Posted by william preisinger on Tue, Sep 07, 2010 @ 09:55 AM
Minneapolis Chevrolet-Cadillac Dealer
This ranking is based on Muscle Car Review Magazine tests results and measured by Muscle car club.
#1 1966 427 Cobra 427 cubic V8 425 HP
Originally this car is British and has history that dates from 60s. Due to Ford’s wish to compete Corvette, the British AC Cobra was requested to be modified to fit bigger engine. After a few tries, Cobra was equipped with 427 cubic [7 liter] Ford engine that delivered amazing 425 HP and had a top speed of 163 mph. In fact, while saving costs, some Cobra Mark III were actually fitted with Ford’s lower cost 428 cubic engine.
#2 1966 Corvette 427 cubic L72 425 HP
1966 was a year of Corvette’s big block engine extension. The legendary 427 cubic L36 [390 HP] and L72 [425HP] V8′s were introduced. 427 was simply bored and stroked 396 cubic version. L72 had 4 bolt mains, aluminum pistons, bigger camshaft, Holly-780-CFM carburetor with aluminum intake and optionable K66 ignition. People say, this engine has more power than officially quoted – about 450 HP.
#3 1969 Road Runner 440 cubic Six BBL 390 HP
440 6 BBL engine was a equipped with 3 units of 2-barrel carburetors. It was added to line up in order to qualify for the Super Stock Drag races. Road Runners had no wheel covers or hubcaps, but had functional hood scoop and… 390 HP under the hood. This engine was cheaper that 426 Hemi, but had very similar performance. The 1969 Road Runner was named a car of the year by Motor Trend magazine.
#4 1970 Hemi Cuda 426 cubic Hemi 425 HP
The cars that were equipped with 440 cubic or 426 Hemi engines received upgraded suspension and some reinforcements in order to help transfer the power to the road. Today, these rare Hemi engines have collectors’ interest and high price.
#5 1970 Chevelle SS454 454 cubic LS6 450 HP
Chevrolet’s 454 cubic V8 was a response to GM’s 455 engine. The 454 LS6 had 4 barrel Holley carburetor mated with aluminum manifold, good compression, 4-bolt mains, forged steel cranks and pitons and…. barbaric 450 HP. The LS6 engine made Chevelle a real superstar.
#6 1969 Camaro 427 cubic ZL1 430 HP
Technically the ZL1 was a Camaro option package. This street legal engine was very similar to aluminum-head L88, but it also was the very first Chevy’s aluminum light-weight block [it weighted just 500 pounds - as much as the 327 V8]. The factory quote was 430 HP, but it actually had over 500 HP. It was probably the most powerful Chevrolet engine offered to the market.
#7 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 427 cubic V6 435 HP
There were only 624 units of this engine built – the L89 427 cubic V8 with 435 HP. It was identical to the L72 [such as in position #2] but had 3 units of 2-barrel carburetors [aka, Tri-Power].
#8 1970 Plymouth Road Runner 426 cubic Hemi 425 HP
The 426 Hemi was combined with low weight body and could run the quarter mile in 13.5 seconds @105 mph. This was one of the best muscle car era engines and the Road Runner one of the best engines to use it with.
#9 1970 Buick GS Stage I 455 cubic 360 HP
The optional Gran Sport Stage 1 engine produced 360 HP in gross ratings, but the road tests show that engine had around 420 HP and a massive torque. It consisted of more aggresive camshaft, better compression, unique cylinder heads, 4-barrel carburetor, faster ignition, etc. IN the 1980′s GS STAGE 1 engine was listed as faster than any of the Chrysler’s Hemi. Very expensive, very rear, very worth all the buzz.
#10 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 427 cubic 425 HP.
Chevrolet's Corvette ranks just one notch below immortality on America's list of mechanical achievements — and well it should. Like barbed wire and the cotton gin, it borrows from no one. Every working aspect and every styling feature evolve from Chevrolet's plan to built the ultimate American car. The Corvette is exciting, it's lusty, it stimulates all of the base emotion lurking deep in modern man. It is the Barbarella of the car maker's art.
