Archive for August 2008

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Buying (9)

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  2009 Cadillac CTS-V: First Drive

  Only a couple of minutes into the briefing and already things are going bad. “The supercharged engine doesn’t trail off up to the 6,200 RPM redline, so on the track, you may find yourself hitting the rev limiter once or twice,” says a Cadillac spokesperson, preparing us for our first foray onto the track at Monticello. I’m sheepishly trying to sink further into the leather couch, hoping none of the elderly car journalists sitting around me brings up the fact that, half an hour ago, I was bounc

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  2008 Infiniti G37S, Part Three

  Why you should buy the 2008 Infiniti G37S: You've just been made junior partner at your law firm. You want to go fast, but you don't necessarily need to go the fastest. You want a car that handles well, but it's not like you're going to autocross it. You care about looking good but could care less if you look tough. You've got some change, but you don't want to spend all of it on a car. Why you shouldn't buy this car: You've just been made to chug a pitcher of Spaten Lager after being unable to

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  2008 Infiniti G37S, Part Two

  Exterior Design: **** The 2008 Infiniti G37S is one of the few Japanese luxury cars with the aesthetics to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Europe's best, a fact helped by the coupe's bulging, enticing shoulders. The headlights may appear a bit doe-eyed from the front, but they stretch handsomely around the front fender, starting a line that flows over the shimmering 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, then continuing below the greenhouse and towards the sloping tail. It's a design that puts the flame

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  2008 Infiniti G37S, Part One

  There are those who claim to be able to reach across the ethereal plane, into another dimension, and speak with the dead. I will make no such claim. The best I could offer my friend was assistance in tracking down the plots containing his great grandfather and other relatives, buried in an Irish Catholic cemetery north of town. Aiding us in our search was the stately 2008 Infiniti G37S, which felt appropriate for this task — you don't want to visit your ancestors in an Aveo. It would look bad.

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  2009 Honda Fit, First Drive, Part Two

  As we told you yesterday, we asked our many-layered friend John Krewson to take a spin in the new 2009 Honda Fit. After yesterday's taste of the new-and-now-priced-to-move-starting-at-$14,550 Honda Fit, he's brought us the whole red pepper of a review today. — Ed. It's always been hard for me to find someone who doesn't like the Honda Fit. And what's not to like? It's earned a reputation for being nimble, thrifty, capable, and perhaps most importantly, charismatic. It might not be all that muscu

  By John Krewson Read More
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  2009 Corvette ZR1: First Drive

  The 2009 Corvette ZR1 is the best car ever made. It redefines what performance cars are capable of, not by its numbers (the 0-to-60 in 3.3 seconds and a 205 MPH top speed figures are no longer noteworthy north of $100,000), but by how it makes those numbers so accessible. Simply put, the ZR1's most remarkable achievement is how easy and unintimidating the chassis makes exploiting the car's 638 HP. The only problem is I'm not good enough a driver to fully do so. Halfway through a day's lapping,

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  2009 Honda Fit, First Drive

  We've asked our many-layered friend John Krewson to take a spin in the new 2009 Honda Fit. He'll have the full first drive for us tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a taste. — Ed. It's always been hard for me to find someone who doesn't like the Honda Fit. And what's not to like? It's earned a reputation for being nimble, thrifty, capable, and perhaps most importantly, charismatic. It might not be all that muscular, and it might be just the slightest bit IKEAesque inside, but for about fifteen gr

  By John Krewson Read More
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  2009 Dodge Challenger

  Last month's review of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 may have seemed to some a blinding orgy of Detroit love. Having just moved from Detroit to New York City, I was homesick and was seemingly in need of a shot of Motor City muscle. Still, I offer no apology, because despite the rose-colored glasses, I managed to outline the three glaring issues with the low-volume '08 model year Challenger SRT8 — the outdated interior, the weight and most importantly, the automatic transmission. After spending

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  2009 Subaru Impreza WRX

  "Stop Speeding Yanks!" "Slow the f#*k down!," "Go home!" Something about the 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX makes you want to speed. And here in Canada, where they take the law literally, blatantly flouting limits really stands out. Of course, something about the WRX will always sit uncomfortably with the surrounding world, no matter the pace. While it's been modified for 2009, just one year after its launch with 41 more horsepower, stiffened suspension and STI-esque bodykit, it remains one of the ugli

  By Wes Siler Read More

News (283)

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  The 24 Hours Of LeMons New England 2008 Uber Gallery

  Once again it's time for the latest 24 Hours Of LeMons Über Gallery, in which every car that managed to get out on the racetrack gets its own set of photos. The 24 Hours Of LeMons New England had an excellent assortment of cars, plenty of black-flag drama, and broken parts all over the track, and you can see all the details merely by making the jump. Thanks to UDMan, Drumhurrin, TheEastBayKid, MagicalTrevor, Rob Leone, Michael Prichinello, Brian Shorey, and Johan Schwartz for the great photos! S

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Man Builds Drivable Replica Of Luke Skywalker's X-34 Landspeeder

  Yes, that's a real landspeeder, just like Luke Skywalker's X-34 in Star Wars. No computer-generated Hollywood movie magic here. Well, except that it doesn't exactly hover. The fiberglass body is mounted on a custom aluminum electric car chassis. With a top speed of only about 25 MPH, it's going to take awhile to get across the Tatooine desert, seeing as the three thrusters are non-functional. But it sure does make the neighbor kid's Power Wheels truck look lame.

  By Mark Arnold Read More
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  A Peek Under The Tesla Roadster's Hood

  Ever been curious what takes place under the Tesla Roadster’s hood in the absence of internal combustion? Well, here’s an explanation of what the parts are and and what they do, conveniently numbered so you can follow along at home. Make the jump to see why "Tesla mechanic" would be a totally cush job. Number 1: This is the electric motor. Running on AC power, it can rev up to 13,000 RPM while producing 248 HP and 200 lb-ft. Maximum torque is available all the way from 0-6,000 RPM Number 2: The

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  Ethanol In Gasoline Reportedly Wreaking Havoc On Small Engines

  If you've been having trouble with your small gasoline power equipment lately, MSNBC reports that you're not alone: Small-engine mechanics nationwide are seeing a spike in engine damage they claim is attributable to the increasing use of ethanol in gasoline. We're not talking about E85 here either; apparently, it's the much more common (and in some places ubiquitous) E10 blend, which is 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline, that technicians are blaming for gummed-up carburetors, internal rust and lubric

  By Andrew Stoy Read More
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  2010 Chevy Volt: Concept Versus Reality

  The 2010 Chevy Volt has been a landmark project not only for its daring powertrain and breakneck development cycle, but also for GMs general openness with the media during the process. Along the way we've been invited in to see the development first hand, even spending a whole day with the Chevy Volt. But despite the buddy-buddy, easy-publicity PR maneuvering, up until the wee hours of this morning, we still didn't know what it looked like. Now that we've seen it in all but minute detail, it's t

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  TomTom Go x40 LIVE Lets Users Inform Each Other Of Speed Traps, Uses Cell Phone Position Data To Map Traffic

  The new TomTom Go x40 LIVE series of GPS navigation units allows users to update maps on the fly with the positions of police speed traps and traffic cameras, thus alerting other TomTom users in the area of their presence. Also stored within the system is historical travel time data for every road by day of the week, in five-minute intervals. To calculate a traffic-free route, the TomTom compares these figures to real-time anonymous cell phone movements. How does it work? If the Go x40 LIVE sees

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  The Official Jalopnik Map Of United States Vehicular Douchebaggery

  This week we asked you what d-bags in your area drove and, lo and behold, we're nearing 300 SLR Guy-like responses. Using those comments we've attempted to divide them up into the following main categories, which we've mapped to show you where they're located across this great nation of ours: Euro Luxury Cars: The Euro luxury typically represents the upwardly mobile yuppie hoping to make it into an S-Class, but pushes a C-Class or 3-Series instead. Popular in the Northeast. Slammed Domestics:

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  2009 Seat Ibiza CUPRA Images Released, Details Waiting In Paris

  Those wacky Spaniards with the German accents at Seat have released the first images of the 2009 Seat Ibiza CUPRA. The hot hatch has some tasty upgrades over the standard Seat Ibiza: Power comes from a spicy version of the VW 1.4 liter TSI four-cylinder, but here it gets two turbos, forcing output to a heady 180 HP — over 128 HP per liter. That power hits the pavement through a seven-speed DSG transmission driving the front wheels only (for now). Outside, bigger wheels, CUPRA badging, and upside

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  How To Fix Barack Obama's Moon Shot Of A Ten-Year Energy Independence Plan

  In his acceptance speech last night for the nomination of candidate for President (and bringer of hope to all humanity, or something like that) from the Democratic Party, Barack Obama issued a pledge for a ten-year plan to end U.S. dependence on oil from the Middle East. That's right, only ten years for us to kick the habit — a difficult time frame, but a wholly worthwhile pledge. But we've heard this before, right? Sure, and for some, most memorable will be Kennedy's famous desire to drop 'meri

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SL

  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 only seen one Mercedes-Benz R107 so far, though they were made from 1972 through 1989. I see them around town, but they've just always seemed so timeless that I tend not to notice them while I'm out looking for cars to shoot. Today we're going to look at a Late Reagan Era R107, one of the very last of the series.

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Chevy Volt Fully Revealed With Corvette Centennial Concept In Transformers 2 Set Video

  UPDATE #2: Check out our shots of the new Chevy Volt from the live reveal today in Detroit! UPDATE: The Chevy Volt's been revealed — a little bit early — in living color and not just merely in the grainy cellphone camera video we've got in this post! Here it is kids: our first look at a 2010 Chevy Volt, complete and in-motion on the set of the still-in-production Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. We got a glimpse at the upper half of the Chevy Volt earlier this evening, but this is the whol

  By Mark Arnold Read More
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  Commenter Of The Day: Mathbeard Edition

  As most of you probably know, tonight is the night that Barack Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention and the nation as the first African-American nominated for president by a major party. His victory was a result of an extended and often complicated primary that involved delegates, superdelegates, half-delegates and Guam. In this uncertain environment, NBC's Chuck Todd turned into a star political analyst because of his ability to understand and explain what was happening. With a gr

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  PCH, Fix It Again Tony Edition: Fiat 124 Sport Coupe Or Pair Of Fiat 1200 Spiders?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Britain has defeated Italy in a PCH Superpower Showdown (after two consecutive defeats, with the Triumph Stag going 70-30 against the Alfa Romeo Giulia Super yesterday. Today we're going to let Italy regain its bruised Hell Project pride, with an all-Fiat matchup! The early Fiat 124 coupes sure are wonderful machines, but they're rarer than honest politicians in North

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Eco-Driving Boosts Mileage By Average Of 24%, According To Ford Tests

  We looked at ten different ways to boost your mileage — and how they interfere with the "American way of life" — earlier. As proof that these techniques can make a difference, Ford claims internal tests show that practicing eco-driving improves mileage by an average of 24%. Ford and Pro Formance professionals coached 48 Phoenix-area residents for four days, recording mileage improvements between 6% and 50%, depending upon what type of driver the subject originally was and how adept they were at

  By Andrew Stoy Read More
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  Tata Nano And Other Affordable Vehicles Could Increase Indian Road Deaths To 150,000 Per Year

  The Indian Transport Ministry estimates that the number of fatalities from road accidents could climb 50% to 150,000 a year by 2015 due to the rapid growth of vehicle ownership in the country. The World Bank estimates that at current levels (100,000 per year), India’s mortality rate is 14 for every 10,000 vehicles — seven times that of the developed world. Annual passenger vehicle sales in India are expected to reach two million units by 2010, double the current number, largely thanks to the mas

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  2010 BMW V5 Spotted During Hot-Weather Testing

  The artist previously known as the 2010 BMW V5 has been spotted during hot-weather testing and continues to confound everyone of its raison d'etre. Since it's no longer called the V5 apparently, we're just going to refer to it as the Mutt, since it's a mix of pretty much everything. The BMW Mutt appears to be about the size of a 5-series, but sporting a fifth-door hatch and no rear decklid. Completing the Mutt's look is a wide, BMW 7-series-style grille and enough cladding to make a styling gues

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  Volkswagen Tops Ford In Global Sales For First Half Of 2008, Shouts "We're Number Three!"

  Volkswagen put out a horn-tooting presser today touting their delivery of 3.31 million vehicle worldwide in the first half of 2008, versus Ford's 3.22 million sales. Those figures mark the first time ever that the kids in Wolfsburg have cracked the top three worldwide in sales, and VW is gleefully rubbing it in Dearborn's face, stating "rival Ford had to settle for fourth position." Enjoy it now, Volkswagen; there's still six months to go. Never underestimate the willingness of American automake

  By Andrew Stoy Read More
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  Phil Hill, Racing Legend, Dead At 81

  After receiving a report earlier today, we've just confirmed the sad news that Phil Hill, the first American to win a Formula One World Drivers Championship, passed away at 10:30 this morning at the age of 81 after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. Hill will be remembered as one of the greatest race car drivers in American history, having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Italian Grand Prix, among others. He will also be remembered as a great writer, known to many for his years of work w

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  Shelby GT500KR Road Trip, Chapter IV: Death Valley Car Spy Photographers Are NOT Fooled By Manufacturer Plates

  It was the Wert-spotting by Jalopnik reader Nick outside the Shelby HQ gave us an idea for our run through Death Valley yesterday on our Shelby GT500KR Road Trip. Would the car spies spending the summer months in the Valley of non-Life find the GT500KR with manufacturer plates a compelling enough target to shoot — perhaps thinking it to be some kind of development mule? After a quick 150 mile jaunt through the Valley's 110-degree temperatures yesterday afternoon, we found the answer to be "No."

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Cadillac CTS-V Coupe: What To Expect From The Up-Powered Caddy Two-Door

  Cadillac plans to take the wraps off the production CTS Coupe at the LA Auto Show in November, less than a year after showing the bold concept version in Detroit. We're now also hearing we should expect an up-powered Cadillac CTS-V Coupe to bow at this January's Detroit Auto Show. Rather than make you wait until then, the gallery below shows off what we're expecting the all-new Coupe will look like with the added power and V-styling. Hit the jump for our full report. Last year at Detroit, in ad

  By The Auto Insider Read More
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  MG Plans Four Model Range Beyond TF, Future Of Longbridge "Assured"

  Shanghai Automotive plans to introduce four new MG models to the UK market starting next year. The company just relaunched production of the MG TF with a limited edition run of 500 vehicles, but its plans to bring MG to the USA have fallen through. All four models will be built at Longbridge, which is currently having its production capacity expanded with new staff and equipment to handle the task. Shanghai (which merged with Nanjing last year) claims this assures the future of the historically

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  Forget Those Newfangled Amazons And Race A Volvo 544!

  I'm falling dreadfully behind on the pro-quality racing photos sent in by VintageRacer, so we're going to follow up on the Alfa Romeo P3 with a pair of Volvo 544s that run at Pacific Northwest racing events. Amazing how the dowdy 544 suddenly becomes gorgeous with the subtraction of some ride height and the addition of racing wheels (and added horsepower). Yes, we know an Amazon sneaked into the gallery.

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Ten Gas-Saving Eco-Tips Everyone Should Know, And Ten Exceptions To The Rules For Real People

  Acknowledging that gas is more expensive than it used to be, and that some people are kinda freaked out by it, these 10 simple gas-saving tips have been shared by the folks at Ford as part of their push for "eco-driving." But while the tips are easy-to-follow for most people in everyday driving situations, some of us need to make exceptions. We've amended each of Ford's tips with some damn good reasons why you should ignore them. Hit the jump for more.

  By Mark Arnold Read More
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  2009 Hyundai Genesis Earns Five-Star NHTSA Crash Test Scores

  The new 2009 Hyundai Genesis has aced NHTSA's crash testing, scoring five stars in both frontal- and side-impact testing. The Korean automaker attributes its high scores to designing for the test the use of high-strength steel at critical points throughout the Genesis' body structure, coupled with electronic active head restraints and eight airbags. Keeping you from smashing the structure in the first place are four-wheel discs with ABS, along with stability control. Kudos, Hyundai: Good news, e

  By Andrew Stoy Read More
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  I'll Buy That For A Dollar! Craigslist Price Liars: Saints Or Slimeballs?

