Archive for July 2008

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Buying (19)

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    2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, Part Three

    Why you should buy the 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid: You need a full-size SUV for mid-level towing and passenger-carrying duties, and you plan to put enough miles on it that an almost 50% improvement in fuel economy is worth the substantially higher up-front price. You like the idea of having both gas and electric motors, but you think Priuses are for sissies. Why you shouldn't buy this car: You don't want to wait over 39,000 miles to pay off the added cost of the hybrid drivetrain. You need a full-

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, Part Two

    Exterior Design: ** Whether you love or hate big SUVs, the 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid sports monolithic good looks compared to others in the category. Body-color trim, molded-in side steps, and the hybrid-specific front air dam add to handsome proportions. If you're trying to be subtle, though, look elsewhere: The Tahoe Hybrid shouts its greenness from every surface, using emblems, logos, and tape stripes to tell the world you're doing your part for global warming...wait, against global warming. Wh

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, Part One

    Go North — and take that big-ass SUV with you. That was the mandate from the wife, so that's what I did. Sure, it was partly to visit friends near Lewiston, four hours north of Detroit, but it was also partly to get the 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid out of our driveway. Greenwashing badges be damned, it was a little embarrassing to have a brand-new full-size SUV in front of my modest home in Southeast Michigan; I know neighbors who have been laid off, and neighbors who have changed their driving habit

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR

    Andrew Stoy is wrong. (No, I'm not. —A.S.) The 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR makes a much better everyday car than the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. And I should know: I've only driven it in rush hour traffic.

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    2008 Dodge Charger SRT8, Part Three

    Why you should buy the 2008 Dodge Charger SRT8: You never got enough oversteer from your big wheel as a kid. Your father taught you big motors and tire smoke are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The first passage in your bible reads "In the beginning, God created the Hemi and the Earth." You think global warming is not only a crock of crap, but a communist plot against all that is good and pure. You run a drag strip for orphans. You own stock in ExxonMobil. Why you shouldn't buy this car: The

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt, Part Three

    Why you should buy the 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt: You don't care if other people think you're cool; you know you're cool. If you want a job done right you think you have to do it yourself. You've got a bad habit of getting into car chases that end in fiery explosions. You were alive when the movie I'm alluding to premiered. Why you shouldn't buy this car: It is important that others know you've got a big... er... engine. You think you're cool, but just in case here are a couple of awesome strip

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    2008 Dodge Charger SRT8, Part Two

    Exterior Design: **** Let's not mince words here: The 2008 Dodge Charger SRT8 is the kid that took your sister out to a party and she came back with frazzled hair, disheveled clothes, and smeared makeup. It's a badass car and it looks it. In sedate colors it blends in like a roughneck in a polo, but when properly coiffed, it gets a solid nod as the obvious troublemaker. Something is brewing behind those headlights, and we all know it starts with a capital 'T'. Interior Design: ** Like Wert s

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt, Part Two

    Exterior Design: ***** The 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt isn't just a series of minor enhancements. Although the differences between the GT are subtle, they're numerous — starting with the badge delete option and Highland Green paint, a large black grille rimmed with a satin piece of chrome that hints at the car's unique importance. The dark five-spoked wheels get a similar strip of lightly colored metal around the perimeter, helping to both maintain the car's stealth and at the same time acting as

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    2008 Dodge Charger SRT8, Part One

    While Wert spent last week behind the wheel of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, I had the muscle car's big, boorish bear of a brother, the 2008 Dodge Charger SRT8. The two cars may come off the same production lines, but I'm finding myself using a different set of adjectives than the petals of flowery prose Wert scattered in front of the Challenger's tires. The Charger SRT8 is pitifully crude, boorish and obnoxious. As far as high performance goes, it's a complete piece of shit. But it's the most

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt, Part One

    I managed to drive nearly one thousand miles across Texas in a 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt without running over a cow, getting in a gunfight or playing a single hand of high stakes poker. How? If you've never been, the Texas in your head is a rugged place with sun-drenched highways stretching across a flat endless plain as seen in movies actually shot in Southern California. We've got three of the ten largest cities in the United States. We've got dusty hills and verdant valleys. Modern skyscraper

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, Part Three

    Why you should buy the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8: You love America and everything it stands for. You break out in hives at the thought of restoring an old '71 Challenger, but still want to live life looking good, moving fast and bleeding red, white and blue. Your nickname was "Super Soul" or your last name is "Kowalski." Why you shouldn't buy this car: You hate America and everything it stands for. You are content living your life in a drab, vanilla coma, never once yearning to break free to l

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Dash Express GPS Navigation Could Be Commuter's Dream

    I've had the chance to spend a couple of weeks with the Dash Express GPS unit that most notably features two-way communication via Wi-Fi and GPRS for live active traffic data, Yahoo Local search instead of the standard list of points of interest and a robust customizable applications system. It was built to be the "commuter's navigation unit."

    By Travis Hudson Read More
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    2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, Part Two

    Exterior Design: ***** The 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 gets all five stars for providing a perfect example of a polarizingly retro design done right. You either love it or you hate it. Although we've yet to find a single soul who is willing to shout this pony down in person. From the big, strong front fascia and that creased centerline to those broad haunches in the back, this muscle car oozes bad-ass. Interior Design: *** Inasmuch as the exterior was crafted with pound upon pound of love and ca

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart

    The 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart isn't an Evo X. It's better. That's what I keep telling myself as I drive the back roads of the Detroit exurbs in Mitsubishi's latest boosted compact. Slotting between the regular FWD Lancer 2.4 GTS and the balls-out rally car Evo X, the Ralliart seeks to put Mitsubishi on the shopping list of folks who might consider, say, a WRX but not a full-bore STi.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, Part One

    Michigan's M-1 is a state trunk road that starts at downtown Detroit's waterfront drive, Jefferson Avenue, then shoots north in a straight line for 21.4 miles, past some of the poorest and wealthiest neighborhoods of the metro region until it loops back down the other direction in the city of Pontiac. And really, nobody calls it "M-1." Everyone knows it as Woodward Avenue and it's the heart of the Midwestern metropolis dubbed the Motor City. But until this morning, I didn't realize how important

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    The Future Is Back: Jalopnik Drives The DeLorean DMC-12

    The first time I saw the gullwing doors on a DeLorean DMC-12 open, in Back To The Future, it was abundantly clear something important was happening. Something cool. Then I learned that it had a chassis engineered by Colin Chapman and a body designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Then I read about the cocaine and the stunning fall from grace. Then I visited the headquarters of the company dedicated to keeping the brand alive. Then I got to drive one. The story of our pilgrimage to the reborn Mecca of st

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Dodge Charger Police Edition, Part Three

    Why you should buy the 2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition: You need a big cruiser, but need muscle car speed. Your department has a bunch of money to spend after a big drug bust. You've got to reunite your band and save an orphanage. Why you shouldn't buy this car: You think high-speed pursuits are unnecessary and dangerous. You complain about high gas prices. You think the police shouldn't carry guns. You're a neo-Nazi from Illinois.

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition, Part Two

    Exterior Design: **** The 2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition benefits from the inherently aggressive looks of the standard Charger's angry headlamps and strong rear haunches. Of course, each car's style will be affected by the livery of its jurisdiction. Our car looks badass in black with the exposed steel wheels and a spot lamp mounted in the A-pillar, but we would've liked to have a push-bar in front to make it even more intimidating. Interior Design: *** Function rules over form inside the Po

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition, Part One

    If you saw Top Gear last week, you saw the boys compete to find the best sub-£900 replacement for the British standard Opel Astra police car. They shouldn't have bothered. There's already something bigger, stronger and faster in the colonies — and we've driven it. Just ignore the price tag and fuel economy. —Ed. Barreling down the highway in the 2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition, I'm on a mission. It's 106 miles to Chicago, I've got a full tank of gas, and I'm supposed to meet Hardigree on the

    By Mark Arnold Read More

Culture (1)

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    Commenter Of The Day: Ugly-Sexy Edition

    We've commented on the Ugly Sexy Factor before. It's also known as the Lyle Lovett Effect or the Jeneane Garofalo Paradox. This is where a person, or an object, can be ugly to some and sexy to others or, rarely, simultaneously both obviously unattractive by common measures and still irresistibly magnetic. This is especially present in certain cars with a high level of design, such as the stunning-yet-stretchy Lagonda. Today we were reintroduced to another car that straddles the line between mist

    By Matt Hardigree Read More

Entertainment (3)

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    Top Gear Races JDM Nissan GT-R Vs. Bullet Train, We Spoil Winner Below The Jump

    In this week's episode of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson takes a JDM Nissan GT-R for a bit of a race against a Japanese Bullet Train holding Hammond and May — with both going coast-to-coast to Tokyo. The winner and the rest of the show re-cap below the jump. And yes, it's a spoiler, so if you're still waiting to watch it, don't even think of going there.

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Telegraph: James May, Richard Hammond "May Leave" Top Gear Unless BBC Meets Salary Demands

    The UK's Telegraph is telling us today James May and Richard Hammond, two of Top Gear's threesome of hosts, have yet to sign new contracts recently presented to them by the BBC. According to the UK daily, they're holding out for the same multi-million pound deal received last month by Clarkson in his new contract. The Telegraph even goes so far as to say the two "may leave" the show if their contract demands aren't met. However, the only source they've been able to get a quote from on the record

    By Ray Wert Read More

News (289)

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    Project Car Hell, LeMons South Edition: RX-7 Or Caprice?

    Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! We had what may be our all-time closest vote yesterday, with the 4x4 Econoline beating the lowrider Econoline 202 votes to 200. Today we're going racing! We've had Arse-Freeze-A-Pa-Looza LeMons PCH and the LeMons San Francisco PCH, and now tradition dictates that we have a LeMons South Edition PCH. Just in time for teams still hoping to make the deadline for the Yeehaw

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Fleetwood Southwind RV Has Diesel Bus Looks, Gas Appetite

    Recreational vehicle manufacturer Fleetwood, ignoring bad news about the motorhome industry, released the 2009 Southwind Class A gas RV in Minnesota last week. Apparently designed for folks who really want a Prevost coach but don't quite have the scratch, the Southwind packs the looks and luxury of a bus into a front-engine chassis powered by either a Ford 6.8-liter Triton V10 or an 8.1-liter Vortec from GM. Of course, you're gonna want to have a gas card with a healthy limit. Full release below

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Roush Mustang Stage 3 Suspension, Now Sold Separately

    Good news for 2003 through 2009 Ford Mustang owners that don't want to throw down $21,000 on a complete Roush Stage 3 kit: The suspension alone is now available separately for just $1,449, meaning it's now affordable to make your 'Stang handle. The complete kit is a direct replacement for the spongy stock suspension, lowers the car 1", and includes springs, dampers, jounce bumpers and anti-roll bars. Full details follow the jump.

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Your Mother Wouldn't Like The 1973 MGB

    A bell-bottomed, braless British babe heads to her MGB after catching Last Tango In Paris- yeah, British Leyland was making cars for rebels back in '73. Need we refer to the legendary build quality of Malaise Era BL cars? We're envious, however, of the UK-market horsepower numbers listed in this ad; the North American '73 MGB packed a mere 78.5 horses under the bonnet.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Caterham Now Offering Insurance, Super Lightweight Insurance

    Owning a rare, exotic car comes with its own unique set of challenges. This is especially true for cars like the Caterham Seven, which tends to be raced and modified by a high percentage of its owners. In that spirit, Caterham is now offering insurance to its customers. The best part is the new plan covers track-day certified repair and is friendly to the kind of modifications that Seven owners are likely to make. This follows the Caterham CDX and other offerings from the company that shows its

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    6.4-Liter Hemi-Powered SR 392 Roadster SEMA Special To Hit Auction Block At Monterrey

    The SR 392 roadster, built by Quality Metalcraft's Michael Chetcuti and Chrysler's Mark Allen and Ralph Gilles, will be auctioned off in August at the the Russo & Steele car auction during the Monterey Historics. In case you've forgotten, the SR 392 concept made its debut in the Chrysler display at last year's SEMA show and it's named after the 392 6.4-liter Hemi crate engine under the hood. Since then, it's traveled the country, winning show awards left and right. We only hope it finds an owner

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    GM Plans Lease Tweaks To Encourage Consumers To Buy What They Can Afford

    Automotive News reports GM sales chief Mark LaNeve sent a letter to dealers outlining the company's plans to adjust its leasing strategy. GM's letter follows a move last week on leases by Chrysler. While the company won't be going down the same route, having their captive finance entity ditch leasing altogether, they're expected to tweak the terms on certain vehicles to make leases more expensive, in an effort to make buying more attractive. In LaNeve's words, "current financial pressures will c

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    New Porsche RS Spyder Race Engine Gets Direct Injection

    Proving that road technology eventually filters down to race hardware, Porsche will be upgrading the 3.4L V8 present in its ALMS LMP2 class Porsche RS Spyder with direct injection. The technology was developed for the Porsche Cayenne and Porsche 911, and, given the performance advantages, engineers decided to back-hack it into the prototype V8. The old version of the engine turned out a stout 476 HP at 10,000 RPM along with 273 lb-ft at 7,500 rpm; the direct injection and obviously remapped fuel

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    1972 BMW 2002

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today we're going to look at a fairly rough BMW 2002- a total beater, in fact- that still sees daily-driver duty for its owner. This car parks on one of the busiest streets on the island (quite close to the '77 Olds Custom Cruiser), looks like hell, yet gets the transportation job done just as well as any boring 5-year-old Sentra.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    CNBC's "Saving General Motors" Is... Actually Quite Good

    CNBC's gone inside GM for a one-hour documentary called "Saving General Motors," airing next Wednesday, August 6th at 9 PM and defying expectations, put together a rather compelling hour of television for the auto-obsessed. The documentary of course spends time on the bad, but also on success stories for the big 'merican automaker — the new Chevy Malibu, the new Chevy Silverado, the new Cadillac CTS and Buick in China as well as potential success stories like the new Chevy Camaro (and of course,

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    2009 Subaru Impreza WRX: A Taste Of STI At 265 HP

    For 2009, the Subaru Impreza lineup will get a good shakeup for 2009, with the 2009 Subaru WRX getting an expected STI-like bump in power to 265 HP and 244 lb-ft of torque. Additionally, it'll get a whole load of new suspension tweaks and tunes, an upgraded aero and handling package. An additional Impreza's being added to the lineup — it's the Subaru 2.5 GT and in fairness, it seems more like the 2.5 GT moniker is being applied to the current WRX, with the new WRX being the real "new" car in the

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Commenter Of The Day: East Texas Blues

    Every state has their own slogon, if not many, aimed at attracting tourism dollars. Who could forget "Virginia Is For Lovers" and "Hawaii: Where The Only Ho Is Don." Texas has, for a few years, tried to lure visitors with "Texas, It's Like A Whole 'Nother Country." It's quite the apt statement... assuming you can get past the sentence construction. East Texas remains the only part of the state that can still correctly be referred to as the American south, though it clearly exhibits the influence

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    PCH, Fry In Econoline Hell Edition: 4x4 Or Slammed?

    Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! The last time we ventured into El Infierno Del Coche, we experienced the joy of electrical fires and short vehicle range in the Arc-Weld Your Soul challenge. That one was a close race, but the electric 911 edged out the electric Spitfire in a 51.5-to-48.5 split. Today we're getting all forward-control on you, with a couple of interesting Econoline projects suggested by

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Dirt-Oval Veteran '38 Ford Would Be Hell Project, Definitely Worth The Pain

    I'm in Denver pretty regularly, and that means I'm often roaming about the area with camera in hand, looking for more photos of street-parked old vehicles to add to the Down On The Street Bonus Edition stash. I was happy to find three vintage Fairlanes on a previous trip, but I just about flew through the windshield in Englewood, so hard did I brake when I spotted what appeared to be an original 1950s race car sitting on a trailer in an industrial 'hood. I didn't know it yet, but I'd arrived at

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Even A Hydropneumatic Suspension Couldn't Hold All These Vintage Citroen Brochures

    Finding the Peugeot 403 brochure was nice, but we need a total overdose of vintage French car brochures! Fortunately, Mort555 came to the rescue, by sending us a tip about this Dutch site with dozens of beautifully scanned Citroën brochures from the 1950s through the 1980s. France, Spain, Finland, Germany, Italy- if you could buy Citroëns there, the brochure is probably in this site. [Citrobe.org]

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    People On The Internet Are Searching For The Ford Flex

    According to the Blue Oval folks, Ford Flex was the seventh most popular search term on Yahoo last Sunday, and the only vehicle in the top 10 most-searched topics. We're not really sure why that's news, but Ford seems pretty excited about it. Our thoughts? Well, we're happy they're happy — we don't know what more there is to say. PR-heavy press release after the jump.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    2008 Meadow Brook Concours D'Elegance Preview And Event Guide

    As you may have noticed when we told you about the North American debut of the Alfa Romeo Bertone B.A.T. 11, we started off the day yesterday at the 2008 Meadow Brook Concours D'Elegance press breakfast. Actually, it was more of a press "stand-around-and-sweat". August 3rd will mark the 30th Concours held on the Meadow Brook Estate in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and they're planning on mixing things up a bit this year. Believe it or not, we're really looking forward to this one — there's going to

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Rhys Millen-Tuned Hyundai Genesis Coupe Racer To Debut At 2008 SEMA Show

    Hyundai announced they've teamed with Rhys Millen Racing to build and introduce a track-going version of the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe for this year's SEMA show. This Rhys Millen Racer is the first of a plethora of custom jobs from some of the best, brightest and ballsiest tuning shops who've received a Genesis coupe to play with before this year's SEMA show.

