Archive for October 2006

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Buying (14)

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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Audi RS4 - He Said Supercar, He Said 'Meh' Edition - Part 1

    After the enthusiastic embrace of the initial, "He Drove/He Drove" Ford Edge review, Mr. Michael Spinelli did what any good editor would do — call the boys and yell, "Again! Again! Do it again!" Reality being what it is (poor, impoverished auto-journos living thousands of miles apart) Mike "Likes to Pray" Austin was not available to fracture speed limits with the Loverman. But Davey G. sure was. The boys set off from Pedro in the beyond-hoontastic Audi RS4 in search of celebrity Malibu crash sit

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Ford Mustang GT California Special, Part 3

    Why you should buy this car: You like American cars — big, fast and sloppy at the limit. (If they weren't, what would Euro snobs have to brag about, soccer?) To your mind, dumping the clutch never died, it just faded away. You consider the Shaker 1000 stereo to be what the Infiniti G35's Studio on Wheels by Bose is to audiophiles. You don't mind the cops pulling you over to ask questions about your car.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Ford Mustang GT California Special, Part 2

    Exterior Design: ***** You either love the new Mustang, or you're European. Actually, that's not fair. Most Euros I've talked to fall into the love camp (there's this one prick in Dublin...). So, you either love it, or you're blind. The California Special edition increases the hotness with a blacked out front air dam that makes the Mustang look less bulky. A similarly dark diffuser surrounding the pipes does the same trick out back. The side profile is the least attractive aspect of the GT/CS, a

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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Ford Mustang GT California Special, Part 1

    A while back, the three-headed Jalopnik asked readers which Mustang variants from the past they'd most like to see come back. I voted Mercury Cougar, but then almost immediately realized how wrong I was when I ran into a bright-green 1971 Mustang Mach 1 at the liquor store. Well, never mind the past; here's one from the present: The 2007 Mustang GT/CS.

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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Mazda CX-7 Grand Touring AWD, Part 3

    Why You Should Buy This Car: You like sitting up high, but need a semblance of sport from your car. You think "drug-addled catfish" is the new design chic. You're five-and-a-half feet tall and prefer just to step sideways to get in and out. You need to lug a few cases of wine home after the Thursday-night tasting.

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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Mazda CX-7 Grand Touring AWD, Part 2

    Exterior Design: ** If you were to show the CX-7 to people back in the 1950s, they would nod knowingly and say, "The future!" To people in the 1980s it would probably look like a Pontiac prototype. To 2006 eyes, it looks like the offspring of an incestuous union between the Nissan Murano and Infiniti FX, who — unwilling to suffer the shame — left it on Mazda's steps to be raised as its goofy own.

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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Mazda CX-7 Grand Touring AWD, Part 1

    Things that do not interest me: children or the hauling of, dirt, rotten fuel economy, jet skis, trailer hitches, rolling over and sitting in high chairs. Things that do: acceleration; going really fast and feeling stable while doing so; turning left and right, and stopping. All of that, and a satisfactory outcome in the genetic lottery, means I have zero desire for a traditional SUV. Nonetheless, I do transport "lifestyle gear" from time to time (e.g., beer kegs and bass amps). During the past

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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Pontiac G6 GTP Convertible, Part 2

    Exterior Design: **** The G6 convertible is a pretty good adaptation of the G6 coupe's styling, which itself borrows heavily from the Nissan 350Z. The convertible also gets props for looking good with the top both up and down. It's worth mentioning that the horizontal crease where the top folds is perfectly lined up to spill water from the roof into the cabin if you're foolish enough to drive with the windows down after a good rain.

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    Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Pontiac G6 GTP Convertible, Part 1

    Retractable hardtops are nothing new. But what was once an exclusive feature of low-volume luxury cars like the Cadillac XLR, Lexus SC430, and Mercedes-Benz SLK and SL is now found in mainstream cars with four real seats and family-car functionality. In truth, the US is a few years behind Europe (the continent, not the band), where nearly every new convertible comes with a solid roof. That brings us to the Pontiac G6 Convertible, America's first four-seat hardtop convertible since the Ford Skyli

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Entertainment (1)

News (112)

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    SEMA Show: Hyundai's Bitchin' Rides

    Hyundai's continuing its tradition of spending beaucoup bucks shoring up its standing among the import tuner crowd here at SEMA. The company rolled out several tuner show cars based on its Azera (pictured), Tiburon, Entourage, Santa Fe, Elantra, and Sonata models. K Daddyz Kustomz turned the Azera into a drop-bodied urban roller with suicide doors, Accent into a reverse-doored street cruiser and Entourage into a soccer-mom-as-pimp wagon. Helmet painter Troy Lee mimicked his signature paint schem

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    SEMA Show: Damn Those Yankees And Their OC Chopper

    Well, I know that choppers are totally not my bag, but when I saw this little OC Chopper-created cycle for purposes of auctioning off to charity at the General's Silverado silliness last night, I knew I had to show it off — if only because my beloved Detroit Tigers gave them an impressive smack-down during the American League Divisional Series. Full gallery below.

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    The EcoJet: Jay Leno's New GM-Outsourced Supercar

    Yes, that's Jay Leno, comedian and talk show host. Yes, that's Ed Welburn, GM's veep of Global Design. But the silver bullet with the Grateful Dead-looking logo in between them is what I came to see at the Wynn Casino late last night, mere hours before SEMA's official starting gun fires. It's the 650 hp (400 lb.-ft. of torque), bio-diesel monster supercar named the EcoJet. The mid-engined beast, originally sketched by Leno and Ed on the back of a napkin, shares design cues with everything from

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Wert's Got His Eyes On The Prize, Looks To "Support" Chevy Aveo College PR Promotion

    Ok, normally we wouldn't be looking to cover the made-by-PR promotions we get press releases for every day, but Chevy's got something different that's totally attracting our attention. They're pushing their Chevy Aveo as being bigger than you'd expect — and they're selling that message to the college kids by getting two co-eds from seven campuses to live in an Aveo for five days, complete with web cams and a "blog." What makes it interesting, and different from other "big enough to live in pro

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    SEMAture Ejaculation: Wert's Exclusive "Interview" With Chrysler Design Guru Ralph Gilles

    While attempting to get my full fill of the Chrysler Group's SkunkWerks team SEMA 'splosion in Auburn Hills on Friday, I had the chance to sit down (and by sit down, I mean I stood behind a camera, question-filled notepad in hand) with none other than Chrysler Group design guru Ralph Gilles. Gilles is the artistic genius behind some of the automaker's most innovative and polarizing designs of the past few years. The gangster-land Chrysler 300, the mean-looking Dodge Charger and the power wagon f

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    Mr. October's F-Body: Reggie Jackson 1969 Camaro

    "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning," deadpanned Howard Cosell. It was Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, and the ABC cameras were panning beyond Yankee Stadium, catching shots of the fires devouring the blighted South Bronx. Reggie Jackson was on his final at-bat, having slammed two home runs into "Ruthville" in earlier innings. But the vicious stare he flashed Dodgers' reliever Charlie Hough said he wasn't nearly done. Perhaps Jackson was imagining the head of manager Billy Martin — with

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    SEMAture Ejaculation: Foose's CNN Hummer

    Chip Foose must have lost a bar bet he made with Boyd Coddington and got stuck building a Hummer for CNN. The "Warrior One" appears to be a salute to the reporters covering the Iraq war, though it may alternatively refer to Wolf Blitzer's "blitzkrieg" career path during which he stuck a butter knife into Bernard Shaw's epiglottis. The real question is this: Even if it's for charity — why does every entity in the world need a custom car created in their honor? The end of days is just a "Yes, De

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    SEMAture Ejaculation: More On The Dodge Challenger Super Stock

    Well, we weren't the only ones with a bit of a "staying problem" — it seems that some of the folks over at the Allpar forums couldn't hold it in either over the Dodge Challenger Super Stock. So for those of you who want another taste of the Mopar before the official pics come out later today — follow the gallery below and check out the link to Allpar to find a series of speculations over the new concept. Oh yes, and they've also got a video. [Hat tip to Zerin!]

