HarleyEarl

:lol: Hillarious.

Are there Camaro 4-door hardtops?

I love Cadillacs and wanted to highlight the Cadillac Coupe Deville....one of my favorites. The first production model was in 1949. It was Cadillac's first hardtop and it had the first modern high compression, overhead valve V8. Beautiful:

Pretty heavy thinking on a Christmas morning!......Merry Christmas Razoredge.

I had a friend who had a Boss 302, went for a ride. It was the first car I rode in that snapped my neck back....almost whiplash. Loved that car, the scoop just shook with power.

Thanks sciguy....and back at you....just got up having a morning coffee, getting geared up for more fun today. I ate my first roasted chestnut last night. I was disappointed...don't like them at all. :(

The 79-85 are some of my favorite Eldos as well....but this will always be the quintessential Eldorado:

I have always liked vintage work trucks.

No matter that some of these cars are quite bizarre...aren't you glad people do this sort of thing?.....great fun.

I'm thinking the next generation Thunderbird.

December 23, 2005 Lots to ogle in L.A. and Detroit By Tony Whitney The holiday season will have barely finished before the 2006 auto show season begins in early January. At the Los Angeles auto show, vehicles will be unveiled to the media on January 6th, while in Detroit, media unveilings will begin on January 8th 2006. CanadianDriver will have daily coverage beginning on January 6th. The proximity of the two shows has always been a bit of a conflict, so L.A. show organizers have decided to switch to November/December dates in 2006. That means there are two L.A. shows in 2006, one early in the year and one later on. For 2007, there's just one L.A. show in late November/early December. Already, automakers are giving us a hint of what we'll be seeing at the upcoming shows. So far, the production vehicles and concepts hinted at don't fit any particular theme or trend, but perhaps that will reveal itself later. One thing to note is that several of them fall into the "affordable" class, so perhaps we're seeing more attention directed to buyers who don't necessarily have $50,000 or $100,000 with which to buy their next car, SUV, minivan or pickup. Production cars Jeep Compass. Click here for more photos Dodge Caliber concept 2007 Nissan Versa. Click here for more photos 2007 Chevrolet Aveo Young buyers looking for something really cool that they can actually afford are going to love the new Jeep Compass, shown in concept form at an earlier show. The Compass has all the usual Jeep go-anywhere characteristics and boasts exceptionally rugged "Tonka Toy" good looks. Also at the entry level as far as price goes is the new Dodge Caliber, which follows a theme set by products like the Toyota Matrix, Mazda5 and even Mercedes-Benz B-Class. If any proof was needed that hatchbacks are truly back in fashion, this is it. Incidentally, the Caliber is replacing the old Neon, which sort of faded away in recent years, rather than being suddenly axed. Another inexpensive new car is the Nissan Versa, to be introduced in Detroit. It's a 4-door hatchback with a 1.8-litre, 120-horsepower engine. To be built in Mexico, the car will take its place as Nissan's entry-level product below the current Sentra and from what I've heard so far, the starting price will be around US$12,000. In addition, Nissan will be introducing the next generation Sentra compact. General Motors will show the all-new 2007 Chevrolet Aveo in Los Angeles. It has a new exterior and interior design and a more confident, dynamic driving experience. Built by GM-Daewoo in South Korea, the new Aveo will go on sale in Summer, 2006. As well, the exclusive-to-Canada 2007 Pontiac Wave will go on sale here. Geely will become the first Chinese automaker to exhibit at a North American auto show when it does so at Detroit. Geely, which started out making refrigerators in 1986, will showcase its 7151 CK mid size sedan. Aiming to compete on price, the company plans to enter the U.S. market by the end of the decade, possibly in 2008 or 2009 with a price tag of around $10,000 (US). 2007 Mazda CX-7. Click image to enlarge Mazda will display its CX-7 crossover SUV, a production vehicle that will reach the North American market in the spring of 2006 as a 2007 model. The five-passenger vehicle features a turbocharged and intercooled 2.3-litre four-cylinder direct-injection gasoline engine producing 244 horsepower. The CX-7 is the first of three all-new vehicles Mazda has designed and engineered specifically for the North American market. Toyota will stage the world premiere of the 2007 Camry Hybrid and the all-new 2007 Camry at the NAIAS. Equipped with a Hybrid Synergy Drive, the Camry Hybrid will deliver the highest level of Camry fuel efficiency and low emissions. Kia will be showing its 2007 Optima. No details of that one yet. 2007 Eclipse Spyder Volkswagen Eos 2007 Audi Q7 2006 BMW Z4. Click here for more photos Ford Mustang GT500 convertible 2007 Lincoln Aviator Mitsubishi will be showing off a convertible Eclipse Spyder with a 2.4-litre four-cylinder or 