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Car Maintenance Quiz: How Do Your Automotive Skills Stack Up?

January 31, 2009

You may think you know how to change your oil, tires and oil filter, but are you really doing it the right way? Test your car expertise against Senior Popular Mechanics Automotive Editor Mike Allen–he might just teach you something new.

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AutoNation prepares for Lampert to take majority stake

January 31, 2009

AutoNation Inc. is preparing for billionaire investor Ed Lampert to take a majority stake in the company. The nation’s largest vehicle retailer announced Thursday that it obtained approval from auto manufacturers for ESL Investments Inc.

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Dodge Challenger Sizzle Fizzles. Discounts Deepen.

January 31, 2009

Well that didn’t take long. From stupid-ass dealer mark-ups to employee pricing discounts and/or zero percent financing in just over a year. And those fire sale prices include the Dodge Challenger SRT8, despite the website’s fine print. In fact, the word on the street says you can get $4k off said top-of-the-line pavement smoker without [...]

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TTAC Desert-to-Burning-Desert Eco-Challenge Day 4: City Driving and Ferraris

January 31, 2009

Trying to eke out the best mileage whilst in a major city proves difficult. Trying to get the best mileage possible while on the Strip in Las Vegas proves downright impossible. No matter, as my car has Oklahoma plates and I’m in the biggest tourist destination in Nevada. So I consign myself to appear confused [...]

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eBay Find of the Day: Sole remaining 1995 Ford Thunderbird SVT prototype

January 31, 2009

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupes, Auction Action, Ford, Special/Limited Editions

Click above for gallery of this special SVT Thunderbird
It might not be the very first production Thunderbird ever made, but it is a pretty special T-Bird nonetheless, and it is up for auction, not at Barrett-Jackson, but rather on eBay Motors. Item number 190283235126 is a rare, 1 of 4, 1995 Ford Thunderbird SVT Concept prototype. The description tells us that the other three were crushed by the Blue Oval, making this the sole survivor. What makes this SVT concept special is the engine. It features a turbocharged 4.8L V8 instead of the supercharged V6 that went into the production Thunderbird SC. Black with a gray leather interior, it appears to have aged well, with nearly 70,000 miles on the clock. The car has been with one owner for the past ten years and was featured in Makes & Models [...]

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Former McLaren Formula One boss Teddy Mayer dies:

January 31, 2009

Former McLaren Formula One boss Teddy Mayer, the man who rescued the team after the death of its founder, Bruce McLaren, has died at the age of 73.

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Former McLaren F1 boss Teddy Mayer dies:

January 31, 2009

Former McLaren Formula One boss Teddy Mayer, the man who rescued the team after the death of its founder, Bruce McLaren, has died at the age of 73.

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DetN’s Burgess: Lexus Drivers Are America’s Worst

January 31, 2009

“While I have no statistical data to support my theory that Lexus drivers collectively exhibit the worst roadside manners in the U.S.,” The Detroit News‘ Scott Burgess writes, “I have plenty of anecdotal evidence: The Lexus driver on her cell phone in California who nearly ran me off the road in Westwood. The South Florida [...]

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Event Alert: February Calendar of Automotive Events

January 31, 2009

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Motorsports, Auction Action, Misc. Auto Shows, Event Alert

This year’s Chicago Auto Show should be even bigger than last year despite dropouts
Thanks to your suggestions, we added a Google Calendar after the jump so you can bookmark it and constantly receive updates as we add them. We appreciate all of your input and hope you find our calendar a useful tool. We also appreciate your comments listing events we might have overlooked or that are just near-and-dear to your hearts. Event cancellation notices are also greatly appreciated.
Highlights for February include the Chicago Auto Show, which we will be covering obsessively from McCormick Place; the kickoff of the NASCAR and NHRA seasons with the Daytona 500 and the Winternationals, respectively; and the RetroMobile show in Paris. There’s plenty of other fun stuff scheduled all over the country and indeed around the world.
As always, we want to [...]

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What CDL? You don’t need no stinkin’ license to pull two trailers in Michigan!

January 31, 2009

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal

Michigan is a state of contradictions. The authorities there are so worried about your focus on the road in front of you that it’s illegal to hang anything on your rear-view mirror. Yet if you want to triple tow - that’s pulling two trailers at one time, like an RV camper and a boat - you can do it after you pay $10 and take a 15-question test. And you just need to get 12 answers right.
The only caveat worth mentioning is that the total length of the tow vehicle and two trailers can’t exceed 65 feet. That’s about the length of a semi-trailer combo, the differences being that a semi-trailer has only one articulated point and the folks who drive them need expensive specialized training and commercial driver’s licenses.
Incredibly, Michigan is not only not alone with this, it is not the most permissive: Wisconsin and other [...]

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