D.C., VA, MD, & PA.... by PT

The Good Car Guy had a birthday almost two weeks ago. Hold the congratulations and the birthday wishes. Oh... I guess you can sing to me if you really want to.

Better than the song was the gift from TGCGirl. An absolute surprise tour through Canada's capital city, America's capital city, and plenty of driving through Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Twelve days in total, with nights spent in Chantilly (very near D.C. but in Virginia), Gettysburg - home to THAT battlefield - Pittsburgh, and another back near Chantilly in Sterling, VA.

Top right, the northern part of Shenandoah
National Park. Below, underneath the
Pittsburgh sun.
In the upcoming days, GCBC and its affiliates at Good Value Bad Value and Good Talk Bad Talk will offer up articles directly related to this trip. Transportation was provided by Air Canada, through Air Miles Rewards, as well as Ottawa's bus service, Washington's Metro train/subway, a Chrysler PT Cruiser and an older Volvo S70.

Our PT Cruiser gave us fuel economy of 30 US mpg. Impressive.
Parking at the Vienna/Fairfax station cost only $3.75 a day. The PT Cruiser traversed the Appalachians around the Shenandoah Valley without difficulty. The OC Transpo in Ottawa, Ontario was the best bus service I have ever had the privilege of enjoying, even if it was for just a day. The roads from Gettysburg that led to the Penn Turnpike offered up magnificent views and crazy corners.

While in the States I never once saw a license plate from outside of the USofA, and can therefore say that Americans' complaining about fuel prices is not reflected in their driving habits. You'll understand what I mean in a few days.

GVBV will be discussing $ inside the airports, the contrasting prices of tourism-related activities, and the weight of food in Pittsburgh. GTBT is raring to attack airport security, profiling around the White House, and the knowledge that individual American's have when it comes to the rest of the world.

GCBC, however, will stick to the automotive universe. There are a lot of amazing drives to be found in North America. The leading road through the Shenandoah National Park must now rank near the top of your must-drive list. Read more tomorrow.

FUEL PRICES - By the Numbers

They say gas is expensive. Get over it. Petrol is pricey. The lifeblood of your transportation costs major money - we all feel your pain. Statistics manifest some frightening facts, and some more that ought to make you thankful. Here are today's Numbers, seen with Canadian and U.S. dollar perspectives.

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1.05 - average price of gasoline per litre in the USA in Canadian dollars, between 20 and 30 cents cheaper than the cost per litre in Canada

2.60 - average price of gasoline per litre in France in Canadian dollars

2.89 - average price of gasoline per litre in Turkey in Canadian dollars

320 - percentage increase in the cost of fuel for Spain's fishing industry over the last five years

887,000,000 - total vehicles on the planet's roads today

553,000,000 - total vehicles on the planet's roads fifteen years ago

170 - percentage increase in the price of gasoline in America over the last five years

90 - percentage increase in the price of gasoline in France over the last five years

18,000,000,000 - fewer kilometres driven by Americans in the month of March/2008 compared with the same period in 2007

28 - fewer American cents needed to purchase a gallon of gasoline in Russia than in the USA, with Russia being one of the world's largest oil producers

12 - total American cents needed to purchase one gallon of gasoline in Venezuela

2.84 - typical price of one gallon of E85 ethanol (in USD) in Brazil, about half the price of gasoline

Imperial Oil (ExxonMobil) refinery in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia

TO WHET YOUR PALETTE

After 12 days of State-side vacation, Good Car Bad Car is up and running again. You may have noticed a few posts in the last two weeks and realized that there was nothing new discussed. So before the real roundup of articles start, here's a taste of TGCGuy on GCBC stuff to get you revved up for eight days worth of PT Cruiser in Virginia, DC, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. This is some of the issues to watch.

