Have you ever had a first impression of something only to find your perception changes after getting to know it? Sure you have and I just had that very experience with the 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser. I suppose a bit of an explanation is in order here. Last fall, when I visited the IMPA Test Days, I had 3 vehicles I was psyched to check out on the off road test track. The H3, the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon and the FJ Cruiser. The Rubicon is a full on off road beast and the Hummer folks had brought an H3 with all terrain tires and fancy paint straight off the SEMA show floor. The FJ Cruiser that that Toyota sent was wearing plain old all season tires. Talk about bringing a knife to a gun fight. Needless to say, the impression left by the FJ that day was severely hampered by tire choice. Fast forward 8 months and I’d just spent a week in a Rubicon and had the opportunity to get it dirty for the camera. When I picked up the beige FJ from Toyota Canada, it was wearing some all season boots. So much for our planned photo shoot in the mud! I was disappointed.

What happened during our week with the FJ Cruiser was very interesting. Every single time I got behind the wheel, I found something else that I liked. The truck grew on me in a way that no other vehicle ever has.
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In the quest for sales, yet another car dealer has sunk to even lower lows. This time, the folks at Kieffe & Sons Ford in California have invoked the name of The Lord, only not in the peaceful manner that one might expect. These boys have launched a radio campaign attacking non Christians:

Did you know that there are people in this country who want prayer out of schools, “Under God” out of the Pledge, and “In God We Trust” to be taken off our money?

But did you know that 86% of Americans say they believe in God? Now, since we all know that 86 out of every 100 of us are Christians who believe in God, we at Kieffe & Sons Ford wonder why we don’t just tell the other 14% to sit down and shut up. I guess maybe I just offended 14% of the people who are listening to this message. Well, if that is the case, then I say that’s tough, this is America folks, it’s called free speech. And none of us at Kieffe & Sons Ford are afraid to speak up. Kieffe & Sons Ford on Sierra Highway in Mojave and Rosamond: if we don’t see you today, by the grace of God, we’ll be here tomorrow.

And you thought the Gas or Guns campaign was loopy! I’ll bet their insurance broker is scrambling to cancel the policies on any inventory that’s not under lock and key!

Source: Autoblog via The Consumerist

There has been quite the commotion going on lately in the blogosphere with regards to ethics and automotive journalism. The problem seems to be that many people feel that many auto writers end up writing advertorials rather than quality reviews thanks to free trips and swag given to them by auto manufacturers.

The discussion of ethics is nothing new in regards to the auto industry. From cheesy used car salesmen like our friend above, to old school manufacturing payoffs this industry has quite the reputation that for the most part is well earned. It makes sense then that the scribes who cover the industry and the products it peddles should come under the same scrutiny.
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I’m surprised this guy didn’t get lynched by Indy fans of the fairer sex!

Photo from Bro Scott

There are few teams that can put together a race car and have a winner straight out of the box, but it looks like Pat Richard and Rocket Rally Racing would seem to have done just that. In fact, Richard beat out some pretty impressive competition, with the likes of Andrew Comrie-Picard, Antoine L’Estage, and Warren Currie in the field. The first gravel event of the season is known for throwing all sorts of stuff at competitors and 2008 was no different, with heavy rain and equally heavy mud.

Top Ten results after the break, along with a surprise video
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Bro in law to The Garage, Scott Simmons received a pretty sweet B-Day gift from my Sis this year. Tickets to the Indy 500! This shot was taken halfway through lap one.

Keep the shots coming dude!

Life has been so busy around The Garage that the Carnival of Wheels has definitely taken a bit of a back seat lately. I began this edition a couple of weekends ago and now I’m watching the Formula 1 boys paddle their canoes around Monaco. So let’s get going on this hot lap around the auto blogs, because there are LOTS of submissions!

When the media talks about women in motorsports, usually they are referring to drivers as they are the most visible and possibly the most news worthy. The reality is that women are involved at many levels, but few are seen in a team ownership capacity. Sheila Scarborough from The Driving Woman recently sat down with Lori Morgan from JD Motorsports who compete in the Nationwide Series. In this insightful chat we learn about Morgan’s roots on an Ohio farm, being the Mother figure on the team and get some idea of what it costs to run a car at that level. How does 14 grand a weekend just for tires sound?
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What happens when you merge two organizations? Usually you end up with a ton of surplus desks and stationary. When those two organizations happen to be pro racing series through, you get an unbelievable amount of cool stuff. In the aftermath of the IRL/CCWS reunification, there is an absolute ton of said stuff and there are creditors looking to recoup some cash. Sounds like time for an auction!

That’s right, the entire pile of Champ Car booty is going on the block on June 3rd at the old Champ Car headquarters in Indianapolis. Timing equipment, race transporters, race cars, shop equipment, memorabilia and a bunch of those cool pace cars are all up for sale.

As a teaser, we’ve got the list of pace cars after the break. For all the other stuff and photos, or to bid online visit the Gallivan Auctioneers site.
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All those analysts who say we’re in a recession have obviously not been watching the classic Ferrari market. Canadian auction house RM Auctions, worked with Sotheby’s this past weekend in Maranello to set a new world record for the most expensive vintage car sold. $10,894,400 was the winning bid. The car? A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyer which had been owned by actor James Coburn for 25 years. This wasn’t the only special car however, as 10 other cars sold for more than 1 million dollars!

Full release, photos and full results after the break
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Car dealers all over are always looking for that special hook that will drive new business into the store. A new and used car dealer in Missouri has taken things to a whole new level by offering customers $250 in free gas or a gift certificate for a semi automatic hand gun. That’s right, you too can have your very own semi auto handgun to play vigilante.

Walter Moore from Max Motors says: “it’s a choice — protection or gas”
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