Author: kurt

Things are tough all over these days, including things at Lamborghini. Hit hard by the global recession, the companies sales plummeted nearly 38% in 2009, resulting in a pretax loss of $47.6 million. Unit sales fell from 2,430 in 2008 to 1,515 in 2009.

Ironically, most of Lamborghini’s customers work in banking and finance. Declining profits (and public outcry) reduced many of the sizable bonuses often paid to senior banking executives, forcing Lamborghini order cancellations worldwide. Not to mention the fact that it’s in poor taste to drive a Lambo when your brother / sister / best friend is being foreclosed upon. Especially when its your bank doing the foreclosure.

But, hey, there’s some good news here, too. Want to order a new Gallardo in time for your high school reunion? Want that new Murcielago to impress your secretary at the Christmas party? Chin up, Mr. Big Spender; the waiting time for a new Lambo is down to six months. No word if they’re going to join GM, Ford and Toyota in offering 0% financing, though.

Source: MotorAuthority

In 1964, Chevy offered the Impala SS in two door coupe and convertible models. Buyers could opt for any engine in the Impala lineup, ranging from the 235 cubic inch ‘Turbo Thrift’ inline six up to the ground-pounding 409 cubic inch ‘Turbo Thrust’ V8. The SS name referred to the appearance package (which included an upgraded interior and machine turned aluminum trim) and didn’t necessarily indicate that the car was a threat at the drag strip.

Jackie Farias owns this particular Impala SS, but he didn’t include any specs with his pictures. I think I see a 327 badge on the side of the car, indicating that it’s got the classic small block Chevy motor under the hood. The modern wheels give it a clean “resto rod” look and work well with the lines of the car.

Jackie, feel free to send me some specs (and a few more pics) and I’ll be happy to update the information.

Looks like a clean 1969 TR-6 from here

Take a classic 1969 Triumph TR-6 and drop in the twin-cam, turbocharged motor and transmission from a mid 1990s Nissan Skyline GTR and what do you get? Is the end result sexy or sacrilegious?

I’m not generally a big fan of motor swaps, as they generally upset a car’s balance and destroy its resale value. Sure a Ford V8 in a Mazda Miata sounds like fun, but only if you’re driving in a straight line. On a road course? No thanks, I’ll pass.

More pics after the jump.

And therein lies the beauty of this Triumph. The new motor and trans probably weigh less than the stock components, yet work a whole lot better. In stock form, the RB25DET motor made around 250 horsepower, but this car features a Greddy intake, larger throttle body and custom exhaust. Put a conservative rating of 275 horsepower on it, which sounds about perfect for the TR-6.

Sweet Mother of God: that’s not a Triumph inline 6

The workmanship on this car is top notch, and the motor looks like it belongs in a 1960s vintage car. While I’m not a big fan of the custom-but-utilitarian dash, the rest of the car is stunning. This is one motor swap custom I’d be damn happy to call my own.

Vintage gauges would have looked nicer. Just saying.

It’s currently for sale on eBay, and a $15k bid hasn’t cleared the reserve. This car must have cost a fortune to build, and the non-original motor will surely hurt the value in the collector market. If this car goes for less than $30k, someone will be getting one hell of a bargain on a one-of-a-kind TR-6. How can you top classic good looks with modern performance?

Source: Two Seats Or Less

Love your Z06, but long for the carbon ceramic brakes and magnetic ride active damping system of the ZR-1? Wish the Z06 had more carbon fiber and less fiberglass? Tired of seeing other Z06s at the grocery store, and want to drive something a little more exclusive? Then get down to your Chevy dealer, pronto, to get in on the Z06 Carbon. Chevy’s only building 500 of them, so you’d better act quickly.

Built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Corvette’s first LeMans appearance (and victory), the Z06 Carbon starts life as a ZR1 chassis. Next, it gets some of the ZR1’s carbon fiber body panels and a unique carbon fiber hood, similar in shape to the ZR1’s, but missing the transparent window. Want bragging rights? The hood of the Z06 Carbon is unique, and is the lightest hood ever used on a Corvette. It won’t fit your neighbor’s ZR1 either, since it isn’t tall enough to clear the ZR1’s supercharger.

Powertrain on the Z06 Carbon is identical to the powertrain on a standard Z06 (which is plenty good enough). The lighter weight, better brakes and suspension of the Carbon certainly help it on the race track; at Laguna Seca, a Z06 Carbon was three seconds per lap faster than a standard Z06.