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Creator Of Driveshaft-Through-The-Skull Design Takes 8th Place At LeMons South

    While at the 24 Hours of LeMons South event, I saw four racing team members (on four different teams) wearing Driveshaft Through The Skull T-Shirts during the course of the weekend- pretty impressive, given that we only made 84 of them and they were shipped all over the world. The proud wearers of those shirts might have been surprised to discover that the artist behind the DTTS design was actually out there on the track with them, reaching the coveted LeMons Top Ten in an '85 Nissan 300ZX. Meet

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Amazing Barn Find: Aussie Man Hoards 297 Classic Cars

    We've stumbled across an amazing story of an Aussie classic car collector with almost three hundred cars stored outside his farm in the Adelaide countryside. The range of body styles includes sedans, coupes, roadsters and convertibles, trucks and vans from the 1930s to the 1980s. They've got badges from almost every continent — European, American and even Australian oddities. The nameplates run through storied names from Austin, BMW, Chrysler, Hudson, Jaguar, Jensen, Lancia, Morris, Nash, Oldsmo

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Chase Won't Lease You A Chrysler Either

    Afraid that Chrysler Financial's recent decision to suspend leasing would result in an influx of profit-draining lease contracts, the Detroit News reports Chase Financial will no longer offer leases on Chrysler products. "Leasing is a small part of our portfolio and we intend to keep it that way," said Chase spokeswoman Mary Kay Bean. The decision is another blow to Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealers who have been hit with poor-selling vehicles and now a severe lack of low-cost financing options. So, i

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Chevy Volt To Get Occasional Power From Cruze's 1.4-Liter Inline Four-Cylinder

    We all know the story on the 2011 Chevy Volt by now — inline hybrid, electric motors, giant T-shaped lithium ion battery, 40 mile all-EV range, late 2010 debut date and "on-board range extender." Well, we didn't know so much about that last one until now. GM is confirming the same 1.4-liter in-line four-cylinder set for duty in the Chevy Cruze will be doing the electricity-generating duties for the Volt.

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    1967 Imperial Crown

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. We've seen many Cadillacs in this series, and a fair number of Lincolns... but where are the Imperials? So far we've had just this '56 Imperial, and that's not enough!

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    BRB Evolution Super Car Concept Transforms, Folds To Fit Tight Spaces

    This is the BRB Evolution —a unique sports car concept, designed by 22-year-old British engineer Daniel Bailey, that folds itself in half lengthwise to fit into tight parking spots. The concept car would fold itself into half its length by jacking itself up on its nose and tucking its rear wheels beneath. Bailey claims he was inspired by the Lamborghini Murcielago and Peugeot 908, but given the car's appearance and Mr. Bailey's youthful 22 years, we suspect reefer, Mountain Dew and repeated play

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Don't Worry, KITT's New Truck Mode Is Microsoft-Approved

    We already broke the story on KITT transforming from a GT500KR into a Ford F-150 FX4 pickup truck in the new Knight Rider TV show, but this morning PickupTrucks.com has the scoop on the full story and it's a whopper. Apparently, Exec Producer Gary Scott Thompson and his production team went to Microsoft to help with determining what the future of automobiles looks like. Microsoft, other than focusing on a future where every car comes with Sync and owners pay $100 upgrade fees each year for new S

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    The Top 66 Lemons Of The 24 Hours Of LeMons South

    We've seen the top sub-$500 race cars from the Altamont October '07 race, the Thunderhill December '07 race, and the Altamont May 07 race, and now we've got the top cars- in fact, just about all the cars- from the 24 Hours of LeMons South event last weekend. The sequence of winners from those races goes: BMW E30, Mazda Protege, Acura Integra, Mazda RX-7. You can look at the official race results here, and be sure you make the jump to see all the race machines in their low-budget glory.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    "New Car Smell" Less Toxic, But The Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Smells Funny For A Reason

    A group that keeps tabs on toxic car chemicals has released a study showing that new cars are improving in terms of the amount of interior toxins they off-gas: What we euphemistically call "new car smell." General Motors, Mazda and Nissan showed the greatest improvements over the inaugural year of the survey, according to HealthyCar.com. The best performing vehicle this year was the Acura RDX, which scored a 0.6 on their incomprehensible 10-point scale. It wasn't all coming up roses, as there ar

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Tata Considers Relaunching Daimler Luxury Brand

    Tata may attempt to extend its luxury business by resurrecting the Daimler luxury brand, according to reports from an investor meeting. Tata secured the rights to the Daimler name as part of the Jaguar-Land Rover purchase, though currently the only car with that name is the range-topping Jaguar Daimler Super 8. As we reported, Tata assumed numerous brands in the deal, including the rights to produce cars under the name Daimler (DaimlerAG, formerly DaimlerChrysler, was given permission to use the

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    EXCLUSIVE: Alfa Romeo Bertone BAT 11 Concept Makes North American Debut!

    The Alfa Romeo Bertone BAT 11 may have evaded our lenses when it made an off-site debut at the Geneva Auto Show last March, but not this time. Now we've got the first live shots of the BAT 11 on American soil. The artfully-designed car was revealed today at the press event ahead of this weekend's 2008 Meadow Brook Concours D'Elegance. What's most impressive about this already amazing-to-look-at design concept is it's actually being considered for very limited production. Sounds totally plausible

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Hummer HX, H3T Spotted On Transformers 2 Set

    The robots-in-disguise fan-boys at the Transformer Live Action Movie Blog have snapped some close-up pictures of the Hummer HX concept taken at the San Pedro, California set for the new Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie due out next summer. Also spotted was a Hummer H3T decked out with the same kind of "NEST" decals as the HX. Want to see the shot in higher resolution? Click here. [Transformers Live Action Movie Blog]

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Stark Automotive Lotus Elise R Powered By VTEC, Distinguished By Silly Paint

    What do you get when you take a Lotus Elise S, subtract one 2ZZ Toyota four-banger, and substitute a Honda K-Series VTEC engine? You go back one in the alphabet and get the Stark Automotive Lotus Elise R. The crew starts with a base Elise, strips the car down and rebuilds the already-nimble sports car to customer specifications. The new mill is a K20A i-VTEC that normally sees duty in Type-R Hondas mated to a K20 six-speed gearbox. The result is a car that can reach 60 mph from a cold start in 3

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    What's The Worst Full Body Car Kit?

    Yesterday we saw some seriously retina-assaulting car kits, from the psycho-futuristic Nova Sports Car to the acid-tripping purple Toyota... whatever. While the VW Shortbus is an interesting reinterpretation of a classic form, the fake Carrera GT is merely a sad bastardization of a modern design. This made us wonder. Does it get worse? Could it get worse?

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Ethanol-Boosted Gasoline Engines Could Get Higher Fuel Economy, Higher Torque Than Diesels...At Ford?

    Our friends at PickupTrucks.com tell us a company called Ethanol Boosting Systems (EBS) is developing turbocharged gasoline engines that can rival diesel torque output for a third of the price. By combining high compression, huge boost numbers, port fuel injection and the key component — direct ethanol injection, EBS has designed an engine that can take advantage of gasoline's lower price and better emissions characteristics while producing a Peterbilt-like torque curve. Sounds like a brilliant

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    US Vehicle Miles Traveled Drop 3.7% In May; Experts Think Could Possibly Be Related To Higher Gas Prices Or Something

    According to a report from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Americans drove 3.7% less in May 2008 than in May 2007. It may not sound like much, but that equates to 9.6 billion fewer miles driven during a month particularly significant as a big vacation travel time. The report notes the decline is primarily due to high gas prices, but it's being used as a rallying cry for alternative infrastructure funding: With less fuel usage, gas taxes alone won't pay for desperately needed roadwork an

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Type 34

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today we've going to check out a seriously rare machine that I found near the '60 Studebaker Lark: a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Type 34. Or is it some kind of weird replica? That soft top sure doesn't look factory. I'm sure some of you VW experts out there can fill us in; I'm not even going to attempt to guess a year on this thing.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Edmunds Disrobes New Acura NSX

    Edmunds' JDM friends at Auto Holiday Magazine have put together some rendered speculation of the new Acura NSX using the spy photos of the 2010 supercar spotted on the Nürburgring in Art Nouveau leopard print. If these sans-camouflage shots are spot on, the new NSX will look — according to Edmunds — "neat but not gorgeous...following the 2007 Detroit Auto Show concept car's lines closer than first thought." Of course it would.

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Commenter Of The Day: Prom Night Edition

    Schnitzel Ben's story of a Carrera GT crushed on prom night by a careless teen got us thinking about the immense amount of pressure prom is designed to inflict. You're in high school and therefore awkward and confused. You've got to find a date. You've got to find a tux. You have to pick out a corsage. You have to get a nice place for dinner. You have to find a good group to go with. Assuming you've done all of this you've got to dance. You have to decide when it is a good time to go. Then, beca

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Where Is Your God Now?

    We had thought there to be no limit to our fascination with the perverse side of automobilia. But today we have found it. A car which jumps every shark, crosses every line, and shocks and confounds in ways we've never considered. It's the automotive equivalent of goatse. Beginning with a Cimbria Nova Sports Car kit (Good call Kuang), adding a dash of Corvette, the headlights from a Cougar, tail lights from a Vauxhall, and styling by Syd Mead, this VW powered... thing, has fractured our perceptio

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Mini Sold Out In U.S., Reports AutoWeek

    According to AutoWeek, U.S. Mini dealers are down to a one-day supply of vehicles, and the factory doesn't see any near-term way to alleviate the shortage. So far this year, Mini sales are up 33.6%, resulting in a total depletion of the company's in-stock vehicles. While the factory is cranking out approximately 800 cars a day, the magazine says they're just keeping up with pre-ordered vehicles at this point. We like to take any "sold-out" news with the obligatory grain of salt; as such, we deci

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Datsun XLink Concept Envisions Datsun As A Lifestyle Brand

    Though you may not see it at Geneva, the XLink Concept thesis project hints at what Datsun could be if resurrected by Nissan. The challenge for Benjamin Nawka at the Nissan Yulon Design Center at Pforzheim University was to create a compact car that utilized "fresh design language" and unique features. The result is a four-seater compact hatchback with a bold presence and adjustable winglets above the rear that feature lights and rear mirror cameras. Nawka considers the XLink to be "the first pr

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Chevy Trax Or Groove Subcompact Coming To US In 2011

    Even though the 2009 Chevy Beat won't be offered Stateside, we will be getting one of the GM minicar concepts in 2011. While the company isn't saying which vehicle it'll be, our minicar won't be quite so mini, in part to meet US crash regulations and in part to fit our super-sized derrieres.

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Porsche Carrera GT Suffers Death By Teenager

    This one comes to us from the offices of intrepid commenter Drachen, who chatted up the driver of this flatbed after seeing its cargo — the remains of a Porsche Carrera GT in an Atlanta-area parking lot. According to the driver, he'd just pulled an all-nighter driving from Miami to Atlanta to deliver the car to the shipping docks so it could be crated and sent back to Germany. Seems the car was destroyed at the hands of — you guessed it — a teenager, and on prom night, no less.

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    AC Schnitzer BMW X6 Proves You Can Make The X6 Look Worse

    The tuners and tunettes at AC Schnitzer have turned their wrenches toward the 2009 BMW X6, BMW's unique Sports Activity Coupe. When we reviewed the Bimmer, making it look stranger with visual tweaks wasn't high on the list of things we were hoping someone would change. That didn't seem to deter AC Schnitzer, who added a new nose with a lower skirt, along with repositioned intakes and a revised rear diffuser. Lest you think it's all weird show and no go, the company is also tweaking the diesel en

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Infiniti Readying A Nissan GT-R-Based Sedan

    Japanese magazine CarTop is speculating that Infiniti could be developing a new range-topping sedan based on the 2009 Nissan GT-R. Allegedly, the sedan could go on sale as early as 2011. But how similar would it really be to Godzilla? And what should we call Godzilla with two extra doors anyhow?

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    GM In Talks To Buy Out Hummer Dealerships

    Automotive News reports that General Motors is bribing incentivizing moribund Hummer dealers by prepaying them second- and third-quarter bonuses based upon 2007 sales. The company is also reportedly talking to many dealer principals behind-the-scenes about buyout options, attempting to smooth the transition to a brand sale or closure and avoid some of the expensive legal issues that plagued its Oldsmobile shutdown. Dealers could use all the help they can get: Hummer sales plummeted nearly 60% in

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Car Rental Prices Increasing Due To Smaller Fleet Purchases

    In addition to the increased cost of filling them with fuel, car rental rates are rising as rental companies try to squeeze profits out of a shrinking fleet, reports the Detroit News. To help decrease overhead, rental companies have removed 300,000 vehicles from their inventory, despite demand that has remained steady. To generate revenue from a smaller fleet, costs to the consumer have increased — though not as much as they could have thanks to intense competition within the industry.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Toyota Cuts Sales Forecast Again, Still Expected To Top GM

    Toyota's previously reported group-wide global sales forecast cut has gotten bigger. The company now estimates sales will fall by 350,000 additional units, for a 2008 worldwide estimated total of 9.5 million vehicles. More significantly, Toyota brand sales in the U.S. are now expected to drop 7% from 2007; this, despite reports just a month ago that sales would be flat for 2008. So this means GM will retain its title as world's largest automaker, right? Well, not exactly.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    1956 Chevrolet Model 3100 Pickup Truck, With Bonus Ford Versus Chevy Poll

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today we're going to head over to a part of town that was created by filling in a few hundred yards of San Francisco Bay back in the 1950s; usually I don't find too many DOTS candidates in this neighborhood, because all the houses have big garages and the Camrys and Tauruses tend to get the street spots while the cool cars live indoors.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    New Porsche 911 Targa 4, Targa 4S Let Loose On Unsuspecting Internet

    Porsche just released a set of three shots of their newest glass-roofed versions of the new 911, the 2009 Porsche 911 Targa 4 and the speedier 2009 Porsche 911 Targa 4S. Although we'd already spotted the new 911 Targas earlier this month, we're happy to hear the Targa 4 will get the new 345 HP 3.6-liter flat-six and the Targa 4S will get the beefier 385 HP 3.8-liter engine. The plain-jane 4 will hit a maximum speed of 176 MPH, while the 4S will hit 184 MPH on the track. The centerpiece to both i

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    LeMons People's Curse Victim: Salazar Racing BMW!

    As we've seen before, pissing off your competitors in the 24 Hours of LeMons tends to backfire in dramatic fashion. Here's how it works: at the end of the first day of racing, each team votes for the team whose car they most wish to see destroyed the next day. The team with the most votes gets a date with a large piece of construction equipment. Today, the "winner" was Team Salazar Racing and their BMW 325. Make the jump to see the whole gallery and get the rest of the story.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Bustin' Parts At The 24 Hours Of LeMons South

    They're back on the track for Day Two of racin' at the 24 Hours of LeMons South, and lust for the checkered flag has turned all these formerly polite Southern boys into a bunch of PCP-overdosed Junior Johnsons, with dramatic spinouts galore (yes, we'll have some action shots in a little while). A contributing factor to the higher speeds today is the less crowded track. Why less crowded, you ask? Well, when you pay $500 (or "$500") for a race car, you don't always get 100% bulletproof reliability

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Jewish Judge Forces Southern Racer To Eat Pork Brains; Moses, Stonewall Jackson Pissed

    Some of you may have thought that my Chemical Ali punishment was on the harsh side, but I'm actually the nice judge in the good-cop/bad-cop team we have going. LeMons Supreme Court Justice Loverman has devised a punishment he calls the "Diabetic Discipline," and it goes something like this: We take some bribe money and send a local guy- we tried to find one with a cruel streak- out to buy the most grotacious food products he can find. Since this is South Carolina... well, make the jump to get th

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Innovations In The 24 Hours Of LeMons Penal System: The Chemical Ali!

    One of the things that sets the 24 Hours of LeMons apart from other races is the system of penalties for on-track misbehavior; you pass on a yellow or run someone into a tire wall, you get black-flagged straight to the punishment area. Once there, you can spin the Wheel of Misfortune to get your punishment (in addition to the 30 minutes spent sitting in the time-out corner while the good kids rack up laps), and you might get the Max Mosley, the Al Gore Jr., or maybe you'll even get off scot-free

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    First Pictures Of Turbo-Boosted Super Pursuit KITT At Comic Convention, KITTchero Teased

    Those on the fence about the new Knight Rider television show need look no further than these shots of the newly upgraded KITT from Popular Mechanics shot at Comic-Con 2008. At a panel discussion in front of Knight Rider fanboys-girls they showed video of KITT employing Turbo Boost (before a very long press conference where the actor that plays Mike Tracer admitted he drives a supercharged Bullitt). The video apparently also featured the actors getting into a truck version of KITT — a KITTchero

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Want To Ensure Absolute Impartiality From The LeMons Judges?

    Since we put out the word that justice can be purchased at the 24 Hours of LeMons South, some teams became quite innovative about the methods used to make sure that the Bullshit Inspection judges take a reasonable approach to the determination of car value. Taping $5 bills under the hood certainly gets our attention!

