Chevy’s new plug-in hybrid Volt is a pretty cool concept, but it will cost you. After nearly a year of price speculation, GM announced today that the vehicle will start at $41,000. If you take the $7,500 credit paid by Uncle Sam on plug-in vehicles [...]]]> The Atlantic has the newly-released price for the government-backed Chevy Volt.

Chevy’s new plug-in hybrid Volt is a pretty cool concept, but it will cost you. After nearly a year of price speculation, GM announced today that the vehicle will start at $41,000. If you take the $7,500 credit paid by Uncle Sam on plug-in vehicles into consideration, then the price could drops to as low as $33,500. The company will also begin taking pre-orders for the vehicle, which will be available in select markets later this year.

For $41,000, and without a government subsidy, you can have the 240 MPG Volt, which will likely cost thousands upon thousands for the most basic repairs.

Or for $7,000 more.

Or for the price of one Volt, you could buy two new Mustang V6’s with 30 MPG and 300 horsepower. Keep in mind, you could probably professionally road-race the Shelby Mustang at SCCA or on the side at your local drag strip, and the cost in upgrades and maintenance would still be way under what a Volt would it would cost to maintain a Volt without a warranty. And given how much you would have to drive it to make up the price tag cost versus gas cost, that warranty wouldn’t last very long.

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And Mom, each Hot Wheels set comes with a special discipline feature that allows you to take a piece of un-used track to whip your kids butt!

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All were taking part in the annual Cannonball Run Europe, a six day rally which attracts minor aristocrats, entrepreneurs and others who can afford the £6000 per [...]]]>
We need one of these… 7 British drivers were arrested for speeding in France while taking part in the annual Cannonball Run Europe according to the London Daily Telegraph.

All were taking part in the annual Cannonball Run Europe, a six day rally which attracts minor aristocrats, entrepreneurs and others who can afford the £6000 per car entry fee.

French gendarmes intercepted three of them on Thursday afternoon at a toll station on the A6 motorway at Fleury-en-Biere, in the Seine-et-Marne department, south of Paris.

A Bentley Continental GT and a Porsche 911 had been travelling at about 50mph above the 80mph speed limit. Both cars were confiscated and their drivers, men aged 40 and 52, were charged with “endangering others”.

The drivers, who were not named by police but are believed to come from London, were bailed to appear in court at a later date.

Their cars, worth more than £100,000 each, will be sold.

The driver of a Ferrari was also stopped at Fleury-en-Biere. All three drivers received on-the-spot fines of euros 1500 (£1258).

Talk about authoritarianism… selling those cars for speeding? Not bloody likely. They should’ve used this technique to get away:

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The Great Race (1965) A bumbling villain plots to win an early 20th-century auto race. Cast: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk Dir: Blake Edwards C-160 mins, TV-PG. 8:00 PM EDT. TCM.

I’m a sucker for a huge race movie… It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Death Race 2000, Cannonball Run (both), Smokey and the [...]]]>

The Great Race (1965)
A bumbling villain plots to win an early 20th-century auto race.
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk Dir: Blake Edwards C-160 mins, TV-PG. 8:00 PM EDT. TCM.

I’m a sucker for a huge race movie… It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Death Race 2000, Cannonball Run (both), Smokey and the Bandit (1 and 2), the 21st century Rat Race etc. even the Hanna-Barbara “Wacky Races” cartoons and the Penelope Pitstop spinoff had me as a kid. Professor Fate (Lemmon) and Max Meen (Falk) are at least some influence on Dick Dastardly and Muttley and Natalie Wood on Penelope Pitstop. Anyway… this is a thoroughly entertaining film. And Keenan Wynn, Vivian Vance, the Mighty Larry Storch, and Denver Pyle all have parts here too… great cast and a great time.

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It’s amazing what one sees in SoCal on our wide wonderful freeways. We saw this this morning (5/28)… happily there were no fatalities and we drove by before the fire department got there in force so we were mere minutes behind it. I could feel the heat on [...]]]> (ed. — Proud husband prerogative bump…)

It’s amazing what one sees in SoCal on our wide wonderful freeways. We saw this this morning (5/28)… happily there were no fatalities and we drove by before the fire department got there in force so we were mere minutes behind it. I could feel the heat on my arm — and it would’ve been uncomfortable in a few more seconds. My beautiful photographer wife took these pics — unfortunately we were going to pick up her best lens at the Canon Service Center…. They closed the freeway behind us minutes later.

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Formula 1 racing will return to the USA in 2012. Location: Austin, TX

Downside: As if some people in that city weren’t pretentious enough, import the Euro-trash that an F-1 race is sure to attract and Austin will be the Paris France of Texas…yeah I know there already is a [...]]]> This is kind of cool…

Formula 1 racing will return to the USA in 2012. Location: Austin, TX

Downside: As if some people in that city weren’t pretentious enough, import the Euro-trash that an F-1 race is sure to attract and Austin will be the Paris France of Texas…yeah I know there already is a Paris, TX but I can assure you it is nothing like the Paris in Europe.

Here’s the story

US Grand Prix returns to F1 in 2012

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, May 25th 2010, 17:26 GMT

The United States Grand Prix will return to the Formula 1 calendar in 2012 after a deal was struck for a race to be held in Austin, Texas.

Following weeks of speculation about the potential return of a race in America, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone announced on Tuesday night that the event will take place from 2012 to 2021 on a new purpose-built facility in Austin.

Ecclestone said: “For the first time in the history of Formula 1 in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event.

“It was thirty years ago that the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix was last held on a purpose-built permanent road course circuit in Watkins Glen, NY (1961-1980), which enjoyed great success.

“Since then, F1 has been hosted by Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix all on temporary street circuits. Indianapolis joined the ranks of host cities in 2000 when they added a road course inside the famed oval…

The rest of the story and other motor news is available HERE

Also in the news…via 67Cougar

Tony Schumacher, driving ‘The Sarge’ (US Army sponsored Top Fuel dragster), won the NHRA event in Topeka on Sunday. It was Tony’s second win of the season.

US Army sponsored drag racers have now won 100 events over the years:

Tony Schumacher, Top Fuel, 60 Event wins
Don Prudhomme, Funny Car, 24 Event wins
Angele Sampey, Pro Stock Motorcycle, 10 Event wins
Antron Brown, Pro Stock Motorcycle, 6 Event wins

Go ARMY!

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