1968 Camaro Z-28 Rally Sport British Green 66,746 Original Miles on 2040-cars

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Man spent $75 on a truck that lasted 38 years

Absurd as it is, some buyers today are worried about getting their car to last throughout the term of their seven-year car loan. Minnesota resident Bob Sportel has the opposite issue: his Chevrolet truck seemingly won't die. Sportel needed a cheap ride to get to work when he took a job at a farmer's co-op 38 years ago, so he bought a rusty 1957 Chevy pickup for $75 from a farmer; at the time, the 20-year-old truck was almost as old as Bob was. After nearly four decades of daily driving and an estimated 300,000 miles, Sportel is still driving the truck today. Bolts secure a fender, Bondo secures the lights, what looks like a whole roll of duct tape keeps him sitting on the bench seat instead of in it. For a 58-year-old pickup that's never seen a garage or a new coat of paint – but did get its oil changed four times a year – that's not bad; Sportel thinks his repair bill hasn't got above $1,000 for the entire time he's owned the truck. He still has no plans to get rid of it, saying, "It just becomes a part of you." You can watch his story in the video above. News Source: KARE11.com Chevrolet Truck Classics Videos

Weekly Recap: Tesla loses money, still dominates the news

Some people get an inordinate amount of attention. In politics, it's Donald Trump. In football, it's Jim Harbaugh. And in the auto world, it's Elon Musk and his always-fascinating electric car company, Tesla Motors. General Motors is spending $877 million to upgrade a factory. So what! US auto sales are up. Who cares? Tesla has a metal snake that will recharge your car! So was the week in Tesla – er, the industry. Snarkiness aside, Tesla did dominate the news cycle, led by the announcement the company lost $184 million in the second quarter. Tesla also said it expects to deliver between 50,000 and 55,000 vehicles this year, and is preparing for a full launch of the Model X crossover in September. Musk also made news during the earnings call by simply not answering a question about ride sharing, leading to speculation Tesla could be considering its own operation. While the financials were the arguably the most important company news, reports of a Model S cyber hacking were more compelling fodder for Tesla followers. Researchers were able to attack the sedan and bring it to a stop, though they required access to the car first. Tesla says it already has deployed a remedy for the situation. On a lighter note, Tesla published a video of its metal charger prototype that autonomously uncoils like a snake to power up the company's vehicles, provoking plenty of humorous comments and comparisons. Watch it and decide for yourself. While some of this might seem trivial, much of Tesla's recent attention has been warranted. It's the first startup US automaker in decades to launch from nothing and actually gain traction in the market. Sure, Musk is a lightning rod and Tesla always seems to be in the spotlight. But amid all of the publicity, it easy to lose sight of the new reality: Tesla is a force. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Chevy Volt lights up 106 MPGe The Chevy Volt's vitals are looking healthier for 2016. The second-generation plug-in hybrid racks up a gaudy 106 miles per gallon equivalent, which is an increase of eight MPGe from the 2015 model. The new Volt can travel 53 miles on electricity, a significant jump from the 2015 Volt's 38-mile range. The new car also has a 420-mile total range when factoring in the capability of the gasoline engine, which is 40 miles greater than the current car offers.

The story of the 2014 Chevrolet SS: "Luxury, power, refinement, handling"

Not including the women and men who built it, the 2014 Chevrolet SS has only been seen in person by a piddling number of people - fewer humans than would fill the gymnasium at a high school volleyball game. Not including the men and women who built it, no one has driven it. Even so, it is already saddled with two controversies: the way it looks and the way it shifts.
First to that shifting. Did we love the last Americanized Holden, the awesomely sportsome Pontiac G8 GXP, and its six-speed manual? Of course. Do we wish the SS came with a six-speed manual? Of course. But we'd like a toboggan to come with a manual transmission. We'd put a manual transmission on a weasel if we could because we're just wired that way; if it moves, it should come with a stick and a clutch. Or at least the option.
Let's climb down off the ledge, though. We haven't driven the SS and we have no idea how good (or not) the automatic is. And the Hobson's Choice in transmissions when it comes to sport sedans like the BMW M5, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and Jaguar XFR-S and, oh yeah, cars-that-really-should-have-manuals like the Audi R8 and Nissan GT-R and Porsche 918 and every single Lamborghini and Ferrari, for instance, hasn't stopped us from enjoying what is clearly the gruesome, dual-clutched demise of Western automotive civilization. Because in spite of our ululations at the dying of the six-speed light, we understand.