If you haven’t seen Ghost World, I highly recommend it. But even if you haven’t, this video of Mohammed Rafi’s Jaan Pehechaan Ho—which opens the film—is totally worth watching. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Autoblog has gotten its hands on the GT-R, and they drove it on the streets to see if it "could be domesticated by stop-and-go traffic, family errands, and carpool duty." Luckily, they also flogged it on Southern California’s beautiful canyon roads, where they got some stunning photos. Autoblog
• Talk about a total surprise—Mercury might not go away after all! The rumor mill is saying that we’re going to start seeing the badge on small, fuel efficient cars. But whether it will save the marque is anyone’s guess. Jalopnik
• Bob Lutz is totally stoked about the Volt, and he’s so jazzed about the idea of electric power that he went out and bought an electric scooter. Unfortunately, it left him stranded recently, which caused Lutz to break it over his knee and toss it into the lake like an uncooperative 9-iron. Ok, we made the last part up. Auto Observer
• Last week, the General’s stock was in the toilet, but this week, it’s almost doubled in value. What happened? Bob Lutz looked at it. Hard. That’s actually true. Detroit News
• Here’s another perfect headline from the wizards at Reuters: "Underwear chicken dare puts man in hospital." If you were thinking about stripping down to your skivvies and going to play in traffic, this story might make you change your mind. Reuters

Save the date! Meadowbrook Concours d’Elegance staffers have invited the last flying example of the Moulton Taylor’s Aerocar to attend the August 3rd event. Meadowbrook is the Midwest’s version of Pebble Beach, for those unfamiliar with the event. I’ve attended the last two years’ shows–both have been outstanding with truly amazing cars on display. Concours rules make for an unusual show–each car displayed must be driven (or flown!) onto the show field under its own power. To me, this is the best part of the show: during the presentation of each class, the owners drive the cars to the viewing stand for commentary and review. Last year’s celebrity reviewer was none other than Bob Lutz of GM. Listening to Lutz gush over the parade of automobilia was worth the ticket, even if he was constantly being prodded to move on to the next car. Surprisingly, watching the cars pales compared to hearing them: the old straight 12s make noises that would be positively illegal today, and it’s one of the few occasions I’ve ever had to hear the Chrysler Turbine concept spin up. I’ll be out at the show photographing cars and taking notes. If you plan to come out, keep your eyes open for my CarDomain t-shirt!

After the CarDomain editorial team had dinner with Bob Lutz last week, I teased you with the revelation that the G8 GT would be getting an optional 6-speed manual. Guess what: I was totally wrong! In addition to whipping the G8 community into an absolute frenzy and providing massive unintentional link-bait, the mistaken "news" drew a response from Manager of Pontiac Communications Jim Hopson, who confirmed that the manual shift is in fact going the way of the dinosaurs, even in Pontiac’s flagship muscle car. (But, the silver lining: the GXP will get the coveted six-speed). The ones who really lose out are G8 enthusiasts like those at the GM Inside News forum, who are now heartbroken after my fuckup boosted their hopes for a truly cool affordable G8 and are threatening to go buy Subarus. Sorry to mess with your emotions, guys. Bob Lutz must’ve been hella sloshed to throw out a patently false doozie like that one. Oh no, wait—that was me! Check out Pontiac’s damage control after the jump.

Thanks, G8 Nation, for sorting it out!

Continue reading "Sorry G8 GT, You Don't Get A Stick Shift. But GXP Does!" »

Then maybe you’ll want to watch the videos Chris Pirillo sent me of our dinner with Bob Lutz last week. After getting quoted in the US News & World Report and Jalopnik I was a bit worried that I had misquoted Bob Lutz on the projected price for the Volt. But as you can see it right here at 4:10 he says, "just below forty." Phew.

There are four more videos, each ten minutes long (I didn’t know you could do that with YouTube–I guess Chris knows some kind of trick). Bob Lutz on the Future of Green Cars and Fuel Econom. Car Batteries: Acid-Lead vs. Lithium Ion. Gas Tax: Have Americans been Spoiled? The Car Community Interviews: Bob Lutz of General Motors.

As loyal blog readers know, Rob, Jen and I went to dinner with Bob Lutz last Wednesday. To be honest, I was a little nervous—the man is a titan. While we were waiting in the bar, Rob pretty much summed up my feelings when he said, "Seriously, who’s bigger? Enzo Ferrari is dead." But titan or not, Bob was easy to talk to. Obviously, he’s stoked about the Chevy Volt, and one of the first questions I asked him was about whether near-silent electric cars posed dangers to the blind. It was pretty clear he thought that idea was ridiculous. Bob said modern vehicles are so quiet that people generally know a car is coming  because they hear "air and tire noise," and not because they hear the rumble of the engine. He added that once perfectly clean vehicles are common, the industry will probably start taking heat for all the dead bugs which wind up on their windshields. Yup, the rumors are true—Bob Lutz is a funny guy. However, he did seem resigned to the idea that we’d soon be seeing Federally-mandated vehicle sound minimums, because there is "one blind congressman."

