Auto Clerks

newVideoPlayer(”challenger-track.flv”, 494, 371,”");Loyal reader Jack found himself at Irwindale Raceway in SoCal yesterday for the run what ya brung night and lookie what was there, a brand new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8. Here we catch of glimpse of the lady-driver givin’ it to a Honda Civic SI in an 1/8th mile run which sees the new Mopar take it easy all the way to a winning finish. At least that’s what we hope we’re seeing. If a Challenger doesn’t obliterate an SI at the strip something is wrong. [Youtube via Jack]

Original post by Ben Wojdyla

Already one of the most overpriced and unnecessary vehicles on sale, the 2009 Mercedes G-Wagen is getting more power and more fuel consumption. The G500 gains a new 5.5-liter V8 and with it a 30% improvement in power. While 382bhp and a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds might sound ridiculous to you or I, it’s positively necessary for the G-Wagen’s celebrity clientele, enabling them to run away from paparazzi and run over peons in a much more efficient manner. To disguise the vehicle’s thirty-year old shape, Mercedes have seen fit to add fancy new alloys and a cleaner, three-slat grill, too. The sycophantic press release follows the jump.

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Stuttgart - It has been the definitive cross-country vehicle since 1979. It has won the Paris-Dakar Rally, is deemed a worthy means of transport for the Pope, ranks as an automotive design icon, is a serial winner of readers’ polls and constitutes the gene pool for a Mercedes-Benz SUV family that now numbers four model series in all. It is, of course - the G-Class. It has been in production for 29 years now, making the G-Class by far the longest-serving passenger car model series there has been since Mercedes-Benz came into existence in 1886. And its haul of superlatives is set to grow still further, because the G-Class is subject to continual updating that keeps it in touch with the very latest motoring technology. This time, once again, the exterior has only been modernised to a limited degree quite deliberately. The advances mainly centre on the vehicle’s telematics, along with the new 5.5-litre V8 engine that is available for the G 500.
From the outside, the newest generation of the G-Class can be identified by its restyled, three-fin radiator grille, with the G 500 sporting new-look 18‑inch light-alloy wheels as an additional distinguishing feature. The model range continues to comprise three different body variants (short-wheelbase Station Wagon, long-wheelbase Station Wagon and Cabriolet), which are either powered by the fuel-efficient V6 CDI engine generating 165 kW/224 hp and 540 newton metres or a new, mighty 5.5-litre V8 petrol unit with an output of 285 kW/388 hp and 530 newton metres of torque. This new engine propels the G‑Class to sports-car-like performance*: the dash from 0 to 100 km/h is completed in just 5.9 seconds.
New telematics generation with useful extra functions
The latest edition of the G-Class is equipped with the advanced, more user-friendly generation of telematics technology. A Bluetooth hands-free system for mobile phones is built in as standard. A new media interface can also be specified as an option that allows an external music storage device to be linked up to the off-roader’s on-board electronics and control system. Audio tracks appear in the instrument cluster and in the centre console’s colour display, and can be simply called up by using the buttons on the multifunction steering wheel. The audio device’s battery is recharged at the same time. The Audio 20 CD including a built-in six-disc CD changer is standard for the G 320 CDI models. This unit includes a dual tuner for superior radio reception, speed-sensitive volume control, as well as a keypad for entering telephone numbers and radio frequencies. There is also a Bluetooth interface which establishes a wireless connection between a mobile phone and the vehicle’s hands-free system.
COMAND APS standard on G 500
All G 500 model versions feature the COMAND APS infotainment system with a built-in six-disc DVD changer. The system’s specification includes hard-disc navigation with a tracking function outside digitised areas, telephone operation, plus a special off‑road menu. COMAND APS also incorporates the new LINGUATRONIC system with extended functionality. The voice-operated control now recognises whole-word commands, which can be spoken by anyone without the need to train the system first. The system is simply activated by means of a control on the right of the multifunction steering wheel. It can be used for making a call by saying the telephone number, controlling the audio system, calling up the global address book and operating the navigation system. COMAND APS may also be combined with the optional TV tuner and reversing camera.
There are other equipment options too: for the ultimate in listening pleasure there is the Harman Kardon® Logic7® surround sound system with 12 high-performance speakers and an output of 450 watts, while climatised seats offer enhanced seating comfort for the driver and front passenger.
G-Class: a success story that spans three decades
The classic Mercedes-Benz Cross-Country Vehicle serves up a majestic blend of high-performance powertrain and dynamic handling control systems. In addition to permanent all-wheel drive with a low-range ratio and the 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission, the standard specification includes the electronically controlled traction system 4ETS, the Electronic Stability Program ESP®, as well as three differential locks which can be engaged at the push of a button. Since Mercedes-Benz first commissioned Magna Steyr in the Austrian city of Graz to produce the G-Class in 1979, close on 200,000 have been built. And this enduring success story is far from over: the “G”, as it is affectionately known, will continue to round off Mercedes-Benz’s high-calibre line-up of SUVs alongside the GL, ML and GLK‑Class, and is due to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2009.
New model available from September 2008

