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The world's automotive media is on hand for the Detroit Auto Show, but the general public's interest in attending auto shows has been declining. What do you think would make these events more interesting and appealing? More »
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In a country obsessed with status and burdened with an unbalanced ratio of young men to women, it's not surprising that Chinese men would publicly propose marriage to attractive women who can't walk away — like auto show models. More »
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The Tokyo Auto Salon held over the past few days is essentially Japan's version of our SEMA show for auto customizers. Being Japan, no car could appear without a tricked-out or cosplayed booth professional. Here are the best. More »
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Who are we to giggle at the misfortune of a Porsche test driver who not only managed to stick a prototype 2012 911 in a Scandinavian snow drift, but do so in full view of a spy photographer? Tee hee. More »
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The Washington Auto Show is teaming with Madame Tussauds to present two fake celebrities at the District's annual new-car extravaganza. Always wanted to grope a president? Now's your chance. [Washington Auto Show] More »
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What kind of outfits would you expect Brazilian booth professionals to wear when showing off VW Beetles and Variants at the '79 Salão do Automóvel in São Paulo? How about long flowery dresses, the better to show off the features of the new alcohol-fueled VWs? BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ has unearthed these great photos for us; make the jump to see them all and read his description. More »
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In the spirit of "sustainable zoom-zoom" — their words, not ours — Mazda has finally revealed the Kazamai, the mystery compact crossover bowing at the Moscow International Auto Salon August 26. Kazamai means "swirling crosswinds," and if you think you're seeing a heaping helping of Nagare design language, you're spot-on. Of more interest, the release mentions a next-generation direct-injection engine and a "new transmission," though we'd imagine that those too are currently concepts that won't see the light of day for a while. Full release after the jump. More »
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[UPDATE: Turns out the Vlachs and Brodniks at the Moldovian site swiped the story from Carscoop. Damn them and their Carpathian con job.] Look at the Republic of Moldova, making their car-blog bones. The writers, chilling out in their landlocked country between Romania and the Ukraine, say they've received an internal e-mail stating the redesigned Mazda6 will debut in September at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show. They say pan-European sales of the new 6, which will share a platform with the Euro Ford Mondeo, will start in mid-November. No word on the MPS (Mazdaspeed6), but we might have to wait a month for the Tokyo show in October. – Mike Spinelli More »
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Our 1960 Ford Fairlane 500 driving Vegas homeboy Curtis Walker snuck away from the Las Vegas Grand Prix long enough to stop by Viva Las Vegas 10 at the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino. It was the latest in a decade's worth of rockabilly/hotrod that's gone, daddy. Check out Curtis's photo gallery and wish your pompadour was tight enough and your chick chick enough to have attended in the flesh. – Mike Spinelli More »
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The Mercedes CL65 dropped like a big chunk of Afghani hash at the AutoRAI in Amsterdam earlier today. According to the press release, translated by World Car Fans, the tuner CL will get a 612-hp version of AMG's booster-rocket V12. That's the six-point-oh-mein-gott-liter, twin-turbo devastation engine, hand-signed by its factory endower. That gives it a zero-to-62 mph time of 4.4 seconds, though the electronically limited top speed of 155 mph can only be unhooked in exchange for a large quantity of cash, and only in the home country. We'll know more when AMG releases the goods later today. – Mike Spinelli More »
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Ha! I made it! You didn't think I'd pull it off did you? All day with the posting. It's hard to do this work all day. I'll have you know I only was only able to pay weak attention to the showcase showdown today. More »
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Vintage rodding now is basically the same as it was when it was just rodding. You find the best parts, the rarest treasures, and put them on your ride to make it go faster or look cooler. Wondering around amidst this treasure trove of chrome and aluminum and rust and WD40, the gorgeous bits and pieces you find are sometimes astonishing. Also amazing are the clever ways people work around pieces that they either can't find or don't want to buy. What follows is a gallery of awesome parts treasures which I'm sure most are at least two or three times older than I am (check out the hand welded intake manifold - rad). – Ben Wojdyla More »
