Intrepidation

Dodge long ago confirmed that a convertible version of the Challenger was not going to happen, blaming the extreme degree to which the chassis would need stiffening if the roof were removed. Then what did members of the Michigan F-Body Association forum spot riding on a trailer around Auburn Hills, MI, home of Chrysler's headquarters? The pics don't lie, and they're telling us that Dodge did produce at least one Challenger Convertible in Lime Green that never saw the light of day. Numerous tuners have created convertible versions of the Challenger already, many of which debuted at last year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas, but an official version was never shown by Dodge. This one, which appears to be a concept rather than a preproduction vehicle, has been defaced with the word "SCRAP" spray-painted on its bumper and fenders. It's a sorry sight to see for any Challenger fanboy. By now, the Challenger Convertible has likely reached its destination and could be a cube of Lime Green scrap metal. Hopefully that's not the case and this car will wind up being the barn find of the century in 50 years. Autoblog

Are you letting it get sufficient cooling (the slim)? That sounds like a heat related issue. The slim doesn't have a cooling fan like the brick does.

Show us!

That's cuz most computers don't suck anymore.

Hey cletus, mind if I move your post?

Yeah I love the appearance package, and I think it once again looks better on the SS...so what the hell, I'd just go for it. It really enhances the low slung, mean appearance...and I think it looks better on black than the red. So I guess it's win/win. It probably is gray plastic or fiberglass. Everyone, post a screenshot of your Camaro. I can crop them if you don't know how. I want to see what everyone's looks like.

Latest Camaro News Forget all of the doom and gloom surrounding Detroit, the economy, and possible bankruptcy. Put that all aside and enjoy some good news. We've got a lot going on with the Camaro, including the official site launch, mpg figures, which includes the V6 getting 29 mph highway, and the start of regular production! So take a breather from all the bad, it's time for some good. Follow the jumps to see it all: Camaro Begins Regular Production Camaro mpg Figures released, V6 gets 29 mpg highway 2010 Chevy Camaro Configurator Website Launched

Ok, here's mine:

I wouldn't even consider the STS to be anywhere near the same league. It's flawed yes, but it's a proper RWD performance luxury car.

I can get past the color even though I really like it and adjust go with black. However I much prefer the SS' front fascia to the LT/LS'. In order to get the options I want it comes out to $39,085. If I option a 2LT the way I want it comes out to $30,565...but then I don't get the exterior look I want.

Must be, didn't know they had a Mary Kay version of the CTS out. That's why I snapped a photo of it.

I don't like the way they package the options. I can get the Inferno Orange Accent Trim Package on the 2LT but not the more expensive 1SS, I have to spend even more and get the 2SS. Then I can get it with one shade of red (Victory Red), but not the shade of red I want, Red Jewel Tintcoat. I also don't like how you can only get preset rotation angles and not a real 360. You can't look from above the car either. I don't see an option in the builder to see what the interior looks like either.

Chevrolet's new Camaro is the last of the neo-ponycars to hit showrooms, and now it's finally possible for you to put your money where your mouth is after all those breathless "I'd buy one..." comments. Dreamers and real buyers alike can head to the new Camaro Configurator website and trick one out just right. The price of entry for a base-trim LS model is a mere $22,995, and it still looks fantastic – there's something about those black steelies with trim rings. A V6 that belts out more power than some of the storied V8s of yore while netting 29 highway miles per gallon is a persuasive argument for going base, though we couldn't help ourselves and wound up with a Cyber Gray 2SS costing $36,390 that would provide great amusement should it ever wind up in the Autoblog Garage. You can head on over and build your own dream Camaro, too, even if you're not actually going to buy. Autoblog

Not so much that it was a CTS, but the first pink CTS I've seen.

Saw this yesterday: Also a Flex on the same street.

Fight your own wars instead of making other countries do it for you. This is the problem with the US: We keep going to fight other people's wars and wasting money which should be used to help our own damn country.

Very impressive numbers. I hope the V6 sounds good, because if so that's the Camaro I'd take.

I hate having multiple windows, how you can run with 40-60 windows is beyond me. I prefer to keep it all in one window. Of course I never let it get that bad either.

