Archive for June 2007

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Buying (4)

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    You Don't Need It: MSN Money On Unnecessary Car Features

    Most informed car buyers know, working the options sheet as if it were Vegas's Carnival World Buffet is the road to flash poverty. But check off those boxes judiciously and you'll save thousands and still get a car that won't leave you feeling like Cookie Jarvis at diabetes camp. But do you have to be an options teetotaler to achieve satisfaction. Check out MSN Money's list of eight options to avoid, and our take on each one after the jump.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Jalopnik Reviews: Kia Rondo Korean BBQ Tour, Part 1

    One of the more inane ways to review an automobile is to lambaste the machine for something it was never designed to be. Carping about how a Lancer Evolution rides harshly, or has a budget interior is an example of this phenomenon. Tom McCahill wouldn't pull such shenanigans, and neither will we. With that bit of reflexivity out of the way, we'll now get into a Kia Rondo. We admit that we first liked the Rondo solely because of its racy if not somewhat humorous moniker. Almost instantly, and am

    By Mike Bumbeck Read More

Culture (1)

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    Reliant Scimitar And Friends

    The other day we get an email from a guy named Jason Torchinsky who has not only read the feature we did on microcars A Quatrtet of Microcars, but also contacted Jonee the owner and driven them. Not only that, he owns a car that Jonee thinks is weird enough for us to be interested in. Specifically, a 1973 Reliant Scimitar GTE. Having never seen a Scimitar outside of Old Blighty, I informed him of course we’d be interested. Jason continued, “I think my Scimitar is only one of maybe two in Califor

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More

News (174)

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    War Room, What Is It Good For?

    OK, so there's Pinks the TV show and then there's Pinks: All Out. There's a key difference between the two and it's not the addition of a colon. Pinks pits amateur racers against each other in a best three-out-of-five, winner-take-all drag race format. The competitors have to sign over the title of his or her car with full knowledge that if he or she loses the race, they lose their ride. Or at least that's what we're told. The All Out version of the show has got a twist in the form of contesta

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Return To Us Our Manta! It Shall Save GM!

    Call me "Ich-Manni." Here in the electron-bright pages of tha Jalop, I have often implored manufacturers to bring back a simple, lightweight RWD sports coupe. We collectively have bemoaned the lack of availability of certain European models built by American manufacturers but not sold on our shores. And of course, I have professed my love of the Opel Manta so many times that it borders slightly on the ridiculous. Kind of like the time in college when I used to piss off the guy in the Doobie Brot

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Cadillac BLS Wagon Coming To Frankfurt

    No more BS on the BLS — the General's luxe brand is saying the BLS wagon will now make its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September. In addition to the same range of engines as its sedan-bodied BLS-brother, Cadillac will be offering a bio-ethanol-fuel engine for both the sedan and the wagon when the wagon goes on sale in November 2007. Although the General's saying its the first station wagon in Cadillac's 104-year history, we're still trying to determine whether that's accura

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Bleed The Brakes

    The fluid that exists as brake fluid is in reality hydraulic fluid. The helpful property of brake fluid is that it cannot be compressed. This comes in handy when the brake pedal is pushed down. Brake fluid links the parts of the brake system together as one. Brake pedal goes down. Friction is achieved! A hydraulic clutch also uses this same principle, and brake fluid to make shifting happen. An unfortunate property of brake fluid is that it is hygroscopic. Over time brake fluid draws moisture in

    By Mike Bumbeck Read More
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    R Gang: Volvo Announces New Upgrade Package

    Looks like if you want serious Swedish muscle, you'll have to contract with powerlifter Magnus Önerud. Volvo released details on its new R Design package and there's not a single performance upgrade in sight. Not that we'd expected anything, considering the company's abandoned its S60 R and V70 R models. It's all cosmetics, like satin matte-finish grille ad side mirrors; color-coordinated bumpers and lower side moldings; rear or roof spoilers, and five-spoke aluminum wheels in 17- or 18-inch out

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Chrysler Sale Cost DaimlerChrysler $673 Million?

    I know DaimlerChrysler's claimed they sold the 'merican half of the business for $7.4 billion, but according to the Wall Street Journal as well as Brian O'Connor at the Detroit News, the sale price was significantly lower than that according to Cerberus CEO Lenny Tessler. He claims:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Volkswagen Reveals European Tiguan SUV

    The coming Volkswagen Tiguan SUV has indeed been somewhat of a buzz magnet, not leastwise due to VW's engaging of enthusiasts in a kind of "snakes on a mother@$#%ing plane" audience participation exercise. But choosing the name of an SUV isn't quite like picking out obvious dialog for Samuel L. Jackson. More than 350,000 readers of car mags owned by the Autobild group in 10 countries chose Tiguan over such howlers as Nanuk, Namib, Rockton and Samun (no offense to the indigenous peoples who bear

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Spy Photos: 2008 Dodge Challenger

    Priddy's pride of spy photographers have already one-upped the KGP-caught mule from earlier this year — now they've caught a production 2008 Dodge Challenger driving on a fast-moving highway. Here's the rest of what she's got to say:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    US Specs Of BMW 1-Series Coupe Arrive Early Too

    And so it goes. Details on BMW's US-bound 1-Series coupe leaked out today, on the heels of the UK version. In American spec, the heralded 135i with the twin-turbo, three-liter six, will get 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque at 1,400 rpm. Zero to sixty is still a claimed 5.3 seconds, which could be understated depending on the yet-nondisclosed weight figure. Read more after the jump.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    1969 Chevrolet Nomad

    We know, we know- a proper Nomad has two doors! Well, better call up GM's Complaints Department and tell them this simple truth, because back in the late 60s The General decided to slap the Nomad name on some Chevelle wagons...

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Fiat Yamaha Team Gets 500-Themed Livery

    Clever of Fiat to associate its new 500 with every Euro-fashionable item under the sun, from cellphones to package-gripping swimming trunks for men (we hope not). Now it's incorporated its 500 signage into a new MotoGP livery for the Fiat Yamaha team. They'll debut the new kaleidoscope bait at the Assen Grand Prix in the Netherlands on June 30th. Fiat says the flashy graphix — work product of MotoGP designer Drudi — is a study of record sleeves popular in the 1950s when the original 500 was intr

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    UK Specs Of BMW 1-Series Coupé Arrive Early

    In another case of information fleeing early from its caregivers, a press release on the new 1-Series Coupé from BMW UK apparently leaked on the forums prior to its due date. It contains so many nasty bits, we shudder to mention them, lest the vengeful gods of small, 300-hp cars wrench it out of our hands. Ah, screw it:

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    The Jalopnik Transformers Movie Quasi-Review: An Ameribot Revolution!

    Last night Ben Wojdyla and I made our way over to Birmingham to take in a sneak preview showing of the new Transformers movie. This review is split into two parts — one that's safe and spoiler-free (starting here above the fold) and then the nitty-gritty of the film (at the bottom of the area in italics below the fold). Peruse the part below the fold at your own risk and may the maker have mercy on your non-robotic soul. Oh and the pictures, there's some LA preview pics in there and some pics

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Spy Photos: 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser

    The newly face-lifted 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser is expected to officially lose camouflage for the Tokyo Auto Show later this year. While its platform-sharing 470-replacing cousin, the 2008 Lexus LX 570 may have already lost its black tape and tarp-wrap at New York earlier this year, we think it's just downright mean to make folks wait all the way until Tokyo for a peek. We've decided we're not letting our readers wait that long — so here's a set of exclusive shots thanks to a trusty friend of

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Ad Watch: Transform Your Ride With A Robogasm Of Your Own!

    As we count down to our sharing of our robogasm with you tonight at midnight-plus-one, we happened to liberate snag these five new commercials from the GM tied to the new Transformers movie. It's a "Transform Your Ride Sale" and it offers qualified buyers 0% APR for 36 months and $1,000 cash on select Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and GMC vehicles. Oh, and they're great for giving you your own private robogasm. Full press release after the jump.

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    It's A Horsefest: Nothelle-Tuned Audi TT

    Five hundred fifty horses under the hood of an Audi TT. Think about that for a minute, before reading the press release on the overleaf. German tuning house Nothelle says it's got a turbo kit for the TT's 3.2-liter V6 that boosts horsepower from 250 hp to 520 hp, and torque from 236 lb-ft to and 468 lb-ft. That, they say, translates to a V-max of around 191 mph. Aero kit, sport suspension and custom alloys complete the Porsche-stalking madness. Autobahn hoonage ensues.

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Hunchbacked Contender: The Weber SportsCar

    The Bugatti Veyron made us question just how far we could go in the pursuit of pure speed, just how much we'd sacrifice in terms of looks, style, and low speed fun for a car that would outrun a cruise missile. As it turned out, the bar went pretty high. But Weber Engineering might have pushed things beyond the rational boundary with its new $1 million super sports car. Now they're hoping for more than 248 mph from their seven-liter bruiser and it is just bristling with technology, unsurprising a

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Your Car Recommendation For Broke, Flakazoid, Car-Ignorant Friends?

