GMI claims The General has yanked Buick Allure badging in favor of the the US-market LaCrosse moniker—after an unknown number of 2010 Allures have been sold. GM is apparently offering to rebadge already-sold Allures as LaCrosses. Why the jerking around? It seems GM is no longer scared of the LaCrosse name in Canada. Why they waited to change their mind until cars were on lots and in driveways is anyone’s guess. Throw another log on the LaCrosse launch bonfire of vanities. [Hat Tip: Richard Chen]
The voice says Germanic been-there-done-that authority. The use of phrases like “sportif” and “bella macchina” say classic Italian flair. Meanwhile, the shirt, hair and necklace say “woah, brah, let’s hop in the Italia and score some babes.” If there’s a better encapsulation of Ferrari’s internationally recognizable combination of heritage, racing wonkery and nouveau riche gauche I have yet to witness it.
A former Ontario Attorney General who made a career crusading for severe auto safety laws is being held after witnesses say he killed a cyclist with his Saab convertible, according to the New York Times. Onlookers say Michael Bryant hit cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard in downtown Ontario Monday evening, causing Sheppard to grab onto Bryant’s vehicle. Bryant then ran his Saab onto the sidewalk, apparently trying to knock Sheppard off by running him into streetlights and sign posts. He succeeded when Sheppard reportedly hit a mailbox and died. Bryant was best known for a 2007 law defining driving faster than 50 km/h as “street racing” with penalties including vehicle seizure. At the time, Bryant described cars as being “as dangerous as explosives.” Savor the irony.
[Thanks to TMcA for the link]
Update: According to the CBC, Sheppard may have grabbed Bryant or his car’s steering wheel and the two may have been struggling for control of the car.
Just in time for the 40th anniversary of Moammar al-Gaddafi takeover of Libya, the Colonel and “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution” designed a car. Not just a car of course. The Moammar-mobile is “the future of the automotive industry.” That according to a press release cited by Der Spiegel. The name of the car harkens back to Gadaffi’s military past and future ambitions: It’s “The Rocket.”
The combination of bikinis and purported eco-friendliness is like catnip in Southern California, and Angry Green Girl knows it. Still, is a hybrid-only carwash “greener” than just going through the auto-wash? Maybe the minimal amounts of clothing help bring down the overall carbon footprint.
Is the owner of this Zap Xebra hoping the trash collector will take away this pile of junk? He may as well, because it’s been sitting there with a For Sale sign for well over six months. When I finally decided to stop and take a look at what he wants for it, I found out why. He’s been Zapped!
After years of driving on one side of the road, Samoans are making the switch. The tiny Pacific island nation has become the latest country to change traffic patterns (the last was Ghana in 1974), but Samoa’s change-up is unique in that it is actually switching from right-hand traffic (used by 70 percent of the world’s nations) to left-hand traffic. Why? Supposedly to improve access to used vehicles from Australia and New Zealand. But as the Wall Street Journal reports, not everyone is happy with the switch. The People Against Switching Sides, or PASS campaign has held protests, villages have refused to change over and petitions have been signed. The problem with debates about traffic, though, is that compromise isn’t exactly an option.
It’s a confusing world out there. Which is why TTAC makes frequent use of a “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” category. Here’s an “exclusive” look at Purolator’s newest “Purism” ad, the latest in a series that begs the question “what are they trying to sell anyway?” Like the man’s metaphor though, sometimes a swing and a miss is more entertaining than, well, an actual advertisement.
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