When it came time to advertise the struggling 5000 model for 1987, Audi decided to take the road less traveled. That road wound itself around a Mercedes and BMW in a circular fashion, creating a vintage advertisement that hasn't aged any better than most Audi 5000s.
Read MoreYou've seen our first photos of the 2012 BMW M5 (aka BMW Concept M5) and read our first drive, so what's left? Official photos and the details of the concept gleaned from the press release.
Read MoreThere are low mileage 24 year old cars and then there are Buick GNXs with 10 miles on the odometer. This example of the latter is currently listed on Ebay with no description other than the pictures seen here.
Read MoreWelcome to Found Off The Street, our look at cars found on the cape that rust liked so much it decided to summer there; Cape Cod, MA. Today we have a 1962 Buick Invicta.
Read MoreA Jeep that can pull 0.9g on the skidpad? You already know that. But a Jeep with paddle shifters? That's a new one. Meet the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. And yes, it does look like our two-year-old spy rendering.
Read MoreThis coachbuilt 1969 Cadillac station wagon has everything a well-heeled suburban dad of the previous century could want: plush appointments, old-world 472ci V8 and rear-facing seats—located about a mile back—to keep the rugrats out of earshot.
Read MoreWelcome to Found Off The Street, our look at cars usually found on the cape that rust liked so much it decided to summer there; Cape Cod, MA. Today we have a special Found off the Cape 1959 Cadillac.
Read MoreIn his new book, former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz calls Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and other right-wing critics of GM "reckless" for their hatred of anything linked to the Obama administration — including the Chevrolet Volt. Here's our exclusive first drive review of the soon-to-be-published book.
Read MoreWriter Shane McGlaun never expected his decision to buy a 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 to turn into the story of a guy winning a lottery, for better and worse. — Ed.
Read MoreSoichiro Honda's fuel of choice in his youth was high-test sake. He marked his wedding by dancing naked, raced through a life-threatening crash and drove a car filled with geishas off a bridge. (Everyone lived.) Then he founded Honda and found his greatest success breaking convention.
Read MoreIt's fast, it handles and it's the answer to a question only asked by a small, noisy few gearheads and automotive journalists. We got another chance behind the wheel of Cadillac's CTS-V wagon this weekend because, well, it was available in the General's New York City press fleet.
Read MoreYou'd think any car expected to muscle in between Aston Martin's debonair DB9 and its cinematic, covert-ops-ready DBS would have seriously sharp elbows. What the new Virage lacks in elbows, however, it makes up for in bra-unhooking charm.
Read MoreAlthough it may seem like all late 60s muscle cars were built solely with performance in mind four decades later, this commercial is clear proof to the contrary. During the height of the muscle car performance era, the 1969 Ford Mustang Grande was marketed to the buyer more concerned with luxury, elegance and dramatic Spanish music.
Read MoreThis weekend, a reader of the Team-BHP forum caught more shots of the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics concept car being used in filming for the new Mission Impossible 4 movie. Here's the full report:
Read MoreK-PAX Racing's turned an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's giving us weekly race reports on Project Grocery Getter. Race two: Long Beach. —Ed.
Read MoreAt this week's New York Auto Show, Nissan unveiled a new version of its Versa small car, letting them finally drop the stripped-down version of its Versa sedan, the lowest-priced new car on the market, with an advertised sticker price of $9,990. With its demise comes the death of the sub-$10,000 new car. Here's why that's a good thing.
Read MoreThe Jeep pickup truck is every red-blooded American male's ultimate automotive wet dream. The mother-truckers over at PickupTrucks.com just got a chance to drive one. If America is ever to get its manhood back, Jeep must once again build a pickup truck.
Read MoreLike a Midwestern motorcycle Sasquatch, this chopper has been making the rounds of the Internet for years whenever someone wants to illustrate weird life choices. The Missouri Ape Hanger Harley was spotted again Sunday in its natural habitat.
Read MoreHandling "like Herbie" is a direct quote from VW marketing boss Luca De Meo. He's referring to the clean-sheet 2012 Beetle's new electronic front differential, which, according to Volkswagen, should allow for more nimble handling.
Read MoreWhat would you do if you blew the engine of your Ferrari 360 GT during a track day? While most Ferrari owners would probably go for an expensive engine rebuild after the tears subsided, one Californian exotic car owner decided to think outside the box. The 1000 horsepower Chevy powered bastard Ferrari seen here is the result.
Read MoreTake a secret 19th century velodrome in the heart of Budapest, a handful of vintage cars and bikes, and a group of petrolheads dressed up in revival gear ready to brave the Siberian chill on an April day, and you’ve got yourself a perfect afternoon. We went along for the ride on the terrifying banked oval in a 1967 Autobianchi Bianchina.
Read MoreUntil the 1980s fade from living memory, there will be cars kitted out with Ferrari Testarossa side-streaks. There could be worse candidates for the job than a slightly dilapidated Fiat Uno Turbo.
Read MoreDigital artist Luis Nieves wowed us last week with a rendering of the iconic Ford GT40 in Gulf livery so realistic we said it would make you dream in pixels.
Read MoreRidiculously, in America, the only acceptable vehicles for a politician are either U.S.-built hybrids or an old pickup truck. In Finland, a parlimentary candidate is highlighting his 1987 El Camino converted to run on wood gas. Can we write in?
Read MoreWriter Matthew Algeo wrote a book about President Harry Truman touring the country in a 1953 Chrysler New Yorker after retiring from office. He didn't know what happened to the car, until it found him - Ed.
Read MoreToday's QOTD is a shout to our friends at the Brown Car Appreciation Society of Mudville, USA. All colors mixed together isn't always the best choice for a car, but sometimes it's essential. What car looks the best in brown?
Read MoreFor this year's Indianapolis 500, the marketing brains at Hot Wheels will attempt to break the world record for longest jump by a four-wheel vehicle. Doing so requires a 90-foot ramp mounted on a 10-story-tall bedroom door. Dear. Lord.
Read MoreWashington was not the first word spoken on the moon. When a situation turns bad no one says "Los Angeles, we have a problem" because no wants help from Charlie Sheen. Houston is Space City, the birthplace of the shuttle program, and the rightful home of one of the retired shuttles.
Read MoreFollowing the Sunday fire that burned celebrated rat rod Rusty Slammington, owner Mike Burroughs posted his account of how the fire started — and how he was trying to keep some perspective on losing a cherished piece of work.
Read MoreMercedes and Jewish roots? Weren’t open Mercedes the rides of choice for the Nazi set in the 1930s? Yes, they were—but Hitler and company were riding in cars named after the granddaughter of a Hungarian rabbi.
Read MoreThere is more to Iran than pistachios, nukes, and ayatollahs. It’s a country of voluptuous racing drivers, abandoned Bizzarrinis, epic traffic jams, smoke-spewing Paykans, and a very laissez-faire approach to traffic control. Deranged world traveler Dániel Belényi has been going to Iran for over a decade and he’s brought us a portrait of its car culture in dictionary form (hint: use the arrows to jump between entries). —Ed.
