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In case you may have missed it back in 2006, Ford released a trio of entries into the uber-boring mid-size sedan category. The just-right-sized triplets were built with the intention of targeting the best in the appliance segment. Alas, sales fell well short of the leaders of the pack — which is why you may not remember. Fast forward to this past week at the LA Auto Show , where Ford dropped cloth on three redesigns for the 2010 Ford Fusion , 2010 Mercury Milan and the 2010 Lincoln MKZ . While the new look on all three may be a “Bold Move™,” all three cars retain the old Mazda 6-derived CD3 platform. So our question is – are the changes more than skin deep? Let’s find out. 2010 Ford Fusion As the sales leader of the CD3 triplets, the 2010 Ford Fusion is the most important of the trio and does its best to pave the way for the new European-derived models that Ford plans to have appear shortly (pending any Carpocalypse-related financial troubles) and the new 2010 Ford Taurus we expect...
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A turkey is a special kind of car which, though no lemon, is out-of-date the second it rolls off the lot. Like the bird that gives it its name, it is an inferior creature that lacks an appeal to any superior automotive taste, even if enjoyed by the wealthiest consumer. Nevertheless, this is the week we can appreciate turkeys both in bird and car form. Below is our list of the ten greatest automotive turkeys, something to give thanks for — especially if you don't own one. 10.) Ferrari 400i The Ferrari 400-series cars are the best example of everything that's wrong with the Italian automaker's Malaise Era attempts at front-engined grand touring cars. Hidden below the stylish, though decidedly un-Ferrari, skin was the first automatic transmission offered in a production Ferrari. The base 400i featured a GM-sourced hydromatic three-speed transmission. Nothing like Italian power being routed through three speeds of American glory! Modern Ferrari tourers, like the 599 GTB FIorano...
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When Volkswagen released the New Beetle in 1998 it was a huge retro hit, but as all things do; it got stale. We're told VW is currently working on a replacement model due to be released in 2010 as either a 2010 or 2011 model year product. But what should we expect from this new New Beetle? galleryPost('2010VWBeetleKORS', 6, 'The New New Beetle'); We're told the Ragster concept , first shown at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show, provided a slight glimpse into how a redesigned New Beetle could look. Our sources tell us the Beetle will lose some of its cutesy flair in favor of a more grownup look, something that will appeal to more than a few VW fans. The car will ride on the same next-gen Group A platform due out next year for pretty much every small and mid-size car in the VW stable, and feature similar choices from VW's lineup of four-cylinder engines. It's also a possibility VW will give U.S. buyers the choice of an 1896cc TDI inline-four that is currently serving...
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Like seemingly every other GM product to be launched in the last year, the Pontiac G8 GXP ’s handling was tuned on the Nurburgring . There, while being driven by development engineers (and not a professional race driver), it set a ring time of 8:30. That sounds pretty good, especially given the badge the G8 GXP wears on its nose and its price: expected to be just under $40,000 including gas guzzler tax and destination fee. But how good is it? galleryPost('g8gxpring', 6, 'Pontiac G8 GXP on the Nurburgring'); In comparison, the E60 BMW M5’s record lap is 8:13. That car starts at $85,100 and betters the G8 GXP by 92 HP. The Porsche Boxster S is two seconds slower than the G8, despite weighing over 800 Lbs less and retailing for $15,700 more. So basically, the G8 GXP gives you the performance of a Porsche Boxster S and the practicality of an M5 with the price tag of a Pontiac. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out our Pontiac G8 GXP First Drive .
