Damox's Car Blog

It has come to my attention that 2001 World Rally Champion driver Richard Burns has succumbed to a rare form of cancer called astrocytoma. It is a brain tumor, and Burns knew the odds were against him when he was diagnosed with it. He was only 34 years old.
Richard Burns

Here are some really cool pictures of a white Bugatti Veyron from various angles. This is a $1.4 million car, so you won't find too many close up pictures like this. Check out the close-up of the interior. I'm not sure what kind of material that is (I'm guessing suede), but I know I want to rub my skin all over it. This is one of my favorite fantasy cars, and I think it looks a little classier in white than the burgandy and black that has made the auto show tour. If some company wants to buy me one of these, I promise to put your logo on it and drive it all over the country. Tell me that's more of a waste than a 30-second Super Bowl ad. I know, it probably is. But seriously, just buy me the car.
Bugatti Veyron in the wild | Leftlane News - Car News For Enthusiasts

Just in case you needed more evidence that the oil companies have completely hijacked the federal government, the US Chamber of Commerce is recommending taxing hybrid drivers (and only hybrid drivers) for each mile that they drive. They will use these funds towards highway repairs. They claim that hybrid drivers are bringing down revenues from gasoline taxes, which are the main source of highway repair funds. This is true, but it also exposes a major flaw in the entire conservative philosophy.
We should be encouraging drivers to purchase hybrid cars. They are less harmful to our environment, and they reduce our country's dependence on foreign oil. Instead, we have a system that relies heavily on a gasoline tax, which requires people to purchase a lot of gasoline to work. So what is the solution? Increase the gasoline tax, and also the tax on new car purchases. The increase in the gasoline tax will make up for revenue shortages in the short run (at least until the majority of Americans purchase hybrid vehicles), and the tax on new car purchases will provide revenue for the future. The best system would be to localize highway repair costs, but the federal government will never go for this, because they hang highway funds over states heads to get them to recognize federal laws, even when state laws disagree with the federal law (ie - some states have legalized medicinal marijuana, but the federal government still requires enforcement of federal laws in those states, or they'll cut off highway funds).
KCBS.com

I was considering forgoing my usual comments about the eminent downfall of GM by just writing "I TOLD YOU SO" a few hundred times and posting it as a news item, but that would not be very nice. I've had to debate with many people who for some reason cannot grasp the fact that GM is no longer a strong company. They quoted me all these sales figures from this summer (when they were barely cutting even on most cars, and even losing money on some with their crazy employee pricing deals). They showed me how much GM was worth, and told me it could not fail. It can fail, and it will. I know what GM is worth according to some manipulated accounting system, but any smart investor knows what is really worth: less than nothing. That's right, GM owes much more money than they are worth. They will not recover from this, no matter how strong some of you seem to think the "good ol American worker" is. I don't care if every GM worker gets up at 3am and works non-stop until 10pm, GM is done. I'm not even sure if they'll be bought up anymore. Their competitors can sense their weakness, and they may just wait for GM to go bankrupt. It will be a whole lot cheaper than buying them out and trying to fix a broken company.
USATODAY.com - GM to close a dozen North American locations

(with the purchase of $1 million rims)
That's right, all you have to do is purchase some diamond-encrusted wheels and you from Asani and they'll throw in a free Bentley Continental GT. I'm in for 2 sets. I'm going to swap out one set of rims and put them on my 1987 Chrysler LeBaron, making it the most expensive Chrysler in existence.
Buy Diamond Rims, Get Free Bentley - ForbesAutos.com

Here's a really cool photo series of a homemade motorcycle. I believe these pictures are from China, but I'm not certain. Notice the generic car tires on the front and back, and all the fabricated parts made from what was likely found in a junk yard or garbage dump. The frame is welded together with various metal parts, and it looks like the exhaust comes out of a hollow beam. I'm sure the ride is bumpy, but the guy riding it looks really cool. Very Mad Max like.

The Cobalt SS wide body coupe combines a lot of things American consumers are looking for: sporting looks, low price, decent performance. The look is definately inspired by its Asian competitors, especially with the rear spoiler and tail lights.
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Coupe Wide Body Pictures and Specifications

I've become more and more pessimistic about Ford's future in the last few months, but they still have the capability of producing a beautiful car when they want to, which is demonstrated in this Ford GTX1 Roadster. It's a modified Ford GT, and I think it's hot (to quote the great Paris Hilton). The lines fit together perfectly, giving this car a very "solid" look, even more so than the original GT it is based on. The well-defined curved lines make it look heavy but also fast, like something that can go faster than a Viper but still stayed glued to the road, which I'm sure it can.
2005 Ford GTX1 Roadster Pictures and Specifications