Read MoreAutomotive technologies aren't all long-term prospects. Some stick around (you know, tires, brakes etc.) others fall by the wayside, for all kinds of reasons. Get out your geek-mining hats, and get to it. What's the geekiest forgotten car feature?
Read MoreLong before Lincoln came up with the ill-fated idea to put their name on an F150, someone had already created a far superior Lincoln product with a bed. Behold the Lincoln Continenchero, a well executed example of the land yacht era car/truck Lincoln never made.
Read MoreAfter stumbling across Chris Brown's Lamborghini Gallardo up done in a World War II fighter plane theme, a tipster pointed us to the man who came up with the idea and pulled off the detailed airbrush painting.
Read MoreOur story on 11 supercars impounded from con artist Russell Cole after bilking Best Buy out of $31 million brought in these photos from someone who used to tend to Cole's collection back when he'd swap day-old Bentleys because he didn't like the color.
Read MoreNo, it's not April Fool's part deux. Seventeen years ago today, Kurt Cobain committed suicide, plunging the world into chaos. I mean, setting a course for irrelevancy of pop music. What car was the Kurt Cobain of the auto industry?
Read MoreThere is something menacing and terrible about V10 engines. They lack the vocal complexity of the V12 and they also lack the screaming elegance of flat-plane V8’s. What they have instead is pure terror.
Read MoreBy 1974 the cars being sold were a lot different than the fire breathing "Super Cars" being sold in the late 60s. As is evidenced by this vintage road test, although Car and Track did it's best to change with the times, it was never quite the same. This is fairly apparent throughout this 1974 Oldsmobile Omega S road test. As host Bud Lindemann points out, the S in the Omega's name signifies sport options and a higher price tag.
Read MoreLooking for a vintage and truly one of a kind way to see the country? You probably wouldn't want to drive this Custom Cadillac Camper anywhere currently, but with mechanical skill, a large budget and lots of imagination this could be the one of a kind vintage camper of your nightmares dreams.
Read MoreIn 1965 Ford tried to sell potential LTD buyers on the fact it was quieter than a Rolls Royce because, as well all know, interior noise is a huge factor in car buying. 15 years later, even though the LTD's low decibel advantage had turned into a barely audible tie, Ford was still proud of that fact the LTD was as good as the Rolls at something.
Read MoreAt this year's Easter Jeep Safari, the annual culmination of Utah's off-roading holy week, Chrysler's again hauling out concept Jeeps to tempt the faithful, combining aftermarket gear with stuff from the Mopar catalog. Yesterday, you saw the "Jeep Wrangler JK-8 Independence." Today, there are more.
Read MoreLast week we showed you dealer ordering information for the 2012 Chevy Corvette after it popped up online. Now so too has the first shot of the new "Carlisle Blue" color option.
Read MoreThe devastating wildfires in West Texas have claimed lives, property, and this man's restored Jaguar. Is that an Mk. IX? Sad. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Read MoreWhen you park your car in a garage, you generally assume it's safe from head-on accidents. Here's how one man found out that wasn't the case and found out what happens when your Mazda gets a Nissan hat.
Read MoreThe annual Cherry Blossom Parade in downtown Washington carried with it a special floral display this year, courtesy of a new Dodge Durango that caught fire while towing a parade float. UPDATED
Read MoreStripping down to your underwear to avoid the trained snout of a police dog isn't an effective means of escape. Just ask 25-year-old Angela C. Ferranti, who was found by a K-9 hiding in the Florida woods wearing only bra and panties after crashing her car following a night of drinking.
Read MoreUnderground Racing's tuning work is sometimes overshadowed by their spectacular Lamborghini crashes. What this weekend's wreck of a twin-turbo UGR Gallardo lacks in flips, it more than makes up for in hilarious excuses. It's gotta be the shoes! UPDATE!
Read MoreAshleyMadison.com, the douche-y dating site for married people, has offered Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson one million pounds to be its British spokesman following certain tabloid reports. Take it, Jeremy — then endorse someone else. How could they complain?
Read MoreAfter launching the public relations campaign/lawsuit against Top Gear last week over its withering test of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, Tesla CEO Elon Musk finally spoke out today. His reason for suing? Tesla's investors kept asking about it.
Read MoreThis weekend, we gave Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman a chance to rebut the PR campaign by Tesla Motors over their lawsuit of the BBC program. Today, we give you the response by Tesla Motors. —Ed.
Read MoreAndy Wilman, the executive producer of Top Gear, shares his thoughts on Tesla Motors' recent lawsuit against the BBC's motoring show and how the electric automaker's blatantly using it as a PR strategy. —Ed.
Read MoreWhile you can get an idea of what you like and dislike about a car in a short test drive, you can't pick up on the minor characteristics that eventually turn into major annoyances until you've logged some serious time behind the wheel of a car. What drives you insane about your car?
Read MoreWhen it was introduced at the Paris Auto Show in 1978 the BMW M1 was the first mid-engine vehicle BMW had ever built. 33 years later, the low production M1 is the only mid-engine vehicle the company has ever built. One of the rare M1s is currently listed on Ebay, but the entry price to malaise era Bavarian super car ownership is not for the faint of heart or the shallow of pockets.
Read More63 years ago today, at an auto show in Amsterdam, the world first met the Land Rover. The rugged British made utility vehicle would go on to earn a reputation for its toughness during cross continental torture tests as well as day to day use. While they are often thought of as exotic exploration vehicles, Land Rovers were originally built with a more practical purpose in mind.
Read MoreGeneral Motors never built a production version of the 1954 Chevy Nomad concept, the wagon based off the first-generation Corvette, but that hasn't stopped others from putting tremendous amounts of brain matter into answering "What if?" Like the Superior 54 Sport Wagon, a modern version of the Nomad built around C5 Corvette bits, only 50 of which will be built for the price of $125,000. FriscoFairlane may not have similar fabrication skills nor bravery to market such an idea — but our post on a
Read MoreBeing the top-selling U.S. luxury brand for 11 years was nice, but according to a list of gripes in a leaked internal document obtained exclusively by Jalopnik, they're also on the verge of becoming the new Buick. UPDATED
Read MoreLast week's photo set of a Pedobear-adorned Miata driving under an 18-wheeler drew the ire of many (including us) for its sheer stupidity. The driver of the Miata agrees it was a dumb choice and has a message for all of you.
Read MoreFord Racing just announced the Boss 302 crate engine is now available as a boxed engine. Now wrenchers can finally install the 444 horsepower 5.0-liter V8 from the Boss 302 Mustang into their own project cars. But will they want to?
Read MoreThe Cadillac CTS-V Coupe rolls out of the Lansing factory looking like a death missile from the future. Adding twin turbos that boost its output to 731 hp brings its death-dealing much closer to the present moment.
Read MoreThankfully, by the time normal people wake tomorrow, the worst of the Royal Wedding should have passed by, including run-up stories such as NPR's report from Blackpool, "England's Las Vegas," where a 53-year-old housekeeper Sue Garnett promised to show everyone a good time. If the sound of Ms. Garnett's voice doesn't exactly conjure the image of non-stop celebrations, then you know how OohErMissus felt upon hearing the dulcet tones of the Scion FR-S concept:
Read MoreSusie Castillo, model and former Miss USA, claims a TSA patdown at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport included touching of her private parts and made her feel like she was being "molested." In this video she shot right after it happened she's visibly shaken.
