Ferruccio Lamborghini didn't start out as a builder of supercars. His first success came in the form of tractors and agricultural equipment. Here's a look at the long and illustrious history of automaker-built tractors.

With Spring bustin' out all over, farmers everywhere will pull their John Deere's and Internationals from the barn for planting season. We figure it's time to take a look at the long and illustrious history of automaker-built tractors.

Tractors and cars at the turn of the 20th century couldn't be further apart in design. Where cars were just coming into their own and the path of electric drive, steam power or internal combustion was still being sorted out, tractors had been steam driven since the late 1800's. More or less steam locomotives on wheels, they were huge, expensive, hot, dangerous machines requiring several men to fuel and operate and they weren't particularly powerful. When the early automakers began settling on internal combustion engines as the future, they also set their sights on the farm industry. There was a lot of land to be plowed out west and a lot of money to be made on agricultural equipment, gasoline engines developed for cars could be repurposed for heavier duty operation and sold to farmers everywhere, and they were. Here are a few examples of automakers building tractors, and occasionally tractor manufacturers turning out automobiles, sometimes with great success.

Ford Tractors

One of the earliest gasoline tractor manufacturers was actually Ford, starting production of Model F tractors in 1917 under the Fordson name and adopting the lessons of mass production applied to their automobiles. It was the first lightweight mass produced tractor in the world. The company was merged with Ford Motor Company and grew steadily over time, and in 1928 introduced the 9N which would become the template for pretty much all future tractors. It featured rubber tires, the now ubiquitous Ferguson three-point hitch system, and power take-off, and easy access to all service points. Ford went on to produce such loved models as the 8N and in 1984 acquire Sperry-Holland Tractors, forming Ford New Holland which was eventually sold to Fiat in 1991. In 2000 the Ford name was no longer applied to farm tractors.

Samson Tractors

In 1917, General Motors acquired the Samson Sieve-Grip Tractor Company of Stockton California and put down plans for a line of cars and trucks to match the planned tractors. The initial offering was to be a proto-van designed as a nine-passenger vehicle with removable seats for cargo hauling, but was never marketed. A series of tractor prototypes were produced including the above, of which two copies were built at the Pontiac Truck plant. The more refined Model M was produced in 1919 but was wildly expensive in comparison to the competition from Ford. An "Iron Horse" model was produced in the same year powered by a Chevrolet Series 490 4-cylinder and controlled by an operator walking behind and steering with reigns, just like a horse, the design allowed farmers to use their existing equipment but was also a failure. In all GM lost $33 million on the endeavor and shut down operations in 1923.

Minneapolis Moline UDLX

Minneapolis Moline was a well-established tractor producer by the time it decided to dip its toe into the automotive market in 1938. At the model UDLX Comfortractor was intended to combine the attributes of a car and a tractor, which made some economic sense considering it was introduced towards the end of the Great Depression. The UDLX came fully loaded with the world's first fully enclosed cabin, it had a heater, opening windows, cigarette lighter, and a second seat for passengers. The top speed of 45 MPH meant using it as a car was entirely reasonable. Unfortunately, the high asking price of $2,150 of limited sales and the model only sold 150 units.

Lamborghini Tractors

Ferruccio Lamborghini did not start out as a builder of supercars. His first success came in the form of tractors and agricultural equipment. Following WWII, Lamborghini began assembling tractors from surplus war equipment. In 1948 he founded Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A. pretty much out of his garage. His first formal model was the Carioca and even though it was certainly not an attractive machine, it did help push Lamborghini to be the largest agricultural company in Italy. It was only after successively disappointing experiences with Enzo Ferrari's cars that Ferruccio decided he could build a better sports car. It was only when the company saw a series of setbacks in the '70s and fell on financial trouble that Trattoria was sold to rival manufacturer SAME though they're still marketed under the same brand.

Porsche Tractors

Ferdinand Porsche was a man of many interests and talents. Round about the same time he was deep in the development Volkswagen Beetle, he was also working on designs for a people's tractor. A Volkstraktor if you will. Several prototypes were produced in 1934 fitted with air-cooled diesel engines in one through four-cylinder setups with interchangeable parts. Of course, there was a little thing that happened in Germany at around the same time period which had the effect of shelving the project. Following that bit of nastiness, several companies licensed the engine designs bbut Mannesmann AG decided to license Porsche's complete tractors in 1956 and began production. Between 1956 and 1963 when the license agreement ended, over 125,000 Porsche tractors were produced, all a compact, sleek, low orchard-style design which did well across Europes varied terrains.

Co-Op Tractors

In In 1922, Congress passed the Capper-Volstead Act which allowed farmers and ranchers the ability to legally work together for mutual benefit, this had the effect of creating the Farm Bureau co-operative, which acted on behalf of farmers to improve and investigate methods of farming. As farming moved into the mechanized era it was decided development of a tractor would be beneficial to the member farmers. By 1935 the Bureau finalized an agreement with the Parrett Tractor Company to produce a product which would suit the needs of their farmers. The first offering was deemed underpowered and a Chrysler engine and transmission was installed. Over the successive generations the effort became branded as CO-OP tractors and regularly contained Chrysler power including a 242 cubic inch straight six.

Fiat Tractors

Fiat is a massive conglomerate with tentacles in all manner of manufacturing. We think of Fiat as the Italian masters holding the reins at Chrysler, but they're just the car division. Fiat has been in the tractor biz for a long time, operating in the agricultural arena since 1919 and is actually second only in size to the 800lb gorilla that is John Deere. It's sucked up brands including New Holland (which includes Versatile and Ford Tractors) and Case (which includes Case, International, Farmall and others). If you haven't heard of Fiat tractors you probably live in the US where no Fiat-branded tractors are sold.

Citroen Tractor

Citroen? Yep, Citroen built a tractor too, only one, and it was very tiny. The Citroen tractor weighed only 1760 lbs and was powered by a 12 HP four cylinder engine very much like the Citroen Model A car engine. It was marketed primarily as an orchard tractor and sold a grand total of about 500 units during its two years of production. The company did dabble in the idea of half-track tractors, but nothing was ever put to market. Just look how cute this one is.

Mitsubishi Tractors

Mitsubishi is another of those massive conglomerates which produces tractors pretty much by default. In operation since 1980, Mitsubishi markets their products along the compact and utility tractor segments and has been sold in the US under the Cub Cadet brand in the past. Most Mitsu tractor products are sold in the Asia-Pacific region where farms tend to be smaller.

