Archive for May 2008

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Buying (14)

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2008 BMW 128i Convertible, Part Three

Why you should buy the 2008 BMW 128i Convertible: You just found out that the Botox you had injected straight into your eyelid didn't leak into your brain thereby ending an existence that has, up to now, been mostly pointless. No longer. Your new life is going to have meaning, you're going to shun materialism and embrace the world. To celebrate this epiphany you're going to buy a blue one, because blue is the color of tranquility. Why you shouldn't buy this car: You can't afford the kind of gir
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2008 BMW 128i Convertible, Part Two

Exterior Design:*** The 2008 BMW 128i Convertible manages to put its best face forward, with wide headlights that add a new dimension to the brand's rigid look and set the 1-Series apart from the big brother 3. In profile, you'll have to buy into the flame surfacing and its fear of straight lines, which shouldn't be too hard as this is a fairly conservative take on the Bangle theme. Things fall apart in the end, literally, as the strong beltline bends angrily towards the shoulders with an over a
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2008 BMW 128i Convertible, Part One

Piloting the 2008 BMW 1-series Convertible out into a crowded street, top down, I couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious. I'm not much for the attention drawn by convertibles, and this is a shiny, brand-new BMW convertible. No less than three minutes into my journey I'm stopped by someone on the street who yells "Hey, buddy." I'm guessing the gentleman wants to ask about the car so I try to assume the confident poise of someone who might actually buy this particular vehicle, only to have
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2009 Hyundai Genesis

It was at dinner on the second night of my Korean adventure to drive the 2009 Hyundai Genesis on behalf of Popular Mechanics when I finally decided to try kimchi. If you've never tried the stuff, you'd better have a stomach built like a steel-clad clay pot. I don't. But after spending a few hours running the first luxury sedan from the Korean automaker through its paces at their proving grounds outside of Seoul I figured it was the right time to finally introduce the uniquely Korean delicacy — a
By Ray Wert Read More
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2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo X: First Drive, Again

When our fearless leader so elegantly blew the clutch on the only Saab 9-3 Turbo X in the country after the performance sedan spent a long tour of Europe and a hard day under the boot of Jan Magnussen, we thought getting an honest review of the car would be nigh impossible. We also thought Wert would never live down that new nickname — Chief Transmission Destroyer. But he has, and after the boss-man agreed to stay off the track until he got a few more heel-toe lessons, the fine folks at Saab inv
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Part Three

Why you should buy the 2009 Jetta SportWagen: You want a Euro wagon and don't have the stash for an Audi S4 Avant or the desire to stuff your friends in an A3. The question of how you're going to get all of this stuff back to your loft from Trader Joe's is a common one. Subaru? Nothanku. You are a keeper of the greatest of automotive secrets: wagons make the best cars. Why you shouldn't buy this car: They're going to soon be selling this exact same car in a torquey turbodiesel and a zippy turbo
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Part Two

Exterior Design:** The lines that we like on the Golf GTI somehow fall short with the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen. The taillight assembly looks like it was tacked on to the design at the last minute and the grille looks more like the work of an overzealous orthodontist than what we picture when we think of VW. The car's best look is in profile, where the designers make a case for a wagon actually being sporty. Just park it sideways in your driveway. Interior Design:*** All three stars on t
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Part One

The affluent neighborhood of Glencoe, Illinois is home to a curving street of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed houses reached by a single-access bridge also designed by Wright. The black 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen parked on said bridge couldn't be more incongruous to the surrounding Prairie School architecture, which is recognizable by the strong horizontal lines, flat roofs, horizontal bands of windows and lack of excess ornamentation. But whereas the previous generation of Volkswagen Jetta is
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2009 Ford Escape: First Drive

While we're not quite willing to call this a full review, we did get some seat time with a couple of spankin' new 2009 Ford Escape models yesterday. We managed to get back-to-back seat time with both the 2008 and 2009 V6 4x4 Limited as well as the Hybrid for direct comparison on the same 20-mile circuit. When Hardigree reviewed the Escape's platform pal, the 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, it was fairly obvious our impression was one of disconnectedness. The brakes felt funny, the handling was blah
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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2008 Suzuki SX4, Part Three

Why you should buy this car: "Yeah man, that WRX is nice but it looks like it's had some hard miles. That kid put stickers on it, that makes me nervous. I don't know if I want a used car. Yeah, yeah I'd love a new one but that's a little out of the question right now and, you know, I want something fun to drive but... yeah. I hear you. It's just that I don't want to have to replace the clutch in ten thousand miles. Why can't I have something new, fun and affordable that isn't stripped to the bon
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2008 Suzuki SX4, Part Two

Exterior Design:*** Design touches such as the split A-pillar, metal-look skid plates and black plastic everywhere give the 2008 Suzuki SX4 a distinctive and tough look that unfortunately distracts from its sporty and capable soul. If we're being generous, the car is a triathlete, pretty good at almost everything. At least it looks unique. Interior Design:**** Did I mention the back seats tumble all the way forward? That's a nice touch. Though most of the buttons and switches come out of the Su
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2008 Suzuki SX4, Part One

When an automaker wants you to sell you a vehicle like the 2008 Suzuki SX4, they'll put together an ad featuring people who seem to spend their entire life riding mountain bikes, chugging energy drinks and otherwise enjoying a kind of lifestyle that exists predominately in the glossy pages of men's magazine. Needless to say, climbing class three mountains isn't how I spend my weekends. Thankfully I know a few people who do. I should have known what I was getting into early Saturday morning when
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2008 Mazda RX-8, Part Three

Why you should buy this car: You've been complaining that no one makes interestingly different cars anymore, and now you have a chance to own one. You like the idea of an engine that not only can but must spin above six grand to be entertaining or useful. You think all doors should be suicide doors. You've never thought fuel economy or stoplight drags were primary considerations in buying a car. A good healthy session of Wankelry is an important part of your day. The thought of having one of the
By John Krewson Read More
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NY Times Reveals Congressmen Have Bad Taste In Cars, No Eye For A Deal

Representative Michael R. McNulty pays $816 for a 2007 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, which he chose for its utility. Representative Redolphus Towns pays $715 a month for his Lincoln MKX, he bought it to save money on fuel. Representative Louise M. Slaughter needed a car that handled safely in the snow, so she picked a Buick Lucerne, for which the US Taxpayer pays $808 a month. All have chosen to take advantage of the benefit on offer to any member of the US House of Representatives: any car of their c
By Wes Siler Read More

Entertainment (4)

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BBC Facing Calls To Sack Clarkson Over Boasts Of Speeding 186 MPH On British Public Roads

The Beeb's facing some criticism today from road safety activists over comments made by the very lovable, huggable and downright loud, Jeremy Clarkson. Actually, it's not just criticism — it's an outright call for his firing from the venerable Brits who broadcast. Apparently, during an interview by Daily Mail columnist Rosie Boycott, the 48-year-old host of the world's bestest motoring show was asked what was the fastest he had ever driven. Mr Clarkson replied: "On the public roads...186." Jeez.
By Ray Wert Read More
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Top Gear Australia Hosts Revealed, We Patiently Await Ute Hoonage

After a long whittling process, BBC Worldwide has taken a list of thousands of hopefuls for Top Gear Australia down to the three lucky blokes who now own the title of "happiest hoons in Australia." The three presenters, Charlie Cox, Warren Brown, and Steve Pazzati along with an AUS version of Stiggie will be starring in the first episodes beginning later this year. The Beeb is of course hoping the eclectic trio will maintain the spirit of the original, while adding their own down under spin on t
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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Nein! Tim Shrick Ist Nicht Der Stiggie!

Remember how we told you yesterday those Dutch bloggers of autos at autoblog.nl claimed Top Gear's Stig was none other than German racer Tim Schrick? Well, they were wrong. Thank goodness. But seriously, frigging fan-boy bloggers — they never get this stuff right. In fact, Jalopnik commenter and writer-on-photos champ smokyburnout has pointed out that not only is he not Das Stig, he's even given us a handy graphic to prove it. As you can see above from this shot taken from an entirely different
By Ray Wert Read More
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Up-Front Page Up, Top Gear USA Not Cancelled?

So despite the fact NBC "cancelled" their up-fronts this year, they still managed to put together some kind of lame event (we hear it was like a carnival or something) to drum up support for their prime-time lineup across the NBC Universal network-o-sphere. As part of that "alternative up-front", they've got a page up on NBC Universal's web site that pretty clearly shows they're soliciting advertisements for a "Top Gear"-like show. While certainly no proof "Gear" hasn't been cancelled, the news
By Ray Wert Read More

News (227)

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2010 Cadillac SRX Is The BRX

No, it's not a "Cadillac Style" weekend here at Jalopnik, but there is one other thing we wanted to mention about the poll Wally took that revealed the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon. Apparently they showed the "SRX-replacing" Cadillac crossover certain spy photographers have adamantly been calling the BRX. Except, it won't be called the BRX for the 2010 model year. Nope, expect the 2010 Cadillac SRX to be called — drum roll, please — the 2010 Cadillac SRX. Yes, SRX is the BRX. Glad we got that o
By Ray Wert Read More
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2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon Pictures, Details Leaked?

UPDATE: The new Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon has now been officially revealed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. We've seen the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon but that was masked up with black camo as it was being tested on the road . Now we've got some un-camoed pictures of the newest member to the 2010 CTS family as it's apparently being tested online for opinions. The CTS family already includes the sedan and the 2010 CTS Coupe, and with this new Wagon der Sport, it'll be a threesome. Than
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: T.G.I.F. Edition

You ever had one of those weeks? Those knock-down, drag-out, pull-ya-under kind of weeks? A week that literally sucks the will to live right out from you? Yeah, you know what we're talking about. We had one of those weeks this week. Even having Monday off wasn't enough for us. The rest of the week just more than made up in badness. Which is why we were thankful as all get out that today was the last day of the work week. Not only because we'd made it through it, but because we saw a comment at t
By Ray Wert Read More
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2010 Ford Fusion: Shiny, Happy Mid-Size Sedan

You ever seen "A Christmas Story?" Remember the end of the movie? You know, at the Chinese restaurant — the duck? Yeah, I kind of feel like the 2010 Ford Fusion may be making a similar facial expression, at least according to these new spy photos of a new mule shot by the boys at KGP. What the photos also show is how Ford's trying to breathe some life into their current fascia-blanco Gillette-looking lineup with a little bit of the "kinetic" look they're trying elsewhere the Ford brand is sold.
By Travis Hudson Read More
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Max Mosley Responds To FIA Club Critics, Let The Crazy Continue

We've got the response from Max Mosley and his band of kinky minions to those puritans from the clubs that asked he accept resignation and be rewarded with a vote of confidence. In his usual nutty fashion, Mad Max responds that this is the "worst possible" solution because any suggestion there is a crisis is "nonsense" and, anyways, he'll lack the authority to save the FIA. It all makes perfect sense... if you're on acid. The full letter courtesy of AutoSport below:
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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Subaru Wants You To Make Sumos Sexy, Take Shots Of Forester

When we were but wee Jalops, dreaming fantastically about our glamorous future as car journalists, the photoshoot seemed to be one of the most alluring perks of the job. What could be better than spending the day surrounded by models and a fast car? Subaru is hoping there's many more dreamers out there and is offering them the chance to experience the wonders of a photoshoot, virtually, as a marketing tool for their new 2009 Subaru Forester. Sexy models included.
By Wes Siler Read More
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Awesome Dodge Tradesman 200, Shag Carpet Included

If there's one wacky automotive fad we missed but wish we hadn't, it'd have to be the vannin' movement. That wacky, proto-dekotora trend fueled by polyester and facial hair just speaks to our better sensibilities. So when we saw this groovy 1975 Dodge Tradesman 200 for sale on eBay, the urge to grow a handlebar 'stache and pick up the latest from REO Speedwagon was nearly overwhelming. This baby has got it all, sun roofs, a fridge, mirrored ceiling over a convertible bed, shag carpet, a CB radio
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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2009 Mercedes G-Class Gets A Lot More Power, Not A Lot Else

Already one of the most overpriced and unnecessary vehicles on sale, the 2009 Mercedes G-Wagen is getting more power and more fuel consumption. The G500 gains a new 5.5-liter V8 and with it a 30% improvement in power. While 382bhp and a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds might sound ridiculous to you or I, it's positively necessary for the G-Wagen's celebrity clientele, enabling them to run away from paparazzi and run over peons in a much more efficient manner. To disguise the vehicle's thirty-year old sh
By Wes Siler Read More
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Honda Freed, A Fit Mini-Minivan

Sure, they're not only not cool, but we really can't stand them, but some of the most efficient vehicles on the market are five-door subcompacts and eight-passenger minivans. So what happens what you combine the two? Well, if you're Honda, you start with a Jazz, or as it's known in America, the Honda Fit, and then make it just a touch bigger to fit a third row of seats. Then, swap in some rear sliding doors, and you've got yourself a compact minivan that can seat up to eight people. But just how
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Toyota To Build Next Prius In The US? With GM?! In California?!?!

According to the Japanese daily newspaper Tokyo Shimbun, unnamed sources inside Toyota have informed them the company is in talks to assemble the new Toyota Prius hybrid in the United States in partnership with General Motors. Say what? That Toyota wants to build the next-generation Prius in the United States, given its popularity (they're harder to find) and a weaker dollar, that isn't the hugest surprise. The choice of Fremont, California would be an interesting choice as it means the Prius wo
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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1974 Volkswagen Thing

The VW Thing was only sold in North America for the 1973 and 1974 model years; we've already seen a '73, which means we're due for a '74 (there's no telling what manner of VW the Very Low Thing really is). Alameda has at least two more Things parked on the street (that I know about), and this one appears to be the nicest one. It definitely gets driven regularly, although the Low Thing is the one I see driving most frequently.
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2009 Ford Ka, Revealed!

