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It's one thing to protect yourself on the road against bad drivers who might cut you off or ride your bumper on the highway. It's quite another to do that when those drivers have guns and want to kidnap the diplomat in your back seat. While the latter scenario may sound unlikely, many drivers in law enforcement, security and the military go through training to prevent the success of just such an attack-on-wheels.

Learning how people in the protection business escape an automotive attack is on our list of 1,001 Car Things To Do Before You Die, which means it's on Jessi and Patrick's list too. We sent them to the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving to enroll in its four-day Executive Protection/Anti-Kidnapping program. Their course instruction includes valuable skills like what to do when your driver's been shot, the proper way to do a J-turn and how to perform a textbook PIT maneuver, among other things.

Even if your life isn't in jeopardy from a phalanx of baddies in hot pursuit, the end game here is a finer understanding of using automotive physics to one's advantage and improving one's car control skills.

Click here to watch The List #0187: Escape an Automotive Attack.



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Click here to learn more about our hosts, Jessi and Patrick.

Just don't answer. The question is neither relevant, nor is it even the crux of the column. Get past the clicky smelling headline, and what you have here is a combination of two news stories, one new and one old, both of which you've likely already come across.

We're going to play nice here and not knock over Salon columnist David Sirota's house of cards, because this is a good read and he's a talented writer – even if, off the top of our heads, we can name several popular vehicles that offer a fuel economy benefit to those willing to row their own, from the Volkswagen Jetta to the Chevrolet Sonic to the BMW 3 Series. But the guy does have a point that's probably of great benefit to many Salon readers: If a smug sense of superiority is what you're after, opting for a manual transmission is no longer a sure bet. (Locally sourced organic produce and craft beer, for the win!)

In the end, Sirota is smart enough to come to two conclusions that most of us would agree to. The first being that driving a manual is fun, and the second, that it's hard to text while steering, operating all three pedals, and working that stick.

On second thought, maybe you should answer with a simple 'yes' or 'no'. See below for our completely unscientific poll.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of appropriate ages, your requisite dose of big-screen fast driving is here. And it looks pretty darn funny, too.

The movie in question is called Hit and Run. It was written and directed by Dax Shepard, who also stars in the film alongside such notables as Bradley Cooper, Tom Arnold, a couple of girls named Kristen, a custom '67 Lincoln Continental hot rod and a 700-horsepower off-road racing buggy. The comedy (not to be confused with the 1924, 1938, 1957, 1959, 1966, 1975, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 or 2011 movies of the same name) centers around a guy whose past as a bank-robbing getaway driver comes back to haunt him, forcing him and his girlfriend to hit the road.

It tickles us in all the right places, but we'll let you judge for yourself from the trailer down below. Look for it at local theaters from August 24.

Before financial Stargate opened in September of 2008 and transported us to an entirely new economic dimension, it was oh so common to read about domestic automakers hammering Tier One suppliers to lower their prices. Of course, suppliers are still asked to find efficiencies, but pre-2008, it seemed a point of honor to hold a supplier's feet to the fire. No more: in the latest Working Relations Index survey of suppliers by Detroit firm Planning Perspectives Inc., General Motors and Chrysler rocketed up the charts to bring the bunch much closer together.

Admittedly, the two companies are still in last place, with GM just ahead of Chrysler and Toyota and Honda still up top. But perspective and improvement is the issue here: in 2005, Toyota scored 415 and GM scored 114. In this year's survey, Toyota scored 296 and Chrysler scored 248. It is the first time in the 12 years of the survey that the six automakers covered have been separated by less than 50 points. Chrysler's jump was led by the efforts of the the late Dan Knott, whle GM's improvement has been led by Bob Socia.

And yes, this is also a matter of the perennial leaders, Toyota and Honda, suffering a dip: in 2010 Toyota scored 327 and Honda 309, two years later, Toyota has dropped 31 points. Every automaker, however, from top to bottom acknowledged that they still have work to do with supplier relations. The benefits of good feelings are that suppliers tend to present their newest tech to, and make better parts for, the automakers with whom they have the best relationships. Naturally, it has been found that the reverse is true as well.

Nissan and Ford make up the middle two spots, where they've been for years. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Hyundai aren't on the list yet; PPI feels it doesn't have enough data on the Germans to yet to officially include them, and it doesn't have enough data on Hyundai to rank it at all. If the data gathered on the Germans was included, though, they would sandwich the rest of the field: BMW and Mercedes at the top, Volkswagen at the bottom a point shy of Chrysler.

If we had a dollar for every time we read a headline that said, "[insert automaker here] considering a diesel for U.S. market," we'd have a pretty sizable stack of Washingtons. So why, then, is this story of particular interest?

