theautopian

Why The ID.Buzz Is So Important For VW Thanks to the Dieselgate emissions-cheating fiasco about seven years ago, Volkswagen was forced to abandon diesel tech and dive into electric vehicles, a move that, in hindsight, would have made sense even if the whole emissions-cheating-debacle never happened. But just moving to EVs wasn’t enough: VW needed to reclaim a lot of goodwill, to dig back into their history and find what endeared them to the world in the first place....

It makes no sense to me how few engineers there are in the automotive media space, but it’s something I’m actively working to change. Cars are inherently technical, so shouldn’t the people who teach you about them also be technically adept? I’m going to sound a bit mean here, but I’m just having some fun: Just look at this sentence I edited from Jason Torchinsky. He’s easily one of the best car journalists on this planet, and generally a fairly technically-smart man....

To coincide with David’s big rescue mission down under and encourage our brave colleague, Torch suggested that ‘we’ should do something…which really means throw another one on the pile for someone like myself. Here’s one option- let’s take a look at some bizarre examples of Valiants Around The World that you might be shocked to know exist. Question- were you ever given the astonishing news that a quiet, middle aged, slightly paunchy and balding cousin of yours is really working in the rackets or employed by the CIA for covert ops?...

In the below video you can listen to Beau and Dave entreat David and Jason with stories of the craziest hot rods they’ve built and restored while sitting in front of the craziest collection of hot rods I’ve ever personally seen. Seriously, I was sitting in that room, just a few feet away from the Batmobile and the Panthermobile trying not to geek out too much. Dave and Beau were both inducted into the National Rod and Custom Car Hall of Fame and have a million stories to tell, but if I’m going to pick out one to talk about here it has to be The Bathtub....

From washing test tubes and grading papers to helping a professor move his hot tub (seriously…it happened), the life of a graduate student is really about two or three notches up from being in a Turkish prison. The Bishop should know…I never thought that getting my Masters in Automotive Exterior Lighting would be so difficult, but here we are. The level of pain a student experiences is usually proportional to how big of a douchbag the instructor you play obedient acolyte to is, and if your advisor is the great Dr....

For those unfamiliar with Mopar history, the Super Bee first entered the marketplace for 1968 as a street brawler based on the Dodge Coronet. By dropping a 383 Magnum, 426 Hemi, or later a 440 Six-Pack into a family car, the Super Bee was an easy way to get tons of displacement in a relatively sensible package. Funnily enough, it was also Dodge’s entry-level muscle car, promising all-you-can-smoke burnouts in a more affordable package than a Charger....

“The Wrangler stays the Wrangler — the icon of the brand…. the best of the best of the best is the Wrangler. Most capable” said Jeep brand CEO Christian Meunier at a press conference yesterday. This came after I asked whether the new Recon would be replacing the Wrangler, and after Stellantis’ head designer Ralph Gilles talked about how that very question meant his team had done its job right....

-Less than 1% of all cars produced in North America are yellow -Old cars rule -O’Doyle rules -This sounds like it will be cheap to buy -I can save a car from the scrapper -I can save a yellow car from the scrapper -She hasn’t told me what type of car this even is -I’m already sold This was the Spring of 2020 and the entire world was just about to close down for a hot minute, and though I didn’t know this at the time, I did know one thing: I love saving old cars from demise (I’m coming up on car #111, saved from certain death), love a challenge, love yellow and would’ve said yes even if I could look into the future....

New South Wales’ strict inspection requirements mean one can’t just sand a set of ignition points with a matchbox, run a garden hose from a jerry can to the carburetor, pop in a new battery and start driving on public roads legally like you can in much of the U.S. Vehicles have to be devoid of any potentially-structural issues like rust (that includes in floorboards, beds, and rocker panels), and all cars have to pass lighting, braking, and steering/handling-related inspection....

But we’re not here to talk about any of that; we’re here to talk about crappy old cars. Let’s see what you thought about yesterday’s rustbuckets: The Safari is the less scary of the two to most people. I’m still not sure it’s any less rusty; I worry about what’s under those Pep Boys bottom door trims. It feels like another Odd Couple day, so let’s take a look at a pair of derelict hulks, one of which is half the length of the other....