3.8-litre V6, in five-speed automatic or six-speed manual versions. Volkswagen's Eos, a successor to the old and much-loved Golf Cabriolet, will appear for the first time in North America with its cleverly-designed retractable hardtop. With Volvo also building a convertible with a retractable metal roof (look for that too during the show season), one wonders whether we'll soon see the end of the old "ragtop" configurations, especially on luxury or semi-luxury vehicles. Also from the VW/Audi group comes the Audi Q7 luxury SUV, which will get here in June. A hybrid version will follow the basic V8 powered truck for the 2008 model year. According to Audi, the hybrid version of this large and opulent SUV is 13-percent more thrifty on fuel than its more conventional stablemate. In Detroit, the new BMW Z4 and the BMW 'M' roadster (Click here for photos!) will make their debuts. The 2006 Z4 Roadster will feature two different 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engines. These new-generation power plants both feature BMW's latest aluminum and magnesium construction. Both 2006 Z4 Roadster models will come standard with six-speed manual transmissions. Ford will be taking the wraps off a new Shelby GT 500 Mustang in Detroit and it promises to be a real tonic for the enthusiast market. Carroll Shelby is one of auto racing's legendary figures and despite his advancing years (he's now over 80), he's still trying to make even fast Fords go that much faster. If ever there was an "instant collectible" available right off the showroom floor, it would have to be a new GT 500. Ford will also debut its new SportTrac pickup/SUV while the 2007 Lincoln Aviator will also be showing its new colours. The Aviator also moves across to the Ford Division which obtains their own version of the Aviator crossover called the Edge. Built in Oakville, Ontario, the Edge will be positioned between the Escape and Explorer, and is expected to be powered by a new 3.5-litre V6. Front-wheel drive will be standard, with an all-wheel-drive version also available. The exterior is similar to that of the Aviator. Production is scheduled to begin late next summer, with an on-sale date expected for early fall of 2006. Mercedes-Benz GL-Class. Click here for more photos Models previously shown at Germany's Frankfurt Auto show, but making their North American debut at L.A. include the Volkswagen EOS convertible and Porsche Cayman S. Falling very much into the upscale category is the new Mercedes-Benz GL-Class SUV which will make its world debut in Detroit. For a while at least, it will be sold alongside the old G-Class, which has been in production for 26 years. The new 7-seater GL-Class is very much an upscale, large, SUV. The basic engine will be a 4.6-litre V8 with 335-horsepower and no doubt more powerful AMG versions will follow. The truck will be built at M-B's Alabama plant along with the M-Class and the R-Class. Lexus will stage the world premiere of its all-new LS luxury sedan at the Detroit auto show. Arriving late next year, the fourth-generation Lexus LS will set new standards in design, styling, engineering, safety and performance. Mercedes will stage the North American debut of its opulent new S-Class models in both Los Angeles and Detroit and the superb sedan should attract lots of interest, even from people not in the market for an expensive vehicle like that. Rival luxury automaker Jaguar showed its stunning new mostly-aluminum XK coupe at the Frankfurt show in September and Detroit will play host to the Jaguar XK convertible. Mini Traveller Tokyo concept. Click here for more photos Also from Britain will be the Mini "Traveller". I'd like to see the Traveller use some "woody" trim like the original 1960s version, but from images revealed so far, this doesn't look likely. If you really want to spend some serious coin, LA will host the debut of the North American production version of the remarkable Bugatti Veyron (First Drive report! Photos!), with its 1,000-horsepower 16-cylinder quad turbo. It's said to be the most expensive production automobile ever built. The claimed top speed is over 400 km/h. VW owns Bugatti nowadays, so the engine, though highly complex and hand-built, is related to the W-configuration power plants that are offered in versions of the Wolfsburg automaker's Phaeton luxury sedan. 