By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

The owner cut pieces of square tube-steel on an angle to make a toothy rictus for his GMC pickup. The result is something you sure wouldn't want jumping out at you from a dark alley at night. Don't get too close, you might lose an arm!

By John Coyle

Editor

The Vatican has proposed adding polluting the earth to the list of the seven deadly sins. That's cool and all, but my favorites are still lust, gluttony and sloth. Here's the news:

• Though it's been going on for weeks, and has affected 29 of its plants, GM is staying out of the strike at American Axle. Given that the only products the strike is affecting are trucks and SUVs—products which GM is flush with—this might actually be good for the General. At least for a while. Auto Observer
• Audi is the latest European automaker to consider bringing production to the US. All this "coming to America" business is starting to make me nervous. After all, companies aren't moving here because they think the dollar is going to get stronger. Auto Week
• BMW has just completed a study on the feasibility of launching a micro car for the Indian market. No word on what the verdict was, but the report did say that production should be based in the United States to save money. Kidding. World Car Fans
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that in 2005, 1% of traffic accidents occurred after the person behind the wheel became incapacitated. So what's the right thing to do in this situation? The California Highway Patrol has some ideas. LA Times

By John

Editor

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy—whew, say that three times fast!—just released a list of the greenest and meanest cars in America, and on the green side, Toyota's Prius came up a big, fat loser. Sorry. It actually came in second, behind Honda's greener-than-Kermit-the-Frog-on-a-lilly pad Civic GX, which runs on compressed air. As expected, small cars and hybrids make up the remainder of the green list, and also as expected, the rides on the mean list look way, way more fun. The VW Tourage—with the CFC-belching diesel V10—took the top "honors," while dream machines like Bugatti's Veyron and Lamborghini's Murcielago came in at numbers two and six, respectively. Of course, neither one of those models probably sees 1/10 the annual miles a Ford Focus—number nine on the green list—does, so in reality, they probably pollute a lot less. But whatever, check out the full breakdown over at Wired.

By John

Editor

Since the Big Three have been crying incessantly about the new CAFE standards, it's always interesting to see something which points out just how long they've been asleep at the wheel. Way back in 1973, Shell—yup, that Shell—sponsored a contest to see who could make the most fuel efficient car. The winner was this 1959 Opel T-1, which achieved a mind-numbing 376MPG while traveling at 30MPH. The secret was light weight, hard, low-resistance tires, and an innovative fuel system which fed the little four banger leaned-out gas vapor. Until recently, this masterpiece had been languishing in a museum at Talladega Superspeedway, conveniently forgotten by champion whiners like the General's Bob Lutz. But fortunately, Seattle car aficionado Evan McMullen has just plucked it from obscurity. McMullen, who owns the Emerald City's Cosmopolitan Motors, is no car-hating tree-hugger. Over the years his sales floor been home to numerous Bugattis, Ferraris, and rarities like the Jaguar XJ220, so it's pretty cool to see him trying to keep folks honest about the possibilities for fuel-efficient cars. Read more at the Seattle PI.

By John

Editor

The General has just told Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers that they can forget about getting a new Trans Am. The biggest reason cited? Those new CAFE standards which Detroit has been whining, crying and stomping its feet about since before they were even announced. Why aren't we surprised? But the most amusing part of this announcement is that GM attempted to pacify nervous dealers by saying they'll—get this—boost production of Buick's Enclave's by a whopping 41%. Doesn't that sound like telling a roomful of toddlers you forget the ice cream—but have plenty of broccoli? What do you think, should Pontiac get a Trans Am? More at Left Lane News.

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

This was the first time we put two concept vehicles head to head, and it was also our first contest that was no contest at all. Out of over 50 comments I counted just three votes for the Toyota. A lot of people voted "neither," though, and several people questioned the very idea of building a unibody truck. In any case, the GMC Denali XT is definitely a hot concept. More pics of the Denali XT's Chicago unveiling at Left Lane News.

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

This week we decided to put two concept vehicles head to head. The Toyota A-BAT concept, which was unveiled last month at NAIAS, vs. the GMC Denali XT concept, which was unveiled in Chicago today. So if Toyota and GMC were to build these unibody trucks, which would you choose?

By Jen

Editor

GM will be revealing two new hybrid pickup trucks at Chicago, banking on the idea that truck buyers will be as eager as everyone else to embrace the green-power phenomenon. The Sierra Hybrid pickup is the GMC version of the hybrid Chevy Silverado revealed at the LA Auto Show, and should be available for sale by the end of this year. The radical concept truck (pictured) is the Denali XT, built on a car-like unibody subframe rather than a conventional truck frame, which means it'll behave more like the Holden Ute than a traditional pickup. Both trucks will use dual-mode hybrid gas-electric technology, alternating between straight electric power and an electric-assisted gas V8 (the Denali's will be E85-capable, and the Sierra's 6.0L can drop four cylinders when not under load, with the electric motor making up the difference in power). While another of Chevy's big hybrids, the Tahoe, won the Green Car of Year Award at the LA Auto Show, don't expect mpg ratings on these trucks to be mind-blowing.

By Jen

Editor

CarDomain members never fail to crack me up. After we posted those Ronal teddy bear rims last week, Ernie couldn't wait to try out a set of photoshopped 20's on his tough Sierra pickup. Check out the manly result—I love it!

By John

Community Editor

During the restoration of this fifty year old workhorse, Lloyd found six different paint colors under the red. Now that's some serious history! And while it may have half a century for this GMC to wind up in her current home, from the looks of the work Lloyd has done so far, this baby is in very good hands. Just check out the awesome job he did repairing the floorboards, and his hilarious commentary about the stopping power of the stock drum brakes. Congrats man!