Thanks go out to reader erzhik for the pictorial update

556 supercharged horsepower, five doors, and rear-wheel drive. And it's actually going to happen. Proof, if you needed it, that someone out there loves us.

Bob, we forgive you for everything you did to Wes.

[Car and Driver]

It was little more than half-a-century ago the armies of Rome, Berlin and Tokyo were defeated by Detroit's "Arsenal of Democracy" equipped by American carmakers. Yet to hear it lately from conservatives and leaders in the Republican Party, American automakers are what's wrong with this country, should be boycotted, and go bankrupt.

Senator John McCain told reporters that we should have never bailed out Chrysler and GM and let them go under.

"No, I don't think we ever should have bailed out Chrysler and General Motors," McCain told The Detroit News. "We should have let them go into bankruptcy, emerge and become viable corporations again."

This, of course, while he was out drumming up support for his 2010 Senate run while serving as the grand marshal of a NASCAR event where the very good ol' boys he was drumming up support from were watching Chrysler and GM products race. And, as The Detroit News points out, we did let them go into bankruptcy. We're still waiting to find out whether they'll emerge as stronger companies.

Confusingly, McCain seems to be channeling John Kerry in being for the bailout before he was against it. Now, of course, he's going so far as to refer to it as "Socialism."

And just this weekend RNC Chairman Michael Steele responded to the news of GM going further in debt by pointing out this statement:

"Today's release of General Motors' financial results is further proof that President Obama's economic experiments are wrong for America."

Of course, GM lost $4.2 billion in the third-quarter last year so this is actually an improvement, of sorts. And GM also announced they'd be repaying loans ahead of schedule.

So who do the Republicans like? At last year's Detroit Auto Show we had a conversation with Senator Bob Corker, the Republican who lead the charge against the bailout, and he talked about the Volkswagens he loves. Not a surprise given VW is joining Nissan in building a huge plant in his state.

In fact, there have been a number of foreign car companies moving better-than-minimum-wage assembly plants into states represented by Republican senators, including BMW in South Carolina, Toyota in Texas, Nissan/VW in Tennessee, and Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai in Alabama. Of course, we can't blame the Chrysler-Fiat "Global Strategic Alliance" alliance on the Republican party.

So when the far right goes to Boycott GM they're doing so for the benefit of companies like Volkswagen and Toyota, who have both surpassed GM as the world's largest automaker in the last year.

Ironically, this is the same Republican party upset about the Chinese purchase of Hummer. As Republican Representative Duncan Hunter told the Wall Street Journal: "Any money that is going to China or to Chinese companies is contributing in some way to China's military buildup."

So supporting American car companies is socialism and supporting every other country's investments in production capacity is capitalism and therefore good for America.

But hey, the Germans, Japanese, Chinese and Italians are our friends so who says we need any domestic car production or car companies? Of course, we're probably just paranoid. Maybe the real reason the Republicans hate GM and Chrysler is just that they really like Ford.

Photo Credit: DiggerHistory

Despite the price difference, the $85,750 E63 and the $200,000 (est) SLS actually have a fair bit in common. Most obvious is the 6.2-liter AMG V8, here developing only 518 HP to the SLS's 571, but they both also use AMG's new Speedshift seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Whereas that gearbox is tuned to be quicker shifting and is mounted in rear transaxle style on the SLS, we actually prefer the smoother tuning on the E63; it allows the sedan to pass as a refined luxury car when you're not in attack mode, a trick the SLS doesn't manage.

In fact, keep the rotary shift map selector in C (for "Controlled Efficiency"), the adjustable dampers on the softest of the three modes and the stability control all the way on and the E63 does as good a job at luxury as any other sedan in the the Mercedes range. We actually prefer the less ostentatious E to the look-how-much-money-I-have S-class not just because we don't look like Albanian sex traffickers when we drive it, but also because the uncluttered E-class interior brings with it a certain austerity that evokes a more classic sense of luxury.

Cruising along the highway, there's nothing to indicate that you're driving a 4,300 Lbs sedan that can hit 60 MPH in just 4.4 seconds. You can't feel the 2.2-inch wider front axle, the beefed up subframe bushings or the thicker sway bars. You can feel the wider, more low profile tires and their tendency to track over road imperfections but that's not as pronounced as the sense of power the car creates in its driver.

C mode allows the engine to make use of its low-RPM torque for seamless acceleration without frequent downshifts to access the high-RPM power, something that makes barging through traffic feel like second nature. Drive the E63 on the highway and you're the master of your domain, it's faster than any car around you even though you can't hear the engine or feel the road's bumps.

Pull off the highway onto a back road, push the damper button once and switch the transmission to Sport+ (we tend to skip sport as it's an unhappy medium between relaxed and responsive) and you're suddenly driving a car that feels smaller, lighter, tauter and higher revving. Acceleration goes from seamless to kicking you in the ass and you can suddenly feel everything the road is trying to tell you. With stability fully on, you're making fast, smooth, event-free progress.

Want more fun? Try manual shifting, two lights showing on the adjustable damper button and ESP in "Sport." Like all auto transmissions the E63's is too prone to unexpected kickdown while you're pushing the limits, so shifting yourself through the steering-wheel mounted paddles eliminates that tendency and also lets you exploit the full power band without some computer deciding what's optimal. On their firmest setting, the dampers make the car respond even better and feel even smaller, while the more liberal stability control allows a couple degrees of slip, allowing you to have some fun and actually drive the car yourself, but still keeps you from plummeting over that thousand-foot cliff.

So far, so impressive. Then you get to the race track. While the E63 is still a very fast car and more than capable of easily lapping a track, the ability of the adjustable suspension, fancy gearbox and big V8 to overcome the physics of a big, heavy sedan are somewhat diminished in this environment. Unlike some competitors like the CTS-V, the E63 lacks a track-focussed stability control mode, so you're stuck with something that's either too conservative to really get the power down out of slow corners or nothing at all standing between your $1,000 a month payments and a tire wall. There's an optional performance package that bumps the speed limiter from 155 to 186 MPH, adds ceramic brakes, stiffer suspension and, much more importantly, a limited-slip differential, but while it noticeably improves the E63's ability to put its power down, you're still left with a car that's happier on road than track.

Exterior Design: ☆☆☆☆

The 2010 Mercedes E-Class is already subtly handsome thanks to its new-found boxiness and the AMG addenda — flared wheel arches, deeper front splitter, new LED running lights, badges, four square tailpipes — adds a nice sense of aggression. Anyone smart enough to tick the "Badge Delete" box gets an extra star.

Interior Design: ☆☆☆☆☆

Our favorite Mercedes interior hits all the classic Mercedes austere, squared-off, notes while adding super supportive bucket seats, a transmission-tunnel mounted gear selector and a manlier steering wheel. Make sure you spec the glass roof, the standard interior can feel a bit dark, but the extra light eliminates that. Don't choose the carbon interior accents, this isn't a tuner Integra.

Drivetrain Performance: ☆☆☆☆☆

Not only is the E63 fast (0-60 in 4.4 seconds, an optional top speed of 186 MPH), but it feels fast thanks to loads of torque throughout the rev range, yet a still definite peak coming in the form of top end power. The four-mode gearbox does a good job of offering drivers a range of responses and even a manual mode that gives you full control. Brakes are pop-your-eyes-out strong and we couldn't make them fade. Six figure speeds are disturbingly easy to reach and will likely become a threat to your license.

Suspension/Chassis Performance: ☆☆☆☆☆

The E63 is never going to be the outright handler that smaller cars like the C63 and M3 can be thanks to their smaller size and weight. But, rather than trying to play that game it creates its own, combining ability and luxury in a hitherto unprecedented combo that sacrifices neither. It's kind of silly to expect that such a big car could be great on the track, but its so capable and fun on tight mountain roads that after driving it there you simply come to take track ability as a given. All that and it's also supple, quiet and smooth. Other cars have adjustable dampers and whatnot, but no other system offers this breadth of adjustment. The suspension didn't bottom out while landing an 80 MPH jump, which gives us loads of confidence in its ability to soak up anything else.

Toys and Tech: ☆☆☆☆

All the toys of the standard E-Class, plus all the new AMG buttons that help you alter the driving experience. We've never liked COMMAND, Mercedes' flawed attempt to copy iDrive, which is the only thing keeping the E63 from a five star rating. Somehow we always manage to turn navigation off mid-journey, then struggle to figure out how to turn it back on. Literally everything is adjustable on this car, even the speed at which the seat's bolsters inflate to support you in corners.

Value: ☆☆☆☆

Sure, with a starting price of $85,750 and the ability to tick boxes to reach a price north of $100,000, the E63 isn't cheap, but it does both speed and luxury better than much more expensive cars in the Mercedes lineup. Rather than thinking of it as an expensive E-class we like to think of it as a cheap S-class that also drives like an SL63. That's a bargain in our book.

Overall: 90%

Our favorite vehicle in the entire Mercedes lineup, the E63 makes us feel like we could be either an elderly European plutocrat or Lewis Hamilton, all depending on our mood and which buttons we push. If we had lots of money, but only the ability to by one car to satisfy all our vehicular needs, and those needs didn't include driving on a race track, this would be the car we would buy. We just wish we could afford one.

Suitability Parameters: Who Should Buy This?
● Speed Merchants
● Technogeeks
● Very Serious Businessmen
● Albanian Sex Traffickers with a need to travel incognito

Suitability Parameters: Who Shouldn't Buy This?
● Penny Pinchers
● Treehuggers
● Anyone who can squeeze into the CTS-V's tiny interior

Also Consider:

● BMW M5
● Cadillac CTS-V
● Porsche Panamera
● Audi S6

Vitals:
Model Year: 2010
Make: Mercedes
Model: E63 AMG
Trim: base
Price, Base/As-Tested: $85,750/$85,750
Engine: 6.2-liter 32-valve V8
Horsepower & Torque: 518 HP @ 6,800 RPM, 465 Lb-Ft @ 5,200 RPM
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch manumatic
Curb Weight: 4,300 Lbs (est)
0-60: 4.4 secs (manufacturer quoted)
Top Speed: 155 MPH (limited) or optionally 186 MPH (limited)
Crash Testing, Front/Rear/Side: not tested/not tested/*****
Fuel Economy, EPA: 13/20 MPG

As you can see in the videos below, Massa and Alonso try to help their boss out to no avail. What's a chairman to do? Just have the team send another Ferrari and let the track workers deal with it.