After what feels like the world's longest production run — in reality a mere 12 years (seriously!) — the Ford Ka is finally getting an all-new model, and here's the car doing the replacing. As we reported way back in 2005, the 2009 Ford Ka will be based on the Fiat 500 in a bit of magical platform prostitution, and though that's a good start, the 500 definitely has some room for improvement. We hope Ford has worked its small car suspension magic on the little bugger cause the 63 HP 1.2-liter, 10
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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2009 Pontiac G6 Coupe

That's right folks, Bucky the beaver is back. The boys from KGP just caught this lightly covered 2009 Pontiac G6 Coupe ( Or is it the 2010 Pontiac G6 Coupe? Who knows? ) out on the city streets bucking convention and the recent MotorTrend article proclaiming it's demise. As you can see, the new G6 coupe's getting umm — umm — not much in the way of changes other than a seriously revised front fascia with a big and wide combined lower intake. And is that an upgraded interior peeking out there? Doe
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Bavarian Cream Edition

There's so much that we, as a country, don't understand about Bavarian cream. For one, it probably isn't the creation of a Bavarian nor was it likely created in Bavaria. Had you guessed it was a French confection, you'd also probably be wrong. Bavarian cream, according to most, is actually a Swiss invention that was created for some forgotten Bavarian dignitary. Whatever its origin, a delicious Bavarian creme is a dessert popular around the world. Another thing, the classic Bavarian cream donut
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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PCH, High Cost Of Admission Edition: Mercedes-Benz 190SL Or Jaguar XK140?

We had another close one yesterday, but the '69 Crown managed to edge out the '59 Datsun in the race to the Lake Of Fire in the Choose Your Eternity poll. We've seen some pretty affordable cars lately (well, affordable to start with, before you start buying parts), but what about Hell Projects that raise the pressure in the boiler by starting out with gut-punch price tags? You must finish a project that you spent 30 or 50 grand just acquiring, right? And if you need to spend $5,000 on a windshie
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Audi Engine Strategy Through 2011 Leaked

Someone in the know over at Audiblog.nl has spilled forth a detailed list of all Audi brand engines for all models through the 2011 calender year — and the release dates for new models. In addition to the big engine news, the leakers claim that we'll be seeing the rumored Audi A7 model in June of 2010, as well as an S7 version following that fall, and a return to form for the next generation Audi S4. Look below for a detail look at what's coming up for Audi in the next three years.
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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Homemade Driving Sim Cockpit Made Of E30 Parts, More Realistic Than Modern BMWs?

The cockpit of many modern cars may make the driver feel like they're in a video game, what with drive-by-wire steering, floppy-paddle gearboxes, and an array of electronic nannies. But what about a video game that makes you feel like you're in a real car? Thats what one Bimmerphile over at r3vlimited was apparently going for with this: a driving simulator cockpit that utilizes the ergonomic interior of an old E30 BMW 3-Series. But, this isn't just some junkyard seat sitting in front of a TV, ev
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Raymond Loewy Designed 1959 Cadillac Eldorado For Sale

Raymond Loewy is one of those industrial design legends who has no problem maintaining a spot in the pantheon of automotive history. The design lead for Studebaker during the post war years, Loewy and Virgil Exner, another luminary, were responsible for some of the most forward thinking and trend setting designs of the time. Loewy didn't just do work for a broad range of customers, including NASA, he also did stuff for himself. This self-commissioned 1959 Cadillac Eldorado was designed with nobo
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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The Ferrari California Shows How It Goes Topless

Ferrari's revealed some new details and new photos of the upcoming 2009 Ferrari California. Yes, it's the same Ferrari California we first revealed early for you a couple weeks ago. And it's the same one we showed you a week later with a Skittles-like rainbow of fantasy color options. Now we've got shots of the new Ferrari GT in baby blue showing you how the little baby prancing pony puts the roof down. Isn't it simply adorable? In addition to showing off the new paint job, they've also revealed
By Ray Wert Read More
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What's The Most Disgusting Car You've Ever Driven In?

There's a great song by The Coup wherein the protagonist, in true Jalopnik style, jumps from one cheap vehicle to another including a 1988 Cadillac Seville, 1981 Datsun and 1976 Ford Pinto. The lyrics include this great exchange:
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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Max Mosley Rejects Treaty, Attacks The French

Like we said, we've been trying to tone down the Max Mosley news with the exception of stories so ridiculous they warrant noting, like the involvement of MI5 in the kinky sex or when F1 teams construct complex strategies to avoid Mosley. Therefore, we bring you these two updates. In addition to suing News Of The World, which broke the story, in its home country of Britain, Mosley is also suing the company in France, where the laws must favor the kinky. Not only that, he also rejected what seemed
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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1986 Honda CRX HF

There's a lot of talk lately about the skyrocketing value of the Geo Metro, what with high gas prices and all, but it seems that folks are forgetting about the astounding fuel economy of the Honda CRX HF. The HF got over 50 MPG highway and was orders of magnitude more fun to drive than the Chevy Sprint/Geo Metro, yet you don't hear much about it these days. I spotted this example, in the white/gray/red color scheme most mid-80s CRXs seem to have, parked just a few doors down from the VW Rabbit D
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: First Fleet Edition

Everyone's favorite fact about Australia is that it started out as a penal colony. Our favorite fact about Australia is the ute. Until Jalopnik becomes a cultural touchstone for non-auto enthusiasts, Australia will still have to endure the prison thing in other parts of the world. This goes back to when 11 ships set out from Great Britain in 1787 for New South Wales, which was to be home of the first European settlement on the continent. Led by Captain Arthur Phillip, approximately 1400 people (
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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PCH, Japanese Nostalgia Edition: 1969 Toyota Crown Or 1959 Datsun 1000?

It would appear that our readers are Lamborghini purists, given the 82/18 shellacking the V12-powered Espada issued to the Chevy-powered Espada in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll. Either way, who would have imagined owning a genuine, almost-running Lamborghini for the price of a new base Camry? Project Car Hell beckons! As we say so often here: what could go wrong? Today we're going to leave PCH Superpower Italy and head to a nation not so well known for maddeningly difficult Hell Projects
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Hybrid Technologies Building 220mpg Supercar That's Faster Than ZR1

Hybrid Technologies, makers of electric Minis and the Mullen Motor GT, are working on a lithium-ion/gas plug-in hybrid not only capable of achieving 220mpg, but horsepower numbers that promise to eclipse those of the 638bhp Corvette ZR1. Speaking to Popular Mechanics, product development engineer Ron Cerven revealed that not only will the car be entered in the Automotive X Prize, but that it could be available to purchase as soon as late next year.
By Wes Siler Read More
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2009 Hyundai Genesis Priced Starting At $33,000, Most Expensive Kimchi Ever

Well, remember yesterday how we talked about the 2009 Hyundai Genesis being a value proposition at a sub-$30,000 price point with a V8? Well, Automotive News is reporting Hyundai Motor America has priced the new Genesis luxury sedan at $33,000 for the V6 version and $38,000 for the V8. Both prices include shipping. Do we still think it's a value proposition? Hmm. Not as much as before. What do you think?
By Ray Wert Read More
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Giant Vulva Bicycle Taxi Is Freudian Wet Dream

Finnish artist Mimosa Pale feels the world is too man-parts-centric. We'd agree. However, we're not sure what to think about a form of protest that includes thrice weekly cruising the streets of Helsinki. inviting its inhabitants to take a ride by slipping inside her giant disembodied vagina mounted on top of her bike taxi. It'll invite discussion for sure, and yes, that is one of the expressed objectives for this mobile art and protest piece. But what does "Oh my god, there goes the giant vagin
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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2009 Audi A6

We were enamored with the 2007 Audi A6 and have been anxious to see how Audi would tweak the svelte sedan for its 2009 facelift. Though not a major mechanical overhaul, this latest A6 gets a revised front fascia that includes lower, flared intakes inspired by the sporty Audi A5. Don't let the lack of obvious, checkerboard camo confuse you. Audi is still hiding some of the good stuff. Thankfully, the folks at KGP were smart enough to grab a closer shot of the rear taillights, which are covered in
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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Rejoice, Cubicle Engineers, You Now Have Real Office Decorations

We've been there. The felt-covered, foam-cored, half-high cubicle walls covered in a smattering of Dilbert cartoons printed from the web, displays of certificates of completion for chimp-level training courses, an array of memento desk clocks meant to replace a missing bonus along with an ever growing stacks of work. We know these cubicles well, as we have lived in them ourselves. Fear not, cube farm warrior, for today, we deliver to you refreshing cube decor, worthy of printing on the highest q
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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What's The Proper Orientation Of Manumatics?

Today's review car, which you can read about above, features three ways to clutchlessly shift gears. You can push/pull the thumb buttons, push/pull the shifter or just let the automatic do its thing on its own. Assuming you've given in and gotten a slushbox with the manual mode, we're going to give you credit and assume you'll mostly choose the gears yourself. This brings up the question of which is the proper orientation? Wes and I got into a long debate about this ourselves, not being able to
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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2010 Opel Astra Spotted Testing In Alps, 2011 Saturn Version Not Far Behind

While on a testing field trip in the Austrian Alps, GM engineers managed to wander into the range of a wild pack of KGP photographers, giving us a bit more of a solid look at the pending 2010 Opel Astra, and by extension, the next version of the 2011 Saturn Astra. Though the outside camo makes us want to play checkers, the cockpit was sans cover-ups and looking pretty snazzy for the segment. We can imagine the character line at the bottom of the rear door swooping up to match a Mazda3-wagon-like
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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Fiat Phylla Concept Is Green, Uses Frame Resembling Board Of Skating

We're already tired of all the "green" concepts from makers from Audi to Zap — mostly because we'd like some real alternatives rather than just pie-in-the-sky concepts — but with the one-two combo of gas prices and "the green marketing movement" it's not likely to end any time soon. Then there's Fiat — an automaker breaking the mold of creating new concepts and just recycling concepts first rolled out in 2002, almost down to the system. Back then it was called the GM Autonomy. This time it's nam
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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2009 Skoda Superb Supremely Safe, Achieves Five Stars In Euro-NCAP Tests

When we first saw the 2009 Skoda Superb we got weak in the knees. We asked the doctor to Czech us out and his Prague-nosis was that this Passat platform mate, with its twindoor system, was just too sexy. We know, it's a liftback sedan like all the others. But is it? Euro-NCAP, sort of the IIHS of Europe, tested the Superb and gave it five stars or 35 points for the protection of adults and 40 points for the protection of children. The big difference? Knee airbags. Brilliant. Press release below
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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Hypermiling Couple Sets World Record With 90 MPG Drive Around Australian Coast

Remember when we drove a European-spec Honda Civic 2.2 i-CTDi on a 100-mile road trip? We did pretty well, averaging 72 MPG. While we were throughly impressed, it was nothing compared to earning two spots in the Guinness Book Of World Records. Helen and John Taylor, a British couple, earned their two spots of fame in the record book of record books while Down Under in their little Peugeot 308 HDi. The first record was for "longest distance on a single tank," set by traveling 1192 miles on just 6
By Mark Arnold Read More
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1967 Ford Galaxie 500XL

Here's a car I've seen in my neighborhood a few times but never had a chance to photograph until now. This super-clean big-block '67 Galaxie belongs to WhatWouldJesseDo's friend, Rocky, who often visits Alameda from his place on the other side of the San Francisco Bay. When I spotted the big Ford on Jesse's block, I called him up and requested that he drag Rocky outside with the keys, so I could get some interior shots.
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2009 Pontiac G3 Heading North?

The forum fan-boys over at GMInsideNews were rooting around the EPA's always-helpful fueleconomy.gov site, and found an interesting entry with fuel economy numbers for something called a "2009 Pontiac G3" and "2009 Pontiac G3 Hatchback." Wait, what? We knew all about the rest of the G-whatever lineup, and we know President Bush once got confused and climbed into the back seat of a G8 thinking it was a summit of the group of eight wealthiest nations, but we though the only Pontiac G3 was down Sou
By Ray Wert Read More
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El Camino Immortalized In Lego!

The character Earl J. Hickey of the TV show My Name Is Earl drives a '73 El Camino with some mismatched junkyard parts, and that was reason enough for this Lego modeler to recreate the famous cartruck in Danish plastic bricks. We're disappointed that we don't get to see the engine in the photos, since it's probably a super-accurate reproduction of a 307 with Moroso valve covers and a Supercoil. (Hat tip to Nicjasno!) [Brickshelf.com]
By Murilee Martin Read More
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We can't tell if TheStreet.com is calling Bob Lutz the "Ford guy" or "the floor guy" at 1:10 in on this video on tips for saving money on your car payments. What say you? [TheStreet]
By Ray Wert Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Glass Family Edition

There's that moment that most people have, somewhere around high school, when J.D. Salinger becomes some sort of prophet. It starts with Catcher In The Rye but quickly that's dismissed as "junior high" reading (or it becomes the basis for an entire sad emo lifestyle) and quickly the young reader moves on to the Glass family series. For those who weren't screwed up by "A Perfect Day For Bananafish" or "Franny and Zooey," the Glass family is the fictional group of serious childhood geniuses that e
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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PCH, You Can Afford A Lamborghini Edition: 1970 Or 1971 Espada?

