Minnesota Vikings All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson – or "Purple Jesus" as he's known to Vikings fans – is one of the fastest men in the NFL. Turns out, he's also one of the fastest men on a certain suburban Minnesota freeway, where police clocked him and his (model unknown) BMW going 109 mph in a 55 mph zone. Oops!

For his part, Peterson claims it was just, "A little ticket" and that he was not going as fast as the cops said he was. However, Minneapolis police spokeswoman Molly Anderson said that Peterson was indeed pulled over after police recorded him going 109 mph. Anderson states that Peterson was given a citation and allowed to drive away after what she described as a "routine traffic stop." Must be nice being the savior for an entire state. Go Pack, go!

[Source: Associated Press | Image: Hannah Foslien/AP Photo]

While not quite as in your groin face as Samuel L. Jackson's Snakes on a Plane, the following video is as honest in its title to content ratio. Yes, a camera crew in a helicopter follows two Lamborghini Gallardos (one hardtop and one Spyder) up and down Pacific Coast Highway and through some of the Southland's best canyon roads. Nearly perfect, right?

Well, there's an issue or two. First is the thumping, blasting "butt-rock" soundtrack. Second, that soundtrack is annoying and obscures the glorious fury of the Gallardo's 5.2-liter V10 -- a motor that can make a four-year-old to burst into tears when cranked from a cold start (true story -- we saw it happen in person). Truly, a beast of an engine.

Had it been our video then, we would've killed the royalty-free-Nickelback soundtrack and instead stuck mics on the Lambos as if they were pincushions. Then we'd have tailed the two blue bulls to Kanan Dume Road. Why Kanan? Tunnels -- three of them. Not to get all David E. Davis on you, but you really haven't lived until you've heard Lambo's V10 at 8,250 rpm in a confined space. Glorious. With that said, make the jump to watch the video.

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In case you missed it, the 2009 LeMons season ground to a halt a few weeks back at Thunderhill after the third running of the Arse-Freeze-A-Palooza (full disclosure -- I work as a Judge for the 24 Hours of LeMons). Filthy 2009 proved to be a pretty hectic season for LeMons, what with ten $500 car races at various mud pits locales around this great country of ours. However, '09 will pale in comparison to the frenzied, property-devaluing idiocy that the 21-race 2010 season is sure to bring. We'd like to apologize to our understanding women-folk and potential home buyers in general in advance.

Still, the 2009 season was filled with all the wonderful elements that make LeMons the fastest growing motorsport in the world: namely, fires, terrible driving, whiny drivers, cheating mechanics and totally excellent BBQ. Oh, and lots of cars blowing the hell apart. You'll learn all about this year's champs after the jump, but we'd just like to point out that the 2009 Deconstructor Championship belongs to Ford. If you don't know, the Deconstructor goes to the manufacturer that builds the cars that blow up the most often.

Why Ford? Mostly for the numerous SHOs that lunched their engines and transmissions all over various LeMons paddocks, coast to coast. To quote LeMons' second banana, Nick Pon, after he strolled through a typical three SHO/three dead cars pit in Louisiana, "Looks like someone tossed a Taurus grenade in here." Just seems to be the Taurus's week for winning awards. OK -- now make the jump.

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The Nissan Qashqai has a silly name. Though not as silly as the Qashqai+2, the seven-seat version of the British built small CUV. But silly name not withstanding, the slightly smaller than a Nissan Rogue compact crossover has been something of a sales phenom for Nissan, selling more than 500,000 copies around the world since 2007 despite not being offered in the North American market.

For the 2010 model year, some things are changing, and some aren't. The biggest and most obvious difference is the front end, which is all-new and quite handsome looking. We especially like the sculpted lower fascia and intake. And while it is slightly smaller than the Rogue we do have in America, the Qashqai (named after a nomadic Iranian tribe) looks tougher. In the rear, the song remains largely the same, though the taillights have been slightly revised. The colors you see here are both new -- Magnetic Red and Mineral Gray.

Inside, functionality is up with a new dash computer, gauges, lighting and "oddments" storage. Refinement is also up, with more baffling in place to reduce NVH, along with a revised windscreen and A-pillars to cut wind noise. The suspension has also been redesigned to improve both ride comfort and handling. All in all, the Qashqai looks to be a pretty tasty package. But you can almost set your watch to the fact that Nissan will not be bringing it to our red, white and blue shores, and while we like the Rogue just fine, we'd just assume that Nissan give us this one instead. What do you think? Check out the ress release after the jump and the high-res gallery below, and then let us know which one you'd prefer to see on sale in America.



