Archive for July 2006

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Buying (15)

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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 BMW M Roadster, Part 3

    Why you should buy this car: Because it's a taut, brilliantly executed roadster in the tradition of great British roadsters — well, not exactly in their tradition. Think of the romanticized, open-top road car of your dreams, not the one whose parts fly off when it gets breezy. Also because you're also well-heeled enough, or willing enough to subsist on Top Ramen for a decade out of love alone, to float the $10,000 premium (plus $1,000 gas-guzzler tax) over a base BMW Z4.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 BMW M Roadster, Part 2

    Exterior Design: **** The M Roadster shares its distinctive, shark-like front portion and polarizing "flame surfacing" with BMW's standard Z4 models. The M version's wider stance and copious rubber, however, serve to de-emphasize all those flaming surfaces. Such mo-sports muscularity resolves the model's inherent design tensions in the same way The Hulk's green skin and purple clamdiggers added another dimension to Bruce Banner's denim-shirt-intensive wardrobe.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Saturn Sky, Part 3

    Why you should buy this car: It's got those cool dent-resistant plastic hydroformed sheetmetal body panels. Really though, the Sky looks boss, especially for a car priced in the mid-20's. It gives us hope for the American auto industry that they can still make fun cars.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 BMW M Roadster, Part 1

    "Nice car, you yuppie prick," yells the guy in the Ford F-150 Lariat. Our paths had crossed along US 208 in upstate New York, a major battleground in the struggle between locals cashing in on a land grab by wealthy Manhattanites and that latter camp of — to some minds — BMW-driving interlopers.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Saturn Sky, Part 2

    Exterior Design: ***** The Sky is the hotness. The creased lines give it an aggressive look that almost eliminates the extreme aura of femininity that surrounds every small convertible, almost. That said, the styling is the Sky's best element. It even looks decent with the top up. It's too bad there's only one exhaust pipe, but that's just another reason to wait for the Sky Redline.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews; 2007 Saturn Sky, Part 1

    Saturn-come-lately, the new kid in town/everybody loves you, so don't let them down. The Eagles make some great music for driving, and the Saturn Sky is a great car for driving. Really, any convertible makes for great driving, and the Sky is certainly one of those. But the Sky isn't so great for listening to music while driving, because at 70 mph the wind noise is a fair match for the maximum output of the stereo. Is the stereo only a minor irritation, or is it a tell-tale sign of a much bigger

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 GMC Yukon Denali, Part 3

    Why you should buy this car: It's big, fast and when it comes to interior quality and refinement, it's one of GM's best. And wait — did we mention it's fast? All that and a smattering of gadgets make this look like a bargain compared to the Mercedes-Benz GL450.

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 GMC Yukon Denali, Part 2

    Exterior Design: ** Two out of three ain't bad, but Denali fails where the Tahoe and Escalade succeed. It's just plain funny-looking up front. As for the clear lenses over the tail lamps: Just because a design element shows up on the Lexus RX doesn't mean it's a good idea. Unfortunately this trend is not about to die, as the upcoming Lincoln Aviator will have the same treatment, but for my part I'm going to beat this issue like redheaded stepchild on a dead horse. Apologies to any redheaded step

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 GMC Yukon Denali, Part 1

    This is almost Jalopnik Reviews: Mercury Mountaineer Part 2: Attack of the Clones. Okay, this time it's a GMC Yukon Denali, clone to the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade. Lest you think this is a Tahoe with a badge slapped on it instead of the "professional grade" product you've come to expect from GMC, know that all of the sheet metal in front of the windshield is unique to the Yukon. The upgrade from everyday Yukon to the chrometastic Denali (even the headlights are shinier) comes with a

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Mercury Mountaineer, Part 3

    Why you should buy this car: You're an SUV-driving parent who wants to buy American, but still wants to be different from the 10 other Ford drivers in your subdivision. Or, you're a man who drives a Jeep Liberty, but looking for something slightly less feminine.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Mercury Mountaineer, Part 2

    Exterior Design: ** Sure, it's easy to pick on the Mountaineer, but that doesn't change the fact that it's not very pretty. The waterfall grille is kind of sharp, in a blue whale baleen plate kind of way. Otherwise the Mountaineer is identical to the Ford Explorer, which is a generically pleasant SUV. No, wait, the Mountaineer has some radical clear taillight lenses. Didn't that fad die when The Fast and Furious came out? (The first one.)

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Mercury Mountaineer, Part 1

    Can someone please tell me why Mercury exists, other than for Wert to pine over Jill Wagner? Of course, badge engineering is alive and well outside of the blue oval — just look at the Chrysler Aspen/Dodge Durango, any GMC truck, or the Nissan Armada/Infiniti QX56 — but Mercury doesn't have a single vehicle that differs from its Ford forebears in more than name. And it's particularly evident in the Mountaineer, which looks like an Explorer, drives like an Explorer, and — in everything but name, b

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Audi A6 4.2 Quattro, Part 2

    Exterior Design: ***** Consider the competition: Mercedes-Benz E-Class (too old), BMW 5-Series (too ugly), and Lexus GS (too boring). It's not hard for the A6 to be the best looking car in its segment, but it goes a step further and is just plain good looking. Not an easy feat for a large sedan.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Audi A6 4.2 Quattro, Part 1

