AutoWeek back issues from February 2008:
A Big Wheel at the Rolex 24.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... The Penske/Taylor Riley-Pontiac was doing well until Helio Castroneves suffered a tire blowout that put the team well back. It finished third overall, six laps behind the Ganassi/Sabates Riley-Lexus that ...
HERE ARE THE GOOD OLD DAYS; Build a Westfield XI, and it'll be Le Mans 1956 all over again.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: MARK VAUGHN "Is that an 11?'' yelled the guy somewhere back in the flimsy rearview mirror. "Sort of!'' we yelled back. It's a 1168-pound replica of Colin Chapman's ultimate lightness wagon. While the original Lotus 11 won its class at Le Mans in ...
SILVER & BLACK; Filmmaker Michael Brown enshrines special Corvettes.(Revs)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: Phil Berg In 1985, tv anchor Michael Brown and his wife, best-selling novelist Sandra, had the means to buy a Corvette for his 40th birthday. As Will Cooksey, longtime boss of the Bowling Green, Kentucky, Corvette plant, says, "With our potential customers, it's not will ...
But Wait, There's More...(BWTM)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Press Release We Didn't Finish: NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray selected for jury duty . . . Hyperventilating Hyperlink http://tinyurl.com/35duo8 This Week's Sign the Automotive Apocalypse Is Nigh-But for a Good Cause For a limited time, Hershey's ...
Passenger Nation.(Column)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: Kevin A. Wilson Now that the Los Angeles show is in the fall, Detroit's competition for hot car news in January is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. That's where General Motors' CEO Rick Wagoner said we'll have driverless cars in a decade. This got more ...
EXTRA.(Briefs)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Windy City Hummer Hummer will show an H3-based truck at the Chicago auto show and will put it on sale this fall as a 2009 model. The H3T has a five-foot truck bed mated to a crew-cab body. Base power comes from a 3.7-liter, 242-hp inline-five-cylinder engine connected to either ...
LOTUS FLOWERS; New models offer even more fun. Now, this is platform sharing we like!(News)
Feb 04, 2008; ... Byline: MARK VAUGHN When you were a kid and you got a radio-controlled car, didn't you imagine how cool it would be to be the size of GI Joe and able to climb inside and drive it? That feeling is what the new crop of Lotus sports cars is like. It's just as cool as you imagined ...
TWO-WHEEL LOWDOWN.(Revs)
Feb 04, 2008; ... Byline: GEORGE P. BLUMBERG 2008 KAWASAKI CONCOURS 14 A new Supersport Touring entry throws down the technology gauntlet. 1352-cc, 156-hp, liquid-cooled inline-four; 615-lb dry weight (with ABS); quarter-mile in 10.88 sec @ 124.27 mph COMPETITIVE SET: BMW ...
Gentleman's Roadster; 1920 ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER GHOST RUNABOUT.(Escape Roads)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: JAN TEGLER Meet "Seymour,'' a 1920 Silver Ghost Runabout that served as the prototype for a new class of Rolls-Royce: the roadster. Tom and Abby Campi of St. Michaels, Maryland, acquired the one-of-a-kind British-American hybrid in 1991 and are only the second owners of ...
Letters.
Feb 04, 2008 ... Some get it I really enjoyed Mark Vaughn's "Vegas by Vespa'' in the Jan. 21 issue. Riffin' on Hunter Thompson ("a man would be a damn fool . . . in case something went horribly wrong. . .'') sure beats reiterating "iteration.'' Keep up the good writing. Bob ...
SNOWMOBILE WITH A V10! Audi S6 is laugh-out-loud fun, even when the flakes fly.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: Wendy Warren Keebler Our Audi S6, with its terrific cabin and its sweet and savage V10 power, got lots of requests for "extended stays'' during its second quarter. And it served especially well when winter hit. First, though, came the Saga of the Snows. The ...
NO CONTEST; Sebastien Loeb faces zero opposition in Monte Carlo.(Competition)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: ANTHONY PEACOCK Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb claimed his fifth Monte Carlo Rally win during the opening round of the 2008 World Rally Championship, breaking the record of four event wins held by legends Sandro Munari, Walter Rohrl and Tommi Makinen. Even ...
STILL NO DEAL.(Competition)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Rumors rippled through the open-wheel racing community the week of Jan. 21 that Indy Racing League boss Tony George had recently offered Champ Car World Series management a deal that would unify the two series for 2008. But such a merger again looks unlikely, based on what George told ...
