Unfortunately, the question isn’t “what car belongs in the Smithsonian?” We could probably spend most of the holiday season discussing that one. No, the National Museum of American History has only 73 of the finest cars to choose from, and has nominated only eight to be displayed. You see, this isn’t one of those hypothetical deals… the NMAH actually wants you to vote on which car you think is most deserving of the honor, and the top-two vote-getters will be displayed from January 22- February 21. And your nominees are…

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It’s probably a bit of a stretch to call the 1947 Tama a “Nissan.” This lead-acid battery-powered two-door was developed in response to post-War oil rationing by the unemployed aircraft engineers of Tachikawa Airplane Company, a firm that later renamed itself the Tokyo Electric Motorcar Co. That company later became the Prince Motor Company, which in turn merged with Nissan, making the Tama a tenuous but real part of Nissan’s EV legacy. When tested by Japan’s ministry of transport, the Tama beat its claimed performance, going 96.3 km on a single charge and reaching a top speed of 35.2 km/h from its 36V motor. Tamas were sold until 1950, and were used mostly for taxi service, although a pickup truck version was made as well. With Nissan rolling out its Leaf and generally betting its shirt on EVs, we wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see the Tama pop up in future Nissan ads and promotional materials. Let’s just hope they leave out the “born from jets” angle…

Lots of car enthusiasts have heard of the AAR ‘Cuda, a homologation special that Chrysler made in 1970 to go racing in the SCCA. What’s not widely known is that there was a CUDA designed ten years earlier, and it came out of the styling studio of American Motors, not Mopar.
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Although it did what it needed to do, it looks awful

Peter Birtwhistle, designer of the legendary short-wheelbase Audi Sport Quattro (above), tells Autocar what he really thinks about its design… and just in time for Audi to announce that its Ur Quattro-inspired Quattro Concept will be built in limited numbers. Birtwhistle explains that the real cause for Ur-ugliness was “stretching the Quattro look over [the shorter Audi 80 platform],” a challenge that also echoes with the Quattro Concept, which slaps retro design elements on a short-wheelbase version of the handsome RS5. As a result, the Quattro Concept looks every bit as awkward and disjointed as the Sport Quattro, with just a touch of Camaro-esque retro-self-consciousness. But as Birtwhistle’s line reminds us, sometimes ugly is the best way to emphasize purpose.

Bob Lutz’ Cadillac Sixteen concept wasn’t the first time a revival of the classic Cadillac V12 and V16 era was considered. In the mid sixties, Cadillac was seriously mulling production of one or the other, and several versions of a SOHC V12 engine (see post here) were built. But if you think the Sixteen Concept had a long nose and was a bit over the top, check out this rendering by Cadillac Studio Chief Wayne Kady. From the size of the steering wheel and dashboard, it appears they were planning to transplant the V16 from a tug boat. This must be where the infamous bustle-back trunk of the 1980 Seville originated. Well, this is just a not-so-small taste of the creativity that was unleashed when the designers were asked to come up with ideas. Read More >

According to Auto Motor und Sport, the next-generation Porsche 911 (991) will have its wheelbase extended by ten centimeters compared to the current model, a concession to US emissions standards which are categorized by footprint. The new elfer will also lose about 88 pounds and gain stop-start technology, in yet another nod to tightening global emissions standards. Oh yes, and the handbrake will become an electrically-controlled switch similar to the unit in the Panamera. Otherwise… has anything changed? These Erlkönig spy shots reveal the biggest non-story in all of automotive-dom: the 911’s styling really won’t change all that much for its newest iteration. Yes, the most consistently-styled car of the modern era will get slightly steeper front headlights, a more tapered rear end, and fewer vestigal cooling vents that survived the switch from air-cooled to water-cooled engines, thanks to the Porsche’s legendarily stubborn styling department. Otherwise, the updates are incredibly subtle (those side vents are taped-on camo, according to AM und S).

