By Chris Trout

Troutster52

One of the big concerns for those of us observing the automotive market and community is the fate of Chrysler. Rob and I as well as many others have written on the subject of their potential impending doom, merge with Fiat, and resulting product line.

Sergio Marchionne finally revealed the product lines we can expect in the coming years, and in doing so confirmed some rumors, clarified others, and dispelled others. For those of you that didn’t catch the news, I will provide the highlights, from a smattering of news sources that I caught.

Marchionne has a lot to wrestle into submission at Chrysler, including ailing sales, debt to the government and others, a poor reputation for quality and fuel mileage, and an uninspiring product line. Since few of you have business degrees, and even fewer give a lug nut about the entire financial climate, I am going to provide a car guy’s lens on the new product overview.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Word on Chrysler" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

At the Hyundai booth this year, it was about the Genesis Coupe. There was only one Genesis sedan on display, and I liked how there was an artist hand-painting a graphic onto the front and rear fenders. There was also Hyundai’s 2.0T R-Spec version on-hand, which is basically a 2.0T Track without power seats, a sunroof, trick interior lighting, and other creature comforts. It’s 68lbs lighter and $3000 the Track, and while it didn’t exactly pop against the trick offerings from Hennessey, Greddy, and Rhys Millen Racing, it’s cool to see the company offering this package. Of the three tuned offerings on display, the clear standout was Rhys Millen Racing’s mid-engine 480HP V8 version. The engine bay was absolutely sick, and while it and the interior were packed to the gills with carbon fiber bits, the overall effect was almost subtle, and the orange paint looked like six miles deep. Hit the jump to see more pictures from the booth, including walk-around videos of all the cars.

Continue reading "All Up in Their Booth: Hyundai at SEMA" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

There really aren’t many things NASCAR driver Robby Gordon hasn’t raced. At SEMA, Chad from BangShift caught up with him in the Magnaflow booth to talk about cubic inches, high horsepower, his daily drivers and his burly Hummer. Hey guys, how about taking it easy on Nads?

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

After getting to see it in person at SEMA, I have to say I think Ferrari screwed the pooch with the back end of the California. With the top up it looks decent… but topless it’s just a fail. Tough to say, but true. The 458 Italia though, looks stunning. Damn. Autocar has the scoop on all the sexy little exterior touches, and got to take the new Cavallino it for a spin. RIP the gated shift…

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Here’s a big thanks to all the vets out there. And in honor of you guys, here’s the Jeep J8 that the Army is getting soon (the rest of us civilians just get to drool). More pics at Jalopnik

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

For this week’s eBay Motors Showdown, I present you with two cars that dominated magazine covers when I was a kid. This 1984 Ferrari 512 BBi looks to be a nice red/black example from the last year of production. And this 1987 Lamborghini Countach was a special order car for Mario Andretti. Which would you choose?

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

The engine explosion of the European Maid pulling tractor has graced this website a time or two, but never in high quality television footage. This is the one where the motor explodes and the block actually leaves the ballyard, or in this case, the frame of the tractor.

You may have seen it before, but never like this:

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

While cleaning out the ol’ hard drive, I came across some photos from a Studebaker Drivers Club regional meeting in Rutland earlier this year and recalled that I spent most of that show going around and shooting Studebaker (and Packard) gauge clusters. Man, they really knew how to put a good dashboard together. More pics at Hemmings

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

This car is getting famous all over the world and has been featured in many VW magazines, blogs and forums. When you look closely at this build, it’s clear why it was recently on the cover of Performance VW magazine; this Golf is a top-end, high quality car. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Kevin Raekelboom

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

So it’s time to kick of our Best of SEMA voting, and I thought I’d start with muscle. There were a ton of cool muscle cars at SEMA this year (half of them were Camaros), so it was difficult to narrow it down to just five cars. But here goes. For your consideration, the Mustang RTR-C, the Tjin Edition Camaro, the Super Cuda, the Ring Brothers Fairlane and the Tom Nelson Camaro. Vote for your favorite, and be sure to come back over the next two weeks to vote on vehicles in each of ten categories. We’ll announce the winners shorly after Thanksgiving.

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