    The Audi A6 4.2 is a lot like a Michael Bay movie. Bear with me. It's got all the gizmos and gadgetry to make your wildest dreams come true, all centered around a 335-hp V8. Plus, it looks good (more on that later). The A6 4.2 is the automotive equivalent of the summer blockbuster because despite the big stars, jaw-dropping special effects and explosions, it still feels like something is missing, like a plot. Sadly, this analogy still holds true, because underneath all its gadgetry the A6 4.2 is

    By Mike Spinelli Read More

Entertainment (1)

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    Size Apparently Not Important: Fiat 500 Tops Sexy Car List

    If this were on Family Feud, even the Jalopnik family would have failed to get the steal. But there's no Richard Dawson, or even Ray Combs, just Captain Slow. A Top Gear survey found the Fiat 500 to be the sexiest car ever. Number 4 on the list? Chevrolet Camaro. So with the combination of the Z28 in his own garage and the Fiat 500 at the home of his tree-farming surgeon father, Austin is now the sexiest-driving semi-regular Jalopnik contributor. Shockingly the El Camino, or even the Holden Ute,

    By maustin Read More

News (108)

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    Bullrun '06: Party With Me Punker: San Diego Edition

    If you want to blast across the country, you can do it for as little as the cost of gasoline, accomodations, coffee and any incidental repairs and speeding tickets you may incur. If you wanna do it on the Bullrun, you've gotta pony up 14k. As an embedded journalist, we were provided with two nights of accomodations, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and at the W Hotel in San Diego, which, in the interest of full disclosure, Los Jalopniks must admit to you. They also provided us with meals in Las V

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Should Have Seen The Signs: Mel Gibson's DUI Has Two New Ironic Twists

    Two twists in the Mel "blame the Jews" Gibson DUI case, both coming from the website serving up all-Mel all-the-time, TMZ.com. And with this Gibson thing, do we need any more irony...apparently, yes. First, it turns out Gibson made a couple of statements at the height of the PR campaign for Gibson's blockbuster "Passion of the Christ" where he sat down for an interview with Diane "Primetime" Sawyer and made two comments he's now eating and washing down with a cold brewski. Second case of Mori

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Bullrun '06: Las Vegas To Lake Havasu

    On an absolutely sweltering, uncharacteristically humid Nevada morning, after a blast to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Noah Lehman-Haupt in the SuperSpeeders/Gotham Dream Cars Ford GT, we hopped in the back seat of the Rensing/Nicole Audi A8L, did a quick lap of the Shelby proving ground, and shot off for lunch in Lake Havasu. Click through for the tale.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    The Ballad Of The Ridiculous 'Vette

    Pretty much anyone into late-model GM performance cars knows who Chuck Mallett is. Those people also know that Chuck builds random and radical development models to push technology as far as it can go. And then he pushes beyond that, with occasionally humorous results. This C6 was no different. Having had no problems with the stock 'Vette fuel tanks, Chuck utilized them in his massively-turboed, 400-inch Corvette. 900hp? No probalo, right? Click through for the probalos.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    When We Wind Up In The Hay, It's Only Hay, Hey Hey! Bullrun Embeds A Blogger

    On our first evening on the Bullrun, Murphy was in full effect — at least as far as technology went. The power port on our iBook decided it was no longer going to do its job. So we resigned ourselves to kicking it Colt Seavers-style; watching a documentary on Wayne Newton while smoking cigarettes in our in-room jacuzzi tub at Caesar's Palace. Unfortunately, Heather Thomas and Markie Post weren't there with us to comment on the day's adventure.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    EXCLUSIVE TRANSFORMER PICS: Ironhide Spotted On Wilshire Blvd!

    It must be Transformers Friday round these parts, what with the pics we received today that may or may not be earlier Constructicons ready to form Devastator and now these two pics received from our enterprising friend Hue out in LA. But what could it be? That's definitely an Autobot insignia...hmm. Ahh, we've got it now. Take a good look at the rear-end of a certain used-to-be red Nissan van by the name of Ironhide. Full text of the e-mail from Hue and a second shot after the jump. Also rem

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Put It In Your Mouth And Blow: The Breath Controlled RC Car

    Yes, you read and saw that correctly, control an RC car by breathing...I guess we throw "drive-by-wire" straight out the door, huh? We're sorry...that's the best we can come up with because the only thing we're seeing is the double entendre in all this, so we're going to let the inventor, Matthew Irvine Brown, explain it with a bit less sophomoric humor:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    How Many Drinks Was That? Jalopnik Editor Jaws On The General; We Drink

    Wert's becoming a media whore. He knows it, we know it...the American people know it. But the saying "practice makes perfect" must be true, because he's become a much better media whore as of late — he's really doing us proud. Wert even reprised his role as "crazy eyes killer", as you'll be able to see for yourself at the end of the segment. What the hell was he looking at? Oh wait, that'd probably be Melissa Francis up on the monitor. She's a fox...rowr! But now that Wert's gone back to being "

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Rally Blog, A Driver's Journal: Going To Sunday Valley

    I'm eating my midnight Tostitos and Herdez salsa dinner in the back of a rental van, out here with the animals. No kidding, I think I just saw my first-ever porcupine on the twisty little road that led into this state park in northeastern Pennsylvania. I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to be here. I saw a camping sign on the interstate and figured I'd give it a shot.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    The Magic Of "Step 2" Continues: DaimlerChrysler Releases 2nd Quarter Earnings; Chrysler Down And Mercedes Up