Fiero-based Fierraris and Fieroborghinis are great (though the vast majority of you went with the Zimmer Quicksilver over the Fierrari in the poll), but a realistic-looking, V8-equipped Fieroborghini can run you over 20 grand. If only you could get a real Lamborghini for that kind of money... ah, but that's just impossible, right? Hell no! This is Project Car Hell, where you can put a finicky Italian supercar in your garage for the price of a new 4-cylinder Camry... or less! Better brush up on y
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2009 Renault Laguna Coupe Debuts At Cannes And Monaco, Gets Favorable Treatment For Being French

We've been waiting for the real Laguna Coupe to drop ever since we saw the Renault Laguna concept at Frankfurt last year. Pleasantly, the coupe retains the smooth lines and sharp features of the concept version, only slightly refined for the driving public. Though we're partial to the Laguna GT wagon, this Laguna features the new 240-horspower 3.5-liter V6 mated to a six-speed automatic. We'll take one in diesel with a six-speed manual, thanks. Press release below the jump.
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2010 Volkswagen Robust Pickup Spotted With Grille

The quick shutters at KGP got more photos of the 2010 VW Robust, this time showing much more of that robust grille action than we've seen before. Apparently, this design is similar to what is being considered for the 2009 Golf/Rabbit (no shock there). There has been some back-and-forth on what this Volkswagen truck will end up being (Taro, posisbly), but what we currently think is that the new VW pickup will hit showrooms as a 2010 model and will be built in Hanover, Germany and Argentina. Full
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Lexus LF-A Crash At Nürburgring Provides First Look At Interior And Engine

A late night shakedown and track familiarization run ahead of the start of the Nürburgring 24H race ended with Toyota dealing with a damaged Lexus LF-A. No official reason was given for the accident, but while the team was dealing with the busted front bits and torn up tail, the sneaky spies at KGP got down to work. The stealthy photogs snapped off some clear-as-day shots of the V10 engine, stripped down interior, suspension, carbon fiber under body tray and some very C2 Corvette-like door handl
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Forgotten Slovenian Peugeot 504 Rescued, Put Back On Road

We're getting more DOTS Bonus Edition stuff from Yurp these days, which gives us just that much more opportunity to see Peugeot 504s in their native habitat. Nicjasno, from the Slovenian city of Maribor, has photographed his family's 504, which was found sitting abandoned in the weeds near a Peugeot dealer and brought back to life. The new paint job looks nice, and we even get a bonus vintage Benz; make the jump for Nicjasno's story.
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Dealers Worried Mercury To Go The Way Of The Dodo, Waiting For A Ford Clubbing

It can't be fun to be a Lincoln Mercury dealer right now. Not only do you have to endure your Cadillac Buick dealer friends showing off their relatively diverse and unique stable of new models, but there's no clear idea of what your future is going to hold. An article in the Detroit News features various dealers of Ford's more luxurious brands worried that there's nothing new in terms of Mercury models coming down the pipeline and that they're being phased out without anyone telling them about i
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1982 Fiat X-1/9

My DOTS-detectin' antennae are getting more sensitive every day; I caught the briefest glimpse of something red and vaguely wedge-shaped down a side street out of the corner of my eye while riding as a passenger in a car and made a mental note: Possible Fiat X-1/9! Investigate later! Sure enough, when I went back to that block later on, here was a red X-1/9 and not a Toyota MR2 or Pontiac Fiero (not that there's anything wrong with either of those two, but they're not anywhere near as rare as th
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Rolls-Royce RR4 Gets A Sketchy Tease Before Real 2010 Reveal

Rolls-Royce revealed the first design sketches today of its next new model — the 2010 Rolls-Royce RR4 — the same one we gave you details for back in January. The new boxy luxe roller will sit alongside and just to the left of the Phantom model in the line-up as it's a wee bit smaller than the ghost-like Rolls. As we already knew, the new model will be powered by an all-new engine unique to the luxe brand, but we don't have much more in the way of details other than the above sketches released at
By Ray Wert Read More
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1943 International Harvester Truck

It's not only Truck Monday, it's Memorial Day! We haven't seen a street-parked vintage military vehicle since the Unimog of last fall, and we're due for another war wagon! I spotted this '43 IHC on the same block as the minister's '77 Camaro, and it was apparently surrounded by Soviet troops. Nothing I see on the street in Alameda surprises me any more, so I stopped to see what was going on.
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Seven Ways To Save On Gas This Memorial Day Weekend

We're sitting on the precipice of one of the best weekends to do stuff all year — Memorial Day weekend. The issue isn't finding cool goings-on, it's paring down the options. You've got the Indianapolis 500 as the headline attraction for the motorsports-obsessed, beaches and pools are opening up, car shows (or just random Woodward Avenue cruising if you're here in Metro Detroit), and millions of backyard barbecues, only problem is getting there. With prices for 87 octane hovering between $3.85
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Coors Puts Beer Waste To Use As Ethanol

As we continue our march towards the end of the highest-priced gas day of the year, let's turn to something a little bit more enjoyable to think about — like beer! Who says you have to harvest football fields worth of corn for one gallon of ethanol? Molson Coors Brewing Company, the company behind the delectable Coors Light has announced that it is the official E85 ethanol producer for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Wait, what? Seriously? A beer company is the ethanol sponsor for the D
By Travis Hudson Read More
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1973 Mercedes-Benz 220D

We had a Favorite DOTS Mercedes-Benz poll a couple months back, and the '65 220SE won handily. Looking at the list, however, I realized that I'd overlooked the W115 cars, so it was time to go out and shoot one on the island. You Mercedes-Benz experts are going to have to help us figure out the exact year on this one; I'm pretty sure it's from the 1971-73 era, but that's about as close as I'm going to get.
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Commenter Of The Day: Gangsta's Paradise Edition

At one point, depending on age, you may have found yourself in the back of a bus singing along with the chorus to Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise." The song was infectious, emotional, had an awesome video directed by Antoine Fuqua and is based on Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise." The song is one of the biggest worldwide hip hop singles of all-time, hitting the top of the charts in thirteen countries (Sweden loves Coolio). And if the song wasn't popular enough, Weird Al Yankovic charted on the Bil
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PCH, Fiero-Based Hell Edition: Fierrari Or Zimmer Quicksilver?

Britain beats Italy, though by the slimmest of margins, in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll, with the '64 Lotus Elan eking out a 51/49 victory over the '60 Lancia Flaminia. That means we'll need to set up a Britain-France PCH Schmackdöwn Challenge™ pretty soon... but that comes only after we cross the river of flaming gasoline that separates us from Fiero-Based Project Hell. The General saw fit to build vast quantities of mid-engined, plastic-bodied cars back in the 80s, and that means that
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2008 Mitsubishi Evo MR Available In June, The Rocket-Powered Groundhog Returns For Just $40K

For those who find the the standard Mitsubishi Evo X to be too pedestrian for their tastes, we present to you the 2008 Mitsubishi Evo MR. Compared to the trimmed-down GSR, the MR gets the Mitsubishi 6-speed DSG transmission (which they insist on calling the TC-SST, as if there aren't enough letters being thrown about with this vehicle). The base MSRP for the MR when it goes on sale this fall is $38,290, which gets bumped to $40,840 with the inclusion of an upgraded sound/nav system and other tec
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Berkeley Isn't Just About The Prius: Street-Driven Jaguar XK140

Those of us who live in Alameda or Oakland might cringe a bit when our Berkeley neighbors once again make the national headlines for something silly, but the hometown of Philip K. Dick (not to mention plutonium) is a no-arguments international superpower when it comes to cool old cars- especially weird European machines- parked on the street. Citröens, 60s BMWs, and Fiats are all over Berkeley, and then there's the British stuff. Our friend and fellow Doctor of Automotive Journalism Davey Johnso
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2010 Chevy Camaro Showing Off Best Shots Yet Of DI V6 Engine?

You may have been thinking General Motors has timed their muscle car revival all wrong, what with the 2010 Chevy Camaro coming out just as gas hits $51 per gallon. But see that's just what they want — to make driving this car an indulgence. And why wouldn't it be? Especially as it now appears that although the V8-engined 2010 Camaro SS may be getting all the attention, the V6 is going to pack quite a punch as well. These new shots from the forum fan-boys looking beyond the F-body at Camaro5 give
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1954 Fiat Turbina Concept, Three Turbine Engines, No Waiting

The Fiat Turbina is one of those odd little engineering exercises which eventually fade into the ether. As a car, it certainly was interesting to look at, beautiful even, and wore high fins way before they were cool. But the really slick stuff was under the skin. The mid-mounted powerplant consisted of three different turbines all working together. Two acted as compressors for the third, which in turn powered the wheels. With peak output of 220 HP at a staggerin 22,000 RPM, the Turbina was capab
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Official Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 Photos, Looks Ready For Race Day

You knew it was coming, and we've seen a head-on shot of the Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 race car, but now the full studio set is out for the ogling. The standard issue and Euro-only Scirocco has been modified with more turbo pressure pushing output to 325 HP, while the chassis has been widened and lowered, aero bits added, full roll cage and gutted interior with a rally style shifter falling close at hand. We think it looks rather smashing in its blue and white livery and kinda wish the normal Sci
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Mystery Solved! Veritas RS3 Going Into Production

When we first saw the Veritas RS3 testing on the Nürburgring, we assumed it was just a one-off of some sort. But then it popped up again in a video from BridgeToGantry, and we started wondering if there was more to the story. Surely it couldn't be, not in today's crazy world, that a sleek monoposto would actually be built as something that mere mortals can buy. Despite our doubts, we now hear that Veritas is indeed planning on producing the RS3 single-seat roadster, complete with a 5.0-liter V10
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Ana Really Likes Her Lexus LS400

You really have to wonder about the person sitting on the other side of the DMV table when this proposal for a custom plate slide across the desk to them. Hmm. ANASLEX, nothing wrong there, right? Nothing could possibly be misconstrued as incredibly hilarious offensive here. Nope. Maybe the disturbing number of car sex stories lately has gotten to us, but we think Ana might want to reconsider this one. (Thanks Ken and thank you state of Ohio)
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Google Street View Drives By Shooting?

Hardigree may poke fun at the rough streets of Ray's beloved Detroit from time to time, but if these photos are what they look like they are, there's some dirt on Chicago too. Judge for yourself, but we can't help but see something going terribly wrong in these images captured in the windy city by the Google Maps Street View camera-mobiles. We've spotted everything from car accidents to Steve Job's Mercedes on the all-seeing cameras, but this takes it all to a new level.
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Ford Dramatically Shifts Production, Hits Big Red Reset Button, Revises Profit Estimates

Ford today launched a volley of media notices relating to their product mix and production schedule for 2008. Overall production looks to be around 510,000-540,000 units in the third quarter and 590,000-630,000 units for the fourth quarter, down as much as 20% and 8% compared to 2007, respectively. At the same time Ford announced it was going to increase production of the Focus, Fusion, Edge, Escape and their Lincoln, Mercury twins. This means the cuts will come primarily in the production of tr
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2009 Kia Soul, Revealed

The first time we saw the boxy little 2009 Kia Soul it was still just a concept, and a funky tribal tattoo-covered one at that. Since then we've had peeks at the production model, but now we get to see the full picture. This is the first official image of the 2009 Kia Soul, and for an econo-box, it doesn't look all too shabby. Think of it as the Korean alternative to the Scion xB, although the original Soul concept was actually a joint-venture between the Kia's design studios in California and K
By Mark Arnold Read More
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1963 Ford Falcon

Since we started off the week with a Falcon cartruck, we might as well take a look at an early Falcon with no truck bed. This '63 usually parks on the same block as the '69 VW Beetle, not far from where a Navy A7 crashed in the early 70s and became a grim Alameda legend. We've seen a couple of Falcons in this series, including a '62 and another '63 (if you consider the Mercury Comet to be a Falcon, then we've also seen this '64 and this '65).
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2009 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid

As we start to head into the lazy sweltering days of summer, Death Valley becomes the perfect location for balmy weather testing — a must-have for everything from powertrain endurance testing to figuring out exactly how cold that A/C system gets. Thus, fertile ground for those of you looking to make a foray into car spy shooting. Take the above prototype caught by spy shooter and Jalopnik reader Dan Leathers. The shots show what may be a new but not entirely unexpected development out of Ford —
By Ray Wert Read More
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PCH, Vintage Racing Hell Edition: 1964 Lotus Elan Or 1960 Lancia Flaminia?

Was it fair to pit a stock Mercury Lynx against a Chevette diesel-powered RX-7 in yesterday's Diesel Dilemma Edition Choose Your Eternity poll? Probably not, as the diesel Mazda pounded the daylights out of the badge-engineered Escort. Today we're going to move away from cars that you might consider using as everyday transportation and head into the realm of cars that stick their voracious snouts into your wallet every time they detect the proximity of a race track. That's right, it's Vintage Ra
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2010 Ford Mustang GT, Sketched With Sketchy Speculation

Oh do we have a treat for any of you lovers of 'merican muscle cars today. We were talking with a Ford insider recently about the 2010 Ford Mustang. Specifically, discussion focused on the partially speculative rendering of the 2010 Mustang GT on the front of Car und Driver this month. More than one person had already told us a number of differences between the production model and the one featured on the cover of the big buff book, and our new source claimed the same thing. The difference betwe
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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Are You Worthy Of Alice Cooper's Studebaker Avanti?

Maybe you passed up Jenna Jameson's Lamborghini, and Lindsay Lohan's SL65 left you cold. Well, forget about those pseudo-celebs' cars, because we've found Alice Cooper's Studebaker for sale! Avanti purists might come after you with the nearest blunt instrument when they see the modern Corvette 350 under the hood... wait, is there such a thing as an Avanti purist? Not only do you get an updated suspension and drivetrain, you get a genuine autographed Alice Cooper guitar! [eBay Motors]
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Are Hybrids Bunk?

We're constantly approached by people who want to know which hybrid is best. There's a lot of excitement, still, around the concept of not only saving gas but of also having a neat toy with about 600 green stickers on it. Just today Honda announced a renewed commitment to hybrids. And while we like the idea of new toys, and of saving gas, we've been less than impressed with the hybrids we've driven, especially given the premium. Take, for instance, the Saturn Aura Hybrid, which makes a combined
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2010 Jaguar XF-R

KGP, the quickest-snapping spy photographers this side of Jim Dunne (he doesn't wait to focus) just caught the best shots yet of the up-powered 2010 Jaguar XF-R as it rolled through the city streets somewhere in the UK. Check out those hood vents, that big and aggressive front air dam and the grille's new strainer-like mesh treatment. As far as the powerplant, KGP tells us
By Wes Siler Read More
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Electric Range Rover With Volt-Like Range Extender On The Way, Blind Children Weep

"The Liberty Electric Range Rover will drive cleanly and quietly around roads and cities, free of tax, congestion and parking charges, making less environmental impact than even the smallest, most fuel-efficient car, yet still offering the comfort and security of a luxury 4x4," claims Barry Shrier, the Liberty's founder. In addition to the batteries and electric motor — which purportedly give a 200-mile range and performance in line with the gasoline version — Shrier is planning to install a sma
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1979 Honda Civic

I'd really like to shoot more Malaise Era Civics, but it seems most of them have been crushed by now, victims of their own reliability. The problem is that these cars just did their jobs without showing a huge amount of lovable personality, and thus it wasn't much like shooting Old Yeller when an owner's coldhearted fix-it-or-scrap-it calculus came into play on a broken 20-year-old Civic. Well, that's my theory, anyway. So, here's a '79 that's beaten all the odds and kept on doing its job; I pho
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Audi TT Clubsport Quattro Interior Defies Meme, Made Mit Aluminum Und Orange?!

