Time was Toyota thoroughly redesigned its cars every four years. Then every five. And lately not even that often. Consequently, for its sixth model year the second-generation Lexus IS received just a few tweaks. The most notable: at long last all-wheel-drive is available with an engine torquey enough to take advantage of its additional traction, […]

The EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign and the Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Energy Program have both been defunded in President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget, as the White House focuses on the much–debated goal of putting one million electric cars on the road by 2015. Bloomberg reports The NCDC budget was cut from $80m in 2010 to zero, even though Obama only just reauthorized $100m per year of grants through the program ten days ago. According to Senator Tom Carper, one of the  sponsors of that re-authorization, the program

leverages federal dollars so efficiently that for every $1 invested, we get over $13 in health and economic benefits in return

Oh well. Meanwhile, fans of the oil-burners imported by the German brands can relax: the NCDC focused on improving diesel emissions from freight, ports and fleets rather than subsidizing Euro-phile sports sedans. Besides, diesel isn’t the only loser in the rush to push plug-in cars to market: hydrogen is also losing out.

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His mother was the first of them, leadfooting her big Buick coupe across intersections with a big-block push that pressed him into the velour and blurred the terrain around him. He tossed around in the flat seat, clinging to the sky-blue safety belt. “I was a rally driver,” she would say. Later, he would find out that she’d been a rally navigator, not a driver, and that the rally-driving boyfriend was long dead. It seemed reasonable that she might have inherited the boyfriend’s skill. Women, he realized, absorb us, becoming who we are or wish them to be, viewed through a glass darkly, or through his rearview mirror, leaving home for the last time.

She took his crutches and put them in the back of a new Corvette-engined ’88 Camaro. “So glad to see you out of the hospital. I wanted to do something nice for you… take you for a ride… we’re going to do, like, a hundred miles per hour in this IROC.” She drove with the carelessness of Fitzgerald’s Jordan Baker, looking away from the road while she swerved down the freeway and reaching over to touch him through his thin shorts.

“This IROC-Z… it’s… awesome,” he managed to say, “did you just buy it?”

“Oh,” she replied, “it belongs to a… friend, I guess you could say.”

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One of the recent advertising trends we’ve seen is the comparison of a new car with something ridiculous… like an armored car or a sofa. Now, Nissan is inverting the “shooting sofas in a barrel” approach by taking on one of the toughest comparisons imaginable: making readers decide between a Juke and a swimsuit model. Here, the Juke and a model from Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition go head-to-head in a “curb appeal” competition… up next, “headlights,” “airbags” and “ride quality.” Then, testers will strap on their crash helmets and try to determine which model “slides its rear end out” in the most satisfying manner… plus whatever other dirty double-entendres you can come up with. Just the thing to get you into that romantic Valentine’s Day mood…

Nothing makes this bloggers day like finding a story that highlights how the world of cars interacts with every facet of our national life… and few stories illustrate the universal impact of cars and fuels like the Atlantic’s recent piece on one man’s attempt to turn Afghanistan’s opium poppy crop into biodiesel. The plan was to help Afghanistan’s poorest farmers use poppy seeds to create biodiesel, but along the way the plan ran into the challenges of diplomacy, bureaucracy, foreign occupation, environmental issues and cultural conflict. In fact, all of the complexity and struggle involved with the military occupation of a foreign country come out in this fascinating piece, which begins:

Back in the fall of 2008, Michael Bester and a business partner, both Army veterans doing contract work in Afghanistan, hit on the equivalent of the counterinsurgency’s trifecta: a way to improve the lives of ordinary Afghans, eliminate the illegal opium trade, and take the Taliban’s money. “We had been in villages where children were dying because they didn’t have proper medicine, because they didn’t have refrigerators,” Bester told me. Light up the villages, and perhaps you could empower Afghans to resist the Taliban. And the fuel? Most any feedstock would work, but one compelling option was the ubiquitous poppies that stoke the Taliban’s lucrative drug trade. Why not turn them into biodiesel instead?

Make diesel, not drugs! Read the whole thing here.

Steve writes:

Hi TTAC, long time follower here with a 2006 VW GOLF Diesel 1.9L.

The car was one of the last batch Mk.4 Golf’s with a diesel engine purchased in Canada where I live.  Since then, it has had small and large repairs galore including temperature sensor replacements, an entire transmission (Automatic Tiptronic, 09A, a big regret) replacement at 21000kms, rear hatch wiring adjustments (I noticed the hatch will not lock), front door hinge adjustment because the front 2 doors were rubbing against the top tips of the rear two doors and chipping away paint with eventual rust setting in.  Later on, suspension bushings up front were replaced, the left front headlights went out a few times and then came back by itself, the dealer could not find any fault.

