More than two years after Porsche announced plans to buy 20 percent of Volkswagen group, the sports car maker finally looks ready to take full control of Europe’s largest carmaker.

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Ferrari F430 Spider - Miami Vice

By
Ben Pulman

20 October 2008 14:21

Ranking: 27       

Year of release: 2006

The car: Ferrari F430 Spider

Why it’s special: Because every Ferrari invariably is. This Prancing Horse features a mid-mounted 483bhp 4.3-litre V8 that’s visible through a glass panel.

Best bit: The F430 getting nailed down the freeway, spitting blue flame on every up-change.

Pub fact: While you might all remember the white Testarossa, the Miami Vice television series also originally featured a Ferrari Daytona convertible until series three – it was actually a Chevrolet Corvette in drag.

Plot overview: Detectives Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) work undercover investigating narcotics-smuggling in Florida. But when Crockett falls for the beautiful wife of a powerful arms and drugs trafficker, and Tubbs’ loved ones come under threat, their personal and professional lives start to mesh together.

For: The noise, the fact it’s Ferrari, but not actually a red one. It’s Grigio Silverstone in Ferrari-speak, grey to you and me.

Against: Colin Farrell is no Don Johnson and no current Ferrari can match the outrageousness of a white Testarossa,

CAR verdict: It’s special car, but it didn’t do enough in the movie to make it truly memorable.

Is this really one of the best cars in film history? Click ‘Add your comment’ and have your say

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Mercedes is rushing its new E-class Coupe through final testing before the car’s global debut at the Geneva motor show in ealry 2009. Codenamed C206, the Coupe will replace the CLK when it arrives in the UK next June wearing a £32,000 price tag.

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After a mediocre showing last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson, right, needed a great finish at Phoenix International Raceway. Well, he got it, leading 217 of 313 laps en route to his seventh win of the season and third in this Chase. Johnson now has a 141-point edge over Carl Edwards going into the season finale next Sunday in Homestead, Fla.
Johnson started on the pole at PIR and drove a flawless race. He never raced outside the top three and had no problem keeping the lead on several late restarts and a green-white-checker finish, always getting a great jump on second-place Kurt Busch and third-place Jamie McMurray. The victory was Johnson’s third straight at PIR and he became the only driver to win three Cup races at the track. He also improved his Chase finishing average to 4.7 with his eighth top-10 finish in the past nine races.
Edwards, who is the only official challenger left in this Chase, started the day 106 points back of Johnson. Edwards started 15th Sunday and eased his way up to fourth at the finish. Unfortunately, he didn’t lead a lap and Johnson gained an extra 10 points for leading the most laps.
Full results can be found here and updated standings can be found here.

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The American automotive industry is in dire straits. This isn’t breaking news, but it is freakin’ me out. Trust me, I’m not here to place blame or point fingers. I’m just a little worried about the idea that the auto industry could collapse. Trying to figure out what Chrysler, Ford and GM’s third-quarter losses mean is kind of stressful for me, because I’m more of a word girl.

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Unless you must have a car now, if you’re considering a domestic car or even a U.S.-built car, wait. Many of the proposed legislative measures to “save” the domestic auto industry will cut car prices by thousands of dollars. If you buy a car now, you could pay thousands more than you will later. Automotive News [sub] reports on the most ambitious federal consumer bailout proposal yet. “Retired Chrysler President Hal Sperlich has written a position paper with Don Runkle, former vice chairman of Delphi Corp., calling for a $3,000 government cash incentive on the purchase of a Detroit 3 vehicle.” Chrysler and Delphi execs? You’re kidding, right? Nope. An incentive like this would be unfair in so many ways that it boggles the mind. And yet it’s such a bone-headed proposal that it– or something like it– could happen anyway. And the guys make an excellent point: for GM and Ford to survive (I wrote off Chrysler when Cerberus bought them), auto sales cannot continue at their current level. “In an interview today, Sperlich and Runkle said that without consumer incentives, the Detroit 3 will merely burn through any government loans they receive within a few months. ‘It will be a bridge loan to nowhere unless there are incentives to spur demand,’ Runkle said.” To boost auto sales in the current economy, actual purchase prices are going to have to come down. A lot. And if even one manufacturer cuts prices, the others will have to follow. So, if you don’t want to pay too much for a new car, wait.

