Here's a rare find on eBay- a Donald Healey Company-engineered and built endurance Sprite- purported to be the class winner at the 1965 12-hours of Sebring.

Sprites competed at Sebring from their inception, and each year they got a little faster and less bug-eyed. By '65 the factory was campaigning a pair of aerodynamic coupes with Lola-like noses and kamm tails. While there's no documentation that this is the same #61 that came in fifteenth overall that year, the seller spins a riveting account of driving to the track in his 1961 Frog-eye and watching this car dice it up with, among others, the GT40s and Porsche 904s. He goes on to detail his being reunited with the car, and its rebirth under the direction of its creator- Donald Healey:

Fifteen years later to the day of that race I found and bought this car. I shipped it back to England and Geoff and Donald Healey restored the car to the original Sebring specs (including the crap Lucas coils). The car even has a new set of the original Dunlop rain tires it ran on. The car is original and as run at Sebring in 65. When the car was returned to me Geoff and Donald gave me their file for the car from Sebring. Entry form, tech inspection sheet and even the shipping documents from England to Sebring. I already had the program and poster for the race. And I had photos of the car in the rain. Shortly after that I got another package and in that envelop were pictures of the car being built. They even gave me their original line drawing of the car before they began construction. I have misplaced the line drawing but will find it and everything goes with the car. There is a spare windshield for the car and multiple rear diffs with different gear ratios. The paint has some cracks, but I left it this way as this is how it came from the Healey shop. This is a great piece of racing history from the greatest era of road racing…the 60's.

This fascinating piece of racing history is currently bid up to over $145,000, with less than a day to go in the auction. One hopes that the eventual buyer will let others enjoy seeing it in action once again, although possibly not in the pouring rain.

eBay by way of BaT.com Hat tip to Engineered!

The year was 2004 and the Corvette Racing Team was in its final and 4th championship winning ALMS season with the venerable GT1 class C5-R race car. After winning multiple ALMS championships as well as at the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team began using the "Take No Prisoners" motto along with a generic skull logo. It makes sense, given they were considered by many to be the pirates of the GT racing world, taking whatever treasured prize they set their eyes upon. Ever since, the skull's grown into a representation of the team's triumphs and mentality. While not new today, Jake has become a visible power statement to anyone involved in the racing world and he's gaining more and more traction every day. We're here to tell his story.

After 2004, the 2005 season was quickly approaching with a new Corvette C6-R race car in the midst of development, the Corvette Racing Team needed to make their aggressive mentality known. Luckily for them, graphic designer Eddie Jabbour of Kick Design was in the stands during the C5-Rs final 24 Hours of Le Mans race and witnessed for himself the skull logo and the unrelenting drive the Corvette Racing Team portrayed. Also in the stands was the crew from BadBoyVettes, a dedicated group of fans that have brought a viral approach to racing. They had an opportunity to sit down with the Corvette Racing Team to discuss how they could help make the unofficial skull logo into something more.

BadBoyVettes and Corvette Racing contacted Kick Design and with the team's mentality in mind, Jabbour sketched on a cocktail napkin what would eventually become one of the greatest automotive marketing logos of our generation, the Corvette crossed flags within a dark skull outline. Thus, Jake was born.

How Jake truly received his name has been kicked around quite a bit, but the one story that comes up frequently is that a former New York City cop, Gary Claudio, named the skull after notorious movie badass, Jake, from the Blues Brothers film. We've also been told that the name was given after being thrown around the Corvette Racing Team's garage for a few weeks, but either way, it's pretty damn fitting.

Jake made his first official appearance, albeit in small form, underneath the XM Radio sponsorship decal on the B-pillar of the new Corvette C6-R racer during the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans race and also as a spray painted stencil on the ground outside of Corvette Racing's pit stall. From there, Jake really took off, landing himself on team uniforms, driver's helmets and memorabilia with BadBoyVettes at he helm of this genius viral marketing scheme.

The Corvette Racing Team took their "Take No Prisoners" approach and Jake through next four ALMS seasons, battling the Prodrive Aston Martin DBR9s for three of them and leading the pack by themselves in 2008. Jake had become a racing success. In 2007, Corvette Racing was approached by BadBoyVettes to design a new racing livery for the Laguna Seca race, something that would really push Jake to the forefront of racing and give his enthusiastic followers something to celebrate. The livery design featured the now famous Corvette Racing yellow with a splash of black across the rear 3/4s of the C6-R. Jake was then applied in yellow in a sort of brushed appearance on the sides as well as splashed across the hood in black of the number 3 car. The number 4 car was the inverse of this design and both cars really packed a visual punch racing down the Corkscrew with the help of their screaming 7.0-liter V8s.

