Elizabeth Taylor, Catalyst For America's Car Fever, Dies At 79

Elizabeth Taylor was many things: actress, activist, friend of the disenfranchised, professional divorcee. She was also one of the great sex symbols of the 20th century -- in part, because of her longtime love of cars. She passed away early this morning at the age of 79.




By the time Taylor reached driving age, women had been behind the wheel for several decades. But Taylor hit young adulthood just as the U.S. hit its post-World War II economic boom -- when suburbs exploded (for better or worse) and as a result, America was, for the first time, truly obsessed with cars. No group was more smitten with automobiles than the rapidly growing teenage demographic, and Elizabeth Taylor's well-publicized love of driving only heightened the allure.

When we think of Taylor and cars, we usually think of two films. First, the Academy Award-winning A Place in the Sun, released in 1951, starring Taylor, Montgomery Clift, and Shelley Winters. The hero, Clift, first sees Taylor as she zooms past him on the highway in her sporty 62 Series Cadillac. She and the car are pristine, impossibly beautiful; he never forgets either of them, and neither do we.

Taylor's other great car scene -- one of many -- comes in BUtterfield 8. There, Taylor plays a reluctant call girl who's in love with a married man. In the film's climax -- SPOILER AHEAD -- she bails on a motel tryst with beau and races her sporty Sunbeam Alpine across the Tappan Zee bridge, over a cliff, and into film history. It's kind of like the "women's film" equivalent of the car chase from Bullitt.



Thanks for the memories, Ms. Taylor. Our cars are looking a little less sporty and shiny today.

Source: Internet

The "Spirit of Tomorrow"

None more unusual, though, than this 1938 "Spirit of Tomorrow" (above) built by a Victoria, BC, man named H.B. "Barney" Oldfield. What? The fabled early-century racer? Sorry, no. The Victoria Oldfield simply acquired the nickname. His car consists of an aluminum skin stretched over a wood body built on a 1939 Dodge car frame, modeled after Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion vehicle. It originally had a flat-head Ford V8 but that was replaced by a modern 289 Ford when Oldfield restored the vehicle in 1967. The engine is situated ahead of the rear wheels for better handling.

Click Here to check out all about "The Spirit Of Tomorrow." It was an automobile designed by Horace Basil (Barney) Oldfield.

1947 Studebaker Pickup

An enduring favorite among pickup-truck fans, the simple lines of this small but elegant truck was a Wednesday highlight, reaching a $34,100 sale. It has the correct 169cid six-cylinder engine and three-speed manual transmission.

Source: Internet

"What's Leganza?"

A couple years ago, the question was, "Where's Waldo?" One of the major companies in the world is hoping that a lot of Americans will be asking, "What's Leganza?"

The simple answer is that it is Daewoo's flagship small car, sailing into the crowded waters of the American market. It comes with an exterior design that is a joint effort from in-house stylists and Giugiaro's renowned ItalDesign operation. The Italian studio has been responsible for many fine cars, such as the Lexus GS300.

The company says "Leganza" is a name cobbled together from fragments of the Italian "Elegante" (elegant) and "forza" (power). It may be intended to link to Lexus, Legend and Legacy, but too many folks have confused it with "Lasagna."

Daewoo is better at building cars than naming them. This is the largest of three new offerings from Daewoo. Leganza is priced and sized as a compact but is billed by its maker as a "luxury midsize" sedan. Most will shop it against the Contour, Malibu and Altima, which are really small cars positioned between those segments.

Leganza stands apart with confident styling and an advanced powertrain and suspension. The chromed radiator grille imparts a distinctive look and more elegance than is typically available in this part of the market. Leganza brings new style to affordable driving.

The most impressive features of Leganza is the high quality of body assembly, comfort options and paint finish. The door closes with a solid sound. Fine leather is available for the whole cabin, accompanied by nice wood trim. Leganza has a relatively quiet cabin for this class.

Since Daewoo has had a long association with General Motors, it is no surprise that it called upon GM's favored partners for help. Lotus input is apparent in the good ride, with modest body roll during cornering and light steering. Leganza has fully independent strut-type suspension, four-wheel disc anti-lock brakes, and rack-and-pinion power steering. Few cars in this segment have rear disc brakes available, let alone as standard equipment.

Source: Internet

The 2009 Pontiac Solstice

Expert Quotes:

This curvaceous roadster still commands looks from fellow drivers
Edmunds

A cockpit defined—and constricted—by its sweeping center console
Road and Track

Decidedly behind the curve
Autoblog

As if last year's Pontiac Solstice wasn't stylish enough, 2009 sees the introduction of an all-new, stunningly gorgeous coupe body style.



The exterior of the 2009 Pontiac Solstice wins high praise in every review read by TheCarConnection.com. Edmunds says that the Pontiac Solstice, which "is available as either a soft-top roadster or a coupe" and in either base or GXP trims, "still commands looks from fellow drivers and passers-by." Kelley Blue Book agrees, noting that "the Solstice easily rivals such stylish competitors as the BMW Z4 and Audi TT, yet costs half as much." Cars.com reports that "the new coupe has a fastback appearance with a sleek roofline" and, like the Chevrolet Corvette coupe, "has a removable center section for an open-air driving experience," although unlike the Corvette, with the Solstice "the removable center section must be left at home because there's no storage space for it in the car." The only real complaint with the styling comes in regard to the convertible's top, and Automobile Magazine states that "raising and lowering the ragtop takes a minute or two with the car stopped and consists of half a dozen" steps, which compares poorly with the Miata's single-step operation.



Despite the exciting promise of the exterior, the Pontiac Solstice's interior doesn't look quite so good, at least according to reviews read by TheCarConnection.com. Kelley Blue Book immediately notes that "some interior parts are borrowed from other GM products (Chevrolet Corvette, Opel Corsa, Hummer H3)." ConsumerGuide finds that "controls are simple to operate, but some are awkward to reach," and the gauges are "hard to read even by day." Autoblog simply calls the interior design "decidedly behind the curve."



Source: Internet

The Tucker Car Show

Source: Internet

Holden Efijy

The Holden Efijy is a concept car created in Australia by Holden. It is based around the iconic Holden FJ, the second model built by Holden. The concept is based on the Chevrolet Corvette floor pan, a 6.0 litre V8 engine with Rootes supercharger putting out 480 kW (644 hp) at a little shy of 6500 r.p.m. It rides on an air suspension system that sits down when stopped, and also has electronic instrumentation including a mutli-use display screen that disappears into the dash.



Since its debut showing at The Australian International Motor Show in 2005, the Holden Efijy has been named the United States concept car of the year for 2007.Holden Efijy at the National Motor Museum, Birdwood, South Australia.Holden Efijy at the National Motor Museum, Birdwood, South Australia. Once it returned to Australia, the Efijy visited the National Motor Museum at Birdwood in February 2008.

Source: Wikipedia