[Source: Nissan]

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It's not like we need another reason to be sickeningly jealous of Jay Leno, but along comes this video. In it Jay drives perhaps our favorite car from the 2009 LA Auto Show, the hugely lovely and impressive Allard J2X MkII. Only unlike the 500-ish horsepower 5.7-liter Hemi powered J2X MkII we got to look at, Jay blasts around the streets of Burbank, CA in a 600-hp 6.1-liter Hemi version. Grrr. Still, the Allard is such a desirable beast – and to see it in motion such a treat – that we'll tuck our Jay-based jealously back into its hole. This time... Watch the video, after the jump.

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This is... different. To summarize, a new commercial by Chrysler is agitating for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's (a.k.a. Burma's) pro-democracy leader and lightning rod who has been under one form of house arrest or another for twenty years. The thirty-second spot was originally created to be part of sister-brand Lancia's sponsorship of the 10th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. Says Oliver Francis, the new President and CEO of Chrysler and Managing Director of Lancia:

"We produced the TV film in honor of all those who put their lives at stake in the hopes of making the world a better place. In particular, those men and women who are still prisoners, like Aung San Suu Kyi. For Chrysler, this is a chance to use our brand image to join with others in the fight for peace and to knock down the walls that divide us. We at Chrysler believe in doing the right thing and making a difference."

The spot opens with a Chrysler 300 driving next to the some still-standing sections of the Berlin Wall. It then passes by a mural of Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela. We then see three Nobel Laureates getting out of the back of 300s: Muhammed Yunus, founder of the micro-lending Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, Polish union leader and president Lech Walesa and former leader of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev.

As to whether or not a car company should be advocating in favor of peace and democracy, all we'll say is we're glad Chrysler is not fighting against 'em. Be sure to check out the video and press release after the jump.

[Source: Chrysler]

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Tucked away into the nookiest cranny of the LA Auto Show and literally parked behind a Morgan sits the Allard J2X MkII, perhaps the most breathtaking car in the joint. You nerds out there might be saying, "They dragged an admittedly concours-condition J2X out to Los Angeles? Big deal." Which is precisely what we thought as we strolled right past the spiffy, spankin' Allard for nearly two days. But then we took a closer look. Why would someone fit humongous Wilwood brakes to a vintage car?

Because this puppy ain't vintage. See that "MkII" suffix hanging off the end of the title there? This Allard is all new. As in a modern, hand-built continuation of the original Allard. Not only does the Allard Registry recognize the roadster and issue each one its own continuation serial number, but the president of Allard Motor Works is named Roger Allard – though he's not a descendant of founder Sydney Allard. But even if it wasn't a bang-on recreation of the hugely successful 1951-1954 J2X race car, this car would tickle us you know where.

Why? So many reasons.



Besides the usual "Just look at it!" bloviation, the frame is built from tubular steel with double roll bars covering the cowl and fuel tank. And inboard rear-brakes. Then there's the absolutely stunning, jewelery-like hand-fitted instruments and aluminum dash. And the red leather. And the leather hood straps. And the (functional) portholes. The knock-off hubs. The twin side-pipes. And on and on and on. And on.

Then there's the little (or not so little) matter of what's under the hood. In this particular car, it's a 5.7-liter Chrysler Hemi V8 with a massive throttle body and a lot of other reworked jazz that's good for around 500 horsepower. You want a 600-hp 6.1-liter Hemi? Not a problem. You can also opt for a Chevy 350, Caddy Northstar or Ford 351. The sprint from zero to 60 happens in about 4.5 seconds and, depending on the motor, you could pop off a quarter-mile in the low 12 seconds at 110 mph.

Currently the Allard J2X is being built in two places (Montreal and Upstate New York), although there are plans to move to a single factory soon. Roger Allard plans on keeping the new Allard pretty exclusive, limiting its numbers to just one hundred per year. Oddly, about a quarter of that total is slated for Australia. Or maybe not so oddly, as when we shut our eyes we can totally picture ourselves blasting across the Outback in a J2X MkII, bugs in our teeth and roos bouncing off the nerf bars. Cost of entry? The new Allard starts at $138,500.



[Source: Allard]

Where to even start? Oh right – that interior! With the possible exception of a couple of British-ish cars (BMW-owned Rolls-Royce Phantom, Volkswagen-owned Bentley Mulsanne, Tata-owned Jaguar XJ), no interior even comes close. And frankly, being honest, those luxo-barges just pale in comparison to the blinged out old-world splendor of a Spyker cockpit. And the C8 Aileron Spyder ups that already pricey ante. And get this – all C8s are now built in Coventry, England, shaving about $9,000 off the asking price, which is somewhere south north of $200,000 depending on baubles options.

