By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Holy cow. See the full sequence after the jump. Via VWVortex

Continue reading "Volvo Driving Swedish Cops Own Audi Driving Bad Guys" »

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

Looks like Ford is close to closing a deal with Geely to sell the brand to the Chinese manufacturer. Geely has been the punch line of many automobile jokes over the past few years, so it’s no surprise they are shopping for a brand with both safety and style. Unlike the SAAB dealings over at GM, in which the brand and tooling are being broken up, the Volvo deal will include both. Could this be the first brush with the US market for the Asian newcomers? We’ll see when the IIHS and NHTSA have a go at any new designs. In the mean time, expect Volvo to remain a presence in the US with manufacturing contracted to Ford until a complete transfer can be arranged.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I decided to mix it up a bit for this week’s eBay Motors Showdown. How about this wild Hudson Metropolitan pro street vs. this cool Volvo PV544 hot rod? Check out the auction links for all the details on these rides and then let us know–which would you choose?

By Fireball Tim

Movie Car Design Master

Ouch. Today was the first Press Day so expectations were high. And did they hit the mark? ……Welcome, to the MORGUE.

Okay, maybe a morgue is a bit extreme, but there were some serious things missing. Namely, NISSAN. And with the Leaf coming soon, you have to ask… “WUT UP, NISSAN DOODS?” Now, I did get my fair share of automotive fixations, but I was left a little… dead. Ok, another mortality reference. Wups.

Follow the jump to see the COMPLETE highlights of the show. Not many, but some cool stuff. I decided to make it easy for y’all to understand how I felt about each one. I call it the “SHOCKSWEETSNORESUCK.” That’s the long version. Let’s just call it the “SHNUCK.” The LA Shnuck Show. Yea, I like it….

Continue reading "Fireball does The LA Auto Show… Ouch." »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Our friends at Grassroots Motorsports just put out their 25th anniversary issue. That’s a pretty big accomplishment for a totally independent, family run operation, and my hat is off to Tim Suddard and his crew. If you’re not a subscriber or can’t make it down to the newstand, they made the entire issue available in digital format. The issue’s feature article is their list of “the 25 best cars ever.” It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the magazine that the Miata made the top spot, but I was pleased to see that the Mustang made the #4 slot and that the Volvo 240 squeaked in at #25. There’s also a great article on the 24 Hours of Lemons, and I was very happy to see that two CarDomain members made the list of “three cars that should have sucked but totally didn’t”–the UDMan’s Corvair and the Team Size Matters Fury.

Continue reading "Grassroots Motorsports Celebrates 25 Years" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Ok, so it’s not really a rat rod, but I think it looks pretty good. Tons of of pics over at the eBay auction.

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

Size has always been a big issue to me with respect to vehicles. To quote Lemmy from Motorhead: “it’s not how big your pencil is, it’s how you write your name”. And at 6’4”, I’m sick of finding that even big cars and SUVs have insufficient interior space to allow someone to sit behind me without knees or feet in my back.

Seemingly every single time I interact with an automotive media representative or car salesman I’m told how fitting in a specific vehicle will be “no problem”. Sometimes, they’ll even cite interior dimensions statistics, which most automotive journalists will tell you are inherently useless, due to the lack of standards in how they are calculated.

Much to their amazement, when I get in and adjust the seat and tell them to get in and sit behind me, it usually becomes crystal clear that their vehicle (like most cars, trucks and SUVs offered for sale around the globe) is abysmally tight on the inside.

Continue reading "It's Not Just About Length, It's How You Use It!" »

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Traveling from Albany NY, on my way to Burlington VT, I was looking forward to a beautiful late spring day. You see, after a couple of weeks of on again off again rain, the weather finally started to break, with warmer temperatures, and some much needed sunshine. Motoring down Vermont State Route 7, I spotted a truly unique and somewhat rare Swedish beauty, with more than a hint of an Italian accent, a 1978 Volvo 262C by Bertone.

Volvo’s first luxury coupe, the V-6-powered 262C, had an unusual genesis, because it has been reported that the 262C Bertone Coupé was actually influenced by Lincoln’s full-sized mid-1970s personal coupe, the Mark IV. It seems that the Swedes were smitten by the new Lincoln Mark IV, and they wanted to build a car like that. It would have to be done off-line because the production numbers would be low, and the tooling costs would be too much. So there was a partnership formed between Volvo and Carrozzeria Bertone to produce the car. Continue reading at Automotive Traveler

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

The Swede won this week’s Showroom Showdown by a 2-to-1 margin. I can’t figure out why I don’t see more C30s on the road.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

This week it’s the battle of the city hipster cars. The Mini weighs 2,850 pounds and is powered by a turbo four banger which puts out 172 hp. The Volvo weighs 3,200 pounds and is powered by a turbo five cylinder which puts out 227 hp. The Mini gets 26/34 mpg while the Volvo gets 20/28 mpg. Both start around $24k and are available with 6 speed manuals. Which would you choose?