Having good friends at a variety of car dealers is really cool, especially today. This morning, a new CTS-V Coupe was stopping by a local dealer, and a good friend of mine snapped a pic for me because he knows that I would sell his soul for it. Without further adieu, here it is. Just sit back and appreciate it’s beauty, because nothing else needs to be said.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s Nutts and Bolts blog, I had gone to a car show over the previous weekend and saw a lot of interesting things. One of the cars that really caught my eye was a heavily modified Meyers Manx. Typically, I have zero interest in these and skip right over them, but this one had my name written all over it. This guy ran a VW engine, with a turbocharger, and a megasquirt fuel injection system. Everything was polished, painted, or plated, and it had wheelie bars that looked not only functional, but used. Does it get better than this is the world of Volkswagen ? If so, I challenge you to show me, because I don’t believe it. This is the pinnacle of fun.
Some people tell me that I have a subconscious love for air cooled Volkswagens. I think those people are crazy. Read More
Recently, I talked about my deep rooted relationship with Cadillac Cateras. In that post we learned how truly “special” they are, but we never touched upon their evolution into the CTS. Yes, the CTS is in fact an acronym for Catera Touring Sedan. Ouch! Don’t worry though, they aren’t really the same car…..well….sorta. In 2003 the CTS still had the same heart, soul, and terrifyingly – awful engine as the Catera. After that year though, Cadillac strapped on their game face and abandoned that awful drivetrain for good. In walks 2004, oh hello there!, we now have a……….wait for it…… 400hp LS6 engine option. (queue – the sound of angels…. ooooaahhhhhh..)
This brings me to the point of this whole post. I want to buy a Cadillac CTS-V, badly. When the CTS-V price drops to an absurdly low level, I’m getting one. Come to think of it, I don’t care if the car has been wrecked, recovered theft or sunk in a river. I want it, as long as it’s cheap. I want 6 gears to shift into manually, I want rear wheel drive, I want big brakes, and obviously a big LS V8. I would likely end up stuffing so much forced induction onto the engine that it would spit my rear end gears out at every set of lights. That’s ok though, because I will do it in high class Cadillac fashion.
What will you buy?
Images borrowed from:
The Lexus LFA has been somewhat elusive since it popped up on the scene as a concept in 2005. However, Lexus has been abusing it on the track and improving upon it for the last few years while you weren’t paying attention. It is now rumored that 500 of them will be built for the 2010 model year. This rumor is becoming so real that Lexus even made a commercial to prove the car really works. It isn’t another boooring brand new super car doing burnouts though, they brought science to the game this time. I imagine people were all like (tiny voice) “I want to see the new LFA fo-real!”, and they were all (in a deep voice) “Fine we’ll break some stuff with the sound of our amazing exhaust”.
From my perspective, it has all the necessary features of a car that I will never be able to afford. Let’s check em’ out!
– Built by Lexus? = Check!
– V10 engine? = Oh Yea!
– 9000 rpm redline? = Uh Huh!
– Factory launch control? = Weeee!
– Carbon Fiber Body? = wut.
– Really economical price? = Sorry, that will not be available for you at this time or ever.
– Steering wheel mounted start button? = Vrrrroooomba!
– Engine sounds tuned & directed into the interior? = Brrraaattt dat dat dat dat dat Vrooom! Bratttt dat dat dat dat….
Put on your party hats folks, because multiple sources are saying that GM is bringing the mini truck back (*applause*). They say it will be smaller than the Colorado / Canyon, and closer to size of the S10’s. Apparently they remembered that in the 1980’s, the small truck segment was selling 1 million trucks annually, which is vastly more than today’s measly couple hundred thousand. In celebration of mini trucks, lets reflect on some of the all time greats.
Images: From eBay
S10: Item # 110536202785
Pup: Item # 330436878381
B2200: Item # 270581175633
Datsun: Item # 300426516614
Toyota: Item # 200475365183
Each day, I like to see what is going on in the automotive world, so I like to check out a few different auto blogs. One of my personal favorites is Jalopnik.com (no surprise there). For those of you unfamiliar, it is a combination of different writing styles and automotive related topics that are truly entertaining, for my strange sense of humor at least. The way that they write is just the way I like it, a perfect symphony of facts, pictures, and sarcasm. Now, I realize that this glorious Nutt’s and Bolt’s Automotive Blog isn’t at Jalop traffic levels yet, but I do often wonder if any of the writers over there check us out. I am one of their biggest fans, so I would be honored if they stopped by here every once in a while.
If you do any Automotive Blogging (and I know some of you do), drop a “Ello Gov’na” in the comment box!
What do you guys think of this concept?
Sometime in 2001 while my head was apparently buried in the sand like an ostrich, Ford came out with the” Forty-Nine” concept. It was a way of tipping their hat to the great success of the 1949 Ford. Apparently in 1949, Ford had 1.3 million orders for the newly redesigned cars before they even arrived at the dealers. Yeah, that’s pretty decent and all, but we aren’t here for sales numbers, we are here to talk about this cool “Forty-Nine” Concept.
For me, I wish I had seen this car in 2001 before the 02-05 Thunderbirds came out. The “Forty-Nine” is a great looking car from every angle (especially the convertible), but it strongly hints at the 02-05 Thunderbird, which forces me to give it a major attitude and a healthy dose of mean muggin’. We all know that very few people actually like the 02-05 Thunderbird because of its high price, “blah” suspension, mid 1990’s interior, automatic transmission, and “meh” horsepower numbers. I have to assume that if this “Forty-Nine” actually did go into production, it would likely have been a Thunderbird on all the same levels. A heaping bucket full of “blah”, with a complementary side of “meh”. No thank you.
But let’s be more positive now, because nobody likes a negative Nancy…
Fact: This “Forty-Nine” car concept is great looking. Look at how straight the body is, and how clean all the edges of the glass are. I wish my cars had the kind of smooooooth that Ford brought to 2001 with this car (A+ on that). The wheels are little dated now, but in 2001 they were probably the hottest thing on the block. The roof is clear, which is great for a multitude reasons that I won’t dive into. Other than the intake pipe decal, the engine bay is a work of art that looks delicious. With the engine bay that nice, who cares what the rest of the car looks like? The interior overall is pretty nice looking. It really brings a simple, sporty, and classic look to the table. Well done on that.
Now, build this car with a new supercharged 5.0L and a 6-speed manual transmission, loud exhaust, and new wheels, and it will be eternally great. I’ll take mine 4 inches lower too.
Images from: