Is now a good time for that interview?

Cheers,

Justin.

I'm more ashamed of Lamborghini for making a baby bag than for anyone who buys one.

When I retire at 80, and take over some family land outside of Branson, I'm going to open a museum dedicated to American consumer innovation. It'll have fill-your-own Combos machines, a video tribute to Billy Mays and this Lincoln monster truck-amino limo, with nothing but Lee Greenwood on the stereo.

Currently for sale upon the bays of E, the Lincoln resides in Winona, Minn., where a limo sales company has been trying to unload it for some time. Built from the frame of an 1988 F-150 that had been put on the rack to meld with the body of a '88 Town Car limo, the Linconsaurus had its metal top replaced by a canvas unit and "working limo amenities," like a lit holder for cut-glass decanters and what looks like the best sound system O'Reilly's keeps in stock.

The choice of a velour seating area may make some buyers think passengers shouldn't wear anything less revealing than a Level B hazmat suit, but the sellers maintain cloth was the only choice for all-season operation, as there's a heater back there for riding home after prom with your cousins. Sure there's a little surface rust, but there's enough shiny diamond plate to distract any wandering eye.

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While the bidding on eBay has been paltry, the motivated buyer can order direct for just $15,500. From the lakes of Minnesota, to the Hooters in Tennessee, across the hot tubs of Texas, from sea to shining hep-C, God bless the U.S.A.

This mashup of 1973's "Paper Moon" with Gillian Welch's "Hard Times" has been stuck in my brain for weeks now, spinning like the hood ornament Ryan O'Neal's character keeps on his Model A. Something about the song, the sight of old dust that looks new, and about choosing your reaction to what ails us all.

And with that, time to sell some bibles. All hail RustyVanHorn for combining cars and seagulls:

This is dangerous. My dad used to catch cars at stoplights and pull this trick. It was fun for them. They'd poo on the wiper blades, leave feathers in convertibles...good times, good times.

He was the best hood rider in Texas and a cunning Pelican. He was an amazing bird and good friend. For over 100 years Pelicans were used to keep high speed vehicles in check. To keep them from being too powerful, to keep balance in this world from boring grocery getters and high end luxury cars. But that was before the dark times. Before the Bugatti.

But it didn't last. He was killed by an exotic named Veyron, who betrayed him.

I hate race cars now. But what can I do. I'm just a Pelican.

Winner winner vegan chicken dinner.

Don't go pulling this crap on my last day, dammit.

Maybe it's the sweet smell of forbidden fruit, but there's something about the Porsche 959 that's kept it near the top of many American enthusiast lists for nearly a quarter-century. Why someone let this one sit for 23 years without starting leaves me gobsmacked.

According to Pistonheads, the 959 was tracked down by Porsche brokers in England tasked by a wealthy client to acquire the best 959 in the world. What they found was the first chassis of the 1988 959 Sport — the model Porsche lightened by 220 lbs. — owned by a Mexican collector who had put all of 207 miles on the odometer.

And as part of the preservation, the car hadn't been started in more than two decades, requiring the removal of the varnish-filled gas tank and other restoration before it could be delivered to a new owner — who gets a rare Porsche with hints of a new-car smell.

Hat tip to Will!

There's never been an appreciable audience for online video reviews of appliance cars. That hasn't stopped AutoTrader from making dozens of drowsy vids spiked with enough hot actresses and models to fill a Hummer limo. Because when the cars are boring, people will still check out the pretty faces, right? Right? Here's a look at the girls of AutoTrader.

This gallery features the spokesmodels of AutoTrader at their most attractive, which by definition means photos of them outside of working for AutoTrader. The videos themselves work only as a social science experiment: If you put a hot model in a beige car, does the car get hotter or the model get beige-er? Or, does the car just catch the reflection of their fake tans? The results are sadly uninspiring; not even a Porsche or two can spare a starlet forced to read the leaden copy of a too-earnest used-car listing site.

Rebecca Grant

The newest addition to the AutoTrader model stables is this rising star of FHM and sports modeling, who toned things down several notches to tell the world about the great features of the Hyundai Elantra. But she did later provide her Twitter followers with this insight: "Autotrader paid me an absurd amount for this new car review."

Jessica Tomé

I bet the AutoTrader guys know they're stuck writing this stuff, because why else would you use the phrase "pleasure seekers" like this? Jessica Tomé is a former soap opera actress, so pretending to listen to a blowhard drone on about a Mercedes is second nature at this point.

