By Jim Brennan

UDMan

With automotive information coming at you from all directions on the web, and with a very active blogosphere, you would think that print media would be a dying breed, and in some ways it is. However, a new title will make its debut at the SEMA Show this November, Chevy Enthusiast from Amos Press.

Continue reading "Coming Soon: Chevy Enthusiast, a New Monthly Print Magazine with CarDomain Contributor Rich Truesdell as Editor" »

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

Automotive Traveler magazine contributor Mark Fletcher shows why it’s always a good idea to keep your camera by your side as you never know when you’ll encounter a camouflaged prototype, in this case the US-spec version of Ford’s upcoming 2011 Fiesta.

While we know that the Ford Fiesta is coming to the North America next year, Ford is going to great lengths to keep front and rear details of the domestic version secret while the cars undergo their final validation tests. So while the 100 Fiestas currently taking part in Ford’s Fiesta Movement program gives us a good idea of its overall silhouette, we’ll still be seeking out the detail differences between the European and US versions. Yesterday, on his return trip from Las Vegas, Mark Fletcher hit pay dirt as he was able to capture some exceptionally clear images of Ford’s upcoming B-segment subcompact. Read more about this discovery at Automotive Traveler.

Continue reading "Spy Shots: The US Version of the 2011 Ford Fiesta Sedan" »

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

When we encountered an unattended Hyundai Sonata prototype we though we had stumbled upon a prototype of Hyundai’s mid-sized Sonata Blue Drive. While it was an educated guess, based on what we already knew of Hyundai’s hybrid plans, we think we were about one week premature as our analysis indicated that from the high level of trim, and the fact that the interior didn’t show any indication of a hybrid-only status gauge, we determined that it was a V6 Limited in very near production specification. But today our initial analysis was proved correct when we encountered two Hyundai Sonata Blue Drive prototypes along with competitive models from Toyota, Nissan, and Ford, along with two dozen engineers who had stopped, en masse, for lunch. Read more at Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

I had the pleasure of the first drive of the ultimate Challengers, Mr. Norm’s Challenger and ‘Cuda ragtop versions of Dodge’s reincarnated muscle car. Based on the highly regarded Challenger SRT-8, the Mr. Norm’s 426 Hemi Challenger and 426 Hemi ‘Cuda convertibles do what Chrysler should have done right from the start, offer a ragtop version of its retro iconic muscle car thus opening a new and open air chapter in the Challenger’s storied history that now spans nearly 40 years.

Mr. Norm’s Garage isn’t some backyard car company. All the Mr. Norm’s Challengers and ‘Cudas are built in a state-of-the-art, 26,000 square foot facility located in Hudson, Florida, where design, prototyping and turnkey Mr. Norm’s performance vehicles are built. Working directly with Mr. Norm, who made Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago the Mecca for ultimate Mopar muscle cars during the golden age of high performance, Mr. Norm’s Garage continues this proud legacy by offering a comprehensive line of award winning modern and vintage Mr. Norm’s vehicles, parts and accessories. Read more at Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

Art Center is well known for the transportation designers it has graduated over the years but also for the transportation design show it hosts. With a theme of “By Air, Land & Sea” we were treated to a great cross section of interesting and though-provoking vehicles.

After taking a year’s hiatus, the campus of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena again hosted a small but eclectic transportation show, the 2009 Art Center Car Classic. More than simply a car show, this year’s event showcased some unusual vehicles including amphibious cars, cars powered by aircraft engines, and cutting-edge flying devices. The unique and intimate setting in the hills overlooking Pasadena might be small, but the organizers made every square inch count, presenting a broad spectrum of vehicles that combined state-of-the-art engineering, breathtaking design, as well as providing a bench marks from the past that might show future designers ways to design small city cars.