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Okay, so maybe it would have to be Grandpappy from the American side of the family (before coming over to Deutschland), but that's the first thing I thought when I saw this low and lean roadster. Looking at that worn paint, the zoomies, the Native American blanket seat cover and the underhung headlights. It all makes me giddy as a schoolgirl. There's just so much coolness packed into this little car. It's a wonder I didn't walk out of that place with a significantly lighter wallet and a basketcase that looked really cool. For no good reason, the craziest/coolest part of this car is the trunk if you believe it or not. Take a look after the jump.– Ben Wojdyla More »
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A couple of stretched out bruisers were sitting nose-to-nose in the first row of the lower level. I almost fell over when I saw em. They were raucous and unconventional, seemingly thrown together with whatever parts could be found. They were also done with so much style you had to love 'em. What's not to love about a car with gull-wing doors, whose rear axle is under the your knees, that's also called "Hemirod"? Or whose roof has more metallic sculpture than the Guggenheim museum and a dually truck axle? Nothing, that's what. – Ben Wojdyla More »
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I think Ralph Nader's infamous title is perhaps more apropos in this situation than in its original context. I first saw this contraption cruising Woodward during the Dream Cruise last summer, but couldn't seem to catch up to it. Now it's cornered quarry and far more dangerous than I'd thought. As mentioned, that's a blown GM 502 ci V8. The shock comes from the numbers: 700 hp and 733 lb-ft of torque. That goodness is running through a custom-built 200R4 transmission to a Ford 9" rear and 20" wide Mickey Thompsons. Yeah, that's more batshit craziness than most muscle cars with four wheels (and seat belts and a roll cage, and...). I can almost taste the sublimated June bugs just looking at it. – Ben Wojdyla More »
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(This poor quality picture constitutes my entire coverage of the tuner section) More »
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"Hmm, that's a funny start to a hot rod." More »
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In 50,000 years, when our mutated evolutionary relatives comb through the still radioactive debris of our civilization, in an effort to reconstruct early transportation history, they'll stumble on this 1974 Karmann Ghia and puzzle over it. Is this the long postulated early missing link between Audi and Volkswagen? The body is obviously a modified hardtop Karmann, but the powertrain is that of a two-wheel-drive A4 2.8-liter V6. But what's this? The front suspension is off of what? A Corvette? They would, of course, re-bury it and avoid causing too much controversy among the automotive archaeological community. Proof of this shame after the jump. – Ben Wojdyla More »
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Bam, it hits you in the face with all dat chrome. This rolling bling hole is an Isotta Franschini 8A that was built in 1933 and is one of three completed and two surviving. A bling hole? Well, that's something with so much bling, no attention around it can escape its bling field, think Mr. T in his heyday. All eyes are diverted away from other bling and towards the Isotta, I mean, it's so balla that it's captured the sun. Strangely, its first owner was comedian Joe Panner, who must have been running shine on the side because this baby cost $20,000 in 1933. I'll save you the effort, that's about $285,645 in today's money. Dayum, that guy must have been the Jay Leno of his time (Jay, call me). – Ben Wojdyla More »
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Okay folks, last day of tardy Autorama coverage. I'm going to go all out and provide a show-centric post every hour, on the hour. Why? So that all you slackers suffering through a Friday in the confines of your cubicles can keep from going insane waiting till five o'clock rolls around. See if you can hang on to your seats. I've saved the best for last the leftovers for week's end. More »
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Sometimes, on this great journey through life, you witness something so truly breathtaking, so utterly, impossibly perfect, pure and good, it shifts the paradigm of your perception. It is deceptively easy to go right by the "First Love" exhibit in front of Detroit's Cobo hall. A passing glance will reveal nothing out of the ordinary, as slick show cars go. Look closer and you'll bear witness to high-dollar rodding nirvana. Simply put, this is, by a wide margin, the finest example of no-holds-barred custom fabrication work this Jalop has ever seen. Ever. More »
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Yes, those are 30" wheels made by DUB. Yes, that's a Cadillac Caprice with a Rolls Royce schnoz. Yes, the kid after the jump is barely taller than the wheel with which he is posing as if it were Spongebob (who was incidentally posing with kids not a hundred feet away). Does that about cover it? It's becoming a challenge to bring you continuously flashier and yet so so smooth rides; the ne plus ultra seems to have a short shelf life these days. Can Spate Kreations claim this as the current winner? It's a tough call between this and the orange Caprice with clear kicks from earlier, but in the end, we all win. – Ben Wojdyla More »