International Harvester Scout

International is another case (Hah, Case! Sorry, tractor history humor) of tractor manufacturer dabbling in automobiles. Though IH had been building heavy trucks and ag-centric vehicles since the 20's, its vehicular production is defined by one vehicle, the International Scout. One of the most-loved early SUVs, the Scout was built as a competitor to the Jeeps of the era and did so rather successfully with a simple, rugged, bulletproof design. Exterior Scout styling varied little during the production run between 1961 through 1980 but a variety of body and powertrain options filled many niches in the segment. The Scout production ended when IH was purchased by Case but you can find a huge number of them still crawling trails all across the country.

There is undoubtedly many more ties between the tractor and automobile industry, some lost to time or simply so esoteric as to be ridiculous. We've barely scratched the surface with this piece, but the tie between the automobile and the tractor is a fascinating and circuitous trail, feel free to go get lost on it.

Sources:
Yesterday's Tractors
Puddings World
Steel Wheels
Skid Mark
GM Next
Tractors Wiki
UltimateCarPages
Jalopnik

Photo Credits:
Publiquip
Wikipedia
Steel Wheels
Wiki Commons
141
Classic Rides and Rods
Lambocars

James Sikes, the San Diego runaway Toyota Prius driver, filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and now has over $700,000 in debt. According to one anonymous tipster, we're also told he hasn't been making payments on his Prius.

We received an email earlier today from an anonymous tipster who claims James (Jim) Sikes, the driver of the runaway Toyota Prius, was in financial trouble and even behind by five months on his payments for the Prius. If that's true, it's potential motivation for wanting to find an out — any out — on paying for the vehicle.

We did some public records searches (thanks to the help of Gawker's John Cook) and found Sikes and his wife Patty found themselves, like many in the California real estate business, on the bursting side of the real estate bubble last year. The two declared bankruptcy in June of 2008 and have a combined liability of over $700,000 dollars in debt.

Among the list of creditors holding secured claims is none other than Toyota Financial Services for a lease on a 2008 Toyota Prius with 7,200 miles on the odometer. Total value of the lease at the time of bankruptcy was $20,494.

So, with almost three-quarter million dollars in debt there's obviously the potential for financial motivation here. But, for his part, when we questioned Mr. Sikes over email earlier today, he denied being behind on his Prius payments.

Mr. Sikes also has not shied away from cameras appearing on CNN and numerous other television programs. In each, he's stated numerous times he's not going to sue and isn't looking for any financial remuneration from Toyota other than a new vehicle.

We've asked the law firm representing him to furnish us with an up-to-date copy of his Toyota statement and we'll post that as soon as we receive it — to either debunk this myth or add fuel to any fire.

We'd also like to point out Toyota itself sent out a tweet yesterday showing how a Prius of that generation can easily be stopped if it's accelerating out of control. But, for the moment, we'll ask you to again listen to the full 911 tape and tell us what you think — does that sound like a man faking or genuinely afraid for his life?

But regardless of what happens with the Sikes case, the bigger issue for Toyota will be every cash-strapped 'yota-owner looking for an easy out on their loans and leases potentially thinking about doing just this with their car. That's a lot of potential carnage to wade through.

Bored of the deluge of perfect photographs pouring out of motor shows? We’ve taken some old and strange film cameras to Geneva to show you another side of cars. Well, of supercars anyway.

Given that the Geneva Motor Show has been the birthplace of many icons of rock-and-roll fascination—both the Miura and the Countach were introduced here—it’s surprising how humorless, sanitized, corporate and depressingly adult the event is. Patterned shirts and rumpled hair did not make easy our entry past the gates, and that was before we produced our documents.

“These are a joke,” a stern lady by the name of Michelle greeted us with a smirk after inspecting our letters of editorial confirmation. No glossy magazines? No big-money advertisements on expensive paper? Then, upon my insistence, she visited jalopnik.com, and the joke was on her. “But you look so young” was all she could come up with as we waved her goodbye.

All photography by Máté Petrány.

In a sea of navy blue suits and black pro cameras, we went prowling the showfloor with a Lomography Fisheye 2 and two old Minoltas loaded with Kodak T-MAX 3200 film to capture something of Geneva supercars which elude modern cameras with their nuclear-powered image processors and Volkswagen-perfect optics.

What we’ve collected in this gallery are not professional photographs, but they show the Pagani Zonda, the Lexus LFA, the Bugatti Veyron, the Koenigsegg Agera and the Lamborghini Murciélago SV in ways which escape perhaps the majority of modern cameras.

Like how the scoops on a Lexus LFA are obviously inspired by melting icebergs.

Even though it’s been around for a while and our Mr. Wes Siler has already driven it, it was the first time either Máté or I saw an LFA in person. It’s shocking in the way only Italian cars can be. Full of completely weird details.

But the last word in weird goes to the Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster. On display was number three of five and we kept circling around it for two days, unable to resist its pull.

Nobody does carbon fiber like Horacio Pagani.

The Zonda’s grand-piano-sized AMG V12, topped with the mother of all strut braces, shown here with a fisheye lens.

The Zonda Cinque’s rear continues in a towering, 1975-style hood scoop.

I’ve always suspected that the Bugatti Veyron was groundhogs. After finally seeing a fisheye photograph of its grille, complete with buckteeth, all I can say is quod erat demonstrandum.

Even though the Agera is the first new Koenigsegg since the CC, it is in fact nothing but a special edition CC. It takes a distorted perspective to hide its Koenigseggian lines and introduce an element of, well, modern Honda prototypes.

The star of the post-financioapocalyptic 2009 Geneva Motor Show, Lamborghini’s farewell to the Murciélago is still a wonderful, surreal car, six HP short of 666.

Underexpose the big Lambo with a fisheye lens and you get a menacing interstellar cruiser from the Alien series, roaring through constellations, serving the needs of a shady transplanetary conglomerate.

If the Murciélago SV is a Weyland-Yutani spaceship, the Pagani Zonda Tricolore is the xenomorph it’s sent to collect exterminate.

To part on a note that’s not all doom and gloom and high-grain Kodak, here’s how you turn a Zonda into ‘70s disco power. Party like it’s 1974 and speed bumps are yet to be discovered!

Even a Swiss Army knife-equipped MacGyver couldn't hide that a major chase scene from the show's first season was lifted wholesale from the 1969 film The Italian Job. Luckily, mullets and Minis go together like cheesy music and ‘80s TV.

MacGyver:

This is the episode in question. If the dancing Minis don't ring any bells, here's a quick primer: The scene above isn't just any car chase. All things considered, it's probably the most famous car chase ever filmed. Was there really a time when the producers of a successful prime-time TV show thought they could get away with splicing footage of Richard Dean Anderson into an iconic Hollywood car chase?

