Intermittent Daily Podcast: It's the End of the Acura NSX, and I Feel Fine
The car bloggers went sub-ballistic (what would that be, scientists?) today because Honda announced that it was killing the NSX project. Well, I say good rid…
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Daily Podcast – Lieberman Edition: I Love the Mitsuoka Himiko
Daily Podcast - Lieberman Edition: I Love the Mitsuoka Himiko
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Daily Podcast: How Far We've Come
Sure, it was 1925. But do you ever see even slightly similar ads anymore?
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Daily Podcast: Yesterday's Podcast Today
Daily Podcast: Yesterday's Podcast Today
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Welcome to Podcast Country
Welcome to Podcast Country
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Daily Podcast: Renting a Car in Europe
Daily Podcast: Renting a Car in Europe
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Daily Podcast: Lieberman Edition – The Collector's Pontiac Garage

We just got the fairly obvious news that the Pontiac G8 will die on the vine. Fast forward thirty years. Pontiac cars will only be a historical name, like Lagonda, or Pierce-Arrow. Imagine though, the bitchin’ 1980s-2000s collection that a retro minded old codger could have in his garage:

1. G8 GT
2. GTO (2006)
3. Solstice GXP
4. Trans AM WS6 (2002, with 325 hp LS1 V8)
5. Aztek (for historical purposes, of course).
6. Fiero V6

It could be like all the other cars (like the G5) just never happened. As if.

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Daily Podcast: Is It Really 8:20 Already?
Daily Podcast: Is It Really 8:20 Already?
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Daily Podcast: TTAC Meetup in 2009 … At the Nurburgring

We’re actually planning a few meetups in 2009 for TTAC readers and writers, many of them right here in North America. But with Captain Mike’s upcoming work-related assignment to Germany – a mere one hour from the Nurburgring – we’re going to have a European adventure as well. I’m beginning the search for sponsors (who? uh…). In any case, it should make for a downright thrilling trip, including more than a few frightening rides in the ‘Ring taxi. Separate from driving, I envision copious beer drinking and regional sausages. We’ll be sure to give you plenty of warning ahead of time, should you be planning any business trips to Europe, or be sitting on a pile of frequewnt flyer miles, or actually be an EU resident yourself. I’ll bring the Porsche 911 Turbo, you bring the Nissan GT-R.

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What's Missing From the GM-Chrysler Coverage. Allegedly.

DaveAdmin over at Allpar Weblogs is just as unhappy with the coverage of the potential GM – Chrysler debacle merger as your faithful TTAC correspondents. But for different reasons. Apparently, it’s OK for the mainstream press and armchair analysts to suggest that this is a done deal, but they don’t “get it” when it comes to what might come next. In the main, DaveAdmin reckons they’re all guilty of the sin of omission. “No article I have seen suggests that maybe, because the Dodge trucks are clearly superior (especially in Class 3-5), that GM might shift over to Dodge’s designs. Only one mentioned the Dodge trucks in any way other than ‘to be canned’ at all, and that was to point out the bad timing of their launch. Ford’s big, trucklike Flex, Toyota’s Tundra (with one factory already being converted to other uses), and Ford’s upcoming F-series were apparently examples of good timing. No article I’ve seen mentions the Hemi except disparagingly, as in ‘dummies make V8s when people don’t want them any more.’ (Four years ago.) Never mind that trucks still need V8s and the Hemi is best in class, especially in variable cam form. No article I’ve seen mentions the Phoenix engines or the dual-clutch transmission technology. The latter, to be fair, appears to be dead at the moment, as Chrysler chose to cancel their launch by picking a fight with Getrag and abruptly canceling all talks.” Yeah, to be fair. It gets better…