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Infiniti will show this C-segment coupe-hatch, named Etherea, at the Geneva Auto Show, as a glimpse at the brand’s 2014 time-frame compact, front-drive offerings. But, for those of us who grew up in the 80s, the Etherea’s name is at least as likely to recall the distant planet that served as the home of He-Man’s twin sister, She-Ra. But rather than serving as the battleground between the Rebellion and the evil forces of Hordak, the Etherea is a new opportunity to highlight the hybrid drivetrain from the M35h as well as “innovative access arrangements” that Infiniti is keeping secret for now. Which is probably for the best… apparently She-Ra was a Panther girl

.

OK, OK, this is the Lancia-branded version of the Chrysler Ypsilon… and even when it gets a Chrysler badge, it won’t be coming to the United States (at least not in this iteration). Still, this is a huge moment for Chrysler: after all, the brand has not offered a legitimate subcompact car since the Omni/Horizon shuffled off the mortal coil some 21 years ago. And like the Simca-derived L-Platform subcompacts, the Ypsilon is thoroughly continental under its badging: the Fiat 500 platform underpins this hatch, though it has been stretched slightly to accommodate four doors. Performance will be modest as engine sizes range from 900cc to 1.3 liters, but with leather and Alcantara interior options, the first mini-Chrysler in over 20 years should offer a stately cabin for a subcompact. But will this be the Fiat-produced, B-Segment Chrysler that we’re expecting in 2013? And if so, will they change its name to Horizon?

The owner of a family van was surprised to receive a ticket in the mail from police in the southern Italian town of Oria accusing him of driving 1230 km/h (764 MPH). The Lizzanello resident had been driving his Fiat Doblo on the SS7 in the province of Brindisi on November 6 and weeks later received a letter demanding that he pay 165 euros (US $223).

Italian tickets allow a five percent tolerance to account for the possibility of error. At 1230 km/h, the motorist exceeded the 90 km/h (56 MPH) speed limit with an adjusted velocity of 1078 km/h (669 MPH), according to the notice signed by two officers (view ticket). Oria police insist that the camera managed by the private firm Sodi Scientifica SpA is perfectly accurate. Officials blamed the incident “clerical error” in a statement issued Thursday.

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It’s not out yet, and it won’t be before the end of the year, but Opel is already flogging the Euro-version of the Volt, the Ampera, as the perfect cop car. Main selling point: It’s a veritable multi mission vehicle. “Whether emission free on patrol, or silent during undercover surveillance, or fast and persistent when in hot pursuit – the Opel Ampera is the ideal police cruiser,” brags Opel, which appears to humor AutoBild. (Read More…)

The turnover of inventory at self-service junkyards near major West Coast ports is extremely quick, what with the hunger of Chinese industry for scrap steel; some yards keep vehicles for just a month or two before crushing them. This steel-company-owned yard in Oakland, California, gets some interesting machinery, but a Lancia Beta? I can’t recall the last time I saw a Beta in any condition, but Volvo parts hunter David ran across this ’78 while seeking parts for his 240. (Read More…)

The China Passenger Car Association reports that sales of passenger cars rose 12.6 percent to 965,238 units in January, says the Associated Press. However, as explained in my small lecture on the use and abuse of auto industry statistics, this is not the number we are waiting for. We are waiting for the sales of all motorvehicles in China with 4 wheels and over, also known as “automobile sales.” (Read More…)

For quite some time, we have been tracking a growing trend in China: Chinese cars. Well, Chinese cars, made by joint ventures with foreign carmakers. Here could be a new one, with a twist: Toyota so far has been hesitant following Nissan and others on the plugin bandwagon. Its Chinese joint venture, FAW-Toyota, will change that. They will come out with a Chinese-branded car that is a Toyota on the outside, and a Chinese-developed EV on the inside. If the information of BJNews (via Gasgoo) is correct, that is. (Read More…)

The wild Chinese autoblogosphere had been abuzz about a Chinese version of TopGear for a week now. Truth be told, it escaped my divided attention. No excuse, it will happen again. First on the story was my good friend Tycho, the intrepid red-haired Dutchman who runs the TheTycho car blog. He had an inside source at China’s state TV CCTV. Now, the matter is (semi-) official. (Read More…)

For years now, the compact pickup market has withered away due to the chicken-and-egg dynamic of poor sales and little investment in new models. Ford’s Ranger and Chevy’s Colorado are scheduled to die off this year, and with the new global Ranger not coming to America, Mahindra’s endless delays and weak mileage ratings, and no signs of other small truck investment, the segment looks ready to die. But, as it turns out, 2011 might not be the year that kills the compact pickup: tflcar.com reports from the Chicago Auto Show that

a well placed source within the company is that Chrysler will announce a new entry-level light pickup this year.

Since Fiat took over at Chrysler, there have been rumors of a Ram-branded unibody pickup… but rumors of a Jeep Wrangler-based pickup have been rampant as well. Whatever format a new Chrysler compact pickup comes in, here’s hoping it inspires other companies to bring out a rugged, fuel-efficient, compact pickup for the US market. You paying attention GM?