Today, Airstream is known as one of a handful of brands that still builds a quality RV. The company’s trailers usually come famously wrapped in shiny aluminum and are designed to stand the test of time. It’s no wonder that they command a ton of money big or small. But Airstream’s campers weren’t always aluminum beauties. Company founder Wally Byam grew up living in a wooden wagon towed by a donkey....

And there you have it. Always bet on red velour. That little Datsun would be a fun cruiser, if only for all the “Wow, I haven’t seen one of those since…” comments. When I was a kid, the only things I ever asked to spend money on were model cars, and books. (Actually, not much has changed.) My universe revolved around the Scholastic Book Fair at school, and the release of the new MPC and AMT model kits for the year, usually coinciding with the autumn release of the actual cars....

That tree looks bronchial, that boulder could be a gall bladder, and everything around them looks like healthy, blood-soaked tissue. I mean, I think this is because of some aging issues; I guess it’s possible this looked like this when new? Who here was alive in 1965 and has an incredible visual memory? Happy Friday, champions. Rotate tires = landscape Throw out bearing = colonoscopy Prius cabin air filter = landscape Mustang cabin air filter = colonoscopy (from what I hear) The background looks like it may be a painting, though the graininess could be the result of shooting in low light....

That thing is a two door. You could land a fighter jet on the hood or trunk. I’m not even sure if it makes sense to drive it on short trips because the distance between the front and rear bumpers is probably the same distance between wherever you’re coming and going. Aside from the absurd length, the big news with this, the cheapest Caddy of the time, was that it had cornering lights, one of the most under-appreciated lights of the modern era....

Last night, Patrick George burned some late-night oil and published a piece about a pair of sweet AE86s that Toyota unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon. The AE86 H2 Concept and the AE86 BEV Concept are cars from your Initial D dreams, now powered by hydrogen and batteries, respectively. These cars are all kinds of awesome, I mean, just look at them! They’re cool enough on their own, but these cars apparently retained their manual transmissions, too....

But first, a quick programming note: I’m writing these the evening before, since I’m on the west coast and I don’t feel like getting up at 4 AM, even for this sweet gig. So I’m placing a cutoff time for votes at around 6 PM Pacific time, when I get home from my day job and start writing. What this means is, vote early… and vote often. Right, so with that, let’s take a look at yesterday’s results: Oof....

Harley-Davidson has been going on a blitz of changing its image with riders. Since CEO Matt Levatich left the company in early 2020 and was replaced by Jochen Zeitz, the Motor Company has been flipping the script. There’s been a lot of good to come out of this. Harley-Davidson has embraced work-from-home, which is now allowing it to turn a chunk of its headquarters into a public park. The company has also released a slew of legitimately interesting gasoline and electric motorcycles....

AutoExe Mazda CX-60 As Mazda moves upmarket, so does tuning house AutoExe. This small, reputable company plans on showing off its kitted-out CX-60 crossover that features a full body kit, lowering springs, a sports exhaust system, and plenty of aftermarket bracing. In case that doesn’t float your boat, AutoExe is also working on a big brake kit and a performance intake. Very nice. BMW’s Giant Grilles Ever the subject of controversy, BMW is rolling into Tokyo Auto Salon with its biggest grilles yet – two massive kidneys mounted to its booth....

Volkswagen Jettas (and Boras) have a bit of a history in Mexico. VW’s been making the compact sedans in Puebla since the first-generation model, so it shouldn’t be surprising that these small cars enjoy healthy popularity south of the border. One great security strategy is to blend in – dress like a local and you probably won’t be messed with. Somewhere along the line, someone had the genius thought to pair stealth with security, and the first armored Jetta was born....

So we’re all on the same page, here’s what the original, 1981 DeLorean looked like: For reference before we get into the re-design, right above there is what the new, re-born DeLorean company’s electric Alpha 5 looks like: And below, my re-imagined DeLorean: What do car designers like? Black clothing and fancy watches obviously, along with die cast models, expensive sneakers, and door stop coffee table books about design. But what car designers really love is the chance to re-do a classic car....