Continue reading "Bob Lutz Calls It Like He Sees It" »

Rob, John and I are each posting a blog on our recent sit-down with Maximum Bob in an effort to address as many as possible of the questions y’all had for the Czar. I was curious about what Bob thought of GM enthusiast culture—is the General interested in harnessing its old-school brand loyalists, the classic and muscle-car fans, the way for instance Mopar has done so successfully? Bob said that Chevy enthusiasts don’t need any coaxing to remain loyal, and that the company can’t remain preoccupied with the past. So if you’re into old-school Bow-Tie, Bob Lutz is probably assuming that your eventual repeat-customer status is a foregone conclusion. Yikes, maybe he hasn’t seen how many of the Camaro and GTO guys are buying new Camries and Kias for their daily beaters?

Speaking of enthusiasts, a lot you were asking about the disappearance of the stick shift from modern cars. Read more…

Continue reading "Bob Lutz On Enthusiast Culture, Stick Shifts, and More" »

We had a great time with Bob Lutz and his posse last night. The dinner was supposed to last an hour and a half, but somehow with all the great wine and food it ran over three hours. And Bob talked pretty much the whole time. Let’s get the Volt stuff out of the way first. Yes, GM is still on track for November 2010. They are expecting to build and sell 10,000 in 2011 and 60,000 in 2012. From there it’s anyone’s guess. In terms of price they are aiming to bring the Volt in under $40k, but are hoping that tax credits will make it easier for people to afford.

There was a lot of talk about gas prices. Bob actually seems pretty content with the current high gas prices–he just thinks they ramped up a bit quickly. Bob claims to have lobbied the folks in DC for gas taxes starting in the 70s, but says that politicians had always balked at the idea. So US auto manufacturers were pretty much stuck selling gas-guzzling SUVs. Or something like that. But given GM’s new direction, Bob said that cheap gas would actually be a bad thing for them at this point. With the new CAFE standards kicking in, a return to cheap gas would put them "at war" with their customers by forcing GM to produce small, efficient cars that consumers wouldn’t want. GM is fully committed to the Volt and is intent on "taking the vehicle out of the environmental debate." Continue reading…

Continue reading "Dinner with Bob" »

Last night, Rob, Jen and I went to dinner with Bob Lutz and some honchos from GM. He’s genuinely fun to talk to, and it was a blast. During the conversation, I took the opportunity to tell the folks from the General that they should use "Brand New Cadillac" by the Clash for the CTS-V campaign. Unfortunately, none of them new who the Clash was, but they did seem intrigued. Let’s hope they take my advice. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Edmunds just sold its long-term Ferrari 308 tester on eBay for 30 grand. With all the work they had done it to it over the last year, that seems like a pretty good deal. Makes me wish I had the money to buy it. Edmunds
• Jay Leno has gone and picked up his Challenger, and of course, there was a camera crew there to document the event. Given the choice, I’d rather have the car he rolled up in, but hey, what do I know. World Car Fans
• Turns out breaking up is hard to do. While the General was going to air an ad that was essentially a "Dear John" letter to Big Oil, plans aren’t so certain now. Hey, a love this strong doesn’t just go away overnight. Automotive News
• Rental car companies have always soaked customers who return cars with less than a full tank, but with fuel prices at a record high, they’re really turning up the heat. Seriously, how does $8 a gallon sound. Freep

We’re having dinner with Bob Lutz tomorrow night and can ask him pretty much whatever we want. So post your burning questions below. I’ll print them out bring them with me to the dinner.

In all honesty, I’m really looking to the launch of the Chevy Volt. I’m really ready—like, really ready—to see an American company step up to the plate and deliver something revolutionary, and I think Chevy’s little green machine is just the ticket. The only downside I see? I’m going to have to be extra careful when I’m riding my bike downtown. Because I’m sure there will be fleets of these babies on the roads of a green city like Seattle, and I won’t be able to hear them coming. Anyway, while there are tons of naysayers out there predicting the General will blow the 2010 deadline, one guy who’s confident they’ll hit it is Bob Lutz. And while he isn’t always right—there are probably some polar bears which disagree with him about global warming—I’m sincerely hoping he is. Check out this Q & A session for the latest scoop on the Volt.