Dutch Mandel from AutoWeek, Terry Rhadigan from GM, John Neff from Autoblog and David Thomas from Kicking Tires (l-r)

It's not often that we report on ourselves, but our own illustrious editor-in-chief, John Neff (third from the left in the snazzy corduroy sport jacket his grandma got him last Christmas), participated in a symposium titled "Engaging the Blogosphere" at this year's Chicago Auto Show. It was a look at what the internet, and blogging in particular, means to the future of automotive journalism and marketing. Anchored by a brief analysis of the power of the internet on new car buyers, the event ended with a panel discussion that included representatives from "traditional media," an OEM, a car buying site and our own little professional blog. While the discussion produced some heated debate, it also helped put some outdated misperceptions of blogging to rest.

Follow the jump to read the whole story and learn what happened to shake up the room during the panel discussion. We've also embedded a video of the panel discussion so you can see for yourself what went down.

NOTE: We deliberately resisted the urge to add speech bubbles to the image above, so feel free to download a copy, add your own and post a link to it in the comments section of this post.

Tucked away in a corner of McCormick Place was this custom WRX STI built in as part of a cooperative effort between Subaru and Travis Pastrana's race team, Vermont SportsCar. The car commemorates Pastrana's third consecutive Rally America National Championship, and although a one-off, many of the parts on the car can be purchased through your local authorized Subaru dealer.

The exterior features custom yellow paint, a carbon fiber hood and rear spoiler, front chin spoiler, and a set of PIAA 2100 HID driving lights. Handling is improved thanks to an SPT strut tower brace, lower chassis brace, and BFGoodrich G-Force Super Sport A/S tires wrapped over satin black Work Evolution XD-9 wheels.

Under the hood, the 2.5-liter boxer engine gets an upgraded ECU and custom downpipe, while the interior now sports custom blue Alcantara seats with yellow piping, short-throw shifter, Kicker sound system and... an XBox 360. Full details in the press release after the break, and high-res photos from the show floor in the gallery below.


Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Subaru]

It made its debut over the summer at Pebble Beach. It showed up again in November at SEMA. And finally, we have a set of our own live shots of the CC Gold Coast concept because Volkswagen sent the swanky 4-door to Chi-town.

The Gold Coast is doused in a rich-looking brown finish dubbed "Pepe Pepper" by DuPont, and it adopts a squat, muscular stance riding on a set of KW coilovers. 19-inch wheels fill out the wells nicely, and a full ground effects kit brings the look even closer to the ground. Veedub's 280-horsepower 3.6 FSI V6 sits underhood, mated to a six-speed DSG. Stopping power on this looker is further enhanced with a set of the Audi R8's ceramic discs in front.

While the CC Gold Coast is technically a concept, VW's making sure it gets in front of as many eyes as possible. Hence, we wouldn't be surprised to see the "concept" moniker eventually turn into "special edition" – minus those supercar stoppers.


Photos copyright Frank Filipponio/ Weblogs, Inc.

When it comes to consumer loyalty, you'd be hard pressed to find a more dedicated group of fans outside the heavy-duty pickup segment. Recognizing this, Dodge has brought a slew of full-size trucks to the Chicago Auto Show in the form of the 2010 Dodge Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 HD Chassis Cabs.

Dodge started the heavy-duty retrofit with the highly-competent 1500 model introduced last year, then proceeded to create a crew cab variant that's claimed to be packing the most room in its class. Both regular and Mega Cab variants will be offered, along with two bed sizes (six-foot, four-inch or eight-foot) and five trim levels: ST, SLT, TRX, Laramie and Power Wagon.

Pickup aficionados will notice the new bumper treatment, larger grille (with chrome, black or body-colored trim), wider fenders for the dually models and the subtle tailgate lip to improve aerodynamics.

The HD comes standard with Dodge's HEMI 5.7-liter V8, putting out 383 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque through a beefed-up 545RFE five-speed automatic. However, with a take-rate of over 90% for the diesel engine on HD models, Dodge is offering the optional 6.7-liter Cummins inline-six that channels 350 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque to a 68RFE six-speed automatic featuring low-speed "creeper" mode and Electronic Range Select, allowing the driver to limit which high gear is used while towing. Two 4x4 models will be offered, along with four different axle ratios, and on the topic of towing, the Ram 3500 HD, equipped with the Cummins turbodiesel, dual rear wheels, 4x4 system and a 4.10 rear axle ratio can handle a maximum payload of 5,110 pounds and a towing capacity of 18,500 pounds. Sales will begin this fall and all the details can be found in the press release below the fold.


Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

It was only a matter of time before we got around to posting our beautiful people gallery from the Chicago Auto Show. Models have been pretty scarce at all of the major shows this year, and this year's Chi-town extravaganza was no exception. We've done our level best to search out those who've shown up to give them some screen time. As always, we appreciate the tireless work of the booth professionals who have to stand in heels all day and pretend to be happy to see another camera shoved in their faces. Many have mentioned that they are fans of Autoblog, but we suspect they say that to everyone. Still, we know that many will be viewing this post (with their families in some cases) so please keep your comments to yourself if you don't have anything nice to say.


Live photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, inc.

For the second year in a row, the Chicago Auto Show has been invaded by our furry, four-legged friends as the Bark Buckle UP campaign announces its Pet Safe Choice Awards. We moseyed on down to the show floor to spend some quality time with the dozen or so K9s in attendance after they'd graduated from the American Kennel Club S.T.A.R. program. More to the point, here are the winners of the Pet Safe Awards:

• Pet Safe Vehicle of Choice: GMC Acadia
• Pet Safe Hotel of Choice: Hilton Hotels and Resorts
• Pet Safe Airline of Choice: American Airlines
• Pet Safe Retailer of Choice: PetSmart

We were a bit shocked when the group informed us that 98% of all dogs that travel in vehicles do so unrestrained. This could be a major safety hazard, especially since pet travel has reportedly increased by 300% since 2005 and a 60-pound dog can turn into a 2,700 pound projectile in a 30 mph accident. Needless to say, that's unsafe for both pets and their owners. In other words... better buckle up.


Live photos copyright ©2009 Jeremy Korzeniewski / Weblogs, Inc.

As Will Ferrell once said, "If you've got it, flaunt it." The boys at SRT are quite proud of the Viper ACR's 7:22.1 run of the Nürburgring, and they have brought the car out to Chicago to let everyone know who sits atop the podium. We would've assumed it was just your everyday Viper ACR except that the team that set the record has signed the carbon fiber rear wing including the driver, SRT engineer Tom Coronel. The record-setting run, which was done back in August, bested the likes of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (7:22.4), Maserati MC12 (7:24.3), Pagani Zonda F Clubsport (7:24.7) and Ferrari Enzo (7:25.3). We've included a new gallery of the car from the show and embedded the video of the lap after the jump in case you missed it the first time around.


Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

The lack of press conferences on our second day in Chicago gave us some time to wander around and take photos of all the cars nicely set up on the floor. As expected, there weren't nearly as many debuts as Detroit or L.A., but still plenty of cars that are desktop-worthy. There were the Autobots from the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen including Skids, Mudflap, Bumblebee in both auto and bot forms, plus the new Stingray Concept. From Ford there is the Taurus SHO and Harley Davidson F-150, and Hyundai brought out a trio of Genesis Coupes including the Red Bull-sponsored drift car and the track-oriented R-Spec version. Other highlights included the twentieth anniversary of the Miata, the Nissan Cube, Acura TSX V6, Kia Forte, and the Nissan Cube. Check out the gallery below for your favorite wallpaper, all available in 1920x1275 resolution (just click the high-res button).


Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Along with Barack Obama, the Cubs, Al Capone and the Sears Tower, Chicago is home to the world's most famous Mopar dealer, Mr. Norm's legendary Grand Spaulding Dodge. While Mr. Norm sold the dealership in the late 1970's, the Mopar Hall of Famer has recently made a resurgence, officially introducing the 1968 Dodge GSS Hemi Dart last year in Chicago as well as the Super Cuda and Challenger at SEMA just a few months ago. The Challenger is making an appearance here in Chicago as well, with a slick new two-tone paint scheme and 900 supercharged horsepower underneath the hood. Other features include a carbon fiber front and rear spoiler, Katzkin leather interior, SSBC eight-piston front brakes, and a Hurst pistol grip shifter. Like the Hurst and its HEMI Challenger, Mr. Norm is selling a production version of the car with a a variety of styling options and performance levels ranging from 600 to 900 horsepower.


Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

While we've already told you pretty much everything we know about the new-to-these-shores Nissan Cube, what we haven't shared are many pics. We covered the asymmetrical Cube when it appeared at the LA Auto Show, but based on your comments, more is better in this case. When we saw the special Cube Krom on the eve of the Chicago Auto Show, we figured we could remedy that situation by adding a fistful of new photos to the database.

Whether in blinged out Krom trim or regular old just-Cube form, this is one unique vehicle with an attitude that reminds us of the first-generation Scion xB. It should, as these two vehicles came from the same Japanese market that values quirky, versatile and small in the same package. In addition to the plain white model that was in Los Angeles, Nissan brought along the Krom and another customized version seen here. This green example shows the customization possibilities that Nissan wants to promote in this new model. The body kit, wheel upgrade and rear spoiler really make this Cube shine. You can see our previous post on the Cube for more details, but don't forget to feast your eyes on these live shots from Chicago. Keep your eyes open for the the carpet garden growing out of the dash and the zen ripples on the headliner.


Live photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, inc.