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    The Detroit Tigers Lose The World Series, But David Eckstein Wins A Brand New Corvette Z06

    Yeah, it's no surprise to most that I'd be a bit upset over the outcome of the World Series — that should be obvious to even the most casual observer of this site or, ya know, others. Still, I'm proud of my little Tiger team that could — they went farther than anyone expected. But, while watching the post-game, I did happen to notice that Chevrolet has completely taken over the game of baseball. Above you'll see a quick camera snapshot of the screen as 31-year-old Cardinals shortstop David Eck

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    Exclusive 2006 SEMA Preview: Four-Door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited — Like A Hummer, Only Good

    While at the Paris Auto Show at the beginning of the month, Spinn and I walked past the Chrysler Group display and as we passed the four-door Wrangler Unlimited, we both made a startling realization — the 4x4 with more off-road lineage than a Hummer could ever have totally has the potential to be a Hummer killer. We even remarked as much to an auto writer with one of the local Detroit dailies later that evening, and we received the same agreement. Now what you have before you is obvs not the s

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    Exclusive 2006 SEMA Preview: Dodge Nitro's Bringing The Paneling To Carry The Shingles, Tools And Nails

    We'd seen one early sketch last month — the same time we saw the early sketch on the big HEMI Nitro purple people eater we've already thrown to you power-hungry wolves out there — and now we've got more pics and more deets for this SEMA SkunkWerks surprise from the boys n' girls at the Chrysler Group. It's got a 3.7-liter, 12-valve, SOHC V6 pushing out 210 hp and 235 lb-ft of torque (not quite the HEMI Nitro's 360 hp, but enough for a bit of go). It's definitely got a bit of "hot rod" flavor —

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    Exclusive 2006 SEMA Preview: Chrysler's SEMA Sebring's Sexier Than The Original

    Now this is what the Chrysler Sebring should have been — long lines on the front — but none on the hood, toss in those working air scoops, a 4.0-liter V6 pushing out what has to be more than 250 hp, and — pardon my domestic hard-on here — but dammit if I ain't in love. This is Chrysler's official SEMA concept Sebring — and I had the opportunity to get a first-hand look at it today as I travelled over to the inner design sanctum of the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid — the DaimlerCh

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    Classic Ad Watch: Black Goooooold!

    In a world where "disco violinist" is a viable career path, and men display their fitness for procreation by growing lush forests of hair under their noses, there is a commercial. That commercial is for the Datsun 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition, and only one woman can save it from becoming an absolute camp mess to viewers from future worlds. If she fails, 1980 will be teh suck. Rated: Holy Shit.

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    Spy Photos: Jaguar XK's Newish Face

    With a few tweaks, Jaguar's hoping it can improve the facial features of next year's XK, and possibly short-circuit an unfortunate visual correspondence to the Ford Taurus. Spies say the new shapes add up to a "friendlier" look, mainly from a reshaping of the air-intake on the front bumper assembly. Whether it can undo a year's worth of mocking and name talking remains to be seen. We'd imagine it'll need some stronger therapy (and possibly a few rounds of medication). The newish Jag will be unve

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    The Bravo Is The "Ideal Synthesis Of Beauty And Substance": Gushing Press Release Introduces Fiat's New Five-Door

    I love when a press release tells me what I'll feel when I look at a vehicle. In the case of Fiat's lovingly worded press release touting the Bravo as the "ideal synthesis of Beauty and Substance" — apparently emotions overwhelmed the PR folks, causing them to capitalize both words — we're told "the new Bravo arouses emotions at first glance." Well yes, it does — it arouses emotions of vomit at the thought of a car being named after a network making its name off of a show about a bunch of not-so

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    That's A Saturn? 2007 Outlook To Start At $27,990, AWD Pricing In At $29,990

    Well, number two in the threesome of Lambda-platform CUV's — the General's answer to the Ford Edge / Lincoln MKX — has finally finished getting its makeup ready and is ready for the public. The Saturn Outlook joins its non-identical twin brother, the Acadia, in the ranks of "vehicles with price tags." Yes, we know — sometimes kids need encouragement, so sometimes you have to applaud the little things. In this case, we're applauding a price tag that sets it at a level $2,000 cheaper than its ba

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    Spy Photos: 2007 Jeep "Scrambler" Wrangler-Based Pickup?

    Although yes, the Jeep Gladiator program may have been scrapped by the kids over in Auburn Hills due to the need to create a new platform for the vehicle. Despite the sighs and sad faces from Jeep truck enthusiasts everywhere, it looks as though the American side of the German-American hybrid may have come up with something that'll turn those frowns upside down. It's being called the "Scrambler" by some, but "cool" by many more. It's a pickup truck based on the new Jeep Wrangler platform, and

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    Ghosn Don't Need No More Stinking Alliances! Nissan Quarterly Profit Up 31%

    Sir Carlos Ghosn, the man normally all about makin' friends and influencin' people, just dropped some pretty impressive numbers out of the Tokyo HQ of his globe-spanning alliance, Renault-Nissan. Net income popped up like a champagne cork to 164 billion yen ($1.38 billion) during the third quarter of 2006, that's up from 125 billion yen a year earlier. This came despite a sales slide of 0.9% to 2.324 trillion yen ($19.5 billion) — off of sales which dropped 7.6% to 883,000 vehicles. But, we ca

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    Supervan 2 To Get Disembowled, Jalopnik Unhappy

    Cripes. We're about to march across the United States, ford the North Atlantic, and roll heads over at Ford Europe. Some numbskull has decided that the stillborn C100 racer chassis underneath the Supervan 2 is somehow more important than the coolest van this side of B.A.'s GMC. As such, the Transit bodyshell will be removed and the vehicle will be restored to its original form for vintage competition. But who gives a flying toss about a Group C car that never turned a wheel in anger? We have a f

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Fiscal Fatness: Huge Bigness Leads To Pump Pain

