Jalopnik: autoblog

Autoblog Does Not Love El Caminos

Ray Wert — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:45:00 EDT

Autoblog hates El Caminos and therefore, America. [Autoblog]

Camping World takes over as NASCAR Truck sponsor

www.jalopnik.com — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:01:59 EDT

Filed under: Motorsports, Trucks/Pickups, Marketing/Advertising

Last December, it was revealed that Craftsman would be dropping its sponsorship of the NASCAR Truck Series, which it had headlined since the sport's inception in 1995. Beginning with the 2009 season, the new series sponsor will be Camping World, a company that already has major ties with the racing community.

The deal is good for seven years and stipulates that all NASCAR Truck races will be televised on either SPEED or FOX, which provides Camping World with an estimated $100 million worth of exposure and makes us wonder what the sponsorship deal cost the privately-held company that's based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The first race with the new sponsorship will take place next year at the Daytona International Speedway on February 13th. See the press release after the break for more.

[Source: NASCAR]

Continue reading Camping World takes over as NASCAR Truck sponsor

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Air Bag: Volvo moves from safety to fashion accessories

www.jalopnik.com — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:01:32 EDT

Filed under: Volvo

Okay, we know automotive merchandizing has grown into a big business these days, but surely this has gone too far. After Volvo trucks came out with their own fashion line (in case you missed that), Volvo cars has introduced... a purse. Perfect for all those soccer moms rolling around in Swedish station wagons, sure, but where does it end?

The handbag was designed by Ilse Crawford - we're supposed to know who that is - and is made of the same perforated white leather available in the S80, V70, XC70 (um, those are all different versions of the same car) and the XC90 sport-ute. Don't expect to see too many of these on the arms of mothers picking up their kids from the local school in the afternoon, though, as they've only made 100 examples, costing the equivalent of $685 apiece. Feel free to check out the images in the gallery below if, you know... that's your bag.

Gallery: Volvo handbag by Ilse Crawford

[Source: CarScoop]

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Spy Shots: Has Acura gone mad? X6 competitor spotted on the 'Ring

www.jalopnik.com — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:57:38 EDT

Filed under: Spy Photos, Crossovers/CUVs, Acura

There is no doubt that Honda moves to the beat of its own percussionist, especially compared to its Japanese competitors. Of late, however, the Acura side of the house seems to be making some very odd decisions. There is the most obvious front and center example - the new shield grille, which one dealer has taken it upon himself to fix. Then the other day came news that Honda CEO Takeo Fukui has confirmed the next-gen top-of-the-line Acura sedan will use the company's first V8 engine. This comes at the same time other manufacturers are abandoning new V8 engine programs due to falling sales and high fuel prices. No doubt Honda's answer to the V8 question will be something at least slightly different than what we've seen from Infiniti and Lexus.

The latest head scratcher may well be the biggest of all. Since it's debut, the BMW X6 has had many of us pondering why it exists. Apparently the team at Acura understands, since they have created a "sport activity coupe"/crossover thingy of their own. The X6 hasn't exactly been flying off dealer lots in the U.S. since it went on sale six months ago, so the obvious question is why make another? We certainly don't know the answer, but judging by this prototype with an Acura shield grille visible under the camo that was spotted recently at the Nürburgring, Honda does. Thanks to Luke for the tip!

[Source: GlobalMotors.com]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Clear the streets: Nick Hogan released from jail

www.jalopnik.com — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:57:20 EDT

Filed under: Government/Legal, Celebrities

The incarceration of Nick "Hogan" Bollea has come to an end after just 166 days. Offspring of famous WWE wrestler Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea, the youngest Hogan had been sentenced to eight months in jail for reckless driving last May after crashing his dad's souped up yellow Toyota Supra in Florida back in August 2007. Though Bollea walked away from the crash with minor injuries, his friend, John Graziano, who was riding shotgun at the time, sustained serious injuries that will require medical care for the rest of his life. In addition to serving jail time, Bollea will also be on probation for five years and have his license suspended for three. Bollea was apparently a model inmate, getting off early on account of "good time" credit earned while in the clink. TMZ.com reports that after reuniting with his mother outside the jailhouse, the ex-con returned home to a "thumping party" complete with cops on hand to keep things in check. He also returned home to a set of divorced parents and a really hot sister, and the public is on the edge of its seat waiting to hear if Nick was really serious about starting a reality show based on his oh-so-interesting life. You can check out video of Nick's reunion with this mom (or his sister, who can tell?) by clicking here.

