Install A Fireplace In Your Car

The end of the world is night! You're going to need an alternative heat source in your whip. But you've got the solution, you say. It will be brilliant, you say.

You wanna do what? Install a fireplace in your car? And you wanna generate power for you "smart" phone, too. You're out of your post-apocalyptic mind.

Okay, it's going into a motorhome, but seriously. Is that even possible? According to this guy, it is. Please don't blame us if your Firenza, Fiero or Maserati burn to the ground. Even Bowser is wondering if this was a good idea.

Photo: Tim Johnson

New Year's Prediction

Let's welcome (nearly) 2016 in with a car-related New Year's prediction; hey, why not? If it ends up wrong, you have our permission to say so. What could be an interesting one that would maybe not be so obvious and also be a bit surprising? Here goes...

2012 Tesla Model S

Two days ago, we cogitated on the upcoming Tesla Model X. We keep these things short and sweet because a) we know you're busy and b) to expound at length about technical details is downright condescending. Besides, we know you guys know many, many things about cars already and we aspire to not repeat what you already know.

Photos: Craigslist

Dodge & Star Wars

Why is Dodge pouring marketing money into promoting the guaranteed blockbuster hit Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Sure, it's going to be the biggest movie in all history, at least in terms of opening weekend. And coverage will be huge. But what does the following Dodge ad have to do with converting moviegoers into Charger buyers? For that matter, what is up with FCA pushing the latest installment of The Hunger Games franchise, too?

The International Business Times had this to say about the matter;

Dodge, a subsidiary of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, was another one of the official sponsors of “The Force Awakens,” and it had a number of tie-ins with Disney/Lucasfilm, starting on Sept. 4, when it partnered with Uber to offer free rides in Stormtrooper-wrapped Chargers in Manhattan. (The Uber promotion was also a triple-cross with Mattel, which gave riders special Stormtrooper-wrapped Hot Wheels cars.) Dodge also ran co-branded spots for its Ram pickup truck line. 

“Collaborating with Disney and Lucasfilm on ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ once again provides the opportunity to deliver the unexpected — relevant, entertaining and immediately noticed end-of-the-year retail commercials true to the individuality of each of our brands and featuring the Star Wars music and sound design known around the world," Olivier François, head of marketing for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said in a statement.
That's all well and good, but the ads also serve as a reminder that no vehicle will ever be as cool as the Millennium Falcon.

None of the Dodge “Star Wars” promotions, it should be pointed out, are anywhere near as mortifying as the Dodge Ram ad that “salutes the heroes of ‘The Hunger Games’” as a cross-promotional spot for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.” Nothing says “fighting the excesses of corrupt capitalism” like buying a new gas-guzzler.

Sounds to us like somebody (or somebodys) in FCA marketing should be fired; we can't see how any of this marketing is going to equal sales.

2017 Tesla Model X

Interesting stuff about the 2017 Tesla Model X...

• Monopost second-row seats; no rails here, just one post supporting the seat for more foot room
• Pay an extra $10K and get “Ludicrous” mode, which nets you a 0-60 in 3.2 seconds (sixth-tenths quicker than a model without it)
• 7-passenger
• Roughly the same range as the Model S
• Tow rated for 5,000 pounds
• Base MSRP is $133,200
• HVAC “Bioweapon Defense” mode
• Intelligent falcon-wing doors
• Windshield that ends behind the front passenger and driver’s heads
• Magnetic sunvisors
• Not even remotely a SUV, as claimed; really a CUV

Web Meets World

Don't think the world of online car buying enthusiasm ever intersects with the real world? Au contraire! Recently (Season 2, Episode 3) on the television show Car Matchmaker, there was a guest appearance by Randy Nonnenberg of BringATrailer.com. Unfortunately, that show is either poorly edited or just plain bad because they'd ask him a question and the answer was never given onscreen. We'll choose to believe those answers ended up on the cutting room floor, as Randy surely gave his best, informed and intelligent reply. But those two worlds -online and offline- do intersect occasionally and that's our point!