    We once knew a Pro Mod driver who was rather heavyset. He was dead set on shaving pounds from his racecar, but privately, a number of us thought, "Uh, dude, why don't you just try losing some weight yourself?" But apparently, the American obesity epidemic is also feeding terrorists! Egad! According to a new study, we're burning a billion bucks more in fuel than we were in 1960. We're assuming that this includes an adjustment for the amount of cars on the road today, which is considerably higher.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Women Harder To Please Than Men In Cars, Chuh

    We once put a ring on the finger of a woman whose career to date had been customer service. And when she got bad service herself, she was more than willing to complain about it. Rather loudly, we might add. We've also been in customer service. Or cotomer sevis, if you will. We understand when peons are hamstrung by corporate policy, and politely ask to speak to a superior. And then, when all devolves into a mess of dumbassery, we get vicious. Lately, we've dropped the AOL cancellation story to g

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    RIck Wagoner Lives For Today: GM CEO Learns What "Satellite Delay" Is, Talks Up Earnings

    As part of the automaker's "shock and awe" earnings media strategy, the General sent out their own general — Rick "Slick Willie" Wagoner — to speak to the world, or at least the world that watches the Today Show (that Matt Lauer's so dreamy!) at 7:30 AM, just minutes after the RenCen-based boys n' girls released quarterly numbers that were mixed, but yes, better than analysts had expected. However, we'd like to point out that "analysts" does include the word "anal." We're unsure what bearing tha

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    John, Ponch Want New Beemers, Harley Wants To Sell Them Bikes

    The California Highway Patrol is caught up in a bit of a snafu. For the last six years, the law-enforcement agency has been buying and riding BMW patrol bikes through a Roseville, California dealership. A Santa Cruz Harley-Davidson agency, however, submitted a bid reportedly a cool mil less in an attempt to score the lucrative fleet order for a mess of Hogs. In fact PA governor Ed Rendell submitted a personal plea to Ahnuld a couple of years back on behalf of The Motor Company in a bid to get Ca

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    Some Merged Equals Are More Equal Than Others: DaimlerChrysler CFO Won't Rule Out Chrysler Sale

    This morning, as I sat at my laptop in my boxer briefs listening to the webcast of DaimlerChrysler's quarterly earnings numbers — I heard something that jolted me so hard, I've literally been in a stupor the past two hours. What could have caused such a reaction? Well, it was when DaimlerChrysler CFO Bodo Uebber answered the question of whether the sale or spinoff of Chrysler is a possibilty as such:

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    Breaking! GM Announces Third Quarter Net Loss Of $115 Million, Adjusted Net Income Of $529 Million

    In a not-so-stunning turn of events, the General's claiming a real, live heavens-to-betsy profit in the third quarter of 2006. Yes, it's an adjusted net income — but hey, it's a start. The big n' bad and rock n' rollin' son of Detroit showed a net loss of $115 million, or $0.20 per share — but showed an adjusted net income of $529 million, or $0.93 per share diluted. These numbers came after a record third-quarter revenue of $48.8 billion. This is much better than that whole $1.7 billion loss

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    Transformers Live Action Movie Exclusive! Optimus Prime And Starscream Are So Cybertron, They Don't Even Know It

    Before landing on Earth to delight us with their lovely auto- and machina-riffic disguises, and while still on the planet of Cybertron, the Transformers have some other type of alternate form. That's because, you know, Cybertron may have a lot of things, but we're guessing they probably don't have any Steve Saleen Mustang's or Camaro's. Instead, they'll have what one tipster is calling a "protoform" — the form they have before they get to Earth. It'll be techie — it'll be metallic — and it'll

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    Exclusive 2006 SEMA Preview! Ford Encases The Fusion In A Darth Vader-Esque 3dCarbon-Ite Body Kit

    You'll forgive the pun, but as I sit here in a Dearborn Starbucks, I'm listening to two fan-boys spout off on whether Episode III was better than Episode V — which as everyone knows, isn't even a contest. Which brings me full-vicious-circle to the last of FoMoCo's immortal trilogy that is the automaker's preview of SEMA offerings (sans one toy you'll be seeing tomorrow). This third one is straight out of the body kit shop of 3dCarbon. We'll let 3dCarbon take it from here and tell you a bit abo

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    A 40 Tipped For Sandy West + East Bay Nostalgia

    Here's an exercise in free association. I moved to the East Bay in 1994, just as Rancid's "Salvation" was eking its way up the charts in the wake of the massive success of Green Day and the Offspring. Five years later, I found myself onstage belting out "Alternative Ulster" with Mike Watt, Greg Hetson, Eric Melvin and Derek O'Brien at Punk Rock Karaoke in San Francisco. An hour after that, I found myself involved in a public makeout session with one of a quartet of girls who'd belted out an ador

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    Exclusive 2006 SEMA Preview! The Ford F-150 FX2 Sport Extreme Will Smoke Your Ass

    The second pimped-out performance ride we had the opportunity to taste this morning at the Dearborn Development Center was a meaty F-150 pickup seasoned with an FX2 package and then spiced-out with add-on accessories straight from the pages of Ford accessories catalogs. That's the message the FoMoCo media mommies were pushing today — that this pickup with pick-up (the 5.4 liter V8 delivers 450hp to be precise, thanks to a Ford racing screw-type supercharger with ceramic-coated headers and Ford

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    I'd Like To Drive 105: How To Get Out Of A Speeding Ticket

    Our brother / sister site about all things hacking of the life recently posted a "how to" guide for the beating the heat — or how to get out of a speeding ticket. They've employed Stewart Rutledge, a young'un in his final year of law school at the University of Mississippi to pen up his list of ways to get the man to tear up that ticket. Here's how, with more after the jump:

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    BMW Reveals New 3-Series Cabrio

    It's been a long road from rumors to spy shots to doctored press photos, but BMW's overseas press contingent has released the first official shots of BMW's new 3-Series Cabrio, complete with folding hardtop. Set to be unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January, the cab is arriving in spring 2007, initially in 325i and 335i flavors, with more (including diesels for Europe) variants joining the stable later. The show is of course BMW's first three-piece electronically-operated retractable hard-t

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    60 Minutes On The Countach

    We remember this clip vividly. Given the date, we were a mere nine years old at the time, and our dad come down the hall to excitedly to pull us away from our obsessive Lego habit to come watch, saying "Lamborghini's gonna be on 60 Minutes!. Along with the '77 Trans Am, the '69 Dodge Charger and the 308 GTS, the Lamborghini Countach had captured our pre-pre-pubescent heart. In fact, it was our absolute favorite car in the world. When the F40 arrived a couple of years later, we weren't exactly "P

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    SEMA Preview: The General's Going To Have More Than This Threesome For Vegas

    The boys over in the General's aftermarket dungeons must have been working mad overtime hours this year, as the plan appears to be for them to throw down twenty-seven vehicles on display in the General's SEMA booth — including 14 Chevrolets; two Cadillacs; four GMCs; two HUMMER H3s; two Pontiac Solstices; two Saturns; one Buick Lucerne partner vehicle and a partridge in a pear tree. There's also planned something they're calling a "top-secret performance car, developed in conjunction with one

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    This Is Our Commercial: Detroit Radio Station Attacks Mellencamp's Singing Of "Our Country" At World Series

