RideLust

It’s been a rough week for Toyota. The giant automaker has been slapped with a restraining order by a Texas judge to prevent the company from potentially destroying any information about an alleged spate of rollover accidents. The plaintiff in the case, Dimitrios Biller, alleges that there is “a Watergate style cover-up underway at Toyota to undermine the American legal system.” Biller claims that Toyota has been conspiring to conceal evidence about the relative safety of their vehicles, and might destroy the documentation. If the allegations are true, Toyota might be in the midst of another safety-related fiasco, especially in light of the “floormat inferno” scandal raging at the moment. Is Toyota engaged in nefarious doings, or is it just so large now that it’s an easy target for frivolous suits? More and a press release from Biller’s attorney below.

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Did you know that, in the United States, some luckless motorist slams into an unwitting Bambi every 26 seconds? That adds up to more than a million incidents a year … the roads are running red with the blood of cute, innocent woodland animals. Worst of all, the average cost of such an accident is now over $3,000 … What’s going on? Our tin-foil hat theory: Al Qaeda agents have infiltrated our national forests and are hell-bent on destroying our decadent infidel way of life by tossing wildlife at our indulgent BMWs. For the skeptics, click through for more.

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This biggest home improvement job we’ve ever undertaken was successfully completed using a little duct tape and smidgen of caulk, neither of which necessitated the use of anything bigger than a Volvo to transport home from the hardware store. There are, however, those who make a living out of wielding power tools the likes of which we only see in our dreams, and it is for them that the 2011 Ford Super Duty was designed. The integral idea behind the 2011 Super Duty is “bigger and better,” which is clearly demonstrated by the new grille badge that measures over a foot in length (13 inches, to be exact). “The Super Duty is all about power and capability, and we wanted to make that obvious,” explained Brad Richards, exterior design manager. Read More…

Forget about extended-range EVs or hybrids, Ford is going whole-hog in Europe with the Focus BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), a straight-up electric Euro Focus, which is hitting the ground for a series of prototype tests in the UK. Several British utility companies and Strathclyde University will evaluate a total of 15 vehicles to see if the battery-tastic Focus is suitable for picky European market consumers. Apparently the Focus BEV will get an impressive 75 miles on a charge, is able to reach 85 MPH, and will charge up in 6 to 8 hours on a 230V outlet. Not shabby for a glorified golf cart! Press release and gallery after the jump.

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To all you Blue Oval fans who have looked across the Atlantic and drooled about all the sweet motors that European Ford buyers can option, take faith in the introduction of the Ecoboost 4-cylinder line. Almost certainly destined to power (among other things) a hot version of the Fiesta, it’s likely to fan the flames of hot-hatch lust. You’ve put up with the ancient Focus long enough, so this is ample reward for your trials and tribulations: Ford confirmed today that the 2.0L version, tuned for diesel-emulating torque characteristics, will come stateside in 2010. More info after the jump.

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Sure, cruising the dusty streets of Dubai in your Veyron Grand Sport 16.4 with your chief harem girl is fun for a while, but even the most lascivious playboy eventually feels the need to settle down. Unfortunately, just as one cannot turn a ho into a housewife, neither can one rely on a Grand Sport 16.4 to accommodate the needs of a growing family. Thus, enter the Bugatti Galibier. Prematurely leaked under the name Bordeaux, the Galibier concept that debuted today marks the first we’ve seen of the new 4-door Bugatti outside of grainy teaser shots. Like your slightly less attractive yet far more nurturing wife, the 4-door Galibier works hard to provide all the white-knuckle thrills of the sleeker, smaller Veyron while simultaneously providing a more responsible, utilitarian supercar. Read More…

Geiger, the long time tuning firm of German persuasion which specializes in refining coarse American cars for sophisticated European palettes, has offered up their G-treatment for the latest and greatest slice of pure Americana–the Corvette ZR-1. But all is not beer and skittles (if you didn’t know already). Geiger subjected the Corvette to some “diverse tuning measures” to the tune of some 72 additional horsepower, bringing the grand total to 710HP at the crank, meaning–in their own words–that “propulsion only ends at a speed of 342 kilometres per hour.” That’s 212 mph to us chili-doggers here in the colonies. But don’t go thinking all this tuning has resulted in some stellar sub 3-second 0-60 time. The Geiger GTS is actually .2 seconds slower to that mark than the stock version. And we’ll give you two tortured rubber reasons why.

The fact is, performance wise, Geiger is intruding into Brabus territory by producing an obscenely powerful version of a car that is already too strong for its own good. Most cars simply cannot apply 677 ft-lb of torque in a productive manner, unless your intent is to produce half a mile of gooey rubber stripes.

So then, what about that svelte Euro-styling? Meh we say. Out back, it’s all Modena. And up front, it’s sort of like a Sabertooth Tiger–intimidating up close, maybe, but from a distance it just looks silly. And a bit pretentious. Geiger says the styling is “reminiscent of the large Gran Turismos of the 60′s and 70′s,” but we’d rather they not turn quite possibly the world’s biggest supercar bargain buy into a Ferrari Daytona knock-off.

But tell me: Would you replace Daisy Duke’s cut-offs with a floor length evening gown so your out of town relatives would approve?

Those GT’s had style, but so does the ZR-1, oodles and oodles of it. And all the GTS does is steal that brawny American charm we all know, and sometimes even love.

For more info, a full hi-res gallery, and a taste of German-to-English translation goodies, check the press release after the jump:

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As part of a new marketing campaign led by chairman Ed “Guns-up” Whitacre, GM will be offering a 60-day money-back guarantee on all 2009 and 2010 Chevy, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models. The desired boost in consumer confidence couldn’t come at a better time with recent reports showing much of the auto bailout money is unlikely to be repaid. “We’re putting our money down that if people buy one of our vehicles and don’t absolutely love it, we’ll take it back,” said vice chairman of marketing Bob Lutz. The program runs from September 14 through November. Click through for the press release and stipulations. Read More…

How do you follow up after producing possibly the world’s single greatest sportscar of all time, the McLaren F1? Apparently, you design and produce this, the new McLaren MP4-12C. (Gesundheit.) It has all the go-fast bits you’ve seen on countless other supercars recently, and while it has a trick twin-turbo V8 … maybe it’s the fact that we got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, but color us unimpressed. In fact, we’re going to go out on a limb and quite blatantly ask: WTF? This is the replacement for the all-conquering McLaren F1? This generic mashup of Saleen, NSX, and Fierro bodykit styling? And we thought the new Lotus Evora was disappointingly under-styled. We snagged a mega-gallery of photos, so make the jump and decide for yourselves if we’re just being unnecessarily grumpy. (Also we’ve got a full press release and more details below.)

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Let me admit a personal bias – I’m all in favor of small cars, and not in an “I’m some francophile snob who wishes he could sigh arrogantly in a Renault in San Francisco traffic” kind of way. More in the sense that not everyone needs a freaking body-on-frame full-size van to deliver widgets. And that brings us to the 2010 Ford Transit Connect, which I would totally rock if I had any widgets that needed moving. News today is that the tiny van from Europe with the unwieldy name has sold more than 2,000 units in its first month on the US market. That’s a lot for such a niche vehicle, and it has me excited that frugally-minded business folks will eventually allow a new segment for small utility vehicles to emerge … maybe someday I’ll get a brand-new US version of the Holden Sandman that I’ve always wanted. More and a press release after the jump.

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