Jalopnik

VIDEO: Ferrari California Power-Slides Into Front End Loader [Car Crashes]

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0500

Two Ferrari California's toying with each other on the roads of Sofia, Bulgaria — because that's what you do with $250,000 convertibles — came to a sorry end when one power-slid into a front end loader.

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!)

"New" GM Drops Totally Useless Financial Results [Carpocalypse]

Ray Wert — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0500

The "New" GM released a quarterly "preliminary managerial result" this morning and despite being not in any way comparable with the pre-bankruptcy GM, they're certainly illustrative of the enema-like cleansing effect of bankruptcy.

That's because they went from an astounding $95 billion in debt pre-bankruptcy to $17 billion under the "New" GM. Here's the full press release. Items to note:

● GM Q3 earnings: EBIT loss before special items of $261 million and managerial net loss of $1.2 billion.'
● Cash reserves increased by $3.3 billion to $42.6 billion.
● GM posted revenue of $28 billion in the third quarter of 2009 (July 1-Sept. 30, 2009), which was up approximately $4.9 billion in Q2
● GM will burn $8.3 billion in cash this next quarter on debt repayments, Delphi and restructuring so expect the 4th quarter to look worse than this quarter.
● GM "anticipates modest growth, with total industry volumes estimated at 62 to 65 million." Expects US SAAR at a rose-colored 11-12 million units sold in 2010.
● GM spent $320 million for cull of 2,042 U.S. dealers.
● These aren't "real" financial results. All these numbers are not provided using GAAP principles. So, you know, if you're an accountant, prepare to vomit a little bit before you go any further.

General Motors Announces the New Company's July 10-September 30 Preliminary Managerial Results

* Operating actions result in EBIT loss before special items of $261 million and managerial net loss of $1.2 billion
* Continued progress on structural cost reductions
* Healthier balance sheet with significantly lower debt
* $3.3 billion positive managerial operating cash flow favorably impacted by working capital; $42.6 billion third quarter liquidity position expected to decline materially in the fourth quarter
* Accelerated plan to repay U.S. and Canadian taxpayers; first $1.2 billion payment in December

DETROIT – General Motors Company (GM) released today preliminary non-GAAP managerial results1 for its first 83 days of operation, providing an initial look at its financial performance since it began operations as a new company on July 10, 2009.

"We have significantly more work to do, but today's results provide evidence of the solid foundation we're building for the new GM. With a healthier balance sheet and a competitive cost structure, our focus is on driving top line performance. We'll achieve that by winning customers over, one at a time, with vehicles that deliver performance and value," said GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson.

Revenue

GM posted revenue of $28.0 billion in the third quarter of 2009 (July 1-Sept. 30, 2009), which was up approximately $4.9 billion compared to the revenue recognized by General Motors Corporation, or "Old GM," in the second quarter of 2009.

The improvement was largely attributed to a higher global seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 67.8 million units in the third quarter, compared to 62.7 million units in the second quarter of 2009, and GM's stabilizing global share. In China, Brazil, India and Russia (BRIC), GM had 13.0 percent of the combined market share in the third quarter, up 0.2 percentage points from the second quarter of 2009.

GM's global share was 11.9 percent in the third quarter, up 0.3 percentage points from the first half of the year for Old GM. GM's U.S. market share in the third quarter was 19.5 percent, flat in relation to Old GM's U.S. share for the first half of the year.

GM finished the third quarter with U.S. dealer inventories of approximately 424,000 vehicles; a reduction of approximately 158,000 units from the end of the second quarter.

Contributing to GM's sales in the U.S. was the strong retail performance of some of its newest vehicles, including the Chevrolet Camaro and GMC Terrain, as well as the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac SRX which are generating higher average transaction prices and higher residual values than previous model year vehicles.

In other markets around the world, strong consumer appeal for a number of GM's newest vehicles including the Holden and Chevrolet Cruze, Daewoo Matiz Creative, Opel/Vauxhall Astra and Chevrolet Agile are helping to reclaim global share. In fact, the Astra recently claimed its first major award by winning the prestigious Golden Steering Wheel award by the Auto Bild magazine and the Agile was just elected the 2010 Car of the Year by AutoEsporte magazine in Brazil.

The China market in particular is proving to be a strong contributor for the company's results. Maintaining a leading market share position in China, GM and its joint venture partners continue to see an upward trend, selling more than 478,000 vehicles in the third quarter of 2009, up from approximately 451,000 and 364,000 units in the second and first quarters, respectively.

Managerial Results

After the inclusion of special items, GM's managerial earnings before tax for the July 10-Sept. 30 period was a loss of $1.0 billion. GM recorded special items for the same period of $505 million, attributed primarily to dealer restructuring, attrition-related charges and Delphi.3 For the July 10-Sept. 30 period GM posted a managerial loss after-tax of $1.2 billion.

GM managerial earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) before special items for the July 10-Sept. 30 period was a loss of $261 million, with GM North America reporting a loss of $651 million and GM International Operations reporting a profit of $238 million. Managerial earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $1.5 billion before special items.

Total structural cost for the company has been significantly reduced by the resizing and delayering of the company including salaried and hourly headcount reductions, engineering savings and volume related savings. GM structural cost for the period July 10-Sept. 30, 2009 was $9.1 billion. Structural cost for Old GM for the period Jan. 1-July 9, 2009 was $22.0 billion. For the 9-month period ending September 30, 2008, Old GM had structural cost of $37.8 billion.

