Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: What Now?

We have finally filled the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage with a set of some of the most desirable, interesting, quirky, historic and noteworthy automobiles in the history of the art. This is not to say it is the definitive list of all things both fantasy and Jalopnik. A case in point was topping off the garage two weeks ago with the 1970 Chevrolet El Camino 454SS — some considered it absolute travesty we hadn't entered it sooner, others considered the entry phoning it in. It highlights the differences of opinion we all delight in discussing. We've got some ideas of our own on how to go forward with this honing process, but we're interested to hear from you. More »

JFG Postponed, Too Much SAE

Sorry kids, we knew you were looking to unleash the fire of a thousand suns on our latest selection for JFG and then vote it in anyway, but we're working our way through the scrum of the 2008 SAE World Congress to chat up the bigs and try to figure out if there's any news going on. Tune in tomorrow and we'll have the latest garage contestant ready for you to vote on. In the meantime, check out a garage built for fantasy-land. More »

1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Jonckheere Coupe

And then there were ten. With a completely expected shoo-in for JFG like the Porsche 959, the margin of acceptance standing at 95.1% is no surprise. Impressive yes, but still bested by the McLaren F1 and the Mercedes 300SL, though we suppose that to be good company to keep. Today's offering is far less well known, with a far murkier history, and much, much more beautiful coachwork. What the bloodlines of the recently axed Rolls Royce Phantom cannot offer is everything this car represents. Complete and utter disregard for cost, opinion, standard, and precedence. This automobile set a benchmark we doubt will ever be reached again in within our lifetimes; the 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Jonckheere Coupe. More »

Two Uber-Cars Drive the Green Mile

With the departure of the hairy but golden-penned Mr. Lieberman, I have been passed the torch of the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage. It is with honor and deference I accept this great undertaking. I hope to carry on where he left off, bringing you the best of the best in this galaxy of automobilia. Unfortunately, my first duty in this endeavor is striking the final coffin nails on two former occupants of the garage, a pair of cars you've deemed unworthy. More »

Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: Double Execution Day

Four cars, two bullets. But where to aim? After two days worth of ruthless bickering enlightened discussion, you have selected the Fantasy Garage's four bottom feeders. First to act is the RUF RT12, the car that achieved the 2nd highest number of "out!" votes. Interestingly, this non-CTR Yellowbird RUF was also the first car inducted into this here Garage. Will it meet the same fate as the second ever inductee, the Maserati Quatroporte? That's for you to decide. More »

Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: Trimming the Fat Part 4

Y'all are getting testy! There is some serious cat fighting taking place in this morning's part 3. Early on, both the Buick GSX and the Charger/Challenger were in real danger of getting the knife. And why not? Muscle cars — while very cool — have been fetishized (and priced) to the point of irrelevance. Their OG MO was that they provided cheap power to the common man. Now they represent investment opportunities. Can I get a yawn? End rant. The good news for you Motown devotees is that Rambo's Lambo has eeked out a small lead. The bad news (for me) is that I love the LM002. Is there a possible upside? Sure, if you squirrels manage to vote the LM002 out of the Garage, that should junk the street price to the tune of 0.000047%! Anyhow, if you jump, you can vote on the last 10 cars. And remember — tomorrow we'll vote on the final 4, killing 2 of them. More »

Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: Trimming the Fat Part 3

21 cars down, 20 more to go! Be sure to check out yesterday's part 1 and part 2. Maybe you can sneak in a couple of late votes. Not that it would matter much at this point. So, what did we learn? I'm a bit shocked to find the Garage's Roller is so passionately reviled and hated. I guess lotsa folks just don't have four-doored fantasies. And it looks like the RUF RT12 is toast. As for today, get ready for a slug fest. I could announce the cars right here, but that would kill the surprise. And we like surprises. More »

Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: Trimming the Fat Part 2

Well sir, looks like the RUF is taking it on the chin. But hey, as we've seen, the RUF always takes it on the chin and then a much more fantastic car gets voted out (I cry for you, Exelero). Still, I'm hopeful. And we're losing two of our residents this week, so lots more action ahead! Looks like this round features the perennial JFG dog Corvette ZR-1 (some people just don't get it). However, you'll also be voting on the Vallelunga, a car I still don't get. Oooh, and there's that Phantom, too. Anyhow, relax, have a donut and happy voting. More »

Jalopnik Fantasy Garage: Trimming the Fat Part 1

Man, talk about oversights. Last week you wonderful people inducted the gorgeous-is-an-understatement BMW 507. And that means we now have 41 cars in our Fantasy Garage. As you know, whenever we hit a nice, round number like 40, it's time to dump a car. We should of done so last week, but last week was a rough one. So, we'll taking out the trash (so to speak) this week. Where to even start? Yeah, I have no idea, either. So, like we done did before, let's just commence with the voting and see where that takes us. Who knows, maybe we'll even kill two birds... More »

1959 Facel Vega HK500

Well, well, well — what do we have here? Why it's one of our Fantasy Garage cars, the Facel Vega HK500! And it can be yours for the Buy It Now price of just $75,000. Or, you can see where the auction takes you. As of right now, just two bids. The car was purchased in Germany, driven around Europe and has been living in the rust-free car utopia that is the SF Bay Area for the past 49 years. You gotta love the people that bought these things — check this out: More »

BMW 507

You know who we don't spend enough time talking about? Max Hoffman. Max Hoffman? Yeah buddy, Max Hoffman. Those of you with steel trap memories will remember that Hoffman was the guy who convinced Mercedes-Benz to build and import the 300 SL, a car we all agree is six degrees of triple-rad. Hoffman also had Frank Lloyd Wright design him both a home and a Jaguar dealership in Manhattan and he's responsible for bringing the Porsche 356 Speedster to American soil. The BMW 507, too. What a guy. More »

Bonus Fantasy: DB4 GT Zagato Gallery

Frankly, I'm delighted by the enthusiasm on display in today's Fantasy Garage. Certain cars are simply that good. About a decade back I was given a book about Aston Martin DB4/5s by a pistonhead boss. It wasn't a raise, but I was dumb young enough to still be thrilled. As you can imagine, the pages on the DB4 GT Zagato are especially dog eared. Spada's bodywork is immortal — simply one of the greatest ever. To celebrate his masterpiece, here's some extra pics. Please enjoy. More »

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato

I believe there are certain things you can never have too many of. Good pairs of jeans and shoes. Pocket knives. Friends with pickup trucks. Real Mexican joints. Books. And of course, sports cars from the early 60s that competed at LeMans in your Fantasy Garage. We've already got the two best (the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe and the Ferrari 250 GTO, respectively) so let us now induct the most beautiful; the British/Italian hybrid Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. More »

Rolls-Royce Phantom

For generations, Rolls-Royces were the automotive equivalent of a white wedding dress. Pretty, but who you trying to fool, honey? Yes, the badge said Rolls-Royce, but wink-wink, nudge, nudge, Elton John covered his in rhinestones, but come on — they weren't very good cars. Sure, we'd love to get our mits on a Phantom IV. Or better yet, a Camargue! But even then you're talking 189 hp from a 6.75-liter V8 coupled to a GM 3-speed autobox. Woo frigging hoo. And at least the Camargue was kinda nifty looking. Most Rollers are frumpy, bulgy looking things. But they had a lot of leather and walnut and wool and odds are you weren't doing the driving anyhow, so did it really matter that the emperor was wearing little more than a pair of speedos? To BMW it did. More »

Tucker 48

Since birth, I've been trained to root for the underdog. Blame my socialist/communist liberal Jewish Montreal roots if you must, but there is something just so much better about the little guy beating the big guy. George Washington defeating the full might of the British Empire. Joe Namath beating Johnny Unitas. Rocky. Rudy, etc. In terms of the Fantasy Garage, we've already inducted the car that I consider to be the greatest underdog of them all, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, which by the way kicked Ferrari's ass. And of course who can forget the Honda 1300 Coupe 9? This week's nominee, the Tucker 48, would have been an even better underdog tale. Sadly however, Detroit and Washington tag teamed Preston Tucker's "Car of the Tomorrow" into submission before it ever had the chance to fight. Sigh... More »

