The 2010 Dodge Ram Power Wagon is one very capable full-size pickup truck. Its 383-horsepower HEMI V8 engine is but a small part of a rock-traversing equation that includes a solid front axle, electronic sway bar disconnect and a pair of limited-slip differentials. And while the Power Wagon has its way with the desert rocks, it can also tow over 10,000 pounds and tote nearly 2,000 more in the bed.

The Power Wagon appears to be the heavy duty, no-nonsense off-roader that Ram fans have come to expect since the variant first came online in 2005. Our friend Mike Levine over at Pickuptrucks.com took Dodge's freshly updated gravel king out for some fun at the Johnson Valley off-highway vehicle park in Southern California, and he brought cameras to properly document their adventure. Hit the jump to watch as the Power Wagon goes all Kama Sutra with a raft of contorted poses in the name of articulation and traction.



[Source: Pickuptrucks]

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We all remember the hoopla a few years ago when kajillionaire James Glickenhaus revealed he had been working with Ferrari on an updated version of the famous P3/4 race car from the sixties. What resulted was the Ferrari P4/5 one-off. Glickenhaus was $4 million lighter, but that seems like money well spent judging by all the attention he received, not to mention the fact he owns a 1-of-1 Ferrari.

That whole endeavor was part of the Ferrari Special Projects program (turns out that the P4/5 preceded the Ferrari Special Projects program, the first vehicle of which was the SP1), which is fancy Italian talk for "We will build anything you want for the right price." Another kajillionaire was apparently waiting in line behind Glickenhaus, and after 14 months of development, his car is ready too. Called the P540 Superfast Aperta, this entirely unique Ferrari was commissioned and partly developed by Edward Walson, whose claim to fame is that his dad invented cable TV. The new money mogul had reportedly always dreamed of designing cars, and approached Ferrari in 2008 to develop a car based on the gold Ferrari in the 1968 short film Toby Dammit.

If you can't tell, the donor car is a Ferrari 599 and much of the development work went into strengthening the car after the roof was removed. It's pretty, it's road legal and it's the only in existence. Follow the jump for the official word from Ferrari.

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When we saw Henry Rollins speak a few ten years ago, he told a story about a fan who wrote to him with a peculiar problem. Seems the guy is a paramedic and one night they come upon a car crash where a beautiful naked woman is lying on the ground unconscious. They spring into action, get her in the back of the ambulance and begin emergency resuscitation. Now, the guy is alone in the back of the ambulance with the woman, and he can't get over how hauntingly beautiful she is.

And she's not responding. All her vitals were failing and he knows she's not going to make it. As she expires, the paramedic, who had suddenly and quickly developed feelings for her, kisses her on the lips. By the time they reach the hospital, the woman is dead. Trouble is, the paramedic is now completely in love with her. So much so he can't sleep, he can't eat and he's having trouble working.

Rollins said his first reaction was to write back, "YOU SICK $@#!!! GO KILL YOURSELF!" But no, the paramedic's obviously in pain and obviously needs his help. So he thinks about it for awhile and attempts to seek out helpful advice. That night at some awards ceremony he runs into none other than Tom Waits and figures if anyone has some words of wisdom for the poor, lovestruck -- but slightly demented -- paramedic it would be Waits.

Rollins tells him the story and Tom's eyes light up. "You tell him she's haunting him from the grave," Waits says in his gravely trademark baritone. "Tell him she did the same thing to me!" Now a couple of you might be wondering what on earth this story has to do with anything, let alone cars. It doesn't. But it's a fitting accompaniment to the three minutes of randomness in the video after the jump. So if you're into Furries, Ferraris, Audis, fat guys and sexy ladies, have we got a clip for you. Tip of the Panda head piece to Jesse Y!

[Source: Midway Car Rental]

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Word has it that Ford CEO Alan Mulally and the new interim CEO of General Motors, Ed Whitacre, had a phone conversation this week. This type of across-the-aisle conversation is not unusual, as Mulally himself placed a call to each of his competitors when he arrived in D-town from Boeing three years ago.

We weren't on the call ourselves and neither CEO has divulged any details of their conversation, so we're left to just guess at what was said. Considering Mulally's success at Ford so far and the quagmire into which Whitacre is stepping at GM, we think it may have went something like this.

Whitacre: Hi Alan, nice to finally talk. I feel like you and I have something in common, being that we both come from companies outside the auto industry.

Mulally: I'm a busy guy, do we have to do this every time General Motors fires a CEO?

Whitacre: I'm very excited about taking GM forward into a bright future.

Mullally: The only thing bright around here is the glare off our Motor Trend Car of the Year award. You might want to draw a shade. Fusion FTW!

Whitacre: Congratulations on that. We're hoping to have a good showing for SUV of the Year.

Mulally: Good luck, I'm sure the Chevy Terrain SRX will do great. Lincoln MKT FTW!

Whitacre: Anyway, congrats on all your success at Ford and I look forward to working together on our shared interests.

Mulally: Just have the next CEO send me an email. The address is KingofKansaz321@ford.com.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req. | Source Image: Bill Pugliano, Getty]

According to the know-it-alls (in a good way, naturally) at MotoringFile, America's second-smallest brand plans to debut a new R60 Countryman-based soft-roader called the Mini Moke at the Detroit Auto Show next month. What's more, if public reaction is favorable enough, the Moke could be in production by 2012.