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It's that time of year again, when Pirelli sends aspiring Playboy photographers out on calendar assignment, letting them dream up ridiculous ways to photograph nude or nearly nude models in exotic locations. What this has to do with the business of selling tires we have no idea. Whatever, nekkid ladies! Hit the jump for a large and VERY NSFW gallery from the 2009 Pirelli Calendar. galleryPost('09pirellicalendar', 28, '2009 Pirelli Calendar Sneak Peaks'); 'When did they make 2009 a year of 28 months?' you ask. They didn't, but Pirelli, bless their hearts, threw a lot of the images that didn't make the final cut onto their website. The things they do to sell tires. Speaking of which, we were thinking just now about how Pirelli's are a superior tire in every way, and a brand that adds not only performance, but style to automobiles. Wait, what the...? The marketing! It works! Nooooooo! [ Pirelli (NSFW)]
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In the September, 1956 issue of Mechanix Illustrated, directions for a lightweight, wooden speedster powered by a motorcycle engine caught the eye of some deranged boat builder on the west coast. Here's the result: a modified version of the Speedball Special. Best news? It's for sale. The car was originally built in 1959 and is equipped with an impossibly rare 1952 Ariel Square Four motorcycle engine, a smooth-running four-cylinder 1000 cc engine able to push out about 42 HP. That might not seem like much, but when driving the sequential four-speed and with a weight of only a mere 750 lbs this little wooden car has got to be a rocket. galleryPost('speedballspec', 6, 'The Ariel Square Four Powered Speedball Special'); galleryPost('speedballspecial', 6, 'Mechanixs Illustrated How-To Article'); The car seems fairly true to the original, with an independent suspension from a Citroen (three lug wheels!), single wheel drive, a Renault steering box, and...
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The Audi R8 is one of the most exclusive and beautiful supercars in the world, commanding auto-lust wherever it goes and wherever it's seen. But what if you want an R8 but don't have the $105,000+ to buy one yourself? You could go through the arduous process of designing and building the whole thing from the ground up in your basement , but that would take 17 years. Who has the time? Why not just design an approximation of the R8 around a 2001 Mercury Cougar, fabricate it from fiberglass, and call it the ReplicaAudiR8? galleryPost('replicaaudir8', 6, 'Amazingly Good Replica Audi R8'); Here's the thing about the ReplicaAudiR8 — we don't hate it. For being a front-engine, front-wheel-drive approximation of a mid-engined all-wheel-drive supercar it looks damn good. We find ourselves thinking it wouldn't be a terrible thing if an actual Audi looked like this. Sure some of the details need a little work, like the lack of inner fenders at the back, and...
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The Audi R8 is one of the most exclusive and beautiful supercars in the world, commanding auto-lust wherever it goes and wherever it's seen. But what if you want an R8 but don't have the $105,000+ to buy one yourself? You could go through the arduous process of designing and building the whole thing from the ground up in your basement , but that would take 17 years. Who has the time? Why not just design an approximation of the R8 around a 2001 Mercury Cougar, fabricate it from fiberglass, and call it the ReplicaAudiR8? galleryPost('replicaaudir8', 6, 'Amazingly Good Replica Audi R8'); Here's the thing about the ReplicaAudiR8 — we don't hate it. For being a front-engine, front-wheel-drive approximation of a mid-engined all-wheel-drive supercar it looks damn good. We find ourselves thinking it wouldn't be a terrible thing if an actual Audi looked like this. Sure some of the details need a little work, like the lack of inner fenders at the back, and...
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If I were to tell you GM is the new BMW you’d probably laugh at me. But driving the 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP just a couple of months after the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V and Corvette ZR1 , that’s exactly what I’m thinking. Equipped with a 6.3-liter, LS3 V8 making 415 HP and 415 lb-ft of torque, the G8 GXP isn’t just the fastest car Pontiac's ever made, but based on GM’s new global rear wheel drive platform (the same one as the new Camaro) and fitted with lower, stiffer suspension and a six-speed manual gearbox it strikes the right balance between supercar performance and real world practicality. Think E39 M5, but with a Corvette engine and better steering. galleryPost('g8gxpreview', 6, 'Pontiac G8 GXP'); Driving in LA is a strange mix of sitting still in hellish traffic and driving flat out on the best roads in the world. Get on one of the highways at the wrong time and it’ll take you three hours to go 30 miles, but hit the canyon roads to the North or East and it’s easy to forget...
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var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Eleven_Ways_The_UAW_Is_Like_Congress'; So we're sitting here in the press room of the LA Auto Show thinking about Carpocalypse Now , the fight for loans from Congress and thinking to ourselves — you know the UAW and Congress? They're really not so different from each other. It's almost like looking in a mirror. A freaky state fair carnival mirror, but a mirror nonetheless. Here's our list of the top eleven similarities between these two seemingly disparate groups. 1.) Both carry a bunch of signs at all their get-togethers. UAW workers, picket signs. Congressmen, re-election signs. 2.) Both have exorbitant pensions and will receive health care for life upon retirement. 3.) Both have work stoppages for months at a time during summer, winter and around all federal holidays. 4.) Both take credit for creating the middle class. 5.) Both have a historical reputation for shoddy quality of work product. 6.) Both like pork. One likes...