    Here's a situation I'm sure a goodly portion of the Jalopnik readership has experienced. You have a friend who has a bunch of redeeming qualities but couldn't pour piss from a boot, much less scrape up the green to buy a decent car or spin a wrench to maintain a shaky one, and of course this friend calls you (the Guy Who Knows Car Stuff) with a question: "Hey, I got $1300 from a [tax refund / insurance settlement / dead relative / dope deal] and now I wanna get a car! Whaddya think I should get?

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    1953 Packard Cavalier

    Today we'll be looking at one of several Packards that still roam Alameda's streets. I'm not sure what it is about Packards in this town, but up until a the early 90s there was a shop downtown that specialized in Packard repair and referred to itself as a Packard dealer, so apparently there's a hard core of Packardheads on the island.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Spy Photos: 2008 Ford Falcon Video!

    Our mates over at Wheels magazine managed to snag themselves a decent get — the 2008 Ford Falcon taking some test laps at FoMoCo's You Yangs Proving Ground. We'll let our dingo-loving brothers-down-under continue:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Cars Designed To Go At Stupid Speeds?

    We found an interesting article on the confusion EU fuel retailers face as different members of the Eurofederacy pursue varying solutions to the petroleum problem. Chris Davies, the Minister of European Parliament who royally pissed us off a couple posts back by suggesting that performance cars should be banned also makes a point we find rather sound and valid: "Cars designed to go at stupid speeds have to be built to withstand the effects of a crash at those speeds. They are heavier than necess

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Europe Considers Banning High Performance Cars

    Sweet George Washington. Looks like the green-toothed, cheese-eating surrender monkeys are saddling up to the hoon-hating Pope. Sorry to revert to silly stereotypes, but this is just lousy. European leaders are in talks with each other discussing the possibility of banning high-powered sports cars on the Continent (and in Great Britain). Why? Global warming. The metric they are working with is that any car capable of going 25% faster than the Euro-norm of 130 kph (about 80 mph) is producing too

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    Spy Photos: 2008 Honda Accord

    Say hello to the first naked shots of the 2008 Honda Accord. Although Honda is still doing long-lead press reviews of the 15-year leader in US sales, Brenda Priddy's spies captured the 2008 Accord just as it stepped out of its fascia-obscuring sports bra and into a photo shoot for a Canadian brochure. Here's what we know. Obviously, expect the new model to sport some serious frontal design changes. That new look's being eclipsed in the marketing materials only by the Honda's comments about t

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Help Jalopnik Decide What To Wear: Autobot Or Decepticon?

    Ladies and gentlemen, it's now robogasm time. This evening we'll be heading on over to a special preview screening of the new live-action Transformers movie with other auto writers — and even a couple of movie critics. Critics are interested? Who knew. But now we've got an interesting problem to deal with. You see, although we were disappointed to find there's no costume shop in town with an Optimus Prime costume, we were able to come up with a couple of options for attire thanks to our gadget

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Crowning The King Of 1986: Audi Quattro S1 Vs Ford RS200 Vs Lancia Delta S4 Vs Peugeot 205 TI6

    If you've read Jalopnik for longer than 20 minutes, you just knew we were going to stick a "Killer B" in our Fantasy Garage. And why wouldn't we? Created by the FIA in 1982, Group B offered manufacturers a way to show off all their engineering prowess, achieve racing victories and reap the subsequent publicity windfalls, all without the need and expense of launching a full production model. Very low homologation numbers (200 streetable cars in this case) meant that for a modest investment — espe

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    Cadillac Unsure Whether There Is "Consumer Interest" In Bluetooth?

    We've finally had the chance to check out the General's newest addition to its blogging empire — a blog all about the Cadillac CTS. Because who doesn't want a blog all about one model with little to no online enthusiast following? But whatever — for those of us users of the newest of new technology, we're always looking to make sure our cars work with our gadgets. Which is why we found the response to a question posed back in April of "Will the CTS have Bluetooth capability?" so interesting. H

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Zap Says New High-Performance Electric Car On The Way

    Add another high-end exotic to the electric-car universe, though lop off around $70,000 and a bit of range. This one's from Zap, the publicly traded company that forced DaimlerChrysler's hand by importing and federalizing Smart Fortwo models for the US market. The company says it's working up an EV that can hit 100 mph, go 100 miles on a charge and cost around $30,000. It uses the technologies outlined in the company's Zap-X SUV project, which uses a platform created by Lotus, but will arrive so

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Spy Photos: Nissan GT-R Spotted At Goodwood Festival Of Speed

    The Nissan GT-R made a quick drive-by at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The GT-R making the rounds was still wearing the fascia-obscuring black bra, but still looking pretty hot. It'll make an official debut at the Tokyo Motor Show later in the year, but Goodwood ain't a bad way for a test vehicle to spend a long weekend, is it?

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Can You Identify The Cars On The Berwyn Car Spindle?

    We'll spot you the Fox Fairmont, and several of the others are slam-dunks for any semi-knowledgeable car geek. But who can identify all eight cars on the very famous Car Spindle, located in a shopping mall parking lot in Berwyn, Illinois? Come on, it's way more fun than slaving in The Man's vile salt mines on a fine Monday morning.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Ferrari Celebrates 60th Birthday With Live-Action Shell Commercial!

    We've got a treat for your inner Ferrari fan boy that'll make even the worst case of the Mondays disappear. This past weekend, as was alluded to earlier, the folks from Ferrari put together a 60-year celebration of epic proportions for the prancing horse brand. Rather than simply a big cake or everyone gathering 'round to sign a rousing rendition of the "Birthday Song," (in Italian, we'd presume) the Italian stallion brand put out an invite to basically every Ferrari owner on earth to head on o

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Volkswagen Type 2 With Rare Condiment Colors Option

    All right, we're forced to admit that Volkswagen didn't actually offer a Ketchup-und-Mustard paint option on the Type 2. But if they had, we're sure it would have been issued with window blinds just like this one, which resides in Alameda's West End.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Ferrari Prances Out 612 Scaglietti Sessanta Edition

    Ferrari's big 60th is wrapping up, with the company's global relay race sliding into Modena this past weekend. But an anniversary be without an anniversary edition would just be another crap-ass birthday. And it's not like Ferrari needs another occasion to deck out its top-of-mast 612 Scaglietti with special two-tone paint and swank interior appointments. But the 612 Sessanta (60, get it?) also gets an electro-chromic panoramic roof panel with three transparency positions (like the Superamerica)

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Spy Photos: Chevrolet HHR SS

    Well, we told you we spotted one over in Ann Arbor a while back. But while our camera wasn't quick enough to take a snappy pic of the SS-flavored Chevy HHR, Chris Doane's of Priddy's pride of spy photogs was. And here's what they've told Car & Driver about the Super Sport version of Chevy's not-a-PT Cruiser:

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    My Name Is Juan Pablo Montoya, I Raced The Toyota-Save Mart Road Course, Prepare To Die!

    Wait — what? Juan Pablo Montoya, the man who came from Formula One all the way across the pond to the lands of middle 'merica. The man who's got a talent for crashing just won his first Nascar Nextel Cup race — and it's the first race of the year won by a car other than a Chevy? Holy shnikes, we didn't think we'd ever live to see the day. And the man did it with barely a drop of fuel left in the gas tank. Wait — the Toyota - Save Mart 350 is what kind of a course? Oh, a road course. Well of co

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Colin McRae Shows Off New Rally Car At Goodwood

    Rally legend-in-waiting Colin McRae's own rally car, the R4, made its public debut in racing trim at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK this weekend. The car was first seen at last year's Goodwood event, and McRae says it's suitable for rallying rallycross, ice racing and circuit racing, in addition to general non-street hoonage. McRae designed the R4's chassis along with and Dave Plant of motorsports development firm DJM. No word on when (or for whom) the R4 will see competition, though a

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    What's The Best Inexpensive Baby Car?

    My best friend and his wife just had their first baby. Little Ari is healthy, adorable and hasn't even bothered to barf on me yet. Anyhow, currently they are a single car family and that car is an old 2-door Ford Explorer. Naturally, new mommy insanity concern has wifey pants thinking differently about all that rollover stuff she used to let go through one ear and out the other. Plus, the baby seat doesn't anchor properly in the Ford. As a result of me existing in the form of who I am, I was ask

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    The Way It Hits You, Or A Three-Way Tie For First

    I've known my girlfriend for years. We met as teenagers and immediately connected. We kept in touch sporadically, went through a lot of parallel experiences and a multitude of different ones. Way back when, she thought I was a goofy punk rocker with bad taste in motor vehicles, but she wrote about my cars and I anyway. We danced around each other, intrinsically knowing that the other one had things to do. And since I'm seeing her tomorrow, and I figure that she needs more punk rock in her life a

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Transformers Movie Update: We Have An Exclusive Robogasm With Ironhide, Bumblebee, Jazz And Ratchet

    The General took four robots in disguise to the GM Riverwalk this afternoon to show them off in all their vehicular glory and gave us the exclusive look at all of them — before they're sent out west to californicate with the stars at the premiere. Although we weren't allowed to drive or even touch the GMC TopKick (Ironhide), Camaro concept car (Bumblebee), Solstice (Jazz) and Hummer (Ratchet) making up the four Autobot alt-vehicle modes owned by GM, we did find a way to make sure Jalopnik got

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    House Of Honda 600: Merciless Mings Revealed

    The first time I saw a Honda 600 was likely many years ago. So many years ago that I don't remember. A few years back a for sale sign in the window of a nearby AN600 sedan reintroduced the little Honda back into the mental queue of cars. In that same window was a small sticker that said Merciless Mings. While at the 2005 Japanese Classic Car Show I saw not one or even two of these little cars, but rather an entire fleet! Also around were a few of the sportier looking AZ600 Coupe versions. A gre

    By Mike Bumbeck Read More
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    Mark Phelan Is A Meanie-Face, Teases Us With Audi R8

    Mark Phelan, the jovial auto critic for the Freep, and mortal enemy of Scott Burgess, auto critic for the Detroit News regular all-around good guy, is now, in a fit of Colbertism, dead to us. Those wacky kids over at Autoblog pointed out to us that he made the conscious decision to drive the Audi R8 to the Chrysler "What's New?" event over in Chelsea yesterday. We can only assume he did this on purpose as he must know we're already being teased by Audi with their super-duper car. We don't know

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Question Of The Day: What's The Wildest Sleeper You've Ever Seen?