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Daily Podcast: Keep Your Eye on the Balls
Daily Podcast: Keep Your Eye on the Balls
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Daily Podcast: Tesla Fashionability Shows Problem for Startup Car Companies
Daily Podcast: Tesla Fashionability Shows Problem for Startup Car Companies
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Such a Deal! Pricing Info on New 2010 Chevrolet Camaro
Such a Deal! Pricing Info on New 2010 Chevrolet Camaro
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Daily Podcast Lieberman Edition: A Different Day, A Different Dream Car
Daily Podcast Lieberman Edition: A Different Day, A Different Dream Car
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Daily Podcast: OK, I Lied
Well, not lied, exactly. More like flip-flopped. In my last podcast epistle, I said TTAC wouldn’t make you jump on blog posts because that would be bet…
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Daily Podcast: What Do You Think of the New Design?
Daily Podcast: What Do You Think of the New Design?
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Daily Podcast Lieberman Edition: We Went Over Time. Again.

Sometimes, when we podcast, we just have too much fun. Jonny and I were yammering about the Nissan GT-R, Porsche’s PDK transmission, and of course Toyota’s ass-kicking Hilux and Audi’s bizarre plans for the R8 (which I still don’t totally grasp). The result? We ran way over time. Twelve minutes, forty-one seconds. That’s not okay. The mission is ten minute podcasts with perhaps a minute for a grace period. We’ll be sticking to time from now on. As for the video, never underestimate the stupidity of Russian oligarchs and their even stupider children.

WARNING: Podcast contains some profanity, including an f-bomb.

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Daily Podcast: I Haven't Put Gas in My Car In Three Weeks
One of the joys of telecommuting: no actual commuting. No train ride (I’ll thank you for not spilling your coffee on my New York Times again, strangers…
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Daily Podcast: All of the Responsibility, All of the Blame
President Richard Nixon’s transcripts of the missing 18.5 minutes on the Watergate Tapes admitted that he’d contemplated the possibility of subor…
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Daily Podcast Lieberman Edition: Who Buys Ferrari Sweatshirts?
Daily Podcast Lieberman Edition: Who Buys Ferrari Sweatshirts?
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Daily Podcast Lieberman Edition: Alfa 8C is Sold Out for U.S.

Duh.

Have your volume up for the vid.