Posted by william preisinger on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 @ 10:20 AM
Envy is a complex and often puzzling emotion. It is, notoriously, one of the seven deadly sins, and is commonly charged with being unreasonable, irrational, imprudent, vicious or just plain wrong to feel. We say that's bunk. Envy is defined by Webster's as "a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another." In the automotive realm, it is common to envy someone who owns an Aston Martin, Ferrari, Camaro, Porche or Rolls-Royce. And as long as you don't do bodily harm to that person and abscond with the auto, the feeling is quite acceptable. Here are the 10 vehicles we find most enviable. Prepare to get green.
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
The mere name Alpha Romeo is already music to the ears. This fabled Italian automaker is known for crafting beautiful machines, none more so than the 8C Competizione. Its gorgeous lines are inspired by Alfa racers from the '30s and '40s, and it is named after the 8C race car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four straight years, from 1931 to 1934. Only 500 were produced, and quickly sold for more than $225,000 each. The 8C coupe has a carbon fiber body and is powered by a 4.7-liter 450-horsepower V8 engine with a 6-speed automatic gearbox. ryanautomall.com
1935 Duesenberg Model SJ Roadster
If you want to know why someone would envy a person who owns this stunning Duesenberg SJ, we pity you. This particular vehicle sold for $3.3 million during last year's Monteray Motor Week in Northern California. One of only 36 SJs produced, this particular model is further set apart by one-of-a-kind open coachwork designed by Bohman and Schwartz.
Porsche 918 Spyder
Porsche's admittedly stunning plug-in hybrid earns astonishment purely on the basis of the claims made on its behalf. Looking a bit like the evolution of a Carrera GT, the 918 Spyder is powered by both a 500-horsepower V8 engine and a pair of electric motors (one for each axle) producing an additional 218 horses. At full gallop it can theoretically reach 62 mph in 3.2 seconds and reach 198 mph on the high end. Porche says it can also achieve 78 mpg. That's truly outrageous — in a wonderful way, of course.
In the early '60s, a tall, lanky Texan named Carroll Shelby set out to beat Ferrari at the highest level of sports-car racing by stuffing a Ford V8 engine under the hood of a classic British roadster. The AC Cobra was born. That vehicle was followed by the legendary Cobra 427 Roadster pictured here, with its radically flared fenders and 7.0-liter V8 engine. Rarest and most valuable are the S/C models (for semi/competition), barely detuned race cars of which only 31 were built. The Cobra roadster was a beast of a car then, and nothing has ever quite matched its raw power and brutish looks.
Camaro SS
Last but not least is this very nice driver. an authentic 1969 matching number Camaro R.S S.S convertible in Daytona yellow. This car has been authenticated by Jerry MacNeish who sits on the Camaro Nations board. This first generation Camaro is a joy to drive and is sitting in my garage. visit Ryanautomall.com today!
Posted by william preisinger on Wed, Aug 25, 2010 @ 11:47 AM
By Claire Martin of MSN Autos. Minneapolis Chevrolet-Cadillac
The world's first automobile, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, was unveiled in Mannheim, Germany, in 1886. Made of steel tubing and wooden panels, this Karl Benz creation had three wheels, a rear-mounted engine and a whopping top speed of 10 mph. Oh, have things changed in the last hundred or so years. Steel and wood have been replaced by lightweight carbon fiber and Kevlar, and aerodynamics and automotive engineering have become serious fields of research, all in the effort to go faster and faster. Two dozen autos have claimed the mantle of world's fastest street car since the Motorwagen made its debut, with the current record holder capable of a mind-blowing 257 mph. To satisfy your need for speed, here are the 10 fastest street cars of all time.
