Zoops! Those of you with long memories may remember how I cooed and gushed over the Pontiac Solstice GXP's essentially perfect 2.0-liter turbo mill. That's the same motor in the Saturn Sky Redline, the Cobalt SS and the HHR SS. But you'll also recall I asked, "How can Pontiac get so much right (looks, engine) and, at the same time, get so much wrong (everything else)?" According to the Detroit Free Press, I'm even more right than I thought I was. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating 40 reports that drivers have to press down too hard on the brake pedals. Allegedly, all the complaints originated in parking lots and driveways when starting the car. Twenty thousand Solstii and Skys are being examined. I don't remember this happening during my time with the car, though I do remember the GXP's driveline trying to eat itself. GM is offering the NHTSA full cooperation.

By most accounts, I’m a good citizen. I work, I pay taxes, I keep my crimes to myself and I call my mother at least once a week. But I have a wild side. Like a vintage race, this part of my personality just begs to be taken out and let loose from time to time. I’m not going to tell you what I spent my first Bush tax rebate on. But I will tell you that when the $600 arrives in June, I will be at a $10/$20 No Limit table. So, when I was contacted by a guy in Prague to transport a 1981 Corvette from Oakland to a container ship in Los Angeles, I jumped at the chance. How could I lose?

Today is not diesel's day. Not only is the stuff expensive, it's bad for you, too. The Motor Authority reports that Dutch scientists have discovered that diesel fumes stress the brain. The boffins have (apparently) known for some time that teeny-tiny particles of diesel soot can go up your nose and lodge in your brain. (I will go on the record saying I did not know that.) Though our scientists friends were aware of the itty-bitty petrochemical chunks getting crammed in our noggins, no one had figured out whether it was bad or meh (you know it ain't good). So they stuck ten volunteers in a room filled with diesel fumes and monitored their crania. After 30 minutes, the volunteers' brains displayed signs of "stress." What does that mean? “It is conceivable that the long-term effects of exposure to traffic nanoparticles may interfere with normal brain function and information processing.” Yeah, so says… hang on, what were we talking about?

That's right, the Chevrolet Spark is selling like hot naan in India. The Hindu reports GM manage to put 3,691 Sparks into peoples' driveways last month, up from just 1,286 the year before. For those of you not familiar with the decade-old Spark, it's also known as the Chevrolet Exclusive, Chevrolet Matiz, Chevrolet Joy, Daewoo Matiz, Pontiac Matiz, Pontiac G2, FSO Matiz, Chevrolet Taxi 7:24 Chronos and of course the hot sounding UZ Matiz (not to mention the Chery QQ). All variations of the Spark come with your choice of 0.8 and 1.0-liter engines. In contrast to the General's fortunes, India's overall auto market has experienced a bit of contraction, moving only 7,42,027 units through February vs. 8,27,594 vehicles the previous year. A big however, however, is in order. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM 'natch) counts motorcycle sales amongst the totals. If you look at just motorized four-wheeled transportation devices, they're up 2.31 percent.

Motherhood, apple pie and baseball, right? I suppose it depends on your point of view. If you live on the Left Coast, it might be strippers, tacos and gangland slayings. Elsewhere, it could be moose, mooseburgers and moose-tipping. Anyway, today's question comes to us from TTAC's own Samir Syed, and I really like it. Then again, I like all queries without correct answers. Let's call 'em philosophical questions. To a certain mindset, nothing will ever be redder, whiter and bluer than a '57 Chevy Bel Air Coupe. But I serious doubt that's what de Tocqueville would say. Perhaps a Ford F-series? At the risk of igniting the usual firestorm, what about America's favorite car, the best-selling Toyota Camry? When I look out my window and contemplate the full majesty of the American Dream, the only honest answer is… the BMW 3-series. Every wannabe in Los Angeles has one. You?

