Jalopnik: Obsessed With The Cult Of Cars

GM May Divorce SUV's From Truck Frames, Why Not Just Go to Skateboards?

Rumors emanating like a cloud of gas from Aunt Mable's Thanksgiving table are coming out of Bloomberg regarding the possible move at GM to push for unibody construction on full size SUVs. While there isn't anything inherently dumb about this idea, we have to question the impact on brand perception, long term durability, towing capability, chassis complexity, production line capability, and competitive impact. Hmm. Maybe it is a little dumb. More »

2:20 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
0 views, Comment

Movies

Tim Robbins Really Doesn't Like Car Alarms

Let's say you're Tim Robbins for a minute (we know, only in your dreams), and in your latest movie play a guy living in New York City whose wife plays the cello and a car alarm goes off. That would be enough to make you spin out and become a bizarre anti-car alarm vigilante calling himself the "Rectifier," right? Well, maybe not. But that's the premise of a new movie called "Noise" (why not "The Rectifier"). If you're frustrated by the agonies of the occasional car alarm and find yourself fantasizing about vandalizing unattended cars whose alarms are going off, this movie has your name written all over it. Make the jump for a nice little preview. More »

2:00 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
98 views, 5 comments

Latest by amblito: Looks like a steaming pile of shite. How often do you hear car alarms going off? It's extremely rare that I hear them. more »

Ferrari GT

Ferrari GT Coming in 10 Days, 23 hours

The buzz machine for the pending Ferrari F149 just got a lot louder. A teaser website for the pending prancing pony which is apparently now called the Ferrari GT just went up and it's not only touting the time line for our first look, but also gives a specific countdown - -10 days, 23 hours as of this printing 20 minutes — AND engine noises (swoon), AND a look at what we're assuming is the door handle. Hold onto you butts folks cause it's probably going to be a Ferrari GT love-fest for the next 10 days. [FerrariGT Countdown]

1:40 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
308 views, 14 comments

Latest by 1300ccsoffury: Guys, if there was a time to break an embargo...now's your chance. more »

Offbeat News

Here's Why Staying In Your Car During A Tornado Is Bad

While the tornado in Leighton, Alabama took place over a year ago, we just stumbled across this security footage showing cars being tossed like toys from a parking lot. This looks to be a relatively small twister and only a glancing blow to the cars, so imagine if it had been a big one and a direct hit, those cars would be gone. Remember kids, if you see an approaching funnel cloud, find a ditch or culvert to hide in (assuming you can't find a building or a shelter), because you might be accompanying your car to another part of the county. [Youtube]

1:20 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
777 views, 15 comments

Latest by nosirrahg: @Maxichamp: Does earthquake damage tend to be centered around the fault line, or does it cover a broader area? Living in tornado country, having seen one in person and seen the aftermath of several...and having also spent a few more »

Retro

Junkman's Porsche Jagdwagen-O-Rama!

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

More »

1:00 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Murilee Martin
484 views, 28 comments

cleantech

Google wants you to show plug-in hybrids some YouTube love

FROM VALLEYWAG.COM: RechargeIT, the plug-in hybrid publicity program sponsored by Google.org, the search giant's relatively poorly funded do-gooder initiative run by Larry Brilliant, is running a YouTube contest. More »

12:40 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Jackson West
69 views, Comment

Around the Block

Taking A Spin In A JDM Nissan Skyline

The new Nissan GT-R may be stirring up a lot of hype, but before the R35, Skyline lovers on this continent had to have their cars independently imported. The problem is, since the gray-market heyday of the '80s, the American import laws have been pretty dang strict. So, we decided to make our way up to Toronto, to check out how hoons in great white north do things. This particular operation, ONI JDM, has brought in everything from kei cars to fully-modded RX-7s, Supras, and of course Skylines. They offered to take us for a ride in their drift-spec R32 Nissan Skyline, so we bolted down the video camera and strapped ourselves in.

More »

12:30 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Mark Arnold
681 views, 25 comments

Latest by WheatKing: @danio3834: I know quite a few people who have just given up on cars (yes the horror) because enjoying them anymore, in any fashion other taking you slowly from point a to point b is pretty much now a crime, and more »

Celebrities

Bollea Expected To Let Judge Decides His P***y Fate

The ongoing trial of Nick Bollea, son of the Hulkster, previous owner of a ~~P***y Magnet~~ 1998 Toyota Supra, street racer and driver during a wreck that left another individual critically injured, has taken another turn that could be dastardly for the son of the Hulkster. Bollea originally plead not guilty to felony charges of reckless driving involving serious bodily injury, but is expected to withdraw the plea and likely plea guilty or no contest to the charges and put his fate in the hands of the judge with a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The passenger at the time of the wreck, John Graziano, is still bed-ridden and is in the process of filing a lawsuit against the Bollea family. [TBO] (Image)

12:15 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Travis Hudson
490 views, 21 comments

Latest by layabout: @FUT DA POLAЯICE: Something for his new boyfriend to pull out & aim for at that special moment of climax. more »

found on eBay

Basket Case Vespa 400 Will Be Check Writing Extravaganza

The march of soul crushing eBay projects continues. After seeing the amazingly terrible mid-engined 1976 Mustang II yesterday, a less malaise but far more European project emerges from the bay of 'e' and it's a terrifying one. 28,000 examples of the Vespa 400 were built in France between 1956 and 1961 using an Italian design and sporting as much as 17 horsepower. This one is almost completely disassembled and comes with seven crates of parts. That's a looooong way from mint Vespa 400's we saw at Autorama two years ago. Good luck on this project to whoever is insane enough to to hit the bid button. (Thanks for the tip Robert)

[eBay Listing]

12:00 PM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
276 views, 21 comments

Latest by Lackey: Keep it in the family. How about a 500 cc single with 40+ hp? [www.piaggiousa.com] more »

Question of the Day

What's The Worst Road You've Ever Driven On?