ryanautomall.com
SSC Ultimate Aero TT
Made from carbon fiber, steel and titanium and decked out with so-called butterfly doors, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT holds the Guinness World Record for fastest production car, having blasted down a two-lane highway in Washington state in 2007 at 257 mph. It pulls zero to 60 mph in 2.78 seconds thanks to its 1,094 lb-ft of torque and 1,183 horsepower — more grunt than any other street car. Company founder David Shelby (SSC stands for Shelby Super Cars) is an engineer and former go-kart champion who combined his two passions to create the car. He incorporated racing elements (a manual transmission, no power steering and a roaring engine) with normal creature comforts (a navigation system, an LCD DVD/video screen and a color palette that includes orchid and copper)
Bugatti Veyron 16.4
The Veyron accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 2.46 seconds, from zero to 100 in 5.2 seconds, and from zero to 250 in 50 seconds — all this despite weighing nearly 4,500 pounds. Even more surprising than its speed may be its braking ability: It can brake from 60 mph back down to zero in 2.3 seconds. The 2-tone retro design harks to the 1920s and 1930s, as does the level of luxury (Hermes is a Bugatti collaborator). It's a car you'd expect Bugsy Siegel to have driven back in the day. In 2005 the Veyron was clocked at 253 mph, which at the time made it the fastest road car in the world. It's also the most expensive, fetching $1.7 million a pop.
Koenigsegg CCR
This Swedish 2-seater with a removable hardtop had a short-lived reign as the world's fastest street car in 2005, when it was recorded at 241 mph on an Italian racetrack. Its zero to 60 time is 3.2 seconds, and it develops 806 horsepower (measured with the first-ever horsepower gauge in a production car). Founded by Christian von Koenigsegg in 1994, the company builds its cars in a former Swedish Air Force facility where fighter jets were stored. Painted on the CCR's carbon-fiber and Kevlar body is a ghost, which was the symbol of the squadron that used the hangar. Earlier this year, Koenigsegg led a consortium of investors to purchase fellow Swedish automaker Saab from General Motors.
McLaren F1
This car dominated as fastest in the world (240 mph) for a whopping seven years, from 1998 to 2005, and pulls from zero to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. In 1995 the F1 became the first street-legal car to beat prototype race cars in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A 3-seater with the driver's seat set in the middle of the car and two passenger seats slightly behind on either side, the F1 was designed by Formula One race car designer and engineer Gordon Murray. He used materials such as titanium, gold, carbon fiber, magnesium and Kevlar to create a lightweight, powerful vehicle. When it was released, British car magazine Autocar gushed: "The F1 . . . may possibly be the fastest production road car the world will ever see."
Jaguar XJ220
A catalytic converter got in the way of British Formula One driver Martin Brundle's initial attempt at breaking the world record for fastest road car in 1992. Ditching the converter allowed him to increase the engine's speed from 7200 to 7900 rpm, which made all the difference in clinching the record — 212 mph. Brundle later pushed it to 217 mph, setting a world record in the early '90s. executives had set out to create the first road-legal car to break the 200 mph barrier, and the car — a 2-door coupe — was eventually named for its targeted top speed (220 mph). It didn't quite achieve that goal, but it did go from zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, reportedly luring owners such as Elton John and the sultan of Brunei.
Bugatti EB110 SS
Just 31 of these cars were built by Bugatti, the luxury-car manufacturing company founded by Italian Ettore Bugatti in the early 1900s. With a carbon-fiber chassis made by an aircraft company, the EB110 SS maxed out at 214 mph and could hit 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds. Bells and whistles included lifting scissor doors (all the rage in the early 1990s) and a glass cover for the V12 engine (for viewing purposes). Bugatti built 139 EB110s, but only a fraction of those were SS versions (stands for Super Sport). The EB110 SS was lighter and more powerful (592 horsepower) than its progenitor — and in 1992 it was the fastest road car on the planet.
Lamborghini Diablo
In 1985 Lamborghini decided to create a car capable of hitting 195 mph. It succeeded with the Diablo, which was still the fastest machine of its era when this slick Raging Bull finally hit the streets in 1990, maxing out at 202 mph and hitting 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. It was customizable in unprecedented ways, including the option of having the driver's seat molded especially for the buyer. But in other ways, it was bare bones: a basic radio, manual windows and no anti-lock brakes helped keep its weight down. Ferruccio Lamborghini used the bull as his emblem from the get-go when he founded the company in 1963, and he named each model for a famous fighting bull, including the Diablo — a legendary 1860s Spanish bull.