    After enjoying Bob Seger's rendition of "America The Beautiful" in person during the first game of the World Series this past weekend, I was all ready to hear how Anita Baker would do singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" during game two last night. So it was rather weird for me to see a quartet of acoustical instruments set up along the first-base line — and in fact, I remember commenting to a certain commenter, "When did Anita Baker get a band?" Around 90 seconds later I realized what was finally

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    Breaking! Ford Announces $5.8 Billion Loss In Third Quarter, Restates 2001 Earnings

    It seems like even good numbers coming out of the month of September weren't enough to right the listing ship that is Ford. Because, wow, talk about a double financial whammy of bad news for FoMoCo — they announced this morning that the Dearborn-based automaker lost $5.8 billion (yes, that's with a "B") this past quarter — an amount equal to $3.08 a share. To put things in perspective, during the same quarter last year, the automaker posted a net loss of $284 million — or $0.15 a share. Ford's

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    Ambush! Toyota Formula One Team Unhurt After Brazil Attack

    Note to self: Pack extra Saturday Night Special and armor-plated VW Thing for Sao Paulo car show next year. Four members of the Toyota Formula One team were ambushed by gunmen Friday night as they left the Brazilian Grand Prix's Interlagos circuit, according to reports. One of the members said a gang of youths ambushed the group at a traffic light around 3km from the track, attempting to kick in the passenger window of a car in which they were riding, then firing off several shots. The group mem

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    Our Crooner, Our Truck: Bob Seger To Sing National Anthem For Game One Of The Chevrolet-Sponsored World Series

    The hit squad goons with the General's marketing team may have thought they'd heard the last of fan-fave crooner Bob Seger, but now that it's been confirmed the fan-fave crooner'll be getting a run at the national anthem at the lynchpin of Chevy's $400 million marketing blitz for the Silverado, we've only got two questions. If Bob Seger forgets what he's doing and where he is tomorrow night, do you think he'll start belting out "Like A Rock?" More importantly, because the World Series is spons

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    Who's Gonna Save Us? The Annoying State Of Cars

    In 1990, I was in Dublin, Ireland. I was about eighteen months from my driver's license, and I had a crush on a girl. I bought Midnight Oil's Blue Sky Mining at the Virgin Megastore, which may or may not have been on Grafton Street. I think it was, though. All I know is that I was in some sort of puppy love and finally over my jet-lag that had had me nearly face-down in my lumpy British food in London a week or two before. We travelled around in a rented Austin Montego that liked to overheat. I

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    Spy Photos: 2008 Jeep Liberty To Get Fabric Roof?

    According to the folks so in love with Mopar, they're Allpar, the 2008 Jeep Liberty spy shots from the other day that I positively orgasmed over were missing a shot from a very key direction — up top. Here's why, according to spy shot mistress, Brenda Priddy:

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    The World's Quickest Street-Legal Car Is A Vauxhall Victor?

    We're not sure if its possible to confirm such a claim, but this 1972 Vauxhall Victor is at least in the running to be the quickest street-legal car in the world. Zero to 60 in one second, a 7.8-second quarter-mile in 183 mph and 2200 ponies in the ranch are the stats backing up that statement. Also, there's the matter of nitrous, twin turbos and plenty of stickers. That is naughty. [Thanks to Joshua for the tip.]

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    Billionaires Mulling Aston Martin Bid For Some Seriously Premium Seat Covers

    The Financial Times reported earlier today Bernard Arnault and Albert Frere, the billionaire financiers, joined together to create an investment fund of up to a billion euros ($1.25 billion) and "they are looking at Aston Martin." Since Arnault is chairman and chief executive of luxury goods retailer LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, which includes luxe brands like Louis Vuitton and Fendi, we'd totally expect all sorts of fun and expensive options on the 2012 models. We've even heard Diddy'

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    One Of These Things Does Not Belong: God Blessed Texas With The 2008 Ford F-Series Super Duty

    Things supposedly run a bit different in Texas than they do in the rest of the country. For the most part, from what we hear, things are bigger, longer and a whole lot more god-fearing down there. We guess since stuff's so big, long and holy — it'd make sense for the automakers to have spent the end of the last month down there showing off their new hotness in trucks at the "nations biggest state fair." Although we weren't going to be providing coverage of the circle jerk that is the Texas Sta

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    Fiat Gets Its C-Segment Legs: The Linea To Debut In Istanbul

    Fiat's new three-box sedan, the Linea, is making its material debut at the Istanbul Motor Show next month, but the company's just now revealed it in two dimensions. Penned at the Fiat Style Centre, the Linea takes some of its cues from the Giugiaro-designed Fiat Punto Grande, and others apparently from the various Fords and Opels that share its segment. No word on powerplants, but like most Euro-bahn amblers, it'll get a range of gas and diesel engines. Why a Turkish coming-out? It's to honor Fi

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    New Proposed Cali Smog Laws Possibly Problematic

    CARB can't seem to leave well-enough alone. Yes, California has air-quality issues due to cars, industry and its particular geography. We certainly don't dispute that. But proposed legislation that includes random roadside checks and the imposition of smog standards on cars that were previously exempt seems wrongheaded, Left-Coast knee-jerk thinking. Apparently, part of the new rules could require testing of '66-'75 model-year vehicles, which are a staple of the aftermarket and encompass quite a

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    Watch Out, GM! The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!

    And we bet the General's general, Rick Wagoner, probably felt he was pretty much in the clear when it came to foreign raiders. Wagoner's just finished fending off the possibility of bedding GM in a threesome with Carlos Ghosn's Renault-Nissan alliance — so our bet's that he's been feeling all big n' bad in the exec tower at the RenCen as of late. Well, maybe those champagne corks were popped a bit too soon — because the caviar they brought to go with it may be providing a bit more indigestion

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    Spy Photos: European Ford Focus RS

    Go ahead and gloat, you damn Europeans. While we're driving past our Ford dealerships, seeing the same, tired Focus — many of whose parts are contemporary of the Reagan administration — you and your football hooligans are getting a range of Evo-fighting Foci that sport 300 horsepower and (rumor has it) all-wheel-drive. It's the next-gen Focus RS, which traces its bloodline from the rally-tested Escort RS Cosworth, and it's coming in late 2007 or thereabouts. Just try to refrain from leaving burn

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    Pricing! GMC Professionally Grades 2007 Acadia CUV At A Starting Price Of $29,990

    You'll need to be a "professional" if you want to apply for a lease or purchase deal on GMC's new crossover hotness, the Acadia. The General's new CUV is nothing if not pricey at a starting price of $29,990 for the FWD base unit. While certainly not as many ducats as FoMoCo's new Mercury MKX (that starting price of $34,795 still gives us a double-take, plus a quick jaw-to-the-floor) it's still more expensive than the Ford Edge (pricing in at a comparably inexpensive $25,995) by almost $4,000.

