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chevy volt

Chevy Volt Plug-in Hybrid Revealed Early

Set to debut later this week, the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has hit the web courtesy of some photos posted by The Car Connection. These images show what is said to be the production model posing with GM's hunkiest designers and executives, building on some teaser shots of the Volt already revealed. More information as it becomes available.


[GM via The Car Connection]

1:50 PM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Matt Hardigree
100 views, 9 comments

Latest by OldeEnglishD misses Polar: Wow, bad choice of colors on the car too... more »

fiat 500

Castagna Combines Electricity And Water To Create Fiat 500 Tender Two

With yacht-owning merrymakers in mind, Castagna has turned a perfectly serviceable Fiat 500 into an electric tender. To do so, they scrapped the engine in favor of an electric motor and batteries (capable of 87 mph), removed the doors and cut off the roof. Quickly discovering that the de-topped 500 had a tendency to fold in half over bumps, they raised the doorsills to brace the chassis. The interior has been redone in wood and a blue/white striped cloth, all the better to accent the Chanel sailor outfits its elderly, leather-faced owners are sure to wear. We expect to see one submerged off the Monaco pier in the near future, surrounded by fishes zapped dead by its waterlogged batteries.
[via Carscoop]

1:30 PM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Wes Siler
138 views, 11 comments

Latest by Ash78: Fix it again, TrevorFix it again, ThierryFix it again, TomásFix it again, TiberioFix it again, Theodoros See, you CAN sail effortlessly more »

moment of zen

C6 Corvette Convertible Uses Mercedes E-Class To Explain Physics Of Wedge Shape

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1:00 PM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Wes Siler
1,792 views, 53 comments

Latest by mytdawg: When the daylight you see is under the vehicle in front of you, it is not yet time to pass. more »

chevy tahoe hybrid

California Company Builds First Chevy Tahoe Hybrid Stretch Limo

California-based LimeLite Coachworks has produced the first known hybrid SUV stretch limo, adding 160 inches to a 2009 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid. While we'd imagine that the hybrid Tahoe limo is mainly going to be used as a curiosity for limo services, LimeLite claims that the juiced Tahoe is actually still good for an 80% fuel economy increase over a standard Tahoe — not insignificant for a limo company trying to stretch its fuel budget. The Tahoe Hybrid can operate all standard limousine functions, including flat-screen TVs, a full wet bar, lighting and stereo systems, while the engine is off, using just the hybrid battery system. So how did they work around the Tahoe's complex hybrid high-voltage system? LimeLite shop foreman Miguel De la Vega said they were "very careful." Indeed.

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12:30 PM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Andrew Stoy
369 views, 26 comments

Latest by citroen67: Somebody should hire Ryan Mickle to push this f*#king thing off a cliff. What a joke this thing is. [jalopnik.com] (For more »

Alessandro Porta

Alessandro Porta Artwork Makes Us Fantasize About Dystopian Mass Transit

Luigi Colani-esque buses? Check. Dinosaurs? Check. AT-AT walkers? Check. Syd Mead-like construction vehicles? Check. Star Destroyers? Check. The artwork of Alessandro Porta is straight out of our 11-year-old dreams (before we started to hit puberty and they went all Heavy Metal). Porta is a car designer with his own consultancy in Italy. But when he’s not penning new Fiats, he turns his hand to fantastical tempera paintings like these.


[Virtual Car via Car Body Design]

12:00 PM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Wes Siler
416 views, 23 comments

Latest by OldeEnglishD misses Polar: Is it just me or do these paintings look like the next Journey album cover? more »

Question of the Day

What Car Should Matt Hardigree Buy Off Of Craigslist?

There's nothing better than spending someone else's money. In that spirit, you have a chance to spend Associate Editor Matt Hardigree's money, since he's looking to buy something on the fun end of the equation to carry him through a couple years of driving before he has to become an adult. He's getting married soon so he's not planning to spend much money. By virtue of working here he doesn't have to drive his own car that often. Since it's Monday and you've given up on working, what should Matt buy off of Craigslist? The details and requirements of this task below the jump. More »

11:40 AM on Mon Sep 8 2008
2,109 views, 115 comments

Latest by MarywithanM: [[houston.craigslist.org]] This may be just what you need. more »

Citroen C3 Pluriel Charleston

CItroen C3 Pluriel Charleston To Debut At Paris, Pay Homage To The 2CV

Citroen will be introducing the Citroen C3 Pluriel Charleston special edition at this year's Paris Motor Show, paying homage to a design theme that once graced the lovable 2CV. The two-tone black and Bordeaux red color scheme is the big draw here — and by "here" we mean only in France where they remember the older model. Instead of a special edition of the C3, we sort of wish they'd be debuting a new 2CV concept. C'est la vie. Press release and photos of a 2CV we spotted in Geneva below.