ASTON AUDIO; 007's brand to get Bang & Olufsen SOUND.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: NICK KURCZEWSKI Four doors won't be the only distinguishing features when the Aston Martin Rapide arrives in late 2009. The car likely will be the first Aston to offer an audio system from Bang & Olufsen. Best known for transforming living rooms into concert halls, the ...
EXTRA.(Briefs)
Feb 04, 2008 ... DE FERRAN RETURNS Two-time CART champion (2000, 2001) and Indy 500 winner (2003) Gil de Ferran will come out of retirement to drive a fourth Acura ARX-01b prototype in the American Le Mans Series LMP2 class. De Ferran also will run his own team, De Ferran Motorsport Engineering ....
Great(s) Driving.(Column)
Feb 04, 2008; ... Byline: Cory Farley One of the perks of motoring journalism is that you sometimes get to ride with people whose driving skills are to your own as an NFL quarterback's Hail Mary pass is to you flipping dirty socks into a hamper. It's a shock. You're the neighborhood ...
BIG SHOULDERS, BIG MUSCLE; Chicago show debut for production Challenger.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: MAC MORRISON Here's an early peek at what we expect will be all the rage at the upcoming Chicago auto show: the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8. Dodge plans to reveal the reborn muscle car Feb. 6, so expect to be inundated with photos and information detailing the ...
SMOKIN' DEALS.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Dodge's SRT-tuned Charger highlights the week's incentives, with cash-back savings. Or take advantage of deals on leftover 2007 models from Nissan, Kia and Toyota. SEDAN 2008 dodge charger srt8 MSRP: $39,130; $500 to $3,000 cash back or 0 to 5.9 percent ...
Meanwhile, outside our car world . . .(50th Anniversary countdown)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Syria frees captured U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Robert C. Goodman Jr. Soviet leader Yuri Andropov dies; Konstantin Chernenko is named to replace him. The Soviet Union withdraws from the summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards; ...
Market.(Escape Roads)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: DAVE KINNEY 1962 Porsche 356B Coupe RM Auctions: Automobiles of Arizona Phoenix Jan. 18 1582-cc, air-cooled four-cylinder engine. Four-speed manual gearbox. Champagne yellow with black vinyl. Delivered new in Phoenix, ...
1984.(50th Anniversary countdown)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Armed with some high-tech computers, drag racer Kenny Bernstein calculates that he will be able to take his Funny Car to an unheard-of top speed of 260 mph. People shake their heads in disbelief. AutoWeek signs NASCAR racer Neil Bonnett as an "editor at speed,'' and he shares ...
UNDER THE HOOD.(Briefs)
Feb 04, 2008 ... SNAKEBITTEN Okay, we know the Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR is one potent beast. How did it get that way? Click over to autoweek.com, and get the rundown from the very Chrysler engineers who worked over the Viper's engine and chassis. South Side shuffle Are you ...
DON'T WORRY about the future of transportation not being fun; It's Tesla-rrific!
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: MARK VAUGHN The Tesla roadster proves the sound brilliance of the Lotus Elise chassis by showing that even with 990 extra pounds of batteries stuffed into it, the car is still fun to drive. Granted, there are a few more modifications beyond the 990 pounds of ...
Drivers Log.(News)(Product/service evaluation)
Feb 04, 2008 ... GRITZINGER: Saab can call it a SportCombi; all I know is this is one fun station wagon. I assume that this is the kind of turbocharged V6 power that Ford has "discovered'' with its EcoBoost turbocharged gasoline direct-injection engines coming later this year. The 9-3 is so ...
TATA'S TALE; A dossier on the Indian company that soon may own Jaguar and Land Rover.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: JULIAN RENDELL If all goes as expected, any day now, Ford will conclude seven months of talks and announce the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors of India. This is automotive history in the making-the first time a carmaker from an emerging market ...
FLEET STREET; Briefs on our other long-termers.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Lexus LS 460 L The cold temporarily confused some of the electronics, with the tire-pressure monitor going wacky for a bit, and the trunk got stuck shut. Neither required attention. Acura MDX It's a great ride, but those information screens can get ...
Studies in Studebaker; Abe Lincoln to Muppets, Chocolates to chinese coupes, museum is a treat.(Revs)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: BROOKS BRIERLEY Visiting the venerable Studebaker collection in its current home in South Bend, Indiana-several blocks east of its old location-is a real treat. Both cool and inviting, on a tree-lined street in a historic residential area near Tippecanoe (one of the ...
