I'm no longer going to express any shock that my island city continues to provide a seemingly inexhaustible supply of street-parked vintage cars and trucks; we got to 150 Down On The Street posts late last year, we're up to 200 as of today, and I've got enough photos in the can to get us to 250, no sweat.  read more »

WASHINGTON -- The insurance industry named dozens of new cars and trucks, led by Ford Motor Co. and its Volvo subsidiary, to its annual list of the safest vehicles Tuesday, helped by the increased use of anti-rollover technology.

Ford and Volvo had 16 vehicles in the 2009 model year on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's list of the safest new cars, followed by Honda Motor Co. with 13 vehicles.

Seventy-two cars, trucks and SUVs received the top safety pick designation for 2009, more than double the number of vehicles in the 2008 model year and three times the number in 2007.

"The sheer number of this year's winners indicates that automakers have made huge strides to improve crash protection," said Institute president Adrian Lund.  read more »

Ford officially rolled out the 2009 Edge Sport at the Chicago Auto Show, and while the moniker might be dubious, it is at least a nicely done factory tuner.

The 2009 Ford Edge Sport is not the return of the GMC Typhoon, or a Porsche Cayenne for those with average credit scores.  read more »

Though there was much gnashing of teeth over the Land Rover Defender last week, the British stalwart marched triumphant into the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage, with a convincing 82.8%. We now have 43 slots down and a mere seven left to fill. Things are beginning to get tight, so let's move on to something better able to fit in the tiny and uncomfortable spaces we've got left. With a wind-sculpted shape and dominating track record, purity of concept and unwavering devotion to engineering, this week's long-awaited entry proves that might does not always make right. Indeed, sometimes the victor is he who carries the lightest burden.  read more »

Chevrolet will join the trio of big GM crossovers with a fourth family vehicle, the Traverse . On display at the Chicago auto show , the Traverse is based on the same mechanicals as the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook. Chevrolet says it's targeting the likes of the Ford Edge, Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot with the new seven- or eight-passenger Traverse.  read more »

Caijing Magazine quotes unidentified sources as saying Chinese automaker Chery is looking for bank and equity investor help for a possible bid for Volvo, Fords Swedish nameplate. Hmmm. Chery has not exactly been a good judge of opportunity, talent or value up to now. And this deal, if true, is no exception. Chery is known for its obstinate, unbending, mercurial ways of doing business with Westerners. Just ask the folks at Chrysler who have been trying to get a small car program off the ground with the company. It's aborted foray into the U.S. via a deal with Malcolm Bricklin speaks for itself. It will take, I'm guessing, something like $4 billion-plus to get Volvo away from Ford. And then, you have some pretty dug-in, obstinate Swedes to deal with. You want to know how tough to work with? Just ask the Ford people who have been trying to wring costs out of that unit for the last eight years. Saab workers, I think, may be more flexible to do a deal on labor costs and rules with Chery knowing the company is not going to be as bendable as GM has been. If Chery really wants to buy into the West, it should try and take advantage of General Motor's neediness right now. Make GM an offer to take Saab Cars off the automaker's hands. No money changes hands. And offer them $1 billion for the Buick brand. Why Buick?  read more »

Though many have been entered and some have been trimmed, we have only one space left in the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage. One more bay into which we may slide any dream machine we can think of. To this point it has been a journey of discovery, history, humor, debate, outrage and delight, but still there remains only one spot. This final place has been reserved in our plans for a long time though. Despite the stereotypes held in the public eye about this car, we could choose no other to cap off this endeavor and we therefore humbly submit for your approval — the 1970 Chevrolet El Camino 454 Super Sport.  read more »

Detroit's automakers and their top Japanese rivals all suffered March sales declines in a market that sank to its weakest level since 2005 as the dual impact of a slowing economy and a credit crunch kept consumers away from showrooms.

The weaker-than-anticipated sales led some auto executives to caution that demand might fall further before it starts to recover.

"I'd like to be able to tell you that the worst is behind us, but I can't give you that assurance," said Jim Farley, global sales chief at Ford Motor Co. "Our sense is, the second quarter may be the most difficult of the year."  read more »