Design Element

Can you name the make and model? Take a guess, then click here to confirm or deny your answer!

1972 Toyota RV-2

Today, we're exploring the origins of the Toyota motorhome; production by third-party manufacturers began in 1973. Toyota was involved, expressing interest in selling motorhomes converted by those outside contractors through their independently-owned dealerships.

A New Buick Wagon?

Will GM bring the German-built Opel Insignia Sport Tourer to the States? To us, this is a no-brainer but nobody asked us. This car is related to the Malibu, Regal, LaCrosse, XTS, Impala and the last Saab 9-5.

From Car and Driver: General Motors has filed two intriguing U.S. trademark applications for its Buick subsidiary that hint at a future station-wagon variant. Yes, you read that right—the first Buick wagon since the Century and the Roadmaster might be on its way, and it could be a Regal! The filings were discovered by AutoGuide, and are for the names “Tourx” and “Regal Tourx.”

 

Read more...

Chevrolet Teen Driver

Now available in the new Chevrolet Malibu...

MINI/BMW Fined $40 Million

Let's add insult to injury to one of your favorite targets of scorn; BMW. This report details the latest information that BMW will be fined $40 million for screw-ups regarding safety recalls for the 2014 and 2015 MINI. Nice going, folks; you truly are the ultimate driving machine. You're worth every bleeding cent of the horrific premiums you charge and there's no issue with you ripping off people who actually want to keep your car past the warranty period. Now you prove that you don't care much about the safety of your customers, either. Nice.

Photo: london-dream

Jon R and the Toyota Motorhome Club

Remember the “Hey Mon” skit on the sketch comedy classic television show, “In Living Color”? In the skit, the premise is that members of a West Indian family all have an unbelievable number of jobs and find it outrageous if a person has less than two or less. They’ve got nothing on the subject of our next interview. This time around, we’re interviewing the founder of what is possibly the largest Toyota motorhome appreciation group on one of the biggest social media sites out there, Facebook.

Alfa Romeo Alfasud 2+1 Giardenetta

Well, we couldn't lure anybody into adding to our list of 2-door Wagons and Shooting Brakes (sad face). So we'll just add this one that we'd missed previously; the Alfa Romeo Alfasud 2+1-door Giardinetta. Powered by a 71 (some sources say 75) horsepower 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine, the Giugiaro-designed 3-door estate was produced from 1975-1978.

Ever wonder why it was named Alfasud? That's because it was produced at the then-new Pomigliano d-Arco facility in the south of Italy. Get it? Sud? South? But you knew that already, didn't you.

You can forget finding one of these for sale in the States. Still want one? Here's your best bet.

1972 Toyota F101

Concept cars don't really interest us much because they're so far removed from reality. But one catches our eye occasionally, for various reasons. Here's one that did; the 1972 Toyota RV-2.

1968 Ford Galaxie 500

We've got Bemidji, Minnesota on the mind. Ask us why if you're interested but in the meantime we decided to peruse the local Craigslist ads to see what struck our fancy. Here's what we found; a gorgeous, all-original, low mileage 1968 Ford Galaxie 500 for only $6.8K.

Photos: Craigslist

2002 Pontiac Grand Prix Limo

Like the VW Jetta limo featured here on REVolution recently, a Pontiac Grand Prix is not the expected basis for a limo stretch instead of the standard Lincoln or Cadillac. But that's what whomever chose to do to this car that had a $23K base MSRP. Maybe they figured it would turn heads, like a Barbie pink Hummer stretch limo does. Well, it did catch our eye, that's for sure! Here's what the seller has to say about this, uh, thing.

Photos: Craigslist

Chris H’s 1986 Toyota Winnebago Motorhome

Welcome to another interview featuring real owners driving real cars. This time we're featuring a motorhome; we hope you enjoy it!