Ferrari F40
Debuting as Ferrari's fastest (zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds) and most expensive (the sticker price was $400,000, but buyers reportedly paid up to $1.6 million) car in 1987, the F40 had a 2-year reign as the world's fastest production car, clocking in at a top speed of 195 mph. Designed to coincide with Ferrari's 40th anniversary, the F40 was the last car released before company founder Enzo Ferrari's death. It was on the cutting edge of aerodynamics technology at the time, relying more on shape than power to create speed. Because it was so low to the ground, Ferrari engineers enabled it to automatically raise its ground clearance when necessary. The first models were race-car light: a plastic windshield and no carpet, door handles or sound system.
Porsche 959
The 959 started life as a rally car in 1986 and was later built as a production car. It wasn't street-legal in the United States until 1999, but several models were reportedly imported in the 1980s as showpieces. One important innovation that accounted for the 959's speed (zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 199 mph) was its all-wheel drive, considered the most advanced drive system at the time. The car could change the torque distribution between rear and front wheels in various road conditions and could funnel extra power to the rear wheels for extra traction. A weight-saving nylon floor replaced the steel that most manufacturers were using in that era, and the body was made from aluminum and a composite similar to Kevlar. Chevrolet Corvette Minneapolis.
Posted by william preisinger on Wed, Aug 25, 2010 @ 09:35 AM
Woodward Dream Cruise — Hot Rods/Custom Cars
If fat-fendered cars make your "rockin' world go 'round," the Woodward Dream Cruise is your sort of party. The largest one-day automotive event on the planet, this event is all about real people driving real cars on a real road. It brings an estimated 1 million people and 40,000 cars to Detroit at the end of every August, and has become a "must" event for gearheads around the world. While it's impossible to capture the entire scope of this multimile event, here is a snapshot of the coolest cars from 2010.
Check out Great Chevy's and Cadillac's at Ryanautomall.com
Posted by william preisinger on Tue, Aug 24, 2010 @ 09:31 AM
Minneapolis Mahinda Dealer
Mahindra Trucks are affordable, tough, power-packed, 100% guaranteed and deliver 30 MPG highway.
Mahindra’s mid-size trucks and SUVs offer a blend of ruggedness, performance and affordability. They have the largest payload of any compact pickup truck (2,765 pounds) and an estimated 5,000 pound towing capacity.
Top it off with a 4-year 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and you’ll find that these babies are even more cost-efficient than the best hybrids and are brimming with uncompromising features.
• 30 MPG
• 4-WHEEL ABS BRAKES
• UNIQUE STYLING
• EXTRA LONG CARGO BED
• ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL
• TRACTION CONTROL
• ROLL-OVER MITIGATION
• 6-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
• AM/FM/CD/USB AUDIO SYSTEM
Forget everything you thought you knew about diesel engines.
Turbocharged Mahindra clean diesels provide a power-packed 30 miles per gallon creating benefits beyond any other vehicle in its class.
Mahindra’s common rail diesels are cleaner, quieter, greener and more efficient than ever. Our new generation of clean-burning diesels emit 97 percent fewer sulfur emissions than old-school diesels and virtually no sooty particulates. They produce 30 percent fewer greenhouse gases per mile than gasoline engines – while getting 20 to 40 percent better fuel mileage. And they do it all while maintaining the traditional diesel advantages of more torque and greater durability.
Mahindra is one of the most dynamic automakers in the world today, with a 60-year record of quality and innovation. The company has launched nearly a dozen new products in the past 15 years and has partnered with leading U.S., Asian and European automakers on exciting joint ventures and advanced new manufacturing facilities in India.
The longtime leader in India’s utility vehicles market, with a near 50 percent market share, Mahindra now sells its products in more than 25 countries on six continents. In 2009, Mahindra vehicles are scheduled to become the first line of Indian-made automobiles to debut in the United States.
The $6 billion Mahindra Group is one of the top 10 industrial conglomerates in India. Forbes has ranked the Mahindra Group in its Top 200 list of the World’s Most Reputable Companies and in the Top 10 list of Most Reputable Indian companies.
The Mahindra Group’s Automotive Sector is in the business of manufacturing and marketing utility and light commercial vehicles, including three-wheelers. It is the market leader in utility vehicles in India, and currently accounts for about half of India’s utility vehicle production.