While financial statements between Old GM and GM are not comparable, the above structural costs breakdowns for the two companies are provided for perspective.

Balance Sheet and Cash

For the period July 10-Sept. 30, GM had positive managerial operating cash flow before special items of $3.3 billion, reflecting the favorable working capital impact from production start up, timing of supplier payments and lower capital spending. The favorable working capital impact is not expected to repeat itself in the fourth quarter (see the "Looking Ahead" section below). For the period July 1-July 9, Old GM had negative operating cash flow of $3.6 billion, reflecting extremely low production in North America.

As of September 30, 2009, cash and marketable securities totaled $42.6 billion. Included in this amount was $17.4 billion held in escrowed funds from the United States Treasury (UST) and Export Development Canada (EDC), with $8.1 billion of this amount allocable for future repayments of the UST and EDC loans, $2.8 billion for the recently completed Delphi settlement and $900 million for healthcare in Canada, leaving a remaining escrow cash balance of $5.6 billion.

In light of improving global economic conditions, stabilizing industry sales and its healthier cash position, GM announced today that it plans to accelerate repayment of its outstanding $6.7 billion in UST loans as well as the C$1.5 billion (US$1.4 billion) in EDC loans ahead of the scheduled maturity date of July 2015.

GM plans to repay the United States, Canadian and Ontario government loans in quarterly installments from escrowed funds, beginning next month with an initial $1.2 billion payment to be made in December ($1.0 billion to the UST and $192 million to the EDC), followed by quarterly payments. Any escrowed funds available as of June 30, 2010 would be used to repay the UST and EDC loans unless the escrowed funds were extended one year by the UST. Any balance of funds would be released to GM after the repayment of the UST and EDC loans.

In addition, the company has begun to repay the German government loans which were extended to support Opel, and had a balance of €900 million (~US$1.3 billion) as of September 30, 2009. Opel has already repaid €500 million (~US$0.7 billion) of that in November, and will repay the remaining €400 million (~US$0.6 billion) balance by the end of the month. The cash balance in Europe as of September 30, 2009 was US$2.9 billion.

GM's total debt as of September 30, 2009 was $17 billion, including $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans, $1.4 billion in Canadian government loans, $1.3 billion in German government loans and $7.6 billion in other debt globally. The $17 billion debt level does not include the UAW or CAW VEBA notes or preferred stock, which are $2.5 billion, $0.7 billion and $9 billion, respectively.

While GM has reached settlements for the UAW and CAW VEBAs, the debt associated with the agreements will not be recognized until all preconditions are met and they become effective, which will be December 31, 2009 or later. Prior to the start of the new GM, total debt of Old GM was $94.7 billion as of July 9, 2009.

Looking Ahead

Globally, GM expects total vehicle industry volume to moderate in the fourth quarter of 2009, with an estimated SAAR to be approximately 65.4 million units, down from 67.8 million units in the third quarter. Following the expiration of the successful ‘Cash for Clunkers' stimulus program in the U.S. which contributed to GM's strong sales in the third quarter, the company anticipates the U.S. industry total vehicle SAAR volume in the fourth quarter will be approximately 10.7 million units, compared to 11.7 million units in the third quarter.

Looking ahead to 2010, GM anticipates modest growth, with total industry volumes estimated at 62 to 65 million units, with a modest recovery in the U.S. market where the outlook for the 2010 calendar year for total vehicles is estimated at 11-12 million units.

GM expects to have negative net cash flows in the fourth quarter of 2009 due to a number of factors including cash outflows relating to the Delphi settlement of $2.8 billion, the working capital impact of payment term adjustments of approximately $2 billion, payments for U.S., Canada, Ontario and Germany government loans of approximately $2.5 billion and continuing restructuring cash costs of approximately $1 billion. As a result, global cash balances at the end of 2009 are expected to be materially lower than third quarter levels of $42.6 billion.

# # #

1971 Datsun 510 Showcar for $19,000! [Nice Price Or Crack Pipe]

Graverobber — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:30:00 -0500

Back when Pete Brock was tearing up SCCA with them, the Datsun 510 was considered the poor-man's BMW. Today, Nice Price or Crack Pipe has one for which poor men need not apply.

The 510, with its SOHC four cylinder, clean, boxy styling, and rare for the class IRS, paved the way for Datsun's expansion in the US. The 2/3rds a 240 Z motor put out a healthy 96 horses, and when coupled with their slick-shifting 4-speed, made for a 100-mph top end.

The Teruo Uchino-styled car's popularity on the road translated to the track, where Pete Brock's BRE Trans Am 2.5-class racers took the championship in 1972. BRE enjoyed unparalleled Factory support for their effort, and made available to the public many of the go-faster parts that they, and Nissan, had developed.

This '71 510 (home-market cars went by Bluebird) four-door doesn't wear that racing heritage, nor does it really maintain any pretense of its era at all. That raucous and meldable 1.6-litre has been replaced by a 160-bhp VG30E out of a 300ZX. The six squeezes into the nose of the car with little trouble, but with it weighing in at about 120-lbs more that the L-series, it's questionable whether the sweet tossability of the 510 remains.

That may be a moot point as the car has been built for show despite the updates to the go. The discs at all corners (also from a 300Zx) and T5 row-your-own, says let's drive, but the slammed suspension, modern 6-spoke alloys and modded interior scream let's just park somewhere and you can buff me obsessively while making sure nobody touches me. And if that's your thing then the molded-in flames on the interior door panels, as well as the Optma and sub-woofer-filled trunk will likely appeal to you. The price might not appeal, but the car does show where your $19,000 is going- which is in the mods, not the car.

