AutoWeek

Monday, May 19, 2008

Richard Griot (RICH FRISHMAN)

Holy car guy!: How Batman changed Richard Griot's life--and enthusiasts everywhere are better for it
Many Los Angelenos have bragged about growing up near famous actors, but few have had their lives changed because of it. One is Richard Griot, who lived three doors away from Adam West, the actor who played Batman in the 1960s television series and a 1966 big-screen adaptation. Luckily for Griot--and for the rest of the car-enthusiast world--West drove a Ferrari 308GT4, which was ideal to spark a ...

AT THE BRICKYARD: Indy 500 field set for 92nd race
The Indianapolis 500 has a history of producing heroes and heroic moments. This year’s Bump Day produced its share of excitement, and the 92nd running of the race is still a week away. But first things first. Second-weekend qualifying filled the field and created an adventurous final 30 minutes....

Kevin A. Wilson: Pounding the pavement
I was going to toss in my two cents on the gasoline-tax summer-holiday idea advocated by two of the presidential candidates, but you know what? They're U.S. senators, paid to lead, legislate and cast votes. So if the idea was more than pandering for votes, we'd see a bill in Congress with their...

SHORT STINT: 2008 Audi TT Coupe 3.2 Quattro
OUR TAKE: The first-generation TT made an immediate fashion statement. A decade on, it gets a crisp new suit, sure, but it lacks the sizzle of the original. It doesn't matter much, because the underlying car here is more than good. The chassis is responsive and robust, with a decent...

Ford eyes smaller F-150 cousin: Pared-down pickup would boost CAFE
Ford Motor Co. is developing a lightweight, more fuel-efficient pickup truck to slot in below its flagship F-150. The new pickup truck, code-named P525, is being engineered on the F-150's platform. But it will be lighter and slightly smaller, supplier and industry sources told Automotive...

'61 Ferrari 250 GT sells for $10.9 million
A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder sold for $10.9 million at an auction on May 18, setting what is believed to be a world record for the most expensive sale of a vintage car. The black car was bought by British radio and TV personality Chris Evans. It was once owned by actor James...

Mustang to get 45th anniversary badge for '09
The 2009 Mustang will get a snazzy new badge, a galloping pony set in a horseshoe with a 45th anniversary logo, to mark the car'smilestone. It will adorn most Mustangs with V6 engines and the V8 GT model. The Shelby GT500, GT500KR, Bullitt and Warriors in Pink models, which have their own...

VW positions Tiguan as GTI of small SUVs
A crippling dollar-euro exchange rate coupled with heavy demand elsewhere in the world has forced Volkswagen to price its new compact SUV at the top of the segment. The 2009 Tiguan SUV that goes on sale this month starts at $23,840, including shipping, for a front-wheel-drive model with a manual ...

Little Orphan Fury: Plymouth joins Desoto at the orphan car show
It has come to this: Plymouth vehicles are now eligible to join other defunct, abandoned and dissed brands of the past at the Ypsilanti Orphan Car Show. The 12th annual show, June 1 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, welcomes Plymouth owners, for the first time, to join Hudson, Studebaker, Nash, Kaiser,...

Milk run: From dairy barn to restoration shop
Red dairy barns dot the southern Michigan landscape the way Starbucks populate Seattle--they're everywhere you look. But one dairy barn near the little hamlet of Manchester, southwest of Ann Arbor, is a bit different from the others. The cows and the milking equipment are long gone, replaced by a...

VW expects big diesel share in U.S.
About 30 percent of Volkswagen's U.S. sales could be diesels by 2018, said Wolfgang Steiger, VW's director of powertrain research. Rising fuel prices are making diesels more attractive to U.S. car buyers, Steiger told the Automotive News Europe Congress in Turin, Italy, on Monday. Steiger...

Nissan plans mass production of lithium-ion batteries
Nissan Motor Co. hopes to leap-frog rivals by starting mass production of lithium-ion batteries for low-emission vehicles next year as it plays catch-up in the green car race. Initial output will be 13,000 units a year. But the company expects total production to climb to 65,000 by 2011, with...

NHRA: Melanie Troxel becomes latest woman to win
Three weeks after the NHRA crowned its first female Funny Car winner, Melanie Troxel became the second, beating rookie Mike Neff late Sunday night at the rain-plagued Bristol event to become the first women to win in the sport's top two classes. Troxel joins sophomore sensation Ashley Force, the ...

ALMS: Dumas, Bernhard lead Penske-Porsche 1-2 in Utah
Penske Racing teammates Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard led a Porsche 1-2 finish in the Larry H. Miller Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City. Dumas took the checkered flag ahead of Penske’s Patrick Long. Dumas and Bernhard captured their first overall win in the American ...

GRAND-AM: Dalziel, Zogaib win at Laguna Seca
Ryan Dalziel has always had mixed emotions about driving at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Scotsman, competing in the Champ Car Atlantic Series in 2004, lost his championship battle at the track and has found it tough coming back ever since. But Saturday’s Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series...

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AutoWeek Daily Drive — Monday, May 19, 2008