Read MoreThe Triton 36,000 is an amazing submarine. Previous generations of the Triton only went to 3,300 feet but the new model uses technology from Rayotek Scientific to make a passenger dome that reacts to increasing pressure from increasing depth by becoming stronger.
Read MoreThe Beastie Boys' stream of "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two" has been the soundtrack around my head for a few days now. Today was a tough day to pick just one winner, but ParkAve231 made some fine noise with his reaction to a distracted driving group's worries about a space shuttle launch:
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, we wrote about hundreds of 2011 Ford Mustang owners reporting problems with the six-speed manual transmissions in their vehicles. We're now hearing more complaints — almost daily — but we have yet to hear from Ford. Color us puzzled. UPDATE: Silence broken.
Read MoreA 19-year-old man in Ann Arbor, Michigan killed four ducklings by running over them with his Hummer, apparently as an act of vengeance against the employees of a McDonalds who act as caretakers of the duck family.
Read MoreA nosy neighbor to a blighted Washington, D.C., townhome snapped a picture of a "rusted out old shell of a car" on bricks in its back yard. It turns out to be a highly-collectable 1963 Chevrolet Corvette — sort of.
Read MoreRachel Gilbert, who is approaching her 100th birthday, got a very special birthday present yesterday. The die-hard Nascar fan lived out her fantasy Tuesday morning when she got to take a few hot laps at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Read MoreIt's the battle of the decades: In one corner, the legions of Ferdinand Porsche, and the adherence to an ethos of rear-engine, flat-six power in a shape that changes like wind-blown sandstone. In the other, the Corvette clan of Bowling Green, Ky., flying the colors of Zora Arkus Duntov and the wonders of plastic bodies, pushrods and leaf springs. Both pledge allegiance to tradition and performance, and both eyes the other as friend or heretic depending on the circumstances. All of which played o
Read MoreAfter first reading the details and now, finally, after seeing these allegedly official photos of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, it's fairly safe to say what we've known all along: Porsche is selling a street-legal RSR.
Read MoreThis week, the SETI Institute announced that it would have to shut down its large radio telescope facility, called the Allen Telescope Array, near the California mountain town Hat Creek. For over a decade, SETI has used the 42 radio dishes in its array to scan the skies for possible communications from extraterrestrial intelligence.
Read MoreThe family of the 23-year-old woman crushed and killed by a drunk driver in a monster truck outside of a Dallas strip club last month is suing the cage fight-managing truck's owner, the driver, the strip club's managers, and the strip club itself over the death.
Read MoreApologies up front. This QOTD percolated from one of yesterday's threads, and damned if I can't find it today. (UPDATE: It was from the mighty Snapoversteer.) Part two of embarrassment week. What car would you hate to be killed in?
Read MoreAlthough Cadillac has talked about building a real flagship sedan for years (heck, we'd heard they were talking about it in 2006), a world-beating full-size sedan hasn't been a part of the lineup in, like, forever. And while the Cadillac XTS, a stretched version of the front-wheel-drive Epsilon platform underneath the Buick LaCrosse and Saab 9-5, is nice, it's not enough to compete with the S-Class or 7 Series.
Read MoreThe apocalyptic mini-film on the Lamborghini Aventador led Irishman72 to attempt to claim it as his own, even at the damage to his own reputation:
Read MoreThe Scooby Doo school of marketing says if you press enough buttons on the control panels in potential customers brains, eventually you hit the right one. In that spirit, here's Dodge decapitating a self-driving robot. And the crowd goes wild.
Read MoreWhen you hear the words "Pedobear" and "Miata" in the same sentence, you know someone's going somewhere they don't belong. In this case, it's a lowered Miata sneaking under an unsuspecting 18-wheeler like Pedobear sneaking under... well... you get the idea.
Read MoreThere's no greater way for General Motors to memorialize our nation's history than by paying to cover a Camaro SS with a mural so eagle-emblazoned and patriotic it's like the love child of Lee Greenwood and Chuck Norris. These colors do run — fast.
Read MoreMr. An was driving down a crowded Beijing highway when he noticed a truck carrying hundreds of dogs, many sick and crying, cramped into a tiny space. In a rare act of dissidence, he swerved in front of the truck and prevented it form carrying its living load to the slaughterhouse.
Read MoreAfter finding out about Crown Vic hoarding in the wake of the model's cancellation this week, we got to wondering what vehicle we would have stocked up on as personal fleet vehicles. What car do you wish you had hoarded when it was new?
Read MoreEver wanted your own amphibious vehicle, but lack the time, resources, and skill to build one of your own? If you answered yes you're in luck, someone has decided to part with their already built and water tested custom amphibian. It's called the H2-0, and not only is it proven off road and in the water, it's currently on Ebay.
Read MoreLong before Chrysler launched its Detroit-gasmic advertising campaign for the 200 earlier this year, Bay area Cadillac dealers pointed out their 1985 models were "imported" from the Motor City while making fun of the German competition in this vintage ad.
Read MoreA series of billboards for the new wifi-equipped Audi A6 show off the brand's curious logo. Yep, that looks like a Goatse.
Read MoreThis old video of a beaten up Chevy S-10 taking down a newish Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 in an oval race has taken on a second life on the web. People are outraged. Hang the S-10 driver! Ban him from the track! The reality is: it's the Jeeper's fault.
Read MoreSan Francisco's strict historic ordinances means its entirely legal to build a garage in the ground floor of your Haight-Ashbury Victorian apartment house, but there's no way they'll let you replace the beautiful three-sided bay window with a garage door. So how do you get it in? A little architectural magic.
Read MoreAuto shows have a lot in common with a mock-up of a Formula One car; they're both a promise of excitement rather than the actual experience. This year's New York show had its share of craziness, but for all the models we did see our post on a tiger-carrying Land Rover gave Stöke the idea for one vehicle we'd pay to see:
Read MoreIn typical New York fashion, the Dodge Charger from "Fast Five" got the high-attention spot on the main floor of the New York Auto Show to flaunt its matte-black paint and automatic transmission. The more impressive movie car has to park its flamethrowers in the basement.
Read MoreWhen we heard the Shelby GTS was coming we speculated as to whether it would be a gently modified V6 or GT Mustang. Turns out it's both. At just $9,950 on top of the price of a base Mustang it's the least expensive way to get a Shelby product short of buying a Shelby Lancer.
Read MoreAssuming your idea of a new Corvette isn't just one with Louis Chevrolet's face all over it, GM's performance brand is adding a ton of tiny tweaks for 2012 including a new ZR1 High Performance Package and Performance Traction Management for the Z06.
Read MoreThe "Senna" documentary arrives in the United States in July, and a few hundred people got to see it last night. Here's how to talk your friends and family into seeing it in theaters.
Read MoreThe 2011 Chrysler 300 was trotted out as an all-new car. It wasn't. The 2012 isn't much newer, but it's still an improvement and there are now lots of them to choose from.
