Autoblog visits the San Diego Auto Museum, Part I - The Cars

Autoblog visits the San Diego Auto Museum, Part I - The Cars
While on a recent trip to San Diego to ride some dirtbikes, we decided to check out some the sights that the city had to offer. Of course, being the car-obsessed nerds individuals that we are, it didn't take too long for us to end up at the San Diego Automobile Museum. Tomorrow, we'll bring you the best of what we saw on two wheels, but today is devoted to the cars. From some of the earliest four-wheelers (and three-wheelers) right on through to some Italian exotics from the '60s, '70s and '90s, there was plenty there to keep our interest. Our favorite has to be the rear-engined Tucker from 1948 -- very cool. We've assembled a gallery of pics below and have captioned them where appropriate.

Shoot your TV: Jesse James is a Dead Man coming soon

Shoot your TV: Jesse James is a Dead Man coming soon
For those of you who just can't get enough Jesse James in your life, we have good news. The rest of you, commence eye-rolling. The tattooed chopper builder will soon be back on the small screen, this time on Spike TV. His new vehicle is called Jesse James is a Dead Man, which isn't totally accurate unless you're referring to his namesake forbear. The world needs another "reality" TV show like we need a festering case of hemorrhoids, but TV producer's don't care. This series will focus not on James' welding-torch-wielding antics, but will instead follow Mr. Bullock as he moves from one supposedly dangerous activity to another. Great. Seriously, how bad will this show be? Our guess: Fear Factor bad. We can smell the impending suckage from here... like a steaming hot pile of rotting cabbage.

Just when you thought that the reality TV explosion couldn't possibly get any more far-fetched and ridiculous, the execs go and do something like this... and completely redeem themselves!

Weekend Entertainment: "Susie the Little Blue Coupe"


Thanks to frequent commenter and tipster "catgirlshyla" for sending in a link to Walt Disney's Susie the Little Blue Coupe, an animated short that originally debuted theatrically in 1952. As you can plainly see, the Disney/Pixar gang used Susie as the inspiration for how to give life to the rides in 2006's Cars -- eyes in the windshield; grilles and bumpers forming mouths. It's just as effective and charming (perhaps even more so) in decades-old hand-drawn animation as it is in 21st-century CGI. The story's very straightforward -- it chronicles Susie's life cycle from new car to used car to junk heap. Don't worry, there's still a happy ending -- it's vintage Disney, remember. Anyway, this is good stuff.

Tie a pork chop around its neck - Telegraph counts down 100 ugliest cars


It didn't start off as a way for readers of England's Telegraph newspaper to engage in the popular pastime of bashing American cars, but it wound up that way. To be fair, there are plenty of odd and ugly vehicles from all over the place on the Telegraph's list of the 100 ugliest cars of all time, and the voters didn't beat up on the colonies too badly. With so much homegrown hideousness to choose from, we can see how they'd be reluctant to throw stones.

The usual suspects are accounted for, of course. The Pacer is there, as are the Cayenne, BMW's 1 and 7 Series, though we thought the Rolls Royce Camargue was conspicuously low on the list. C'mon, guys, stop going easy on it just because you've got hometown pride. The Camargue really was horrid, no matter how well it sold. There are also vehicles that don't belong; cars that aren't even remotely ugly. The Boxster, XJS, TR7, and Chrysler 300 don't strike us as repulsive. The readers were almost spot-on, though, voting the Fiat Multipla into the second place slot. Number one is a car that everyone loves to hate, but it doesn't strike us as uglier than the Multipla. That vehicle? Aztek. Seriously.

Hubinette's BFG Charger kicks like a mule

Hubinette's BFG Charger kicks like a mule
Pro motor sports may draw immense crowds, but on the boob tube, the football is king. That could be the reason Team Mopar and BFGoodrich utilized the pigskin in its latest TV ad showcasing controlled drifting. Hit the jump to see Samuel Hubinette pilot the Mopar drift Charger to and through a tee'd-up football as the rear quarter panel plays placekicker. Though not as cool as the commercial that shows Hubinette sliding the Charger through an aircraft hanger, it's definitely worth a look.