This is a test of TTAC’s Corvette ZR1 purchased with 0% financing. Better late than never, as I’ve marinated over both new and old ZR-goodness several times in my brother’s garage. No doubt, the Viper killing, LS9-FTW motivated Corvette is a worthy successor to the original, with the power-to-weight ratio to eat 458 Italias and cream GT-Rs…at least when AWD is a handicap. But almost two years later, the “King of The Hill” lacks the limelight it deserves. Does the average sports car buyer know the differences between Grand Sport, Z06, Z06 Carbon and ZR1? Read More >

If you want to pretty-up the P&L of a car company, there are two quick fixes: You cut marketing expenses, or you cut R&D. A cut of R&D expenses won’t show up negatively for three to five years, when you suddenly lack new cars to sell. In the meantime, you look like a hero. General Motors plans to cut about a quarter of the workers at its R&D facility at the Warren Technical Center in suburban Detroit, Automotive News [sub] says. Read More >

All results of April are in, and large parts of Detroit are unhappy. Sales of GM and Ford declined, the formerly torrid gains of Chrysler slowed down a bit. Reborn Toyota posted another double-digit gain and came within touching distance of outselling Ford, while Volkswagen continues its winning streak.

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I do not subscribe to  the school of Panther Love, nor do I pledge allegiance to the Brown Car Gods, but this is just too good. A brown Acura ZDX, spotted at Honda Canada.

We live in the YouTube era. If it isn’t recorded, it didn’t happen. Now, Ford’s making it even easier for buyers of the exciting new Focus ST to accidentally provide prosecutors with compelling evidence for conviction.

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According to Edmunds, 6.5 percent of new vehicles sold had a manual transmission, more than double that of 5 years ago. What’s next? The return of diesels? Wagons?

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The Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress held in Detroit every April serves a number of functions for the automotive engineers’ professional association.

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Lamborghini has become very bullish about the Indian market. The Italian automaker launched its second showroom in the country last week and also set up a national sales agency.

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Is this another “senseless provocation” by “imperialist American dogs“, or do Koreans really want to buy the Chevrolet Corvette?

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The Ford Focus ST can be yours for $23,700, plus a $795 destination charge.

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The nice people at BEST Motoring have produced another one of their entertaining pseudo-races. This one features the GT86/BRZ twins vs. the current Miata. It can be watched and enjoyed solely on its own merits. If that isn’t enough, and you want to hear some thoughts regarding the setup of the race, the performance of the respective vehicles, and the showmanship involved, click the jump.

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TTAC alum Justin Berkowitz has been checking out the trademark applications lately, and he’s uncovered what looks like a change in name for Lamborghini’s ridiculous shopping trolley for Russian May-September rent-a-rides.

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With a rising yen and forecasted sales of 200,000 units, Toyota is looking to kick Prius production into high gear on North American shores.

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51 years ago, my beloved Grandfather emigrated from England. Despite being a man of modest means, he immediately went out and bought himself the biggest, V8 powered American sedan he could buy (the exact make remains obscure – it tends to change every time my grandmother tells the story), swearing off British cars and his cursed MG Magnette for life. He would be just as bewildered as I am that there is any demand for the Morgan 3 Wheeler in the United States that would result in U.S. sales.

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Many years ago, I decided that I would buy any record on which Pat Metheny played, even if I didn’t know anything about the other artists involved. Sometimes the results are solid (Wish), sometimes they are frustrating (Sign Of Four), and sometimes it’s a really sexy Eastern European girl singing over what sounds like a chorus of little people from “It’s A Small World” (Upojenie). In general, however, the rule has served me well.

The same is true for autojourno Alex Nunez; even when he’s writing for soul-sucking blackholes like Autoblog, he’s still a great read. This past weekend, Alex noticed an interesting story coming out of the Speedvision, er, Speed, er, Pirelli World Challenge race at Miller. Warning: race spoilers ahead if you click the jump.

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