  We had quite the spirited discussion over Craigslist keyword spammers yesterday, and several commenters mentioned the all-too-common car-seller practice of listing a super-deal price in the title and a far higher one buried in the fine print. This is particularly troublesome for, say, someone searching for Project Car Hell entrants or- even more maddening- for potential 24 Hours Of LeMons cars. You'll see plenty of $1 vehicles on Craigslist, but it's pretty easy to avoid them by specifying a $50

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  2010 Ford Mustang Hood Uncovered, Reveal Expected In Build Montage Form

  With the 2010 Ford Mustang inching its way toward an official reveal, today we get a look at its very dramatic hood. Uncovered by the boys at Mustang Forums, the hood for the newest 'Stang looks to be getting a cowl induction-style power bulge as its dominating feature. It will, of course, be covering a variety of engines, including a new 5.0-liter V8, the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost and maybe even a turbo four-cylinder. With the updated prancing pony badge visiting us the other day, an

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  1970 Chrysler Newport

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. The "fuselage" early-70s Chrysler is pretty well represented in this series, with this '71 Newport and this '71 Newport Royal, but seeing yesterday's '70 Newport Royal ad made me decide to break out the photos of today's vast two-door luxury machine. The 1970-71 Chrysler C-body is actually one of my favorite Detroit body styles of all time (with the 1970 Ch

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  2009 Dodge Viper ACR Steals Nürburgring Record From Corvette ZR1, Laps In 7:22

  A 2009 Dodge Viper ACR has claimed the fastest time ever for a production car around the Nürburgring. The lap of 7:22 is just a few ticks quicker than the 7:26.4 lap set by the 2009 Corvette ZR1. It doesn't come as much of a surprise, since the ACR is the most brutal version of the already-unforgiving Viper, whereas the ZR1 actually drives well on the road. Nonetheless, the Viper ACR is the new unofficial king of the 'Ring. If you'd like to compare its on-board video of the record lap to the ZR1

  By Mark Arnold Read More
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  Going In-Depth With Ford's Twin-Turbocharged V6 EcoBoost Engine

  Today we made our way over to Ford's Beech Daly Technical Center, a nondescript building along the Dearborn side roads which houses what is, for lack of a better term, Ford's engine skunk works. Capable of doing everything from rapid-prototyped vinyl intakes to turning out fully functioning engines, the tech center is where all Ford's engines go to get the bugs worked out. Our mission was to get to know the 3.5-liter Ford EcoBoost on a nuts-and-bolts level by putting one together ourselves. We m

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  Hurst/Hemi Challenger Expected To Grind Gears At 2008 SEMA Show

  The old-school shifter gurus at Hurst are back in the custom vehicle business, choosing the 2009 Dodge Challenger as their latest canvas. The Hurst/Hemi Challenger is scheduled to make its debut at the 2008 SEMA show in Vegas, after which it's expected in dealerships during the first part of next year. A Hurst shifter is included, of course, along with branded wheels, requisite gold stripes and "H" logos. The rest of the package consists of mods in your choice of four different stages of tune, t

  By Andrew Stoy Read More
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  Commenter Of The Day: The Wonder Years Edition

  For those who grew up after the mid 1970s, the television show The Wonder Years was our best window into the turbulent period in American history between the Chicago Democratic Convention and the resignation of Richard Nixon. Even for those individuals uninterested or unversed in the history, the show captured most of the touchstones and common experiences of post-industrial American adolescence. Unfortunately, the show is unlikely to come out on DVD soon because of its extensive use of wonderfu

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  PCH, Outstanding In Its Field Edition: Triumph Stag Or Alfa Romeo Giulia Super?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! In yesterday's matchup, we saw the rear-wheel-drive hot-rod Corolla beat the front-wheel-drive hot-rod Corolla in the Choose Your Eternity poll. And that's great, only we got a bunch of static from readers who thought those two cars weren't punitive enough. Fine, we'll remedy that situation ASAP, with a couple of weapons-grade Hell Projects for you. The initial cost wo

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Secrets Of The 2009 Corvette ZR1: Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 Tires

  One of the most impressive things about the 2009 Corvette ZR1 is how much grip it has. Normally, sticking 638 HP into something that weighs just 3,350 LBS and driving only the rear wheels would result in massive amounts of wheel spin, both in a straight line and around corners. But in the ZR1, it doesn't — not without significant provocation. This is partly due to the whiz-bang magnetic damping system that adjusts itself near-instantaneously to keep the car level around corners and keep the tire

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  Volkswagen Caddy Topos Sail Design Concept, For When You Can't Take Out Your Dinghy

  Volkswagen is showing up in style to the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon with the Topos Caddy Sail Design Concept, a version of their Caddy commercial van converted to mimic the style and functionality of a sailboat. Rather than just adding some pinstripes and wood siding, the Topos Sail concept has a working wooden deck with aluminum rails. The deck bends to to make a convenient place to lay out and enjoy the sailing, but the most trick piece might actually be the wooden ladder built-into the glass th

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  Citroens And Fuegos Roam The Streets Of Portland

  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. We already know there's a Renault Caravelle still driving in Portland, Oregon, but there's plenty more French machinery to be found on the streets up there. Today we've got some photos from Craig, who works near a serious- yet garage-space-challenged- Citroën aficionado, and some more from Mike, who knows where to find a couple of Renault Fuegos in

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Craigslist Keyword Spammers: Really Helping You?

  Anyone who searches Craigslist for cars or (even worse) for car parts knows about keyword spam. The seller is trying to unload a beater 1985 Corolla, and he throws in the name of every car manufacturer he can think of, plus every year between 1960 and 2008, plus magic words like "turbo" and "gas saver" in the description. This means that you'll find that '85 Corolla ad when you search for a '64 Alfa Romeo or a 2006 BMW. Oh sure, you could specify a "Title Only" search, but many unclear-on-concep

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  The Ten Worst Non-Automotive Product Tie-Ins With Automotive Brands

  The Porsche-branded kitchen earlier this week reminded us that automotive marketing gurus like to use their considerable name equity to brand products having nothing to do with cars. While sometimes this can help increase brand identity with the masses, here's our list of the ten auto-branded products which decrease brand equity and dilute brand stature.

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  Lincoln MKT Spotted Testing In Hot Desert Sun

  Mercury rising into the 120-degree range wasn't enough to stop the KGP photographers from grabbing a series of up-close photos of the Lincoln MKT doing a bit of extreme weather testing under tire-melting conditions. As reported, the MKT will be getting EcoBoosted with a 3.5-liter V6 good for 340 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque. As you'll notice from the photos, the MKT has the glass roof and huge rump from the concept car. More details in the spy report below.

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  Chrysler May Sell Viper — The Brand

  Bob Nardelli, Chrysler’s Chairman and CEO, stated this morning that the company has "been approached by third parties who are interested in exploring future possibilities for Viper," according to Automotive News. Apparently, rather than just dropping Viper, Chrysler is now “exploring strategic options” for the Viper brand, meaning they’re trying to figure out how much money they can get for it. It's still unclear what any potential buyer would get: as we exclusively revealed in February, the com

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  1978 Chrysler Cordoba

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. It had to happen, sooner or later; somewhere on the island, a Cordoba was waiting- soft Corinthian leather and all- for my camera. Now that day has arrived, with this '78 located in the 1950s-vintage part of the island landfilled into the Bay. Generally, houses in such neighborhoods have garages, which means the DOTS pickings are much slimmer than those in

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Shelby GT500KR Road Trip, Chapter II: What's Your Favorite Beef Jerky?

  As one noted member of the auto press guild told me today, "you can't have a Mustang road trip without beef jerky." He's right. I went with the Carne Asade — what about you? Although I pulled over for the jerky, it was nice to give my ass a moment of relief from the pains of the road. The Shelby GT500KR's got a helluva lot of horsepower, but no padding's going to protect your rear for long in that car's seat. And I thought the Z06 was a pain in the rear. But, whatever, who cares? You don't buy t

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Shelby GT500KR Road Trip, Chapter I: Ready, Set, Buy A Whole Lot Of Crap And Go!

  Well, we're about to take off on our Shelby GT500KR Road Trip outside of Los Angeles and we decided we needed to stock up on supplies first. We've got what we're bringing for the trip below the jump. Let us know if we forgot anything. Remember, we need to make it through Death Valley — a place we've never been to, but Brenda Priddy says is a comfortable place to hang out — all the way to Vegas and then down through Phoenix to Dallas. Obviously we'll be stopping for food and sleep. Who do you thi

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Project Car Hell, Screamin' Corolla Edition: AE86 Or FX16?

  There was some grumbling over the choices in our last Choose Your Eternity challenge (which was won by the '77 Levis Edition AMC Hornet AMX by a healthy margin), ostensibly because they were too easy… but we know the real reason: being reminded of the Malaise Era brings up the uncomfortable parallels between the hard economic times then and those now. Of course, there are differences; sure, the current war is more expensive- in dollar terms- than was Vietnam, but inflation isn't the raging beast

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  GM Presents Its Top Ten Production Cars And Top Ten Concept Cars

  GM is celebrating it's centennial anniversary this year, and along with the planned hoopla, they've just come out with a list of their top ten production cars and top ten concept cars of the past hundred years. With such an enormous catalog of vehicles to choose from, both lists are open to massive debate, but for reasons of GMness, these are their 20 faves. It's interesting to note that the vast majority of the production choices occur in the first half of GM's 100 years, while the concepts are

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  British Company Offering Gold-Plated Roofs For Stately, Traditional Bling

  Proving that a fool and his money are soon parted, British company Alchemist is offering car owners a chance to get a custom, 24-carat gold leaf finish added to the ride of their choice. For just $20,000 they'll happily take posession of your Bentley, Aston Martin or Escalade and top it with a shimmering gold finish. Though the roofs are designed to protect the owner from having the gold-leaf picked off of their car, there's nothing we see that'll prevent someone from turning these newly guilded

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  Junkman Sells DB HBR-5 To Record-Breaking Bonneville Madmen

  The Land Speed Record for the Grand Touring Sports Car Under 750cc had stood at 80.143 MPH since 1991, and what better car to make a run at the record than a Deutsch Bonnet HBR-5? That's what Mark Brinker of Texas thought, and he knew where to find one: Junkman! You can get the details after the jump, but we can tell you right now that they annihilated the old record! Dearest D.B. Fans and Fanatics: It has been done! I have just returned from the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, where I set

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  1961 Dodge Lancer 770 In Denver May Be Obama's Personal Campaign Vehicle

  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. It's been a while since we've seen one of Denver's many cool street-parked cars, and what better place to look for one than right in the heart of the Democratic National Convention madness downtown? That's what Kitt thought, so she braved the protesters and riot-ready cops to shoot this '61 Lancer. Now, we can't say for sure, but speculation (well,

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  Vehicle Sales In China Down 18% In July

  China Car Times is reporting that vehicle sales in China were off 18% in July, compared to June. Big winners were General Motors' Chinese partner, Shanghai GM, and Volkswagen's FAW VW, along with home-market automaker Guangzhou. All other manufacturers, including Beijing Hyundai, Chery Auto and the Dongfeng-PSA Peugeot-Citroen alliance were off by as much as 50%. Given that China is supposedly the world's biggest emerging market, with many automakers counting on Chinese growth for continued prof

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  2009 Honda Fit Going On Sale Today, A Month Earlier Than Expected

  Automotive News reports that the 2009 Honda Fit is scheduled to start arriving in showrooms as you read this, more than a month earlier than the planned October 1 arrival. Why the rush? Fit sales are up more than 70% this year in light of high gas prices and positive press; Honda has done everything possible to increase production, but dealers were still going to be sold out of Fits for most of September. Rather than lose sales, Honda sped up its product plans, getting the new Fit to market seve

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  1971 Volvo 142S

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. In all this time, we've had just one Volvo 140 in this series (though this Volvo 164 is pretty much the same car). Given that the East Bay has been a Volvo epicenter for many decades now, what's up with that? Today we're going to add another, this one a sporty coupe with a lot of travel to its credit.

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  Mazda Kazamai Brings "Sustainable Zoom-Zoom" To Moscow Auto Salon

  We've showed you first shots of the Mazda Kazamai Concept, but here's more of the "Swirling Crosswinds" vehicle Mazda is showing off at this year's Moscow Auto Salon. Mazda revealed the concept crossover to give the Russian market — one of the few in which SUVs are rapidly growing in popularity — a look at where the company plans to take its next-generation crossovers. The Kazamai blends Mazda's Nagare design language in a small sport-ute just a tad bit larger than today's Mazda3, making it sort

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  Fast And Furious 4 Trailer: Grand National, RS200 With Vin Diesely Goodness

  The latest edition of Fast and Furious finally gets a real live trailer to go along with the production stills, and after a watch, it's actually not too bad. The Buick Grand National which sent our hearts aflutter before is now involved in the hijacking of a gasoline land train in the Dominican Republic worth $1.4 million — and carrying a driver not interested in seeing it go. Not only do we see the GN in action, but we get a preview of oh so many other models to join in the mayhem.Along with th

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  2009 Toyota Yaris Pricing Released; Take That, Geo Metro

  Pricing details have been released for the range of 2009 Toyota Yaris models, and the results show a mixed bag. The addition of the five-door model for 2009 has forced a shakeup in the pricing structure in order to accommodate the new model. The hat-shaped Yaris three-door gets a $655 bump up to $12,205, while the sedan drops from 13,965 to 12,965. The S Sedan goes up to $15,880 from $15,825; that leaves the new Yaris five-door model in between the sedan and the S sedan at $13,305. Options, of c

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  Daihatsu MOVE Conte Revealed..."Conte" Must Mean "Box"

  When Daihatsu announced the latest iteration of their MOVE Kei car, we were pleased to see they chose a car that sounded like a part of the female anatomy, thus allowing us to expand our Ten Worst Car Names list. This particular four-door minicar gets either a normally aspirated three-cylinder mill good for 58 horsepower or a small turbocharged three-banger that puts out an earth-moving 63 horsepower. Available in either 2WD or AWD, the little one can achieve a maximum US cycle fuel economy rati

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  T. Boone Pickens Has Secondary Motivation For Wind Farm Push: The Ogallala Aquifer

  We've been wondering to ourselves over the last month or so, why has oil-baron-turned-environmentalist T. Boone Pickens been pimping his wind farm idea so hard, even including direct ads to the US public? It's just a bunch of big-ass windmills after all; it's not like rocket science. It had to be, we thought, that he wanted tax breaks or green incentives to help defray the cost. Well, that may be the case, but a second, less-publicized motivation has emerged other than getting us off of foreign

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  Scout II Down On The Copenhagen Street, With Bonus Saab 96

  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. Of all the vehicles you expect to see parked on the street in Copenhagen, a late-70s IHC Scout II is probably way down near the bottom of the list. Yet Kim of Copenhagen has spotted this '78 or '79 Scout II on Oehlenschlægergade Street. As an added bonus, we get one of the meanest-looking Saab 96 survivors in the world. Jump away to see all the pho

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  The Ten Most Gorgeous Japanese Cars Currently For Sale

  They said it couldn't be done. They said compiling a list of ten gorgeous Japanese cars currently for sale was a fool's errand. What they didn't know was that in Japan the cars aren't designed to be as purposeful and uncharismatic as many of their American offerings. In fact, half of the cars on the list are not sold in the United States. And while no cars from the land of the rising sun made it onto our Ten Most Beautiful Cars list, it was easier than we thought to find these ten most gorgeous

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  Exclusive: First Photo Of Detroit's New Muscle Car Threesome!

  Here it is fan-boys, this is a photo we've waited patiently to see for what seems like an eternity. This photo of the threesome of new muscle cars from Detroit is the first time the 2010 Chevy Camaro RS, a 2009 Ford Mustang CS and a 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 have all been captured in the same photo. Yes, we traveled a great distance, risked a great deal and received quite a mouthful from one snarling PR person in order to bring you this first shot of the trio. Although well worth it, at least

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  Advocates Want To Grill And Drive With Propane Power

  A cleaner-burning fuel than unleaded with an average price of under $3 per gallon, propane is an appealing alternative fuel, despite its lower energy content when compared to gasoline. Brian Feehan, VP of the Propane Education and Research Council, is aiming to have 10 percent of "select auto fleets" running on propane by 2017. That sounds like a lazy goal to us, as there are already about 11 million propane-fueled vehicles on the world's roads today. The technology is ready, but what is holding

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  Twingo Renault Sport Pocket Rocket, Now With 133 HP And Awesome Pedals

  The latest sporty Renault to hatch is the Twingo Renault Sport. The newest Twingo RS gets a whopping 33 HP boost from the most potent Twingo RS of yore, up to 133 HP and 117 lb-ft of torque from its 1.6 liter, 16-valve four. Combined with a 60mm wider track, 10mm lower stance, a set of stiffer springs and some bigger tires, it'll scoot to 62 MPH in 8.7 seconds and probably makes a pretty good dance partner at an autocross. Inside, the Twingo RS gets some style upgrades, but we're in love with th

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  The Top 24 Lemons Of The 24 Hours Of LeMons New England

  Once again it's time to see how the teams fared at what race organizers call "The Ultimate Test Of Not-So-Bright Man And Shockingly Crappy Machine." Because this was the 24 Hours Of LeMons' first venture into the Northeast, there weren't as many cars as we've seen at previous events; that means we can show you all the finishers! When you're done here, be sure to check out the top finishers at LeMons SF October '07, LeMons Arse-Freeze-A-Pa-Looza December '07, LeMons SF May '08, and LeMons South J

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  Mysterious 2011 Cadillac Sedan To Offer Four-Cylinder Engine

  Automotive News is reporting that Cadillac is considering a small rear-wheel-drive sedan powered by a four-cylinder engine for the American market. The car could tentatively arrive in mid-2010 as a 2011 model, but the idea of a little gas-sipper Caddy has at least one high-ranking detractor standing in the way: Jim Taylor, Cadillac General Manager. Taylor reportedly said, "There is a big debate as to whether it is four [cylinders] only. I think that is a bridge too far." In fact, Taylor seems to

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  1946 Chevrolet Pickup Truck

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Most of the vehicles we've seen in this series come from the 1960s and 1970s, but Alameda still has a few 1940s machines roaming its streets (including another Chevy truck of the same era as today's). Here's a work truck I've been seeing around town for decades; it's possible that this Chevy has lived on the island since Harry S Truman- or even Franklin D.

