OK, now that the election campaign that seemed like it would never end has, Carnival of Cars is back on the road every week. Sorry for the interruption.
But of course the campaign may end but politics never does. Peter DeLorenzo at AUTOEXTREMIST wasted no time in pointing out to the president-elect that, uh, there is an economic calamity happening right now in Detroit.
And in the same vein, The Auto Prophet - who, let us not forget, is an actual auto engineer working for an actual auto company in the actual state of Michigan - has an in-depth look at the government's ATVMAP program, a $25 billion loan/bailout
But leave it to Robert Farago at The Truth About Cars to slice through all of the rhetorical fog, cloudy traditional thinking and political hucksterism to point out the essential facts - Detroit is asking for life-support and throwing good money after bad never works.
Whatever the politicians do, Todd Lassa at the Motor Trend blog says replacing Michigan's John Dingell with California's Henry Waxman to chair the key House committee for auto issues is not a good idea.
Then there's this: While GM is begging Washington for a bail-out, the General is opening a new plant in Russia. Left Lane says Russian figurehead president Dimitri Medvedev scrawled "Good Luck" on the first Chevy Captiva to come off the line.
Meanwhile, now is the time to buy a new vehicle because sales are way down for most everybody and the deals are out there. The Driving Woman explains the latest GM Red Tag. Even better is TDW's brand new Predictive Pricing feature that helps you decide if you should wait for the deals to get even better.
Before you make a decision, though, you might want to get a handle on "What Your Car Really Costs," courtesy of the American Institute of Economic Research.
If you happen to be in the market for a street-legal Indy car replica, Auto Motto is where you need to be. And don't forget to bring your $26K with you.
Remember the Sterling? The Garage Blog does, in the latest installment of its excellent series on forgotten marques.
It's SEMA week and Serious Wheels has some great stuff on the Camaro doings in Vegas. And Njection takes you to the 800 horsepower ASI Tetsu Bentley GTR. That's a lot of grey poupon!
Brian at Racedriven.com has announced an auto photo contest in which winners get $25 gas cards from BP.
Wow, what a concept! Instead of arbitrarily set speed limits, how about "reasonable and prudent" speed limits? Eric Peters explains on the National Motorist Association blog.
Finally, Joe Sherlock at The View Through the Windshield recalls dating a girl whose father drove a 50 Lincoln with a Tucker radio stuffed into the instrument panel. This actually has something to do with the new Camaro. No, really, it does ....
WHAT I'M DRIVING THIS WEEK: Mitsubishi Lancer GTS
It's easy to miss a diamond in the rough when you get a different drive every week. I've re-learned that valuable lesson after spending an entertaining week behind the wheel of an 08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS. Mitsu redesigned the basic Lancer for 08 with a longer wheelbase and wider track, but shorter overall length. It makes for a compact, agile little sedan.
The GTS gets the usual sport model menu of tightened suspension calibration, bigger wheels and tires, stronger brakes and quicker steering to go along with the 2.4 liter, 168 horse four cylinder (new for 09), mated with a five-speed manual tranny. It sounds rather conventional, but my white tester performed impressively, with taut cornering and excellent acceleration (so long as you don't crave Evo-levels of performance).
There are much quicker Ralliart and Evo versions of the Lancer but they cost several thousand more and require some sacrifice in driving comfort. That's what makes the GTS a sleeper - its handsomely aggressive in a restrained sort of way and offers lots of driving fun at a reasonable price. Easy to miss, but worth looking for if you are on a budget. And who isn't these days?
See ya next week. Promise!
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orangutan says:
09:30 AM, 11/ 9/08
If you're driving an 08 Lancer GTS then you have a 2.0 liter inline-four engine, the same as Edmunds had in their long-term fleet. If you have the 2.4 liter inline-four engine, then you're driving a 2009 Lancer GTS.
tapscottm says:
02:14 PM, 11/ 9/08
Thanks for catching the typo, Orangutan. Spell Check doesn't include a feature that says "Hey, moron, you mean 09, not 08." MT
orangutan says:
03:56 PM, 11/ 9/08
You're welcome. ;)
dougtheeng says:
06:31 AM, 11/10/08
I think that blue doesn't do the Lancer justice. Mine was in red, and it looked fantastic. It also looks great in the black and the grey/silver.
tapscottm says:
08:57 AM, 11/10/08
Dougtheeng, did you get rid of it? I agree with you on the colors, it's a design that looks really good in the bolder colors.
dougtheeng says:
12:14 PM, 11/10/08
I crashed it 7 months after purchase (that is, last February). I can confirm that the side impact on the '08's is excellent; however, the performance of the all-season tyres leaves something to be desired in freezing rain conditions.
ateixeira says:
11:07 AM, 11/12/08
I'd love to see "reasonable and prudent" speed limits.
Near me they are putting speed cams everywhere. One in particular really got me miffed.
It's in Olney, MD, on Georgia Avenue. The speed limit on that road is 50, then 40 as you approach Olney. They created a new school zone where it drops even more, to just 30mph, this on a 3 lane road!
To make matters worse, it's 30 mph even at night, when school is not in session!
So, they lower the speed limit to am artificially low 30mph, put in a speed cam, and cash in as nearly everyone falls for the trap at least once.
30 is fine during the day, but I think if safety is really the goal it should be "when flashing" and they should add flashing lights.