Blake Noble

Yes, tonight sometime soon Top Gear goes off of the airwaves. No, not for good (hopefully), but at some time tonight season 19 does officially end ... maybe. Of course, since Top Gear always leaves you with horrible between-season withdrawls (the long wait for the new season was like going through heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and smoking joneses all at the same time), you eventually find yourself searching between seasons for something else to watch that will fill the void until the new one debuts. Besides watching the take-it-or-leave-it 'Mericun version that airs on the History Channel, YouTube has begun to offer quite a lot in the way of auto-related programming that is almost as entertaining to watch. Here are a few recommendations: XCar: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wqAFl2t9Np8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> XCar features brilliant and simple cinematography that actually is within close proximity to what Top Gear has to offer, and the commentary is fairly entertaining. The BMW M1 review above is even somewhat evocative of early episodes of TG. Oh, and the reviewer sort of sounds like Richard Hammond, if that's your thing. Gear Patrol: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I6JvMSojQss?list=PL99CBB6AA695173D5" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> If you desire an alternative to Top Gear US, give Gear Patrol a shot. While Gear Patrol obviously doesn't have the big budget of the History Channel knock-off version, they definitely do have an advantage over TG US in one area: the soundtracks featured in many of the reviews are a hell of a lot better than what TG US manages to use. The Dodge Charger SRT-8 review above is one of their older vidoes, and newer reviews feature significantly improved cinematography and camera work, but I chose it because ... well, I'm biased and I occasionally roll around town bumpin' The Notorious B.I.G. in my own Charger. Drive: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZcjpXbMiCtg?list=UU5rBpVgv83gYPZ593XwQUsA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Drive is the "big budget" name out of the three featured here, but there's no denying the fact that they've managed to turn out hundreds of hours of original car nerd programming that ranges from being entertaining to educational and anything in between. If you like muscle cars, their "Big Muscle" series of videos are for you. If you like to hear new car reviews read to you in a stiff-lipped British accent, well Chris Harris is there to satisfy. If you like awesome and absolutely stupid cars, like the rat-rod-thing RX7 featured in the video above, well, yeah, there's a series for you too. In all honesty, Drive needs to boot Speed TV off of cable television. EDIT: Top Gear actually doesn't end ... yet, and I can't post the videos. But if you can read YouTube jibberish, you can copy and paste the video url into your browser until someone (hopefully) fixes this post.

I wouldn't bet my money on that just yet. The design has grown on a few people since yesterday, but from what I've seen, negative opinions are still far outweighing positive ones overall.Also, I'm hearing over at Allpar that Chrysler's PR team had to take the Cherokee press release off of Jeep's Facebook page due to an overwhelming amount of negative comments. Like I said, this will be the one new car from Chrysler to keep watch on.

Also, let me add this: if Chrysler winds up having to do some form of mild damage control on the KL, it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Well, I don't mean to honk my own horn, but I've pretty much been warning everyone not to expect the new KL Cherokee to be a revival of the classic XJ model for sometime now. Because of its questionable off-road capability, polarizing styling, and the lofty expectations the Cherokee name carries, this will certainly be the one new car release from Marchionne-run Chrysler to keep watch on. I've definitely been keeping tabs on this car in particular because I really do think it's a model that could really make or break Jeep and could even have an effect on the company as a whole.

At January's Detroit Auto Show, GM pulled the wraps off of one of the most highly anticipated new cars of the year – the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, also known as the C7 or seventh-generation 'Vette. The introduction of the new Corvette marked the return of the LT1-moniker to GM's new-generation small-block V8 engines, the revivial of the Stingray name itself, as well as an interior finally worthy of a car intended to fight on a stage with such cars like the Porsche 911 and numerous other sports cars and supercars from Europe. To the dismay of loyal 'Vette enthusiasts, the new Stingray also marked the end of more traditional Corvette styling cues such as round taillights and the large wrap-around back glass area, instead favoring rectangular taillights and smaller side quarter glass windows, both styling elements virtually new to the modern-day 'Vette. Or are they? The photo you see attached here – a proposal for the C5 Corvette that first went on sale for 1997 – has just started making its rounds around the internet. Taken from a book titled All Corvettes are Red, it's very interesting to note that this proposal has both rear quarter windows and rectangular taillights, not to mention vertical fender vents, all styling cues featured on the new C7 Corvette Stingray. How far this proposal dates back is anyone's guess, but considering the C5's 1997 model year debut and widely available sources pointing to GM starting work on the C5 in the late '80s to very early '90s, it's reasonable to assume it could very well be just slightly over 20 years old. The new Stingray is pictured below for comparison. Source: Digital Corvettes