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    HOLY CRAP: Car Buyers Use Teh Online, Automakers Dumbfounded

    So there exists this vast database of knowledge called the Internet. It's free to access (for the most part, unless you're at Starbucks or in Europe) and as a consumer you've been able to use it for research in purchasing decisions since the mid 90's. Then why does it seem automakers are completely dumbfounded by numbers indicating, in the case of Jeep, 85% of buyers are using it? The shock and amazement isn't limited to domestic auto brands (or the German-American hybrid, to be specific), it'

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    DaimlerChrysler To Consider Joint Venture For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan

    A major auto-industry shakeup involving DaimlerChrysler and a Kazakhstan-based production company could be at hand, according to recent news reports. The two companies are reportedly investigating a possible joint venture that may result in a groundbreaking outsourcing deal. With neither side revealing details, we've tapped a Kazakhi investigative stringer to look into the implications of such a tieup. Borat?

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    More From The Car Carnivale: Chevrolet's Prisma Y Concept In Brazil

    Lest we forget there's a car show going on south of the equator — ladies, don your sequined thongs and fruited headgear in honor — check out Chevrolet Prisma Y Concept, which the company unveiled at the Sao Paulo auto show in Brazil yesterday. It's another take on the 4x4 crossover genre, which seems to be quite a thing down there. Compared to Fiat's similar Adventure concept, the Prisma Y looks more like a production-ready model. Note too the similarities with the WTCC Ultra concept Chevy revea

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    Collins & Aikman Surprise Ford With No Supplies

    The Wall Street Journal's reporting that major FoMoCo supplier Collins & Aikman decided this past weekend to cut off deliveries of certain parts and supplies to a Ford plant in Mexico. In this world of J.I.T. (Just In Time) supply, it caused a wee bit of a problem in the automaker's ability to produce cars at the facility — and by wee bit, we mean that they had to totally shutter production on Friday and Saturday. Now normally these type of F.T.D. (Flowers To Door Failure To Deliver) situation

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    Off With Your Top: Audi Reveals The New TT Roadster

    The redesiged Audi TT got a new baby sister yesterday, as Audi revealed the new TT Roadster right on schedule. The two-seater is getting a cloth top, not a retractable gizmo (but you knew that) and powertrain choices mirror those of the 2007 coupe — 2.0 TFSI (200 hp) and 3.2 V6 FSI (250 hp). They're also taken to calling the optional dual-clutch gearbox S-tronic, not DSG, which is a slight bit of geekery for those who put a fine point on things. Expect to see it in person at the Detroit show in

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    You Have No Style, You Have No Soul: Please Eat A Past-Due Eclair And Enjoy Botulism

    It's one of those evenings. Really. Everything's played. Most of the large majority of a plethora of things by and large suck. Which means we're reduced to ranting. Sure, we could toe the Gawker line and bitch that Si can rim us and Jobs' cotomer sevis is roughly at-or-below third-world levels. And then we realize the reality of a Si Newhouse analingus session and decide that we'll stick to bitching about how Apple's hardware has reached a pinnacle of suckdom, and that we have more Mac knowledge

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Generally Better Now? GM Revives Retirement Match For White Collar Workers

    Wait a second, I didn't realize things were all better now at the General. Last I checked they've still yet to show a real profit — yet here they are, making things seem like they've returned to the halcyon days of early 2005 — by, of all things, reviving retirement matching in white collar 401(k) accounts. Nice, because there's no better signal to send when you're still fighting for profitability, with a potential proxy fight looming ominously in the near future, than an "all clear" signal. A

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    Brokeback Enzo Update: Fat Steffie Rejects Plea

    Swedish mafia d n (sorry, businessman) and driver of the infamous Brokeback Enzo, Stefan Eriksson has rejected a plea deal that would have ended trial proceedings for the string of charges he faces. Accepting the deal would have meant pleading "no contest" to four counts, in exchange for a two year, four month sentence and $25,000 fine. Eriksson would also have had to admit to a pattern of related felony conduct including taking, damaging and destroying something of value in excess of $1 million

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    No, Really. We Do. Not. Know. Jay. Leno.

    Oh Lord. It just got worse. We just received a sob-story from a poor sap who wanted to get in contact with Leno a mere few hours after posting yet another reminder that we didn't know him. And while we feel sorry for this fellow's dire straits, we also think he's slightly wonky and has little clue as to the definition of "RTFM." He also assumes that Leno already has a Ford Probe in his collection, and has problems spelling "vehicle." Read on and get depressed.

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    To Brake Or Not To Brake: That's BMW's Question

    An explosion of 3-Series model derivitives (remember when there was just one, lonely 320i in the states?) means BMW's franchise now spans five major constructs: (SUV, coupe, sedan, convertible and wagon. Where does a company bent on line expansion go from there? According to company insiders, the next step could be toward the mostly unknown and barely useful shooting brake style (mocked up by AutoBild, above). Derived for English country gentlemen who had a devil of a time fitting a shotgun in t

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    Going Diesel: B&B's Audi Q7 TDI

    Sure, the Audi Q7 rated five stars in NHTSA crash tests, but it still only gets half that many in style stars. Plus, its Euro V6 3.0-liter TDI is only half an engine, compared to the new V12 TDI coming out next year. But German tuning shop B&B's TDI kit adds more perkiness to the oil-burning six, winding it up to 300hp, with a peak of 442 lbs-ft of torque (more than half the V12's 493 hp and 737 lbs-ft, to make an irrelevant comparison). When Audi puts out its Q7 4.2 TDI (from the Audi A8), B&B

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    My Ferrari! My Jaguar! My Corvette! My Anteros! Coachbuilt Roadster, Targa Coupe Coming To SEMA

    Building slinky sports cars over Corvette running gear is only a new concept if your idea of state-of-the-art couture is wearing pastel shirts under white linen suits. Any gearhead worth his obsession remembers the early seasons of "Miami Vice" were marked by the presence of a faux Ferrari Daytona body atop a C3 platform. Now, coachworks Anteros Marketing is introducing three new models based on the Corvette C6 (or Z06): the XTM Roadster, XTS Targa and XTR Hardtop. The three cars, versions of a

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    The Zen + Math Of Rock Crawling In The FJ Cruiser

    An ex-girlfriend with whom I still have somewhat of a volatile relationship lives in Birmingham, Alabama. This would generally be rather unimportant, other than I felt like I needed to go and stare down the city she bailed on me for. So when Toyota offered me and three other various internet personalities a shot at going rock crawling outside of the 'Ham in celebration of the new FJ Cruiser, I figured I may as well take them up on it. The ex and I had had dinner plans for a month, which she sudd

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    Downforce In The Den: Porsche 917 Couch

    Loveseat, indeed. It's one thing to watch your DVDs of LeMans or CanAm race footage while sitting in a Barcalounger or some other glorified tree stump. It's entrely another to curl up in your own Porsche 917. Sure this model is lacking around 1,100 horsepower or so (from CanAm setup), but the company that makes it will paint it in your choice of livery. We'd of course stick with the Gulf-Wyer trimming. Just 3995.00 (~$7500) takes one home. Click through to see (and hear) a less living-room-frien

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    A Staggeringly Underwhelming Press Release On Ford's New Seat Technology

    We know it's a slow news day FoMoCo, but seriously — seat cushions? Seriously. The boys n' girls in Dearborn are hailing their newest "American Innovation" — a "major breakthrough with soy-based polyurethane foams", which apparently are the primary substance that makes up a vehicle's seat cushions. Wait, we'll let FoMoCo explain:

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    Question Of The Day: Whither Masculinity?