So, what do you think of this expression of the maker's individuality and creativity? Is $19,000 too high a price to get this show on the road for you? Or, is that a price that would make you go for this show?

You decide!

eBay Motors or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

GM To Begin Paying $6.7 Billion In Loans Ahead Of Schedule [Carpocalypse]

Ray Wert — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:31:40 -0500

The "New" GM will try to play the Lee Iacocca PR card by repaying $6.7 billion — of a total of $50 billion in government loans — ahead of the scheduled repayment date of July, 2015.

Keep in mind that although a move like this would suggest GM's now a fiscally stronger company, it's not expected to show a profit when financial results are reported on Monday.

In its last quarterly earnings report, in May, the company said its had lost $6 billion and had used $10.2 billion more in cash than it generated from operations. One would assume they'll have to show numbers a bit better than that. We guess we'll have to wait and see whether this early repayment is a financial victory or a pyrrhic one.

Top Gear Season 14, Episode 1: YouTube Open Thread [Top Gear]

Ray Wert — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:15:00 -0500

The boys are back, with Beast-lovin' Eric Bana as the star-in-a-reasonably-priced-'merican-car. So if you don't feel like waiting for Bitorrent to finish, get your Top Gear fix right now for as long as the YouTube clips last. Enjoy.

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!

Crazy Renault 12 Drivers Making Trip From Argentina To Alaska, In Mexico Now [Road Trips]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0500

We thought Panama to Alaska in an elderly Aston Martin was pretty impressive… but that was before we found out about these two Argentinians driving their '81 Renault 12 from Argentina to Alaska!

Yes, Carlos Platz and Samanta Arenaza are crazy, but it's the kind of crazy that gives us a serious case of Road Trip Envy. Their blog is in Spanish, but even if you can't remember palabra numero uno from your high-school Spanish classes you'll still get the gist from the many great photographs and maps.

Since they began their trip eight months ago, they've spent time in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and now Mexico. We're not sure how roundabout a route they'll take once they leave Mexico, but we're hoping they try to set tire to 49 states, 10 provinces, and three territories before they reach the Arctic Circle. Hey, if a Chrysler Newport can work the India-to-Belgium hash-smuggling route, a Renault 12 should be able to handle another 10,000 or so miles! Thanks to Maxichamp for the tip.

[Con Un 12 Por America]

Lotus Europa Down On The Los Angeles Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:45:00 -0500

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Today has become a British Car DOTS-O-Rama Sunday!

Most of us could go a lifetime and never see a Europa outside of a car show or vintage race, but Plecostomus found a nice one in El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula, otherwise known as Los Angeles. Here's what he had to say:

I found a DOTS Lotus Europa today. I'd never even SEEN one in person. And it follows the rules— it was parked on the street (Los Alamitos Blvd— why anyone would park a Europa on Los Alamitos BLVD is beyond me... it's like asking for the car to get destroyed)

It was some kind of commemorative edition with badging that said Constructor's Championship and several years (likely referring to F1)

DOTS FAQ

1972 Lancia Fulvia 1600HF Down On The London Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0500

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. All-British DOTSBE vehicles so far today, but an Italian car in Britain should fit in.

Duster_UK took these shots a couple months back. What a find!

Got some Lancia porn for you - I took the attached pictures yesterday (Sunday) after leaving the Barbican Arts Centre in the City of London. The car was parked on Chiswell Street EC1. I should explain that the City of London is the financial part, where all the banks are, the oldest part of London. There are some residential properties there, but as you can imagine it is seriously expensive. Being a Sunday the parking restrictions are relaxed which might explain how this Lancia came to be parked there (it also means I could take my own car into town - new Fiat 500 by the way).

On to the Lancia, which is of course a Lancia Fulvia 1600HF. The registration plate suffix is 'L'. which means the car was registered between the 1st August 1972 and the 31st July 1973. However as you can see the licence plate is black with silver letters in a non-reflective material, and only cars built before 1st January 1973 are permitted to still use this old style colour scheme. It's clearly badged as an HF, although I thought all the HF models had the larger inner headlights, I'm not a Lancia expert. The car looked to have a nice used patina but was in fine condition overall.

I also have a literal metric fuck-tonne of photos I took from a local classic car show last weekend. There is about 400 in all, although I have not yet sorted the good ones from the dross. However I do have some Jalopnik money shots in the form of a working Lucas coil under the bonnet of an over restored MGB GT, a mint TR6 with the bonnet up and jump leads attached, and lots of Lotus Carlton shots (including the under bonnet VIN plate identifying it as a Lotus model). There are various Rovers (a P4 and a P6), an Escort Mexico, some Triumphs (including a Herald and TWO Stags), various porrigdey Austins named after quaint English towns with cathedrals, an NYPD P71 Crown Victoria, a Buick Skylark (70's, I haven't identified the year yet).

DOTS FAQ

Ford Transits Down On The Paris Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:00:00 -0500

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Some examples of the British Van Expeditionary Force, courtesy of PCH Poster Child Franzouse!

