1971 Pontiac Lemans 350 Great Project Car on 2040-cars

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There's a 'Knight Rider' movie in development

James Wan, who has directed films from the first "Saw" to "Aquaman," with "Furious 7" in between, and produced even more projects, is producing a new Knight Rider movie according to a report in Deadline. Just in case there's a reader who doesn't know, Knight Rider was one of the seminal trio of iconic-car shows from the 1980s, along with "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "Miami Vice." The series lasted 90 episodes that ran from 1982 to 1986, following the crime-fighting exploits of Michael Knight, a man who crusaded for justice after being shot in the face. Billionaire Walton Knight hired Michael to work with the Knight Foundation, where Michael helps develop the Knight Industries Two Thousand, a Pontiac Trans-Am with AI that can talk, drive more than 200 miles per hour, and could teach MI6's Q Branch about gadgetry. Collider described David Hasselhof's Michael Knight as "crimefighter by trade and wearing-a-leather-jacket-with-no-shirt-underneath innovator by hobby." The show made such an impression that there was a series spinoff called "Code of Justice," two TV movies in 1991 and 1994, a convention called KnightCon, and a series reboot on NBC that lasted for one season from 2008 to 2009, as well as stores full of action figures and models and literature, YouTube fan-made trailers and movies, and this wacky German-dubbed short "Knight Rider" film starring Hasselhoff. We don't know anything about the new movie's plot yet, other than that it's set in the present. T.J. Fixman, better known for now as a video game writer who worked on franchises like "Ratchet and Clank" and "Resistance: Fall of Man," has been attached to write, with a mandate to keep "the anti-establishment tone of the original." With matters still early in development there's no telling when the movie will hit theaters, and Wan's probably got his hands busy with the new MacGuyver reboot for CBS, anyway. Now that there's already been a Knight Industries 2000 and 3000, that gives us plenty of time to imagine — in a world where 200-mph hypercars powered by everything sprout like weeds and even Cannonballers are using military-like equipment — what would a Knight Industries Four Thousand possess? And would it be called KIFT? Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

German prosecutors have recorded calls between VW bigwigs talking dieselgate

It's barely possible to believe how poorly Volkswagen continues to handle dieselgate. Depending on which day you catch the news, the German carmaker embodies the corporate venality of "Michael Clayton," the comic blundering of the Coen Brothers' "Burn After Reading," and the every-man-for-himself vengeance of "Reservoir Dogs." Today is Tarantino day, with news that German prosecutors have recordings of phone calls between former Audi and Porsche development boss Wolfgang Hatz, ex-Volkswagen Group executive Matthias Muller, and current Porsche executives Oliver Blume and Michael Steiner. Hatz made the calls to the trio in November 2015, two months after Volkswagen admitted its diesel-particulate sins to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Hatz was still employed at the time, and in his company car. Who recorded the calls? His wife. Hatz and his missus apparently saw the storm coming and started stacking defenses early. Hatz's wife, who can be heard encouraging Hatz during at least one call, sent the recordings to Hatz's attorney from her mobile phone. According to a Google translation of the German newspaper Handelsblatt's report, she included the note, "Here is a very long, but quite informative conversation on the current situation with useful formulations." The report in Handelsblatt said that in Germany it is generally "not allowed" to record a conversation and pass it on to a third party. We don't know how the authorities will handle this matter, since prosecutors found the recordings in e-mail attachments on Mrs. Hatz's mobile phone. Remember, when the diesel scandal broke, VW spent months saying that only a small number of low-level personnel were behind it, and all of the higher-ups had been blindsided. Ex-CEO Martin Winterkorn claimed to be "stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group." Winterkorn successor Matthias Muller said, "according to current information, a few developers interfered in the engine management." Former VW USA honcho Michael Horn told a congressional committee that "a couple of software engineers" programmed the software for reasons no one could understand. In the recorded conversations, Hatz apparently called Muller to find out how VW planned to treat him.

Destiny: General Motors should bring back Pontiac

Despite having officially left the market in 2010, the Pontiac badge is still a common sight on roadways throughout the United States. Towards the end of its life, Pontiac models were largely rebadged versions of other General Motors vehicles, like the Pontiac G5 and Chevrolet Cobalt. It's sad, but there's no other way to put it; Pontiac was a mere shadow of its former self at the time of its death. Now it's time to revive the legendary brand. General Motors announced it would be reviving the Redline series, a package that originated with Saturn, another dead brand, earlier this year. Some models, like the Chevrolet Camaro will receive unique cosmetic touches designed to make it look even sportier, something Pontiac excelled at in most cases. Gas prices have fallen dramatically in the past few years and consumers have taken notice. Sales of fuel efficient cars, like hybrids and compact sedans, aren't increasing at the same rate as larger, less efficient vehicles, like trucks and SUVs. Muscle cars, like the Ford Mustang, are seeing increasing sales as well. Perhaps it's time to revive Pontiac and restore the marque to its former glory: a brand that brought performance and style at an affordable price. There are currently few manufacturers that offer a true challenge to high-performance automakers like BMW. The German brand continues to see high sales year after year and performance has a lot to do with it. Brand recognition, namely through the BMW badge, plays a major role as well. Pontiac, arguably one of the most well-known brands to ever grace the industry, can match both factors with ease. Pontiac was once revered as a brand that revolutionized the muscle car segment in the 1970s and 1980s. It still has a lively following throughout enthusiast spheres and amongst drivers of all ages to this day. Reviving the brand with a small line of high-performance vehicles would certainly offer a challenge to dominating German brands. A small lineup of affordable vehicles bearing the Pontiac badge and designed for performance and style would certainly make waves in the current market. Reviving a few older nameplates, such as the GTO and Trans Am, would offer nostalgic appeal. Packing both models with a powerful entry-level engine, say the Camaro's turbocharged four-cylinder or V6 engine, would open up the market considerably.