Original post by Wes Siler

Why you should buy the 2008 BMW 128i Convertible: You just found out that the Botox you had injected straight into your eyelid didn’t leak into your brain thereby ending an existence that has, up to now, been mostly pointless. No longer. Your new life is going to have meaning, you’re going to shun materialism and embrace the world. To celebrate this epiphany you’re going to buy a blue one, because blue is the color of tranquility.

Why you shouldn’t buy this car: You can’t afford the kind of girls that are attracted to men in little BMW convertibles. You’re short and scrawny with girlishly long hair and the sight of those skinny arms next to that thick steering wheel and pudgy body just makes you look that much more like an Abigail Breslin body double. You like the simple things in life and you don’t have $50,000 to blow on a car that can’t carry your laser tag gear. You want a capable sports car that’s fast, fun and simple.

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Suitability Parameters:
Speed Merchants: No
Fashion Victims: Yes
Treehuggers: No
Mack Daddies: No
Tuner Crowd: No
Hairdressers: Yes
Penny Pinchers: No
Euro Snobs: Yes
Working Stiffs: No
Technogeeks: Yes
Poseurs: Yes
Soccer Moms: No
Nascar Dads: No
Golfing Grandparents: Yes

Also Consider:
• VW Eos
• Mini Cooper S Convertible
• Mazda MX-5
• Volvo C70
• A well-sorted 1992 325i convertible with Eibach springs and shocks, Yokohama AVS Intermediates, AP Racing brakes, a K&N filter, Borla exhaust, performance chip, a sweet 5-speed manual and performance driving lessons.

Vitals:
• Manufacturer: BMW
• Model year: 2008
• Base Price: $33,100
• Price as Tested: $33,100 plus a Suzuki ($47,395)
• Engine type: 3.0-Liter DOHC I6
• Horsepower: 230 @ 6,500 RPM
• Torque: 200 @ 2,750 RPM
• Transmission: 6-Speed STEPTRONIC Automatic Transmission
• Curb Weight: 3,571 lbs
• LxWxH: 171.7″ x 68.8″ x 58.0″
• Wheelbase: 104.7″
• Tires: P205/55R17
• 0 - 60 mph: 7.0 Seconds
• EPA Fuel economy city/highway: 18/27 MPG
• NHTSA crash test rating: NA

Also see:

• 2008 BMW 128i Convertible, Part One
• 2008 BMW 128i Convertible, Part Two

Original post by Matt Hardigree

When a company does all that work to build a brand you’d think they’d be careful about letting it go to crap for a couple of extra bucks. But companies love extra bucks and, when nothing else is going for them, they can always leverage awareness. Take the VW Caddy Carrera, a special edition VW van from Porsche? Really? Though we admit it looks sort of hot. A classic example is the Cadillac Cimarron which answered the question “Could people still respect a luxury car company if they made a version of the Olds Firenza?” That one took a while to recover from.

We’re also partial to the Mustang II. A Pinto-based Mustang? Great idea. And don’t forget about all the non-car products that Travis follows in the Auto Branding Adventures. There are countless examples but our question is, what’s the worst?

Original post by Matt Hardigree

We miss the golden days of our innocent past when people crossed that glorious border into Mexico for tequila, weed and whores. Then their laborers started creeping across the border into our country in larger numbers. As revenge, we passed NAFTA and sent all of our jobs to Mexico. Suckers. But now Mexico has something of the non-illicit variety that we pine for: cheap gas. Residents in Southern California near the border can, for instance, cross into Tijuana for gas as cheap as $2.75 a gallon, as opposed to upwards of $4.00 on the US side. Diesel fuel is almost half as expensive in Mexico.