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Commenter Of The Day: France Is Back Edition

    After a prolonged period of anti-French sentiment due partially to their lack of support of our adventures in Iraq and partially to them being, well... French, the country is back in a big way. Helped in small part by the election of US conservative-favorite Nicholas Sarkozy and in large part by our love of French Cars, people are seeing the country in a new light. Congress even dropped "Freedom Fries" from the menu, renaming the Belgian invention "French Fries" as God intended. And though a Fre

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Jalopnik Crashes GM's New Global Powertrain Engineering Center In SE Michigan

    In a move that GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner described as "A major step forward for General Motors," the company today dedicated its new Global Powertrain Engineering Development Center. The center is located in Pontiac, MI, spitting distance from the defunct Silverdome — the former home to the Detroit Lions, and consists of a 450,000 square-foot facility touted as the most technologically advanced powertrain development center in the world. What makes it so? Join us after the jump for our lo

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    RENNTECH Releases Mercedes Height Control System

    RENNTECH, tuners of all things Mercedes and pizza-sized, have released a digital lowering module (DLM) for monster Benzies equipped with Airmatic or ABC adjustable suspensions. The DLM allows drivers to dial-in heights for each wheel and set adjustable heights based on speed. The system uses an interface similar to an MP3 system, which makes us worried that we would accidentally bottom out the car while trying to switch between Elvis Costello albums. Press release below the jump.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Bavaria In The Rockies: A Trio Of Colorado BMW Survivors

    This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than Island That Rust Forgot. I've got quite the stockpile of photographs from Denver, thanks to Kitt, EJacobs, and my own bimonthly visits to the Mile High City. Today we're going to have another 3-Fer-1 Colorado-palooza, with one BMW from each of us!

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    The Monticello Motor Club Opens, Still Probably Closed To You

    When you've got the cash to get a supercar with the proper dash, you don't want to ruin it on the streets or, worse, share the track with some upper-middle classer in a Boxster S. That's where a membership at New York's Monticello Motor Club might come in handy. Following the model of the Autobahn Adobe and other tracks for the well-off speed freak, this particular facility takes the checkered flag for opulence. The 4.1-mile road track, which features 22 turns and generous runoffs to keep you an

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Specter Werkes C6 Corvette GTR: Radical Coachbuilt 535 HP Corvette Revealed In Detroit

    Yesterday evening we saw the Specter Werkes C6 Corvette GTR make its public debut here at Cauley Ferrari in West Bloomfield, MI. It's rare to have the chance to cover a car from its earliest concept sketches, through the build process and all the way until its public unveiling. But yesterday evening we completed that cycle with the Specter Werkes' special Corvette. The GTR shares only the roof, rear hatch and glass with the exterior of the 2008 Chevy Corvette Z06 upon which it is based and has a

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Spiky-Haired Self-Promoter To Destroy Range Rover Sport

    If there's anything that gets our goat, it's self-congratulating, self-aggrandizing newly green sensationalists pulling stunts to get people to fawn all over how awesome they are. Enter Ryan Mickle, a guy who purchased a 2006 Range Rover Sport, one of the most lavish and wasteful SUVs on the market, while enormous tax incentives for small business were still available and is now planning to destroy it however the internet tells him to. What? You mean, we're supposed to buy the line that after he

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    The Ten Ugliest Cars Sold Outside The United States

    We've already shown you our list of the ten ugliest cars currently sold in the United States. Although epic, it meant exclusion of some fantastically ugly cars sold only on the international marketplace. Until now. After scouring the globe from Australia to Russia, these are the ten top cars that make us want to run from the computer and hurl ourselves out the nearest open window. Vote for your favorite foreign fugly-mobile in the poll at the bottom or chime in via the comments if you think we

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    1982 Mercedes-Benz 300CD, With Bonus German Coupe Poll

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today's car is one I see frequently, and I've spent months wrestling with an internal debate over its eligibility for this series; sure, it's a quarter-century old and a great-looking car, but probably 98% of the diesel W123s ever sold are still on the road today and it's a stretch to call this one a survivor.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Japanese Daily Reports Toyota To Boost Prius Output 70% In 2009

    The super-best number one awesome automaker from the land of the rising sun is planning to flood the world with smug, cranking up output of its gas-electric Prius Hybrid 70% by the end of next year, according to the Nikkan Kogyo industry daily. If Toyota achieves its goal, annual Prius output would be somewhere north of 480,000 units. We don't question their ability to succeed, but will battery and hybrid electronics suppliers be able to keep up with Toyota's ambitions?

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Which Dead US Automotive Nameplates Should Remain Buried?

    Seems the boss-man has been moonlighting again over at Popular Mechanics, this time advising Detroit about which of its dead nameplates should remain six feet under. We won't give away Ray's picks; you'll have to head over to PopMech for those, but we've tossed our own version together after the jump.

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Commenter Of The Day: Lincoln-Darwin Edition

    Recently, it's been fairly well reported that both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day: February 12, 1809. It isn't that surprising that this coincidence (and that's all it really is) has captured so much interest, given that these two men were giants of the 19th century and managed to live separate, yet dramatic, lives. Both embraced and then challenged conventional notions and faced strong opposition for doing so. Feelings about Darwin and Lincoln sharing a birthday ar

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Project Car Hell, Arc-Weld Your Soul Edition: Electric 911 Or Electric Spitfire?

    Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Yesterday, we saw the triple-'49-Mercury deal obliterate the six-four by what may be the biggest-ever margin in Choose Your Eternity Poll history: 80-20 for the Mercuries in the Low And Slow Edition poll. Today we've become so excited over the possibility that the $30,000 $40,000 Chevy Volt will be on the street in the not-so-distant future that we're going electric, a

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Accessing Maps On Mobile Devices Jumps 82% In US

    If you're squinting at a poorly-rendered map on your Blackberry, turns out you're not alone. According to an industry report released today, up to 8% of Americans are now downloading driving directions and online maps via mobile devices, which equates to a whopping 82% increase over last year. Ironic that mobile map use is increasing just as in-car navigation systems are becoming more common: Are we getting hooked on nav? Full release after the jump.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    The Junked Cars Of Limerick, Maine

    We like to see a sampling of junkyard wares from around the world, and Slantsick has added to our Rusty Iron Grand Tour by photographing some of the more interesting vehicles at C.I.A. Salvage of Limerick, Maine. Make the jump to see the whole gallery and read Slantsick's list of vehicles.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    HEV Technology Builds 41 MPG Plug-In Hybrid Ford F-150 Pickup Truck

    Rather than make yet another Mustang derivative, Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technologies has done something relevant and managed to install a plug-in hybrid system in a Ford F-150 pickup truck. The resulting vehicle achieves a combined fuel economy of up to 41 MPG, up from a combined 16 MPG on the 2WD version of the truck. HEVT will now offer the technology as a retrofit on a limited basis as they conduct further testing in an effort to put it into mass production. See, how hard was that?

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    How About A Cord And Zephyr To Go With Those International Harvesters?

    This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Today's DOTSBE post is sort of a hybrid deal; UDMan has shot three cool old survivor trucks- including a couple of IHC machines- in New York. Then, as an added bonus, he's talked the owner of a couple of terrifyingly valuable classics into posing said cars for a photo session. Yes, a Cord 812 and a Lincoln Zephyr, and you'll see 'em all if you make

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    2010 Ford Mustang To Debut At LA Auto Show

    Earlier today, when Ford announced plans to counter its largest ever quarterly loss, we also learned the 2010 Ford Mustang would be revealed to pumping bass and epileptic-unfriendly lights at the 2008 LA Auto Show in November. We know the car arrives in showrooms early next year, and what's a new car without the lasers and dry ice of an auto show unveiling? But why LA and not Detroit?

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Ford Spends Time Making AV8R Mustang, Loses $8.7 Billion... Just Saying

    Ford has released specs and images for its one-off Mustang AV8R, complete with silver paint and cues said to be borrowed from the P-51 Mustang fighter. The AV8R also includes pieces from the Bullitt, as well as a Ford Racing supercharger and other go-fast bits good enough for 400 horsepower. While we know the AV8R isn't the direct cause of the company's $8.7 billion second-quarter loss, we can't help but notice that it's the European Fords set to save the company, rather than something designed

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    2009 VW Jetta TDI Sedan, Sportwagen Eligible For $1,300 Federal Tax Credit

    While no official announcement has been made by either VW or the Feds, word has it the new 2009 VW Jetta TDI will be eligible for a $1,300 alternative-fuel federal tax credit. A leaked dealer release also shows that the new Jetta oilburners will be EPA rated at 29 MPG city/40 MPG highway, but that Volkswagen got them third-party certified at 38 MPG in the city and 44 MPG on the highway — a 24% jump over the official numbers. We'd guess those are stick-shift ratings, but we won't know until we se

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    One Ford, Explained: Jalopnik's Ford Announcement Cheat Sheet

    As you already know, Ford dropped a double dose of news on us this morning. First, they lost $8.7 billion during the second quarter of this year. Second, they've officially revealed "One Ford," their global product realignment plan to bring to the United States much of their European lineup that's considered by many to be top-notch. With some seriously long press releases to wade through and items like "North America Long-Lived Assets" to explain, we figured you could use a hand in figuring out

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    1970 Chevrolet Impala

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today's car is our fourth Chevy Impala; we've seen a '65 sedan, a '65 Super Sport, and a beautifully wretched '70 prior to today.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    BREAKING! Ford Reports $8.7 Billion Net Loss For Second Quarter 2008, Bringing Six European Small Vehicles Stateside

    Ford's just released two press releases detailing an OMFG $8.7 billion net loss for the second quarter of 2008 (which includes a pre-tax special charge of $8 billion, $5.3 billion of which is for Ford North America). But more importantly to the enthusiast is news they'll be bringing to North America six European small vehicles built off the global B-car and C-car platforms and converting three large truck and SUV plants to building small cars. It's part of something the company's calling "One

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Project Car Hell, Low And Slow Edition: 1964 Impala Or 1949 Mercury Trio?

    Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! In our last plunge into the Lake Of Fire, we saw the Alpine A310 stomp the Matra Murena like Napoleon pulverizing the Russians in the Battle of Austerlitz, with a decisive 70-30 split in the poll. Today we're going to go from PCH Édition Débâcle to something a little closer to home: Lowrider Project Hell!

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    FortuneSport Rt.R And Rt.S To Weigh Less Than 2000 Pounds, Confuse US Customers

    Today we received an interesting little press release in our mailbox announcing auto manufacturing newcomer FortuneSport and their intent to produce high-performance, ultra-lightweight sports cars in short order. They claim the FortuneSport Rt.R, a race spec, 515 HP V8-powered, semi-monocoque, mid-engine sports car will be on sale this fall to the tune of $200,000. By late 2010, a street version, dubbed the FortuneSport Rt.S, will be offered to the public in 350 HP trim for the price of $85,000.

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    2010 Chevy Camaro: From Concept To Reality

    The most striking feature of the unveil of the new Camaro was how strikingly similar the 2010 Chevy Camaro is to the Camaro Concept. We enlisted the help of GM designer Jeff Perkins, who worked extensively on the new muscle car, to help us with the magnifying glass and determine what those changes were. Hit the jump as Jeff guides us through sort of virtual walk-around, pointing out each of the individual tweaks and changes the designers made to bring the concept to production.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    NextCruise To Drag Woodward Dream Cruise Kicking And Screaming Into Future

    At a press event earlier this morning, representatives from Ford, GM and Chrysler, along with reps from The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix and event chairman (and TheCarConnection.com guru) Paul Eisenstein announced details on the first inaugural "NextCruise." Billed as a "Lean, Mean, and Green" element to the Dream Cruise, NextCruise will take place August 15th and 16th alongside the normal cruise, and will feature ride and drives of current and future green technologies from major automakers.

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Defying Stereotypes, Lotus Europa Proves Rock-Solid On Heroic Cross-Country Trek

    Everyone was pretty impressed by the Aston Martins driving from Panama to Alaska, but we must assume that rally was loaded with top-flight mechanics equipped with the correct tools. How would you feel about buying a Lotus Europa in San Francisco, hopping in, and driving straight to Alabama- across mountains and desert in the height of summer, with room for only a couple of hammers in the toolkit, no less? Reader Matt has done just that, and he's been kind enough to send us photos and a well-writ

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    700 HP TechArt GTstreet RS, Because The Porsche 911 GT2 Is Too Slow

    Porsche tuner TechArt has created the GTstreet RS, a hardcore version of the already-insane 630 HP GTstreet. Even though the current 530 HP Porsche 911 GT2 is the fastest production 911 ever, some people just want more. So, the GTstreet RS takes a standard GT2 and applies horsepower, resulting in a 700 HP monster complete with cartoon body kit. Another obscene tuner-job Porsche? Yep, but there's no way we'd turn down a drive in one. Full details in the press release below the jump.

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    Robert Novak Hits Pedestrian With Corvette, Tries To Flee Scene

    Boiling bile-duct of right-wing rage Robert Novak earlier today struck a pedestrian with his black C5 Corvette, then attempted to flee the scene of the accident. According to witnesses, Novak plowed into the man as he was crossing the street on a walk signal, throwing the victim across the windshield and onto the ground. Novak then proceeded to make a right turn and continue as if nothing happened. A nearby bicyclist chased the pundit down and stopped him by parking his bike in front of the 'Vet

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Toyota F1 Boss Says Team's Hybrid System May Not Be Ready For 2009 Season

    Following the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) shock received by a BMW/Sauber mechanic earlier this week, Autosport reports Toyota may not have their KERS system ready in time for the start of the 2009 season. Toyota F1 team president John Howett expressed concern about the new technology in an interview, saying "Whether [the issues] can be overcome to a satisfactory, safe level before the first race, I can't hand-on-heart tell you." Fans, on the other hand, are expressing great interest in

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    The Ten Ugliest Cars Currently Sold In The United States

    Automakers spend lots of time and money designing, redesigning and test marketing their new vehicles to make certain they'll capture a potential buyer's imagination. It doesn't always work. We asked you just days ago if new cars were getting uglier and there was no real consensus, but one look at this list of the top ten ugliest new cars sold in the United States may tip the scales in favor of uglier. Hit the jump to see them all and make sure to vote in the poll so we can determine which one'

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    IFR Aspid Rears Ugly Head, 2.8-Second 0-To-62 Time, At British Motor Show

    The IFR Aspid is capable of some seriously staggering acceleration, jumping from 0 to 62 MPH in just 2.8 seconds. That's what a 400 HP supercharged 2.0-liter inline-four bolted in a car with a curb weight of just 1543 lbs will do. Though, if you don't need that much speed, you can get the engine sans supercharger, which still makes 270 HP. That's still plenty of power, considering the bare chassis weighs just 175 lbs. But don't think that rigidity weight was sacrificed in the name of weight loss

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    700HP Lightning GT Electric Sports Car Goes 200 Miles On 10 Minute Charge

    With an electric motor at each wheel, the UK-built Lightning GT, unveiled yesterday at the British Motor Show, is said to produce a total of 700 HP. According to the company, the Lightning's nanotechnology battery pack will provide a 200-mile range on a ten-minute charge. Those are mighty big numbers to be throwing around, but with precious little known about the batteries, it makes it hard for us to validate the claims without independent testing. What we do know after the jump.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    1967 Porsche 912

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today we're going to look at our third Porsche 912; before this '67, we've seen a silver '67 and an orange '68.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    The Lotus Evora Weighs A Ton...And A Half

    When the Lotus Evora debuted yesterday, we were surprised nobody made mention of the weight — it didn't show up during the live press conference, in any of the specs on the web, or in the initial press release. The real press release on the Evora has finally emerged and, drum roll, the figure is 1,350 kg, or 2,976 lbs. Shocking. We were hoping for 2,200 lbs, maybe 2,700 lbs being realistic, but nearly a ton and a half has us shocked. Not only that, but a lot more options have us scratching our h

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Do You Have In-Car Air Conditioning? No, Ours Is On-Car!

    Riding in one of our interns' summer daily driver sans-A/C yesterday — a Volvo 142 — one of us kind of laughed a little when he started thinking whether we could stick an air conditioner unit between the braces of his roll cage. Then we found this. And we haven't stopped laughing for twenty minutes. Sure, we've seen air conditioning units strapped down on top of wrecks before, but seriously how ingenious is it that it's through the sunroof? Our bet is drag must be kind of a bitch. [via FunLobby

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    A Tatra T87 History Lesson From Professor Leno

    What has a rear-mounted, air-cooled V8, was made in Czechoslovakia, and had a reputation for killing Nazis? That's right, the Tatra! This example is a 1938 Tatra T87, owned and operated by none other than self-proclaimed member of the "more money than brains" club, Jay Leno. And if it that wasn't impressive enough, Jay, as he is with most of the machines in his eclectic collection, is knowledgeable enough about the Czech brand to give us a brief history lesson. Oh, and he takes the car out for a

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    Subaru Shows Trio Of Tuned WRX Imprezas At British Motor Show

    Subaru has unveiled a threesome of high-performance WRX Imprezas at the British International Motor Show today, one of which could even be considered a 911-killer. First of the three was a lightly massaged Subaru WRX-S, with power bumped from 230 HP up to a very respectable 251 HP. But that's a mere pittance compared with the Impreza WRX STI 330S and an Evo-killing 325 HP. And what's this? The Subaru Impreza WRX STI 380S? If you've been following along with the upward progression, it'll be no su

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    Commenter Of The Day: OREONADEOL! Edition

    There's nothing like a well-earned victory, whether it's a walk-off homer in the ninth or a profitable day at the lemonade stand. In that spirit, New York Magazine ran a feature on kids and lemonade stands this month that included some pretty hilarious insights. Mimicking the auto industry, one girl mentioned that "last year, we charged 25 cents for a half cup and 50 cents for a whole cup. But this year, we had to double our prices. My mom said she was shocked at the price of lemons." Said anoth

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    Renault Megane R26.R Returns 27 MPG, Sets FWD 'Ring Record

    What you're looking at isn't just the ugliest front-wheel-drive car ever, it's the ugliest and the fastest FWD car ever. Renault wants to make sure its customers know this, so they etched the R26.R's 8m 17s Nurburgring lap record for production FWD cars into the rear windows. Find out what makes the .R so special after the jump.