2007 Cadillac Escalade Although no show season trend has really emerged so far, there do seem to be lots of new SUVs coming along - proving that this segment still has lots of life in it, regardless of gas prices. Cadillac will be showing its new Escalade ESV and EXT models and they should take the opulence this GM division is famed for one step further. GM's Saturn division will also bow in at Detroit with a new eight-passenger crossover vehicle with the "Outlook" nameplate. The Outlook, like the upcoming Aura mid-size sedan and Sky roadster, will be a 2007 model. Few details are known, but a V6 engine and a six-speed automatic gearbox are expected to be standard. Along with the Saturn version, the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia crossovers may also be on display or be held in reserve for the Chicago and New York auto shows in the spring. Among lower-priced SUVs taking their bow in Detroit is Hyundai's new Santa Fe. Since Hyundai recently introduced its compact Tucson SUV which was priced quite close to the old Santa Fe, I'd expect the new model to move upscale a little with more features and added luxury touches. This is a world debut for the Santa Fe - not surprising when considering how critical the North American market is for the Korean automaker. Concept cars Dodge Challenger concept There will be no shortage of new concept cars in Detroit and L.A. DaimlerChrysler will unveil a retro-inspired Dodge Challenger coupe in Detroit. The long-expected two-door will take on the Ford Mustang directly with a chassis derived from Chrysler's 300C/Magnum twins, along with a 425-hp version of the HEMI V8 in the most thrilling versions. Chrysler is saying the car is a concept only, but insiders suggest the vehicle will be in production as early as 2009 on a new version of the 300C platform. Rumour has it that another blast from the past may emerge at Detroit in the shape of a Chrysler Imperial concept to be shown off. Apparently spun off from the Chrysler 300C body, the stretched-wheelbase Imperial concept is said to evoke a Rolls Royce Phantom in its styling direction. Jeep will also display a redesigned Wrangler concept. With a new model due in 2007 both as traditional two-door model and a new four-door variant sitting on a longer wheelbase may emerge. The upcoming Wrangler may have a fixed top with removable panels, instead of the soft and/or hardtop offerings, and a fold-down front windshield and removable doors. Power could be provided by a 2.4-litre four-cylinder with 150 horsepower, or an optional 3.7-litre SOHC V6 or 4.7-litre V8. Kia Soul concept Kia will debut its Soul concept at Detroit. The Soul is a crossover utility vehicle that builds on design cues from the Kia Mesa concept, introduced at the 2005 show. The Soul features a wraparound windshield, muscular wheel flares, stylish front headlamps and sloped roofline, with practical interior room and reconfigurable cargo space. The rear liftgate includes a unique "drawer" for wet or muddy items. Also coming from Korea is the latest Hyundai concept vehicle, the HCD-9 Talus. Hyundai has not released any information, or the sketches of this swoopy sports car, but it's expected to debut alongside the new Santa Fe SUV which makes its worldwide debut at the same Detroit show. Nissan URGE sketch Set to make its world debut is the Nissan URGE concept. Nissan says the URGE is "a pure, powerful sports car with motorcycle-inspired styling." The rear-wheel drive URGE features a quick, high-revving, small-displacement engine, 6-speed manual gearbox, brushed aluminum-alloy wheels, colour-infused aluminum body panels and a driver-oriented cockpit with an integrated Xbox 360 gaming system. It was created by Nissan Design America in La Jolla, California. Mazda Kabura Sketch Mazda meanwhile will have the world premiere its Kabura compact sports coupe. The vehicle features a rear-drive powertrain; the name is taken from "Kabura-ya", a Japanese term for an arrow that makes a sound when fired and was traditionally used to signal the start of a battle. The Kabura concept coupe was developed at the company's design centre in California and is the company's third design concept vehicle. More exciting news from Mazda. A new brand new third sports car model to sit alongside the RX-8 and MX-5 will be unveiled in January at the Detroit auto show, and though it will be styled and badged as a concept, insiders say the two-seater hints very strongly at a production model that will go on sale around 2008. Rumour has it, the car will be a "mini" RX-8 with a hint of MX-3, but will be normally aspirated rather than using the RX-8 rotary engine. Buyers seeking the ultimate in fuel efficiency will like the look of Honda's dramatically cab-forward styled FCX fuel cell car, though this is very much a concept rather than a close-to-production model. In addition to an intriguing hydrogen-powered RX-8, Mazda will have a hybrid variant of its new Mazda5 hatch on the show circuit this season and Subaru will be revealing its B5 TPH concept originally shown in Tokyo quite recently. BMW Z4 coupe concept. Click here for more photos Mitsubishi Concept-CT MIEV This is "an Outback-based 2.0-litre turbo sport wagon/sport utility crossover" according to Subaru and looks fascinating from images so far revealed. BMW will introduce a Z4 Coupe Concept and the X3 Active Hybrid Concept. The Z4 Coupe Concept will begin production in Summer, 2006. The Mitsubishi Concept-CT MIEV at Detroit will showcase the company's concept for next-generation electric vehicles that use in-wheel motors and high specific energy lithium-ion batteries as core technologies. The Concept-CT uses outer rotor-type motors in the wheels to drive all four, and uses series-parallel hybrid propulsion, which delivers higher power at longer cruising ranges. It is the company's first compact concept model.