The 1969 version of The Italian Job — this isn't the Mark Wahlberg-led 2003 remake — stars Michael Caine as fun-loving cockney crook Charlie Croker. Croker wants to steal a huge shipment of gold from under the Mafia's nose in Turin; he does this by creating a massive traffic jam and then using a handful of then-novel original Minis to escape the city by an unconventional route. The chase rambled through sewers, up staircases, and over the racetrack-equipped roof of the Fiat factory.

The Italian Job:

The title of the episode — the third in MacGyver's first season — only amps up the ridiculousness. "The Thief of Budapest" takes place in Hungary, where Mac encounters a band of gypsies that help him acquire a stolen watch full of KGB secrets. MacGyver then agrees to help these gypsies escape to America, but first they have to create a traffic jam (which he does using a Swiss Army Knife and a credit card, natch) and cue up The Italian Job. Random Russian baddies were then cut into scenes of the trailing Alfa Romeo police cars in place of the Italian Carabinieri.

To review, the audience is supposed to not only not have seen The Italian Job before, but also believe that Turin is Budapest, that a show filmed almost exclusively in L.A. takes place all over the world, and that a government contractor could instantly arrange U.S. citizenship for a ragtag family of immigrant workers. Was all this merely an homage to a much-loved movie classic? Maybe, though don't seem to acknowledge it. Either way, it's pretty funny. Oh, 1985 — you were so innocent.

If you're interested, you can watch the full MacGyver episode on CBS's website.

Mitsubishi's performance subsidiary Ralliart, responsible for supporting the company's past WRC and Dakar efforts, will wind down operations this month. With poor sales they've decided to kill the arm of the company helping make fast cars faster. UPDATE.

In a letter to customers of Ralliart company President Masao Taguchi said:

Partial Cease of Business Activities along with Ralliart Inc's Business Scale Down
Ralliart Inc (President Masao Taguchi) has announced as follows.

Dear all of our customers ,

First of all, we much appreciate for your usual patronage to our company.
Our company have done the various activities relating motorsport with the support of many people since the establishment in April,1984 so far. However, because of the sudden change of economy situation since the year before last, the business circumstance surrounding our company radically became worse and so, this time we have reached the conclusion that we Ralliart Inc., would scale down our business activities as of the end of March 2010.

Along with the scale down of our business activities this time, we would cease the following business and operation which we have done so far. We would like to express our sincere apology to all of customers though we would make you much inconveniences.

Meanwhile, we wish you a continuous support to Ralliart family and entrants driving Mitsubishi cars who play an active part all over the world.

Items which would cease our business and operation along with our business scale down;

1. Support to motorsport customers(Support to the participation, Technical Support, and Awarding of Mitsubishi/Ralliart Driver of the Year)
2. New Planning, Development and Merchandize of Ralliart products (Except FIA VO parts) :*1
3. Information of new products and dispatching motorsport information(at web):*2

*1 FIA VO parts development and those application work shall be done by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation as it is.
*2 FIA Group-N information shall be open at the web site of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.

Date of the cease: 1st April, 2010

It sounds like they're getting rid of nearly everything making Ralliart relevant or important, which means it's all but shuttered even if they aren't saying so. Any necessary operations will be sent to Mitsubishi, including support of rally efforts.

This doesn't impact production of the Evo or Lancer other than a possible name change for the Lancer Ralliart. It makes us wonder what there's to like about a company that just builds beige crossovers and electric cars.

UPDATE: According to Mitsubishi Spokesman Mo Durand this won't affect any vehicles within the United States or, in theory, any vehicles carrying the Ralliart brand as the company owns all the proper licensing rights. Since Mitsubishi has mostly withdrawn from motorsports this primarily impacts aftermarket parts.

[Yomiuri Shimbun (translated)]

Photo Credit: Images-Grazia Neri/Getty Images

The National Truck Equipment Assocation's annual Work Truck Show is trucking along this week. Ever wonder what kind of warning labels end up on heavy-duty vehicles? These are the ten freakiest. Remember, kids: Watch out for those water pools!

To review: All riders in the cab. Seatbelts must be fastened. And yes, he looks like he is gettin' his b-boy on. Please refrain from popping, locking, or any form of funky fresh downrock while around the vehicle. That is all.

MANY COLORS. EVERYTHING IS COLORS. SO MANY COLORS. GAH!

Also, this is the only warning label in this gallery that doesn't carry an illustration. Odd, isn't it? You can die while monkeying around with this truck's high-voltage electrical system (220-volt recharge plug-in, anyone?), but under no circumstances will you be shown what not to touch. If you already know where the danger is, you don't need the label. If you don't know what's what, shouldn't you get a little help?

Image one: If a bus begins to breakdance/funky fresh downrock while on a lift, get the hell out.

Image two: Do not stand under a bus when is being made ready to funky fresh downrock.

Image three: Do not dig a hole under the bus's left lift leg unless you want to watch it funky fresh downrock.

Image four: If you play around with lift arm heights, you can make the bus do that shuffling shoulder-slump groove from Michael Jackson's Thriller. This is even worse than the downrock. Don't do it.

"And then the outrigger stepped on my new pair of Air Force Ones, and I was all, 'What's up, yo? You tryin' to front? You wanna 'poligize? No? You don't like talkin', huh? You ready for some SERIOUS CRUSHING INJURY, fool? Represent!'"

"And then, you know, he didn't back down, me and my boys got all up in his face, and I passed out from some blood loss and shit, and I woke up in the hospital. I ain't never goin' back to that club again, yo. Them bitches is crazy."

Warning: Don't be fat, even if your truck has outriggers. (Why does that guy look like he's enjoying it? Why do we want to draw in a little cartoon voice bubble in that just says "Whee!"?)

...and that's when Frank E. Lectric, humble power-company line worker, was transformed into Frankie Lightning, Supervillian Master of Electrical Disaster! Lightning flows to and from his fingers! He commands the elements! BR-ZAP!

Later that week, Timmy Tchocker, one of the kids at the local elementary school, tried to repeat the accident. He was not so lucky. Poor, poor Timmy. Take a lesson, kids: Not everyone can become a supervillain.

Anything with the words "chipper" and "sever" on it just gives us the creeps.

Fingers, meet meshing gears. Meshing gears, meet fingers. Crunch crunch crumple crunch. Simple, direct, obvious. Now that's a useful diagram.

Seriously injured? Yes. Still sporting some stylish, wavy Rick Astley hair? Yes. Priorities, people. Priorities.