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  Ford Reveals 2009 Super Duty Cabela's FX4 For "Hook And Bullet" Crowd, "Big Hog Daddy" Harley-Davidson Edition F-450 For Leather And Chaps Crowd

  It seems, along with an array of new stuff for the Ford Super Duty truck series, there will be a new special edition specifically designed for the urban outdoorsman: The 2009 Ford Super Duty Cabela's Edition FX4. But what's so special about it? Two-tone paint, Cabela's embroidery on the seats, and extra storage under the rear seats "perfect for keeping equipment secure and out of sight." That extra storage is great to, you know, thwart all those thieves out in the wilderness. But what about that

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  And The Winner Is... The Team Endurance Karting Mazda Miata!

  I recall seeing a lot of Mazda ads at the Monterey Historics, thumping their chests about their racing prowess… but not a single mention of the 24 Hours of LeMons anywhere, in spite of the fact that Mazdas have now won three of the last four events (Protege, RX-7) and always contend. If Mazda's marketers had half the smarts of their engineers, they'd run a global advertising campaign centered on cars like the Endurance Karting Miata, which hung on for the win in New England today. Maybe a slogan

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  The Grille Of Damocles Awaits LeMons Tailgaters

  If you're one of those drivers who likes to bump other cars at the 24 Hours of LeMons- hey, those slow bastids are in your way, right?- you might well find the Grille Of Damocles menacing your radiator. The much-feared Grille is a Volvo unit fitted with long rods, attached to your front bumper in such a way as to guarantee a ventilated radiator in the event of even minor contact with the bumper of the car in front of you. While the Honda CRX is generally considered too fragile to throw its weigh

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  Vlad The Impala Rises From The Dead Last Night... Then Dives Back Into The Grave Today

  First the good news: after we reported that Team Vlad The Impala was facing a frenzied all-nighter to repair their garbooned transmission, the team's wrenches proved to be made of sterner stuff; here's what VTI member Drumhurrin has to say: By the way, they got that thing out, apart, back to together and back in within three hours. All nighter? Pshaw! However, once back together, we didn’t realize we had cracked the oil cooler. Doh! One more time, one more quick fix. Then back on the track! Quit

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  Yes, That's A Subaru Outback On The Track!

  Can you get a running Subaru Outback for under 500 bucks? Having a team full of accountants means that you can do some Enron-style bookkeeping and put a smile on the LeMons Supreme Court Justices' faces with your very convincing documentation (however good that theory seemed, it didn't quite work out quite that way in practice). UDMan talked to the Bean Counters Racing team; jump away to read their story. Just wanted to highlight a couple of teams. 1st comes team 8, the Bean Counters Racing, in

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  People's Curse Fails To Kill Diesel Benz, Once-Angry Mob Has Change Of Heart

  We've seen some 24 Hours of LeMons People's Curses that destroy cars with extreme prejudice (say, the Salazar Racing BMW, or the Mazdasaurus Wrecks), but this time things went a bit differently. A sloth-like Benz diesel clogged up the track all day yesterday and the voice of the mob- no doubt channeling their witch-burning New England forebears- screamed for the sight of thrown rods and broken German iron. "Kill the engine! Kill the engine!" they howled, eager to slaughter the once-proud luxury

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  Vlad The Impala Goes Down With Garbooned Transmission, Camry Parked For Rest Of Day

  We were pretty excited to see that a front-wheel-drive Chevy Impala, of all things, was breathing down the necks of the Top Five… but now comes the word that a blown transmission seal is spraying the red stuff where it doesn't belong, and so Vlad The Impala begins what promises to be an all-night wrenchathon. Meanwhile, for perhaps the first time in recorded history, the words "aggressive" and "Camry" may be used in the same sentence. Yes, the Team Elemonators got a little too spirited out there

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  Diesel-Powered Mitsubishi Racing Lancer Fulfills Every Post-Apocalypse Fantasy Ever, Has 480 Lb-Ft Of Torque

  Some of us spent a large portion of our youth preparing for the coming apocalypse. No, not in the creepy “our mom was Sarah Connor” sense, but in the totally normal and respectable type of advanced weapons and survival training that everyone does when they’re 12, right? Understandably this has created a significantly high level of anticipation for the inevitable alien invasion / nuclear winter / ape takeover. And now, we’ve found the perfect survival vehicle. It’s the Mitsubishi Racing Lancer eq

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  Project Car Hell, Malaise Special Editions: Hang 10 Dart Or Levi's Edition AMX?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Italy held on to its PCH Superpower crown in our last Choose Your Eternity poll, with the Alfa Romeo Duetto taking a 53-47 victory over the British contestant. After admiring the lovely surfboard-friendly Hang Ten Dodge Dart in yesterday's Moment of Zen, we had no choice today but to pit a basket case totally restorable Hang Ten against an equally awesome Malaise Era S

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  $55,000 "Projekt1" BMW 135i Takes Gold In Dealer-Installed Optioning

  If Classic BMW of Plano, Texas endeavored to build the most optioned BMW 135i ever, we think they were successful with this tii lookalike. We were only able to up-option a 1-series to $52,550 but the clever mechanics at Classic are just better at this than we are. Starting with an already loaded 1-series with an MSRP of $42,900, the Texas tinkerers successfully added $12,372.42 in a "Performance Package" consisting of more carbon fiber and custom paint than we knew existed. It's expensive, but a

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  2010 Toyota Sienna Spotted Testing In Desert, Not A Soccer Game In Sight

  According to KGP, this is a prototype of the 2010 Toyota Sienna. We're actually really thankful for this information, because we don't know much about the Sienna except that it's Toyota's long-running entry in the minivan market and that it's scheduled to be replaced with an equally unexciting but slightly different model. Actually, we'll just let you read KGP's analysis for the full story on the upcoming people-hauler. Hit the jump for the full story.

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  Bugatti Veyron Replacement Coming In 2012, Plans For Entry-Level Model Scrapped

  If the current Bugatti Veyron and its 1001 HP quad-turbo W16 just aren't doing it for you anymore, fear not, for Bugatti may be developing a high-end successor, and canning plans for a more-affordable model. In addition to an even more extreme version of the current hypercar, known to some as the "Veyron GT," which will come at the end of the Veyron's production run, a second saloon model may be launched to rival Rolls-Royce. In a recent interview Autocar had with Franz-Josef Paefgen, the Bugatt

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  Lord Humungus Special Confounds Floridians, Was Once Isuzu Truck

  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. Biminitwist was out and about in Orlando, Florida, when he encountered this innovative propane-powered machine counting the minutes until the collapse of the rotting edifice of so-called civilization. It's based on an Isuzu 4WD truck, and the builder is clearly the sort of person who doesn't let the lack of a tubing bender stop him from making a cu

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  ABT Sportsline Tunes Audi Q5, Thinks SUV Means "Particularly Sporty"-UV

  ABT, let's talk. Listen, we've been friends for a while now and you often build amazingly badass modified Audis. But the ABT Audi Q5 is just too much. We opened up your email today showing off the modified Audi Q5 along with a press release, and it took us a moment to overcome the 'Are they serious?' moment we had. We know you like flamboyant front and rear fascia changes and big gaudy wheels, but isn't this a bit much? Seriously, no quantity of engine, brake and suspension upgrading is going to

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  Ten Worst Cars To Take On A Blind Date

  Your hair's properly coiffed, best threads are doffed and there's a reservation at the hottest spot in town with your name on it. After all that hard work it would be a shame to drive up to your date's house in a vehicle so terrifying she's either faked an illness or called the police. For those in the dating game and prone to driving unique vehicles, we present this helpful list of ten cars guaranteed to scare away a blind date before the date even begins. You know, as a public service announ

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  My Aston Martin Lagonda

  Well, it wasn't exactly mine, but this white Aston Martin Lagonda haunted me for the two years I lived in Chicago. Living in the Yuppie Lake View neighborhood, the most interesting car I'd usually see was a Canadian Civic, which made the sight of this bright white English saloon amidst the Jettas and Pilots so memorable. The first time I saw it, I stood and marveled at it for longer than I can remember, taking in the unusual proportions of William Towns' "folded paper" design. I was determined t

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  Intellichoice August Deals List Shows Toyota Corolla, Yaris Offering Cash Back

  Just how bad is the US vehicle market? Pretty bad when Intellichoice reports the relatively fuel-sipping Toyota Corolla and Yaris are selling with cash on the hood. Intellichoice, in a release accompanying their August Best Deals of the Month even goes so far as to say that "A Best Deals winner may be obsolete in 2010 due to the collapsing market." Ouch, and so long, Nissan Armada. Aside from Corolla and Yaris, this month's list includes the Chevy Silverado, Lexus GX, the aformentioned Nissan Ar

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  1985 Mazda RX-7

  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 had a real Mazda shortage around these parts, probably because the early rotaries tended to blow out the apex seals and/or suck gas and thus didn't weather the decades quite as well as their piston-engine competition. There's been an '81 RX-7 (plus one non-Wankel '82 Mazda) and that's been it until today. I've decided to go deeper into the 80s to enab

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  Chevrolet Cruze Gets Live Body-In-Foam Reveal At GM Plant

  At a news conference announcing GM's Lordstown, OH plant will receive a hot $350 million cash injection to build the new Chevrolet Cruze in the United States, GM CEO Rick Wagoner revealed a full-size foam model of the new 2011 compact replacement to the Chevy Cobalt. As we reported yesterday, the new Chevy Cruze will be revealed officially at the Paris Motor Show (so we can see that brand-spankin' new interior in person) and is scheduled to go on sale in March 2009 in Europe, where it will be av

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  Commenter Of The Day: Blame Canada Edition

  The song "Blame Canada" from the South Park movie was nominated for an Oscar. And even though the Best Picture nod for Crash and many, many other slights makes us doubt the power of the Academy, it is still an impressive feat for an animated film that doesn't have talking fish in it. Then Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, who we once shared an elevator with, enjoyed the song and even Anne Murray, who is called a "bitch" in the song, would have sung it for the Oscar telecast if she didn't hav

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  Peugeot MoVille Concept Takes Teardrop Styling To New Level

  It looks like something you'd expect to see at the Tokyo Auto Show, but this Peugeot MoVille concept rendering is actually Woo-Ram Lee's entry in a design contest put on by Peugeot. The competition pits designers from all over the world against each other, with the winner having his or her car (or whatever you want to call it) built in full-scale form. Last year's winner, the Flux, is now even available as a download to drive around in Project Gotham Racing 4. As for this MoVille, we're not so s

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  Two Driveshafts, Two Engine Blocks, Kicked Hitler's Ass: 1934 Alfa Romeo P3

  VintageRacer continues to send us great photos of beautiful cars, and today we're going to check out a car that beat the mightiest of Nazi Germany's Mercedes-Benzes and Auto Unions at the Nürburgring in 1935. Sure, a car from Mussolini's Italy beating the Germans wasn't quite as inspiring as, say, Jesse Owens beating them at the '36 Olympics, but the P3 is still quite the machine. Make the jump to see the whole gallery and read VintageRacer's observations. One of the great things about vintage

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  Harlan Charles Shows Us The C4 Corvette ZR1 Active Suspension Prototype

  To show off the history behind the 2009 Corvette ZR1 during our first drive at Milford, GM brought out some C4 ZR-1 'Vettes. The most interesting one was this 1990 prototype adorned in vents and scoops. Corvette commander Harlan Charles says this was a testbed for a complicated and heavy active suspension system that used hydraulics to lean the big black 'Vette into turns. Obviously, with the magnetic ride control system of today, this is an obsolete setup, but interesting nonetheless.

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  Drunk, High, Naked Driver Crashes Into Parked Car While Masturbating... But Wait, There's More!

  Canadian James Boppre, former owner of a successful landscaping business, was on parole with house arrest on condition of sobriety after drunk driving and weapons convictions. On the evening of July 30th, Boppre fell off the wagon in a serious way. It started out with booze and ended with Boppre crashing into a parked car, speeding, drunk, high on crack, and masturbating naked with a similarly nude hooker, who was also masturbating. Yeah, Brendon Alan Erhardt has nothing on this guy...except a

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  Audi RS5 Caught Getting Hot In The California Desert

  Audi's engineers did a fairly poor job of concealing the Audi RS5, the much-anticipated super-super GT from Audi, from the KGP photographers patrolling the California desert. The revised and menacing front bumper, silver side mirrors and lack of fog lamps is a fairly sure giveaway that this is the supremely sporty version of the A5. The question is, what can't we see? Is it the reported 4.2-Liter V8 out of the Audi RS4 beneath that sexy hood or is the twin-turbo V10 out of the wicked Audi RS6 mo

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  WIll Cars Ever Get Lighter?

  It's no surprise that most new cars weigh more than their predecessors. The addition of new technology, nanny-state safety equipment, entertainment systems and a desire for more legroom have led to some seriously leaden vehicles. On the other hand, new materials like carbon fiber and new technologies have worked to lighten cars. But, given that every car seems to need a five trillion gigabyte hard drive, 60-inch nav screen, 40 air bags and tinted glass on every window, will feature bloat be over

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  Drive The 2009 Audi A4 For Free... On Your iPhone

  The Audi A4 Challenge may sound like an exciting spec-racing series, alas, it's only a free iPhone game allowing you to tilt a 2009 A4 through virtual tracks using the iPhone's accelerometer. No screen shots yet, but the game should be available now online at the iPhone application store and in Audi dealerships next month. Unfortunately, there's no multiplayer mode, and you can't even race against any AI opponents. How boring. What would really get us excited is if they make an Audi R8 or Audi R

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  GM Employee Pricing Slashes Sticker Of 505 HP 2008 Corvette Z06 By $10,000!

  GM's recent decision to re-offer employee pricing on all new vehicles brings the 505 HP Corvette Z06 down to an astonishing base price of $62,653. Normally, these type of incentives don't include high horsepower and halo cars, but according to the boys at Kicking Tires, GM will include both the 2008 Corvette and the Chevy's up-powered big brother, the 2008 Corvette Z06, in their current deal. No matter how glowing of a review Wes gave it, with that heavy of a discount you'll maybe want to think

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  BMW North America Releases 2009 Model Lineup Prices

  BMW has just revealed the MSRP for the entire 2009 North American model lineup (except the new 7-series), along with new option package details and pricing. At the low end, a new 128i Coupe comes in at the comparatively bargain-basement price of $29,200; on the high side, a new M6 Convertible will set you back a healthy $107,500. As far as options, it looks like a heated steering wheel is going to become part of most cold weather packages, and Active Steering will no longer be available on 128i

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  1969 Chevrolet Camaro

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Can you believe, with all the first-generation Camaros built, that we're on the 327th Alameda DOTS car and we're seeing our very first one? Are they just too valuable to be allowed on the street? Or did they all go out in blazes of hoonic glory back in the day? If either is true, why do we see so many early Mustangs still on the street? Note: Yes, I was off

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  Chevy Cruze Gets Full Detail Reveal Before Paris Unveil

  GM just dropped high resolution images of the upcoming Chevy Cruze small four-door on us in advance of its Paris Motor Show unveil later this year. At first glance, we're quite impressed. The new car gets a striking design which mixes smooth planes and sharp lines for a surprisingly handsome design. Oddly, the tail lights on the Cruze mimic the camouflage-ensconced headlights on the upcoming Chevy Equinox while also receiving the new bold front end from the Chevy Malibu. If this is the direction

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  Commenter Of The Day: Porky's Edition

  It seemed like one of those days in Chicago where it threatened rain all day but not a drop actually hit the pavement. Alone for the weekend I thought I'd head to the local bar, grab a beer and watch the game. Just in case the game got rained out I brought a book along. A short block away from the bar the first wet gust of wind hit me and nearly made off with my umbrella. Soaked, disheveled and a little peeved I grabbed a seat at the bar. The game was quickly postponed for rain so I got out my b

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  PCH, Bad Things Like You Done In Weed Edition: Triumph TR3A Or Alfa Romeo Duetto?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! In yet another PCH Superpower Showdown, Italy triumphs over Britain with the Fiat X1/9 beating the MGB-GT in the Index of Effluency Edition poll. That means Fiat has the honor of displaying the PCH Superpower trophy today (better put a drip pan underneath it, and keep the kitty litter handy)… but the Italians will have to give it back to the British tomorrow if they do

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  WillieRun 2008: Coast-To-Coast Trip To Promote BioWillie Diesel Fuel