    The magic that is Dr Z and "Step 2" will not, must not and can not be stopped. Unless it's next quarter and you're the Chrysler Group. That's the message coming out of both Stuttgart and Auburn Hills as the German-American hybrid of DaimlerChrysler announces second quarter earnings. But at least for now the numbers look tremendous, with second-quarter earnings of $2.3 billion, more than double what it made in the second quarter last year. The German-based Mercedes Car Group carried the day wi

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    You Are There: Hot Rod Night At Heavenly Donuts, Derby Connecticut

    Summer nights, when the sun sinks low and the heat falls off, are perfect for cruising. Starting in early afternoon, guys from every town in America pull their cars into the shady spot in the driveway for a detail job, just so they can strut later on. In the evenings, low-angled sunlight shines off of spotlights and valve covers at Heav'nly Donuts in Derby, Connecticut — the antiqued glow is slightly faded and softened like the memories of these cars among the men who drove them as teenagers and

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik's Turn To Drive! Round II Of The Official Car Pundit Drinking Game

    We know everyone had fun yesterday with Micki's performance on CNBC — but now it's time for the varsity team — Wert's been asked back for this evening's episode of "On The Money" and should be on at the top of the hour (7:05-7:15). And as you read here earlier today, we've all sorts of thoughts on the GM earnings announcement. So fire up the comments boys and girls (or drop an e-mail to tips@jalopnik.com) — and as we do before each round of the game, let's do a quick update on the rules for t

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    LiveBlogging The GM Earnings Call: Earnings Up, Earnings Down, Earnings All Around

    After last week and the very successful debacle liveblog of the Ford earnings call...who are we kidding, the format was terrible. This time it's different. We swear! This time we're going to try to make it bigger, bolder and better.Thus, we've got this...the General Motors earnings call liveblog! So click the jump and keep refreshing this post as Spinelli and Wert liveblog more content at ya! It'll be the next worst thing to actually being there!

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Line 'Em Up! Round I Of The Official Car Pundit Drinking Game

    Alright boys n' girls — time to drop your cocks and pick up your socks for the first round of the "Official Car Pundit Drinking Game" For those of you who don't remember the debauchery, a friendly commenter used Wert's recent appearance on CNBC's "On The Money" and created a simple but epic game of drinks. Well, we're expanding on it. For this, the inaugural round of the Game, we're opening the game up to not only Jalop's on the air, but to all auto pundits. And we've received word Micheline

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Ford's Fuel Cost Tourniquet: Slash Pricing On 2007 Expedition SUV

    Cutting prices on your newest SUV by an average of $4,300 is one way to make a "Bold Move," or a desperate one, really considering the current model just isn't selling. We guess that explains why Ford's dropped the base MSRP on all packages of its new big-ass SUV by a whopping $4,300. Although we've got to say, the exterior of this big SUV, inspired by the beast of burden looks of the Ford F-Series pickup, looks better than the '06 model no matter how pimp the package purchased. But with that

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Bullrun Update: Kansas City

    So the veterans of the Fourth Battle of Bullrun aren't pulling into Manassas, VA tonight, but rather Kansas City, MO, after bombing down from Chicago via Saint Louis, presumably not stopping to check out the legendary screen door of Belleville, IL. Alex Roy has been aggregating anecdotes for us, and after the jump, we aggregate further.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    We Found Maximum Bob: GM's Lutz Mouths Off On Hybrids In London, GM PR Gets Nervous

    A few weeks back we wondered aloud about what had become of GM motor-mouth product czar "Maximum" Bob Lutz. Good news folks, he's been spotted, and now we're pretty sure we know why GM's PR team's been trying to keep him both busy and the hell away from the US of A. "Maximum" Bob's been spotted out in jolly London taping an episode of "Top Gear" attending the London Auto Show and jawing on hybrids with the folks over at just-auto.com. Lutz's exact comments to the folks only about auto (and a

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Forbes' Top Cars For Singles, 2006

    Damn, have we really been leading the single life for a year? When Forbes released last year's iteration of this list we'd just received a "Dear Johnson" letter and had decided to move back to California. We did not buy any of the cars on last year's list, and on our blogger's salary, we doubt will be buying any of the vehicles on this year's, either. Next year, though, when we've hit the big time, we're totally buying ourselves a Tesla, a shag-carpeted Sprinter with a moon window and a Baja Bug

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Asking Dr Z: How're Profits At DaimlerChrysler This Quarter?

    Like Chuck Norris, when Dr Z's on the scene, we know he can handle any problem. He gave a roundhouse kick to the Chrysler Group when he was over on these shores, and he's giving one to the Mercedes Group over in Deutschland as we speak. But since he can't be in two places at once, it looks like earnings at the German- American hybrid will only end up flat this past quarter despite an assumed profit in the Mercedes Group. According to analysts polled by AFX News:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Coupe d'Gracious: Mercedes-Benz CL 63 AMG

    By way of a tipster, the Benz watchers at eMercedesBenz got hold of a shot that's likely the new Merc Cl 63 AMG — which promises to be quite a beastie on the 27" German tarmac (US interstates are only 16"-18" thick). It's getting AMG's newest mill, a 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 (being marketed on an extra 0.1 liter to remind buyers of the company's massive 6.3-liter V8 of yesteryear). The rest of the launch-time shots are expected later this week.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    More On Project Kimber: Deal With AC Cars?