Speculation is running rampant that BMW wants Volvo, and that Ford may want the cash infusion that would thither follow. The last major exchange between Ford and BMW was in the year 2000, when Ford bought Land Rover from BMW for $2.7 billion. I just did some tire kicking on an older Volvo in Pittsburgh last week, but I have no intentions to spend the billions required.....

Remember the story mentioned here regarding John Schneider's Dukes of Hazzard car, the General Lee? Well, that all that furious eBay bidding that drove the price to $10 million apparently came out of a hacked-into account. So Bo Duke gave it another go-round on eBay Motors and one bid reached $100,000. Niot enough for the General Lee, so Mr. Schneider will head for the next Barrett-Jackson auction in Arizona where, with 725 bhp, Viper brakes, the Charger will likely fetch a killing......

GM is a confident car company right now. Saturn dealers will soon have a Toyota Camry in their showrooms. Or perhaps a Honda Accord. Chevrolet dealers might soon sit a Camry or Accord right beside the new Malibu. General Motors will encouraging you to sit and steer both, and feels that they compare more than well with the Japanese. Hopefully the sales consultants know well enough not to hammer the Camry/Accord when it is the goodness of their Aura/Malibu that will make the sale. Nobody will believe you when you start attempting to defame the two best selling cars in the USA.....

69 percent of Americans want better fuel economy when they purchase their next car. 52 percent said they would be willing to drive a smaller car to make that happen, while only 41 percent said they'd sacrifice performance for fuel economy and 45 percent said they'd take less lux for more bucks saved at the pump. You want to complain about fuel prices and then you tell me this? I think I'm going mental......

News of Toyota's new Tundra V8 having camshaft problems could hurt. Twenty of their biggest V8's - and I mean big and powerful 5.7L V8's - have camshafts which cracked and failed. Toyota's execution and marketing of this truck seem so good, but crash ratings are worse than Ford's F150 and the reliability is already being scrutinized. Incentives have begun.....

Hyundai has upped the cost of entry on their Sonata. By $200.00. However, you can actually get into a V6 for less money now..... Renault has a new Twingo, on sale in a couple weeks. Unimportant to those of us on this side of the Atlantic, of course, but an event in Europe. Renault has sold 2 million Twingos since 1993. A little car with a little power makes a lot of sense in France. The UK gets their own right-hand drive model this time around.... By 2010, you should be able to buy RWD cars called Pontiac G8, Buick Park Avenue, and Chevrolet Camaro. GM seems to offer some assurance....

Recaps, stories, and issues from 12 days away start soon. Check back.

WATCH THE POWER GROW

Corvette evolution never ceases to amaze. Overlook technological revolution, without ignoring it altogether, but steadily improve the breed by tweaking and tuning. Every few years give us a major overhaul, but without breaking away from the past.

Give us overhead valve engines of massive displacement even as others offer tidy six cylinders and V8's that rev to the moon. Stick with a balsa wood floor when all around is new material. But, make that V8 of your own rev higher than any human thought possible and mix in some magnesium and carbonfibre when you can.

Show the Europeans that amazing performance does not necessitate out-of-reach pricing. But... do go ahead and make the car more and more expensive. Stick with the annoying skip-shift manual, but eventually (fiiiiiinally) offer a 6-speed automatic for the pretenders.

But most of all, when all vehicle engineers seem to be forced to concentrate on fuel economy, give us an increasingly more powerful sportscar that can, and will, return high-20's on the MPG scale. Increasingly powerful? Oh yes.

The 2008 Corvette makes gains of 30 horsepower (to 430) and 24 lb-ft of torque (to 424) by using a 0.2 litre larger engine. There is no replacement for displacement. Want some more noise? Opt for the dual-mode exhaust and you gain six more horses with the better breathing.

We're still on the C6 Corvette, but remember that the fifth-generation opened with 'just' 345 bhp. The previous-gen Z06 closed with 'only' 405. The old but famous ZR1? A piddling 375 horsepower. The old C4's ended around 330.

