Archive for December 2006

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Buying (6)

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  Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Part 3

  Why You Should Buy This Car: The 2007 Wrangler Rubicon is Jeep, not a Jeep. Like a Zippo or a pair of Levis, the Wrangler is an icon, and Jeep's perfected its looks. Best-in-class off-road performance. Best-in-several-other-classes off-road performance. Detachable front sway bar is the killer app. Much more livable in grocery getting situations than all of its predecessors combined. You love fording streams. You like climbing walls. You feel happy while riding in it.

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Part 2

  Exterior Appearance ***** Plato was interested in ideal forms. Your eyes are round, he taught, because somewhere there exists a perfect circle. May I present to you the archetypal SUV. In fact, the 2007 Wrangler is so perfectly formed, I can't even imagine how, say, a 2013 model can be made to look any better. (An extra gas can hanging off the back? Shovels mounted below the doors? Naw, too busy.) Luckily, and assuming DCX survives the new year, they'll have the better part of a decade to figure

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Part 1

  I recently went shopping for jeans with a friend. She dragged me to a little boutique on Melrose in Los Angeles, where I stood bored while she searched intently for the ideal pair (i.e., those that made her butt look the best). Seeing how most women I know do not even own a pair of sensible shoes, her criteria made sense. Pair after pair, brand after brand — more than a dozen in all — she tried them on, before deciding a $225 number with no back pockets.

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Ford Expedition EL, Part 3

  Why You Should Buy This Car: You're Mormon, have a Napoleon complex or travel with a posse. You subscribe to the belief that it's both about the size of the boat and the motion of the ocean. You crave the most comfortable way to get from A to B, not the quickest; your seven friends and their dogs feel the same way. You want other drivers to change lanes instantly when you pull up behind them. You never want anyone to turn left on yellow in front of you. You dig how the giant chrome wheels create

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Ford Expedition EL, Part 2

  Exterior Design **** For a Baby Huey, the Expedition EL is a svelte looking ride. The previous generation 'Peditions (and their even uglier Lincoln counterparts) were too tall for their relatively short length, such that they came across as hunchbacked. By stretching the wheelbase by two feet, Ford created a balanced, well proportioned SUV. From the side, that is. Head on (or worse, via rear-view), the 2007 model looks like an iron wall with nostrils. Fifth star action withheld for a forgettable

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Ford Expedition EL, Part 1

  As wee ones, my sister and I wanted a dog, but the old man said no. Dogs control your life, he said, so in our household we instead adopted a string of short-lived b-list pets: turtles, hamsters, fish, a guinea pig and several frogs. At one point, we even had a hermit crab, though it died before growing large enough to shed its old shell in favor of a snazzy new one I picked out (and painted) for him. I mention this because if you purchase Ford's outsized Expedition EL, you will die long before

  By Mike Spinelli Read More

Entertainment (1)

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  Jalopnik Holiday Gift Guide: Jeremy Clarkson's "The Good The Bad The Ugly"

  We were lucky enough to receive an awesome gift last night, the seventh of the crazy eight-day candle-gasm (yes, we just used a Jewish holiday and one of the blogging no-no's — so sue us, we're busy being overjoyed) that is Hanukkah. Apparently the new Jeremy Clarkson DVD, The Good The Bad The Ugly, is only available in the UK (don't know that for a fact — it's merely what we've heard). But whatever the availability state-side, it matters not because we got it. Eighty minutes of Clarkson ripping

  By Ray Wert Read More

News (140)

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  Megasquirted 2002 On The Streets Of San Francisco

  Last night, we popped by the 500 Club in San Francisco with Friend o' tha Jalop Melissa. The place was reasonably packed, so we asked a couple of guys if we could share their booth. We got to chitchatting about jobs and whatnot (In SF, introductions are more often than not followed by the inevitable "So, what do you do?"); we explained that we are one of the people that exist in the form of Jalopnik.com, and John mentioned that he had a 2002. We asked if he'd seen Finkbuilt Steve's Megasquirt co

  By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: Ford's Non-Mustang Mustang-Platformed Interceptor Concept

  What you see in front of you is the product of a bold move — or so we're told. This four-door sedan concept's got a 5.0-liter Cammer V8 with 400hp, and was called by FoMoCo Prez of the 'mericas "a Mustang all grown up." But since with our luck all we'll see this year is a five hundred with the Gillette-like "Hi, I'm Dave" tri-blade on the front end, we're pleased to see what Ford's got here — despite the fact it'll have the opposite of the Lincoln MKR concept's independent rear axle. Ford should

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Parts: Battery Maintenance

  The battery in a modern automobile is not of very modern technology. Despite promises of atomic cars and everlasting power, the old tech lead-acid battery still rides under many hoods. So-called maintenance-free batteries are really just updated versions of the first automotive lead-acid battery used to kick over a production Cadillac in the year of 1912. While design improvements have of course been made, the automobile battery still requires occasional help. Regular battery inspection and m

  By Mike Bumbeck Read More
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  The Taming Of The 'Ru: 1973 Subie Ad

  Perhaps you're a man who grabs life by the cuff. You live life your way. And it shows...in the clothes you wear...in the women you love...and in the car you drive The Subaru GL Coupe is waiting for you. Sleek. Agile. The sculptured lines of the one piece body invite you in. With front wheel drive she's different. A step ahead of the others. Go to her. Let her cradle you in the softness of her highback reclining bucket seats. Surround yourself with the lushness of her interior appointments. The G

  By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: The Stage Is Being Set

  We're now ten days away from the 2007 North American International Auto Show, or as it's also known — NAIAS, NAMBLA, Deeeetroit Auuuuto Shooow! (Pistons fans will get this one) and even NAIAnachroniSm. Whatever you want to call it, it's the biggest auto show on this here planet. And hey, if it's in Detroit — let's see what all of the local stations are doing to fete the show. Oh, what's this we hear — only NBC Universal has the right to the big dance — and therefore they're the only ones with th

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Easy-Peasy Rotisserie!

  When performing a restoration, a rotisserie is often helpful, allowing one a comfortable working position while providing access to places that would otherwise be nigh-on impossible to get to without an expensive lift. We came across this ingenious solution while up at Trevor's a couple of months back — Trev's restoring a Mini that used to be a crisps delivery van in Dublin. It's in relatively good shape for a 40-year old car that was never seen as more than an appliance, but the suspension need

  By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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  Not-So-Pious Prius: Toyota Looking To Super-Size Gas Engine In Next Hybrid Model?

  According to a report from the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shibun, ToMoCo is looking to bring a new hybrid-only model for the 'merican market. According to the newsmag's sources, it's expected be a midsize sedan with a 2.5- to 3-liter engine, larger than the 1.5-liter the Prius currently uses to putz around. The plan, apparently, is to add this new model to the already-on-the-market hybrid lineup alongside its pipsqueak brother. So what's the deal? Why is Toyota looking to boost both size and fue

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: Chevy Malibu, We're Not Through With You?

  Embargo? Ha — more like "O Grab Me." Which is what you should do now to the pictures and details we've provided for you of the new-for-2008 Chevy Malibu, as it appears Edmunds may have jumped the gun on the embargo date for Chevy's new mid-size. All we've got now in terms of details come to us from Dan Pund's article over at the 'net big boy of auto traffic. The pictures on the other hand — we were lucky and managed to smuggle those out of the RenCen Death Star — but only at a very high cost to

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Ah, The Joys Of Vodka: Lithuanian Pedestrian Defies Death, Incites Angst

  Pain, pain on the Baltic. How to drown such existential ache out? With distilled spirits of grain or potate, of course. Then, when numbed to one's desired level of comfort, it's time to head home and pass out on a soft, warm bed of Khruschev-era surplus straw mattress in a tepid-water flat. But how to cross the street to home, hearth and temporary coma? This video from Lithuania illustrates the solution to such a conundrum. It's also incongruously soundtracked by a tune from South Park: Bigger,

  By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: The Chrysler Pacifica Nassau Concept

  The embargo breaks on Chrysler Group products are coming fast and furious as the buff mags fight for their own piece of the "exclusive" pie, leaving us to wonder if there'll be anything left to show from Auburn Hills next week in Detroit. Hot on the heels of the AutoWeek Jeep Trailhawk concept embargo breakage comes similar treatment of the Chrysler Nassau. This shooting brake concept comes directly from the Pacifica studio which explains why the design evokes the same feelings of desire for wom

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  An Unnecessarily Trail-Rated Detroit Embargo Break: The Jeep Trailhawk Concept

  It looks like the Dodge isn't the only Chrysler Group brand open to embargo-breaking. This time around it's the normally off-road friendly Jeep experiencing the brazen display of anti-embargo chutzpah from AutoWeek. Although we've already seen bits and pieces of the Trailhawk, a "on-road open-air concept" vehicle built on the frame of the new four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, here's the whole thing, all set to be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show. The Trailhawk sports a long-ass 116-inch wheelb