  Reader Nik writes us about an adventure of sorts he's planning to undertake: He and an associate will be driving across the country, non-stop from Manhattan to LA on one tank of BioWillie biodiesel. BioWillie, in case you aren't aware, is Willie Nelson's premium brand of biofuel. The trip is intended to raise awareness of the product and promote the benefits of biodiesel over more buzz-generating alternatives like hybrids. They intend to set off September 22 in a 2006 Jetta TDI equipped with a s

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  Ten Most Beautiful Cars Currently For Sale

  For prospective consumers looking to purchase a car as more than mere transportation, we decided it was time for the Jalopnik commentariat to put the ten most beautiful cars in the world currently for sale on a pedestal. We've done the ugliest cars at home and abroad, now it's time to soothe your eyes with images of cars that'll evoke your inner dragon. To be considered truly beautiful, we decided a vehicle must transcend gimmicks and needless ornamentation to achieve an economy of design, esc

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  Katech Corvette Z06 Clubsport Priced Like ZR1, Missing 126 HP

  Chop 265 pounds off of a Corvette Z06, add lighter brakes and wheels, some carbon fiber bits and a new hood, then charge $109,000 for the lot of it. Sounds like a tall proposition in the face of the recently reviewed Corvette ZR1, but that's not stopping tuner Katech Performance from doing it. Touted as a "Superleggera" version of the Z06, the Corvette Z06 Clubsport draws a bead on weight reduction and suspension improvements. We can't speak to the results, but we can say they're going to have a

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  International Harvester Dump Truck Makes Its Home In Texas Gulch

  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. This one isn't really on a street, but TexanIdiot25's photographs were so beautiful that I'm rewriting the DOTSBE rulebook. Looks like this IHC has been sitting for many years after somehow going down an inaccessible slope in Austin's Green Belt. Make the jump to see all the photos and read TexanIdiot's description. I'm chillin' in Austin this wee

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  1,000 HP Ford GT: In Case The ZR1 Seems A Little Underpowered

  It now takes two hands to count the number of production supercars making over 600 HP, which means it’ll take at least 400 more HP to guarantee permanent one-upmanship against the Joneses. That's where this eBay find comes in. Sure, the starting price of $229,500 is a bit steep for a Ford GT, but you’ll be bidding on a car equipped with the best interior of any vehicle yet this decade. Oh, and there’s the Hennessey twin-turbo conversion that nets “1000+” HP and 865 lb-ft of twist. All that power

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  2010 Audi R8 Spyder Speculatively Drops Its Rendered Top

  Given the R8's brother-from-another-mother, the Lamborghini Gallardo, has been in drop-top form since 2006 it should come as no surprise we'd be seeing an Audi R8 Spyder at some point. Contrary to earlier reports, the R8 will not be a targa with a lift-off roof, but a genuine soft top convertible utilizing a similar, if not the same, stowage and roof design as the Gallardo Spyder. Hit the jump for our rendering of what the new 2010 Audi R8 Spyder may look like.

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  What Defines A Bad Driver?

  That Audi R8 in a canal is just another reminder the SLR Guy is not alone when it comes to bad driving. We all probably know at least one bad driver. But who is the worst? And how do you define a "bad" driver? The number of traffic violations? The number of accidents? Inability to control a vehicle? Personally, we think that inattentiveness deserves a place high on the list. One of the worst drivers we've ever known had a bad habit of eating, smoking, talking on a cell phone and fidgeting with t

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  Automatics Closing Fuel Economy Gap On Manuals; Engines, Electronics Lending A Hand

  In a stringer piece for the Detroit News, Rex Roy makes the observation that automatic transmissions are finally beginning to catch up to stick shifts in fuel economy. While we say "it's about damn time," considering automatics make up more than 90% of the US new vehicle market, we simultaneously lament that same fact. Also, we think photog-cum-journo Roy misses out on an important component of the improvement: The interface between engine and transmission and the technologies that make the enti

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  1971 Datsun 510

  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 check out one of my all-time favorite Japanese cars, the one that started the whole hot-rodded Japanese machinery thing here in the US of A: Datsun 510! Sometimes I get asked whether irate car owners come running after me with a shotgun when they see me shooting their cars, but my experience with this Datsun was more typical; the owner

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  Peugeot Reveals Teaser Shots Of "RC..." GT Hybrid Concept For Paris

  Peugeot promises to reveal the full name of its "RC..." concept car at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, along with a few more details about the just-announced concept. So what do we know? It's designed to be a technical showcase, a hybrid with 313 HP (though it's unknown if that's combined IC and electric), and it looks vaguely like a Dodge Intrepid, sporting 4 doors and, according to the company, 4 seats. There even appears to be a Maxima-like longitudinal moonroof. And, in an ominous sign for the de

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  Commenter Of The Day: Drinking Songs Edition

  Before records, radios and iPods, those who didn't have access to sheet music had to get their tunes by hearing them live. This meant that the number of songs available were generally limited, and many ditties were recycled numerous times with different lyrics. As such, many tunes originally started out as drinking songs. For example, a Swedish drinking tune apparently begat a British sea shanty which begat "John Brown's Body," which we now know as "The Battle Of Hymn Of The Republic." Our very

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  PCH, Index Of Effluency Edition: MGB-GT Or Fiat X1/9?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Last time we simultaneously crushed and seared our fingers in the red-hot vise of the Hell Garage, the Shelby-ized Dodge Omni beat hell out of the Shelby-ized Dodge Shadow in the poll. Today, with the New England 24 Hours of LeMons race coming up in just a few days, we're thinking about the kind of car it takes to win the most prestigious trophy of the event. No, that'

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  GM Offering 12-Month, 12,000-Mile Bumper-To-Bumper Warranty On Certified Used Cars

  General Motors is offering a transferable bumper-to-bumper warranty with zero deductible on all of the company's 60,000+ Certified Used Vehicles for one year or 12,000 miles, on top of their 100,000, five-year limited powertrain warranty. This offer is valid for anyone looking to get a Chevy, GMC, Buick, Saturn or Pontiac. The program doesn't extend to Hummer, Cadillac or Saab, each of whom offer a comprehensive used-car warranty program that is almost better than the new Saab warranty. Sounds l

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  2009 Honda Civic And 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid Officially Revealed

  After those excitingly rendered 2009 Honda Civic scans surfaced yesterday, Honda apparently decided throw some water on the party and debut the real deal today with official press images and information. The 2009 Honda Civic and Civic Hybrid have indeed been updated, but are considerably less exciting than we were hoping for. It took us a bit to figure out what changed between '08 and '09, but from the appearance side of things, the most dramatic difference is the lower bumper — it gets a set of

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  Aussie Woman Jailed Over Belief In 'God-Given Right To Drive'

  Losalini Rainima (not pictured), a Fiji-born woman living in Australia, is part of an organization called Unified Peoples' Movement Against Road Tolls (UPMART), which believes all laws should be biblically based; those which are not don't have to be obeyed. Rainima was arrested for driving without a license in 2007, normally a offense punished by parole, and has been in jail for the last 10 months as she's refused to sign any manner of plea for parole. You see, signing anything admitting guilt w

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  2009 Volkswagen CC Priced Under $27,000, First Special Model Released

  As we marveled at the 2009 Volkswagen CC running around Monterey, the folks at VW revealed that the sleek four-door coupe will be priced below $27,000 when it goes on sale in the fourth quarter of this year. The announcement was made at the Pebble Beach Concours, making it less than 100th the cost of the Veyron 164 Grand Sport — at least before you start adding options. The company also revealed a special "Gold Coast" edition of the CC, which includes the usual exterior and interior upgrades and

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  Saturn Aura Redline Preview: Opel Insignia OPC Testing At Nürburgring

  Judging from these shots taken by KGP at the Nürburgring, GM is already working up a high-performance version of the new Opel Insignia. Suspected to be powered by a twin-turbo version of the 2.8-liter V6 found in the standard Insignia, the added boost should up output to at least 300 HP. In Britain, the car will likely be called the Vauxhall Insignia VXR, but the rest of Europe will know it as the Opel Insignia OPC. There's no official word on plans to bring the car stateside as a Saturn Aura Re

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  U Of M Survey Contradicts Others, Claims Fewer Buyers Satisfied With Detroit Automakers

  This year's American Customer Satisfaction Index, a study put together by the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, shows that the home state's automakers are losing ground in customer satisfaction to European and Japanese manufacturers. The report shows brands like Buick, Cadillac and Lincoln-Mercury dropping compared to Honda and Lexus — directly contradicting Consumer Reports and JD Power surveys that show American cars on the rise. Though Saturn posted the biggest gain in satisfa

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  Three Photographers, Three Cars: Welcome To Syracuse!

  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. We thought the Three Photographers One City idea worked pretty well in Denver, so now we're going to try it with the Central New York city of Syracuse. BZR, UDMan, and Backstept have captured three miraculously non-oxidized survivors for us; make the jump to see all the photos and read the photographers' descriptions. First up is this Firebird, w

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  Ecurie Ecrappe Alfa Makes Big Splash At Concorso Italiano, Some Shiny Cars Also Show Up

  An Italian car with a glorious racing history should be given the red-carpet treatment at the Concorso Italiano, so you figure the Ecurie Ecrappe 1971 Alfa Romeo Spider should be a slam-dunk Best Of Show winner. Sadly, such was not the case, in spite of the car's great performance at many 24 Hours of LeMons races (when everything works, it's one of the fastest things on the track). Ecrappe member TheEastBayKid shot us a bunch of photos of the event; make the jump for the big gallery and EBK's de

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  Eco-Driving Promoted By Automakers, Governator

  The Detroit News reports on a truce between the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an automaker trade group, and two advocates of more-stringent vehicle emissions regulations, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter. After a series of public battles over stiffening regulations, including a May meeting where Schwarzenegger told auto executives to "stop whining" and meet new standards that should have gone into effect in 2002, the parties have all decided that a cons

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  What's The Most Attractive-Looking Car Currently On Sale?

  Though we've focused lately on the unattractive and just plain ugly, we're still enamored with beautiful cars. Whether it's a Mazda Cosmo 110s at the Monterey Historics or a classic T-bird at the Woodward Dream Cruise, we love the craftsmanship that goes into an attractive automotive design. But those are the classics? Are automakers rewarding our affection now? Let's find out by asking you what's the most attractive-looking car currently on sale? The Italians make a good case with their sharp A

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  Reasons For Buying A Hybrid: The Good, The Bad And The Moronic

  Leave it to The Car Connection's Marty Padgett to dream up a list including seven good reasons for buying a hybrid — we were surprised to see that many. Being professional cynics, we're far more interested in, and familiar with, the six bad reasons he detailed in a piece for PR Newswire. But with the super-exciting hybrid wars on the way at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, we suppose it's about time to bone up on the rationale for hooking up with the hybrid clan. Brief summaries of the points after t

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  Report: Tesla To Build SUV Off "Model S" Platform

  We've told you about the planned Tesla Model S , an aluminum-intensive four-door electric sedan. Now Autocar reports the Model S isn't just a single vehicle, but actually a platform expected to yield a variety of different cars and even an SUV. Aside from the use of aluminum instead of the Tesla Roadster's carbon fiber, a new, flatter battery pack mounted at the base of the chassis is said to provide the flexibility needed for a comprehensive vehicle family. Now the question becomes, "when are w

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  Detroit Auto Show Continues To Dominate, Snags New Toyota Prius And Lexus Hybrid Debuts

  The Detroit News is reporting group vice president and general manager for Toyota of the Americas, Bob Carter, has confirmed the 2010 Toyota Prius will be debuting at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show and will be joined by a uniquely styled and appointed version for Lexus. The Prius was set to move upmarket relative to its former iterations, but with a Lexus version now on the way, Toyota's own marketplace may be getting crowded. But the bigger story is how this news makes things far more interesting f

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  1985 Cadillac Cimarron

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. With all the cool cars and trucks we've seen in this series, it may come as a shock to some that the first-ever DOTS car- that is, the first use of "Down On The Street" as the name- was this Cadillac Cimarron d'Oro, shot with a seriously crappy cellphone camera. Since that time, I've been packing better photographic hardware and keeping an eye open for anot

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  Suburban Dallas Homeowners Association Won't Allow F-150 In Driveway, Welcomes Chevy Avalanche

  A homeowners association in the wealthy Dallas, Texas suburb of Frisco has been sending resident Jim Greenwood threatening letters due to his insistence on parking his new Ford F-150 truck in his driveway. The gated community of Stonebriar, where Greenwood lives, doesn't allow trucks, RV's, golf carts, trailers and other undesirable vehicles parked in front of houses. The rules do allow Escalades, Ridgelines and even the hideous looking Chevrolet Avalanche. HOA representative Bill Osborn explain

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  Nobody Seems To Want To Buy Hummer

  An Indian car company, A Chinese car company and a Russian car company walk into a bar. Bartender says "We're having a special on Hummer, you interested?" They all laugh. Depressing news this week for GM if the company is serious about offloading Hummer as three automakers from three rapidly expanding car markets deny that they're at all interested in the brand. The comments from the companies range from a simple denial to a dig at Hummer itself. The lightest rebuff came last Thursday from Russi

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  C6-Based C2 'Vette Vaporware: The Rossi 66

  Following in the trend of late-model Corvettes being re-bodied to look like old 'Vettes, this illustration shows Blue Fusion's (that's actually the name of the company, not some fanboy's screen name) hopes for a car that combines the C6 chassis with C2 split-window styling. While this sounds like a great idea, they've yet to actually make one, which is fine by us because they could probably use a history lesson first. You see, they say they're basing the styling of the Rossi 66 on the "1966 C2 s

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  2009 Volkswagen TDI Sedan, Sportwagen Hitting The Streets In All 50 States

  Volkswagen's 2009 Jetta TDI twins are now available in all 50 states, a first for clean diesel vehicles in the U.S. In theory, for just $21,990 you can be the proud owner of a TDI sedan that gets an EPA estimated 29/40 mpg (or 38/44 mpg according to another group). Buy one now and the federal government will knock some more off the cost thanks to a $1300 tax credit. We just called to check with a local dealer and they started taking deliveries on Friday, though the first batch of cars are alread

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  In Detroit, The Arab Ice Cream Man Cometh

  If you hear the familiar ring of the ice cream man's bell along Bellevue Street or any other thoroughfare in Metro Detroit, the purveyor of that ice cream cone is likely to be a Muslim Arab immigrant. According to a profile by Charlie LeDeuff in this morning's Detroit News, the life of the average Detroit ice cream truck driver manages to merge the experiences of the average immigrant (living with other immigrant men in an attempt to make money) and the average Detroit working class resident (no

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  2010 Chevy Camaro Sales Reference Guide Proves GM Hasn't Fired Marketing Department

  Here we are, months and months away from the sales-floor launch of the 2010 Chevy Camaro, and already those persuasive salesfolks are prepping, poring over this conveniently leaked sales guide, readying their pitch to get you into GM's new hotness. We took a look at the nine-page talking points memo and found it unsurprisingly chock full of marketing-speak. Things like "world-class cupholders" and a "Reverse mohawk roof" prove to us that GM really put a lot of effort into the sales strategy here

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  1972 International Harvester Scout II

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Alameda has a fair number of International Harvester vehicles (we had a Favorite DOTS IHC poll with the last one, and the 1948 KB-2 pickup won), most of which seem to get regular driving time. Today we're going to check out a no-frills truck that's eager for the collapse of civilization, at which point it will become more valuable than all the Rolls-Royces

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  The Women Of Woodward

  More below the jumpImages Copyright: Wes Siler and Jalopnik.com

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  Community College Students Build 550 Horsepower Mid-Engine Ford Five Hundred

  At Washtenaw Community College near Ann Arbor, MI, you can take algebra and English lit. You can also take Custom Cars & Concepts, where your assignments might include building a mid-engine Ford Five Hundred with a supercharged 5.3-liter Ford GT engine putting out 550 HP. What course would you choose? Instructor Scott Malnar told us this beast was entirely student-built and took first place at the Autorama show two years ago in the "street exhibition and performance" category. One look at the ga

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  2009 Cadillac CTS-V Police Car Creates Car Enthusiast Paradox

  On one hand, this 2009 Cadillac CTS-V police car is all kinds of awesome. We can’t put our finger on precisely why. Maybe it's because it kind of reminds us of Robocop. On the other, it sort of feels like the police outnumber cruisers on Woodward today, and they’ll send your ass down for the pettiest of driving and/or walking infraction (as Wert and Ben found out two years ago). So is it awesome that the police have a CTS-V, or oppressively depressive? Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise

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  Pininfarina Hyperion Unveiled At Pebble Beach

  While we're all at the greatest single day car event in the world, we hear some people decided there's something going on on our nation's left coast. Whatever. The Pininfarina Hyperion — a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe with a coachbuilt body — has been unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours. Its owner, Roland Hall, for whom the regular $412,000 car wasn’t exclusive enough, has dedicated the Hyperion to the late Andrea Pininfarina, who designed the custom carbon fiber body. Aside from the sw

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  1969 Ford Bronco, Dutifully Awaiting Woodward Deployment

  Here's a very nice, very bone stock 1969 Ford Bronco we stumbled on at the corner of 13 mile and Woodward (the mile roads lie in escalating number the farther north you go from the Detroit River). We're diggin' the flawless orange paint and houndstooth brown interior. The Bronco has always, always been a fantastic all-around vintage crawler, but they're so often built up to fire breathing beasts, its always nice to seem them in original form. Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for a

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  Fiat 500C Woody Wagon Shows Off Up North

  We spotted this miniature woody, a Fiat 500 C Giardiniera Belvedere, while passing through Charlevoix, Michigan. Ironically, it's still not the coolest car in town, as this place is also home to the awesome V8-powered Citroen 2CV off-roader we found at Autorama. The lakeside town is popular destination for Michiganders engaging in the summer tradition of vacationing "up north." As such, the ice cream-licking tourists were all over this little Fiat. It's hard (for me at least) to tell exactly wh

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  Commenter Of The Day: A Moving Picture Is Worth Ten Thousand Words Edition

  For those who have been living in a pop culture vacuum, the video below is from the show Flight Of The Conchrods, which chronicles the semi-fictional lives of New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo. Watching the video is the only way to fully appreciate Maxforrest32's winning comment from the who needs a fourbanger? if you live north of the equator.