Created in 1994 following an organizational restructuring, the Automotive Sector can trace its roots back to 1954. The iconic jeep that led American GIs to victory in World War II is the same vehicle that drove the Mahindra Group to success in its early days. Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, the flagship company of the Group, was set up as a franchise for assembling general purpose utility vehicles from Willy’s USA™. Mahindra is expecting it's Scorpio based pick up to be on Dealers lots by March 2010.
Posted by william preisinger on Thu, Aug 12, 2010 @ 02:43 PM
The Ride Aquatic.
It wasn't long ago that the idea of a car converting into a submarine was nothing more than a film-industry fantasy. But in the past few years, modern-day mad scientists have turned this and other mind-blowing amphibious vehicles into reality. The Rinspeed sQuba, for example, is a Lotus Elise with five electric motors, two propellers and a couple of jet nozzles that let it dive and swim underwater, much like the Lotus Esprit that James Bond drove in "The Spy Who Loved Me." While the one-off sQuba might cost $1.5 million to build, other amazing amphibious cars cost much less and make the quaint old Amphicars and SchwimmWagens of decades past seem like antique bathtub toys. Here are our picks for eight of the coolest aqua rides.
Hydra Spyder
The 2-seat Hydra Spyder, built by Cool Amphibious Manufacturers in Ridgeland, S.C, starts at $175,000 and is powered by a Corvette LS2 V8 engine. Drive it into the water, flip a switch, and the wheels retract into the vehicle's body, the doors deploy to cover the bottom of the wheel wells (much like when an airplane retracts its landing gear), and a marine gear engages a jet-drive engine like those used on personal watercraft. Now you are ready to set sail. Only five have been built so far, all bought by filthy rich folks who keep them on their multimillion-dollar yachts for shore leave.
If its wheels stayed in place, the Hydra Spyder would be no faster than its larger stablemate, the bus-sized Hydra Terra. "It doesn't matter if you put 500 horsepower on it, it's not going to go any faster, because it's limited by drag," says John Giljam, who founded Cool Amphibious Manufacturers in 1999 with his wife, Julie. The bulk of Giljam's business comes from the Terra, which is used commercially, mostly by tour operators in a 49-seat configuration. He's working on another high-speed amphibious vehicle for military use, which would take him full circle: Giljam first got into amphibious vehicles by converting an old LARC military cargo vehicle to run tours off Hilton Head Island.
Dave March, founder of WaterCar Inc., in Fountain Valley, Calif., got into building amphibious vehicles after restoring an old German Amphicar from the 1960s. Seeking something faster, he toyed with a small 2-seater that looked like a late-1990s Chevy Camaro. It had a Subaru WRX engine, retractable wheels and water-jet propulsion. Unfortunately, the vehicle's flat bottom didn't allow it to cut through the water smoothly. The Python is March's solution — a larger vehicle with V-shaped hull. Like the Hydra Spyder, it's powered by a Chevy LS V8. It's capable of 60 mph on the water, and zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds on land. Available as a kit car (sans engine and transfer case), the Python costs about $200,000.
In addition to the Python, WaterCar also offers a less expensive and slower model — capable of 8 mph on water — called the Gator, which looks like a Jeep but uses a Volkswagon Beetle chassis and engine. It's also available as a kit car. This allows WaterCar to circumvent federal crash tests and safety regulations, which would be prohibitively expensive for the start-up to comply with. The Gator kit costs $29,500 without the chassis and engine.
Gibbs Technologies is unique in this group in that it seeks to mass-produce an amphibious car that does 35 mph on water, is relatively affordable and complies with boat and road regulations in North American and Europe. The Aquada is a 3-seat, center-console vehicle with retractable wheels and a V-shaped hull for better stability at high speeds on the water. In 2004 Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin empire, set an amphibious vehicle record by driving the Aquada across the English Channel in just over 100 minutes. The company had set a target price in the U.S. of $85,000 for this speedster and a release date of 2009, but a snag with emissions regulations has shelved production plans indefinitely.
It's hard not to grin when you see the Rinspeed Splash drive into the water, deploy its hydrofoils, lower a propeller and start to glide a few feet above the waves. Piloting the Splash, probably the only hydrofoil car in existence, on the water can be tricky, however. "It's speed versus angle of the wings versus waves," says Frank Rinderknecht, Rinspeed founder and chief executive. The "wings" are attached to the vertical part of the front hydrofoils underwater. Much like the way water-skiers must hold their skis at a steep angle to get out of the water, the wings on the Splash must be positioned at a steep angle when the vehicle takes off, so that it can rise out of the water.
