MSN Autos has an article on their site today about cars and trucks that are ending their run in 2006. Among the notable: the aforementioned Porsche Carrera GT, Pontiac GTO, Acura RSX, Volkswagen Phaeton, and the lovely Ford GT.
Then you’ll love this overdose of bass.
Winding Road pal and legendary advertising copywriter, Willy Hopkins, contributed this little bit of history this morning in his LaughingMan email newsletter:
May 30, 1911:
Ray Harroun and relief driver Cyrus Patsch win the inaugural Indianapolis 500 mile race in Marmon Wasp in six hours, 42 minutes, eight seconds, at an average speed of 74.602 MPH.
The single seat Wasp was built by Harroun at the Indianapolis Marmon Motor Car Company
When other competitors complained that a solo driver would not be able to keep track of cars approaching from behind without a the assistance of a riding mechanic, Harroun installed the auto industry’s first rear-view mirror across the hood of his car.
Kim Woo Choong, Chairman and founder of the Daewoo Group, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison and ordered to forfeit 21.4 trillion won ($22.6 Billion USD) for fines and fees.
One of the first feature-length articles I ever wrote was a piece for Automobile Magazine about the launch of Daewoo’s vehicles in the U.S. market. At the time, Chairman Kim was regarded as a legend in South Korea and while the company’s financials were murky at best, company men said openly that all the figures of the company were located “in Chairman Kim’s head.” They literally believed that the man was a god and a supercomputer all in one.
It would appear now that Chairman Kim’s head was $22.6 Billion off and then some. I met Chairman Kim once and he offered me a cigarette. Kim, babe, you’re going to need all the cigarettes you can get. Please send us your mailing address and we’ll send you a box of Kools (on us).
– Reilly Brennan
One-upping the GT3 (the most powerful non-Turbo 911), Porsche unwraps the GT3 RS for the European market. The RS is 44 pounds lighter, 1.73 inches wider and hits 60 mph one tenth quicker than a “Standard” GT3.
+ View Porsche’s mini site (link courtesy of Autoblog)
You have to love the optimism, realistic or not, from the guys in Stuttgart. Forbes is reporting that Porsche foresee sales of the new Panamera sports coupe to hit 20,000 in the first year from launch. This is building on one of Porsche’s best years to date after the introduction of the all-new Cayman S and the new-generation 911 line-up. Considering the declining Cayenne still sold almost 15,000 units in the U.S. alone last year, 20,000 for the new model sounds entirely plausible.
The top of the Land Rover line is getting some updates in the next model year. Most of us couldn’t find many faults in the big daddy Range Rover before, but that hasn’t stopped the company from altering the interior with more storage space and new dashboard design along with enhanced air conditioning. On the technology side, the trick Terrain Response system is now standard and there is also an optional rear electronic differential. All this means there is a legitimate reason to get a new Range Rover into the test fleet.
The Detroit News of all places brings us news of the Forcefed Lotus Elise 380R package. Costing more than the sticker of the base Lotus, the $44,995 tuner package bumps power from 190 hp to the apt 380 hp, along with a number of additional track ready parts. This Elise will not be friendly on the streets, that’s for sure. For those that want more power while keeping everything else stock, Forcefed also offers a “275 package” with a turbocharger that takes things to, say it with us now, 275 hp. And that’s only $8,995 extra. Sounds downright reasonable to us.
The buzz around the saving of Saturn continues. GM is promoting the smallest details in that brand’s renaissance by showing off the first pre-production Outlook to roll off the just completed line in the new Lansing Delta Township facility yesterday. Full production of the crossover won’t begin until the fourth quarter of 2006, but that’s not stopping GM hyping Saturn’s next vehicle.
Sometimes the mainstream media gets it right. Money Magazine gives readers a snarky breakdown of some of the most popular awards given out to cars and trucks every year. While the article does a good job explaining how big players like J.D. Power and R.L. Polk do their research, they also completely omit all the car magazines that give out such awards and what those really mean. Hmmm….
Merrill Lynch upgraded General Motors stock from neutral to buy this morning before trading opened on the New York Stock Exchange. This must be some of the best news the General has heard in a long time. Their stock is already up 7% (as of 11:23 a.m. EST). The upgrade is based on the buyout package GM recently offered to 30,000 employees.
Somewhere Al Gore is cringing. The third largest car market is about to get a bit bigger. The Chinese government reports that by 2010, 40 of every 1,000 citizens will own a car, compared to 24 per 1,000 today. While that sounds like a drop in the bucket compared to the 700 figure here in the U.S., it still adds up because of the sheer size of the country’s population. It also means that Chinese car manufacturers will have plenty of home customers to help them prepare an import invasion overseas.
Nissan Confirms Upcoming G37 Convertible, 'Mini SUV' 
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Ford Planning to Revive F-100?
Ferrari California Revealed!
Lamborghini Picks L.A. for U.S. Headquarters
