If the ad campaign is any indication, those of us born in the late 1970s are the demographic Pontiac's aiming at with the G8. First, there was the Spy Hunter themed TV spot, and now this one, which pays homage to the seminal car-guy experience of zooming around on a carpet in 1/64 scale. Hey, we're cool with that. The G8 GT does induce heart palpitations in many of us who still cling to our battle-scarred collection of now-vintage Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars with our initials etched into the underside. Like many of the other tiny cars we racked up miles on, a miniature G8 would have made us wish for either a shrink-ray, or a personal fortune by the time we hit 16 so we could buy a real one. Video embedded after the jump.
Click above for high-res gallery of the V Eight Jenson Interceptor
Any automotive enthusiast can quote you the story of the Cobra; the British AC Ace stuffed with a Ford V8, a strategy that was equally successful for Sunbeam with its Tiger - right down to the Ford small-block V8 - though the Cobra later got the FE big block. Perhaps less well known are the GTs to come out of Jensen. We even featured one of these more obscure English muscle-machines as a Reader Ride a while back. The original Jensen Interceptor sported a body designed by Italy's Touring, and various flavors of Mopar V8 were nestled in the nose. Nearly 40 years on, V Eight LTD is engaging in some revisionist history.
The Jensen Interceptor S by V Eight is essentially a total rebuilding of an original Interceptor, with many key areas upgraded with modern components. A General Motors LS2 sends 414 horsepower to the independently sprung rear wheels through a modern five-speed automatic transmission. The stock chassis calibration has been upgraded as well, and 17-inch wheels couple tire to tarmac. £75,000 pounds will get you a hand-rebuilt and upgraded Jensen that's a significant improvement in quality over the original, while also benefitting from decades of advancement in engine management. Some might yawn at the small block and its virtual hotrodding ubiquity, and a more esoteric powertrain swap would be equally exciting. We'd be just as puppy-dog waggy over a twin-turbo VQ V6 smashed in there, but who can argue with a vintage sports car that never fails to light off instantly, idles demurely, and can snap the tendons in your neck when you flatten the pedal, all wrapped in an uncommon body shell? Any chance we could get one to sample for the Autoblog Garage? Thanks for the tip, Pottz!
Click above for high-res gallery of the 1957 Chrysler Diablo Concept
When we think of the words 'Chrysler' and 'Diablo' together, memories come to mind of a time when the American automaker owned Lamborghini and unveiled a successor to the iconic Countach model. But that's not what this is. The Chrysler Diablo Concept actually dates back to 1957 when it was the star of the U.S. auto show circuit. Most of the Autoblog staff wasn't alive back then, but they tell us it was like when the Dodge Viper Concept first debuted in 1989. The car was originally conceived by Chrysler's renowned design head, Virgil Exner, and is an example of aerodynamic design study in the '50s. It's said that the car's shape was inspired by watching ink blots blown by 200 mph winds across the surface of plastic models, which we don't really see in the svelte shape but we'll take their word for it. The 22-foot-long car is built on a shortened 1955 Chrysler 300 series chassis and features a soft convertible top that was added by the Italian styling firm Ghia, who tweaked the car's design by reworking the fins and painting it red (it was originally black) before the car debuted on the 1957 U.S. auto show circuit. The Diablo reportedly cost Chrysler over $250,000 to develop, and we imagine that it will sell for a lot more when it goes up for auction at this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in the RM Auctions' Sports & Classics of Monterey event. Check out some gorgeous high-res photogrophy of the Chrysler Diablo Concept in the gallery below because, like us, that's probably as close as you'll ever get to it.
We got a tip yesterday that Geo Metros were being auctioned on eBay Motors for prices above what the tiny cars cost new. This auction for a 1993 Geo Metro XFI with just 22,501 miles ended yesterday with a winning bid of $7,200! Why has the resale value of the Metro and other tiny econocrap cars gone through the roof? The simple answer: gas prices. Vehicles like the Metro, the Suzuki Swift on which it's based, Ford Aspire and Festiva, and Hyundai Excel were around before federal safety regulations and public pressure demanded that every car survive an impact from any angle with five stars. That kind of safety adds weight, and modern econocars are therefore much heavier and therefore less fuel efficient than they were in the early '90s.
The aforementioned Metro XFI is powered by an anemic 1.0L three-cylinder engine producing just 49 hp, but it returns between 55 and 60 mpg. Cars like this defined the phrase 'fuel-sipping' and made passing on the highway a strategic maneuver involving lots of planning. But the XFI is now apparently the holy grail for used car shoppers willing to sacrifice modern amenities and a bit of safety to save a buck on fuel. The trick is finding an example with low miles that hasn't rusted to pieces or been abused by an angry teenager who wanted a Mustang instead. If you do find one, you'll have what automakers are now just unable to offer: a cheap small car that doesn't use expensive technology to achieve incredible fuel economy. But you better willing to pay for it. Thanks for the tip, Lynn!
Fans of going as fast as possible in a straight line, which includes some of us at Autoblog, have reason to rejoice. Chrysler has officially announced that the drag package for its upcoming Challenger, initially shown at SEMA in late 2006, will be released on an unsuspecting public. Previous rumors have the drag pack getting hi-po versions of the 5.9-liter Magnum and Hemi V8's, while jettisoning around eight-hundred pounds of dead weight unnecessary for mass-acceleration. The National Hot Rod Association is said to be going through the package as we speak in order to certify it for racing duty. After all of the necessary paperwork is complete, the Challenger is expected to race in the Stock Eliminator class. According to Chrysler spokeswoman Patricia Georgevich, Chrysler is looking at a possible introduction in July.