    Why are there no more manly cars? Certainly, things are better now than they were in the 1980s, when manliness consisted of tacked-on plastic bits to compensate for emissions-controlled horsepower strangulation. Today, you can stroll right up to Claus Ettenberger and say, "I'll have your beefiest Brabus," and do it with far less shame than you would walking up to minimum-wage Ralph at the local pr0n emporium and asking for the latest Veronica Moser film.

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    Goddamn Matchbox, Just Because

    We're having one of those melancholic evenings that seem endemic to self-styled pundits who give a care about the latest camshaft developments for the LS7, but could in reality offer up less than a literary a toss regarding any sort of technnincal penning, unless of course, they've got reason to be prefaced with the phrase, "This girl I've been sleeping with..." We might, however change our tune if GM deigns to give us an a 427 smallblock for evaluation purposes. And let's face it the probabilit

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    Jalopnik Poll: Auto Show Booth Babes From The Land Of Borscht Versus The Land Of Baguettes

    The Jalopnik team fortuitously met a reporter by the name of (Liza) while in Paris at last month's auto show. She works for an up-and-coming Russian auto site by the name of autonews.ru, and I've kept in touch with her since we came back a few weeks ago. While talking to young Liza this morning, she wanted to let me know that she was personally unimpressed with the caliber of "booth babes" strutting their stuff in Paris, and that she felt the women of Mother Russia, and specifically the ones

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    GM Going Cross-Eyed On Marketing Crossovers?

    I know I'm just about ready to smack the next person that calls a wagon a "CUV." I know it's the new hotness of marketing terms, but there's got to be a better way to define vehicles that clearly aren't sedans and yet, don't quite have that Jeep Grand Cherokee / Hummer / Explorer thing going for them. Yes — the technical definition of a unibody vehicle rather than an SUV built on a body-on-frame truck platform should suffice for most of the off-road wannabes — but I'm sorry Chrysler Pacifica,

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    Spy Photos: 2008 Toyota Matrix? 2008 Pontiac Vibe? We Report, You Decide

    Sometimes a spy photog gets a bit too confident in what they think they're seeing — and sometimes forget that they've got a heavily camo'ed concept sitting in front of them — and really, as is the case here, who really knows what the hell it is. Edmunds and other sites are reporting the shots they've got are of the 2008 Pontiac Vibe — including a "high-performance" version. We've no idea how someone would know that just from these pics, but whatevs, we'd buy it if an "authority" told us that.

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    Safe Happens? Thieves Steal Plans From VW For German Chancellor Merkel's Armored Whip

    The company all about showing how safe their cars are with the so-jarring-you'll-vomit commercials showed this week how un-safe they can be with things like plans for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's armored limousine. The plans for Merkel's un-pimped, yet stylishly bullet-resistant ride, along with her predecessor Gerhard Schr der and the leader of the Social Democrat party, Kurt Beck, were on laptops stolen on September 21 from the offices of a distribution center in Teltow, eastern Germany

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    How Many Drinks Was That? Despite Being Told It Was A Good Size, It Ended Up Being Quite MINI

    The latest round of the only official car pundit drinking game's over — and while you're probably no worse for wear, I'm left wondering if perhaps I'm really not as big as I thought I was. All this time spent talking about small B-segment cars, I'm wondering if maybe I've gone and shrunk a foot or so. Be that as it may — I took a shot or two last night from my boy, Matt DeLorenzo, on the question of "Which auto manufacturers are most screwed by rising gas prices." — although I said it was the Ge

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    Wert's Got The "MINI" Shot Glass Ready: Time For Another Round Of The Official Car Pundit Drinking Game!

    Yes, that's right drink-fans, it's time for another round of the world's only official car pundit drinking game (patent pending, of course). This episode's again sponsored by the letters "J" and "D", and that mean's Wert's stepping up to the bar. Our sometimes-fearless Associate Editor from the Motor City's been asked to flap his always-at-the-ready gums on CNBC's "On The Money" on the subject of small and kitschy little cars — something to do with some story today — and while he's putting on

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    Steam Makes Them Hot And Speedy! Brit Team Attempts To Set Land Steam Speed Record

    The conclusion reached after hearing a team of wacky Brits are looking to set the 100-year unbroken land speed record for steam powered vehicles is probably something like "there's a land speed record for just about everything." You'd probably be right, and proof of that assertion's coming in the spring of next year in Verneuk Pan, a lake bed in South Africa's Northern Cape — where the all-British team (complete with a "lady driver") will seek the un-Hammond-like speed of 200 mph as the champ

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    Piece D' (Wind) Resistance: Hamman's M6 Body Kit

    Never one to shrunk from tarting a BMW M6 to within an inch of its life, Hamann created a new body kit for BMW's bi-portal bulkmeister. Note particularly the major flaring going on around the wheelular region, including brake-cooling ducts wide enough to make foie gras from errant waterfowl. Note too the various tunnel-tested aero fittings, diffusers and the like. Finally, going slightly mad, the boys worked in a set of scissor doors only a Miami plastic surgeon could love. All in all, a strong

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    Ohio One-Seven Want Their Crown Vics Fire-Suppressed

    The union representing Ohio's state troopers has taken to pounding tables and calling out, "Thus, for the Albigensians!" Or, er, they're calling for fire-suppression systems on all of their patrol Crown Victorias, after a cruiser collided with a civilian vehicle and the roller's gas tank ruptured, leading to a fire that killed two officers and the driver of the truck they ran into. While the state has purchased two Vics with fire-suppression systems for evaluation purposes, the rest of the nigh-

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    Toyota, Your Sequoia's So Big! ToMoCo Worries 2008 SUV Is Too Large To Be In Charge

    We're beginning to feel like ToMoCo's having a real Goldilocks-like internal management problem. The past few years of the first-gen model of the Sequoia have been criticized by many as having a model smaller than other SUV's in the "large and in charge" segment, but now some execs inside the automaker from the land of the rising sun are afraid that pendulum's eschewed "just right" and swung way too far in the other direction. While normally, we'd expect the execs talking all sorts of trash in

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    Spy Photos: 2008 / 2009 Jaguar S-Type

    The folks over at the Road so curvy many would even call it Winding have made spy photog Brenda Priddy a little bit more monied today — buying shots of what she claims is the new-look Jaguar S-type. True, what you see before you, and in further detail at Sheryl Crow's fave site, appears to be little more than a 2006 Jaguar S-type with a bit of a new nosecone. Priddy suggests that this is but a mule for FoMoCo's "Team Jaguar" to test out the next-gen kitty's new engine. We'll let Priddy take it

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    Toyota Sex Scandal Still Burning? ToMoCo Senior Veep Dennis Cuneo Departs Automaker For Greener Pastures