Normally, photographing cars at auto shows feels like a strange, exotic form of torture, at least for us writerly types. The bright lights, the bumrush, the awkward positions (you try crawling on your hands and knees between a posing CEO's knees to get a shot of a wheel) – it's not fun. But when photographing this car, we were overcome with a rush of (let's just say) endorphins. We could imagine ourselves winding up the California coast, fondling that leather-wrapped aluminum gear shifter for hundreds of breezy, dreamy miles. And get this – it's an automatic... and we don't care!

For you number junkies who choose to hastily look past the incredible innards, the C8 drop top is powered by a 4.2-liter Audi V8 good for 400 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque. That medium-amount of gumption is routed to the rear-wheels via a 6-speed slushbox. Top speed is 187 mph and 0-60 happens in 4.5 seconds. Spyker claims that the car's strength is in the frame (stouter than a Ferrari F430, so they say) and therefor chopping off the roof has limited negative structural impact. Want more tech details? See our post from Monterey.



Let's get back to that interior. If you're into fancy cars (hi mom!) you've no doubt heard of special leather coming from "free range" cows raised without barbwire so as to ensure the leather is flawless. Well get this, the leather in the Aileron Spyder comes from a Dutch tannery that works with free range cold weather cows. Why cold weather? No mosquito bites. No, really. And you can get that interior in any of fourteen colors, most of which are (hopefully) equally eye-searing. Finally, anyone else as in love with the tonneau cover-mounted quilted leather briefcase as we are?

Hyundai just took the wraps off their all new 2010 Tucson CUV. A right-sized (i.e. compact) crossover designed in Frankfurt, Germany – as opposed to the California designed Sonata we saw yesterday – but still uses Hyundai's new design language, the oddly named Fluidic Sculpture. Like the Sonata, the new bigger-yet-lighter Tuscon (61 pounds, to be precise) has been designed to convey a sense of motion. Of course, whether they succeeded or not is up to the beholder's eye.

Hyundai feels that the compact CUV market is growing (as does the rest of the industry), however the small crossover buyer is changing. Used to be that when people shopped for say a Tucson, it was because they couldn't afford an Excursion. No more. The new small CUV buyer expects a higher level of comfort and refinement from their little truck-like rides. If what Hyundai's peddling proves true, the Tucson's impressive list of standard bells and/or whistles fits this projected market to a tee (see the press release for the full lowdown).

The most impressive Tuscon attribute is in likelihood its frugal MPG rating. 23 miles per gallon in the city, 31 at highway speeds. In addition to the slight weight reduction, the Tucson achieves these numbers via innovations such as a switch away from parasitic hydraulic power-steering in favor of an electric system. There's also an all new six-speed automatic that uses 62 fewer parts than the outgoing five-speed. Interestingly, the new slusher is built fully in house by Hyundai.

The engine of course contributes to the good-for-a-CUV mileage. The new Tucson comes with a 2.4-liter Theta II four-cylinder that produces 176 hp and 168 lb-ft of torque. You will notice that the Tucson does not come with the more powerful Gasoline Direct-Injection (GDI) Theta II that ships with the new Sonata. We asked Hyundai if a future iteration of the Tucson (say the 2011) would in fact receive the GDI motor. "That's a logical conclusion."

We also asked if the turbocharged GDI motor would make it into the Tuscon. "It would fit." We then asked if we'll see a hybrid version as the new Sonata will eventually show up in gas-electric guise. "No comment." Then after a pause, "We all have to get to 35.5 mpg." Finally, we asked if we'd see an all-electric version of the Tucson. We received another "No comment," but Hyundai North America President and CEO John Krafcik did state that they will be selling an electric car in the States. As to when, "Not next year." Read the press release, after the jump.

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Yesterday, we reported that Mitsubishi is bringing its small, B-segment Colt to our shores. And that's true, mostly. What we've learned between now and then is that Mitsu isn't bringing over the current Colt, but rather the replacement for the current Colt, i.e. the next Colt. In fact, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Osamu Masuko said as much during last month's Tokyo Motor Show. Here's what he told Automotive News:

"Mitsubishi will follow that with a global small car in 2012. That car will be smaller than the Colt, which is sold in Japan and Europe, and will have a 1.0- to 1.3-liter gasoline engine. A plug-in hybrid version and all-electric version of the global small car are scheduled for 2013. Mitsubishi is studying which of those would best suit the United States.

The scoop, then, is that this new global small car will be called Colt. As opposed to say, Havasu.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]