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At the top of Goodwood is the rally paddock and a 2 minute, 20-second forest stage that I raced down in Ken Block's Ford Fiesta. It was awesome, but the moment I got out of Ken's car I ran straight to the Group B paddock and started begging for rides. I'm riding in a Group B if it's the last thing I do. More »
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The LS-powered Geo from earlier today got me thinking about old Geo commercials. Which is how I found myself on YouTube looking for the old "No Matter What" commercial as well as finding sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison. More »
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Group B rally cars like the Delta and Ford RS200 regularly sell for seven-figure prices. This MG Metro 6R4 is probably the worst Group B rally car ever, but because it's a Group B rally car you still want it. More »
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Thanks to geography, Washington D.C.'s subway system has more escalators — 588 — than any other system in North America. Which also means D.C. has more broken escalators, such as this one that experienced runaway Toyota-itis last fall. H/T Demon-Xanth! More »
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What did The General need most of all in the late 1980s? You got it, another marque! All those Suzukis and Toyotas being built in California and Ontario needed friendly Detroit-style badging, not to mention those Japan-built Isuzus. More »
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Dubai is one of the most opulent places on earth, and its remarkable subway system reflects this fact, with palatial stations, high-tech trains, and first-class accommodations. Alex Ion of DeviceMAG took this look at the system's high points. —Ed. More »
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A 19-year-old bus freak acquired a Washington, D.C. Metro driver's uniform and got himself assigned a bus route Sunday. He was doing great, driving the route as assigned, until he crashed into a tree. He was then arrested. [WaPo] More »
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The Geo Metro often serves as a punch line for small-car jokes, but even modest machines have their benefits. To illustrate this, we've invited Jalopnik reader Matt Moore to speak about the distinguished joys of the sweet Met life. More »
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Thanks to 25 MPG fuel economy and a $22K price, the Ford Transit Connect is being sold as an affordable, efficient commercial vehicle. Pshaw. The Metro-amino will get twice the mileage for a tenth of the price. More »
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We've seen fake Ferraris, but few as bold as this convertible Geo Metro redubbed the "Dino GT 760." The attention to detail is admirable, but we're sure every dead Italian is spinning in their graves like a twin-turbo V8. More »
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Generally, describing a car as an appliance is pejorative, indicating it is dull as dishwater. Today Nice Price or Crack Pipe brings you a car that's totally not boring, but does look an awful lot like a refrigerator. More »
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Recently, concept cars have become boring. Most are thinly disguised production-destined vehicles lacking a certain amount of crazy-cool. The Frankfurt Motor Show is shaping up to buck that trend. Example? The Hyundai ix-Metro has plenty of crazy. More »
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The very nervous 3-cylinder engine found in the Chevrolet Sprint Turbo was part of the very successful and long-lived Suzuki G engine family. More »
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Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose the project that's the coolest... and most hellish! Are you thinking of entering the Buttonwillow Histrionics 24 Hours Of LeMons, but just can't find the right car? More »
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Unless you put a CBR900RR engine in one, the '88 Geo Metro hatchback is a downright cute little gas sipper. It's tough to argue with 53 city MPG, though we remain skeptical about that figure. More »
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The Barrett-Jackson auctions are typically filled with expensive classic cars and other exotics, so why are they auctioning off a Geo Metro of all things? More »
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Toilet plunger differential grease seal and all, the Metro Gnome CBR900RR-powered Geo has won the 2008 24 Hours Of LeMons Arse Freeze-A-Palooza! More »
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Did you think that the Ghettocharged FrankenMiata, Faster Farms Chickenmobile, pair of X1/9s, and other awesomeness meant that the upcoming 24 Hours Of LeMons Arse-Freeze-A-Palooza couldn't possibly get any better? Wrong! We've just received a few photos of the Team Metro-Gnome Geo Metro, which is powered by- hallelujah!- a Hayabusa CBR900RR engine! It's a front-wheel-drive setup, chain-driving the original Suzuki transaxle differential… and, yes, that is a toilet plunger being used as a grease seal. Make the jump to get the story from team member Alex. More »
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Here we go with Nice Price Or Crack Pipe again, offering a chance to chime in with your opinion on reasonable-versus-unreasonable vehicle asking prices. Last time, garbooned poll hamsters made it impossible to say with scientific certainty whether or not the $14,900 Ford Fairmontchero would have been an overwhelming Crack Pipe winner, but the tone of the comments certainly gave that impression. Today we need to look at the recent run-up in Geo Metro prices and decide whether we think six-plus grand is still beyond reason for a low-miles Metro convertible. More »
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Car And Driver realizes that while hybrids and alternative fuels may get all the hype, the solution for many people on fuel economy is still the simple old econo-bucket beater. However, they've come up with five reasons why buying something like a cheap old Geo Metro isn't a good idea. Car And Driver makes some valid points, but we're thinking we'd still rather have a old beater. Although our five reasons below the jump won't apply to most consumers — we think maybe consumers should just become more like us. Reliability: Sure, an old Geo may not be as reliable as a brand new Toyota, Chevy or Ford, but it's still more reliable than say, an old MG. Besides, "poor reliability" is just another way of saying "lots of character," and who doesn't want to have a car with a personality? Safety: Yes, a rusty Metro make a Brilliance look like a tank, but who's to say you can't install a roll cage and wear a fire-proof suit and a helmet? Besides, old Volvos make for good cheap beaters too, and they built their whole reputation on safety. Speed (or lack thereof): We enjoy driving— quickly. There's no way getting around that. But if your goal is saving fuel, do you really care how fast you're going? Besides, you'd be surprised at the perverse kind of enjoyment you get from trying to squeeze the maximum amount of MPG from an otherwise boring commute. Emissions: Actually, there's not really any arguing with this point. Fact is, your cheap old beater with a hole rusted in its catalytic converter (or even with an intact one) is going to spew more smog into the air than most any modern car. Though if you're running an old Mercedes diesel on biodiesel, you do get that delicious french fry scent from the tailpipe. Theft: So what if the baddies are more likely to jack your little hatchback? Just go out and buy another one for $80. Look at it as spreading the gift of fuel economy to your community. More »