    Ok, we're calling bullshit on this. For months, reports have indicated the Smart Roadster will have its swan song under the wing of UK-based Project Kimber group — a consortium that's been attempting to acquire rights to revive the car under the MG marque. But with new MG-Rover owner Nanjing recently announcing a plan to revive the MG TF on its own, Kimber was left one venerable British sports car brand short in its plans. What's a consortium to do?

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    It's Official: 2007 Volvo C30 Hatch Revealed

    At first we misread the press release, which stated, "Here are the first photos of one of the year's most talked about debutants." of course, there's no Harvest Ball cotillion for this Euro gal — Volvo's new C30 debutante is set for a Paris unveiling. Volvo calls the new C30 a "cool car" for young, urban types — and hopes to sell 65,000 of them, 75 percent of which it expects to move in Europe. Engines for the continent version will include a 100 hp, four-cylinder 1.6-liter gas engine; 109 hp, 1

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Bullrun Update: Ditka Would've Taken The Lot Of 'Em

    As the teams first pulled into Chicago, there were conflicting reports as to whether the Magnaflow RS4 driven by Stefan Johannson and Prince Malik came in first or the RENNTech CL600 of Team Reicke came in in the lead position. The Reicke boys, Jay Reicke and Byron Burkhardt, were the confirmed first-placers, rolling in around 7pm, with the RS4 in second. 3rd was the Team Darkcyde support Navigator driven by Jason Garber, beating the team's Lotus.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Bullrun Update: Haller And Ward Need Chicagoland Speed Shop Help

    If anyone out there's got a speed shop in Chicago, or has a buddy who does, Haller and Ward need your help as of right now. They're headed into the City of Big Shoulders with the Stude on Rawlings' trailer, and Kevin thinks he knows what the problem is — the lifters in the Chevy small block are toast. They need to buy a set of solid roller lifters (aka cam followers), (preferably Crower, but brand isn't necessarily important), possibly a set of pushrods, and an intake gasket. If you can help, e-

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Bullrun Update: Canadian Convoy

    As of right now, the Bullrunners are on their way to Chicago after leaving Toronto and heading toward Windsor and Detroit. According to Haller, the Stude is most likely toast after two more cylinders went out. The car is currently on Richard Rawlings' trailer. Speaking of Rawlings, the Texan has picked up another co-driver in the form of William Woo, whose yellow Murcielago took a dirt nap on the first stage, much as it did on the Bonneville Salt Flats during last year's rally.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    This Ain't Pamplona: The 2006 Bullrun Is Off!

    NEW YORK: So the initial hype is over and the action has begun. We just got off the phone with Alex Roy, who isn't competing in this year's Bullrun, but showed up in the Team Polizei M5 to escort the drivers up to Pocono and document the happenings. And happenings there were. After the jump, a gang of pics and lotsa anecdotes.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Ah, The Mythos: Ferrari's Concept Supercar

    We know a numbers of Ferraristas who think the boxer 12 was one of the worst engines to come thundering out of the Prancing Horse's stable. And considering when it was produced — during the 1970s and 1980s — an era during which producing over 200hp was considered a major coup, we can kinda understand why. But oh man, Ferrari's Pininfarina-penned, Testarossa-based '89 Mythos concept — a few of which were actually produced — still looks damn good today. We still think we'd rather have an F40, thou

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Tripping The Ethanol Fantastic: Mark Pike's Corny Cross-Country Ride

    The video above is what happens when you have Senator Barack Obama introduce some college kids with a lot of time on their hands and a lot of hatred of oil dependence in their hearts. Watch as Obama uses simplistic and ill-prepared talking points to explain how three college kids plan to strap themselves into a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria Flex-Fuel in Washington DC with a game plan of reaching LA and stopping only at gas stations pumping sweet light corn-flavored ethanol. So what you end up getting

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    The Ford Earnings Call: The Way Forward Is Even Better Than The Real Thing

    This morning, our defenses down from being slightly hung over, we endured Ford's quarterly earnings call in its entirety. We'd expected the call to be a numbers buffet, with CFO Don Leclair as matre'd. Then, a bombshell. We got the main men from Dearborn: Mark Fields, CWFO (Chief Way Forward Officer) and Bill Ford, CEO. Seeing as everyone already knows the key takeaway (i.e., Ford posted a rather unexpected loss this past quarter due to big time drops in truck sales), we were curious to see h

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Breaking! Ford Second Quarter Losses $123 Million; Worse Than Expected

    There is no joy in Dearborn this morning as FoMoCo reported a net loss of 7 cents per share, or $123 million in the second quarter of 2006. Keep in mind they announced a $1.2 billion loss last quarter, and we can imagine there's all sorts of potential for heads to roll out the front doors of "the glass house" today. Starting potentially with Papa Smurf himself, Wee Willie Clay. Billy-boy said in the press release today that the company would take "additional action" to right the company's cou

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Mechanical Resonance: The Tesla Motors Press Intro, Complete With Governator

    So we pulled out of San Pedro in the mid-afternoon to make sure we'd make it to Santa Monica Airport in time for the start of the Tesla Motors press intro. Rumors had flown back and forth as to whether or not the Tesla Roadster was simply a rebodied, rebadged Elise with an electric powertrain. The answer to that is slightly tricky — it is and it isn't. Click through for the full report.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Autoextremist: Industry 'Ballistic'