[GT Spirit]

Photo Credit: JOSE JORDAN/AFP/Getty Images

[GT Spirit]

After storyboards are done, VFX artists move to a stage called pre-visualization — a crude version of the action. [PopMech]

Director Roland Emmerich shoots the limo — a Lincoln Town Car L — against a massive blue screen in Vancouver, Canada. [PopMech]

Next step? Rendering! [PopMech]

Better than the takes-a-couple-hours-per-frame renders is this. It's called a doughboy render that takes just a few minutes per frame. [PopMech]

The final result? Well, simply put, it's epic disaster porn. Want to know the rest? Head on over to Popular Mechanics.

First a Bugatti Veyron. Now a Ferrari California? Maybe we need to expand "Save The Enzos" to "Save The Super Cars." What say you all?

(Hat tip to erzhik!)

For the moment we've got these four videos — the first 37 minutes or so. If they go down, or if you want to watch the rest — feel free to hit the YouTubes and pop a new video in the comments below. Thus the "Open YouTube Thread" we speak of in the headline above.

Part I of IV

Part II of IV

Part III of IV

Part IV of IV

And unfortunately, that's all we got for now. Have a more complete set of YouTube vids? Drop in the comments below. Until next week...good night!

This collection is getting out of control fast, and with at least 21 races next year my rate of T-shirt acquisition is going to accelerate to an alarming level. When I admire the designs of the better shirts, however, the burden of being the caretaker of the LeMons T-Shirt Museum seems totally worthwhile. Let's check 'em out, starting off with the fine shirt created by BMW 2002-driving Team JDL. Note: when a shirt includes designs on front and back, I've included photographs of both sides.

House himself confirmed to us he owns the Enzo crashed by Griffin. Ironically, the business House owns is Performance Auto Sales, which sells repaired exotic cars. According to House he's one of the largest salvage auto dealers in the world. We asked him if the car was salvageable or not and here's what he replied in an email:

Not sure if the car is salvageable yet, have not had a chance to go survey the damage. I am one of the largest salvage excotic dealers in the world. This car should be repairable but at what cost Im not familiar with. This was a personal car and one that I was very proud of.. it is by far the nicest car that I have ever owned, looking to replace it now!

This was the story according to the Galveston Daily News:

The man, who refused to give his name, was looking at real estate in Galveston.
About 3 p.m. a low-flying pelican distracted him as he traveled north on Interstate 45 just south of the hurricane levee near Omega Bay.
The man jerked the wheel, dropped his cell phone, and the car's front tire left the frontage road and entered a muddy patch, which foiled his attempt to maneuver away from the lagoon.

Yeah, that's not what happened at all according to this video.

This was recorded by a Facebook user who appears to be taping it with a phone or digital camera just at the right moment. Warning, they do swear appropriately at the event. Incredible.

UPDATE: Thanks to some great follow up reporting by the Galveston Daily News and their sister paper, we now know the man is Andy House of Performance Auto Sales in Lufkin, Texas. The shop, ironically, specializes in repairing wrecked exotics. We contacted House for a comment and here's what he said:

I had dropped my phone, people dont know what happened, the arnold story was made up to by the wrecker driver. What it appeared to been was a reflection.

We'll continue to cover this interesting story as it unfolds.

UPDATE 2: Follow up story from the Galveston Daily News

UPDATE #3: We've finally put one and one together. Andy House not only crashed his Bugatti Veyron into a lake, he also owns the now-repaired Eddie Griffin-crashed Ferrari Enzo!

(H/T to Houston_AG!)

The argument isn't a new one, but that doesn't make it any less relevant. We live in one of the richest, most tech-friendly nations on the planet, our president speaks in complete sentences, and yet, we've been struggling with the transport question for decades. No matter how well-intentioned, high-speed ground travel always fizzles at the starting gate.

Naturally, Jalopnik enjoys endorsing things that haul ass, but to put it bluntly, fast trains rip our skulls open. Below, the pros. If you can think of a con — and initial setup cost doesn't count — then take to the comments.

Benefits for Society and the Environment:

• High-speed trains draw their power from grid electricity. Take issue with the carbon emissions from that much juice? Reducing carbon output from a stationary powerplant is about a thousand times simpler than doing the same with a mobile — i.e., wheeled - one.

• Net energy efficiency per passenger mile is superior to that of automobiles and jets. Period. If that weren't enough, compared with asphalt, the enviromental damage from railway infrastructure is almost nonexistent.

• Don't want to die? Rail safety figures are infinitely superior to those of passenger cars and, as far as we know, still outpacing those of passenger aircraft.

• Community-friendly infrastructure: rail stations are both less intrusive and produce less noise than airports.

Benefits for the Average Joe:

• More comfortable than air travel.
• Way the hell faster than a car.
• Costs per seat-mile traveled are lower than with aircraft, which usually leads to lower fares.
• Quieter than a jet, and the boarding/deboarding process is substantially faster.
• Door-to-door times on short hauls (300-500 miles) are superior to those of a jet.
• Train stations can be placed in city centers, rather than distanced from them. (Hello, major airports.)

Benefits for the Car Guy:

• Gets people off our roads, leaving them more wide open to, you know, us!

Those are the hard points, and while they make sense on paper, they admittedly don't stir any emotion. You have to ride a fast train — France's Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV), for example — to understand.

