Car Culture
Oddities, trivia and pop culture car news.
- Chrysler to Introduce Manly Minivan
As automakers battle for market share in the popular muscle car and small car segments, an unlikely duel has emerged between minivans. Toyota has launched a popular “Swagger Wagon” campaign to position its Sienna as a cool, more-modern take on the minivan. Now, there are reports that Dodge is exploring ways in which to make its Grand Caravan manlier. The “man van,” as it’s commonly referred to among Dodge insiders, ...
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- California to Consider Digital License Plates
If California Democratic State Senator Curren Price has his way, residents’ cars may soon become moving billboards. Autoblog explains: “In order to help close the state's $19.1 billion deficit, a study bill has been introduced that allows the DMV to explore the feasibility of digital license plates. The new tags would display the number when the car is moving, then show ads and public service announcements any time the car ...
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- Rumor: 2012 Miata to Feature Rotary-Hybrid Engine
Rumors are spreading that the next generation Mazda MX-5 Miata will forgo its newly developed, light-weight Sky-G engine for a rotary-hybrid setup. According to Motor Authority: “Best Car, the Japanese enthusiast magazine, has let it ‘leak’ that Mazda is planning to shovel a 1.2-liter or 1.3-liter rotary engine into the next MX-5, or Roadster as it's known in its home market. The twist? A hybrid drivetrain linked up with it.” Upon first listen, the rumor ...
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- James Bond's 1964 Aston Martin DB5 Hits the Auction Block
Car collectors break out your checkbooks for a once-in-a-lifetime buy -- James Bond’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5. Reuters reports, “James Bond's 1964 Aston Martin DB5, dubbed by auto auctioneers RM Auctions on Tuesday as the ‘world's most famous car,’ will go under the hammer in London in October and is expected to fetch over $5 million.” And, believe it or not, Bond’s ride still features all of the same villain-busting ...
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- BMW Starts Sexy Ad Campaign...Public Restrooms?
Written in red lipstick on the bathroom mirror is the line, “my body is absolutely stunning.” Beneath the flirtatious note is a second line. It asks you to send a text message to a certain number, and promises photos. Would you do it? And if you did, would you be disappointed when the photos that came in response were glamour shots of… a car? Autoblog reports that BMW of Canada ...
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- Americans Have Stopped Buying Sports Cars
Would you like a gorgeous drop-top with a snarling V8 and responses that make you gasp? Would you like a classic roadster? Or maybe a road-hugging, rear-wheel-drive two-seater turbocharged coupe? Would you be willing to pay for it? If so, you’re one of a lonely few right now. Americans aren’t buying sports cars. Edmunds Auto Observer reports, “Muscle cars are moving okay, but the rest of the sports car market ...
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- Study: Women Stay in Love Longer...With their Cars
The truth is, ladies, you’re just more committed than we are. The fire dies down for us. No matter how perfect the sexy curves, how comfortable the long rides together, we just burn out on the relationship. After four months, apparently. It takes fourteen months for a woman, though. After fourteen, you let us drive, and that’s how you know you don’t love your car anymore. USA Today explains, “Women ...
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- Study: Curvy Cars Have Primal Appeal
We can’t help it, apparently. Deep in the most ancient and primitive parts of the human brain, there is just something that responds to the shape of that Audi R8. It’s outside our control. We also love novelty, though. In a world where R8s were common, a Volvo 240 wagon would start to turn heads. Jalopnik reports, “A study by German researchers speculates a preference for round-and-proud cars indicates a ...
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- Study: Ford Fusion Hybrid Pays for Itself Fastest
One of the most successful long-standing arguments against buying a hybrid is simple: it doesn’t pay for itself. The added cost of a hybrid powertrain, some analysts say, is so high that most buyers will never save enough in gasoline expenses to cover what they spent buying the exotic powertrain. A new study says, however, that that may not be the case…especially when it comes to the well-reviewed Ford Fusion ...
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- Corvette Museum Plans Multi-Million Dollar Motorsports Park
Monday we reported that the city of Toledo, Ohio plans to mark the 70th anniversary of the Jeep Wrangler by constructing an off-roader’s theme park for Jeep enthusiasts. Not to be outdone, Bowling Green, Kentucky’s National Corvette Museum (NCM) wants to expand its operations by constructing a motorsports facility that, among other features, will include a 10-acre autocross course and quarter-mile drag strip. Autoblog explains: “The National Corvette Museum wants to build ...
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