Wild Russia On Animal Planet Premieres Thursday

Attention Russophiles, Animal Planet will show a six-part series called "Wild Russia" this week. It will cover Kamchatka, Ussuriland, Caucasus, Siberia, the Arctic, and Urals.

Jon Gosselin's BMW M3 (E46)

Eureka, I've found it. For about a month now, there have been rumors that Jon Gosselin traded his white Nismo for a black BMW.

Here is the video of his ride (go to 2:12). Judging by the rims, it looks like a 2005 or 2006 BMW M3 with the Competition Package. In light of his recent poor judgment in everything from dating partner to wardrobe, trading in the Nissan for the BMW was actually a relatively good move. First, the BMW has rear seats. It has a usable trunk. And finally, he bought it used and a 2006 can be had for less than $40,000, so it's not like he's totally blowing his (his kids') money.

Update 1: Here is Jon's Porsche SUV.

Update 2: Here is Jon's Mercedes SUV.

California And Nevada Car Museums

I just went to the California Automobile Museum (formerly the Towe Auto Museum) in Sacramento. The most interesting cars there include a Bricklin, an Avanti that set records in Bonneville, and a green Countach with gold phone dial rims. This is how it stacks up with the other major car collections in the area.

5. Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles. This may be the most popular museum, but I have to say it is my least favorite and the least memorable. Why? Because it is soulless.

4. California Automobile Museum, Sacramento. It's got a decent collection of American cars and a few foreign ones. The cars are on display in a dim, poorly ventilated, dilapidated warehouse. The signs describing the cars look like they were printed off of your old Okidata dot matrix printer. So why is it still better than the Petersen? Because it feels like it was put together by a bunch of guys who are passionate about cars.

2 (tie). National Automobile Museum, Reno. The Harrah Collection is diverse and interesting. My favorite is the Jerrari, an old Jeep Wagoneer with a Ferrari engine.


2 (tie). The Auto Collections at The Imperial Palace, Las Vegas. The collection is impressive-- almost half a dozen Ford RS200s, a Jaguar XJ220, even a street version of the Lancia Delta Integrale. It's got something for everyone and the inventory is huge. The only problem-- the displays are outdated and look cheap and haphazard. It really takes away from the experience.


1. Blackhawk Museum, Danville. This is the best car museum on the West Coast. On just two floors, the curator has assembled an extraordinary collection of automobiles, from a wooden Hispano-Suiza to a 16 cylinder Cadillac to a Hongqi limousine from Red China. The cars are displayed like jewelry at a high end store. The museum is world-class. It is exquisite.

Infiniti's First Convertible, the M30

When you want to be entertained on the net, you read blogs. When you want hard facts on the net, you go to a legitimate news site like sfgate.com. Or do you? Today's Top Down section has a piece on Infiniti's convertible, the 2010 G37.

So what's the big deal? Well, the staffer spends the first two paragraphs excitedly pointing out that this will be Infiniti's first convertible, ever. Specifically,:

"Infiniti is rolling out its first convertible, the 2010 G37.

The luxury division of Japan's Nissan has been around since the early '90s and has fielded a varied lineup of cars, SUVs and crossovers, including some of the most fun and sportiest sedans on the market, but until now never had offered consumers a drop-top option."

Do these journalists ever think about fact checking? Shouldn't the guy in charge of writing articles about cars have some memory of the 1991-92 M30? Tsk tsk.

Found On EBay: 1992 Citroen XM In New York

I have never been more tempted to buy a car on eBay. This 1992 Citroen XM out of New York is in fantastic shape cosmetically. It's currently at $7,665 after 12 bids, with the reserve not yet met. My guesstimate is that the reserve is around $18,000.

I've written about the XM in America before. The few that came here were federalized by CXA. This is one of only 18 in the States. The amazing thing is that it has less than 25,000 miles, only one owner, and was garage kept. For any car buff with a little extra cash and a very understanding spouse, this is a great buy.

Notice early 1990s passive shoulder belt buckle

Speedo and odo in MPH

Don't believe my obsession with the XM?

• die cast XM cabrio
• XM limo by Heuliez
• XM ad (scroll to bottom)
  

Ramzan Kadyrov's Cars

As a rule of thumb, world leaders with large car collections are corrupt and/or ruthless. We saw an African example recently. Today, we look at the young leader of Chechnya, 32 year old President Ramzan Kadyrov.

The bearded car lover is in the news this week because of the kidnapping and assassination of human rights activist Natalya Estemirova. Kadyrov's taste in cars is impressive and expensive. Among the dozens of cars in his collection, there are:

an oft-used armored Porsche Cayenne Turbo,

a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, and

a rare Lamborghini Reventon.

Chechen presidential convoy (can you tell he likes Cayennes?)

Astronauts, Cosmonauts, Taikonauts, And Their Rides

Aside from ruthless dictators, only feted space travelers get to ride in glorious convertible sedans.

Yuri Gagarin in London in a Rolls-Royce.

Alan Shepard in a Lincoln Continental.

Taikonaut in a Chery Eastar

Mercedes W140 Coupe

With some W140 coupes (500SEC, 600SEC, CL500, CL600) hovering around $10,000, they are quite affordable. Every time I see one, I'm reminded of my strong belief that it is the ugliest Mercedes ever made.
It looks big (in a bad way), unruly, and blunt. There is zero sophistication.

What I dislike most about the W140 coupe is the thick black gap that separates the trunk lid from the rest of the rear end. It looks crude.

Which class is classier?

What Is A Mexican Jumping Bean?

Here's your answer:

Confusing An Alfa for A Datsun

This morning, I was stopped at a light behind an Alfa Romeo GTV. For a few seconds, I thought it was a Nissan 280ZX. Do I need to get my eyes checked?