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Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Antoine Lavoisier — these are some of the most brilliant minds in human history, and yet exactly zero of them were able to invent the Pontiac Aztek center console/cooler; if that doesn’t prove just how state-of-the-art GM’s contraption is, I don’t know what will. The device is in high demand, often sought out by researchers in military labs around the world, which is why I was shocked to find one at my local junkyard just sitting on an Aztek’s passenger’s seat, unlatched from its snug hold between the hideous SUV’s front captains’ chairs:...

We will be having the Big Autopian Readers Party, of course, so that’ll be fun but every moment before and after that is about guaranteed to be pure frozen hell. Have I told you about what his bathroom sink looks like? Maybe the unholy life that’s developing in there will be willing to help us carry frozen transmission cases to the truck with their slimy tentacles, or something. Those cars up there, by the way, are two Antarctic automotive firsts: the left one is the 1907 Arrol-Johnston brought by Earnest Shackleford on his Antarctic expedition, and while it was air-cooled and used non-freezing oil, it never really worked, because is was not able to get any real traction in snow, and was mostly a failure....

The 2020s are marking the half-century anniversaries of some awesome pieces of aviation history. Among those aircraft are the deadly, but sexy Bede BD-5, the advanced Lockheed L-1011, and even the introduction of the Boeing 747. In 1971, Dassault Aviation launched its first-ever commercial airliner with the promise of beating Douglas and Boeing. During the 1960s, air travel was expanding and in response, airlines were asking manufacturers to build aircraft to fit different roles....

In other news, the issue we’ve been having with Member’s Only posts seems to be resolved. If you can’t see a Member’s Only post and you’ve got a membership please let us know and we can now fix it fairly quickly. I’ve left this post open so that you can see it and reach out if you’re having an issue. You can test it with this post. Finally, if you’re not a member, it’s not too late to sign up for a membership....

Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday. 2+2=4 We all kind of knew this was coming, didn’t we? After Mercedes-AMG’s announcement that the next C63 would be missing half its cylinders, it shouldn’t be surprising that engine downsizing would apply its grip to more models across the AMG range....

A few weeks back we dabbled a bit in the possibilities with the ‘Superfrunk’ gran turismo car with proportions and cargo space unheard of in fossil fuel powered vehicles. Still, that was just scratching the surface. We need to look at more extreme possibilities, and if you want what-the-fuck-is-that semi-plausible concepts, I’m your guy. Let’s not even start with ‘a car’ per say; let’s look at a ‘transportation system’(I know, that sounds boring as hell but I can assure it will NOT be)....

(This is a new, recurring feature we’re trying out called “PROVE ME WRONG” where we take our hottest genuine take and try it out for you, our adoring fans. We want you to prove us wrong, even though we are almost certainly right. While some takes exist to shut down arguments, we want this to be a way of encouraging thoughtful conversation around issues and ideas car enthusiasts are facing....

But, you can now rev your engine from your key fob, in the comfort of, I suppose, not even being in the car. The Looks Of The 2024 Ford Mustang Let’s start with the looks. On the outside, Ford seems to have gone a bit heavy-handed on the trim. While the outline of the new grille is great, the front end just feels overdone. On the plus side, I do appreciate how the 2024 Mustang looks a lot like the 2006 Giugiaro concept....

This week, I’m at the RV Open House in Elkhart, Indiana. All kinds of RV manufacturers are here, from the country’s largest conglomerates to tiny independents, and they’re trying to entice dealerships with the best fare that they can put on the road. I’ve found many awesome campers here, including adorable pocket-sized fiberglass trailers and fifth wheels with more than a single story and multiple bedrooms. But the majority of the RVs at the Open House are just different flavors of the same thing....

Compared to the artfully streamlined Air sedan, the Gravity looks imposingly square, almost like someone epoxy glued a massive set of alloy wheels to an apartment building. Familiar cues like the blade-style fascia applique are here, but there’s just so much sheet metal. It’s fairly common for electric SUVs to feature low, short hoods and sloping rooflines, but the Gravity appears to reject this school of thought completely, with a silhouette more in line with that of the Rivian R1S....