Friday, December 23, 2005 Print this Comment on this E-mail this Car jobs in high demand in Thailand as output grows Chawadee Nualkhair and Chang-Ran Kim / Reuters BANGKOK/TOKYO - Joe Goh, a business development director at Thai auto parts maker AAPICO Hitech PCL , is facing challenges many competitors in the West can only dream of. "We've got to have more capacity," he said, describing plans to kick off a new plant in mid-2006 and possibly seek partners outside Thailand for more opportunities to expand. "We have to double our people." Goh's situation -- shared by many of his peers -- is fanning a boom for auto-sector workers in Thailand, a far cry from the picture in North America and Europe where thousands face job losses due to severe overcapacity at weaker car brands. Behind the healthy labour market is heady growth in domestic auto demand and Thailand's accommodating business environment for foreign automakers to manufacture vehicles for export. That has manufacturers from booming Toyota Motor Corp. to embattled Mitsubishi Motors Corp. rushing to add capacity and find the manpower to support growth. After more than doubling in the three years to 2004, vehicle production in Thailand is expected to expand by about 8 percent this year to roughly 1 million. Over the next few years, it will further balloon to 1.4 million units annually, predicts research firm Automotive Resources Asia. "Thai production is certainly booming and in most cases resulting in a commensurate increase in employment," said Ashvin Chotai, director of Asian automotive research at Global Insight. "Automotive jobs are rising and there is a shortage of skilled workers and professionals. Hence...job mobility is high and it's fair to say it is a bit of a sellers' market." No forecast is available for the resulting increase in the number of jobs, but analysts say a looming shortage of experienced auto workers looks certain to keep lifting wages. According to the Bank of Thailand, manufacturing workers now number 6.1 million, accounting for 17.25 percent of Thailand's working population -- up from 15.5 percent at the start of 2001. Hay Group, a U.S.-based global human resources management consultancy, estimates manufacturing salaries in Thailand grew by 6.5 percent this year and would continue to rise at a similar clip in 2006 on the back of sustained economic growth. "The Thai economy is currently highly competitive for employees with three to five years of work experience, and it is likely to stay this way for some time," Anuchit Veerasiriyanon, an official at Hay Group Thailand, said in a recent report. WELCOMING PRODUCTION CENTRE With a robust indigenous parts industry supporting assemblers, the impact of booming production runs deep and wide. "This is a very labour-intensive thing," AAPICO's Goh said, estimating that each new plant at his company employed about 1,000 people. Goh estimates the real hourly rate in non-unionised Thailand is just $10, a fraction of the estimated $76 at bankrupt U.S. auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. when loaded with pension, health and other liabilities. "America and Europe are not a place for manufacturing any more," he said. While successful brands such as Toyota are building more factories in the West to meet demand, U.S. giants General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are shuttering multiple plants and shedding tens of thousands of expensive workers. In Thailand, by contrast, even Ford is looking to boost output capacity by 30 percent to 200,000 units over the next few years at its joint-venture plant with Mazda Motor Corp. to fulfil export as well as domestic demand. The number of salaried workers will rise to 4,500 from 4,200. Research firm Global Insight estimates vehicle sales will total around 709,000 units this year, up 13 percent. By 2010, most forecasts put domestic vehicle sales at nearly 1 million vehicles, while the government is targeting production of 1.8 million vehicles that year. Thailand faces competition from China as the favourite production centre of global auto assemblers. But as long as the Communist nation retains its strict operational guidelines, cumbersome red tape and ambitions to create a formidable national car-making industry, foreign auto makers will continue to favour Thailand as the regional export base, experts say. Thanks to its policy of nurturing the local auto supplies sector, Thailand is the world's second-largest producer of small one-tonne pick-up trucks, behind only the United States, exporting vehicles to 140 nations. Vehicles and auto parts account for nearly one-tenth of total exports. Toyota, Thailand's top vehicle producer and supplier, expects to add 3,500 jobs to its headcount of about 9,000 factory workers by 2007, when output capacity is due to reach 550,000 units a year from 360,000 units now. Japan's second-largest auto maker Nissan Motor Co. will more than double its workforce to 4,000 from 1,800 by 2008, when annual production will quadruple to 200,000 units. Other players like South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co., which exited Thailand after the Asian currency crisis in the late 1990s, and India's Tata Motors Ltd. are also eyeing a manufacturing base in Thailand.