(Obligatory Arrested Development reference: "And that's why you never stick your arm into a moving driveshaft!")

We made this up. We like it, but it's not real. Enjoy it, but don't write us letters. Please.

Are you a track day fiend looking for a Corvette Z06 dressed up in carbon fiber tchotchkes and ceramic brakes like its bigger, badder brother, the Corvette ZR1? Enter the Corvette Z06 Carbon Edition.

Add carbon fiber and ceramic brakes to an F-150 and you've still got a big truck. Add the same upgrades to the race-focused 'Vette and you're shaving seconds and breaking hearts with the Corvette Z06 Carbon Edition. It's an upgrade that finally helps the Z06 live up to its atomic number (for all you non-math nerds, Z is another way of saying "atomic number" and "6" is the atomic number for the element Carbon. Jeez, do we have to spell everything out?).

Other outlets may point out the Corvette Z06 Carbon "slots," or creates another notch, between the Z06 and the Corvette ZR1. While sure, this is technically true, you've got to look past the in-market-car-salesman-what-slots-where-approach and appreciate how GM's actually gving their track-loving customers something utilitarian. Despite the ZR1 being the top of the Corvette food chain, when you go to a weekend autocross or local 'Vette club track day — it's the Z06 owners sweating the clock. Not the ZR1 owners.

To help them out, Chevy's giving the Z06 Carbon Brembo carbon ceramic brakes from its boisterous brother ZR1 for better stopping, enhanced cooling for bigger performance, and carbon fiber touches for lower weight. You could argue the black 20-spoke 19-inch/20-inch wheels front-and-back wrapped in Michelin PS2 tires are for better stance and traction but let's be honest, they just look good.

Speaking of looking good, this edition will be available in either Inferno Orange or something called all-new Supersonic Blue with black headlamps and mirrors, ZR1-style spoiler, and even Euro-styled racing numbers. And in case you want all of this without snagging all the attention, both the performance upgrades and aesthetic upgrades can be ordered separately for the Z06.

Paying homage to the debut of the Corvette at Le Mans with Briggs Cunningham and John Fitch 50 years ago with a carbon fiber-themed package that isn't tacky or awful. How'd they pull that off?

The dramatic 911 emergency call from James Sikes, the driver of yesterday's runaway Toyota Prius, indicates how frightened he was and how aware CHP dispatchers are of the procedure needed to stop a Prius. Audio below the jump.

As you'll remember, Sikes's Prius went out of control yesterday, accelerating up to 94 mph on a section of San Diego's I-8 interstate. Sikes called the California Highway Patrol when he couldn't make his car slow down; a CHP officer was summoned to the scene and used his patrol car's PA system to coach Sikes to a halt.

Most of the above events can be heard on the 911 tape below. Importantly, the dispatcher also asks if the Toyota is "in cruise control." Most of what you hear on the tape seems to have occurred in the last three minutes of the chase.

[NBC San Diego]

Few machines represent The Future like the flying car, and no publication has championed the fantasy more zealously than Popular Science. Here's a look back at its feverish, 77-year-long vision.

When Google Books announced that it had archived 137 years of Popular Science, we got giddy. With the exception of the unrelated Popular Mechanics, PopSci is as Jalop as mass-market magazines get — a bright-eyed, optimistic look at the art of the gearhead possible. (Full disclosure: They didn't pay us to say that. We just like rocket-powered cars and levitating trains and such.) And while a host of different vehicles have graced the magazine's cover, only one kind of machine has kept us coming back for more.

We are hopelessly in love with the flying car.

A perpetual beacon of bright and shiny Future Hope, the airborne auto refuses to go away. It is what a college professor of mine once called an "impossible possible" — it's technically doable, but it's also logistically unworkable. Like the bacon-wrapped, deep-fried Twinkie, the flying car seems doomed to be both tantalizingly close (all we need is a bucket of hot oil a plane with four wheels!) and disturbingly out of reach. (Just what does "third heart attack of the week" "crappy plane, crappier car" mean?)

Still, that dichotomy is what keeps the concept alive. A GBooks/Popular Science search for the phrase "flying car" brings up 28 issues of the magazine that contain the term. The articles are fascinating largely because they reflect the eras in which they were written: Wartime articles are filled with guarded optimism, mid-century stories bubble over with good cheer, and modern pieces offer a more careful, analytical approach. One of the earliest features, from May of 1933, refers to a levitating railway car. The most recent one, from October of 2008, refers to a "driving airplane." Both are filled with the same sense of giddy wonder.

But as the nation changed, so changed the fantasy. While the middle part of twentieth century saw America trade its technological innocence for a reasoned, weary skepticism, the flying car remained. What began as a disconnected flight of fancy — a "Hey, look! We can do this!" moment — evolved into a more practical approach to the transportation problem.

Predictably, the concept is held dear by car enthusiasts. We spend our lives constrained by traffic and artificial pathways, reined in by a host of factors outside our control. Airplanes can set us free, but they are complex, intimidating beasts; a car that can fly is somehow more approachable. We find ourselves ignoring the idea's obvious flaws because the possibilities are so fantastically cool.

Why does this matter? Why are we continually drawn to an idea almost universally acknowledged to be a non-starter? The reason is simple: It's in our bones. Americans are a restless people, and the airborne car builds upon the dream of manifest destiny. It represents untapped possibility and the notion that our world still offers, after centuries of development, a new kind of freedom. (General aviation also promises this, but we tend to fool ourselves into thinking that a flightworthy car would be more affordable and require less training to operate.) And although the dream is not new, it refuses to flicker and dim: According to a recent MSNBC poll, 90 percent of the country would buy a flying car if given the chance.

"Why is the airborne car such an enduring dream? There's something tantalizing about the freedom of a personal transportation device unhampered by roads or traffic, particularly in a world where gridlock and invasive airport-security checks have become the norm. If history is any guide, we'll be seeing a slew of new personal levitating devices in coming years — if nowhere else, then in the pages of [this magazine]."

— Adam Voiland, Popular Science

Perpetual optimism: It's what America was built on, and neither PopSci nor our air-car dream would exist without it. We endorse that kind of thinking — heck, the phrase "flying cars" was once part of this site's motto — even if it fails to produce results. In other words, we'll keep looking to the skies. Asphalt bonds, however strong, can't hold us forever.

The Haltom City, Texas police department's built the first patrol car out of a new Camaro SS. They could've just added a light bar. Instead, they worked with a local Texas custom shop to build one epically cool patrol car.