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11:20 AM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Matt Hardigree
396 views, 15 comments

Latest by rognbrow: I'm looking forward to going to the Paris for the motor show this year but not sure I'll bother with more »

classic ad watch

Cocoa Puffs '72: Like Nitrous Oxide For Tin Lizzies!

Gramps pushing Sonny The Cuckoo Bird's horseless carriage across the wasteland, where their carcasses will soon become food for birds that eat rotting corpse flesh rather than artificially flavored and colored breakfast cereal… but wait! Gramps whips out some Cocoa Puffs and pure liquid methamphetamine milk, and the resulting frenzy bounces the Model T all the way to the nearest gas station. This ad was much more successful than the one in which Sonny slaughters an entire NVA division in Quang Tri.

11:00 AM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Murilee Martin
390 views, 10 comments

Latest by chrystlubitshi: hmmm... i am lactose intolerant... and therefore eat all cereal dry (never got in line with 'pour your orange juice more »

Highway Trust Fund

Federal Highway Trust Fund Could Run Dry This Month

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is warning that the Federal Highway Trust Fund could run out of money by the end of this month, reports the AP. The fund is facing an $8.3 billion shortfall in projected revenues, primarily due to high gas prices reducing the amount of fuel purchased by American consumers. The immediate impact would be a delay or reduction in payments for local road and bridge projects the government had agreed to partially fund, likely resulting in a delay or reduction in work by construction crews. While the current recommendation is to borrow from the general fund through the end of the fiscal year, we suggest tapping Detroit automakers for low-interest loans, allowing the transportation department to invest in new highway technology and replace aging stretches of obsolete asphalt. More »

10:30 AM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Andrew Stoy
750 views, 61 comments

Latest by TurboBrick: All bickering aside about who did what... the problem at hand is that there is not enough money put aside more »

Chevy Cruze

Chevy Cruze Showing Off Cookie-Cutter Camo On Chinese Streets

Yeah, we've seen a foamy full mock-up of the Chevy Cruze, along with a detail reveal showing high-res images (including halo), but nothing beats sheet metal on the street. In this case, the Chinese street. Chevy likely has a full-court press going on the engineering staff to have the car ready for its European launch next March — particularly the effort to ensure the Cruze lives up to its announced 45 MPG mileage target. Stay tuned: We'll see more of the Cruze at its Paris reveal next month.

[China Car Times]

Spy Photos

10:00 AM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Andrew Stoy
520 views, 9 comments

Latest by Mysterious Utility Bento: CRAP! There goes my Penelope Cruz joke! more »

Stickers Are The New Smug

Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion Diesel Claims 62 MPG Without Fancy Electric Motors

The new Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion Diesel claims to return 62 MPG (US); in comparison, when measured using the same European combined cycle, the 2008 Toyota Prius gets 54 MPG. That's right: Using nothing but a thrifty diesel engine, low-rolling resistance tires, a revised gearbox and minor aerodynamic improvements, the non-hybrid diesel smacks the Prius around wholesale, making the Golf BlueMotion (blue stands for pee, by the way) a seriously impressive vehicle. But will you ever be able to buy one?

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9:30 AM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Wes Siler
1,297 views, 53 comments

Latest by Bazza: this is just a slow and ugly rival to the prius, which looks amazing and goes like stink more »

Down On The Street

1932 Ford Model B Pickup

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. So far, we've seen mostly 1960s and 1970s vehicles in this series, but we've seen a couple of 1930s machines (a 1937 Cadillac and a 1939 Chevrolet). Today we've rolled the clock back to 1932, with a new Oldest Alameda DOTS Champion. That's right, I've managed to find a 76-year-old truck parked on the street!
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9:00 AM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,056 views, 37 comments

Latest by Bret: Perfect candidate for an infusion of Miata drivetrain. Add a little bit of wasted spark fueling at idle for an more »

Detroit Bailout

Automakers To Hit Congress Hard This Month For Loans That Aren't A Bailout

After a nasty summer of sliding sales and eroding market share, domestic automakers are planning to lobby the US Congress for $50 billion in low-interest government loans. The companies claim the money would allow them to modernize plants and develop new fuel-efficient vehicles; ordinarily, automakers would have tapped existing lines of credit for the required cash, but rising interest rates combined with debt ratings reduced to junk status have rendered their options severely limited. But, the important thing to note here is that this is NOT a bailout. No sir. More »

8:30 AM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Andrew Stoy
549 views, 30 comments

Latest by ranwhenparked: I assume they've exhausted all other options, like say A merger with or takeover by a foreign automaker (Chinese?), renegotiating terms more »

Nice Price Or Crack Pipe

Nice Price Or Crack Pipe: The $39,975 Iran Khodro Paykan Deluxe 1600!