Photos: Chris H.

Design Element

Sorry about that poor quality of the image. Couldn't find a better one. Saw one of these 2016 Toyota 4Runners on the street the other day and noticed the up and down buttons on the back tailgate (on the chrome, to the right). As far as we can tell, the buttons are only on some trim levels or even possibly just one...? Not sure about that one. If you know answer to this conundrum, drop us a line!

Raymond Cruz Reads Nissan Warranty

Raymond Cruz, known for his tough-guy roles in shows like Breaking Bad and Major Crimes, gives a dramatic reading of a Nissan warranty. Brilliant!

1999 Land Rover Range Rover (P38A) Callaway Edition

We’ve always found Land Rover to be an interesting company. Perpetually stuck at the bottom of every reliability index and often the cause for simultaneous reckless admiration and constant hair ripping frustration, they’re a common sight amongst the rich and fabulous. Their off-road capabilities seem distant as they roll from boulevard stoplight to stoplight. How can the BMW-owned (there’s a clue there) company be an over- and underdog simultaneously?

Photos: Craigslist

2-door Wagons and Shooting Brakes

How many 2-door wagons and shooting brakes can you think of? Here's a list; can you think of any others and which are your favorites?

Photo: Wikipedia

2105 VW Jetta TDI Depreciation Update

It's time for another update on the depreciation of our example 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI! It's been a month since we last checked in and since then it's lost another $584. Our comparison vehicle, a 2015 Honda Accord, lost nothing. While that may make the Jetta TDI seem like it's been pushed over the cliff of depreciation, it seems to us that it isn't losing value any more than normal. The fuss over the diesel debacle doesn't seem to be changing things from that perspective; neither accelerating it, which wouldn't have been surprising, nor slowing it, which would.

2016 Mazda CX-9

The new Mazda CX-9 minivan large-ish crossover is almost here. What do you think; same old tune or hot stuff?

Photo: Mazda

1972 Dune Cat

When does 5.5 hp look like a whole lotta laughs? When it's a Dune Cat! I wasn't able to dig up much history on these bits of fiberglass fun but this one appears to have been manufactured by a company named HPE Muskin. There were several other companies that produced similar go karts; even Sears sold them. If you know more about them, please share!

"Put this under the tree this year!! Super fun! 1972 Dune Cat go cart. Fiberglass body, heavy steel frame, ( stripped, sanded and painted) bran new 19 inch rear knobby tires, 16 inch front tires. 5.5 hp robins motor , runs great. Double seat belts mount to roll bar and frame for safety. Has lights installed, just need to be wired. 500$" Photos: Craigslist

Buick Century

Not custom in any way, shape or form...

Photo: REVolution

Bridgestone Blizzak Betrayal

It turns out being from the SouthWest coast doesn't necessarily prepare you for driving in the NorthWest winter snow. Who knew? And thus we have become devotees of the mighty Bridgestone Blizzak. On the Shadowagon, they turn what's already a decent winter driver into a nearly unstoppable tank, limited only by ground clearance. We've now gone through multiple sets of these incredible tires and so it will come as a shock (well, it was to us) that we've chosen a new make and model this year - the Michelin X-Ice Xi3. After a hefty rebate, these are a screaming deal and the reviews of this new offering are that they're even better than the Blizzaks. We'll see and will report our findings in the months to come. Bring on the snow!

Photo: REVolution

Comment Moderation

Dear Friends of the REVolution,

Due to the recent brouhaha, we've switched comment moderation on for the time being. We still want to hear from you so don't let that stop you! Hopefully, we can go back to a more open discussion process soon and don't forget that we love hearing from you via private email, too.

Thank you for your patience and support, Lower Management

AACA Museum: 1981 Renault 18i

This is Part 3 of our series focused on the AACA Museum’s station wagon exhibit.

Picking our favorite wagon of the exhibit proved to be more difficult than we anticipated; they were all spectacular in their own way. But our wandering eye kept roaming back to this rarely seen 1981 Renault 18i, also known as a Sportwagon.