Audi's apparently taking the TT Clubsport Quattro — the same show car we spotted looking much more production-like earlier this month — to the Wörthersee Tour. That's the same Tour we could make neither heads nor tails of a few days later when Audi revealed their A3 TDI Clubsport Quattro concept. At least now we understand why we're seeing the Clubsport Quattro's exterior aluminum und shteel looking a little less concept-like and a little more prêt-à-porter, it's the interior that's got us flumm
By Ray Wert Read More
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Paper Craft Rally Cars Highlight Shapes Of Speed

There's not much that's cooler than a Paper Craft model. Using nothing but a couple of sheets of paper, some glue and enormous amounts of time, compressed wood pulp aficionados are able to create incredibly accurate scale models of just about anything. Paper Craft is also a detailed study on the forms and shapes of everyday objects, breaking them down into components capable of being created from right angles. Take these rally cars for instance. Disassembled, you don't get accurate representatio
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Commenter Of The Day: Well That Was Strange Edition

For a day that was devoid of stories of everyone's favorite kinky racing administrator things sure got weird. And we mean weird in that you wake up, look at the other person (or persons) and without saying a word you have a tacit understanding that what just happened will not ever be discussed sort of way. It started with Mecaphilia then transitioned to dragons in Scotland (nessies?) and ended with Minis in leather. We get it, cars are inanimate objects of our desire. That's what this site is ab
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PCH, Diesel Dilemma Edition: Diesel RX-7 Or Diesel Lynx?

We had another close race down the highway to the Lake of Fire yesterday, with the so-called win going to the triple helping of '55 Austin FX3 cabs in the Choose Your Eternity poll. Today, however, I'm inspired by the big drums of used tempura-frying oil I saw waiting for disposal behind the Japanese take-out joint near my house; think of all that potential carbon-neutral fuel just sitting there, waiting for some enterprising sort to put together a veggie-oil diesel machine to burn it up! Actual
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2010 BMW Z4 Heads To Munich

We've seen the 2010 BMW Z4 testing all over Germany, including the Nürburgring where we saw it ripping up the track. Or at least ripping up a track as much as a plastic camo-ed car can. But now the new Z4's traded in the racing cleats for some dainty little city shoes, at least according to these up-close shots of the Bavarian cream-roadster cruising the streets of Munich.
By Mark Arnold Read More
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2008 Alfa Romeo Brera S Bred Specifically For English Dragons

As if we needed more reasons to love the Alfa Romeo Brera, the gold standard for hatchback hotness, the Italians have teamed with Prodrive to make a British-only S version. The suspension has been adjusted to meet the needs of twisty English roads without adding harshness. Both the 3.2 V6 and 2.2 I4 equipped models receive a refined exhaust note and 19-inch alloys inspired by the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. There are just 500 of these special models being produced so our British readers should a
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Suzuki Takes Crosscage Hydrogen Fuel Cell Concept To The Test Track

Proving that their Crosscage emits hot water instead of hot air, Suzuki just took their fuel cell-powered concept testing in Europe. Riding impressions are non-existent, but luckily for you, I've ridden the Intelligent Energy ENV that the Crosscage is based on.
By Wes Siler Read More
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2010 BMW F3 Spied Plotting The Automotive Apocalypse?

What have we here? It looks to be some sort of tarted-up BMW wagon, and according to the guys at BimmerPost, it's a mule for an upcoming 3-Series based crossover to be known as the BMW F3. Of course, there's no way to be sure. The last time we saw a lifted E91 we thought it was an X3 powertrain mule. Then there's some people who think this little black wagon is a mule for the X1. So what is it really?
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KBB Names Ten Best New Road Trip Vehicles, Family Truckster Suspiciously Absent

There's no set definition of what is and what isn't a road trip. Do you have to cross state lines? Is there a minimum mileage? Should it be measured in years? We don't have answers to these questions and neither do the people at Kelly Blue Book who put together an interesting mix of vehicles to meet the task, ranging from the obvious choices like the Dodge Grand Caravan and Toyota Prius to surprises like the Audi S5 and Bugatti Veyron. And then there's the VW Eos, which we'd rather not be packed
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1965 Chevrolet Chevelle, With Bonus GM A-Body Poll

The pre-Malaise Chevelle is a good example of a once-ubiquitous car that has largely disappeared from the streets, due to a one-two-three-punch combo of vulnerability to rust, suitability for hoonage, and high collector value (the same three items are also applicable to the first-gen Camaro). We saw a '71 Chevelle Malibu and a pair of '69s last year, but that's been it for the Chevelle contingent in this series so far. Until today, because I've had these shots of a '65 coupe in reserve for a whi
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Walter Bagehot Edition

On this side of the pond we don't hear a lot about Walter Bagehot, but the Victorian era journalist and thinker was an important part of the English historical school of economics. As the editor of The Economist, Bagehot was able to influence the thinkers of the late 19th century both in Britain and the United States. As an Englishman he was able to recognize that we Americans had "a genius for politics." Granted, he was saying that this genius for politics was the only reason that all of our va
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Project Car Hell: 1961 BMW 700 Or Three 1955 Austin FX3 Taxis

The $10,000 Acura NSX ran away with 62% of the votes in Friday's Choose Your Eternity poll, though the Corvette put in a good showing (and it's unfortunate that the late-in-day timing of PCH made it impossible to give Graverobber Commenter of the Day recognition for this methtastic Inland Empire tale, because he totally deserved it). Today we're going to look at some projects that, if by some miracle you ever managed to get finished, would give you the highly coveted "weirdest car in town" statu
By Murilee Martin Read More
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The Amazing Self-Modifying Exhaust System

Cruising down the highway, a noise which sounded like mischievous squirrels nesting under the car caught my ear. I kept driving. Some minutes later, passing motorists began gawking, waving, honking, and pointing at my car. "Do you see anything?" I asked my brother who was riding shotgun. Looking over his shoulder, he casually replied, "yeah there's sparks" and went back to his cell phone conversation. I knew exactly what had happened. Some part of the 25-year-old exhaust system had decided it wa
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Jeep FC170 Living Oaktown Style

Rickey Henderson, Earl Warren, Too $hort, and Gertrude Stein all came out of Oakland, and now it's the turn of this street-parked Jeep FC170 to put the East Bay's main city on the map yet again. If and when I run out of DOTS cars in Alameda, all I'll need to do is take a quick hop across the Estuary and start photographing Oakland vehicles; as you can see, they don't disappoint. Akier spotted this fine example of forward-control awesomeness in the Temescal district and was on this truck with his
By Murilee Martin Read More
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So, What Is The Heidelberg Project?

Detroit: (pronounced /d??tr??t/) A place subject to automatic ridicule from anyone who has never been to the Motor City. Frankly, this ridicule is becoming tiresome. The idea of a vibrant, interesting, exciting Midwestern city is somehow divorced from this 300 year old berg. The complete discounting of Detroit is a shame of culture and possibility. Certainly, Detroit has its problems, but that betrays the underlying coolness that is this place. It operates much like a back room bar, if you don't
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Agent Provocateur Mini Clubman Gets Naughtier In The Presence Of Kim Cattrall

Those pictures we showed you of the Agent Provocateur Mini Clubman merely suggested naughtiness with their stocking-themed paint job and expressions like "You're Going Down." At the "Life Ball" event this weekend, which raises money for AIDS-related causes, the Mini Clubman was on hand and things went from the suggestion of naughtiness to the real deal. In the gallery immediately below there are an assortment of press shots of the car and live shots of the reveal. Below the jump are the not-quit
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1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Sells For $10,976,000 Setting World Record As Most Expensive Car Ever

How much would you pay for the car of your dreams? Well, the official record for the highest price anyone ever paid for any car anywhere was just recently set when a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT short-wheelbase California got hammered down at auction for €7,040,000. Converted to 'merican dollars, that's about $10,976,000. That is a lot of money, there's no need for us to add any fancy exaggerative adjectives here.
By Mark Arnold Read More
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What's Your Favorite Sub $15K New Vehicle?

When we posted the video of the Non-dancing Chevrolet Aveo, it wasn't our intention to launch a conversation on the various merits of cheap cars. But since everyone is so excited about comparing Aveos to Scions and Citroens to Skodas we'll seize the zeitgeist and continue it here. And we understand this might be a difficult question since we're asking about "new" vehicles and some of you could easily get 30 cars for that price, but there are people out there who buy new vehicles. Shockingly, mor
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1965 Ford Ranchero

We've seen a late-60s Torino-based Ranchero and a Malaise Era Thunderbird-based Ranchero so far in this series, but how about the Falcon-based Ranchero? I found this cartruck parked next to the '69 Buick Electra 225, and I suspect they were owned by the same person (the Buick has since departed, presumably sold).
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Noble M600

British sports car manufacturer Noble has been delighting the auto-loving parts of our brain with its lightweight and delightfully powerful supercars since 1999, and they've just revealed an image — albeit camouflaged like a Ted Nugent-owned Lamborghini — of their next offering, the Noble M600. The M600 is expected to sport a twin turbocharged V8 designed by Yamaha and built by Volvo. Wait, what? Yes, you read that correctly, Yamaha is back in the automotive game and if the original Taurus SHO m
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Max Mosley Prostitute Linked To British Intelligence Agency, Uberraschung!

We joked last week about how the only reason we're following the Max Mosley story anymore was because it "keeps getting crazier and crazier." Little did we know that it would be revealed by The Times that one of Max's prisoner/gaurd prostitutes (Mistress Abi), in a twist even Graham Greene couldn't have imagined, was the wife of an MI5 agent. For those who don't know, Mi5 is the domestic spying agency pledged to "Defend the Realm" of the UK. In this case "Defend The Realm" meant spanking and sex
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Haltech-Tuned 2009 Nissan GT-R Gives A Down Under Strip Show, Bests Inside Line's Quarter-Mile

The 2009 Nissan GT-R's one powerful wonder of technology. The ECU's so advanced we're told it makes you feel like you're behind the wheel of the world's most advanced driving simulator, like some sort of Playstation reality game. As even the most high-and-mighty of the buff-book world have found out first hand, even with all the technologically advanced doo-dads and doo-hickeys behind the dash, the 3.8-liter V6 rated at 480 HP and a torque rating almost equal to that (430 lb-ft for those of you
By Ray Wert Read More
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2009 Acura TL: More Details Revealed?

One of the Honda forum fan-boys over at The Temple of VTEC claims to have seen a brand spankin' new 2009 Acura TL — most likely at the April dealer conference where we'd heard the big dealers got a chance to ogle the new four-door in the shiny flesh. While we're not expecting to see the bed sheet slide off the skin of the new mid-size from Honda's luxury brand until sometime closer to Septembet, the forumites are telling us to expect something similar to what we told you back in March, but the l
By Ray Wert Read More
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Audi A3 TDI Clubsport Quattro, Revealed

So what's happening at the end of May in the Austrian province of Carinthia that Audi would care about? How about the 27th annual Lake Wörther Tour? Sure. What's that? Yeah, we've no idea. What we do know is that the four-ringed brand's revealing what they've buzz-worded "a sensational study" and what they've named the Audi A3 TDI clubsport quattro. The concept features a two-liter TDI engine delivering 224 HP and 331.9 lb-ft of torque. That's sports car quality power from a form factor that — w
By Ray Wert Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Perfect Strangers Edition

Few shows in the annals of television history are as widely known and completely strange as Perfect Strangers. Employing the typical "fish out of water" scenario that has been abused by sitcoms for the entire breadth of the medium, there's a certain quality of Perfect Strangers that sets it apart from more beloved and successful shows like The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. One need to look only to the show's genesis, which saw series creator Dale McRaven (who also created Mork & Mindy) trying to capi
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Max Mosley Threatens FIA Will Go To Crap If He's Ousted, Officially Channeling Nixon

We'd rather not devote time to Max Mosley and his ongoing attempts to screw up racing like he's screwed up his life, but the story keeps getting crazier and crazier. After being asked to avoid F1 events and, basically, being benched for Monaco, Mosley has issued a letter stating that FIA will be ruined and Formula One destroyed if he's voted out in the big "vote of no confidence" meeting this June. This is basically the Nixon approach. The nation will be ruined and the media, who are blowing eve
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PCH, Ten Grand To Glory Edition: Acura NSX Or '59 Corvette?

The extremely cheap, extremely sketchy (putatively) NSX-engine-powered Acura Legend obliterated the dime-a-dozen turbo Civic in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll, which is about what we expected. So what if we could find not just an NSX engine but an entire car for cheap (well, maybe entire isn't the right word here, but you get the idea)- what then? Well, then we have quite a dilemma when trying to find something to stack up against the Acura, a car that's equally cool, in spittin' distance
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2009 Toyota Tacoma To Get Better Fiddle, Argent-Painted Grille

The Toyota Tacoma has played second fiddle to darn near everybody for its entire life. Early on it was the domestics, now its the full size Toyota Tundra. That doesn't mean its standing still as far as updates go. We managed to find this dealer product brief buried within the Toyota Nation forums cataloging, detailing what buyers can expect to see on the sales floor soon. The most notable upgrades including the audio system, LED tail lights, and a new backup camera.
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GM Says Challenge X Is The Future, We Say We Want It Now

Looking at the array of biodiesel hybrids, ethanol hydrogen hybrids and fuel cells on display in Central Park this morning, the impression we got was GM is looking to these technologies as the future. All we could think was how much they should be the present. You see, this wasn't a display of pie-in-the-sky concepts or prototypes, but actual vehicles capable of competently carrying humans and all of them designed and built by students on a limited budget. If a couple of pubescent geeks still wa
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Get Caught Speeding In Canada, Endure A Lecture From The Teen Girl Squad

Michel Foucault's Discipline & Punishment focuses on the transition into the modern system of punishment, away from public embarrassment into a gentler and more measured approach. We Americans welcome Canada into the league of nations going the other direction. Speeders in Oshawa, Ontario are now being given the choice between getting a speeding ticket or having to sit through a poorly-written essay on speeding from a teenager. One driver broke down crying after having a teenager exclaim she was
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Lego Maniac Blows Minds With 1440 RPM Mindstorms V8 Lego Engine

Lego Mindstorms is a brilliantly simple combination of sensors, actuators, and logic control that can be made to do the most devious and delightful things. Like this lego maniac who built an air-powered V8 engine with a rev counter on one of the cams. That counter tells us this baby can crank up to 1440 RPM, and that's without any kind of lubrication system. The cool part is, even though it's all plastic and powered by air, it still has that comforting V8 sound. (Hat tip to Phillip!) [nicjasno
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French Grand Prix Going To Disneyland?