    Sweet Peet D. pulls out the shotgun and claims that the auto industry, what with its Dr. Z's, proposed Japanese-Franco-American mergers and Oklahoman built, Sino-Anglo MGs (where's Booker T. when you need him?) has gone "ballistic." We don't know about that. 'Ballistic" generally implies some sort of trajectory is involved, no matter how loopy. There's no trajectory here. We prefer the phrase, "grasping at straws." As such, we offer up an anecdote after the jump.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Jim Press-Ing His Way To Shapely Hips, Thighs And US Automakers

    Still newly-minted Toyota Motor North America president Jim Press issued a press release yesterday talking about the "thriving" US automotive industry. In it, he re-iterated Toyota will continue to be around to help the US government solve major environmental and auto safety issues. How kind and sweet of Jim and his bosses from the land of the rising sun. We for one, welcome our new Japanese overlords and thank them for their offers of help. But wait, Jim continues:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    It's Not OK: Nanjing Downplays Oklahoma Production Plans

    Not so fast, Okies! That's the word from China's Nanjing Motors, new owner of MG-Rover. Last week, word came down that the company is reportedly planning a factory in Oklahoma to build new MG sports cars for the states, with the first models coming in two years. But at the British Motor Show, the company distanced itself from the news like it was 100-year-old oyster sauce.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Glickenhaus Unveils His New Ferrari 612 P4/5

    On Monday we had Glickenhaus and his first-person account of driving his new custom Pininfarina — and now we've got the pictures. This 1960's 330 P4-inspired Ferrari is basically an Enzo that's been prettied up a bit by the boys and girls over at Pininifarina — and oh, how it has. Wanna bet he won't let us anywhere near this thing? Well — unless we decide to head down to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance late in August. More pictures of the coachwork'd beauty and it's 330 P4 inspiration a

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    The Wall Street Journal's "Big" Plan For Ford, GM

    The WSJ proves yet again despite being a newspaper on business often times they appear to know nothing about business. The triumvirate of WSJ talking heads, Rob Cox, Edward Chancellor, David Vise are offering up their version of a "solution" to GM and Ford's woes. For some strange reason Cox et al. believe the way to "Step 2" for Ford and GM may be by joining forces and creating a "Super-Big" auto manufacturer:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Who's Johnny (O'Connell)?

    If you're a fan of racing, he's someone you should know — because we believe he could quite possibly be one of the most important folks in the sport of racing. O'Connell may not be know to the casual race fan — he doesn't drive NASCAR, he doesn't drive Formula One, he doesn't drive IndyCar (anymore). No, O'Connell drives in a very unusually American kind of circuit — the American Le Mans Series. And in that circuit, O'Connell drives a very American kind of car — the Chevy Corvette. O'Connell'

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    You Are There: James Glickenhaus Drives His Custom Ferrari

    Our new best friend James Glickenhaus [our birthday's in April, J. — ed] took his custom Ferrari for a spin in Italy, ahead of its unveiling at the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance next month. If you'll recall, Glickenhaus is the Ferrari collector who's commissioning Pininfarina to build him a $3 million bespoke update of the Ferrari P4 over an Enzo chassis, the 612 P4/5. Check out his account of driving the car for the first time, after the jump. Dear diary...

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    MyGig Has A Hard Drive, How About Yours?

    One of our biggest beefs with most car stereos is the inability to hook up our beatiful black Video iPod. Unless it's got an aux input, the tangle of wires and fm transmitters we normally need to connect our tunes to our ride gets real old, real fast — especially when you're hooking up with a gal in the front seat and she starts to try to get in close — and gets caught in the wires or jams her elbow into your transmitter. Talk about a total mood-killer. Well, Chrysler has hit a new bar in try

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Toyota! Toyota! Toyota! #2 Automaker War-Games Options For GM Alliance

    We kind of knew Toyota wasn't going to stand by and let their big shot at being number one best automaker drop away like they were the last gal left standing at the Sadie Hawkins dance. Although it's rumorific like nothing else and complete conjecture — the weekly mag on all-things Business is reporting Toyota may seek a shot at going "Big" with their own bid for the cash-strapped Detroit-based automaker. BusinessWeek reports:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Rick And Carlos Have Dinner; General Motors, Renault-Nissan Arrange 90-Day Money Back Guarantee

    Rick and Carlos had dinner last night in Metro Detroit — and although folks may not know where, we do know they've now moved from an agreement to sit down and talk about an "alliance" — to an agreement to discuss for 90 days an "alliance." But for us anyway, the question of "where" they ate is much more interesting — and both parties are being very quiet about the location. To wit, our thoughts on potential Ren Cen restaurants for last nights dinner:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Mitsubishi To Unveil Speedier Evo At The UK Show

    Mitsubishi's UK squad announced they're launching a more powerful version of the Lancer Evolution IX ahead of a reported redesign for 2008. The new FQ-360 will get 366 brake horses from Mitsubishi's 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. It'll be the top of a range that includes the FQ-300, FQ-320, FQ-340 and FQ-360. It's not as quick as the 400 hp, 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VIII MR FQ-400, which according to spies, is the launch code for NORAD. Click through for more pics

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    Luigi'd Be Proud: Michael Schumacher Dumps All Over NASCAR