Check out CorvetteGuys.com and

their large inventory of Z06 Wheels

Interestingly, the new Corvette's power level still does not look impressive when put shown as horsepower per litre. At 70 bhp/litre for that free-breathing '08 and 72/litre for the Z06, the Vette can't compete with the old M3 which produced over 100 horses for every litre of displacement. Granted, the new hi-po Mustang, Shelby GT500, doesn't touch the old or new M3 either. And that's with the aid of a supercharger.

What doth it matter? The Vette is constantly improving in every way.

MISSOURI CAR DEALER SELLING CARS WITH GUN OR GAS

Max Motors appears quite pleased with the attention its latest promotion has procured. Buy a Ford; Chrysler; Dodge; Jeep; Chevrolet; Cadillac; Buick; or Pontiac, and you can decide between a handgun or a $250 gas card. 

No, the sales manager won't just hand you a loaded weapon. You'd still be responsible for the getting yourself through the background check at the gun store. The all-American nature of this (all eight brands are domestic, guns are a major part of the presidential campaign) strips the shock away. The surprise returns when one takes note of the Mad Max website and the apparent celebration of the media response engendered by this controversial marketing idea. 

A few video clips on the lower portion of the page might seem odd. The logo of the Western Missouri Shooters Association and the website "www.gunsandgas.com" is even weirder. Suggesting as 'method to your madness' that, "We are aware of the gasoline and crime problem in America", and that Max Motors "wants to be part of the solution and not part of the problem" just freaks a little Canadian boy right out of his boots. 

It was always said, the only difference between an American and Canadian is the gun in the American's pocket. That was a joke, and also incorrect. There's a new difference - it's found at car dealerships. But the difference is still weaponized.

NEW FERRARI CALIFORNIA PHOTOS

The nearness of autumn is established by context. Getting married around Hallowe'en? October is forever and a day away. Readying yourself for your seventh tour of duty in Iraq? October is soon and getting sooner faster. 

Not to draw parallels between marriage and cars (I would never do such a thing), or to even attempt to further distance the possible the dangers in Iraq with the advent of high-priced Italian transportation; but the formal real live introduction of the Ferrari California seems to appear somewhere over the horizon in the distant future.

And Ferrari will do whatever it takes to tease, prod, inspire, provoke, and generate conversation in the meantime. The second batch of official Ferrari pictures of their "entry-level" - GCBC quotes, not their's - have been released. Ferrari faithful would surely disagree, but to The Good Car Guy's eyes, this light blue car looks better on the California than the typical Ferrari red debut car.

Not only that, but the top-up styling is highly impressive, creating a far more dramatic and supercarish look than the early front end images mustered. Critics will see TVR Tamora at the rear, Pontiac Solstice Coupe at the roofline intersection with the tail, and a little too much generic Ferrari 599 in the overall profile. For previous California-related posts, click here. To read more about Ferrari stuff, follow this link.

EDMUNDS.COM's FUEL ECONOMY TEST

Toyota's Prius, a 3-year old Volkswagen Jetta, the smart fortwo, and a Ford Focus got together in an efficiency war at Edmunds.com. The results are interesting, to say the least. Check out the Numbers below. While you're at it, check out The Good Car Guy's fuel economy feat in a Ford F150. 

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2005 - model year of the turbodiesel-powered Volkswagen Jetta used in the test, a car that will soon be replaced by a new Jetta TDI that the EPA suggests will achieve even better economy

33.3 - average miles per gallon achieved in the Ford Focus, with fourth-place finishes in the backroads section, as well as in the city and on the highway

40 - average miles per gallon achieved in the smart fortwo, with a second place finish in the city (34mpg) and third place finishes on the backroads and on the highway

2 - actual finishing result for the fortwo if fuel costs are taken into account; since the Jetta TDI's greater efficiency must still be paired with very high diesel prices

11,590 - base price, in dollars, of the smart fortwo in the USA, $2,805 cheaper than the next most-inexpensive Focus