Said one Mexican resident, “I’m tired of these dry backs crossing into OUR country to take OUR fuel. If they’re not smart enough to take care of their economy I don’t get why we have to support them.” Check it out, an entire post about Mexican gas without a taco joke. Victory! [NBC San Diego, Photo: RunOfTheWorld]

Original post by Matt Hardigree

When is a Carrera not a Porsche? When it’s this VW Caddy Van Carrera Cup Edition, a special model evidently designed to be either a support vehicle for Porsche gentlemen racers, or a wanna-be racer for European handymen. We’re not exactly sure if this has anything to do with Porsche and VW’s on-again, off-again relationship, but the Caddy panel van has been decked out just like a 911 GT3 RS. Though you can only buy it in the land of meatballs, gummy fish and strangely hypnotic chefs — Sweden. So what goods does this track day van pack under the hood?

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Powering the V-Dub Carrera van is the 140 HP 2.0-liter turbo-diesel. That’s good for 0-to-60 in 10.6 seconds. We’re not sure if that makes it technically the first diesel Porsche or not. Probably there’s rules on that like you have to have an actual Porsche badge on the vehicle and it had to have been built by the German automaker that now pretty much owns this one. Whatever. Those are like technicalities. Either way, we’d be more than happy to run errands with this thing. [Bil.feber via CarScoop]

Original post by Mark Arnold

newVideoPlayer(”90_Isuzu_Truck_476.flv”, 506, 423,”");
You could get a ‘90 Isuzu pickup for a few hundred bucks less than its Toyota competitor, and the Isuzu beat the Toyota in a couple of areas… but we’re pretty sure that Toyota execs just had to take a glance at the Warlord Truck Approval Rating™ in order to restore their confidence. When’s the last time you saw a warlord army driving Isuzus?

Original post by Murilee Martin

Sure, they’re not only not cool, but we really can’t stand them, but some of the most efficient vehicles on the market are five-door subcompacts and eight-passenger minivans. So what happens what you combine the two? Well, if you’re Honda, you start with a Jazz, or as it’s known in America, the Honda Fit, and then make it just a touch bigger to fit a third row of seats. Then, swap in some rear sliding doors, and you’ve got yourself a compact minivan that can seat up to eight people. But just how mini is it?

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The Freed has a 107.8″ wheelbase, which sits nicely between the 96.5″ wheelbase of the Fit, and the 118.1″ wheelbase of the American-market Honda Odyssey. Overall length is 166″ compared to the Fit’s 157″ and 202″ for the Odyssey. So, where does this stand on the Jalopnik Niche-Slap Machine-o-Meter? Well, it’s no El Camino, but its certainly better than some of the ridiculously meaningless crossovers that are all the rage these days. The Freed has practicality to make up for its lack of cool — and that, is kinda cool. Alas, like all good JDM cars, there’s no expectations for the Freed to ever be sold in America. Somebody call Japan and tell them we’ll give them all the Jeep Compasses they want, if we can get the Freed. [NihonCar]

Original post by Mark Arnold

According to the Japanese daily newspaper Tokyo Shimbun, unnamed sources inside Toyota have informed them the company is in talks to assemble the new Toyota Prius hybrid in the United States in partnership with General Motors. Say what? That Toyota wants to build the next-generation Prius in the United States, given its popularity (they’re harder to find) and a weaker dollar, that isn’t the hugest surprise. The choice of Fremont, California would be an interesting choice as it means the Prius would be built at the NUMMI plant, a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. The plant currently builds both the Toyota Corolla as well as the Pontiac Vibe — both built on the same shared platform.

The choice of whether or not to allow the Prius to be assembled in the United States (most of the parts will likely be built in China/Japan) or the choice of production facilities is probably more Toyota’s than GM’s. More importantly, according to one Toyota spokesperson, they are actually contemplating the decision:

“Nothing has been decided on production of Prius at the joint venture New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., even though Toyota is always seeking ways to build the most appropriate production system.”

This brings all sorts of questions to mind. Like whether GM would get their own version of the Prius to sell? Would they license the powertrain? What does this mean for the Chevy Volt expected to come to market in the next two years? All we know is given how much Californians love the Prius it would be like building a sweet tea factory in Lufkin. [Tokyo Shimbun via Carscoop]

Original post by Matt Hardigree

Posted By:Phil LeBeauIn the last 10 years, the Big 3 have struggled to come up with sedans to beat the Camry, Corolla, Civic and Altima. In fact, if you look at the top 10 best selling cars right now, only 4 are American models: The Ford Focus, Chevy Cobalt, Malibu and Impala.     Read More Topics:Marketing | Alternative Energy | Energy | Japan | Economy (U.S.) | Asia | Automobile IndustrySectors:Oil and Gas | Automobiles and PartsCompanies:Toyota Motor Corporation | General Motors Corp | Honda Motor Company, Ltd. | Ford Motor CompanyPermalink

Original post by Ray Wert