Maserati has a new version of the Gran Turismo called the “Corse.” (Check it out at AutoFiends). It’s stripped out, no sound insulation, racetrack ready. Lieberman tells me it’s like a Porsche GT3 RS or an Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24. I initially thought that these cars were pretty silly. When you’re talking about that level of money, you don’t need the car to be street legal. Sure you could drive it home from the racetrack, but would you want to? I saw the episode of Top Gear when James May drives one and sweats his walnuts off. These cars are just brutal; so I figured you would stick it in a trailer and haul it home behind your Escalade. Sure, I have plenty of friends that take their personal cars to and from autocross. But that’s a different story. But I have realized the benefit for manufacturers selling cars like these. First, they are profit machines because customers pay more and get less. But more importantly, they let buyers feel closer to the racecars and the brand’s supposed sports car credentials. Think of it as buying a set of kitchen knives because Gordon Ramsey uses the same ones at home. It’s all about what your car is capable of (I mean, I don’t usually drive 155 in the U.S.). And in this case, the special racing-spec version of already expensive cars are just what the millionaire toy collecter ordered.

The name “Lagonda” is one of those car brands you hear tossed around in historical context like the proverbial football. But I was the bad athlete in elementary school, and so no one threw me the football. Apparently Aston Martin, which owns the name, is going to start cranking out cars with the Lagonda badge again. Until recently, I had no real idea what a Lagonda was, is, or is supposed to be. So first thing’s first: prewar Lagondas. From the company’s first car in 1907 until World War II, Lagonda made the kinds of cars you sort of imagine when you think “sports car” and “prewar.” Some models were better than others, some had 1.1 liter 4-cylinder engines, others had 4.5 liter inline sixes, and even some had 4.5 liter V12s with a 5000 rpm “redline.” Many of these cars were even designed by W.O. Bentley, the founder of Bentley Motors, who was pushed out of his namesake company. And during that prewar era, Lagonda was (arguably, to history geeks) a real competitor to Bentley and Rolls-Royce. After World War II, the British car industry started to implode, everybody was merging, and Aston Martin bought Lagonda. And then Aston more or less croaked the Lagonda brand. They produced some of their prewar cars into the 1950s, and also did the original “Rapide” – which essentially looked like a four door Aston DB4. Very cool, but only 50-some cars were ever made. And then Lagonda became the badge for the crazy four door Aston Martin sedans from the 1970s and 1980s that we’ve all seen. And now you know.

I love The Autoextremist. What a great name! Sure, it’s better suited to a championship wrestler than an automotive analyst. But it’s also entirely, deliciously misleading. Peter DeLorenzo’s views on car sales, marketing and branding are about as “far out” as Brooks Brothers’ plaid pants. Even though Motown execs must surely view Peter as the nutter in the attic, DeLorenzo is always pulling for the home team. But I think he’s gone too far this time. In rant #464, Sweet Pete’s sweet on the Bavarian outside the gates. Specifically, BMW NA Prez Jim O’Donnell. After doing the WTF routine on the German brands’ model proliferation, DeLorenzo lauds the Bimmer suit for trimming imports by 44k, cutting leases by 10 percent, reducing spending on incentive marketing and spiking the marque’s blow-out December sale. (We’ll see about that one.) Supposedly, all these moves indicate genius. DeLorenzo reckons O’Donnel wants to return BMW to its upmarket– or is that four-cylinder downmarket?– roots: “hallefrickinluja.” Meanwhile, back in the real world, O’Donnel is doing sweet FA to trim BMW’s bloated product portfolio or reposition the brand and the measures Pete describes are a reaction to declining market conditions and the credit squeeze. If the Autoextremist wants to give credit where credit’s not due, he should applaud GM CEO Rick Wagoner for putting GM dealers out of business trimming The General’s dealer count. In other words, if the truth doesn’t hurt, it may not be the truth.

In fairness, Lieberman might say he’s not grumpy about the Audi S4 having only 333 horsepower, since the last generation S4 with the V8 cranked out 340 ponies. That’s a decrease dude, and in the car biz it’s nearly unheard of (unless you’re Acura, in which case it’s typical to botch successive generations of a model). So what gives? The new supercharged V6 has a little more torque than the outgoing V8, better fuel economy, and is a little lighter. But what’s really going on here, in this writer’s rarely humble opinion, is that Audi is repositioning the S4. Where it used to be a dead on competitor for the BMW M3, they’re pitching it now at the BMW 335i. The real Audi competition for the M3 is the RS4, which matches the M3’s insanely high-revving V8 and approximates the horsepower at 420. In the meantime, the S4 does what the 260 horsepower A4 3.2 can’t – go toe to toe with higher horsepower cars from the competition. The big question then is whether Audi will be able to price the S4 low enough to make it a viable BMW 335i/Infiniti G37 alternative. My gut says no, not gonna happen. The S4 will price itself out of the competition.

