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UAW Putting Pressure On Toyota/Tesla To Hire Union Workers For New Joint Venture
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The United Auto Workers is busy inserting itself into the Toyota/Tesla joint venture barely 24 hours after it was even announced. The two companies announced that they would be collaborating on electric vehicles, and Tesla would be taking over the revolutionary (at the time) NUMMI plant in Fremont, California, to build their new Model S…
Need A Supercar? Come On Down To The U.S. Treasury’s Auction
Zero Hedge, a blog more concerned with the imminent destruction of our economy than the demise of the internal combustion engine, recently obtained word that the U.S. Tresury is going to be auctioning off some serious machinery made in the U.S., Italy, France and England. Thanks to the Treasury’s asset seizure program, the property of…
Street Legal 911 GT3 RS Places 13th at Nurburgring 24 Hour Race – Then Drives Home
“A racecar for the street” is one of auto journalism’s most wretched cliches, but the moniker might be fit for one car in the world; the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The most hardcore 911 features things like ceramic brakes, one piece bucket seats, adjustable aerodynamics and a rollcage, making it suitable for racing right off the showroom…
Prius Drivers Tries To Flex His Hybrid Muscle, Lands In Jail
If one were to look up the definition of “pathetic” in the dictionary, the following story would be it. A Georgia driver of a Toyota Prius, tired of being mocked for his hybrid car, had enough teasing one day, and attempted to prove just how awesome his car’s acceleration capabilities are – by trying to…
Volkswagen Confirms Audi S1, Jetta R
Volkswagen confirmed today that an Audi S1 and a Jetta R are in the pipeline, but quashed rumors of an upcoming Polo R model. In an interview with drive.com.au, Dr. Ernst Linder, responsible for developing the Polo GTI, said that an Audi S1 would be offered with the familiar 1.4L twincharge unit and 7-speed DSG…
Electric Taxis Roll Out In China
The Chinese city of Shenzen recieved a fleet of 40 electric taxicabs last week, marking a historic milestone for China and electric vehicles. The taxis, made by Chinese automaker BYD have a top speed of 140 km/h, and are capable of getting 300 miles on a single charge.BYD, backed by American investor Warren Buffet, is…
Formula 1 May Return To The United States At Monticello Motor Club
It’s been three years since Formula 1 last raced on American soil at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the owners of the exclusive Monticello Motor Club (essentially a country club with a race track rather than a golf course) are hoping that the sport will return to the United States at their venue. According to a…
Pointless Tuner Car Of The Day: Dodge Journey By Irmscher
Whatever you think of the Dodge Journey’s subjective attributes, nobody can deny that it’s a family hauler that is the further thing from a performance vehicle. But somehow, German tuner Irmscher found it pertinent to modify a Dodge Journey with some kind of aggressive body kit, racing stripes, a chrome tailpipe, a “sports steering wheel”…
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 LeMans Anniversary Edition Makes Its Debut
Chevrolet announced a custom one-off Z06 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Corvette’s first appearance at LeMans. Featuring the traditional American racing color scheme (white with blue stripes), as the 1960 Corvette, which won its class at the 24 hour race. The car’s sale will benefit the National Corvette Museum, and anyone who wishes…
Michael Schumacher’s Bugatti EB110SS For Sale
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you will never even glimpse the top of the motorsports pyramid that Michael Schumacher was sucessfully climbed – 7 times over. But if you have roughly $745,000, you can own a well known piece of Michael Schumacher memorabilia – his Bugatti EB110SS. Before the Veyron, and having Volkswagen to subsidize them,…
Porsche 918 Spyder To Compete At 24 Hours Of Nurburgring
Porsche‘s 918 Spyder is set to contest the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in 2011, making it the second hybrid Porsche to compete in the grueling endurance race, with the 911 GT3R Hybrid being the first. The 918 Spyder made its debut at the Geneva Auto Show in March, and boasts (theoretical) numbers like 718 horsepower,…
Buick Excelle Exposed Again, This Time In GT Trim
Buick‘s version of the Chevrolet Cruze, known in China as the Excelle, has been caught undisguised again, this time in sporty GT trim. The Excelle uses the same platform as the Chevrolet Cruze and Opel Astra, and even uses the same 1.4L, 138 horsepower turbo four-cylinder, but the Excelle also gets a bigger, 1.6L version…
FIA Looking To Bring Back 107% Rule For F1, Backmarkers Suddenly Doomed
FIA President Jean Todt is looking at re-instating the 107% rule as a means of whipping chronically under-funded under-performing teams into shape. The 107% rule gets its name from the stipulation that in order for a driver to qualify for a race, he must obtain a qualifying time within 107% of the polesitter’s time. The…
VW May Enter Formula 1 Under Audi Or Porsche Moniker – How’s That For Elitist?
