Filed under: Car Buying, Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Sports/GTs, Green, Earnings/Financials, Celebrities
Here’s Tesla’s Elon Musk, speaking in March (and just published in Car and Driver):
Even in the worst case of an Armageddon scenario, I’ll personally refund people [their money] if need be.
While the U.S. federal government needs to step in and guarantee the warranties for General Motors and Chrysler vehicles should those companies enter bankruptcy, the loaded Musk (C&D calls him an “Internet zillionaire”) is apparently unofficially willing to give people interested in his company’s electric cars one more reason to buy. No details are available yet about what, exactly, Musk means by all of this (a Tesla spokesperson we reached declined to clarify), but this is slightly interesting, no?
Another detail from C&D’s interview interview worth noting is that Musk believes that part of the money issues that became public earlier this year were caused by misrepresentations from a management team that has since left the company. The board thought the Roadster (which was selling for just over $90,000) cost $65,000 to make instead of the $140,000 it was estimated it was really costing the company to make the car a few years ago. Part of the solution was to reduce costs and to refine the car in order to offer the new Roadster Sport version at a higher price point.
[Source: Car and Driver via All Cars Electric]
Tesla CEO vows to personally refund deposits if there’s an “Armageddon scenario” originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tesla CEO vows to personally refund deposits if there’s an "Armageddon scenario" - Celebrities
Posted on April 7th, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
Filed under: Aftermarket, Etc., Earnings/Financials, Celebrities
It may well be that in its fourth installment, Universal Pictures’ ‘Fast & Furious‘ franchise has finally hit its top speed. According to preliminary estimates by Media by Numbers, the Vin Diesel/Paul Walker/Jordana Brewster/Michelle Rodriguez street racing vehicle cranked out a shocking $72.5 million dollar payday over the weekend.
To put that in proper context, CNN reports that this figure is the best April film opening ever, blowing away ‘Anger Management’ at $42.2M, and it easily dusts the opening weekend of ‘Fast 2 Furious” ($50.5M), previously the series’ best outing. Perhaps most jarring is news that the $72.5M earnings would make it the best opening for a car-related movie ever.
One thing’s for sure - with a showing like this, we’re betting that Hollywood execs are already on the phones this morning commissioning scripts for a fifth film - if they don’t have a drawer full of ‘em already.
Are you planning on seeing ‘Fast and Furious?’ Take our poll after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Daniel!
[Source: CNN | Image: Mark Renders/Getty]
Continue reading Vin Number: Fast & Furious shatters records with $72.5M opening weekend [W/Poll!]
Vin Number: Fast & Furious shatters records with $72.5M opening weekend [W/Poll!] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Vin Number: Fast & Furious shatters records with $72.5M opening weekend [W/Poll!] - Celebrities
Posted on April 6th, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
Filed under: Sports/GTs, Auction Action, Pontiac, Celebrities, Special/Limited Editions
Click above for an image gallery of Burt Reynolds’ Bandit Trans Am
The black-and-gold Special Edition Pontiac Trans Am will forever hold a special place in the minds and hearts of Americans old enough to remember how little there was in the way of performance in the mid-to-late 1970s. Standing as a lone bastion of V8-powered adrenaline, the TA refused to give up its ties to the muscle car era, which otherwise died an inglorious death around 1973.
Many point to the Smokey and the Bandit movie franchise for igniting sales of Pontiac’s screaming chicken. In our minds, the star of the show was undoubtedly the car, but who can forget the image of Burt Reynolds and Sally Field running from Buford T. Justice, ably played by the late Jackie Gleason?
Fans looking for the ultimate expression of Burt Reynolds adoration will have the chance to bid on the star’s own personal 1978 Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition as it goes up for auction May 2nd in Hiuston. According to the car’s description, it’s been fully restored and features embroidered Bandit portrait headrests and, of course, a period-correct Cobra CB radio. Full press release after the break.