Gallery: Police pics of Nick Hogan's totaled Supra

[Source: TMZ.com]Permalink | Email this | Comments

Kerkorian begins unloading Ford stock

www.jalopnik.com — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:53:19 EDT

Filed under: Ford, Earnings/Financials, Celebrities

Kirk Kerkorian and his investment firm Tracinda Corp. made waves last summer by increasing their stake in Ford Motor Company by some 40 million shares to a total of 140.8 million shares, which accounted for 6.49% of the automaker and made the billionaire the largest single shareholder outside the Ford family itself. At the time Tracinda made the purchase, Ford stock was going for $8.50 per share. The company announced today that it has sold 7.3 million shares of Ford at an average price of $2.43 per share, leaving it with 133.5 million shares of the Blue Oval and a loss totaling some $44,311,000. Tracinda has also said that it may unload its entire investment in Ford and has already contacted an investment bank to that end, though we imagine it's waiting for the stock price to improve before divesting itself completely.

When Kerkorian increased his stake in Ford last summer, there was big talk of the billionaire being behind the automaker's turnaround effort, as well as possibly buying an even larger stake in the company if things went well. As we all know, things have not gone well, and Kerkorian is taking what's left of his investment and going back to what he knows best: investments in gaming, hospitality, oil and gas.

[Source: The Detroit News, Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty ]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Crashed Enzo lives! Loverman gets to go for a ride

www.jalopnik.com — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:10:23 EDT

Filed under: Supercars, Ferrari

Given the relative scarcity of cars like the Ferrari Enzo (349 production units built, an indeterminate number destroyed), you're unlikely to encounter one. On those rare occasions when such a thing does happen it seems even less likely that said owner will say, "Hey, wanna go for a ride?" Given the improbability of such events, it seems even more bizarre that our friend Jonny Lieberman found himself in such a situation this past weekend at the inaugural 24 Hours of LeMons in Houston, TX.

It turns out that Matt Groner is the owner of the Enzo best known for being cracked up by Eddie Griffin. We reported on the car being repaired and offered up for sale a couple of months ago and it's still available on eBay with a Buy It Now price of a mere $1.2 million. So what was Groner doing at LeMons? Why racing of course. According to Jonny, he rolled up to the track in the Enzo and hopped into a Neon to compete in the crap-can "race."

[Source: Auto Fiends]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cadillac mulling V8 diesel for CTS

www.jalopnik.com — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:19:09 EDT

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Cadillac, GM, Rumormill

According to MotorTrend, General Motors is considering fitting its 4.5-liter Duramax V8 Turbodiesel inside the Cadillac CTS sedan as a stepping-stone between the standard V6-equipped CTS and the barn-burning CTS-V.

The report contends that the Duramax V8 would be an easy fit inside the confines of the CTS' engine bay with the addition of the CTS-V's bulging hood. The dual-overhead cam, four-valve diesel V8 puts out 310 hp and a tire decimating 520 lb.-ft. of torque and GM already has a transmission that can handle the grunt. The oilburner currently meets the tougher 2010 emissions standards which would allow it to be sold in all 50 states, and with a reported 20-25% increased fuel economy over the V8 model, the diesel CTS could provide some competition to similar offerings from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. According to MT, the amount of modifications would be minimal and the addition of the CTS diesel would help to boost GM's CAFE certification to meet the stricter 35 mpg requirements in 2020.

[Source: MotorTrend]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

New Knight Rider TV Show To Be Officially Live-Blogged By Alex Nunez, Lesbian Surfers Rejoice

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:45:00 EDT

So Knight Rider the TV show is going to be airing this fall on Wednesday nights, hoping to draw attention away from those 16 variations of CSI that CBS is running. Sickened by the obvious endings and lack of Will Arnett, we're going to skip on the Knight Rider Live-Blog and leave it in the capable hands of AutoBlog's Alex Nunez. How they got the on-again-off-again bisexual bad girl from Degrassi: The Next Generation to write for them is anyone's guess, but we think it'll go over well with the surf lesbian FBI agent demo the show appeals to. [AutoBlog]