47.3 - miles per gallon achieved by the '05 Volkswagen Jetta TDI on backroads, best of all four vehicles

48.9 - miles per gallon achieved by the Jetta on the highway, best of all four vehicles

43.8 - average mpg achieved by the Jetta, severely curtailed by its third place finish in the city (32.6mpg), resulting in a second place finish overall

52.4 - miles per gallon achieved by the Toyota Prius in city driving, its only first place finish; but sufficient enough to heighten its average to 47.7mpg, a tidy 3.9mpg advantage over the Jetta TDI

28 - predicted combined mpg for the Ford Focus, as judged by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and listed at fueleconomy.gov, 5.3mpg worse than in real-life testing by Edmunds

36 - predicted combined mpg for the smart fortwo as judged by the EPA, 4mpg less than seen in Edmunds' driving

35 - predicted combined mpg for an '05 VW Jetta TDI, as judged by the EPA, a difference of over 8mpg compared with Edmunds' better results

46 - predicted combined mpg for the Toyota Prius, as judged by the EPA, with just 1.7mpg separating Edmunds' driving from the EPA's simulator

1 - position taken by the Jetta diesel in +MPG results, accomplishing an improvement of over 8mpg beyond that believed to be possible by the EPA, followed by the Ford's +5.3, the smart's +4, and the Toyota's +1.7

WIN A HONDA, MERCEDES, OR (HOPEFULLY) TIRES

Secondary effects of the rising cost of oil are about to hit your wallet in a bad way. CNN.com hosts a video from News 12 In New Jersey highlighting the ridiculously fast-rising cost of tires. Business owners, especially those with heavy trucks, are most seriously stuck. Check it out.

Honda Canada wants to give away a Civic. Apparently, the choice is your's - coupe or sedan. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz of Canada will be giving away a B-class through HGTV. The Good Car Guy was forced into falsifying information in one question where multiple choices (and no box marked 'other') did not fit my hatch-filling circumstances. 

Enter the Honda contest and the Mercedes contest with a click.... and then some typing.

NOT GONE BUT SOMEWHAT FORGOTTEN - Dodge Charger Driven

The importing from Australia of a Holden to be sold as the Pontiac G8 has cast the Dodge Charger in a different light. No longer the sole large muscular American sedan, the Charger must feel prematurely outdated.

Perceived as direct competitors, the rear-wheel drive; V6 or V8 G8 and Charger are aligned against a very different segment of car buyership than the typical new midpriced sedan. From the same brands you could buy a G6 or Avenger, two cars that fail to win hearts but do constrain themselves to more commonly accepted 21st century shapes. Front-wheel drive with a four-cylinder or V6 engine, the option of being very inexpensive or decently priced & well-equipped... sounds just like America's best-sellers. That'd be the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Though you may find a bunch of consumers willing to cross-shop the Japanese dominators with the prototypical American vehicles - it's not the norm.

So, with the advent of the oft-hyped Pontiac G8, it bears reminding just what the Charger is like. With fuel prices rising rapidly and optional V8 engines being regarded as unnecessary excess, what about the garden-variety Charger. Yeah, it's the one the car magazines never bother to run in a comparison test. It won't appear in YouTube backroad tire burning sessions. And, despite its crosshaired grille (consistent with its R/T and SRT8 brethren), the 3.5L V6-engined Charger doesn't look exciting in the least.

Chargers labeled as 'SXT' are delivered with a 250bhp, 250 lb-ft 3.5L V6. This puts you down about 90-100 horsepower compared with the base V8, a 5.7L from the R/T. Canadian Chargers start under $20,000, but the SXT starts just under $24K. Finally, a case where price makes sense across the border: Americans pay more for the equivalent Charger SE and SXT. Equipment and trim differences could wreak havoc with the comparison, but consumer watchdogs ought to pay heed north of the border.