The Jake livery was even duplicated in Forza Motorsport 2 using the over complicated customization paint shop and made its debut in the in-game auction house on the eve of its Laguna Seca race debut.

Jake also surfaced on numerous European series GT1, GT2 and Z06R Corvettes showing that Corvette Racing's symbol of determination and power could transcend borders and enter into various other international racing series. In 2008, the C6-R took on a whole new look, utilizing what's now referred to as the "Jake Scrape." The team created a single black stripe down the center of the C6-R with visual scrapes following the design of Jake's teeth who himself, hid in the waterfall vent on the hood, while smaller versions adorned the front and rear fascias as well as the familiar B-pillar location.

Realizing the huge success of the Corvette Racing program GM decided to give a nice little nod to the team and to BadBoyVettes in the company's most powerful and, potentially, most iconic Corvette ever. The 2009 Corvette ZR1 features an embossed Jake on the intake snorkel instead of the usual Corvette cross-flag logo of lesser models. Corvette Chief Engineer, Tom Wallace, explained to BadBoyVettes why;

"I saw the crossed flags on the ZR1's supercharger along with the conventionally placed ones on the nose and the intake snorkel and balked at the 3x arrangement."

Prior to this official addition, Jake was transformed into Elwood (get it? Jake and Elwood...), the unofficial mascot of the ZR1 "Blue Devil" vehicle program, and was featured on numerous ZR1 captured test fleet vehicles that we spotted during the Woodward Dream Cruise in 2008. The Elwood decals were made up in blue to represent "Blue Devil" and featured horns and a more demonic grin than the humble Jake.

For the 2009 ALMS season, Corvette Racing released another Jakegasmic livery, this time placing him front and center on the C6-R's hood along with a 2008-inspired "Jake Scrape." This season marks the end to the C6-R GT1 car as Pratt & Miller and Corvette Racing prepare for the new C6-R GT2 racer and to celebrate, GM has released the 2009 Corvette GT1 Championship Edition featuring a 2009 C6-R livery-inspired decal package with Jake sitting proudly upon the raised fiberglass hood as well as stitched into the special edition's headrests.

Hidden deep within the controversial carbon fiber bodied, Jason Castriota-designed, Stile Bertone Mantide hides the inner mechanical workings of a 2009 Corvette ZR1 as well as our friend heroic friend, Jake. While we're sure it's not the last coach built ZR1, it was the first and we're told that Jake is proud to be leading the supercharged 638-horsepower LS9 sitting low in this Italian-designed brute.

Jake has been fully embraced by the Corvette Racing Team and all that come in contact with him. He's been featured in video games, clothing, memorabilia, scale models, fan-owned Corvettes of all generations and even tattoos. Jake's truly a mascot to be remembered and with Corvette Racing's C6-R GT2's racing debut quickly approaching, we're infinitely curious how he'll be represented next. (References and Images: BadBoyVettes, Corvette Racing, Digital Corvettes)

The BARC folks have been going to Sebring since the 1950s, and their site features galleries of photographs from 1955 through 1965. If you like MGs, Porsches, Ferraris, Maseratis, Cobras, the works, be sure to check it out. Thanks to Scroggzilla for the tip!
[BARC]

You see, we were dicussing the incredible plastic-ness of our Detroit-made rental machine's interior (with the inevitable cause/effect Carpocalyptic digressions) and Assistant Perp TheEastBayKid brought up an idea suggested by Wheatking in this post about Peugeot's 12 Hours Of Sebring entry:

So.. we have the 24 hours of lemons, how about the 12 hours of sebrings. Really.. I mean the rental agencies are gonna wonder when all their sebrings are booked, with full liability insurance waivers, but it sounds like a good time.

Who's in?

