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Purina realized that any cost-cutting to their dog food itself would be met with immediate pushback from consumers, who were unreceptive to previous Purina cost reduction efforts like dog food that was 70% sawdust and insect carcasses or dog food made with “canine protein.” So, they decided that the best approach to money saving was in the reduction of shipping costs, which is where Von Wisencocker’s work came in. The scientist developed a highly-concentrated material (the composition of which has been lost to time) that actually managed to repel gravity by measurable amounts....

What is even happening here? It’s a family. They’ve run off the road somewhere. The daughter/wife is wearing a very Sydney Sweeney-ish crop top. Everyone is so damn happy. This woman took two hits of E, went to an all-night rave in the 13th, and has come down from her high only to realize she’s purchased a very affordable and nicely packaged Twingo. This guy is shocked, the Twingo, with its centrally-mounted instrument panel, is apparently a great place to make out....

Maybe things could’ve been different. I have an idea how. Let’s hop into a time machine—does anyone know of a suitable one?—and head back to the heyday, such as it was, of DeLorean with a plan that maybe could’ve kept the dream alive. First, some backstory. John Z. DeLorean rose to become one of the youngest executives at General Motors by being able to see market opportunities. He is credited (rightfully or not) with creating the “muscle car” genre of giant engines in inexpensive cars at Pontiac to bring performance to the masses....

[Ed note: Adrian Clarke is a professional car designer who, in his spare time, gives us a chance to test out our craziest notions. Whether it’s a Mini-based trucklet or a Jeep Hypercar, no car idea is too strange for Adrian – MH] When it’s time to design a new version of a long running model, there’s two basic ways you can go: evolution or revolution. Do you update the themes and ideas of the existing model, including any key visual identifiers, or do you chuck the whole lot in the bin and start over?...

Bimota has always been a quirky name in the motorcycle industry. It was founded in Italy in 1966 by Giuseppe Morri, Massimo Tamburini, and Valerio Bianchi. As Fast Bikes Magazines writes, the three were all friends partnered up in their HVAC business and avid motorcycle riders. Tamurini even had experience in building a motorcycle. The name Bimota comes from the first two letters of each of their last names combined together....

I’m kidding of course – I’m sure that bottle is filled with some other delicious brown fluid, like molasses or mushroom tea or RC cola or gravy. There is a bit of truth behind my little imagined narrative, though: it’s said that Alec Issigonis sized the door pockets to hold a bottle of Gordon’s Gin and a bottle of vermouth so you could have all your martini ingredients right there, ready to go....

Another lopsided one. But I guess I’m not too surprised: the siren song of all that horsepower in an unassuming-looking sedan is hard to resist. Now then, to new business: David wrote an article yesterday detailing his desire to fight his body’s natural want for comfort. It may be because I have an eighteen-year head start on David in choosing cool fun vehicles over practical comfortable ones, but from my viewpoint — within a stone’s throw of half a century old — comfort is something I have earned....

Wagon by a nose here, it looks like. Not even a nose, just by the tips of those rubber overriders on the front bumper. But we are nothing if not thorough here at Shitbox Showdown, and the “write-in” votes in the comments show the wagon ahead by a little under a two-to-one ratio. So I’m calling it: the wagon wins. Now then: it’s no secret that we here at the Autopian are big fans of the VW Beetle....

So what makes the Gumball 3000 so special? Well, it’s a spectacle. Sure, anyone can take a group road trip, but this Robin Leach-like fascination with the lifestyles of the rich and famous elevates Gumball to a global icon. Whether or not icons deserve reverence is a different story, although not one I’m hugely interested in debating today. The other big thing that makes the Gumball 3000 special is history....

Let’s just take a look at this 1969 Porsche 911T Targa Project, and keep in mind just how much work that word “project” is doing. Because it’s doing so much work I think it might unionize. Here’s a few quotes from the description: I also like that the title situation is noted as Multiple interior components are missing, including the floor panels. Rust-through is present throughout. Rust and multiple areas of rust-through can be seen on the underside....

Welcome to Comment Of The Day! If you’ve been a long time reader of our work, you know the name of the game. If not, I’ll explain. Every day, we’ll read every single comment posted to our site and pick the best one. Now, “best” here is subjective, and the comment chosen could be one that was informative, witty, or just left us on the floor laughing. Comment Of The Day (COTD) celebrates our awesome readers....

It was Formula 1 week in Austin, and I had taken out my absolute worst garbage car son: a 1971 Volkswagen 411. It runs too rich, has a loud exhaust leak and has an ever-worsening death wobble thanks to no-longer-available bushings that are now completely worn out. Yet it also has provenance, sort of, having won both the 24 Hours of Lemons’ highest prize and the Lemons Rally last Spring....

Somehow we had managed to revive a long-dead Valiant Ute which, according to the last owner, was previously earmarked for either a demolition derby or as rust cuts for another much rarer Valiant. We did this using another Valiant as a donor that appears to have been in a flood yet somehow escaped the traveling scrap metal collectors from 15-odd years ago when steel was worth really good money. We somehow managed to accomplish this without throwing chairs, having drunken arguments or losing the shop....

To Answer Some Pressing Questions: Project Cactus is coming next week with a whopper of an update. Thank you for your patience, it will be rewarded. Yes, the podcast is coming back next Wednesday! We were off for Thanksgiving Day. Shirts will start shipping soon, you can still order them here. A Big Question! Our goal is to share more stories with you by more writers, to buy more terrible cars for more wacky adventures, to host more events so we can meet you, and to ultimately be a place built on enthusiasm for automobiles — something that that can feel like it’s missing from publications that purport to be for auto enthusiasts....

We just recently received our latest shipment last week. Excitement abounds because even with the names of the cars on the manifest, we usually have no idea what we are getting, or what condition the cars are in until we crack open the container doors. It’s like one of those Kinder egg toys, but instead of a .04 cent plastic toy that could possibly be a choking hazard even for adults, it’s, you know, a weird car....

If you had access to the Internet and thought anything about cars a few years ago you saw Tamir Moscovici’s excellent encapsulation of Magnus’s ethos in short doc form. Here it is if you didn’t see it: This is as good as an introduction to the man as you’ll need and so it’s great that, in honor of that film’s tenth anniversary, Magnus teamed up with the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles to display some of his collection....

Just so everyone is up to speed, when we talk about Bubble Era Japan we mean the period from about 1986 to 1991 when real estate and stock market speculation, cavalier lending, and loose government policies all conspired to make that period a really good time in Japan, with everyone flush with cash and carmakers feeling free to try all kinds of bonkers things, until it all came crashing down, because, you know, bubble....

One of my favorite things to do on a road trip or in a campground is identify where the headlights of a Class A RV came from. I’m not the only one, as there are online groups just for pointing out and identifying RV lights. Some manufacturers have moved away from robbing automaker parts bins, and instead equip their rigs with lights that look a little more bespoke. Still, there are some manufacturers that still look to the automotive industry to solve their lighting problems....

As you can see by the picture, eventually I found one. Over the years it seems to have lost its little transparent glass insert that formed the window glass, and the plastic dual surfboards on top. That’s understandable, as most of this car’s playing career involved it slamming into walls or furniture at high relative speeds. As far as why I wanted one so much as a kid, I bet these commercials were the key factor:...

First, however, there is the small matter of our small convertibles. Fix it again, Tony: The Fiat is our winner. I am in total agreement with you all on this one. It’s a great price on what looks to be a fascinating long-term project. And after all that work, going for that first drive would be so sweet — better than any victory lap ever taken. It’s a damn good thing I have no place to put it or work on it, or I might be campaigning for it to join my own fleet....