What is so ugly about this? It's nothing mind blowing but I don't see anything ugly about it.

LX cars have decent interior (and the Challenger and Charger are LX, which he was comparing) The new Mustang has a very nice interior. The Ram is a sign of things to come, and it's, as I just said, arguably best in class. There was also the Pacfica which had a nice interior. Has Chrysler turned out cheap dollar store interiors? You bet. However it's not universal. Making that assumption will get you called out. Then there's that door panel remark. Yeah, they look totally the same.

O RLY? Chrysler can't remember and that's why the Ram has arguably the nicest in class? This entire statement is one of the worst I've seen from you, and usually they are pretty good even if we don't agreed on them all the time. All of it is purely subjective and much of it is false.

gm4life , please resize your sig.

I think it is very cool as well. I love the origin and I think the designs is off beat and neat. Reminds me of a wingless plane.

You guys re so mean. want to get Iridescent again, but I'll wait until we move. I love them because not only do they look cool but they get along with everything.

Driving the Prototype of the EV Three-Wheeler Wearing a black jacket, she could be a cop, alerted by nosy neighbors to the funny-looking vehicle tearing around the suburban streets. She certainly is staring at us intensely as we pilot the bright-white three-wheeled craft down the street, gingerly depressing the brake pedal to make sure we're under the 30-mph speed limit. Then we're around the corner, she disappears from our rearview mirror and we hit the accelerator. That's the beauty of the 2010 Aptera 2e electric vehicle — you can speed away from the scene and the cops won't know it, with just a quiet hum as the electric motor winds up and a feeling of satisfaction as the torque presses you deep into the seatback. An Electric Fan Turns out, though, she isn't a cop but instead a personal fitness trainer. Lisa Lawn is also a big fan of electric transportation, and she follows the 2010 Aptera 2e to its new assembly plant in Vista, California. "What is that?" she asks, pointing to the teardrop-shape prototype of the Aptera 2e we're driving. After all, this composite-bodied two-seater isn't a vehicle that looks much like any other earthbound passenger car you're likely to encounter. This is an aerodynamic tour de force designed by a boat builder and a biotech engineer who were swept away by the idea of a commuter vehicle that would be both fun to drive and environmentally friendly. This pre-production prototype of the 2010 Aptera 2e weighs in at a mere 1,700 pounds (1,500 pounds in production trim is the goal) and has a 0.15 coefficient of aerodynamic drag, which compares to the 0.25 Cd of the 2010 Toyota Prius. (The Prius engineers were celebrating a big victory when they managed to shave their car's Cd by 0.01 for 2010; they must be crying themselves to sleep after learning about the Aptera's Cd.) The Aptera 2e ("2" for the number of seats, "e" for electric) borrows its sleek lines from aviation aerodynamics and looks for all the world like a private plane sans wings, propellers and tail assembly. Indeed, company co-founder and Technology Chief Steve Fambro chose aptera from the Greek because it means "without wings." What Is It? So call it a wingless airplane, a flightless bird, a three-wheeled teardrop — all have been used to describe it. But don't call the Aptera a car. In almost every state in the union, a motorized three-wheeled vehicle is classed by law as a motorcycle, even if it has a fully enclosed and surprising spacious cabin with front, rear and side windows; two doors; side-by-side bucket seats; a steering wheel; seatbelts; and airbags. But because it's technically a motorcycle, the Aptera doesn't have to meet the same safety tests as a four-wheeled vehicle. Even so, Aptera executives say that computer simulations show that their vehicle would pass the requisite crash tests with flying colors. Our EV enthusiast loved the 2010 Aptera 2e a little less when we told her that the market-ready version of the prototype would probably start at about $25,000 and would travel about 100 miles before its batteries would have to be recharged, a process that could take up to eight hours using a standard 100-volt household outlet but half that on a 220-volt line. That, Lisa Lawn said, would not be practical for someone who drove as much as she did each day. Yet it would be practical for more than half the nation's commuters, says Marques McCammon, Aptera's marketing manager. He cites a number of studies that have shown that a majority of motorists drive less than 40 miles per day during the week. The Push Is On Aptera's future appears to be encouraging. The initial finding has come from serious investors, including Idealab, the business incubator of entrepreneur