Frankly, the only word for the experience is civilized. Because the weight and size restrictions of an aircraft almost don't exist, trains like the TGV can have big comfy seats, giant windows, huge overhead bins, and in-car luggage racks, not to mention perks like lounges — things that are relatively impossible on a low-fare passenger aircraft. When the train pulls into the station, twelve doors open, and everyone is off within five minutes. The servicing follows, but there are no umbilical hoses, fuel trucks, or dudes in yellow vests waving flashlight batons. For the most part, the servicing process consists of one guy wheeling a cart out to restock the food in the lounge car. Because there are twelve doors and no jetway bottleneck, reboarding takes about ten minutes.

The train pulls out of the station and crawls through a switchyard with the same bumps and clanks as an Amtrak hoopty, but as soon as it exits and drops onto its main line, the ride turns Magic. You feel the same gentle shove of acceleration that you get on any other train, but with one difference: It doesn't stop until the trackside poles, the ones just outside your window, are ripping by in streaks. It's quiet. It's roomy. And then — just like that — you're bumping up against 200 mph.

So far, anyone who's boarded a 737 should be drooling with envy. The negatives are obvious: It's not as fast as flying, and it's not as much fun as driving a car. But try this in your Vista Cruiser: At a few miles per hour short of a Bugatti Veyron's top speed, Pierre T. Frenchy can get up, walk to the lounge, buy a beer, and suck it down while standing up and looking out the window.

Makes the airborne cattle car look kind of dull, doesn't it?

Edit: Because so many people have pointed this out in the comments, it probably needs to be said: Yes, HSR is highly impractical for a large nation like the United States. Yes, believing that it will happen in the forseeable future is foolish. And yes, there are a million other things that the money would be better spent on, not the least of which is proper light rail in a great many urban areas. This post was intended to be a pie-in-the-sky love song and conversation starter, not an answer unto itself.

Photo Credit: Getty Images, Nguyen Dai / Flickr

Feature: Cruise Control
Rank #10
Why People Want It: The phrase "Set it and forget it" made Ron Popeil a rich man. We don't particularly like paying attention to things that don't need constant modulation, it's boring. Thus cruise control. It used to require Rube Goldberg-like gadgetry to keep speed constant without having your foot on the pedal, but now it's as simple as a piece of software controlling the electronic throttle. Not standard yet (but getting there) are systems to prevent you from plowing into the back of a Reatta at freeway speeds because some boob decided to slam on his brakes while you were texting on your cell phone.

Feature: 4WD
Rank: #9
Why People Want It:You need four wheel drive to conquer the cliffs of cul-de-sac every morning while commuting from your remote village of Pulte. It's absolutely essential when considering the refuse-strewn terrain and deep water you'll face during sudden thunderstorms. By God, what if you go tailgating at your alma mater and have to park on the grass! There'd be no rescue for you if you had no four wheel drive.

Feature: Seat Heater (s)
Rank:#8
Why People Want It: If you've ever lived in a state that does winter with gusto, say, Michigan, you realize the utility of seat heaters. They're practically life saving devices in February. Since American's bottoms are ever expanding and a large heat sink, an unheated backside could probably result in flash hypothermia. Seat heaters: Saving American lives during short trips to the Taco Bell drive through at 2 AM in February.

Feature: Tow Hitch
Rank: #7
Why People want it: Tow hitches are like bicycles. Some people use them a lot, every day in fact, other just like to have one for recreational stuff, but most just like to have them because. You never know when you'll need a tow hitch. Those are the people with rusty tow hitches that've never seen the inside of a receiver.

Feature: Automatic transmission
Rank: #6
Why People Want It: People want automatic transmissions because they're the only way to enable knee driving, which frees up both hands for more important tasks, like putting on eyeliner, checking out the morning newspaper, chatting with a cell-phone in one hand and a coffee in the other. Also, they don't like manual transmissions because they hate sunshine and rainbows and freedom and the American way. Plus hills. They hate hills.

Feature:DVD Video System
Rank: #5
Why People Want It: Have kids? Hate them? DVD players all around. Who wants the arduous task of actually speaking with your progeny? Nobody, that's who. Having conversations about the trip, the world around, answering questions and providing a general education for your kids is the job of the public schools. Put the latest Pixar flick on and enjoy pretending you never even had them.

Feature: Third Row Seat
Rank: #4
Why People Want It: You know all those other friends you have? The ones you don't really want to ride with you when hitting the town because they talk too loud on their cell phone or possess the innate ability to make every conversation about how the '85 Bears were the greatest football team ever? Those friends are the reason 3rd row seats were invented. Put them in the wayback and A) you can't hear them from the drivers seat and B) it's so cramped back there they'll never want to hitch a ride with you again. We're surprised it's only at #4.

Feature:Sunroof
Rank: #3
Why People Want It:Everybody loves letting the sun shine in, and since we as a nation now spend virtually all our time in the office, at the mall, or in front of the TV when not in the car, a hole in the roof is absolutely critical for the body's production of Vitamin D. You can quite easily pick out people without sunroofs, as they'll be suffering the effects of Vitamin D deficiency, namely cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment in older adults, severe asthma in children and cancer.

Feature: Navigation System
Rank: #2
Why People Want It: Driving is hard. Knowing where you're going and using a map is even harder. Being aware of your cardinal directions and prior preparation for a trip are old ways of thinking. Pre-internets ways. Nowadays you simply take twenty minutes to awkwardly key in your destination address, then dive across four lanes of freeway traffic to hit the exit when the voice prompt tells you to awkwardly turn as you're passing it. It's a great feature.

