Rare ‘70 Chevelle LS6 Garage Find
I recall a moron spending over $1.2 million on an LS6 three years ago at Barrett-Jackson…we can all agree that was the stupidest buy of all time. LS6 Chevelle hardtops now average around $80,000, with convertibles still going far from the $200,000 mark they used to hit so often.
We can also agree, however, that the low-volume 1970 LS6 Chevelle is still a fine car. This particular coupe is a factory SS work that comes with a gigantic 454 V-8. While power was touted at anywhere from 420 to 500 hp for the LS6, real-world figures are considerably less. The car’s been sitting for twenty years in New Mexico, the engine’s not running, the interior is worn, and there are rust spots.
Current bidding (nine so far) is at $25,000 with a day left over. See the car for yourself on eBay.
California Turf War Erupts Over New Tesla Plant; We Side with Long Beach
Tesla Motors will be looking at Los Angeles County to be the home of its new Model S assembly plant. Blogs report the locations have been narrowed down to Long Beach and Downey. Both cities have had long histories in aeronautical development and commercial service. Downey’s mayor, Mario Guerra, wrote an open letter that appeared on The Canalis Report, hoping to promote Downey’s qualities and motivate residents to do the same. Mayor Bob Foster of Long Beach and Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske are following suit in order to pull the tide in their favor.
Yours truly has been a resident of both cities. I don’t want to appear biased, but Downey is a cramped town that’s now covered nothing but McMansions and is about as exciting as a WNBA tournament. Again, I am being objective here–it’s messy, polluted, and has been compared to such places as Damascus and New Dehli.
Long Beach, however, has a coastal breeze, plenty of life, and existing facilities to support new industry. I’m being strictly objective, I repeat. Let me put it in automotive terms: Downey is like a Bug with a carburetted Dodge V-8 and Long Beach is like, well, a Tesla.
Calm Waters Allow Tesla Expansion to Continue
With an apparent settlement reached with disgruntled co-founder Martin Eberhard, Tesla Motors is moving forward once more with fresh talent and new planning. Among the new hires is John Walker, a former Audi sales manager who will now serve as Tesla’s North American sales VP.
Somewhat more interesting is the arrival of Ricardo Reyes as communications VP. Reyes has served in DC lobbying, federal trade services, and in business consulting. His most notable post was as Google’s communications director, managing the popular YouTube online network.
Tesla is now in the process of choosing a site to serve as a developmental center for the Model S sedan. The new plant will be in Southern California and would be a lucrative score for the optioned city. The plant will employ up to twelve hundred and manufacture twenty thousand vehicles a year.
Saturn to Withdraw from Canada
Michael Moore may paint our neighbor to the north as a socialist paradise, but times aren’t all that easy for Canada’s auto workers and dealers. Half of the sixty Saturn dealers already jumped ship and now Penske Automotive, Saturn’s new owner, is bringing worse news for the remaining thirty: all Saturn sales in the country are to cease. Penske’s attention will be turned to forming a long-term partnership to survive in a toughening US market. Renault has been mentioned as a likely candidate for that alliance.
Struggling Acura Brand to Go Further Downscale
Amid dwindling sales and little respect amongst the luxury crowd, Acura execs have decided to retreat from their past goal of competing head-to-head with the Germans and will instead downgrade. Honda’s upscale division already had to cancel its rear-drive V-8 platform, as well as a halo exotic in line with the Audi R8 and coming Lexus LF-A. Acura will resurrect a lower-end Civic-based compact in the RSX mold and a larger coupe along the lines of the defunct CL.
Edmunds Puts Out the Ten Most Expensive Vehicles to Own
Edmunds Automotive and Bankrate have joined forces to put out a list of the ten most expensive cars to own in America. Not surprisingly, Mercedes-Benz took top honors–though I’m unsure if that was helped by the poor Benz reliability factor. Click ahead to see the results.
Video: Leftlane’s Audi R8 V-10 Review
BMW Efficient Dynamics Concept, Ep. 11
BMW Efficient Dynamics Concept, Ep. 10
BMW Efficient Dynamics Concept, Ep. 9
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