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  Ford Starts 96-Day "Final Countdown" For 2010 Ford Mustang

  We're a full 96 days away from the reveal of the 2010 Ford Mustang, but Ford has already started the countdown clock at their preview site. It's a fairly standard ploy to build buzz, albeit taken to the extreme. Speaking of textbook buzz-making ploys, Ford is offering a new 2010 Mustang to whomever can come up with a great "Mustang Story" that doesn't involve buying a 2009 Mustang only to have the 2010 model come out a few weeks later. Full details in the release to enthusiasts below the jump.

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  The Top Ten Worst Car Names

  After investing time and money into developing a new vehicle to meet consumer's needs you'd think that coming up with a name would be the easy part. Whether because of mistranslation, cultural misunderstandings or just plain mistakes, these names prove it's not as easy as you'd think. Culled from our automotive knowledge and commenter suggestions these are the worst of the worst. And like great Olympic gymnasts, many of these cars are Asian and less than 16 years old. If you think you can do wor

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  Lincoln MKT Crossover Confirmed, To Get EcoBoost

  Ford today officially confirmed that it would be producing the Lincoln MKT and equipping it with the EcoBoost 3.5-liter V-6 engine, good for an estimated 340 horsepower and 340 lb.-ft. of twist, in place of a V8. Unlike the MKT Concept, the production crossover will get three rows and probably fewer Saworvski crystals. A "fuel-efficient" six speed will be the transmission of choice for both the EcoBoost V6 and the standard issue, normally aspirated 3.7-liter V6. The new 7-passenger CUV, which wi

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  How To Do A Burnout With An Automatic Transmission, Rear-Wheel Drive Vehicle

  Of course you know how to do a burnout. We all talk a big game when it comes to hoonage, but as we get ready for the Woodward Dream Cruise this weekend, we're sure there's got to be someone out there who might appreciate a simple instructional video. For this lesson, we'll be showing you how to do a burnout with a rear-wheel-drive, automatic transmission vehicle.

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  BMW X5 Security: Heavy Armor For The BMW With The Big Butt

  Nothing is worse than overseeing your operations in Central America in last year's BMW X5, even if it is armored. It just makes you look so...vulnerable, even though you're invulnerable to small arms fire. Well warlords, worry no more: a limited number of updated BMW X5 Security armored SUVs are finally available. So cruise in style, completely legitimate businessman; you've earned it. Awesomely translated foreign press release below.

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  2009 Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series Back-End At Pebble Beach

  Only 350 of the 2009 Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series supercars will ever be made, but that hasn't stopped one from appearing at the Pebble Beach Concours. The $320,000 Benz has a staggering 661 HP, but that's topped by the 6.0-liter V12's 738 lb.-ft of torque. (Thanks to J.F. Musial for the tip!)

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  Toyota Projects Gas Prices To Hit $5.00 By Middle Of Next Decade, We Think They're Being Optimistic

  Toyota is basing its production plans on projections that US gas prices could rise as high as $5.00 a gallon as soon as 2015. The Japanese automaker also believes the full-size truck market will experience a significant recovery in the near future. Despite demand for its fuel-efficient Prius hybrid reaching an all-time high, it is unable to increase production of the vehicle until the 2011 model year. But gas hit $4.00 a gallon earlier this year: It seems unlikely that it'll take seven years for

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  1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Strange as it seems, we've only seen one Alameda Monte Carlo so far, and that was a first-year-ever 1970. What about the big Malaise Era Montes, the ones that came close to breaking the two-ton barrier? Welcome to 1977!

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  2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon Shows Off Hot Rear End Ahead Of Pebble Beach Reveal

  This weekend, the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon is set to debut at the Pebble Beach Concours, but we had our advance preview of it here in Detroit. We're going to be honest here — the CTS Sport Wagon's the most awesome wagon Cadillac has ever built. Okay, that's a pretty sparse field to compare against, but after seeing it in the flesh, we're totally excited about this car. Don't let the sub-par press photos fool you, this is a sexy beast in person. With all the powertrain options available on t

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  2010 Cadillac SRX Continues Its Photographic Burlesque Show

  The 2010 Cadillac SRX we first saw in the accidental debut by Rick Wagoner has again upgraded its pixel count with full resolution images of the next generation crossover. The next SRX moves away from the wagon-like version we now have and onto the Theta platform while showing off some Cadillac Provoq concept styling ques. Clearly evident is Caddy's modern 'Art and Science' design theme, but also note the tail lights which, at the right angle, give a hint of some tail fin action. Interesting. Fu

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  Quantum Of Solace Set Pics Reveal 2009 Ford Ka, Bond Girl

  The 2009 Ford Ka is apparently going to be making a cameo appearance in the worst-named Bond movie in history — Quantum of Solace. We're a little terrified by the graphical shenanigans on the side of this car — "Greene Planet" — which we assume means there's going to be some kind of trendy Earth-friendly tie-in. Well, at least there's Bond girl Olga Kurylenko to brighten things up.

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  Commenter Of The Day: Such Small Portions Edition

  In a work of narrative art, the creator often will use a framing device in order to set the tone and context. This is usually referred to as "bookending." For instance, Evelyn Waugh uses the return of a character to an old estate to set up and end the story of an English Catholic family in his novel Brideshead Revisted. This is also commonly used in cinema. One of our favorite examples is Annie Hall, which uses a joke to set the first bookend of the film:

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  PCH, Affordable Shelby Edition: 1986 GLHS Or 1989 CSX-VNT?

  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 slammed the rusty doors of the Hell Garage, the Million Euro Gardner-Serpollet beat the double-homicide Stanley Steamer by a significant- yet not overwhelming 57:43 ratio. Today we've got the life sentence answer for those who want to drive some lunatic Carroll Shelby creation, yet don't have a six-figure budget: Shelby Mopars!

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  2010 Ford Fusion Spied Uncovered For Desert Testing

  It gets pretty hot in the desert we hear, which might explain why the 2010 Ford Fusion twins pictured here stripped off its usual thick black camo to show off the new sedan's goods for the ready photographers from KGP. The most intriguing question these photos pose is: are those the real headlights? Previous Fusion spy photos show a light that stretches over the Davetastic Gillette grille. This view seems to show that line intersected by a part of the grille. Is this a clever taping? Is this an

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  Malaise Is A French Word: 1979 Simca Talbot 1100 In Paris

  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. We've seen a couple of Peugeots and a Renault in DOTSBE this week, so today we need to give equal time to a marque you rarely see on the North American street. Franzouse found this extremely rusty Simca 1100 while staggering home from a party one night, and had a Proustian flashback to his parents' old 1100. Make the jump and you shall see and read

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  Jalopnik Discovers Jake's Unofficial Successor At ZR1 Ice Cream Break, Meet Elwood

  We were cruising Woodward a couple minutes ago, scoping things out for spontaneous conflagrations of coolness, and we got way more than we bargained for. Parked outside the Dairy Deluxe, an ice cream parlor staple along the Ave, was a pair of Corvette ZR1s. So of course, like moths to a flame we descended for picture taking. Only thing is, the ZR1's kept coming, in all, five of the super-Vettes had been driven in by various members of the GM engineering squad, and that wasn't all we saw, we disc

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  The Lotus Omnivore: A Piston Engine That'll Eat Anything

  Lotus Engineering, in collaboration with Jaguar, is starting up a project they're calling "Omnivore," a task which, if successful, could see traditional internal combustion engines go the way of the dodo. Lotus is planning to meld the two-cycle engine with new technologies — direct injection and a variable compression ratio — to create an engine able to run on almost any fuel. If you've ever wondered what the future of the internal combustion looked like, you're getting a peek now. Put your prop

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  2009 Corvette ZR1 Turns Rear Wheels Entirely Into Smoke!

  Last night we showed you a little tease of our upcoming review of the 2009 Corvette ZR1 coming Wednesday, August 20th at 12:01 AM. Well, we decided not to tease you too much with thoughts of the ZR1s staggering 638 HP 6.2-liter LS9 engine. Without further ado, here's two awesome, all-American, Godzilla-intimidating rolling burnouts on the huge Milford skidpad. But we're assuming you'll still be hungry for more. And we've delivered. While others may give you a whole crapload of crappy pictures, b

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  2009 Dodge Ram Pricing To Start At $22,170

  Chrysler's plan to move the 2009 Dodge Ram off lots in this era of high gas prices seems to revolve partially around lowering the starting price to just $22,170, which is almost $1,000 less than the current starting price for a Dodge Ram 1500 regular cab. That low starting price comes with an increase in features on the interior, a more aerodynamic design and the RamBox, a reflection of the Charmin-soft truck market. The Ram Quad starts at a competitive $26,225 and the Ram Crew 1500 is priced fr

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  Honda's New Hybrid: Cheaper, Longer And Higher Fuel Economy

  As Toyota readies the new next-gen 2010 Prius, Honda has been working feverishly to bring its own dedicated hybrid model to market — at a price point lower than the Prius — after discontinuing the Insight nearly three years ago. We've gone to our sources and put together the best of the rumors, suspicions and ruminations to bring you this comprehensive guide of what we expect from the new Honda hybrid that has yet to receive a public name. Even more speculatively, we've spared no expense to comm

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  2009 Vauxhall, Opel Insignia Sports Tourer Revealed

  Vauxhall, the General's proper English arm, today revealed the 2009 Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer, which is the estate version of the 2009 Vauxhall Insignia, which is also the Opel Insignia and likely the 2011 Saturn Aura. The estate, which is set to debut at the Paris Motor Show, will get two engines not available in the sedan or hatchback version. Although final power numbers haven't been released, one of the motors will be a more powerful turbodiesel and the other a smaller turbocharged gas

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  Russian "Undesirable" Oleg Deripaska Makes Play For Hummer

  Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, owner of Moscow-based Russian Machines, is in the hunt for the Hummer brand, according to Russian business magazine Vedomosti. Should Deripaska end up the high bidder, GM is going to have to take the paperwork to him: He's been barred by the US State Department from entering the country due to his alleged ties to organized crime and possible false statements made to the FBI, and he's been accused by business associates of extortion, kidnapping, and "unsavory b

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  1965 Plymouth Barracuda

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. It's been a couple months since we last saw a Chrysler A body in this series, which means we're due. Instead of a Valiant or Dart, however, we're going with the third DOTS Plymouth Barracuda (after this '65 and this '67).

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  Pontiac G8 ST Officially Named... Pontiac G8 ST, Tens Of Chevy Fans Will Now Sleep Easy

  It's official — despite Jalopnik and over 80,000 arrowhead fan boys best efforts, Pontiac's decided to officially name the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck the unimaginative name of "Pontiac G8 ST." Frankly, we were as disappointed as you are. So we did what all fan boys of what could have been the new "El Camino" do when they're disappointed — we broke open a case of PBR. After a few beers we decided to get fellow El Camino fan boy Mike Levine from PickupTrucks.com to help us set up a conference call wit

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  Jalopnik's 2009 Corvette ZR1 Test Drive Is Coming Shortly In A Cloud Of Smoke

  We asked you earlier today what you wanted to see — and as usual, we've delivered. Although you'll have to wait just a little bit longer for the full Corvette ZR1 test drive — check back during the wee hours of Wednesday, August 20th at 12:01 AM — we've got a little treat for you tonight. It's a little exclusive to whet your whistle — the very first video of a smokey burnout of the new 2009 Corvette ZR1. Oh, and there's Wes doing his best impression of the Stig.

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  Commenter Of The Day: Corvette Summer Edition

  You may know Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and Annie Potts as Janine Melnetz, but both managed to make a film together that was ten times more important than Star Wars and Ghostbusters combined: Corvette Summer. Sure, it only grossed around $15 million and almost no one living has seen it, but the story of a teen traveling the countryside with a prostitute-in-training in order to recapture his class project — a Corvette Stingray — in Las Vegas captures the nature of man better than anything else

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  People-Powered Quadcycle Makes Stop At Woodward On Way To Burning Man

  Last Saturday we wandered down to metro Detroit's progressive little berg of Ferndale for the Green Cruise, an anti-Woodward Dream Cruise, billed as a gasoline-free alternative to the Big Event. We were hoping for electric cars and grease-burners, but it turned out to be mostly just a big bicycle parade — with one marked exception. Dubbed "The Dogsled" by the father-and-son duo who engineered and built it (each of whom refers to the other as "Dog"), the Dogsled is actually destined to roam the p

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  What Would Smokey Do? 24 Hours Of LeMons Cheating Tips From Judge Murilee!

  Those of you who read Judge Loverman's account of serving on the 24 Hours of LeMons South Supreme Court might be telling yourselves "That's interesting, but I really want to know how to give my alleged 500-buck race car an unfair advantage at the next race and get away with it!"

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  2010 Cadillac SRX Spotted In Minimal, Super Chess Camo

  We've got the clearest pictures yet of the 2010 Cadillac SRX, betraying details that were only hinted at in GM's super-grainy release. Based on the Theta premium platform, the new crossover from Cadillac manages to stretch the handsome dimensions of the Cadillac CTS Coupe over the proportions of a CUV. The photos show nearly the entire, unseen caboose of the SRX almost completely uncovered. It seems like Cadillac is putting more art in their Art & Science, a move we applaud. Full spy report belo

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  Lamborghini Opens Las Vegas Boutique Featuring Italian Models Of All Types

  We find it absolutely fitting Lamborghini has opened up a new Las Vegas showroom complete with its first Lamborghini fashion boutique right inside. Why? We've been thinking about it, hard, and there may be no car brand and city more made for each other than Lamborghini and Las Vegas. Gaudy, brash, over the top, extravagant; which are we describing? And what fashion boutique opening would be complete without scantily clad models mixing it up with the crowd? It's like playing "Lamborghini Where's

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  CNG-Powered City Bus Explodes In Thailand, Demonstrates Importance Of Proper Fuel Conversions

  A city bus explosion at a Bangkok natural gas filling station last week appears to highlight the dangers of responding to higher gas prices with slapdash propulsion conversions. According to records, the formerly diesel-powered bus was converted using a shipment of used parts from China and had not registered with the government for the conversion, thus avoiding an inspection.

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  1970 Ford Maverick

  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 tend to think of the Ford Maverick as a pure Malaise Era vehicle, and the two '74s we've seen in this series (this one and this one) reinforce that impression. Don't forget, though, that the Maverick first hit the showroom floor in pre-Malaise 1969; I've managed to find an early example on the island for today.

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  Commenter Of The Day: Those Crazy Spaniards Edition

  College is a great time to get into foreign-language films. They're usually shown at theaters with ticket prices lower than the first-run megaplexes. Even if you're a Freshman and understand nothing of the world, saying you just saw the latest Goddard film makes you sound cooler (at least in your head). Also, college girls totally dig foreign language films. Anyone in school around the early part of this century was treated to a sudden rise in films by Spanish and Spanish-speaking filmmakers. If

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  Project Car Hell, Pressure Drop Edition: Stanley Steamer Or Gardner-Serpollet?

  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 a cat-piss-enhanced, meth-head-damaged, Camaro-suspended '53 Chevy take a beating in the Choose Your Eternity poll at the hands of the Jaguar-powered, bugs-in-face customized '51 Chevy. But you ask me, all these internal-combustion vehicles are getting a trifle monotonous. We need to change things up today, by looking at a pair of external-combustion

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  Junked 1974 Ford Gran Torino: You're Out Of Your Element!

  We know, The Dude's Gran Torino was a 1973 model, but this '74 would have done an equally good job as Jeff Bridges' movie ride. Hollywood stardom eluded this Malaise Ford sedan, however, and now it awaits a trip to the Schnitzer Steel facility at the Port Of Oakland.