    Dennis Cuneo, the 55-year-old Senior veep of ToMoCo NorAm, has made the "decision" to "leave the company" after a 22-year stretch with the #1 super best automaker from the land of the rising sun. Cuneo will be heading back to the Washington DC law firm of Arent, Fox — but will still be working to advise ToMoCo on manufacturing site selection. So why's Cuneo going back to his old law firm to basically be paid by Toyota to continue doing his job, but from outside the company? Well, none of the i

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    Audi's Got Some Hot Apple Head Unit Action

    George Achorn over at Audi fan-site Fourtitude had the opportunity to sit in a parked Audi S8 with Audi's NorAm product planning manager Filip Brabec for some hands-on time with the new Audi Music Interface (AMI), which he claims has "simply the best iPod navigation via head unit control we've seen on the market today." So wait, George and Filip were in a parked Audi toying with a head unit? Sounds kinky. But all joking aside, the system looks promising, and as George points out,

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    Nemo, Here's Your New Mom: The Finnish CityCab

    Apparently the folks at Helsinki Polytechnic are thinking cabs need a redesign in the same way the folks from Michigan's Standard Taxi Company were thinking about it — that is by way of cramming as much technology as possible into a butt-ugly design. So what makes the Finnish thinking they've got the tech answer to getting you from here to there? Well, first by providing an easy entry as the vehicle's air suspension system allows the floor level to be lowered to a desired height during a stop,

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    Classic Ad Watch: The Judge Used To Rule!

    The best indication we can find of how far Pontiac's advertising has plummeted in both kitsch quality and consumer appeal has to be this commercial for the 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge starring America's answer to the British Invasion — Paul Revere and the Raiders. Maybe Pontiac should resurrect them as an answer to a new non-musical foreign invasion they're currently struggling to answer — because the General's most recent campaign for the 2006 GTO, "fuel for the soul," didn't quite hit the mark. Che

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    The RenCen As Phallacious Prophecy: Building General Motors' World Headquarters

    The General's world headquarters, the Renaissance Center, is a phallic protuberance at the tip of the city of Detroit — a way for the city, home to the world's biggest automaker, to show the rest of the world that they're still the big swingin' dick of the industry, despite the blight and urban decay surrounding it and the global pressures now upon them. After it went from being a city-owned building to GM's world headquarters in 1996, in many ways it's come to symbolize much of the General's ov

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    Jalopnik Commenter Executions Of The Week

    Welcome to the first Jalopnik commenter public execution extravaganza. As mentioned in the Jalopnik Comments FAQ, we reserve the right to ban commeters for being stupid, abusive or (sin of sins) boring. Well, we meant it, and today we will exercise our self-given right in front of all Jalops everywhere. Before we begin the hanging, one housekeeping note. Sometimes comments post immediately, sometimes it may take the system a few moments to digest your comment, once saved. No need to madly repast

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Chevrolet Unveils HHR Panel Van In Miami

    It was bound to happen, though we thought Chrysler would beat it to market. Chevrolet today at the Miami auto show (oye, mami!) announced it will offer a windowless, panel van version of its HHR retro wagon. The Chevy HHR Panel also has a set of rear cargo doors instead of conventional ones. Seems like an awful lot of to-do just to try and win the Geek Squad account. Press release after the jump. [Gallery]

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    Ad Watch: Toby Keith Plays With His Guitar And Spews Forth An Amerigasm Of Song About Ford Trucks

    FoMoCo must think it can't match Chevrolet in American flags, but might be able to out blue-collar it. In the latest ads for the F-150 and Super Duty trucks — part of a "Ford Truck Month" zero- and low-percent financing on 2006 and 2007 models campaign — country crooner Toby Keith shows up in what might as well be a solo project by the Construction Worker from the Village People, crouching atop industrial machinery with his massive, throbbing Ford guitar jutting forth menacingly, hands strumming

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    ForbesAutos Touches Its Joystick, Fires Out A Top Ten List Of Car Video Games

    The folks over at ForbesAutos seem to have nothing to do with their time other than provide the world with car-related top ten lists. Whether it's the top ten world's most expensive cars or the top ten biggest parking garages — these kids love to slap numbers on stuff and rank them. Now they've hit up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start and dropped their list of the best video games with cars, and although we'll agree it's got a few placed correctly, the inclusion of a game

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    Opel Antara Flexes That Ass: Saturn's New Vue-To-Be Sports Techie Bike Rack Goodness

    We guess the euro boys n' girls are big fans of biking. All we know is we can rarely get our asses out from behind the laptop long enough to even ride a bike, much less require a rack to carry them. Nonetheless, we're sure there's a decent sized chunk of the population — both in Euro-land and here in the good old US of A — that'd love what Opel's cooked up. It's called the "Flex-Fix" and it's coming as an add-on for the '07 Opel Antara and Corsa. It's a rear-end hatch popping open and pulling

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    Rental Car Reacharound: Toyota RAV4

    As a frequent business traveler and a Hertz Gold Member I've had my share of Fusions, Mustangs and Tauruses (Taurii?). On a recent trip to the Bay Area I was surprised to see a utility-company-white 2006 Toyota RAV4 parked in space #312 at San Jose's Norman Y. Mineta International Airport. My company requires employees to rent at least a midsize vehicle, and occasionally Hertz has upgraded me to a full-size SUV or convertible. I guess this is one of the few times one could classify a mini-SUV as

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    Transfomers In Detroit: Michael Bay Will Lay Waste To Your City

    As a word of warning, if Michael Bay says "I want to film my movie in your city" — say no. Just because it's a movie like Transformers — and he's like some big muckety-muck director, it doesn't matter. The guy's a "shoot for the edit" kind of director. That means he'll do as much damage as possible shooting one of his big-budget flicks — ten times the damage to your town, city or favorite asteroid as is necessary — just to make sure he's got the right shot when he gets back to the edit room wh

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    DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche Wants Us To Be His Friend, But Can Facebook Give Us Free Mustache Rides?

    We love facebook, and to be honest, we're on it way too much — especially for "kids" that are "our age." But ever since the site went from a college-exclusive site to professional inclusion, we feel less like dirty old men leering at the girls in the new freshmen class, despite using it for just that purpose. Now we can just say we're doing "professional networking" while we oggle the co-eds from Michigan State. So, when we received an e-mail this morning letting us know that the CEO of the Ge

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    Transformers In Detroit: It's Both The Size Of Your Memory Stick And How You Use It

    Although we weren't able to get anywhere near filming of the Transformers Movie in downtown Detroit today, ItsJeff over at the DetroitYES! forums served as a great embedded reporter, snapping away at the mayhem from a fairly safe distance. ItsJeff got pictures of the Porsche Cayenne camera mount, a bit of the action and even a truck exploding. Oh wait, he didn't get a truck exploding. Why not? Well, let's let him tell you:

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    Nissan Unveils Altima Hybrid At Orange County Show

    Who knew the OC had its own car show, especially one that doesn't just feature row after row of BMW 6-Series convertibles? (Oh, that would be the mall.) Orange County's car show in Anaheim, today was the venue where Nissan for the first time wiped the cosmoline off its Altima hybrid, a car it plans to sell in emissions-strict markets including (surprise) California, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine and New Jersey. Mileage is compatable with Toyota's Camry Hybrid

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    Transformers In Detroit: More Than Meets Our Eyes?