So to test out my theory I left the camera at home today and went about my day. In the afternoon, while walking to a meeting, what do you know, I come across a beautiful vintage Ford Transit (Mk II I think, the '78 to '86 production run, yes the Ford streak continues!).
Well technically I stumbled upon a beautiful yellow one first, and then, hidden by a moving truck, there was a grey/blue/bondo beater one with a high roof ( a camper top of some kind) that was even cooler, or at least more sinister.
The guys in the moving truck were quite amused by the weird dude in the Corduroy suit, snapping pictures of two old vans with a look of genuine happiness on his face...
I hope you find these two vans as I cool as I did!
bon weekend

DOTS FAQ

1962 Hillman Minx Down On The East Bay Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0500

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Digging into my vast backlog of DOTSBE cars for more interesting Brits. Howzabout a Minx?

We can thank Wimbles for getting these high-quality photos of a car not often found in nature these days, particularly in a town with 95% garage-equipped modern houses. Maybe there's an even nicer Minx inside the garage!

I was digging through my hard drive looking for DOTS candidates I've snapped in San Francisco and I remembered one I saw right in my own hometown of San Ramon, in the East Bay. It appears to be a 1961-63 Hillman Minx Series IIIC judging by the lack of chrome trim and the "1600" badging on the door which indicates the 1592cc OHV 4-cylinder engine. Beyond that I don't know anything about it. This car appeared in my area for about a week or two in March 2007 and I haven't seen it since.

DOTS FAQ

Forum Wars: “Talk Smack, Then Hit the Track” [Forum Wars]

Rob Krider — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0500

Filming of the show "The Forum Wars," presented by Royal Purple, is in the can after a full day of shooting at Irwindale Speedway. See some of the cars and forums that tried to "represent."

These days every car model has its own forum; if you look hard enough I'll bet you can even find a webpage dedicated to the usefulness and styling excellence of the Pontiac Aztek. In most cases car forums are happy places where people can share useful information (like how to turn off the annoying seatbelt reminder when you are using aftermarket racing harnesses). Car forums have also become a place where people bench race and talk a lot of trash: "My Volkswagen GTI can do a better burnout than your Camaro SS."

"The Forum Wars" is the show to be featured on Speed TV where forum users and their cars get the chance to put up or shut up. Each episode will feature two cars representing two different automotive forums. The drivers are interviewed and get the chance to talk smack about the competition. Then, the drivers negotiate a drag race and a road course event. If after the two events there isn't a clear winner, a tiebreaker event is held.

There were some very serious machines that arrived at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale to do battle, from a heavily modified Nissan GT-R to a Corvette ZR1. Besides the cool cars, there was also a fair amount of Z-list automotive celebrities at the event. Adam Bruce, the creator of Streetfire.net who is now operating Autostream.com, ran a Nissan GT-R. Jim Halloway of Mothers Polish drove a Corvette ZR1 (yes, it was very clean). Myself, Rob Krider, ran a Mustang Shelby GT as Racer Boy for Speed Sport Life. Hot Rod magazine was in the house and last but not least, Matt Farah, of Garage 419 fame (now doing The Smoking Tire) was on hand to make fun of everyone's mistakes on the drag strip (he had plenty of material to work with). Below are just a few of the battles to take place on the show.

Dodge Challenger SRT-8 vs. Chevrolet Camaro SS

Cadillac CTS-V vs. Doge Viper ACR

Ford Mustang Shelby GT vs. Nissan 350Z

The on-track battles proved that just because you can type fast, doesn't mean you can drive fast. What was stated on certain forums did not hold up when the green flag dropped. The final results, of course, are under super secret wraps. The producers want to avoid any spoilers to the episode outcomes. You will have to tune into Speed TV and online early 2010 to see who brought home glory for their car forum or who choked. Check for future listings and air dates at Royal Purple.com. If you watch the show you will also get to see who learned this very important lesson: Everyone knows it sucks to get your ass beat, but it really sucks to get your ass beat on television.

Photography by Steve Kuhtz

Engine Of The Day: Studebaker V8 [Engine Of The Day]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500

After World War II ended, Americans knew what they wanted: overhead-valve V8s and plenty of them! It took a few years, but almost every manufacturer had one by the mid-1950s. Studebaker joined the V8 club in 1951.

The Studebaker V8 was manufactured until 1963, with displacements ranging from 232 to 304 cubes. A heavy but reliable powerplant, the Studebaker V8 powered many a daily-driver Commander or Lark… but it goes without saying that we're more interested in the batshit-crazy supercharged versions. The Golden Hawk of 1957-58 got a McCulloch supercharger and churned out an impressive-for-the-time 275 horses. We all know about the Avanti, which got 289 horsepower out of its blown V8, but even cooler would be a factory-installed supercharged R2 in a '63 Lark, an option that meets with our highest approval. How about a 12-second Lark?
[Bill's Stude Page, Image source]

Engine Of The Day Overload

Jaguar Mark IX, Jensen GT Down On The Boston Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0500

Let's make today an Anglophilic Down On The Street Bonus Edition Sunday, with a couple of British machines that Dr. Danger photographed for us.

I think the Jensen GT was one of the best things to come out of the Malaise Era, but I have yet to see one on the street. Great find, Dr. Danger!

Found a couple interesting cars hanging around Boston. First saw that Jaguar MK IX sitting behind my building downtown. I have seen this car before, but not sitting. Its a sweet ride with that Royal Yachting Association emblem on the grill. The (guessing '68) Impala was hanging out in the Stop & Shop parking lot. There was a hard-had and coveralls sitting in the back, looked like iron worker stickers. Probably stopped off for a case of Winter Lager and some rib-eye steaks. Then finally saw the Jensen-Healey GT just before I got back to the house, its breadvanalicious!
Sorry about the camera-phone quality. I always seem to find cars when my real camera is at home.

