back the Maserati TC? Or something else? The touchscreen boss, the touchscreen!
Detroit Auto Show: Guess which car then click: "it makes me think that the new impreza has a long lost german cousin..."
Detroit Auto Show: News that will shock no one — Toby Keith does not appeal to the Jalopnik demographic. magnificentbastard and rocketrodeo debate.
Detroit Auto Show: You know who's old and out of it? Me (Loverman). Not only don't I know what Type3Notchback's talking about is, I don't like Halo. At least the Hummer HX Concept looks kinda nifty.