Chrysler, ostracized earlier last week for its unorthodox decision to end its leasing program, has apparently started a maelstrom of similiar acitivty. Completing The Detroit 3 panic trifecta, both Ford and GM-controlled GMAC are planning to throw in the credit towel – sort of. Not quite willing to make the huge commitment made by Chrysler to completely eliminate leasing programs, both Ford and GMAC have announced plans to significantly distance themselves from the leasing industry.

GMAC, a financing company who owns controlling stock in both Chrysler and GM, has already ordered the end of its subsidized leasing program in Canada [effective Friday]. Although spokespeople for GMAC won’t disclose whether this initiative is U.S.-bound, GM dealers in the U.S. admit they have already been notified of the pending policy change.

Ford, adding to its growing list of unprecedented inter-company changes,

Apparently those nimble sport cars that we love so much are costing us. Every year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety compiles all the car accident and insurance data and comes up with lists of the vehicles that are most likely to cause the car insurance companies trouble (get into accidents, get stolen, etc).

The majority of the cars on the top 10 list are all hugely popular with the under 25 crowd. They’re also fast and small; combine that with “often times piloted by inexperienced drivers” and it really shouldn’t be any surprise.

It would be every 12 year old pubescent boys dream come true, a flat out drag race between the world’s fastest production sports car and a state of the art military jet fighter. Well maybe it’s every pubescent 45 year old boys dream come true as well.

The British TV show Top Gear decided to put the Bugatti Veyron into the ultimate test of supercar power. It had been raced before against the Mclaren SLR, the Yamaha R1 and the Audi R8, but this is the real test against a 27,000 bhp killing machine.

The fighter chosen was the RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoon, a twin-engine canard-delta strike fighter multi-role combat aircraft that has proved it’s self by scrambling to intercept a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 invading British airspace.

As Detroit auto executives are crying into their martinis over a business lunch and are worrying about their future, ever decreasing vehicle sales, and why did they think it was a good idea to build lots of huge SUV’s. Execs over at Microsoft are thrilled at the prospect of moving into the car business in a big way.

The problem for auto companies is that designing a brand new vehicle takes years and designing a brand new super fuel efficient engine is going to take forever. And while they wait for these new developments the price of gas is crippling sales.

Their only hope is to alter their vehicles to make them stand out from the crowd, to give new and exiting options that will keep the publics interest. But these options also take years to bring into production. Unless they are computer related tech options for entertainment, information and fuel saving.

Volkswagen commercials used to be universally great. Then out of nowhere, they had those ‘Un-Pimp Your Ride’ abominations, and everything since them has been junk. Let’s encourage greatness by listing the top 5 very best Volkswagen commercials from the era of good Volkswagen commercials.
The key to them all: Relateability. I don’t know if that’s actually a word, but you know what I mean. The best ones were just real life situations co-staring various Volkswagens.

BMW are getting ready to unleash their rival to the Mercedes SLK, and fight the Porsche Boxter on its home turf. The Z4 M Coupe, the new muscle from BMW’s stable will sport no less than four tailpipes to take away the gases from the twin-turbocharged 3.0 litre six-cylinder 343 bhp engine or the 4.0-litre V8 propulsion system.

There will be a factory limited 155 mph version and a 171 mph V Max version available. This will mean it will be able to reach 60mph in less than five teeth-shattering seconds. The power will be provided to the rear wheels and there will be a big benefit from aerodynamics and emissions reduction with a little help from the company’s Efficient Dynamics Programme, which will not only help to cut through the air with less resistance for more speed and fuel economy, but also lower its Co2 emissions.

Adding to their long, long list of lay-offs and plant shut-downs, Ford announced that it might have to cut 700 jobs at its plant in Cologne, Germany if it can’t win a bid for smaller engine production. The plant, which is largely responsible for the production of 6-cylinder engines marketed in the US, has denied that they are on the brink of closure. 

eBay lust-able ride-of-the-day, number 1: 1987 Cadillac DeVille.

Definitely one of those Dirty South custom jobs [which refers to a style as opposed to a geographic location, this green machine is in Missouri], this Caddy has had about $12,000-worth of customizations sunk into it [photos below]

I was doing a little bit of browsing on eBay motors today [I wasn't joking when I said it's highly addicting] and I came across the photo pictured above of a 2002 BMW M3. The girls in the picture made me laugh, especially the one on the left who appears to be absolutely enraptured with the BMW logo. 

The picture reminded me of a few pretty sizable misconceptions that men who drive luxury and/or sports cars have. So, as an import car model myself, and a girl who is admittedly attracted to hot cars [ipso facto the guys that drive them], there are a few myths I’d like to debunk for the sports car enthusiast population [read: guys].

According to reports, Japanese automakers have been paying attention to the small-car resistence movement led by a small faction of American motorists [read: me and like, 4 guys in Texas].

For 2009, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan [whom I enjoy unfairly referring to as “The Axis of Evil”] have revamped their product line to include bigger, more powerful, more fuel efficient vehicles.