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Jay Leno always gets to take his turn behind the wheels of lots of big, fast, beautiful things that make the enthusiast get all choked up with high-horsepower emotion and exhaust gasses. But he can also check out things that are just weird and beautiful without actually driving – and in these two cases, those things are American.

There are two videos after the jump from last week’s Pebble Beach festivities in Monterey, California – one of the 1960 Plymouth XNR Concept designed by Karim Eddie but named for powerhouse designer Virgil Exner. Long, red and asymmetrical and powered by a Valiant engine, there’s only one, which is only right.

The other vid is of Edsel Ford’s 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster. Certainly one of the most compelling cars of the entire weekend, Jay takes his time with Edsel Ford’s grandson and Pebble concours judge Ken Gross to dive into the speedster’s creation and restoration. Hit the jump to check them out.

Continue reading Jay Leno checks out some strange and beautiful American things at Pebble

Jay Leno checks out some strange and beautiful American things at Pebble originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It would be great to have a garage so large that entire sections were devoted to specific makes or models. Jay Leno has such a place, and, as befitting one of the best-known car junkies in the world, one section of his Big Dog Garage is home to nothing but Duesenbergs.

In case you’re not familiar with the marque, the Duesenberg was (and still is by some) regarded as the absolute pinnacle of automotive engineering. One vehicle in particular has an interesting story, as it was discovered unrestored in a Manhattan garage. Suffice it to say – and you knew this was coming, right? – it’s a Duesy.

This 1931 Duesenberg Model J was parked in New York City with just a few thousand miles on the odometer. The original owner’s son attempted to restore the car sometime in the 1950s, but the car was returned to its parking spot, and left to rot. After that, Leno became the second owner when he acquired the car in 2005.

It may have come to him as the last original owner, unrestored Duesy, but per Jay, the car was too trashed to be left in that condition. So, the Model J underwent a complete restoration, and is now in better shape than when it was originally parked in that Manhattan garage. Click past the jump to learn more about the car, and how Leno’s team brought it back to life.

Continue reading Last original owner, “unrestored” Duesenberg checks into Jay Leno’s Garage

Last original owner, “unrestored” Duesenberg checks into Jay Leno’s Garage originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Holden has unveiled the Holden Series II Cruze, the latest edition of its locally-built compact car. If the name and face look familiar, that’s because the Holden is nearly identical to our good ol’ American Chevrolet Cruze.

The Aussie version, however, gets a wider range of options, and some interesting versions we won’t see Stateside. In particular, Australia will get two performance variants of its locally-built small car, the SRi and the SRi-V. There’s also a 2.0-liter turbodiesel version available, which joins the 1.4-liter turbo and 1.8-liter naturally aspirated gas engines. Holden claims the diesel mill is good for 42 mpg, making the diesel Cruze the most fuel-efficient car built in Australia. The entire range meets strict Euro5 emissions standards.

The SRi-V is the top-dog Cruze in Australia. While it doesn’t carry a much bigger punch than the others under the hood, it’s loaded down gadgets and an complex infotainment system. The SRi-V sports keyless entry and start and remote key technology. The stereo has a 10-gig internal hard-drive, which Holden says will hang on to 2,000 of your favorite tracks.

Power is up across the range, starting with the 2.0-liter diesel, which now churns out a more impressive 160 horsepower and 265 pound feet of torque. The 1.4 turbo, which powers both the SRi and the SRi-V puts out just 138 horsepower, but has 147 pound-feet of torque available between 1,850 and 4,900 rpm.

Check out the differences for yourself in our massive high-res gallery below, or check out the official press release after the jump.

[Source: Holden]

Continue reading Holden Series II Cruze checks in Down Under

Holden Series II Cruze checks in Down Under originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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