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  Weather Radar Picks Up Car Doing 130 MPH

  An atmospheric phenomenon this morning allowed the Doppler weather radar in the Chicago area to pick up cars driving down a pair of interstate highways, including one vehicle that appears to be doing 130 mph. Weather radar isn't that dissimilar from what cops use to bust speeders, as both project beams to gauge the speed of something moving away from a point. Typically, the radar is measuring the density of droplets of water in clouds, but a layer of warm air in the atmosphere deflected the weat

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  Can't Afford To Pay For That $16K Paint Job? Send Mom To Pick Up The Car

  According to a shop owner who posts at TampaRacing.com, a customer asked for $16,000 in custom work on a base model automatic Toyota Celica of unknown vintage, and even fronted the money for the material costs, without actually deciding how he was going to pay for it. Realizing this, after four months of work, the Celica's none-too-bright owner apparently sent his mom to pick it up for him.

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  Hellhammer Bringing Long-Lost Mark I Mist Back To Life

  In the late 1950s, legendary San Jose-based customizer Joe Wilhelm started work on a project based on a 1936 Ford coupe. It started out fairly simple, with handmade grille and fenders on a still-recognizable Ford body, but became far more radical within a few years. By 1965, the car- called the Mark I Mist- sat on a Jaguar XK140 frame, with quad-carbed Buick nailhead and a wild European-influenced body. It was a big hit at the car shows and made the covers of Car Craft, Rod & Custom, etc. Then t

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  Hamann Mini Cooper S, D: One Burns Rubber, One Burns Oil

  An option for those wanting more power from their Mini Cooper S or Cooper D, tuner Hamann has introduced some new upgrades. Boosting power up to 136 HP for the Cooper D, and 230 HP for the Cooper S, both benefit from the BMW tuner's experience in reprogramming Motronic control units. But whatever good Hamann has done underhood is mostly ruined by what they've done to the rest of the car. Yes, low-riding coil-over suspension and big wheels are probably good for tackling a twisty track, but when c

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  Five Cars "Guaranteed" To Never Get You Laid

  RideLust's Suzanne Denbow has created exactly what you'd expect from a site with a name all about a passionate desire for unlawful carnal car knowledge — a list of the ten cars "guaranteed to get you laid." Yeah, well, that's too easy. Everyone knows if you're a stud or a total hottie, you're going to get some action no matter what car you're driving, which is why we've got those quote marks around "Guaranteed" up top. What we really mean is we've got a list of the five vehicles that may make

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  Audi Reveals 2009 A6 Sedan, Avant And New Fuel-Sipping TDIe Model In Addition To RS6

  The new 580 HP 2009 Audi RS6 Sedan is a very exciting proposition, but for the rest of us there's this, the 2009 Audi A6 Sedan and Avant. Perhaps the most relevant additions are the new TDIe models which squeeze maximum efficiency from the 2.0-liter turbo-diesel engine via modified transmission ratios, a power steering pump which operates only on demand, and an alternator capable of regenerating energy during coasting. Combined with subtle aero tweaks and a slightly lower ride height which make

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  2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe Strips Down, Shows Some Skin

  A Cadillac CTS Coupe without the usual clunky camo was scoped with a long-range lens through a misty Michigan morning by the eagle-eyed photographers at KGP. The photos show that in the transition from CTS coupe concept to reality the designers managed to maintain the large and shapely rear end, but with a few key differences. The tweaks include the addition of safety equipment like red reflectors and although the concept was pillarless, an obvious B-pillar. At least the designers have added a s

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  2009 Chrysler PT Dream Cruiser Series 5 Debuts, Blinds Us With Gleaming White Light

  Chrysler revealed its latest special edition vehicle ahead of this Saturday's Woodward Dream Cruise this morning at Duggan's Irish Pub on Woodward Avenue — the 2009 Chrysler PT Dream Cruiser Series 5. As the name suggests, it's the 5th version of the PT Cruiser to be revealed at the Woodward Dream Cruise. And, like the others, this one offers up all the same PT Cruiser features and options 1.3 million people have found when snapping one up, all while wearing a very serious billet grille. The res

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  1983 Honda Civic Wagon

  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 haven't seen many Hondas in this series, though I'm still hoping to find a very early Civic or- better still- a 600 on the island. The early-80s Civic wagon is a good example of the Japanese cars that shifted American car buyers' opinion from the "cheap, gets good gas mileage" view of the 70s towards the "these things never break" view widely held today.

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  Hybrid Owners More Brand Loyal Than Other Buyers, We Make Zero Smug Jokes

  An industry group we've never heard of called "Experian Automotive" is reporting this morning nearly half of hybrid vehicle owners will buy a vehicle of the same brand when they buy another one, making them some of the most loyal customers in the industry. Of course, they may not be buying a hybrid again because they're apparently not the most segment-loyal. Who is? You guessed it, pickup truck owners. The specifics, and why this could be good for GM and Ford below the jump.

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  Chevy, GMC Reveal XFE Versions Of Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe And Yukon For 2009

  GM's just revealed a whole messload of details on their newest members of the GMT-900-based full-size SUV and truck lineup — the 2009 Chevy Silverado XFE, 2009 Chevy Tahoe XFE, 2009 GMC Sierra XFE and lastly, the 2009 GMC Yukon XFE. What's XFE? It stands for Xtra Fuel Economy and the four relative fuel-sippers join the already class-leading Chevy Cobalt XFE as vehicles GMs achieved added wallet-padding using a combination of mechanical, aerodynamic and mass-reducing enhancements. The tweaks help

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  2009 Audi RS6 Sedan, Revealed: Twin-Turbocharged Four-Door Power!

  It's a lazy Monday afternoon in the summertime, and if you're Audi, that means it's the perfect time to reveal a new double-turbocharged quattro-equipped sports sedan. Enter the new 2009 Audi RS6 Sedan and its big twin-turbo V10 engine with an output of 580 HP and 479 lb-ft of torque — the perfect bookend to the Audi RS6 Avant revealed late last year. The RennSporty-6 sedan also gets "racing-inspired" direct-injection plus a dry-sump lube system. All will help the new Audi catapults from 0 to 10

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  Subaru Fan Forum Finally Gets BMW's Big GINA Joke

  When the BMW GINA Light Concept debuted, it stretched (literally) the definition of what a car is and can be. It also drew a bit of confusion on the name. What's a GINA? Even though some of our commenters had similar ideas on the source, the NASIOC Subaru forum members have gone and taken things to their inevitable conclusion. Since this is a family show, we'll refrain from going all the way, but let's say these forum cats and 14-year-old boys have a very similar mindset. (We're a family show? W

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  Warranty For Certified Used Porsches Improves To Two Years/50k Miles

  Blurring the already subtle line between Porsches of new and those not-so-new, Porsche has declared that, starting this month, all certified used Porsche cars (and presumably that thing they call the Cayenne too) sold in the United States and Canada will be covered by a 50,000-mile/2-year warranty. That's almost as good as the 50,000-mile/4-year warranty you get on a brand-new Porsche. Of course, owners are still responsible for anything that's supposed to wear down, like tires, brakes, clutches

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  Commenter Of The Day: Spit Baptisms Edition

  The best moment in any Sunday school is when the students turn on the teacher and hope to exploit the portions of dogma that can be stretched to ridiculous extremes. This isn't unique to any one denomination or religion. A friend of ours led a Sunday school class for junior high kids and their favorite moment came when she explained that, according to her faith, one could be baptized with anything. This led to a litany of questions including "can we baptize someone with Coke" and "what about lem

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  PCH, Pre-Shoebox Chevy Edition: Jag-Powered '51 Or Dwarf-Built '53?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Last time around, the De Tomaso Longchamp trounced the Bricklin SV-1 in the Choose Your Eternity poll, showing that Canada has a snowball's chance against PCH Superpower Italy. Today we're going to Detroit; as we all know, the ready availability of parts and expertise for most postwar America vehicles makes such cars insufficiently hellish for this series... unless you

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Beijing Mini Cooper Rickshaws Combine Car, Cycle And Ugly

  In celebration of the launch of the Mini Cooper Clubman in the Chinese market, Mini has chopped the back half off a handful of cars so they can be converted into rickshaws. Mini is no doubt trying to capitalize on the global spotlight placed on Beijing with some kind of sporting festival going on right now, but if they had asked us, we would have done things differently.

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  Nova Kit Car Builder Admits To Decades Of Crazy Customization

  The story of Steve McHugh, the man behind the radical Nova kit car we initially posted on a lark (and because we're automotive sadists) just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser. Steve recently emailed us to let us in on a little secret — he's been building crazy-ass cars for nigh on twenty-eight years now. Since 1980, Steve's been applying his personal style of vehicular extremism to anything he can get his hands on. He even sent us pictures of this favorites. Heck, we'll let him tell you all

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  The Ten Crappiest Cars Of The 2008 Monterey Auctions

  The Pebble Beach Concours is always a spectacle of the well-heeled celebrating the well-known in the fancy-pants car show circuit. To go along with the car show wine is the cheese, also known as the Monterey Auctions, put on every year by the house of RM Auctions. There are always hit lists of the most desirable and historical cars crossing the blocks for huge sums of money; to wit, Edmunds Inside Line just did their "10 Best Cars at the 2008 Monterey Auctions" piece today. But we tire of such

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  2010 Chevy Equinox Shows Off New Curvy Sheetmetal

  After the pseudo strip-tease surrounding the 2010 Chevy Equinox, we finally get a real look at its newly revised face and we've gotta say, GM must have rediscovered the French curve recently. The Theta platform crossover gets a surprisingly swoopy C-pillar and a very Malibu-like grille, but those headlights offer a more softened approach to the face of Chevrolet. Aside from the new nose and glass, the Equinox is also sporting some rather aggressive, albeit tasteful, fender flares reminiscent of

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  Audi, Lancia, Or Ford: Which Hoonworthy Vintage Race Machine Would You Buy?

  SoNaive was shopping for a project Ford RS200- yeah, might as well aim high- and found these three 80s race cars, any one of which is capable of sending the entire Jalopnik staff into paroxysms of longing that threaten to shut down all operations for the rest of the week. So, it's Monday, you're hunkering down for a long week of The Man's cruel lash on your much-scarred back, and that means you have the right to blow the whole morning trying to make the impossible choice: which of these cars wou

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  GM Crate Engines Available Direct From GM...For A Price

  GM Performance Parts has entered the direct-retailing fray by offering high-po hardware for purchase directly from its new online store at gmperformanceparts.com. The new site promises 38 different crate engines along with more than 300 performance part numbers, all using an interface that "actually allows consumers to purchase their hardcore hardware online, and have it shipped straight to their door." Given that Summit and Jegs, among others, have been offering similar services for several yea

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  The Ten Fiercest Russian Military Vehicles Of All Time

  In light of Russia's recent incursion into the sovereign nation of Georgia, we thought we'd take a look at some of the fiercest non-tracked Russian military vehicles of all time. In square miles, Russia is the largest country in the world and includes every geographical variance imaginable from arid steppes, sprawling metropolises, the world's largest forest and a vicious tundra to the north. To defend such a diverse territory, their military has developed a diverse array of vehicles as extrem

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  Researchers Continue Attempts To Turn Car Exhaust Into Power

  The Department of Energy is funding research at GM and BMW, along with several partner universities, into a little-known technology called the thermoelectric generator. Internal combustion engines use a grand total of maybe 25-30% of the energy contained in gasoline for actual propulsion. Everything else is wasted running accessories, being consumed by friction and drag, or gets tossed into the wastebasket of exhaust heat loss. A thermoelectric generator takes advantage of the exhaust heat and u

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  The Sun: Arab Sheiks Causing Air Pollution By Making Chauffeurs Endlessly Drive Around Harrods

  In an investigation that will no doubt redefine investigative journalism, UK tabloid The Sun has found rich foreigners, mostly of the Arab variety, pay people to drive them to Harrods in luxury vehicles to go shopping. But the hard work of The Sun's sure-to-be Pullitzer Prize-winning reporter Alex West doesn't end there. The full details on The Sun's thinly-veiled anti-foreigner screed below the jump.

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  Exclusive: Texas Man Rebuilds $1.5 Million Ferrari Enzo Destroyed By Eddie Griffin

  As part of the run-up PR-fest for Redline, a schlock-fest of a movie, actor Eddie Griffin "lost control" ( can someone say "publicity stunt?" ) of a $1.5 million Ferrari Enzo and crashed it in spectacularly excruciating fashion. The car suffered major front end damage and most considered it totaled due to the delicate carbon fiber bodywork. Not Texan luxury car repair and salesman Matt Groner. No, Groner figured if he could get his hands on the Enzo, it had a fighting chance. As you can see fr

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  Andy Rooney Bitches, Moans About State Slogans On License Plates, Being Old

  Last night's bitch-fest by Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes' starts with his inability to discern the difference between cars and then as usual, inexplicably moves towards something only quasi-tangentially related. In this case, license plates and state slogans. Although there's no real point he's driving at, it's funny in that "Oh, Grandpa, you're so old" kind of way. Especially when he explains he's unable to figure out what one of the "cars he's seen on the road" is — and up goes a picture of a Fiat

  By Mark Arnold Read More
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  Where's The Best Place To Sell A Car?

  Our fearless leader's brother is trying to help out his mom by selling her old 2002 Liberty on Craigslist right now...is he making the right choice? Thanks to technology, there are a myriad of ways to offload a set of wheels. You can try for the highest bidder by putting your ride on eBay. You can go the easy route by posting it on Craigslist, Facebook market and other online listings. Before there was the Internet people would sell their cars in a newspaper, which we're told still exists. There

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  Carroll Shelby, SAAC Settle Legal Battle

  The legal wrangling between Carroll Shelby and Shelby American Auto Club (SAAC), the car club that celebrates his vehicles, has ended according to a release from SAAC. The troubles started when Shelby complained that SAAC had not been providing him with required financial statements and had been using his name and likeness in the course of for-profit ventures. SAAC, for its part, claims the club simply paid for itself. Whatever actually happened, some back-room maneuvering by both parties seems

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  2009 Acura TL, Revealed: SH-AWD Is The New Type-S

  You'll be reading the boss-man's official review of the new 2009 Acura TL and the Type-S-replacing 2009 Acura TL SH-AWD later this week. But, since everyone else is doing it, here's our drop of embargoed details. For starters, mock the big buck-toothed front end if you will — frankly, we've already beat that horse to its second death, so we're going to spend our time checking out the back end with its centerline action, looking like Acura used their "good" design team on the rear. In addition to

  By Andrew Stoy Read More
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  1983 Toyota Hilux 4x4

  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 looking at a vehicle owned by our first four-time DOTS honoree, WhatWouldJesseDo. Well, I think this is Jesse's truck; my Black Metal V8olvo emailed me about his new truck, and I found this Hilux parked on his block. When you have a '66 Datsun, a '61 Mini, and a '70 Puma GT, you need something to haul parts!

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  UK Businessman Decapitates Self With Aston Martin DB7

  An inquest into the death of Welsh gym owner Gerald Mellin has found the businessman decapitated himself in his Aston Martin DB7 after an argument with his estranged wife. According to the court, Mellin tied one end of a rope to a tree, climbed into his DB7 and wrapped the other end around his neck. Mellin then jammed the pedal down on the $173,000 car, driving into a busy main road, forcing other drivers to watch his horrific death. Police found his headless body still in the driving seat and

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  It's Graverobber Tirade Friday!

  Graverobber has been a regular PCH Tirade™ machine in recent weeks, and we thought it would be convenient for all PCHT™ aficionados to see his greatest hits all together in one convenient location. That way you can approach the prospect of your personal Hell Project with the knowledge that you might end up much like one of the victims in Graverobber's vivid (yet no doubt accurate) imagination.

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Commenter Of The Day: The ExxonMobil Shell Game Edition

  In all the furor over gas prices, a popular punching bag is ExxonMobil, which made something along the lines of $90,000 per minute, the highest corporate profit ever. It's interesting to note that this is actually less than what the market predicted the company to make and that the company's stock is dipping. The energy reporters at the Houston Chronicle, some of the best in the business, pointed out that all of this talk of profits ignores the more serious issue: Exxon's production slipped 10%,

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  Project Car Hell, Best Of 1974 Edition: De Tomaso Longchamp Or Bricklin SV-1?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Last time, we watched in disbelief as the insanely complicated agglomeration of iron oxide shaped vaguely like a Jensen FF got shellacked in the Choose Your Eternity poll by the much simpler- yet more glamorous- Aston Martin DB5. Today we're going to take a trip back to the era of Synanon and presidential resignations, with a couple of innovative Detroit V8-powered mac

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Batman's Tumbler

  Most everyone has seen the new Batmobile, known as the Tumbler, in action on the big screen. But not everyone knows what makes it tick. Sure, there was that one guy who made his own Tumbler single-handedly, but the rest of us may not have studied up on the Dark Knight's ride so extensively. How Stuff Works has put together a dummy's guide for the completely clueless, but we'll break it down to the important bits for you.