We've seen a fanboy rendering of a new Police Camaro and we know there are a few unmarked 2010 Camaro police cars running around Florida, but this is the first fully marked Camaro SS we've seen since the fourth generation.

Haltom City Police commissioned Classic Chevrolet of Grapevine, Texas to build this one-of-a-kind Camaro SS police car complete with an LED bar on top, embedded bar in the rear window and our favorite piece: a blue light strip embedded behind the muscle car's devious grin.

The use of classic white-on-black screams authority, but the all-clear LED bar on the roof and lack of other markings keep it relatively subtle and stealthy. The designers were smart not to try and augment what's already a mean-looking machine.

At this point, we're going to drive to Haltom City and use Trapster to find the speedtraps just to get pulled over.

Special thanks to Classic Chevrolet for the pictures!

Here's the second Tron Legacy trailer — in HD! Best part? Forget about light cycles, we've seen those already in person. The new hotness is the first glimpse of the "light runner" — a two-seater car.

You can see the new shrouded-in-tire-smoke (from light tires?) Tron mobility device at about 1:40 into the clip. The Dude most definitely abides.

Click through to the YouTube vid to see it in HD.

An out-of-control Toyota Prius was brought to a halt today in San Diego by a California Highway Patrol car putting itself in front of it like a brake. According to the CHP, the car suffered from a stuck accelerator. UPDATE.

The driver of the runaway Toyota Prius, 61-year-old James Sikes, called CHP while driving eastbound on Interstate 8 near San Diego around 1:30 PM PST, complaining about a stuck accelerator and being unable to shift the car into neutral. California Highway Patrol responded, putting a patrol car in front of the Prius, eventually stopping the car near La Posta Bridge. This high-profile incident comes on the same day Toyota made just-as-high-a-profile defense of its cars against an ABC News report Toyota calls a "careful and deliberate manipulation" of the facts.

In response, Toyota has dispatched a technical specialist to investigate the problem. Toyota claims:

"[They] learned of a report that a California Highway Patrol (CHP) unit was dispatched in response to a 911 call from a motorist driving a Prius on Interstate 8 in San Diego County who said the accelerator pedal was stuck. The report states that the CHP unit slowed in front of the vehicle and acted as a brake to bring it to a stop. Toyota has dispatched a field technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the report and offer assistance."

The car is a second-generation Prius, which is under a floormat recall.

UPDATE The CHP has released this statement indicating maybe the CHP car didn't stop the car until it mostly came to a stop:

On March 8, 2010, at approximately 1:30 PM Mr. James Sikes (61) was traveling eastbound on I-8 from Lake Jennings Park Rd. in a Blue Toyota Prius.  As he attempted to accelerate past a slower moving vehicle, he noticed that the vehicle seemed be accelerating on its own.  He immediately attempted to slow his vehicle unsuccessfully.  Reaching speeds of over 90 mph he called 911.  The California Highway Patrol immediately went through a series of actions with negative results. 

CHP Officers immediately responded to the area were able to locate the vehicle eastbound I-8 east of Kitchen Creek Rd.  A CHP Officer was able to pull along side and instruct Mr. Sikes via the PA system. With the Officers assistance, he was able to slow the Prius to approximately 50 m.p.h. The Officer then placed his patrol vehicle in front of the Prius as it came to a stop in the number #1 lane of e/b I-8.  The Officer then placed the patrol vehicle against the front bumper of Prius.   
The vehicles did not touch until after they came to a stop. 

UPDATE 2: And now there's video from MSNBC of the driver explaining what happened, saying the Prius "jumped and then stuck there":

We've also been told the CHP officer claims he "smelled brakes" when pulling up alongside the Prius.

UPDATE 3: More information on how the Prius driver responded, or didn't, to the incident.

Toyota today slammed the mechanics behind Brian Ross' ABC News report on unintended acceleration, showing how they were manipulated by recreating the same fault on a Chevy, Mercedes, Honda and Ford. Here's how the hoax occurred.

The Toyota press conference held this morning and broadcast to anyone who would listen was a sign beige is fighting back smartly by pivoting media focus to the most ridiculous report — that done by ABC News. Toyota walked reporters through each step of Brian Ross's now-famous "Toyota Death Ride," which they're calling "a careful and deliberate manipulation."

ABC News' report relied on a study by Prof. David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale who not only manipulated the sensors within a Camry to draw his conclusions and create the famous video — he was paid by a trial lawyer group with pending litigation against Toyota to do so. The Toyota response used a Professor from Stanford — i.e. a university you've heard of — who pointed out the electronic throttle was modified in a way unlikely to ever occur in the real world. And while he — or at least the Stanford team that pays his salary — was paid for by Toyota, he was at least up-front about it.

To see how just how unlikely the situation is, click through the gallery above to see how many simultaneous steps they're saying Dr, Gilbert had to undertake in order to duplicate the Camry-of-death. Specifically, how Gilbert cut three wires within the electronic throttle control system, then connected two of the wires to each other in a specific pattern and with a specific resistor to create a link between two final wires with a switch in between so he can control it.

"As engineers, we can rewire anything, but that's not realistic. Automakers shouldn't be forced to design for events that won't happen in nature," said Center for Automotive Research at Stanford.

To prove the pont they performed the exact same steps on a Chevy Malibu, Mercedes E Class, Honda Accord, Subaru Outback BMW 325i, Ford Fusion, and Chrysler Crossfire and were able to demonstrate the same results as Brian Ross experienced in his report. Unintended acceleration without an error code. You can see it with the BMW below.

They also took time to point what has already been made clear, specifically how Brian Ross faked the video of the tachometer revving to 6200 RPM in park to make it seem like the car was accelerating out of control, compared to just 3000 RPM in the revised ABC video.

And they didn't stop there. Toyota made mention of Sean Kane and his relationship to trial lawyers pursuing litigation against the company:

Toyota Statement:As revealed in their testimony before Congress, Professor Gilbert's Preliminary Report was commissioned by Sean Kane, a paid advocate for trial lawyers involved in litigation against Toyota and other automakers. Mr. Kane also appeared on the ABC News broadcast in support of the claim that Professor Gilbert's demonstration revealed a flaw in the electronic throttle control system that could lead to "runaway" Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The relationship between Mr. Kane, Professor Gilbert and the trial lawyers who support Mr. Kane's advocacy was not revealed by ABC News during the newscast, nor was Toyota offered an opportunity to view the demonstration or given time to respond.

If ABC News asked about this, and there's no evidence they did, it should have been included in the report. Bias is fine as long its acknowledged bias. For instance, the representatives of Stanford mentioned Toyota had contributed support to their research in the past, though denied there was any link or that they provided funding for the university's analysis.