    The movie "Cars" was some pretty funny stuff if you ask us. The movie had enough "insider" car references to keep just about any gearhead happy — and yet still have the pretty lights and movement necessary to shut the the kiddies up. One of our favorite characters from the film is the lovable little '59 Fiat Cinquecento named Luigi. The little Fiat was of course nothing but a Ferrari fan — wanting nothing to do with the NASCAR-esque Lightning McQueen. Which is why we're so tickled by the comm

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    Hype Hypercar: Driving The Ascar KZ1

    Our mate Nick Hall points out that anyone and his Uncle Enzo can build a light, fast supercar to challenge those at the top. Building a supercar that won't cause shaken-driver syndrome over anything rougher than 60 grit sandpaper is a bit more involved. That's why at the way top — the mid-six-figure and up, top — carmakers are giving drivers a club-room experience along with their faceful of Gs. One of those is the Ascari KZ1, a car that comes with track time at the company's own raceway in Spai

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    Here's Looking At You, Rick: Carlos "Big Man" Ghosn Heads To GM

    GM's Rick Wagoner took to the stage earlier this week, and yesterday it was Carlos Ghosn's turn on the runway. We already gave you a look at Ghosn's conquest of the beaches of Bartiromo, but that wasn't his only foray into the media wilds yesterday. Ghosn sat down for coffee and pastries with all sorts of print journalists (don't worry Carlos — we were busy yesterday anyway) resulting in a number of interesting and provocative stories on the energetic and excitable Renault-Nissan CEO along wi

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    Ford Cuts Dividend, Board Member Fees

    In an internal message to employees today, as well as in a press release, Wee Willie Clay — a.k.a. Buffalo Bill Maverick, nom de guerre The Fordlet, and generally known to the public as Bill Ford — announced that FoMoCo would be halving its dividend to a nickel and stating that the board has agreed to halve their fees. He explains,

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    Captain Lutz's Violin: Cadillac Gets New Interior, Exotic Wood

    GM wants you to know that despite decades of treating car interiors like the waiting room at Sears Auto Center, its cars' insides have become very, very important. That's why today that company's pounding the media drums regarding the interior of the 2007 Cadillac SRX crossover — how it's been completely redesigned, rendered by a new cut-and-sew process that uses high-tech machinery to make hand-hewn fittings possible in large-scale production, and accented using Sapele Pommele, an exotic wood f

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    Ghosn Talking The Talk On GM

    Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn sat down with Detroit News auto writer Christine Tierney to discuss life, his favorite flavor of ice cream and, oh yeah...his belief that a three-way alliance with General Motors could generate big benefits for all three companies by increasing short-term performance but also helping with long-term direction. Ghosn emphasized it would only work if it were a friendly deal benefiting all three automakers and in addition:

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    Business In The Front, Party In The Back: Jalopnik And Motortopia's Rate-A-Camino Contest

    Regular readers know, the Jalopnik obsession with various manner of "el caminos" has been out of control for months now. (We've obviously made generic the name of Chevrolet's erstwhile pickup-car to denote any car with a pickup bed.) Managing the onslaught of "caminos" that storm the Jalopnik e-mail box daily is tough even for three guys with dubious day jobs to handle. That's why we've teamed up with motor enthusiast social network site Motortopia — "a kick-ass MySpace for cars" — to take our (

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    Finalmente! More On Alfa Romeo's US Return

    AutoWeek bares Alfa Romeo's plan to return to the states in time for the company's centennial in 2010. As has been reported, Alfa is teaming up with Maserati on development — sharing parts and to save costs, and leveraging Maserati's US sales network to sell Alfas. Models on the way? Glad you asked:

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    Rejoice, Young Urbanites: Acura RDX Pricing Announced

    Acura's new small, turbocharged SUV for the young and on-the-go, the 2007 RDX, will be priced in the the low $30,000 range — the sweet spot for aspiring ad lions and the ladies who do their taxes. The MSRP will be $32,995, with an optional technology package pushing it to $36,495, not including $615 shipping and handling (sorry, Tennessee!). Press release after the jump.

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    Acadia Madness! More On The All-New 2007 GMC Acadia

    As promised — we've got more Acadia action for you. After the jump we've got a bunch of pictures of the new CUV addition to the GMC lineup — including some of that "hot" interior we were talking about earlier. Also, scope out the specs on this "professional grade" CUV with a little bit of a softer side in the press release below the photos. Yeah, it's a bit lazy — but we want to get the information across to readers like you, but don't really want to write about it anymore. So remember kids,

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    Fun With GM's Product Release Cycle: The GMC Acadia Breaks Cover

    We love the randomness that is GM's product release cycle. Although we know, thanks to the Freep, GM is pushing up the rollout of new vehicles, what made the PR folks over at the Ren Cen say "Hey, let's drop this one on Wednesday, July 12th — how does that sound guys?" (Anything to take their minds off the pending meeting between Wagoner and Ghosn — though we doubt it'll have any effect on press coverage.) Nonetheless, the GMC Acadia that bubbled up this PM is the latest in the line of Lambda

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    What Will Become Of Detroit's Packard Plant?