The Carbon will be available in either Supersonic Blue or Inferno Orange. Pricing will be announced closer to the launch date, but three seconds per lap doesn’t come cheap. Expect the Carbon to split the difference between the $74,285 Z06 and the $106,880 ZR1.

Source: Autoblog

First it was Toyota, offering 0% financing for many of its cars and trucks. Next came GM, also offering 0% financing on most trucks and selected cars. Apparently Ford doesn’t want to be left behind, because they’re offering 0% financing with terms as long as 72 months on select 2010 models. This includes the 2010 Mustang GT (with the 4.6 liter, 315 horsepower V8), so if you’re in the market for a bargain pony car and can live without the extra 97 horsepower of the 2011 model, get down to your local Ford dealer.

Remember the good old days, when Toyota built reliable but boring cars for the masses who simply wanted to get from point A to point B with as little fuss as possible? Remember the legendary reputation of their compact pickup trucks, so tough that not even TopGear could kill one?

Back in those days, it probably seemed like a good idea to emphasize the Toyota pickup’s nearly uncontrollable power. These days? I’m guessing Toyota would like a “do over” on the following Australian TV spot. Video after the jump.

toyota car – Watch more Funny Videos

But wait, it gets better. When the RAV4 was redesigned, Toyota launched a campaign focusing on how desirable the car would be. In this spot, we see a husband and wife who’ll stop at nothing to get sole custody of their new RAV4.

my car….no my car – Watch more Funny Videos

Yeah, I’m thinking that any video that links ‘flaming death’ to Toyota is pretty much taboo in their corporate offices these days. Still, the video reminds us that car makers used to have a sense of humor, and I don’t think we’re going to see that again for a good, long time. Especially from Toyota.

Photo: Dan Strohl / Hemmings Auto Blogs

Love Saabs, and can’t wait until Spyker works their magic with the legendary brand? Longing for a 900 Turbo project car, just like the one you used to drive? We’re here for you, or more specifically Saab of Belgium is here for you. Go to their website, and you can download a paper model of the classic Saab 900 Turbo. Print it on card stock, break out the aquavit, scissors and glue and have at it.

Special thanks to Dan at Hemmings Auto Blogs for finding this. Hell, he even had the patience to build one. I would have, but I’m out of aquavit.

Carl Edwards has been placed on a three race probation for his deliberate punting of Brad Keselowski in last Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500. Edwards was not fined, suspended or docked points for Sunday’s crash.

Per NASCAR president Mike Helton, “We made it clear to Carl that this wasn’t acceptable (behavior), that it went beyond what we said in January about letting drivers police themselves.” Helton went on to say, “We parked Carl (after Sunday’s incident) and gave him the three race probation for what he did.”

Which means nothing, really. What comes after a three race probation? A three race double secret probation? A rap across the knuckles with a wooden ruler? Dollar off coupons at Arby’s restaurants? Because I’m a little unsure that any punishment was actually handed down. I get it, you want drivers to police themselves and you don’t want to punish them for hard racing. If that’s the case, don’t even bother with going through the motions on disciplining drivers who break the rules. It makes for exciting racing, right up until a driver, spectator or track worker gets killed. By that time it’s a little late to rethink your position on overly aggressive driving.

Source: AutoWeek

Tough luck for Ken Block, who crashed during the second stage of his debut World Rally Championship race. Block was carrying too much speed into a tight right / left combo, and was unable to brake sufficiently to slow the car down.

On the plus side, if you were wondering what it feels like to put a WRC car into a ditch and hillside at speed, the video shows you pretty clearly. Now you don’t have to wreck your own car.

If you’ve got a need to own a brand new, dealer-purchased Dodge Viper, you’d better get your financing in order quickly. Unconfirmed rumors seem to indicate that the last production run of the 10 cylinder, 600 horsepower Corvette fighter will start by the end of the month. This makes sense, since dealers have already begun accepting orders for the “Final Edition” models.

If the rumored replacement for the Viper is still in the cards, we won’t see it until the 2012 or 2013 model year. Given Dodge’s current financial situation and new ownership, I suspect they’ll have to move a whole lot of Fiats to justify the expense of a new high performance image car. Speaking for gear heads everywhere, I hope it happens.

I’m not much of a water sports kind of guy. I swim, but solely as an alternative to drowning. If I was on the Titanic, I’d have been one of the guys below deck yelling for more duct tape to patch the hole. People say that riding a motorcycle or driving a car on a racetrack is dangerous; that may be, but no one’s ever been eaten by a shark on a motorcycle. No one’s ever gotten fatal jellyfish stings in three layers of Nomex, behind the wheel of a race car. Video after the jump.

