It’s Black Friday, the national holiday of deal-getting, and to celebrate we’ve got a big question: What new car is the best value for money? It’s a big, open-ended, debate-sparking kind of question… the perfect way to debate your way out of your tryptophan coma. To get things started, we’ll begin by nominating the Subaru Impreza 2.5 Five-Door. For $18k you get Subaru’s fantastic AWD system, 170 HP, good storage space, and a package that’s ass comfortable cruising at freeway speeds as it quietly tootling around town or blasting up snowy roads to the mountain. Plus, you get the character and grunt of a boxer engine… and when it comes to new automobiles, uniqueness is priceless. OK, over to you, B&B. Which new car on the US market is the steal of all deals (before incentives, etc)?

The NSX is one of those in-the-know cars that are impossible to find used, and seem unlikely to ever be matched by a new car. It marked a high point for the Honda brand, and it redefined on-road performance in a manner that now seems remarkably ahead of its time. At a time when the horsepower wars were just beginning, the NSX went to battle with lightweight aluminum construction and a high-tech (yo) V6… and 20 years after it first debuted, it still stacks up nicely on paper compared to a $75k Lotus Evora.  But the NSX’s heritage as a “working class hero” supercar (to borrow the words of Justin Berkowitz) took a hit when Honda decided to me-too the Lexus LF-A and create a front-engined V-10-powered “NSX” that was blasted as an anti-NSX and sent off to do racing duty when Honda hit the Carpocalypse. But apparently there’s a new New NSX in development…

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The rescue of Chrysler is making great strides. Sergio Marchionne today presented union officials an audacious plan. Powered by an investment of $1.3b, Chrysler and Fiat will build Alfa Romeos and Jeeps under one huge roof. The roof is in Mirafiori, Italy. Also known as the Fiat factory in Torino. And who will pay for all that? Fiat will pay 60 percent. Chrysler will pay 40 percent. (Read More…)

What makes a vehicle valuable? Most folks chose to invest in the myth. A given brand a ‘Supername’ alone can save them from a Kryptonite’s worth of expenses and maintenance issues. I work backwards. The name alone doesn’t tell me very much. The owners do. When I find an owner who has been a good steward of their vehicle, I take the plunge regardless of the name involved. Does this always work?

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A divided federal court last week ruled that police could not use GPS devices to track a suspect without first obtaining a warrant. Nine judges of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit considered the case of Antoine Jones who had been arrested on October 24, 2005 for drug possession after police attached a tracker to Jones’s Jeep — without judicial approval — and used it to follow him for a month.

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Major players in the industry think that EVs are a stopgap measure at best. Volkswagen declared that nobody wants EVs, except governments. In Japan, Toyota and Honda are talking louder and louder about hydrogen. There must be something better than plugins: A revolutionary technology that powers the car from a renewable energy source in an environmentally responsible fashion.

BMW just found what the world needs. (Read More…)

The official MPG(e) ratings for Chevy’s Volt and Nissan’ Leaf have been out for a few days. Finally, The Nikkei [sub] noticed something: Nissan’s “all-electric Leaf has gained bragging rights in the U.S. market after garnering a higher fuel economy rating than the Chevrolet Volt.” Bragging rights bestowed courtesy of the U.S. government. (Read More…)

You’re shopping for a new Acura TSX, and you’re the kind of young go-getter who demands to shift it yourself. Naturally you’ll want to check it out online… but something’s wrong here…

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The ’66 A100 Hell Project van came to me in shockingly good shape for a 44-year-old vehicle that sat dead for over a decade, but it still needed endless a few repairs before being really roadworthy. (Read More…)

Gratitude doesn’t always come easy for a bunch of opinionated car-mudgeons (just ask our pals in the PR business) but today we all have plenty to be thankful for. As Editor-in-Chief of this fine site, I am eternally indebted to TTAC’s immensely talented writers, our faithful fans, and our dedicated owners. I feel incredibly lucky to have what I believe to be the best team of auto writers in the world backing me up each day, overcoming the challenges, sacrifices and personality clashes that are our daily bread and putting out the finest car-related content to be found anywhere. Our owners at VerticalScope are owed a special thanks as well, for paying the bills while allowing us to work in complete freedom. And of course, without you, our faithful readers and commenters, none of this would be possible (or necessary). Your faithfulness to this site, your dedication to the truth, and your occasional ad clicks allow TTAC to persist, keeping our talented writers working at continually improving their craft.

So thank you to everyone who makes TTAC what it is…. without your dedicated support, TTAC might not have survived to see this day. And please believe that your trust and time has earned more than a mere post of thanks: I will carry this sense of gratitude with me every day as inspiration to make TTAC the very best site it can possibly be.

Yours in Kaizen,

Edward Niedermeyer, Editor-in-Chief of TTAC

What kind of world is this, where nearly rust-free Squarebacks— and that’s not a combination of words you hear often— survive for more than 40 years and then get eaten by the same crusher that consumes ’91 Hyundai Excels? (Read More…)

A Lexus without wood is like Dolly Parton without tits. The music of the experience takes your breath away and yet… you just feel something is missing. Is it the smile? The wig? When I looked at the press release clippings of the Lexus CT200h, I had trouble with the entire car. You want a […]

Luca di Montezemolo testing the New Stratos from New Stratos on Vimeo.

Ferrari Chariman Luca Di Montezomolo recently got a spin in Michael Stoschek’s homage to the Lancia Stratos, possibly one of the rarest treats in the car game just now. And even though it’s neither a Lancia nor a Stratos, anyone would be thrilled to drive one before they’re all locked into some climate-controlled bunker somewhere. But that’s not all Luca has to be thankful for: with a disastrous 2010 F1 season behind it, Ferrari is the center of speculation that Fiat will sell it off as it moves towards closer ties with Chrysler Group. Freedom from Fiat might mean an end to Lancia-branded one-offs based on Ferrari platforms, but given the depth of Fiat’s gamble on Chrysler, Ferrari would probably prefer to watch from a distance anyway. In fact, the only thing Luca probably isn’t thankful for this week is direct competition from the McLaren MP4-12C, which is launching at almost the exact same price as the 458 Italia.

Sitting here in China, I nearly forgot (if Ed wouldn’t have reminded me: ) It’s Turkey Day. The day to wax poetic about giving thanks to … nah, let’s do something different: (Read More…)

Two fastbacks found in one week; now there’s something to be thankful for (not that I don’t have plenty already). The Packard Clipper Super and this Volkswagen Type 3 may not seem to share anything other than their tapering hind ends, but there is one other quality that they both have in common, and it makes the VW worthy to share the podium with it: (Read More…)