    Today's question comes to us courtesy of master commenter JayP71. And that's all he had to say. We know there are better answers out there, but we'll play it safe and go with an old favorite. A few years back, the neighbors across the street had their house on the market. I was upstairs when I heard a burble. I peaked out my window and parked in their driveway was a bright red E39 M5. My jaw dropped. Just a thing of monstrous beauty. Especially because painted Clinique red the über-sleeper reall

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    1965 Mercedes-Benz 220SE Coupe

    I used to have a job writing the catalog copy for a certain musclecar-parts supplier with the same name as an X song, and my duties included going to car shows to take photographs for the catalogs (warning to prospective copywriters: don't take photography classes in college). I hated that part of the job, as car shows are mostly soul-destroying affairs that serve only to shoot a few more hours of one's life through the head for no good reason. By contrast, wandering around this weird island cit

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Annual "Jobbie Nooner" At Gull Island To Cause Girls To Yet Again Go Wild

    It's that time of the year again — today's the day for the oldest established permanent floating Girls Gone Wild episode party, the "Jobbie Nooner." The "Nooner" is the annual party surrounding Gull Island, a small island at the tip of Harsen's Island in the St. Clair River. The island's only accessible by boat, wave runner or as we've seen before in a totally worst case scenario — an inflated inner tube. The "Nooner" party features topless women hopping from boat to boat, collecting beads "Mard

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Senate Votes For CAFE Standard Increase To 35 MPG By 2020, Automakers Cry In Their Coffee

    Looks like the US Senate did last night what many all automakers feared they'd do — lump cars, trucks and SUV's together and force all to abide by the same standard for Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) numbers. The new standard, if approved by the US House — a feat we're hearing is not fait accompli, would require US automakers to hit 35 MPG for cars, SUV's and light trucks by 2025. That's a significant bump up from the current standard which mandates an average for cars of more than 27.5

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Ferrari's Future Tech

    Better aerodynamics, tires with less rolling resistance, structures combining carbon-fiber with aluminum, carbon-fiber suspensions from F1, hybrids for the racetrack and street and turbo charging with direct injection and ion sensing for more efficient combustion. Those are some of the technologies Ferrari's looking at to make its cars more fuel efficient without sacrificing requisite performance. It's part of a white paper the company put out, which outlines the future tech in its street and F1

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Coxtabulous!

    When a cranial portion of the Cerberus-esque poodle we call Jalopnik was wee, he had a friend named Robert. Robert had a stupid-hot older sister named Chablis. Robert's family had a "Forget The Dog, Beware of Owner" sticker in their front window. They also had a Pomeranian named Hop Sing. And an RX-4 wagon in the backyard, along with a '53 Panhead and Robert's '70 Mini Trail. They had a Hatfield-and-McCoy relationship with the family across the street. Robert's grandparents lived down the street

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    What Else Is New? More From The Chrylser Group

    In addition to the release of the new Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango Hemi-hybrids, the rest of the event featured a what's what of "What's New" from the Chrysler Group. But since there's very little of that we can talk about, without further ado, here's the best of the rest of the Chrysler Group's "What's New?" event over at the DaimlerChrysler proving grounds over in Chelsea, MI. So let's see — umm — well — err — OK, we've got some amazing photos (from an amazing photographer) of the Dodge

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Chrysler Reveals Dual-Mode Hybrid Dodge Durango And Chrysler Aspen, We Drive

    We spent the morning out in Chelsea, MI checking out the latest and greatest from the soon to no longer be 'merican side of the German-American hybrid at their annual "What's New?" event. It's an opportunity for all the auto journalists on this side of the country to get a chance to grab with grubby hands every bit of what's coming out in 2008. Some of what's new we're allowed to talk about, some of what's new we aren't so much allowed to talk about. But one of the surprise appearances at th

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    How Many Of The Pope's Driving Commandments Have You Broken?

    We like the spirit behind this question much more than the actual question. Why? Well, first and foremost, the idea that we should listen to an ex-Nazi, 80-year-old virgin in a white dress and a funny hat who communicates with doors and chimneys about anything, let alone driving (or what to do with our genitals) is absurd. Second, could anything register higher on the "get the fuck out" meter than the Vatican actually publishing the 10 Driving Commandments? However, we made the cardinal sin of b

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 By Edo Competition

    Let it never be said that a factory tuner car can't take just a little more juice from the aftermarket. Edo Competition futzed with Lamborghini's top-of-mast Murcielago LP640, finding an extra 23 hp under the seat cushions. Actually, they found it in the ECU, the airflow setup and exhaust. The Euro-spec V12, they say, now produces 663 hp and 498 lb-ft of torque. Edo also fitted its tuner with a rear wing with adjustable lip, carbon fiber interior trim and a backup camera, so Lambo drivers might

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Automobile Dynos Audi RS4 And R8

    There can be no doubt that Audi is making two of the very hottest vehicles in the world. So hot are these cars, that I don't even need to mention names. Which we still find odd, as Germany's other luxury automobile has long been the official car of architects, graphic designers and therapists, not tail-out, tire-smoking hoons. But the cars speak for themselves. Or rather, the lustful, sinful, Pope-angering 4.2-liter FSI V8 they share speaks for them. The RS4 is a true giant killer, stealing the

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    Tiff Flogs The GT3 RS

    It's no secret that Los Pedran Jalop is not a massive Porsche obsessive. Most of his favorite sons of Ferdinand are racing vehicles, with only the 550 Coupe and 928 to really stoke his passions. But there's something about the new GT3 RS. It's the most immediately soulful road car Porsche has produced since the 928 left the line. A different beast to be sure, but an assured loin-stirrer it is, even to oddball dorks who've always loved 914s and think 912s are rad. It is an undeniable car, and we

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    1960 Cadillac Sixty-Two Coupe

    Next up in the Down On The Alameda Street series is this '60 Caddy coupe that parks on the busiest street in town. During the last year, drunks have taken out several parked cars on either side of this gigantic finmobile, but the Caddy has remained intact.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    GM Building Condos First, To Focus On Cars Later?

    While that's a bit of a joke, it does look like the General's gone and decided to build some brand new condominiums on the Detroit River. They've announced this morning a working partnership with Hines, the international real estate firm, to develop six acres on the Detroit River just east of its Renaissance Center headquarters in downtown Detroit. It'll be a mixed-use development that will be largely residential — 600 luxury condos selling for anywhere between $300,000 and $1 million. While w

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    What's With The US Market? Bosch's Trendspotting

    We didn't make it to Bosch's annual technology colloquia and pot-luck luncheon this year, but that didn't stop the Boxberg proceedings from proceeding as scheduled. Our absence means we missed a symposium to suss out changes in the US market car companies must manage to make it into the post-SUV age. Major talking points included usual suspects rising gas prices and an entrenchment of the environmental movement against C02 emissions, as well as projections that the US government will indeed enfo

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    What's The Most Fun You've Ever Had In A Car?

    Many Saturdays ago my phone rang at 7:30 in the morning. Luckily it was a good friend of mine that also happens to be one of the most prolific pornographers in all the Valley. "Dude, I need your help. I'm at this studio Downtown and I have to return 7 cop cars and a S.W.A.T. van to the rental place. Can you help me drive them back?" Um, duh. Luckily, my friend Dylan was in from out of town and easily stirred from his nest on my couch. So, for the next few hours the 3 of us hooned drove black & w

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    Chrysler Looking At Expanding Overseas Dealers

    Chrysler Group just dropped a release letting us know they're planning on expanding "dealer operations in key markets outside North America." They've brought in 70 potential investors from places like Russia and Japan for a forum to get a sneak peek at "sales outlet ownership opportunities." Well — looks like someone hasn't yet learned about the problems of dealerships not owned by the automaker. Maybe someone should have read the Detroit Free Press this week. Or heck, maybe even learned from

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    Toyota To Halt Expansion Of US Assembly Plants, Increase Sales Of Japan-Built Vehicles?