Can the Carrera continue like this forever? Will faithfulness to its classical form ever wear thin? A quick comparison of 911 sales to Boxster/Cayman sales (4,751 to 3,036 in the US, year-to-date) suggests that’s not going to be a problem anytime soon…

You know it’s an all-new 2011 model because of the fancy computer-generated press shots, but otherwise would you have any idea that this is the 2011 model-year Morgan three-wheeler? Yes, the wackiest of British cottage sportscar shops has dusted off its old three-wheeler designs and is bringing the model back after a 58-year hiatus. InsideLine says the new version will offer 100 HP from a Harley “Screaming Eagle” engine and will weigh a mere 1,100-lbs, giving it an estimated 4.5 second 0-60 time. Of course, it will have to be homologated as a motorcycle thanks to the missing wheel, and there’s no word on price or American availability. Still, it seems to have retained the most important quality of its predecessor, namely that it is, as Sir Stirling Moss once put it,

a great babe magnet

The Sixth Sense. The “Saw” movies. The Vanishing (Original Dutch version). The Fight Club. What do all these films have in common? They are like the “Porsche-Volkswagen” saga. Always an unexpected twist. Let’s start at the beginning. When Porsche tried to takeover Volkswagen, it really was a case of the mouse biting the lion. The reality set in, the credit markets collapsed, and Volkswagen went from being the takeovee to the takeover…er (how I managed to pass English is a complete mystery to me). [ED. Takeoveror?] But like any good saga, there’s got to be a final bite and there’s a 30 percent chance this one will happen. Read More >

Hurry home Ed, I’m obviously running out of creativity and good judgment. Bit didn’t you always wonder what Sarah Palin drove in her younger days? MSNBC has posted a Sarah Palin Retrospective,  and I should have guessed: one of my all-time least favorite cars (CC here). And is it the “Grande” version even? Not a Maverick? Well, going back even further into her childhood reveals even more: Read More >

No, not sexploitation. If she was sitting on the fender of a green ’69 Galaxie, I would have moved right along. But Angela Dorian, aka Victoria Vetri won no less than a pink AMX for besting the tough competition in 1968. And I would never have remembered known, were it not for the fact that she was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after her boy friend was shot at close range in her apartment. And look at those …wheel covers; I could have sworn all AMXs came with styled steel wheels. There’s so much still to learn. Isn’t the internet wonderful?

blog.hemmings

The Countryman is a game-changer for us. We are going from extra-small to small

OK, so what’s literally wrong with the picture is that TTAC needs a real graphics team. The larger, figurative problem: Ford is replacing its long-soldiering Lincoln Town Car, the granite-standard of livery transportation, with its unloved (5,701 sales year-to-date) MKT crossover. Say what you want about the old Town Car, at least it had a certain quietly anonymous gravitas. The MKT? Let’s just say that a stretched version will serve largely to make the adjective “cetacean” even more applicable to the baleen-snouted crossover. According to the Freep, Ford will offer

If TTAC were UK based, we’d probably have indulged in a Bristol Appreciation Week instead of Panthers. These remarkable coupes have been built on the same 114″ wheelbase chassis since the first Bristol 400 saw the light of day in 1947. Ok, I haven’t forgotten about Morgan. But the Morgan is a bit more self-conscious in its perpetuality. The Bristol’s styling has evolved a bit, although that seems to have ended in about, say 1978 or so? The NY Times has a nice article pointing out that Bristol sales are up, and never dropped in the current Great Recession. The very affluent who want a “bespoke” coupe hand built in traditional style seem to be able to manage the starting price of 142k pounds sterling. Oh, and there’s a real living breathing dinosaur under the hood too, and it’s American to boot. Read More >

No, not the silly humpbacked 911. That’s just Porsche’s latest wallet-lightening technology. Porsche’s nod to heritage is in the fact that it’s building only 356 of these 911 “Speedsters.” Because, you see, the first Porsche Speedsters were based on the Porsche 356. Oh yes, and by limiting an “exclusive” to a few hundred units means Porsche can charge $204,000 for a 408 HP 911. Which, after all, is actually the more significant nod to Porsche heritage: the 911-based Speedsters, which arose in the cocaine and yuppie-fueled 80s, have long been a high point in Porsche’s proud tradition of charging silly money for ever-so garish “special editions.” Doesn’t heritage just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

The Six Series has always been one of the more soberly-styled coupes on the market, favored primarily by the more conservative members of the medical and dental professions. And though the Bangle-designed outgoing model was no exception to this rule, it may end up making history as the most dynamically-styled 6-Series ever. After all, if these shots show the “concept” of the forthcoming 6-Series, and they make the outgoing model look like a concept car, you know BMW is atoning for Bangle’s excess. Next stop, Anonymityville.