You Decide: Roush Silverado - coolest truck ever or gaughty redneck fantasty?

Roush is famous for the crazy stuff they do to Fords. And, their Roush F150 is damn sweet. Unlike the....let's say...'understated' mods you get when you score yourself a Saleen F150, the Roush is loud, growling, brightly colored and generally obnoxious. And it looks like Roush has applied the same winning formula to a possible truck. And, look at it, if they don't end up making it - someone else will. Would you drive a bright orange truck with what looks looks like a shaker hood? Would you want it in a quad cab?

My vote's 'hell yes'

Opinion Polls & Market Research

The Man With the Van now Has a Plan - 2008 Dodge Caravan

Does your pappy drive a van for work? His saws, hammers, drills and duct tape all neatly arranged in a pile - with old newspapers and water bottles sprinkled all over? Well, if he's still in an Astro from the 90s, it's because America's had a van shortage since Chevy killed the Astro, Ford killed the Aerostar and all dad had left is the Dodge Sprint - a rebranded Mercedes that only big, chain plumbers, carpenters and locksmiths could afford.

The rest of the van-driving dads had to get a pickup or keep fixing the old van. Well, now Dodge is striking a blow for the workin man by offering the 2008 Caravan with no-seats-in-the-back (read: commercial). The Crossfire ate doo-doo. The Avenger is ridiculous. Apparently what the Germans didn't understand is - Americans need vans!

Everything you want, nothing you don't: New Chevy El Camnio coming?

Truth is, there's probably not one coming. But check out how easy GM's Aussie arm, Holden, makes it look. The Holden El Camino (not what it's really called) is everything you want (fast car) with nothing you don't (extra seats, floor, windows).

It's the perfect vehicle. Dump all your crap in the back and go harder. And this one's so damn sexy. And, with a chunky V8 under there, it's just as fast as the original with none of the 'gangs love stealing it' drawbacks.

You can read about all the boring details of this 411 horsepower, high-spec version of the Holden HSV Ute Maloo from Autoblog here.

Smart monster truck. No, I mean, really, Smart.

Most folks in America haven't encountered the Smart ForTwo. Part of Daimler (Benz), Smart's been making the FourTwo since 2000 and it's surprisingly comfortable and you can park perpendicular to the curb and, of course, it gets fantastic gas mileage.

We'll get a chance to check out the practical little car thing when it comes to the States next year. In the meantime, however, superfreaks at the Smart offices (or whatever) in Greece decided to spend what little time they may have on taking the 84hp, six-cylinder, diesel engine and transmission from a Unimog uber truck and shoving it up skirt of the tiny ForTwo. The result is pure Greek comedy - minus all the insest. To give credit where it's clearly due - Greek 4x4 Rally Champion/God Stefanos Attart was the one who designed the thing.

This bad boy you find your eye drawn to is the ForFun - something that will never get built but exists as a bit of a publicity exercise - and there's nothing wrong with that. The ForFun couldn't fit the Unimog's unbelievable suspension - but it does feature individually-adjustable shock absorbers.

Check out http://www.thesmart.ca to see a couple more pictures - they've been kind not to sue me for using the above image.

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Diesel Power

- Better than hybrids or just for eurotrash?

It smells like ass, doesn’t cost that much and usually means very little acceleration. No, it’s not Taco Bell's steak quesadilla. It’s diesel power! While everyone and their mama, including the latest consumer reports announcement, is jumping onto the hybrid wagon - diesel is still seen as being just for trucks and buses. The truth is, when USA Today (the thinking man’s toilet paper) drove a Prius and a VW Jetta TDI from Detroit to D.C. - the Vdub got six more MPG than the Toyota, which got 38. That’s also 6 less than Consumer Reports got out of their Prius.

I have a hard time advocating that people drive diesels. Compared to the futurism and political cache of hybrids, diesels don’t seem to have a lot going for them. In city centers, hybrids are the way to go. Diesel smoke (proven to cause cancer) spewing from buses and slow-moving traffic produces a black cloud that hovers at street level. London cabs are all diesel - go smell that place. Hybrids, meanwhile spew nothing at those low speeds. It’s a better technology for taxis, police cars, meter maids and buses.

Fair enough, but at highway speeds, like on USA Today’s trip, and most other USA driving, diesels make tons more sense than the overhyped hybrids. Diesel fuel costs around 15% less and the extra cost of the car is often as little as 300 bucks (in the case of the Passat). This is compared to the $2,700 you’ll add to your Escape XLT Sport to get the Hybrid. Diesels are also not quite as slow as they used to be. There's diesel bimmers in europe that make close to 300 hp!

Compared to Ethanol, there aren’t diesel versions available for most cars sold in the US. Instead, cars like the Volkswagen Golf, Mercedes E type and BMW offer diesel engines in the States - a BMW X5 diesel's coming soon - meaning you’ve got little choice but to go German. If that ain’t your thing - you have a wide variety of massive, American trucks to choose from! Ford, GM and Dodge make awesome diesel trucks in both regular and dually variety! There’s also the Hummer H1 and the International RTX (both pictured) to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil!