I really love talking about cars with people. Notice that does not say “being talked at by people about cars.”  That exact circumstance, however, happens on a daily basis at my job. It’s enough to make me wish I never had to say a word to anyone and instead take up Tawny Kittaen’s post on the hood of a Jaguar.

One of the biggest pet peeves of any sort of expert is having some twit run his mouth about a subject on which he obviously has little knowledge. “Knows just enough to be annoying,” we call it at the auto show. Complaining for a solid half hour about the differences between this supercar over here and that supercar over there falls into that category.

Why? Because nine times out of ten the person doing the complaining has never driven the vehicle they’re moaning on about. Read More >

I’ve heard a lot of derisive comments about NASCAR lately on this site, many of them from people — my fellow racers and fast-road drivers — who should know better. While it’s true that the common template is a disgrace, the idea that NASCAR is a low-tech ghetto compared to the oh-so-modern sports-car series like the ALMS is, to put it mildly, false. There’s a reason that the abortive USF1 team wanted to locate near the NASCAR guys. It’s where the tech is. Click the jump to find out why racing NASCAR takes more brainpower than any Touring Car or prototype series out there…

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Earlier this week, newly-elected UAW President Bob King gave a speech before the Center For Automotive Research Conference, touting the deep changes that have transformed the union. The first half of King’s speech sounded a much-needed note of contrition, and highlighted the new spirit of cooperation between the UAW and Detroit’s management class. But a number of observers noted that the second half of King’s speech represents the flip side of the UAW’s new sense of responsibility for the fate of Detroit: a commitment to targeting the transplant factories that have made life hell for the union and the Detroit automakers alike. After all, nothing brings enemies together like a common adversary. But the UAW’s enemy isn’t just South of the Mason-Dixon line… it’s lurking within its own confused body politic.
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TTAC Commentator superbadd75 writes:

My question is somewhat loaded, as I have a general plan of attack, but would like to hear from you and the B&B. My awesome wife just surprised me with the car I’ve been dreaming of for some time now. It’s a very basic 60,000 mile ’93 Miata with power NOTHING, and no A/C, so there’s very little to break. I plan to make the timing belt change top priority, and do the fluid changes, but are there any other Miata specific items that need attention? I appreciate any and all advice!

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“As West Germany debated last week whether it should have an army, East Germany was unmasking one.

Five thousand jackbooted, blue-uniformed toughs swarmed into the border districts to put down disturbances by farmers trying to save their homes as the Reds bulldozed a three-mile-deep isolation corridor between East and West Germany. The blue-uniformed men, part of a 100,000-man force, are called the People’s Police (Volkspolizei, or Vopos, for short).”

Oh, just the tone of that article (from TIME) makes me nostalgic for the days when American journalists kind of, you know, liked baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and freedom. Nowadays, the Times would probably “embed” somebody with the Vopos and he would enthusiastically shoot farmers while talking about the need for social justice.

But I digress. The car in the photo above is also a “VoPo” — a Volkswagen-Porsche. Styled by the consumer-goods design firm Gugelot, who were the folks responsible for the Kodak “Carousel” slide projector, it was assembled by Karmann in Germany. In Europe, it was sold as a Volkswagen; in the United States, as a Porsche. Although I’m personally a bit of a 914 fan, the car has to be understood as an aesthetic, critical, and commercial failure for Porsche. Most importantly, it was yet another episode in the strange “Inside Baseball” relationship between Volkswagen and Porsche. From the day Ferdinand Porsche started thinking about the “People’s Car” to the very last who-bought-whom stock manipulation of 2009, Porsche and VW have been engaged in a bizarre, operatic, and occasionally fraudulent relationship — and Porsche always loses. Every. Single. Freaking. Time.

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TTAC Commentator SexCpotatoes writes:

I lost a car this past weekend. No it wasn’t stolen…worse, it was totaled sitting outside my mechanic’s shop.  Let this be a lesson to 18 year old kids everywhere: Don’t Text, or call & drive or you will lose control, spin around and wreck into a car with the passenger side of your early 90’s Dodge Caravan, losing your cell phone out the window.  If you chose to leave the scene, the State Highway Patrol will track you down.

The only good thing is that he had valid insurance.  My frame is bent because it pushed the bumper over, so I’m pretty sure the insurance company is going to write the car off.  Which I had JUST (literally) had the shocks replaced with KYB G/2 Gas-A-Just shocks, two new front window motors put in, & the door lock actuators that had given up were on the list for being done early this week. So I guess I’ll never be getting throttle responsive LED strips put in the opera lights like I was thinking of doing if I ever got the money.