Just in case you’ve misplaced your copy of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108 or SAE Standard J592e or your tattoo of either of these texts has become blurred, scarred, or otherwise illegible, let me remind you about what America requires regarding side marker lighting of cars. I’ll just paraphrase, to keep things simple: Starting in 1968, cars were required to have either lights or reflectors at either end of the sides of the car, amber for the front, and red for the rear....

Narrow, but decisive: Saab remains undefeated. But if everybody loves them so much, why did they go out of business? That’s a question for another time, I think. For your consideration today are two executive sedans: one established German, and one up-and-coming Japanese. Neither one is really a luxury car, but they’re both nice and comfy. And neither one could be considered a sports sedan, especially with automatics, but neither is a slouch when it comes to acceleration or handling....

David’s suggesting a movie at all is unusual; his cultural upbringing is something like what you’d expect from an Amish kid, minus the Rumspringa experience. So, as you can expect, I was curious. The movie he suggested was the 2014 comedy 22 Jump Street, a Channing Tatum/Jonah Hill buddy-cop movie, the specifics of which aren’t really important, except for the details of one specific scene, a scene that takes place in Mexico, and includes a car chase that features a few shots of this vehicle:...

Well, I’ll be damned. This one actually surprises me. I guess I underestimated your dislike for automatics, either transmissions or seatbelts or both, but the little Colt had its two doors blown off by the old flat-black Ford Courier. Today’s cars are both parked in the “Where are they now?” lot, way in the back, behind a row of Dodge Miradas and broken-down Divco delivery vans. I’m willing to bet a lot of our older readers haven’t seen either of these in many years, and our younger readers may not even be aware they ever existed....

Volkswagen Sharpens Its Axe Honestly, I’m not entirely opposed to this plan. Returning to the rich interior materials of the B5 Passat and preventing major mistakes like the ID.4’s infotainment system from entering production sounds like an ideal situation. Volkswagen Group should still be churning out plenty of electric cars, so market positioning should remain roughly the same. Still, slicing 60 percent of combustion model range by the end of the decade leaves VAG fans with some uncomfortable questions: Will the Mk....

Let’s start with two flagships from the midst of the Great Recession, the 2009 Lexus LS 460 and the 2009 Mercedes-Benz S 550. Both of these executive sedans are quiet, cossetting and absolutely brilliant on long road trips. They both have V8 engines, they both have air suspension and they both have a bewildering array of gadgets and gizmos. But what do typical consumables like struts and brake discs cost?...

First, let’s see how yesterday turned out. Well, color me surprised. I honestly expected the little Civic to walk away with this one. I know I’d really rather have the Buick, but I didn’t expect most of you would agree. But there it is. Just barely. Now: I’m no stranger to cars with high miles. My Toyota is just about to hit 260,000 miles, and my truck is sitting at 208,000....

Kipanya’s cartoons seem to revolve around a family of what I think are big-eyed mouse-people, and in recent tweets of these cartoons, it looks like Kipanya has been promoting the launch of Kaypee Motors, as you can see on the banner here: — Masoud Kipanya (@masoudkipanya) March 31, 2022 The caption on that one translates to “first for what electricity,” but I think I’m too ignorant of the overall context to understand what’s going on....

Okay, so for this Automotive Would You Rather, I’m going to give you two scenarios to pick from, each involving some special car-related power and some manner of difficult trade-off. So be ready to really think here. Limber up those brains. Rub that cerebrum down with Astroglide. Ready? Here we go! SCENARIO ONE: The Magic Fish You go to the auto parts store to get a few gallons of coolant to refill your radiator, because you’re overheating and you suspect it’s because you’ve been patching hoses with Fruit Roll-Ups and they’re just not holding up....

No. It’s not possible. The car is in heaven. Ah, dammit, I noticed something and I can’t help but show you now. Look at this: Clearly, it was designed to have US-spec side marker lamps, but they removed them to be cheap, replaced them with these black plastic ribbed rectangles, and then up front installed a different, smaller side marker/indicator repeater unit inside the blanking panel. What the hell? Was this cheaper than just using the US-spec one that existed?...