Read MoreThe good Dr. Dre may drive Ferraris, but when it comes to keeping those heads ringing he's sticking with his partner Eminem and tuning sound systems for Chrysler. Ding ding dong.
Read MoreAfter the most difficult gestation since someone decided "Spiderman" needed to be a musical, the Scion FR-S Concept finally appeared at the New York Auto Show, carrying the hopes for a true compact rear-wheel-drive sports car — actually coated in candy.
Read MoreThe world of bargain new cars hasn't been known for style. Or engineering. Or really any favorable attributes outside of supporting impoverished foreign workers. Yet the 2012 Nissan Versa sedan suggests cheap and attractive might not be mutually exclusive.
Read MoreThe new Hyundai Accent is more proof that the Korean automaker knows how to benchmark. When the Fit arrived in the U.S. it was a revelation: a cheap car that doesn't feel cheap. Now Hyundai's doing the exact same thing, only better.
Read MoreThis is the 2013 Ford Taurus, a swarm of tweaks on the current model lineup that runs from a four-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost engine to this "Superman" grille on the SHO. Forget the Chevy Impala — Ford's aimin' to intercept the Audi A6.
Read MoreThe current Volvo S60 R-Design — like all R-designs — has been limited to suspension tweaks and expensive aesthetic upgrades. No more! An inside source tells us the next R-Design S60's getting a power boost.
Read MoreWith the demise of the Ford Crown Victoria in a few short months, police departments around the nation are scrambling to find a replacement. Or, like the city of Austin, Texas, they're buying enough now to last five years.
Read MoreIn the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Man From The South" we Steve McQueen betting he can successfully strike his lighter ten times in a row. The prize? Peter Lorre's unnamed convertible. If he fails? He has to cut off one of this digits. What car is worth losing a finger for?
Read MoreIt's worth pointing out, as a preface to the below rant, that most Volkswagen Beetles produce about 37 horsepower from their tiny, air-cooled engines. That's it. If you've driven a Beetle this may not surprise you and, while the number is comically low by today's standards, it was enough to have a little fun. Think of all the fun you've seen someone have in a far more powerful New Beetle, then the fun this guy is having in his Beetle and then read geistkoenig's comment.
Read MoreA complex, clever, nail-biting race on a dry Shanghai International Circuit brought the F1 season’s first part to a close with terrific racing and laps upon laps of drama. But was it just a bit too dramatic? Warning: spoilers.
Read MoreBMW'd already revealed details on its new, twin-scroll turbo four when it took the sheet of a car using it for motive power. It's the Z4 sDrive28i, revealed in a sunny shade of National School Bus Chrome earlier today in NYC.
Read MoreRemember that Dodge Avenger rally car from last week? Here's its streetable cousin, the 2012 Dodge Avenger R/T. The suspension? She is stiffer. Pentastar power? True. The transmission? Automatic. Please, talk amongst yourselves.
Read MoreLike any start-up industry, automotive bred its own showmen-impresario-tycoons, who amassed the large money and lived even larger. Naturally, there's Henry Ford, but he was kind of a stick in the mud. Who's the ultimate automotive mack daddy?
Read MoreWe don't usually lead with NASCAR. But then, NASCAR races of 500 miles aren't usually decided by two thousandths of a second.
Read MoreThis image purports to be the much-rumored swan song Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, which according to the leaked spec sheet uses the 500-hp 4.0-liter RSR engine to help create the ultimate 997 model.
Read MoreAfter more than a decade of production, the New Beetle's grown mighty stale and, more importantly — effeminate. The all-new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle ditches the flowers for more power, bringing design and engineering back into this century with a masculine look decidedly planted in the last one.
Read MoreWelcome to Found Off The Street, our look at cars found on the cape that rust liked so much it decided to summer there; Cape Cod, MA. Today we have a 1964 Chevrolet Corvair.
Read MoreOne of the only things cooler than a fast car that looks fast is a fast car that doesn't look fast. While it's hard to pinpoint exactly why sleepers are so cool, their appeal to car lovers in undeniable. What is your favorite factory built sleeper?
Read MoreWhat has the motor from a Ford Taurus SHO, a stretched body that very vaguely resembles a Ferrari and a slightly musty smell from sitting? If you guessed this Taurus based Faux-rarri limo currently on Ebay you are correct, and possibly psychic.
Read MoreIn 1974 the Mercury Cougar and the Oldsmobile Cutlass were two strong contenders in the midsized luxury class. As this vintage Car and Track comparison shows, what these two cars lacked in performance they made up for with nice interiors and semi-acceptable handling.
Read MoreThe latest movie from hot rodder/filmmaker Brian Darwas arrives this summer to explore "The Sweet Sickness," chronicling the devotion for the original hot rod engine, the Ford flathead V8. Ford's more modern problems drew a host of comments, including this one from MaWeiTao about the responsibilities of a global economy:
Read MoreMercedes enthusiast forum BenzBoost alleges Mercedes/European tuner Evosport owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in parts/services to customers and payments to vendors. The forum's posted documents supporting their claims and now Evosport is trying to shut BenzBoostUpdate.
Read MoreThe 2011 Ford Mustang debuted last year to glowing reviews, strong sales and swaddled in American pride. But over the past several months, hundreds of owners have complained of broken Chinese-built manual transmissions — a problem Ford has yet to rectify.
Read MoreFord — which is about to release an all-electric version of the Focus — just put out the above map of the United States with the cities it feels are best suited to electric car ownership.
Read MoreNasa is getting ready to throw a Mini Cooper-sized mobile science lab up into space. Curiosity, as the rover is affectionately called, is headed toward Mars with a payload of lasers and mass spectrometers and multi-million dollar robotic drills—basically all the stuff needed to prove fourth planet conditions are capable of supporting microbial life… conditions depending, of course. But in order for Curiosity to even get the chance at an alien discovery, it can't show up dressed as a multi-millio
Read MoreLike Marlon Brando on Broadway or Donald Trump in bankruptcy court, there's just a certain rightness to having a stock car roll around the track with the letters "STP." Let irishman72 explain:
Read MoreA Canadian university suspended its student racecar-building team after one of the engineers in training had the audacity to pose with it while wearing a bikini. It's an independent study course in sexism, administrative idiocy and misplaced priorities.
Read MoreWhen it's time to create a major promotional TV spot, sometimes automakers (and often, oil companies) go for broke. Awesomeness isn't always a function of production budget and cinematographic excellence, but often it is. What's the most awesome automotive commercial ever made?
Read MoreNot all oil ships are city-sized übertankers. This small Russian oil transporter's capacity is around 132,000 gallons, or 3,145 or so barrels. Just imagine spending more than two minutes deployed on it, as you enjoy this photo walkaround.
Read MoreThe Italian Spada Codatronca is a car occasionally talked about but rarely ever seen. Is it real? Or does it merely exist in the vapor of faith like so much incense spilled from the Pope's thurible? Not sure, but now there's a convertible version!
Read MoreLee Adams of central Florida owns 14 high-end sports cars, including a Ferrari, Mosler, Ariel Atom and a Corvette ZR1. Or he used to own a ZR1, until he had to call 911 after getting locked inside.