Sorry dude, but all 200+ examples of the forthcoming Roller Coupe already have buyers. Pretty nifty when you consider the $400,000 Phantom two-door isn't even at dealers yet. Hell, us auto journo slobs haven't gotten our greasy mitts on the dang things either. Equally flabbergasting, according to Motor Authority the Phantom Drophead Coupe is sold out through the middle of 2009. And they've already moved 250 of those teakwood-decked convertibles. CEO Ian Robinson also wants you to know that two-thirds of the Phantom Coupe's customers are newbies to the ultra-high end car market. Rolls-Royce is therefore poised to smash last year's sales record of 1,010 units sold. How can we account for such growth? Well, either the rich are getting that much richer, or Rolls is building a highly desirable product that consumers in their target demographic actually aspire to. We're thinking a little from column A, a little from column B. We're also dumping all our Maybach stock, post haste.

Close your eyes. Picture Chrysler products from the last decade that you like. We imagine that your mental list is similar to ours. The 300 (and its derivatives), the Challenger and the Viper. Well friends, the savvy investors car guys over at Cerebus have shuttered the doors on the Pacifica Advance Product Design Center which gave us two of three (hint — not the Viper). Perfect. Chrysler is of course spinning it as a good thing. Here, you have to read for yourself: "Increasingly, we are leveraging resources worldwide, forming new joint ventures and alliances and consolidating operations in order to better achieve global balance. These moves are designed to help Chrysler become a more globally focused manufacturer, with design, engineering, sourcing and a local presence to serve local customers."  Right, they'll be helping out the local customers in California (where one in eight cars are sold in the US) by, wait, what? Bottom line: all future design work will be taking place in Auburn Hills, a plan that has worked marginally for decades.

We like Jack. Aside from being a hell of a race driver and future LeMons teammate, Jack Baruth is one of the most refreshing voices in the auto rag biz. His take on the new GT-R? Not good. While he's got nothing against the car per se, he's asking, "Who's going to buy it?" Jack argues that the GT-R's main competitors (Corvettes and 911s) have deeply entrenched, well-heeled fan bases with multiple owners clubs and racing series. The GT-R has fat kids in Mom's basement with carpel tunneled thumbs and a Slurpee's chance in Hell of getting the $70,000 needed to buy "Godzilla." He's also doubtful that the "Car Formerly Known as Skyline" will be much of a halo vehicle for Nissan, pointing out that the best thing about previous Skylines was that they didn't actually exist. They were myth. Now that they are bloated, expensive reality? Meh. Furthermore the GT-R is going to turn the 350Z into the "Nissan with panties." And finally, for those that can afford such a beast, are they going to enjoy slumming it down to their Nissan dealer where they might accidentally be seen next to a Versa? Nope. And Jack should know; he's the proud owner of two Volkswagen Phaetons.

Yeah, you know– trick. Think Smokey Yunick. In case you don't know, Mr. Yunick is widely renowned for tricks such as building a 7/8 scale NASCAR that was significantly faster than the competition and (my favorite) installing extra long fuel lines that held an additional five gallons of gas. 'Cause in racing, it's all about the gray areas. I've also heard non-Smokey rumors of mini-nitrous systems hidden within fake batteries. But today's question isn't about racing. Street driving can be filled with all sorts shenanigans. One that I enjoy: you're zipping along on the freeway when you notice a highway patrol cruiser sitting on the shoulder. Of course, you can jam on your brakes, letting the officer know that you know you're speeding. Alternatively, you can pull up on your handbrake. No lights, and it slows the car. Got a good one?

I've always liked Pagani's Zonda, though for different reasons than Farago. He thinks it's a rear-wheel drive brute, with a killer 7.3-liter V12 and a classy interior. I think it looks like a bug (i.e. I like strange looking cars).Well friends, hopefully I haven't seen anything yet. Motor Authority reports that Sr. Pagani has just announced that AMG will soon stop making the aforementioned V12, so that's the end of the Zonda. A new car is on the horizon: the C9. Horacio's new carbon fiber supercar will lose four cylinders to pack some sort of monstrous (Mercedes?) V8. In the immortal words of Sgt. Schultz, other than that, we know nothing. Well, we hear that Pagani is moving into a new factory, where production will increase from the 16 cars a year to 60. So a U.S. street legal Pagani may finally be in the offing. Joy.