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Christmas In February: Chrysler Hands Buff Books An Embargo Loophole

  Don't be alarmed, it's not Feburary 2007, though you might get that impression from eyeballing the covers of car magazines on the stands. No, it's still December 2006, though some buff books have already published their February issues, satisfying a rule apparently concocted to give print publishers competitive parity with web-based competitors. In a forwarded e-mail message, Chrysler Group's product and design PR guy, Rick Deneau, explains the company's dual-rule strategy, as it pertains to t

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: Nissan Rolls Out A Roguish Mini-Murano For 2008

  During the hell that was automakers' holiday parties (we can't quite shake the recurring nightmare of being eaten like a loin-burger by a 50-foot-tall Bob Lutz) — one brief respite was Nissan's embargoed event/holiday "blowout" to show off its new ute, the Rogue (nee Qashqai in Europe). Unlike the more pedestrian Big Three parties, Nissan threw down with a laser light show featuring pixelated pics of the Rogue with The Beatles' greatest hits playing in the background. While Nissan's newest is no

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  We Will Marry The Van Driver: Sabine Schmitz Rounds The 'Ring In A Ford Transit

  On an episode of Top Gear from a couple seasons back, Jeremy Clarkson was schooled in the way of N rburgring rounding by the reigning Duchess of N-burg, Sabine Schmitz. Her sage counsel netted Jezza a lap time of just under 10 minutes in a diesel Jag (no mean feat). Of course, his adorably petulant teacher said she could beat that time in a van. In this TG clip, she gets her shot. Poor van. [via Motor Authority]

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Detroit Auto Show Embargo-Uh-Oh! The 2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10, Courtesy Of Road & Track

  With its press embargo popping 13 days premature by Road & Track, we can reveal that Dodge's new devil whip is in receipt of an extra 90 horses. With 600 hp, this ram-snake hybrid will slither around the 2007 model year and straight into 2008. The upward revision in horsepower is via a displacement increase of the V10 (from 8.3 to 8.4 liters), higher compression, variable valve timing and a slightly larger air intake (check out those hood gills). The old-school T56 manual's been upgraded to a n

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Everybody's Doing It: More Detroit Auto Show Embargoed Lincoln MKR Concept Content

  After everyone learned last week about the tragically debilitating collective selective memory loss disorder suffered by the employees of Car & Driver (I know, how tragic is it that it only affects the ability to remember what date their magazine's printed on and pops up only during months preceding major auto announcements and when issue sales are looking flaccid?) pretty much everyone's put out all they got on the Lincoln MKR, the new concept set to be unveiled in Detroit from FoMoCo's "luxe"

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: Attack Of The Variants! Chevy Unveils HHR Premiere Edition

  Oh yay — another Chevrolet HHR variant. I am so very excited about the prospect of seeing Chevy's most recent preview for the Detroit Auto Show up close and personal next weekend. It's yet another unveiling of a vehicle we've already seen, only in a new color combination. I find myself hardly able to contain the joy inside of me. In fact, I'm so excited I think I've found it's caused me to spontaneously wiggle my little toe. That is how excited I am. And who, other than the four people who aren'

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Caddy, I Want A Wagon! CTS Coupe And Wagon Still In The Mix

  We'd already heard the reports from a couple of different whispering lips. Plus we knew Winding Road's super-secret loin-burger eating source at the General already confirmed a coupe version of the CTS to them via carrier pigeon. Heck, even Automotive News has come out from behind their wall of subscription-secrecy once already and said it. Apparently once wasn't enough for Keith Crain's super-team, who think the rumor's so nice, it's necessary to say it twice:

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Oh What A Bold Feeling: More On Toyota And Ford Talking Sweet And Passionate Partnerships

  We've learned a few more salient details on what was initially only an alleged, but now is a confirmed meeting between ToMoCo chairman Fujio Cho and FoMoCo CEO Alan Mulally (his ever-present sidekick and president of NorAm, Mark Fields bowing by his side) last week in Japan. That's right, Mulally and Fields spent 24 hours together in the air on the round-trip cross-continental flight. I wonder what they talked about? Hair care tips, perhaps?

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: Maserati Quattroporte Executive GT

  Now that we have an everyday supercar nestled in our fantasy garage, I suggest we add a Maserati Quattroporte Executive GT (MSRP: $115,900) to our collection, for those times when we're forced to schlep people who don't want to have their internal organs thrown violently around the calcified walls of their skeletal prison. Yes, we could have added another bulletproof bi-polar express — and I'm not saying an AMG product won't find its way into our virtual automotive sanctuary — but at the risk of

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  DaimlerChrysler Hires Former FBI Chief As Consultant, Jedi Master

  The big internal two-year investigation over at the German-American hybrid is just now beginning to wind down. The investigation, according to the Detroit News has so far dug up cases of bribery of officials in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. The bribery allegations are in fact such a big deal it's caused all sorts of bells and whistles to go off over in DC at the Securities and Exchange Commission — plus a criminal probe by the Justice Department for good measure. Maybe that's why the automa

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  The Jalopnik Morning Shift

  • Aww, look — the Detroit News used our post as a story — that's adorable! Just bring our royalty check over to the Detroit Auto Show — we'll collect it there. [Detroit News] • Toyota — who could ask for anything more — than 25 straight months of growth? [Freep] • GM needs to become more flexible. Apparently Mrs. GM just isn't feeling it like she used to. [Detroit News] • The Shelby GT begins production. [DueMotori.com] • DCX probe goes global. [Detroit News]

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  2007 Detroit Auto Show: Toyota Unwraps The FT-HS Hybrid Sports Car Concept For Christmas

  What a lovely little gift from ToMoCo — did you get us the next-generation Prius? Oh, it's something better — but what could it be? How about a concept sports car, which Toyota plans on revealing at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show next month, which does share one thing in common with the little-hybrid-that-could — it's got one of ToMoCo's hybrid synergy drives. But wait a second, a sports car with a hybrid motor— no V8? Of course not, this is Toyota we're talking about — the computer geeks at Calty

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Beware The Redy2: 615 Horses Attack A Mustang's Rear Wheels!!!

  Boy racers of the San Fernando Valley — consider this your warning. No matter how modded your EVO, no matter how often your daddy lets you take out the M5, no matter how yellow your Gallardo, you will lose the stoplight drag to a stock looking 2005 Mustang GT. Notice I said looking, because besides the body panels, interior and rear brakes, nothing about this bruiser is remotely OEM. So much so that the list of modifications would run for three pages and bore all but Uncle Bumbeck to technical t

  By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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  SUPER GLOBAL ALL-STAR DRIFTING BATTLE!

  At the drivers' meeting before the D1GP All-Star event, Keiichi "Drift King" Tsuchiya calmly asked those gathered how many were driving hachi-rokus. Seven raised their hands. Drivers of the venerable high-winding AE86 Toyota Corollas were to receive special instructions. In a field increasingly filled with high-horsepower monsters of V8 and other variety, the hachi-rokus would have to set a higher standard. Tsuchiya said that if three of these hachi-rokus were to achieve drifting by the middl

  By Mike Bumbeck Read More
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  Know Thy Germans: BMW 700

  Quick; name a post-war, air-cooled, rear-engined BMW without the twin-kidney grill. Most pistonheads would answer, "Isetta." And they wouldn't be wrong. However, true Deutschaphiles will shout, "700!" And they couldn't be more right. After the tragic failures (from a sales standpoint) of the upscale 502, 503 and 507 models, BMW was forced to build dorktastic rolling eggs like the Isetta and subsequent 600. Yes, yes, those cars were cute, but as far from the ultimate driving machine as President

  By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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  And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Parts: Changing A Tire

  While run-flat tire technology, roadside assistance programs and tire-changing helper robots have certainly come a long way, a flat tire is an inevitable part of the driving experience. Despite great measures taken to make tires tough enough to withstand the rigors of modern motoring, nefarious forces are perpetually plotting to relieve them of their air. Errant mattresses, tumbling pallets, mangled step ladders, and other, more insidious road hazards, such as boxes full of roofing nails dropped

  By Mike Bumbeck Read More
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  Cadillac Has A Big Thing For Timberlake's "Dick In A Box"

  We've been laughing at the SNL skit "Dick In A Box" all week, even more so after NBC embraced the edginess of the Justin Timberlake sketch by releasing the "uncensored" version onto YouTube and NBC's own site. We were even more interested to see who would drop the marketing dough to get it's brand associated with such a member-filled box of musical goodness. It turns out not only is it an auto badge, it's one we'd normally never expect to be going after the internet generation— Cadillac! That's

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Scrooged! Nissan HQ Employees To Have A Blue Christmas Due To Late Pay