TV: Feb. 8 - 10.(Competition)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Friday, Feb. 8 Two Guys Garage, 9:30 a.m., Speed My Classic Car, 10 a.m., Speed 2003 NHRA Nationals from Madison, Ill., 11 a.m., ESPN Classic NASCAR Media Day 2008 Preview, 1 p.m., Speed Russo and Steele Auction, 2 p.m., ESPN2 ...
WINNING AGAIN; More than six years after his near-fatal crash, Zanardi is about a lot more than racing.(Competition)(Alex Zanardi)
Feb 04, 2008; ... Byline: CURT CAVIN Alex Zanardi is on the cell phone from Italy, where he returned three years ago from Monte Carlo to give his young son, now nine, an Italian education. As he pulls into his garage in Padova, near Venice, after a 45-minute call, he apologizes for needing to ...
RAPIDE RUN; Aston's luxury performance sedan makes tracks.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Our spy shooter was ready when Aston Martin took its Rapide sedan for some hot laps at subzero temperatures on an ice track. Pegged for a late-2009 introduction as a ...
Reader in Hell; Spy shooter snags shots of future Buick.(News)
Feb 04, 2008 ... AutoWeek reader and freelance automotive journalist Chuck Arehart caught these test models on a recent run through Hell, Michigan. Though they are camouflaged to look like Cadillacs, what you're really seeing is the next-generation Buick LaCrosse sedan, due in 2009 as ...
TRACK RAT'S SNAKE; Second-generation Viper ACR takes "race `n' ride'' to a new level.(News)
Feb 04, 2008; ... Byline: PETE LYONS The Viper cage clangs shut, and there you are, locked in with 600 snakepower of coiled poison. Slowly, it raises its fanged face, blinks its slitted eyes, smiles. "Good day, sir. May I offer you some whine?'' Supercars are growing more ...
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS? Two teams had good odds but tough luck at Daytona.(Competition)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: TRAVIS BRAUN The number seven was unlucky at Daytona. Farnbacher Loles Racing and the Racer's Group teams each entered seven GT Porsches, none of which won. TRG took second through fourth positions, and Farnbacher Loles had a best finish of eighth. Five of each team's ...
PERFECTION REWARDED; A clean, trouble-free run gives Chip Ganassi a Daytona record.(Competition)
Feb 04, 2008 ... Byline: GARY WATKINS No fewer than six cars had a real shot of winning the 24 Hours of Daytona with just more than six hours remaining in the race. In the end, Chip Ganassi Racing in partnership with Felix Sabates notched up a unique Daytona hat trick. Ganassi's Riley-Lexus, ...
SPANISH FLYING.(News)
Feb 11, 2008 ... Formula One teams test nowhere more than they do at various circuits in Spain, and that has been the case for years. But while winter usually sees teams running in drama-free environments-like that shown here as Toyota's Jarno Trulli laps ...
WHAT A DRAG.(Competition)
Feb 11, 2008 ... Pomona, California: It doesn't matter whether you go to the NHRA season opener (48th annual Carquest NHRA Winternationals, Feb. 7-10) or the season finale (44th Auto Club NHRA Finals, Nov. 13-16) or both, this drag strip, located east of Los Angeles, has a sense of hot-rod history that is ...
WHAT A DRAG.(Competition)
Feb 11, 2008 ... Charlotte, North Carolina: The first NHRA Carolinas Nationals, Sept. 11-14, will be held at a new drag strip now under construction next to Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Charlotte suburb of Concord. You can bet the farm that owner Bruton Smith and president Humpy Wheeler will make this the ...
SWEET HOME MOORESVILLE.(Competition)
Feb 11, 2008 ... Petty Enterprises spent 2007 debating whether to stay in Level Cross, North Carolina, or move to Charlotte, the heart of stock-car country. The Pettys had operated in Level Cross since 1948, when NASCAR was incorporated. But it had become difficult to lure high-quality engineers and ...
DON'T BET AGAINST HENDRICK.(Competition)(Rick Hendrick the owner of Hendrick Motorsports)
Feb 11, 2008; ... Byline: AL PEARCE Funny man, that Rick Hendrick. The owner of Hendrick Motorsports sat in front of the entire American motorsports media in mid-January and said with a straight face that his teams were tied for dead last in the 2008 Sprint Cup standings. He added, again with a ...
MUSCLE MACHINE; A wet-and-wild first drive in Dodge's Challenger SRT8.
