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'SNL' car thief sketch shows saving the manuals can save your car

It's not news that the number of cars available with a manual transmission has dwindled, and a big reason for that is people just aren't learning how to drive them. Still, it's a worthwhile skill to pick up. Our number one reason would be because it's fun, but you never know when you might to need to do it in a pinch. Perhaps you'll have to drive a friend's old stick-shift car in an emergency, or maybe it's just a really cool car and they're giving you the chance to try it out. Or in the case of this Saturday Night Live sketch, maybe you're trying to steal a vintage Lamborghini. Yes, in the sketch titled "Car Heist," the stereotypical, "Gone in 60 Seconds"-style Hollywood break-in goes terribly awry when the wheelman is completely confounded by the three pedals and gated shifter of the target Lamborghini Diablo. And with two minutes to leave before the doors close again, his backer's attempts to teach him over the radio go about as well as you could expect, as he has to get his head around using both feet and having to learn what a clutch is. It's a situation that anyone that's learned to use a manual or has helped teach others to will find fun. I had an internship with Hagerty Insurance several years ago, and I helped with their program teaching young drivers how to drive stick with vintage and enthusiast cars. If I only had two minutes to teach someone to drive, and had to do it over the phone, I think things would've gone about as well. So give it a watch and have a little laugh. And then, if you haven't learned yet, find someone to teach you or at least watch the video below. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Humor TV/Movies Lamborghini manual transmissions saturday night live

Lamborghini chief stands by V12s

Despite the push for fuel efficiency and low carbon emissions, the V12 is still a staple of high performance. Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, and yes, Lamborghini maintain fleets of these monstrous dinosaur engines. And for the final entry on that list, that's not going to change. Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali sat down with Autocar and explained in no uncertain terms that his company will continue to offer V12s for the time being. "Our major customers and dealers around the world say: 'Please do not touch the V12'," Domenicali told Autocar. "So we will continue to work in that direction." But there's more than just customer demand driving Lambo's V12 loyalty. According to Domenicali, the company's niche is small enough to weather V12-ruining storms. "In the short term, there is still a lot of development potential in the V12," Domenicali told Autocar. "Of course, we need to understand what the market is doing in terms of emissions and legislation, but I don't see that will be a problem. We are always very open to how the market might evolve." That evolution, lately, has tended toward electrification. The flagship of Lambo's arch-nemesis Ferrari pairs a 12-cylinder engine with a hybrid system for blistering performance. Then there's the stuff happening with the V8-powered Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1. These three hybrids are in an entirely different and more potent performance (and price) class than Lamborghini's hottest model, the Aventador LP750-4 SV. Hybrids are the future of performance, for Lamborghini included... Eventually. "We cannot be disconnected to the world of the future but we want to be balanced," Domenicali said. "We need to make sure that as soon as the technology of electrification is relevant to our car at a cost level, and will add value, we are flexible to shift in that direction." Finally, Domenicali addressed advanced connectivity systems while parrying Autocar's question about autonomous vehicles. "If you own a Lamborghini, you want to have the passion of driving it and we need to keep that. But new technology could have some relevance to the driver. For example, if you are on a race track, you could have a head-up display which shows you how to maximize your performance [around a corner], using the telemetry we have now," Domenicali told AC. "That's an approach where I see that technology could be very useful for our customer." Related Video:

Original Lamborghini Countach designer wants no association with 2021 remake

The designer of the groundbreaking 1974 Lamborghini Countach, Marcello Gandini, has issued a remarkable statement to the press regarding the recently released Countach LPI 800-4. In it, he repeatedly affirms that he had nothing to do with the revived Countach that Lamborghini revealed at Monterey Car Week on the occasion of the model's 50th anniversary. Gandini alleges that Lamborghini may have misled the public into thinking he had something to do with the Sian reskin, and he wants to make it clear that he had nothing to do with it. "The external public, seeing and reading what has been communicated by Automobili Lamborghini and consequently by the media during recent weeks, may be led into believing that Marcello Gandini was a part of, or was involved with, or the project may have had his blessing. It is therefore appropriate to clarify the facts and reiterate that he did not participate in, nor was he aware of the project in any way."   Rarely has a designer of Gandini's stature and repute so publicly refuted a company they've worked for. Though Gandini penned cars from the humble Renault 5 to the masterful E12 BMW 5 Series to the incredible Lancia Stratos, it is Lamborghini — where he was responsible for the legendary Miura, Espada, Marzal and Countach, among others — that Gandini is historically most closely associated with.  Some of the confusion Gandini references stems from a video published by Lamborghini earlier this year. In it, Gandini talks about his design philosophy (which, ironically, includes breaking new ground with every design) and current Lamborghini head of design Mitja Borkert presents Gandini with a scale model of the then-upcoming Countach LPI 800-4. The latter believes that his presence in the video equates to tacit approval of the new design. "Neither earlier, nor during the interview was it stated that the car was scheduled for limited series production. With the elegance and kindness that have always distinguished Marcello Gandini, when Mitja Borkert presented the scale model during the interview, the former did smile and acknowledge as would be customary to do so."   Gandini believed that the model was the end of it, but after Lamborghini pulled the wraps off of the LPI 800-4, he says he received "countless requests for clarification" from press and colleagues in the auto design field. He decided to issue the statement to make clear he had nothing to do with the remake.