The Art Center Car Classic is more than a car show as this year, as in years past, noted speakers were part of the program. Burt Rutan–best known for the design of the record-breaking Voyager, which was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, and the sub-orbital space plane SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded spacecraft to enter the realm of space twice within a two week period–was the featured speaker. And local car guy extraordinaire and former “Tonight” show host Jay Leno made an appearance in his turbine-powered Eco Jet concept done in conjunction with General Motors. Read More at Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

While some websites have reported or speculated recently that MINI’s upcoming 4X4 crossover would be equipped with Clubman-style rear barn doors, the shooters from Automotive Traveler ended the discussion by catching the new cute-ute with its rear hatch opened. Although the guys from MINI apparently went through a lot of effort to give the appearance of side-opening doors—with rear door handle decals and a stripe down the rear window to give the illusion of doors—it was all for naught when one of the engineers had to get something out of the tightly packed cargo compartment in clear view of our shooter.

The MINI 4X4 crossover, as yet unnamed, is expected to make its production-spec appearance at this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show in September with first North American deliveries expected in the second quarter of 2010.

For more details and full-view high-res photos visit Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

Under the file of “you never quite know what will show up Saturday morning at Cars and Coffee” we have this gem, a well-turned-out replica 1960 Ferrari 250GT California Spyder Convertible, quite similar to the car driven by Mathew Broderick in the 1986 John Hughes classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Previously sold under the name Modena and CalSpyder (before Ferrari put the kibosh on these and other replicas), this car built between 2002 and 2006 by Precision Design and Engineering for its owner, who goes by the name of Chris B. “This is a professionally built and crafted replica,” says Chris. “It’s not a ‘kit car’ built on top of some Fiero, Corvette, or Datsun chassis. This car is built upon a custom multi-tube powder-coated chassis with a gorgeous hand-laid fiberglass body. The four cars built for the movie, it features a Ford 302 V8 with four-barrel carburetor and AOD transmission four-speed automatic transmission.” Continue reading at Automotive Traveler.

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Roger Neuman has a personal history with 904s. Over the past 30 years Roger has owned and raced four different 904s, chassis 002, 016, 028, 091. Currently he owns the second 904 built, verified by its chassis 002. Roger’s current 904 is unique in several significant ways. First, it is fitted with a leather interior, verified as correct by factory photos of the early build cars in 1963. Next, unlike the production 904s, whose bodies were molded and assembled by aircraft manufacturer Heinkel and are thicker, Roger has been told that the first two bodies were molded by a small facility in Stuttgart who was not able to meet Porsche’s production requirements to get the cars homologated. This 904 is also equipped with a 6-cylinder engine, reportedly installed at the Porsche factory at some point late in the 1960s before the car was sold to its first private owner.

Although the car has been well documented in two different 904-specific books, there are many gaps in the car’s chain of ownership over the last 45 years. As the car’s current owner, Roger is curious to learn more about its history. Read more at Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

Many have heard of the Sports Illustrated Jinx: An athlete or team is pictured on the cover of the magazine, then proceeds to lose an important game, match, or competition. Is there an automotive counterpart?

First let me say that I am a Jeep owner, a Jeep historian, and a Jeep enthusiast. I own a 1969 Jeep Super Wagoneer, I’ve published more than a dozen Jeep articles, and I’ve attended many Jeep Jamborees, Camp Jeep events, and have twice driven the Rubicon Trail from start to finish in a Jeep, so it pains me to write about something that can be considered a coincidence or superstition: the Jeep Jinx. But the facts are inarguable; virtually every one of the corporate entities that has owned the Jeep brand has fallen on hard times and most are no longer with us.

Continue reading over at Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

While all eyes this morning were on GM’s bankruptcy filing (the bad news), late Sunday evening Judge Arthur Gonzalez quickly approved the sale of Chrysler’s good assets to Fiat, paving the way for Chrysler’s speedy exit from Chapter 11 and to move forward with the closing expected by June 15th, possibly sooner.

This was followed this morning by GM’s bankruptcy filing and President Obama’s address to the nation where he mentioned the speed at which Chrysler’s bankruptcy was processed. More details and analysis, including the list of GM plant closing and the grand total of the expected buyout to now be as much as $50.5 billion can be found at Automotive Traveler.