Another DOTS Car Takes The One-Way Trip From Alameda To The Junkyard [Down On The Junkyard]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Remember the super-rough '71 Cutlass Supreme we saw down on the Alameda street over the summer? You can add it to the list of Doomed DOTS Cars, right after this '67 Cougar!

A parts car, destined to be picked clean and then discarded as scrap, or a project that just became too overwhelming and/or pissed off the landlord and/or wife to the point where the junkyard seemed like the only way out? Impossible to say. In any case, it appears that a few bits and pieces- including the engine and transmission- remain on this Olds.

Listen To Your Heartbeat In A 1988 Celebrity Eurosport [Classic Ad Watch]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

What does it take to charm the exotic 80s woman off her pirate ship? Eurosport!

The Celebrity Eurosport was one of The General's many last-ditch attempts to win back all those un-American traitors who defected to the Honda and Toyota camps after a decade of Chevettes, Citations, and J2000s. It had more interior room than the old rear-wheel-drive Malibu and handled better than the regular Celebrity, but after that it becomes tough to find things to love about this car. But maybe we're all wrong about the Celebrity Eurosport! Maybe pristine unrestored examples will fetch six-figure sums at Barrett-Jackson in a few years!

Triumph Spitfire Down On The Seattle StreetE [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0500

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Let's admire a few more DOTSBE cars today, shall we?

The images of this shiny red British Leyland product come to us courtesy of Vintage Racer, the man who sends us so many great car photos. Here's what VR has to say about this find:

So I'm over in West Seattle at a friend of mine's art gallery opening, and this car caught my eye. I've seen them on the tack, but I've never seen one on the street. And considering how wet it gets up here, the fact that's it, and its Lucas Electrics are still running - well, not on a par with the Resurrection, but still pretty miraculous....

DOTS FAQ

Music For Swingin' Transmission Swappers! [Music]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

After hearing the Datsun 710 Theme Song yesterday, I remembered that my old industro-noise band, Murilee Arraiac, recorded a song entitled "Chrysler New Yorker."

Unfortunately, "Chrysler New Yorker" only exists on four-track cassette tape, and my ol' Tascam Porta 01 died years ago. That means you don't get to hear that fine song, which thrilled dozens of Japanese college radio fans during the late 1980s. What you do get is the "music video" for the Murilee Arraiac song "Hajoi Hotai," which features the circa-1990 replacement of a 2-speed Powerglide with a junkyard Turbo Hydramatic 350 3-speed in a 1965 Impala. That's me with the Plumber Butt on the ~~right~~ left, and my friend ChunkyDeath on the right. Note ChunkyDeath's innovative "floor jack leg pump" maneuver.

Austin-Healey 100-Six Down On The Denver Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. What's the ideal Denver car? No, not a Subaru Outback- it's the Big Healey!

You need a machine that looks sharp while navigating those twisty mountain roads, right? OK, so this car might not be so great in the snow, but you need to be willing to compromise on function every now and then. I spotted this car parked in a hip South Denver neighborhood last year, and it may have played a role in my decision to get my own, somewhat less shiny Austin-Healey.

DOTS FAQ

1965 Chevrolet El Camino [Down On The Street]

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Is there any law that says we can't follow up one El Camino with another?

Of course not! Yeah, I could have gone out and shot any one of the dozen or so VW T2 Transporters on the island that remain un-DOTS-ified, but that will have to wait for another weekend. I spotted this El Camino while checking for the supposedly-street-legal Dai Hard Daihatsu Charade LeMons car that lives nearby, in the same household as the '69 Morris Minor Traveller.

Dai Hard must have been in the garage, but it was worth the (two-block) walk to see this El Camino. I've always preferred the angular look of the '64-67 GM A-bodies to the more bulbous '68-72 models, and I think the Chevelle was the best-looking of The General's intermediates during this period. This Chevelle-with-a-truck-bed has a mean-looking coat of primer and cowl-induction hood scoop, and it appears to be a rust-free example of a fairly rare street-driven cartruck.

First 500 DOTS Vehicles • DOTS FAQ

PCH, Italian Coupe For About A Grand Edition: Lancia Beta or Alfa Romeo GTV? [Project Car Hell]

Murilee Martin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:59:00 -0500

Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! You don't need to be a millionaire to own a classic Italian machine. A thousandaire has enough cash!

Face it, what does the $9,000,000 '62 Ferrari 330 have that a Malaise Era Alfa or Lancia doesn't have? Wait, don't answer that! Instead, consider this: for around 1/9000th the price, you can have a sporty machine from the very same country!

What kind of car can you get for $1,250 these days? Maybe a 15-year-old Sentra, speckled with shopping-cart dings and filled with the smell of countless spilled McDonald's chocolate shakes? Or an Olds Cutlass Ciera with a potato for a gas cap and Bondo-and-rust clusters falling off on every speed bump? How depressing! But wait- what if we were to find you a genuine Alfa Romeo GTV for that price? A car with just 58,000 miles on the clock, because more than half its life has been spent sitting in a garage… waiting for you to rescue it? No, really! Here's a "garage find" '74 Alfa Romeo GTV (go here if the listing disappears) for next to nothing. It appears to be complete, and the seller says the "motor and tranny seem to be somewhat clean and oil free," which we hope isn't referring to their innards. Who knows, it ~~will never~~ might start right up with a simple tune-up! You might need to do a little metal cutting and pasting once you do have it running, because the seller admits that it has "all the usual rust problems of an alfa," and the registration paperwork will require ~~negotiating labyrinths of bureaucracy you never imagined existed~~ a bit of work, due to the car's "unknown title." Is an unknown title worse than a missing one? Never you mind about that stuff- just buy this project and start enjoying the benefits of an Italian ~~basket case~~ daily driver in ~~about 10 years~~ no time!

