2005 Pontiac Gto Base Coupe 2-door 6.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

This Hoonigan mechanic's twin-turbo Trans Am is wonderful

What do you drive when you work on rally machines for a living? Probably a Subaru WRX, and that's what Gregg Hamilton had for a while until working on his car felt too much like his day job. So when he moved from New Zealand to the US to work for Ken Block (with a few stops along the way) he bought something entirely different. This is Gregg's 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. It's a throwback to another time, but it's anything but stock. It has that magic combination of a big V8 with a manual transmission and rear drive, just like the tin-top racers Gregg watched in his Kiwi youth. He bought it sight unseen from its previous owner in Alabama, and has been tinkering with it ever since. There's something about the flared wheel arches and the classic Firebird gold-striped black livery that has us smitten. Scope out the six-minute clip above from Petrolicious and see if you don't fall for Gregg's Pontiac as well.

GM issues four new recalls, 2.4 million cars affected

General Motors has announced another set of recalls, covering some 2.42 million cars in the United States. For those keeping track, The General has now recalled over 15 million cars worldwide this year due to various issues.
Here's the breakdown for this most recent set of recalls:
1,339,355 - Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia models from the 2009 to 2014 model years; Saturn Outlook models from the 2009 to 2010 model years

Automakers tussle over owners of 'orphan' makes

When General Motors put down several of its brands in recent years, it also let loose thousands of brand-loyal customers who will eventually need another car.
R.L. Polk Associates estimates there are more than 18 million cars from 16 discontinued makes on the road today. Those "orphan owners" have sales-hungry competitors seeing dollar signs. GM is offering Saturn owners $1,000 cash toward a Chevy Cruze, Cadillac CTS or a GMC Acadia. Ford is giving its Mercury lease customers a chance to get out of their contracts with no early-termination penalty and offering to waive six remaining payments if they drive off in a Ford or Lincoln.
Edmunds.com research shows the efforts are paying off somewhat for GM, with 39 percent of Pontiac owners, 37 percent of Hummer owners and 31 percent of Saturn owners taking delivery of another GM-branded vehicle. But that leaves as much as 69 percent of owners going elsewhere. Ford, Honda and Toyota seem to be attracting many former GM owners.