Jonathan Schipper started grinding models of muscle cars into each other like tectonic plates as a way to express the "slow, inevitable death of American Muscle," and he's progressed to using two actual cars at an installation at Chicago's NEXT Art fair.
Well, let us tell you, Jonathan: American muscle is alive and well. Taken a look at horsepower ratings lately? How about some recent Nurburgring lap times from GM products? Time and technology have marched on from the Firebird and Camaro of the Foghat era, so there's no need to give two examples a slow ride into each other's sheetmetal just to point out that there's hardly any around. Cars are a commodity, so by nature, old cars will "die off" through crashes, rusting away, or being recycled for parts and then sold for scrap. It could be that we just don't get it, but really, maybe Schipper could learn how to paint like Von Dutch if he wants to do art with cars. This particular piece makes Piss Christ look like the Mona Lisa. Time-lapse video after the jump - thanks for the tip, Joe!
The epic saga of Unique Performance and its fall from grace isn't over yet. An auction was held in March to help clear the bankrupt company's back debts, but it only raised $1 million. That wasn't enough to compensate the many ripped-off owners and fleeced employees, not to mention the federal government. Auction firm Rosen Systems has a new, very spare listing on its website for another Unique Performance auction coming up on the 24th of June. The scarce information offered by Rosen Systems only states "approximately 40 Mustang Fastback shells, body parts, tools, lifts." A catalog of items to be offered for this online-only event has yet to be released, but it's safe to assume that these are the items that failed to sell the first time around. We're not sure we'd consider this auction a good way to get a viable Mustang body unit, with reports of multiple gallons of body filler in each car. Thanks for the tip, Cameron!
Think of what the automotive landscape looked like nigh on 25 years ago. Mentioning "family car" in 1983 would have conjured a station wagon. Some of us dig wagons, while others think we're daft because of the stigma they still carry. There's no denying that a wagon is an excellent way to transport kids and stuff, but those beasts of yesteryear often led to yearnings for an alternative. We all remember getting carsick while sitting in the rear-facing third row torture chamber, cut off from the rest of the family and their future-looking vantage point. The tailgunner position was a great way to test out new hand gestures on following motorists, though.
When the Chrysler minivans were revealed to the world in 1983 as 1984 models, they were a revelation. The Caravan and Voyager were not the first vans based on compact chassis, but they were such a successful combination of the elements that sales took off and imitators sprang up only after Chrysler had firmly established its status as the segment trendsetter. Continued after the jump.
Click either image for exclusive pics of Inside Line's road trip
Seems like you can't revive a modern day muscle car these days without having a classic movie tie-in. The Ford Mustang has got Steve McQueen's classic Bullitt, and the Dodge Challenger has got Vanishing Point. In fact, we've already seen one Vanishing Point-inspired Challenger meet its maker on Turn 2 at Road America. Inside Line recently had its first turn behind the wheel of a 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 and also decided to pay its respects to Kowalski's opus. They took the brand new Challenger on a little road trip following the fateful path of Kowalski in the movie from Denver, Colorado to San Francisco, California. Just for kicks, they brought along a vintage 1970 Dodge Challenger that's a near perfect copy of the one used in Vanishing Point. The classic iron was, however, packing a slightly modified motor putting out 607 horsepower, but details, details... The article is definitely worth a read if only to vicariously absorb what it feels like to go 170 mph in a new Challenger, and the Inside Line team was also kind enough to supply us with a few of their spare high-res images for an Autoblog exclusive gallery below.
Click above for a high resolution gallery of the Larry H. Miller Auto Museum
We've all imagined what we would do with a winning lottery ticket or limitless amounts of money. For us here at Autoblog, that fantasy usually involves a large number of automobiles in a multi-car garage. Larry Miller is one of those guys who's living our dream. As the owner of the Utah Jazz, numerous car dealerships, radio and television stations, movie theaters, and a race track, money is not a problem for Mr. Miller. He's used those finances to amass quite a collection of automobiles, particularly historic Shelby and Fords, that are kept at a museum at Miller Motorsports Park. During our recent visit to the track to drive the Shelby GT500KR, we took a tour of the incredible collection. The museum includes several impressive Shelbys, including the second oldest Cobra, the 1966 Le Mans winning GT40 MkII, the MkIV GT40 that won the 1967 12 hours of Sebring, and one of the six Shelby Daytona Coupes. The museum houses only part of Miller's collection, the rest of which can be found at the Shelby museum in Boulder, CO. We know you'd never forgive us if we left the museum without taking photos, so enjoy the gallery below.
Audi A3 TDI Clubsport Quattro concept
Spy Shots: Production Audi TT Clubsport Quattro
Chevy Camaro getting early unveil at Indy in September
James Garner recovering from mild stroke
VIDEO: God's ringtone is a V10-powered Audi R8
First Drive: 2009 Ford Escapes, more of almost everything
Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang
Future Classic: 1984 Chrysler Minivans
_thumbnail.jpg "Lamborghini Reventon unboxed in Las Vegas")
