Car Tipping

VIN Hunter Pro has been approved and is in the App Store! It can be downloaded at http://www.itunes.com/app/vinhunterpro .

Decode This approaching 1,000,000 Decodes!

via www.decodethis.com

One of my flagship web sites is the online universal VIN decoder known as Decode This! (www.decodethis.com). It's been churning out free VIN decodes for vehicles from 1950 to modern day for over two years now.

Decode This has served over 980,000 VIN decodes in its lifetime, averaging about 2,000 to 3,000 a day. Soon it will reach that magical 1,000,000 decode mark. I have to say I'm quite proud of the site, and that a redesign is in the works. Now that VIN Hunter Pro (www.vinhunterpro.com), my iPhone app for car dealers, is live hopefully I'll have time to complete the redesign.

Ford and GM have a Large Presence at Barrett-Jackson

via content.usatoday.com

Ford and GM have a huge presence at the 2010 Barrett-Jackson auction. The whole first pavilion is filled with production vehicles from both manufacturers. Ford, which has long thought B-J was a great place to sell cars to car buyers (duh) expanded their previously large area to include Lincoln models this year.

Ford had plenty of Mustangs and Shelby GT500s on hand. They even brought their Mustang Challenge where to real Mustangs drag-race against each other inside the tent! Quite impressive; hard to resist coming to see what's making that V8 revving sound...

GM had several Corvettes and Camaros, and even had a roped-off Chevy Volt on display. Man, that car is a shadow of the concept car version; let's hope Chevy gives it a facelift as soon as possible.

Lingenfelter Camaro TA Concept at Barrett-Jackson

via www.lingenfelter.com

Awesome. Got a chance to see the new Lingenfelter Camaro concept car at Barrett-Jackson. Talking to the Lingenfelter rep revealed that the reception for the car at the SEMA show earlier this year has prompted them to put the car into production.

The car itself was gorgeous, the body work up to their typical standards and the interior well done. I can't wait to see the final production model.

Also at the show is their new L28 Camaro. Since Chevy probably isn't in the position to product the Z28 Lingenfelter is giving the next best thing. Most likely the better thing.

Lingenfelter also said they have some exciting thing coming for the Corvette, their bread and butter, in 2010. Keep and eye on this space for more news later this year.

Shelby unveils 2011 GT350 Mustang at Barrett-Jackson

via www.autoblog.com

Sure enough, Shelby American unleashes the new 2011 GT350 on the world at Barrett-Jackson. The big surprise though is that it comes at a premium of $34,000 OVER the cost of the Mustang itself.

The big stallion adds a Ford Racing supercharger good for approximately 500 horsepower, a Ford Racing suspension system, Baer brakes front and rear, Borla exhaust system, Cragar wheels, and more. For the exterior, Shelby fits a new front fascia, front splitter, functional hood scoop tail light trim, rear deck lid filler panel and a rear fascia with center exhaust exit. White with Guardsman Blue racing stripes will be the only available color combination.

Nice, but the combined $64,000 for car and upgrade can buy a lot from other manufacturer's today.

Chevrolet Cruze: Live And In The Metallic Flesh - Chevy Cruze - Jalopnik

via jalopnik.com

The Cruze is on the way! Spotted at the LA auto show the new Chevy Cruze has survived the chaos that is the GM chopping block. Plans for assembly here in Ohio are a go!

Shelby American to Announce New 2011 Shelby GT350 at Barrett-Jackson?

via www.mustangheaven.com

Following the release of the new 5.0 liter Mustang at the Detroit Autoshow it appears that Shelby will be releasing the latest version of the Shelby Mustang GT 350 or 500. It'll be amazing to see what kind of horsepower output the car is tuned to produce.

As in the past I'm assuming Shelby will be offering up a vehicle for the auction. Perhaps with the proceeds to go to the relief of the victims of the Haiti earthquake? We'll see; I'll report with more information and pics later in the week!

$300,000 a Year to Maintain the Bugatti Veyron

via www.autoblog.com

Autoblog mentions the outrageous price it costs to keep a Bugatti Veyron in tires and oil.  I thought the McLaren F1 was expensive because they flew a service tech to your location for annual maintenance.  This makes the F1 look like a Volkswagen in comparison.

I can't say I'd drive one of these over buying a Ferrari outright each year.  But then I'm not a member of the idle rich.

On The Passing Of Buttons And Switches - Rants - Jalopnik

via jalopnik.com

Jolapnik has a great post on the changing technology of automotive interiors. The automotive industry is changing rapidly to a digital dash concept. I can't say that I won't miss the sensation of pushing the "start" button, or switching on sport mode...

Detroit Autoshow, Maybe Next Year

Missed the Detroit Autoshow this year because of the CodeMash conference. Next year hopefully there won't be a conflict. The news of the Mustang 5.0 liter upgrade is exciting. I was afraid Ford was bowing out of the horsepower wars with the Camaro and the Challenger. But with the new engine it puts them right in the mix again.

With Chrysler slowly dying on the vine the hopes of a convertible Challenger are quite dead. Once Fiat takes over it's doubtful they'll continue to fund special projects for the existing models.