We really don't know the entire story concerning the LTS's door handles, really. Consider this: when Bill Mitchell and his team were designing the second-generation F-bodies, the long doors they wound up using were also something of a cost-cutting measure. The fact they elminated the small quarter windows behind the doors (early clay mock ups did, in fact, have small rear quarter windows) eliminated a decent chunk of money there and the design team were able to put the money they had saved to use on making other areas of the car more styled and feel (at the time) more premium. Of course, the beancounters approved the longer doors because they made the car cheaper to build. Overall, it was a win, win situation for everyone. Who knows? Maybe the design team revised the door handles to look more distinct and, as a by-product, the revised design turned out to be far less expensive to make.

If I were going to buy another brand-new Challenger tomorrow, this is exactly the way I would want it. I hope it serves your dad well.

While the lack of a manual transmission is deflating, you also have to understand this car has one car dead in its sights: the Dodge Charger SRT8. The Charger SRT8 also lacks the option of a manual transmission and no one questions its image as an American performance icon. Granted, yes a manual transmission would've given the SS an honest leg up on the competition, but I don't think the lack of that option thereof will really have a negative impact on sales or on the SS's image. Actually, the answer is far better than that. Simply merge the Malibu and Impala and label the result as a Malibu. The Impala name would go on whatever replaces this car.

With mah toes, dude. Thanks, Moltar. I'm with this one for the long haul. Considering folks aren't having major issues with second-gen LX Chargers, I think I'm in the clear. If I do have a major drivetrain issue, the dealer I purchased the car from also threw in some sort of Lifetime Powertrain Warranty at no charge, which sounds gimmicky to me, but I should know the full details tomorrow when I drop off the Astra's title. Regardless, it still has a good remainder of the factory powertrain warranty left.

This is my Valentine: I bought it a car for Valentine's Day on Tuesday.

See? The VF in SS trim looks much better than the Calais-V. The more recent 'chops were close, but they all positioned the grille and bumper details down too low. Also, the SS's body trim modifications make the car look a little more athletic and taut. The VF SS doesn't lose as much from the VE as the Calais did, although I still do tend to prefer the VE's asthetics. Overall though, this isn't bad by any means.

The Dart Rallye 1.6 Turbo I test drove before buying my Charger wasn't a horrible car by any means and the build quality was actually quite nice. However, my biggest turn off about the Dart was the 1.6's performance dysfunction (it isn't the best match for a car the Dart's size) and the irritatingly odd variable electric power-assisted steering (the transition between being light and numb at low speeds and weighted and responsive at higher speeds is sometimes jarring and non-linear). The six-speed gearbox was nice though, with fairly neutral throws (not too long, but not short). Big thumbs up for UConnect too. I love the base version that my Charger has, and the bigger system that the Dart I tested out had is even better. It's amazingly responsive.

As of February 12th, 2013 I'm now back behind the wheel of a Mopar product, a 2011 Tungsten Metallic Dodge Charger SE. It was suprisingly very much within my reach after I paid my downpayment and very clean, so I couldn't refuse it. Sure, it isn't the V8 two-door barn burner I originally set out to find, but oddly enough, I'm okay with that. The 3.6 liter Pentastar V6 still produces 292 horsepower, gets better fuel economy, and will easily produce in excess of 300 horses with simple bolt-on exhaust and air intake modifications. Sure, it doesn't have a manual transmission, but the AutoStick feature works suprisingly better in the Charger than it did in my old Challenger. I'll also say this with complete honesty: aside from the Nissan 350 I owned for all of a weekend, this is probably the best handling car I've owned, especially considering its size and weight. More importantly, the qualties I really enjoyed in my 2010 Challenger are also here. The feel, the look, and the attitude are all still as all-American as it possibly gets in today's modern era of largely forgettable cars. When you sit behind the wheel, you're washed in this unmistakable feeling that the soul that's within the machine is still the same as it was during Chrysler's glory days in the late '60s and '70s. While is true that the current-generation Charger is a much more refined car than my old Challenger, you still get that feeling that this car, like the Challenger, would really rather not be bothered with silly driver assist features like anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, traction control, and other similar nanny systems (in fact, almost all of them can be disabled without issue) and would really rather connect with the driver mano a mano. All of those qualities are largely lost on newer cars, and was certainly lost on my previous car. While it wasn't a bad car and had slightly better than average handling for a front-drive compact, it still wasn't enough car to fill the void left behind by my Challenger and certainly didn't give you the sense that it really wanted to make a loving connection with its owner. Simply put, it wasn't a car for an enthusiast. The Charger is. With any hope, this should be the last car I'll own for a while. No more trading around, no more drama; as far as I'm concerned it's over and done. Photos will be here over the weekend.