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Here In California, We're Crushin' Thunderbirds!

    You guys who tear your hair out when you see a nice, easily restorable old car heading to The Crusher in this series... think you can work up any tears for this beyond-basket-case '59 T-Bird? I spotted it at the same East Bay wrecking yard that gave us the '69 Renault 16, and it looks like you might be hard-pressed to find many usable parts on it. Still, the engine is still there, and the front bumper looks like it might be salvageable.

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    Mercury To Become Ford's Saturn, Jill Wagner Celebrates

    According to The New York Times, Ford will be converting three of its North American plants from trucks to cars, in part to produce European designs for sale in the US market. Their sources claim six unnamed Euro models will make the transoceanic leap, and Mercury, which was assumed dead by means of product starvation, will receive the bulk of this new small car influx.

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    F1 Hybrid System Zaps BMW Mechanic

    BMW Sauber Racing was out testing their kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), a hybrid setup mandated for the 2009 Formula One season, when a mechanic pushing the car got zapped. Thankfully, the guy wasn't seriously injured, but it seems all of the new-fangled gizmo-gadgetry associated with KERS has been acting up a bit lately.

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    Ten Worst Things Automakers Do To Make Their Cars Seem Cheap

    We can understand the need to cut corners to save a dime, but automakers have a nasty habit of making their vehicles seem even cheaper than they really are. We've put together our list below of the ten worst things automakers do to cheapen their cars. Learn them now, bean counters, before your kids start ducking in the back seat when they see people they know. Vote on the worst and feel free to amend with your own pet peeves in the comments below.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    How GM Killed The Crossover: The Brief Life Of The Chevy XT-2 Concept Truck

    In 1989, it was increasingly clear a new revolution was coming to the truck market, but what shape it would take was still a mystery. With the staggering success of large body-on-frame SUVs and light trucks just a gleam in the eyes of automakers, GMs design team continued down the path of car-based pickups with the Chevy XT-2 Concept Truck. Although we now know car-based pickups and SUVs lost the battle to large SUVs shortly thereafter, it appears the XT-2, an essentially ignored concept here in

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    Ford Lifts Hemp Curtain On Fiesta ECOnetic

    Billed as the most frugal Ford ever, the 2009 Ford Fiesta ECOnetic is a special version of Ford's small Euro hatch. Powered by a 90 HP 1.6-liter turbodiesel engine calibrated for efficiency, the ECOnetic is able to return about 64 MPG (3.7L/100km). Perhaps even more impressive is the segment-leading 98g/km of carbon dioxide emissions, which is minuscule enough for the ECOnetic to avoid UK road taxes. All this tidiness is due in part to subtle aerodynamic tweaks, a slightly lower ride height, and

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    2009 Mazda6 Pricing To Start At $19,220, V6 At $24,800

    As we suspected, Mazda North America will be pricing the base 2009 Mazda6 under $20,000: $19,220 for the four-cylinder model, to be exact. Need more power? Pick up a V6 model starting at $24,800. Those prices include destination charges, which you can probably waive if you want to take a vacation to Flat Rock, Michigan. PS: You don't. Full press release after the jump.

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    Honda Unveils Low-Emission OSM Roadster, Possible New Design Direction

    Staying true to the sketches, Honda has pulled the sheet off their lightweight roadster concept at the British Motor Show. The focus of this "study model" isn't on the drivetrain, like the Honda CR-Z, but rather on the lightweight roadster design — so much so that they don't mention a power source at all. Given the focus on low emissions in the press release, we imagine the two-seater would be paired with a small diesel if the car becomes a reality. Though there are "no plans for it to enter pro

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    Honda Cuts Odyssey, Pilot Production, Boosts Civic

    Honda, concerned about a glut of Odyssey minivans and brand-new 2009 Pilots sitting on dealer lots, has elected to trim production of the larger vehicles in favor of increasing production of the new 2009 Civic. The drop will equate to about 10,000 units combined at the Lincoln, Alabama plant, and the resulting plant downtime will be used for employee training and maintenance. What, no layoffs? Come on, throw GM a bone. At least send someone home early with half-pay.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    1965 Ford Thunderbird

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Some are beaters, some are flawless, all are cool. Today, we're going to address the Thunderbird Deficit, with this '65 Thunderbird Landau I found parked just around the corner from the Corvair Van.

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    Lotus Evora Debuts At British Motor Show

    Sure, we already knew what the new 2+2 from Lotus looked like — but we didn't know the name — until now. It's called the Lotus Evora. Yes, with the stroke of the "E" key, Lotus has added yet another E-word to the lexicon of Lotus history. The Evora is equipped with a 276 HP Toyota V6 making 252 lb-ft of torque and a six-speed gearbox, good for sub-5 second 0-60 runs. Of course, in the press conference, in proper British style, the only remarks on speed were, "We won't give you the speeds at the

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    Jalopnik's Chevy Camaro Unveil Live-Blog

    We told you last week the production version of the 2010 Chevy Camaro would be unveiled today. Despite Friday's leakage of most details, GM is proceeding as planned — and so will we. Click here at 4:00 PM to see it live. Update 1:The folks over at 5thGen have posted the PDF with the full specifications for the new Camaro. Photos of the spec sheets below. Update 2:Full specifications including engines and other details now below the jump. Update 3:You've seen the 2010 Chevy Camaro RS in big and

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    2010 Chevrolet Camaro Official Pics And Press Release

    Here are the official details and press photos of the 2010 Chevy Camaro, which has become a bit of an afterthought given the giant friday leak and the Camaro live blog. Below the jump is a full gallery of the official (leaked and un-leaked) shots of the new Camaro, as well as full details on the car GM is calling a "Fun, Efficient Car For The 21st Century... That Looks Mysteriously Like A Car We Built Forty Years Ago In The 20th Century." Hit the jump for more photos and the press release.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Commenter Of The Day: Rich Girls On The Tee Vee Edition

    Being fans of scripted television, we've been generally unimpressed by reality television shows. We recognize the entertainment value and cultural impact of shows like American Idol, and Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days has given some cred to the genre. We'd also totally watch MILF Island. All that being said, we can't understand the appeal of shows devoted simply to the lives of rich people like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie or, especially, Kim Kardashian. Why do we care? To quote Variety: "Once you get

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    Project Car Hell, Debacle Edition: Matra Murena Or Alpine A310?

    Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! I really wanted to call today's matchup Édition Débâcle, but the heads of our beloved Server Hamsters tend to explode when they're forced to deal with weird furrin letters in our headlines, and headless hamsters don't run on wheels. Never mind the English-only hamsters, though, because we've got to choose between two equally impossible desirable French cars.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Vauxhall Insignia Invades London In Elaborate Marketing Ruse

    In a piece of intriguing, if not silly, marketing, the Opel Buick Vauxhall Insignia has made a public debut after being part of an elaborate setup in London's Potters Fields park, situated in the shadow of Tower Bridge. Days ago, a mysterious crash scene was laid out in the park, complete with an alien-looking UFO and men-in-black protecting a cordoned-off area. As part of the crash cleanup, the craft was lifted out by way of crane — today that craft opened to reveal the freshly designed Insigni

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    GM Reportedly Slashing NASCAR Budget

    A report in USA Today is putting meat on the bones of a statement made at GM's presser last week, when the boss-men made mention of cutbacks to the PR budget which would hit motorsports especially hard. It seems those crosshairs are aimed directly at NASCAR: With a $15 billion dollar hole to dig itself out of, and a NASCAR promotions budget of $120 million, GM's cuts are expected to be fairly aggressive. Track owners are already working to line up new sponsors to replace the General's spending.

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    59 Old Vehicles Down On The Streets Of San Francisco

    This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than Island That Rust Forgot. Today we're going to check out some of the work of San Francisco photographer Martin Taylor, who was actually paying attention in photography class when they taught all that stuff about composition and color that I was never really able to figure out. The photo above of the New Yorkerpage Camper Special alone would be enough, but those of you who make

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    The Ten Worst Production Car Color Combinations

    Last week we asked you to imagine the worst car color combination. You came up with so many amazing responses of production cars with catastrophic color choices, we've used them to compile a top ten list of the best of the worst. Hit the jump to for the ten worst production car color combinations and see how far we've come since Henry Ford famously told customers they could have the Model A in any color so long as it was black. Also vote for your worst choice in the poll at the end.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Top Gear Crashes Nissan GT-R

    Top Gear Magazine was recently having some fun on the Isle of Man with a Nissan GT-R, but the playtime ended unexpectedly when the driver of the GT-R slammed on the brakes. That would be fine in any normal car, but Godzilla came to a halt so abruptly that the Audi behind it just couldn't stop quickly enough. [GT-R Blog] Update: The guys at CarTribe say this is indeed the same GT-R that the Stig had out on the Top Gear test track. We also know that the black beast (the only GT-R officially import

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    Jeeves, Fetch My 1040 HP Rolls, Would You?

    Bugatti Veyron? Gauche. Bentley Continental T Red Badge? Slow. Rolls Royce Phantom? Piteously un-British. Why would you choose any of these rides when a 1040 HP, blown 592 Hemi-motivated, four-passenger Rolls Royce Silver Shadow is at your beck and call? We'll pause while you do a double take. That's right, this Silver Shadow has been fortified with a leather-bound roll cage, massive sticky rubber, an array of billet goodies, more gauges than a 2010 Chevy Camaro, and 592 cubic inches of good tim

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Th!nk All-Electric City Car Coming To US In 2009

    Ever-struggling long-experienced electric car maker Th!nk is planning on bringing the City to our cities in the US next year, allowing you to go gas-free, Norwegian-style. The little car has a 126-mile range on an overnight charge, and if you give the batteries a workout, the City will top out at 65 MPH. It's going to take a while to get there, though: Despite its top speed, they've only listed a 0-50 time of 16 seconds, leaving us to assume their stopwatch doesn't read high enough to record a p

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    Diesel-Powered Tiger Champ Pickup Gets 37 MPG, Only Road-Legal In Oklahoma

    Mike Ward, CEO of Tiger Truck LLC, thinks his Chinese-designed, Oklahoma-built Tiger Champ truck is just what Oklahoma farmers need — particularly with 37 MPG from its Caterpillar-sourced three-cylinder diesel engine. With a retail price of about $13,000, the price point is certainly right. So why isn't the nation signing up for the Tiger Champ and its sister truck, the Tiger Star? Both trucks are slow. Neither pickup is legal, outside of Oklahoma, to drive on public roads. Oh, and neither meets

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    1972 International Harvester Scout II, With Bonus IHC Poll

    Welcome to Down On The Street, where we look at old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Another Truck Monday has rolled around, which means we can contemplate work vehicles as we descend into the salt mine for the day's tasks, and this week's DOTS truck is another example of farm equipment maker International Harvester's road machinery.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    2010 Ford Mustang Leads Pony Parade At Road America

    A heavily camouflaged 2010 Ford Mustang took to the track on "Ford Mustang Day" during the Road America festivities this weekend in the land of cheese and onions called Wisconsin. Ford's calling it a special public "debut" of the 2010 Mustang, which served as the pace car for the vintage racing field during the weekend's races. We're told the leather and fishnets it's sporting are its "special 'camo' package." Special? Package? Here we thought it was just to keep Ford design secrets safe. Now Fo

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Danica Patrick, Milka Duno In Towel-Snapping Cat Fight At Mid-Ohio

    Let's be clear here — we'd call it a "cat fight" even if the two drivers screaming at each other were men rather than the twin female towers o' power of IndyCar — Danica Patrick and Milka Duno (often pronounced "Milk n' Donut"). Apparently Danica thinks Milka's too slow and has been blocking her with the big rear-end of her car whenever she tries to pass the little French pastry. Yesterday after the morning practice at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Danica decided to confront Duno. We'll let

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Up-Close Photos Of Mystery Corvette Concept From New Transformers Movie

    We've seen the mystery Corvette concept (who some dare to believe may be named "Hot Rod") from the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie three times already. The first photo was a blurry camera phone shot from far away. The second shot was of the folks at Saleen busily painting the new movie star up and making him all silvery-looking. The third shot showed the mystery Transformers Corvette concept and a buddy about to be loaded up to roll out. Now, thanks to an e-mail tipster, we ha

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    Seriously Cool Stash Of Saddam-Era Cars Found In Baghdad Underground Garage

    After Uday's Lamborghini got blown up, you might think that all the interesting cars were gone from Baghdad by now, with just Ford Probes remaining to hold the gearhead banner over the ancient city. Not so! Turbo Driver (aka The Wolf) has some sort of secret-type gig in Iraq and snapped these shots of an underground parking garage just packed with old Cadillacs, Rolls-Royces, and Mercedes-Benzes (plus what appears to be a Breezeway-equipped early-60s Mercury, among other things). We also get s

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Commenter Of The Day: Alley-Oop Edition

    There's some debate on the origin of the alley-oop, which refers to one basketball player lobbing the ball in the vicinity of the hoop for another player to drop into the net for a basket. There's no general agreement on either the first player to use the maneuver or what the term means. Was it Al And Gerald Tucker? Was it David Thompson? Does the term come from the French acrobatic term allez-oop? We're not sure. But we know one when we see one. Like in today's 2010 Chevy Camaro Production post

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    PCH, Turbo Offenhauser Euro Sedan Edition: Peugeot 404 Or Rover 2000?

    Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! In our last matchup, the big-block '72 Ford Torino took advantage of Graverobber's Mad Max-themed PCH Tirade™ to unleash the Lord Humungus' dogs of war upon the '70 Mercury Cougar. Today, we return to a couple of familiar themes rolled into one: the perennial Britain-versus-France PCH Superpower battle and good ol' Fun With Engine Swaps!

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Mosler MT900 Red Devil Dynos At 1635 HP, Says, "I Don't Need No LS9"

    1,635 HP sounds like an awful lot, but when it comes to the Mosler MT900S Red Devil, it's not even the whole story. Its owner, Mike Vietro, called off the dyno run at a measly 5,600 RPM with power still climbing 70 HP every 100 RPM. Corvette Mike estimates he could have seen as much as 1,800 HP had he let the test continue up to 6,200 RPM. So how does his LS7-powered supercar do it?

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Foose Coupes Start Hitting The Road

    After years of lusting for the shape he created as a student at Art Center College of Design in 1990, Chip Foose is finally selling his Hemisfear-inspired Foose Coupe to the public. This one is number 4, the second one on sale to Joe Public, and it's just been delivered to a buyer out Californee-way. You may be wondering why we're reporting on rich guys buying cars today. Well. Considering the massive meltdown of the US auto market, we're forced to actually tell you about every car sold in the U

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    2009.5 Ford F-150 Diesel Spotted, Could Produce 350 HP

    Ford is out and about testing the 2009.5 Ford F-150 Diesel, this time with sheetmetal more suiting to the 2009 model year. As proof that this is the new diesel-powered F-150, the photographers from KGP managed to snap pictures of the "DIESEL FUEL ONLY" strip over the gauge cluster, the telltale slotted/sideways exhaust tips and, most importantly, the first shots of the tank access for the urea. We'd also point out the seven-lug wheels, indicative of the heavy duty payload package. Performance ta

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Production 2010 Chevy Camaro Revealed!