Recalling the earlier introduction of the Chrysler 300, it won't slip anybody's mind that the Charger is a very large car. It's not uncommon for American cars from the end of the last decade to frequently feel larger than they actually are. A previous-generation Ford Taurus would frequently feel as though it's an 11/10ths version of itself. Fortunately for Charger drivers, the Dodge makes itself feel smaller when really pushed; but not significantly so. Perhaps 9/10ths of itself is an apt description.

Don't count that to the steering's credit. Squishy, lacking feel, and with too great an on-centre dead spot, the rack is the biggest letdown on the Charger SXT's dynamic resume. One doesn't enter a large, rear-wheel drive family sedan expecting 'handling as if on rails' or 'ready for the track' suspension. Nevertheless, the Charger seems to have surprising potential, something the G8 delivers on in some measure where the Charger lets you down at the last instant. We're not talking about hard charging down a mountain road and finding understeer at the outer limits. This is just everyday enthusiastic driving, discovering that the Charger isn't happy where you desperately wish it would be.

That isn't to deny its supreme comfort and space. The living room sofa in the rear passenger area should suit the in-laws. A large dashboard and arm-stretching space up front give the Charger a regal aura, at least when it comes to highway cruising. 

Indeed, that's where the Charger is at its best. Your cross-country trip this summer would be rather enjoyable inside a V6 Charger. Judged by Transport Canada to use 8.1 litres every 100km of highway driving (Fueleconomy.gov says 24mpg on the highway), the Charger provides an awful lot of interior breathing room for not-terrible economy. 

As judged by the name of this website, the Charger won't be considered a bad car. Available in multiple varieties (all-wheel drive, smaller V6, big V8 or bigger?), there likely is a Charger for a huge swath of the population. Fuel prices aren't going to help its cause, nor is constant uncertainty floating around the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep names, whether its relating to quality or bankruptcy. People like to buy products they can feel confident in, and presently there's little reason to feel confident in Chrysler LLC headquarters. 

However, the purchase of a Charger in the USA presently comes with less expensive gas. $2.99/gallon is looking downright dirt cheap to most Americans. Is the Charger worth a look? Sure, if you're in the market for a large sedan, the Dodge Charger SXT would serve you well. Does the Charger garner status as an all-time great - maybe even a current great? No, there are better options elsewhere, not least of which is at the Pontiac dealership.

KIA SOUL COMPETITORS

Kia hasn't yet released detailed information relative to the production Soul. It is firmly expected, judging by its size and the stature of the brand, that the Soul will be a surprisingly spacious economy car. Power is unlikely to be plentiful. Features will no doubt be sufficient; but not luxurious. Space.... yes, space matched with a lower price tag and fuel efficiency, is what the buyer wants and will receive with the Soul.

Where else could you find a similar package? Kia will probably feed you all sorts of "segment-breaker", "category-buster", "never-seen-before" sort of talk that makes little sense but seems to generate some attention. Although not a formal 3 To Beat, this post ought to make very clear the nature of the Soul as a terrific introduction to the North American marketplace; but not as anything we're completely unaware of.  

Cross-shoppers aren't looking at Ford's Fusion. Or so you think. The other Ford Fusion, the Euro tall hatchback, has been a perennial boring vehicle but is expected to gain some spice (at least in the design dept.) as all of Ford's Euro vehicles have recently. Imagine the new Fiesta jacked up and boxed out. Very inexpensive and rather small, the Fusion ethos seemed silly a few years ago but increasingly makes more sense.

Volkswagen's Czech outpost has been building the funky Roomster for a short time. Skoda is more successful than they've ever been, improving their sales and profitability ever year. Though you may think the Skoda Roomster hasn't touched down on North American soil.... ever ..... you'd be wrong. Just ask drivers in Quebec City and Halifax.

Up this point, the Soul does sound like a North American uncategorizable vehicle. Is the Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix duo so different? Tall hatchbacks with optional all-wheel drive and a thrifty four-cylinder engine and a low pricetag, they are. What about Scion? 

