Come this October the all new 2009 Mercedes Benz E 550 sedan will be released to wreak havoc onto the streets of North America. To those of you in the industry W212 looks to be the baddest E to date. Everything about this car screams SEXY! Mercedes will be introducing two versions of this car, a coupe and a sedan. Normally my vote goes towards the sedan since it is more practical. However with the new couple I have to admit that its a hard choice. Adding this to their …

So you are shopping for a new vehicle and turned to the internet so that you can try to make sense of what to drive. Well good luck! As great as the net is to research a vehicle …knowing where to start is enough to drive any one crazy. According to consumer statistics purchasing a car is the second largest item you will ever buy.Number one is the home that you are in.

Confuse the world as to your intentions!
Let’s say you can’t afford the 21 – 26K it costs to buy a cheaper hybrid. Being in the market for a well made, “green” car doesn’t mean you have to opt for a high-tech fashion accessory (I mean, come on… celebrities were renting hybrids to go to the Oscars!). Mileage and carbon might matter to you and reliability is very important.   
So, what to buy?
How about a cheap, economical, runabout that will be cheaper to own outright (and even when gas …

Be a real man – drive a REAL truck!  
 
 

By: Motormensch
There are 2 ways to enjoy the virtues of a big pickup truck. If you’re a putz, you can lift it so high that it loses nearly all of its utility but makes you look cool to – Uh, I guess other putz (I think I just pluralized “putz”) who lift their trucks to the sky. It’s so obvious that they are compensating for something; one of those things is common sense. 

The other way? Hell, all you have to do …

Some cars say volumes about their owners.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
By: Motormensch
Cadillac’s say, “I’m a rolling stone (or) I’m a MAN (or) I’m retired.”
A Toyota Camry says, “I could care less about the driving experience, so long as I’m comfortable (and) I don’t care for wild sex.” 
A beat up, topless, unmodified, old Jeep CJ5 with a few surfboards strapped to the roll-bar says, “I’m broke, I party, I drink Corona and I listen to Jimmy Buffet/Bob Marley (or/and) I am a millionaire in hiding and I listen to Jimmy Buffet/Bob Marley.”
The …

A Practical way to Help the Homeless – Right Now
By: Motormensch
Believe me, I’m not the social conscious of Trash Vent… I think even Stiffler (our head honcho/writer) could picture me laughing at most misfortune. Yup, indeed I do. Alas, that’s what writing affords people like me – a chance to be the bastard they always wanted to be.
Truth be told, practicality is usually my mantra. When I was growing up in Los Angeles, I saw many homeless living out of their cars. I had little pity for car dwellers …

Let me lay this on you, an image of you and three of your pals hitting the slopes for a weekend. Everything is packed and you rented the best fitting ski boots you’ve ever worn. With board (or skis) placed on your shoulder and your best impersonation of Shaun White cued up in your head – you make a b-line for the car.

Then it all goes wrong.

Yup, while I was participating in the press days at the L.A. Auto Show, I came across a curious looking cube called the “KIA Soul.” I liked it straight off. In fact, I was kinda smitten. Not in a Jessica Alba in a bikini kind of way… more like a Rachel Weisz (cute outside, but the real good stuff comes from within.).

Whew, took me a while – that allegory…

Last week the 3 major OEM’s (FORD, GM, Chevrolet) went back to congress basically begging for another 25 Billion in relief funds so their companies would not fold and go under. Let me break it down like this if you still are not following what I am saying. If you are in the market to purchase a new vehicle, now is the time to do it. Most lease and finance rates are floating between 0-2%. Plus there are huge cash incentives just to take the car off the dealers lots. You can almost walk in these days and cut your own deal.

Ferrari has chosen to unveil the new Scuderia Spider
16M at the World Finals in Mugello in celebration of its recent victory in the Formula 1
Constructor’s World Championship 2008. This new high performance sports car
features the very best of Ferrari’s latest mid-rear-engined 8-cylinder technology. In fact,
the Scuderia Spider 16M is faster round the Fiorano circuit than any other Prancing
Horse open-top road car yet built. This truly evocative special series model, of which
just 499 unique examples will be produced, is aimed at the most passionate clients,
drivers who demand both exclusivity and superb driving pleasure.