    In Japan, Toyota has plants clustered together, with a capability of building more than a half-dozen different vehicles on each line, and their most efficient plants around the world are capable of operating more than one assembly line each. But here in the United States, Toyota plants build just one or two models and are spread out all over the place. Why are they running so inefficiently stateside? Today the Wall Street Journal answers that question and the answer is something we've long bel

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    Are Bold Moves No Longer Happening Every Day At Ford?

    After taking another peek at the mulletgasmic commercial for the Ford Taurus we showed yesterday we realized it was missing something we've come to expect on all FoMoCo commercials as of late. To wit, where were the "Bold Moves?" Although the reduction in importance began with the pseudo-"Pepsi Challenge" ad campaign for the Ford Fusion. But even in those, there was a token B.M. placed at the end of the ad. But with this commercial, the ad slogan at the center of the most ambiguous motorized m

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    Grab A Sorta-Used 2006 Chrysler, Dodge Or Jeep For Used Prices

    Head on over to a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealership today to get your hands on a semi-used 2006 model. Yes, you heard us correctly — a "semi-used" vehicle. Apparently all of those over-built 2006 model year cars are still causing the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid (for the next little while anyway) to seek strange solutions to the problem. Here's how the Detroit News explains the newest solution:

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    1969 Ford Econoline Custom 300 Super Van

    Of course we all prefer the flatnosed pre-1968 Econolines, but the next generation of Ford vans got the job done too. After the passage of a few decades, we can start to pick out a bit of once-overlooked style in these early second-gen Econolines.

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    Pretty Damn Kwick: Porsche Set To Launch Dual-Clutch Gearbox, Call It PDK

    Straight off the editor's desk from the News That Surprises No One Department comes more info on Porsche's coming double-clutch manumatic gearbox. (That means one clutch handles the odd gears while a separate clutch toggles the evens.) According to the UK's What Car, they're calling the tranny, "Porsche Doppel Kupplungen," or PDK for short (making it as easy on the options sheet as VW's DSG). But when will it arrive, and in what models? A report from last year indicated the heirs of Ferdinand wi

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    The Audi RS4 Lives!

    If you could all see the smile on my face right now. Turns out that we and everyone else erroneously reported the seemingly untimely demise of the fire-spitting RS4. Not so fast reports the publication dedicated to the road that no matter what refuses to go straight (can we stop this?). Here's the skinny low-down they got from Audi's Media Relations dude, Patrick Hespen:

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    Where Do You Want Your Engine?

    In a perfect world all of us would have a garage stuffed with fantastic cars of every type, stripe and creed. But for the majority of us financial reality dictates the dreaded axiom, "one paycheck, one car." Though, there are several variations on that theme including, "one paycheck, two cars, one angry spouse" and, "one paycheck, one car, several piles of parts." Regardless, our desires are unburdened by bottom lines. Our preferences are free to soar. So what will it be? The tail-out muscularit

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    DeTomaso Vallelunga

    Blending is a beautiful thing. Go to a beach in Brazil and dare to refute that claim. Blends of ideas and cultures give us the gestalt of advancement. Sometimes it's a Canadian making a new whiskey, sometimes it's a Dane (Brahe), a German (Kepler), and a Briton (Newton) whose combined ideas explained the universe. Argentine Alejandro DeTomaso needed money to fund his racing teams of Formula Twos and Juniors, so he blended race technology with the needs of the streets and created the world's firs

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    Spy Photos; More M3, Sans Top

    Well, look what popped up in Augsburg. It's the BMW M3 gone topless. Better to hear that new V8, we'd imagine, though keeping that toupe affixed may be of extra concern to some midlife-crisis buyers. It'll be slightly heavier than the coupe, thanks to typical body strengthening, which means a slightly slower zero-to-60 run than the coupe. That is, we hear, five seconds plus, compared to 4.8 for the coupe. We'll see it in Frankfurt ahead of an early '08 introduction in Europe.

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    Audi R8 Diesel To Get 30 MPG?

    We tossed it over the back fence back in January, and now the UK web car daily AutoExpress has caught it. They've supposedly uncovered that Audi's made a decision on the deets for the oil-burning torque-heavy version of the supercar that we've been tweaking as of late. They claim the Brucegasmic automaker will drop the 4.2-liter V8 TDI engine that's currently powering the Q7 SUV into the engine bay of the R8. In The Q7, it produces 322 HP with 561 lb-ft of torque but AutoExpress claims this mo

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    1973 Volkswagen Type III Squareback

    While I'm still searching for a VW 411 or 412, it's not too hard to find a Type III wagon on the island. Here's a pretty straight original-owner '73, spotted in the same South Shore neighborhood seen in Robert Bechtle's painting, Alameda Gran Torino.

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    Troy Critchley And AMS Issue Statement On Weekend Pro Mod Debacle

    A couple of Los Jalops have spent a fair amount of time covering drag racing or hanging out with drag racers (or in Bumbeck's case, actually wrenching on Fuel cars). While the signal-to-signal, station to station contest is the provenence of any teenage hoon in any part of the world, it's one motorsport whose apex is a truly American thing. Quarter-mile competition was invented here. And while we've seen all kinds of amazing motorsport between us, there truly is nothing quite like a top-rank dra

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    Toyota Prius Owner Thinks He's A Train, Blocks San Fran Muni Tunnel

    We know your Prius is fuel efficient, yes. We know your Prius makes you feel environmentally-friendly, yes. However, your Prius is not a train. Do not try and make it one. If you do it in San Francisco in the sunset tunnel at Duboce Triangle, you'll find yourself the owner of a pretty ticket citing city ordinance 22.521 — blocking railroad tracks. That'll cost you $55, hold up hundreds of people and a bunch of trains and cause yourself all manner of humiliation and ridicule at the hands of your

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    Previewing Volkswagen's Clean Diesel Jetta

    They're Mechanics, and holy crap are they Popular. So popular, in fact, that they've gotten a first ride in Volkswagen's first clean-diesel Jetta. It won't be in dealerships until January '08, but the previews will likely begin in earnest before you can say "thiophene doped n-hexadecane."

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    Pagani Zonda: Say Goodbye To An Instant Classic

    A few months back at Top Marques Monaco, I heard some slightly distressing news. Not only would there not be a Pagani Zonda F Roadster available to drive for the foreseeable future, but they also had just five left for sale. And that will be the end of the Zonda, one of the few supercar success stories in recent years. Not quite, in fact, as the Zonda F track project has gathered momentum and we can expect a backslapping, $1 million+ Ferrari FXX-style project. But in terms of the road cars then

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    A Major Monday Meijer Dilemma: Fill Up For Cheap Or Help Out The Environment

    With the mercury rising into the 90's, today's the first ozone action day of the year in Southeast Michigan. Coincidentally it's happening just as prices are beginning to rise, which according to AAA's Michigan office, the average price for a gallon of regular rose by a penny — to hit $3.04 today. Which is why the Detroit News is cluing us in on an interesting AM dilemma. Bargain box store Meijer making the move upward this afternoon as well according to text alerts sent to consumers in the ar

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    Ford Econoline Pickup

    Spotted down by Alameda's waterfront, this salty sea dog of an Econoline pickup could be a '61, a '67, or anything in between...

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    Connie Montoya May Heart Juan Pablo, But The Walls In Brooklyn Heart Him Just As Hard

    The wife of Juan Pablo may be absolutely gushing the love over her #42, but apparently so do the walls of the Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in the lovely li'l town of Brooklyn, MI. Juan Pablo Montoya made it all of 67 laps yesterday before a wall decided to jump out and partake in some sensual car-wall loving. But the mad hearting of Connie for her man and the hearting of her man and the track-wall wasn't the only love going on at MIS yesterday. The #99 Ford Fusion was getting all sort

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    Mike Rockenfeller's Audi Est Finis, 24 Hours Later So Was The 24 Hours Of Le Mans

    [Ed.: If you've Tivo'ed the 24 Heures Du Mans and you're planning on watching, just quit reading right here and go down to another post or something.] The diesel duel between Audi and Peugeot is finally over and it seemed the outcome was never in doubt. Despite Audi's loss of two cars, they still managed to snag victory from the jaws of defeat for a fourth straight LMP1 victory. The LMP1 fun for the Brucetastic German automaker started with rain and a quasi-thrilling crash of Mike Rockenfeller

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    523 Horsepower Starion Bar-B-Que

    The coolest thing about owning any automobile is almost instant membership in the club of the car. The less ubiquitous the machine, the more esoteric the club. In the case of the Mitsubishi Starion, aka Chrysler Conquest, a membership of peers is required just to keep the twentysomething year old StarQuests rolling. That same community is also there when it comes time to squeeze more horsepower than the factory ever intended out of the 2.6L Mitsubishi mill, or chow down on some tasty BBQ.

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    Bolt On A Huffer And Tip In The Whole Can

    While searching around for some history on blacky carbon we came upon a glossary of drag racing terms compiled by none other than NHRA President Wally Parks himself in 1966. It seems Mr. Carbon was a drag racing term for gasoline before being lifted to hawk Bardahl. Even with recent news and new official titles, you can guarantee that at 94 years of age Mr. Parks is still at the helm of the NHRA. Find out what it means to lunch an engine out on the big end after the jump.