Between the video, examples, reports and slideshows it's a fairly thorough smackdown of ABC News. Of course, the big issue it doesn't address is the possibility of a software issue, which other individuals have raised. It seems like Toyota is going out of their way to pile on what they think is obviously misleading reporting while not holding a similar light on those other claims.

They also don't address the issue of their cars being so soulless and boring no one knows how to drive anymore.

Honda's heeded the chorus of "Eeews!" over the Accord Crosstour's design, bringing the euro Accord Wagon stateside as the Acura TSX Sport Wagon.

Honda announced today it'll debut the Acura TSX Sport Wagon — you can't call anything just a wagon anymore — later this month at this year's New York Auto Show. This will be followed up by a quick trip to the dealerships in the "late fall" i.e. expect to wait until at least October.

It's unfortunate they're going to add a premium to it, but It makes sense to bring it here as the Acura since the TSX already shares a platform with the Euro Accord and there's already the U.S. Accord-based Crosstour. As for pricing, the Honda Accord Crosstour starts at $29,670, just higher than the Acura TSX starting price of $29,310. It's big brother the ZDX starts at $45,495 so we're hoping the TSX slots somewhere in between.

Important details like final information on engines (expect the current V6 and four-cylinder options), transmissions, and styling will have to wait until either March 31st or a convenient leak. Given our recent disappointment with Honda offerings we can't even be 100% sure it'll retain what we enjoy about the euro Accord until we see it.

Just one thing, please please please don't give it an Acura beak.

Get old-time hot-rodders together and utter the name "Turbonique." The entire conversation will shift to legends and half-truths of the '60s company supposedly created by NASA subcontractors to create a consumer market for rocket technology. Now there's video.

Turbonique Inc. was established in Orlando in 1962 as a mail-order speed parts company producing some of the most amazingly insane automotive upgrades ever to see the light of day. Iowahawk called the company "The Real Acme," and he's probably right. He says

...mere mention of the name "Turbonique" still inspires a shudder of awe among drag racing enthusiast, the company's principle target market. Even in the Wild West atmosphere of 1960s drag racing, Its products represented the zenith of no-compromise, crazyass crazy. Recall Acme, that enigmatic mail order purveyor of catapults and jet skates to cartoon coyotes? Pikers, compared to Turbonique.

The company's product line consisted of merely three items: "AP superchargers," "rocket drag axles," and "microturbo thrust engines." All three employed the same basic rocket technology, each just one rung up the ladder of insanity from the other. The key difference? Thermolene monopropellant fuel. Hot Rod magazine explains:

The term monopropellant describes a fuel that will ignite and burn without the presence of atmospheric oxygen. As a point of comparison, the nitromethane used in Top Fuel dragsters is a semi-monopropellant. It requires a little outside oxygen for complete combustion, but only a small fraction of what is required to burn gasoline, alcohol, or kerosene. Most gas turbines run on petroleum-based fuels that require plenty of air to support combustion. They take in atmospheric air at the front and compress it to a high temperature and pressure. Fuel is then sprayed into this hot air, which ignites, creating the high-pressure gases that drive the turbine wheel and make torque. The problem is that a typical air-breathing gas turbine uses over half of its total turbine power to drive the compressor. Turbonique engineers sidestepped the problem and simply replaced the weighty, expensive, and inefficient compressor with a high-pressure storage bottle containing Normal Propyl Nitrate (Thermolene), a stable, milk-white liquid fuel that brings its own oxygen to the party and that moves the engine into the category of a rocket because it can run without the benefit of atmospheric oxygen. When the Thermolene is introduced to the combustion chamber at 600 psi and ignited by a glorified spark plug connected to an on/off switch, the immediate result is an intense release of hot gases to spin the turbine blades. Anti-swirl turbine wheel vanes prevented flames from exiting the tailpipe, but a special wheel was optional for "spectacular flaming night runs."

"This is so ridiculously awesome," were the words delivered in a quiet whisper when we first saw these videos procured by the boys at Bangshift. We've seen Turbonique products before on cars like the lustworthy Rocket Drag Axle equipped 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, but we never thought there was actual video of these things in action. Naturally we assumed anyone involved in racing or filming this stuff would've been consumed in a tremendous conflagration of Thermolene, but such is not the case.

These two videos contain an explanation of the Turbonique system and silent footage of probably one of the most legendary drag races associated with Turbonique: "The Black Widow," a VW Beetle equipped with a Rocket Drag Axle, up against "Showboat," Tommy Ivo's unbelievable quadruple Buick-engined dragster.

But that's not all!

How about a rocket-powered, propeller driven go-kart or a quick-change rocket-powered supercharger sucking fuel through a giant carb and dumping it into an otherwise stock Barracuda? No? How about a tiny rocket powered boat? Rocket powered hovering platform? All were a possibility thanks to the same space-age know-how that gave us astronaut ice cream.

So what happened to Turbonique? Hot Rod continues:

But as many users quickly discovered, there was too much power [in Thermolene-fueled dragsters]. Extreme tire spin (even on the best slicks of the day) made Drag Axle-equipped cars difficult to control. Full-quarter-mile smoke shows with impressive trap speeds, but mediocre elapsed times were the rule, not the exception.

Regardless of whether Turbonique was onto something big or not, it all came to an end in the early '70s. Though efforts to contact company founder Gene Middlebrooks for comment were fruitless, persistent, but unconfirmed, rumblings about allegations of mail fraud and prison terms keep surfacing as a sad postscript to the Turbonique saga.

These men were truly giants, and the world is a colder place without them.

This Lamborghini Gallardo's owner crashed his car into a tree in London's Shepherds Bush with no tire marks or other explanations as to why or how it happened. The onlookers and gawking bystanders need no explanation to "enjoy" the schadenfreude.

These photos of a smashed up silver Lambo with black wheels come via Jalopnik reader Pete, who was kind enough to share them with us after spotting the crunched exotic. Such a crash obviously draws a big crowd and, in this case, everyone seems to be having a great time. Everyone but the owner.

The 2011 Ford Super Duty's a gamble. Ford's newest heavy hauler abandons the well-known Navistar-supplied Powerstroke diesel for a brand new all-Ford designed powerplant supposedly delivering monstrous power, squeaky-clean emissions, better fuel economy and the same price. Seems suspiciously impressive.