Like the original model from Morris, we're told to expect an open top with a stripped-out interior, sort of like a less-rugged Jeep Wrangler. All-wheel drive will be included, and we'd expect the chassis to be jacked up a bit to enable a modicum of off-road ability. We're not entirely sure how a vehicle based on the Countryman could recall the ethos of the original, but we look forward to finding out.

[Source: MotoringFile.com | Image: FaceMePls - C.C. License 2.0]

Nissan's plans to revive the 240SX (Silvia in JDM parlance) has almost become a running joke, right up there with the fake moon landing and Tom Cruise's heterosexuality. But still, this old chestnut carries forth, with a new report from Insideline's editor in Japan who says the coupe's revival is due to hit the market sometime in 2011 or 2012.

Details, per usual, are both scarce and obvious. The next-generation Silvia will supposedly be built atop Nissan's popular FM platform (370Z, Infiniti G, etc.), come in a 2+2 seating configuration and tip the scales around 2,800 pounds. Naturally, as the S15's successor, it will be a front-engine, rear-drive setup, and is rumored to be packing a turbocharged 1.8-liter inline-four putting out around 200 horsepower. A naturally aspirated variant will also be available to keep the cost of entry low, but the turbo'd model is obviously the pick of the litter and should deliver a 0-60 time of between six and seven seconds.

IL's man in Japan points to the Nissan Foria concept (shown above) as the stylistic inspiration, but notes that the coupe would only be "loosely based" on the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show concept. Judging by Nissan's recent design endeavors, we doubt the Foria -- or as previously rumored, the Urge concept -- will be a heavy influence on this supposed Silvia revival.

Although we're all for more budget-oriented FR sports cars, the popularity of the Toyota FT-86 is sure to be a factor in Nissan's decision to bring the 240SX back to life. That, coupled with the unknown demand for the Hyundai Genesis Coupe (Hyundai doesn't break out Genesis Sedan from Coupe sales in its monthly reports) makes the proposition of a new 2+2 from Nissan even more hazy. So until we hear something solid from Ghosn and Company, we'll resume our normal respiration routine.




[Source: Insideline]

Reports from the British Isles and a new batch of images from the manufacturer indicate that Aston Martin has quietly prepared a few minor revisions for its entry-level V8 Vantage for the 2010 model year.

Among those changes are clear tail lamps (like those on the V12 version), side sills borrowed from the N400 edition and "magnum silver" mesh for the hood and side vents. There will also be some new optional equipment, including the ten-spoke, 19-inch forged, diamond-turned alloys pictured on the car above, carbon-Kevlar seats that trim 17kg off the curb weight, and a 1000-watt Bang & Olufsen stereo.

Along with the mild visual upgrades and the new optional equipment, Aston has cut the V8 engine's carbon emissions, the manual-equipped model dropping from 328 g/km to 315 g/km, and the Sportshift model dropping to 300 g/km. The changes are applied equally to the coupe and Roadster, with order books reportedly open now with deliveries beginning early in the new year. Check out the updated model in our high-resolution image gallery below.



[Source: Aston Martin via CAR magazine]

We love racing. There are tons of different variations of fast vehicles in motion, and all provide a vast array of stimulation to our eyes and ears. Formula One, touring car, WRC, ALMS, bikes... all compelling in their own way and all are pretty damned fast. But as we've come to realize over the years, that which is fast also tends to look pretty cool when slowed to a crawl.

We've come to enjoy YouTube maven Mattzel for his slow-motion manipulation of all manners of racing footage, and we're happy to say that the high-resolution mix master has come strong with another compilation. This time there is more F1, more rally, more bikes, more crashes and more slow. Hit the jump to watch the video. We're thinking it's well worth three minutes of your time.

[Source: YouTube via Axis of Oversteer]

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Little more than ten years ago, the meat and potatoes of the automotive universe were C and D segment sedans. Think Corolla and Camry; Focus, Fusion and (old) Taurus; Civic and Accord. But then, for better or for worse, something significant shifted in that old sales paradigm. Specifically, crossovers. Also known as CUVs, the overgrown wagons still ride around on C and D platforms, only a foot higher off the ground. Why? Blame the SUV craze and/or what automakers refer to as the "command seating position," an odd euphemism for sitting up high.

A momentary flirtation with $4 per gallon gasoline has – for the most part – shut down the large SUV game. But for whatever reason, consumers still want and demand command seating, so much so that Hyundai believes the compact CUV segment will experience more growth than any other niche in the market. Hyundai knows this specialized segment well, as the outgoing Tucson – the Korean brand's previous generation small CUV – has sold more than one million copies. However, the Tucson has been around since 2005, and to put it nicely, the old Tucson wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. And this is a gun fight. Knowing that, Hyundai has just rolled out its newest car, the 2010 Tucson. But is it a killer?



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

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As far as we're concerned, there will always be a market for sporty vintage-styled machinery like the Triumph Thruxton. After all, not everyone needs 150 horsepower and 200 mile-per-hour top speeds to have a good time on two wheels, and few motorcycles possess the kind of style that Hinckley bakes into its line of modern classics.

This is especially true of the new 2010 Thruxton SE, which gets a Crystal White paint job on the tins with a single red stripe and a matching red powdercoated frame. Completing the package is a small flyscreen, black engine cases and a smattering of appropriate decals.

There aren't any changes to the sportiest Bonnie's 865cc parallel-twin powerplant, which puts out a claimed 68 horsepower and 51 lb-ft of torque. While we'd gladly take at least a little power boost, if we were in the market for such a bike the Thruxton SE would certainly be on our short list.



[Source: Triumph via Hell for Leather]