Continental MK II

I ran across an article today on MSNBC.com that proclaims the new Cadillac CTS is "The Cadillac of luxury sedans." And you thought Jalopnik was the fount from which all automotive irony sprung. It's true though, and I know you've heard it before, but in the 1950s a Cadillac was the el numero uno in the world. For it was a time when Mercedes was still trying to shake its image of Nazi tank builder, BMWs were slightly more fuddy than duddy and most Japanese cars had three wheels, if not less. Sure you had Rolls-Royce but they were just rebadged Bentleys with anemic straight-sixes and dodgy slushboxes. And Italy? Yeah, not so much. No, it was Cadillac baby, the self proclaimed standard of the world. Except for one car. And it was a Lincoln, kinda. More »

What Do You Want in the Fantasy Garage?

The Bora snuck in by the skin of it's teeth yesterday. More importantly, the howls were louder and louder. "Not my fantasy." "Nice car, but there are 50 better cars out there." "LOL fugly POS." All valid criticism I guess. Sure, why not? But folks, the Bora makes 36 cars parked in the Garage. We'll toss another one out after we get to 40, but still, the end is extremely fucking nigh. And so we're asking, what? What will make you happy? And don't say Porsche 959. Save your breath.

Maserati Bora

With last weeks whopping, landslide inclusion of the McLaren F1 (96.8% yes) we asked ourselves, "How many more hot-shit performance monsters do we really need in this here Fantasy Garage?" Along with the F1, we've got the king of the world Veyron and the over-performing Ford GT. We've even (somehow) still got the RUF RT12. With that in mind we've decided to slow things down (a bit) and ask you to contemplate a true heart string plucker, the amazing Maserati Bora. And actually for its time, the Bora could fly. Have a look. More »

McLaren F1

For the last several weeks we've been sticking with the classics. Cars like the Facel Vega HK500, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and the all-conquering Bugatti Royale — vehicles that aren't so much pure fantasy as they are automotive high water marks. This week we're turning our attention to a modern classic, and the more things change... Back when Farago first launched our little Fantasy Garage, there was no question than an F1 would (someday) grace our car hole. The McLaren F1 should actually be synonymous inside every pistonhead's head with the word "Fantasy." In point of fact, it very well might be the greatest supercar ever made. Which may be why the Sultan of Brunei owns eight of 'em. Have a look. More »

Bugatti Type 41 Royale

To many a pistonhead, the ultimate in Bugattiness is the Type 57 Atlantic. You'll hardly get an argument out of us: ultra dope automobile. However, after intense deliberations with the Postfather we decided that the pre-War Bug demanded by our merry old Garage has to be the Royale. Designed at the height of the jazz age by Etorre Bugatti to be the most magnificent car ever created, the Type 41 was a beast of a machine specifically intended to humble the Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Hispano-Suizas and Delahayes of the day. And boy, did it. While records are made to be broken, at various points over the last 80 or so years, the Royale has been the biggest, most powerful (with the biggest engine) and most expensive car ever created. Adjusted for inflation, the ultimate Bugatti would have set you back $700,000. Well, not you. Even though it was designed with royalty in mind, the wealthiest kings of Europe had trouble getting their hands on the majestic Royales. Take poor King Zog of Albania. Ettore refused to sell him one stating, "The man's table manners are beyond belief!" Luckily, Ettore's never seen us eat. More »

Fantasy Garage: Delayed Until Friday

Yeah, so, due to general LA Auto Show hijinks that may or may not include mini-burgers, sushi, the MINI Clubman, human beat boxing, Miranda July, Bumbeck's shirt and free gin, we have to delay the Fantasy Garage until Friday. We do however promise that it will be a good one. A hint? Why sure, of course. It may be Italian. Or French. But definitely not German. But perhaps a touch English...

