I met Joni Gray, Sr. Auto Editor for the LA Times, at NYIAS and she’s cool. And I liked this article she just wrote, Ten Still-Attainable 1970s Muscle Cars, though I hesitate to call many of these cars "muscle cars." The list was selected by Phil Skinner, editor of Kelley Blue Book’s Early Model Values Guide. Obviously, I’ve heard of KBB (value guide basically created to support dealerships) but had never heard of this classic car value guide–maybe cause it’s $60!!!??? Hey, the NADA guide is free and, after comparing the prices listed for a few of these cars, it seems to be pretty close. Anyway, I still thought it was a pretty good list, so here goes:

1973-76 Chevrolet Nova SS
1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 fastback
1977-78 Pontiac Trans Am coupe
1970-71 Plymouth Duster 340 coupe
1971-73 De Tomaso Pantera coupe
1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442/W30 coupe
1975-76 Chevrolet Vega Cosworth ed
1973 Mercury Cougar XR7 convertible
1971-73 Datsun 240Z coupe
1977-79 Chevrolet Corvette T-top coupe

Sign me up for a Duster, a Pantera and maybe even the ’79 442. Click through to Joni’s article to read more about each car and see the pics, and then let us know what you link of the list.

Well, the holidays are over, so I’m back pretending to work. My break was long enough that I thought I might forget where the CarDomain offices are, but no such luck. Anyway, here’s the news:

• GM has canceled plans to build a new V-8 for their luxury cars. But don’t worry, remember how well the Cimarron and the Catera came out? Oh wait: Automotive News
• Mazda has released pics of the 2012 RX-9, and it looks sexy as hell. Hopefully I’ll get to drive one before the world ends: Winding Road
• A new study says that people on cell phones slow down traffic. The study also went on to point out that cigarettes are bad for you: LA Times
• The good news is that Chevy’s redesigned Malibu has garnered reams of praise from the automotive press, and dealers can’t keep them on the lot. The bad news is there might not be enough to meet demand: Detroit News

I just figured out sick days don’t carry over into the new year, so I was ill yesterday. Here’s the news:

• The Publisher of Automotive News says if Detroit doesn’t expand COBO hall, they risk losing the North American International Auto Show. Just what Detroit needs: Freep
• Car-based portable toilets? Ketchup on your tie doesn’t seem so bad now: LA Times
• A company in California was just busted for issuing fake tickets to cars parked in free lots. If there was ever a case for the death penalty, this is it: SF Times
• Thieves in Georgia just got an unexpected Christmas gift. Instead of having to scope out cars loaded with packages, the cops are now doing it for them. As Chief Wiggum would say, "that’s some nice aiding and abetting boys!" Rockdale Citizen via BoingBoing 

Sorry this is a little late. Today I’ve been alternating between hanging out in the break room and sleeping in my car. Hopefully, this is the only work I’ll do today. Here’s the news:

• The New York Times car blog is great. There aren’t many places that would spend 600 words on explaining the appeal of a car that goes 0-60 in 13 seconds: NYT Wheels
• Al Gore must have gotten to me, I’m all over the EV scene this week. This just in: The Volt is just the beginning, GM is going to have a whole design studio for electrics: Wired
• The Cadillac CTS may have tv commercials that I hate, but the LA Times is calling it a triumph of American engineering: LA Times 
• The sale of Jaguar and Land Rover is nearly done, but with little time left before execs jet off to Aspen, or wherever, for Christmas, the sale probably won’t go final until 2008: Auto Week 

Sure, nobody likes Mondays. But it’s always good to see that someone had a worse commute than me:

• Wired has a gallery that appears to show some visually appealing electric cars: Wired
• This isn’t really news, plug-in hybrid conversion kits have been around for a bit, but maybe reporting on them every so often will make people give them the old college try. In this case, I specifically mean people who aren’t me: Motor Authority
• There’s no hope for people like me, who don’t know which Lincoln is the MK and which is the xD (What? That’s not a Lincoln? Really?). Ford is sticking with the Alphabits naming convention: Leftlane News
• JD Power put out a list of the best ways to keep your kids from actually enjoying the "road" part of "road trips:" LA Times

I wonder if Toyota’s Lexus recall is going to make Lexus owners a little less smug about satisfied with their cars? Here’s the news:

• There must be a curse that goes along with selling tons of cars. In addition to debuting as the world’s biggest car seller, Toyota wears the crown of "most recalls in the past year": Leftlane News
• According to the LA Times, auto execs "are some of the most beautifully dressed and perfectly appointed man-divas you’ll ever meet." I wonder if any of them will use that line on their resume: LA Times
• Watchyourcar has 50 tips for not getting your ride ganked (I was just fined $50 by the slang police). My favorite is #8 – Theft by Towing. I consider it theft every time they tow my car: Watchyourcar.com
• As November ends, it’s good to tune to English Russia for a reminder on why we pack emergency kits: English Russia

Our LA Auto Show photos are on the way. If you just can’t wait, check out the LA Auto show stuff on NYT.com. Here’s the news:

• So, the buzz out of LA is that the best looking car from the LA car show rolled off the line in 1972…in Czechoslovakia. I’m not going to say the car isn’t attractive, but I’d like to think we can do better than the early ’70s in the Soviet bloc: LA Times
• Toyota’s F1 team will be packing a Glock next season. Wow, that was a terrible pun. I feel horrible: BBC Sport
• Automotive Traveler has a useful primer from anyone considering the trip to Dakar for the 2008 race: Automotive Traveler

All eyes are on the pickets lines in Michigan. UAW called a strike against GM this morning and if it lasts more than a few hours, the impact on the US auto industry could be huge. Talks between the union and GM are ongoing:

• Freep has pictures from the picket lines, in case you hadn’t seem them before: Freep
• Acura is teasing us with pics of the concept for the next NSX: Car and Driver
• Ford and Microsoft are coming out with a pretty cool gadget that will keep your eyes on the road without ignoring text messages from your bff: LA Times
• There is an even more exclusive Bugatti on the market. I should clarify, by "on the market," I mean, "there are five of them in the world and they all sold already for over $1 million." As you can see below, it’s one bad [expletive deleted]: Top Gear

Detroit is headed in the right direction, there are less people walking around who think domestics are terrible:

• What happens when you take the soccer mom out of a minivan and replace her with Robocop? Thanks to a DoD design contest, we’ll soon find out: Winding Road
• Apparently, they liked his work stealing secrets from Ferrari. Aston Martin is reportedly hiring F1 spy Nigel Stepney: Motor Authority 
• The knife may be falling sooner and more often at Ford, if things don’t pick up in the US economy. Hopefully, today’s interest rate cut will help things out towards the end of the year: Leftlane News
• Suicide doors are cool. That’s why, even though I saw a door get wrenched off a London cab by a newstand, I’d love to have a chance to buy a car with a pair: LA Times

While watching football last night, I got a heavy dose of the new Hyundai marketing campaign, and I have to say, I found it way less annoying than the "this is our country" spiel. Anyway, here’s the news:

• Kia says the future is here, today. By "here" I mean "Frankfurt" and by "future" I mean "strange looking car." Enjoy: Winding Road
• The BBC found six more reasons that I’m not a Formula One driver. Surprisingly, none of them have anything to to with my driving ability: BBC Sport
• There’s a feel good article in Detroit Free Press today that doesn’t do anything to make me want to buy a Ford, but it does make me want to want to buy a Ford. That’s something, right? Freep
• It looks like there are going to be plenty of plug-in hybrids on the roads in the next couple years. Don’t worry though, most of them will be way more expensive than normal cars: LA Times