Though we've asked you about your favorite roads, today's geoporn of Beijing's craziest interchanges got us thinking of the worst roads we've driven on. We can't help but remember a Hungarian prof telling the story of German diplomats driving around Romania (Hungarians and Romanians don't get along, fyi). The Germans think they're making great progress and all four of them are chatting about this in their big Mercedes and then they hit a pothole. A pothole so big it swallows the entire car. Then, as the professor said, "they were all dead, poof." This was supposed to be the punch line. You have to love that Eastern European sense of humor. More »

11:40 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Matt Hardigree
742 views, 69 comments

Latest by joshman: @Tanshanomi: I second I-70 in Kansas for its mind-numbing boredom and many patrol cars that limit speeding. I watched The Long Way Round recently and the Road of Bones in Siberia looks pretty tough to navigate even if you can more »

News

GM Buys Renaissance Center Headquarters for $626 Million

General Motors has announced it will be taking advantage of the downturn in the Detroit real estate market (burning cars isn't an amenity) and purchasing its Renaissance Center headquarters. The crown jewel of the Detroit downtown riverfront has served as the General's headquarters since 1996 and after the successful loss of $3.3 billion last quarter, GM is making a move to increase its overhead. We're assuming that $626 million will be buying all five towers but as GM only lives in a couple of them, it's possible Rick Wagoner will be taking on new responsibilities as the building super. [Internation Herald tribune]

11:20 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
400 views, 25 comments

Latest by Ash78: @drewdrawsPooh: Are they still waiting for Detroit's "renaissance" to come GM skipped the Renaissance and went straight to "flat Baroque" more »

classic ad watch

1981 Ford Escort SS: Built To Take On The World, And Doin' It!

It's hard to believe there was ever a time without Ford Escorts in North America, but the '81 was the very first (and, miserable as those early Escorts were, they were much better cars than the Pintos they replaced). The SS was the top-of-the-line Escort for '81, with a whopping 65 horsepower driving the front wheels. Thanks to a short flash of a baseball score (and super-obsessed baseball geeks), we know this advertisement was aired on May 23, 1981.

11:00 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Murilee Martin
766 views, 28 comments

Latest by jarque: This aired 5 days before I was born? What a great era to be born into. more »

Novelties

Beijing Has Some Awesome Interchanges

Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics are coming up in only a couple of months, we decided to take a look at the ancient Chinese city through the magical powers of Google Earth. What we found was much like a Chinese Dragon, both beautiful and terrible. The preponderance of Geographic Web content on the digital globe has us thinking a trip there would be most awesome, but the traffic and interchanges would make a New Englander cringe.

More »

10:40 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,180 views, 24 comments

Latest by LionZoo: Actually, if you think about it, crazy interchanges are not the height of chaos. They're perhaps the middle level, or maybe the basecamp. No, the height of chaos would be multiple roads, all funneling into the same intersection, more »

Hybrid Dangers

Hidden Hybrid Automobile Dangers, What You Should Know About EMFs

FROM CONSUMERIST.COM: Of course, you've heard of hybrid automobiles but most people haven't heard of their increased health risk compared to traditional vehicles. More »

10:38 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Jay Slatkin
4,726 views, 63 comments

Spy Photos

Mystery Roadster Snapped in Slovenia, We Scratch Heads

European based reader Andrej sent us pics last night of a sleek and compact roadster caught in transport on a flatbed and it has us scratching our heads. The car is certainly a front engine, rear drive deal with healthy sized disc brakes all around and a single low-mounted grille (which seems to count out the Yes! Roadster). If it wasn't so small, we'd guess at a replacement for the now long-in-the-tooth Honda S2000, but that's just dreaming. One item throwing us off a bit is the polychromatic paint — why would anyone slather a test mule with a paint job that spendy?

10:20 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,523 views, 62 comments

Latest by Skunky: I think it's the new Dodge Ram. more »

24 hours of lemons

V8olvo Ready To Go!

24 Hours of LeMons race weekend is just about here, and we're heading out to Altamont for the early check-in and tech inspection today. Señor Loverman has applied the all-important V8 emblem to the trunk lid, we've got our checklist all checked, and we're going to be throwing some elbows as we vie for the best pit location. Stay tuned for some live race coverage on Saturday!

10:00 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Murilee Martin
884 views, 34 comments

9ff GT9

9ff GT9 Hits 254mph, Still Not World's Fastest Car

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

More »

9:40 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Wes Siler
951 views, 42 comments

custom cars

Chateau Mini Is Invitation To Snootiness

Aznom (nom nom) has introduced their Chateau Mini, a car which acts to combine the twin yuppie delights of the Mini Clubman and French Chateau wine. How do you combine the two? By using ooh-la-la materials on the inside and apparently lots of different shades of brown, oh, and install a stocked "wine cellar" inside the Mini. While we're normally all about tossing back a couple ~~bottles~~ glasses of vino, having fine wine close at hand at all times, in a car which sports enough glass to qualify as a greenhouse just smacks of a bad idea. Full bodied press release with a full nose and long legs below the fold.

More »

9:20 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
597 views, 36 comments

Latest by Bumblebee: Hi! I'm an asshole. Here's my car. more »

Ferrari GT Coming in 10 Days, 23 hours

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