    UPDATE: We've driven it, and here's our full 2010 Chevy Camaro review! This is it. The 2010 Chevy Camaro, revealed in all its glory. According to details we've been told by the folks breaking the embargo, the new Chevy Camaro will come in LS, LT and SS (yes, we know there's a badge there that says "RS")— and be available in either 6-speed manual or auto flavors. Under the hood, a 296 HP 3.6-liter V6 or a 416 HP 6.2-liter V8 with cylinder deactivation. And check out that interior — looks very mus

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Shelby SuperCars Makes Ultimate Aero EV Official, Plans 1000 HP Version

    News of Shelby SuperCars' intention to build an electric version of its record breaking SSC Ultimate Aero TT leaked out yesterday prompting the company to make the news official. The company expects the SSC Ultimate Aero EV to be ready by late next year, saying that it will initially feature a 500 HP electric motor and revolutionary batteries capable of holding their charge for "years." Additionally, the vehicle will use a 6-speed transmission and once the first model is out, they'll be explorin

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Avenger To "Fight Back" With Better Trim, Smaller Engines

    Chrysler's latest survival scheme? Fancy toys in budget models. It used to be, that if you wanted heated seats and other fancy interior amenities in your Chrysler Sebring or Dodge Avenger, you had to plop down more cash for the 3.5-liter V6-equipped models. Now, as the company struggles to stay afloat amid high gas prices and a weak economy, it's rethinking that approach and now looking to offer high-spec in its four cylinder models and dropping the highest trim level as part of a plan they're c

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    J.D. Power: Car Dealership Customer Satisfaction Improves, Jaguar Comes Out On Top Again

    According to the 28th annual J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Index, car dealerships rose in customer satisfaction so far this year, due mostly to an increased satisfaction with repair work. Overall, two-thirds of the 37 brands ranked experienced gains in customer satisfaction. Dealer service overall increased to 882 on a 1,000-point scale, with Jaguar ranking highest in customer satisfaction for the second year in a row followed by Cadillac and Buick. Top ten brands below the jump.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Video From Yesterday's Corvette ZR1 Long-Lead Drive Seeps Out, Shows Magazines "Driving" Blue Devil

    Instead, we're treated to GM test engineer Jim Mero — we think — driving one of the invited journalists around the road course at the General's Milford Proving Grounds. We know Mero's a pretty damn good driver — he shot the ZR1 'round the Nubrugring in record time. Maybe he was just having a bad day today, but how many cones did he hit on this particular run 'round the "Lutz Ring?" Probably a lot less than the number whoever he was driving would have had he gotten behind the wheel himself.

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    GM Developing View-Enhancing Laser Windshield, Intends To Outspend Reds In Automotive Cold War

    General Motors is building a prototype windshield capable of enhancing a driver's vision with lasers. No, this isn't the automotive equivalent of LASIK, but rather a system for identifying road markings and making them more visible to drivers during difficult conditions. The system is being developed with older drivers in mind, and of course won't be able to completely compensate for bad vision. So how does it work?

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    First US Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Delivered To New York Developer Benny Caiola, Jr.

    The first Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 in the United States, an all-white copy of the latest raging bull, has landed in the hands of collector Benny Caiola, Jr. The 560 HP, all-wheel-drive supercar will be making its home outside of New York City, beside bull-headed cars like Lambo's Jalpa, Countach, Espada, Diablo, Miura and others. It's obvious Benny's a long time fan of the Italian bovine, saying "I've loved Lamborghinis my entire life and have owned nearly every model." There's a joke about

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    1973 Buick Electra 225, With Bonus 1973 Poll

    You think the supply of old cars and trucks parked on the streets of Alameda will dry up, now that we've hit the 300 point? I doubt it, not when you can still find Early Malaise Era landyachts like this Electra being used as daily transportation. Five-dollar gas be damned! I found this car parked near the former Alameda Naval Air Station, where thousands of nuclear weapons once sat it earthen bunkers and thousands of sailors once drove second-gen Camaros. Nowadays they shoot movies and make vodk

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Leaked Memo Claims 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX To Get 265 HP, New GT Level Model

    A member of the NASIOC forum has posted what appears to be a memo leaked from Subaru to the company's dealers revealing the revelation of a new Impreza GT. Just as importantly, the 2009 WRX's new 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gets an additional 41 HP, bringing the total power up to a whopping 265 HP. Also available will be a manual transmission, upgraded suspension and a more STI-like front end. We really liked the 2008 Subaru WRX STI, but with these changes, we're beginning to think the

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Believe It Or Not, There's A Throttle Body In These Pictures

    We thought the Ford Flathead water pump on eBay was pretty blatant in its attempt to use sexy ladies to draw our eyes to unsexy car parts, but this is ridiculous. If you believe it, there's a polished throttle body for a GM LS1 hiding in these pictures — Where's Waldo-style. We have yet to find it, but that's what the seller is claiming. Unfortunately the auction is already over, but we'd have a hard time buying parts sight-unseen anyway. [eBay Listing]

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Commenter Of The Day: Zach Braff Feels More Than You Edition

    Though we're still big fans of the first 4.6 seasons and selected episodes from the remaining seasons of Scrubs, there's something about that Zach Braff fellow that rubs us the wrong way. Maybe it's the insistence on being a beacon of indie music that many, many people have already heard. Maybe it's Garden State and its captivating trailer followed by its seriously half-rate viewer experience. Or, maybe, it's the combination of the two that left me having to explain to a kid that, yes, I do like

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Trailer Park Special R/C Buick Finds A Way To Leave Puddle Of Electrons

    Some of you with very long memories might recall having seen my Hayward-style Impala model last year. That was a fun project, but TexanIdiot has taken the whole weathered-model concept a big step further, by making a model beater that actually drives. Welcome to the Trailer Park Special R/C Buick model, which features duct tape aplenty and some marks that might not buff right out. Here's the full project thread; make the jump to see the entire gallery and get TexanIdiot's summary.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    McLaren SLR Disintegrates In Deadly Qatar Accident

    Details are sketchy, but sometime during the morning of July 15th, a 22-year-old male in a Mercedes McLaren SLR lost control of the vehicle and died in the resulting catastrophic crash. The massive debris field scattered across the Qatari desert suggests the car was traveling at very high speed, rendering any amount of carbon-fiber protection useless. (Also, we'd like to point out while we do not believe SLR Guy was to blame for the destruction of this particular SLR, without more information we

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Proof That No Car Is Immortal, The Eyesore Pimpin CRX Heads To The Crusher

    Just finishing a single 24 Hours of LeMons race can mean a one-way trip to The Crusher after the race is over, as was the case with the Team Come From Behind Probe. After all, a couple days of metal-crunching, rod-throwin' action tend to be rough on a sub-$500 car. That's what makes the glorious career of the Eyesore Racing CRX so great; Soichiro's little 2-seater not only finished three races, it placed 7th at the October '07 Altamont race, 7th again at the December '07 Thunderhill event, and t

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Racers, Start Your Bribing: Murilee And Loverman To Judge At LeMons South!

    When the lines between journalist, racer, and race official get so hopelessly blurred that objectivity takes a worse beating than a Porsche 944 connecting rod punching a hole in the block at 8,000 RPM... well, that's when you know you're watching the 24 Hours of LeMons! LeMons Chief Perpetrator Jay Lamm didn't completely loathe the LeMons coverage here and at Señor Lieberman's current employer, and the Black Metal V8olvo made a good impression on the bodywork of all the other cars at the Altamon

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    300 Old Cars Down On The Alameda Street

    We're now 14 months into the Down On The Street series, and the total of interesting old vehicles found parked on the streets of Alameda, California, reached the three hundred mark yesterday. Newcomers to this series might want to check out the Down On The Street FAQ before making the jump and viewing the smorgasbord of old iron that thrives outdoors on the Island That Rust Forgot.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Five Reasons High Gas Prices Are Good For Real Drivers

    While people who drive out of necessity are understandably upset about high gas prices, the real enthusiast driver recognizes the positives. Artificially low fuel prices have subsidized an American automotive lifestyle out-of-sync with the needs and desires of serious drivers. And although we're not happy to be forking over the dimes for premium fuel, we've got five reasons the enthusiast is happy the era of cheap gas is over.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    New Photos Reveal The 2009 Ferrari California In Glorious Detail

    We just received a full load of pictures of the steamy and dreamy 2009 Ferrari California. Ever since the new Ferrari GT made its well-planned debut, we've been slowly digesting the few images we've seen, hungry for more like them. In full, high-color, close-up, car-pr0n detail, we're now treated to views of the new Ferrari from every conceivable angle and all sorts of interior and exterior details. For instance, the steering wheel is pure sex and the gauge cluster has a slick monitor off to the

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Shelby SuperCars Wants Ultimate Aero EV To Be World's Fastest Electric Supercar

    After making the fastest production car in the world, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT, Shelby SuperCars is now planning to make the world's fastest electric car. The Ultimate Aero EV will be based on the company's current Aero, but with the 1183 HP V8 replaced by an electric powertrain. The electric driveline would consist of either a 500 HP electric motor, or a 1000 HP setup using a pair of motors, possibly driving all four wheels. So where are they gonna get the juice for that sort of power?

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    Max Mosley's Courtroom Drama Draws To A Close, We Provide Probable Outcome

    Max Mosley's sordid legal affair appears to be ending now that the judge in the FIA president's case against the tabloid (News Of The World) that published the details of his alleged Nazi Orgy is nearly ready to rule. Though a major distraction for the sport, we've sort of gotten used to the craziness Mosley injects into our workday. But moments like when he told the judge he really likes S&M will live on in our hearts, and in the legal system whenever someone else uses the old Marv Albert defen

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    1960 Peugeot 403, With Bonus French Car Poll

    The other day I caught a glimpse of a dark blue Volvo Amazon parked just down the street from the '42 Pontiac Torpedo. I didn't have time to photograph it, but since we've had only one Amazon so far in this series, I made a mental note to get back and shoot this rare Swedish gem as soon as I could. Today I returned with my camera, and... holy crap! That's not an Amazon- it's a Peugeot 403! Yes, mere weeks after providing a Citroën GS for us, Alameda has produced another vintage French car for ou

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    New Mitsubishi Pajero Sport SUV Coming To Moscow

    Mitsubishi will introduce its latest Pajero Sport SUV next month at the annual Moscow International Auto Salon. The new Mitsu bruiser, known on the South side of the Americas as the Mitsubishi Montero, will feature 2- or 3-row seating along with water-repellent seats and a waterproof luggage compartment floor. They're features Mitsubishi claims to be "ideal for leisure use." We suppose that depends upon your idea of leisure. Two diesels along with a gas V6 will power the Pajero Sport, which, cou

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    Honda's New Hybrid Prius-Fighter Caught Desert Testing, Listening To "Eye Of The Tiger"

    No, it only looks like the Toyota Prius. The crafty car spies of KGP caught up again with the Honda engineering team in the hot desert sands out west. Just in the nick of time to take an exclusive first set of shots of Honda's new Prius-fighting hybrid. We don't know much about it other than we knew the boys from Honda had something in development to sit on top of Honda's hybrid hierarchy — in the slot just above the 2009 Honda Civic hybrid sedan we saw earlier today. We also know it'll be a g

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    Project Car Hell, Graverobber Edition: 1970 Cougar Or 1972 Torino?

    Yesterday, we saw the Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72 Hell Project competition go to the '72 Volvo 1800ES by a Nixon-over-McGovern-style landslide, with 73% of the vote favoring the Volvo over the '72 Cougar. Today we're going to punish reward Graverobber for his run of incredible PCH tirades (such as this one, this one, or- my personal favorite- this one) by making him work harder for a PCH Tipster T-shirt than anyone else ever has. The deal I made with him: he chooses the cars, he

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    The 2010 Lotus "Eagle" Has Landed With New Pictures, Analysis

    The British motoring rags are clamoring to reveal "exclusive" details of the 2010 Lotus Eagle. Yesterday, CAR brought us the first shot of the exterior of the new Lotus 2+2. Today, Autocar brings us the first interior shots and details of the powertrain. Even Lotus has gotten in on the act, issuing a press release that's full of hints about future high performance and convertible derivatives. All this is good for you because it means we can finally bring you some real analysis of the facts surro

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    Mitsubishi To Unveil Diesel-Powered Racing Lancer For 2009 Dakar Rally

    Mitsubishi has announced that it will be entering an all new crossover "Racing Lancer" in the 2009 Dakar Rally in South America. The new car will be a three door platform inspired by the Pajero and Lancer Sportback, and will serve as a test bed for Mitsubishi's diesel program. That's right, this Lancer will be sporting a 3.0-liter, turbocharged, V6 diesel engine with 254 HP and a stonkin' 480 lb-ft of torque. Hooked to the engine will be a Ricardo-designed sequential six speed transmission and o

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    1968 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible

    Most of you approved of the super-beater '70 Skylark, with a small but vocal minority who felt physical pain at the very sight of the beat-to-hell Buick. I'm pretty sure that the approval rating of today's Skylark will be be fairly high across the board, given that it's a 40-year-old red convertible that lives on the street and all. This clean-looking Buick parks just across the street from the yellow '72 Beetle we saw last year.

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    2009 Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan Gets A Face Lift

    The quick-to-the-snap spy photographers at KGP caught this facelifted 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid sedan out sunning itself in the California desert. This newly nipped and tucked 'lectrified Civic looks like it's getting a new front bumper with a three-intake design rather than the current single-holed intake. And check out that grille opening surrounding the big Honda "H." Yup, it certainly looks more angular to us. Check out the rest of the subtle changes below the jump in the full spy report.

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    PCH, Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72 Edition: Mercury Cougar Or Volvo 1800ES?

    In possibly the most humiliating defeat for France since the whole Algerian débâcle, a French car lost a Project Car Hell challenge to American machinery, with the '61 Simca Aronde getting crushed beneath the rusted hulks of a pair of Lincoln Continentals... and that's with the Simca getting some help from one of the finest PCH commenter tirades we've ever seen (notice hereby given: Graverobber has raised the Commenter Tirade Bar to hitherto unprecedented levels). We'll need to give France a cha

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Rick Wagoner Unwraps First Shots Of Chevy Cruze, Cadillac SRX

    In the now-infamous press conference from General Motors this morning, Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner not only spelled out GM's strategy to save itself from impending doom, but also revealed pretty much every upcoming GM vehicle that hadn't already been shown to the public. This includes the first photos of the 2010 Chevy Cruze, 2010 Cadillac SRX, 2010 Saab 9-4X, and the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. This comes in addition to official confirmation of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, 2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe and

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    Gasser Taunus!

    We can't think of a single thing wrong with this car except for the name. Drive a Taunus in North America and you'd be patiently- or maybe not so patiently- spelling it out: "T-A-U-N-U-S... no, not Taurus... I said NOT TAURUS!" Other than that, it's all aces: tunnel-rammed 289 for passing power, solid front axle for extra-safe handling, fiberglass front end for fuel economy- why, this is quite the sensible car, a nice companion for an Opel or Alfa gasser in your stable of commuter cars. Thanks t

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    Aussie Motorist Hits Koala, Koala Survives Only To Find Out It Has The Clap

    Ely 'Lucky' Grills, a Brisbane-area koala, came face to face with the grille of a Lexus at 62 MPH, and, aside from getting his head stuck in the grille, was no worse for wear after being removed by rescue workers. A passing motorist noticed the koala dangling limp from the front of the car and flagged down the driver, who had been unaware of Lucky's misfortune.

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    Two European Automakers Meet Decade's "Voluntary" CO2 Targets; Success!

    Only two companies achieved the voluntary average CO2 target of 140 g/km that European automakers set for themselves in the late 1990's to avoid actual government sanctions. Fiat and Mini were the big winners with emissions of 138.2 and 139.6 g/km, respectively. The worst offenders were Porsche (275.6 g/km), Land Rover (249.2 g/km) and Jeep (218.7 g/km).

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    2010 Porsche Cayman S, Boxster S Revealed By Internal Renderings

    We have it on good authority that these renderings accurately show the 2010 Porsche Cayman S and 2010 Porsche Boxster S. In addition to the face-lifted looks, powertrain changes should make both cars faster and more fun to drive, with the Cayman S being boosted to 320 HP and 273 lb-ft of torque while returning better fuel economy. Make the jump for more details and analysis. Update: It looks like LSD will be optional on both models, although it's still not clear if it'll be mechanical or torqu

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Bob Lutz Talks Future GM Vehicles, Powertrains

    Following GM's morning expectations-management conference, product czar "Maximum" Bob Lutz answered questions about how the future of GM vehicles would be impacted by the announcements. In particular, we were wondering how the General planned to respond to Ford's Eco-Boost turbo four (and in what form that response might arrive), and when we would see the return of a GM diesel sedan. Lutz's responses — and non-responses — after the jump.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Volkswagen Will Build Plant In Chattanooga, Tennessee

    Volkswagen will build its first American plant since the 1980's in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The city bested competing bids from Alabama and Michigan for the plant, which will cost up to $1 billion to build and could employ as many as 2,000 workers. Chattanooga had a major advantage due to the state's lack of unions and ease-of-access for European travelers. According to their plans, this 1,350-acre facility will produce 150,000 vehicles, one of which will be a new mid-sized sedan for the US marke

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Jaguar To Celebrate 60 Years Of Sports Cars With XK60, Six Weeks Of Indian Ownership With Tandoori Chicken

    What better way to mark the 60th anniversary of the first XK car, the XK120, than by unveiling a performance version of the XK at the British Motor Show? We're not sure. Nor are we sure that the XK60 special edition above is actually a better performer than, say, the 2008 Jaguar XKR we reviewed, or the upcoming 2009 Jaguar XK, because they've yet to release any details. The best-case scenario is that something serious is lurking beneath that sexy bonnet; the most likely scenario is that it's a b

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Concours D'Ignorance Postponed Until 2009, Crap Car Connoisseurs Wait Impatiently

    In what is probably one of the greatest press communications ever issued, Alan Galbraith, the brains behind Billettproof, has let us know the first Concours D'Ignorance will have to wait another year. We're a bit disappointed that we have to wait until 2009 to celebrate the eye-gougingly bad in automotive history, but for truly perfected automotive terribleness, we will happily endure. Also, the eyebrows perk up when we see Alan mention the name of fair Flint, MI. Could he actually be eyeballing

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    GM Wants More Money, Fewer Employees; Cadillac CTS Coupe, Saab 9-4X Get The Green Light

    GM announced in a press conference this morning that its turnaround progress was proceeding so well that significant layoffs were needed. Oh, and please, send money. But the more pressing concern this week is to come up with $15 billion through cuts to the cost of salaried employees, particularly among white-collar staffers, along with spending in areas like health care costs and dividend payments. As part of its second restructuring this year, the company also announced that the 2010 Cadillac C

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    1973 Chevrolet Chevelle

    In much the same manner as the '73 Mustang and '73 Cougar, the Chevelle for 1973 put on quite a few pounds over its predecessor... just in time for the Arab Oil Embargo. Until now, I hadn't been able to find any of the "big" Malaise Chevelles, though we have seen examples of the angular '64-67 Chevelle as well as the more rounded '68-72 variety.