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    Compression Pressure Test

    Mechanical know how in our case has come largely from two sources. There have been those kind enough to show the way, and there has been the hard way. A long and proud lineup of 500-dollar cars has steered us mostly down the latter route. The way we learned about how and why to run a compression check on an engine came only after bolting on every conceivable replacement part to a 318 V-8 in a 500-dollar '67 Plymouth Barracuda in an effort to make the thing run better. A compression check reveale

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    RS4 Sedan Out Of Production?

    Here's one that makes no one happy: Audi may have ceased producing the four-door version of its Bimmer-beating hot rod. Why? According to the lads at Autocar.co.uk, Audi is killing off their best car ever to make room for the upcoming twin-turbo V10 RS6, which bows in Frankfurt this September. Apparently Audi is concerned that keeping the RS4 around will hurt sales of the RS6. Which is insane. Case in point, they will continue building the RS4 Avant and Convertible. Just yesterday we were readin

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    Farfegnugen For Sale: VW Swap

    The annual VW Classic is the largest Volkswagen event in the world. Next year a bigger event in Germany might usurp Irvine, California's throne, but for now the Southern California show is king. Hundreds if not thousands of classic, air-cooled VeeDubs of all kinds ('member the Matador?) gather to be gawked at and appreciated. But how many Bugs can you look at? Luckily for those of us from the ADD set, there's a giant swap meet loaded with all sorts of cool stuff to check out. And check we did. P

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    News Flash: Wealthy Middle Easterners Love Fast Supercars

    With both the demand and price for oil way the hell up in the stratosphere, it seems that people in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries have a lot of extra money. They also happen to love F1 and hot European cars that can go 200 mph. So, they're buying them in record numbers. Kuwait is now the biggest market for Aston Martin in the world. Because we're pinko bleeding-heart lefty types, we love the fact that Kuwait also features the most women buyers of the famed British marque. And let

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    Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

    Today's Down On The Alameda Street car is a clean VW Karmann Ghia convertible. I'm not enough of a KG expert to nail down the exact year on this one, but the taillight size seems to indicate early 1970s.

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    Which Car Is Growing On You?

    We all remember the Pontiac Aztek, our generation's Edsel. A car so bad, Pontiac even managed to spell the name wrong. Design-wise, the worst element (besides the gas-cap wound) was all that damn cladding. But then, after Pontiac only sold four cars in 18 months (or whatever), GM did the unthinkable – they restyled the duckling. And... they didn't do such a bad job. Granted, the Aztek was as doomed as the Titanic from the initial marketing focus group. But, at least it died in my mind with a mod

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    1977 Lincoln Continental

    This somewhat battered '77 Continental parks on a very narrow street in my neighborhood and causes much gnashing of teeth among residents who have a tough time navigating their SUVs around its vast bulk. However, I approve of this car, because of the grille.

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    Startech Tunes The Jeep Wrangler

    The Startech side of the Brabus tuning empire is fielding a new kit package for the Jeep Wrangler. That's the diesel version that could become the official Idaho Militia staff car, if only it were clean enough. Someday it will be. But for now it's only the European community that gets the oil burner, and Startech's handiwork. That is, a new ECU module, exhaust kit and style accessories like side guards and rocker panels. No word on the an upgrade to kevlar-reinforced doors for enthusiasts who ta

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    Death-Proofing The Golden Gate

    The Golden Gate bridge, for the deaf, blind and comatose people who haven't noticed, is an icon recognized for its beauty; a symbol of all that is good and wonderful about the Golden State. And it's also most-definitely an engineering triumph. So let's face it, if one's despondent and wants to end it all, why wouldn't one choose to meet one's final fate in view one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous vistas on the planet, using one of one of man's great engineering feats as a springboard? For ye

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    Buy An Ariel Atom Before Father's Day, Save Six Grand

    We just got an e-mail from the guys at Blammo! Brammo Motorsports letting us know the base model Ariel Atom's getting a price boost of $6,000 starting on Father's Day. What a present, right — a price increase. If you want to avoid the bump, we're told you can still drop your initial deposit (which is "just 25% of the total purchase price") by June 17th, and you'll have locked in the savings. Look at all the fun things you can spend that six large on this Dad's Day — things like a new hibachi g

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    Canyonero!

    Mostly, we're tired of anti-SUV humor. As is often the case, the Simpsons writers did it first and did it best with the legendary fake Canyonero spot, leaving everyone else's jabs looking second-rate and pedantic. Watch, enjoy, giggle — and most importantly — sing along! [Thanks to ThnderBlt for the tip.]

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    Tiff Needell On The Jaguar XJ220

    When we were on the Gumball a month and a half ago, founder Maximillion Cooper showed up driving an XJ220 wrapped in flat black vinyl with gold-wrapped wheels. On one hand, we were flabbergasted, having never actually seen one in real life. We were also rather flummoxed at how cheap the thing seemed. We would have loved to have checked out the twin-turbo, over-200-mph V6 supercar sans covering. Here's a trip back in time, back to when the XJ was still officially the fastest car in the world. Tif

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    Why Is Audi Cock-Teasing Me Mit Ze R8?

    Why does Audi continue to tease me with the R8? Can't they just give me a media fleet car for a week? Heck, even a long weekend — I wouldn't be upset with lopping a couple of days off the end (actually, yes I would) if it gives me a better chance of snagging one. But why must they continue to tease me? I'd been hearing about the R8 being spotted just about everywhere in the area — Ferndale, Royal Oak and Farmington Hills — and now the auto company all about Bruce is going too far. Now they're

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    Massive Massiveosity, Thy Name Is Crawler-Transporter

    Their nicknames are "Hans" und "Franz," and yes, they are far from styro-puff faux Austrian bodybuilders. They're NASA's twin Crawler-Transporters; machines that make the run from the hangar to the launch pad for many of America's most important space vehicles. Gobsmacking facts: The duo are the largest self-powered tracked vehicles in the world. Their tracks weigh roughly 450 tons. Just the tracks! They feature sixteen electric motors powered by two diesels pumping out ponies well over the high

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    Ford Drops Top On 2008 Shelby GT

    Oh god, please — no! Not another one! Oh yes, FoMoCo's released yet another Mustang variant. Can you blame them? They're the only makers of the pony car on the market at the moment, and they're going to milk it for everything it's worth. At least this time we're talking about something Shelby related. True, it's not a total build like the GT500, but with its Ford Racing Power Upgrade Package increasing the 4.6-liter V8 engine up to 319 hp and 330 lb-ft o' torque, the Shelby GT's certainly a st

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    The 1986 Camaro Quadruplets Of Chevy "Exotica!"

    There's nothing hotter than the '86 Camaro quadruplets — the Z28, the IROC-Z, the Sport Coupe and the Berlinetta — at least according to the above promotional vid from the General. Let's use our magical powers of hindsight and take a look through the haze of advertising history and try to parse some of the propaganda marketing:

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    eBay Find: 1976 Jensen-Healey Jensen GT

    Oh man, this one hurts. As you may know we are at the age and pathetic financial situation where a man begins to look around for his project car. As you may also know, Jalopnik hearts shooting breaks brakes, especially British ones. This very good looking example of how screwed up the British auto industry was of Jensen-Healey's Lotus engined darling is right here in Southern California and just dying for a new owner (the current owner, at 6'6", is too tall to fit). So what if the engine needs t

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    Jensen FF

    [Note: The Jalopnik Fantasy Garage will be back to its normal Tuesday schedule next week. — ed.] When I took over the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage from Farago, my initial thought was... 1978 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Oscar India. Shoot me. However, my second thought was the Jensen FF. Many of us are old enough to remember the shockwaves shot through the automotive world when Porsche's 959 bowed in 1986. It was like an alien had arrived and brought along all of the home planet's best technology. The FF

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    1959 Morris Minor 1000

    We can all respect the guy who drives a beater '73 Caprice Estate wagon, but how about a man who depends on a 1959 Morris Minor 1000 to carry him to work each day?

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    The Lancia MomoDesign Urban Bike

    We hear it was a passion for motor racing that led Gianpiero Moretti, the former race driver to found the design company Momo to market his steering wheel he'd used to win the '64 Formula 1 World Championship. His success in marketing a steering wheel led him to think he was good at designing other stuff using race-inspired themes. Thus was born MomoDesign — a company fulfilling the needs of men like "Maximum" Bob Lutz for high-end luxe fighter jet helmets as well as wrist watches and leather

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    Transformers Movie Update: Putz Around On A Vespa, Get A Free Ticket To See Transformers

    It seems like everyone's trying to get in on the cross-branding action for the new upcoming Transformers movie, and the Piaggio, the maker of the Vespa death trap on wheels scooter is no exception. They've got a new promotion running starting tomorrow branding the Vespa as a "Transportation Transformer." For real? Anyway — if you head into a Vespa dealership to test drive a Piaggio-built pooter-shooter from June 14th to June 24th, you'll get to walk out with a free movie ticket to see the new

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    What The Hell Happened To This Mazda RX-7?