Read MoreWhen Harry Truman bought his 1953 Chrysler New Yorker, it had been nearly eight years since he'd driven anywhere, which is why its not surprising he played a little bumper tune pulling out of the dealership, saying "The car has so many gadgets, I'll have to go to engineering school to learn how to handle it." But would it have been better with the feline-based warning system fastmov4 created inspired by the roadgoing tigers of Dubai?
Read MoreJust in time for junior-prom season, Pinnacle Limousine Manufacturing of Hacienda Heights, California transformed a Bumblebee-livery Camaro into a Transformers-themed stretch limo. It seats up to 12 nerdlings and has enough lasers and fiber-optic lighting to choke an East Brunswick nightclub.
Read MoreAmerica's car thieves just can't get enough late '90s Honda sedans, but a few Detroit models are starting to catch some notice as well, based on LoJack's analysis of the 10,649 vehicles stolen with its systems installed last year.
Read MoreWhat's purple, costs less than $500 and has box flares like a Renault 5 Turbo 2? Yes, it's a trick question because you haven't yet seen how this 24 Hours of LeMons racecar went from Geo Metro to SHO-powered sicko.
Read MoreLibyan rebels continue a tenuous back-and-forth with Qaddafi's forces, bolstered by the occasional NATO fist from the sky. And it's a good thing they've got the ol' Treaty Organization behind them, because the insurrection's a bit... ragtag.
Read MoreTo tout its Mopar parts division, Chrysler and Fiat's parts arm Magneti Marelli built a Euro-spec rally car out of a Dodge Avenger, with 300 hp and powerslide-ready hand brakes. Will it ever actually race? Probably not.
Read MoreThe V6 pony-car battle rages anew, as the hairdressers square off with their shears. (Kidding!) The V6 Camaro gets another power bump, this time a real one. Seems that SAE technicality wasn't enough to put that Mustang issue to bed.
Read MoreJohn Hennessey's got this great shtick going where he takes his Frankenstein monsters and pits them against stock versions of cars we associate with performance. It's total nonsense, but how the hell do you not watch a twin-turbo Cadillac Escalade race a Nissan GT-R?
Read MoreIgnore the press release that talks up the "coupe-like styling" and how it has "the sportiest and most progressive design in its segment." We all know the truth just by taking a good look at the 2012 Audi Q3. It's a crossover. And if there's one thing Audi needed, it was yet another crossover.
Read MoreThe Center for Public Integrity's feature on auto dealer scams drew a wealth of in-depth comments from several people who work in the industry, pro and con, all of which are worth reading. Baby Beater Benz gave a detailed account of why he got out:
Read MoreThe team behind Thrust SSC — the world's fastest land vehicle — have been working hard to ready their even faster 1,000+ mph BLOODHOUND SSC. And they have the 3D drawings to prove it'll be the fastest hybrid car ever conceived.
Read MoreAfter the financial crisis exposed the devastation caused by predatory lending, state and federal authorities vowed to protect consumers from practices that lured them into debt they couldn't afford.
Read MoreThe early '90s edition of the Buick Skylark contend for some of the least worthy vehicles ever to carry the Buick name. One Washington car builder has the answer to the question "What if GM had allowed a convertible?"
Read MorePerhaps inspired by Jazmine Sullivan's jilted-woman vandal anthem, this woman decided to bust the windows out of the Cadillac DeVille of someone close to her. Someone she lovingly refers to as "you bitch ass punk."
Read MoreEven before Renault's Vitaly Petrov performed a Dukes of Hazzard impersonation, the Malaysian Grand Prix race had far more excitement than the line of Vettel pole-to-pole might suggest. Commenter ?Gîmmî?, who has some personal knowledge of Formula One, gave his wishlist for the future:
Read MoreRusty Slammington, the Supra-powered, rust-coated, slammed BMW street rod that had a following in the world of stanced cars was destroyed Friday night in a fire at its owner's garage.
Read MoreIt always rains in Malaysia. It didn’t rain in Malaysia yesterday. Never underequipped when it comes to show biz, Formula One bridged the precipitation gap with a flying Russian (above), a jinxed Brit, and an old rivalry rekindled. A fun race—for second place. Warning: spoilers.
Read MoreHeavy snow melt, moist soil, and North Dakota's peculiar geography combined over the weekend to turn the roads and fields around Fargo into a seemingly giant shallow ocean. Called overland flooding, it creates bizarrely apocalyptic scenes like this.
Read MoreLamborghini's latest exotics borrow heavily from the aerodynamic designs of modern aviation. Makes sense for a group of enthusiasts in a rainbow of Lamborghinis to meet up with a team of pilots for the ultimate desert dogfight.
Read MoreYou don't need to spend Porsche prices to get a new car with a bit of pep. Forbes worked with Edmunds to put together this list of the ten quickest new cars for under $30,000.
Read MoreIt's not from Germany and it doesn't have a flat four (or six), but this 1957 Tatra 603, nicknamed the "Communist Porsche", is rear engined, air cooled and very rare. Best of all, if you've always dreamt of a communist hot rod in your garage this Tatra is currently for sale on Ebay.
Read MoreEven the great Mopar muscle cars were not immune to the effects of increased emission devices and rising fuel costs in. This 1973 Dodge Challenger Rallye was, like so many vehicles of this vintage, a significantly less powerful version of the famous muscle car produced a few years earlier.
Read MoreSome people have long meaningful relationships with their cars, others seem to have a new vehicle every time you see them. Are you a committed car owner or do you move onto the next one as soon as you get bored? How many cars have you owned?
Read MoreVolkswagen was a company well known for unorthodox advertising practices by the mid 1960s. It should come as no surprise that when it came time to expand their model range for 1966 with the Fastback and Squareback, the commercials were rather typically anything but typical.
Read MoreIf you're affected by one of the 23 or so apocalyptic events taking place around the world, why not take some time this weekend to savor a cupcake, one of the few areas where Americans have maintained their craftsmanship and innovation? Take the news from Orange County, Calif., where there's the PushCake — a moist cupcake and butter frosting combo, packaged in a plastic tube with a plunger on the bottom. It's like a cake piston of flavor combustion, and your tongue is the spark plug! And after y
Read MoreIt turns out the world’s coolest gas station in Asmara was not the only infrastructure the Italians left behind in Eritrea. Then again, Eritrea comes with a long piece of Red Sea coastline and a capital city at an elevation of 7,628 ft, so it’s perhaps not entirely peculiar to find a breathtaking stretch of highway connecting said coastline with said capital city.
Read MoreK-PAX Racing's turned an off-the-line Volvo C30 into a world-beating race car in 60 days. Driver Robb Holland's giving us weekly race reports on Project Grocery Getter. First race: St. Petersburg. —Ed.
Read MoreDigital artist Luis Nieves rendered this gorgeous Ford GT40 in Gulf Oil livery complete with a digitally enhanced driver using multiple programs including ZBrush.
Read MoreLater this year, a team sponsored by Thomson Reuters will attempt to break the speed record for reaching the South Pole by land. Here's the first unofficial pictures of the custom truck they'll use in their quest.