Naturally, Chief Perp Jay Lamm thought the 12 Hours Of Sebrings would likely be just as much fun as the race he invented, and now all that remains is to round up sufficient participants to make it happen. You can pick up a used Sebring for cheap, or you could take Wheatking's advice and rent your race car. Just like GT350H renters back in the 60s, you could rent an extra-insured Sebring, remove the carpets and weld in a cage, and hit the race track. When you're done, cut out the cage, put the carpets back in, and explain the bashed body panels and blown head gasket by telling the rental company reps that "it just happened in the Waffle House parking lot!" Or, best of all, Chrysler could sponsor the event by donating a few dozen 2009 Sebrings to the cause, in which case all race officials would dress like Lee Iacocca and we'd find an '83 LeBaron Turbo convertible for pace car duty.

So, whaddya think? Are you in? Should the 12 Hours Of Sebrings take place the day before each 24 Hours Of LeMons race, or does an idea this awesome need to be a stand-alone deal?

If you can identify the planes that you see in this clip we'll give you a cookie and a Tylenol. [via YouTube]

This video's a battle occurring around the seven-hour mark pitting Audi R15 TDI driver, Alan McNish and Peugeot 908 HDI driver, Franck Montagny against one another for overall race lead. It was an eerily similar battle to the one between Flying Lizard's Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and Risi Competizione's Ferrari F430 GT that happened during the final lap of the 2007 Sebring race. [youtube via speedtv]

Audi's brand new R15 TDI whomped on the French with a 1st place finish over the 2nd place Peugeot 908 HDI. It was an epic battle between the two diesel powers and McNish in the #2 car was able to take the lead around the 42-minute mark when Peugeot driver, Montagny, made a final fuel-only pit stop. McNish was able to maintain his overall lead, clicking off faster and faster laps that allowed him to gain enough of a gap to eventually win the 100th ALMS race, the 57th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.

Can they repeat this epic win in Le Mans? We're sure that Peugeot will bring their A-game, but with Audi's amazing performance today, we're not so sure it the French will win on their home turf.

57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Final Results:
1. (2) Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Audi R15 TDI (1, P1), 383.
2. (5) Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Sebastien Bourdais, France; Stephane Sarrazin, France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (2, P1), 383.
3. (4) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Audi R15 TDI (3, P1), 381.
4. (7) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (1, P2), 360.
5. (3) Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Christian Klien, Austria; Nicolas Minassian, England; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (4, P1), 356.
6. (12) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Antonio Garcia, Spain; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (1, GT1), 349.
7. (11) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Marcel Fässler, Switzerland; Corvette C6.R (2, GT1), 348.
8. (27) Mika Salo, Finland; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (1, GT2), 332.
9. (15) Gianmaria Bruni, Italy; Mathias Russo, Argentina; Luis Companc, Argentina; Ferrari 430 GT (2, GT2), 330.
10. (17) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Ian James, England; Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford (3, GT2), 329.
11. (14) Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT2), 326.
12. (24) Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (5, GT2), 326.
13. (23) Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Eric van de Poele, Belgium; Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Ferrari F430 GT (6, GT2), 325.
14. (16) David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT MK 7 (7, GT2), 303.
15. (6) David Brabham, Australia; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Acura ARX-02a (5, P1), 302, Drive line.
16. (13) Dirk Werner, Germany; Richard Lietz, Austria; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (8, GT2), 274.
17. (19) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Ritchie Holt, Davie, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (9, GT2), 251, Clutch.
18. (1) Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Simon Pagenaud, France; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Acura ARX-02a (6, P1), 246, Mechanical.
19. (20) Robert Bell, UK; Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage GT2 (10, GT2), 204, Engine.
20. (9) Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Tony Burgess, Canada; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Lola B06/10 AER (7, P1), 151, Electrical.
21. (10) Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Ben Devlin, England; Lola B09 86 Mazda (2, P2), 149, Mechanical.
22. (26) Dirk Müller, Germany; Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; BMW E92 M3 (11, GT2), 140.
23. (8) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Lola B09 86 Mazda (3, P2), 127, Mechanical.
24. (22) Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX; Eric Curran, Easthampton, MA; Lucas Molo, Brazil; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (12, GT2), 89, Mechanical.
25. (25) Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B06/10 AER (8, P1), 77.
26. (18) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; BMW E92 M3 (13, GT2), 27, Mechanical.
27. (21) Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Hans Stuck, Germany; Johannes Stuck, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (14, GT2), 0, Withdrawn.
28. (28) Richard Westbrook, England; Marc Basseng, Germany; Lance David, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (15, GT2), 0, Withdrawn.