Feb 11, 2008 ... Byline: MAC MORRISON Herb Helbig is dead serious. He's about to turn loose a group of journalists who still don't get why some top-line racing series never recruited them. "Don't. Wreck. My. Cars,'' says the now-retired chief engineer of Dodge's SRT performance arm ....
Hamana-hamana-hamana-SOLD! Recession? Ha! There ain't no recession in a Phoenix auction tent.(News)
Feb 11, 2008; ... Byline: MARK VAUGHN Never mind all that doom and gloom from the financial markets; if the world economy were going to the poor house, it would arrive there in a nice Bugatti Type 57, a Duesenberg Model SJ or, more likely, a wildly overpriced Chevrolet Chevelle SS. By ...
TV: Feb. 15 - 17.(Competition)
Feb 11, 2008 ... Friday, Feb. 15 NASCAR Live, 1 p.m., Speed (L) NASCAR Sprint Cup practice from Daytona Beach, Fla., 1:30 p.m., Speed (L) Russo and Steele Car Auction, 2 p.m., ESPN2 NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying from Daytona Beach, Fla., 3 p.m., ESPN2 (L) ...
EXTRA.(Briefs)(Pininfarina Industrie S.p.A. introducing new car)(Carroll Shelby suing the Shelby American Automobile Club to prevent it from using his name and related images.)(Lexus may build a compact sport/utility vehicle-smaller than the RX 350)(Brief article)
Feb 11, 2008 ... Pininfarina's Swiss Sketch At the Geneva motor show in March, Pininfarina will unveil the Sintesi, a concept that draws on the Italian design house's previous two concepts, the Birdcage 75th sports car shown at Geneva in 2005 and the pedestrian-friendly Nido small car shown at ...
WHAT A DRAG.(Competition)
Feb 11, 2008 ... Indianapolis, Indiana: The 54th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals are scheduled for Aug. 27-Sept. 1. Speaking of a great town for racing, this is the event win every racer wants on a resume. It's the sort of race you save your best ...
But Wait, There's More...(BWTM)
Feb 11, 2008 ... WHO WRITES THIS STUFF? "I'm suffering from electile dysfunction: the failure to be aroused by any candidate.'' -GM's Bob Lutz, when asked whom he supports in the U.S. presidential race Lest we forget, custom sneakers are hardly a new trend, as ...
Grokking New-Age Luxury.(forecast of luxury cars market)(Column)
Feb 11, 2008; ... Byline: Steve Thompson Speaking at this year's Automotive News World Congress, Scott Keogh, Audi of America's chief of marketing, said that Audi henceforth would try to embody "new-age values coming mostly from the West Coast.'' In addition to the presumably old-age values ...
Hating Is Easy.(Column)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Byline: Kevin A. Wilson A couple of weeks ago in this space, I wrote a screed (no other word for it) against the advent of the robotic car. My news hook was General Motors' Rick Wagoner suggesting that the first such cars could appear in a decade. Judging by the ...
Autoweek's '08 Nascar & NHRA fan guide.(Fan Guide)
Feb 18, 2008 ... The 50th Daytona 500 is upon us, and while it is NASCAR's biggest race of the year, there is plenty more racing to come your way over the next nine months. The 2008 AutoWeek Fan Guide gives you inside information on the season's action, with plenty of insight to help you be that ...
2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Teams and Drivers: Part 1 of 2.(Fan Guide)
Feb 18, 2008 ... A.J. Allmendinger AGE: 26 CUP DEBUT: Bristol, 2007* STARTS: 17 POLES: 0 WINS: 0 BEST SEASON FINISH: 43rd (2007) TEAM: Team Red Bull OWNER: Dany Bahar CAR: No. 84 Toyota Camry CREW CHIEF: Rick Viers ENGINE SUPPLIER: Toyota Racing Development OUTLOOK: Nobody expected him to come ...
Starburst.(News)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Defending NHRA Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon survived this fireball, which occurred when his engine exploded as he raced John Force during the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, ...
KNOW YOUR NHRA.(Fan Guide)
Feb 18, 2008 ... A Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than ...
Classic-Car Prep; How to make sure your vintage bling is ready for spring.(Revs)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Byline: John L. Stein Six months after parking your new Mercedes-Benz E-Class to go on sabbatical, you twist the key to resume your normal driving routine without hesitation. But half a year after mothballing your Hillman Minx for its winter nap, should you have the same ...