    Sometimes at track days bad things just happen. You expect every once in a while you'll lose your engine, pop a tire, spin out and take out some cones and even, god forbid, accidentally take out some parked cars. But not many people hit the first turn and immediately lose all four of their tires like what we're told happened this past weekend at Timmi Attebury's Race to the Gold in the Dixie Region of the SCCA. Thanks to Harvey_Mushman, we've got video of the incident, but that doesn't help us

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    Turbo II, Junkyard Boogaloo - Part 2: How To

    Obviously there's no need for me to describe why it was necessary to build a 92-pound boombox out of plywood and car parts. Instead, let us see how the Turbo II Junkyard Boogaloo Boombox came to be...

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Turbo II, Junkyard Boogaloo - Part 1: Features

    Feast your eyes on the result of weeks of work using the various remains of over a dozen cars — from 80's BMW's to a 1990 Toyota Tercel — it's the glorious Turbo II Junkyard Boogaloo boombox. For those of you who want the gearhead nitty-gritty, the full "How To" is here. For those who just want to see this baby in all of its radical goodness, below you'll find some documentation of what the Turbo II is and does ...

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Off Comes The Top: New Saab 9-3 Convertible

    If you happened to be near Trollhattan last weekend, you'd have seen the new Saab 9-3 convertible in all its newly sculpted glory. Glory may be too strong a word, but the slightly rehabbed entry Saab did get a more stylish face and what Saab's marketing as "trifuel" engine choices for Europe that include gasoline diesel, or ethanol-ready powerplants. The 2.8-liter aluminum V6, the company says, was purpose-built for the line's all-turbo application. Sadly, the convertible doesn't get Saab/Haldex

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    1973 Chevrolet Caprice Estate Wagon

    After seeing yesterday's Down On The Alameda Street car, I got to thinking about the whole Porsche thing. Yeah, they're driver's cars, all right... but take off your driving gloves and lose the precise German accent and let's talk about the fun-per-dollar (FPD) thing for a minute. Let's say you had the 12 grand or so it would cost to get a pretty nice 911SC like the one we saw yesterday. What's the FPD score on that compared to what you could do with a mean-looking '73 Caprice Estate wagon and,

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Too Many Ferraris Crowd Silverstone, Guinness Notes Record

    With the exception of the current "fastest production vehicle in the world" chase, is there a record Ferrari isn't interested in? The cats from Maranello herded 385 prancing horses onto the track at Silverstone; everything from vintage iron like a 250 GTO up to the latest and most fabulotastic 599 Fiorano. Ferrari estimates it was sixty million quid worth of machinery, while Guinness certified it as the most Ferraris in one parade. Now watch. Ferdnand Piëch is going to buy 400 308s and tour the

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Saturn Offers To Let You Take Out Aura With Accord, Camry In "Side-By-Side-By-Side Test Drive"

    We already told you the pagan god of the General planned to drop a Camry and an Accord into a Chevy dealer showroom, but the gameplan appears to be to be more ballsy than we thought. Seriously, Saturn's got balls, and well — we like balls. Starting today, it won't be a Chevy dealership, but rather a Saturn dealership (I think they like it better when we call it a "store" — but whatevs, like we care) where you'll find the #1 and #2 selling mid-size sedans. They'll be there so that you can drive

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Morley Family Releases Statement Post-Gumball Verdict

    The Morley family has a released a statement of facts regarding the Macedonian trial of Nicholas Morley, which seems to jibe with what we've sussed ourselves about what went down the day before the 2007 Gumball 3000 came apart at the seams. According to the original accident investigator on the scene, as well as an investigator from nonprofit British organization TRL, Morley was traveling at or under 47 mph and would have had 1.6 seconds in which to stop from the point that Vladimir Cepuljoski p

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    Jalopnik Gets Massively Mopar At The 2007 Chrysler Employee Motorsport Association Auto Show

    We took a moment out of our lazy busy weekend schedule to head on up to Auburn Hills and the DaimlerChrysler Tech Center for the annual auto show for the Chrysler Employee Motorsport Association (CEMA). Although they've been doing it for 18 years, this is only the second time we've been lucky enough to attend an event all about featuring the best and brightest of Chrysler employee-owned classic and not-so-classic cars. There's no requirement of ownership of Mopar muscle for membership, there's

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    Beyond Classic: Tempo Matador Hochpritsche Mit Volkswagen Motor

    The real reason we go to classic car shows is the odd chance of running across something like this. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Tempo Matador. To our knowledge, it is the only air-cooled, mid-engined, front-wheel-drive pickup truck with suicide doors ever created. Produced in extremely low numbers between 1949-1951 as both a precursor and competitor to the Volkswagen Type II, this particularly cherry example is one of five known to exist in the world. As great as the actual truck is, the

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    A Quartet Of Microcars

    I was introduced to Jonee Eisen by a mutual friend at a flea market in Echo Park. "He's into cars, too." So, I asked, what sort of cars do you have? "A couple of Subarus and a DAF 66." I nearly choked. "A DAF!?!" The sky was falling. "Yeah, you know - the Dutch took the clutch." Yeah Jonee, I know. Sadly tragically for our purposes, since we met Jonee has sold the DAF, as parts are harder to find than a certain hotel heiress's dignity. Happily, he still maintains a pretty sweet collection of mic

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    Buy A Loft, Get A Land Rover

    We knew the housing market here in metro Detroit was bad from all the automaker job cuts in the area, but we didn't know how bad until we were heading down Main Street Saturday afternoon. It was right at the corner across from the new Main Street Lofts where we spotted the following sign pointing to serious savings on buying a new loft in Royal Oak. That's right — the sign says

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Have It Your Way: King For A Day

    OK, this is the deal. The magical deity of your choice waves his wand and suddenly you have complete control over one brand of your choosing. Pick the car maker of your dreams; you now own them. And you can do anything in the world you want. Think Chevy should bring back the LUV? Make it so. What about Ferrari and an "entry level" Dino? While you're at it, how about telling the prancing horse boys to ditch the flappy paddles and refocus on traditional manuals, 0.30 seconds faster round the 'Ring

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    Porsche To Be A No-Show In Detroit

    The automaker from Stuttgart that's never owned Chrysler has made the decision to ditch the Detroit Auto Show this year as part of "reorganizing its trade-fair activities in North America." That reorg includes culling the North American International Auto Show from the list of places to show up. They're claiming it's because Porsche wants to make a "greater emphasis on direct contact with potential customers, motor show activities will in future be concentrated in the main sales areas of Porsc

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    1980 Porsche 911SC

    I've found that Alameda's streets have plenty of old Detroit iron to photograph for this series, but old/cool imports are a bit tougher to find. VW Type 1s abound, as do 2nd-gen Type 2s, but I just can't work up much excitement over them. But here's another German import that's a little less common...

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    Robert Kubica's Crash At The Canadian Grand Prix

    Robert Kubica's crash at the Canadian Grand Prix yesterday was the most heart-stopping moments in F1 since Bernie Ecclestone called Danica Patrick a "domestic appliance." But we can joke, since Kubica — defying every law of trauma after sustaining ludicrous g-force on impact — suffered no more than a mild concussion and a sprained ankle. The BMW-Sauberite had gotten tangled up with Jarno Trulli 27 laps in, sending him airborne and into a wall at more than 186 miles per hour. His car came to rest

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    Ford Shopping Land Rover And Jaguar For Cash?

    With Aston Martin obviously having already been sold off to private equity, Automotive News Europe is reporting FoMoCo's hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to shop around what's left of the Premier Automotive Group. Although FoMoCo's not commenting on the story, ANE's saying FoMoCo's talked to BMW about Volvo earlier this year. But as FoMoCo's said recently they're not in the process of selling the brand all about the meatballs, one can only assume the BMW gambit didn't work. If that's the

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    Spy Photos: Mitsubishi Evolution X?

    An "evolving member" of the evolutionm forums just posted some shots of what he thinks may be the Mitsu Evo X tooling around on the 91 with Michigan manny plates. Here's what GlobeCLK has to say:

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    Bukowski And The Beetle

    It's funny to us that one of the more enduring things associated with Charles Bukowski is his old Volkswagen Beetle, given the man's extra-manly reputation. This is not a photograph of his dash, but rather a 200mph speedo that a Herbie replica aficionado installed in his own '64. Then again, if we had Buk's Beetle, we'd likely splurge on a 200mph speed-gauge ourselves, while leaving everything else intact. Somehow, we think the erstwhile Hank Chinaski would appreciate the irony. Also, Minuteman,

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    Manta - Der Film, Total Geil!