After the website Efficient Automobile wrote about the possibility of Kia offering a diesel-powered Optima here in the United States, the automaker took things a step further, addressing this on its Facebook page. Kia's North American public relations team asks its loyal followers, "Would you drive a diesel?" And from what we can tell after a quick scan of the comments, the yeses certainly seem to outweigh the nos.

In Europe, the Optima is available with a 1.7-liter turbo-diesel four, good for 134 horsepower and 239 pound-feet of torque. The decidedly vague story from Efficient Automobile also states that the diesel Optima shares many of the visual upgrades that we have on the U.S.-spec Optima Hybrid, including a lowered ride height and special wheels.

It's worth mentioning that Kia's North American PR Facebook account is largely geared towards the U.S. media, and we have yet to meet a single member of the automotive press who wouldn't drive a diesel. But since Kia PR does not restrict its Facebook page, perhaps this is a small way for the automaker to gauge customer interest about the possibility of offering a diesel-powered car here in the United States. And to answer the question at hand, yes, Kia, we would.

"We are ready to make this car the top seller if the customer agrees."

Nissan started Job One production for the 2013 Altima sedan at its Smyrna, Tennessee plant today.

Nissan has big plans for the fifth-generation Altima, which was the number-two selling car in the United States in 2011. The company is adding a third shift at Smyna, and shifting models around between this plant and its Canton, Mississippi plant with an eye toward the Altima passing the Toyota Camry as the top-selling model in America.

Toyota sold 308,510 Camrys last year, compared with Nissan's 268,981 Altimas.

"We haven't built and designed this car the way we have, and made all these changes with a goal of being number-two," said Nissan Americas vice chairman Bill Krueger. Krueger admits that the consumer will vote on whether the Altima becomes the top selling car. "But we are ready to make this car the top seller if the customer agrees."

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam chimed in on the rivalry. "We are going to give the folks down in Georgetown [Kentucky] a serious run for the money," said Haslam, speaking of Toyota's plant in the neighboring state.

Nissan definitely has the capacity to pass the Camry, as it builds Altimas at two plants.

Krueger says he is not willing to cut and slash profit margins to chase the top-seller number for Altima. Nissan has long been more aggressive in incentive spending than its Japanese rivals in large part because it does not have the brand cachet and reputation for durability and quality that Toyota and Honda have.

Nissan built 570,000 vehicles in the U.S. last year and is adding a third shift to Smyrna. Nissan executives, however, won't pinpoint what total capacity is for Smyrna and Canton for competitive reasons. But it definitely has the capacity to pass the Camry's sales, as it builds Altimas at both plants.

Driving impressions of the 2013 Altima are embargoed until May 25, but we are allowed to tell you about a new feature we think is pretty cool. The tire pressure monitoring system not only tells the driver specifically what tire is low, but when you inflate each tire to the ideal, manufacturer-specified level, the car's horn sounds. Pretty neat, huh?.

By and large, the machines created for the SEMA show in Las Vegas are built for lounging around under convention center lights and not much else. All those go-fast parts we see bolted on do little more than collect lustful stares from from the crowd. But Creations n' Chrome set out to discover just what their bolt on additions to its Ford Mustang were good for. Under the outrageous 3dCarbon bodykit sits a Vortech supercharged 5.0-liter V8 good for around 580 horsepower at 8 psi of boost on stock internals. KW served up a set of Variant 3 coilovers, and Hotchkis took care of front and rear sway bars.

The crew rolled the blown Mustang out the to the Mojave Mile for a top speed run. The machine racked up a final velocity of 182.4 mph, though the final seconds of the run looked anything but stable (we hear there was a 20 mph crosswind). Still, we're impressed at the machine's performance. For perspective, the Boss 302 is only good for 155 mph. Check out the video for yourself below.

Carroll Shelby's passing, BMW 3 Series Wagon, Porsche sub-Boxster/Pajun, Google car in public, BMW 2 Series


Episode #282 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Chris, Dan and Zach chat about the passing of industry legend Carroll Shelby, the BMW 3 Series Wagon that's coming soon, Porsche and its rumored small five-door, Pajun (along with plans for a baby Boxster), Google's self-driving car getting the go-ahead to roam Nevada's streets, and the coming BMW 2 Series. Your questions and comments power the end of the 'cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We've embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #282:




Topics:

• Caroll Shelby passes away
• BMW 3 Series wagon headed stateside
• Porsche baby Boxster and Pajun
• Google self-driving car in public
• BMW 2 Series arrives in 2014

In the Autoblog Garage:
2012 Chrylser 300 AWD
2012 Honda Fit Sport
2012 Volkswagen Tiguan


Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Zach Bowman

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The Ford Motor Company and the automotive industry as a whole are mourning the loss today of Harold "Red" Poling, who passed away on May 12 in Pacific Grove, California, at the age of 86.