2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Teams and Drivers: Part 2 of 2.(Fan Guide)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Mark Martin AGE: 49 CUP DEBUT: North Wilkesboro, 1981 STARTS: 698 POLES: 41 WINS: 35 BEST SEASON FINISH: Second (2002, 1998, 1994, 1990) TEAM: Dale Earnhardt Inc. OWNER: Teresa Earnhardt CAR: No. 8 Chevrolet Impala SS CREW CHIEF: Tony Gibson ENGINE SUPPLIER: Earnhardt-Childress ...
TV: Feb. 22 - 24.(Competition)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Friday, Feb. 22 2004 NHRA from Gainesville, Fla., 11 a.m., ESPN Classic NASCAR Nationwide Series practice from Fontana, Calif., 12:30 p.m., Speed (L) NASCAR Sprint Cup practice from Fontana, Calif., 3 p.m., Speed (L) NASCAR Craftsman Truck ...
'08 SCHEDULE.(Fan Guide)(Calendar)
Feb 18, 2008 ... www.nhra.com All races televised on ESPN2; all times Eastern Feb. 10: Carquest Winternationals, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Pomona, Calif.) www.pomonaraceway.com; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24: Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals, Firebird International ...
SOLID CONNECTION; NASCAR Technical Institute opens doors.(Fan Guide)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Byline: CURT CAVIN John Dodson was the son of a race-car driver, so when he graduated from his Winston-Salem high school, he had a path to pursue his dream. Many other racing hopefuls haven't been so fortunate, much less connected. Dodson is trying to change that. ...
EXTRA.(Briefs)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Chrysler Product Plans? Published reports say that Chrysler plans to pare its model lineup, cutting some 15 models. The automaker says nothing is settled yet but that model lines and dealerships need to be consolidated to eliminate costly duplication. The biggest question: Where ...
Meanwhile, outside our car world . . .(50th Anniversary countdown)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Spain and Portugal join the European Economic Community. President Reagan freezes Libyan assets in the United States. President Ferdinand Marcos flees the Philippines after ruling for 20 years; Corazon Aquino succeeds him. A major nuclear accident at the Soviet Union's Chernobyl power ...
Market.(Escape Roads)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Byline: DAVE KINNEY 1959 Pontiac Catalina Convertible Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, Ariz. Jan. 15-20 Tri-power (three carburetors), 389-cid V8. Automatic transmission. Pink exterior with pink and white leather seats, burgundy dash and ...
KING FOR A DAY; Jari-Matti Latvala breaks through in Sweden.(Competition)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Byline: ANTHONY PEACOCK Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala, 22, became the youngest driver ever to win a World Rally Championship event, after a dominant performance in Sweden, where he led from start to finish. The Finn beat the record set by his compatriot, Henri ...
CONFUSION REIGNS IN OPEN-WHEEL SAGA.(Competition)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Word leaked on Feb. 7 that the Champ Car World Series and the Indy Racing League were on the verge of merging in time for the 2008 season. But as AutoWeek went to press, several obstacles stood in the way of the groundbreaking deal that would result in a single major-league U.S. open-wheel ...
EXTRA.(Briefs)
Feb 18, 2008 ... BMW RETURNS BMW confirmed it will return to U.S. racing in 2009 (Competition, Jan. 28) when it enters two V8-powered M3 coupes in the American Le Mans Series GT2 class. Rahal Letterman Racing will campaign the cars. Drivers will be named later. RLR competed in the ...
SAME OLD, SAME OLD; Schumacher, Hight and Anderson take Winternationals titles.(Competition)(National Human Resources Association)
Feb 18, 2008; ... Byline: ROGER HART The NHRA kicked off a brand-new season with winners' trophies going to very familiar names. That's not to say the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, California, was boring. Each of the three finals was a close race, run in unusually warm-for-February ...
NO CINDERELLA STORIES THIS TIME.(Competition)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Byline: Roger Hart Bob Tasca III came to Pomona with a Funny Car team that's been together only since the day after Thanksgiving. That's less than three months for the car, spare parts, hauler, personnel-everything. And until he showed up for the Winternationals, the ...
Hey, Good-Lookin'; 1960 BMW 507.(Escape Roads)
Feb 18, 2008 ... Byline: GEORGE P. BLUMBERG Albert Mitchell of Old Lyme, Connecticut, a former airline pilot, spied a BMW 507 on a 1956 layover in Frankfort, Germany, and fell in love. Now he's a 507 expert-stockpiling parts, visiting owners around the world, doing mechanical work and having had ...