In today’s podcast with Jonny Lieberman (now featuring cross posting over at Autofiends.com), we discuss Lamborghini among other topics. Lieberman has a raging semi for the Italian bull brand, and I think that among the new ones they’re just ok. While I’m glad Lamborghini exists to make stupid, brazen, crass cars, I’d never own one. And certainly not as a daily driver. Old ones, sure, but the new Audified Gallardo? It’s got a ten cylinder tractor engine. So while a number of folks are reporting today on the rumor that Lamborghini is planning a front engined four door sedan along the lines of the Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera, I’m not interested. The only four door Lambo for me is the LM002 – also known as the Rambo Lambo. Otherwise, they can take their “nuclear frog green” paint color and sod off. Listen near the end and Lieberman even skirts my question about whether he’d prefer a Lambo sedan or a Lambo shooting-brake. One thing’s for sure though: Pebble Beach 2050 is going to be fantastic.

We’re trying something new here at TTAC. Some folks really love the Farago + Berkowitz podcasts that focus more on industry and on what’s in the TTAC news. Others said that while they liked those, what was really up their alley were podcasts where I just had your average bar talk with Lieberman about cars. So why not both? While we don’t plan to have, say, eight divisions of podcasting, this way you get up to 20 minutes per day of TTAC podcasting, plus your choice of focus. And on the topic of doubling, the Berkowitz/Lieberman car chats will be posted over on Lieberman’s main master – Autofiends.com – as well. In today’s cast with Robert, we hit on the Mazda2, Edmunds, and Rick Wagoner.

People say it’s great to be a weatherman because you get to be wrong most of the time and still get paid well. That’s the only other job besides being a GM executive for which your company can totally tank – as a result of your action (or inaction) and stick around and pick up millions upon millions of dollars in compensation. If you think about it, people like Bob Lutz aren’t the smartest people in the world (that didn’t take too much consideration); they’re just the luckiest. So that’s my new goal  – be Bob Lutz. Or maybe Richard Fuld, or Rick Wagoner. Meanwhile, in today’s podcast Jonny Lieberman and I talk about Bentleys, Kias through Koreatown in LA, and mullet cars.

Alright, that’s a little misleading. You can still pick up a regular V6 Mustang from Hertz. And I’d imagine you always will be able to. But they aren’t offering the Hertz Shelby Mustang GT-H anymore than Coke still sells Coke 2. Between their popularity, the upkeep, the abuse, and the limited production runs, it makes sense that Hertz couldn’t keep it in the stable forever. But the Corvette as their fun sports car replacement? While I’m a huge (HUGE) Corvette fan, it does seem strangely defeatist for Hertz – a Ford vassal – to be renting off Corvettes when Ford has trillions of Mustangs that would fill the role. Even if the Mustang GT can’t hold a candle to the Corvette from a performance standpoint, so what? It’s part of the Ford family. Meanwhile, I’m not complaining. I’ve got my 436 hp toy booked for Tuesday.

This past Sunday, while driving around the feudal kingdom that is Long Island, I spotted five Ferraris. They weren’t coming from a show – just rich people doing their rich people activities. With a huge concentration of wealth in the New York metro area, this shouldn’t come as a tremendous surprise. Yet despite growing up here, it still makes me shake my head and think “Nice day for a cruise. That dick.” But this particular Sunday was different, because one of the five Ferraris I saw was an Enzo. I always thought the Enzo was ugly, especially compared to its contemporary competitor, the Porsche Carrera GT (which I also saw on Sunday, I kid you not). But in person, it most definitely does have an aura. The license plate – “1 of 399” – tells you just how rare they are. That wasn’t 399 Enzos for a year; it was the whole production run. So I made a u-turn and pulled into the shopping center where the owner was eating lunch and likely thinking about buying Moldovia. And then you know what I did? I lined up with a herd of 13 year old boys and took pictures on my camera phone. The best of the pictures is included here. It’s awful. It’s bad for a camera phone. But as they say on the internet, “Pics or it didn’t happen.”

Among other topics in today’s podcast, Jonny and I discuss the Audi A3. He and I both agree, we’re seeing them all over the place. But if you’re not deep in Audi country, you almost definitely are not. With sales of 646 nationwide for July of 2008 (the A8 only sold 205 in July, and I see those everywhere too), we’re not exactly talking about a volume vehicle. In fact, while Pontiac is moving 1500-2000 G8s per month, I rarely if ever see those on the road; maybe five of them in total since the car’s launch. But Audi’s expensive little hatchback? Ubiquitous here in the NY metro area, especially on the island of Manhattan itself. And why not? I often remark that NYC is the most European-style city in terms of its layout and density. Buyers in Manhattan want small cars, they want prestigious logos on the front grill, and they want the occasional dose of practicality. It must be one of the only places in America where the Mini Cooper convertible appears to outsell the Toyota Camry. But whatever the reasons, I’d contend that Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York comprise a vehicular bubble that’s the exception, not the rule, even for big cities in the U.S.