It's no secret that F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone is pulling the plug on the French Grand Prix's current location at the Magny Cours race track. One of the main reasons being the location was way out in the countryside, not an optimal location for international tourists. And as we all know, F1 has become all about makin' money. So the powers that be got to thinking "where do the tourists go?", and came up with— Disneyland. Yes, that's right, there are plans for the most elite form of moto
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Subaru Legacy STI S402 Adds Power, Fender Vents

Rubbing our faces in the fact that we don't even get the Subaru Legacy STI, the folks at Subie are going out and adding a limited edition S402 to the Japanese lineup. Planned for — get this — only 402 units, the S402 features a slightly detuned version of the turbo'd 2.5 liter boxer good for 285 HP and 292 lb.ft. of toque. Other upgrades include include two piece Brembos, various garish badging, "sport" suspension and revised steering ratio, fancy seating, some BBS wheels wrapped in Potenzas (wh
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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2009 Ford Mustang Badge, Revealed!

Holy cow, OMG, WTF — it's a real, live badge for the 2009 Ford Mustang! OK, we'll stop with the exclamations now. But why wouldn't we be excited — it's the 45th anniversary of the Mustang and, and, and — OK, we can't really figure out why we should be excited. Especially given we'll see an entirely new Ford Mustang less than one year later for the 2010 model year. Whatever, we salute Ford for 45 years of pony cars. At least they kept going with the muscular muscle cars even when no other 'merica
By Ray Wert Read More
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Google Streetview, Now Mapping Boobs

While Google Streetview is a clever step towards total information awareness, actually doing the driving for the project has got to be mind numbingly boring. Our eyes tend to start glazing over after about 15 minutes of suburban driving, so thousands of miles through Homewood, Illinois could qualify as a ring of hell. Unless, that is, lithe young ladies start flashing skin at you. While our heroine isn't captured in all her glory, we're hoping the Googlestooge at the helm managed to get an eyefu
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1985 Toyota Supra

When you start the week with an old Datsun, why not end it with an old Toyota? Somehow, though, the mid-80s Supra doesn't feel all that old, in spite of its incredibly 80s lines and graphics. We saw a good example of its 4-cylinder sibling (or maybe "cousin" is a better way of describing the Celica/Supra relationship of the era) a while back, and this Toyota lives across town, near the '65 Mustang.
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2009 Ford F-150 5.4-Liter V8 Power Ratings Leaked On To Internet

Someone attending a Ford dealer training session for the new half-ton 2009 Ford F-150 in Michigan took a picture of an information placard revealing the six-speed automatic 5.4-liter V8 will achieve 320 horses at 5,200-rpm and 390 lb-ft of torque at 3,500-rpm. These new numbers, a modest improvement over the 2008 Ford F-150's 300-hp at 5,000-rpm / 365 lb-ft at 3,750-rpm, come after Ford let slip the numbers on the upcoming 4.4-liter Ford diesel V8 we'll see in the 2010.5 Ford F-150 and the 2010
By Ray Wert Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Jimmy Hutmaker Edition

Though now a much loved song, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones was released as a B-side on Honky Tonk Woman, not as its own single. In the middle of the song Jagger sings
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PCH, Fun With Honda Engines Edition: NSX-Powered Legend Or Turbo Civic?

The '58 Lincoln put up a good showing, but in the end the Porsche 928 takes the prize, with 56% of you choosing Polyester-Clad White Powder Distributor over Chain-Smoking Rat Pack Player in Monday's Choose Your Eternity poll. But with a Datsun nearly beating a Peugeot last week, not to mention an Acura winning the 24 Hours of LeMons, we felt the need to turn Japanese for today's challenge. As always, the challenge with finding good candidates for Japanese Project Hell is that damned Japanese bui
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Holy Crap, Someone Walked Away From This Audi A4

When a driver walks away from a car looking like it's been turned inside out, you have to take comfort in driving the same car. I look at my own A4 with renewed respect after seeing this one, which was run over by a semi and managed to deliver it's driver from the valley of the shadow of death with some bruises and a cracked collar bone. Someone surviving the accident described below is nearly unbelievable, but then again, someone survived that bonkers RS6 accident, so stranger things have happe
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SEV Solar Roof Makes Prius Even More Prius-Y

For those that just can't get green enough, here comes a new accessory that will make your Prius even more deadly. The SEV Solar Roof Module is essentially that. What makes this vehicular solar panel a bit better than the average bear is the fact that it installs seamlessly onto the Toyota Prius roof. The entire roof-panel is replaced with these solar cells and can provide 20 miles of electric range as well as upward of 29-percent increased fuel efficiency. This module is capable of fitting 2004
By Travis Hudson Read More
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Another Ford Fairmont Durango For Sale, Can You Resist The Foxchero?

Whereas many of the El Camino-ized vehicles we share with you, like the Volvo XC70chero, are unique custom jobs of varying degrees of quality, the Ford Fairmont Durango was actually built in a factory. The history is muddy, but after the demise of the Ranchero, Ford worked with National Coach Products in some capacity to help the company produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 212 of these 5.0-powered, Fox-bodied trucks. What it lacks in details it more than makes up for in style and power, and
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1977 Chevrolet Camaro

There's just something right about a primer second-gen Camaro, isn't there? Add the obligatory GM rust around the rear window, hang a pair of handcuffs from the rear-view, stop by the 7-11 to grab a pack of Marlboro Reds and a sixer of Mickey's Big Mouths and you're set! Now, we don't know for sure whether the owner of this '77 fits the Ideal Camaro Demographic- hey, maybe this car is owned by a 68-year-old veterinarian who favors those three-dimensional sequined sweaters- but it's more fun for
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Toyota Prius Global Cumulative Sales Pass One Million... Is That A Native American Crying?

There's no doubt the Toyota Prius is a global phenom, blazing the way for eco-conscious consumers to show the world that they really, really, really do care about the environment. And now the little-hybrid-that-could is finally passing the one million global cumulative sales mark. That means that since the Prius went on sale in 1997, the super number one best awesome automaker from the land of the rising sun's sold as many Prii as they sold heavy duty commercial vehicles in just the 2007 sales y
By Ray Wert Read More
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2010 Audi TT Clubsport Quattro

We first saw the Audi TT Clubsport Quattro — a spectacular take on the bubble-topped drop-top Audi TT — about a year ago this month. We knew shortly after we saw the concept the Clubsport Quattro would make it to production and the showroom floor. Now, one year later, the quick-like-a-bunny spy shooters at KGP have caught the Clubsport Quattro as it's gone from concept to production prototype. The prototype displays some key changes from the concept seen way-back-when, like bigger, longer and mo
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Spada TS Codatronca Production Announced, Tie Fighters No Longer Cool

Mr. Vader, the latest in your ever expanding fleet has arrived. We thought the Spadaconcept Codatronica was but a glimmer in the eye of some crazy Italians. After months of development work and the creation of a production company, Spadavetturesport has announced production readiness for the Spada TS Codatronca. The car is a masterwork of stealth combined with aerodynamics, menace with purpose. Clad in black with an aluminum V8 sporting 630 HP and 492 lb.ft. of torque, the terror from Torino can
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Two If By Sea Edition

There's something about American history, specifically American history having to do with the Revolutionary War, that always has to be spiced about up a bit. It's not enough that a small group of citizens organized the overthrow of a global power in order to create a government instituted by men with clear thought given to the protection of minority viewpoints. That's not sexy enough. And so it is with Paul Revere's "Midnight Ride," in which he was sent to warn of the British invasion. It wasn't
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Audi R8 V10 Video Discovered, Uploaded By A Menace Named Dennis?

When we brought you the still images of the Audi R8 V10, we could only dream of hearing that siren song of 5.2 liter V10 delight. Now we can. The forum fan-boys at AudiWorld discovered this video lurking in the fodder that is MySpace uploaded by someone named Dennis. Either Dennis is a marketing shill and we've been had by viral advertising, or he's got some serious explaining to do. In either case Audi R8 V10!
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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UPS Going From Brown To Green

UPS, the company known for offering it services under the color brown, is now taking a green route by adding a whole bunch of alternative energy vehicles to its fleet. Unlike other companies that declares greenness by adding a couple vehicles, UPS has ordered 200 hybrid-electric and 300 compressed natural gas vans. The HEVs will have a standard hybrid battery system as well as regenerative braking. Check out the UPS talking head in the video above for more details about how these vehicles will s
By Travis Hudson Read More
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VW, KTM Motorcycle Partnership Rumors Swirling, Could Result In 1-Liter Car

Rumor has it that Volkswagen is in talks with KTM about partnering up to produce VW brand motorcycles. For you car folks, KTM is an Austrian firm known for its race-ready dirt and street bikes - think Ducati but with less of the pretense and more of the color orange. As the rumor has it, this could even result in production of the crazy GX3 trike.
By Wes Siler Read More
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Definitely Not Jeffrey Lebowski's Torino: Welcome To Chile!

This DOTS Bonus Edition thing has really taken off, with photos coming in faster than I can post them (be patient- my jumble of files rigorously organized system will result in everyone's shots appearing sooner or later). We've seen North American cars and a few in Europe, and now it's South America's turn. Chilean reader Felipe sees this '74 Torino parked in his neighborhood (I forgot to ask which city), and he's gone out and interviewed the owner for us. ¡Gracias, Felipe! Make the jump for the
By Murilee Martin Read More
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The Top 50 Lemons Of The 24 Hours Of LeMons

We showed you the Top 44 Lemons at the Altamont race last October, followed by the Top 50 Lemons at Thunderhill in December, and now it's time to see the results from the Altamont race last weekend. Get any group of car freaks together, bring up the concept of the 24 Hours of LeMons, and you're sure to get endless debate about which cheap heaps should dominate. Well, here's where reality comes into play; this is how things actually played out on the track. We'll show the other 40 cars later on,
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Is It Smart To Drive A Smart?

Living near the border between predominantly gay and urban-chic neighborhoods we've seen more than our fair share of the 2008 Smart ForTwo. People must have assumed they were safe, and the Smart ForTwo crash test results support these assumptions (as do the unofficial Smart ForTwo crash test results). But just because it's safe doesn't mean we'd want to drive one (well, maybe a Smartuki or an Ultimate 112). Putting aside safety and style, there are a few factors here to give us pause.
By Matt Hardigree Read More
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Full Details On Ford Australia's Multi-Flavored FPV Falcon Lineup

When Ford of Australia first announced their lineup of F6 FPV lineup we didn't pay too much attention to the various minor differences in the F6 Falcon lineup. Little did we know how far the Ford Performance Vehicle group was going to go in order to meet the needs of anyone with the cash to throw around $60,000+ USD on V8-powered goodness. Each vehicle in this range comes with the new 5.4-Liter Boss V8 good for 422 horsepower and 407 lb-ft of torque mated to a ZF six-speed auto transmission or T
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UAW-American Axle Contract Talks Stall...Like An American Axle PCM?

Let's be clear — that headline's for comedic effect only. Just because we once had trouble with a 2005 Dodge Ram intermittently stalling doesn't mean American Axle PCM's are faulty. But what we're sure is faulty are contract negotiations between the General's big league supplier and the UAW. The strike has shut down much of GM's North American production of big SUV's and pickup trucks. Automotive News is reporting this morning an American Axle spokesperson is stating contract talks with the UAW
By Ray Wert Read More
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1962 Chrysler 300

Remember the '62 New Yorker we saw nearly a year ago? We all liked its evil-beater look, but these cars looked pretty good when nice and shiny, too. It was quite a find when I spotted this '62 in the island's East End, parked in the exact spot in which the 1971 Chevy Blazer normally parks. I see the Chrysler parked there every once in a while, never at the same time as the Blazer, so I suspect they're owned by the same person.
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2008 Smart ForTwo IIHS Crash Test Results In, Little Tyke Did "Good"

Although we've already seen the NHTSA crash tests and the leaked IIHS test video, the official Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash test results are finally in for the 2008 Smart ForTwo. It turns out the little bugger did pretty well. IIHS awarded the micro-machine its highest rating of "Good" for front and side crash protection, and an "Acceptable" rating for seat and head restraint performance in rear-end crashes. Mounting evidence like yesterday's Smart pinball challenge and th
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Commenter Of The Day: The Lies We Want To Hear Edition

A lie is sometimes an adequate replacement for a truth we don't care to hear or we're not ready to hear. Sometimes, the lie is better than the truth. Did the US Government have something to do with AIDS, the Kennedy Assassination and the cancellation of South On Sunset with Glen Frey? Maybe. But we like living in a world where the bad things don't outweigh or overshadow the good. We want our first dog to be living at the farm where he has squirrels to chase and fresh air to breathe and not under
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Hot Rod Citroen DS Packs A Familiar Punch

The Citroen DS is undeniably stylish. During it's 20 year production run, it showcased innovative features, and even came in wagon an convertible versions. But there was just one thing it lacked, V8 pow-ahh! This guy realized the problem and swapped out the weaksauce four-banger in his '66 DS for something with a bit more grunt.
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Project Car Hell: Porsche 928 Or '58 Lincoln Continental?

What with all the racin' madness lately, I haven't had a chance to descend into the lake of burning 90-weight that is Project Car Hell for a few days. In our last matchup, we almost had an upset for the ages, with a Japanese car nearly beating a French car in the Dangel Peugeot Wagon versus V8 Fairlady poll. And that Peugeot was a tough one, too! You fans of Japanese Car Hell can feel proud... or ashamed, depending on how you look at it. Today we're getting away from the PCH Superpowers and mixi
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1976 Audi Fox Wagon: Choice Of Discerning Pit Crew Members!

The cars driven by the team members and audience at the 24 Hours of LeMons race tended to be more interesting than what you'd see in your typical East Bay parking lot. I saw an AMC Hornet with a trunk-mounted computer, a small-block XJ6 with a wicked-looking hood scoop, and this very clean Fox wagon... which turned out to be owned by Shawn, a helluva good mechanic who showed up as a last-minute crew addition and proved incredibly useful in the Black Metal V8olvo pit action. That's Shawn fueling
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2009 MCA ALA 50 Unveiled By The Prince Of Monaco

Finally, the moment nobody was waiting for. This is the new MCA ALA 50, a prototype for an upcoming supercar from Monte Carlo Automobile. Evidently, it's some sort of birthday present to Prince Albert. Styling looks to be inspired by '90s Group C racers, but that's not stopping those Monegasque boys from planning to enter the car in the 2010 LeMans 24 Hour race. We're not exactly sure what class they plan on running in, but the car is made almost entirely of carbon fiber and is said to be powere
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: What Now?