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    Mazda Kazamai To Show Off Swirling Crosswinds In Moscow

    In the spirit of "sustainable zoom-zoom" — their words, not ours — Mazda has finally revealed the Kazamai, the mystery compact crossover bowing at the Moscow International Auto Salon August 26. Kazamai means "swirling crosswinds," and if you think you're seeing a heaping helping of Nagare design language, you're spot-on. Of more interest, the release mentions a next-generation direct-injection engine and a "new transmission," though we'd imagine that those too are currently concepts that won't s

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Red Bull Drifting World Championship Announced, Beijing Olympics Now Forgotten

    Formula DRIFT and Red Bull are poised to move the sport of drifting from a mostly national sport to an international competition with the announcement of the Red Bull Drifting World Championship, to be held at the Port of Long Beach on November 15, 2008. The competition is set to bring 32 professional drifters from around the world to compete for the largest purse ever, though what that purse is hasn't been announced yet. We just hope some broke and alcoholic stevedore in a drifting El Camino so

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Jerry Seinfeld's Turquoise Porsche On eBay, What's The Deal With Yellow Seatbelts?

    A one-of-a-kind 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo S owned by Jerry Seinfeld just went on eBay, and it's the perfect gift for that Porsche fan who also loves observational humor. What makes this Porsche so unique? Other than making it through Seinfeld's ownership unrolled, it's the only one of its kind with the "Blue Turquoise" paint job and yellow seatbelts to match the yellow brake calipers. The seller claims "Some Porsche collectors view this 'S' as the ultimate one of the production run." We can't verif

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Blacked-Out Vortech-Supercharged Challenger Gives Us The Vapors

    Feast your eyes on one of only two Vortech-supercharged 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8's — blacked out, naturally. The Challenger SRT8 already makes 425 HP with the 6.1-liter Hemi, but would you believe this supercharged monster is currently dynoing at 540 HP and 500 lb-ft of torque? You know that scene in cartoons when the junkyard dogs see a sexy lady-dog saunter past and their eyes bug out of their heads and their tongues hit the floor as they start panting uncontrollably? Yeah, we just did that.

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    2009 Acura TL Type-S Shows Us All Four Pipes In Tacoma

    We've already had a good first look at the 2009 Acura TL so when we got a tip from Exit133 that they had a long-range photo of the new TL being used for a commercial in Tacoma we weren't hopeful there would be much news. Alas, unlike the rear end of 2009 TL we've already spotted around town a few times, you can make out quad-pipes, a clear sign this is almost certainly the 2009 Acura TL Type-S. Another good sign is the fact that there are clearly production staff running to move the car. So what

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pack Finally Revealed

    After more than a year of anticipation, Chrysler has taken the wraps off the Drag Package for the 2008 Dodge Challenger (Read our three-part review of the SRT8 here!). At least 100 of the Mopar muscle machines will be built, each tailored for the specific NHRA category in which the buyer wishes to compete. The big decision will be whether you want a 5.9-liter Magnum wedge, 5.7-liter Hemi or the big 'n nasty 6.1-liter Hemi. Any of them can be paired with either a manual or automatic transmission.

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    Ten Best Things To Do While Sitting In Traffic

    Despite high fuel prices, we're still spending more time in bumper-to-bumper traffic than ever before. For reasons ranging from poor infrastructure upgrades to a lack of synchronized lights, Americans are spending increasingly more time in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Although high fuel prices may be blunting further increases, congestion is still a problem. Currently, most people occupy themselves by chatting with their passengers or observing traffic. Boring. It's a shame to let a good minute of

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    What Car Is Your Ideal Cab?

    The news today of AM General getting set to assemble Standard Taxis got us thinking of our favorite livery vehicles. The Russians may demand Maybach cabs, and the Euro-trash only appear content with their mass-produced stripped Mercedes, but most of us don't need quite that level of luxury. Nor do we need the strange comfort of the Vulva taxi. What car is your ideal cab?

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Acura NSX V10 May Get Cylinder Deactivation, Acura RL May Get V10

    According to 7Tune, Honda is concerned about their environmental image with the new 5.5-liter V10 they plan on dropping between the rails of the new 2010 Acura NSX. We're now told Honda plans to employ "Variable Cylinder Management" to deactivate an entire bank of cylinders in the V10 in cruising situations to greatly improve fuel economy. That's all well and good, but what do the prospective power numbers look like on this new engine? And what of other rumors for the big V10?

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Hummer H2 Assembly Line To Produce Just-As-Boxy Standard Taxis

    The Standard Taxi by VPG Auto has been working the publicity circuit for a while now, but it appears AM General may step up to actually produce it. With the likely death of the Hummer H2, AM General will have excess capacity at its Mishawaka, Indiana plant. Assuming VPG can secure financing, they'll be able to start building the taxis next year. Details and full release after the jump.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Obama Camp Nixes NASCAR Sponsorship Rumors

    Following a recent Sports Illustrated story stating the Obama campaign was in talks with BAM Racing about sponsoring a Sprint Cup car, spokespeople for the Senator now claim no deal was reached. BAM Racing, a part-time outfit that hasn't fielded a car in recent weeks, made similar overtures to Sen. John McCain and at least one third-party candidate, raising hopes among Southerners for the first U.S. presidential contest to be decided on a NASCAR superspeedway. Rationale and potential pitfalls fo

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    1977 Ford F250

    It's been tough to avoid giving most of our DOTS Truck Monday airtime to General Motors products, since Alameda has more Chevy and GMC trucks than any other variety. We've been especially light on 70s Ford pickups, with just the Frankenstein Mix-N-Match F100 so far, so let's start up our Malaise Era 120-horse V8s and take a look at the kind of truck that would have brought a smile to Billy Carter's face (though Billy preferred a Chevy for his personal ride.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    PUTC: 2013 Ford F-150 To Get Four-Cylinder EcoBoost Engine

    Our good friends at PickupTrucks.com and Automotive News are reporting this morning Ford is planning to offer a version of the F-150 with a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine by 2013. The move is a response to rapidly rising prices at the gas pump and new NHTSA standards that will raise Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks to 28.6 mpg by 2015.

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    2010 Toyota Prius Caught Semi-Silently Prowling Streets Of San Fran?

    Is it the 2010 Toyota Prius? Maybe. All we know is it looks to be either a test vehicle for the next-gen Prius or the worst application of after-market Prius accessories we've ever seen. Unfortunately we're not expecting solar panels until the 2011 Prius, so that doesn't help us. Nor do we see any Chinese-made "Made In The USA" stickers — of course that won't be slapped on the side either until 2011, so there's really nothing we can see to distinguish this Prius from the 2009 Toyota Prius in fro

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Project Car Hell, 1961 Edition: Simca Aronde Or Pair-O-Lincolns?

    The Cressida took the win over the Maxima in our Rear-Drive Japanese Sedan Hoonage Edition poll on Wednesday, though not by a decisive margin. Perhaps that's because the Cressida and Maxima are so similar to each other, but we're not going to have that issue today! 57Sweptside has found some hell projects that, while cool, don't have much more in common than the year of manufacture; 57Sweptside gets a coveted PCH Tipster T-shirt for his role in filling some lucky soul's garage with eternal damna

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    VW's Utopian Vision Of 2028

    VW would like to share with you their dream for the future. The original Volkswagens were designed to assume the role of providing uniform transportation for the masses, and now it seems VW desires to return to their roots for 2028. No, not the whole take-over-the-world part, we're talking about them doing what their name says, being the "People's Car."

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    Roush Announces New Supercharger For Mustang GT, 700 HP For Five Grand!

    Let's say you've got a current generation Ford Mustang GT that doesn't get you excited any more and a couple grand taking up space under your mattress. Roush Performance can solve both of your problems with the addition of a new supercharger dubbed the TVS2300 ROUSHcharger. For around $5000, Roush will provide you a kit of parts which, when properly assembled and tuned, develop more than 700 HP. Holy. Crap. The cool part about the kit is if you already have a Roush supercharger, this kit can tak

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Dodge Ram Pulls Down Bank Awning, Free Checking Privileges Revoked

    After watching and rewatching this incredible video of a new Dodge Ram 2500 and its camper clip the edge of a bank awning, bringing the bank down on top of the truck's cab, it's hard to believe that all of the passengers managed to make it out unscathed (you can just see the driver bolting right before the camera goes dead). It happened earlier this month in Shelby County, Texas, when the driver was attempting to park his new truck and trailer. Full details and pictures below the jump.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Farewell, Jalopnik Faithful

    Much like Michael Jordan or Deion Sanders, I am yet again hanging up my blogging sombrero and riding driving off into the sunset. My time at Jalopnik has been memorable, but unlike most young journalists I am taking a career step backwards by moving to a traditional print publication at The Dallas Morning News.

    By Travis Hudson Read More
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    A Jalopnik Study: Does Car Logo Badge Size Correspond With Buyer Bulge Size?

    Did you ever notice how big badges on the front of cars are getting these days? Have you ever wondered whether it's out of a need for automakers to "compensate" for their prospective buyers lack of size? We did. So, trusty ruler in hand, we hit the dealer lots at the mega-motor-mall up the street to find out whether size really does matter and to answer the important question: Which automaker has the biggest badges, and do they correspond to the bulge in the pants of the male members of the targ

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Are Cars Getting Uglier?

    Today's reveal of the "polarizing" look of the new 2009 Acura TL and the minor facelift on the 2009 BMW 3-series got us thinking about design. Specifically, bad design. Does the TVR Sagaris 2 really stand up to the TVR designs of yore? After a sudden revolution in design a few years back we feel like maybe some designers are just adding more lines to cars they've already created rather than going bold.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    2009 Ford Fiesta Engine Specs Announced, Top-Of-The-Line Duratec Hits 118 HP

    This morning, Ford continued their excruciatingly slow release of details on the 2009 Ford Fiesta. Today's morsel is the top-of-the-line new Fiesta's Duratec gas engine will be rated at just over 118 HP, good for a 0-to-62 MPH jog in just under 10 seconds, yet still providing a combined fuel economy of 47.9 MPG (That'd be 38.9 MPG for us colonials). Not too shabby. More details below.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Jeep Taunts Civilian Enthusiasts, Shows Off Wrangler J8 At Euro Jeep Camp 2008

    The production version of the Jeep Wrangler J8 made it's Euro debut at Jeep Camp 2008 in Germany this week. While not in itself news — we've already covered its officially official return — news of its Euro reveal got us to lusting after the new military-spec off-roader. Since we can't get it and you can't get it, we thought we could all spend a moment wallowing in our sorrow together.

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    1986 Ford Mustang LX

    Back when we had the Do Fox Mustangs Belong In DOTS? poll, 63% of Jalopnik readers who bothered to vote said they thought it was a good idea. So, I grabbed the camera and set out on foot to photograph the first pre-90s example I could find. 28 seconds later, here's this abused-but-proud '86 LX showing up in my viewfinder (the same thing happened when I went looking for a Malaise Volvo 240). These things are still everywhere on the island (along with their Fairmont, Granada, Mark VII, and other F

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    TVR Reveals Sagaris 2 Prototype, Sending Fender Vent Futures Up Sharply On Early Morning Trading

    In an exclusive preview session put on for the TVR Car Club, the new TVR Sagaris 2 prototype was revealed in a flourish of vents and Britishness. Details have not been made public, but the new Sagaris appears to get a revised rear fascia and replaces the bizarre side exit rear exhaust with a more traditional straight cut rear facing set of tips. But the biggest visual changes are on the inside.

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    2009 Acura TL Finally Smiles Its Toothy Grin For The Camera

    In a surprise this evening, Honda's decided to drop the embargo on the new 2009 Acura TL after so many teasing spy photos. Unfortunately, instead of the photo, they should have dropped the height of their front wheel arches. Yup, those suckers are higher than a Cheech & Chong movie. But, the good news is the 2009 TL will be available in two flavors, the first coming with SH-AWD (Super Handling - All Wheel Drive) and the second will not (Not-So-Super-Handling - Front Wheel Drive). Expect to see t

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    Jalopnik Visits Hennesey Performance: Track Addicts, The Corvette ZR1 And Lexus IS-F

    With the demise of the Viper looming, Hennessey Performance is setting itself up to continue providing tuning services well into the future. Surprisingly, Hennessey will be working on the 2009 Corvette ZR1, a car that the company acknowledged as the Viper's enemy. They're also working on offering a kit for the Lexus IS-F, set to include headers and a modified exhaust system to squeeze more oopmh from the eight-geared oddity. And what about that big chunk of land they're sitting on?

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Jalopnik Visits Hennessey Performance: The Weak Dollar Leads To Some Crazy Cars

    During our Hennessey Performance HQ tour there were three vehicles that caught our eye, all non-Vipers and all for foreign customers. The first was a Grand Cherokee that I mistakenly took to be Hennesey's personal Grand Cherokee SRT600, but it had Mexican plates. It turns out the owner wanted his Cherokee to be able to run the quarter mile in the 10-second range. They tried explaining that it'll easily run low 12's and that the cost to get it to run 10's was rather high, but he insisted. So what

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Video Proof Of The 2009 Corvette ZR1s 7:26.4 Nurburgring Lap

    We've been eagerly waiting for this since we first heard the news of the stunning 7:26.4 Nurburgring lap time set by the 2009 Corvette ZR1. Now, we've finally got the footage of the Godzilla-killer in action, ripping up the Nordschleife. But will this silence the skeptics? Either way, the Nissan GT-R had better have something fast in store with the 2010 Nissan GT-R Spec V. But enough talk, let's sit back and enjoy the show. Video below the jump.

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    Jerk Pees On Ferrari, The Internet Erupts

    So some drunk Canadian teenager peed on a Ferrari. Usually that wouldn't merit coverage — we're sure 90% of the world's Ferraris have been urinated on by inebriated teenagers at some point in time. But this one involved urination caught on video, posted on Flickr, then YouTube, and has received such an outrageous response on message boards like FerrariChat that local police have launched an investigation not only into the teen's actions, but also to protect him from what they see as a real chanc

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    iPhone GPS Worse Than Expected

    We apologize for getting your hopes up about the iPhone's GPS capabilities, because with the release just days away, the first reviews of the device are pouring in and there's some bad news about the GPS functionality. Or lack thereof. David Pogue of The New York Times points out that the iPhone 2.0, while it still has real GPS and not the location-based-shenanigans of its predecessor, is not ready to compete with the big boys of the navigation world.

    By Travis Hudson Read More
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    Hennessey Performance: Walking The Line Between Sanity And Audacity

    When one of the ways for employees to get out of the Hennessey Performance compound in Sealy, Texas is by driving down a drag strip, you begin to see why people perceive them as mad-for-power. However, after spending a day with the people at Hennessey Performance, I can say they're just like anyone else. Anyone else knee-deep in enthusiast's money and supercars.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Lotus Eco Elise: Less Weight Equals Greater Fuel Economy, Green Movement Scoffs

    Who does Lotus think they're fooling? The huge, evil corporation is now claiming that by trimming 70 lb. from the 1895 lb. Lotus Elise S, they've made it more fuel-efficient. Oh yeah? Those of us in the Birkenstock-wearing, wood-burning-stove-using intellectual elite — we know better. Where's the trunk full of batteries? Where's the electric plug? Where's the giant green leaf badge? Brown? Everyone knows that's the color of pollution. Where's the hybrid sticker on each and every side of the car

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Smug Gets Home-Grown: 2011 Toyota Prius Officially To Be Built In United States

    Despite denials from Toyota of Prius assembly expansion from Japan to the United States, we've now received official word that the 2011 Toyota Prius will be assembled in a yet-to-be-built plant in Blue Springs, Miss. beginning sometime during 2010. In addition, the fuel-hogging Highlander will see production shift to Indiana, and all Tundra pickups will have production moved to Texas. All your auto assembly is belong to the super number one best automaker from the land of the rising sun — but

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    New Top Ten Stolen Cars List Shows Criminals Love The '90s

    The National Insurance Crime Bureau just announced their list of the top ten most stolen cars, and surprisingly, most of them were cheaper older models from the 1990s. Forbes says it's because these cars' parts have a greater demand on the salvage market, which is probably true since every '95 Honda Civic we see on the road seems to be sporting a hood from some other Civic. Full list below the jump.