Posted by william preisinger on Mon, Aug 09, 2010 @ 11:30 AM
Yesterday's Flops, Today's Collectibles
By Claire Martin of MSN Autos
One lesson that came out of product launches like New Coke and the Sony Betamax is that too much hype can be a bad thing. The auto industry has had its fair share of flops over the years — cars that didn't live up to the expectations, gained infamy for abysmal sales or performance, or were just plain weird. But those cars didn't disappear from the roads. Many have achieved cult status and become collector's items, sought after by car enthusiasts for their rarity. "Enthusiasts measure success differently," explains McKeel Hagerty, founder and CEO of Hagerty Insurance, which specializes in collector vehicles. "They'll find some odd-duck car that no one has and they want it." Here are the top 9 most coveted car flops.
Edsel Citation
The hoopla surrounding Ford's launch of the Edsel lineup, featuring cars with front grilles that have been likened to everything from a toilet seat to a vagina, was massive. Ford expected to sell millions of them, but managed to unload just 118,000 in all. The Edsel was partly a victim of timing: In the 1950s, car companies weren't just launching new models, they were launching new divisions. With Edsel,Ford was looking to create a new car company. Much was riding on its success — Ford had invested $400 million. But American drivers never got on board — Edsel fell victim to poor product planning and marketing, among other things.
BMW Isetta
Americans are now more open to the long-held European automotive operating principle that small cars with tiny engines mean good gas mileage and maneuverability on narrow streets. But back in the 1950s, bigger was considered way better. That didn't bode well for BMW's Isetta, which debuted in 1955 and was the most diminutive of micro minis. It had just one door: The steering wheel swung open and you stepped in from the front of the car. "A typical American car could fit at least one Isetta in the trunk," Hagerty says. "It was a real failure because it did not fit the American mentality of what a car should be."
Ford Pantera
Henry Ford II never could get over being blown off by Enzo Ferrari in his attempt to acquire the Ferrari brand in the early 1960s. So instead, Ford tried to compete, convinced there was a market in the United States for Italian-designed cars. The Pantera — a Maserati or Lamboughini look-alike powered by a giant Ford V8 engine — was one such attempt. But by the time Ford launched the Pantera, the oil embargo of the early 1970s was on. "There was no way you were going to sell a supercar through an American car dealership at that time," Hagerty says. "The Pantera suffered from an absolute failure of timing."
Tucker
Restored Tuckers have snagged more than $1 million in recent years. That's partly because only 51 were ever built and just 47 still exist. But also appealing to collectors is that the man behind the car went on to Hollywood fame when Jeff Bridges portrayed him in the 1988 movie "Tucker: The Man and His Dream." Considered an underdog businessman and an automotive visionary, Preston Tucker was plagued by negative press, poor management skills and an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The car got points for innovations in styling and passenger safety, but still it flopped spectacularly.
DeLorean DMC-12
Drug-trafficking charges filed against auto executive John DeLorean certainly didn't help the sales of his stainless-steel-bodied car with flashy gull-wing doors. The DeLorean DMC-12 was one of the few cars ever made in Ireland, and it rolled off production lines in 1981 and 1982. But it had a burst of popularity as a time machine in the 1985 flick "Back to the Future." "It was an avant garde piece of design," Hagerty says. "But the car was so underpowered that it never could have been a real success." Only 9,000 DMC-12s were built, despite the factory's capacity to churn out 30,000 per year.
With a fiberglass body, an asymmetrically shaped hood, and rear bucket seats, the Avanti was meant to be controversial, but ended up being a bit too out there for car buyers. Coming at the tail end of Studebaker's existence, the Avanti suffered from the company's lack of organization, which resulted in delays and low production numbers. To the extent that the Avanti did sell, it appealed to a very different kind of consumer. "It was a lifestyle car for people who wanted something really different," Hagerty says. "Buying an Avanti was the counter-car-culture thing to do."