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The 2008 LA Auto Show starting tonight will see the debut of the new 2010 Ford Mustang we revealed first in full for you last night — nearly 44 years after the original 1964 model made its debut on the show circuit. The Mustang's not only the original pony car, it's the only one to continuously sell for all 44 of those years. With such an established history, and with the new Challenger and Camaro nipping at its tail, we were skeptical of a redesign we were told was more an "evolution" rather than "revolution." We'd also been told not to expect any seriously new powertrain options for the 2010 model year. Despite those nagging concerns, what we've found may surprise even us. Ford released two concepts at the Watkins Glen Racetrack - the first, on October 7th, 1962 was dubbed the Mustang I Prototype and a year later on October 9th, 1963, the Mustang II Prototype. These prototypes planted the seed for Lee Iacocca to push forward the production plan...
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var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Twenty_Nine_Automotive_Fails_PICS'; This internet thing can be a damn silly place sometimes. A Hawaiian blogger adds the words "I can haz cheezburger" to a picture of a crazy looking cat and the place filled up with poor grammar cat images faster than a Fiero gets dressed in Lamborghini bodywork these days. The latest massive internet meme is even more simple. Take a funny picture of unfortunate happenstance, add the word "Fail" and bask in the schadenfreude. More so than any other site, Failblog.org has become the purveyor of all things fail and that extends deeply into the automotive world. No surprise really, we've all seen the way people drive on a daily basis. So now, let us present to you this, the 29 fails of an automotive nature. Hit the jump. galleryPost('failcarstuff', 29, 'So Much Fail, So Little Time'); Failblog.org ]
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The owner of DesktopNexus , a major provider of user-generated desktop backgrounds on the web, was contacted by Toyota's lawyers and told any image featuring a Toyota, Scion or Lexus vehicle was property of Toyota and should be removed, including images created by users. As you'd imagine, the users at DesktopNexus are not pleased and have been uploading Toyotas at a furious rate with titles like "Don't Buy Toyota" and "Copyright This" in order to show their disapproval. We look at the legal and PR issues Toyota must face after kicking a hornet's nest — a hornet's nest full of underemployed people with Photoshop skills and blogs — below the jump. galleryPost('toyotadesktops', 6, 'The Press Photos Toyota Doesnt Want You To See — On DesktopNexus '); The automaker clearly owns the car images it created, such as press photos and catalogs. However, Toyota loses some authority over these works when they disseminate them...
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We've had an abnormally high number of pickup truck first drives recently — the 2009 Ford F-150 , the 2008 Toyota Tundra , the 2009 Chevy Silverado and the 2009 Dodge Ram . Why? Because we've been working in conjunction with PickupTrucks.com to bring you a full blown comparison on the 2009 models of every half-ton truck currently for sale in the 'merican market and here it is. It's got all the numbers on towing, handling, braking and acceleration — everything a serious truck buyer could ever need. Frankly, that's the easy part. The subjective determination of which one's the best? That's harder to nail down, but it's what we're here for. galleryPost('09pickupcomparo', 12, '2009 Pickup Testing Spectacular'); 2009 Pickup Truck Comparison: Auto Cross 2009 Pickup Truck Comparison: Braking Challenge Results 2009 Pickup Truck Comparison: Drag Strip Acceleration Results 2009 Pickup Truck Comparison: Towing Results The competitors...
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The Cold War may be over but the ongoing battle between Mercedes-tuning shops BRABUS and RENNtech continues to heat up. We've all seen this war of HP — BRABUS releases photos of their 530 HP AMG C63 . Later that day RENNtech releases their tuned 548 HP AMG C63 . Next, RENNtech tunes an SLR McLaren and throws in track time. Later in the week, BRABUS tunes their SLR McLaren and throws in a tuned Smart. But it was after RENNtech tuned a GLK hybrid last week when BRABUS deigned it necessary to create a "photon torpedo gap" between the two shops — releasing a tuned Tesla Roadster earlier today on the waves of spaceship-like sounds and LED lights. Not willing to let such a gap continue, our sources tell us RENNtech's upped the ante into a new galaxy with a mysterious "warp speed" feature. Hit the jump to hear what they had to say. The biggest feature of the BRABUS Tesla is a "space sound generator" capable of creating the sound of a V8, or if...
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