77% of readers thought the low-mileage Chryslerati falls on the Crack Pipe side of the NPOCP Scale. That might be a bit harsh, but the K Car underpinnings of the Chrysler TC By Maserati may have seemed too common. That's why today's car is something that we're pretty sure nobody has ever seen driving in the street in North America: a genuine Paykan. Yes, this fine customized Iranian-built Hillman Hunter- equipped with genuine "Boog Benzy"- will be shipped right to your door! Don't worry about any customs or registration hassles with this Axis Of Evil machine, because the seller assures us "I can have this vehicle registered for road use in all 50 states (don't worry about DMV or DOT). I will explain to you the process in detail." So, what do you think of this deal? Thanks to HotRodElectric for the tip! [eBay Motors]


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8:00 AM on Mon Sep 8 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,357 views, 57 comments

Latest by ranwhenparked: Wait a minute, the Hijri year 1377 was our 1998. There's no way this car could ever be legally titled more »

Commenter Of The Day

Commenter Of The Day: Caveat Emptor Edition

Whether or not we'll consciously admit it, most of us are constantly in search of a next car or another car. It's only natural. Man is not meant to be with one car. Look at the animals in the wild. That's why you should always sleep on any decisions that involve you purchasing a used vehicle. We recently found a relatively nice V6 SHO Taurus for a good price only to find out that the A/C didn't work. Is that one you're going to sleep on? Yes. And in today's post about lawnmowers and catalytic converters there was an enticing offer from CopterBob that, surely, includes its own set of problems. More »

6:20 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Matt Hardigree
4,025 views, 68 comments

Latest by bpapa9013: Kubota? There was a handicapped maintenance guy at my high school that just rode around on some type of Kubota more »

Custom Cars

Aussie Man Builds Big-Block Batman Tumbler With Nitrous, Videotapes Entire Build Process

Beginning in 2006, Aussie superhero Grant Hodgson started off with a dream, a dream of being the Batman, and he's been building a faithful replica of the Tumbler ever since. This time it comes with a build blog. Grant's version looks to be even closer to the real deal than the one built by Bob Dullam, featuring a 560 HP GM 454 CID V8, Turbo 400 automatic transmission, Argo V drive and a reinforced 35-spline Detroit Locker nine-inch rear end. The best part is that we get to watch it in action and watch the fabrication. Oh, did we mention it's got nitrous too? Yeah. Build image and more below the jump. More »

6:00 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
25,440 views, 49 comments

Latest by MrEvil: I don't see what's so special, it's obvious this guy is a master fabricator with the same level of skill more »

Chrysler cuts

Dodge Nitro And Jeep Liberty Death Match! Only One Will Survive!

Chrysler is looking to slaughter one of its Toledo-made SUV twins, the Dodge Nitro or Jeep Liberty. Only one can survive the elimination process, and our money is on the Jeep sticking around, with the Dodge getting the axe in 2012. It's all part of "Big" Bob Nardelli's unrelenting thirst for blood quest to cut back on unnecessary badge-engineered, platform-sharing vehicles that exist only to make dealers happy. Of course, there are talks of Chrysler getting more dealers to consolidate all the brands under one roof. Wait a sec, we're talking about an American automaker? This doesn't make sense ... err, actually, it makes too much sense. [Toledo Blade via AutomobileMag]

5:20 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Mark Arnold
1,953 views, 61 comments

Latest by tiddo: Personally I think the American car companies can do a few things to improve both their cars and their bottom more »

Car Collections

Former Chrysler VP Recreates 1954 Plymouth Showroom In His Garage

Complete with all four body styles offered on the Plymouth Belvedere in 1954, Darrell L. Davis’s 9,000 square foot garage-homage to the '54 Plymouth also includes sales brochures, display racks, banners, signs, order books, sheets of paint samples and upholstery samples. Basically, everything needed to run a successful Plymouth showroom, which was exactly what he was aiming to recreate. More »

5:00 PM on Fri Sep 5 2008
By Wes Siler
4,742 views, 57 comments

Latest by aesthari: ViergangFuchs: Truer words have never been said. "I never bought a car as an investment, or sold one just to make more »

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