We have finally filled the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage with a set of some of the most desirable, interesting, quirky, historic and noteworthy automobiles in the history of the art. This is not to say it is the definitive list of all things both fantasy and Jalopnik. A case in point was topping off the garage two weeks ago with the 1970 Chevrolet El Camino 454SS — some considered it absolute travesty we hadn't entered it sooner, others considered the entry phoning it in. It highlights the differences
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Art Car Museum Curator, Artist And Mechanic Tom Jones Killed In Car Accident

There are those that might be surprised to find out that art flourishes in Houston, though they may not be surprised to find out that the medium of choice in the epicenter of America's energy industry is the automobile. The city of bayous is home to the Art Car Museum, also known as the "Garage Mahal," and the annual Art Car Parade, which occurred last weekend. The highlight of the year for Art Car enthusiasts and anyone who likes cars, we're sad to report that Tom Jones, the museum's curator, w
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The Mini Deluxe: She'll Like It Going Up And Down!

"No more sliding windows for Australians considering buying a Mini! Not only that, you can go into multiple spins on wet pavement and recover cleanly- it shows it right there in the ad! We're a little puzzled by the the conversation between the swimsuited man and woman at the beach; we get the "up and down" double entendre, but are we supposed to think that there's some longing for the old sliding Mini windows here?
By Murilee Martin Read More
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1963 Corvette-Inspired Speedboat Takes Retro To Sea

Inspired by the split rear window and svelte shape of the 1963 Corvette, Bo Zolland created this speedboat as homage. The designer pictures it at SEMA, being towed by some monstrous GM SUV, but we'd rather use it to run up and down the river outside the RenCen to remind the General that they used to make cars that inspired people. Honestly, with all the retro rip-offs that have gone around, why hasn't someone re-made the '63 Vette? Bo pictures the boat being powered by anything from an LS-9 mari
By Wes Siler Read More
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1977 International Harvester Scout II Traveler

I probably shouldn't have tried to write a DOTS post a couple hours after coming home from a crazy weekend of racing, but I did... and totally spaced on the Truck Monday tradition. Not that the Datsun 1200 isn't a great car, but we're supposed to have a truck here to start our week, dammit! To make up for that screwup, I'm going with a truck I've been saving for a special occasion: a rusty, crusty survivor straight from the Alaskan bush!
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2009 Ferrari California, Revealed!

Ferrari welcomed us all a little bit early to the Hotel California, and yes, it's a lovely place. In fact, check out the lovely face on the new 2009 Ferrari California just to see if we're wrong. Despite being told we'd need to wait at least another week before shots would officially go live, the prancing stallions at Ferrari have revealed three press photos of the new Ferrari that's been alternately called the "Ferrari GT," "Ferrari California GT," "Ferrari Dino" and "Ferrari Little Tiny One"
By Ray Wert Read More
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2009 Ford Focus Coupe Gets New Look, Lipstick...Still A Pig

We know first-hand how horrible the design of the 2008 Ford Focus coupe truly was. Having spent five days in one we can tell you the best part about the '08 model was being inside of it. Only then could you sink into that relatively comfortable interior and try to forget the horror of witnessing the terrifying design mish-mash that was the exterior of last year's model. But wait, Ford's taken another look at the sheet metal on the 2009 Ford Focus Coupe and given it what the Dearborn-based automa
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Steve Saleen Is Back, Reveals Limited Edition Supercharged Challengers

They may have taken his company, his cars and even his name, but they'll never take Steve Saleen's desire to customize cars to make them look so radically similar to the originals, they're virtually identical to all but the most carefully trained eye. Saleen and his new company SMS have just revealed the new company's first two custom cars. The twin set of Challengers, dubbed the SMS 570TM Challenger and the SMS 570XTM Challenger will, as Phil Frank, the company's Chief Creative Officer puts it
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Court Summerfield, 1961-2008

Those of us at the 24 Hours of LeMons race on Saturday afternoon were beyond heartbroken when Court Summerfield died at the wheel of the Team Cant Am Volvo 242 Turbo. Not only was Court's death a major loss for the LeMons racing community, it was also a tough blow for the city of Alameda; he lived on the island and worked at Ole's Waffle Shop, which is as much a part of the city's soul as are old cars parked on the street. I hung out with Court before the race on Saturday morning and I'm still u
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Jeffery Berman Edition

You've probably never heard of Jeffery Berman, but if you've been enjoying the 2008 Dem Presidential primary which, like the Rolling Stones reunion tour, never ends, you have him to thank. Early on Hillary Clinton had a big state strategy that centered around winning a few of the largest states and calling it a day. It was a good strategy except for one small problem: Jeffery Berman. This guy no one ever heard of figured out the delegate math and helped the Obama campaign realize that, for insta
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Jerrari, When A Ferrari And A Jeep Make A Baby

When Enzo Ferrari turned down Bill Harrah’s request for a 4x4 Ferrari, Harrah did what any wealthy car collector would, thumbed his nose at Maranello and built his own. Taking a 1969 Jeep Wagoneer and mating it with a Ferrari 365 GT, the Jerrari was born. While its original 4.4L V12 is long gone in favor of a far more reliable 350 V8, the weirdly attractive bodywork and handsome interior are still all there. Not only is it in impeccable shape, it’s up for auction on eBay.
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Car Visor Entertainment Center Does Everything Except Block The Sun

There’s no reason to dismantle your vehicle or upholstery to install in-car entertainment systems, all you have to do is be creative, like with this car visor, which houses a 7-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD. Included is a DVD player and a video game console. The DVD player is capable of playing the whole lot of formats including DVD, SVCD, VCD, DVCD, CD, CDG, CD-R and CD-RW. Not only can it play videos, but it includes ports to plug in game controllers for some video game fun. There will be no Gran T
By Travis Hudson Read More
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2007 Hertz Shelby GT-H Mustangs Going Up For Auction, Again

As you'll remember, Ford teamed with Hertz to create the Shelby GT-H weekend racer way back in 2006. And like all rental cars, they're going on sale. If you missed the first Shelby GT-H auction, you saved yourself approximately $200K by purchasing one of the Shelby GT-H convertibles for the relatively low price of $55K. Now we have word that approximately 75 to 100 of the limited edition Hertz Shelby GT-H Mustangs will be going on the block at the Kruse's 17th Annual Auburn Spring Motorfair at t
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Yes, Those Were Vacuum-Operated Skulls On The Black Metal V8olvo's Roof

With all the excitement of the race, I totally forgot to post photos of what the Black Metal V8olvo actually looked like by the time we had it all painted and bedecaled. Thing is, we didn't have time to apply the decals until we actually got the car to the racetrack. First of all, some commenters have wondered about the skulls mounted on the front edge of the car's roof. Those aren't just decorative skulls that just sit there. Hell, no! These are anatomically correct med-student skull replicas,
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, Reviewed

Our friends over at Popular Mechanics spent the weekend behind the wheel of the bull-headed god of white lightning we first fell in love with at the Geneva Motor Show — the 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. So what did they think of the new Lambo and the just-as-new 5.2-liter V10 and its 560 HP and 398 lb-ft of torque?
By Ray Wert Read More
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Saturn Discovers Social Networking, Attempts To Join 21st Century

Apparently young people these days like to talk to each other online rather than read. Sometimes, they even take advantage of toy-like technological innovations to transmit electronic images and even music! Based on this cutting edge research, Saturn has launched a new concept in online communication to reach these digital girls and boys in the 21st Century. Called ImSaturn, it provides an online "space" Saturn owners can call their own — a place that let's them say "why yes, this is my space."
By Wes Siler Read More
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Lexus IS Mystery Solved: It Was An Endurance Racer In Germany With The Candlestick

Remember that mystery Lexus IS circling the ring last week? Due to the camo, guesses as to what it could be ranged from a new hybrid to a mid-cycle refresh. Turns out that the most obvious answer was right: it's a race car. Those questionable hood bumps were merely an illusion created by the camouflage. This is the TME/Team Gazoo IS 250, which competes in the ADAC endurance series and can be seen fighting for the Rennstrecken Trophy at the ring. The fastest lap? Just under 10:58. Though not quit
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Renault-Nissan And Bajaj Team Up On Tata-Upstaging $2,500 Car

Ratan Tata and his eponymous company sent the automotive world buzzing with news of their $2,500 car, the lilliputian Nano. At the time, we reported that Bajaj Auto, which is partnered with Renault-Nissan, was going to announce a $3,000 car. Turns out the companies have found a way to cut $500 off the price to create a $2,500 competitor. To make this car the three companies are creating a new company with ownership split between Renault (25%), Nissan (25%) and Bajaj Auto (50%). No name on the ca
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1971 Datsun 1200

The little Datsuns of the early 70s are just about gone now, though a few still roam the streets of the Island That Time Forgot. We saw a '75 B210 last fall, and now we've got an even rarer machine in this early-70s 1200. I'm calling it a '71, but it might be a '72 or maybe even a '70; we'll need to rely on the serious Datsun fiends out there to nail down the exact year.
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Ford F-100 Coming In 2011?

The Ford Ranger's just about ready to kick the bucket, gas prices are higher than the dress neckline of a Texas polygamist cult and CAFE standards — well, let's just say they don't leave much room for error on the high side of the gas guzzle range. Sounds like high time Ford announced a new pickup truck, doesn't it? Perhaps. But only if said pickup truck is the purported return of a badge not seen from Dearborn since 1983 — F-100. That's right, we're hearing rumors this morning of a mini-pickup
By Ray Wert Read More
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SWAT Support Charity Car Show Mega Gallery

On April 27th, 2008, automotive enthusiasts from across Southern California converged on Pierce College in Woodland Hills for the Motor4Toys SWAT Support Charity Car Show organized by Dustin Troyan. The purpose of this show was to raise money for the families of Randal Simmons and James Veenstra, LAPD SWAT officers who were killed and injured in a standoff in February.
By Wes Siler Read More
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Looks like the MSM's finally gotten ahold of the crash story at Altamont. Our expectation is the rest of the bandwagon will show up momentarily. Look boys, carnage! [CBS5]
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Details, Driver Name Emerge In Tragic Altamont LeMons Crash

While Murilee and the rest of Team V8olvo musters on with thoughts still on yesterday's tragedy at the 24 Hours of Lemons race at Altamont, we here at the Jalopnik Detroit bureau are lending a helping hand with coverage. We've just received news from the Gulf 39 team on the identity of their teammate behind the wheel of the Volvo 242 Turbo along with a little more detail on the preliminary on-scene investigation by the California Highway Patrol. We'd indicated to the team we only wanted to know
By Ray Wert Read More
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Tragic Death Reported At Altamont 24 Hours Of LeMons Race

We all saw the report from Murilee just under an hour ago, and now we're hearing from numerous sources that the 24 Hours of LeMons race has taken a tragic turn. Our sources tell us the driver of the Volvo 242 Turbo in Gulf Oil colors (pictured above before the race, and below from the Thunderhill LeMons race last year) has died. We're waiting on more as we hear it from team V8olvo as well as others at the Altamont 24 Hours of LeMons. If this news ends up being true, our prayers, thoughts and wel
By Ray Wert Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Wert Returns Edition

With Wert in Korea doing who knows what we've been trying to hold down the fort. So far, so good. In addition to nothing blowing up, all the Saabs have remained safe. You don't know what you've got until it's gone, and it never occurred to us how nice it was to have him around to do all the "grown up" work. That all being said, we did occasionally vent a few times with jokes at the expense of Detwa, the city that he loves.
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2009 Cadillac CTS-V Fastest Production Sedan Around Nürburgring Ever, Laps In 7:59.32

Sweet baby Blue Devil, everyone knew the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V would be some powerful strong stuff, but it just managed to lap the Nürburgring in 7:59.32 — that makes it the fastest production sedan ever to take the Nordschleife! With a projected 567 HP, tightened suspension, magnetic ride control, fancy-pants electro-mechanical rear end and a bodacious six speed at the ready, John Heinricy, executive with GM Performance Division piloted The Sedan to it's sub-eight-minute bragging rights. With the
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Codemasters Wins F1 Video Game Bid

Forget about everything we speculated yesterday regarding next-generation Formula 1 video games after Sony opted out of renewing the ridiculously high bid Bernie Ecclestone wanted for F1 licensing. Game maker, Codemasters, turned the right tricks on old Bernard and has won the rights to license a F1 game (and pay F1 an undisclosed, but likely ridiculously high fee). The fun doesn't end there, there's plenty of more details that makes this great news for F1 fans.
By Travis Hudson Read More
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Junkman's Porsche Jagdwagen-O-Rama!

Apparently unsatisfied with the rarity of his Honda Coupe 9, Junkman also keeps a pair of Porsche 597 Jagdwagens. With only 71 made, Porsche's off-road military machine is a rare site indeed. Make the jump for Junkman's description.
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Taking A Spin In A JDM Nissan Skyline

The new Nissan GT-R may be stirring up a lot of hype, but before the R35, Skyline lovers on this continent had to have their cars independently imported. The problem is, since the gray-market heyday of the '80s, the American import laws have been pretty dang strict. So, we decided to make our way up to Toronto, to check out how hoons in great white north do things. This particular operation, ONI JDM, has brought in everything from kei cars to fully-modded RX-7s, Supras, and of course Skylines. T
By Mark Arnold Read More
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9ff GT9 Hits 254mph, Still Not World's Fastest Car

While 9ff have successfully topped the Bugatti Veyron's top speed of 252mph, they're still 1mph shy of the SSC Ultimate Aero TT's record. That must really sting. The 9ff GT9 will now go on sale, available for the bargain basement price of $854,000.
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Chateau Mini Is Invitation To Snootiness

Aznom (nom nom) has introduced their Chateau Mini, a car which acts to combine the twin yuppie delights of the Mini Clubman and French Chateau wine. How do you combine the two? By using ooh-la-la materials on the inside and apparently lots of different shades of brown, oh, and install a stocked "wine cellar" inside the Mini. While we're normally all about tossing back a couple bottles glasses of vino, having fine wine close at hand at all times, in a car which sports enough glass to qualify as a
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1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV

We've only seen a couple of Lincolns in this series (a '69 and a '77), and with ten Cadillacs so far, it's time to look at another of Ford's big luxo-machines. I found this '72 parked on the same block as the '70 Volvo 164 and the '87 BMW L6.
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When Specialty Plates Go Hilariously Wrong

If you insist... (h/t Mad_Science) [Source: Photobasement]
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Commenter Of The Day: George MacDonald Fraser Edition

British authors, we love'em. Whether Dickens or Waugh, Shakespeare or Tom Stoppard, Nick Hornby or Graham Greene. Today, for no good reason, one sticks out in our heads: George MacDonald Fraser. He is probably best known for his Flashman series, in which Victorian-era cad Harry Paget Flashman sort of fumbles his way to fame and glory through most of the historical events of the time despite being a coward and a jerk. We can relate. We're also big fans of his memoir of World War Two in Burma, Qua
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Project Car Hell: Dangel Peugeot Wagon Or V8 Datsun Fairlady?

