Is it Worth it? 2009 Challenger SRT8 with Salvage Title but only 29 miles for Sale on eBay

A virtually brand-new 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 with a mere 29 miles on the odometer that's for sale on eBay captured our attention today. As you can see in the photos, the SRT8 suffered a blow on the driver's door while there's also damage on the passenger's side rear panel. The seller claims that it will cost $2,300 to $2,800 to get the car fixed, however, it does come with a salvage title and there's no factory warranty. The car's total price with all the options comes out to $42,640. As we speak, the highest bid on eBay is $24,500 but the auction will end on February 1st, so there's plenty of time for the price to go up. Think it's worth looking into and if so, how high would you be willing to go up to?








Via: Cardomain , Link: eBay

Why the Surprise? Hybrid Sales fall 9,9% in the U.S. in 2008

Just as gasoline-electric hybrids looked like they were ready to conquer America when gas prices rose up to nearly $4 a gallon in July, a steep decrease in fuel costs -aided by the collapse of the auto market in the second half of the year- resulted to a significant decrease in their sales. According to a report from Autonews, U.S. sales of hybrids fell 9,9% in 2008 to 315,761 units. Even Toyota, which controls about 75% of the hybrid market in the States, saw its sales drop 12.5 percent the past year.

General Motors on the other hand, saw its hybrid sales nearly triple from 5,175 units in 2007 to 14,439 units in 2008, but that was mainly due to the addition of several new models like the Chevrolet Malibu and Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon.

But as GM's Vice Chairman Bob Lutz rightfully pointed out at the Detroit Show last week, "at $1.50 a gallon, the American public is not willing to pay for fuel-saving technology." We couldn't agree more. If fuel prices continue to remain at these levels and unless automakers find a way to reduce the cost of these vehicles -eg. like Honda promises that it has done with the 2009 Insight, we seriously doubt that American consumers will embrace hybrids or any type of fuel-efficient vehicles for that matter.

And just to make it clear, it's not just Americans; do you think that European or Japanese consumers would choose a fuel-efficient car over one with better performance if gasoline prices were as cheap as they are in the States?

Source: Autonews

Unmasking Top Gear's Stig - Who Cares?

As you probably noticed, we've avoided posting any articles in concern of the latest craze to hit the net, which is discovering the true identity of Top Gear's "White Stig". Over the past few days, forums, blogs and even news sites have named several people as the magazine's mystery test car driver. Top Gear of course couldn't resist the temptation, and rightfully used the publicity to its benefit by making a mockery of all those claims. The folks over the British magazine even went as far as naming President Barack Obama as the Stig.

Our take? Some might say that it is very important that we uncover the man hiding behind the racing helmet. All we know is that we don't give a 'hump' who he is and that we find this whole publicity stunt extremely annoying...

Which Cars Should Fiat Bring to the U.S.?

With today's announcement on the planned alliance between Chrysler LLC and the Fiat Group (read all the details here), it's only logical that we begin speculating on the Italian cars that could -or should- make their way on this side of the Atlantic in the very near future. Ferrari and Maserati aside, the Fiat Group owns the Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Lancia and Fiat marques.

If you want our opinion, we'd vote for the Fiat 500 and its Abarth sibling; the group's latest MINI Cooper rival, the Alfa MiTo including the GTA version that will debut in Geneva; the Alfa 159 as an alternative to the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4; and maybe, the indecisively sporty, Alfa Brera and Spider. Refresh your memory on all the automobiles available by the Fiat Group's four mainstream brands after the jump, and tell us what you think.

ABARTH FIAT 500

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ABARTH FIAT GRANDE PUNTO

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ALFA ROMEO MITO

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ALFA ROMEO 147

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ALFA ROMEO 159

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ALFA ROMEO GT COUPE

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ALFA ROMEO BRERA

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ALFA ROMEO SPIDER

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FIAT PANDA / PANDA CROSS

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FIAT GRANDE PUNTO

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FIAT 500

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FIAT LINEA

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FIAT IDEA

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FIAT BRAVO

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FIAT MULTIPLA

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FIAT ULYSSE

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FIAT CROMA

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FIAT SEDICI

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FIAT FIORINO QUBO

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FIAT DOBLO

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LANCIA YPSILON

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LANCIA MUSA

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LANCIA DELTA

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LANCIA PHEDRA

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LANCIA THESIS

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