  By Mark Arnold Read More
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  Buy A 2009 Corvette ZR1 For Only $81,000... Over MSRP

  Mac Haik Chevrolet in Houston, Texas is offering you the chance to buy a 2009 Corvette ZR1 for the low price of $185,000 (just $81,000 over MSRP ), thus answering Suze Orman's ZR1 ownership question with a definitive "NO!" Even better, if you buy the black-on-black ZR1 you'll have to wait at least a month because, as the press shots interspersed with blurry showroom floor photos indicate, they don't actually have the car yet. Though this is better than the $413,000 one dealer wanted, it reminds

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  Nike Needs A Name For Their Armored AmphiCamper

  Credit is due to Nike for creating a vehicle that makes us suddenly care about the AST Dew Tour. Built on an armored amphibious military truck platform — we think a variation of the XM410 — the vehicle combines a 1970's camper with a mobile skate park. There are multiple unique features on this truck for the extreme athlete, including rails for extreme grinding, speakers for pumping out extreme music, a quarter-pipe for extreme skateboarding and a BBQ gallery for extreme BBQing. Despite the "ext

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  SMS Supercharger Boosts Hemi Horsepower By 45% In Challenger, Charger

  SMS, Steve Saleen's new operation, wants to sell 2005-09 Mopar Hemi owners a supercharger that the company claims can bump underhood horsepower by as much as 45%. The SMS 296 supercharger has some unique features, including an internal intercooler and a low profile, letting the blower sit between the cylinder banks and fit entirely under the hood. Obviously, we can't verify any of the company's output claims, but if they'd send us a Challenger so-equipped, we'd be happy to amend this post with f

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  Louisiana Asking Detroit For Jobs; Detroit: "Sorry, Fresh Out"

  Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and Shreveport mayor Cedric Glover will be visiting the Motor City August 15 in an effort to save jobs at a Shreveport GM plant. GM Shreveport builds mid-size pickup trucks including the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, along with the Hummer H3 SUV, all three of which have seen sales steadily decline in the past six months. General Motors last week announced the loss of Shreveport's second shift, apparently prompting the local gub'ment to take what has to be the hum

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  Brabus Smart ForTwo Defeats 39 Supercars, Wins Cannonball Run Europe

  A Smart ForTwo has defeated a field of 39 supercars to win Cannonball Run Europe. The rally, which distinguishes itself from events like the Gumball 3000 with its relatively cheap entry fee of $10,000 and emphasis on a sensible average speed (in this case 61 MPH) offered the perfect opportunity for a small, fuel efficient car to win. Driver David Ward said,

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  1989 Ferrari Mondial T Cabriolet, With Bonus Pininfarina DOTS 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. I've finally found a Ferrari on the island; sure, it's not even 20 years old and the Mondial isn't the most beloved of Ferraris, but it's the real thing. I was going to save this car for a special occasion, but it seems appropriate that we continue to honor Pininfarina in the wake of Andrea Pinafarina's death.

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  Commenter Of The Day: Lost In Translation Edition

  The words are familiar to anyone who can spell NAFTA: "It's a global marketplace." Buick is the toast of China, and a French company builds our Japanese Chryslers. We can get German chocolate cake in Mexicantown while we've got the Asian flu. Like it or not, more than ever before we are all one, sharing ideas, traditions, machines, and yes, sometimes even language. Unfortunately, the process isn't always a smooth one. Take, for example, a peculiar language we Jalops should speak fluently: Race c

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  Looking To Minimize Stops On Long Road Trips?

  Let's hope it's actually plumbed and functional. Thanks to Narf for the photo!

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  Project Car Hell, Anglomasochism Edition: Aston Martin DB5 Or Jensen FF?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! We had a minor upset yesterday, with longshot Germany defeating PCH Superpower Britain in the Jaguar Versus BMW Choose Your Eternity poll. That's not quite the headline news that, say, Detroit beating France would be, but we still need to give Her Majesty's cars a chance to prove they can still dish out pain and pleasure in very large- yet always mixed- helpings. That'

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  WSJ: Chrysler And Nissan Discussing Mid-Size Car Collaboration

  While we've previously reported on the Chrysler/Nissan small-car/pickup-truck mind meld, the Wall Street Journal now says the two companies are discussing collaboration on a mid-size vehicle platform. The report states that the agreement currently under consideration would have Nissan building mid-size sedans that Chrysler would then market under its own nameplate in the US. There's no specific mention of a platform or nameplate likely to be used, but it's not hard to speculate that the much-mal

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  The Ten Most Iconic Pininfarina Designs

  This morning's news of the untimely passing of Andrea Pininfarina cast a pall over the future of the company. What a perfectly fitting moment to assemble a list of the ten most iconic Pininfarina designs. Over the last 50 years the company has penned some of the most significant models of their respective decades and, whether loved or disliked, they've all been memorable. Any list of Pininfarina designs limited to ten will more than likely fall short of expectations, so feel free to drop your fa

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  The Shocking Nova Kit Car: A Ten-Year Journey Of Fiberglass And Bondo

  When we first brought you images of a heavily modified Nova kit car, we knew nothing about it other than its shocking appearance and innovative styling direction. We'd literally never seen anything like it before. Some opined on its terribleness while others thought it wonderful — we'll say it's at least interesting as hell. But what about the rest of the story?

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  Massachusetts Tries, Fails To Fully Oxidize All Its Old Vehicles

  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 we're going to look at a foursome of old machines that Dr. Danger has photographed for us in his native Massachusetts. We've got a Continental, a Nova, a Spitfire, and a Ford pickup. Make the jump to read Dr. Danger's descriptions and check out the entire gallery.

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  EXCLUSIVE: The Transformers Mystery Car Is The Corvette Centennial Design Concept!

  There's been much speculation of late on the gleaming silver "Corvette-like" concept car spotted on the set of the new Transformers movie. Some outlets have incorrectly asserted the concept is a potential design for a next-generation C7 Corvette. They're wrong. Oh, it's a Corvette, but our well-placed sources tell us the concept, which we've revealed in an exclusive shot of the clay concept above, is GM's Corvette Centennial Design Concept. We expect to see it revealed early next year, months

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  Toyota Reveals 2009 RAV4, Biggest Change Is The Price

  The 2009 Toyota RAV4 will start at $21,500 for the base FWD model, an increase of just 0.9% from the 2008 model, and will range up to $27,810 for a Limited equipped with the 3.5-liter, 269 HP V6 and 4WD. Toyota also plans to offer several Extra Value Packages with a variety of options bundled together for, you know, extra value. Press release follows the jump.

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  Toyota Reports 39% Drop In First Quarter Profit

  Raw material cost increases and sliding US sales dented Toyota earnings, as the Japanese automaker saw profits fall 39% in the fiscal first quarter compared to the same period a year earlier. The report also cites an analyst at Credit Suisse in Tokyo who says Toyota's numbers are actually far worse than they appeared on the surface because of accounting tricks that were boosting the numbers. So what's really going on at the number-one super-best automaker from the land of the rising sun?

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  Porsche "No. 1" Coming To Pebble Beach

  The Porsche officially known as the Type 356-001, but affectionately known simply as "No. 1," will be making it's first ever appearance in North America at this month's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The forefather of Bruce, originally designed by Dr. Ferdinand back in 1947, was supposed to be at the '98 Monterrey Historics for the brand's 50th anniversary, but was damaged in transit. Apparently it took another ten years for Porsche to decide to try it again — as the car now heads over to us

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  Lexus, Mercury And Cadillac Top New J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study

  J.D. Power & Associates has again released its annual Vehicle Dependability Study, measuring problems experienced by original owners of 3-year-old vehicles; in this case, 2005 model year vehicles. No surprises at the very top, as Lexus leads the pack for a 14th straight year, but two domestic brands — Mercury and Cadillac — again made the top five. In fact, of US automakers, only Chrysler didn't have a brand that placed above the industry average. Full rankings and press release after the jump.

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  2008 Gumpert Apollo Type S

  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 prove that DOTS isn't just about old cars, nor is it just about daily drivers or beaters with potatoes for gas caps. If it's parked in public within the city limits of Alameda, it's fair game. And whaddya know- here's a shiny new Gumpert Apollo Type S, parked in front of one of the hangars at the former Alameda Naval Air Station!

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  PCH, Devil You Know Or Unfamiliar Devil Edition: Jaguar XKE Or BMW 502?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Last time we took a lung-charringly deep breath of the sulfur-tainted air in the Hell Garage (where the boombox refuses to play anything other than the 1910 Fruitgum Company), we learned that 54% of PCH readers prefer a Chevy-powered MGA to a Chevy-powered TR6. Who knew? Today we're going to up the ante and go with a couple of relatively high-buck projects; one is a ty

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  Infiniti G37 Hard Top Convertible, Sedan, Coupe Coming To LA Auto Show

  Infiniti will be blowing into the LA Auto Show later this year with a bevy of new versions of their 2009 Infiniti G37, including a new hard top convertible, G37 Sedan and AWD coupe. The G37x Coupe will be an AWD sports coupe alternative for those who can't quite afford a Godzilla. The G37 and G37s sedans will finally bring over the larger, 3.7-liter VQ V6 already found in the coupe. Finally, the G37s convertible will provide a hardtop alternative to the Lexus SC and 3-series convertible. Full pr

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  Sabine Schmitz Leaving Nürburgring, Coming To America

  Everyone's favorite Nürburgring Taxi driver, Sabine Schmitz, is coming to America to race in Grand Am Koni Challenge events at New Jersey Motorsport Park and Iowa Speedway. Sitting behind the wheel of a VW GTI race car, Sabine will be filling in for Randy Pobst at APR Motorsport. Sadly, we'll only be graced by her presence for those two races before she flies away back to the fatherland.

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  Race Car Prep Is An Art, Not A Science: Belvedere Burnout Bonanza

  Preparation of the extremely bent '66 Plymouth Belvedere obtained for free by Belvedere Adrian (aka Plymsole) for the Arse-Freeze-A-Pa-Looza LeMons race continues, with the suspension and brakes functioning- mostly- and the 318 grunting out sufficient torque to turn junkyard tires into glorious smoke on command. The car is still being used as a daily driver by one team member, and he says the Project Car Hell stencil on the door gets a lot of attention from the ladies. Of course! Make the jump f

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  Volkswagen Brasilia, Jeep Wagoneer Thrive In Maracaibo, Venezuela

  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 we're going to check out a couple of cars that live in the oil-mad city of Maracaibo, Venezuela, courtesy of loyal reader Ferli. Make the jump to see the whole gallery and read Ferli's account of his family's vintage machines.

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  The Ultimate Housemate Car Prank: Project Pimp Brian's Ride!

  When your housemate goes away to Europe for a couple weeks and puts his beater Civic in one of your parking spots without leaving the keys... well, that means you need to make him pay. Some folks would have been content to fill the Honda's door handles with Vaseline, or maybe even put a dead fish in the glovebox, but the Merkur-mad maniacs from Team Turbo Schnitzel don't do things halfway. They hotwired the offending car and proceeded to paint it purple and outfit it with the finest accessories

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  BMW Owner Changes His 3-Series Color From Black To White... With Tape

  This BMW owner decided he'd like his BMW 335i to be white rather than black, so he found a shop to wrap his bimmer in 3M shiny white tape. OK, so paint jobs aren't exactly dead yet, but it seems more and more people are choosing to wrap their metal rather than have it re-sprayed. We guess this way, if he feels like changing it to another color, all he has to do is peel off the skin and apply a new one. And obviously, it also protects the original surface underneath, if he ever wants to go back t

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  Vintage Maserati Quattroporte-Amino Fire Truck Is Here To Save Us!

  One of five cars built by the Construzione Estintori Anticendio of Bologna, this 1967 Maserati Quattroporte was camino-ized for firetruck duty. Known in their day as the "fastest fire tenders in the world," they were powered by the original 4.2-liter four-cam V8 engine that churned out a healthy 260 HP. Serving duty at Italian race tracks, they were, in typically Italian fashion, an overly stylish solution for the job. So where are they now?

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  The Ten Most Amazing Chinese Cars And Trucks

  In honor of the 2008 Summer Olympics we've decided to dip into our extensive knowledge of the Chinese auto industry to pick out the most amazing cars and trucks from the industrial manufacturing giant. It's kind of like a Chinese car bingo cheat sheet for you to use if you're heading to Beijing this week. Some are cars or concepts that represent the unique design and spirit of China, others are horrible attempts to copy interpretations of western models and at least one has Gullwing doors. If we

  By Matt Hardigree Read More
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  MG TF Police Convertible

  Though it may look like a clone of a famous British brand, Nanjing Auto-SAIC actually owns MG and has the right to continue to produce the company's cars. In this case we have an MG TF convertible with a police package. Though we're not sure it's the best vehicle for police work, it looks awesome. We're thinking this could be the start of a Chinese version of Miami Vice, what about Hong Kong Vice? We'd watch that show. [Photos: Auto Sina] Back to The Ten Most Amazing Chinese Cars And Trucks.

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  2009 Honda Ridgeline Gets Minor Facelift, Even More Minor Power Bump

  The Honda Ridgeline has received a minor facelift for 2009 that includes cosmetic tweaks to give the truck-UV more of a shared look with its brother, the 2009 Honda Pilot. But the changes apparently aren't skin deep, as we're told there's also been improvements to the interior and under the Honda-stamped hood.

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  New VW Golf Gets Officially Official

  The slow trickle of information on the new VW Golf has now become a deluge with VW releasing official information on the German Rabbit. We've already heard what the European pricing will be, and now, thanks to the press release, we can see the turbodiesel engine range will have common-rail direct-injection and be available with power levels of: 90 HP, 110 HP, 140 HP, and 170 HP. The TSI gas engines will put out 80 HP, 102 HP, 122 HP and 160 HP. Now keep in mind, that's the European engine range.

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  Nissan Reveals Hybrid G35 Prototype, All-Electric System, Upgraded Fuel Cell Stack

  Nissan yesterday unveiled prototypes for both a new all-electric powertrain vehicle as well as the first pictures of a prototype hybrid powertrain built on an Infiniti G35. Both systems would be run off a new lithium-ion battery pack system.

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  Nissan GT-R Spec-V Delayed, NISMO GT-R "Evolution" S-Tune Coming Soon

  According to the Frenchies at Le Blog Auto, the Nissan GT-R Spec-V has allegedly been delayed and is now expected to debut as late as next year. But rumors are also swirling of a new GT-R variant to be launched in the meantime. Although it's not to be confused as a Mitsubishi, some are throwing around a name of "Evolution" for this NISMO-tuned GT-R. Although we like the sound of NISMO goodies, can we really believe that'll be the name? More importantly, what else can we expect?

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  1966 Ford Mustang

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. I see many first-gen Mustangs on the streets of Alameda, so I try to space them out in this series in such a way as to prevent Mustang Overload. Last time we had a Favorite DOTS Mustang poll, the '69 fastback was the overwhelming winner. Today we're going to look at a fairly nice '66 and see what everyone thinks of it.

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  Commenter Of The Day: That Wasn't So Bad Edition

  As Tropical Storm Edouard worked its way weakly across Southeast Texas, we gladly watched the 12 hours of local news coverage of... well... not much. Not only did we miss the worst of the storm in Houston, the area of circulation was so small that few people saw wind over 30 mph. Lacking much in the way of actual news to cover, the 30 news crews running around the city had to focus mostly on cars spinning out and, we kid you not, a tent being blown over. The best accident had to have been the Ch

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  2009 Ford Flex Scores Five Stars For Frontal- And Side-Impacts

  The new 2009 Ford Flex has scored five-star safety ratings from NHTSA in all four front and side-impact tests. The Flex numbers beat those of the rival Toyota Highlander, which received a four-star rating for the passenger in frontal tests. Ford also scored a four-star rating in the rollover test using both 2WD and 4WD Flex models, all of which should assuage some of the concerns of soccer moms afraid to tote the brood around in anything smaller than an H1 Alpha. Full release from Ford after the

  By Andrew Stoy Read More
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  1950s Detroit Iron Prevents Camrys From Gaining A Foothold In San Francisco's Western Addition

  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. It's damn near impossible to park anywhere in San Francisco, but the Western Addition neighborhood? No way! That's why we're so impressed by these cars that Rob (you may remember him as the man who brought us the Covered Wagon CRX) spotted holding down most of the street parking on their block; they're apparently all owned by the same guy, who must

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Man Builds Batman Tumbler Replica Single-Handedly

  In the pantheon of awesome fan art, Bob Dullam holds a place of high regard after his work on a full scale, working Tumbler replica from the movies Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Constructed in his two-car garage with little more than pictures and the extra features from the DVD, Bob has built for himself the single baddest piece of driveway candy ever to make the leap from the silver screen. This thing makes Deloreans with bent up trash cans on the hatch look like kids' stuff.

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  The 24 Hours Of LeMons South 2008 Uber Gallery

  Now that I've had a chance to go through my photos of the 24 Hours of LeMons South event, it's time for the traditional LeMons Über Gallery! You'll see a set of photos for every car that managed to roar (or sputter) onto the track in Kershaw, South Carolina, plus links to team websites and other citrus-flavored goodness.