Kimbette Fenol

An underused member of the League of AutoTrader Hotties, Kimbette Fenol was stuck with acting in the wintertime review of the Infiniti M along with a nine-year-old's take on a Princess Leia hairstyle.

Amanda Salas

Here we finally stumble into one of the mainstays of the AutoTrader scene. Not only can Amanda Salas bring spark to copy that makes me wish for the sweet release of death, she gets to drive the car in this review, an upgrade from the passenger-seat commentary most of the women are forced to deliver. Even so, these videos still come off as terrible blind dates with obsessive new-car salesmen.

Vanessa Leigh

The Jill Wagner-in-training of the AutoTrader stables is Vanessa Leigh, and with Salas the only spokesmodels AutoTrader has trusted to do an all-woman review. Given that it's rare for an AutoTrader video to crack 10,000 views, we might suggest that Leigh could switch things up a bit. No one really cares about the market position of another cookie-cutter crossover, but shooting one of these in "L.A. Confidential" style Leigh can pull off would at least get a few extra clicks.

When Fisker Automotive won heaps of praise from Vice President Joe Biden and a $529 million loan from the U.S. government, officials touted the Karma luxury sedan as getting up to 100 miles a gallon, going 50 miles on a full battery charge and offering "supercar" performance. None of those targets were met — but Fisker's moving ahead, your tax dollars in hand.

The news of Fisker's shortfalls in its mileage targets announced yesterday was the latest in a series of misses since designer Henrik Fisker unveiled his concept in 2008. Fisker is still sticking to the goal of selling 10,000 Karmas this year, even though it can't legally deliver cars in California yet. And company officials pushed another deadline back Tuesday, telling the Wilmington (Del.) News-Journal that the smaller Nina sedan has been delayed from 2012 to mid-2013 at the earliest.

While the actual electric range and fuel economy numbers of the Karma — 32 miles of electric-only range, a 52 mpg-e overall rating and only 20 mpg when its 2-liter GM turbo engine is on — surprised many, they weren't shocking to auto industry observers who've noted the Karma was not just an expensive electric sedan, but also the largest and heaviest one to date. Early prototypes were hidden with bodies of Chevy Silverado crew cab pickups, and the Karma tips the scale at roughly 5,300 lbs. unloaded, thanks to 22 kWh of batteries stored under the floor.

The figures — along with performance results that now peg the Karma's 0-60 time at an un-supercar 6.3 seconds — were enough to convince one long-awaiting Fisker customer to consider asking for his deposit back on the $97,000 sedan:

I ordered this car because I wanted an eco-friendly ride that didn't suck. But this car isn't seeming so eco-friendly right now since my Aston gets the same MPG on gas. Plus, the crappy tires that wear out in a year, and the 0-60 has been downgraded to 6.3 seconds. It just gets worse and worse every day that this drags on... sooo... disappointed.

Fisker has said it still expects to meet its sales targets for this year, and that the mileage figures are being blown out of proportion, since most drivers will use electric-only travel for much of their driving as Chevy Volt owners do.

Yet the overpromising and underdelivering from Fisker so far highlights what can happen when a government-anointed winner in new technology fails to win. Dozens of other electric-car start-ups — Wheego, Aptera, EcoMotors and Think to name a few — also asked for government loans but most were turned down, many with no explanation. Fisker, who counts among its early investors and customers former Vice President Al Gore, was able to use its government loan as a selling point to private investors who have since pitched in an additional $500 million; the company is raising an additional $150 million.

The $528 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy was split between $169 million for the Karma and $359 million for Fisker to launch Nina production at General Motors' old plant in Delaware. The announcement for that came way back in October of 2009 — and Vice President Joe Biden was even there in attendance. Whether some other company might have used that money to build a better electric car that came to market faster will never be known.

The silver lining for Fisker buyers: Now that the Karma's actually arriving, even in small numbers, they might get their $7,500 federal tax credit for buying an electric vehicle before the end of the year. If Fisker fails, it won't be because of a lack of help from Washington.

Author Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series doesn't just draw from Cussler's own imagination, but also his garage — a sprawling antique car collection that includes such notables as the ever-lustful Cadillac V-16. MaxxCravesTheOldGizmodo will never earn enough to buy even a Caddy V-16 badge off his Jalopnik comments, but this one about Russian truck racing is still worth remembering:

Vell, I vas drivink down on ze back stretch, gettink ready to pull around Anatoly, and ah all ov a zudden I vas just mindink my own bizness – BAM! It Hit me hard, right from zeE back! I vas glued to ze zeat, like havin polar bear in lap, or Sergei's vife, and I vas like "Wuuughghghghgh!