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I was stumbling around the Milan airport after a red-eye flight last January when I came upon a Ferrari store. I have absolutely no idea what kind of sales a store like this might rack up (or really, not rack up). Even the insanely wealthy would no doubt feel strange about wearing a $58 Ferrari t-shirt if they didn’t actually own a Ferrari. If I bought one, I’d just feel like a … well the word I’m thinking of rhymes with “bouchebag.” The rest of the merchandise, from $600 parkas to $250 silk ties was equally stupidpriced. The best explanation I can think of for the store is to keep the Ferrari brand nestled among other exotic luxury brands. But all in all, I have to say it makes my head hurt. The exception to me would be any type of event-oriented clothing (i.e. Ferrari day at the beach 2003) or something commemorative (a picture of a Ferrari 250 California, in which case you’d look like a dork rather than a poseur).

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“Westchester County lawmakers last night made it illegal for drivers to keep their vehicles running for three minutes or more while parked.” Now I’m sure TTAC’s Best and Brightest will be all abuzz with lots of reasons why this idea makes no sense at all (kids roasting/freezing to death), defines “unenforceable,” doesn’t make any sense and violates Americans’ constituional right to not be hassled by the government for stupid ass shit. But all that counts for naught compared to our collective responsibility to “reduce dangerous emissions like carbon dioxide that contribute to Westchester’s poor air quality and to global warming.” This according to Thomas Abinanti, D-Greenburgh, the bill’s sponsor. “Climate change is the defining issue of the 21st century,” Abinanti told LoHud.com. “We can do our part by not adding to the problem. Idling uses more gas and is worse for vehicles than turning your car off. Most idling is not only wasteful, but unnecessary.” Most? Not all? Westchester motorists who find themselves on the wrong end of a cop’s stop watch could be fined up to $250. [Miss you Glenn]

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On April 1st, 2008 significant modifications to road safety regulations in the Canadian provinces of Québec and Nova Scotia went into effect. CTV.ca reports that handheld cellular phones are now verboten while at the wheel, though hands free devices are still tolerated. Nova Scotia will begin ticketing the offense immediately, while Québec has allowed for a three-month grace periods in which offenders will only receive stern warnings and moralizing sermons. The first offense in Nova Scotia will cost $165, while costing $80-$110 and three demerit points in Québec. Still not satisfied, road safety advocate Jean-Marie de Koeninck argues that “[h]ands-free is just as dangerous. (But) by forbidding the hand-held it does send a signal that there is a problem with the cellphone, there’s a problem with concentration”. Meanwhile, the same traffic safety bill in Québec also doubled all speeding fines , with new suspension of license provisions for those caught traveling at 40 km/h over the limit in under-60 zones, 50 km/h in 60-90 over zones, and 60 km/h over in 100+ zones. All in the name of safety, presumably.

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KCRG-TV reports that the Iowa legislature is getting ready to roll out the pork barrel for the ethanol industry. Previewing the Tall Corn State’s upcoming legislative agenda, the TV station foreshadows the tax breaks to come, and makes it seem as if there’s a passel of pistonhead demand for E85, motorists just itching for a local E85 station. “Lawmakers also expect to talk about ways to make it easier for drivers to pump ethanol into their vehicles. ‘There’s tens of thousands of vehicles in Iowa right now that could run on E85, but they really don’t have access to the infrastructure where they can go buy it,’ Rep. Kraig Paulsen (R) said.” Could or would? (We sure as Hell don’t recommend Iowans try and find one of 69 state stations with an E85 pump via Iowacorn.org’s “E85 finder;” the Adobe player crashes your browser.) Iowa already pays 50 percent of the total cost of an E85 pump. Question: if one of the nation’s top E85 producing states– a state without large ethanol transportation expenses (E85 can’t go down a standard gas pipe)– needs more subsidies to convince gas stations to provide E85 pumps, what does that tell you? 

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