    We woke up this morning at 5:30, intent on finding a good parking spot downtown to see if we could catch some hot stylized Saleen Camaro on stylized Saleen Mustang action, and maybe even catch some shots of celebs (what can we say — Megan Fox is just that) downtown in the dirty D. So we made it down there found a parking spot, and other than the above shot, we found jack squat. We couldn't get anywhere near the action — police and security were on every corner, and although we're more than hap

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    Ad Watch Exclusive: Stephen Colbert, Don't Steal This Chevy Silverado Commercial Too!

    Yes, it's now bigger, longer and uncut from the spec ad we saw last week. We've managed to get our hands on the full 60 second version of Chevrolet's Amerigasm over the new-for-2007 Silverado — it's part of the "Our Country, Our Truck" ad campaign, and let's just say it's got something for everyone. Everyone that is, except for Stephen Colbert. We've now instituted a very sophisticated anti-Colbert tagging on the video, in order to make certain Stephen doesn't get his grubby hands on it. Of cour

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    Breaking! Ford Announces September Sales Up 5% — Cars Up 26.2%, Trucks Down 5.4%

    FoMoCo's gone and boosted sales on the car side this past month by an astronomical 26.2% — helping to cut the damage from a drop in sales on the truck side by 5.4%. Not too shabby if you ask us. The jump in car sales came on the backs of the Ford Mustang (up 30.7%) the Ford Focus (up 20.9%) and the Fusion/Milan/MKZ sales of over 15,000. What was surprising was the drop in Freestyle sales of 46.8%. That's not good as they've made the CUV/wagon a key part of the company's strategy to push broken

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    Buy A Car And Get A Guitar, You're Gonna Go Far: VW To Offer Special Axe With Select Models

    We've now seen it all. We thought that VW's attempt to tie the iPod in with the Beetle was the highest into the musical stratosphere the company reprsenting Deutschland would go. We were wrong. VDub's now decided you don't just want to listen to music in your car, you want to create it — and that's why they're starting an ad campaign and first-of-its-kind musical giveaway in coordination with guitar maker First Act, Inc. Beginning today and running through the end of the year, any customer who

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    On Notice! Stephen Colbert Steals Rightfully Stolen Video, Jalopnik Demands An Apology

    That's right Stephen, you're now on notice — and you're not coming off notice until you apologize..and you know what it's for. But for those of you following along at home who don't know, last week, the right-wing talking head of talking heads ran a piece on the new ad campaign for the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado. The cantankerous Colbert provided the obligatory big business back rub, giving a tip of the hat to the ol' General — including Chevy's decision to pander by including the image of Rosa

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    Spy Photos: Alfa Romeo 159 GTA

    Gasp. What's that under the hood of that Alfa Romeo 159 test mule? (Note to Forum Dell'Auto Italia, adjust your dosage; obsessive paranoia can be controlled.) Those are red cylinder heads, are they not? And we all know what that means: Ferrari or Maserati hardware. Eurocar Blog surmises that the red heads, along with quad exhausts in the rear, mean only one thing: A V8-powered Alfa 159 GTA is in the works. Both the 4.7-liter V8 of the Alfa 8C Competizione and 4.2-liter V8 of the Maserati Quattro

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    From Toyota To You: FJ Cruiser Gets TRD Package, Camry Hybrid Gets Price Increase

    While we were in Paris enjoying various anise-based cocktails, Toyota's in-house tuning shop, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) released some dirt on its Special Edition package for the FJ Cruiser. According to ToMoCo, $7,265 (manual, $7,250 automatic) will buy FJ buyers a couple of key off-road performance options, including TRD/Bilstein shocks, which supposedly enhance straight line stability, decrease dive during braking and twist during acceleration, and otherwise improve the truck's capabilit

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Formula One For The Street: Caparo Builds First T1 Prototype

    The ex-McLaren engineers at Caparo Vehicle Technologies finally cranked out a road-testable prototype of the company's streetable F1-car, the Caparo T1. The first proto model, dubbed XP1 (pictured), will undergo shakedown runs and speed trials to determine engine mapping and measure durability. A second prototype will launch in December for additional durability and performance tests. The boys have teamed up with driver Chris Goodwin, who helped set up the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren's suspension.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    The Jalopnik Paris Show Awards: Paris Show Edition

    We're back from the Paris auto show, a few millimeters of shoe leather shorter, a few Euros poorer and a few Gitanes smokier. Now, it is the time on Jalopnik when we look back on what we've seen and try to make sense of the Euro-focused cavalcade of cars and put the glitz into global context. What better way to do that than by employing the time-honored awards device. We bring you The Jalopnik Paris Show Awards: Paris Show Edition. Try the escargots, and do not tip your waitress (gratiuity is in

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    GM's Mark LaNeve Bites The Blog Bullet, Responds To Sean Hannity Uproar

    Ok, we go to Paris for a week, come back and the whole world's gone to hell. First we have Sean Hannity pitchin' GM products on the air as part of GM's "You're A Great American Car Give-Away." The give-away has Hannity announcing three names of listeners on his show, and if they call in by 6 the next morning, they win a choice of three GM products.Then we have the liberal blogosphere blowing up all over the place. Now to make things more muddled we've got Mark LaNeve, marketing head of GM, wad

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Hey! Macarena! Folding-Hardtop Peugeot 407 Concept

    Ten years ago, we were on a boat in Germany celebrating a friend's high-school graduation. Suddenly, this horridly catchy earworm of a song came on and people started to move strangely. Synchronized strangeness, even. "Dear God," we thought to ourselves. "We hope this is one of those weird European things that never makes it to America." Roughly three weeks later, it arrived on the soil of the land named for Amerigo Vespucci. Part of us died that day.

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    The Jalopnik Morning Shift

    • Yes, we know it's a new template. Yes, we know things may look a bit off. Try clearing your cache first by using shift-F5 in Firefox for PC, or Apple-Shift-R in Firefox for Mac. If that didn't solve the problem, drop us an e-mail at tips@jalopnik.com and we'll see what we can do to help. • Also, in case you were out last week — we had an epic time celebrating le joi de vivre over at the Paris Auto Show. But now we're back — and not a moment too soon. If we had to encounter one more skinny li

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Paris Shocker: Vintage Italian Car Breaks Down, Fiat Oltre Fiat Concept Spotted On Road!

    Last night, while enjoying the marvelous food coupled with terrible service French restaurants are known for, Spinelli exclaimed, "Look! There's that Fiat concept!" We grabbed our camera and sprinted down the street chasing the Oltre Fiat, which debuted at the Bologna Auto Show last December. Fortunately for the not-exactly-Carl-Lewis-esque us, the big lug was being held up by a group of guys in white hoodies attempting to hustle an out-of-commission Fiat 500 down the narrow Paris street. Lo and

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More