    Truth be told, my Manta fixation goes back over 25 years. As a kid visiting Northern Ireland, I was inextricably drawn to GM's Euro ponycar; it seemed the most American thing on the road, coiffed, as it was with cues that spoke of Yankee muscle. Camaro ducktail here, Monza curve there. Okay, fine. I was influenced heavily by 1970s muscle-appearance cars. But the Manta just looked like the baddest-ass thing on the road in what was then a fairly poor country. That said, I knew that Manta drivers,

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    Dodge Viper Burned At The Stake

    You know what's great about englishrussia.com? Every God damn thing. Oops! I shouldn't take the Lord's name in vain like that, or some Slavic kook might burn my computer down. Who knew that on top of all their other problems, Russia has reactionary religious maniacs to deal with? Long story short, the numbers "666" happened to be on this poor Viper's license plate. The good people of Kostroma then set it on fire. Two points. With the exception of a black-on-black Murcielago, no car says "I Hea

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    Wash And Wax Bonanza

    For a long number of years even the idea of washing and waxing our car was unnecessary. Cleanup meant maybe a hosing off, and adding another layer of rattle can primer to key spots. The first paint job worthy of a wash and wax was a defining moment. Washing and waxing the new paint on the old car was suddenly an exciting novelty! For somewhat newer cars, a regular wash and wax keeps the paint from decaying to the clean it with scrub pad and can of spray paint stage. Sure the local car wash is gr

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    Nick Morley Convicted In Gumball Crash, Gets Suspended Sentence

    After an excruciating month during which simple human tragedy clashed with hyper-sensationalism, political posturing, class warfare and judicial process, the Nick Morley Gumball 3000 crash saga is nearing a resolution. According to Alex Roy of Team Polizei, a court in Macedonia has found British Gumball driver Morley culpable in the deaths of an elderly couple killed in the crash. But in a stomach-churning turn of events, Morley will be released on a suspended sentence. There are too many lesson

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    Caparo T1 Breaks The 1,000 HP Per Ton Barrier, To Debut At Goodwood

    If you've been dreaming about an F1 car you can drive to Starbucks, dream no further. Caparo will begin delivering their close to $400,000 track-day special in July. And the stats are just stoo-pid: 575 horsepower at 10,500 rpm from a 3.5-liter V8; zero to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds; 0-100 mph in less than five seconds. Top speed is rumored to be infinity and the brakes are so powerful the T1 goes slower than not moving (fine, 100-0 mph in 3.5 seconds). The biggest news of course is that Caparo, for

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    1963 Ford Falcon Futura

    Heading back out to Alameda's Victorian-lined avenues in search of more old iron, I figured it would be best to find something from Detroit after yesterday's Swedish steel...

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    Sporty News: Hot Nissans Are Nigh

    Since around the time Neil Armstrong hit the moon, Nissan's been taunting us with the coming Skyline GT-R, a would-be 911 Turbo tackler for half the price. But Autocar says it's not the only rear-driver in the pipeline. Word is Nissan's working on a production version of the Urge concept, that half car, half XBox thing with holes in the doors Nissan showed off at the 2006 Detroit show. We're betting the showroom model, which AC says is a UK-based operation, will be watertight. But there's report

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    Audi R8 Spotted In Berkeley

    We're spotting the Audi R8 all around the byways of this great nation as it performs all sorts of mysterious tasks. OK, more than likely it's just making the rounds with auto journalists who'll be beating it to a living pulp and tearing it to pieces as they put it through its paces. Case in point would be these shots coming to us from commenter and tipster hxgaser:

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    What's Your Favorite Car Toy?

    I'll make a confession. While I no doubt owned Matchbox and Hot Wheels toys as a kid, I wasn't that into 'em. I loved cars of course, and seeing how we managed to spend so much time in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach when I was young, I could wander the streets with my car geek friend David while our folks finished brunch and look at actual slant-nose 935s, Lambo Jalpas, Ferrari Mondials, Avantis and what ever else the merchants of bad taste deemed necessary that week. We did see an Aston Martin

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    2008 Chevy Colorado To Get A V8?

    The folks over at the site all about trucks that pick up are claiming Chevy's finally going a bit more rock-like for the 2008 version of the midsize pickup from the 'merican revolution. They claim the Colorado (as well as its platform cousin Canyon) will be receiving the same small-block 5.3-liter 295 hp engine powering its other-other cousin, the 2008 Hummer H3 Alpha. That's a bit of a bump from the current engine offerings — the Vortec 2.9-liter 185 hp four cylinder and the Vortec 3700 3.7-l

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    Be Careful Of Wheelchair-Bound Hitchhikers When Driving Your Semi In Paw Paw

    I'll be traveling through the lovely little southwestern Michigan town of Paw Paw on Saturday, and you can bet I'll be happy I won't be driving a semi-truck. We've heard the town's home to a roving gang of wheelchair-rolling hitchhikers employing a unique brand of thumbing it. They'll just roll right out in front of semi trucks and hitch themselves a push-start ride strapped onto the grille. That's what a 21-year-old wheelchair-bound resident of the double baby bear hand-named town did yesterd

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    1966 Volvo Amazon

    Roaming the streets of Alameda in search of another street survivor for this series, I spotted this '66 Volvo on the east side of the island...

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    Prelude To The Dream: What To Watch For Tonight In The Dirt At Eldora Speedway

    Well, we're now here in lovely Rossburg, Ohio in the lovely media room trailer outside of the track. We've already had a chance to get credentialed and although we were supposed to sign some release stating we wouldn't be able to take photos of the track — we may not have had the chance to sign it — wink, wink. So we're going to try our damndest to bring you the fun as we see it. Already we're hearing all sorts of fun stuff, and we've even heard from our track insider their five key points we'

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    Ford Wins Big, Mercedes Improves In Initial Quality Study

    The powers that be J.D.Power say FoMoCo's breached the top three in its Initial Quality study, and Mercedes is the most improved automaker of all. The study is fielded each year to determine which cars record the fewest problems in the first 90 days of ownership. Ford large's Lincoln brand reached all the way up to third, while Mercury moved up eight points from 2006 to eighth and Ford is up five spots to 10th. Mercedes jumped from 25th in 2006 to fifth in 2007. Bruce continues to elude Porsche,

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    More Dirt On A Possible 928 Successor

    For quite a while now we've been receiving reports that a new 928 is coming. To which we have always said "Boo Ya!" with the right side of our mouth, and "yeah right" with the left. Up until today the word on the street has been that after the four-door Panamera launches in 2009, they'll begin hammering on a two-door version due out in 2012 or so. Well guess what? A janitor spy deep within Porsche is claiming that a two door Panamera has been in the pipeline the entire time. Seems that Porsche h

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    Where Did You Get Your Automotive Dogma?

    Yesterday, the Postfather hipped all us Jalops to the very real possibility that Cadillac's next CTS-V will come packin' 600 Horsepower. The collective response was, "Yawn, me want an M5." Then, ole Werty Wert put up a post about the new Shelby Super Snake with 725 fucking horsepower! The second response was actually, "yawn." Only our Canadian buddy Danio3834 came to both of these insane machines' defense. But I am not praising Danio. Why? Because I've heard him say too many times that he wouldn

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    Jalopnik Gets Dirty With Nascar Tonight!

    This afternoon I'll be taking a drive down to Rossburg, Ohio, the home of the Tony Stewart-owned Eldora Speedway, for an evening of late model stock car dirt racing action. Eldora's a local track that turns into a boomtown each year for the "Dream Week" — a multi-day extravaganza of mud culminating in Saturday's "Dream," a feature race that's basically the biggest thing around in the world of late-model dirt track racing. But we won't be there for the "Dream" race this Saturday, because there'

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    Checker Marathon

    Once again we return to the streets of the Island Of Old Car Survivors, and look at what we've spotted today! Yes, folks, that there car is a Checker Marathon in a color other than yellow.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    New Volkswagen Tiguan, In The Flesh

    Well, this is a new one. Volkswagen's released a photo spread and new info on its upcoming Tiguan small SUV well before a proper revealing. You'll note it's still got strategically changed or blacked-out badging for dramatic effect. Named by readers in a German magazine poll, the Tiguan refers to a secret tribe of indigenous land dwellers whose jackal-like diet comprises meat products they've scrounged from Hickory Farms gift baskets picked over by their co-workers (or so we'd hoped). The pics

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    Yeesh, The Sunfire

    Our pal Marcos runs a great custom shop in Antioch, California. His paintwork is absolutely legendary; he's an heir to a classic California legacy that runs the gamut from bombas and classic lowriders to the O.G. lead sleds pumped out by guys like Gene Winfield. A few years ago, we were at his shop and noticed a custom-painted Sunfire. We were like, "What's up with that?" He replied that GM had given it to him as a SEMA project car. But the paint gun of Marcos Garcia could not save the beleagure

    By Davey G. Johnson Read More
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    2008 JDM Subaru Impreza

    Say konichiwa to the new Subaru Impreza, JDM stylee. As expected, the Japan-only S-GT (bye, bye WRX) gets a 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer four. It produces 26 more horses than the US-spec 2.5-liter four. That's a total of 250 hp at 6,000 rpm. Click on for the whole spiel.

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    Billetproof 2007: Hot Rod Wrap Up

    There were so many cool rods at this event that it's hard to highlight them all. Can you really highlight a Caddy with an air suspension that's "layin' frame" over a nutjob that put flappers on all eight hand made exhaust pipes? Or how about epic pinstriping over oh so smokin' hot rockabilly chicks? You don't. If you're lazy (like me), you post all the great shots of cool stuff in one gallery for the people of the year (you) to ogle for a while. At the end of the day, even though I ran from t

    By bwojdyla Read More
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    1962 Chrysler New Yorker

    One cool thing about being a car freak in Alameda is the number of 45-year-old beaters still rumbling down the streets. This battered-but-defiant '62 New Yorker parks in front of a tow yard by the waterfront...