Feature: Leather Seats
Rank: #1
Why People Want It: Since the dawn of the automobile, leather upholstery has been a luxury feature. That's not to say it's the correct metric for luxury. After all, you can get leather seats in a Kia Rondo. Still, it's one of those features which makes every car seem a little nicer, despite the at-times atrocious plasticky vinyl feel to the material.

Confession time: A few us have driven a Police Interceptor. One of us even owns one. Some of us, on the other hand, have barely even sat in one. (There was that one time with the live chickens and the three hundred pounds of prime rib, but for legal reasons, we're not allowed to talk about it.) So from a personal standpoint, we can't really explain why we dig this, or why it gets us excited, or why it makes us want to get all Good Cop/Bad Cop and go hunt down some junkie fool with a dirty mouth and blood on his mind.

The skinny: The next Interceptor arrives in 2011. Ford claims it will be engineered and built in America, and that it will offer better fuel efficiency, quality, safety, and performance than the current Crown Vic. (Given that the Crown Vic was designed when Calvin Coolidge was in diapers, none of this should difficult.) Further details should arrive in the first quarter of 2010.

The speculation: For starters, the picture above is the Ford Interceptor concept first shown at the New York auto show in 2002. That car was based on the '03 Police Interceptor; it sported crush-resistant bumpers, push bars made of reinforced steel, eighteen-inch alloy wheels, and a 4.6-liter, four-valve V-8 that produced 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. As you might guess, it is not what Ford is unveiling next year.

What's actually on the way? Our bets are on a rear-wheel-drive ass-hauler based off the Australian-market Ford Falcon. There's a slim chance that it could be Taurus-based, but durability issues would likely preclude that from happening. Note that all of this comes on the heels of Chevrolet's Caprice announcement. Nothing like a good cop-car shoot-out, is there?

[Full press release here: Ford]

Driving in the rain is like jaywalking — it's not the safest thing in the world, but millions of people do it without incident, and most folks don't give it too much thought. Live where it rains a lot? Planning on driving somewhere other than a sun-baked desert? It never hurts to remember the basics.

Take care of your car and its tires. Every vehicle talks to the road through four small patches of rubber. It doesn't matter if you're driving a Ferrari, an all-wheel-drive Audi, or an asthmatic garbage truck — if the tires aren't happy, the car isn't happy. Handling, braking, and acceleration are all directly tied to how well your rubber grips the road. On top of that, what seems like a minor irritation (a bit of squealing, a slight wandering at speed) on dry pavement can often be downright homicidal in the wet. Neglect your tires, and you neglect the one part of your car most responsible for your safety.

Thankfully, keeping track of this stuff is limited to two simple tasks: checking your tire pressure and checking the depth of your tires' tread. If you understand how to use a ruler and can afford a two-dollar tire-pressure gauge (try almost any gas station), then you can do either yourself. (If not, don't worry; any mechanic can help.) The recommended tire pressures (yes, pressures — front and rear are usually different) for your vehicle can be found inside your owner's manual; tread depth can be checked by measuring from the bottom of the tire's tread to the top of its shortest tread block.

While you're at it, make sure your windshield wipers are still soft and pliable (squeegees don't work if they can't follow the contours of the glass) and check to that your defroster is still working. When it comes to your comfort level in inclement weather, proper visibility makes all the difference.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Slow down. Speed is a wonderful thing, and in most cases, we're all for it. But when you're in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the beltway and can't see more than a few cars in front of you, you need all the reaction time you can get. It may sound obvious, but the slower you go, the easier it is to stop or swerve in order to avoid an accident.

Because wet pavement is slicker than dry pavement, cars lose grip whenever it rains. Reduced grip means increased acceleration and braking distances, not to mention slower cornering speeds. Every mile per hour that you chop off — and every foot of following distance that you add — gives you one more moment of reaction time should the unexpected occur. And in bad weather, you should always be looking for the unexpected.

Photo Credit: Salty Grease/Flickr

If you lose control, don't do anything sudden. When your car begins to slide, it's best to remember one thing: It will eventually stop. (If you're lucky, that moment will come before you end up in a tree.) In the interim, you need to do everything you can to preserve your tires' hold on the pavement. Gently ease off the accelerator and refrain from slamming on the brakes. If the car is sliding in a corner, steer into the slide and keep your eyes pointed where you want to go. If you're hydroplaning, resist the urge to yank on the wheel or throw the car into another lane. Above all, remember this: When your tires are struggling to hold onto the road, the slightest provocation can upset them. Keep them happy. No surprises.

Photo Credit: Timothy J/Flickr

If you can avoid it, never drive into a flooded area. This may sound obvious, but a surprising number of people lose their cars — and often their lives — every year by driving into or across waterlogged pavement. Currents can run remarkably strong on a flooded road, and what looks like a foot-deep stream can often suck you and your car off to a watery grave. Think of it like an ocean's rip tide — you wouldn't drive your Civic into Waimea Bay, would you?