Ryanautomall.com
Fiat Jolly
With wicker seats and a fringed roof, the Jolly was a novelty car from the get-go. It was produced for the yachting community in 1958, a time when the idea of commuting by boat was a trend. The Jolly could be used to scoot back and forth between one's yacht and house, and it was small enough to bring onboard and use for shore excursions at the port of call. "It's an oddity," Hagerty says. "The idea was that the Martha's Vineyard crowd would amount to a much larger part of the population than it did." Only about 100 still exist today.
Volkswagen Thing
Volkswagen introduced the Thing to the early 1970s car market, perhaps figuring Americans' appetite for inexpensive beach cars like its outrageously popular Beetle was inexhaustible. That proved not to be the case. Based on a WW II-era German command car, the Thing gave off a very utilitarian vibe. "It just wasn't appealing," Hagerty says. "It looked like they took something from their parts bin and tried to sell it." The Thing flopped when it came out in 1972, but it still found fans, including Marge Simpson's sisters, Patty and Selma, who drive a Thing on the TV show "The Simpsons."
Posted by william preisinger on Wed, Aug 04, 2010 @ 02:21 PM
MANKATO, Minn. -- Darrell Bevell, offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings and close pal of Brett Favre, said Wednesday he takes the QB at his word that his drawn-out retirement ponderings are all about his ankle and not about a bigger paycheck. Ryanautomall.com. Minneapolis Cadillac.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the Vikings have offered Favre, due to make $13 million this season, enhancement could take it up to $20 million. But Favre refuted that in comments to ESPN on Wednesday. "It's not about the money" he said. After the Vikings practiced, Bevell was asked about the comments by the 40-year-old Favre that his decision will hinge on the left ankle he had surgically repaired in June.
"That's what I've been getting all along, and I can't speak for what came out this morning … but if that's what he said, I always take what he says for what his word is," said Bevell. "And he's never told me any different."
Bevell, who was QB coach with the Green Bay Packers during Favre's time there, said he'd spoken with Favre recently but not over the previous 24 hours.
"My conversations with him are usually the same. Sometimes they're about football. A lot of times they're about what's going on here, how the teammates, about our families, those kind of things," said Bevell. "So all this (retirement) speculation I didn't get in to."
Knowing Favre, Bevell also is not surprised he has yet to announce whether he will come back for a 20th NFL season.
"I know it's a decision that he wrestles with. He's a great player. He's a great competitor. He mulls things over," said Bevell. "He's an emotional guy, so he thinks things through long and hard. He takes his time with his decisions, so I'm not surprised things started to come out."
With Favre absent, fifth-year pro Tarvaris Jackson is running the Vikings' first-team offense.
"We're preparing regardless, so the timetable is up to coach (Brad Childress), and Brett and guys way above me," said Bevell.
"And all I'm doing is preparing the offense with what we have, the guys that are here. They're working hard, competing hard. We're ready to go if we need to one way or the other."
Brett Favre might play this season after all, with officials saying the quarterback plans to return for the Minnesota Vikings if his surgically repaired ankle allows it.
Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, both said Wednesday that the veteran quarterback plans to play if he is healthy. He had surgery on the ankle in May.
Bevell has been close friends with Favre since he was his quarterbacks coach with the Green Bay Packers.
Brett Favre passes to members of the Oak Grove High School football team in Hattiesburg, Miss. on Monday.
(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
“I know it’s a decision that he wrestles with,” Bevell said after Wednesday morning’s practice as Favre was throwing the ball around with high school students in Mississippi. “He’s a great player. He’s a great competitor. He mulls things over. He’s an emotional guy. So he thinks things through long and hard and takes his time with his decision. So I’m not surprised that things started to come out. We just have to wait and see.”
Posted by william preisinger on Tue, Aug 03, 2010 @ 01:53 PM
CARS AND TRUCKS COST LESS IN BUFFALO!
DETROIT — Auto sales at General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. were flat to slightly higher in July, a sign that Americans are still willing to spend on big-ticket items. But the gains could be short-lived because shoppers remain anxious about slow economic growth and hiring. Click $9.95 oil change.
GM's sales rose 2.6 percent over June and 5 percent from July of last year, helped by promotions to make room for 2011 models.