  We never really understood why Nissan made the move to the Tennessee. Sure, CEO Carlos Ghosn can talk a big game about how he wants to locate the NorAm HQ near his new manufacturing locations — but if the need for that were true, the NorAm HQ for FoMoCo would be in Mexico and GM's would be located in Canada near the Silverado plant or somewhere in Asia. But we digress — there's now one more gripe to add to the list since the big move from sunny SoCal. On top of moving pay from bi-weekly to month

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  The Official Car Pundit Drinking Game: Talking About ToMoCo Making Number Two

  Someone over at CNBC must have read today's big story about FoMoCo's internal secret stuff getting into the hands of the sneaky-sneaks at the Times. The documents apparently show there's an expectation they'll be releasing the grip on number two in domestic market share, allowing ToMoCo to squeeze its way into the hole that is just downwind from the top slot, General Motors. They've invited our associate editor from the land of 'merican car companies on to "On The Money" this evening (no ancho

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  LED Sled: The Audi R8's Diode Lighting

  Audi engineers are pretty torqued by the company introducing its first major LED-based lighting system with the R8. According to a press release, the R8 has 210 external LEDs, some of which even illuminate the engine. Among them are 24 front-mounted LEDs — set as running lights amid an assembly inspired by the Sydney Opera House — and 186 LED brake lights. And to think, it wasn't long ago we were throwing around a "disco" Frisbee and wearing LED-laced Garanimals. What's next, not getting burned

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Know Thy Germans: 1921 Rumpler Tropfenwagen, A Slippery Tugboat

  Lady and gentlemen, we present for your viewing pleasure, a creation of Edmund Rumpler. This mid-engined mechanical marvel, the product of wartime aviation experience and sheer Germanness, featured a W6 engine long before Volkswagen began fusing Vs together. Winglets, a teardrop-shaped cabin and body, and that gnarly center headlight, somehow conspire to produce a super-slippery drag coefficient. When the boys at V-Dub pulled one out of the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin in 1979 and ran it throu

  By bwojdyla Read More
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  We're #3! We're #3! Ford Expects To Surrender #2 Spot To Toyota In 2007

  According to Ford Motor's own projections, as obtained by the New York Times, Toyota will soon overtake Ford as the #2 automaker in terms of domestic sales. This news of the continued borg-like dispatching of US auto buyers by ToMoCo must have been a shock to no one. In truth — although FoMoCo folks argue otherwise — this is a pretty decent-sized ego bodyblow to the Dearborn-based automaker's "no-no" spot. And it'll leave a bruise, considering roughly 4,600 Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealers in

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  I'll Cut You: Toyota Launches Blade In Japan

  Toyota launched its new Blade hatch in Japan earlier today. Named not for the weapon of choice among Yakuza assassins of past decades, rather to "suggest an automobile with a 'sharpness' that fascinates people" (hmm), the Blade is a swank version of the Auris, which will is essentially a hatchback'd Corolla. It's got an interior swaddled in leather and alcantara, a 167-hp 2.4-liter four, and despite its mock-violent name, it's targeted to those approaching retirement. More important for our purp

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Take Henry, Add Edsel And SUPER AGRICULTURAL POTENTIAL! It's Fordson!

  Back in high school, our photo teacher lived on a farm and swore by Ford tractors. Nothing else would do. Not Case, not Massey-Ferguson, not International Harvester, not John Deere. It had to be a Ford. And the genesis of the Ford tractor was the Fordson, the product of an intially-independent outfit set up by Henry and Edsel to build an agricultural vehicle that could run all day doing the work of four mules. That is, assuming you were able to get it started in the morning and kept an eye on al

  By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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  Ad Watch: Living On The Ford Edge Of Buildings

  There's somethin' wrong with the world today I don't know what it is Something's wrong with our eyes

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Spy Photos: 2008 Ford Five Hundred, Now With Thrice The Dave

  Despite the germ-like camouflage, we can tell the new Ford Five Hundred has gotten an extensive infusion of Dave. That's the safety-razor grille, slyly alluding to the Cheshire smile of Americans whom designing Brit Peter Horbury's endured at Detroit-area cocktail parties. Set to debut at the Detroit show next month, the new fiver will get Ford's new corporate 3.5-liter V6, producing 265 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. The new powerplant should help us forget the tedium of taking the cu

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Dyson Racing Moves To Porsche, LMP2

  The close personal American friends of Bruce in Poughkeepsie, Dyson Racing, have decided to trade in their Audi Lola for a Porsche RS Spyder, a car which was only campaigned last season by Penske. According to Porsche Motorsports honcho Hartmut Kristen, the Dyson cars will come equipped the same as the Penske models. Guy Smith and Chris Dyson will run the No. 20 entry next season, while Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace are set to drive the No. 16 car.

  By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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  Broken: Buick Just Sold More Cars In China Than In The United States Of America

  The old man used to go on and on about the glory of Grandpa Loverman's 1953 Buick Roadmaster. It was beautifully styled, possessed a powerful straight-eight, had advanced features like... wait for it... power door-locks! Best of all, it was called the frickin' Roadmaster! Car names don't get better than that. Neither, really, do cars. Today's Buicks on the other hand, in the words of Car Tzar Bob Lutz, are damaged. Even if the new rides (like the Outlook Enclave) do manage to follow in the might

  By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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  Better Know An Orphan: Kaiser-Darrin 161

  Occasionally, as the annals of automotive history reveal, an automaker will reach its bony fingers up from a shallow grave to take a few stagger-steps toward greatness, only for corporate interests to lop off its zombie head. Take the Kaiser-Darrin 161, for example. Kasier-Frazer was the last new American car company to produce a large volume of vehicles after WWII, selling over 800,000 between 1946 and 1955. A key acquisition came in 1953, when Kaiser acquired Willy's Overland, which had bee

  By bwojdyla Read More
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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: The Smart Cars Are Coming...Still

  Despite already being the recipient of an announcement they'll be coming in 2008 (back in June) and an announcement detailing what they'll look like (back last month) — the folks at the German-American hybrid have decided the 2006 Detroit Auto Show's the place to complete the immortal announcement trilogy of the smart brand. So we'll have — yes — the third announcement that smart is coming to the 'merican shores occurring here in the D in January. All we know is our excitement level's gone from

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Car Hack's Notebook: Tomorrow's Classic, Today

  My dad's love of classics always bemused me as a child. This was a time of radical leaps in horsepower, performance, styling, every facet of car design, and he was buried in some edition of Pipe Smokers and Classic Jaguar Lovers monthly, with a free anorak with every subscription. He clearly knew nothing...

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Know Thy Germans: Glas 2600 V8; AKA The Glaserati!

  First of all, the actual name of the company isn't Glas; it is, "Andreas Glas, Reperaturwerkst tte f r landwirtschaftliche Maschinen mit Dampfbetrieb." In English that means, "Andreas Glas, repair garage for agricultural machines supported with steam engine." Which is so old-school it kinda hurts. Second, in 1966 BMW purchased Glas, retooled the mighty Dingolfing factory for future highly precise production and then eliminated Andreas's namesake. Still, for a short time in the midst of the swing

  By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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  Meet Harry Stevinson: Canadian, Awesome.

  This started out as a single-sourced, "ain't that a great car?" sort of post. On a whim, I Googled Mr. Stevinson and found he was a fairly remarkable bloke worthy of a little more screen space than your average crackpot/savant. First, as you may have noticed from the picture, Harry is not only Canadian, but also born a really, really long time ago. At 11, he was driving the family car through the Canadian Rockies, which in the 1920's were little more than mountain-goat paths, because he was be

  By bwojdyla Read More
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  Know Thy Germans: BMW 503 Coupe And Convertible

  Yes, yes, yes — we all know the 507 is the ultimate in post-war BMW hotness. And we'll get there. Before that time comes, we'd like to direct your eyes and brains to another Bimmer designed by the same dude, Count Albrecht von Goertz. All you really need to know about von Goertz is that the good Count had a significant hand in the Nissan Silvia 1600 Sports Coupe, the Toyota 2000GT, the Datsun 240Z and something called the Porsche 911. Oh, and he also fought against the Axis powers as a member of

  By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: Maximum Bob Reprises His Skirt-Lift, Previews 2008 Cadillac CTS

  If you'll remember from earlier this year (and if you don't we've got a screen cap above), our main man and eater of all things loin — "Maximum" Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman and lead man for products at the General — provided us (and by us, I mean all of America) a sneak peek of the all-new 2008 Cadillac CTS while on 60 Minutes. Back then Bob's skirt-lift gave us a sneak peek of what Caddy has in store to be fully revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January and it now looks like the General's deci

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: RUF RT12

  Just before my teenage years, my mother's interest in early American antiques blossomed into a fully-blown, fully-funded mania. Our house was filled with precious furniture, from highboys to tea tables. The walls were crammed with portraits, maps and samplers. Surfaces were covered with silver, baskets and early glass. You may have been told not to tip your seat backwards at dinner, but I bet your butt wasn't parked on a Windsor chair. According to Mom, "A person's collection always reveals thei

