Auto Blog

After spending a long afternoon together, during which time Penny had given her companion a right thorough thrashing that had been met by only a satisfying compliant willingness, the moment for reward had come. Her hand dipped the sponge into warm soapy water to prepare it for more long gentle strokes down the gleaming black taut skin covering the powerful musculature of the young classic beauty. Penny’s breath was coming out in soft gasps as finally finished her task of appreciation and stood back to admire the effect which her efforts of working over the luscious body had produced. Her new friend filled her with the same desire she had felt as when they had first been paired a few days earlier. Sadly, only several more days remained until she would have to give the car back.

You see, Penny Mallory, a World Rally Car and precision stunt driver (as well as television presenter), had been loaned the PGO Cévennes for a week so she could give it a drive and write about her impressions. She loved it so much she actually gave it a hand washing (our narrative of that event in the paragraph above), an occurrence I don’t believe has ever happened before in the history of automotive journalism. And, indeed, the PGO Cévennes is car that has never happened in the history of the automobile before. Based on mechanicals from Peugeot and burning CNG for zero particulates and low CO₂ emissions, the Cévennes borrows freely from the ’50s era Porsche 356 to which it is a homage to fulfill the performance promises older classic cars can only make. But don’t take our word for it. Read an account of the tryst from Ms.Mallory herself by clicking on the “read” link below.

[Source: DueMotori]

It didn’t take long for Porsche to set the record straight about its rumored production plans for the Cayenne in North America. Speaking with Autoweek, Porsche spokesman Albrecht Bamler, refuted a report by Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper that the automaker planned to build Cayenne’s at Volkswagen’s new factory in the U.S. According to Bamler, there’s no need to produce Stuttgart’s uber-ute here in the States, since European manufacturers supply parts and Porsche is protected against the weak dollar by currency hedging through 2013. However, Handelsblatt’s report said that production of the Cayenne in the U.S. wouldn’t begin until after 2015, two years after Porsche’s currency hedging expires. Does that mean N.A.-built Cayennes are still a possibility? Bamler says it’s too early to speculate on the next Cayenne and Porsche’s production plans.

[Source: Autoweek]

Each week, the EPA asks a question on its blog, Greenversations, to see how people around the country feel about a particular question and opens up the comments section to generate answers. Pretty standard Web 2.0 stuff, but this time the government tells you they’re watching.

Although the EPA’s short press release announcing this week’s question (after the jump) doesn’t mention the League of American Bicyclists’ Bike-to-Work Week that is going on now, the agency’s latest Blog Question of the Week fits perfectly with the event. The question is: Why Are You or Aren’t You Biking to Work? Specifically:

Biking is healthy, it prevents air pollution, and it can even save you money (filled your tank recently?). So why aren’t you biking to work? Need more bike paths? Different policies from your employer? Government sponsorship or policies? Or are you just a couch potato? If you ARE biking, tell us about your route and experiences!

As a guy who rides a bike for a lot of regular errands (post office, groceries, etc.), I make due without new and better bike paths. More would certainly be nice, but I find that cruising the residential streets is a good way around the issue. You?

Press Release:

Blog Question of the Week: Why Are You or Aren’t You Biking to Work?

Ever wanted to tell EPA what you thought on an environmental topic? Each week, you have your chance in the EPA blog, Greenversations. Each question is an open-ended blog entry; please share your thoughts as comments.

This week’s question:

Why are you or aren’t you biking to work?
Biking is healthy, it prevents air pollution, and it can even save you money (filled your tank recently?). So why aren’t you biking to work? Need more bike paths? Different policies from your employer? Government sponsorship or policies? Or are you just a couch potato? If you ARE biking, tell us about your route and experiences!

Share your answer: http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2008/05/12/qotwbikingtowork/

Get email when we post a new question: http://service.govdelivery.com/service/subscribe.html?code=USAEPA_345

Read the rest of the blog: http://blog.epa.gov/

[Source: EPA]

FPV’s seemingly endless rollout of its new FG Falcon-based lineup has finally culminated in the actual launch of the cars (how novel), which we’ve already touched upon. To that end, we’ll keep this brief and turn you loose on the multiple new photo galleries now available (check out the rest after the jump). The FPV range encompasses both Falcon sedan and Ute bodystyles, and power comes from either the turbocharged F6 inline-six or the 5.4L Boss 315 V8. The six delivers 415 horsepower and a tire-humbling 416 lb-ft of torque. The eight’s no slouch either, pumping out 422 horses (315 kW, hence the engine’s name) and 406 lb-ft. A Tremec TR6060 6-speed stick is available across the full range of cars.

Speaking of that, here’s the rundown:

• FPV F6 Ute
• FPV Pursuit (V8 Ute)
• FPV Super Pursuit ( Top-of-the-line V8 Ute)
• FPV F6 Sedan
• FPV GT (V8 Sedan)
• FPV GT-P (Premium version of the GT)
• FPV GT E (Top-of-the-line V8 FPV sedan, more subtle styling than GT, GT-P)

You can see galleries of everything below and after the jump. We’ll take an F6 sedan in the lime green. In fact, we need one of those approximately yesterday.

[Source: FPV]

City of Long Beach police cruisers were movie stars in the original Gone in 60 Seconds film. The 1970’s cult classic featured the black and white playing chase with a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1. These days, though, the officers use more efficient methods to capture muscle cars; they invite them over for a fundraising car show. Over the weekend, the Long Beach Police Academy held a classic car show to benefit the department’s K9 Officers Association. A few dozen impeccable examples of automobile preservation took over the grounds of the Long Beach Police Officers Association Park. Not to be rude hosts, the organization even showed off an old Dodge Cornet and Model T police cruiser amongst the numerous Bel Airs, Mustangs and Vegas.

Browsing through the rows of vintage automobiles wasn’t the only event incentive for us to attend. The Orange County German Shepherd rescue showed off dogs available for adoption and the K9 officers put on a training demonstration. As a new GSD owner, I could not resist the combination of sleek cars and furry wet noses. The dual purpose car show/charity event is always a relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Be sure and check out the event gallery in the link below.

It doesn’t get much simpler than this. Turbine-powered cars are, as a rule, extremely cool. So too are all vintages of the Porsche 928. Therefore, a turbine-powered Porsche 928 is positively… Arctic. Owning this might well cause snowfall in your garage, and you can actually find out, because this divinely-inspired combination is up for grabs on eBay. Better still, the bid at the time of this writing this is a little over six-thousand bucks. I paid more than triple that for each of the last two used cars I’ve bought, neither of which is a Porsche 928, and neither of which has a Boeing 502-6 turboshaft engine underhood. Sure, it’s not for everyone, and the video after the jump suggests that your neighbors might not like the noise so much, but come on. It’s a turbine 928. This rules on several levels. Don’t miss the hilarious item description and seller Q&A, either. Apparently, this thing use to be new. Neff should buy it to replace his Alero.

[Source: eBay]