You never know what will wash ashore on the beaches of Half Moon Bay. Heading for the coffee/wifi cafe to send these dispatches, what do I find in the parking lot, but a pristine 1971 (or ’72) Manta. As you may remember, the best I could in Eugene was this ’74 in a carport that probably hadn’t been driven in some ten years. (Read More…)

The odds of seeing a cool car parked by a CA surfing beach is always a bit higher than average. We’ve been staying in a friend’s guest house on a hill overlooking Half Moon Bay, without cell phone reception or any internet; very relaxing to unplug it all. But the surfing is good around Half Moon Bay, and this nice ’64 Galaxie “fastback” coupe was a nice change from the Priuses to either side of it. (Read More…)

Longtime reader/contributor David Holzman asked yesterday if I could find him a ’64 Chevy wagon while hanging out in San Mateo. We aim to please, so here it is, unfortunately hiding in a garage. Sorry, David; that’s as good as it gets. But for anyone who grew up in the sixties or early seventies, the back end of this then-ubiquitous wagon will undoubtedly trigger memories of riding in one. And hearing that little 283 rev it heart out in first gear up to about seventy, when the two speed Powerglide finally shifted into high under full throttle. In a break from tradition, Chevy went with uncharacteristic rectangular tail lights on the wagons only for 1964. If it weren’t for that Chevy badge, you’d think for all the world this was a low-end Oldsmobile. Enjoy, David; and Happy New Year.

Got schadenfreude? This video represents GM’s pathos-laden attempt at discovering Saab’s relevance, circa 2003. But this is more than just the insincere flogging of a dead brand walking, it’s also more evidence for why GM continually struggles with perception gap. Videos like this, touting turnarounds and viability, have been undermining GM’s credibility for decades. At this point perception gap isn’t even the right term: try “credibility deficit” instead. Meanwhile, die-hard Saab fans are planning on converging on the RenCen in hopes of swaying the masters of Saab’s fate to be merciful to their beloved brand. Don’t hold your breath though: as this video proves, GM has years of cynicism under its belt when it comes to its Swedish division.

TTAC Commentator NICKNICK writes:

Mr. Mehta, my 1999 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT often loses power in the first hundred yards of driving. It has never failed to start, and it has never stalled during the period of power loss. It does not matter if the car is started cold, or if it’s been running for an hour on the highway and restarted after a 3 minute stop for gas. When it loses power, it doesn’t lose ALL power—it feels like it has about as much power as it would idling in gear. Flooring the accelerator does nothing…until it does, at which point it wants to break ya neck. This happens about 80% of the time. If I catch it starting to get fussy, I disengage the clutch and wait three seconds. The problem time passes while I coast, and I can be on my way without any more trouble. The other 20% of the time is trouble-free like a normal car. After the first hundred yards it runs great, sounds great, and gets great gas mileage.

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The underlying cause of GMAC’s failure was no different than so many other American financial institutions: giant bets on risky mortgages at the height of a real estate bubble. And though that error alone would have qualified GMAC for a bailout rescue along with the other failed banks, The WSJ reports that the ongoing support for GMAC is “reflects the troubled company’s importance to the revival of the auto industry.” And man, it had better be important. The GMAC bailout has been one of our least-favorite of the season, rewarding poor practices in auto and mortgage lending, and exposing taxpayers to inordinate risk. But, as TTAC warned back in the pre-bailout days, once the camel gets a nose into the tent, good luck getting it out. And so, GMAC will be receiving another $3.8b in TARP support, on top of the $12.5b it has already received. As a result, the US taxpayer’s stake in GMAC is expected to rise above the current 35 percent stake, just in time for more write-downs planned for the next week. The cash injection is said to prime GMAC for a profitable Q1 2010, erasing some giant losses in the bank’s ResCap mortgage unit. And of course the move will help GMAC continue to underwrite the leases that Chrysler and GM so desperately need, but can’t afford due to plummeting resales. GMAC’s bailout often doesn’t get marked up in the auto industry bailout tally, but at over $16b so far, it’s one of the crucial pieces keeping the zombie automakers shambling along. Now, about repayment…

Mazda have been working on the RX-8′s successor for sometime, and naturally most thought that it would be called the RX-9. As in one step up from the RX-8. Apparently, that’s not the case. Nitrobahn.com reports that RX-7 name is to be resurrected. Nitrobahn hypothesised that the reason for this is to “evoke memories of the rear-wheel drive Mazda produced in between 1978 & 2002″. The new RX-7 will be a 2 seater and due in 2011. Like the current RX-8, the RX-7 will be a rotary engine, which means it can be adapted to run on Hydrogen in the future. InsideLine report that the new engine will be 1.6 litres in a 2 x 880cc configuration. The extra displacement means that the engine should be capable of up to 350 BHP. However,  sources close to Mazda say they are adopting a simpler approach to the engineering of the car, by keeping the power of the engine between 200 to 250 BHP to try and keep the price below $25K. With the RWD Toyobaru, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Kia “Kee,” and Nissan “Silvia” on the horizon, the future market for sporty coupes just keeps getting more and more interesting.

Amid the cries of shock around the blogosphere at the sudden death of the Kia Borrego, another tidbit of more consequential Kia news remains undercovered. And it’s actually bigger Ford news than anything else. Ford had deal with Microsoft for exclusive access to the technology underlying its Sync system. But with Ford’s 18 month term of exclusivity expired, Kia is set to formally announce its Sync-alike at next Tuesday’s International Consumer Electronics Show. Shooting for the middle ground between Ford’s apt “Sync” brand name and Fiat’s asinine “Blue&Me” moniker, Kia has called the system “Uvo” (Short for “Your Voice,” believe it or not).

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As TTAC’s Overseas Editor, allow me to be first to wish you a Happy New Year, or a akemashite omedetou, as they say in the Japanese time zone. May 2010 be better than 2009 (as predicted by Scotia Economics.)  It’s the year of the tiger. Put it in your tank. As long as PETA ain’t watching …

While Tengzhong is still waiting for government approval for its Hummer purchase, Geely can’t complain about a lack of official prop up for its planned purchase of Volvo from Ford. Geely said today to Reuters that they have strong support from the Chinese government, financial and otherwise.
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