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Team Orange Cleans Up At D1GP Final Round

  We would like to think that if Meatwad were to drive a race car of any kind it would be a drift machine. Perhaps an AE86, more likely a Starion. The truth is we desperately need more characters in motorsport - cartoon or not. The one place on four wheels where there is absolutely no shortage of characters is drifting. Driving rain stopped neither fans nor drifters at the D1GP World Finals at Irwindale Speedway this past Saturday. Team Orange driver Tanaka put everybody else back on the traile

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  Keep Your Pants On: Ford Denies Involvement In Link-Love Of Celebrity Genitalia

  I think we've just about found the world's most tenuous attempt to tie a major auto company to celeb snatch shots — not like there was a huge list of also-rans. Well, except for this. But we digress. AdAge, the paragon — nay, penultimate — purveyors of pristine reporting — ran a headline this morning that tells us nothing but promises us everything:

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  Fiat Freak: Custom, V8-Powered X1/9 On eBay

  The eBay listing states this custom car's case emphatically, "This is the true meaning of hot rod." Hmm. Let's look at the facts objectively:

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  Try That With An Enzo: Gemballa Mirage GT

  What makes some exotics tuneable, and others off limits? Though the Carrera GT is now just another discontinued hypersports car, like the Ferrari Enzo and Ford GT, those of means treat it like an amusement park. Unlike the Enzo, there's no shame in tweaking out a $400,000 Carrera GT to within an inch of its existence — money being mere paper goods to some. Take Gemballa's Mirage GT, built for the customary Arab gazillionaire. With engine tuning (and a new hi-po exhaust) boosting horsepower to 65

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  The Extra-Large Unicat: It Means It, MAN

  In case a Unimog-based Unicat go-anywhere RV simply isn't voluminous for you, the company does build an all-terrain 6x6 based on a MAN TGA chassis. Featuring GPS, a sixteen-speed ZF gearbox, 480hp, xenon headlights, a terlet, a shower and the all-important Very Loud Horns, the Unicat EX70-HD is "in charge" writ large. This is a manly vehicle, not to be purchased by showboating poseurs, but rather those who aspire to Bondlike studliness. We're pretty certain the collected works of Ennio Morricone

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  Know Thy Germans: BMW 328 Roadster And Coupe

  Introduced to the world for the 1936 Olympics, the BMW 328 was an (almost) instant classic that went on to dominate the world of motor racing for the next half-decade. But like the "in your face, master race" that Jesse Owens gave Hitler and friends by winning four gold track & field medals, the 328 harbored an un-Aryan secret; it was designed by a Jew. The gorgeous 328 was in fact designed by Kurt Joachimson, a Hebrew brother from another mother who had created the first sporting BMW, the 315/1

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  Stefan, Is That You? More On The Aussie Ferrari Hoonage

  From the boys n' girls at the news desk of Perth Now pressed and printed in the land down under, we've learned we may have been right on about the owner of the Ferrari 360 with the now smashed-up nose we reported on earlier this morning. He may have in fact been engaging in some Stefan-like hoonage. According to Brian Hopley, a manager at the Windsor Hotel in South Perth, the Ferrari-owner

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  Rinspeed To Show "Glass Car" In Geneva

  The Swiss concept-car scientists at Rinspeed are readying another experiment in materials chemistry for the Geneva show this year — this time in honor of their 30th anniversary. It's called the eXasis — a "glass car" made from the latest plastics. While the errant upper-case letter in its name denotes super high-tech, its transparent, cigar-shaped body and open wheels do so equally well, as designers reimagined the legendary Auto Union racers of the 1930s in the form of a modern Baja-1000 off-ro

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  Volvo Made Boxes?

  Believe it or not, Volvo didn't always build sleek, swoopy, high-style automobiles. Once, Volvos were derided for being "boxy." I know, I was shocked to find this out myself. Apparently somewhere in a decade called "the 90's" Volvo designers discovered a French curve and all hell broke loose. Thankfully, the internet provides a window into a time when these mythical Volvos existed. The boxiest of the boxy is affectionately known as the Puppy. The Volvo Laplander was commissioned by the Swedish

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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: Ford Announces Interceptor Sedan Concept, We Create Exclusive Renderings

  Right after receiving the phone call from the boys in Dearborn earlier today, FoMoCo issued a press release whereby they again vigorously deny plans for an expanded Mustang line-up. But the second half of the press release brought up plans for a concept car they'll be showing at the Detroit Auto Show in nary more than a few weeks time. It's called "The Masturbator "The Interceptor" and it "is based on the Mustang's rear-wheel-drive architecture but it is not a Mustang and no production plans h

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  Does N-A-C-T-O-Y Spell F-L-O-R-I-D-A? Detroit Auto Show Award Ballot Mysteriously Leaves Out A Truck

  We're not sure how something like this could have happened, but apparently a candidate for North American Truck Of the Year, the new-for-2007 Jeep Wrangler, was somehow left off of the balloting during the first round of voting — a process that's already selected three finalists, the Chevy Silverado, the Ford Edge and it's little cousin, the Mazda CX-7. Now, the folks who run the show are asking the 49 automotive journalist jurists to take another swipe of the pen to the newly-inclusive ballot

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  Auto-Academics Agree: Civic Most Studied

  Our sister rocks a Civic Coupe, but only because she drove a bunch of cars she thought looked cool and found it to be the "least sporty." The Loverwoman drove a MINI, a Mazda3 and our very own WRX before determining they all ride too hard for her refined tastes. We started telling her she was adopted when she was around nine months old. Still, she did research the Civic. And she cares about cars as much as we care about Mathew Perry's new TV show. Which is to say not at all. So it is no surprise

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  And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Parts: Oil And Filter Change

  Changing out a car's oil — according to the guys in white lab coats who designed the engine — is the key to a long and trouble-free life. Better even than super engine longevity is becoming mechanically familiar with one's automobile. Dropping out the oil and swapping the oil filter takes but about an hour, but can mark the beginning of a lasting friendship with your car's underbelly. You really don't want those underpaid malcontents at the local Meth-o-Lube laying hands on your hoopty anyway

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  Oh, What Higher Prices! Toyota Edges Stickers Up On Seven Models

  The front office in Toyota City appears to have said "Hai!" and green lighted the NorAm branch of the super best number one awesome automaker from Japan to raise prices on seven ToMoCo models. According to the Associated Press,

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  Jalopnik Team Party Crash: The Chrysler Group Revels In The Excess Inventory Of Loin-Burgers

  Before Captain Jack Sparrow Jason Vines up there jumped up on stage, we caught him enjoying what appears to be the Detroit automaker holiday party treat of choice — the Bob Lutz tenderloin "hamburger" — or as we've come to call it, the "loin-burger." When not downing steaming hot loin-meat last night at the Chrysler Auto Press holiday party, we were busy listening intently to Chrysler Group chief exec Tom LaSorda coming up with explanations for the "order bank" of over 100,000 cars awaiting de

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  Jason Is Magic? Chrysler Execs Ham It Up For Auto Journalists, We Drink

  Although we're all about the parties, there does come a point where it becomes a little much — and although we've not yet hit that point, as our waistline's become more and more tight with each passing party, we're coming awfully close. So when we woke up this morning with little to no memory of what went on last night at the Chrysler Group's holiday party, we feel a sense of wooziness and an inability to explain what just happened — kind of like what Joe Eberhardt must have felt like right afte

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  Elfin Magic: With New Owner, Australian Sportscar Builder Could Become Lotuslike

  Unlike, say, Chrysler's SRT or Ford's SVT — both wholly owned entities — Holden's HSV performance arm is a tieup between the GM division and an Scottish entrepreneur, Tom Walkinshaw. Now, Walkinshaw's taken over Australian roadster builder, Elfin, and he wants to blow it out to become Oz's version of Lotus. Elfin, if you'll recall, builds the MS8 Clubman and MS8 Streamliner, two GM-Holden LS2 V8-powered sportscars. Now, with the financial and sales-network muscle of Walkinshaw Group, the possibi

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  Last Huzzah: Mini To Show Sidewalk Edition Convertible In Detroit

  Although its new-generation replacement won't be out for another year, Mini's tarting up the current-edition convertible as a kind of farewell-to-thee. Well, it's more of a buy-it-now-so-we-don't-get-screwed thing, though the Mini Sidewalk does come with a new spectrum of colors, a "malt brown" leather interior, 17" painted alloys and unique badging. Oh, c'mon, you know you can't wait. I mean, malt brown leather, sheesh.