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Daily Podcast: Jalopnik's 10 Best Fall Weekend Trip Cars. Or Not.
Daily Podcast: Jalopnik's 10 Best Fall Weekend Trip Cars. Or Not.
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Daily Podcast Lieberman Edition: EBay Motors is Like Crack
Hours, days, weeks. I can’t even begin to tally the time I’ve wasted – flushed away, evaporated, murdered – because of eBay Motors an…
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Daily Podcast: Startup the Future
Daily Podcast: Startup the Future
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Daily Podcast: Wheels of Terror
Daily Podcast: Wheels of Terror
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Daily Podcast: Carmageddon is Upon Us
Daily Podcast: Carmageddon is Upon Us
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Daily Podcast Lieberman Edition: I Hate Teaser Photos
Daily Podcast Lieberman Edition: I Hate Teaser Photos
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Daily Podcast: Meta-Mucil
Meta media mining can make one a bummed-out blogger. I know I kinda lost it with the AutoWeek/Danbury pimpatorial. But I have this deep-seated sense of fair…
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Daily Podcast: The Party's Over
Daily Podcast: The Party's Over
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Daily Podcast: Lieberman: "The Hyundai Sonata Handles Better Than the MINI Cooper"
Daily Podcast: Lieberman: "The Hyundai Sonata handles better than the MINI Cooper"
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Daily Podcast: Muscle Car Writing Contest Tomorrow
Daily Podcast: Muscle Car Writing Contest Tomorrow
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Daily Podcast: Motown Mooch-oirs
Daily Podcast: Motown Mooch-oirs
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Daily Podcast: Lieberman Edition: Racecars Can't Be Daily Drivers
Maserati has a new version of the Gran Turismo called the “Corse.” (Check it out at AutoFiends). It’s stripped out, no sound insulation, ra…
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Daily Podcast: Lieberman Edition – What's a Lagonda Anyway?
The name “Lagonda” is one of those car brands you hear tossed around in historical context like the proverbial football. But I was the bad athlet…
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Daily Podcast: A Giant Bowl of Stupid?
Daily Podcast: Even a Stopped Clock
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Daily Podcast: Lieberman Grumpy About 333 Horsepower Audi S4
Daily Podcast: Lieberman Grumpy About 333 Horsepower Audi S4
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Daily Podcast: Lieberman Edition
Podcast, Lieberman, Berkowitz, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche
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Daily Podcast: Bifurcating Podcasts
Daily Podcast: Bifurcating Podcasts, Farago, Lieberman, Berkowitz
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Daily Podcast: I Want to Be Bob Lutz
Daily podcast on the truth about cars about Podcast, Lutz, Lieberman, Camaro, Porsche, Berkowitz
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Daily Podcast: No More Hertz Mustangs. Only Corvettes.
Alright, that’s a little misleading. You can still pick up a regular V6 Mustang from Hertz. And I’d imagine you always will be able to. But they…
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Daily Podcast: Ferrari Enzos and Camera Phones
This past Sunday, while driving around the feudal kingdom that is Long Island, I spotted five Ferraris. They weren’t coming from a show – just ri…
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Daily Podcast: The L.A.-S.F.-N.Y. Bubble
Among other topics in today’s podcast, Jonny and I discuss the Audi A3. He and I both agree, we’re seeing them all over the place. But if you&rsq…
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Daily Podcast: Justin Case
When Justin began this, his first week as TTAC’s new ME, I warned him that running the site was like playing a slot machine. Posting blogs, editorials…
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Daily Podcast: Time to Drive
Many years ago, while riding a water taxi in Venice, I asked the pilot if he ever went onto the Terraferma (mainland) – and if so, if he needed a car.…
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Daily Podcast: Still Excited at the Mailbox
Today I got this month’s issue of Octane in the mail. What a delight. While the American car magazine landscape is severely lacking in depth, compellin…
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Daily Podcast: Farago Takes a Break
My wife doesn't believe me, but I'm taking a week off, my first in more than two-and-a-half years. This is my last opportunity to take a breather before Fran…
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Daily Podcast: What is a Chevy?

TTAC commentator Brent asked why fellow members of our Best and Brightest aren't cutting the new Cruze some slack. "All I ever see are comments (rightly) digging on GM for having no truly competitive small cars, and for having none in the pipeline. Now we learn of one that in fact *is* in the pipeline. Furthermore, it just might be competitive. And what do I see? A bunch of comments digging on GM for even trying." As a cynical bastard, I think the cynicism has been well and truly earned, through dozens of less-than-stellar (i.e. crap) GM small cars. And, lest we forget, Chevy is a brand that touts itself as "An American Revolution" whilst selling a Korean car. In fact, what equity/credibility remains within the Chevy brand? Like a Rock reliability? Not for cars. (Not yet, anyway.) So, really, it all comes down to one word: Corvette. And if that's true, what IS a Chevy? No matter how good the Cruze may be (Jonny), it simply can't traverse GM's branding issues. Nothing can. [PS: DON'T FORGET THERE'S A PODCAST BELOW]

2009 Corvette ZR1 - First Drive

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EcoDriving Spinmeister: "We Can't Let the Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good"

After our characteristically snarky blog on the launch of ecodrivingUSA.com website, The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers reached out to TTAC to defend its PR campaign. Like every professional spinmeister I've ever met, AAM's Senior Director of Communications proved to be an affable, sensible, persuasive guy. And how can you argue against saving gas? So I let the not-so-sibilant Charlie Territo make his case, then explored other mpg-related issues: federal fuel economy regs, state's rights in the matter and suchlike. TTAC encourages any newsmaker (or their rep) to contact us about any published story to make their case on the site, including, should they desire, unedited editorial space for their reply. (robert.farago@thetruthaboutcars.com)