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Beverly Hills Ducati Hypermotard

    Sunday night was the first time we had ever been to the Beverly Center, and the first time anybody stateside had officially seen the 2007 Ducati Hypermotard S. Oddly enough the Supermotard craze grew out of the Superbikers series on Wide World of Sports. Superbikers brought together road and off-road motorcycle racing, and a Supermotard melds elements of a dirt bike and a street bike. Ducati has taken the idea one step further and produced the Hypermotard, which melds elements Streetfighter and

    By Mike Bumbeck Read More
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    Porsche 928

    In 2000 I was moving from New York to Los Angeles. I needed a car. My boss at the time was selling his 1992 Porsche 928 GTS with just 20,000 garaged and pampered miles. The word "cheery" doesn't even begin to describe it. And it could have been mine for the low, low price of $10,000. More amazingly, this one had a manual. Only 77 GTS model 928s ever made it to the United States. Of those, just six had manuals. [Update: only 77 928 GTSs showed up here in 1995. Between 1992 and 1995 2831GTS cars w

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    Question Of The Day: What's In Your Car?

    The funniest thing Ted Nugent has ever said is this: If he could teach the entire population of Manhattan to bow hunt, there'd be enough food in Upstate New York to feed them. And by food he means Bambi. The second funniest might very well be, "[Black rifles] are everywhere. I personally don't know anybody who doesn't have two in his truck." If you don't know, "black rifle" is an NRA euphemism for "assault weapon." That got one of our most beloved commenters, Mr. SwatLax, thinking. What do those

    By Jonny Lieberman Read More
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    GM Awards Battery Development Contracts For Chevrolet Volt E-Flex System

    The General's awarded two contracts for development of lithium-ion batteries for its electric drive "E-Flex System." The "E-Flex System," if you'll remember, is the red herring vaporware electric vehicle architecture underpinning the Chevy Volt concept car shown earlier this year. One contract's heading over to lithium-ion supplier Compact Power, Inc in Troy, Michigan and the other is being awarded to battery-pack supplier Continental Automotive Systems in Frankfurt, Germany. Now it'll be the

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    JDM-Only Spiano Gets Retouched, Mazda Still Planning On Selling 300 Units A Month

    I love me them little JDM micro-mini kei cars. The little things are just totally so adorable, and Mazda's just released shots of their new re-design of their tiniest model. It's called the Spiano and it's a re-badged and re-branded Suzuki Lapin. That's right — this boxy little retro-styled mini-Mazda's not made by the FoMoCo-owned automaker, but instead they've contracted with Suzuki to fill their tiniest of model line-up holes. It's a practice we're told is pretty standard in Japan, especial

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    The 725 HP Shelby GT500 Super Snake Can Be Yours For Just $72,000!

    According to the folks at the site who always have the scoop on the next evolution of the Mustang, you'll have to fork over some serious dough to make your GT500 slither. They've somehow managed to get pricing from the folks at Shelby on the Super Snake GT500 package that we've been told is capable of making your standard every-day 500 HP GT500 into a pony-car with (reportedly) over 725 HP, making it the highest horsepower street-legal warranty-carrying Mustang ever. The folks at Shelby will

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    Brabus B63

    If going for the production car land speed record isn't your cup of chai skim latte, there's no need to go for the Brabus Rocket. The Mercedes tuning haus also offers a more sedate build of the AMG CLS63. That is, the S63, which boasts a tuning kit affecting a power boost from 507 hp to to 550 hp and torque from 465 to 479 lb-ft. The exercise involves ECU reprogramming, with a free-flow air filter thrown in for good measure, and results in a slight improvement to its zero-to-60 time (4.3 seconds

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Thrills! Spills! The Greater Los Angeles Soap Box Derby

    Amid Saturday morning cries of "hooray for gravity", the 8th Annual Los Angeles edition of the All-American Soap Box Derby went down in close proximity to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. While most of America's race fans were parked in front of their 42" flat panel televisions for some five-hour NASCAR pre-race drivel show these guys were out racing and having a wicked good time. And even though we've seen plenty of equally entertaining drunken hipster versions of Soap Box Derby this was the r

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    Trial Of Gumball 3000 Driver Expected To Wrap Up Today

    Despite the family of the victim reportedly forgiving driver Nick Morley for causing the deaths of Vladimir and Margit Cepuljoski, the trial is soldiering on, pitting defense forensics expert against prosecution forensics expert. According to Macedonian internet news agency makfax,

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    What's Your Favorite Car Feature?

    When I was 15 years old I went on what was supposed to be a week-long backpacking trip. We cut it short after four days because of mosquitoes. That meant that we had three extra days to kill in a big ol' motorhome before anyone expected us back home. Even better, the dads were collectively sick of driving/listening to me wine about wanting to drive. Thus, I found that little in life is as exciting as piloting a motorhome on your learner's permit. (I loved it about nine million times more than th

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    1966 Lancia Fulvia Berlina GT

    This is a daily-driven commuter '66 Lancia, parked on the street in Alameda. Let's just pause and contemplate the meaning of that statement: here is a man who depends on a 41-year-old Lancia Fulvia for his everyday transportation! Your 400,000-mile Toyota commuter doesn't seem so daring now, does it?

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Renault Reveals New Laguna

    Admit it. You've been waiting for Renault to give its Laguna a bit of the ol' up and under, haven't you? Well, they may have, depending on your definition of that vaguely British-sounding turn of phrase. But whether it's sex appeal you were looking for, or you hadn't given it a fool's farthing, the new Renault Laguna is upon us. Aside from visual alterations, at launch the slightly recast Laguna will get a range of engines, starting with a 2.0-liter petrol four with 16 valves and 145 hp and a tu

    By Mike Spinelli Read More
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    Wolfgang Bernhard's Riding The Chrysler Group Like A Tomahawk Hemi-Cycle

    Since joining the Cerberus team to help "advise" them on an acquisition bid for the Chrysler Group, everyone's been wondering what Wolfgang "Tomahawk" Bernhard'd be doing over there in Auburn Hills after the winning bid was announced. It looks like we've now got our answer. Reports from the Wall Street Journal yesterday indicate Wolfgang Bernhard's

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    Ford Sales Continue "Planned" Slide, Down 6.8%

    Despite the fact that this was a "planned reduction," it's generally not so good when your auto company sold just over 19,000 less vehicles for the past month than they sold the year prior. Let FoMoCo talk all they want about reducing daily rental sales — it matters not when they're also losing retail sales (that's based on the verbiage from the press release that "retail sales nearly match year ago levels" — a clear indicator they're not at the same level as this time last year). But hey, the

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    Wheel Cleaning Tips In Detail

    Whichever crackpot invented the wheel had no idea what it would lead to. Land speed records. Plus one measures of gravity on a skidpad. Four-second quarter miles. 30-inch spinners! Multiple volumes of unmentionable bad craziness. And dirt crusted wheels. While filthy wheels may not be of great concern for ox-drawn carts or the old roto-tiller, shabby looking hoops can ruin automotive outward appearances. Rolling in a car with filthy wheels is akin to showing up to a job interview with scuffed-u

    By Mike Bumbeck Read More
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    Most Beloved Family Vehicle Of Your Childhood?

    Car geeks of a certain age- say, old enough to have had a childhood free of child seats and three-point harnesses on family road trips- often reminisce fondly of sibling wrestling matches in the cargo areas of lead-spewing station wagons hauling ass to some sweaty bug-ridden vacation destination, the tantalizing danger of power windows that would cut your snitching little brother's head clean off if you but touched the "UP" button, and so on. Then, of course, the talk turns to the cars themselve

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Getting Cash Back On Your Lexus Is Not The Same As "Lexus Cash"

    The above-pictured lady goes by the stage name Lexus Cash. We mentioned this story once before, and although we're still pretty sure we're able to tell the difference between her, a character on a porno site run by two metro Detroiters (who knew we had a porn industry?) and the Lexus brand, Lexus isn't so sure that's the case. Thus, the luxe brand from the number one super best automaker from the land of the rising sun has sued the two entrepreneurs selling videotaped sexy stuff. As a public

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Corvair 95!

    It's a good thing I use a pseudonym, because it's always dangerous drawing the attention of Corvair lovers, even if it's just to share photographs of a surviving street-driven Corvair. Corvairistas possess not only the usual single-minded obsession with their (incredibly superior and innovative! I swear!) rear-engine GM vehicles but a sense of having been wronged by an evil, corrupt cartel. Kept down! Why, if it hadn't been for that commie rat bastid Nader, we'd all be driving brand-new Corvairs

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Hamann BMW X5 E70

    A band of noble Swabian tuners from Laupheim just introduced their latest program for the latest BMW X5. No, we're not talking about the agnatic line of the Ellerbach dynasty, it's Hamann, which has been on a tear recently. The company's tuned X5 has been messed with entirely, from engine to suspension, wheels, interior and aerodynamics. There's no mondo superchargers under the hood, just a Motronics ECU kit, so don't get all drooley. Still, anything to lower the center of gravity and add aero s

    By Mike Spinelli Read More