Read MoreKiwi racing champion Rod Millen does everything better than you. Your old Toyota has 130 horsepower. His old Toyota has 800. Your driveway's a cracked asphalt mess. His driveway's a mile-long, race-paved dream that mimics the best race tracks in the world.
Read MoreThis shot of Chris Brown's Lamborghini Gallardo vinyl-wrapped in a World War II fighter theme caught by Celebrity Cars just sparks so many questions. Like: Do those plus signs count how many women he's fought in it? Add yours below.
Read MoreLast year, Eric Koretz at The Image Hunter showed how to capture classic Ferrari Formula 1 racers in 3D. Here's his follow-up, showing the epic detail necessary to get three-dimensional racing footage of classic F1 cars. — Ed.
Read MoreSure, for most of humanity, watching a shiny man in short shorts bounce around on a leftover set from "Friday the 13th" while bad covers of '60s music drones on in the background could double as torture. But give it to Mr. Milton Teagle Simmons — he knows how to get big people moving. Also, having to watch this clip is my punishment for breaking a Jalopnik COTD rule and noting observations on the shimmying hips of the big boys at Toyota and Microsoft as they build an OnStar competitor by one S
Read MoreShelby's just announced they will unveil the new Super Snake post title package for the 2012 Ford Shelby GT500 at this month's New York Auto Show. The highlight of the new Super-slithery 'stang is it's whopping 800 horsepower optional tuning package. Wow... just... wow.
Read MoreThe designer behind Bullfinch Visuals decided to take the front-engined, open-wheel design of '50s F1 cars and modernize the language for a new passenger car. The results are kind of awesome.
Read MoreToyota's clever attempt to reach owners of "jailbroken" iPhones and other iOS devices via a Scion tC-theme posted on Cydia — an alternative appstore for the devices — garnered downloads and press attention for smart marketing. Now the campaign's gaining attention for completely caving to Apple. UPDATE.
Read MoreBack at the turn of the 20th century, when farmers needed some way to measure the power output from the newish-fangled internal combustion engines, they'd hold contests at county fairs featuring the Prony brake — a device invented by Gaspard de Prony to measure the torque from a machine. As Jstas showed in our story on the Ford Mustang's dyno runs, figuring out how much power comes from an engine is still a burning question:
Read MoreDo automakers provide juiced versions of their cars to journalists? It's a concern that goes back decades. Inside Line raised a red flag recently about the 2011 Ford Mustang GT. But is Ford really jucing?
Read MoreThis Acura NSX is all alone in the big bad world, left next to some dumpsters to rot. Well, it can't actually rot since it's all aluminum, so like other supercars left to die across the Arabian peninsula, it's decorating yet another forsaken Dubai development.
Read MoreWhen Lorne Micheals left SNL after its fifth season, the smart money was on Al Franken to replace him. Unfortunately, Al Franken had just done a bit on Weekend Update where he assaulted the NBC president for being an idiot. The suits went with producer Jean Doumanian, who had no real comedy writing experience. She was smart enough to hire Eddie Murphy, but not smart enough to put him on TV as much as Charles Rocket. She didn't make it to the end of the season before being fired, to be replaced b
Read MoreIt's the American dream: plucked from obscurity to live the pampered life of a rock star, starlet or, er, an automotive journalist? Two automaker-sponsored contests, from Hyundai and Nissan, promise amateur hacks trips to the New York auto show and press credentials. It's a double win: publicity and free content. What could possibly go wrong?
Read MoreOur buddy James Ward's almost done with his Ford Falcon-based MFP "Pursuit Special" Mad Max replicar and he wanted to make sure we hadn't forgotten about him so he sent in this photo. I promise you James, we'll never forget. We'll update you when this build is complete.
Read MoreSure, it's tough to build cars hewing to a mountain of regulations, whether safety or pollution control. But sometimes all it takes to create awesome is an eye for a loophole. What's the best automaker-exploited loophole?
Read MoreCurrently listed on Ebay, this replica Rolls Royce phantom limo will have everyone thinking you are arriving in a 1996 Lincoln converted to look a Rolls Royce for the price of a 1996 Lincoln converted to look like a Rolls Royce.
Read More79 years ago this past week, Henry Ford unveiled the flathead V8 in a move that would change automotive history. The hype and legend of the 65 horsepower engine keeps the '32 Ford one of the most popular vintage hot rod platforms almost 8 decades later. Keeping in mind the fact a great engine can make an ordinary car a legend, this week's Question of the Weekend asks what is your favorite production car engine?
Read MoreTo commemorate our first day at Autoblognik, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asked to address our readers directly. How could we say no? — Ed.
Read MoreHyundai's AM-FM radio doesn't live up to the hype
Read MoreOn the heals of their successful racing hybrids, Porsche recently announced they would be adding the spark that has been missing from Porsche vehicles all along: electricity. Finally, Porsche is fixing the one thing they' have been missing all this time all along by adding paralegal-hybrid systems to each one of their vehicles.
Read MoreHyundai revealed the Blue2 — like "Blue Squared" — fuel-cell electric vehicle concept at the 2011 Seoul Auto Show. Does it indicate what a future sedan from the company will look like? We'll see.
Read MoreThe most important part of any car is not the engine, it is not the suspension, it is not the tires, and it is not the steering wheel. Manufacturer Easycarseat's inflatable car seat fixes a big problem a lot of people with children have, which is that carrying a car seat for kids all the time is a huge pain in the rearmost part of your body.
Read MoreThe world of automotive finance is all a twitter, because Stanley Morgan said Tesla was soon to be America's fourth automaker. It's kind of amazing claim given, because if you don't make cars in Michigan we're not sure you can be called an American automaker, right?
Read MoreAre unconventional droptops becoming the darling of the automotive industry? Honda is evidently paying close attention to the new Murano CrossCabriolet from Nissan, and apparently it likes what it sees. Historically averse to convertibles (small-volume jobs like the S2000 excluded), the Japanese automaker now plans to offer a soft-top CUV of its own, and the unlikely choice for a roofectomy is the slow-selling Honda Accord Crosstour. [Autoblog]
Read MoreSeveral hundred employees of drivetrain supplier Borg Warner will be able to purchase Fritos brand corn chips from company vending machines, sources said earlier today. Could it be they've hired someone new in the purchasing department?
Read MoreWhoa! PickupTrucks.com's reporting on the release of a Cadillac version of the dual-rear-wheel crew cab GMC Sierra Denali. Yeehaw!
Read MoreWe've always considered the Kia Rio to be a car of unparalleled excellence in the small car field, with its exciting design and largely metal engine. The newest sedan bodystyle, unveiled soon at the New York Auto Show, will be the one with four doors. As opposed to the hatchback, which will have five doors.
Read MoreFord has released a study it conducted across Europe to determine which of its colors are most popular in each country. The results reveal that white, black and silver remain the most popular colors, edging out the company's bolder hues.
Read MoreIt's the First of April and the fun has officially begun here in Munich. BMW has officially taken the wraps off the M3 pickup after our spy shooters caught it running the 'Ring late last month. And as we exclusively revealed, it's the Bavarian's idea of an April Fools prank.