Commenter of the Day: Existential Crisis Edition

We're sure it will come as a shock to no one that Davey G and I routinely debate Fantasy Garage nominations deep into the early morn. Even less shocking was Mr. Johnson's reaction to the Facel Vega HK500, which I believe he called, "A motherfucker of a car." Then we got to arguing about the various merits and demerits of other French l'automobiles. We were both initially torn between the Citroen SM and the HK500, though I eventually sided with the Facel Vega. Davey meanwhile went a step further and declared the streamlined Voisin C28 Aerosport to be the greatest French car ever. I countered that I'll take the Veyron, thank you. To which Davey replied that the Ferrari 308 is his favorite car, ever. That of course leads us to today's winning Commenter... More »

Facel Vega HK500

A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.

—Albert Camus More »

Toyota 2000GT

Ever since Farago inaugurated the Fantasy Garage with the RUF RT12, you all have been clamoring for specific cars. "Where's the 250 GTO? (right here) Where's the E-type? (right here) Where's the Tumbler E39 M5?" (right here) And of course, "Where's the Toyota 2000GT?" As we grind down to the 50-car wire please be assured that there are certain no-brainer entries that will be put up to a vote. This being Japan Week, what better time than the present to (possibly) induct Japan's first supercar, the aforementioned Toyota 2000GT? Exactly, none. More »

Dodge Family Feud: And the Winner is... Both!

Good news everyone! Atomic supermen with octagonal-shaped bodies, that suck blood through straws out your... It looks as if the people have spoken, and spoken correctly for a change! In case you forgot, the Fantasy voting was so close yesterday, and both Mopars are so damn desirable, we said that after 24-hours if the gap between the two was 3% or less, both cars get in. Let me just double check the math: More »

Dodge Family Feud: In The Event Of A Tie...

Wow, the Charger R/T and the Challenger R/T are running neck and neck. As of typing the Charger sits at 142 votes while the Challenger is nipping it's heals with 140. How does this sound to you: Let's get all hopped up on Benzedrine and race a Charger against a Challenger from New York to California If the differential remains within 3% between the two JFG candidates, we'll bend the rules and stick 'em both in. We're pretty sure we can fit an extra spot. Maybe we can rip out the bathroom... [UPDATE: polls close tomorrow at noon, so tell your friends.]

Dodge Family Feud: Charger R/T Vs. Challenger R/T

We know; today is going to be rough. Ever since the 1970 Buick GSX 455 robbed the Judge edged out the other the other three GM big blocks for a spot in our Fantasy Garage there have been howls for 440 Six Packs, 426 Hemis and general Mopar R/T madness. Well friends, today is your feast. As always, caveat emptor, for we only have 50 parking spots in this Garage of ours. As worthy as both these mad machines are, only one is getting in. Since our first introduction to each car was via celluloid, we thought we'd employ the magic of Hollywood to plead each car's case. Yeah, exactly, we're talking Bullitt and Vanishing Point. Hey, it worked for the 450SEL 6.9. One final point, we know we're leaving out the 'Cudas. And we're sorry. More »

Excelero: Out!

Once again the masses have spoken. And once again I'm saddened by their voice. Not devastated or anything like that. But I really dig the buck-toothed 'Bach. But hey, that's democracy for you. So, the extreme dream machine that Maybach never deigned to build will be parking out on the street behind the Quattroporte and the Phaeton W12. Yet somehow the RUF soldiers on. C'est la vie. At least we got to hold onto the Honda. Sleep well, Excelero and we'll see you back here in 9 more weeks!

Today's The Day: Vote One Fantasy Out

I think we all know why we're here. Furthermore, I think we all know what we need to do. In case you missed it, you can catch up on it here. This is starting to sound like an Old Spice commercial. Actually, much like that Old Spice commercial, these cars ought to have it. The one that doesn't, doesn't. Happy voting. More »