That said, it's occasionally unavoidable. If it's a matter of life or death and you absolutely have to get across, there are a few steps you can take to better your odds. First, go as slow as you possibly can without dawdling; higher speeds increase the chances that your tires will lift off the pavement, that the car will float instead of roll, and that you'll lose the ability to steer. (If you look out the door and notice that your wheels are producing waves—i.e., a wake—then you're probably going too fast.) Second, if possible, cross the water's flow at an angle in order to narrow your profile. And finally, remember this: If it looks a little too deep, then it's probably a lot too deep.

If you should happen to get stuck or be swept away, don't leave your vehicle. If the water is strong enough to levitate two tons of steel off the road, it's definitely strong enough to swallow you whole. Roll the windows up, get out the cell phone, and pray that the car comes to a stop.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Calm down. This piece of advice might not apply to everyone, but it's still worth keeping in mind. The human body's fight-or-flight process is pretty remarkable, but when you're busy behind the wheel, the last thing you need is an elevated heart rate and twitchy reactions. Breathe deep. Look as far ahead as possible. Try not to get excited or nervous. The more control you have over your body, the more control you have over your car.

Bonus Tip: If you can, stay at home. It may sound impractical, but it's often the best way to avoid trouble. If flood warnings are issued and you can't see the end of your street, then let discretion be the better part of not getting helicoptered off the roof of your sunken Datsun. You may know what you're doing — and chances are, if you're reading this site, you do — but that doesn't mean everyone else does. And while it's true that the majority of accidents are avoidable, there's no sense in unnecessarily putting yourself in harm's way.

The photos of the new more-expensive-than-a-Veyron-if-it's-ever-made Bugatti four-door concept were taken by jmk911 from the Luxury4Play forum who did this bit of reporting:

The Bugatti folks spent time with many of the guests and asked for our feedback. Besides discussing the Galibier, I breached the subject of a likely "more economical" sports car in line below the Veyron. His response was such that I am guessing they have been working on this for a while. Fingers crossed!

So the baby Bugatti lives?

[Luxury4Play]

Cast inside the valley of the Boss 6.2-liter V8 are the words "The Boss Is Back." It's the kind of Easter Egg from a confident company. Of course, if they were so confident we're not sure why they seem to be holding back on marketing it as the "Boss."

(Hat tip to Fastlane!)

We've known for a while the Boss was coming, and that the Raptor XT would get the first implementation of the giant engine. But other than data and a few photos from Ford, the 6.2-liter version of the motor has stayed in Ford's possession.

Well, that's what we thought. It turns out Houston-based tuning shop Fastlane has had six of what they believe to be prototype versions secretly sitting inside their nondescript and hard-to-find shop in a commercial strip around the corner from a Chinese buffet for almost five months. The details of how they got there are purposefully vague, but shop owner/founder Nick Field has been sitting on this big engine for far too long to not want to share.

When Ford needs to dispose of their experimental parts some of it gets crushed and some of it gets sent out to salvage. When it goes out the door someone gets tipped off. It's that unnamed middle man who originally bought these engines (and tons of other bits and pieces) and put them up for purchase as part of a massive Ford garage sale. When Field saw the list of what was for sale, he was able to guess it was important and bought all six of them for a price so low you wouldn't believe if we printed it.

That's right. Six of them. The one we photographed is sitting in the middle of Fastlane's office on an engine stand, as if it were just another of the many other motors floating around the shop. You wouldn't even know it was a Ford as the engineers were at least smart enough to grind off most of the identifying numbers and all but one small logo, though they left a few of the sensors intact. Although Ford may not be marketing this engine as a revival of the Boss engine, trust us when we tell you, it's the Boss engine.

This is most likely an early version as it features a cast-aluminum intake manifold the designers used to make volume adjustments before they switched to the plastic version found on later prototypes and now the final production iteration.

None of Fastlane's motors are running yet, but to Field and the Fastlane crew there's a belief this is an engine with promise for the tuner set. And they should know, as they're the company behind the fastest CTS-V and the fastest 2010 Camaro in the world. The stats from Ford on the engine are as follows: 9.8:1 compression ratio, two plugs per cylinder, cast iron block with aluminum heads, cross-drilled mains, and 411 HP/434 lb-ft of torque in XT trim with a 500 HP version apparently coming.

An engine dyno is going to be scheduled as soon as Fastlane gets the Boss actually running (Ford of course didn't ship it out with the ECU). But what are they really going to do with six big experimental engines? In addition to getting quite the head start in terms of aftermarket development, one is being kept on display, two of them are planned for the company's racing Mustang, one belongs to customer/shop mascot Mark Ponter, one is being prepped for a restomod '67 Mustang, and the other one has an undecided fate.

Whether this new "Boss" motor is destined only for trucks or if it becomes Ford's answer to the HEMI and Vortec engine in passenger cars is still unclear. All Nick Field knows is "We're getting one in a Mustang."

In honor of the American Medical Association changing its policy on medical marijuana Tuesday, we bring you this list of five pot-friendly car flicks—and one bonus flick to sober up to. Were you the type of person to partake (and don't worry, we know you're not), this is what you would watch.

La Carrera Panamericana With Music by Pink Floyd

Year Debuted: 1992, VHS/DVD only
Director: Ian McArthur
Length: 65 minutes

Why Get Baked? Two decades ago, David Gilmour and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd ran La Carrera in a Jaguar C-Type replica while a friend filmed the competition. They then came home, set the whole thing to music, and packaged it for sale. The footage is often cheesy, the sound mix isn't always that great, and you have to be able to tolerate (or preferably enjoy) Pink Floyd, but under the right circumstances, it's the ultimate car-freak chill film. The 65-minute video works best when set on an endless loop in the garage while you're...er...fixing stuff. Yeah—that's all you do out there. Fix stuff.