Wouldn't you know it, the 60s BMW coupe beat the 80s one in our last Choose Your Eternity poll. Sure, the 633CSi is more complicated, but you might be able to find a parts car or three in your local wrecking yard... and where's the Hell there? Today we're going to return to the perennial France-versus-the-world battle for the All Time Global Project Car Hell JiggaChampion Trophy (which leaks rusty water and has to be jump-started), and- just because we love an underdog- we're going to let Japan
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Formula 1 Gaming Taking A Vacation?

We have some bad news to those that enjoy getting behind a Formula 1 racer and careening down the track (virtually, that is): it looks as though Formula 1 gaming may be taking a hiatus after a dispute between F1 bossman, Bernie Ecclestone, and Sony, the current F1 license-holder. Way back when, Sony agreed to pay $75 million for a five year licensing deal with F1 between 2002 and 2007. Now F1 is reportedly asking for a big increase that Sony does not want to pay. Don't break out the tissues yet,
By Travis Hudson Read More
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Broken Engine, Bad Cooling System Dictate Last-Minute V8olvo Thrash

Team Black Metal V8olvo was fortunate enough to get some track time at a Volvo club event at Thunderhill last week, and so we got the car all put together and trailered it on up to Willows. It worked pretty well, with our modified Thunderbird springs and swaybars and 242 Turbo brakes giving the car decent handling and stopping, and while the Ford 302 couldn't keep up with the wild-ass super-boosted turbo four-bangers on the other cars, it was able to get out of its own way. But then the car star
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Smartuki Is Donut Spinning Super ForTwo

Yes, we've seen the Smart ForTwo with the GSXR1000 motor dubbed the Smartuki before, but this is the first time we've seen it doing its thing in truly heroic style. With the engine mounted where the passenger used to be, the low center of gravity and rear wheel drive combine with the 160 HP Suzuki mill to provide impressive tire melting performance. From the looks of things, this baby is only good for unadulterated hoon pleasure, just like a grown up version of a big wheel. Weeee! [Youtube] (Hat
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El Camino Nameplate Probably Dead

Friend, Romans, Cotomer Sevis Representatives, lend me your ears; I come to bury the El Camino badge, not to praise it. The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their frames; so let it be with the El Camino. The noble Bob Lutz hath told you El Camino hath instant name recognition, if it were so, it was a grievous fault, and grievously hath Lutz answer'd it. Here, under leave of Lutz and the rest — for Lutz is an honorable man. So they are all honorable men.
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Corvettamino ZR-1 Is Pulling Our Leg, Still Awesome

Who needs a Pontiac G8 ST when you can have a bitchin' camino-ized C4 Corvette ZR-1? Nobody that's who. Fortunately for our still beating hearts, this is not really a ZR-1 turned truck/car — it's an '84 Vette smooshed together with a '91 with custom molds and bodywork to create that smooth Vettamino effect. According to ClassyAuto (misnomer?) this was the brainchild of the original owner of Bayliner Boats and took over $115K to create. Wow, that's camino love right there. We have no idea how up
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FIA Wants Sebastien Loeb To Shave Those Sideburns, Hippy

Two senior FIA officials have suggested that television cameras refrain from showing close-ups of four-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb until he cleans-up his "scruffy" look. "Of course these persons are an insult to real males," wrote WRC Commission President Morrie Chandler, kicking off a hilarious email exchange.
By Wes Siler Read More
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2009 Mazda6 Pricing Revealed In Online Survey, Starts Under $20,000

Looks like Mazda is shopping around pricing and package options among its most die hard fans (like Zach at Mazda6club.com) and there is quite a range of trim and options. Spread across seven different option levels, the Mazda6 looks like it will start in the neighborhood of $19,850 for the Mazda6 i SV with the 170 HP four, and an array of options and will go all the way up to $29,150 for the gee-whiz Mazda6 s Grand Touring with a 272 HP 3.7L V6 and nearly every gadget and gee-gaw you can think o
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1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

The '65 Barracuda won our Favorite DOTS Chrysler A-Body Poll back in March, but since that time I've found this '75 Dart Swinger. Would the Swinger, with its name conjuring up images of Malaise Era key parties, have triumphed over the Barracuda? Perhaps I'll have another A-body poll, once we've seen a few more of them; until then, we can only speculate.
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Hyundai/Kia Pickup Truck Axed For U.S. Market, Georgia Plant Gets Compact Car Instead

More boring industry news from Korea — read it if you're interested, move on if you're not. We'd been told a while back by Automotive News and our friends at PickupTrucks.com to expect a pickup truck from the folks at Hyundai or their brand-brothers at Kia. Despite statements from Byung Mo Ahn, the new chairman and group CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia that a pickup was to be built in the Georgia plant, we were told today here in Seoul by Dr. Dong-Jin Kim, Vice-Chairman and CEO o
By Ray Wert Read More
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Naturmobile Hybrid Uses Real Horsepower!

These days it seems like everyone in the automotive world is obsessed with either big horsepower or alternative energy. But what would happen if you combined the two? This is the Naturmobile, a "hybrid" that utilizes electric power and— yep you guessed it, horse power. Ok, so actual horses may not churn out very impressive numbers if you strapped them on a dyno, but think about how many liters a horse displaces! There's no replacement for displacement! Alright, so the Naturmobile isn't exactly b
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: 250 Is A Big Number Edition

Usually we try to fill this COTD slot with some obscure reference neatly (or not) tied into the day's automotive zeitgeist. Today we're going to take a brief break from that to appreciate the 250 Vintage Vehicles post, which we love as much as all of you do. Seriously, what would the morning be without a 1974 Ford Maverick or a 1981 Fiat Strada? DOTS has allowed us to give up coffee, donuts and smack in the morning.
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Utah Guys Set Out On Great American Road Trip

Three guys from Utah have set out to drive through the contiguous 48 states in record time. Starting out Sunday in Vermont, they're already in Wyoming on the way to North Dakota with the goal of getting home to Utah, via nine more states, by Friday. The time to beat is 5 days, 7 hours and 15 minutes. Joey Stocking, Adam Gatherum and Josh Keeler think they can do it in three hours less.
By Wes Siler Read More
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Goodyear Polyglas Tires Help Stereotypical Women Drivers

This commercial aired during the first Monday Night Football game in 1970 and proves just what everyone already knew: women can't drive worth a damn and need exceptional tires to compensate for the lack of driving ability. Of course, the woman in the video has to deal with construction, bumpy roads, detours and more while picking up her manly husband from the airport after a very long and manly business trip. It kind of reminds us of the shower scene from Psycho, which is fairly accurate given a
By Travis Hudson Read More
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2010 Ford Taurus SHO Possibly In The Works, Ford SHOpping Idea To Focus Groups

According to an SHO Club member who posts at V8SHO.com, Ford has been contacting groups of past Taurus SHO owners to talk about the 2010 Ford Taurus and the possibility of an SHO performance version. Though no drawings, facts, figures or anything else concrete was shown, we can probably draw some inferences from the fact that they specifically asked SHO owners about their vehicles. Interestingly, they had a Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Chevy Impala on hand, all with the identifying marks tape
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Big-Bumper Spitfire Saves The Day!

Try to imagine a not-so-hot pursuit between a Malaise Triumph Spitfire and a smog-motored mid-70s cop Mopar Ford. Will the single-digit gas mileage of the police car result in a drained fuel tank before the British Leyland build quality of the Spitfire sends it coughing to a halt on the shoulder in a cloud of wire-insulation smoke? We'll never know, because it turns out the Triumph wasn't running from the cops after all. Whew!
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Ford Reveals New 6-Speed Automatic, More Power For Escape And Mariner

Ford has announced an all new front drive automatic 6 speed transmission with the elegant name "6F35." The new trans sports all kinds of innovative features designed to offer better fuel economy, quieter operation and reduced NVH. The 6F35 has also got a trick up its sleeve in that flat vehicle towing will no longer be a no-no due to a revised pump and baffle design which provides lube when the interior bits turn, regardless of energy source. As important is the announcement the transmission wil
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Roehr 1250sc, The New American Sportsbike

With a supercharged Harley V-Rod engine putting out 180bhp and a chassis made from steel and aluminum, the production-ready Roehr 1250sc promises to bring a new level of American-made performance to the streets. It'll carry a new level of exclusivity, too. Why? When production starts in Illinois this fall, expect to pay nearly $60,000 for the privilege of owning one.
By Wes Siler Read More
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250 Vintage Vehicles Down On The Alameda Street, Trailer Queens Need Not Apply

We've reached another milestone in the Down On The Street Series, with today's vehicle being the 250th vintage (or at least interesting) street-parked vehicle I've photographed parked on the streets of Alameda, California. It's been a little over a year since we saw the very first DOTS car, and I never thought I'd be able to find as many as I have. Doing this series has turned me into an annoyingly slow driver when I'm in Alameda, as I'm constantly cruising at minimum speed and scanning parked c
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Very, Very Low Volkswagen Thing

Remember the really, really low Volkswagen Transporter? When you get used to driving a bus that low, it just makes sense to add a Thing to your collection and make it even lower... and when you've dropped it down onto the pavement, then you convert it to right-hand drive. That's what this air-cooled Alameda madman has done here, and the result makes quite an impression.
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Chrysler's $2.99 Gas A Good Deal... For Chrysler

As with other auto media outlets, we've been closely following Chrysler's "Let's Refuel America" program, which is offering three years of $2.99 gas for anyone who buys a Dodge, Jeep or Chrysler vehicle (that isn't a Challenger, Viper, Wrangler, Sprinter Van or other popular vehicles). After a few back-of-the-envelope calculations we're starting to see this is a good deal for Chrysler and, at best, a mediocre rebate for consumers. For one thing, in lieu of other rebates, Chrysler doesn't necessa
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Hyundai Shakes Loose Details On Extended-Wheelbase Genesis

As many of you guessed, I'm out here on the Southern tip of the Korean peninsula at the behest of the Mechanics who are quite Popular, getting the scoop on the new Hyundai [REDACTED]. While the driving impressions on the new [REDACTED] from the folks at Hyundai (Yes, Hyundai) are embargoed for a bit, there was other news out here from the little automaker that could in the Republic of Korea that is in no way embargoed. A couple of us auto journalistas had the chance to spend some in-car drive ti
By Ray Wert Read More
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Jalopnik's BMW 633CSi

Somewhere on the road between Project Car Hell and the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage is a place known as reality. And since today is apparently BMW 633CSi day, we thought we'd share what our reality is. This is my personal '83 633CSi. It's not quite old enough to be a real classic, and it's certainly not new enough to be a rational daily driver for most people, but I like it just fine. Yes, it may be from the malaise era, complete with huge diving-board bumpers, but it still manages to look fantastic,
By Mark Arnold Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Rambler Classic Edition

You know what we've always liked about the Rambler Classic? The fact that after all this time the Rambler Classic is actually sort of a classic. Who doesn't remember the Rambler? It's the freaking Rambler. And though the Classic isn't as classic looking as, say, a Rambler Six, it is nevertheless a classic and not just in the way that almost any car from the 1960's is a classic. If we had the option we'd grab a Cross Country wagon, but you probably already knew that about us.
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PCH, Upscale BMW Coupe Edition: 1967 2000C Or 1984 633CSi?

In another setback to French dreams of displaying the All-Time Eternal Project Car Damnation MegaTrophy (which turns into a pile of red powder within a few weeks) at the top of the Eiffel Tower, the hybridized British Leyland machine obliterated the Peugeot diesel in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll. The endless battle between PCH Superpowers Britain, France, and Italy will hold a cease-fire today, as we're so inspired by the beauty and coke-dealer-style original price tag of this morning's
By Murilee Martin Read More
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2009 Mazda6 Interior Pics Emerge From The Frozen North

Though now we're waiting for info on the European 2010 Mazda6 MPS, we've still been waiting for more pics of the North American 2009 Mazda6. Thankfully, the Canadians were nice enough to post them to their Mazda site. Thanks Canada. As you'll remember, the North American Mazda6 gets the 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder available in Europe, as well as a version of the 3.7-liter V6 found in the CX-9.
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Ass-Kickin' Engine Of The Day: Hudson Six

You know what's wrong with NASCAR these days? Two things: the fans no longer drink beer from steel cans, and nobody races inline-six flatheads! Oldsmobile and Chrysler had new overhead-valve V8s in the early 50s, but Hudson Hornets equipped with 308-cubic-inch, twin-carb (called "Twin-H") flathead six engines utterly dominated NASCAR during the era. You can get a 308 equipped with a 4-71 supercharger nowadays, in case your Hornet needs even more power! Make the jump for the sound of the Hudson s
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Microsoft Shills Its SYNC To Hyundai, Kia

Microsoft is again shilling its technology out to the masses, but this time offering up its car infotainment system, better known as SYNC, to the Hyundai-Kia Auto Group. The 2010 models will be the first to include the Microsoft entertainment system that still remains nameless as Ford has the name SYNC locked down by the balls. For the time being, the system used by Hyundai and Kia will be similar to that offered by Ford, FIAT and most recently with Suzuki (who decided on the Suzuki TRIP name),
By Travis Hudson Read More
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1980 VW Rabbit Limo For Sale, No, We Aren't Kidding

If ever there was a project hellish enough to merit actual purchase consideration based solely on the novelty of the car in question, this Volkswagen Rabbit Limo is right up there. Just reading the description you can almost feel the flames of hell licking at this guy as he tries to convince someone to purchase a stretched Rabbit with rusty floors and a rotten interior that hasn't run since 2002. This one is definitely for the pure of heart, but hey, only $750! Description and more pics below.
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Ford Mondeo Titanium Gets That X Factor