Friday, December 23, 2005 Print this Comment on this E-mail this Auto sector driving Slovak recovery Matt Reynolds / Reuters TRNAVA, Slovakia - The closure of Slovak utility vehicle maker TAZ after the fall of Communism in 1989 put the brakes on the local economy of the town of Trnava. But 16 years later, the auto industry is once again the driving force for the town's 70,000 residents. France's PSA Peugeot Citroen will start production at a state-of-the-art assembly plant next year, eventually creating more than 5,000 jobs. Subcontractors are expected to supply another 1,500 jobs within two years. The plant is expected to have annual capacity of 450,000 cars, with the French company employing a far greater number of workers than TAZ. Throw in workers for new shops springing up and for several new smaller factories, and Mayor Stefan Bosnak predicts 10,000 new jobs by 2008. "We will have by then exhausted our local workforce," he says happily. "People will be coming to Trnava for jobs." Carmakers are coming in droves to central Europe, boosting economic growth and lowering unemployment in places like Trnava, about 40 km (24 miles) northeast of Bratislava, where around 40 years of communism left behind crippled industries but educated, cheap and eager workers. In Kolin, in the Czech Republic, a Toyota-built factory able to make 300,000 cars a year opened in February. By 2008, the region will produce more than 3 million vehicles a year, according to the Automotive Industry Association of Slovakia. Around 1 million are expected to roll off Slovak assembly lines alone, which will make this country of 5 million the world's largest auto producer per capita. Propelled by foreign carmakers, Slovakia's economy, which stagnated in the 1990s, is growing at more than 5 percent a year while unemployment is falling, from around 20 percent in 2000 to just above 10 percent today. The automotive association expects 95,000 Slovaks -- some 4 percent of the workforce -- to eventually be employed making cars. LINING UP FOR THE ASSEMBLY LINE Slovaks seem eager for the jobs. More than 30,000 people have expressed interest in working at PSA's factory, according to TASR news agency. On a recent weekday, men streamed in and out of a PSA work centre in Trnava, pausing to smoke cigarettes and talk about jobs at the French carmaker. "PSA is a company with a future," said Stefan Harcar, 43, who was laid off five months ago from a machine-making factory and has not found work in 17 job interviews since. Jobs in Slovakia's car industry are not a last resort for the unemployed like Harcar, though. They are plum opportunities, offering wages as much as 30 percent higher than the average national wage, or roughly 22,000 crowns ($670) a month. "If they hire me, I will immediately make more than I do at my current job, where I have been for seven years," said Martin Valovic, 27, a railroad signalman. "Every third person I know wants to work here." The windfall is for both sides. The wages offered by the car plant may be well above the national average, but they are only a fraction of what PSA Peugeot would have to pay workers in western Europe. Valovic and others at the centre said they were not afraid the auto industry would one day move away and leave behind empty factories as happened in Detroit and Germany. "Who knows what might happen in 15 years?" said Rastislav Remenar. "Carmakers coming here is good. The area is building up. Work opportunities are increasing. The standard of living is rising," he said.

