Automotive Legend Carroll Shelby Dead at 89

Image from source, Jalopnik

Awww. I know he was getting up there, but it's still sad that Carroll Shelby has passed. I'm not quite a gearhead (I'm more into the style of a car than its mechanics), but I'm quite familiar with Shelby's many "special edition" cars, from Ford and Chrysler, and of course his own cars. He's a genuine automotive rock star. But beyond that, I loved him for his fantastic Carroll Shelby's Chili Mix! It's been a dietary staple in my home since the eighties! RIP Mr. Shelby.

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Carroll Shelby, Automotive Legend, Dead At 89

Before reality TV, and even still to a very large degree now, the best known name associated with performance cars to the average person is Carroll Shelby, and with good reason. Shelby has been considered a legend in the field for decades, and his influence is still strong to this day. He died today at the age of 89, as a result of complications from an illness. . .

Read more at: Jalopnik

My Car is Dead: Mitsubishi is Moving On

It was inevitable, I know. There is a limited window in which you can drive a car that is current, one that hasn't been replaced, upgraded, or facelifted beyond your car's current visage. My 2009 Mitsubishi Galant is identical to the 2010 and 2011 models except for some minor differences in the grille and the headlamps. We're talking some plastic bits here. But soon, very soon, my car will not only be not current, it will no longer be made at all! I'll be with those sad Pontiac, Saturn and Mercury owners. . .orphaned! I'm a victim!

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Mitsubishi Planning to Build Lancer-Based Models in the US, Axe Galant and Eclipse



. . .According to Automotive News, Mitsubishi will build vehicles based on the Lancer/Outlander platform at the Normal, Ill. facility in two years time. As a result, the current models being built there could get the axe entirely. They include the Galant, Endeavor, Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder. . .
 
Read more at: AutoGuide.com

UPDATE 06/15/12: I was at Courtesy Imports last weekend for an oil change, and they had at least five new 2012 Galants, in basic and in tricked-out versions. They may be killing this car, but they're killing it slowly. Thats 2004-2012 with only modest redesigns. Nine seasons. Way to milk it, Mitsubishi!

Motor Trend Editor Slams Rush Limbaugh

Image from Think Progress

And I couldn't be happier. I'm a Motor Trend subscriber, I think the new Chevys are pretty cool lookin', and I think Rush Limbaugh is a complete tool. Not even a useful tool. He's like a metric socket set when you're trying to work on your Corvette.

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Motor Trend Editor On Limbaugh’s Chevy Volt Attacks: ‘Just Remember: Driving And Oxycontin Don’t Mix’



Last week, the influential auto magazine Motor Trend announced that it had named the breakthrough plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt as its 2011 car of the year. Conservatives immediately picked up on the story and attacked Motor Trend. The magazine “awarded the Obama-approved, government-subsidized Chevrolet Volt its annual ‘Car of the Year’ appellation,” the Weekly Standard whined. . .
 
Read more at: Think Progress

General Motors Bounces Back, Bounces Wall Street as Well

I've never understood the conservative aversion to the automotive bailout by the government. Letting GM fail would have probably turned our Great Recession into the Great Depression II. Instead, GM went from hemorrhaging money to getting back in the black. On top of that, over a million people got to keep their jobs, and the United States still has a automobile industry.  So, it seems to have worked out for just about everybody, and barring something as yet unseen, America will get its money back and have a whole new fleet of suddenly very attractive Chevrolets, GMCs, Buicks and Cadillacs.

Seriously, a few years ago, there wasn't a car in the whole GM fleet (which used to include the deceased Pontiac and Saturn) that got me remotely excited. Now, there isn't a Chevy that doesn't look great. Even the teeny-tiny new Aveo looks kinda cute.  I'm less excited about their other lines, but plenty of people seem to like them. Years ago, the Carter administration bailed out Chrysler, and put them on a whole new path. It looks like it's happening again.  So why are conservatives such sourpusses about it?

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GM gains in return to New York Stock Exchange



General Motors Co., which went bankrupt last year after almost a century on the New York Stock Exchange, advanced in its return Thursday to public trading after an initial public offering that raised more than $20 billion. . .


Read more at: SFGate

Another Car Company Bites the Dust: Mercury, R.I.P.

Image from source, Wall Street Journal

It makes sense for Ford to kill off Mercury.  They haven't been a distinct brand in a long time, seemingly made up of a bunch of Fords with different badges (and higher prices).  But it's still a little bit--a very little bit--sad.  In my lifetime, I've seen the demise of AMC, Plymouth, Eagle, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer.  Of those, the biggest surprises were Plymouth (which had survived the near death of Chrysler in the 1970s), Olds (which just seemed too old to go away) and Pontiac (which seemed to at least have the most classic cars in its history). But Mercury was just kind of there.

The last Mercury I remember with a distinct personality was the last iteration of the Cougar, and even it was only "cool" for a year or two before it just looked kind of odd.  All the rest have been retreads of Fords, and they didn't even come up with a better logo than the 80s "M" thingy.  I think Mercury missed out on the "retro" craze brought in by the Volkswagen New Beetle, the Chrysler PT Cruiser, the newer Ford Mustangs, the Chevy Camaro and the Dodge Challenger.  They should've pulled one of their classic nameplates out of mothballs, and maybe even put a new spin on the winged Mercury head logo.  Too late now.

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Ford Will Shut Down Mercury

People who work in or follow the car industry have been predicting the demise of Ford’s Mercury division for years. So it is no surprise to hear today that Ford will kill its middle-of-the-road brand by year’s end. . .

Read more at: Wall Street Journal

$650 Ford!

Bwahahaha!


Ford Unveils New Car For Cash-Strapped Buyers: The 1993 Taurus

Ford Unloads Land Rover and Jaguar, Cheaply

Automotive news is really the purview of The Other Half, but even I was aware that Ford Motor Company was in some financial dire straights. So, it's time for them to offload some of their extraneous brands. Jaguar, for one, never seemed like a good Ford fit to me, and apparently they finally think so too. But how strange is it that a British mainstay like Jaguar could be taken over first by former British colonists, the USA, and now be run by India? I'll bet the Queen is not amused.

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Ford clears new path with sale of Jaguar, Land Rover

Ford Motor Co. removed a major distraction from its massive restructuring plan with the sale of luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Group, analysts said on Wednesday. . .

Read more at: The Economic Times

Cool Cars: Flashy Hybrid to be Made in Detroit?

Photo from source, Wired

Here's just a quickie post, before we begin entertaining guests for the evening. Who says hybrid cars are funky and boring? This one is very, very cool, and I just had to let you know. Check it out:

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Fisker's $80K Plug-In Hybrid to Be Made in Detroit?

Fisker Automotive, flush with cash from one of the biggest names in venture capital, may build its $80,000 plug-in hybrid in Detroit and use lithium-ion batteries made in British Columbia.

Vic Doolan, the company's director of retail development, says Fisker is considering the Motor City because of its experienced workforce, idle manufacturing capacity and broad network of suppliers. "It does make a lot of sense" to build the Fisker Karma in Michigan, he told the Detroit Free Press. . .

Read more at: Wired