With this in mind, the JetLev Flyer just isn’t my cup of meat. Sure, the whole jetpack thing is cool, but what happens when the floating intake sled sucks up a fish? Or a piece of trash? Nothing good, I assure you.

If you’re still interested, here are the facts: the JetLev Flyer will allow you to fly (or hover above a school of great white sharks) at altitudes up to 28 feet, limited by the length of the intake hose. Top speed is just over 20 miles per hour, and you can fly at wide open throttle for about 1 hour. Being judicious with the throttle will get you up to another hour of flight time. Can’t live without one? Want to be the life of your next backyard pool party? The company is currently working on certification (and a big-ass liability waiver, I’m sure), but expects to begin sales later this year. The price will be just north of $175,000, which would buy any sane person about ten really nice bikes or three really nice cars. None of which will try to drown you when you run out of gas.

Thanks to Dub Daily for the inspiration.

Here’s the latest in what seems to be a never ending saga of possessed Toyota vehicles. In yesterday’s incident, Jim Sikes was driving his Prius outside of San Diego; when he accelerated to pass a slower vehicle, the throttle “stuck” in a wide open position. His Prius reached speeds of over 90 mph, and nothing Sikes did slowed the vehicle until a CHP trooper pulled alongside and gave him specific instructions. At one point, Sikes reached down to pull up on the accelerator pedal, hoping this would return the throttle to idle. It had no effect.

I wasn’t in the car, so I really can’t comment on what happened. It seems very strange to me that none of the drivers reporting unintended acceleration have been able to put their vehicle into neutral and coast to a stop. Likewise, I find it hard to believe that a vehicle’s braking system is completely ineffective at slowing it down. Maybe it was panic that prevented the driver from selecting neutral, applying the brakes with force and coasting to the shoulder. Or turning off the ignition and doing the same. On the other hand, maybe it was something else.

I’m not doubting Sikes’ story, but it seems to me that Toyota is an easy mark for “slip and fall” artists these days. Unintended acceleration, especially with a CHP trooper as a witness, makes headline news. The fact that engineers can’t find anything wrong with the vehicle upon later inspection only plays to the press and helps the plaintiff. What jury wouldn’t side with a driver whose evil Toyota tried to kill him?

Brian’s homemade oil cooler may have looked crude, but it cut his oil change time in half.

Source: You Drive What?

I don’t know how I missed this earlier, but there’s been a recall for the 2010 Mitsubishi Galant. If you’ve got one with an auto tranny, the oil cooler pipe assembly may not be thick enough. Corrosion could eat through the pipe, cause a leak, and (potentially) immolate you and your passengers in a fiery ball of death if an ignition source is around.

I’m not sure what surprised me more, the fact that Mitsubishi is still selling Galants or the fact that they’ve apparently sold 2,307 in the U.S. with automatic transmissions. If you’re one of the owners, you can call Mitsubishi at (800) 222-0037 to get details on the recall.

Always wanted to be a motorcycle manufacturing magnate? Have the factory, tooling and workers in place, but just can’t seem to successfully market your “Little Princess Daisy” choppers to the hardcore biker crowd? Here’s your chance to step up to the plate.

Up for sale is the intangible property previously owned by American IronHorse Motorcycles, including the brand, all trademarks, all URLs, all patents and all proprietary designs. You’ve got until 5:00 PM on March 19 to submit your bids to Streambank, the advisory firm handling the auction. The auction itself will take place on March 23.

American IronHorse was, at one time, the largest producer of custom V twin motorcycles. Founded in 1995, the company could not survive the collapse of the power sports market in the aftermath of the U.S. mortgage and banking meltdown. It shut operations in 2008 and liquidated the remaining inventory, parts and equipment in July of 2009.

Did Spyker hire the designer of Suzuki’s X90?

If this is the way Spyker styles upcoming Saabs, we’re in for some ugly sheet metal on the roads in coming years. Originally launched as a concept at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, the D12 Peking to Paris is aimed at the Eastern European and Chinese markets. Places with newly minted millionaires, but poor roads and infrastructure. After all, you can’t drive the rutted dirt roads to the sweatshop in a Pagani Zonda, can you?

It’s less hideous from the side, but not by much

With the purchase of Saab now complete, Spyker CEO Victor Muller has stated that development of the D12 Peking to Paris can now be accelerated. Look for revisions to the motor (originally set to be a VW sourced W12) as Spyker shops the newly accessible GM parts bin.

Camel interior: not the best choice for third world roads

Whatever motor they choose, I hope the end result is a seriously fast SUV. You can’t outrun ugly, but if the car is entertaining enough you may not care.

