Tales From The Cooler: It Seemed Like A Gouda Idea: Utah State Students Build Car Powered By Cheese Waste

I don’t think Bertel would have gone for my original headline:

It Seemed Like A Gouda Idea. Colby Was A Dip But Knew He Curd Build The Car. He Was Not A Whey Nacho Man Nor A Whiz At Car Building As His Wife Brie Reminded Him On Those Nights She Got Grilled On Kahula And Cream While Sitting On A Brick In Front Of Their Swiss Cottage In Monterey, Jack Baruth Being Her True Love. Colby Was Becoming A Basket Queso In His Quest To Get His Kraft In Front Of Auto Writer Csaba Cheddar: Utah State Students Build Car Powered By Cheese Waste

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Tales From The Cooler: Owner's Manual Shootout: 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 Vs. 1968 Ford Mustang

There are two cars parked in my garage that are just begging for a comparison test. A new Mercedes-Benz GLK350 has taken up temporary residence here. My wife Sally Jo is the proud owner of a pristine 1968 Mustang 302 Coupe which was purchased new by her grandfather. How could we resist not doing a comparo to find out which of these vehicles offers the better…owner’s manual?

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The Story Behind The Goosed Suzuki Sales Numbers

Last month, Bertel reported on a Wall Street Journal story that revealed that BMW USA officials inflated sales figures in their zeal to overtake rival Mercedes-Benz in US sales. The automaker was offering dealers cash to basically sell the cars to themselves, under the guise of the units being used as customer demonstrators. The WSJ piece was met with laughter in the halls of car companies, as the practice is common to most automakers. The hilarity has officially ended: a former American Suzuki sales rep was just indicted for wire fraud for conspiring with a dealer to inflate sales figures.

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Tales From The Cooler: Stolen Ford GT Falls To Pieces. TTAC Reader Idemmu Wins Grand Prize.

When we last reported on the saga of the 2005 Ford GT that was stolen in June during a home burglary in Rancho Santa Fe, California, all that had been found of the supercar were some chopped up parts, with no chassis or drivetrain in site. That soon changed.

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Tales From The Cooler: France Forces All Drivers to Buy Breathalyzers. This Is Not A Joke.

On July 1, all 37 million car owners in France were required to spend 2 Euros for a disposable breathalyzer to be kept in their vehicles at all times. Failure to do so will result in a fine of 11 Euros. Lest you think this is a weak attempt at a parody of the French and their love of wine, go here.

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Tales From The Cooler: California Plug-in Owners Pass on HOV Passes

The State of California is concerned that less than 3,800 Chevrolet Volt and Prius Plug-In hybrid owners have applied for Car Pool Lane stickers as of August 3. With these green decals affixed to their cars, owners of these two automobiles may drive with no passengers along the state’s 1,400 miles of HOV lanes.

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Tales From the Cooler: Requiem for Hideaway Headlamps

I bought my first Corvette primarily because of its headlights. Spy photos of the 2005 model had just hit the press, revealing that Chevrolet was dumping the Vette’s hidden headlamps, the heart of the car’s sleek look for 41 years. Corvette purists howled in protest. Convinced that the automotive world as we knew it was coming to an end, I immediately ordered a 2004 Spiral Gray 6-Speed Coupe.

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Tales From The Cooler: Stolen Ford GT Found Stripped

Well, that did not take long. Authorities in Vista, California today found what was left of the 2005 Ford GT discovered stolen from tony Rancho Santa Fe last week. We usually don’t mind strippers at all, butt …

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Tales From the Cooler: Come Vacation In Beautiful Starspangled200 Dot Org!

While stopped in traffic on the 405 today, I gazed at the California license plate on the Mini in front of me, marveling at the clever phrase that Sacramento has chosen to promote the Golden State: “dmv.ca.gov.”

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Tales From The Cooler: Who Stole My Ford GT?

The city of Rancho Santa Fe is located in the rolling hills north of San Diego. It claims, like so many other burgs across this country, to have the highest average family income in the nation. Wherever they rank, the little town of 3,100 residents boasts some serious bucks.

And one RSF resident just lost his or hers 2005 blue-with-white stripes Ford GT supercar.

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Tales From The Cooler: California "Helps" Car Buyers By Raising Documentation Fee

Despite the Golden State being 16 billion dollars upside down and spinning towards bankruptcy, its legislators still find time to concoct regulations to confound the thousands of franchised and independent auto dealers within its borders. These statutes are always enacted to “protect the consumer.” That may not be the case this time.

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Tales From the Cooler: Car Museum Found in Barn

You will find the Deer Park Winery and Automotive Museum in suburban San Diego, next door to the Lawrence Welk Resort for seniors. Yes, that Lawrence Welk. Just follow the Chevy Impalas with their turn signals stuck on.

The museum is a semi-secret. I lived in Southern California for three years before I heard about this eclectic Escondido auto collection. I would later introduce it to other car nuts who were unaware of it, including one who worked only five miles away.

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Tales From The Cooler: Prius Dethrones Cadillac. In The Left Lane
Please say a friendly hello to TTAC’s newest author, Virgil Hilts.

Brock Yates called them “members of the Anti-Destination League.” You and I have our own pet names for the folks who dawdle along in the fast lane, oblivious to those around them.

I have recently deduced that the auto-demographics of Left Lane Blockers has shifted. Over the past 30 years, no automobile has come close to the most common clogger: the Cadillac. Was the traditional Caddy owner taught to drive in the left lane as teen? Does owning the “Standard of the World” give you some entitlement to annoy your fellow man? Whatever the reason, I am here to announce that the Cadillac’s reign is over. All hail the new King of the Left Lane Realm:

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  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