From real rally cars to, um, wealthy people dressing up their $$$$ toys, comes the latest edition of the Gumball 3000. The flag drops Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific time, but the party starts the day before (Friday, May 1) at noon next to the Santa Monica Pier. There you will find supercars, lots of supercars, all done up in their goofy Gumball 3000 livery best. We’re talking Rolls-Royce Dropheads, Bugatti Veyrons, Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins, Lambos, Audi R8s and even a De Tomaso Pantera! The supercar show is followed by a free concert at 7:00 pm on the Third Street Promenade. That’s then followed by an after party at the Viceroy Hotel. Good luck getting into that one. I went last year (special pass, yo) and got to watch as Jason Statham ran up and down Sunset Blvd in a SSC Ultimate Aero TT. Good times. All the information you need: Gumball 3000.

Welcome to the first installment of Italian 101, where we take a look back at fantastic old Italian metal. More you say? Well yes, in a sense. A little while back we used a picture of a Fiat 128 as the top shot in a post about the upcoming Chrysler-Fiat disaster partnership and the sporty little sedan that may come of the deal. Reader Kenneth Miller would, “love car more information on car.” You ask, you shall receive. As it happens, the 128 isn’t just a great looking little car, but historically significant, too. Jump it.

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Frankly, neither am I. But many less people care what the latter thinks. Ahem. The LA Times’ Mr. Neil actually got to drive the prototype Model S sedan (as opposed to say gawking at it from behind velvet ropes) which he calls, “just barely ambulatory — more like a glorified golf cart than a harbinger of tomorrow tech.” Yeah, well — it’s a prototype and the production car’s a few years off. But then Dan gets to the meat of the issue: battery swapping. See, I was at the unveiling of the Model S a month back at Elon Musk’s private rocketship factory and went home with one particularly sour taste in my mouth. Jump?

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Strange days. Chrysler and their creditors couldn’t reach a restructuring agreement, so that’s all she wrote as far as solvency goes. Obama announced that Chrysler’s filing for Chapter 11 protection as early as right now. This will give the automaker a couple of months to get its partnership with Fiat in order, which Obama claims will save 30,000 American jobs. However, in the words of Ken Layne, “FIAT? Weren’t they run out of America a decade or two ago, for also sucking?” That’s pretty much our position, too. You know what? I’m just going to turn this whole, strange affair to the only website that can be trusted to adequately explain the US president brokering a bankruptcy deal between a hedge fund-owned automaker and a state-owned Italian multinational — Wonkette.

Some horrible person in Holland took his Suzuki Swift to a holiday parade for Queen Beatrix and ran down seventeen of folks, killing four. Five are still in serious condition and the driver’s in custody. If you make the jump an watch the video you’ll see that the little black murder Suzuki was trying to hit the open top bus carrying the Queen and the Royal family. Police think it was a deliberate act on the part of the driver but are stopping short from calling it terrorism. You say tomato… Jump to watch the video. [Source: Times Online]

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You’re looking at the upcoming Porsche Panamera Turbo (you can tell by the floating fog lights). The Turbo’s )obviously) the most interesting of the upcoming Panamera models because of it’s twin-turbo, 500 hp V8 that pushes the Porker to 60 mph in — ready for this — 4 seconds flat. Folks, that’s a big, (let’s be honest) hefty, four-door sedan with performance comparable to a Shelby 427 Cobra. If I may quote Walter Sobchak, “Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules? Mark it zero!” Ahem. Obviously, with that much force-inducted gumption under hood, dirty old regular oil is out of the question. That’s why Porsche has selected synthetic Mobil 1 as the engine lube for not just the Turbo, but all its Panameras. Full release after you jump.

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After being tossed around like a ragdoll since, well, Daimler bought ‘em, it looks like Cerebus-owned Mopar is finally going tits up. Kinda. We’ll be getting the official word in about half an hour, but the juice is that talks with Chrysler’s debt holders — who are on their ass for $6.9 billion with a B — broke down and there’s no where left to go for the most ailingest of the Big 3 but Chapter 11. Will this be effecting Chrysler’s pending deal with Fiat? Apparently not. Looks like all the bankruptcy’s going to mean is that Chrysler’s creditors are getting hosed a little, though a judge will decide exactly to what tune. And those creditors are mostly hedgefunds anyhow, so no one really cares. And hey, if you are a bankrupt automaker, there’s no better bedfellow than Fiat. They been there, man. [Source: MSNBC.com]

As per the hint in last week’s post, I am proud to present a brand new Muscle Car of the Week that features one of the most badass vehicles ever made, the Shelby Cobra. I’m not sure why, but it has taken me nearly 40 installments of this series before I decided to feature the legendary Cobra. Seeing as I am way past due I hope to give all readers a plethora of information on this beast of a car that was meant to kill the competition. Before we jump, Carrol Shelby had a standing bet with potential Cobra customers. He placed a $100 in front of them on the dash and if they could reach forward and grab it before the Cobra 100 mph, it was theirs to keep. Shelby never lost a dine. Now jump.

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After reading the rumors of what could happen to my favorite brand of General Motors a chill went down my spine. Now that those rumors have been confirmed as true I cannot help but feel a bit of sadness over the loss of Pontiac. The division of GM that has been has supposed to be about performance for as long as most people can remember will no longer churn out cars. Hit the somber jump for a look back at what Pontiac gave us as automotive enthusiasts. Read More >>

California based Fisker Automotive was given the prestigious award over some fairly stiff competition, namely the Honda Clarity FCX, Mini  e (the electric Mini) and the Nissan Cube. And it’s not hard to see why. After all, what’s not to love about a 100 mpg plug-in hybrid that looks that good? Very little, save for maybe price ($87,800 before a possible $7,500 tax credit). Fisker was handed the honor this Monday at London’s chic Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel.Full press release after the jump. [Source: Fisker Automotive]

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