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  Chrysler Group CEO Tom LaSorda Seeks Slim-Fast To Shed The Weight Of Excess Inventory

  I almost feel a sense of deja vu, or some other type of crap where you think you've been somewhere or done something before. Back in August Today, while Tom LaSorda was carrying a big bucket of water getting ready for the Chrysler Group's media party he provided some remarks at the United Way event on the Firehouse media blog about inventory levels, something we began reporting on back in August when these issues of excess inventory first surfaced. We reported that

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  Jalopnik Team Party Crash: Bob Lutz Eats "Hamburgers" At The GM Holiday Party, We Eat It Up

  That's right, kids — we snuck into the General's holiday party over at the world's biggest automaker's world's biggest Heritage Center, located deep in the heart of Reagan Democratic politics — Sterling Heights, MI. Although we made it in a bit late, we still found ourselves in range to fire a few questions at Chief Exec "Slick" Rick Wagoner, who wore a smile that told the story of the night — "What? We're an auto company in trouble? Wait, phew — I'm not Ford!" But while other — more real — jo

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  Detroit Auto Show Preview: NO CHEVY EQUINOX SUPER SPORT POTENTIAL!

  The General dropped a 2008 version of the American Revolution's smallest SUV on the press site yesterday and you'll pardon us for not getting to it yet. However, we think you'll understand our lack of excitement — frankly, it's not so much news and it's certainly not anything more than what the General should have offered for the Chevy Equinox from the start. The mini sports-ute will move from the anemic 185 hp 3.4L V6 it currently suffers with to a less sucktastic 3.6L V6 chugging at 263 hp a

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  SUPER JDM POTENTIAL: Mazda To Show Off Concepts, Mazdaspeed Models At Tokyo Auto Salon 2007

  The Tokyo Auto Salon — Japan's tuner extravaganza — will again hit Makuhari Messe this January, and Mazda's already begun teasing. The company announced it was bringing 17 custom cars and tuner models, including two takes on the CX-7 crossover set to debut in Japan this month, dubbed the "Bright Stylish Concept" (above, based on the North American model already in production) and the "CX-7 Mazdaspeed Concept," a performance-oriented version of the rake-windshield, chop-top SUV. Mazda's also plan

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  Jalopnik Team Party Crash: Ford Wishes Us Happy Holidays, We Eat Their Debt-Leveraged Brand Image

  Last night was certainly strange at FoMoCo's automotive press mutual masturbation War On Christmas holiday "party" at Detroit's Fox Theater. It felt strange not only because 10,000 white collar workers received buyout "offers" on Monday but also the desserts seemed to indicate the image problems certain FoMoCo NorAm brands have in terms of acceptance by the market. But never mind that — what was more important to a room of mainly product reporters was the lukewarm reaction given to the product

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  More Pubil Sevis: Help J. Robbins

  Any of us who are passionate about music and cars can relate to this, no matter what our choice in vehicles or taste in music is. Bombing around in one's beloved automobile, favorite song cranked high, hitting apexes, rocking out, rolling slow on the cruise with the music blaring in a generally-futile attempt to run across a girl who'll think "Oh wow! Yes! The Meatmen! I'm getting in that guy's car right now!" In my early twenties, that music was often brilliant DC post-hardcore unit Jawbox. The

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  Technotized For Your Protection: CNet Gives Perfect Rating To Lexus LS460

  Is gliding along wrapped in $5 billion worth of sensory-deprivation equipment the new driving? It may be, if a perfect 10 from tech-drunk editorial staff at CNet is your barometer. That's the score they gave the Lexus LS, a techno barge that assumes road feel is an enemy of the state. Sure, the new LS is as jacked-in as Bill Gates's boathouse, but self parking does not an automobile make. Actually, we've heard the self-parking feature was a safety requirement installed because drivers kept havin

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  DAF Vs. FAF: Would Bond Drive A DAF?

  Since before lunch, the Loverman has been promising more evidence that the DAF is superior to the FAF. So far, we've yet to see any, and it's almost time for dinner. If DAF superiority is indeed the case, why does one of the most beautiful women in the history of the world, Carole Bouquet, choose the 2CV, the foundation upon which the FAF's greatness is built?

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  More Super Exotic/Erotic Hot Italian Metal You Can't Touch: Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada And Corsa

  You are engineer superstar Giotto Bizzarrini. You built the glorious, Shelby-teasing Ferrari 250 GTO. But you feud with Enzo (shocking) and are then wooed by Feruccio Lamborghini to develop an Enzo beater giving Lambo (and the world) the 350 GTV concept along with its glorious 3.5-Liter V12. You then go to work for Iso developing the Le Mans winning, Corvette engined Grifo A3. You know what you ought to do next? Start your own company (Bizzarrini has a certain ring to it) and produce just over 1

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  Jay Leno Sends Torquey To Pit Crew School

  We don't know how long a "normal internship" at the Tonight Show should run — but seeing as Ross has been "Ross the intern" for like, six years now — we're starting to feel a bit suspicious about his "intern" status on Jay Leno's little nightly show. But whatever — the effeminate little man is funny — and nothing's more funny than watching an effeminate man trying to pick nuts up off the ground while his pants fall down.

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  Gracious Flow: Mazda To Introduce Ryuga Concept In Detroit

  What's this, you ask? Why it's a teaser image of the next Mazda prototype, set to debut at the Detroit auto show next month. It's called the Ryuga, and it'll continue the design direction introduced with the Nagare concept at the Los Angeles show. But where the Nagare was more about pure forms than a well-defined vehicular construct, the Ryuga weill be more clearly an upscale sports coupe with a corresponding emphasis on fit and finish. On a side note, it looks like Mazda's pulled ahead in the l

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  The Jalopnik Morning Shift

  • 100% of Chrysler CEO's agree — the Nitro ads are the strangest Jalopnik's ever seen. [Freep] • Should I stay or should I go? If I go there will be trouble, but if I stay at FoMoCo it may be double. [Detroit News] • 4,000 may lose their jobs at Freightliner and / or Detroit Diesel — thanks to German precision — and a decline in truck sales. [Freep] • And we thought Nicole Ritchie was really just a good girl. [BBC]

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  La Carrera Panamericana: Rachel's Story, Finally

  As Coop pointed out, raceblogging is tough business when you're covering the kind of ground that the drivers on La Carrera Panamericana do. So of all of our La Carrera pals, Rachel ended up writing the least on the race. That's now changing. Scotto enlisted her to write a five-part story for 0-60. Go check it.

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  Don't Call It A Comeback: More FAFtasticness, Loverman Meets The Guillotine

  Okay, so I was a little disheartened when the Loverman dropped the DAF Pony bomb. But I got up, dusted myself off, checked for traces of polonium and syphillis, and then I got busy. Dude, Jonny. There was also a FAF Pony! What's more, there was the FAF Patrol, which featured your beloved four-wheel drive, and is probably the ultimate French car for listening to Discharge at very high volumes in. Beyond that, the madmen at Citro n came up with a plot to build FAF factories in developing nations,

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  Hoopla! GM To Drag Out Old Concepts, Hyde

  We're sure one or a few of us will show at the General's "GM Style" event on January 6th. We mean, when else does one get a chance to hang out with a "stylist to the stars," Vivica A. Fox, check out the Buick LeSabre concept from the '50s with its glorious magnesium cowl, and ogle the Camaro concept? With Danny Masterson from That '70s Show manning the turntables? We can't wait. Actually, all we really care about is the LeSabre, which, if you didn't know, was named after the F-86. Only Frenchifi

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  There's No Joy In Dearborn: Mighty Mulally Steps Up To The Plate, Whiffs On Tact

  We've received a slow trickle of e-mails from employees receiving buyout offers from managers at FoMoCo facilities ranging from engineers at design shops to glass house bean counters. FoMoCo's distributed thousands of offers to white collar employees with offers running up and down the seniority scale. One FoMoCo employee received an offer of

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  SUPER PRESTIGE AMUSEMENT: Cadillac PR Squad Namechecks Web Site

  The news trumpeted from high upon Mt. Cadillac:

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  Mileage Will Vary: EPA Changes Rules On Fuel Economy To Reflect Reality

  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final changes in rules on fuel economy first proposed last January after mileage tests were last updated in 1985, and as most consumers know, don't at all reflect reality. Whether you're driving a Prius or an Explorer, the mileage on dealer stickers provide nothing more than an overly optimistic view of driving reality. Although no word yet on the specific changes, which will include a redesigned label for the Monroney sticker, the Allian

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  The Most Beautiful Ford In The World: 1967-68 Ford OSI 20m TS

  While our American parents were smoking dope in the back of their Mustangs and blasting the Beach Boys, our hipper, richer European parents were blasting the Beach Boys and smoking dope in the backs of these Italian-bodied hotties. OSI, located in Turin, was an Italian Design firm that bent metal for companies such as Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Innocenti. The man who designed the Type III Karmann Ghia, Sergio Sartorelli, penned this triple-sexy American-Italian hybrid. Only around 2000 were produced.

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  Another Ass-Engined Nazi Slot Car: The NSU Prinz 4!