Excellent suggestion guys; I'll try to work up a letter to keep on standby over the weekend. However, I will note that contacting Chrysler Customer Serivce to follow up on the case file seemed rather fruitless. I explained to them the issue was not resolved and the dealer didn't seem willing to actually help anyone out in this situation and they only referred me back to the dealership.

Tonight, I took delivery of what should be my final automotive purchase. Details later.

Well, this has developed into an even bigger issue. I can affirm that the dealer overfilled the engine by 2.5 to 3 quarts. The 5.7 liter Hemi is only designed to hold 7, so you can imagine what havoc this wreaked on what is still an infant engine (the truck only has 9k on the clock). The truck still smokes and used almost another quart of oil on the way home from the dealer. Again, making a long story short, the only thing the dealer felt obliged to do was drain the oil, fill it to the proper spec, and send the truck on its way. They didn't feel obliged, it seemed, to check the intake or exhaust manifolds for signs of oil, they didn't bother to check the condition of the rings and seals, and they didn't bother to check the condition of the spark plugs, fuel system, or the cat and o2 sensors. They now feel this is, for some unknown and unholy reason, a warranty issue (if I owned a dealership, I know that really wouldn't sit right with me). We'll see what happens.

Incorrect. First, the US Treasury no longer has a stake in Chrysler Group LLC and, granted the fact Fiat has no access to Chrysler's wallet, whatever government assistance that was previously granted to Chrysler was unable to be tapped by Fiat. As of now, the Treasury still has a large stake in GM and there is still money on the line. Second, while it is true GM is no longer asking for cash from the US government, the same is true for Chrysler. Again, nothing Uncle Sam handed over to Chrysler Group directly benefitted Fiat. This thread has grown past the point of chicken little BS. Fiat is not going to usurp Chrysler, there is too much to lose and very little to gain. Use some common sense.

As far as I know, something is still in the works to replace those two.

That new ass ... hmmm ... Split the tails up into two sections and ... huh. Maybe I'm just seeing things.

We'll see how the fortune cookie crumbles tomorrow morning. In the meantime, a case file has been opened up with Chrysler's corporate customer service.

More food for thought: while Fiat has access to Chrysler's dealer network, it has no access to its cash flow. If Fiat's hurting for money, it can't ask Chrysler to prop it up like GME continues to do with GMNA. Fiat and Alfa will be in America as a means to ensure they'll be building and selling cars well into the future, not to replace any other brand or anything else. Alfa will be lucky to see the sales volume that Dodge or Chrysler sees.

That's absolute rubbish, complete paranoia. Don't read too far into Peter Brady Grady's statement. He isn't doing anything more than dribbling common sense down his chin. Fiat will still only have, to my knowledge, two, maybe three models on sale here in the United States while Alfa will have a whole four more, arguably with much wider mainstream appeal. So yeah, Alfa will outsell Fiat here because the sky is blue and bears crap in the woods, not because Alfa is trying to replace Dodge (it won't; Alfas will typically be more expensive, for starters), Iveco is trying to replace Ram (Iveco couldn't build a pickup to save its own life), and Fiat is trying to pull the midget assasin card on Chrysler and Jeep.

I'm here to gather opinions. One day last week, my father took his Ram Express into a local dealer to have the oil changed. To make a longer story extremely brief and short, it's likely been overfilled. The oil is almost two to three quarters of the way up the dipstick and way past "max". There is obvious blue smoke coming from the exhaust and there is black build-up on the chrome exhaust tips. The dealer has been contacted and said that they find this "hard to believe" although the evidence is concrete. What would you demand the dealer do?

Thanks guys. This experience was a real wake up call. That's all I have to really say.

Quit looking at the trees for once. This car has been designed with the possibility of being sold under multiple brands in multiple countries in mind; it's been designed to be flexible.