Autoblog

British kids are at least as into cars as American kids, and probably liked the Pixar movie just as much. But Route 66 is far away from old Blimey, as is the Cars-dedicated theme park which Disney is making at its California Adventure location. British parents will soon be able to pacify their octane-snorting Olivers when the British International Motor Show opens its doors in London, where a full Cars attraction will make its UK debut.

The highlight of the attraction will be a display of life-size Cars cast members, based on actual automobiles. Lightning McQueen will be there (based on a '78 Trans Am), along with Sally Carrera ('02 911) and Mack the Truck ('85 Mack Super-Liner), but British lads might relate best to Mater the buck-toothed tow-truck (based on a Chevy dually pick-up). Kids can also try out the special gaming pods and get their faces painted – though we doubt Ramone (voiced by Cheech) will be there to turn out the his custom schemes.

[Source: BIMS]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Geiger Ford F650.

When the fit hits the shan, we've got two phone calls to make: our Cayman Islands-based banker and Geiger cars. For 99,000 euro we can protect our loved ones while punching through some of the most wicked terrain this side of Dakar in the robust luxury of the German tuner's interpretation of the Ford F-650. Weighing in at 5.2-tons and stretching over 21-feet long, the Geigerfied uber-truck finds motivation from a tweaked 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel putting out 320 hp and 738 lb.-ft. of torque. Grunt is shoveled to a six-speed Allison 3000 automatic gearbox and on down to a biggie-sized driveshaft that powers the four, 22-inch rear wheels. Both the suspension and brakes are air-powered, and if we're willing to shell out a bit more cash, we can get chrome fuel tanks, leather, navigation and, surprisingly, gull-wing doors. We think this would compliment our imaginary post-apocalyptic stable that also includes our all-time favorite RV, the Wothahellizat.


[Source: Tuning News]

Click above for high-res gallery of reader-submitted Cars photoshops

The animators at Pixar have set their schedules through 2012, and while the slate includes new films like Up and Newt, it's also brimming with sequels. Following the third installment of the studio's Toy Story franchise in 2010, Pixar will release the sequel to our favorite animated homage to automobiles, Cars 2. While we don't know for sure if Lightning McQueen and Sally Carrera will return, the press release indicates that the film will be filled with old and new characters for kids and kid-like adults to enjoy. Like most of Pixar's upcoming schedule, Cars 2 will also be presented in 3D, and let me tell you, after watching Beowulf skewer Grendel in the third dimension, we can't wait for an animated fender to fly out of the screen at us. The date is set for 2012, so there's a long way to go, and this installment will be directed by Brad Lewis, who produced Ratatouille, rather than the first film's director, John Lasseter. Lasseter proved himself to be a man steeped in car culture, so Lewis has some mighty big brake shoes to fill.

For old time's sake, check out our gallery of reader-contributed Cars photoshops below.


[Source: Cinematical]

Lightning McQueen came home 13th in his first race in the Japanese Super GT-300 Championship, one place ahead of new rival, Speed Racer Mach Go Go Go.

The rookie, who looks suspiciously like last year's Team Toy Story APR Toyota MR-S, has apparently been lured away from The Piston Cup by a company that makes products under license of Pixar and Disney. No matter, my three-year-old was beside himself with joy when he saw number 95 hit the track, and I suspect he was not alone.

14th pace finisher, the Mach Go VEMAC 320R (below), is far from new to Super GT's 300hp class, but may get a little more attention internationally once Speed Racer is released Stateside.

It's the Ultimate List, at least until it becomes the Penultimate List the next time some publication decides to go through the exercise of picking the best of all time, and then justifying the results. Automobile Magazine has picked up the gauntlet for its September 2007 issue, and selected what they've termed The 25 Greatest Cars of All Time. Of course nobody's going to agree with each one of their picks, but their list is a good one, backed up by solid explanations for each picked. Thus, it's hard to fault the gang at Automobile - they love cars as much as the rest of us, and most of the cars that made the cut would likely also be our picks.

For some outside perspective, there are sidebars sprinkled throughout the feature with figures like Mario Andretti, Walter di'Silva, and Caroll Shelby (among others) opining on their idea of the greatest car of all time. You could accuse us of being sentimental fools, but it's heartening to see the past so well represented, even when more modern cars can run rings around the four-wheeled icons that made the cut. Choices are organized into five categories: Dynamics, Innovation, Supercars, Racing, and Icons.

More after the jump, including Automobile's original list of 150 nominees and a few of those selected as the Greatest of All Time. Click the Read link to view Automobile's final list of 25 cars.

