After a couple of days of rain, the sunshine, and our repeated laps of the 10Best loop, brought out our local county sheriff who was less than amused with our flagrant dismissal of recommended speeds and speed limits. Three of us were pulled over and two of those three received a ticket. What cars you ask? The victims were the Mustang GT, the Volkswagen GTI, and the Porsche 911. The rest of our crew escaped having to experience the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you see flashing lights in the rear-view mirror.

I have to admit that I was one of the three, but I didn’t get a ticket despite being behind the wheel of a Guards Red (do they still call it Guards Red? What’s that K.C.? They do?) 911. First of all, I wasn’t going ridiculously over the speed limit when I crested a hill and saw the Crown Vic. According to the officer, he “clocked” me at 57 mph or 12 mph over the limit. When asked if I knew how fast I was going, I guessed that I was a 5 over the 45 mph limit. Fortunately, the officer didn’t witness some of the speeds I’d achieved earlier—those would have likely landed me in the backseat of his Crown Vic. The others were not as fortunate, but the officer was generous enough to give them quite a break and only write them up for five over.

Next year I ’ll have to follow the advice of our editor and drive the fast cars on the first day, before the locals start complaining, and before the cops start patrolling.

Our 10Best winners will be announced in our January 2010 issue. Please check for it on newsstands on December 5.

Related posts:

1. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Porsche 911
2. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Porsche 911
3. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Porsche 911 Carrera Manual

Holden, the Australian branch of GM responsible for toys like the Pontiac GTO, has launched a series of upgrade packages for the Holden Commodore that make it look like the Pontiac G8. The SS V-Series Special Edition packages are available for sedan, ute (think modern-day El Camino), and wagon body styles.

The Holdens get new 18-inch wheels, twin-nostril front fascias, a front splitter, and dual hood scoops—all of which recall the front-end treatment of the G8 GXP. The Sportwagon version essentially demonstrates what a G8 GXP wagon would have looked like. And it looks good. (Apparently they had a lot of extra G8 fascias lying around.)

This makes us especially sad because GM has nixed the G8 for American sales, and there will likewise never be such a wagon on our shores.

[View with PicLens]

Related posts:

1. 2009.5 Pontiac G6 – Auto Shows
2. Pontiac G8 and Solstice Concepts for SEMA – Auto Shows
3. 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck – Auto Shows

A TTAC source asks us to perform the following mental exercise:
“Just imagine that you’re a car salesman and you come into work this morning. Your boss says we have a bunch of new incentive programs you need to learn. And here they are . . .” Date: 09/30/2009 Ref. number: Sales / Incentives /
Subject: All Regions [...]

The F Series line of pickups from Ford have stood the test of time. I myself have owned two different ones, a 97 F150 and an 04 F150, both of which I was very happy with. Dependability, performance, even a little luxury, but maybe they weren’t quite as rugged as I would have liked. That’s why Ford offers Super Duty F Series options, for those who really need to beat up their trucks.

The redesigned 2011 Super Duty will over 2 different engine configurations. The gasoline V8 will be a whopping 6.2 liters, while the diesel version will be a 6.7 turbo charged v8. Either one sounds like they won’t have any trouble pulling whatever you might be able to hook up to. Also, thanks to Ford’s relentless pursuit of efficiency, just because you need a big dog doesn’t mean it will eat like one. Ford claims that the new Diesel 2011 Super Duty will be the best-in-class for fuel economy.

2011 Ford Super Duty

Original automotive content: Automotive Blog

2011 Ford Super Duty Pic

Ferrari boss confirms 458 Spider and Enzo replacement

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