[via speed, youtube, americanlemans, coldtrackdays] (Top Photo: Doug Werner)

Contrary to the teenage sprinters in Formula 1, the field at a race like Le Mans is mostly made up of middle-age guys, with a few granddads thrown in for good measure.

Take Yojiro Terada. Born in 1947, he has raced cars since the 60s and has competed at Le Mans an astonishing 29 times. While victory has eluded him so far, he has won his class on four occasions. He also appears to like perfectly circular fried eggs, as evidenced on his blog.

While frying eggs is a relaxing pastime, driving racing cars at Le Mans is not: if you stand at the braking zone of a corner, you can see that cars decelerate with the ferocity of spaceships reentering the atmosphere. Now imagine taking that pummeling with grandpa bones, corner after corner, lap after lap.

Only a few years younger than Terada is Hans-Joachim Stuck, the son of 30s Grand Prix driver Hans Stuck whose Auto Union will be up for auction in August. Hans-Joachim is an highly accomplished racing driver himself: he has won two times at Le Mans and three times at Sebring, a race he is returning to this weekend.

Stuck will race at the 12 Hours of Sebring in VICI Racing’s #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, teamed up with Nicky Pastorelli and his son Johannes Stuck. “Racing at Sebring again after winning for the first time in 1975 means a lot to me, especially when it comes to the fact that I can compete in the 2009 race with my son Johannes and further to that it will be my first race with Porsche since my last race for the factory in Laguna Seca 11 years ago in 1997,” the 58-year-old said.

The Sebring race on Saturday will also mark the debut of Audi’s new diesel R15, which is replacing the R10. The new car has had all its testing in cold, rainy Europe and Ralf Jüttner, Technical Director of Audi Sport Team Joest, is somewhat jittery:

We are not as well prepared as we would like to be—but this is actually always the case with a new car. Unfortunately, it hurt us a lot this year that the tests in Europe were affected constantly by bad weather and we have not run in hot conditions like we can expect at Sebring. Furthermore, for the first time we did not test at Sebring before the race—which means we have no experience whatsoever with the Audi R15 TDI on the track.

This is shaping up to be a wonderful Florida weekend.

Photo Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images, Yojiro Terada, Vici Racing, Audi

The #2 Audi R15 of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello lapped the 3.7-mile track in 1:43.596, half a second quicker than their teammates Marco Werner, Lucas Luhr and Mike Rockenfeller in the #1 car, and a full 1.4 seconds clear of the Frenchies in their Peugeot 908’s.

Allan McNish, who scored the first victory for the R15’s predecessor—the R10, pictured above at last year’s race—with teammates Kristensen and Capello at Sebring in 2006, had this to say about the new diesel racer:

The car feels more agile, it feels more reactive, especially at high speed and through Turn 1, which is a very bumpy corner, it’s more stable than the R10 was. We're actually going through there a gear higher.

We’ve got a better response from the engine as well. I think the V10 being a bit shorter and lighter is allowing the chassis to be more agile in the other parts of the circuit.

Performance-wise, what we’ve seen to date is that we’re a little bit ahead of Peugeot on short runs and also on long runs. Acura are very early in their running because they didn't run on Saturday, so I think we’ve got to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday to see their full potential.

Poor Peugeot. They have been trying to beat Audi since 2007 to no avail. If the R15 wasn’t such an absolute treat for the aluminum and carbon fiber heart, one would almost feel compelled to root for them.

Source: Autosport.com

Photo Credit: Doug Benc/Getty Images

GM does have a lot to celebrate in its class-dominating race program and the C6 is a pretty fabulous car despite what Corvette detractors might say. The Z06? Even more so. But painting one up in black and yellow and calling it a special edition still feels a might bit silly even with what the Corvette team views as added value componentry. But, since inception Corvette has utterly dominated it's GTS class (due in part to class emptiness) and this edition is designed to pay homage to those rip-snorting race cars.