For GM, auto show is all about brands Splashy exhibit, part of turnaround plan, will clearly differentiate automaker's lines. Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News When General Motors Corp. showcases its eight brands at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, it hopes to send an unequivocal message: They're distinctive. GM is making a renewed effort to use the show as part of an ongoing plan to clearly differentiate its brands by eliminating overlapping products and fine-tuning the model lineup at several divisions, such as Buick and Pontiac. Saab, Hummer, GMC, Chevrolet and others will be separated by a single aisle in an all-new, 120,000-square-foot display, in sharp contrast to recent years when they were clustered around a semicircle and often bled into one another. GM's "pillar brands" -- Cadillac and Chevrolet -- will be front and center, opposite one another. Luxury brands Cadillac, Hummer and Saab will be lined up side by side. Pontiac, Buick and GMC will be grouped together, representing the company's efforts to consolidate them at the retail level. "We want to send a clear message of the divisional brands," Brent Dewar, vice president of GM's marketing and advertising in North America, said Thursday during a preview of the exhibit. "We have a very aggressive, strong plan to grow our business and we need to do that in the marketplace." Dewar said consumer research showed that GM needed a new exhibit and better, strategic product placement at the show. GM will display 128 models this year, up from 118 last year. The new exhibit is part of GM's four-point turnaround plan focused on revamping sales and marketing, launching new cars and trucks, lowering health care spending and additional cost-cutting measures, such as job cuts and plant closings. Chevrolet, GM's No. 1 selling brand, and second in U.S. sales to the Ford nameplate, and Saturn plan to tout long-time marketing messages and new products. Saturn's display, for instance, will include a skybox that projects images onto the new Saturn Sky roadster, making it appear like the inside of the vehicle is visible. Chevy's "American Revolution" tagline will be emblazoned throughout its exhibit. The GM display will have a backdrop designed to grab visitors' attention: an 80-footwide, 12-foot-high LED screen highlighting each brand and several corporate messages -- such as the fuel economy of GM's lineup -- in an 8-minute video. "Every brand at Cobo is looking to define and differentiate themselves," said Michael Thoresen, vice president for Exhibit Works, which has designed auto show exhibits for automakers, including Ford Motor Co., for years. GM is not on the Livonia-based company's client roster. "Everybody's moving away from architecturally inspired designs to more experiential designs. (Automakers) are looking at what they need to get people to understand the personality of the brand," he said. Sixty-five percent of the estimated 800,000 auto show attendees will be in the market for a new car next year, making it critical for automakers to connect with them, Thoresen said. Sending a consistent message about brands is important whether it's done via the Web, television, print or at an auto show, he said. GM, with its U.S. sales lagging, is anxious to raise the throttle and woo show crowds. Breathing life into its new "Born from Jets" Saab tagline, the brand's display will include a ceiling with cloud images and an occasional jet silhouette whizzing by.

I think those rear view mirrors on the doors are Thunderbird.....I believe the Berettas were different...I could be wrong.

In a holding pattern.....the '77 Eldo:

...or is it Ford and Thunderbird?

My eyes go all wonky when I look at this car:

In the name of all that is good and decent, why, oh whyyyy?!!

Workin' for a livin'.....1959 GMC worktrucks.

Thanks Sixty8, always looking for great auto books.

I thought this was the Studebaker Spokane Gunsight 308.

That Don Knotts ad is hilarious. I have never seen that....love it.

Hot Camaros...life is real good. Camaros, 24/7, all day, all night, all the time....it's all good.