Despite recent struggles, the Scion xB is very Kia Soul-like. Distantly upmarket, the Meredes-Benz B-class is rather Soulesque, just more minivan like and more expensive. Jeep likely thinks its Compass is a decent alternative to the Soul, despite the fact that most commentators only see the Compass as a decent alternative to walking. Finally, the Chevrolet HHR and Chrysler PT Cruiser are the design-heavy options in the class.

Is the Soul different at all? Sure, it looks very good. Kia will offer deals to consumers that few automakers are willing to provide. Plus, we haven't received full Soul details yet. Expect success, but don't expect to be alarmed when the first Soul drives by and you fail to see something you've ne'er seen a'fore.

FORD&DIESEL, HYUNDAI ADS, ASTON MARTIN OFFERS, & SMART DEPOSITS

One Ford spokesman has voiced an odd feeling coming out of Ford's executive compartments. He said that Ford cars available in Europe as diesels aren't sold here, and the market is too small for them to develop U.S.-only diesels.

Uh-oh.

Ford, rarely one to spot or start a trend, may be letting this one pass them by. A few thoughts come to mind. For starters, don't most engines get used across the board of an automaker, or automakers? So the cars you sell in Europe; with diesels of course; aren't available here. Can you not just take the diesels; just some of them; and fit them to the cars you have here? And didn't CEO Mullally recently mention that some of those Euro-only Fords would be great on the continent anyway? The big luxury guns from Europe are a'preparin and a'executin their diesel plans. Even Honda and Hyundai are getting ready. Ford might want to keep the beat.....

Speaking of Hyundai, there is a great contrast between their Santa Fe/Land Rover commercial and Volkswagen's Passat/5-series commercial. We had possession of a Santa Fe for quite some time and enjoyed it thoroughly, and the brief time I had with an LR3/Discovery was a pleasure as well. I have no bias.

These vehicles aren't competitors. Even so, Hyundai has a mocking ad comparing the Santa Fe and LR3, with the Santa Fe being a quicker accelerator, quicker around the slalom cones, and $22,000 CDN cheaper. No joke.

I think it's interesting. It does a good job of pointing out that high-value vehicles can offer performance equivalent to or better than the high-end stuff. But if this is the new kind of ad we'll be forced to see, I feel that I must protest. Compare a car-based soft-roader that squeezes in 7 seats with a very spacious heavy-duty go-anywhere off/on roader? Nonsense.

Ford Mustang GT's are faster around a track than Bentley Conti GTs, but nobody is suggesting that as a justifiable reason to buy a Mustang instead of a Bentley. Therein lies the problem with the Hyundai ad: they really expect me to take it seriously. The VW ad has two guys in a car, the Passat driver comforting the BMW driver for being able to 'take him' on the highway. It's comical; fun. It humours me, rather than causing feelings of annoyance......

The Kuwaiti section of the Aston Martin ownership group has already received offers for its stake. Along with Prodrive's David Richards, somebody's rich uncle in Texas, Kuwait's Investment Dar bought Aston Martin from Ford - which still holds $77 million worth - just two months ago. Two months in and opportunity to make a 50% profit must sound nice, especially when the offers roll in "every day", like they do for Investment Dar, says executive VP Amr Abou El Seoud....

Roger Penske's United Auto Group revealed on Wednesday the 9th that 12,600 are quite eager to get their hands on a smart fortwo in the USA. UAG offered first dibs to people who put down $99 deposits. The money was refundable, but it puts you at the top of the waiting list and makes you a smart 'insider'. Only 50-60 dealers will sell the smarts, even with UAG's massive network of mostly-import dealerships. smarts will likely have a base MSRP under $12,000 in the States. The smart is oh-so-small is rated highly in crash tests.

Combine rising fuel prices with something unusual like the smart, and you may have a winner. UAG thinks they may sell out the first year's allotment before they even have vehicles on their lots, even if not all deposit-holders go through with the sale.