Photo: REVolution

1951 Ford MI Sportster

From the seller:

"This is an original MI Sportster, which originated from the 1951 Mechanix Illustrated November issue. This car was built according the MI plans and is all hand built during the 1950s. This car was started in 1952 by the original owner and completed 3 years later. This article boasted plans for the builder to create a 100MPH roadster for less than $500!!!! By taking parts from the 1930s & 1940s cars the builder could build one fast sportster!! Car is in great shape for its year and being hand built. Has an amazing running flathead Ford V8!!

Photo: eBay

Design Element

Can you name the make and model? Take a guess, then click here to confirm or deny your answer!

Uniwiper

Hopped in the Shadowagon last night to go to work. It was raining kittens and puppies. Noticed that the driver's side wiper wasn't starting from the usual position. The more we drove, the worse it got. Uh oh. By the time we got about a mile from work, it had stopped working altogether and we were leaning over towards the passenger side to see, like we were gangsta or something. Jeez, we're not hip on today's lingo.

Photo: REVolution

Moronic Mazda Mumblings

Recently overheard; "Mazda is one of the smallest car companies right now." Is it? Is it really? Let's take a look at facts instead of random statements; so far for 2015 it's #18 out of 36 major nameplates in the US. That's not the smallest by any measure. Guess who is #17? Yep, Volks"We're going to be the biggest car company in the world!"wagen. No, we're not adding up total car sales and getting the VW gross. We're just talking the size of the nameplates based on sales. So there you have it.

Separated At Birth?

What possessed M-B to rename the GLK the GLC is beyond us. Call the Mazda lawyers pronto!

2016 Mercedes GLC

Caption irrelevant unless you're blind or illiterate (we're a bit of both)

2004 Tiger Star X-Cab

From the seller…"This is a very rare truck- It is licensed for the road. It is a slant 4 fuel injected engine. It has 9,000 miles. 2 wheel drive, 5 speed star xtracab. It has a 2000 lb payload and weighs 1352lbs." For sale with 9K miles for $6,500.

Photo: Craigslist

Design Element

Can you name the make and model? Take a guess, then click here to confirm or deny your answer!

REVolution Road Trip

Yeah, it happens. They occasionally allow us out and take us to see the sights. At least, that’s what they tell us but we’re pretty sure they’re just taking the opportunity to change the padding in our cell. Whatever, it’s great to breath in fresh air and of course, we’re fixated on the cars around us. Here are a couple that caught our eye and we had an opportunity to take a picture of with our Polaroid.

AACA Museum Station Wagon Exhibit - Part 2

Our series exploring the AACA Museum’s “A Family Affair: Station Wagons” exhibit continues with an interview with Nancy Gates, Director of Marketing and Communications. She sat down with us to give us the inside scoop on the fascinating selection of station wagons and how they came together.

Photo: AACA Museum

1927 Volvo ÖV 4

This is where it all began, production-wise, for Volvo (the prototype was shown in 1926). Soon came the hardtop version, the PV 4. Aren't the origin vehicles interesting for each company? We think so!

AACA Museum’s “A Family Affair: Station Wagons” Exhibit

Most gear heads love a great car museum. Scratch that; they love any car museum. Geographical proximity to where they live more often or not is the deciding factor to which is their favorite. Regardless of these criteria, the Antique Automobile Club of America’s Museum (AACA) is an absolute knockout.

Photo: AACA Museum

Trivia; Shared Component

Quick, which major component is shared between all of these vehicles; Kia Borrego, Maserati Quattroporte, Rolls Royce Phantom VI and Jaguar XK? Note that the 2009 Kia Borrego had an MSRP of less than $30K and the 2003 Rolls Royce Phantom was $320K...you could buy nearly eleven Borregos for the price of the BMW-owned Phantom!