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    1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III, Plus Bonus Lincoln Poll

    Great big Detroit luxury machines, with two huge doors that swing out about 10 feet to the side when opened and a crude pushrod V8 with way more than 400 cubes under the hood. Aside from the low-single-digit gas mileage, what's not to love? The Lincolns of the 60s and 70s never quite sold like their Cadillac competition, but they had hoods like aircraft carrier decks and grilles carved from gigantic slabs of pure chrome. They were outrageous and beautiful, in a way the staid Caddy could never re

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    PCH, Rear-Drive Japanese Sedan Hoonage Edition: Cressida Or Maxima?

    Amazingly, a Chevy (well, Chevy/Buick) managed to beat an obscure, 40-year-old German microcar in a heads-up Project Car Hell competition, with a 57-43 split in yesterday's voting. Today we're going back to the common-theme idea; inspired by all the love for the DOTS Cressida, we decided we ought to do a Project Car Hell matchup featuring a pair of Late Malaise boxy Japanese midsize sedans, complete with luxury features, independent rear suspensions, and big inline-six engines. Japanese stuff is

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    HHRamino Makes Chevy HHR Seem Palatable

    In any form other than the Chevy HHR SS, the too-retro, too-small station wagon "High Heritage Roofline" leaves a strange aftertaste. It borrows liberally from Chevrolet design themes of the fifties, and yet pays no respect to what made them timeless classics. It's a car with a stolen identity. And yet, somehow, when you lop the back end of it off, put a stainless steel bed and a tail gate in there, it looks damn good. Senor htrodblder found this shining example of caminoization at the HHR Club,

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    Tata Nano To Offer Compressed Air Engine Optional, Make Electric Cars Look Silly

    Buried in a New York Times article on "Low-Carbon Chic" (vomit) comes confirmation the Tata Nano, the $2500 (or maybe a bit more) mini-car will offer a MDI compressed air engine as an option. Tata has been backing MDI for a while now, and off-the-cuff we mused at the idea of the compressed air engine option in a Nano months ago. Given the novelty of the engine, it was more a dismissal than speculation. Well, we guess it turns out we were right. Remember after the Tata Nano was unveiled, how all

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    2009 Citroën C3 Picasso Peeks Out Before Paris Motor Show

    The Citroën C3 Picasso is exactly the kind of Europe-only car we salivate for over here in the new world. Small, stylish, economical, extremely well packaged and quirky. Think of it as a tall Honda Fit with legroom in both rows, diesel engines and the kind of personality it seems only the French are capable of squeezing into such a small package. The C3 Picasso is scheduled to premier at the Paris Motor Show in October, but we can reveal a few details early.

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    Godzillas, Geishas And Organized Crime: 0-60 Delves Into Motorex

    Before there was the 2009 Nissan GT-R there was the Skyline, and if you wanted one in this country you had to go through an importer called Motorex. The problem was, the company didn't do what it was supposed to: import cars, convert them to DOT spec and then deliver them to customers. Sure, some cars got delivered, some cars even got converted, but most failed to do either. Until now, the full details of the Skyline's disastrous entry into the US market were the stuff of Internet legend. Now, t

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    24 Hours Of LeMons Veteran Awaits Crusher In Long Beach Junkyard

    Is it better for a car to go out in a blaze of glory on the racetrack than to die an ignominious death of a thousand minor failures? We can all ponder that question as we study the corpse of the Team Come From Behind Probe, which didn't finish in the top 50 at Altamont but hung in there for most of the race despite some broken parts. Yurikaze found the Probe- roll cage still intact- at the Ecology yard in Long Beach, and was kind enough to share his photos with us. Make the jump to read Yurikaze

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    New York City's Signature "Manhattan" Taxi Cab That Never Was

    (Our good friend and Jalopnik institution UDMAN was out on business when he came across the Taxi of the future that has, unfortunately, been resigned to the past. His story below — Ed.) It was a very mild late spring day in Plattsburgh, New York. I was again on the job trying to recruit another truck dealer to take on our fledging product line, and wrapped up early that morning. Then I remembered something about the town of Plattsburgh. It went through a rather agonizing time financially when t

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    How To Use The New IRS Mileage Rate To Deduct The Cost Of Your Car

    Unless you're an accountant or a salesman, you may not have noticed the IRS just upped the mileage deduction rate for privately owned vehicles to 58.5 cents per mile. Sounds like the perfect time to find out how far we could turn our daily driver into a government tax rebate on wheels. We've decided to use my daily driver as an example to see if we could, hypothetically of course, deduct as much as we're actually spending to drive it. Without further ado, here's our quick guide to deducting the

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Honda OSM Convertible Low-Emission Sports Car To Bow At British Motor Show

    Honda plans to go both green and topless at the British Motor Show with what they're unromantically dubbing the Honda OSM (Open Study Model), a lightweight, sporty "study model" of a low-emissions cabriolet. Does this mean it'll carry the same hybrid powertrain as the CR-Z concept? Is this just a diesel? They haven't told us, but the car officially has its coming-out on July 22, so we expect all the important details to leak out before the end of the week.

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    Federal Crash Test Ratings To Be Updated: We All Drive Death Traps Again

    The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NAMBLA) is updating their star ranking system for vehicle safety for the first time since it was introduced in 1994. After 14 years of manufacturers designing for the ratings, along with advancements in active and passive safety systems, the scores had become meaningless — nearly every vehicle scored a four- or five-star ranking in 2007 (with a few notable exceptions). What's changing and when after the jump.

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    1966 Jaguar E-Type, With Bonus British Car Poll

    Those of you who read the Down On The Street FAQ over the weekend know that some of the machines we see in this series don't live on the street full-time. Most do, but every so often I'll find an obvious non-daily-driver that's just visiting, or maybe getting a rare exposure to the world outside of the garage. This immaculate E-Type is such a car; I spotted it parked in front of the island's most popular sports bar a while back and I haven't seen it since.

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    Saturn Teams With Bon Jovi And Habitat For Humanity For Detroit Neighborhood Build

    On Detroit's northeast side on Monday, Saturn joined its Detroit dealers, U-SNAP-BAC, and Jon Bon Jovi with his Soul Charitable Foundation to announce the kickoff of a five-house sponsorship for Habitat for Humanity. Since 2005, Habitat has been back-filling new homes in the MorningSide neighborhood. The project had been going smoothly until recently, when funding began to thin out as the economic slowdown hit local sponsors. The new corporate sponsorship from Saturn was largely driven by local

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Project Car Hell: Goggomobil Or Grand Nationalmino?

    In our Star-Spangled Project Car Hell Edition last Friday, the Rambler American (OK, fine, it's actually a Rambler Six) outpolled the Austin America by a 60:40 ratio. Was it a case of rust triumphing over Joe Lucas, or the patriotic appeal of wholesome, corn-fed Kenosha over the sinister English town of Longbridge. Today we've decided to ditch the common-theme idea and grab two totally different- yet oddly compelling- Hell Projects for your purgatorial pleasure.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Chery To Volvo: Let's Roll

    Reports from China indicate that Chery is trying to raise the capital necessary (about $4.4 billion) to purchase Volvo, despite industry experts doubting the possibility of such a takeover. The purchase would be a major coup for the Chinese auto industry, since Volvo would represent the first major Western brand to be purchased by the country. Ford continues to deny that the Swedish automaker is for sale despite continuous rumors to the contrary. So what's really going on? Jalopnik snap analysis

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Polling Confirms Americans Will Not Drive 55, Also They Don't Understand Energy Policy

    Lacking a call-center or professional statisticians, we asked you what you thought the national speed limit should be. Apparently Rasmussen Reports don't trust us, and since they have both of those things, they decided to ask pretty much the same question. They found 59% oppose one, 34% support one and 7% aren't sure. What the poll also found — as well as our own version of the poll — after the jump.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    2009 Veritas RS III Has 600HP, No Traction Control

    The antithesis of current performance car thinking, the 2009 Veritas RS III eschews electronic driving aids for lightweight and high power. Its creators, Vermot AG wanted to give it "true race feeling." Hence the name, which means 'truth' in Latin. A production run of 50 models is now commencing, with a coupe and a GT model following next year. More info and a video of the Veritas on the Nurburgring follow the jump.

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    Diesel Chevrolet LUV Cruising Around Detroit Suburbs

    We spotted a manufacturer-plated Chevrolet LUV pickup cruising around town a month ago on our way to our brother's graduation from Oakland University, but didn't think much of it because frankly, a re-badged Isuzu D-MAX (or Chevy Colorado depending on how you look at it) doesn't really get us going. That is until we took a closer look at the shots last night and noticed that it was a diesel-powered Chevy LUV truck. My, my, my — is GM perhaps looking to create a competitor for the Mahindra Scorpi

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    2009 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Brings Smug To Seoul

    Hyundai, the Korean company out to take over the auto industry, has announced they will be releasing a hybrid version of the 2009 Hyundai Elantra, expected to be on sale by July 2009. What's more impressive, this mild hybrid will be the first vehicle to utilize lithium polymer batteries. Supplied by LG, these batteries are said to be an improvement over existing lithium-ion batteries due to their higher energy density, lower manufacturing costs, resilience to physical damage, and ability to with

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    Diesel BMW 335 Spied, To Hit US Shores By Fall

    Hearing our pleas, we're being told BMW will be bringing the diesel 3-series to the US in the coming months. As proof, we've got shots from our spy friends at KGP of the oil-burning BMW doing some final testing on American soil as well shots of it at the green-handled pump. The 2009 BMW 335d should feature a slightly lower level of performance compared to the European turbodiesel, but that still means 265 HP and 425 lb-ft of torque. This should result in a 0-to-60 MPH time of around 6.2 seconds

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Ten Things To Do With An SUV That Don't Involve Driving

    With gas prices continuing their climb, owners are fearfully turning to alternative uses for their devalued SUVs. Whether you have a Suburban, an Excursion or a Sequoia, alternative uses from that sport utility vehicle now that you can't afford to actually drive it are sounding pretty good right now. Here's ten alternative uses for your gas guzzler that won't require you to fill it up first.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    GM To Employ Duct Tape, Rush Production Volt To Stage By September

    GM is accelerating development of the 2010 Chevy Volt in an attempt to ready the production version for a reveal as the company celebrates its 100th anniversary in September. Although we know GM desperately needs a cutting-edge Prius-killing success to stem the sales slide, given past RenCen rush jobs, we're not sure that setting a time deadline instead of a performance benchmark is the best way to move forward. A look at potential pitfalls after the jump.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    Blue Steel: $2500 Tata Nano May Become Slightly More Pricey

    Ratan Tata wowed the world when he revealed his company's Tata Nano, the miniscule two-cylinder, four-door runabout designed to go to market with an equally tiny $2,500 price tag. Now, due to pressures from rising commodity prices, Tata may be in jeopardy of missing that now famous 1-lakh goal. Steel prices have jumped 30% since the car's initial unveil in January, while the cost of plastics, silicon and fuel oil have risen as well. So what's next for the bottom line?

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    2010 Chevy Cruze To Hit Paris Motor Show Like A Missile

    The brand all about the 'merican revolution is reporting they'll be revealing an all new car at the Paris Motor Show later this year called the Chevy Cruze. We don't know much other than the 15-foot-long Cruze will seat five, be available in Europe by Spring of next year and have the same global design language as the rest of the bowtied brand. As the Cruze will be just under the size of the Cobalt, we can't help but think this is the car we'd been hearing would be coming to the Lordstown, Ohio

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    1984 Toyota Cressida

    After the reign of the Crown, but before the Lexus, Toyota shoppers seeking a (relatively) powerful luxury sedan headed straight for the Cressida. With rear-wheel-drive and the same 156-horse 5M engine as the Supra, the '84 Cressida also came with mildly oddball- by Toyota standards- styling and relentlessly good build quality. They're almost all gone now, however, fed into the ravenous jaws of The Crusher in order to make room for more Camrys... but a fair number still live on in Alameda.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Progressive Automotive X Prize Mustang Claims 400 HP, 110 MPG; We Claim Baloney

    Doug Pelmear is claiming his '87 Stang is good for 400 HP and a 3 second 0-60 MPH time, all while returning a 110 MPGe figure. MPGe? Yeah, that's miles per gallon equivalent; because he's using E85 ethanol, that figure might be about 80 real miles per gasoline gallon. So, is Doug one of those garage tinkerers who managed to create a magnetized fuel line or a super-efficient set of exhaust bearings which promise an amazing 100 MPG, but whose patent hasn't gone through yet, or it was destroyed in

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    Volvo XC60 Diesel Spotted In Hollywood Looking For Ron Howard's House

    A friend of AutoFiends managed to catch a 2009 Volvo XC60 camo'd up and wearing something peculiar in Hollywood, which is actually quite normal — for a fashionista. Unlike the XC60 one of our readers spied in Beverly Hills, this one was wearing a little badge that proclaims "Diesel Fuel Only." That's a little obvious, isn't it? Although when the XC60 launched in the US we explicitly asked if diesels would find their way to the US market and we were told "no diesels in our market for XC60," so we

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Roush Crate Powertrain Provides Engine, Tranny; Crate Car Still Unavailable

    For folks who want a high-po old-school ride with a minimum of effort, Roush will now sell you one of their crate engines matched to an aftermarket performance transmission — and they'll do all the fine-tuning and dial in for you. You'll need to be a Blue Oval fan in order to take advantage of the aptly-named "Ford in a Ford" program, but we're pretty sure this is exactly what your old Mustang needs. Or at least one of us does. Look for the first application, a 511SRFE engine in a 1963 Galaxie,

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    AUO Oval LCD Screens For Vehicle Instrument Panels

    A company by the name of AUO has managed to develop an oval-shaped LCD display, which could change the appearance of next-generation instrument panels. The ovoid LCDs don't just look good, but they could allow for customizing instrumented data. Of course, the technology is far from being integrated into your next vehicle purchase, but it's good to see the baby steps being taken. [Ubergizmo]

    By Travis Hudson Read More
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    Top Ten Best Car Ads Of The 1990s

    As we predicted, the voting in last week's Top Ten Best Car Ads Of The 1980s poll was a bit more competitive than that in the Ricardo Montalban-dominated Top Ten Best Car Ads Of The 1970s. The Black Gold 280ZX made a strong showing, but the Cocaine Factory Duster takes the prize, with 32% of the votes. Now we're moving into the decade of Operation Desert Storm, grunge, and Pets.com, which brings up the question: is it possible to feel truly nostalgic about the decade right before the current one

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    The Future Is Back: Jalopnik Tours New DeLorean HQ

    Owners of the ultimate geek car, the DeLorean, are no strangers to modifying their McFly rides, including hovercraft and electric conversions of the iconic silver-skinned sports car. Now, thanks to the new DeLorean Motor Company, buyers of new DeLoreans and owners of the classic ones can outfit them with everything but a Mr. Fusion. We stopped by the new DMC's headquarters in Houston, where we got the scoop on the new DeLorean and more importantly, what you can now do with the old one.

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    SMS 25th Anniversary Mustang Concept Has 720 Candle-Extinguishing Horsepower

    Though no longer head of Saleen, Inc., you can't keep Steve Saleen from making Mustangs. In this case, his new company, SMS Limited, has built a very Saleen, Inc-looking concept to celebrate 25 years in the industry. In addition to the 720 HP engine and extreme body kit, this concept has the "Red Butterfly Induction System," which may explain the KITT-esque hood scoop. More details from the man himself, who says it has performance almost on par with the Saleen S7, below the jump

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    $2 Sticker To Combat Australian VIN Tampering

    The Australians are fighting the menace of VIN number tampering with new VIN stickers that cannot be removed or altered without being destroyed, making vehicle reconstruction and title washing significantly more challenging. Although we're not sure what's bigger news here, the fact that a cheap $2 AUS decal can markedly deter car thieves, or that the Aussies call VIN tampering "rebirthing." Join us for a collective shudder, and the full afterbirth details after the jump.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    2009 Ford Focus RS Details Officially Official, Green Machine Lives

    Turns out the Electric Green Ford Focus RS we saw last week is more than just a show car. Ford has admitted the little green hulk is essentially the finished vehicle, minus some fine tuning. Now, depending on which side of the fencepost you sit on, an inline-five with 275 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque mated to a six-speed in a car the size of a Focus RS, along with all kinds of fancy suspension trickery, is either a magical, amazing thing OR the obnoxious boy-racer bodywork rubs you the wrong way a

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    1966 Dodge A100 Sportsman Custom

    When you take a small, forward-control van chassis and motivate it with the unkillable Chrysler Slant Six engine, good things happen (as long as you don't crash it, of course). It seems strange that we've only had one A100 in this series prior to today, given how long they survive out here in the Land That Rust Ignores; I'm going to need to pay more attention to A100s (and forward-control Econolines) as I roam the streets of Alameda in search of DOTS candidates.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    GM To Get More Layoffs, Lose A Brand

    According to the WSJ, GM's early-August board meeting is likely to result in layoffs affecting both blue- and white-collar workforces. They're also reporting GM is seriously exploring sloughing off another brand, either by outright closure or by placing it up for sale, a-la Hummer's "strategic review." We've put together a quick brand-viability scorecard breakdown after the jump for those of you playing along at home.

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    New Toyota Prius To Get Solar Panels As "Symbolic Gesture"

    Toyota plans to install solar panels on the new Toyota Prius hybrid as a response to a "growing demand for green cars," reports Reuters. The panels will be supplied by Kyocera and would be able to power part of the air-conditioning as a "symbolic gesture" as it's "very difficult to power much more than that with solar energy." Yes, despite solar power not being "seen as a viable solution to power cars," you've got to give the super number one best awesome automaker from the land of the rising su

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    What Is Down On The Street?