[Source: Worldwide Auctioneers]
Continue reading Burt Reynolds’ own Bandit Trans Am to be auction in May
Burt Reynolds’ own Bandit Trans Am to be auction in May originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Burt Reynolds’ own Bandit Trans Am to be auction in May - Celebrities
Posted on April 4th, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, GM, Celebrities
Michael Moore, long a critic of General Motors, is calling Rick Wagoner’s ousting a “superhero move” from President Obama, one that puts corporate America on watch. The truth, as usual, lies in the middle of the extremes, but Moore has long been critical of the Automotive Industrial Complex and its treatment of blue-collar workers.
In a new post on his website, Moore says he views the move as a kind of karmic payback for GM’s brass after decades of high living. The controversial documentary filmmaker and activist acknowledges that while Wagoner is getting a $23 million package to go away, he’s still being shown the door by a government that’s been mandated by the people to sort things out.
There’s also a post-script that addresses the difference between the scrutiny the automakers have received versus the comparative free-for-all banks have had with TARP funding, hoping that this disparity will be sorted out in the same swashbuckling manner. Agree or not, Moore offers another take on all the gloom and doom, positing that it may even be a glimmer of hope for better things to come.
[Source: Michaelmoore.com; Image: Ann-Christine Poujoulat/Getty]
Michael Moore: “The Commander in Chief of the Free World is now Mr. Goodwrench” originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Michael Moore: "The Commander in Chief of the Free World is now Mr. Goodwrench" - Celebrities
Posted on April 3rd, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
Filed under: Celebrities
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines. The late, great Formula 1 racer Phil Hill is poised to come back to life in the near future on book shelves and the silver screen. First up is “Limit”, a book by Michael Cannell that chronicles the relationship between Hill and his Scuderia Ferrari teammate Wolfgang von Trips over the course of the 1961 F1 season. That season saw (spoiler alert!) Hill crowned World Champion and von Trips killed in crash at the penultimate Italian Grand Prix. But for those of us who are too A.D.D. to crack the spine of a book, the movie rights are already being acquired for big screen production.
The project is being spear-headed by Maguire Entertainment, the production company headed by Tobey Maguire of Spiderman fame, who is slated to take the wheel as the legendary Phil Hill. Screenwriters and producers are already being lined up, but no word on who would co-star as the ill-fated von Trips. Given all that goes into a major Hollywood production these days, don’t expect The Limit, as the film will be billed, to come to a theater near you quite so soon, but when it does, we hope it’ll be closer to McQueen’s Le Mans than to Stallone’s Driven.
[Source: The Hollywood Reporter | Image: Noah Graham/Getty]
Tobey Maguire to play Phil Hill in The Limit originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tobey Maguire to play Phil Hill in The Limit - Celebrities
Posted on April 2nd, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Green, Dodge, Celebrities, Humor
It is well known that California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has had a very public change of heart when it comes to seeking out a greener lifestyle. Heck, he’s gone from owning the very first civilian AM General HMMWV to talking up green environmental initiatives and start-ups like Tesla. He’s even taken delivery of one of the company’s Roadsters.
Fitting in the car, however, is apparently proving to be a bit of a challenge for the bodybuilder/actor formerly known as Conan, so word is that he’s trying to return it to Tesla. What he might have slotted in the garage in the space of that Tesla? If TMZ’s paparazzi video footage at the link is to be believed, the answer is a TorRed Dodge Challenger with all the trimmings. A little lighter on the green credentials, sure, but it’s not black, it’s not hard to get into, and it makes all the right noises for the man character who said the best things in life are “to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.”
[Source: TMZ]
Greenwashing? Governator looks to have gotten himself a new Dodge Challenger SRT8 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Greenwashing? Governator looks to have gotten himself a new Dodge Challenger SRT8 - Celebrities
Posted on March 30th, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Celebrities
Even though he had a long television acting career, you probably don’t remember James Sloyan - but you know his voice - perhaps better than you’d like. Sloyan has been the narrator for every Lexus commercial since the brand’s 1989 launch. Imagine the slogan “The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection,” and your mind will probably be a-tumble with images from any of those high-production-value commercials broadcast over the last 20 years.