Everyone loves an Alfa, of course, but what would Fabio drive? A Lancia, of course! You can still buy Fabio's Appia, which hasn't dropped in price by a single lira in the last couple of years, but you might not have the pecs and/or hair to pull off looking cool in a cute little sedan. But buy this '75 Lancia Beta (go "http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/jalopnik/2009/11/75_lanciabeta-ss.jpg"/>here if the listing disappears) and you'll find your image on the covers of paperback bodice-rippers within weeks of getting it running. Of course, that might be ~~akin to cleaning the Augean stables~~ a couple of weekends of work, considering that it needs a "new timing belt to run and a little TLC" (translation for those of you who don't speak Craigslist-ese: "Something terrible is wrong with the engine, including what you hope will be just the timing belt"). But hey, Mr. or Ms. Thousandaire, imagine yourself behind the wheel of a genuine Italian sports coupe and it will all seem worthwhile.

Project Car Hell's Greatest Hits

Blowin' Up Toy Cars In Slow Motion! [Hoon Of The Day]

Murilee Martin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:30:00 -0500

If only I'd had a Casio EX-F1 slo-mo camera as a kid. The awesome destruction of all those 1:24 scale model cars I stuffed with M-80s would have been captured! Sadly, Malaise Era kids had to settle for Super 8.

Not so for this dude, who has captured some nice sequences of 1:64 toy cars getting blowed up and added the Ode To Joy as a soundtrack. In my opinion, this would have been more fun with cars that shatter into a billion fragments, but it's still pretty cool. Thanks to SLRSpeedShop, who also wishes he'd had a slo-mo camera as a kid, for the tip.

1978 Civic Can't Hang On Long Enough To Be Worth Restoring, Faces Crusher [Down On The Junkyard]

Murilee Martin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:45:00 -0500

While some are hoping to get big bucks for early Civics, the harsh reality is that lovers of vintage Japanese iron haven't really embraced the little car that changed the entire automotive landscape during the Malaise Era.

That means that plenty of fairly solid 1970s Civics go straight to the boneyard as soon as a $300 problem crops up. I think it's a shame, because most of the Civic's competition back in the day (e.g., Corolla, Pinto, Colt) tended to be several notches below the Civic in the "fun to drive" category, and even Toyota felt a bit threatened by the Honda's reliability. I still recall feeling humiliated, 20 years ago, that my girlfriend's '73 Civic could eat up my '73 MGB-GT in every category from acceleration to braking to electrical-system quality (yeah, the last one is a fish-in-a-barrel deal). Here's one I spotted in a nearby self-service yard a few weeks back.

Is that 97,000 miles... or 397,000 miles? The interior was pretty decent, so I'm guessing the lower number is more likely.

The Next Big Thing: Datsun 710 Theme Song [Music]

Murilee Martin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Sometimes a car speaks to you, and what it says moves you so profoundly that you must burst into song! Such was the case with the Datsun 710 and BABE Rally veteran Timothy Hansen.

Mr. Hansen is also the guy who sold a running '72 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 4.5 to a LeMons racer for 500 bucks, so that we might have a Roten Sau shoving those boring E30s and RX-7s into the perceptual background noise. OK, here's "710" for your dancing enjoyment:

Down On The Alameda Street, 1940s Style: Can You Identify These Mystery Cars? [Ennui Countermeasure]

Murilee Martin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

On my way to the neighborhood taqueria, I passed the Eternal Yard Sale House down the block- every 'hood has one, right?- for the thousandth time... and finally bought something: a 50-year-old photo album with some cool old car photos.

The EYSH is a haunted-looking Victorian that hasn't seen fresh paint since Lyndon Johnson was president, and the endless yard sale represents the efforts of the owners to get rid of the stuff left behind by the long-deceased compulsive hoarder who once lived there. Mostly crap, but a couple bucks is a decent deal for a pair of photo albums (one entitled "A Child Becomes A Woman," documenting the life of a girl from her birth in the mid-1930s through graduation from Alameda High School, and the other a 1942 "Service Album" chronicling a soldier's experiences in various Army camps in New England).

I'll probably drop off these photos at the Alameda Historical Society, but first: Ennui Countermeasure! We've got five photographs, each with a car in the background. You must identify all five.

A couple are slam-dunks, but the blurry 1930s sedan might prove a challenge. A copy of the Standard Catalog Of American Cars 1805-1942 will help here. OK, you want to prove your Detroit Iron expertise? Here's your chance!

Here's proof that we're looking at some very early Alameda DOTS photos: using an address on a school ID card taped inside the photo album as a starting point, I was able to do a little Google Maps sleuthing to find the location of the scene in the previous photograph. Fast-forward 70 years and go about a block away and you'll find a '66 Mercedes-Benz 200D!

Shabbat Shalom, M*FR: Team T-Shirts Of The 24 Hours Of LeMons! [24 Hours Of Lemons]

Murilee Martin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

Since our last LeMons team T-shirt post my shirt collection has nearly doubled; not only do I get them as bribes from teams, but Chief Perp Lamm has kindly ~~dumped~~ given his collection on to me.

