New Car Collection Blog's

It’s come to our attention that not all of our customers are out cruising the streets or lighting up the tracks in their super-tuned Mustangs 24/7. As it turns out, many of them spend ample time pony’d up to the barbecue searing, smoking and delivering meticulously rubbed and marinated meatiness to fork and knife pounding carnivores everywhere.

Well let it be known that we at American Muscle are hungry too. We’ve been known to sink our teeth deep into a hearty steak and chew like rabid dogs thrashing our heads until only bone remains. But we digress. With the summer grilling season now upon us, we are asking our customers to submit their favorite Ford Mustang-inspired recipes for the grill. Be it your 1/4-Mile Race Strip Steak, or your explosive NOS-Infused Filet Mignon, or your Extra Greasy Rack ‘n Pinion Ribs, you send us your favorite recipes and we’ll have our very own professional chef (Yes, we actually have a professional chef on staff, because that’s just how we roll.) prepare ‘em per your exact instructions.

And when all the grillin’ is done, the Official AmericanMuscle.com Eating Team, a select group of world-renowned barbecue aficionados who also just happen to work for us, will devour your delectable eats and proclaim a winner, or vomit, but hopefully the prior.

To the winner goes a Grand Prize package valued at more than $300 that includes a stainless steel Keg-a-Que portable grill, a deluxe 18-piece barbecue tool set, a manly American Muscle chef’s hat and apron (because you’ve gotta dress the part), an Extreme Barbecue Cookbook, and an Omaha Steak Gift Package that will be lucky to escape the building.

So get your entries in ASAP over at the AmericanMuscle Blog and let the good recipes roll!

The AmericanMuscle BBQ Contest.

IT'S over – General Motors has filed for bankruptcy. The ailing car giant has sought protection from its creditors under Chapter 11, allowing it to continue to trade while it restructures.

Its failure is the third largest in American corporate history, following the collapse of banking firm Lehman Brothers' and telecoms company Worldcom.

US president Barack Obama has already given the greenlight for more than bn of state aid, and in return for another bn (£18.5bn) the US government will take a 60 per cent stake in the new, smaller GM, which will be re-launched in 90 days.

The restructure will see the company split in two. Succesful brands such as Cadillac and Chevrolet, along with profitable factories, will form a 'new GM', while bad assets and poorly performing brands such as Saturn and Hummer, will become 'old GM' and be potentially sold off.

GM's European arm – which includes Vauxhall in the UK and Opel in Germany, although not Saab – will be unaffected by the filing as it has been saved by Canadian car parts company Magna.

Magna has yet to reveal its full plans though, which are set to include job losses and factory closures, leading to concern from unions in the UK. Vauxhall has manufacturing plants in both Luton and at Ellesmere Port which together employ 5,500 people.

UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson told the BBC that he had received assurances from GM Europe bosses – who selected Magna as their preferred bidder over Fiat – that Vauxhall production would continue in the UK. For more details click here.
Thanks to: Auto Express

Last November, we spied a tall, widened Honda Accord mule that used the front end of the U.S. Accord and the body of the European Accord Tourer wagon to cover an all-new, Toyota Venza–fighting crossover. Now, thanks to a snap-happy Tennessee tourist, we bring you the final product. Expected to be called Crosstour, it is seen here covered only by a front-end mask and some bits of tape that actually show more than they cover. (Note to Honda: Don’t take your top-secret development cars to the same places that attract camera-totin’ tourists.)

As seen on this prototype, the CUV’s front end will clearly be similar to that of the four-door Accord, although we can tell there has been some butching-up of the graphic elements beneath the thick tarps. A side swoosh similar to the Accord sedan’s passes through door handles borrowed from that model. Where the Crosstour really goes its own way, however, is aft of the B-pillar, where the window line rises to a point and the rear end slopes down to form a hatchback. The shape of the rear end appears to have necessitated the addition of a second, Insight-esque lower rear window to salvage some outward vision.

Under the skin, we expect the Crosstour to be a mix of Accord and Accord-based Pilot mechanicals, with all-wheel-drive models using a version of the system found in Honda’s SUVs. Engine choices will likely include a four-cylinder engine with at least 200 hp (possibly turbocharged) and a 3.5-liter V-6.

What strikes us most about these shots is just how closely the new CUV’s slant-back profile resembles that of Acura’s polarizing ZDX crossover, which itself is a distant cousin of the Accord. The sloping deck will both restrict cargo space somewhat compared with traditional crossovers and invite plenty of controversy—a surprising dare-to-be-different approach that is noteworthy from conservative Honda, especially given the American aversion to hatchbacks.

Pricing will likely start at about $25K, with well-appointed models reaching into the mid- to high-thirties. We expect the Crosstour to go on sale late this year as a 2010 model.

Thanks to: Car and Driver