'09 ASTON MARTIN V8 VANTAGE

Aston Martin can be criticized on very few fronts. Yes, their cars are lookalikes. But when the looks are so good, can you blame them for multiplying? In addition to that, prices are extraordinarily overbearing, pushing Astons out of our range. Can't really blame a business for operating like.... a business, can you?

The renowned British luxo-sports automaker is a constant improver of its automobiles. Its former flagship, the Vanquish, was a disappointment to some but managed to spiff itself up model year after year after year. Mid way up the product line, the DB9 has evolved into the new flagship; the DBS. That's improvement. Kind of.

Now it is the turn for the entry-level ($111,300 is entry-level?) V8 Vantage to improve. Check out the Numbers below, and click the link to see more GCBC numerical explanations.

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4.7 - capacity of the new V8 in the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, up from 4.3 litres

420 - total horsepower produced by the new V8, a 40bhp bump

347 - total lb-ft of torque produced by the enlarged engine, a 45 lb-ft boost

13 - estimated improvement, in percentage, on the EU combined cycle for fuel economy of the '09 V8 Vantage

0.5 - weight savings, in kilograms, of the modified flywheel and clutch

11 - percentage stiffening of the front springs, along with 5% stiffening at the rear while the front lower suspension arm compliance bushes stiffened 22%

10,000+ - total Aston Martin V8 Vantage coupe and convertible deliveries completed since the introduction of the coupe in 2005 and roadster in 2007

AUDI A8 HATCH AND WAGON

Follow the chain of events: Skoda introduces its Superb with an available TwinDoor. Open it as a hatchback or as a regular sedan with a trunk. Rumours are swirling that the next BMW 5-series will provide consumers with that option as well. Clearly, practicality is moving up the executive transportation ladder. What could the future hold?

Picture, if you will, a diesel-powered Audi A8, offering the torque you equate with luxury limos with fuel economy better than the typical luxury SUV.... with (drum roll please) a hatch or wagon treatment. Why Audi? Remember that it is this luxury Volkswagen subsidiary that treats their Avant versions as the uppermost tier of extravagance. The Porsche-developed Audi RS2 of 1994? Wagon. First Audi RS4? Wagon. Plus version of the last-gen Audi RS6? Wagon. 

Does this mean that Audi will build you an A8 Avant V8 TDI? No, but it's fun to dream. Renderings of the hatch and wagon are below. For previous in-house GCBC renderings, check out the Infiniti G37 convertible and Nissan GT-R Roadster here.

LAMBORGHINI LP560 - NEW BEST VIDEO ON THE WEB

Lamborghini knows what they're doing. Man, they can design a car. Man, they can engineer an engine. And my goodness, but do their vehicles ever look good in motion. This recent addition to YouTube (barely) makes it through as GoodCarBadCar's best video on the internet. Good humour, amazing footage, great car, all-around awesomeness. 

For the previous unofficial title holder, check out this Subaru Impreza on the mountain with snowboarders. Wicked. 

BMW X6 IN MOTION

Ironic, isn't it, that amidst a flurry of Model Eraser stories, BMW's X6 gains positive attention? The X6 is niche manufacturing epitomized. Sportier than an X5, with less utility. Uglier than an X3, but more expensive. Not nearly as useful as a 5-series wagon.... but, umm... even more likely to be purchased by dentists with kids. Data shows very few vehicles that can generate inquiries at GoodCarBadCar.net in X6-like style. 

You can actually read about the X6 here

Rather than continue to mock the introduction of a (likely) enjoyable and luxurious SAV, The Good Car Guy has submitted to simply permitting an X6 to cruise across your screen in motion. 

NISSAN GT-R CONVERTIBLE RENDERING

Few vehicles, if any, have garnered the number of articles or even the mentions that Nissan's GT-R has here on GoodCarBadCar.net. Dramatic styling, ludicrous levels of horsepower and torque, and a history that likens the GT-R in Japan to the Corvette in America combine to make the Nissan GT-R worthy of much talk.