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.

The Snake Wants To Put You In A '78 Plymouth Arrow! [Classic Ad Watch]

Murilee Martin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Don "The Snake" Prudhomme did pretty well with his Arrow… and somehow the success of a vaguely Arrow-shaped Funny Car implied that the street version of the badge-engineered Mitsubishi Celeste would also be, you know, not too slow.

Actually, the Arrow did all right for its time, certainly a more interesting car than most of the other vaguely sporty economy machines of the Middle Malaise Era. We wish more Arrows were on the street today, but most were crushed decades ago. Thanks to Joe Hardrock for the tip!

1969 Chevrolet El Camino [Down On The Street]

Murilee Martin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. We now have our first-ever five-time DOTS honoree: WhatWouldJesseDo.

We've already seen Jesse's '66 Datsun 411, his '61 Austin Mini, his '70 Puma GT (now sold to a buyer in Denmark), and his '83 Toyota 4x4 truck. Now he's added this classic Detroit cartruck to his stable.

This El Camino is in very solid, rust-free original condition, and the original Tonawanda-built 2-barrel 350 still sounds fresh. Could this be the only '69 El Camino in the world that doesn't have headers and a Holley 750 double-pumper by now?

The one questionable modification that's been done to this machine might be the "vinyl top" made out of protective bed-liner coating. It looks OK and is likely impervious to meteorite damage, but just doesn't seem like a good idea.

I'm not enough of an El Camino expert to know whether the proper term for this one is "El Camino Malibu" or something else; the '69 El Camino being a Chevelle with a truck bed meant that the Chevelle's Malibu trim package was an available option. Any of you experts out there got an opinion on the subject?

First 500 DOTS Vehicles • DOTS FAQ

EXCLUSIVE: Bugatti Lake Crash Driver Owns Infamous Eddie Griffin-Crashed Ferrari Enzo [Car Crashes]

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:20:00 -0500

Andy House isn't just the man who crashed his Bugatti Veyron into a lake. He's also the man who owns the repaired Ferrari Enzo crashed by actor Eddie Griffin. Holy super car t-shirt meme crash overload!

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.

Being an expert on the topic, we asked him if he'd consider the car salvageable. House's response:

"Not sure if the car is salvageable yet, have not had a chance to go survey the damage."

According to House, this wasn't a company car he was planning to sell but rather a personal car and, despite the Bugatti lake accident, he's not done with the car yet, telling us

"It is by far the nicest car that I have ever owned, looking to replace it now!"

The Veyron itself was released to the insurance company earlier today and, despite claims to the contrary, he insists he was not talking to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the time of the crash.

EXCLUSIVE: Video Of Bugatti Veyron Actually Crashing Into Texas Lake [Car Crashes]

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:20:00 -0500

Remember the amazing $1.6 million Bugatti Veyron lake crash blamed on a low-flying pelican? We have the video of it happening and there's not a freaking pelican in sight. UPDATE: The driver responds!

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!)

News Van Takes Dip In The River [Car Crashes]

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:15:00 -0500

Fayetteville, Arkansas' KFSM satellite truck was on the scene to cover a dramatic water rescue before accidentally becoming part of one. Quick, someone call a Bugatti Veyron owner! (H/T to John!) [Arkansas Blog]

Commenter Of The Day: Dear John Edition [Commenter Of The Day]

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0500

One of the forgotten examples of early post-colonial British-American sitcom imperialism was the show Dear John, which came over to America as Dear John. The premise is simple and similar to the English version, involving a high school teacher who loses everything in his divorce to his wife and is forced to move into an apartment and joins a self-help group of entertaining lonely divorcees. It wasn't a hit but got a full four seasons (back when even bad television got four seasons). Television producers didn't give up on the idea and since then we've had many popular British crossovers, including the wildly successful The Office. Today we told you about a BMW owner who wouldn't give up on his dream of BMW ownership no matter how many loans he defaulted on, though PotbellyJoe has another, equally bad, idea.

A guy I used to work with leased a Mustang in 2000. Already a bad idea. To make matters worse he rolled over his debt from his previous lease into it. So before he started he had an extra $150 a month to pay on top of the already stupid high payment (his negotiation skills were basically, do you have it yellow? how much?)
He came out of the ether in 2002 when he realized he was way over miles again and basically out of cash.

So he goes into a car dealer to find a cheap car to spin off the debt, only to find he's now $10,000 upside down. (I've seen worse believe it on not, and got a bank to approve it, and we wonder what they meant by toxic loans)

Since NJ requires loans to carry gap coverage, he gets it in his head he is going to destroy the car.

So he gets a hotel room in NYC at super shady location. Parks the car out front on the street, leaves the car running and the driver's side window down.

They only took his radio. It ran out of fuel and got ticketed for violating some idling ordinance.

So now he has to find a gas station and a fuel container in a shady-ass part of town. And with the ticket is worried any insurance investigator worth his weight would figure out what was going on whenever he finally did get around to wrecking the thing.

So thoroughly peeved he drives home to the Garden State. Once he gets back to the windy back roads of the state a deer jumps in front of him, he clips it and in his attempts to dodge the deer and being hard on the brakes, he goes off the road and hits a tree. The whole passenger side is screwed up, the hood is pushed and every airbag deployed. Totaled.

The deer, having been only clipped, gets up and starts to run away.