If we were in the market for a new Mondeo, which would mean we'd be living in another country, we'd probably go for Mondeo Titanium S five-door hatch, which comes both with sharp styling cues and a powerful TDCi diesel mill. We should say that's what we would have purchased. Now that we know there's a Titanium X model as the new flagship we're going to bite down on that. Though it isn't going to break any landspeed records with its 0-62 mph jog time of 8.4 seconds, all that style with a sporty s
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Tim Burton's Batmobile Makes You Feel Like Michael Keaton

Want to be just like Bruce Wayne's superhero alter-ego, but don't want to build your own Flatmobile? Well, you could just buy this. It's a real Batmobile from the Tim Burton-directed films starring Michael Keaton. And this ain't just a prop, it actually runs too, though we're not too sure how practical (or legal) it would be for daily use. Of course the price isn't very practical either, at a current asking price of $500,000. For that money, we'd rather have Bruce Wayne's Lambo. Vehicle descript
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1983 BMW 633CSi

We've only had one 6-series BMW so far in this series, so when I saw this '83 parked just around the corner from the '74 Porsche 911 Targa, I figured it was worth shooting. This one is a good example of a solid daily-driven car; a few scars, but nothing too serious.
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Black Metal V8olvo Now Equipped With Rebel Swedish Flag Roof

When your V8-powered Volvo race car already has a 5-speed, Fiero wing, and hood scoop, what more do you need? That's right, a great big Swedish Rebel Flag on the roof! We had this planned for quite a while (though several commenters read our minds and suggested the idea), and we finally made it happen last weekend. Before you go and read Señor Loverman's TTAC writeup, make the jump to check out the blow-by-blow. [The Truth About Cars]
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Bugatti EB110 SS In Naked Carbon Fiber Laughs At Your Veyron

While the current hypercar mega-star, the Bugatti Veyron, may be a very impressive piece of machinery, the kids today often forget all about its predecessor. Yes, we're talking about the good ol' EB110, from the decade that brought us the Ferrari F50, Porsche 911 GT1, and McLaren F1. Since then, we've moved onwards and upwards— or have we? While a modern hypercar wafts along with a cozy cabin and an excess reserve of power, the definitive essence of the '90s was that of an unforgiving hardcore a
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Commenter Of The Day: Eric Stoltz Edition

We've always liked Eric Stoltz. We don't know why given that he's made more than a few movies that we can't recommend (Killing Zoe and The Butterfly Effect to name two) and directed episodes of Quarterlife. All that aside, he shows up as characters we like from time-to-time and he just seems like the kind of celebrity we'd like to hang out with. Anyone who saw Margot At The Wedding may have a somewhat negative opinion of Noah Baumbach, but before that he made one much better film: Kicking & Scre
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PCH, No Blood For Oil Edition: Veggie Oil Peugeot Or Hybrid Austin Marina?

The French car beat the German one in our last Choose Your Eternity matchup, which means we need to give France's cross-Channel rival an opportunity to snatch the PCH Trophy (which features several rods hanging out the side and a spreading pool of oil below) today. We're going with something a bit different this time, however; ever since the What Should Mad_Science Drive To Work QOTD, we've been thinking about non-petroleum-fueled car projects. Not boring ol' electric cars that can barely buzz u
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Want A Brand New Peugeot 504? Head To Nigeria!

Supposedly the last of the African 504s was built a few years ago... yet the Peugeot Nigeria website still offers the 504 Configurator. You don't have a lot of options (though you can get a wagon), but it's a genuine late-60s-technology 504 that we must assume is built way better than the citrus-flavored examples that were shipped to North America back in the day. And the price? About $25,000 if you're showing up with dollars. Thanks to Franzouse for the tip! [Peugeot Nigeria]
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Mystery Nürburgring Roadster Identified?

There's a lot of buzz nowadays about secret prototypes testing their on-track capabilities on Germany's famed Nürburgring. But while most cars are easily identifiable despite their heavy camouflage, this silver roadster is just sitting around undisguised, and we still aren't exactly sure what it is. This clear shot was captured just today by a fellow Jalop, Mike. It's the freshest clue yet to the mystery that was started not too long ago by these shots. Since then, there have been some claiming
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1965 Chevrolet C10 Pickup Truck

While we saw a Chevy truck about a month ago, the most recent Chevy pickup truck was way back in February. So today we're going to head over to a part of Alameda I've mostly ignored in this series (save for the '72 Mercury Monterey): Bay Farm Island (if you're an Alameda old-timer) aka Harbor Bay Isle (if you prefer a name made up by the developer that built a lot of tract homes there in the 80s). While technically part of Alameda, BFI/HBI (which is not really an island; it's on the mainland, ad
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McLaren Boss Ron Dennis Denies Setting Up Max Mosley

Ron Dennis has denied allegations that he was responsible for setting up the Max Mosley sex video scandal. It has been suggested that McLaren may have facilitated the News of the World investigation in response to the $100 million fine they received from FIA last year.
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The Vintage Chevrolet Club Of America Shows Off Rain-Soaked Detroit Iron In Seattle

When commenter of the super-stars, Startlton_Heston, offered up some photos from the Lee Johnson Chevrolet 75th Anniversary Car Show we assumed there would be a dozen or so photos to throw into a gallery. Little did we know, although we probably should have assumed, Mr. Heston was insane enough (in the best way) to send us more than one hundred lovingly taken photos detailing 69 years of Chevy metal. Being Seattle, the VCCA meet was a little rainy. A report from the Omega Man as well as some mor
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Commenter Of The Day: Let's Do The Time Warp Edition

There's something about The Rocky Horror Picture Show that has always weirded us out. As much as we like campy films, transsexuality and Barry Bostwick, the film has always missed the mark with us as a campy classic (we much prefer Plan 9 From Outer Space and O' Lucky Man). That being said, the movie has been able to maintain its cult following for years. In fact, most major metropolises or college towns will annually, if not weekly, show the film along with some sort of audience participation.
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MADD Upset Over Drunk Driving In GTA4

For those that haven't turned on a television or viewed any other website in the past 48 hours, the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV was released to the masses. Like previous GTA's, driving is a huge part of the gameplay, but this version even includes drunk driving, which makes the folks at MADD a touch unhappy.
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Absinthe, Darkness Cannot Deter Franzouse From Capturing Paris DAF

When you're stumbling down a Paris street at 2:00 AM with a head full of absinthe and you spot a '73 DAF with its owner- an Armenian priest- nearby, what do you do? If you're a certified Jalopnik Project Car Hell Poster Child, you whip out your iPhone and start shooting (perhaps taking an additional swig of the wormwood first, to steady your camera hand). Make the jump to read Franzouse's description. [Classic DAF]
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What Should Mad Science Drive To Work?

We're all about helping out our fellow Jalop, and Mad_Science has more than proven his bona fides yesterday as a worthy commenter. When not getting all verklempt over abandoned racers, Mad has to commute about 60 miles round-trip on Southern California freeways and, as we all know, gas isn't getting any cheaper. Says Mad:
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Mega Track, Our Kind Of Crossover

There's not much middle ground to crossovers as they are usually either depressingly awful or brilliantly cool. On one side you've got frumpy FWD tall wagons, which have zero off-road capabilities yet manage to be crappy on-road as well. Then on the other side you've got true dual-purpose vehicles, able to impress on a winding tarmac backroad or a lumpy dirt trail. So while some may be duped into thinking a Jeep Compass is the best of both worlds, we'd much prefer this, the Mega Track. It's a su
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Icelandic Hoons Protest Falling Krona, Rising Gas Prices

Iceland's the one country with a currency rate falling further than the dollar and according to the front-pager today in the Wall Street Murdoch Journal it's having a serious impact on our hoonage-loving brethren from the land of the ice and snow. As those of us here have known ever since we saw Richard Hammond try to outrun a man walking driving on water — their only real escape is on nitrous-injected, giant-wheeled trucks which they throw at the mountainous landscape with the greatest of aband
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Shelby Automobiles Remakes GT40 MKII For Carroll's 85th Birthday

The guy responsible for some of the most legendary cars in American racing history is turning 85 this year and Shelby Automotive has just the present for him. To celebrate the bought-and-paid-for-by-Ford main man's big birthday bonanza, 255 copies of the MKII GT40 will be remade in the original designs and colors complete with everything from the snorkel intakes to the Gurney bubble. What won't be included is the engine as this is a rolling chassis conveniently modded to accept a Shelby-built 42
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1969 Cadillac Sedan De Ville, With Bonus Cadillac Poll

1969 was a great year for Cadillac sales (and 1970 was better still), so it's no surprise that we're now looking at the third '69 Cadillac in this series. That's as good a reason as any to have a poll to determine the readers' favorite street-parked Alameda Cad on this fine Friday morning. I found this '69 parked just down the street from the Checker Marathon, and it has the look of a low-mileage original-owner car: solid, some rough spots but overall pretty nice. This may well be one of those o
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1980s New Jersey Time Capsule: 19K-Mile Datsun 240Z Could Be Yours!

Those of you who believed El Suburbanimo to be the ultimate New Jersey vehicle might want to reconsider after you take a look at this '73 Datsun 240Z. Back in the early 80s, with just 19,721 miles on the Z's clock, its owner decided some custom touches were in order. A little body kit here, some stripes and TURBO emblems there, and then the finishing touch: a small-block Chevy engine. It's awesome! BZR found this gem for us; make the jump to read his description. [eBay Motors]
By Murilee Martin Read More
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Commenter Of The Day: Boys Don't Cry Edition

Men tear up, it happens. We shouldn't deny it. And we're not talking about when you drop a battery on your foot or your team fumbles the ball on the one-yard-line in the National Championship game. We're talking about that moment when you let your guard down and an emotion, whether dread or happiness or appreciation, becomes an overwhelming presence. You try your best but it takes you over. Good art can do that. This one is embarrassing but I personally liked the show Northern Exposure when I wa
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Lincoln Navigator Gets Sync Option, Ford Focus Not Included

For all those fans of the Microsoft Sync system not willing to strap into a Ford Focus to get it, rejoice and be glad, for now you can get it dealer installed in your new Lincoln Navigator. The announcement came today from the glass house that the luxo-barge will get the hand free all-in-one communication and entertainment system as a kit available for 2008 and forward models. Expect to see soccer moms without cell phone glued to ear but appearing to talk to themselves in no time.
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PCH, Franco-Prussian War Rematch Edition: Citroen CX 2000 Or Porsche 928?

In a stunning upset, the Borgward Hansa wagon handed Germany a one-sided victory over the Peugeot 304 in our most recent Choose Your Eternity poll. With France long reigning as the world's lone HyperGalactic PCH OmniPower, we would be remiss if we didn't give the French a shot at prying the oil-leaking, stripped-fastener-thread PCH CryptoChampion trophy from the Germans, in order to prove that the Borgward's victory wasn't just some one-shot fluke. That's why we're rolling out some Hell Project
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Volvo 1800S Joins Its Amazon Brethren At East Bay Junkyard

Not long after undertw rescued a bunch of parts from a Volvo Amazon featured in this series, another old Volvo has been put out on the same yard. This is no run-of-the-mill Amazon, however- we're looking at a genuine Volvo 1800S (I'm going to say it's a '63, based on the grille) with plenty of good components ready for the picking.
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Federal Engineering #4 Racer Found In North Texas

Reader Jeff emailed us yesterday after our post about the very cool collection of the starting grid of the 1952 Indianapolis 500. As a paid "can you hear me now" guy, he roamed huge swaths of North Texas and one day managed to see the tail end of this beauty poking out the back of a garage. Despite our laziest best efforts to figure out the history on the car, we couldn't find anything on this particular Federal Engineering car. More pictures, and Jeff's story about it below.
By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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This Japanese Mini Cooper Does Everything Backwards

Here are things we know about the BMC Minis: front-engined, front-wheel-drive, tiny wheels, Brit motor. Here are things we know about this racing Mini from Japan: mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive, gigantic wheels, Honda B18c engine. We're not sure what compelled this individual to take the original Mini platform and flip it on its head, but we'd like to see this thing take on a Renault R5 powered by an SR2ODE motor for some reason. Clearly, what the Mini has been missing all this time is Integra Ty
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2008 Smart Fortwo IIHS Crash Film Leaks To Web

Thanks to the NYT, we already knew the folks at NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) noted a "safety concern" after the driver's door on the new US-Spec 2008 Smart Fortwo popped open during a side-impact crash test. Although the little Smart got a five star rating for protecting the head and chest of the dummy we just learned a lot from, the door "issue" could potentially "increase the likelihood of occupant ejection." Ouch. Well, now IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safet
By Ray Wert Read More
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1979 Porsche 928

We've already seen a 928 in this series, but I always consider the Malaise Era 928s to be the best ones. Sure, the later 928s were way faster, but late-70s car freaks didn't have much reason for optimism during a period of declining horsepower, disco tape stripes, and huge bumpers, and the then-new 928 was one of the few bright spots. So here we go with another JFG/DOTS combo car, which I found parked near the 1970 VW Transporter pickup.
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Nissan GT-R Officially Dry-Laps Nürburgring In 7:29, Makes Us Wet

The friendly Finnish Fans of Cars all over the World tell us today the new 2009 Nissan GT-R can now lay claim to being one of the fastest production cars in the world — in Nürburgring lap times. Nissan claims GT-R chief test driver Tochio Suzuki completed the famous German circuit in just 7 minutes and 29 seconds during runs on April 16th and 17th. According to their records, this puts the GT-R in second place for fastest laps by unmodified production cars — that's just behind the Pagani Zonda F
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Racing (1)

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Huge Wing, Eyeballs Propel Make:Way Escort To 33rd-Place LeMons Finish!

Even though we vowed to crush Team Make:Way’s Escort like a drained beercan beneath our hobnailed racing shoes (as the Lord Humungus would say about their car, what a puny plan!), the little slushbox-equipped Escort managed to evade the wrath of Odin and hang on for a respectable 33rd-place finish at the race. They had a scary moment when a front wheel parted company with the vehicle on the track, but for the most part they kept on knocking out lap after lap. Good work, Make:Way, and next time w
By Murilee Martin Read More