C'était un Rendezvous

Year Debuted: 1976
Director: Claude Lelouch
Length: 9 minutes

Why Get Baked? Because it's short, romantic, and set to the yowl of a Ferrari 275 GTB. Because it's gloriously detailed—See the pigeons? See the fleeing pedestrians? See the mother on the sidewalk yanking her kid out out of the way?—and rewards repeat viewing. Because it's so multi-layered, it may as well be a cake. And because it's French. And the French always crack your mind open.

The Blues Brothers

Year Debuted: 1980
Director: John Landis
Length: 133 minutes

Why Get Baked? One word: Stax. The car chases are fantastic, the jokes are timeless, and the look on Dan Aykroyd's face—ever solemn, ever grave—is worth the price of admission. But the music is what keeps you coming back. Aykroyd and Belushi's sidemen were little more than the house band from legendary Memphis soul shop Stax Records, and every note they play drips with the hard-earned funk of an all-night tracking session. Few things drop you into a groove like watching a Dodge Monaco take over the world. Fewer still can claim to have an eight-track full of Sam and Dave.

Ronin

Year Debuted: 1998
Director: John Frankenheimer
Length: 122 minutes

Why Get Baked? It's probably safe to say this is the only movie that combines the ear-melting howl of an E34 BMW M5 with the iron-jawed mugging of a middle-aged Robert Deniro. John Frankenheimer—the same man responsible for the epic Grand Prix—directed this one, and it's home to three of the best chase scenes ever filmed. The near-psychotic attention to detail (e.g., the M5 in question is a European-spec car and actually sounds like one) will likely freak you out, but even if you don't know how to spell your own name, the caper plot is easy to keep up with.

Corvette Summer

Year Debuted: 1978
Director: Matthew Robbins
Length: 105 minutes

Why Get Baked? Ingredients: One stolen Corvette. One post-Star-Wars Mark Hamill, deep in the throes of "Hey! I can be more than Luke!" typecasting paranoia. One road trip to get said 'Vette back. And a director who loves his four-wheeled cast so much that the main character comes across as little more than a background prop. Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it's kitschy. And yes, you might fall asleep. But hell, this thing only makes sense when you're high.

Sober-up Special: Fifty Years of Formula 1 On Board

Year Debuted: 2004, DVD only
Length: 60 minutes
Director: N/A

Why Get Baked? In a word, don't. This is for when you really, really need to sober up. At $34.95 for an hour-long DVD, it's by no means cheap, but it's also more effective than mainlining an oil drum full of Red Bull. Play the clips chronologically, and you'll get a gentle wake-up call that transitions into a full-on, goes-to-eleven smackdown. Stirling Moss testing at Goodwood? Relaxing. Patrick Depallier doing an entire lap of Long Beach sideways? Attention-getting. Ayrton Senna going absolutely batshit during qualifying at Suzuka? Welcome to the world of the coherent. Now put some Visine in your eyes and try not to empty the fridge.

Our criteria for building this list were fairly simple: In order to make the cut, a car had to be relatively sensible, inexpensive, and easy to find anywhere in the country. It also had to be enjoyable to drive every day, have a solid parts supply, and be just a little bit...odd.

You know, odd in that Jalopnik way. The cars here may not be that special to most, but to put it bluntly, they're better — or maybe just weirder — than a used Camry. Rejected? Often. Forgotten? Never.

(Note: Year ranges listed are suggested purchase ranges, not model lifespan. Think you can do better than what we found? Prove it—let us know in the comments.)

What: Volkswagen Beetle

When: 1967–1980

Why: Ubiquitous and unusual all at once. Air-cooled and has swing axles, both of which became novelties long ago. Was once the most common car on the planet. Will run—or at least run badly—until the Sun cools. Holds four people and can choogle down a highway at relatively modern speeds. Has reached old age with surprising grace. Reminds you that once, in the world of cars, there was such a thing as Different.

How Jalopnik Is It? Anywhere from 150-ish points to a blue bajillion, depending on age, horsepower, type of fuel delivery, and level of funk.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Not quite as practical as the Beetle, but way more common in the rust belt. (Go figure.)

Photo credit: David Prior/Flickr

What: Peugeot 505

When: 1980–1992

Why: It's French, which means that it has seats like your living-room sofa and an interior designed to make you forget that driving is work. Surprisingly durable. Remarkably attractive. Handles well. Comes as either a sedan or a handsome wagon. Reminds you that the French need to start selling cars here again. Downside: fashionable with hipsters.

How Jalopnik Is It? 65 to 200 points, depending on choice of engine and the number of dead mimes you have in the trunk.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: Er...let's see...a cheap, relatively modern French car that still exists stateside in any quantity? We'll get back to you on that.

Photo Credit: Joside Lusarreta/Flickr

What: Mercedes-Benz W108 (S-class forerunner)

When: 1968–1972

Why: It's last of the old-school, Hitler-staff-car Benzes. Six-cylinder versions can usually be found for less than the cost of a decent lunch. Likely to be more dignified than you are. Will carry four people and their luggage from here to Zimbabwe without complaint. Downside: Doesn't take well to neglect. Often refuses to move without "Ride of the Valkyries" playing on the radio.