Perhaps, oh Nissan, you'd care for more ballyhoo; hype; and publicity? The chances of Nissan building a GT-R convertible appear either slim or extraordinarily deliciously likely. Just think of it: everyone speaks of dynamic instability brought about by chopping off a sports car's roof. Yet, Ferrari builds a Spider version of the F430. Porsche will sell you a 911 Turbo Cabriolet. Pagani has taken the roof off of the Zonda. One of the planet's most competent road cars, the Lotus Elise, is roofless. 

Were a Nissan GT-R convertible to be built, one would expect to see 0-60mph estimates from the manufacturer drop by a tenth or two and top speed could fall by three or four mph. Achieving times around the Nurburgring in less than 7min30sec could be challenging. But sales in Miami, Beverly Hills, and Monte Carlo are assured. And do recall the recent Infiniti announcement that the G37 will soon feature a no-roof iteration. Thus, GoodCarBadCar.net presents an early rendering of a 'possible' Nissan GT-R Roadster.

LEXUS LF-A PRICED HIGH

We expect Lexus' supercar, the LF-A, to feature a V10. We expect the V10 to produce at least 500 horsepower. And now, Edmunds.com is reporting an expected price in the USA of $225,000. Indeed, a product planning manager with Lexus says the price will begin with the digit '2'. 

Don't get your hopes up for $29,995. Lexus is attacking Ferrari with this vehicle, and the attack doesn't involve undercutting the Italian magnates in the manner of the Ford GT. Over the long lifespan of Lexus/Toyota supercar talk and the evolving LF-A and LF-A convertible concepts, talk has ranged from a V8 (to connect a Toyota supercar to Toyota's F1 effort) to a $170,000 pricetag to a 7:24 time around the Nurburgring in a 4.8L V10-powered LF-A development car with 552 horsepower. 

In other words, rumour and hype play heavily into the conversation. 

AMERICAN VEHICULAR SALES - 1/3rd of 2008 - Part 2

One of the uglier small cars has made a jump into the top ten best-selling vehicles. A large pickup has dropped out of the top five and seems to be trending toward a drop out of the top ten. What's going on? Fuel prices, environmental conscience, and the disappearance of the American middle class; to name just three reasons for a move away from more expensive-to-run trucks and into more economical cars. 

Part 1 of this look at the first third of 2008's American vehicular sales explains a little bit more about January-April's top five sellers. Yesterday, The Good Car Guy explained the Camry's overtaking of the Chevrolet Silverado more thoroughly. Here are more Numbers you need to know.

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2 - total months of full production in 2008 for the new Corolla & Matrix bodystyles as of April, reflected by a 17.3% sales decline for the first four months of the year

2,635 - total Nissan Altima Hybrid sales for the January-April of '08, double the figures for the same period of last year

99,037 - total Nissan Altima sales in the first four months of 2008, a 9.6% increase compared with the same period of 2007

8 - rank of the Chevrolet Impala in U.S. auto sales, although the Impala is one of just two cars in the top ten that generated fewer sales in the first third of this year than the first third of last year

18 - best possible city fuel economy for the Impala, as rated by the EPA, making the large front-wheel driver the only car on this list with no model capable of achieving better than 20mpg in the city

48,540 - difference in sales between the Impala's best selling competitor, the Toyota Camry, and the Impala in the first third of 2008

24.2- percentage decline in sales of the Dodge Ram during the first four months of 2008

279,204 - pace on which the Dodge Ram is prediceted to sell in 2008, based on the first four months of 2008, absent of any downward trending month-after-month

29.1 - percentage increase in sales of the Ford Focus during the first third of 2008 compared with the first third of 2007

4 - positions gained by the Focus in the best sellers list in early 2008, moving from 14th to 10th

38,775 - difference in total sales between the Focus' best-selling competitor, the Honda Civic, and the Focus in the first third of 2008