Auto Trends

A Total Meltdown, originally uploaded by __Brad__

In case you have been under a rock for the past month, you may not have realized that there are going to be a sizable chunk of cars missing from the roadways within the next several months. GM has officially announced that it would be slashing Pontiac from its apron strings by the end of 2010. Saturn will also be let go, with the last GM-sourced Saturn rolling off the assembly line sometime within the next few months.

This means no more G3’s, G6’s, Solstice’s, and heaven forbid the awesome Pontiac G8 won’t even get out of the starting gates before being pawned off to the highest bidders. GM CEO, Fritz Henderson, has said that the G8’s will be offered with heavy incentives, just to get them off the dealer lots and out of their hair. Holden is positioned to lose $750 million by this dastardly, albeit necessary move.

The Pontiac Vibe was thought to be safe for the moment, having struck a deal with Toyota in their joint manufacturing plant. Henderson stomped out these rumors by officially calling the Vibe “dead”. GM could be looking at manufacturing some sort of vehicle at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in California, although as to what vehicle that might be, your guess is as good as ours!

Next on the slashing agenda will be Opel/Vauxhall, although GM has not quite decided the fate of these European branded vehicles. GM is looking at a few well suited suitors to take over the line, Fiat and Magna International are among their top choices, but this decision won’t be official until as early as the beginning of May.

So it is a sad day indeed to Pontiac enthusiasts. They have had a great run of some stellar vehicles, such as the Pontiac Trans-Am and the G8 GXP, but they have also had a few not so stellar vehicles, like the Pontiac Sunfire. Either way, we say farewell to all the little Pontiac’s that will never be, and hope that what is on the forefront for the auto industry and its workers are much greener skies!

Porsche_911_GT3_2010_06, originally uploaded by Dream-cars.tv

Porsche has released test footage of their upcoming 2010 Porsche 911 GT3. But this is no drive around the track with just some no-name schmuck, we are talking about the legendary rally driver, Walter Röhrl. Before we take you on that ride, let’s talk a bit about the new GT3.

To begin with, much of the improvements over the Porsche GT3 have very little to do with looks and everything to do with performance. To begin with, the front end has been completely designed, offering the popular “wide mouth” look. But don’t be fooled by the new “look”, as the soul purpose of the new larger intakes is to pull more air through the chassis.

A new lip spoiler in the front rounds out some of the body upgrades. The spoiler’s main job is to keep the majority of air from entering the lower underbelly and dragging the Porsche’s top track speed down. With all the aerodynamic upgrades, the 2010 GT3 has the capability of a top speed of no less than 194 mph.

With such an extreme speed capability the Porsche will also receive a 100 percent increase in down force pressure to help hold it on the track during high speed maneuvering. The suspension has been upgraded, along with refined aerodynamics, and its all important stopping power has been fortified with slightly larger brakes than before.

But when you are talking improvements on the 2010 Porsche 911 GT3, the most notable has to be the large 3.8 liter, flat 6-cylinder Boxer engine. The engine has been given an improved intake and exhaust system, which will offer a nice boost in horsepower and mid range torque. The GT3 now boasts 435 horsepower compared to last years 415. No torque specifications have been given yet.

What exactly can you expect out of the new GT3 in the seat of your pants? Well, try about 0-60 in 4.0 seconds flat, which is almost fast enough to catch your own breath…

Now let’s go for that drive, shall we!

32.8 lbs., originally uploaded by j_fagner

Most People do not like getting a traffic ticket. They complaint, rant, and rave. Tell their partners that they are not going to pay it, then a week or so before its due, they settle down and send in their check. Those who are really feisty, hold off until the very lat minute, leaving them no choice but to bring the check in person. Then they bring with them an entire jar of coins in exact change, leaving the clerks no choice but to count through all the money.

While these are considered rather minor ways to express their unhappiness with the justice system, one man in Washington decided to take his anger to the next level. 47-year-old Michael Harold Lynch owed a rather moderate sum of money to the state, about $206 in traffic offenses.

Well, he went about the usual means to rid himself of his anger monkey and gathered up exactly $206 in small change. This did not quite ease his anger, so he also made the decision to urinate on the change in a plastic bag, wrap it up in a box, include a disgruntled letter, and then mail it off to the county courthouse.

Old Lynch must have felt pretty smug, but as you can imagine, the courthouse did not share in his sense of anger release. The first thing they did upon receiving the letter, was to take it to the sheriff to see exactly what could be done about his act of aggression. Surprisingly, upon checking what federal laws might have been broken, they found there was actually not anything punishable by a court of law, as long as the bag was properly packed upon sending it.

All the department could do was package the box back up and send it to Lynch, claiming that his payment was unacceptable. The department encouraged Lynch to send payment in a more traditional form. The weeks drew out and Lynch attempted to send proper payment, but failed to send it to the right agency, then when he got the agency right, he forgot to add the $65 late fee.

Now the charges have been turned over to a collection agency and Lynch is looking at quite a heap of trouble over what started as a speeding ticket for driving 19 mph over on a road designated as 35 mph.

What’s the moral of this story: Anger management therapy would have been the better way to spend those hard earned pennies!

Source: Oregon Live