Read MoreThere used to be the grammar-bending tagline for a danish baker that went Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee. There's a lot of Danes in Minnesota, which is where today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe VG30ET-powered 510 lives, but will you find its price to be a Dutch treat?
Read MoreThe impending end of the road for Ford's evergreen Crown Vic has police departments scrambling to buy up the last ones as well as looking for alternatives. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Pinto squad car is pretty alternative, but does is its price make it all that and a box of donuts?
Read MoreIf someone is twenty-something and still living at home, working on their GED, a kind way to describe them is a work in progress. Today's twenty year old Nice Price or Crack Pipe Celica All-Trac isn't presently working, and the seller hasn't made much progress towards getting there, but would its price make it worthy of living at your home?
Read MoreBill Elliott - better known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville - became a NASCAR darling driving the then-new Aero-bird stocker. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Thunderbird is a V8-powered homage to his Number Nine, but would buying it mean being presented with a not so awesome bill of sale?
Read MoreEaster may be over, but that doesn't mean cracking open today's egg-colored Nice Price or Crack Pipe E21 wouldn't reveal some surprises. Will its price however, make you think the seller is cracked as well?
Read MoreFord sort of invented the concept of the car-based pickup with the 1925 introduction of the Model T Runabout with Pickup Truck Body. Despite those auspicious beginnings, by the end of the ‘70s Ford had basically ceded the category to Chevy and their El Camino. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Fairmont-with-a-bed is a non-factory parting shot, but will you find its price to be foxy?
Read MoreThe F-body Firebird may never have featured a Hofmeister kink in its roofline, but you could pretend to be Mr. Hasselhoff in today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Knight Rider replicar, and that would be kinky.
Read MoreWhen not fighting crime, Superman went by his nebbish alter ego, mild-mannered Clark Kent. The BMW 525i is likewise mild-mannered, although today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe E34 is hiding something Supra. Despite that, will you find its price to be a crime?
Read MoreThe 356-based Speedster was famously dubbed the bathtub Porsche, after its upside-down bathing apparatus-like appearance. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe 911 Carrera is claimed to have once been waterlogged, but would that make buying it mean you'd be taking a bath?
Read MoreWhen Disneyland first opened, you had to use scrip to get on the rides, and the best attractions required an E-ticket. Jaguar's E-Type has always represented one of autodom's best, and most attractive, rides, but do the mods on today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe '65 make it too Mickey Mouse?
Read MoreRemember back when the big BMWs didn't look like something Chris Bangle shat out? Well, not only is today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe 740i not a bowl circler, it's also not an automatic. But does its price mean you don't give a crap?
Read MoreIt's not often that we have a non-runner here on Nice Price or Crack Pipe, but today's Nissan Van is a rare survivor of the crusher apocalypse so even though currently immobile, it's still hot stuff.
Read MoreJust let me know, if you wanna' go, to that shack outside La Grange. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe '34 Ford limousine is fine, if you've got the time, and the six figures to get yourself in.
Read MoreMost of us likely owned an affordable plastic Ferrari when we were kids - made by either Revell or Airfix. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe 308 GTB is plastic, and there's no assembly required. But is its price a model of value?
Read MoreEverybody knows Don't Fear the Reaper has got to have more cow bell, but do you think today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe limited edition custom Corvette sound better as the Caballista?
Read MorePlanes, Trains and Automobiles was hands down a great flick. Contrastingly, today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe 6.2 Diesel-converted Roadmaster is kind of plain, sounds like a train, and upon close examination, appears to be an automobile. But is its price all that and a bag of popcorn?
Read MoreAs far as gorillas go, the Silverback is the most majestic. And when monkeying around with VWs, a lot of people go ape over the Squareback. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe ‘66 may not be majestic, but will its price have you asking for some of your silver back?
Read MoreThe Testarossa was not Ferrari's finest hour, but that doesn't mean custom pickup truck builders should be barred from emulating its cheese-grater appearance. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Nissan is a fine example, but does its price grate on you?
Read MoreOriginally intended for the German military, Mercedes' G-Klasse has become the ultimate off-posuer for those of means. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe '85 may - strangely enough- be Mustang-powered, but is its price too much to pony up?
Read MoreVeloce. In Italian it means fast. You might think the Italians at Alfa Romeo have forgotten that word, so slow they have been in returning to the U.S. market. However, today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe 2000 GTV proves you can still get an Alfa here pretty damn veloce.
Read MoreThe Porsche GT3 RS 4.0 is the driver-focused 911 GT3 RS but with a slightly larger engine. And by a slightly larger engine we mean the largest engine ever officially offered in a street-worthy Porsche 911. It's a fitting swan-song for what will finally be the last Porsche 997 variant ever. We think. Probably. More than likely.
Read MoreThis question comes straight from Jalopnik's awesomely raucous rec-room #oppositelock, where Batshitbox,Interface_Revisions_... first posed today's QOTD. It may be painful to remember, but try anyway. How many cars have you crashed?
Read MoreWriter Jefferson Bryant had a chance to encounter a piece of history in Flint, where the oldest Chevrolet in the world gets ready to hit the streets. — Ed.
Read MoreChrysler's Street and Racing Technology performance engineering team builds upon the all-new 2011 Chrysler 300 sedan with the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8. The new four-door adds an extra slab of power with an upgraded engine rated at an estimated 465 horsepower and 465 lb.-ft. of torque. It also, in white, looks like an angry refrigerator.
Read MoreIn 1954, the Czech cartoonist Zden?k Miler was tasked with creating educational films about the merits of Communist industry. Miler subverted the project to create Krtek (The Mole), and showed children behind the Iron Curtain the wonders of American cars, rockets, and skyscrapers. Not in vain: this Friday, Miler’s creation will ascend to low Earth orbit aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour.
Read More1st Gear: Hyundai, South Korea's largest carmaker, boosted quarterly profit 46% as it won sales from Japanese rivals, outpacing Honda, whose production was cut by last month's devastating earthquake in Japan, for the first time. More importantly, Hyundai boosted vehicle sales in the January-March period to 919,000, outselling Honda, whose global deliveries fell 1.6 percent to 860,000, according to the companies. A year earlier, Honda outsold Hyundai 874,000 to 842,000. And I thought 'mericans al
Read More1st Gear: This beautiful slab of hot, spicy sex is the Zagato TZ3 Stradale, the fourth model in the Italian design house's TZ line. But this isn't just an all-Italian stallion. Underneath that gorgeous Kamm-tailed neo-classic carbon fiber skin beats an all-American heart. The TZ3 Stradale chassis comes straight from the Dodge Viper ACR and instead of the ACR's big V10 engine it's equipped with a more gentlemanly front-central-mounted 90° 4.2-liter V8 engine mated to a 6-speed sequential gearbox.