    Packard moved out 50 years ago, after their merger with Studebaker. But the headquarters and plant in Detroit still stand. The city calls the site, with its proximity to rail, ripe for redevelopment, but mostly, it just sits forlornly with a total of twelve employees to fill its nearly 4 million square feet of space. Meanwhile, the City's laid claim to the site, but is tied up in court with others who claim to own the property. When we see stuff like this, it genuinely bums us out, as Detroit ha

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    Ed Roth's Mighty Honda Civic On eBay

    Back when we were in our teens, some friends of ours had a band called Stickman Lincoln, an oddly-instrumented semi-avant pop group, that in our estimation, was the best Sacramento band you've never heard of. And they had an official vehicle: guitarist/violinist Damian Sol's Datsun 810 wagon. Random appendages were added, the bumpers were caution-striped. One door was painted in a rough approximation of a Sacramento County Sheriff's vehicle's livery. But honestly, both in legend and execution, t

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    Ad Watch: Even Volkswagen Rabbits Like To "Multiply"

    Yet another funny little piece of gold crashing in from the ad agency fast-ly seen as having a Midas touch when it comes to pimping an automakers advertising — Crispin, Porter & Bogusky. CP&B's latest for VW introduces the re-naming of the "Golf" to it's classic "Rabbit" name. The ad turns the little VW hatch into rabbits — complete with sexual references involving tunnels and little rabbit kiddies being born — some with very unique color combinations. At least it's better than re-naming it the

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    California's Worst Roads: A Primer

    The 91. I-80 along the East Bay shore. The 405/101 interchange. The 710 out of the harbor. 580 over Altamont. Vasco Road out in eastern Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. I-5 down into the San Fernando Valley. What do they all have in common? They're California's most-congested sections of road, all largely a result of a massive housing boom in outlying areas like the 909, Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita, as well as in the Central Valley. And the estimated amount of dosh required to get th

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    Breaking! Chinese Auto Sales Up 47%

    Oh-oh, we're halfway there. With the first half of the year of our lord 2006 now over — data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed total sales in the first half in the world's most populated country were 1.8 million units. The leader of the pack was a General Motors owned affiliate, Shanghai GM — beating aside perrenial leader FAW Volkswagen. Shanghai GM sales jumped 49% from last year to 201,901 vehicles (according to GM — cause Red China don't like to give out the ac

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    Ford's B.M. — Episode II: Peter Horbury Has Balls; But Does "Dave"?

    Ford's just released the second of 20 webisodes comprising its "Bold Moves" documentary. In this segment, the focus is on design (or the lack thereof). It's so overflowing with brilliant lines, we can't even pick a favorite to run through the Jalopnik meat grinder. There's Mark Fields, with, "We gotta get that design mojo back," and some tricky linguistics from Peter "Hi, I'm Dave" Horbury, who says he's the "super chief designer," while eyeballing the Ford "Super Chief" concept truck. Still, no

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    Kerkorian Warns What? The Times' Micki Maynard Interviews Tracinda's "Spokesperson"

    Yeah, it's total speculation on our part but we can't think of anyone else Micki would be talking to with this kind of knowledge of the direction Tracinda's looking to take with GM — save Kirk Kerkorian or Jerry York or one of their inner circle. We're ruling out usual suspect Anthony Mandekic, who's usually more than willing to sign anything Tracinda sends out (in fairness, that's his job as secretary/treasurer/flunky of the board of the holding company). That leaves us with three possible p

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    Romulus Went All Feral And Stuff: No Sign Of Arm

    This story is getting more weird, more gruesome and providing more fits of the jibblies the more we hear about it. The story of the Romulus, MI couple involved in the strange arm-snatching we reported on yesterday has a new update. The husband, Stephen Humphrey, who claims he dropped off his wife at the side of the road to take a leak only to return to find her sans arm, has now been arrested and will be arraigned later today on several charges including drunken driving causing serious injury

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    Tom Friedman Will Be On Every User's Page: New York Times Building A MySpace For Cars

    At some point soon this whole MySpace thing will jump the shark. We don't know when, we don't know how — but we do know we've seen a number of harbingers of the end. If it's not ESPN looking to become the MySpace for sports fans then it very well could be the ol' grey lady's desire to get into the whole community-sharing-is-caring thing by becoming a MySpace of sorts for car lovers. The Times' newest feature will allow members to:

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    Invasion Of The 909'ers!

    Thank the maker that we don't commute anymore. Monday, we took a ride up to Coonce's, thinking that we could avoid the 110 North/I-5 North interchange, which was designed sometime during the Paleozoic era, by taking the 47 over to the 710 to the 5. And then some jackass stuffed his semi at the 710/PCH interchange, causing a mile-long backup. Last night, returning from Malibu on PCH, some hoser cracked up his 530, causing at least a half-mile backup of revelers returning to more plebian parts of

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    Governor Granholm Pleads With King George: "Grant Our Automakers A Meeting!"

    A fort-night ago 'twas decreed no US automakers shall be granted audience with King George, he of divine right and providence province. Lo' what is this? Despite said decree, there be one who still challenges the King. It is Lady Granholm, Governor of the lands of Mee-chee-gahn, protector of the automotive heritage of the lands of states united:

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    Vasek Polak's Porsche Engines Recovered, Auctioned For Charity

    How did we not know about this? Famed motor-racing driver, car collector and Porsche dealer Vasek Polak died in a wreck on the autobahn in 1997, leaving his estate to the Vasek and Anna Maria Polak Foundation. In 2000, a team of crack thieves absconded with a stock of NOS and rebuilt Porsche racing motors: four naturally-aspirated Porsche 917K race engines, a NOS 3.0L Porsche 908 mill, one 2.2L Porsche 907 Hillclimb engine, and one 3.4L Porsche 911 race engine. This seems rather dumb to us, as t

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    How Works A Volkswagen? Karmann Ghia Type III Rebuild, Part 1

    There are more than 600 ber-exotic Porsche Carrera GTs in North America. My buddy Scott estimates there are between 30 and 40 first-year (1962) Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Type IIIs on this continent — and he asked me to help him rebuild his. Luckily, for the both of us, the rare two-door is considered a Type III, but was badged and sold as a VW 1500 Karmann-Ghia.