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Just when everyone figured British Leyland was going to surrender the British Isles to the hordes of low-priced imports pouring across the Channel, here comes the brand new Austin Metro! Good for 62 MPG (at a blistering 50 miles per hour) and bashed together by drunks with hammers built with pride right at home, there was no doubt the Germans, Italians, Japanese, and French trembled with fear at the sight of the Metro. More »
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After bright red Cadillac El Dorados and desert racers, we can imagine no other vehicle more capable of evoking gonzo journalistic activities than this International Motorhome. Sure it's a little rusty now, and this particular model would require the addition of a very powerful engine and multiple drug cabinets, but it's there, lurking beneath that perfectly patina'd yellow paint — the call of the open road. This gem is practically begging for misadventure and with only a day left it's going for a scant $1,047.22. Someone needs to get this before we do. More »
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We don't know your opinion on the Chevy Metro. But we can assume that Cai Guo-Qiang is not too fond of the four-door sedan, as he has an art exhibit currently on display at the Guggenheim museum in New York City displaying the gradual exploding of the car. Six Metros have been hung in the famous rotunda of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece. The entire exhibit is intended to simulate the violence of a car bomb, by using lights and careful positioning. More »
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Not very surprisingly, the '63 Jaguar XK-E emerged victorious from Dead Man's Curve in yesterday's Jan & Dean-themed Choose Your Eternity poll. If it hadn't been for the unifying theme, I'd never have set a Chevy up against a car whose soul is possessed by the Prince of Darkness. But no matter- today we're going to look at a pair of cars that present somewhat more of dilemma. One is a hacked-up Japanese factory hot rod, while the other is an even more hacked-up Japanese unhot rod. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=347851&view=rss&microfeed=true So here we have a rowdy bunch of beer-swilling hoons plopping a beater Geo Metro on a dyno and mainlining increasing doses of nitrous into its poor tiny 3-cylinder heart. The Metro's engine actually survives a lot longer under this treatment than one might think, and produces some crowd-pleasing pyrotechnics to boot. The question we need to ask ourselves: is it true hoonage if the car doesn't move? – Murilee Martin More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=274590&view=rss&microfeed=true We admit it. We never met a gonzoid hyper-rally car we didn't like. And while we're complete and utter suckers for purpose-built, design-the-thing-and-homologate-it-later machines like the Ford RS200 and Lancia Stratos, any car with the stones to compete in Group B earns our respect. As such, we've never had a whole lot of love for the Austin/MG/Whatever Metro, but the 6R4 is entirely different pot of meat. Built by Williams, it featured a hybrid construction of plastik und schteel, a midship-mounted V6 instead of a turbo mill with fewer cylinder and well, is simply one of the most gonzoid hatchbacks ever built. We would be proud to call it friend, even if its roadgoing relatives were an affront to the dignity of British motoring, as well as its progenitor, the fabulous Mini. – Davey G. Johnson More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=263106&view=rss&microfeed=true A few years back, a Hayabusa-riding roommate of ours was dating a Geo Metro-driving friend of ours. The relationship didn't last, but during the brief romance, we discussed with said roommate the prospect of replacing the Metro's 1.3L Suzuki mill with the rather more potent unit from the sportbike. This character aimed a bit lower, dropping a 600cc Honda bike mill into a Metro, and now he's listed it on craigslist for a paltry $2,500 bucks. We'll leave it up to you to decide whether it's worth it or not. [Thanks to Larsen for the tip.] – Davey G. Johnson More »
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We just returned to the Jalopnik hotel compound after a night eating various hors d'oeuvres and amuses bouche, sipping pink champagne and watching Audi f te its new 911-fighter, the 4.2-liter, 420-hp V8 R8 coupe. Interestingly, Audi announced the R8 will be available in two transmission setups, six-speed manual and Audi's new R Tronic sequential-shift gearbox, which is fitted with a joystick gearshift on the center console and paddles on the steering wheel. Audi refers to the R Tronic system, which we've yet to grasp how closely it follows Audi's DSG setup, as "shift by wire" technology, which allows for both quick shifts and a positive power-to-weight ratio, along with sport and automatic modes. The R8 will be available for order later this week at Audi dealerships. Read the press release after the jump. More »
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Our friend Suz once had a Geo Metro that we named "Ronnie James." It had a 1.3L four-cylinder. What else has a 1.3 Suzuki four? That's right folks, the GSX 1300R, aka the Hayabusa. We often fantasized about such a transplant. Tyler Brunkhorst, a car-modeler on the upcoming XBox 360 auto bonanza Forza Motorsport 2, didn't, as far as we can tell swap in a 'Busa mill, but he did add a supercharger to his Metro and claims that it could take his boss' Audi RS4. Now that's a grudge match we'd like to see. More »
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What has three cylinders, 55 horsepower, and a totally flippin' sweet body kit? It's the Metro-mino! This Metro was given customization's highest honor by high-school student Kyle, who rescued his dad's Metro from rotting in the lawn. After new body panels, paint, neon lights, and a custom-fit rear window, Kyle made another great decision and took his senior picture with it. Get in line ladies, there is only room for one passenger. Plus, the Metro gets something like 50 miles to the gallon. Screw hybrids, this is the car of the future. More »
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