Bill Gross, as well as google.org, the green-investments arm of Google. Both Fambro and Aptera co-founder Chris Anthony have turned daily management over to Paul Wilbur, a professional from Detroit, whose career spans stints at Ford and Chrysler, as well as ASC, where he directed production of the Chevrolet SSR hot rod. The company so far has been operating on just $30 million in start-up financing. It says it has more than 4,000 orders — $100 million in retail sales — and needs to sell only 2,000 vehicles to break into the black. First, though, Aptera has to raise more operating funds and get a retail-ready model completed. That's going to take some work, especially if Aptera is to meet its twice-delayed launch date, set now for October. The wingless bird at this stage is not quite a fledgling. The present prototype, called PP4 for "pre-production 4," was barely sprouting its first pinfeathers when we drove it. Punch in a Parking Lot Fortunately, Aptera also has "Punch," a suspension and handling mule named after an interior color scheme long since ripped out and replaced with a utilitarian black racing seat. While not as nicely outfitted as PP4, Punch is mechanically much closer to final production specs. For reasons of their own, the crew at Aptera would let us drive the handling mule only in the company parking lot, so we took PP4, with its more civilized appointments but less finished powertrain and suspension tuning, out onto the city streets. Merging notes on our two drives, we can report with some confidence that if Aptera manages to stuff the mechanicals from Punch into the next pre-production prototype with all the other changes that are promised, the result should be one heck of a machine. With the suspension dialed in and the motor and the power electronics set for maximum performance, Punch is fun to drive. Piloting PP4 is merely an interesting experience. Both show rather quickly that a well-made three-wheeler like the Aptera makes you believe that there is no need for a fourth wheel. The major benefit of shedding one wheel, says Aptera Chief Engineer Tom Reichenbach, is that it provides an immediate 30 percent gain in efficiency. It is also amazing how stable a three-wheeler can be. Standard traction control on this front-wheel-drive machine also helps. Powerslides We never got Punch above 60 mph in the confines of the parking lot, but were able to sling it at that speed into a series of tire-screeching turns around the building. The Aptera engineers tell us that shifting the heavy battery pack toward the front makes all the difference. The PP4 has a weight distribution of 40 percent front/60 percent rear and it's twitchy; Punch has a weight distribution of 65 percent front and 35 percent rear and it's sure-footed. Aptera says its proprietary battery-powered powertrain can propel the slippery craft from zero to 60 mph in under 10 seconds (it feels quicker, though) and top speed is electronically limited to 90 mph. The 2010 Aptera 2e draws its power from a 200-pound pack of lithium-something batteries (the company says it is still working with suppliers on final battery chemistry) that are arrayed in a long line down the center of the vehicle under the cabin floor. The 75-kilowatt motor, motor controller and single-speed transaxle are packaged up front, cradled in a steel subframe and accessible by lifting the entire nosepiece, which is hinged at the front. Change Is Good Punch and the PP4 prototype represent an impressive midpoint in development, but Reichenbach (formerly head engineer for the Ford GT and Shelby 350 GT programs at Ford) says that only about 30 percent of what we see in PP4 will be in the final production version. That's good news. A lot of changes are needed: The wide A-pillars limit your view through the windshield; the outside mirrors are too small by 50 percent; the side windows don't roll down; and the narrow rear window restricts rear visibility. Also the prototype windshield glass is predictably rippled and wavy. There's still a lot of road noise inside the cabin, underscoring the need for good acoustic insulation. Ride quality is about halfway between what you'd expect from a decent small car and the bounce and jounce you'd expect when taxiing a small plane on a dirt runway. The plans for the 2010 Aptera 2e are at once sensible — slow corporate growth at first — and grandiose — 100,000 vehicles a year at peak production, with a variety of powertrains and even a four-seater in the mix. But we think the ingredients are there, and if the business Fambro and Anthony started in a Los Angeles garage just three years ago can pull them all together, the three-wheel Aptera looks like an EV that will make it to market, where it will join the Tesla Roadster as an example of what an electric vehicle can do if given the opportunity. The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation. Insideline