Read More1st Gear: Despite showing off its new "Universe" concept in Shanghai last week — and competitors in the barely-luxury segment, like Cadillac, joining the fight — Volvo's aggressive expansion will not include a new flagship sedan to compete against the BMW 7 series and Mercedes S-class. "It is not in our midterm or long-term strategy right now," CEO Stefan Jacoby told Automotive News and other reporters in Shanghai. "That has been decided." You know what else has been decided? That it'll be reall
Read More1st Gear: Ford this morning announced its best first quarter earnings since 1998: $2.6 billion, or 61 cents per share. The results, an increase of $466 million over the first quarter of 2010, far exceeded analysts' expectations of about 50 cents per share. Revenues totaled $33.1 billion, up $5 billion from a year ago. The year-earlier revenues exclude those from Volvo, which Ford subsequently sold. Mulally remains optimistic about 2011 and expects the automaker's profits and cash flow to improve
Read More1st Gear: So, if you listen to the guys who measure this stuff — they think gas prices have sort of peaked this year. Seriously. Despite gas prices jumping more than 11 cents over the past two weeks, the pace of higher pump prices seems to have slowed, according to the most recent Lundberg Survey published Sunday. The survey claims the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular is $3.88 in the United States, not including Alaska and Hawaii. That's just 23 cents off the all-time high of $4.1
Read More1st Gear: Although today's Dodge Viper may be the V10 brute Jalopnik readers know and love as a widow-maker, the next-generation 2013 Dodge Viper is being designed to appeal to a wider range of supercar buyers. Ralph Gilles, head of design at Chrysler Group and president of the Dodge brand, says Dodge is talking to the owners of Porsche and other high-end brands "to pick their brains and see what they like and don't like about the Viper or even their own sports car." Gilles added during an inter
Read More1st Gear: The U.S. Treasury could sell a big chunk of its remaining 33% stake in General Motors in the summer or fall, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Monday, although doing so may lead to more losses for it on the automaker's bailout. No decision has been made yet on the exact timing or size of such a sale, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. If the sale happens, it all but makes certain that U.S. taxpayers won't be making their money back. Oh, we also probably are gett
Read More1st Gear: While we're warily anticipating this week's New York Auto Show, much of the big industry news (is that an oxymoron?) has been exported to the Shanghai Motor Show, where General Motors said today it plans to double its China sales to five million vehicles a year with partner/government-required home team Shanghai Automotive. That will require 60 new models, including 12 Buicks and 15 Chevrolets. China's welcome to have GM's EN-V pod thing — just as long as it doesn't get an El Camino be
Read More1st Gear: OK, so, along with learning that a little prick of a kid will save the human race when he's older, the other thing we learned from watching Terminator 2: Judgement Day way back in 1991 was that you need very hot furnaces to melt killer robots. Thanks to the March 11th Japanese earthquake, Iwaki Diecast, a Toyota supplier, is a place I won't be going to destroy the T-1000. The supplier watched 15 of its electric furnaces shut down, turning 12 tons of aluminum bubbling at 670-degrees Cel
Read More1st Gear: The Dutch industrial design firm Ugur Sahin Design took the wraps off the romantically named Soleil Anandi — a gorgeous-looking Corvette-based coupe concept designed to loosely be a continuation of the firm's Z03 Concept from way back in 2007. This latest two-door takes the taut lines of the Z03 Concept and refines them in a spectacular — and supposedly entirely production-ready — fashion. Ugur Sahin's coach-built creation will make its public debut at the 2011 Top Marques Show in Mona
Read More1st Gear: The "Rolls Royce" Mini inspired by Goodwood will be unveiled at the Shanghai motor show next week, and will go on sale in highly limited numbers of just 1000 available worldwide. The Goodwood Mini will be built using materials manufactured at the Rolls-Royce factory at Goodwood. It will feature an entirely overhauled interior with walnut wood used for surface finishes in a cabin coated with high-quality Rolls-Royce Cornsilk beige leather. The upper section of the instrument panel is al
Read More1st Gear: Holden's bringing back the special edition Thunder nameplate to the VE Series II Ute line-up. Developed to kick-off the 60th anniversary celebrations of Holden's original 1951 Ute, the Thunder SV6 and SS receive charcoal-finished 19-inch alloy wheels, satellite navigation, leather seat bolsters and Thunder badges. The Thunder Ute will be available with Holden's Gen IV V8 (SS model) and for the first time — inexplicably — the special edition nameplate will also come with a 3.6-liter SID
Read More1st Gear: The first McLaren MP4-12C GT3 has successfully undertaken its debut tests at the MIRA proving ground facility and Silverstone Circuit in England. Originally conceived in McLaren's Formula 1 simulator and with testing on FIA-certified GT3 circuits across Europe now successfully beginning, the new GT3 is almost ready to hit the track competitively. The new MP4-12C GT3 now just needs to finish up its development and testing over this 2011 race season before 20 cars are delivered to privat
Read More1st Gear: In today's Japan automaker recovery update, Toyota announced that all of its factories would be running at half capacity from April 18 through April 28 — but would then shutter for a traditional spring holiday through May 10. Nissan will also restart all factories on the same day at half speed. Meanwhile, Honda's CEO told reporters that he hoped the company's factories could be restored to normal output in two to three months. And production at several plants was interrupted on Thursda
Read More1st Gear: The Mercedes-Benz A-Class Concept will make its debut at both the 2011 New York and Shanghai Auto Shows later this month. The front-wheel drive A-Class concept is the production-intent preview of Mercedes-Benz's new compact class. Technical highlights include a new turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine, a dual clutch transmission and a radar-based collision warning system with adaptive Brake Assist. Just like Dr. Z. likes it... we're nonplussed until we see an AMG 63 version. Then
Read More1st Gear: U.S. sales of hybrid and electric vehicles rose nearly twice as fast in the first three months of 2011 as the auto market as a whole, according to Edmunds. Bolstered by rising gas prices, hybrid and electric car sales increased 37% in the first three months of the year to 78,523 vehicles. To put that number in perspective, that's a couple thousand more units than Ford, just one automaker, sold in just the month of March. But hey, it took eleven years for Toyota to finally sell 1,000,00
Read More1st Gear: Jaguar has confirmed it's working on a new "X-Type-like" small sedan set to slot into the pretty kitty line-up below the XF with a price expected to start at around $45,000. Autocar reports this morning that company insiders tell them that the new car will be slightly smaller than today's XF saloon, while still being big enough to accommodate five adults. There's no news yet on whether the car will be built around an aluminium platform despite recent reports that the replacement for th
Read More1st Gear: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has declined to post on its Web site reports from automakers about problems with their cars and about specialized warranty extensions that could save consumers large sums on repairs. The reason: the agency says automakers have warned it that the reports, called technical service bulletins, are copyrighted. However, several leading automakers said that either they did not copyright their bulletins or that they would not object t
Read MoreWelcome to Found Off The Street, our look at cars found on the cape that rust liked so much it decided to summer there; Cape Cod, MA. Today we have a 1946 Ford Panel Truck.
Read MoreThe backbone of any modern rebel army remains the bullet-, crash-, flood-, and demolition-proof Toyota Hilux. Barely days after the Libyan civil war broke out, the fearless Hungarian traveler Dániel Belényi made his way to the rebel capital of Benghazi to hang out with Libya’s Toyota-equipped rebels. These are his photos from the war zone. —Ed.
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