I could see ze ZIL in-front ov me, I vas about to hit him zo I kind ov veered off this vay and az I veered off this vay ze guy vho hit me veered off ze other vay and he hit ze ze spektators, flipped over, rolled over, run into ze electrical pole and I didn't know he hit ze pole and all ov zudden I kind ov stopped and I vas like vuuughhhhhhh! And ah, ze vires come down then BOOOM – then arrrrk – boom – rrrrr boom – fire vas comink everywhere arkink zparkink blowin' up! I zaw one ark go from ze corner ov my ZIL up to ze ZIL behind me. I vas like a big rainbow BOOOOOOM!! And it vas comink out BOOM BOOM and everyone's like GEEZ, zo I – I opened up my door – ____ no metal. And as I come up, I started to touch ze top and a little zpark startink to jump – and I zaid: "Whooooooa"! I stepped out this vay! Luckily I didn't get burned more.

Ah, it vas crazy, dude. Totally out ov ze blue, I mean – it vas – I vas just zitink there and I vas like BOOOOOOM!!! Reality zhe hits you hard bro!

I promise that after today, our comments of the day for the rest of the week will be as un-serious as possible, but for today the best conversations still involved Dan Wheldon, including Armchair Racer's reaction to The Booth Babe's post on life as a racer's spouse.

It is a moving piece. However, Dan was a father.

I lost my father when I was 10. The pain is excruciating. It doesn't go away. Time does not heal all wounds. I know what it's like to not have a father and then grow up with a shitty abusive step-father and still have hostility about it 15 years after moving out. All I ever wanted is to have a family that resembles an actual family. I have a great family now with a great wife and 2 wonderful kids. I also realize that I am not the only soul in that has gone through this and would love to hear from others who lost their fathers (or mother) at an early age.

I like seeing your perspective as a wife.... but I would be interested to hear in a few years how Dan's kids feel about it.

It's one thing to do what you do because you don't know how to pay the bills any other way. It's a whole different thing to do what you do because it makes YOU happy. I have a great job but it requires me to sit at a desk all day. I hate sitting at a desk all day and always have but I do it so I can be there for my kids. Sometimes you have to man up and realize that your time to take a high risks has passed. I feel a responsibility to my kids to not let myself race anymore. Truth of the matter is what makes ME happy right now are my kids. Now when they are 20 something assholes, I might consider getting back in that seat.

People prioritize differently I guess. And I am aware that I could die every day in my car on the commute. I am reminded by the guy doing 90 and texting as he zips by me veering from lane to shoulder. The highway is fucking crazy. However, I have always seen it as something of a selfish risk to put your kids in that situation intentionally. You as a wife can if you choose but a child should not have to bury fear every time their dad goes to the races. It's like Clank-o-tron said in an earlier comment, I am not afraid to die but I feel like it's my responsibility to make the right choices so that my kids don't cry because I was doing something that I didn't need to do.

Anyone understand where I am coming from here?

Photo: Holly Wheldon via Twitter

After years of delay, Fisker Auto has cleared one final hurdle with the achievement of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions approval, and the first cash for a Fisker Karma has traded hands. How much gas those wealthy Karma buyers will save is still a mystery, but not for much longer. UPDATE Mystery over.

The move means Henrik Fisker's firm now has to deliver on promises to set luxury motoring on its ear with a plug-in electric vehicle with a GM-sourced 2-liter turbo range extending engine. Even earlier this year, Fisker execs were still vowing "summer" deliveries; the first cars delivered last month were actually Fisker test vehicles, since it couldn't sell vehicles without EPA certification. The company has denied a European report that it's facing delays in getting emissions approvals there.

Fisker officials told us they now have all proper paperwork from U.S. and California officials, and should announce in a matter of hours the Karma's official mileage figures. The company is standing by the forecast for 10,000 Karma sales this year; that's a lot of charging for a $97,000 ride. We'll update when we get the new figures.

UPDATE: Fisker announced the EPA had rated the Karma for 32 miles of all-electric range, and a "combined" rating of 52 mpg when both gasoline and electric power is put together. That's far lower than the 100 mpg Fisker once promised and the 60 mpge from the Chevy Volt. When running its 2-liter engine, the Karma gets just 20 mpg — comparable to what a BMW 740i manages.