The latest nugget of information surrounding Volkswagen‘s often-rumored foray into Formula 1 came at last weekend’s 24 Hours of Nurburgring race, with a VW executive claiming that the Volkswagen Group’s premium brands, like Audi or Porsche would be the best fit for the company’s shot at the world’s most prestigious motorsport. “Within the group, for…
Wretched Excess: Hennessey HPE1000 Combines Camaro Styling, 1,000 Horsepower
If you want the performance of a Bugatti Veyron in an all-American package (that’s one tenth the price), look no further than Hennessey Performance Engineering’s HPE1000, a $65,000 upgrade for the Chevrolet Camaro SS. The stock 6.2L LS3 engine is discarded in favor of a 7.0L LSX variant, and a complete twin-turbocharger system is installed….
Kansas City Auto Parts Dealer Convicted Of Funneling Money To Al-Qaida
Khalid Ouazzani, a Moroccan-born U.S. citizen who owned a Kansas City auto parts store, was convicted this week of sending money to help the al-Qaida terrorist network, and its operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, using funds from his business to help the group. Ouazzani was initially arrested on 33 counts but ended up pleading…
Buick Regal GS Gets Green Light, Grand National Fans Rejoice
Buick hasn’t had a truly hot car since the GNX of 1987, but things are set to change if The Detroit Free Press’ sources are correct. The newspaper reports that the Regal GS, a high performance version of Buick’s new Regal sports sedan, has been approved for production. The concept Regal GS (we use the…
Canadians Would Give Up Junk Food, Smoking, Sex Before Cars
We tend to think of America, Germany, Italy or Japan as the pre-eminent nations where the automobile is the national obsession. But a new study in Canada shows that Canadians would rather give up junk food, cigarettes or sex than give up driving. In a study conducted by the World Wildlife Foundation, 36 percent said…
Toyota Recalls 11,500 Lexus LS460 Models For Steering Defect
When it rains, it pours, as Toyota knows all too well. As if their spate of problems wasn’t enough, fate seems to be pouring even more salt in their wounds, as the company has been forced to recall their flagship Lexus LS460 sedan due to a steering defect in the Variable Gear Ratio Steering system….
2011 Porsche Cayenne Pricing Announced
Porsche enthusiasts were up in arms when the brand launched their Cayenne SUV, but 8 years on, the car truck saved the brand from oblivion, and helped fund new, exciting models like the Panamera and the Boxster Spyder. For 2011, a more capable, more streamlined and less belligerent Cayenne is on its way and pricing…
Bomb Hoax Causes Panic At 4 Toyota Sites Across America
An Indiana post office was evacuated Tuesday after a suspicious package was discovered, addressed to a Toyota factory. The package was determined harmless by a local bomb disposal technician, but the scare follows 3 other suspicious packages sent to other plants as well as Toyota USA headquarters. According to police, the package originated in Nigeria,…
Nissan Expresses Worries Over Limited Nature Of Electric Car Subsidies
As Nissan strives to sell the Leaf electric car at an affordable price point, the company is expressing concerns that the current subsidies offered by governments to encourage EV adoption will expire after three years, hurting sales and pushing the cost of electric vehicles back into unattainable territory. “My assumption is that they won’t be…
Chevrolet Trailblazer Convertible Inspires Cries Of Despair
Believe it or not, this Chevrolet Trailblazer convertible (a one-off, thankfully), is not some backyard redneck conversion, but a professionally done job used for the Rose Bowl parade. With more passenger and cargo room the a Jeep Wrangler, the Trailblazer convertible is also a more unique alternative, but the vehicle comes with a few limitations….
Half Of All New Car Buyers Choose Four Cylinder Engines
A new report by J.D. Power and Associates claims that 49% of American car buyers opted for four-cylinder powertrains in cars and light-trucks purchased during the month of April. Concerns over fuel economy and gas prices helped spark a trend in consumers picking the smaller engines in the first quarter of 2010, with 46.5% choosing…