How Jalopnik Is It? Even the lamest 108 is a 50-point car. Quadruple the point count if the vehicle in question has ever been used in a putsch.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: Mercedes-Benz W114/115, essentially the W108's younger brother. Smaller and less luxurious but just as indomitable.

What: Chrysler Newport

When: 1971

Why: Associate editor Ben Wojdyla recommends it. In his words, "you look like a low-level mob enforcer in one, although I'm pretty sure the car won't start unless you're wearing a brown polyester suit and white patent leather shoes." 'Nuff said.

How Jalopnik Is It? 150 points for a four-door, 125 for a two-door. Double points if the previous owner once stored Jimmy Hoffa in the glovebox.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: Really, just pick anything from the movie Goodfellas. You'll be fine.

What: Volvo 262C Bertone

When: 1978–1981

Why: It's a Volvo 240 coupe that's been made to look more odd. The 240 is a fantastic, if slow, vehicle, essentially a standard Detroit sled as interpreted by the Swedish. (For the uninitiated, this means a Dana stick axle, great brakes, and a heater that just won't quit.) The 262C was the same thing plus Italian sheet metal. Neat, if you like that sort of thing.

How Jalopnik Is It? Our math gives us 93, but that can't be right. It's a Swedish version of an American car that was built by Italians, fer chrissakes. Let's just double it: 186.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: A regular Volvo 240. Good ones basically grow on trees, and if you're stepping out of anything modern, they can feel amazingly old and quirky. (This is a good thing.)

What: Pontiac Tempest

When: 1961–1963

Why: As our friend Graverobber once put it, "two words: rope drive." A rear-mounted transaxle, a flexible driveshaft, and near-50:50 weight distribution. Designed by John DeLorean. Has pretty much always been dirt cheap. The Tempest is likely cooler than you are.

How Jalopnik Is It? 105 points at least, more if you get lucky. If your rope drive has ever been removed from the car and used to hang someone, add 50 points.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: 1960–1962 Plymouth Valiant. Something of an ugly duckling, but appealing in its own right.

What: Alfa Romeo Spider

When: 1970–1990

Why: Generally speaking, making a reliable daily driver out of a decades-old Alfa is neither easy nor inexpensive, but we're romantics. Post-Duetto (i.e., Kamm-tail) Spiders are the unloved rejects of the Alfa family—they're far too primitive and fragile for most people, even as cheap convertibles, and most Alfa freaks prefer the fixed-roof cars. (It's a surprisingly easy trap to fall into—yours truly has lusted for a Giulia Super since the first Bush administration.) What this means is that they're everywhere, cheaper than free, and all but disposable. Thankfully, they're also damn entertaining.

How Jalopnik Is It? Even the world's lamest Spider is a 150-point car. Thank you, Italy.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: Alfa Romeo Milano. Yes. (What were we supposed to suggest? A Lancia?)

Photo Credit: PeoplemapsJulie/Flickr

What: BMW 2002

When: 1972–1976

Why: BMW claims that this is the original sport sedan—it's not, though that's a discussion for another time—but mostly, we just think it's fun. (And for that matter, small, practical, fuel-efficient, durable, cheap, and a good basis for a canyon-carving hot rod.) It's like an Alfa GTV where everything works. Rusts a lot, but impact-bumper beaters (post-'74) are cheaper than you think.

How Jalopnik Is It? 125 points at minimum. Add five points if it's orange (Inka) or yellow (Golf).

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: Volkswagen Golf (Mark I). Same basic idea, but front-wheel drive and cheaper parts.

Photo Credit: Tree Dork/Flickr

What: Mercedes-Benz R107 (SL)

When: 1971–1989

Why: Because it's known far and wide as the "Panzer" (as in "tank") SL. More common than dirt and carved from a single, spectacular chunk of Teutonic arrogance. Vehicular cockroach; will likely survive Armageddon with its standard hardtop intact. Reminds you that the Germans once built everything out of cast iron and willpower.

How Jalopnik Is It? At least 105 points.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: You can't find one of these? Really? Try Craigslist, or simply step outside, close your eyes, and start walking. You'll bump into one. Promise.

What: MG MGB

When: 1968–1980

Why: This is a tough one. By modern standards, the MGB is a slow, depressing little car. It handles like a used-up Jeep and seems to have been built from Fisher-Price plastic and medieval machine tools. It rusts—badly—and all the affordable ones are equipped with ugly, government-mandated rubber bumpers. Still, the 'B succeeds in spite of itself. It's charmingly, irrepressibly British in a way that few things are, and it can often be pretty entertaining to drive. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I kind of want one. Don't you?

How Jalopnik Is It? 140 at minimum. Thank you, Jolly Old.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: Late (1970–1981) Triumph Spitfire. Nowhere near as common or as well-built as a 'B, but still not a bad choice. There are other Triumphs worth having, but these are the most attainable. (God help you if you buy a Stag.)

Photo Credit: Arkadyevna/Flickr

Honorable Mention: Chevrolet El Camino

When: 1959-1960, 1964-1987

Why: If you have to ask, you don't need to know.

How Jalopnik Is It? Ditto.

Can't Find One? Try This Instead: We're supposed to say "Ford Ranchero" here, right? Boo. Just buy a Camino.