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  Being Bob Nardelli: One Year At The Top Of Chrysler

  The Detroit News reports today on the marriage of Chrysler and Cerberus Capital Management, which took place one year ago this week. Robert Nardelli, former head of Home Depot, beat out Tom LaSorda and Wolfgang Bernhard for the top job at the new Chrysler, joining an already troubled automaker just at the edge of what would become the country's worst auto sales period in 20 years. What the hell was he thinking? More importantly, what's he thinking now? A Chryslerberus freshman report card after

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  Car Thief Gets Carjacked In Stolen Car

  Proving there's no honor among thieves, a lowly car thief in Salinas, California was sitting outside a convenience store in his stolen SIlverado pickup when a more violent and armed criminal jumped in the passenger seat and demanded the thief drive the truck away. The carjacker and the car thief hit a bit of a snag when their twice-stolen Chevy ran out of gas. The carjacker then ordered the thief to get out and push, but that untrustworthy thief merely ran away...and called police to report the

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  The Ten Features We Want In Our Next Car

  Automakers are far from mind readers, so in an effort to aid them in creating the cars we want we've compiled a list, with some help from our commenters, of ten features we want in our next car. Some of these features are widely available and others, though still in concept form, are quite feasible (sorry folks, no Bat Pod). Check out the list below and vote for your most-desired feature. Don't see one you like? Suggest your own.

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  Tesla Hires CFO From Ford, Designer From Mazda, Lofty Ambition From Tucker

  Out to prove that they're the "next great American automobile company," Tesla Motors has hired an ex-Ford executive as their new Chief Financial Officer. Deepak Ahuja was at FoMoCo for 15 years, having last worked on a strategic effort to bring more efficient Euro models over to the US market. Dipping deeper into the Ford well, Telsa has also hired the head of Mazda's design studios in Irvine, CA, Franz von Holzhausen, as their new lead designer.

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  New Acura Crossover Caught Night Testing

  Engineers from Honda were spotted in the California night testing what appears to be a new Acura sport-crossover, not unlike the Infiniti FX35 and BMW X6. Despite extensive camo inside and out, the low-slung crossover had wheels and tires more appropriate for handling than off-roading, and upscale cues that tend to signal this is an Acura model rather than a new Honda. That SRX-like rear is likely fake, with the actual vehicle having a heavily sloped rear silhouette. Full spy report after the ju

  By Andrew Stoy Read More
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  1965 Austin Cooper S

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. You might have a hard time finding the car in the photo above, since it's about the size of a toaster, but that tiny red object is a right-hand-drive Austin Cooper S. I chose 1965 as the arbitrary model year for this one, but my not-so-comprehensive Mini expertise places it in the 1963-69 era. Experts, please weigh in (and, yes, this could easily be some ki

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Obama Wants A Million Plug-In Hybrids On US Roads By 2015

  Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama delivered an energy policy speech in Lansing, MI yesterday, a key pillar of which is the goal of putting one million plug-in hybrids on US roads by 2015. Obama's proposal would help offset the initial cost of the ambitious program by providing up to $7,000 in tax credits to consumers, and it calls for additional spending on advanced battery programs. The most unusual feature of the senator's proposal, however, is its desire to convert the entire White

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  And Now For Something Entirely Different: The 1976 Cat III

  While walking the grounds of the 2008 Meadow Brook Concours D'Elegance, you'd have been excused if you mistook this next vehicle as nothing more than a shadow, or perhaps a garbage bag that had gotten away. What we have here is the creation of Swiss tinkerer Rudy Kurth, a machine dubbed the Cat III. Hand-built in 1976, this sidecar-equipped radical motorcycle is a three-wheeled serpent of chaos, a call to arms for the insane and suicidal, a 500-cc tribute to the madness of speed.

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  Transformers 2: Megatron To Return As A Tank?

  Rumor has it that the Decepticon bad boy, Megatron, may be making a return to the screen for Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. This time, Megatron is said to be in the form of a military tank, but that's caused some people to wonder if that means the Autobots have resurrected him to help them defeat The Fallen. Either way, Megatron will have a hard time upstaging all the glimmering General Motors product placement. Wait, does GM make tanks? [via chud, image via plasticcrack]

  By Mark Arnold Read More
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  Joe Lucas, Prince Of Darkness: British Electrical System Jokes

  What better way to while away the lazy afternoon hours than with a collection of jokes, anecdotes and humorous diagrams depicting the joys of Lucas electrical systems? Joe Lucas — or, more accurately, the company bearing his name — engineered electrical bits for pretty much everything emanating from the UK, and the notorious unreliability of Lucas components played a key role in tanking the British car industry in the early 1980s. Make the jump for "If Lucas made guns, wars would not start," and

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  Duesenberg SJ, The Mormon Meteor

  One of the standout attractions for us at this year's 2008 Meadow Brook Concours D'Elegance was the Duesenberg SJ known as the Mormon Meteor. Just say the name and you practically have chills. Rightfully so, as few American cars have ever demonstrated such beauty alongside such brutal and uncompromising technical prowess. Arguably the pinnacle of Duesenberg engineering, the Mormon Meteor was commissioned by land speed record fanatic Ab Jenkins in 1934. The baddest of Duesies rides on a tradition

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  Indonesian Toyota Innova Apparently Getting Facelift

  Not that we really knew what the outgoing model looked like, but apparently the Indonesian-built Toyota Innova is getting some minor cosmetic tweaks. Currently available only in exotic markets like India, Malaysia, and of course Indonesia, the Innova is a popular vehicle for those wanting a spacious 5-passenger MPV with a frugal gas or diesel engine. Though we still don't expect you to have heard of it, as even a half-Filipino automotive journalist such as myself wasn't aware that it's the best

  By Mark Arnold Read More
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  Report: Fewer Web Shoppers Researching Chrysler Products

  Chrysler July sales dropped below the 100,000 unit mark as consumers began to show signs that they've lost confidence in the company, reports Automotive News. While Chrysler's announcement that it would suspend leasing August 1 caused a last-minute flurry of shoppers, more ominous was a report by Complete.com that Chrysler's June "shopper count," its number of online product inquiries on major automotive Web sites, fell to the company's second-lowest on record. Hmm; loss of customer interest and

  By Andrew Stoy Read More
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  The Ten Most Outrageous Car Body Kits

  Building a car from the ground up is an incredible challenge, which is why many budding designers have to settle for re-bodying an already built car. Whether deciding the quickest way to live their dream of owning an exotic car is stretching those lines over a not-so-exotic frame — like a Ferrari out of a Fiero or a Porsche out of a Volkswagen Beetle — or just for the challenge, the results are usually outrageously memorable. True, they're mostly memorable for being disgusting, but that isn't

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  Nissan Introduces Gas Pedal That Pushes Back When Accelerating "Too Fast"

  Nissan's revealed plans to install what it's calling the "ECO Pedal" system in models next year. The technology makes the gas pedal press upward when it senses motorists are speeding up too quickly. Although Nissan says the system can help drivers improve fuel efficiency 5 to 10 percent, we say it's the ultimate nanny technology that should never see life.

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Porsche Reveals 303 HP Special Limited Edition 2009 Boxster, Cayman

  Porsche's plans for two new special edition cars have leapt from internet leakage to reality as the duo, dubbed the Boxster S Porsche Design Edition 2 and the Porsche Cayman S Sport, are finally official and due in October. Should you be inclined to purchase one of the 50 US-bound Boxster S cars, or 200 Cayman S Sports, you'll get eight more ponies between your go-pedal and the road, for a total of 303 HP. Also, a set of 5 mm wheel spacers should provide the cars with slightly more neutral handl

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  Report: GM, Ford Exploring Making Sweet, Sweet Engine Collaboration Love

  The Detroit News is reporting this morning that Ford and GM are exploring a possible collaboration to develop new engines and other powertrain technologies according to sources at both companies. Both of the big automakers from Detroit are looking to find ways to reduce research-and-development costs even as they respond to the shift in consumer demand from big trucks and sport utility vehicles toward smaller, more economical cars and crossovers. Details on the not-at-all-confirmed "discussion p

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  1970 Ford F250 Camper Special

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. It's Truck Monday once again, and today I've decided to do something about the shortage of Nixon Era Fords in this series. A couple of sharp-eyed readers noticed this truck in the background of the photos of the Dart GT convertible, so I headed back to photograph it.

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  Spinelli Tops List Of Awesomest Vans Ever

  Picture the scene: It's August 1984 and you're about to start your first semester of community college. You've got the $1,200 you earned stocking shelves at your dad's hardware store all summer burning a hole in your pocket and your eyes on the sweet panel van your buddy Darryl is selling. The problem is; you know you should spend the money on your first apartment so you can move out of your Mom's basement. What should you do? Score the van and spend the leftover cash on airbrushing, or take you

  By Wes Siler Read More
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  Commenter Of The Day: Japan, We Surrender Edition

  Sometimes you just have to know when to give up. We might have beaten Japan in WWII, but they've been conducting a covert war ever since, assaulting us with convenience and luxury that has made us weak of body and weaker of mind. Commenter Elhigh points this out in an open letter to the Land of the Rising Sun — pleading for mercy before all of us get so fat that we pop — in response to news of the Toyota Winglet personal mobility device, an armchair so clever that we may never be able climb out

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  PCH, Chevy-Powered Brits Edition: V8 MGA Or V8 TR6?

  Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Yesterday, the combo of rotary weirdness and potential performance of the RX-7 scored a win over the Caprice's monster torque and bullying physique, according to the Choose Your Eternity poll. Today we're returning to a theme we saw in the very first Project Car Hell: British cars with engine swaps!

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  Chrysler Sales Drop 29% In July

  Chrysler LLC has reported a 29% unadjusted July sales decline from the same period a year earlier, primarily due to the market collapse of pickup trucks and large SUVs and a planned reduction in fleet sales. Minivans were a surprising bright spot for the company, with combined Town & Country and Grand Caravan sales enjoying a 21% increase, while incentives on Ram truck helped improve sales significantly over June despite being down 27% from July 2007. Full release after the jump.

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  Chrysler Announces "Shop 'Til You Drive" Promotion, Attempts To Make Purchasing As Cheap As Leasing

  Following the suspension of leasing by Chrysler Financial, Chrysler LLC has announced a new strategy to lower vehicle purchase payments to about the same price point that consumers were accustomed to with leasing. In addition to a model year-end promotion called "Shop 'Til You Drive," Chrysler will be expanding the vehicles eligible for 72-month loans, expanding cash incentives, in some cases to as much as $2,000, and providing additional cash incentives to customers coming off-lease. Automotive

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  UK Longbridge Factory Resumes MG TF Production

  The historic Longbridge production facility in Birmingham, England is rolling again. First opened in 1905 by Austin, it was once the largest factory in the world. Since that time it's manufactured cars, airplanes and armaments for both world wars, and its name became synonymous with strikes, poor quality and mismanagement during the 1970s. Now, Nanjing Automotive has begun assembling its version of the MG TF there, despite using mostly Chinese-built components.

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  Two Alfa Romeo Milanos For $299? Let's Go Racing!

  After Seatbelt123 and the rest of the Quattro Libre team piloted their Audi 4000 to a respectable 23rd place at the 24 Hours of LeMons South event last weekend, they decided to upgrade to some fine Italian steel for their next race. What better choice than the Alfa Romeo Milano, with its insanely complicated and fragile innovative De Dion tube/rear-transaxle drivetrain and neurotic bulletproof Italian V6? And- can you believe it?- it turns out you can get two of 'em for under 300 bucks! What cou

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  The Race Is Not To The Swift, Nor The Battle To The Strong: Top 5 Lap Times At LeMons South

  When you get a bunch of car freaks together and introduce them to the concept of the 24 Hours of LeMons, you always hear a lot of talk about what low-budget car should be the fastest. After all, it's all about being quickest around the track, right? The reality generally doesn't work out that way, however; while the winning Krider Racing Integra did in fact have the best lap time at the LeMons SF event, most of the time there's little correlation (for example, my team's Volvo had the fourth-fast

  By Murilee Martin Read More
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  GM Sales Down 32.4% In July

  The General delivered 235,184 vehicles in the month of July, a drop of 32.4% from July of last year, adjusted by sales days and a greater drop than expected. We're still digesting, but here are some of the big numbers — truck sales were down 40.4%, car sales were down 18.9%. GM's brands with the biggest drops percentage-wise were Hummer (as expected) at 64.6%, Buick at 44.5% and GMC down 42.5%. But the biggest news has to be the revenue drop. GM's quarterly revenue in the NorAm region was $19.8

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Honda July Sales Down 9.2%; Cars Set Record

  Honda has posted a 9.2% total sales decline for July 2008, adjusted for daily selling rate. While the Japanese manufacturer saw car sales set a record, rising 6.7%, light-truck sales droped 27.8%, dragging down the company's total. The subcompact Honda Fit and the Civic Hybrid broke previous sales records, rising 78.5% and 27.4%, respectively. Full release after the jump.

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  U.S. Government Spent $3.4 Billion On Vehicle Fleet Last Year, Isn't Sure Why

  The federal government fleet now totals 642,233 vehicles and cost taxpayers $3.4 billion last year, according to the AP by way of the Detroit News. As one might expect, the government doesn't know exactly why it has so many cars and trucks — even within individual agencies, the report states, some vehicles sit unused and one has even disappeared entirely. In other cases, agencies were told to cut their fleets but instead added vehicles. On top of that, high-level officials pay drivers — multiple

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  Toyota US Sales Drop 18.7% In July

  CNBC is reporting Toyota US car sales are down 8.3%. They also claim truck sales have plunged 32%, for a cumulative 18.7% sales drop versus the same month last year. While we don't have a release yet to elaborate, it seems Toyota's recent sales number warnings have been spot-on, and the company is being hit by the deteriorating US market just as hard as the "Big Three." More details as we get them. UPDATE: Toyota press release now posted below the jump.

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  Ford Sales Drop 14.9% In July

  Ford sold 161,530 vehicles during the month of July, a drop of 14.9% from the same month last year — and down 21.5% when adjusted per sales day. While we're still sifting through the very lacking-in-focus-but-not-Focus press release, some numbers jump out at us — Volvo saw a drop in sales of 46.3% from the same month last year. Predictably, SUVs were down 54.4%. Still, one bright spot for Ford was car sales, up 7.8%. Oh, and there's something in the monthly sales press release below the jump on

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  Full-Size Cardboard Aston Martin DB5 Comes Complete With Cardboard Spy Gadgets, Machine Guns

  Built by Chris Gilmour, an English artist with a penchant for working with cardboard, and titled "Aston Martin," this full-sized replica of James Bond's venerable Aston Martin DB5 comes complete with all of the brilliant gadgets seen in the movie Goldfinger. A close inspection reveals the car is equipped with cardboard machine guns, oil slick spray nozzle, radar tracking screen and bulletproof plate at the rear, among others. It even has a flip top shifter knob with the red ejector seat button

  By Ben Wojdyla Read More
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  2009 Ford Ka Now Officially Official With High-Resolution Photos And Details

  Ford decided the world had seen enough unofficially official photos of the all-new 2009 Ford Ka. The spinmeisters at Ford Europe have let loose with high-resolution versions of the three leaked shots we've already seen, plus a press release sparse on real details, but huge on adjectives. Yes, the marketers have supped heavily from the well of hyperbole, describing the new Ka as "full of youthful and cheeky Ka spirit," "exciting," "bold" and yes, "fashionable." Full specs will be released prior t

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  Porsche 356 Speedster Replica

  Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Here's a car that I found parked in front of one of my favorite East End bars, the Lemon Tree. For a moment, I thought I'd found a genuine 1950s Speedster, but the four-lug wheels gave away its VW Beetle roots. You need to make sure you've got all four hubcaps when you drive one of these!

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  Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport: A Targa For The Rest Of Us... With A Few Extra Million To Spend

  The open-topped Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport has officially been set loose on the world in pictures ahead of its planned Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance reveal in only a few weeks (chumps, don't they know the world will be watching the Woodward Dream Cruise that weekend?). According to Bugatti, the company busily trying to make the multi-variation Veyron the Ford Mustang of supercars, no sacrifice has been spared to get the sun shining in. We're told Bugatti's used a number of innovative rei

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  Toyota Reveals Trio Of "Winglet" Personal Transport Assistance Robots

  Toyota announced today a trio of new "Toyota Partner Robots" designed as a new method of personal transport assistance (Click here to see a gallery of the three). They're each called the "Winglet" and the smallest of the three consists of a body a little bigger than an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper that houses an electric motor, two wheels and internal sensors that constantly monitor the user's position and make adjustments in power to ensure stability. Meanwhile, a unique parallel link mechanis

  By Ray Wert Read More
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  GM Reports Second Quarter Net Loss Of $15.5 Billion

  As expected, GM just reported a net loss of $15.5 billion (an astounding $27.33 per share) and an adjusted net loss of $6.3 billion ($11.21 per share) after charges of $9.1 billion in non-cash "special" one-time items for the second quarter of 2008. Second quarter liquidity of $21 billion, plus a credit line of an additional $5 billion. All the nitty-gritty dirty details below the jump and we'll have more analysis shortly.

  By Ray Wert Read More