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Yeah, that's right, I'm thumbing my nose at the establishment, giving the finger to the man, and gesturing in any other phalangically based displays of disrespect. I say this is the first C6 Corvette-based conversion that does not, in fact, suck. In pictures it may not work; our very own commenters raked it over the coals when Spinelli wrote about it back in November. But in person it works surprisingly well. I spoke with Fred Kanter, chairman of n2a (and owner of the Packard brand name - cooool!). Apparently the idea was to meld different aspects of the '57, '58, and '59 Bel Air models into something interesting but familiar. One remarkable aspect of the build process was that the entire undertaking, from purchase of Vette to carbon-fiber body #1, was only about 14 weeks. Damn impressive for the level of detail if you ask me. It even uses factory reproductions of the original headlight and taillight buckets. Come on, what's not to love about that? Sure, there are a couple of things that could be massaged. The interior could stand a bit of tarting up and the license plate spot in the rear isn't as cool as it could be. But it's a great start for such an ill-received concept. – Ben Wojdyla More »
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On hand for this past Sunday's Autorama festivities in Detroit were Chip Foose of high hot-rod art (and Overhaulin') fame, and his partner in crime/sidekick Chris Jacobs. Apparently Foose is kind of a big thing in hot rodding circles, as evidenced by the throng of fans awaiting a signature in what I could only assume was an infinity hour-long line. I'll just take my forget-me-not pic from the sidelines and call it good.– Ben Wojdyla More »
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Rivets, rivets, rivets. Everywhere, on everything, holding all parts together, acting as thematic motivator and functional fastener de rigeur. The WW2 themed offering is a really cool take on a the open-topped hot rod. It's spartan interior is reminiscent of early Jeeps and Willy's runabouts. Check out the trunk with its gas tin and one-off battery box. Rodding magic. I have no explanation for the brass head as a shifter knob. Some things are best left not known. Oh so much below the fold.– Ben Wojdyla More »
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Some of us Jalops have busy lives and a fan base that is not only extensive, but always demanding of attention. As such, sometimes the coverage of a major hot rod show like Detroit's Autorama may be posted a bit late. Hey, you'd post late too if you had to beat off all those fans with a bent tie rod. Anyway, in the next couple of days, expect tardy posts. You know, my norm. More »
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The reason Damnation Alley didn't make a whole lot of sense back when we saw it in the theatre was that the projectionist ran the reels of this 1977 cinema gem 1-3-4-2. We're still confused. What we do remember is George Peppard driving all over a mixed up apparition of a post-nuclear southern California in the Dean Jeffries Landmaster. Jeffries took the then and still crazy sum of 400 large and brought forth the mighty Landmaster specifically for the film. The Landmaster was indeed tough, and has survived despite the apocalypse that was Damnation Alley's box office take. Look for the unveiling of the restored Landmaster and Dean Jeffries himself at the upcoming San Francisco Rod, Custom & Motorcycle Show. – Mike Bumbeck More »
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While nowhere near the triage conditions of the Paris Media Center, we still dislike press days at auto shows. Our ass hurts, the coffee's cold, we missed lunch, we missed the picture of the really fat journalist loading a plate of food while bitching about the quality and the pole-to-hole ratio is worse than you could possibly imagine. And another thing: where is all this video going? Why are there ten thousand men in lousy suits shooting so much footage of stationary objects? And why are they such jerks? Why does [CENSORED] from [Censored] smell so awfull? Ten million carmakers and not a single Camino concept? Why have we been up since 5:30 am? Why don't we just read about this on autoblog? What's that? The Audi booth is handing out highly precise mimosas? We love our job. More »
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We gave the Sweeter Peeter some rightful business last week on his beef with Karl Brauer. He sent us the static he sent Karl back, and frankly, it was basically more of the same, "Since I started Autoextremist on June 1, 1999..." schtick that he's been parroting since, well 1999, so we didn't bother posting it. That said, Peet's got a solid piece this week on the runup to auto show season and all of the ridiculousness entails. We hear he and Brauer are going to hot-oil wrestle onstage at Jumbo's Clown Room while DeLorenzo's out here for the LA Auto Show. The question is, which one will tag in Jason Vines? We're totally there. Who's in? – Davey G. Johnson More »
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Years ago, Pontiac debuted a concept called the 'Rageous. At the time, the joke was, "They should've called it the ''Diculous'." Reader Punkey spotted this C6 set to debut at the SEMA Show over at Autoblog, and our lord and savior is currently trembling in his sandals for the future of humanity. We'll leave the words with him, because we couldn't put it better ourselves: "Say hello to everything that's wrong with the tuning and modification scene today. 2 tons of fiberglass, ugly leather and enough electronic tat that it requires the output of the Hoover Dam to power it all. This is why I don't care about SEMA anymore." More »