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Daily Podcast: Sign of the Times
According to our pals at pistonheads, old people are pissed that the UK's "watch out for old people" traffic signs depicts old people as, uh, old people. You…
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Daily Podcast: The Ugly American?
"(Americans see it as) their God-given right to buy the largest vehicle they possibly can, own as many vehicles as they can, trade them for new vehicles as o…
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Daily Podcast: Needs Must?
"Selling consumers more vehicle than they need has been the mainstream auto industry's business model for most of the past century," Joseph P. White writes i…
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Daily Podcast: No Long Termers Need Apply
There is an argument to be made for car mags and websites accepting manufacturer-supplied long term test vehicles. But I'm not going to make it. If these con…
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Daily Podcast: All Hail Frank Williams
Frank Williams arrived at TTAC as a reader. He became a writer. Then an editor. Then Managing Editor. His tenure at the top has been a blessing, freeing me f…
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TTAC Investigates Thermal Butt Management
In our ongoing campaign to put TTAC at the forefront of automotive journalism, we've decided to go behind the headlines, to provide the kind of insight and p…
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Daily Podcast: The Bottom Line
As TTAC's Black Friday Redux coverage gathered pace, I paused to scan a USA Today profile of VW's new U.S. boss. If you don't read the article too closely, y…
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Daily Podcast: A Pom-Pom Free Zone
I've been exceptionally busy on the flame-suppression front. This week, I've removed dozens of offensive comments, and permanently banned more than a few unr…
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Daily Podcast: America is Waiting
I was delighted when I read CSJohnston's comment under the last Podcast intro. Responding to the question "What is a Ford?" he wrote "One could sum up Ford a…
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Daily Podcast: First We Kill All The Lawyers
But we've got to do it soon. Justin takes his New York bar exam on Tuesday and Wednesday, and our resident new car guy is no John F. Kennedy Jr. Fortunately…
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Daily Podcast: The Infiniti G35 Wrecked Everything

A few years ago, when my mother was car shopping for entry luxury sedans, I suggested she "just get an Infiniti G35x." I've never been wild about the G – especially when laden with AWD – but it had more power than any competitors at the time, offered the AWD, the all-important luxury badge, and it was the best price in the class. I cannot count the number of time when I've seen in car forums somewhere, a debate or discussion in which the G35 plays the role of spoiler. "Why get a BMW 328i with only 230 horsepower when you could get an Infiniti G35 for the same price with 300+?" Replace BMW 328i with Mercedes C300, or Audi A4, or Lexus IS. That being said, they moved about 5600 G35 and G37s in June, compared to over 9000 BMW 3-Series sold in the US that month. Then again, the BMW 3-Series has a cult following going back 30 years. While the Infiniti G35 wears the legendary Skyline name in Japan, 99.9% of car shopping Americans don't know that. (Ken Watanabe, Japanese movie star and costar in The Last Samurai, is featured in the ad above). The bottom line is: Infiniti figured out how to get to the bargain breaking point. By that, I mean the position at which they offer the best value in the class, but not so much value that their car is no longer desirable.

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Daily Podcast: "Tell Me Something, Anything… I Feel the Need to Be Inside of Your Head If I Cannot Be Near You"
At the risk of being sued by Julie Roehm, inventor of the Dodge brand's ill-fated lingerie bowl, the ex-auto exec strikes me as a bit of a bunny boiler. The…
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  • 1995 SC At least you can still get one. There isn't much for Ford folks to be happy about nowadays, but the existence of the Mustang and the fact that the lessons from back in the 90s when Ford tried to kill it and replace it with the then flavor of the day seem to have been learned (the only lessons they seem to remember) are a win not only for Ford folks but for car people in general. One day my Super Coupe will pop its headgaskets (I know it will...I read it on the Internet). I hope I will still be physically up to dropping the supercharged Terminator Cobra motor into it. in all seriousness, The Mustang is a.win for car guys.
  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.