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In observance of Memorial Day…

Filed under: Etc.

Chevrolet Camaro

Tribute 2010 Chevrolet Camaro – Click above for high-res image gallery

To some, Memorial Day is the first real kick-off to summer. Swimming pools open, the grill is fired up for burger and hot dog duty and we all take a day to kick back and enjoy the warmth. (Especially up here in the northern half of the country where the winter seemed to drag on forever.)

But the real purpose of Memorial Day is to pay tribute to the men and women of our armed forces who have died serving our country. So, while you may be enjoying a Monday off from the work-week grind, make sure you take a moment to honor the fallen, and salute those who voluntarily fight to keep our country free.

And if you didn’t see it last year, be sure to scroll through our attached image gallery for the most American Chevrolet Camaro we’ve ever come across. It practically screams, “Born in the USA!”

In observance of Memorial Day… originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 May 2011 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay Find of the Day: Chevy Citation trike can’t decide which way to go

Filed under: Classics, Auctions, Etc., Chevrolet, Motorcycle, Celebrities, Specialty

Triation custom vehicle

The Triation – Click above for high-res image gallery

Some creations out there defy description, walking the thin line between absurdity and awesome toed by the likes of the Volkswagen Type II flatbed and the Tatra T87. This is one such machine. Branded “Triation” by its wayward creator, this ride seemingly mates all the hatefulness of the Chevrolet Celebrity with a propensity for rollovers typically enjoyed only by the Reliant Robin. You see, the Triation uses a Celebrity’s 2.5-liter four-cylinder to push itself down the road.

Why? You’d be better off spending your time pondering why there are no indigo skittles.

Along with three years of custom fabrication work, this project makes use of enough fiberglass to sustain the aftermarket body kit industry for posterity. The seller claims that the Triation has spent most of its life garaged since it needs a clutch. If the thought of fiberglass splinters and malaise-era reliability have you licking your chops, you’d better get on it. This machine is up to $4,700 with the reserve not met and a few hours left on the auction.

eBay Find of the Day: Chevy Citation trike can’t decide which way to go originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 14 May 2011 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Online Find of the Day: Ferrari 599XX puts the seven-figure track car into perspective

Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Ferrari, Racing

Ferrari 599XX on JamesList

Ferrari 599XX on JamesList – Click above for image gallery

Anything you can do, I can do better. It might as well be the battle cry sung along the autostrada between Maranello and Sant’Agata Bolognese. Because Ferrari and Lamborghini have been at each other’s throats like the Sforzas and the Medicis for decades. So if you thought the notion of Lamborghini charging €2 million for a track-bound production version of the Sesto Elemento sounded crazy, look no further than their cross-town rivals for the precedent.

Here’s a rare Ferrari 599XX – and a sinister one at that, decked out all in black – up for sale in France. It’s one of only 30 examples made for the company’s exclusive client test driver program and packs a screaming 720-horsepower 6.0-liter V12 with all the latest wind-cheating, stop-watch trouncing technology the company’s considerable army of engineers has come up with. It’s not every day that one of these goes up for sale. In fact, this is the first one we’ve seen.

So what’s the asking price? €1,315,600 – used. (That’s about $1.9 million at current exchange rates.) You can bet it was driven hard, too. What’s more, someone will most likely snap it up in due course. And if someone can spend €1.3 million on a used Ferrari track car that’s based on an existing production model, suddenly it doesn’t seem so far-fetched to imagine Lamborghini finding 20 buyers willing to shell out €2 million on a completely new one.

Head on over to JamesList for the full listing. We’ve got the regrettably low-res images of this particular example compiled for your viewing pleasure in our gallery, but for a better look at the gaggle of 599XXs we encountered up close and personal at Miller Motorsport Park, follow the jump.

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Online Find of the Day: Ferrari 599XX puts the seven-figure track car into perspective originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 May 2011 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Online Find of the Day: Luigi Chinetti’s ’69 Ferrari 365 GT Speciale cover girl

Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Ferrari

1969 Ferrari 365 GT Speciale

1969 Ferrari 365 GT Speciale – Click above for image gallery

If one name is synonymous with Ferrari in North America, it’s surely Luigi Chinetti. The Italian-American was Maranello’s first importer and dealer in the United States, and was also the founder of the North American Racing Team (NART) that campaigned Prancing Horses on American circuits. And in case that wasn’t enough to prove his credentials, he also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans no less than three times.

Chinetti’s considerable influence with Ferrari also led to a handful of road cars built to his specifications. The convertible version of the iconic 275 GTB/4, for example, was known as the NART Spyder. Chinetti also had a pair of these 365 GT Speciales built to his specifications by Carrozzeria Autosport of Modena, and one of them is now up for sale out of Seattle.

