Edmunds just the put the new Challenger up against the Mustang Bullitt. The Bullitt comes with a manual tranny, weighs 600 pounds less and is $5,400 cheaper. But the Challenger smoked it in the quarter, edged it out in the slalom, has a higher quality interior and a usable back seat. Hmmm....

I have to own up to a huge hole I've had in my automotive background: I don't know poop about automatic transmissions. Until Wednesday, that is, when I spent the morning at Ford's Van Dyke Transmission Plant (VDTP) getting a crash course in Transmission 101. The launch of the new 6F midrange (6F-35) transmission for the Ford Escape was the focus of the event, which included over an hour of training on the basics of automatics, and an extensive plant tour to show off what $370 million dollars can do to one of the biggest pits in the automotive manufacturing business: it can turn it into a highly automated, extremely clean, and very-low-error-rate production facility. We're not used to hearing about American auto companies dumping money into operations, but this is a clear case of spending that works. The new transmissions offer fuel economy and drivability gains that will be welcome in the US market. Continue reading after the jump...

After procrastinating for way too long, I have finally moved my CRX to the front burner. It's going to be my new track car, and the first order of business was to replace the world's worst aftermarket steering wheel with a Momo that I scored online. It was tonight's afterwork project.

Obviously I wasn't the only one who detested this wheel, as the hub bore evidence that an earlier removal had been attempted. The scars told the story of a battle lost. Fortunately I had an ally: the correct tool for the job. I am still amazed how people will bent, pry and slam when, in my case, a simple steering wheel puller did the job in no time flat. While I don't own one, I was able to borrow it from our local AutoZone. Today's lesson: The correct tool can often be the difference between an evening filled with frustration and a job well done.

One of the perks of my job is that I get a chance to go to some very cool places and, in turn, drive some amazing cars. Last fall I crossed the Atlantic to visit what I would call "the happiest place on earth" for car nuts. No, not Disneyland Paris: I’m talking about Prodrive’s test facility in the UK.

My main point of the trip was to hang with the Subaru World Rally Team during Wales Rally GB, courtesy of Subaru of America--quite an adventure in itself. But it's one thing to talk cars and watch them zip by at breakneck speed. It's so much better to be driving them, which is why I so looked forward to the Prodrive visit.

I had the chance to drive a 2007 Type UK STI on Prodrive’s private road course and then tried my hand on the ice simulator, behind the wheel of a UK 2008 WRX (all of these cars were all right-hand drive, by the way). But those Subies were nothing when compared to my final car of the day: Yes, I had the chance to drive a Prodrive Group-N WRC car. Continue reading after the jump...

The is probably the coolest redneck limo we've seen, and we can't wait to see what you all come up with. Do you think it has enough doors? You know the drill: come up with a caption for the picture below by noon PST next Thursday. If you submit the funniest one, we'll send you a great big bag of CarDomain swag. And remember to leave a link to your Ride Page so I can contact you. Unfortunately, if you live outside the United States, you'll have to pay your own postage. Good luck!

If you're ever traveling overnight to a racetrack that offers "garage suites" like Virginia International Raceway does—you must get one. The suite at VIR has a spacious bay down below and a full studio apartment up top—so it's already pretty close to my idea of a dream home—but what makes it the coolest thing ever is that the hotel balcony overlooks the racetrack's entire front stretch. So you can roll in at any time of the day or night, wrench on your ride until you fall into bed, then wake up the next morning to panoramic views of race cars screaming past your front door and not even have to drive more than a few hundred feet to join the starting grid for your session. Does that beat the hell out of a Motel 6 or what? More after the jump...

Since the Caption Contest has been generating so many entries, we decided it might be a good idea to start naming runners up in addition to the winner. How can we be so generous? We can't really explain, it's just the way we are. So without further ado, here are this week's runners up. Our second runner up is Jim, who came up with "$#!t...get the ice scraper," and our first runner up is Raymond Curtis, who submitted "Frosty the Snowman's family will never forget that fateful day when his airbag accidentally deployed." But our overall winner is Rob Krider, who came up with "And that was the last time Dad asked me to shovel the driveway." Congrats gentlemen! If you didn't win, don't worry! We'll have another Caption Contest tomorrow!