A Michigan native, Poling was a navy veteran and a graduate of Monmouth College and Indiana University, where he received his MBA. He started working for Ford as an intern at the Rouge steel mill way back in 1950, rising up the corporate ladder over the years as a financial expert.

In March of 1980, after running Ford's North American and European operations, Poling was named president and CEO of the entire company, and ten years later was elected its chairman.

An inductee to the Automotive Hall of Fame and an active member of his community, Poling lead Ford through lean times and into profitability, ushering an enormous quantity of vehicles into production over his many years of leadership. Scroll down for an official statement from his successor Bill Ford.

The door has not yet closed on Saab. Hoping for yet another 11th hour stay of execution, the defunct carmaker's chief union, IF Metall, has written directly to President Obama, asking him to intervene, according to Just-Auto. While on the surface, this may seem silly, it's actually rather clever, even if it has little likelihood of working.

With the United States government still owning 26 percent of General Motors, the Swedish union is hoping it can appeal to Obama to pressure General Motors into granting licenses to continue manufacturing Saab vehicles, according to the report. It's this sticking point that has torpedoed every attempt to forestall Saab's dissolution, as GM fears that were it to allow continued production of Saabs developed under GM's ownership, it would open up the possibility of intellectual property conflicts, particularly if a Chinese manufacturer that competes with GM's own Chinese partner, SAIC, acquires Saab.

You have to admire Saab loyalists, as they clearly have not given up hope. But in this case, they just don't have any other options: Unemployment in the Saab hometown of Trollhättan has hit 40 percent, according to the report.

Regular readers should be plenty familiar with the trend in the Chinese market towards long-wheelbase versions of the luxury sedans we have here. It's just what high-end customers in the decentralizing economy look for. And European automakers have been only too glad to oblige.

BMW, Audi, Porsche and Infiniti have all recently stretched their existing luxury sedans to lure new buyers in the rapidly developing Chinese market, and now word has it that Volvo is following suit with a long-wheelbase version of the S60.

The Chinese-owned Swedish automaker already produces a stretched version of the S80 in China, but has reportedly found little success. The hope is that the S60 – which for all its positive attributes does not have a particularly spacious rear bench – will plug that gap better in long-wheelbase form.

Mark Heidaker's Hennessey Ford GT is back to work snagging records. Sean Kennedy once again took to the wheel of the machine at the Houston Half Mile Shootout, and just as before, the duo didn't disappoint. Kennedy was able to pilot the wicked GT to an astonishing 212.9 miles per hour in a mere half mile, successfully snagging the world record in the process. Not too shabby.

As you may recall, this same team walked away with the standing mile world record back in March. At that time, Kennedy shot the GT to 257.7 mph in the allotted distance. We have to wonder what these guys have up their sleeves for the next stunt. Click Scroll down to check out the understandably quick half mile video for yourself.

You are the driver of a yellow Lamborghini Gallardo, and you've been waiting at a traffic light for something like an entire minute. That glowing red orb of light has been the matador's crimson cape to your bull, taunting you, holding you back, making you very, very angry. So crush the gas pedal a few times and let your V10 snort for all to hear – when the light turns green, everyone's going to know you are not to be toyed with.

You get the green flag and drop the hammer... and all of a sudden you – and two motorists in the oncoming lane – wish you could take it all back and do it all over again. Softly this time. Have a look at the Lamborghini video below for a guide in how not to take off from a light. The action starts at 0:40.

It seems that ever since humankind grew legs and climbed out of the ocean, we've been trying to figure out ways to avoid using said appendages. While many of these efforts have been wildly successful – think Roman chariots, Pony Express, and the Ford Model T – the recent spate of personal mobility devices hasn't quite taken off.

The poster child for this failure is, of course, the Segway. Though completely awesome, its greatest success has come in comedic appearances on television (Arrested Development) and in the movies (Paul Blart: Mall Cop). But manufacturers have forged ahead, undaunted in their desire to bring human-like mobility to humans. The latest: The Honda Uni-Cub.

An evolution of Honda's U3-X motorized unicycle, the Uni-Cub marries a saddle and sturdy base with an omni-directional drive wheel. A rider controls the Uni-Cub by simply shifting their weight. Honda says it is "designed for harmony with people," as the device positions the rider at relatively the same height as pedestrians, rather than towering over them like a Segway rider.

The Uni-Cub is designed for use indoors, and is powered by a lithium-ion battery and electric drive. It can reach a top speed of 3.7 miles per hour and has a range of 3.7 miles, meaning that any reasonably fit individual should be able to both outrun and outlast the Uni-Cub.

Honda will begin demonstration testing of the device in June.

Scroll down to read the full press release and watch a video of the Uni-Cub in action, and be sure to check out all the images in our gallery.