  Before the hate mail starts flowing, Neckarsulmer Strickmaschinenfabrik produced the infamous Kettenkrad tank-bike thingy. Moving on. In 1955 NSU was the world's largest motorcycle producer. But, like Dutch truck maker DAF, they knew the real action was in 600cc microcars, and released an ugly, miserable ride with a non-synchronous "crash" gearbox in 1957. Not many cared. But, in 1961, NSU released the Corvair-inspired Prinz 4 and oh baby, did Volk start to take notice. The new car featured a hi

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  Breaking! GM Issues "Stop Sale" To Dealers On Saturn Outlook And GMC Acadia

  Dealers received an immediate stop-action communique over the weekend from the home office at the RenCen of the General's decision to immediately halt sales of the two models in its threesome of Lambda-platform CUV's already on the market, the GMC Acadia and the Saturn Outlook. The communique, which appears to have been so hastily written it misspells "Attention," claims the need to stop sales

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  Screw DAF! It's About FAF!

  Okay, so the Loverman's DAF fixation is righteously awesome (although some of us are secretly wondering if dude fell in love with a Dutch prostitute/coke mule). Regardless, the rest of us shall not front. But all DAFs aside for the moment, often overlooked in the scheme of wacky shit Citro n has pulled over the years is the FAF, which stands for Facile Fabriquer and Facile Finance. Which means it should probably have been called the FAF et FAF. Do not ask us, as we are only slightly French, and

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  Is This The 2009 Ford Mustang?

  With the muscle car wars already beginning to heat up this summer, speculators have been doing there level best at speculating on what direction FoMoCo will be boldly moving towards for the 2009 model year of it's hard-charging pony car. Some claim it'll look similar to the Giugiaro Mustang from this year's LA show, with others claiming it'll get a shooting brake re-make. All the rumors do seem to suggest at the very least it'll receive a bit of a front face lift to tighten the skin over the s

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  In The Grip Of Steak Sauce Grand Prix Man-Love: Kiwi Reid Wins From Pole To Second Checker Flag At Sentul

  That's the hero of the day, New Zealand's sweat-soaked Jonny Reid, being grasped by a man we can only assume is his pit chief in what we can only assume is a hetero cele-brah-tion after Reid picked up the pole on his way to a victory for the boys and girls from Aotearoa during this morning's 15-lap sprint race. The win was the first ever for New Zealand in the "World Cup of Motorsport," but the celebration didn't end with the pole party above. Because in the steak sauce Grand Prix, they give y

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  The Dutch Stole The Clutch: Jalopnik Goes DAF Crazy!

  Picture it: Holland, 1959. You are a successful truck company and you want to break into the passenger car market. The vehicle needs to be inexpensive and able to carry four people and their luggage around in comfort. No worries. But what about the mechanicals? Buick Dynaflow fan Huub van Doorne proposed the following. Two cylinder air-cooled boxer engine? Check. Pressurized Lubrication System? Check. Rear-wheel drive? Check. Independent rear suspension? Check. Continuously variable transmission

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  The Little Toyota Engine Light That Couldn't Turn Off: ToMoCo Issues Recalls For Over 250,000 Vehicles

  The world's number one super best automaker from the land of the rising sun issued two recalls today — one here in the land of the free and home of the brave for around 60,700 four-cylinder Highlander SUV's from 2001 through 2003 and 159,100 RAV4's from 2001 and 2002. It seems the "check engine light" (also known as the Malfunction Indicator Light — just one F away from MILF) may "inadvertantly light" due to faulty "program logic in the Engine Control Module (ECM)." Apparently it's faulty beca

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  Like A Rock? Chevy HHR Panel Van Gets A Starting Price Of $16,750

  Judging by the number of comments we received on the post for the unveiling of the Chevrolet HHR panel edition, some folks are really excited about it — and have we got some news for the five of you. Pricing is now available for the General's exercise in fleet average fuel economy reduction through selling a car as a truck. You'll be looking at a starting price of $16,750, and that means that for a price setting you back 200 extra clams than the base price of the "normal" five-seat version, yo

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  And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Parts: Using Car Ramps

  As we embark on a series of automobile maintenance basics and repair tips here on Jalopnik, we're thankful every day for the miracle of space-age polymers. Back when technology held endless promise for an easier and more efficient future, plastic was the answer. When it comes time for regularly scheduled wrenching like changing the oil, flushing the radiator, or loading up the lower ball joints with fresh grease plastic still is. Read on.

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  The Retrun Of Schadenfriday! The Bad, The Worst And The Hideous...

  We dare you, man. We frigging double-dog dare you to find an uglier... thing. We love Subarus around here as much as the next McRae, but the SVX — despite its maximum hoonage potential — has always put the ugly into fugging ugly. Some Scoobie-coupe owning bozo has apparently grafted the spare tire carrier from a Gel ndewagen onto the rear, affixed dual gas cans to the sides, a cattle guard with hellas up front and we can't even really properly speculate on what those things growing out of the ho

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  When TV Was King Of Kustoms

  Television was largely a scripted thing before a million channels and equal number of chopper building shows plunged TV into its current fetid stew of reality programming. The cop drama was king. Network produced cop shows ruled the airwaves for years at a time. Stretching the cop drama slightly thin was Banacek, played by a turtleneck wearing George Peppard. Banacek was an insurance investigator of Polish-American heritage who always managed to solve the crime or mystery at hand. More unusua

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  Four Square: Maserati To Offer Quattroporte In Automatic

  There's a lot to love about Maserati's Quattroporte, the snarly V8, the sumo-lizard body shape, the King Henry the XXX interior. But its DuoSelect robotic gearbox, the only one offered up to now, is neither sporty enough nor supple enough to satisfy either end of its range of upper-crust buyers. But, as the company announced this week at the Bologna show, it will soon come with a ZF automatic option. In addition to providing smoother, faster shifts — according to a press release — the new box ne

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  Davey G's Head To Explode: The Four-Door Four-By-Four Volgamino!!!

  This sucker makes every jacked-up 70s Eldorado 4x4 conversion hang down its head in shame. Just... WOW! Words are failing us. Hurry up and make the jump for more amazing ridiculousness.

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  Deliver Them From Bankruptcy: Ford Starts Shipping Edge Crossovers

  And Saint Mulally (with Sir LeClair and of course Sir Fields) raised the Ford Edge up on high, saying,

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  The Adventures Of The Ford Fairlane Continue: No To Detroit, Yes To Design, No To Zuzu Petals

  Despite the fact that just about everyone and their mother was under the impression the Fairlane, FoMoCo's new minivan replacement, would be one of the new vehicles on display in the Ford booth at next month's Detroit Auto Show (alternately NAIAS, NAMBLA, or whatever I've ended up calling it on other occasions). I mean, it even shows up in Mark Phelan's Freep list of what to look out for at this year's show. In fact, the Detroit Auto Dealer's Association (alternatively DADA, NAMBLA, or whateve

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  Car Hack's Notebook: Reporting From The Essen Show, Day Three

  Most people would be more than satisfied with the fast-as-amphetamines Porsche Carrera GT, which is famous for knife-edge handling and a capacity to test even the best driver. But apparently not everyone is so easily pleased, as Gemballa has now seen fit to strap two turbochargers to the Carrera's engine to create the Mirage GT.

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  Jalopnik Holiday Gift Guide: Sizzlers Lucky Best Super O!

  Long before plug-in hybrids or electric rocket sleds like the Tesla were the talk, a smaller and much faster plug-in was available for use by kids not even old enough to drive. Hot Wheels Sizzlers relied not on sponge rubber wheeled launching devices or setting up 20 feet of orange track on the staircase for velocity. Sizzlers were powered by wee electric motors and on-board rechargeable batteries. A minute or so of charging with the Juice Machine and the cars barrel-assed around the track for

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  DaimlerChrysler Tests WLAN Car-To-Car Communication System

  Car-to-car communication has nothing to do with gesturing after a close call on the highway. Futurists foresee a time when cars will use systems of GPS and WiFi tech to let them communicate with each other, relaying information about road conditions and traffic anomalies to prevent smash-ups. DaimlerChrysler is testing such a system — dubbed Willwarn (Wireless Local Danger Warning), with which vehicles are able to "warn" of critical situations picked up by on-board sensors, such as fog, black ic

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  That's What Friends Are For: A Jalopnik Farewell To Ex-Chrysler Marketing Man Joe Eberhardt

  We reported earlier that Joe Eberhardt, the former exec veep of the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid, left Auburn Hills for the last time today. We're assuming it was with all the pomp and circumstance one would expect for an outgoing executive of his caliber. We wish we could have watched as the Tech Center rent-a-cops spared no expense in providing a truly executive send-off — and we're hopeful that the cardboard box he was given to hold all the trappings and awards the ex-exec veep

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  NASA To Establish Moon Base, Moonage Planned By 2024

  The National Aeronautics and Space administration announced plans today for a permanent base on the moon in the future. In order that the scientists and astronauts can haul building materials and gear about the surface NASA will employ moon rovers, most likely constructed of space-age polymers. At last our tax dollars will be put to good use for moon donuts, moon burnouts, moon drifting, and high banks crater carving maximum moonage. NASA eventually plans on a fleet of pressurized rovers in o

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  2008 Jaguar S-Type Facelift Revealed

  If the sign of a good facelift is you don't notice Dr. 90210's handiwork, the Jaguar's S-Type gets a unanimous two liposuction nozzles up. It's a little sleeker and more refined for 2008, though no performance gains are on tap for the top-of-mast S-Type R (were we expecting any?). The most notable (if not noticeable) work has been done to its face, which looks just like the old one, only different.