It took him a long time to prove that it really was an accident. But there was a clump of fur in the crack between the headlight and the hood.

Needless to say, that bit of fur saved his ass from a heck of a lot of debt, and probably jail time.

Probably the first time in history a man was happy he had hit a deer

That friend, of course, a principle architect of credit default swaps.

America Needs High-Speed Rail [Trainlopnik]

Sam Smith — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:45:00 -0500

Last month, California's governor quietly killed an effort to improve commuter rail near L.A. Why? He wanted to focus on a bullet train. Don't agree? You're wrong. America needs fast trains.

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

Toyota Cartoon Explains To Kids Why Their Cars All Look Alike [LOLCars]

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500

This screen-cap is from a cartoon Toyota produced to help kids understand how their cars are made. It starts with a meeting, charts and one paranoid engineer noticing "they all look the same..." [Toyota]

73-Year-Old Man Wrecks 10+ Exotics [Car Crashes]

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0500

A septuagenarian businessman from Florida has lots of money and apparently no driving skills, having wrecked ten exotics, including a Ford Indigo concept car, an EB110, and a Yenko Camaro. The full list is incredible. [WreckedExotics]

Chrysler Issues Jeep Recall On Off-Road Tranny Overheating Issue [Recalls]

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Chrysler (remember when we called them Chryslerberus? That was fun) issued a recall on 161,000 Jeeps because they lack a feature indicating their automatic transmission is overheating while wheeling. Would matter if more people actually took Jeeps off-roading. [NYTimes]

Ten Most Important Features Car Buyers Want And Why [Car Tech]

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0500

Carmax, the nations largest used car retailer, has put together the top ten features new car buyers yearn for in online searches. But, rather than just listing them, we've tried to divine why someone might want each of these gadgets.

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.

Porsche Family Private Watch Collection Up For Auction [Car Culture]

Wes Siler — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:15:00 -0500

Hodinkee just tipped us that 49 watches from the Porsche family private collection are up for auction at Bonhams. The best part? With many around $1,600, you could actually afford to own a Porsche heirloom. Full catalog below.

[Bonhams via Hodinkee]

Jalopnik

VIDEO: Ferrari California Power-Slides Into Front End Loader [Car Crashes]

"New" GM Drops Totally Useless Financial Results [Carpocalypse]

1971 Datsun 510 Showcar for $19,000! [Nice Price Or Crack Pipe]

GM To Begin Paying $6.7 Billion In Loans Ahead Of Schedule [Carpocalypse]

Top Gear Season 14, Episode 1: YouTube Open Thread [Top Gear]

Crazy Renault 12 Drivers Making Trip From Argentina To Alaska, In Mexico Now [Road Trips]

Lotus Europa Down On The Los Angeles Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

1972 Lancia Fulvia 1600HF Down On The London Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Ford Transits Down On The Paris Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

1962 Hillman Minx Down On The East Bay Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Forum Wars: “Talk Smack, Then Hit the Track” [Forum Wars]

Engine Of The Day: Studebaker V8 [Engine Of The Day]

Jaguar Mark IX, Jensen GT Down On The Boston Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Another DOTS Car Takes The One-Way Trip From Alameda To The Junkyard [Down On The Junkyard]

Listen To Your Heartbeat In A 1988 Celebrity Eurosport [Classic Ad Watch]

Triumph Spitfire Down On The Seattle StreetE [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Music For Swingin' Transmission Swappers! [Music]

Austin-Healey 100-Six Down On The Denver Street [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

1965 Chevrolet El Camino [Down On The Street]

First 500 DOTS Vehicles • DOTS FAQ

PCH, Italian Coupe For About A Grand Edition: Lancia Beta or Alfa Romeo GTV? [Project Car Hell]

Blowin' Up Toy Cars In Slow Motion! [Hoon Of The Day]

1978 Civic Can't Hang On Long Enough To Be Worth Restoring, Faces Crusher [Down On The Junkyard]

The Next Big Thing: Datsun 710 Theme Song [Music]

Down On The Alameda Street, 1940s Style: Can You Identify These Mystery Cars? [Ennui Countermeasure]

Shabbat Shalom, M*****F****R: Team T-Shirts Of The 24 Hours Of LeMons! [24 Hours Of Lemons]

The Snake Wants To Put You In A '78 Plymouth Arrow! [Classic Ad Watch]

1969 Chevrolet El Camino [Down On The Street]

First 500 DOTS Vehicles • DOTS FAQ

EXCLUSIVE: Bugatti Lake Crash Driver Owns Infamous Eddie Griffin-Crashed Ferrari Enzo [Car Crashes]

EXCLUSIVE: Video Of Bugatti Veyron Actually Crashing Into Texas Lake [Car Crashes]

News Van Takes Dip In The River [Car Crashes]

Commenter Of The Day: Dear John Edition [Commenter Of The Day]

America Needs High-Speed Rail [Trainlopnik]

Toyota Cartoon Explains To Kids Why Their Cars All Look Alike [LOLCars]

73-Year-Old Man Wrecks 10+ Exotics [Car Crashes]

Chrysler Issues Jeep Recall On Off-Road Tranny Overheating Issue [Recalls]

Ten Most Important Features Car Buyers Want And Why [Car Tech]

Porsche Family Private Watch Collection Up For Auction [Car Culture]

Shabbat Shalom, M*FR: Team T-Shirts Of The 24 Hours Of LeMons! [24 Hours Of Lemons]