Season-Opening Sebring Race Marks Corvette Racing's 10th Anniversary GT1 Championship Edition Corvettes Commemorate Corvette Racing's Decade of Success

SEBRING, Fla. – The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the season-opening race of the 2009 American Le Mans Series to be held on March 21, will mark the start of Corvette Racing's 10th anniversary in international road racing. The team made its competition debut in February 1999 at Daytona, and competed in its first Sebring 12-hour race the following month, finishing fourth in the GTS class. Since that modest beginning, Corvette Racing has become one of the world's premier production sports car teams, winning eight consecutive ALMS GT1 manufacturers and team championships, seven straight drivers' titles, and five class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Chevrolet is commemorating Corvette Racing's decade of success with the introduction of the GT1 Championship Edition Corvette. These limited edition vehicles (designated Regular Production Option GT1) will be available in coupe, convertible, and Z06 models in yellow or black livery. With graphics packages inspired by the championship-winning Corvette C6.R, the GT1 Championship Edition Corvettes will make their public debut at Sebring International Raceway. Production is scheduled for spring.

"There have always been strong ties between production and racing Corvettes," said GM Racing manager Mark Kent. "Technology developed by Corvette Racing is applied to improve the efficiency, performance, handling, aerodynamics and safety of production vehicles. Now with the introduction of the GT1 Championship Edition Corvettes, the link between the race and street versions is apparent at a glance. Corvette enthusiasts will be able to purchase cars that celebrate the remarkable history of Corvette Racing. The GT1 Championship Edition program is another example of how racing helps Chevy sell cars and trucks and provides a solid return on investment."

The ALMS season-opener also will mark the final appearance of the Corvette C6.Rs in the GT1 class in the Sebring 12-hour endurance classic. The twin Corvette C6.R race cars (chassis Nos. 5 and 6) are beginning their third season, and are scheduled to be retired in preparation for new global GT class rules that will take effect in 2010. These two cars have accounted for 23 of the team's 74 wins.

Corvette Racing has scored six class victories in Sebring, and Johnny O'Connell, driver of the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R, notched his record-setting seventh Sebring win in last year's event. O'Connell and Jan Magnussen, the reigning GT1 champions, will be joined by Antonio Garcia at Sebring, while three-time GT1 champions Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta will be teamed with Marcel Fassler in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R. The addition of Garcia and Fassler for long-distance races will bring the total number of Corvette Racing drivers to 19 since the team's inception.

Corvette Racing will be powered by cellulosic E85R ethanol fuel at Sebring for the first time. The team adopted the renewable fuel made from wood waste after last year's Sebring race, and used E85R throughout the remainder of the 2008 ALMS season. Cellulosic ethanol was one of the key ingredients in the team's overall victory in the inaugural ALMS Green Challenge in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans held at Road Atlanta in October 2008. The winning No. 3 Corvette C6.R achieved the best overall score based on performance, fuel efficiency and environmental impact under criteria developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and SAE International. Corvette Racing's use of an alternative fuel on the race track reflects GM's commitment to producing fuel-efficient vehicles for customers – there are 3.5 million E85-capable GM FlexFuel vehicles on the road today.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 21. The race will be televised live on SPEED from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 11 p.m. ET.

At last! Barely a week and a half before its first outing at Sebring next weekend, Audi has released three dozen photos of their new diesel racer, the R15. Gone is the V12 engine of the R10, replaced with a V10 which makes 600 HP and 774 lb-ft or torque. You have ten more days to learn the discrepancies between the model names and cylinder counts in Audi nomenclature to arrive in Florida an educated man, ready to impress girls.

Remarking on the new engine’s substantial torque, Audi Motorsport has stated they will pay all costs incurred in extracting Sebring International Raceway from the muddy waters of Lake Okeechobee. No word yet on whether they plan on doing the same when the track at Le Mans inevitably ends up in the Atlantic Ocean.

The car is a lovely study in weird wavelets and winglets of carbon fiber and it has one hell of a legacy to live up to. Audi has won every single race at Le Mans since 2000, six of them with the gasoline-powered R8 (at one point run as a Bentley). For the past three years, they have run their first diesel-powered racer, the R10, which retired with a perfect record from Le Mans after three seasons.

Looking at the car from certain angles, one is drawn to paraphrasing Slate commenter Robert Michael “auros” Harman’s timeless words: “The Audi R15 appears to kick so much ass that they’ve had to import extra ass into Ingolstadt solely for its kicking purposes.”

To explain the appeal of endurance motor racing is not for the faint of heart. You will be wandering about a huge track for 12 hours or a full day in a cacophony of engine noise. You will be tired, cold and miserable. And you will have not the faintest clue about who is in the lead. Sounds like a great way to have fun, doesn’t it?