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  When Dave Met Bruce: Ford Europe's C-Max Debuts In Bologna

  The most alluring feature of Ford Europe's new C-Max MPV, debuting at the Bologna show this week, may be the Z-shaped handbrake lever (barring that, the boomerang-shaped door handles). But it's still a more precise and stylish entry than its sister ship, the Mazda5, which is the closest we'll get to the C-Max stateside. It's one of Euro Ford's new "kinetic" designs, which is like Ford America's "Dave" visual language with 2/3 less safety razor and 1/3 more nail clipper .

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  Joltin' Joe Eberhardt Jumps Ship: Chrysler Marketing Man Moved To Mercedes

  Joltin' Joe Eberhardt has left the building folks. Seriously — he's no longer at the Tech Center in Auburn Hills. The main marketing and sales man for the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid, according to a statement released today by the company:

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  Keith Crain Opens Gates, Lets Peons In: Automotive News Free For The Week

  The usually subscriber-only daily auto rag from the behemoth that is Crain Communications — the maker of such delightful reads as AdvertisingAge, TelevisionWeek, AutoWeek and the always fun Tire Business — has opened the doors to you, the everyman (or woman), for the rest of this week only. That's right, it's a December-to-remember event for Automotive News, and they're hoping it'll hook you like a fish on a little piece of sharpened metal and keep you coming back as a for-pay subscriber. And

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  Car Hack's Notebook: Covering The Essen Show, Day Two

  Volkswagen Audi Group can feel a bit slighted not to be the first port of call on the Essen show, but even a four-wheel drive, 300 hp battle wagon can't make a huge impression in this company. Still, the Passat R36 is a serious piece of kit in its own right, and should be an enticing alternative for those who want the performance but not the price premium that goes with Audi S4 ownership. It's a near-perfect Q car, especially in Touring form. Only the deep airdams, dinner-plate brake discs and m

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  Sirius Cuts Year-End Subscriber Forecast: Auto Units To Blame?

  Sirius lowered expectations on the number of folks out there it plans on having as subscribers at the end of the year — from an initial estimate of 6.3 million subscribers to somewhere between 5.9 and 6.1 million. Simultaneously, the big Stern-friendly satellite radio company's released new and cheaper models of it's portable satellite units in an effort to expand sales in the iPod market. So far, reports are the new units, including the new Stiletto 10, are receiving some fairly decent sales

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  Lexus, For Some Reason, Announces LS 470 Limited Edition Pricing

  When we were just a wee Jalopnik, we saw Robin Williams in Santa Monica rocking it behind the wheel of a burgundy Toyota Land Cruiser. We waved and waved and yelled and waved but he wouldn't even so much as look at us. Still, the then-rare Toyota made an impression on our young pistonhead mind. Rich people drive big trucks. If the year hadn't been 1989, Mr. Williams would no doubt have spent his Popeye money on a Lexus LS 470. Trouble was, they weren't on the market yet. When the LS 470 did appe

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  Honda Accord Concept To Be Unveiled In Detroit

  Honda announced today it's preparing a concept car for the Detroit show that will hearken the company's next-generation Accord coupe. It's the succinctly named Honda Accord Coupe Concept, the first conceptual Accord to grace the world stage. If we can read into the teaser sketch (above), it would seem Honda's taking a sportier tack with its midsize coupe, tarting it up and widening its stance to take on Nissan's 350Z in a revived two-door war. Then again, we all know what tarts those teaser sket

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  Automobile Mag Tries To Park The Self-Parking And Ford-Hating Lexus LS460

  The boys over at Automobile put together a funny little vid on one way to do a review of the new "self-parking" feature from the Lexus LS460. Basically the three (plus one man-behind-the-cam) auto journos decided that just parking the car on your own's easier than trying to play with the self-park system. Also, they found out that if the graphic turns red, it's because ToMoCo hates FoMoCo. Duh.

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  More Rides Yanks Can't Buy: Volkswagen's Twincharged CrossTouran

  Sure, it looks like someone grafted a Jetta's snout onto a Mazda5. Yes, the "Red Rock" color-scheme being used in the promo-photos screams "Ford Edge!" louder than Alan Mulally. And no, we still do not know why VeeDub has simply refused to build the new Bus concept. However, the people who make the peoples' car will be producing a new crossover called the CrossTouran. In top form, the new European-person hauler features a highly-effing precise 1.4L Twincharger mill that uses a supercharger, a tu

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  Car Hack's Notebook: Reporting On Porsches From The Essen Show

  At a show where pure lunacy struggles to get through the door, it was always going to be tough to pick out a star, but that's the job and ignoring the more obvious option here it is: The Mission 400 Plus. Now why this modified Porsche above the countless others that littered the show? Well how's about the basic figures of 1,069 hp and 921 lb-ft of torque achieved with the delicate act of strapping two dirty great turbos to the 3.8-liter 997 engine for a start?

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  Ridiculously-Extra-Stupid-Fast VW Type 2

  We could've made a joke about Bruce and a Maxwell House can full of bathtub speed, but we won't, as we prefer our beans freshly ground and our meth of a slightly higher grade. In essence, we want our coffee, illicit substances, and vintage VWs crafted to a higher, more precise standard. We think this Swiss turbo-Porsche powered Microbus makes the grade. [Thanks to wohho for the tip.]

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  Exclusive Transformers Update! Michael Bay Is Leaking Robot CGI All Over The Interwebs

  We received a couple more pics this AM from one of our own embedded "Deep Throat" tipsters in the land of Michael Bay. And this here tipster got us some gems — how about that Bumblebee blaster above, eh? We've got four of the larger-than-life CGI and prettily-painted pics of the Camaro-y Bumblebee, the diesel-y Optimus Prime and of course, the — err — metallic crap-y Megatron in the gallery below. [Hat tip to faithful reader and Studebaker owner Mike!]

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  CNBC's Phil LeBeau Put "On Notice" After Getting "Behind The Wheel"

  CNBC has long been the web-version of the red-headed stepchild of NBC Universal's on-line presence due to an agreement giving them second billing to the online "juggernaut" that is MSNBC. Well now they're more like the fave son after a relaunch of it's website today with among other things, for-pay streaming video. On top of the multimedia fireworks, they've also stepped out into the light of Web 2.0, serving up a group of "blogs" from some of the big names in the financial network's punditocr

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  Gunning For A Speed Record: H&R's Promo Porsche

  Remember H&R? They're the German aftermarket suspension shop selling the 24k gold-plated springs for Dubai sultans' Ferraris. Now, they're addressing yet another mode of automotive hyperbolics, sponsoring a severely juiced Porsche 911 that will attempt to break the speed record for world's fastest street-legal car. The car's given name, Mission 400 Plus, gives away the goal: 400 km/h+ on the Nardo test track in Italy, where it'll attempt to break that 248.5 mph barrier in 2007. Success will put

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  R Line: Accessory Packages For Euro V-Dubs

  Volkswagen Individual, the company's in-house accessories shop for European tweakers, revealed its R line models at the Essen show last week, with such packages planned for the Golf, Touran minivan, Passat and Touareg SUV. Some might say the company is irreparably diluting its R performance brand (whither the new R32 in the US, huh?) by associating it with mainly cosmetic treatments, just as Audi does with its S line packs. But VW cares not for such talk, and will move ahead with the R line mode

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  One After 2007: Porsche Reveals 2008 Cayenne

  You can come down off the ledge (or get on up there, as the case may be). Porsche's revealed the next generation of the SUV that bought Volkswagen, the Cayenne. It's gotten a toothy new grin, headlamps stretched rearward, that complies with Europe's new pedestrian safety laws. It also gets a power boost and better fuel economy, via updated direct-injection engines, with the base model producing 40 more horsepower than previously (290 hp / 284 lb-ft) and the S generating an additional 45 hp (385

  By Mike Spinelli Read More
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  Chrysler Group's Joltin' Joe Eberhardt Blames Jennifer Love Hewitt For The New Sebring Convertible

  "We think we've got a real hit on our hands. But what we think, doesn't really matter...what counts here is what the people in sunny Southern California think of our new Sebring convertible. So, we decided to conduct a focus group. A focus group of one. That one, is someone who's been a star...since...17 years ago, and who knows what Southern Californians look for in a convertible...Jennifer Love Hewitt!"