I’m writing Piston Slap to see if anyone has any tips for dealing with the kid’s insurance company.  I maintained this car in top mechanical shape, even replaced the rear tail lamps with LED’s and installed a sequential turn signal kit.  Sure it had about $500 or so worth of rust repair needed, but it was a great car. The insurance company is probably going to low-ball me.  My mechanic said they should offer me about 3-4 G’s, but on a ’91 Grand Marquis with only 114,000 mi.? I’ve got other people at work telling me I’ll see $5-700 offered, max.  There are only 3 cars within 300 miles of me for sale on AutoTrader.  If I expand the search to 500 mi. & include ever car of this body style ’88-’91 the avg. price works out to $2900 regardless of mileage.  EBay doesn’t have any ’91s for sale but their range of sold prices is $452-3988 (which makes the average $2225.) NADA & KBB wholesale numbers are not promising.

So I ask you, Sajeev and the Best & Brightest, any advice?

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This week’s road trip is a special journey through a much-loved American tradition: NASCAR. We’re going to be driving through the South, some lush, beautiful country full of hospitality, great barbecue, and rabid loyalty to the local citizenry’s sponsored stock car of choice. This is a much longer trip than last week’s – we’re going to hit eight states – so plan accordingly, i.e. a case of beer per person per day. Only to be drunk after the day’s drive is complete, of course. Read More >

OICA, the venerable “Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles,” better known as the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, finally got around to finishing their 2009 World Ranking of Manufacturers by motor vehicle production. This list has very little surprises for the TTAC B&B who pinned our World’s Top Ten Automakers 2009 to the wall. Yet, there are some. Let’s see … Read More >

Chris writes:

Hi! I really enjoy TTAC and especially the Piston Slap feature. I have a 2005 Ford Mustang Convertible with the V-6/Automatic “poseur” package (super optioned out with a lame ass driveline). Despite the slushbox, I really enjoy this car. It’s been 100% problem free.

I work from home, so the car only has 23,400 miles on it. Most maintenance schedules are stated by mileage, but my car is driven so little, it has original brakes, tires, etc. To my credit, I have been religious about oil changes every 3 months (regardless of mileage).

Now that the car is nearing 6 years of age, do you have any recommendations on maintenance I should perform based on age as opposed to mileage? I’m getting ready to drive from Florida to California, so this seems like good timing to be pro-active to avoid any breakdowns.

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It’s called “convergent evolution”, and it refers to cases in which two unrelated, or distantly related, animals evolve to similar shapes or capabilities due to the pressures of their environment. Examples can be found here, with the most interesting one being the “pronghorn antelope”. It really isn’t an antelope, you see. It turns out that when there is pressure in an environment, animals will eventually all adapt to their optimum form for that environment.

While there are many unforgiving environments around the world, from the Sahara to the Arctic Circle, few are as murderous as the American automobile market. It turns out that the aforementioned “optimum form” appeared some time ago, and everyone else has been evolving that way ever since..Don’t worry. You may not believe in evolution, let alone the Mitsubishi Evolution, but I will serve as your John Scopes in this auto-Darwinian voyage.

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TTAC Commentator geozinger writes:

Sajeev, if you could find more info on the SHOStang, I’m curious to see how it was done. And I’d think others would be too. Thanks.

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One of the many amazing benefits to my booth babe job is that I get to travel this beautiful country and somebody else pays for it. I’ve been to many cities that I never would have gone to otherwise. (Seriously, does anyone go to Milwaukee on vacation? No, but it’s a pretty rad city.) There are around 80 auto shows every season. I don’t go to all of them, but every year I’m sent to a few different ones that I’ve never been to before. At this point in my auto show career I think it’s safe to say that I’ve hit at least ¾ of all consumer auto show cities. Read More >

Now that GM’s acquisition of the subprime lender AmeriCredit has had 24 hours to sink in, howls of protest are starting to surface. The charge is being led by Senator Chuck Grassley, who has requested a review of the deal from the SIGTARP, saying

If GM has $3.5 billion in cash to buy a financial institution, it seems like it should have paid back taxpayers first.  After GM’s experience with GMAC, which left GM seeking a taxpayer bailout, you have to think the company and, in turn, the taxpayers would be better off if GM focused on making cars that people want to buy and stayed clear of repeating its effort to make high-risk car loans.

And though Grassley’s criticism could be read as mere partisan gamesmanship from a leader of “the party of no,” there are a number of very good reasons for opposing the deal.

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Which? is kind of the UK version of Consumer Reports. They publish a bunch of magazines. If you want a computer, you get the latest edition of Which? Computing, if you need a vacation, you leaf through Which? Holiday, and for a car, you get – you guessed it – Which? Car. You will receive quite a shock if you do. Read More >