Given the 80s styling, we’d venture that the conversion was undertaken years after the vehicle’s production. And while its coachwork may be divisive, it is consistent: one look at the NART’s later 512 BB LM and you’ll immediately see the family resemblance. Based on the 365 GT 2+2 (not to be confused with the Daytona that replaced it), it packs a 4.4-liter triple-carb V12 and independent suspension.

According to the seller, this unique example (chassis 12611 in red over black, as opposed to the second example in black over cream) was featured on the cover of the April 1989 issue of Automobile Magazine. Ferrari of Seattle is asking just under $300k, which may seem like a big chunk of change, but for such a rare example of American Ferrari history – one which sold for $314k in Tokyo way back in 1991 – this could worth it.

Online Find of the Day: Luigi Chinetti’s ’69 Ferrari 365 GT Speciale cover girl originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 May 2011 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog talks to Saab NA President and COO Tim Colbeck after his first day

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Marketing/Advertising, Saab

Tim Colbeck, Saab

“I’m a horrible manager,” admits Muller, “but I’m very good at raising money.”

While in Washington D.C. for the 2012 Saab 9-4X launch, we had dinner next to Victor Muller, then spoke to the newly announced captain of Saab’s North American ship, Tim Colbeck, who actually fills the dual roles of president and COO – at the end of his first day on the job. Muller started the evening by talking about the most recent troubles, saying of the production stoppage, “It was all my fault.”

“Saab was really a General Motors subsidiary – GM financing, GM terms and conditions, GM suppliers, and things can start to come apart when you’re independent. Sometimes you have to tell suppliers it’s not going to be the way it was.”

Muller says a single supplier told Saab that “if we didn’t pay, he wasn’t going to open his truck that day,” and Muller “called his bluff.” The supplier was a man of his word, wouldn’t deliver the parts, and the lack of those particular components caused a production stoppage of two hours, which Muller says is “normal elsewhere, but not in Sweden.”

To hear Muller tell it, it might not have been such a problem if the Swedish media, which he accuses of being Saab bashers, hadn’t turned it into a sensational story. “Within two hours of the stoppage,” he said, “we didn’t have one supplier with problems, we had 92 suppliers with problems” as Saab experienced a “run on the bank.” Continue reading…

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Autoblog talks to Saab NA President and COO Tim Colbeck after his first day originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 May 2011 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay Find of the Day: Tornado Attack Vehicle can be yours for $100k

Filed under: Aftermarket, Truck, Auctions, Etc., Work, Off-Road

Tornado Attack Vehicle

Tornado attack vehicle – Click above for high-res image gallery

One of the toughest aspects of tornado chasing, besides running headlong into almost certain death, is finding a vehicle that can withstand the violent onslaught of wind and debris generated even by (relatively) weak storms. Over the years, storm chasers have come up with all sorts of solutions to the transportation issue, with everything from beefed-up pickup trucks to balls-to-the-wall armor-plated beasts.

The Tornado Attack Vehicle is the latter, and is credited as being one of the first specialized tornado chasing machines ever created. The truck was commissioned by legendary tornado chaser Steven Green and is the first vehicle to be driven in to the heart of a funnel cloud. Even with heavy modifications, Green knew a road-going pickup truck platform wasn’t going to cut it. To ensure he and his team got through the twister and lived to tell about it, he had the truck built from the ground up.

The skeleton of the monster is a steel tube frame, draped with 16-gauge steel bodywork. The windows and wheel covers are made of bulletproof M10 Lexan plastic, while the windshield sports a triple layer of super-strong DuPont Mylar. According to the listing, one layer of Mylar is enough to stop a .38 caliber pistol round.

All that armor means this thing isn’t what you would call light, so a Chevrolet ZZ502 big block was chosen to send power to front and rear Dana axles through a custom Turbo 400 automatic transmission. That’s an impressive list of specs to be sure, but we’ll stick to doing our tornado watching courtesy of CNN. Check out the full eBay listing here.

eBay Find of the Day: Tornado Attack Vehicle can be yours for $100k originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 May 2011 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Online Find of the Day: 1988 Italdesign Aztec

Filed under: Concept Cars, Classics, Convertible, Auctions, Europe, Design/Style

1988 Italdesign Aztec

Before Pontiac unleashed the vile Aztek on the world, there was another, weirder car that bore the name. In 1988, Italdesign introduced the Aztec, a two-seat roadster that made extremely limited production and carried a $750,000 price tag when new.

Sporting a twin-pod cockpit-style interior and slab-sided, angular design, this thing looks ready for intergalactic travel. Despite looking like it should be parked outside the Mos Eisley cantina, it sports a relatively pedestrian Audi turbo five-cylinder powerplant. The car’s 220 horses meet the road via a Lancia Delta Integrale-derived four-wheel-drive system.