But Sloyan is with Toyota’s luxury brand no more, having been replaced by James Remar, another actor you’ve seen everywhere but probably don’t know by name. Sloyan has moved on to Mitsubishi, and you can hear his voice right now on radio ads in some markets. So listen out for “One lean, mean MIVEC machine” when he’s talking about the Outlander, and try not to think of sparse piano compositions and champagne glass pyramids.
[Source: Ad Age]
The voice of Lexus is now the voice of Mitsubishi originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The voice of Lexus is now the voice of Mitsubishi - Celebrities
Posted on March 30th, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
Filed under: Auction Action, Etc., Volkswagen, Celebrities, Humor
Click above for a gallery of the Funny Bunny
The Volo Classic Car Museum in Illinois has this pink treat from the movie Uncle Buck for sale. The Funny Bunny is a Volkswagen Bug that was turned into a mouse that, according to the Volo, has been turned into a bunny. Even though it’s got a mouse nose, mouse whiskers, mouse eyes, and mouse ears, it has “a buck tooth bumper” and a white, poofy bunny tail — but it still comes with the pink mouse tail in case you’re really set on a rodent.
The car has been restored and is in great running condition, so sayeth the museum’s eBay listing. And you don’t have to worry about spending money on it, because “people will pay you to attend their events.” If you’re looking for attention or an “in” for your local Easter parade, look no further.
[Source: eBay]
eBay Find of the Day is just in time for Easter originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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eBay Find of the Day is just in time for Easter - Celebrities
Posted on March 27th, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
Filed under: Trends, Euro, Supercars, Earnings/Financials, Celebrities, Special/Limited Editions
The Top Gear we know and love includes hordes of outlandishly expensive exotic and luxury cars that we could never afford. Lamborghini and Ferrari will still be represented for Series 13, but if rumors are true, the BBC boys are going to dedicate more air time to the everyday cars that the rest of us drive, and less time with costly stunts like the one seen above. Executive Producer Andy Wilman is shooting for fuel efficient, affordable transportation in light of the global recession. Series 13 was originally planning for a road trip including a Lambo and a Porsche, but instead the excursion will include more sedate transportation like the Toyota iQ. That doesn’t sound very exciting, but we have faith in Top Gear to make their episodes equally entertaining… after all, we’ve seen what they can do with a Chevrolet Lacetti.
Top Gear should grip on recessionary economics because even the wildly popular series has been struck by it themselves. The show has received a sizable 30% budget cut for Series 13; a move that show producers say will be evident in the final product. Thanks for the tips, everyone!
[Source: Telegraph | Image: Shaun Curry/Getty]
Top Gear to lose exotics in favor of practical iron? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Top Gear to lose exotics in favor of practical iron? - Celebrities
Posted on March 25th, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
Filed under: Honda, UK, Celebrities
Newsflash: Television production sounds more glamorous than it really is. Oh sure, there are some that cruise around in conspicuous rides, but most tend to drive workaday cars. It’d be natural to expect the producer of “Rinky-Dink Town Today” on Cable Access would be tooling around in something less than a Mercedes S Class, but the people that make car shows, especially the Top Gear franchise, why, that producer surely drives something outrageously fly, right? Umm… no.
Andy Wilman, producer of the current Top Gear incarnation (and a presenter for the original series), is probably expected to drive something exotic or bombastic like his mates Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May - but that’s not how he rolls, apparently. A Honda Jazz (that’s a Fit to you, Yankee) is at least a choice that car guys can still get behind, marrying utility and economy with a measure of fun.
Could Top Gear be headed for the same responsible, economical fate with all the new chatter about frugality? Not entirely, the exotics will always be there, and the entertaining road trips will continue to up the hijinks ante, but the show will be filled out by more economically-minded cars in light of the recent economic mood. There’s probably more up Wilman’s sleeve when it comes to Top Gear development, and he’s also got his eye on a new Kia Soul, so it doesn’t look like the Zebra’s going to change his stripes much any time soon.
[Source: Independent.co.uk]
Top Gear producer drives… a 7 year-old Honda Jazz? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Top Gear producer drives… a 7 year-old Honda Jazz? - Celebrities
Posted on March 25th, 2009 under Stars and Cars.