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    Over The Back Fence: "Blue Devil" Vette To Have 700hp

    Unsubstantiated tips come and go, but some stick around like relatives. If there's anything right in the world, this tip — which adds to the broadening legend of the "Blue Devil" Corvette — sticks. It's from a guy who knows a guy who's been to a master-mechanic's seminar on fixing the supercharged mill that will allegedly power the Dodge Viper-smoking 'Vette. According to the guy's guy, 700hp is in the works.

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    The Surfers!

    Sometimes we wonder if the Baby Boomers don't have a reason to be self-righteous. After all, they came up in an era that gave us the Beatles, The Stooges and huge fields of Top Fuel dragsters. And for a short time, three guys — Tom Jobe, Bob Skinner and Mike Sorokin — were the class of the field in their totally DIY Fueler. Among those who know, the Surfers' story is the stuff of legend. We were talking to Mike's son, Adam last night without realizing who he was. He was explaining a bit about dr

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    Breaking! Toyota Defies Industry, Sells Cars; 14.4% Increase In Sales Over June

    Toyota couldn't ask for anything more — reporting their best-ever first-half sales in history. They hit calendar-year-to-date sales of 1,223,542. June sales were up 14.4% over last June. Toyota saw the Camry lead their passenger car division with sales up 38.7% over last June — allowing the automaker to post sales of 117,769 passenger cars for the month. Light truck sales were also up, a "meager" 7.6% — selling 77,563 trucks and SUV's. The other note was the Prius — which saw sales of 9,696 —

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    Mike Joy Responds Re: Plymouth Omission

    Yesterday, when we covered the introduction of the Dodge Challenger at Daytona, we noted that Mike Joy failed to mention Plymouth when talking about the Superbird, and then referred to it as the Superbird Daytona. No doubt, Joy knows his NASCAR, but he also sent us a message today politely taking umbrage at our inference that the Plymouth brand was specifically omitted from the introduction. His message and our response after the jump.

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    Breaking! GM Reports Great, No, Sucky Sales!

    Sales are up, sales are down — we've seen so many damn press releases over the past hour we can't keep things straight. When we first saw GM's press release (which you too can have your mind blown by after the jump) it took us a couple of read-throughs to find out why it wasn't making sense to our fragile little minds. Then we realized GM dropped the comparison 2005 numbers into paragraph ten of the press release. See for yourself — and remember, don't believe anything you read — until you've

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    Wagging Over Jill Wagner's Shoes: Mercury Spokesmodel's Pumps Hotter Than The Cars She's Pushing

    We know its only tangentially auto-related, but we just can't get enough of Mercury spokeswoman Jill Wagner — and it seems other women can't get enough of her either. It appears the new hotness in the latest looking-for-metro-cool Mercury commercial has little to do with the cars. According to today's Freep, hubbies are looking to get their wifeys into some Mercury-model-flavored sex-capades, and rather than buying their old lady a Mercury Milan, they're looking to buy Wagner's shoes. The sh

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    Hier-De-Boom-Boom, Uemm BORK-BORK-BORK! Ford Looks To Sweden For Hybrids; The World For Everything Else

    Yeah, the US of A — we don't need no hybrids. In fact, when we think of our good ol' America, we think energy independence, high fuel economy and an addiction to small n' efficient cars. While we're not-so-much kidding on the square, we were thinking maybe Ford believes just that. Three days after announcing it wouldn't be meeting the 250,000 unit goal for hybrids — we hear news FoMoCo's looking to boost their spend on Swedish hybrid R&D, building a fresh and clean hybrid tech center for Volv

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    Farago To Wet Self: DSG Cost-Effective!

    Our four podcast listeners know this well: every time the VW DSG trans is mentioned, Farago has to take a break to go freshen his undies. Needless to say, the Cynical One is suffering from a range of biological functions on an Akira-esque scale as he reads this post, and we apologize in advance to Lola if she accidentally witnesses her father in such fits of automotive bliss.

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    Sweet Peet D. Makes A Bold Move: Is The Autoextremist's Integrity Compromised?

    Okay, so here's something we've thrown in the old wonder machine: Sweet Peet D., when he went to work as some sort of a consultant to Chrysler, stopped posting at Autoextremist. Then, when his tenure ended, he ramped the site back up again. He's made no bones about advertising his consultancy services on the site. But here's where it gets sticky: he took on Chrysler last week.

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    Times Reporter Explains Technical Service Bulletin, Kisses Honda Ass

    The ol' grey lady reports on automakers' Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs), those handy missives sent to dealers (and the NHTSA) to inform service folk of problems auto shops see in its vehicles. What's great about TSBs is consumers can view them via NHTSA's TSB search tool. Though, in highlighting this service, Scott Sturgis of the New York Times either inadvertently (or quite vertently) extends his hand too far in Honda's direction. While Sturgis...

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