Gas tax holiday, shocking pain at the pumps, trucker strikes protests, all time record oil prices. You flip through a newspaper, and despite a presidential election, immigrant rights marches, people getting sent home from American Idol and oh yeah, a war on two fronts, there is little talk of anything but our (possibly) imploding economy and the fact that it costs Mrs. Johnson $120 to fill up the soccer team's Sequoia. One conclusion to be drawn: the media likes scaring people. Remember last week's the oddball reports on a possible American food shortage ('Sam's Club would only let customers purchase four 50-pound bags of gourmet rice at a time')? The other conclusion is that American's don't have a lot of money, $4 a gallon stings and they're driving less. I'm not. In fact, due to my passive aggressive approach to personal finances, I'm driving more. But, I did notice today that traffic on the 5 near downtown Los Angeles was particularly light. Maybe others are driving less? Are you?

When I was a kid, the family car was American. Not just American, but GM– thanks to a lemony Ford Falcon my mother owned in the 60s. My Dad, however, was a fan of foreign metal. So my sister and I got stuffed into the horrendous backseats of a Renault 8, a Honda Civic CVCC and a Datsun 280Z 2+2. Once we hit soccer practice age, those were dumped in favor of a never-ending string of Pontiacs, Buicks and Chevrolets. We never bought German cars (Nazi associations). Actually, more acurately, my mother would never let my father buy a German car. I didn't even know my old man liked German cars until one day, when I was 13 or so, I dragged him to a Porsche/BMW dealer. He sat in a BMW M5 for a good 30 minutes, just day dreaming. On the flip side, people often tell me they'll never buy an American car. Ever. What's your stance on buying American?

It's been a frenetic couple of few news days, and most of it's been bad. Especially for GM. Thirty-two GM plants are off-line, high-profit truck and SUV U.S. sales are in the tank, production's been cut, GMAC is in the the crapper and… CEO Rick Wagoner got a 64 percent pay raise! Having GM DW'ed this saga since April 2005, I'm just about ready to pronounce the company R.I.P. (New Death Watch on its way). Let's assume for a moment that I'm right: GM files for C11. It seems perfectly obvious to me that if either Democratic presidential candidate makes it to the White House, a bailout– perhaps in the Chrysler-esque form of federal loan guarantees– is a dead cert. McCain, on the other hand, went to Iowa, stood in front of the corn farmers and told them he would NOT continue federal subsidies. To use the venacular, that is some serious shit. I'm not so sure John would cut the check for GM. But should he? One way or another, GM employs millions of people. What kind of deal should the U.S. gov'mint cut with GM? Or… not?

There's a rich tradition of cinematic misinterpretations where the automobile is concerned. Some of the classics include Tom Cruise downshifting to win the race in Days of Thunder. Or in Back to the Future where the entire plot revolves around a DeLoreon getting to 88 mph under its own power. As Garfield would say, "Fat chance." Our own Frank Williams just caught an excellent one, "A few weeks ago on CSI Miami, they tracked down a hit and run driver by the impression of a partial license plate in the victim's briefcase (stamped there by the impact) and the diesel fuel the vehicle leaked. When they tracked down the vehicle, it was a Dodge Charger and they CSI guys still referred to it as a diesel." Not in Miami, Mr. Caruso. You seen any good ones?

Commentator menno posted this on the Oil Headed for $225 A Barrel? thread. It's a Hell of a good question, so I ripped it and started this discussion… "By the way, what’s the general consensus of our little group of avid TTACers, as to when the tipping point for the average Joe and Jane driver of America will be, causing them to say ENOUGH! and give up their [full size] SUV’s to go buy something a little more sensible?

$4 a gallon?

$5 a gallon?

$6 a gallon?

$7 a gallon?

or $8 a gallon?"