Let's be frank here, everything outside the engine bay on the new Super Duty truck isn't remarkably different than the outgoing trucks. The styling changes are more or less limited to the big bracketed equal sign grille, and the interior's most significant upgrades are technology related. The big news is the new powertrain. The upgrade from the 5.4-liter gasoline V8 to the new 6.2-liter is worth noting, but the real deal is the all new Powerstroke diesel with 735 lb-ft of torque and 390 HP. Mated to the all new Torqueshift six-speed transmission and a host of towing and control aids the entire setup packs unprecedented power.

But what's the impetus behind all of this? Considering the current truck commands huge segments on both the domestic and commercial side, messing around with the Powerstroke is risky business, but the time was right. When the 2010 diesel emissions regulations were released, there was an "oh shit" moment across the industry. The way things had been done would no longer work and as a result a new engine would be required.

The problem with the emissions requirements was they essentially mandated a massive two-part particulate filter and NOx catalyst: not a cheap prospect, and passing such costs along to consumers would push purchase price way up. Since Ford is the designer and builder for the 6.7, Navistar had been cut out as the middle-man allowing for a lot of wiggle room with the emissions equipment. The 6.7-liter V8 turbodiesel is more powerful, lighter, has better fuel economy and comes in at the same option price as the outgoing engine. It's actually about $500 cheaper on the chassis-cab F-450 trucks. Those aspects are fantastic, but the weirdest parts are the sound and the emissions. Sitting at idle inside the cabin you can barely tell it's even running. Even through about 1500 rpm it's down right quiet; Only when you stomp on it do you hear that diesel rattle, but it's barely even there. Stick your face in the exhaust stream and all you're greeted with is carbon dioxide and hot air, there isn't even a whiff of diesel smell, not even a faint petroleum smell. It's like a 409 cubic inch hair dryer. Freaky.

Just because it's environmentally friendly now certainly doesn't mean the Super Duty's gone soft. Far from it. When you're pulling a ten thousand pound trailer up a four degree switchback grade on the side of mountain in Arizona and accelerating past slower traffic you know this thing means business. Everything about hauling and towing has been improved on the 2011 model. Trailer sway control has been made standard, just as it was in the light duty trucks, along with Selectshift which is manual control of the automatic trans and range selection which allows you to eliminate as many top end gears as you like in order to control downhill speeds. It's all used in conjunction with the integrated turbo brake to make anyone look like a seasoned over-the-road hauler. Towing 23,000 lbs of plate steel with an F450 up that same grade was certainly a chore, but it was handled surprisingly easy. When we drag raced with 85,000 lb front end loaders through dirt, the point was made. (By the way, we drag raced towing front end loaders. Awesome.)

Setting everything up for this towathon was a snap with the new 4.2 inch information center between the gauges. With it you can set up as many as seven trailers for brake gain and miles driven, get constant streams of data about grade (truck pitch), and yaw, coolant and transmission temps, it'll even walk you through all the steps needed to hook up a given trailer, standard tow bar, goose neck or fifth wheel. Speaking of hitches, Ford's gone an eaten the aftermarket lunch by offering a factory installed under-bed cross member designed for quick changing between a goose neck and a fifth wheel hitch. When we say quick we mean the goose neck takes maybe 1 second to drop into place and the Reese fifth wheel hitch takes maybe 30 seconds to install if you're clumsy. The whole system from the factory is about $400 less than a comparable aftermarket.

One thing we didn't expect was the ride. For a knock-down, drag out work truck this thing rides pretty well. Unladen the hind-end tends to skip around a bit over washboards and potholes, but with a thousand pounds in the bed it's smooth going and the fuel economy barely even suffers. We beat on it hard, like twenty miles of gravel pit access road bombing corners with the tail out, dodging open range cattle and throwing 20 ft water wings in the wash outs and in our Powerstroke-equipped F250 with the 3.55 rear gears we got over 20 MPG pretty easy, others with the powerstroke and the fuel-saavy 3.11 rear end saw as high as 29.2 MPG (!) when babying the thing.

Now, admittedly a truck with this kind of wheelbase isn't going to be the rock-crawler's darling, but if you need to get deep, really deep into the back country to, who knows, tow a town closer to a lake, its fairly capable. The FX4 Super Duty's come equipped with four wheel drive including two high, four high and low, and there's an electromagnetic rear end locker. We never managed to get stuck, and we tried, some of the Ford guys on the other hand got hung up on some rocks, catching the low dangly bits, rear differential and transfer case armor. Nothing The Hoss couldn't handle though.

The Super Duty is an exercise in superlatives right now, however the proof will be in the pudding. Ford commands a class dominating 60% of the commercial segment with the Super Duty, but commercial buyers have no appetite for downtime, that's why this is the most tested new powertrain the truck division's ever done. Right now, it's the best full-size pickup on the road; it's powerful, smart, comfortable, clean as a whistle and the same price as the outgoing models, but the Silverado HD is still in GM's quiver. It's got an all-new frame and chassis and fully upgraded Duramax. The final word in the heavy truck battles is still out, but Ford's certainly staked a very powerful claim.

This is it — the Cadillac CTS-V Wagon — fully unmasked at a marketing photo shoot. It's the stretched-out high-power people-hauler every automotive journalist has been waiting for. Let's just go ahead and call it the Cadillac of awesome.

Of course we expect the CTS-V Wagon will come equipped with the same 550 HP+ 6.2-liter LSA engine as it's sedan and coupe brothers. Frankly, what more do we need to know? The fact that we have a real picture of this vehicle we never thought would see the light of day is the only news we need to read. Do want.

So what if Bob Lutz is gone. His legacy lives on.

This is Francesca Lavezzo, the improv comic from the Bay area who crashed her Honda repeatedly into a Ferrari dealership. After tasing her, police now believe she wasn't angry at Ferraris, just high.

Lavezzo reportedly crashed her Honda Civic multiple times into Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo of Northwest Portland yesterday around 4:00 am. Police later apprehended the woman after she crashed into a fence trying to elude police. She initially resisted arrest and was tased and taken to the hospital for observation and then to county lockup according to KGW-TV. Police don't think alcohol was involved but believe she was likely on drugs. Just look at her mugshot, it's like from Prom Queen to Meth Queen with an attitude.

So who is Francesca?

According to her resume from the L.A. area 11th Hour Comedy Troupe she's a professional actress/improver who studied at U.C. Berkeley and loves glass blowing. Most intriguing is this statement from her biography indicating a history of road rage:

"Francesca has been in Los Angeles long enough to realize her "man-size" is beneficial of times of road rage but not when it comes to auditions."

The life of a professional actress and improver is hard enough, but why'd she have to take it out on Ferraris? Here's hoping she learns to focus her rage on, like, Buicks or something.

