This is a RIOT. WARNING! NSFW!

When the guy who ate, breathed, drank, slept, shot, and s**t Star Trek 24/7 wasn’t talking about Star Trek, he regularly cited SUVs in general, and Hummers in particular, as examples of how irresponsible we are and how we should not be allowed to drive them, as they are damaging the environment.
And he called himself a “moderate.” Tranzi-Progressive is more like it.

Now, he’s probably celebrating with his fiancé over the demise of Hummer, now that the DFC Chinese have nixed the deal which would have sent the brand overseas. Perhaps it’s just as well; I certainly didn’t like the idea of their owning the brand.
Still, I believe Hummer will be revived by an American firm, and it will stay where it belongs. In the US of A.

I’m beginning to watch Caprica like a hawk…wait, I’m already doing that!...I’m referring to the old cars which show up.
For example, this Ford Galaxie Sam’s driving while scouting out the Graystones. I wonder if they got someone from the local chapter of the Galaxie Club of Canada to ‘donate’ their car for the on-screen performance. In any case, it’s yet another reason why it’s so retro.

Perhaps if RDM & Co. are looking to place cars on that show which would look a little…unworldly…I say they should look at these conversions. After all, Daniel Graystone and/or Joe Adama need to unwind somehow:

ME LIKEY!

HAT TIP: Vilmar

Yes, during our Honeymoon cross-country trip to AZ, The Mrs. and I stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, something I was forced to pass on my initial move out here (good thing too, it was snowing then). It is, to say the least, an exercise in liberal attitudes.
While we were there, I had a flashback of a farmer’s sign in MO, and dang it! I wished I had a spray can of paint…here’s what I would have painted on one of the Cadillacs:

But I don’t know what it is, nor does The Mrs., who took it with her new VZW cell phone (hey, we’re on the Family Plan now!):

Any auto aficianados out there who would care to help, please do!

Talk about Retro….

HAT TIP: BolianAdmiral

I tell ya! It’s those vintage cars from more than half a century ago, some of which are still running. Others are not due to the trade embargo in place for almost as long as those cars have been on the road, unless Президент Оба́ма lifts that, which he probably will and I hope he doesn’t. Can you imagine the fair market value for those vehicles now? It might make those owners more than just a little rich.
I’d much rather wait till those two DFCs named Fidel and Raul Castro are relegated to the ground. These could be the ultimate in Retro!

Twenty years ago, I used to own a 1987 Pontiac Grand Am SE 4-door sedan. Maroon color with maroon interior. Cop Magnet to be sure. And it pissed my ex-wife off to no end. THAT was reason enough to drive it. That little sucker was FAST!
Now, GM is killing the brand. Perhaps it’s good that it is ending. One reason could be GM’s tendency to rebrand everything under the sun into a Pontiac, when they couldn’t produce anything unique. Remember the Pontiac Firefly? Or the G3? Canadians will. The Solstice was a cool-looking roadster, but too little too late. And their last two efforts were brought in from Down Under: the “revived” GTO and the G8.
Then there’s all that history: the Firebird, Bonneville, Tempest, Fiero, the original GTO. I won’t even get into the Union bulls**t, nor the sheer monolithic size of GM which also led to this. It’s only a matter of time until we know whether GM itself will survive with just Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC.
Farewell, Pontiac. No more will Nitwits think you’re a Cadillac. Rest In Peace.

Now here’s some sobering news. Figures when it’s the auto bailout we’re talking about here:

In a move sure to spark outrage, the White House announced today that GM and Chrysler must cease participation in NASCAR at the end of the 2009 season if they hope to receive any additional financial aid from the government. Companies around the globe—Honda and Audi, to name two—have drawn down racing operations, and NASCAR itself has already felt the pinch in the form of reduced team spending. A complete withdrawal from America’s premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler, a substantial amount considering the drastic measures being implemented elsewhere.
“Automakers used to operate on the principle of ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday,’ but the Auto Task Force’s research just doesn’t validate that as true,” said the statement from Президент Оба́ма. While fans have decried the Car of Tomorrow for heavily limiting what little personalization the cookie-cutter series had previously allowed to participating manufacturers, and drivers have slammed its brick-like aerodynamics and unpredictable handling, even the governmental oversight committee sees that the full-scale regulation of the cars leaves the manufacturers very little space for research and development. “NASCAR is a racing series that regulates down to the smallest detail of the cars, where a car badged a Chevrolet or Dodge differs only marginally from a Ford or a Toyota. There’s no technological development to speak of.”

More details here.

The Lady E loves puddy tats. She would s**t if she saw this. Of course, now that this is here, she will:

For all my life, Cop Cars have been adapted from the civilian world. Impalas, Furys, Crown Vics, Intrepids, Tauruses. Now imagine one built from the ground up for Law Enforcement, and you have the Carbon E7, patrolling our city streets and crusing the highways. A vehicle which is supposedly 40 percent more fuel efficient than today’s cruisers and packs a whole lot of punch.
It even looks BAD...as in ‘don’t mess with us.’ Wait till you see the suicide doors and the seats which hold the suspects. I don’t want to be put into one of those, unless it’s a Public Demo to help the citizens get accustomed to seeing these units on our streets.
With GM, Ford, and Chrysler reeling, now might be a good time to introduce these. That way, if the Detroit automakers want to return to profitability, they can concentrate on us citizens.

One thing I can’t stand over the years is GM’s insistence on having separate models of the same vehicle. This was so prevalent during the 1980s, and again this decade, especially in the SUV market segment. On the same platform, you have the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade.
The other car companies do this too, but aren’t so prevalent due to GM’s sheer size. Chrysler plans to trim its model lineup and consolidating its dealers in order to return to profitability. But it’s going to run into heavy interference from the Unions (you guessed it, more so)  and franchise dealerships (less so), respectively, because they keep people working. It’s the right move in an environment where it is perceived that the US economy is weakening. Hopefully, GM and Ford can take the cue as well.

“That’s right, Chum.”

I always wondered where the concept for the Batmobile came from. Now I know.

Frakkin’ A!
When I was a kid living in Italy (40 years ago this month, as a matter of fact), one of the many cars I saw on the streets was the Fiat 500 (aka Cinquecento). These little cars had suicide doors on them, could seat four, and four of them could drive on a two-lane road!
Now, Fiat has Figured It Out and re-introduced a modern-tech retro version of the 500, and it may soon be available in the USA! Would I get one? I dunno, I’d have to actually test one out first, and Of course it’ll have to meet US specs, which I don’t think will be a problem with all the safety gadgets on it (ABS, airbags galore, DRL). We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime. What a Cool Car! In case you’re interested, click on the image to go to the Official Fiat 500 Web Site.