The Aztec was built as Italdesign’s 20th anniversary present to itself, and broke cover at the 1988 Turin Auto Show. Depending on who you ask, Italdesign built either 18 or 50 of the cars. Either way, you don’t see these things very often. The seller is mum on the car’s price tag, but thanks to its rarity, blue-chip nameplate, and stratospheric original MSRP, its a cinch this thing will break six figures.

Online Find of the Day: 1988 Italdesign Aztec originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 May 2011 19:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A day in the office with Roland Sands is better than yours

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Motorcycle

Roland Sands photoshoot

Roland Sands photo shoot – Click above to watch video after the jump

By almost all accounts, we’ve got a pretty sweet gig here. We drive new cars, write up a few words, snap a few pictures and share the whole shindig with you in what is truly one of the finest slices of fried employment around. But that doesn’t mean we don’t get jealous of other occupations or the gents that work them. Take Roland Sands, for example. The man designs and builds some of the most beautiful custom bikes, helmets and cars around, and recently, he partnered up with Jamie Robinson for a full photo shoot.

How’d it go? Let’s just say that while we’ve had some pretty good days at the office, none of them have ever compared to the day Sands had while strutting some of his hardware. Hit the jump to check out the video for yourself, though do be warned; some of the scenes may not be safe for cubical-viewing.

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A day in the office with Roland Sands is better than yours originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 May 2011 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Online Find of the Day: BaT bags a pair of Lancia Delta Integrale specials

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Performance, Auctions, Europe, Hatchback, Lancia

Lancia Delta Integrale special editions

Lancia Delta Integrale special editions – Click above for a high-res image gallery

It’s rare enough to find one Lancia Delta Integrale for sale in North America. It’s rarer still to find an example of one of the special edition cars Lancia made over the last two years of the Delta Integrale’s life cycle. This week, though, Bring a Trailer is featuring two such cars from one Canadian seller.

The first car is one of 400 1992 Lancia Delta Integrale Martini 5 Special Editions, built to commemorate Lancia’s fifth World Rally Championship. The Martini 5 also marked the first run of special edition Integrales. According to the seller, this one has been upgraded with Martini 6 decals, 17-inch Speedline wheels and a catalytic converter-less Group B exhaust system.

Inside, there’s an aftermarket OMP steering wheel, Alcantara trim and a pair of delicious Recaro buckets. The seller says he still has the original wheels if the 17s are a bit much. Though the car is apparently street legal in Canada, it will need a catalytic converter if it’s going to pass a smog test in Vancouver. Those of us in the States will have to make do with a show and display exception, or wait until the car is 25 years old before it can be registered.

The second car is one of 250 1994 Lancia Delta Integrale Edizione Finale cars made specifically for the Japanese market. Like all Edizione Finales, this example wears Rosso Amarento paint, and carries a laundry list of the Delta’s most desirable options. That means a set of anthracite gray 16-inch Speedline wheels, push-button start, carbon fiber trim, aluminum pedals, a passenger footrest and the same Recaro furniture that graces the Martini Delta. On top of all that, the Edizione Finale received a bump to 250 horsepower, thanks to revised engine management.

Both cars are available exclusively through BaT, though we doubt they’ll be sticking around too long given their rarity and desirability. Unfortunately for us, they’re priced accordingly. The 1992 Martini 5 car is listed at a heady $80,000, while the 1994 Edizione Finale is “just” $65,000. Head over to Bring A Trailer for more.

Gallery: 1992 Lancia Delta Integrale Martini 5

1992 Lancia Delta Integrale Martini 5 front

Gallery: 1994 Lancia Delta Integrale Edizione Finale

1994 Lancia Delta Integrale Edizione Finale 3/4

[Source: BringATrailer]

Online Find of the Day: BaT bags a pair of Lancia Delta Integrale specials originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 New York Auto Show: Day 1 Round Up

Filed under: New York Auto Show

Day One of the 2011 New York Auto Show has come and gone, bringing with it a whole slew of new cars, trucks and concept vehicles for us to obsess over. We’ve gone ahead and sorted through the day’s unveilings and put them all together in one handy-dandy spot. And of course, tomorrow will be more of the same. Stay tuned!

Nissan Leaf NISMO RC	MB SLS AMG Gulf Livery	Scion FR-S Concept
2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8	2011 Jeep Wrangler Mojave	2012 VW Beetle
2012MB C63 AMG	2012 Nissan Versa	2011 Subaru Impreza
2012 Ford Taurus SHO	2012 Chrysler 300S	2012 Jeep SRT8
2011 Panamera Turbo S	2012 Hyundai Accent	Lexus LF-Gh Concept
MB Concept A-Class	2012 MB E63 AMG	2013 Chevrolet Malibu