When Justin began this, his first week as TTAC’s new ME, I warned him that running the site was like playing a slot machine. Posting blogs, editorials and reviews for our best and Brightest is a highly addictive process. In fact, as someone far more dead than I once said, the trick to life is to find something you love to do and not do too much of it. In this I’ve failed miserably. Oh well, my Lexapro is your gain. Here’s hoping the new guy has enough sense to know when to, as Lord Humongous said, “Just walk away.” And while I’m throwing quotes around, here’s one more. “This wasn’t the auto industry’s request. It was in the energy bill that was passed last year. When they cranked up fuel economy requirements, in that bill they provided $25 billion worth of loan guarantees to help auto manufacturers and suppliers retool to produce vehicles that could achieve those levels. When you take a look at the broader section of potential customers that might draw on that line of credit, it becomes apparent that maybe $50 billion might be an appropriate number. It accelerates the introduction of technology in the market to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and improve greenhouse gas emissions. It’s not a loan bailout, and it’s not because the U.S. car companies are distressed.” As long as people like Jim Press say shit like that, there will be people like Justin Berkowitz itching to tell the truth about cars. And thank God for that.

Many years ago, while riding a water taxi in Venice, I asked the pilot if he ever went onto the Terraferma (mainland) – and if so, if he needed a car. His answer? Yes and no. In the canal parts of Venice, you don’t (and can’t) have a car, but in his case, driving was purely for passion and fun. On Sundays, my friend would travel to the mainland and pull his Ford Focus ST 170 out of a garage. And then he’d drive the hell out of it. “Why not a diesel?” I asked daftly. “Because I’m driving for fun! Not best l/km!” Yes, our nation depends on them to get from A to B, especially when the bus-train-bicycle doesn’t do it for some reason. But for me, driving is about fun first and foremost. That’s why I put up with unreliable new cars (my GTI) and unreliable old cars (just wait a few weeks till I announce the new member of my car family). That’s why Liebermen ended today’s podcast by saying he was going to go out and enjoy the Pontiac G8 GT he’s got this week. And now it’s my turn.

Today I got this month’s issue of Octane in the mail. What a delight. While the American car magazine landscape is severely lacking in depth, compelling articles, witty writing, and pornographic photography (save 0-60), the Brits are not. I subscribe to Octane and CAR because I’m still excited to see them waiting for me in the mailbox. In many ways, internet just kills print media: in the speed with which it can bring you information, the opportunities for writers to be candid (the result of lower overheard – and lower salaries), and the sheer volume of information and pictures we can include without too much added cost. But there’s still something very special about holding great photography in your hand, from a glossy sheet of paper that’s not out of your printer. Octane is, on the most basic level, just car porn. In addition to the stunning full spreads, they write about cars that aren’t made anymore, dream cars, and talk about the “pre-war” era as though it was the 1980s. Aston Martin mentioned they might revive the Lagonda name today. Months ago, Octane recommended buying a Lagonda if you felt pre-war Bentleys were all too common. Which is, of course, what has always held me back from buying one.

My wife doesn't believe me, but I'm taking a week off, my first in more than two-and-a-half years. This is my last opportunity to take a breather before Frank exits stage right and Justin gets up to speed. Rest assured this won't be one of those "paved paradise" deals; the website will be in Frank's capable hands, aided by our expert team of bloggers, reviewers and editorialists. While you're exploring the autoblogosphere, I'll be changing light bulbs (with help of course), taking my driving test (really), playing with my pre-schooler and generally decompressing. I trust you will, as always, keep us honest. Thanks for being there, even when I'm not. Oh, and we crested 700k uniques for the first time ever this month. I look forward to chasing the million. Later.

TTAC commentator Brent asked why fellow members of our Best and Brightest aren't cutting the new Cruze some slack. "All I ever see are comments (rightly) digging on GM for having no truly competitive small cars, and for having none in the pipeline. Now we learn of one that in fact *is* in the pipeline. Furthermore, it just might be competitive. And what do I see? A bunch of comments digging on GM for even trying." As a cynical bastard, I think the cynicism has been well and truly earned, through dozens of less-than-stellar (i.e. crap) GM small cars. And, lest we forget, Chevy is a brand that touts itself as "An American Revolution" whilst selling a Korean car. In fact, what equity/credibility remains within the Chevy brand? Like a Rock reliability? Not for cars. (Not yet, anyway.) So, really, it all comes down to one word: Corvette. And if that's true, what IS a Chevy? No matter how good the Cruze may be (Jonny), it simply can't traverse GM's branding issues. Nothing can. [PS: DON'T FORGET THERE'S A PODCAST BELOW]

2009 Corvette ZR1 - First Drive