Sometimes a badge just isn't enough of a name for a car– especially now that automakers have fallen head-over-heels in love with alphanumerics. Hey kids! Let's all jump in the MKZ! So, how's you're G35x? Mine's the LS 600hL. Growing up, our family car was a 1978 Ford LTD Country Squire. I mean, how American is that? Not very. But at least it was aspirational. (Flex? Flex what?) As an homage to its size and apparent indestructibility, we called the beast "the battlewagon." A brown Ford wagon of my acquaintance was called "Mudblup" after the amorphous cartoon character in the Teddy Ruxpin (Worlds of Wonder) series. A white '96 Monte Carlo with was not-so-creatively (but entirely accurately) known as "Moby." And my '92 T-Bird has long been nicknamed "the Thunderchicken." Of course, a lot of people (i.e. women) simply came up with a cute name like "Sally" and called it good. While carmakers are still going down the spyplane and government agency route (G8), I reckon consumers have taken matters into their own hands. So, how about you? What do you (or your significant other) call your cars? [We welcome Mr. Leverett to the TTAC team and thank Jonny Lieberman for not having a cow over this QOTD usurpation.]

Everyday it seems more and more manufacturers are turning to DSG-style solutions for cog-swapping. Just yesterday Farago reported that Porsche is finally getting into the dual-clutch game (and seeing as how they pioneered the technology back in the day, why not?) But, why? Automatic transmissions make most of the people happy most of the time. However, if "performance" is the second, third or even fourth metric you consider when purchasing a car, slushboxes suck. By giving the people the means to shift for themselves, a bit of that suckage is mitigated. Up until the semi-widespread adoption of dual-clutch systems, manumatics have always been a major let down. Clutchless manuals have been even worse (I'm looking at you, Maserati). Both Farago and Berkowitz have been unrepentant in their love of Volkswagen's DSG solution, yet I still think it pales in comparison to a stick and a clutch. It's fast, sure, but where's the feel? Where's the art? Plus, I didn't spend years perfecting heel-and-toe downshifts for nothing, did I? Anyhow, what do you think?

Normally with these here QOTDs I propose a question, rattle off some personal anecdotes and then ask for your opinion. Not today. No friends, today we are going to turn your attention to central France and a turbodiesel Renault Vel Satis. The driver was on the Autoroute with the cruise set to about 80 mph. He passed a truck. Suddenly and allegedly, the car accelerated on it's own to 120 mph. The driver claims he tried to stop the car, but was unable to do so. He called the police and explained his predicament. The coppers cleared the freeway in front of the Vel Satis and tracked it for an hour until it just stopped. After a thorough investigation Renault is calling shenanigans (the driver can always override the cruise control system) and suing the driver for libel. So, like, you?

Oh dear. Looks like Florida, the wang-shaped state, passed a transportation bill through the Senate with an amendment imposing a $60 fine on truck owners who choose to dangle Truck Nutz (AKA Bullz Ballz, Truck Balls, Bulls Balls) from their trailer hitches. Talk about your tax dollars at work. My opinion on this is pretty cut and dried — what could matter less? Seriously, you want me to believe that a bunch of adults tasked with running one of the most populous and prosperous states in the Union are worried about plastic reproductions of bull testicles? Look, hanging Truck Nutz off your F-150 is stupid. Taking away someone's right to hang said Nutz is even stupider. Remember, if you outlaw Truck Nutz, then only outlaws will have Truck Nutz. And one more thing — this is taking place in Tallahassee, the only state capital that has a drive through liquor store next to a drive through porn shop three blocks down the street. What does that have to do with Truck Nutz? Nothing, but I'm just saying. Yeah, so, you?

According to Fox News, Florida Governor Charlie Crist recently signed a bill allowing gun owners to keep their [licensed] firearms in their car– even if their employers previously banned firearms from their property. There are exemptions: schools, prisons, nuclear power plants, military facilities and buildings that store explosives. Boca Raton Democrat Ted Deutch wasn't happy with the new law. "This is an attempt to trample upon the property rights of property owners and attempt to make it more difficult to protect the workers in a workplace and those who visit our retail establishments." Columnist Neil Boortz (Somebody's Got to Say it!) rejects the notion. "I’m sorry, but the individual right to self defense trumps private property rights." Agreed? And if you're a licensed gun owner who exercises proper gun safety, is their anything inherently wrong with keeping a gun in your car? 