Yet attending an endurance race has an elevating quality to it. After a few hours have passed and you no longer have clear memories of a world not blanketed with 130 decibels of open exhausts, you will experience a transformation. You will feel as though the organic matter in your body is slowly becoming hydroformed titanium and carbon fiber and that the mitral valve separating the left atrium of your heart from the left ventricle is morphing into a butterfly valve more common on racing engines.

Endurance racing has been dominated by Audi’s R8 and R10 racing car for the past decade. Audi are replacing the R10 with the R15 prototype this year and now for the great news: the 12 Hours of Sebring will not be your only chance in the US to see whether someone will finally kick them in their Bavarian gonads. As announced by Rupert Stadler, chairman of the board of management of Audi, the R15 will be competing at the Petit Le Mans in Atlanta on September 26 and at Laguna Seca on October 10.

Gentlemen, mark your calendars. And leave the earplugs at home.

Source: Bleacher Report

Nothing highlights the story of increased repossessions than the story of 67-year-old railroad retiree Jimmy Tanks heard a commotion outside his mobile home bedroom window in his mobile home in Halsell, Alabama at 2:30 AM. Tanks grabbed a gun, walked out the back door and confronted who he thought was a thief trying to steal his Chrysler Sebring. In reality it was a repo man and two helpers trying to tow off the Chrysler Sebring. After shots were fired, Tanks wound up dead. It may be the only known case of a man killed over a Chrysler Sebring.

The man, there to repossess the car, Kenneth Alvin Smith, is now awaiting trial on a murder charge. Although Alabama's a state considered a Wild West territory even by the standards of an industry that's largely unregulated nationally, the AP claims it's representative of a rise in dangerous confrontations correlating with a rise in the number of repossessions nationally:

"With the U.S. dealing with an economic slide that has cost millions of jobs, the number of vehicle repossessions is expected to rise 5 percent this year. That's after it jumped 12 percent to 1.67 million nationally in 2008, said Tom Webb, chief economist with Manheim Consulting, an automotive marketing firm. That followed a 9 percent increase in 2007, creating more opportunities for bad outcomes in an industry where armed confrontations and threats happen every day."

Mostly the increase in violence appears to be coming from dropping untrained thugs into the repo-man ranks, something more states could regulate if they wanted to. Our thought is initially not to get in the middle of a question of deadbeats getting in the way of two-bit thugs trying to take back what's rightfully the property of a bank taking our taxpayer dollars — there's just too many hoops to jump through. But we will say repo men should be trying to take cars during the daytime whenever possible. Because if you're trying to take a car, even legally in a repossession, in the middle of the night, bad things'll happen. Like a guy getting killed over a freakin' Chrysler Sebring. [Detroit News]

Photo Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images News

With Audi pulling out of ALMS and Peugeot prepping a highly modded version of their 908 HDi for a Le Mans showdown, it was sort of the perfect opportunity for the French to ruin Audi's party. Just by showing up, the Pug people are going to be grabbing some of the steam and some of the headlines from Audi.

Even worse, if the new Audi R15 falls to the Peugeot 908 they're going to look like chumps before the 24 Hours of Lemans. The official line from Peugeot Sport director Olivier Quesnel is this:

Our busy test programme notably includes endurance simulation tests at a variety of circuits, and we will take part in two races upstream of Le Mans which will serve as full-scale dress rehearsals for everyone in the team. We have consequently chosen to compete in March's 12 Hours of Sebring, which is the opening round of the American Le Mans Series, with two cars and six drivers.

Yeah, right... This is the best setup for an 80s-style showdown movie since Better Off Dead.

[via AutoSport]

Auto Analyst Mike Wall explained the decision to the Detroit News:

"Given where fuel prices are at, I'm not sure that people are following the old progression that the higher the trim-level, the bigger the engine...(Chrysler) needs to hit what the customer wants, and that may be a 4-cylinder engine with leather seats and a navigation system."

Attempting to close on a high note, Nardelli said "We have great vehicles to sell. And keep talking up our products to your family, friends and neighbors." Unfortunately, most of Chrysler employees' family, friends and neighbors are grappling with their own layoffs and foreclosures, so putting a new Sebring in the garage isn't a top priority.
[Freep, Photo Credit: Daylife.com]