Mahindra TR; easy to find in a parking lot.

Back in the days before pickups and SUVs became rolling-clubroom status symbols, manufacturers used to build simple, no frills, rugged trucks. If you needed a full sized truck, you shopped for a Ford, Chevy or Dodge, depending on your upbringing. If you needed a compact pickup, you shopped for a Toyota. Once you realized how expensive Toyota’s were, then you shopped for a Ford, Chevy, Nissan, Mitsubishi or Isuzu.

Isuzu and Mitsubishi have all but vanished from the market, and today’s offerings from the other manufacturers tend to be long on luxury and high in price. What if you want a simple, low cost truck with serious hauling capability? What if you’d prefer a diesel motor in your compact pickup? That pretty much narrows the field to none, these days.

Fear not, Mr. Bargain Hunter. Mahindra, the Indian manufacturer best known for building stout farm tractors at reasonable prices, will announce by month end their entry date into the US truck market. Despite repeated delays to their original 2009 launch date, the manufacturer is finalizing approvals on their diesel motor and assures us they’ll be to market by year end. Their first offering, the TR series pickup in two and four door versions, will be a compact sized, diesel powered work truck with best in class payload capabilities. Sure the styling is a bit funky, but at least it doesn’t look like anything else on the road.

Given Mahindra’s success in the farm tractor market and their exposure as a sponsor in NASCAR, I think they may be on to something here. If they price the TR series correctly and offer a better warranty than the competition, I think you’ll be seeing quite a few on the U.S. roads in the coming years. That is, of course if they actually get to market.

In NASCAR, it’s said that “rubbing is racing”. Things like trading paint and bump drafting are commonplace and are often used tactically to win races. What’s not common, however, is letting your anger get the best of you and punting an opponent at 195 miles per hour.

Yesterday’s Kobalt Tools 500 (won by Kurt Busch) saw the ongoing feud between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski come to a full-on boil. Edwards, upset about an earlier incident with Keselowski that took him out of contention, clearly drove into the Penske Dodge of Keselowski with the intention of spinning him. Retribution is one thing; I’m a former racer and I know how that goes. Wrecking someone intentionally, at full speed, thus putting driver’s and spectator’ lives in danger, is something else entirely.

Afterwards, Edwards commented that, “Brad knows the deal between him and I. Maybe we won’t get in anymore incidents. That would be the best thing; the best thing would be for Brad and I not to get together anymore and we probably won’t. I’m just glad everybody is alright.” In other words, you’re sorry because you got caught, and Keselowski shouldn’t try to even the score.

NASCAR needs to take clear, decisive action on behavior like this. Pulling points and levying a fine just won’t cut it.

If you’ve got a soft spot in your heart for these big Bavarian GT cars like I do, you may want to have a look at this example, up for sale on eBay. It’s got less than 75,000 miles on the clock and appears (from the pictures at least) to be mostly rust free. Outside of some minor scuffs on the driver’s seat, the interior looks to be in good shape as well. More pics after the jump.

The 6 Series BMWs were more focused on luxury than they were performance or handling, but I’ve always been a big fan of their distinctive look. The silky smooth inline six pulls well, considering that it’s only making about 215 horsepower. Even with new rubber and new struts, the 6 series isn’t the best track day car; remember, you’re dealing with over 2 tons of sheetmetal here.

Still, the single overhead cam, 12 valve motor was pretty robust and featured (if I remember correctly) a timing chain instead of a less durable timing belt. Parts won’t be cheap, but regular service should be no problem for a competent shade tree mechanic. If the car looks as good in person as it does in the pics, it should give the new owner years of relatively trouble-free enjoyment. For a sub-$9k investment, would you rather drive a used Hyundai or a classic BMW?

I’ve always had a thing for Mustangs, which I can trace back to my cousin’s 1970 Mach 1. I know there are faster cars out there, I know there are better handling cars out there, but there’s something about a well built ‘Stang that just sets it apart. Plus, in my mind, no one builds a better sounding V8 than Ford (well, Ferrari maybe).

Michael Mirra sent in these pics of his ’01 Mustang GT Convertible. It’s got a TCI Streetfighter transmission, a 3500 Hughes stall converter, a custom air intake and he’s running Ford Racing 4:10 gears. The car was dropped on Eibach springs and Koni shocks, and he’s got 315’s on the rear to ensure that the car launches as good as it looks.

Thanks for the pics, Mike and nice photography, too. Hard to believe a car that looks that good has 100k miles on it.