Calling the future is a tough one. Forty years ago, the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey predicted that we would be making regularly scheduled Pan-Am flights to giant space stations and moon bases by now. Of course, in our brave future world of 2008, not only is Pan-Am dead and buried, but the only thing currently flying to the moon is a Chinese mapping probe. When deciding what car you will be driving in 15 years, there are numerous pitfalls to consider. Will you and I be able to afford gas in fifteen years? Will there be anything resembling an American auto manufacturing business? Will the Volt still be another year from production? Will the planet be ruled by damn dirty apes? For every possible future, there's a different car to drive. Take us there, oh Best and Brightest… 

This morning, a friend of mine hit me up for some car buying advice. He loves his Acura MDX, but gas prices are making him dizzy. So, he wanted to know which Hybrid to get. I sent him over to the Honda Civic site so he could see that while the base Civic sedan stickers for $15,010, the hybrid version lists for $22,600. I then told him to figure out just how much driving it would take to recoup a $7,590 premium, ever with today's shocking prices. My pal was surprised — but thankful — and is now on the lookout for a used Civic, since all he wants to do is save money. Our brief encounter left me thinking: one day I'll need a new car. What on earth am I going to buy? The red blooded 12-year-old in me is seriously considering the Pontiac G8, especially if they stick a manny-tranny inside. More seriously, I have a hankering for the Caminoized version of said G8. But, we're talking 6.0-liter V8s and oil hit $115 a barrel today. I had seriously considered the BMW 135i, but after Justin's review, I've seriously unconsidered it. Another WRX? No, they're pretty spazztastic these days. Oooh, what about the STI? Oh right, that's now a $40K car. And I think the car I want most is a GT-R. So, I really have no idea. You?

I'm sure most of you caught Mr. Niedermeyer's post about the yet to be named 7-seat SUV. Just what we need, right? One line caught me off guard, "Volkswagen has dispatched a crack team of marketers to scour the globe for the weirdest names the planet has to offer." In the words of Homer Simpson, "It's funny because it's true." Accurate, too. For as reader Mirko Reinhardt points out, VW's already got "Tiguan," "Touareg" and "Scirocco." Though I'm kinda fond of the latter. Still, they're weird. And that's just in this country. In Britain they sell both the Touran and the Sharan. And how can we forget the "Crafter" or the "Routan?" Sadly, we can't. The cars of the people might drive just fine, but don't ask for them by name. But what I wonder is who's worse? Is there a manufacturer out there more inept at naming names than Volkswagen?

It finally happened. Over the last few months there have been days (weeks?) where premium fuel here in Los Angeles has cost me $3.99 a gallon. Keeping in mind that gas stations are dirty cheats, I actually paid $3.99 9/10 per gallon. But those days are long gone. This very morning, I filled up my beloved WRX to the frankly shocking tune of $4.06. Or $4.06 9/10 in dirty cheatin' gas station speak. Now, I don't live in what you would call a "nice" part of town, so I'm assuming other parts of LA are getting dinged a bit more (or, much more). There are those who will of course argue that I shouldn't be griping. Our gas is still cheap compared to the rest of the planet, adjusted for real income, today's prices aren't much worse than they were in the 1970s, I'm lucky I can afford to buy gas, etc. But, $48.84 for 12 gallons of fuel, well, that's $400 a month the way I drive. Which is a lot. Other news: oil hit $112 a barrel. Happy days. Anyhow, you?

Sajeev's write up of the Lingenfelter-modded Corvette ZR-1 got my blood pumping. As almost every commenter has pointed out, it opens up TTAC to a whole new level of car-geekdom. After all, the sign doesn't say "The Truth About New Cars," does it? After my great Corvette adventure my heart is all aflutter at the prospect of spilling virtual ink all over vintage metal. But where to even start? Well, if you're me, the 1960s are the decade. Specifically the cars that ran at Le Mans. E-types, Ferrari GTOs, Daytona Coupes, GT40 and of course Bizzarinni and the Breadvan. Even the non racers were seven types of magnificent. Alfa Romeo 2600 anyone? What a magic, special time. You?