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  Transformers Live-Action Movie Update: Jazz Is Driving Excitement And Ratchet's Hummer Gets A Robot Mode

  Well, it's been a while since we last updated folks on what the interwebs have been abuzz with — Transformers movie leakage. We're more than happy to give you folks an update courtesy of the nice young fan-boys over at TFW2005 — who've come up with some great sketches of two Autobots — Jazz and Ratchet. We've sneak-peeked Jazz above, and showed off how even if Pontiac's not driving excitement so much anymore, he's still showing off that Pontiac arrowhead logo, front-and-center. Pontiac had bet

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Get Real Kid: More Adventures In Cotomer Sevis!

  Bryant, who apparently once lived in the 818 and now makes his home in Alberta, Canada, has a bone to pick with the Loverman. Apparently, Bumbeck's pictures of Jonny taking an informal survey of the current crop of pickups' loadover heights didn't pass muster with Bryant, so he decided to complain. And complain. And complain. We're guessing there's not much to do in High River, AB. Click through for some unintentionally hilarious mundanity.

  By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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  Dealer Dollars: Chrysler Gives Dealers Incentive, But Will They Give It To You?

  The 'merican side of the German-American hybrid's already shown a penchant for descent down the slippery sales ladder of incentives without saying they're incentives. Hell, maybe they're just lying to themselves. Whether they're telling the truth or just truthiness, the Detroit News is reporting today the chieftains in the sales and marketing team run by Joe "Direct Mail" Eberhardt have instituted a plan where they're giving dealers anywhere from $2,500 (on the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300)

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  Spy Photos Without Photos: Chevrolet HHR SomethingSomething Spotted In Ann Arbor, We Forget Camera

  While walking back from dropping a few quarters into the old parking meter outside of Zingerman's deli on Detroit Street in Ann Arbor today — where I spent the morning ingesting coffee and a egg n' cheese bagel sandwich after a night of liquor with recent Jalop alumn Mike Austin— where what should I see driving by, but a black Chevrolet HHR in fascia obscura black mask. The black-as-night cladding appeared to be covering an intercooler in the front, which matches what we've heard from spy phot

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  ALUMINUM UND SHTEEL! TUNED! Mit Extra Bruce! The Oettinger TT

  The bwahs und grills at Oettinger have taken the new Audi TT under their wing and slapped on a body kit and dug into the 2.0 turbo mill to add sort of extra boost to the formerly Bauhausian and now rather butch little Rabbit-based car constructed of a hybrid of aluminum und shteel. Besides the ber-precise 350 horsepower on tap for the highest bidder, cotomers can also opt for lesser 230, 280, and 310 hp sevises. Mostly, though, we wish Oettinger would make use of their well-earned umlaut. Bruce

  By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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  Autoextremist Does LA, We Offer Our Own Take

  Sweet Peet D. came down from his perch in the frigid wilds of Detwa to visit those of us who are too cheap to change our tires twice yearly. And what did he see? Well, he called the Honda Step Bus the "Short Bus" and neglected to note the puppies. He panned the Remix. He gave GM's hybrid efforts props and figures that the Tundra could eat a big hole in Ram sales. He called the Audi TT reveal a "yawner," obviously not recognizing that the best three-word phrase of the entire show was uttered duri

  By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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  Breaking Records! Toyota Likes To Be On Top Of Ford, Sales Up A Super Best-Ever 15.9%

  ToMoCo continued it's dominatrix-like smacking of FoMoCo, as the automaker from the land of the rising sun reported sales of 196,695 vehicles during the month of November. That's a 15.9% increase in month-to-month sales from 2005. That broke down to an increase of 18% in the Toyota Division, and what would appear to be a November to remember for the Lexus Division, with an increase in sales of 4.2%. Not too shabby, and enough to best FoMoCo this month — but who knows what'll happen in what may

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  Breaking! Whoa, Joe Shows Chrysler Group Sales That Don't Blow — DCX Up 4.7%, Beats Ford

  The German-American hybrid saw US sales increase this month by 4.7%, selling 186,635 vehicles, which represents a 21% jump from the Mercedes unit and — Holy Joe! — a jump of 2.9% at the 'merican side of the company, the Chrysler Group. Whoa! Joe Eberhardt, the sales and marketing chief in Auburn Hills totally knows Chrysler Group sales in November. But the real big news is that the big cross-Atlantic merger of equals beat cross-town rivals FoMoCo to jump from 4th biggest automaker in sales for

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  Breaking! GM Releases Sales Without A Release, Sales Up 6%

  At first my big question for General Motors — are y'all planning on issuing a press release at some point to provide your numbers? Usually the sales numbers are posted online about 15 minutes before the start of the conference call — and well, the conference call's started and narry a number to be found. But here's what we know from Paul Ballew on the call — sales are up 6%, with retail sales up 11% and fleet sales down 7%. He's also telling us truck sales are up 15% and up 17% in retail sales

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  Ex-Smith Barney CEO Robert Greenhill Revealed As Owner Of Busted Porsche Carrera GT

  It turns out the story about that Carrera GT crash in New York City we posted on earlier this week was based on a bit of faulty intelligence. But fear not hoonage fans — the New York Post, that paragon of providing all the news that's fit to print in big and bold letters — got the real story, and you know — it's not really as good as the one we initially got from our friends at Autoblog, which they've since retracted. It turns out that the Porsche belonged to former Smith Barney CEO Robert Gre

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  LA Auto Show: Spyker's Red Light District

  We met Victor Muller last summer on the Bullrun and ran into him again at Pebble Beach. And he's emphatically not the type of guy who comes across as somebody who would start a crazy exotic car operation or buy an F1 team. The soft-spoken, affable Muller comes across as a quirky businessman, not the head of what's now a multinational corporation.

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  Eating With Audi

  Audi made a full-court PR press on Los Jalopniks by feeding us very fine foods and having us speak with Germans. We love talking to Germans. They're so, so, so...precise. At one point Audi PR operative Celeste Atkinson introduced me as "Davey from Jalopnik, who both loves us and hates us," in reference to the Winterkorn incident in Paris and my disappointment with the RS4.

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  Sweet Peet Has A Woodsy For GM's Buick Brand

  Sweet Peet's got a new rant up this week, and in all the hoopla of the LA Auto Show, it's a shame it took us until now to notice it — especially because instead of a rant, it's a positively exuberant love fest for GM's blue-haired brand, Buick. Now I know China is Buick's big market, and the Enclave's some hot stuff — it's certainly a design iteration or two better looking than the Rendezvous (and I'm through with you) and other vehicular nonsense the General's tossed out to represent its "We'

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  LA Auto Show: GM Takes First Prize In Design Challenge

  GM took the LA Auto Show's Design Challenge for the second year in a row. Last year, the General won for its hipster RV, the GMC PAD . This year, it took home the blue ribbon for its Hummer O2, a hydrogen-powered, half plant, half SUV of the future, with a phototropic body shell that produces oxygen — like leaves — shape-shifting tires that adapt to the driving environment and hydraulic motors built into each wheel. Built from recycled materials, the O2 — like all other entries — would have a li

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  Chrylser, Chrysler, Pants On Fire!

  Sales incentives are a risky game for US automakers these days — they help you to get rid of stock on the lots quickly, but they do it at the risk of cannibalizing profits, future sales and resale value of your products. And apparently, according to Joe "Would I Lie To You" Eberhardt's interview with Reuters earlier this week, the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid wasn't going to be providing any additional sales incentives for the month of December. So, if that's the case, then the

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  The Jalopnik Morning Shift

  • Chrysler mails "incentives" that it swears aren't. [Freep] • Michigan's Governor Granholm wants her alternative fuels panel to "think big" and "shoot the moon." What the hell does that mean — like big corn...in...Space! [Detroit News] • Unauthorized ads excite Jalopnik's passion too. [Detroit News] • But YouTube apparently does have its purposes. [Yahoo News]

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  Hoon Of The Day: Speed Skating

  Finally, some first-rate hoonage. With the dearth of such clips lately, we's almost thought all the great vehicular nut cases had been accounted for, one way or another. Not that we're condoning this spectacularly dangerous and foolhardy behavior, but when cojones were being passed out, these guys must have snuck around back and raided the stash. Birkenstock, call the front desk. [Thanks to Ilari for the tip.]

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  Breaking Bigger, Longer And Uncut! WSJ Reports Kirk Kerkorian Sells Entire Stake Of General Motors Stock

  The dream is — according to the Wall Street Journal anyway — dead. The Journal's reporting that the man with the plan's sold not just half of his stock in the General as we reported earlier — but all of his stock in the biggest n' baddest automaker in the world. KirkKerk has left the building, and with him — all hope? No wait, what's that we hear — they've also finalized the GMAC sale? Hope may spring...you know...a little bit, or something.

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