[Source: dBusinessNews.com]

Our sister site Cinematical reports that a sequel to Disney/Pixar's Cars is apparently in the works, and could arrive as early as Summer 2009. If that's the case, we should expect to see a trailer for Cars 2 attached to next summer's Pixar entry, Wall-E. The rumor really built up steam when Paul Newman made comments to reporters about a possible sequel at the Indy 500. Our friends at Cinematical seem to be disappointed that Lightning McQueen and friends appear to be getting a sequel, as it's not one of their fave Pixar flicks. They also wonder why Cars could get another go-round when its box-office grosses were low compared to the great Pixar successes. We think it's merchandising, where Cars appears to be quite the juggernaut, what with the toys, video games, bed sheets, etc. that continue to appear in stores everywhere. Anyway, you won't hear a peep of complaining from us. Cars was one of our favorites last summer, as the talking rides were very cool, and there were plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle references in there to make any pistonhead a happy camper. Seriously, any movie where Richard Petty voices an animated Plymouth Superbird sporting the #43 that's named "The King" is A-OK in our book. Sequel? Bring it on.

[Source: Cinematical]

Two slightly bigger pics can be seen by clicking above.

The only info we have on this badass big rig is from the website where we found the pics: "I've seen a lot of photos of USA or Japan trucks looking very stylish after some big work of decorating. But this one looks different. And it can be met on roads of Russia - it's not from some art gallery." So it's Russian, it's called the Dragon Tank Truck, and it's on the road, not in some art gallery. Oh, and it's awesome. Some sort of Mad Max wannabe? A locomotive enthusiast's dream semi? A Transformer sequel star? A future Cars follow-up bad guy? An SPCA scare tactic? Your guess is as good as (actually, frequently, much better than) ours.

Whatever it is, we love it. Like some cartoon nightmare come to life. As one AB Editor put it, "[this truck] should have a bumper sticker on the back that reads 'Lightning McQueen can bite my ass'."

[Source: English Russia]

Click the image above to view photos of some of the world's messiest cars

At one point or another, most of us have a messy car. It might be because your schedule is crammed, you were just on a road trip, or maybe you just got lazy for a while. Eventually, you take 5-10 minutes to straighten out the slop so the interior of your ride isn't a health hazard.

Unfortunately, some people apparently like living in filth, so they drive around in what my mother would call a 'pig sty.' You may recall a story here on Autoblog about a woman's car that was so messy, debris got under her brake when she was driving and it led to an accident. Well, it turns out this woman is far from alone in the world of freakishly disgusting automotive hygiene. Call us crazy, but we're guessing these folks aren't dating anybody right now. Actually, we should all check to see if we know the person who owns the vehicle pictured above. Judging by the new baking pan in the back seat, there's a good chance that this person is planning on preparing food for more than one.

The attached gallery is home to a collection of rolling trash cans filled with mountains of waste that not only obstruct the view of the driver, they probably smell worse than a landfill. The photos come courtesy of our friends over at Gadling, and we suggest that you don't eat lunch while you're checking 'em out..

[Source: Gadling]

Click to view in high-resolution

Automotive stylists draw up countless designs for every one that actually gets turned into a prototype, let alone goes into production. Those forsaken designs often fall into obscurity, never again to see the light of day. But some forty years later, one designer's ideas are being unearthed and sold to the highest bidder.

On June 19, British auction house H&H will be selling off no less than 34 original designs by Trevor Fiore, including concepts produced in the mid 1960's for Jaguar, Austin-Healy, Lancia, Alvis, Elva and Trident. The designs were evidently rejected, but the auctioneers hope to find loving homes for them at last.

Trevor Fiore was born Trevor Frost, but adopted his mother's Italian maiden name to help give him the clout to compete with the biggest of Italian design houses. He operated independently under the Fiore Design name during the 60's and 70's, before taking up position at the head of Citroen's design department in the 80's, after which he disappeared from the spotlight.

Follow the jump for the full press release, and click on the thumbnails below to view some of the design renderings up for auction.

[Source: H&H]

Cool doesn't have to be expensive. At least that's what the folks over at Kelley Blue Book figure. The website of the authoritative car-buying resource has put together a list of what they figure are the ten coolest cars you can buy with less than $18,000.

There are some definite good choices on the list, but some of their choices – and how they arrived at them – leave us scratching our heads and wondering if their cool-meter doesn't need recalibration. Rather than taking the entirely subjective Top Gear "Cool Wall" approach and anointing a car cool or not based purely on image, KBB.com came up with a list of criteria. A cool car, they figure, should have folding seats. Huh? Yeah, versatility was their first criteria, including such features as "clever cubbies and innovative storage solutions" as a prerequisite for classifying a car as cool or not. (That way you've got more places to hide your coolness.) Also taken into consideration were such factors as safety, fuel economy and cabin space, before subjective assessments came into the mix.

The resulting list includes a Chevy pick-up at the top, followed by a Focus, a tiny Honda, an Hyundai, a Jeep, a Mazda3, a Nissan hatch, a Scion, a Suzuki and a VW. Each was included in the sub-$18k list based on Kelley's own proprietary blue-book value; follow the link to find out what made each of these cars cool enough to make the cut.

[Source: Kelley Blue Book]