Jonathan Schipper started grinding models of muscle cars into each other like tectonic plates as a way to express the "slow, inevitable death of American Muscle," and he's progressed to using two actual cars at an installation at Chicago's NEXT Art fair.
Well, let us tell you, Jonathan: American muscle is alive and well. Taken a look at horsepower ratings lately? How about some recent Nurburgring lap times from GM products? Time and technology have marched on from the Firebird and Camaro of the Foghat era, so there's no need to give two examples a slow ride into each other's sheetmetal just to point out that there's hardly any around. Cars are a commodity, so by nature, old cars will "die off" through crashes, rusting away, or being recycled for parts and then sold for scrap. It could be that we just don't get it, but really, maybe Schipper could learn how to paint like Von Dutch if he wants to do art with cars. This particular piece makes Piss Christ look like the Mona Lisa
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A landmark was recently passed on Israel's road to reduced dependance on foreign oil when Renault and Project Better Place held a demonstration of an electric car that will hit Israeli streets next year. For those unacquainted with Project Better Place, the Silicon Valley start-up headed by tech guru Shai Agassi has teamed up with Renault-Nissan to build and deploy fully electric Meganes in the seaside Middle Eastern country. The batteries that will power the vehicles are built by a joint-venture between Nissan and NEC, have a 125-mile range and will be supported by half a million charging stations and hundreds of battery-swap stations. Those specs should be enough to satisfy drivers in a country barely 60 miles between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and 260 miles from the Red Sea to its border with Lebanon. An initial launch fleet is scheduled to hit roads next year before sales begin in late 2010. The hope is that Israel will prove a suitable test case before the project can be launched in other countries. Norway has already signed on, but suitability for bigger countries (like the United States, where long commutes are commonplace) will largely depend on advances in battery technology.
There's been a spate of vehicles given the roofless treatment since 2003, which helped keep registrations of convertibles growing since then. 2007 saw the trend reverse, though, with registrations of droptops sliding by 8.6 percent, says R.L. Polk & Company. Polk's folks contend that while there's now plenty of selection with fancy retractable hardtops, the economic slide is putting downward pressure on some luxury items. While it might be difficult to describe the ghastly petrochemical disaster inside a Sebring as profligate, convertibles are not viewed by consumers as a sensible shoes purchase. Segment leaders such as the Mustang and Sebring still maintain their dominance, with the Mustang taking a 33 percent hit compared to 2006, while the Sebring actually found 2.7 percent more registrants. If you hate convertibles, this news doesn't matter to you. The upside is that as inventory ages on lots, deals get hotter.
2009 will mark the 45th year of production of Ford's iconic Mustang, and while the handsome pony car won't get its skin changed until MY2010, it will receive some festive badging to celebrate the occasion. The Stang fanatics over at Mustang Evolution got a hold of a picture of the new badging, which includes a galloping stallion over a horseshoe with the obligatory 45th Anniversary text below. The snazzy-looking four inch chrome badge will only decorate V6 Mustangs, which we're sure won't rankle many future GT owners.
Typos...they happen. Sometimes, however, they're pretty funny and this is one of those times. Saturn of Oxford Valley, a Pennsylvania dealer, has apparently (and unwittingly) decided to either lead the GM mothership into a new profit renaissance or set a new standard for dealer markups, as this listing for a 2008 Saturn Vue XE suggests. We like the new Vues; they're nice -- just not two-million-dollars-nice. Sheesh, we shudder to think what dealers in that area are going to ask for the Shelby GT500KR and Dodge Challenger SRT8 now that even Vues have seven-figure price tags.
Subaru is taunting us again with yet another limited-edition model that we'll likely never see Stateside. The Legacy STI S402 will be limited to (appropriately) 402 units in both sedan and wagon trim, featuring the STI's turbocharged, 2.5-liter flat-four. Unlike some of the other "special" Subies, the S402 Legacy means business. To begin with, the front fenders have been widened by 20mm, the steering ratio has been reduced to 13:1 and Bilstein shocks are fitted at all four corners, along with 18-inch BBS wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza RE050A rubber. The brakes have been upgraded to units from Brembo, with six-piston calipers up front and two-pot calipers in the rear gripping upgraded rotors. Aside from all the required badging, Subaru has fitted new gauges to the IP, along with a MOMO steering wheel and aluminum shift knob.
Sales begin in Japan on June 27th, with prices starting ¥5,491,500 for the wagon and ¥5,355,000 for the sedan. We'll take one of each, thank you very much.
There's no arguing that the Caterham R500 is an amazing piece of four-wheeled machinery. In fact, it may just be the quickest way around a race track short of a Formula 1 car. We're equally as certain that the Ducati Hypermotard is an awesome motorcycle, so putting both of these performers on the same track and letting them have at it is certain to entertain. Autocar must have thought so, too, and udging by the video posted after the break, the event didn't let anybody down. As is usually the case when a bike is put up against a car, the race was close. In the longer straight sections of the track, the Duck's power-to-weight ratio allows it to pull away from the Caterham. The Caterham, with twice the number of contact patches, easily out-brakes the Ducati rider and can carry more speed throughout the turn. So, is the race that will finally put an end to the age-old question about which is faster around a given course? Probably not, but it sure is fun to watch. Want to know who won? Hit the jump, and be sure to pay attention as the Caterham goes airborne.
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