GM says sales from its four brands — Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac — jumped 25 percent over July of 2009. Buick and Cadillac sales more than doubled. GM's total sales include Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer, which are brands it has sold or is discontinuing.
Newly launched models continue to propel GM's sales, with the Chevrolet Camaro muscle car, Chevrolet Equinox crossover, Buick LaCrosse sedan and Cadillac SRX crossover showing strong increases, the company said.
Ford, which has enjoyed a strong 2010 so far, said its sales were flat from June. They rose 3 percent compared with July last year, lifted by stronger sales of its Ford-brand cars and trucks.
Ford's overall sales were weighed down by a drop in Mercury sales. Ford will end production of that brand at the end of this year. Sales at its Lincoln slid 16 percent, largely because of falling demand for the Town Car sedan, which will go out of production next year.
Industry analysts expected buyers to respond to the usual model year-end promotions advertised in July.
Consumers have been conditioned to think that the summer is a great time to pick up a deal on a new car," Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell said.
Credit is also thawing, with auto loan approvals up for buyers in every tier. GM announced last month that it would buy AmeriCredit Corp. in an effort to expand loans to customers with poor credit and offer more leases.
But the market is still vulnerable. Auto sales have been recovering from a 30-year low in 2009, but the pace has been fitful, with month-to-month sales falling as often as they rose in the first six months of this year.
Most automakers saw sales fall from May to June as shoppers avoided showrooms due to economic worries. Americans' confidence in the economy eroded further in July amid worries about a still-stagnant job market, according to a report issued last week by the private Conference Board.
J.D. Power revised its full-year industry sales downward last week, to 11.7 million vehicles from 11.8 million vehicles, citing the inconsistent recovery.
Government stimulus efforts and businesses rebuilding inventory had been fueling the economic recovery, but those have run their course, and any second-half recovery in the auto industry now depends on consumer spending, said Ted Chu, GM's chief economist.
He said as long as employment continues to slowly improve and gas prices stay below $3 per gallon, sales should rise on a gradual basis.
"As long as the economy is slowly recovering back, I think pent-up demand is going to continue to be the driver," he said.
Automakers are also continuing to limit deals, which have hurt profits in the past. TrueCar.com estimated that incentive spending, at an average of $2,831 per vehicle, was down 1 percent industrywide from June.
Jeff Schuster, director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates, said the sales pace dropped off in the last half of July, likely because of the lack of big incentives. August is Ryan Auto Mall 34 annual close out month. Click Minneapolis Chevrolet to view our inventory.
Posted by william preisinger on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 @ 03:45 PM
Jared Allen Just picked up his courtesy Cadillac Escalade from Ryan Auto Mall. Jared will be doing an autograph appearance at our store during the regular season. Click to Join our Facebook page for updates as to when the date is set. Jared is on his way to Mankato as camp is about to begin. After spending about an hour with Jared I found him to be a very nice young man. Full of life, funny, personable and an absolutely infectious personality. Also he seems to be a smart business man, I'm looking forward to his cook book coming out. This tough football Defensive End attracts more people and creates more excitement amoungst fans, even more so than Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Joe Nathan,Scott Baker or Paul Molitor did when they were in the our store. Given his stats to date in the NFL he is on his way to becoming a Hall Of Fame player. See his stats below. This is the year the Vikings win the Super Bowl. Skol Vikings!!!
| Defense Stats |
| YEAR |
TEAM |
G |
TOT |
SOLO |
AST |
PD |
SACK |
FF |
REC |
INT |
YDS |
TD |
| 2004 |
KAN |
15 |
31 |
29 |
2 |
0 |
9.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2005 |
KAN |
16 |
55 |
48 |
7 |
5 |
11.0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2006 |
KAN |
16 |
77 |
65 |
12 |
11 |
7.5 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
| 2007 |
KAN |
14 |
64 |
55 |
9 |
10 |
15.5 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2008 |
MIN |
16 |
54 |
41 |
13 |
3 |
14.5 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2009 |
MIN |
16 |
50 |
42 |
8 |
4 |
14.5 |
5 |
54 |
1 |
-4 |
0 |
| Career |
93 |
331 |
280 |
51 |
33 |
72.0 |
21 |
0 |
2 |
-1 |
0 |