Check out all these tough One Lap cars launching off the starting line at the BMW Performance Center for their autocross session: the Lotus 7 replica, the Ford GT, the Ultima GTR, the Porsche 996, and the Challenger. I like the sound of the Ford GT, but if you've got speakers I'm sure you can pick out your own favorite.

Ok, I can see what Goodyear was going for here. After all, I'd prefer that my girlfriend not have to change a tire on the side of the road at night. But the dramatic music and frantic jump cuts while the woman is driving are a little over the top. Even back in the '70s, I'm sure there were plenty of ladies who could handle driving to the airport without having a panic attack. It's hilarious this was ever played in prime time. Thanks to Winding Road for finding it.

Our second stop yesterday after CMP was the BMW Performance Center, the manufacturer's world-class testing facility and racing school. The track was great, and the autocross course they'd set up was a great boon for our Boxer4Racing team, since Rankins' primary background is in autocross racing. He cleaned house, while our closest competition, the 400 hp Neon, got a DNF after his front splitter came loose and he spun out on the front stretch.

This customized P1800 is posted for sale over on ClassicCars.com. Personally, I think the ghost flames look awful, and the hood scoop and grill are also pretty lame. But this vintage Volvo does have a few things going for it. The stock mill has been swapped for a Chevy 350—pushing a very respectable 420 horses—the lipstick interior is dead sexy, and the wheels look sick. While the attention to detail is impressive, and the old Swede has been featured in Hot Rod and Super Rod, even with that pedigree, the seller's $90,000 asking price seems steep. What do you think? Worth the money?

Not sure if you'd be able to fit a sheet of plywood in the back, but this '84 Vette with '91 rear and a functional tailgate is still pretty hilarious. $115k invested, first $35k takes it. More pics after the jump. ClassyAuto via Jalopnik.

There's a 2009 GTR along on this year's One Lap, driven by Tony Swan of Car & Driver Magazine. They'll be giving full coverage of the event, but not until their September issue hits the shelves late this summer. My understanding is that the car is basically stock—the decision to run it on One Lap was kind of last-minute, and the idea is to show what the GTR can do in its factory form. The car is doing pretty well, though Toby says it's a handful in the rain on its factory Bridgestone Potenza RE070's: it pretty much fell on its face at Texas World Speedway. He lucked out today at VIR though, where a downpour was promised but only a sparse few raindrops fell during his run.

Have you ever hopped in your car, only to discover it wasn't yours? When I was in college, I jumped into a Honda that wasn't mine, and my Mom just did the same thing yesterday with her Hyundai. Funny stuff. Anyway, here's the news:

• Even though there were screams of protest from Porsche purists upon its release, the Cayenne has been a financial boon for the company. So it makes sense to make a crossover. Right? Check out these shots of it testing at the Ring. AutoExpress
• Given that SUVs are selling for peanuts, it's not a huge surprise that Korean manufacturers Kia and Hyundai are dropping plans to introduce a pickup. With gas prices climbing steadily, they'll probably want to keep making all the small cars they can. Automotive News
• If your GPS is good enough, getting lost is already a thing of the past. But now you can even download the positions of traffic cameras and known speed traps, so it might just keep you from getting popped for speeding. Pretty cool. Wired
• Motorcycle riders in Louisiana will no longer have to wear helmets, as the law is being repealed. The really interesting thing about this story? It says that less than half of states require them. In a nanny state like the US, I'd figure that number would be higher. KFDM News

Some guy in California popped the hood of his F-150 to find a Pit Bull staring back at him. The pooch was stuck there for several hours, and before it finally wriggled its way out, managed to chew up the ignition system pretty good.

First time I’ve seen this. The rear canard/fender setup is NUTS! Front shot after the jump.