I've never driven a Spyker, but I've sat in a bunch. And let me tell you, this is the car in which you want to be buried. Still, as I said, I have no clue how a Spyker drives. The C8 is propelled by the 4.2-liter V8 out of the Audi RS4, so I'm good with that. If Spyker is like a lot of big ticket small volume products, the car probably doesn't live up to the interior, right? Or does it? How will we ever know? Well, luckily for car fans, Matt from Garage 419 took one for the team and drove the boutique hypercar. His verdict? Not bad.

My car has 224 hp. I'm suddenly mature enough to not bother racing people at stop lights (especially since that CTS-V humbled me). I only use all my car's strength when I'm getting on the freeway or when I'm at a red light in the left hand lane and need to quickly get over to the right. And you know what? It's more than enough. I was going to write up a whole post about Lightning taking pre-orders for their 700 hp GT EV, but… what's the point? (Sidenote: TTAC will be taking pre-orders for our new 1,200 hp vapor electric car soon) Unless you routinely drag race (and I'm talking, you know, all the friggin' time) what on earth do you need 700 hp for? I'm not in any way suggesting we cap output, I just want to know who's buying these beasts? And why? For the record, 420 hp feels just about right. You?

We've heard this somewhere before… but it wasn't Chrysler… Oh, right! Nearly two years ago, Renault-Nissan CEPO Carlos Ghosn was making noise about joining/purchasing/dismantling General Motors (at the behest of the Lion of Las Vegas, investor Kirk Kerkorian). GM CEO Rick Wagoner Wagoner circled his Board of Bystanders' wagons and GM was free to tank on its own. As the Motor Authority reports, it's the same story here kids. Anyway, Renault is hoping to make out like a bandit with its 25 percent ownership of longstanding Russian punchline automaker Lada. As Carlos puts it. "Russian car sales may surpass Germany to become Europe's largest single market this year." Also, they may not. Either way, Renault may start supplying Lada with platforms and drivetrains. Presumably it'll be the same entry level stuff Renault-Nissan is giving Chrysler to sell in South America. Wait, what? Anyone else confused?

The annuls of automotive history are littered with all sorts of coulda, woulda, shoulda beens, and vehicles that were just plain wrong. The Edsel springs to mind. Weird-looking, pricey and built with 1957 technology (in 1958), Ford's Oldsmobile competitor was doomed from the get-go. Then we have the Volkswagen Phaeton, Gen Y's notion of what a failure should be. Unlike the Edsel, Piech's folly was quite handsome, mega-advanced, impeccably built and a decided bargain in the world of high end luxo-barges– especially when fully equipped with a [prodigiously thirsty] 444 hp W12. Its sin? Its badge. But Audi's Allroad is my favorite failure. It was the right car at the right time with the wrong consumers. The Allroad offered more off-road prowess than any soccer mom could need, more interior space than competitors' SUVs and came stuffed with a hot twin-turbo 2.7-liter V6. But Audi didn't stand by its wagon. These days its pushing its eyesore, mega-mouthed, gas-hog stretched Touareg, the Q7. Yippity doo da. Your fave?

I fondly remember the last time I made the run from Vienna to Constanta, Romania. Hey, if you want the good caviar you go to the source, right? There I was snuggled into my Veyron, cruising merrily along at more than 400 k/ph dreaming of polo greens when it hit me. These seats suck! Worse, my wallet doesn't match my luggage and this claptrap's wheel locks are merely festooned with the letter B– just like all those investment bankers' Veyrons. I'm special dammit! Luckily, Bugatti knows all this. They also know that the type of bloke willing to plunk down $1.2m for a car isn't really going to think twice about dropping $2.3m. On the same car! That's why noted ascot manufacturer Hermès and designer Gabriele Pezzini have teamed-up to give the Veryron a million dollar once over. I mean, a $1.1m dollar once over. It's called the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès. Key features include bull calfskin on the seats and the dashboard, a matched wallet, paint and a radiator grill comprised of the letter H. Oh! The wheel centers are stamped with an H, too. Because you wouldn't want the peasants to think you're driving a plain old Bugatti. At least I wouldn't.