Tuning Truck

When you're looking for a new vehicles (maybe you can take advantage of the new Cash For Clunkers Federal incentive), there's more to consider than just the transaction price. Fuel economy, depreciation, and reliability are three key issues that impact a vehicle's total cost of ownership, but a fourth big one is insurance.

The folks at Insure.com recently published a list of the 20 most and least expensive vehicles to insure.

The top quintile of the most expensive vehicles are among

As we reported last month (Down The Snake Hole), Chrysler hasn't had an easy time finding a buyer for their Viper brand. That stuck me as kind of odd, because everybody in the auto nation knows that every true enthusiasts and rich guy, sooner or later, dreams about having their own car company.

Now AutoWeek is filling in some of the backstory on what was going on behind the scenes regarding the potential sale of the Viper brand. Why do I care, because the 2009 Dodge Viper is an elemental

The Nissan GT-R is one of the most exciting and sought-after new sports cars, and whether at its $76,840 base price or with the more likely dealer markup, it’s one of the hottest performance bargains this year. In TuningTruck.com’s Bottom Line on the 2009 Nissan GT-R, executive editor Marty Padgett declares that “it’s a supercar in all but price tag—a bargain Bugatti Veyron at less than one-tenth the price.” With its ‘attainable exotic’ status, it’s not at all

♦  Sometimes you folks send in images that we can't explain, and frankly, we don't want to. Sometimes, we just want to stare in slackjawed amazement, as we're currently doing at this photo of a Bentley coupe that's been camouflaged--not just in "spy shot camo", but honest-to-Jughead "deer stand camo". That's dedication to a theme. [thanks to Rick Feibusch]

♦  As a general rule, we try not to laugh at people when they're down--much less

It was news that we expected, but today a report by The Detroit Free Press reports that Chrysler isn't having an easy time selling off the Viper brand. Chrysler's CEO until the end of bankruptcy, Bob Nardelli reported in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing.

Nardelli said, "There is the objector's mistaken notion that it would be a simple matter for us to sell off select product lines, such as Jeep, that might allow a recovery above $2 billion. The market for such assets is

2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe

Climb into the Pontiac Solstice Coupe and there's an unsettling feeling of familiarity. We've been here before. And after driving off, it all begins to gel, although it has nothing to do with our previous stints in the drop-top variant. The Coupe feels like the unruly offspring of a night of passion between a C4 Corvette coupe and a Dodge Viper. And while the Solstice is nowhere near as large or as powerful as those two American icons, the DNA of

You may be waiting for the right time to buy a new car--and the chaos in Detroit's boardrooms could be a turn-off. Would another grand off the sticker help?

A new report says Chrysler will try to stoke its sales, even as it's in bankruptcy court, with a new rebate for returning shoppers. If you own a recent-vintage Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge product, Chrysler will issue a certificate for another $1,000 off the price of one of their new vehicles.

The Wall Street Journal reports

General Motors is willing to sell off the Delaware factory that builds the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice as it hurtles toward a May 31 collision with bankruptcy court and federal overseers.

In a press conference this morning, GM's CEO Fritz Henderson said the twin roadsters plus the assembly plant in Wilmington, Del., could be parceled out to an interested buyer, if one could be found. Chrysler is trying the same approach with its Mack Avenue plant in Detroit

There's a lot more Chrysler news today, and for fans of the company and its brands, most of it isn't good.

The worst so far: the Dodge Viper and the Jeep Wrangler may be axed entirely. This comes from a document filed by Robert Manzo, the executive director of Capstone Group, LLC, who's been brought in as a sort of "expert witness" speaking in favor of the Chrysler/Fiat marriage. Manzo presents a liquidation analysis which "assumes four car lines are sold as going

Dodge Viper -

The new Chrysler Group, LLC exited from bankruptcy last week, yet its factories have remained closed. CNN Money reports that this streak of inactivity will end when the 115 workers that assemble the Dodge Viper return to business at the Conner Avenue plant in Detroit. The start-up of Chrysler's smallest plant ends seven weeks of shuttered facilities.

Despite Fiat taking a stake in the Viper's parent company, Chrysler, the high-horsepower snake is