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We're back from the Paris auto show, a few millimeters of shoe leather shorter, a few Euros poorer and a few Gitanes smokier. Now, it is the time on Jalopnik when we look back on what we've seen and try to make sense of the Euro-focused cavalcade of cars and put the glitz into global context. What better way to do that than by employing the time-honored awards device. We bring you The Jalopnik Paris Show Awards: Paris Show Edition. Try the escargots, and do not tip your waitress (gratiuity is included). More »
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Ten years ago, we were on a boat in Germany celebrating a friend's high-school graduation. Suddenly, this horridly catchy earworm of a song came on and people started to move strangely. Synchronized strangeness, even. "Dear God," we thought to ourselves. "We hope this is one of those weird European things that never makes it to America." Roughly three weeks later, it arrived on the soil of the land named for Amerigo Vespucci. Part of us died that day. More »
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As the hoary old maxim goes, it ain't over 'til the overweight female bursts into song. And while the large lady with the Viking helmet has yet to belt out her last at the Mondial de l'Automobile press days, she is in the dressing room squeezing into her metal bustier. Mindful of that, we thought we'd offer up a collection of some of the Paris show's finer examples of French womanhood. Sadly, the Small Chrysler wasn't available, so we had to settle for a SEAT model. Ricardo Montalban and Lee Iacocca, no doubt, are extremely distraught. [Gallery] More »
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We posted a couple of shots of Peugeot's new 908 diesel Le Mans car carelessly gleaned from our big blue screen yesterday. In the interest of reader service, we then shed shoe leather like a PCP-addled Bruce Jenner on a quest to capture images for our files and ended up running across it's li'l brudder, the 907 Spider, a spec-series racer that'll run opening events in five heats of the Le Mans Series. Not since the R5 Turbo has a French automobile made us as giddy as these two machines. And it gives us an excuse to do some more o' that fancy gallery fiddlin'. [Gallery] More »
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Humina. Great Scott! Fabulosity is at hand, revealed by the wacky Frenchmen at Peugeot. The 908 Le Mans coupe prototype is poised to take on the already-stupidly-successful Audi R10. Packed full of diesel and walnuts, the Peugeots and the Citro ns are hoping to ratchet their cachet by taking on the all-conquering Teutons from Ingolstadt. Can the plucky Frankish folks pull it off? We don't know, but du unsere G te, this thing is hotter than a two-dollar hooker in vibrating pants! Or the press room here in Paris. Take your pick. More »
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I'm alone, sitting with Wert's broken glass. My four walls follow me through my past. I was on a Paris train; I emerged in London rain. And Spinelli was waiting there, swimming through apologies. I remember searching for the perfect words. I was hoping Wert might change his mind. I remember Spinelli sleeping next to me, riding on the Metro. More »
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Carrying on with their tradition of unintentionally wacky weirdness, the French have assembled The Prodigious Collection, a display housed in a special section of the Paris show. Past shows have featured collections of James Bond cars and comic-book vehicles, but this year it's all about rare classics; 60 or so of 'em (including the Maserati 5000GT Allemano pictured here), with a one-of-six Bugatti Royale as the centerpiece of the display. Mmmm...Bugatti Royale...with cheese... More »
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We shudder to think of how this saloon would suffer at the hands of Beavis, what with its 400hp blown eight, satin-finish walnut trim, and slightly-overwrought aluminium-type side gills. Nevertheless, the six-speed autobox would allow Butt-Head's partner in crime to travel with ease, eliminating unseemly clutch action. Plus, the mesh grill adds a dash of "Are you threatening me?" to the whole package. Ford's cash-bleeding Brit-luxo division just unveiled it at the British International Motor Show, and well, Mr. Anderson, your garden is doomed. More »
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The Spaniards over at Seat (presumably with their Donckerwolke in tow) have released a tribute to their World Touring Car Championship version of the L on with the rather Japanese-sounding surname of "Cupra." Looking something like an "If They Mated" rendition of the BMW Z4 and a VW Golf, the Cupra wrings 240hp out of a turbocharged VW FSI motor and features race-inspired suspension, undoubtedly like anything found in a Ford Torino Talladega. It also, apparently, features "sporty acoustics." More »
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The 2006 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance is the kind of event where the parking lot could be confused with the show itself: I puttered in as a guy driving a Maybach 57 was coolly gliding out. You see that kind of stuff in Greenwich. You also see tiny dogs being chauffeured in man-purses, but we're More »
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