These ten cars — the March Forza Motorsport 3 DLC — constitute the first of our two Jalopnik-branded downloadable content packs. You came, you saw, you guessed, and you just might have won. Our exclusive look at the cars below.

A quick refresher: Jalopnik is working with Turn 10 Studios to bring you two custom download packs for the Xbox 360 game Forza Motorsport 3. One pack was chosen by you, the Jalopnik commenters; it consists of weird old racing and street cars. The second pack, a group of newer vehicles, was chosen by Jalopnik and Turn 10 staff. We hinted at it over the course of the past week with a slow-burn contest.

Now it's time to reveal the results. The winners — the commenters who gave the correct make and model first for each car — will receive a copy of Forza Motorsport 3 along with a copy of the download pack. The next two people with the correct answer will receive a copy of the download pack. This pack will be released this month; the voted-on pack will hit digital shelves later this year.

If you're a winner, drop me a line at sam at jalopnik dot com to find out how to redeem your prize.

That said, here's the real reason you're here — enjoy the cars!

2010 Aston Martin Rapide

Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin's CEO, once worked at Porsche. While he was there, he helped shepherd the 989 — a pretty four-door sedan concept — to the brink of production. The car never saw showrooms, but twenty years later, Porsche released its Panamera just as Bez's boys were finishing up the Rapide. Both are fast, both wear a famous badge, and both seat four people. Only one is gorgeous.

Winner: Chrisdraper2007001

Second Place: excelchan

Third Place: Dolo 54 blows minds and blows engine

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #6)

2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

The V8 Vantage feels like nothing so much as the world's nicest Mustang, a polished piece of just-right British excellence with an American heart. (It has a small-block grumble and a crystal starter button. Is that cool, or what?) The V-12 car replaces the V-8 with the glass-smooth double six from Aston's DB9 and DBS. The finished product sports 510 hp, 420 lb-ft of torque, and a very large, very hairy can of Britain Is Coming To Break Your Face. This is what an Aston should be.

Winner: evoCS-Hench-Minion to the stars

Second Place: GuyH65

Third Place: andre_lico

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #9)

2010 Audi TT RS

There is one car in Audi's lineup that draws a direct line back to the original Quattro coupe, one car that lives to claw its way down a winding road to the tune of a yowly, turbocharged five-pot. That car is the TT RS. It is essentially an ordinary all-wheel-drive TT with a 340-hp 2.5-liter turbo five under the hood and a few chassis tweaks. There is little turbo lag. There is also little wheelbase. Love it.

Winner: Jorge Martinez

Second Place: OCTANE-65

Third Place: erdbeerheld

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #10)

2010 BMW Z4 sDrive35is

Excellent engine, refined chassis, 335 hp, and some nifty body parts. Dances well, sounds great, has an overboost function. The standard line is that it's an MZ4 in everything but name (it's not, though that's an argument for another day), but this is irrelevant: M or not, the 35iS is a wonderful car.

Winner: Michi310

Second Place: dwmccall2

Third Place: sparks 87

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #3)

1992 Bugatti EB110SS

The original modern mining of Bugatti's good name. 592 hp, a quad-turbocharged V-12, and a chassis built by Aerospatiale. Like the Veyron, it has little historical connection to le patron, but that doesn't mean that it's not cool. There are two downsides: 1) Parts are crazy expensive (albeit available, thanks to Dauer Sportwagen), and 2) the interior looks like a something out of Russian Lexus copy. You're driving it in a video game. These things do not matter. Dig it.

Winner: bradclark

Second Place: 3.slow

Third Place: lynn54harris

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #5)

Ford GTR ALMS (Robertson Racing)

OK, so it hasn't exactly won a lot of races. Or, you know, any. Who cares? How can you argue with something that looks like this? (Note: See that "D. Murry" on the side? That's David Murry, Porsche racer extraordinaire and the single nicest guy in American motorsport. Hi David!)

Winner: BPC

Second Place: lazaroff

Third Place: Nobody!

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #4)

2010 Honda Civic Type R Mugen

"Wah, wah, wah," you say. "Just another Honda," you say, "and Forza has a lot of Hondas." Baloney. This is the 8500-rpm, built-in-England, 237-hp Mugen Civic Type R. It is an angry, raw, limited-slip-equipped buzzbomb, the kind of thing you send your grandmother out in if you don't want her to come back alive. It is 230 pounds lighter than the ordinary Civic Type R, and it will bite your head off if you so much as look at it funny. Modern Hondas don't come any more insane than this. Quit whining.

Winner: alexyallanovichunderwood

Second Place: Kuang

Third Place: backfire103

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #2)

Jaguar XKR ALMS (Rocketsports Racing)

So Paul Gentilozzi, he of Rocketsports Racing and much IMSA success, is running a factory-backed Jaguar XKR in the American Le Mans Series. It competes against Porsche 911s and Chevrolet Corvettes. It's going to run at Le Mans this year. A Jaguar. At Le Mans. We approve of this on principle.

Winner: carlalsford

Second Place: Nobody!

Third Place: Nobody!

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #8)

Mazda Furai Concept

For the most part, concept cars are not runners. They do not move, they do not see abuse, and they most definitely do not haul ass. The Furai — the name is Japanese for "sound of the wind" — is different. Mazda's coolest show car was built on the bones of a Courage C65 Le Mans prototype; it has a three-rotor, 450-hp, ethanol-friendly Wankel under its rear lid, and it is no stranger to angry motion. Shortly after its debut, members of the press were given high-speed, sphincter-clenching rides in the Furai at Laguna Seca. This is the real deal.

According to several reliable sources, the Furai was recently dismantled by Mazda. Now you can drive it. Go like the sound of the wind.

Winner: zi006

Second Place: EL5

Third Place: CTKHO

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #1)

2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic

This one is a little goofy. It costs as much as a 911 GT2 but does not offer the same speed or horsepower. It is essentially a warmed-over, limited-edition Carrera S, one with a ducktail spoiler, Carrera 4 rear bodywork, a double-bubble roof, and a few minor engine modifications. But we like it. It has a ducktail. A ducktail, people. Seriously.

Winner: AutobahnBurner

Second Place: porsche9146isreallyporsche914ls9

Third Place: S50B32

The contest page for this car is here. (Car #7)

Here's the final car in this week's ten-car Guess That Forzalopnik Car contest. Want to win a copy of Forza Motorsport 3? Read this and then hit the comments to play. Good luck!

Remember, no editing your comments. If an edited comment contains the correct vehicle, it will be disqualified.

Come back tomorrow at noon to see if you won!