    Those of you who have been Jalopnik regulars for a while most likely have a pretty solid grasp of the concept behind the Down On The Street series, but what about newcomers to the site? We don't want DOTS to feel like some sort of in-crowd-only deal, so here's the Down On The Street FAQ:

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    2009 BMW 7-Series Thinks It's KITT, Has Human-Detecting Night Vision

    Although we showed you the new 2009 BMW 7-Series in all of its unofficial glory on Thursday. Well, now we've got the official details from BMW, and we've included the full press release for the new 7-Series after the jump. Sure, focus all you want on the horsepower (407 HP in the 750i and 750Li, 326 HP in the 740i and 740Li) or the torque (600 Nm of torque in the 750i and 750Li, 450 Nm of torque in the 740i and 740Li) or even the 155 MPH electronically-limited top speed, but the one thing that's

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    PCH, Red, White, And Blue Flames Edition: Austin America Or Rambler American?

    For the first time, a single car part beat an entire car in a Project Car Hell matchup, according to the results of our most recent Choose Your Eternity poll. Today we're going to celebrate the Fourth of July, but not by getting all liquored up and firing large-caliber handguns into the sky. No, we're going to celebrate our freedoms by sentencing ourselves to years of thankless labor in the garage, on vehicles so patriotic that they're literally named after America.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Gas-Mileage Savings Calculator Shows True Cost Of Trading Your Guzzler For A Sipper

    As much as it may hurt to have to fill up your car every month (or week), the price of gas still isn't high enough to make trading in for a hybrid a reasonable solution for most, a reality punctuated by the Gas-Mileage Savings Calculator from Edmunds. The calculator takes the value of a trade-in compared to the cost of a more-efficient vehicle and, based on driving distances and the cost of gas, determines how long it would take to break even. For example, we took a 2006 Explorer XLT V8 and comp

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    1975 Chevrolet Nova Custom

    With just one Malaise Nova up until now in this series, it's time to set our thermostats at 66 in winter/78 in summer, lower our expectations of future prosperity, and travel back to the Bicentennial Era... when presidents got impeached, wars got lost, and the base V8 in a new Chevy Nova was a 155-horse 350. Actually, the Nova of this era wasn't a bad car; it was cheap and every component was made by the lowest possible bidder, but it was honestly cheap.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Commenter Of The Day: Tricky Rhetoric Edition

    There are numerous rhetorical devices politicians use to obscure or avoid the truth. One of them is the old "vacuous truth," wherein the true statement has no meaning. For instance, a candidate for sheriff in Texas once accused the incumbent sheriff of being derelict in his duties for not arresting a single communist, despite the fact that there were no communists to arrest. Another tactic is the assertion of a fact that has to be true because you're presenting two ideas with the same meaning, k

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Top Ten American Automotive Pilgrimages

    It wouldn't be a Jalopnik Automotive Amerigasm without a nod to the places that make American automotive history so great. Eddie Izzard may joke that he's from "Europe, where the history comes from," but the relative young age of the auto industry means our automotive history is as old and rich as anyone's...and of course, more American. Whether you have plans for the Fourth of July weekend or not, there's no better way to celebrate our country's freedom than by enjoying the freedom to drive som

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    Top Ten Best Real-Life Police Chases

    After yesterday's top ten silver screen police car chases, we're continuing our week-long Amerigasm with the top ten real police car chases. Because whether you're rooting for the baddies to make a clean getaway, or for the long arm to catch 'em, there's nothing quite like a good ol' real-life American police chase. While other countries may think they can, we know we can do 'em better than anyone else, so to prove it, click "more" for our list of the top ten best cop car chases — and then vote

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    Five Reasons Why We're Not Proud To Buy American Cars

    We just read Car & Driver's recent salute to five vehicles demonstrating all that's right and good with American car companies. Although they're right to be pointing out five great products, the Amerigasmic rah-rah fest left a bad taste in our mouths. Not because it's slightly sycophantic, but merely because it's too easy a list to create. There's just far too few American vehicles that show off the good, and so many that show off the bad. Frankly, we could do a list of the five cars that make

    By Wes Siler Read More
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    NHRA Shortens Track After Fatal Crash, No Longer 1/4-Mile

    As an interim safety measure in the wake of Scott Kalitta's fatal crash, the NHRA has decided to shorten the length of the race in the Funny Car and Top Fuel classes from 1320 feet down to 1000 feet. This comes as part of an effort to reduce speeds; plus, with the shortened racing distance, the drivers are left with more track after the finish line, allowing them more time to slow down after the race. The measure is said to be temporary, but the NHRA is looking into several other ways to increas

    By Mark Arnold Read More
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    Toyota Corporate Blog Urges You To Buy A Toyota, Then Ride Your Bike

    Toyota is taking an unusual step on their Open Road corporate blog by promoting the idea of driving less. At first glance, this would seem oxymoronic, but Toyota is careful not to say "don't buy a Tundra." They're just saying that once you do buy a Tundra, you should leave it parked in your driveway for special occasions and hoof it everywhere else. The PR folks at Open Road also offer some suggestions in case you actually have to drive your new Toyota, like avoiding drive-throughs (Prius owners

    By Andrew Stoy Read More
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    2009 BMW 7-Series Hits Web A Wee Bit Early

    After teasing us with the new 2009 BMW 7-series, BMW's finally revealed the new 7 via an early leak of press photos to the web. After throwing everything at us from a flowbee-equipped mule to the teaser at the German golf outing, they've tossed the next 7-series at us in every way possible but with the kitchen sink. Every time, it's been nothing but a tease. Well, except for that purported leaked press shot. But somehow these small press photos have wiggled their way out onto the web and we've m

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    1975 Toyota Celica ST

    After finding a pair of '77 Celicas parked on the streets of Alameda (this one and this one), I had a first-gen Celica drought that lasted the better part of a year. Had all the rest been crushed? Then I started catching glimpses of this red '75 around town, and I knew it was just a matter of time before I found it parked somewhere.

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Ford To Bring Mustang SVO Badge Back For 2010 With 300 HP Eco-Boosted Four-Cylinder

    We've now heard from a second source that Ford is readying a return to the 2010 Ford Mustang of a badge familiar to malaise-era muscle car fan-boys — the Mustang SVO. Just like the original limited edition mid-eighties Mustang was all about merging power performance with fuel efficiency — we're hearing similar rumblings on this new 'stang. We'd already heard Ford's plans for the Boss engine lineup and we already understood the new Mustang would be less V8-focused than the current Mustang's muscu

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    "El Camino" Name Is Still Alive For The Pontiac G8 Sport Truck

    Despite a report from KickingTires.com two months ago that "El Camino" was officially out as a name for the new ute from Pontiac, we're now being told by Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson the name is still very much in the mix. What reason there may have been for this change? Unknown. But all we do know is if the chance still exists to bring back the "El Cam" — to any GM brand — we're in full support of it. What we're not in support of — dropping a V6 between the rails. More on that below the jump.

    By Ray Wert Read More
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    PCH, Hopelessly French Edition: 1925 Renault Type 45 Or 1951 Citroen Traction-Avant?

    We had a bit of an upset in Monday's Choose Your Eternity 3-way Superpower Showdown poll, with the French car coming in last! Yes, the '63 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint won handily, with a 55-24-22 split. That means the Italian car industry can feel the pride that comes from building the coolest- yet most nightmarish- cars very large sums of squandered money can buy! Just to show that we haven't forgotten the special place held by France in the Project Car Hell Pantheon, however, we're going to do an

    By Murilee Martin Read More
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    Exchange Rate Puts Kibosh On Saab 9-3 Employee Purchases; More To Come?

    Starting with the 2009 model year, Saab will no longer allow GM employees to purchase the 9-3 at a discount, citing current exchange rates that make the 7% price cut economically unsound. Saab sold about 23,000 9-3s last year, and the company claims approximately 1,500 of those were employee sales — though we think the total may be significantly higher based on the popularity of the 9-3 in Metro Detroit. If the numbers are accurate, the change would likely mean at least a 6% drop in future 9-3 s

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    Big-Assed 2010 BMW X6 ActiveHybrid Spotted In Death Valley, No Spotted Owls In Sight

    Now we don't know for sure if the lack of spotted owls in these photos is the direct result of engineers blasting the A/C in their 2010 BMW X6 ActiveHybrid, but we're going to go out on a limb and say that it is. Expect a rapid decline in spotted owl population levels in LA, New York and other major cities where people like to pay lip service to being green as a fashion statement when the big-ass SUV hybrid rolls out.

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    Merrill Lynch: GM Bankruptcy Is "Not An Impossibility," Stock Price Plummets

    GM stock is down over 14% today to a price of about ten bucks a share — lowest point in decades. Why? Well, according to the research-boys at Merrill Lynch, GM's got $27 billion in cash on hand and the automaker needs $10 billion to run the business on a day-to-day basis. To deal with the shortfalls involved with rebuilding the company, they'll apparently need to raise $10-$15 billion in the next year or two. How are they to do that? No one really knows. And that answer caused the usually bullis

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    And So It Begins: Sex Traded For $100 Gas Card

    That thing you never thought you'd see happen in your lifetime? Yeah, it just did. A Kentucky woman was nabbed for prostitution after accepting a $100 gas card in payment for her "services." Angela Eversole and Kenneth Nowak were picked up outside of the Days Inn in Fort Wright, Kentucky after officers suspected sexual tom-foolery. Nowak admitted to his status as a John, and to paying Eversole with a $100 Speedway gas card. Welcome to the gaspocalypse, folks. [TheSmokingGun]

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    Top Ten Best Car Ads Of The 1980s

    In hindsight, we needn't have bothered with a poll in yesterday's Top Ten Best Car Ads Of The 1970s, because Ricardo Montalban's Corinthian Leather tour de force obliterated the other nine competitors with a 56% share of the total vote (the Top Ten Best Car Ads Of The 1960s vote was much closer, with the winner taking a mere 18% of the total). Now we're moving up to the decade of leg warmers, Iran-Contra, and electronic fuel injection: the 1980s! The Berlin Wall came down, the incidence of her

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    Top Ten Best Movie Police Car Chases, With A Twist

    Police car chases are as much a part of American cinema as the sappy love story and the life-like animated robot movie. With so many directors having tackled the police chase it has become a bountiful field from which to pluck perfectly formed flowers of destruction and tire smoke. As we continue our Jalopnik Automotive Amerigasm this week with the second part of our review of the 2008 Dodge Charger Police Edition, we figured we should see what the celluloid forefathers of this blacked out beast

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    Canada Launches Old Car Retirement Program, Green Hypocrisy Continues

    Canada, a large deposit of natural resources located above Minnesota, is attempting to remove 1% of its older vehicles from the road. By doing so, they hope to stimulate their economy while damaging the environment "get Canadian's smog-causing, gas-guzzlers off the road." A $92 million budget has been set aside to provide people trading in old cars with $300 in cash or discounts on bicycles and public transportation. Texas instituted a similar program in January called "Drive A Clean Machine," t

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    Kamper Krisis: Winnebago Profits Plunge 73%, We Offer Suggestions

    RV manufacturer Winnebago has seen sales decline 40% in the third quarter, dragging profits down by an astonishing 73%. But what should the manufacturer of hulking, bricklike houses on wheels with no immediate potential for improved fuel economy expect? Although abandoned RVs have become popular housing options in the midst of the mortgage crisis, new RVs are not as similarly embraced. So what can Winnebago do? Some ideas after the jump.

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    Ex-Intel Chief Andy Grove Using Electric Cars To Achieve Relevance

    Andy Grove, retired CEO of chipmaker Intel, apparently has grown bored of sailing the South Pacific and decided to insert himself into the debate over the future of transportation. A proponent of electric vehicles, Grove wrote, "The beauty of electric power is its ability to be produced through multiple sources...and its 'stickiness' — it can be transported only over land." This statement, showing Grove thinks AA batteries arrive from China over a distant land-bridge, tell us Andy may not have a

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    1973 Ford Mustang Convertible, Plus Bonus Mustang Poll

    Alameda has plenty of 1964-73 Mustangs on the street. So many, in fact, that I've been taking a sort of "mañana, mañana" attitude about photographing most of them (this also happens with 60s GM pickups and air-cooled Volkswagens). This leads me to wonder why I never see any first-generation Camaros or Firebirds parked on the island's streets; they were made in vast numbers and aren't worth much more than Mustangs now, so what happened to them? Hooned into oblivion? Feel free to weigh in on that

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    Car Industry Carnage: US Auto Sales Down 18.8% For June

    Everybody knew it was coming, but the extent of the disintegration of the US automotive market came clearly into view today as automakers reported their sales figures for June. During a month when the national average price of gasoline topped an average of four bucks, what does one expect? Well — how about an 18.8% decline in sales. Fercrissakes, the Hummer brand saw a year-over-year fall of almost 60%! Un-freakin'-believable. What we have here folks is an automotive bear market — actually proba

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    The Math Magic Behind The GM 72-Hour Sale

    Last week, GM announced their "72-Hour Sale," which, by definition, had a set beginning and end, right? How, then, to take today's news that the 72-Hour Sale has been extended? Has General Motors managed to stretch the fabric of time itself? Sort of. This is the work of GM's marketing mavens, the minds of whom are a labyrinthine abyss of buzzwords and metal-moving manipulations. Abandon logic and join us for an inside look at the evolution of a GM sales promotion.

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    2010 BMW Z4 Interior Makes A Sneak Appearance

    Those KGP spy photographers get themselves into the darndest locations. In this case, it's the inside of the upcoming 2010 BMW Z4. We have seen a glimpse of the interior before, but this time around, it's nearly unprotected, which gives us the first good look at the center stack and controls. It seems BMW is going with a more button-and-knob-centric approach this time (thank God) and brightening the interior with some aluminum accents. One thing that gives us pause is the apparent lack of emerge

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    Top Ten Best Car Ads Of The 1970s

    We saw the 'I like it going up and down' Mini run away with the vote in the Top Ten Car Ads Of The 60s poll yesterday, and today we continue the Fourth Of July Celebration Of Vehicular Consumption Series with- you guessed it- the 1970s. The decade of Watergate, the Fall of Saigon, oil embargoes, 5 MPH crash bumpers... but don't forget custom vans, Acapulco Gold, and Foghat, not to mention the Bicentennial Fourth of July celebration! Make the jump to check out the ads and cast your vote.

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    Drowned Cadillac And Skeletal Ranchero Await Resurrection In Washington Storage Yard

    Sometimes you run out of room for your hopeless diamond-in-rough project cars at your house, so you rent a storage space for them until you have the time and money to fix them up real proper-like. That's the situation that Lowmiles seems to have photographed for us on a recent trip to a Seattle-area storage facility. Make the jump to read his description.

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    The Facts About California, Washington's Cell Phone Bans

    We hate to be the bearers of bad news, California and Washington state, but today, July 1, is the day that a new hands-free driving law goes into effect. Luckily for you, we're here to break down the new rules and explain what you can and can't do, along with providing some alternative options. Don't live in California or Washington? Check out our guide here to see what's happening in your state.

    By Travis Hudson Read More
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    Ten Greatest American Police Patrol Cars

    We're celebrating Independence Day with a week-long automotive Amerigasm heading down two diametrically opposite roads. The first, started yesterday, is a salute to the best car commercials — a celebration of the conspicuous over-consumption that made this nation great. The second road is one we'll be traveling at government-mandated speeds — a salute to the police car. While The Man may always be trying to keep us down, we salute him for having some killer vehicles with which to do it. You can

    By Matt Hardigree Read More
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    IIHC Wants Car-Like Truck Bumpers, Has Never Seen Aftermarket

    The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) will today formally petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to consider bumper standards for light trucks which are more car-like. For the sake of argument, let's forget about that whole BlockerBeam system on Ford trucks, and how the difference in vehicle mass contributes to the damage as much as relative contact geometry. We also have to forget about retrofit diamond plate bumpers and grille guards, and lifted trucks

    By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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    New Chrysler Minivans Selling So Well They're Closing The Factory

    Come Halloween, Chrysler will idle its St. Louis South minivan plant indefinitely. And, just so the 1,500 employees at St. Louis South are clear about the meaning of "idle indefinitely," co-president Tom LaSorda said, "We see no intent to rerun this plant. We're idling it and it will likely be fully closed."

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    1985 Toyota Corolla AE86

    We saw an AE86 Toyota with Sprinter badging earlier in this series, and now I've found one with a single Trueno emblem just a few blocks away. This '85 seems to have had the US-spec front bumper replaced with a JDM assembly, but I'm pretty sure this car was originally sold in the US. It's always good to see an AE86 still driving, since most of these things have been thoroughly hooned by two generations of leadfooted import fanatics and they're getting mighty tough to find.

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    Ten Family Get-Togethers On A Quarter-Tank Of Gas

    There's something to be said for quality family time that doesn't involve traveling across country, but we didn't expect a car company to be doing the saying. Volvo Cars of North America decided to send out an email promoting "stay-cations" that require less than a quarter-tank of gas. Said CEO Doug Speck "Families need quality vacations." Okay, so the challenge is to have fun with a quarter tank of gas. Volvo only thought it sufficient to give us six ideas, not realizing that you need a few mor

    By Matt Hardigree Read More