Photos: Wikipedia

Hum by Verizon

Operating through a proprietary OBD reader and a small remote controller that has a speaker built in that you attach inside your 1996+ vehicle, you can get vehicle diagnostics, maintenance reminders, roadside and emergency assistance, stolen vehicle tracking, parked car location and other features via an associated app on your smartphone. For roughly $15 a month, it isn't a bad option if your car didn't come with these features. So shut up, all you Tesla owners; just because you're rich doesn't mean you get all the toys.

Design Element

Do you know what make and model this is? Take a guess then hover over the image with your mouse to confirm or deny your answer.

Henry Ford...Racist?!?

Yep, you read that right. Here's a quote from the man himself; "I know who caused World War I - the Jews!".

Lovely. What a nutter. Don't believe it? Then you need to read this book. There are actually several books on the subject.

1992 Volkswagen Jetta Limo

Stick that in your diesel pipe and smoke it!

Photos: Craigslist

2016 Fiat 124 Spider

It's high time for a Fiata update!

Photo: FCA

For visual comparison:

Desirable 2011 Model Year Cars

Recently, our pal Gianni posed the question, "Which 2011 model year car would you be interested in?" That's a great question! Here's the list we came up with.

Photo: That Hartford Guy

"Cars" by Gary Numan

The 80s live (late 70s actually, but who's arguing?) here at the REVolution with "Cars" by the great Gary Numan. BTW, if you like his music, he's still pumping out albums and they are spectacular!

Numan's classic new wave song should not be confused with Cledus T. Judd's "New Car".

Jigsaw Puzzle

Have some fun and waste a little time putting together this jigsaw puzzle!

Photo: Miniclip.com

1960 Devin Spyder

Our apologies for all THE SCREAMING. We're not sure why the seller chose to do such a thing but it doesn't take away from the fact that this is an extremely rough but still amazing car.

THIS RARE ALTERNATIVE TO A PORSCHE 550 AND MORE AFFORDABLE DEVIN SPYDER SPORTS CAR / CLUB RACER WAS DROPPED OFF TO US BY ITS CURRENT OWNER WHO IS ROTATING HIS COLLECTION. . . NOT YET HAVING A CHANCE TO FIND OUT THE EXACT HISTORY OF THIS PARTICULAR CAR -- THIS IS WHAT I KNOW:

LINK TO A BRIEF HISTORY OF DEVIN

Photos: Craigslist

Joke

Last Tuesday, the chicken went out to her car. Turning left out of her driveway, her destination was a seance a couple of miles away. Soon, she came to a four-way stop.

Do you know why the chicken crossed the road?

1977 Airstream Argosy 20 Motorhome

From the seller...

Built on a “Motor Home P chassis” by Chevrolet, 1 Ton VIN CPY3773304611 454 CI Motor, New long block approx 3000 miles ago. Custom exhaust system. Transmission the THM400 was removed and replaced with a purpose built 700R4 approx 1000 miles ago. This a four speed automatic with the fourth gear being an overdrive. New radiator and hoses new air conditioning compressor and filter dryer. 4KW Onan generator, two cylinder, new exhaust and muffler.

Photos: viewrvs.com

Complete new dashboard and gauges.

The bodywork was stripped ,primed and painted by an aircraft painting craftsman who also remade all of the cabinets and counter tops .New teak floors, new upholstery. New stainless sinks and faucets. New Force 10 2-burner gas cooktop. New Microwave.

New 13,500 BTU Brisk Air RV air conditioner. New Zip Dee awning. New Dometic RM2510 Refrigerator. 2 new (3/15) house batteries deep cell (DC24MF). All storage closets have original Tambour doors.

Capacities Gas 50 gal, LP 50lbs, Water 28 gals, Grey 18 gals, Black 28 gals.

FOR SALE ..over $55M spent. Asking price $39,500.

If the seller truly did spend over $55 million dollars on this vehicle, it's our brave prediction that they're going to lose money on the sale.