1967 Eleanor Mustang movie car sells for $1 million

AutoWeek:  1967 Eleanor Mustang movie car sells for $1 million
 -Gone in 60 Seconds' prop hits seven figures

The Mustang from 'Gone in 60 Seconds' sold for $1 million at a Mecum Auction.

Look out Steve McQueen, Nick Cage's vehicles are set to be the new hot “thing” in automotive auctions. Well, maybe not, but the 1967 Eleanor Mustang (“Don't start with me … no, wait, start, start!”) from “Gone in 60 Seconds” sold at last weekend's Original Spring Classic Mecum Auction in Indianapolis for $1 million.

Only three of the movie's film's 11 Mustangs were working versions, and two were destroyed during shooting. This one was Randal "Memphis" Raines' hero car, used for close-ups near the end of the flick.

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eGarage takes a look at J&L Fabricating, comes away with warm hearts

AutoBlog: eGarage takes a look at J&L Fabricating, comes away with warm hearts

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"It's one thing to put a car together, it's another thing to make it work."

Truer words have never been spoken, and in the case of Louie Shefchik of J&L Fabricating, the man who opens the video below with those words, 'making it work' has practically been elevated to an art form.

From humble beginnings – a garage back behind the duplex in which Louie and his wife Jeanette lived – J&L has grown to become a highly respected track-side crew that keeps its clients' vintage race cars on the track and competitive. And, judging by the commentary of his customers, friends and family, he's a downright great person. Check out the video above for the complete story of J&L Fabricating from eGarage.

Jaguar sculpture by RCA design students is a minimal beauty

AutoBlog: Jaguar sculpture by RCA design students is a minimal beauty

Royal College of Art Jaguar Sculpture
With its well-deserved reputation for high design, it is not particularly surprising to see Jaguar reaching outside of the automotive realm for future inspiration. To that end, the British automaker recently enlisted the talents of students at the Royal College of Art to create a piece of forward-looking, automotive-inspired sculpture.

The result of this project can be seen above; a sculpture created by RCA students Claire Miller and Ewan Gallimore, and unveiled to a small audience to kick off London's Clerkenwell Design Week. The spare and rather elegant form created by the talented pair absolutely harkens back to coupes from Jaguar's past as well as its present (read: F-Type) without aping any one model particularly. Get a better look at the Jaguar artwork in the gallery here, or read through the press release, which follows..

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How Mercedes is using QR codes to help accident victims

AutoBlog: How Mercedes is using QR codes to help accident victims

Mercedes-Benz is working on a system that may help emergency workers quickly and safely rescue trapped occupants in wrecked vehicles. The system pairs rescue sheets that show firefighters, police and paramedics information on exactly how and where to use rescue sheers to extract trapped passengers, the location of major hydraulic lines, air bags and electrical cables as well as other important vehicle data with QR codes.

Using two stickers with the codes prominently displayed, rescue workers can scan the code and instantly pull up the necessary information quickly with an internet connection. The plan could reduce rescue times and help save lives. You can read the full press release below for more information..

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2014 Nissan GT-R Track Pack squares off against Audi R8 V10 Plus

AutoBlog: 2014 Nissan GT-R Track Pack squares off against Audi R8 V10 Plus

Click to watch videoThe team over at Motor Trend has pitted the new Audi R8 V10 Plus against the Nissan GT-R. While both of the bright red all-wheel-drive supercars are comparably matched in power output, the similarities end there. Audi offers a mid-engine aluminum coupe with a naturally aspirated V10 that spits out 550 horsepower. Nissan shows up with a more traditional coupe equipped with a 545-horsepower twin-turbocharged V6 at the front of the car.

The Head-to-Head video takes both cars to the Streets of Willow Springs in the California desert for some track work with professional racing driver Randy Pobst behind the wheel. After a day at the track, the pair head to the local mountains for some spirited real-world driving. One dominates on the circuit, while the other earns back its credibility in the canyons. We won't tell you which coupe comes out on top, but we think you may be surprised.

Jim Harbaugh picked to drive Indy 500 Corvette Stingray pace car

AutoBlog: Jim Harbaugh picked to drive Indy 500 Corvette Stingray pace car

2014 Corvette StingrayHe didn't get the trophy, but he did get the girl pace car. San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh – who quarterbacked the Indianapolis Colts from 1994 to 1997 – will lead the 33-car Indianapolis 500 field around The Brickyard in a 2014 Corvette Stingray pace car.

Harbaugh's other connection to the race is that he's a principal in Panther Racing, which has two cars running on Sunday that are powered by Chevrolet engines: JR Hildebrand is starting tenth, teammate Townsend Bell is 22nd. There's a press release below with the kind of juicy quotes you'd expect from all involved..

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VW to retrofit quarter-million TDI diesels with misfueling protection

AutoBlog: VW to retrofit quarter-million TDI diesels with misfueling protection

According to a report from Autoweek, Volkswagen has plans in place to retrofit a quarter of a million 2009-2012 model-year TDI-engined cars with a system that will prevent misfueling with gasoline instead of diesel. In a notice sent out to VW dealers, the company specified that affected models will include the 2009-2012 Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen TDI, as well as 2010-2012 Golf TDI models.

Volkswagen claims that the increased popularity of TDI diesel models has resulted in more incidents of damaging and potentially very costly misfueling mishaps. To address the issue, the company will front the cash for dealers to retrofit a fuel filler neck cap that can recognize the smaller nozzle of a gasoline pump and keep the fuel tank gate closed.

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Chevy Spark EV priced at $27,495; will lease for $199/month

AutoBlog: Chevy Spark EV priced at $27,495; will lease for $199/month

2014 Chevrolet Spark EV

The Nissan Leaf, the Fiat 500e and now the 2014 Chevy Spark EV 1LT. Three different electric hatchbacks that can all be had for the same low lease price: $199 per month. The Spark even has the same appealing $999 down payment as the Fiat (the Leaf's is $1,999) and both require 36-month leases, so the cost of these two city runabouts is identical, at least at the base level.

The one potential hiccup: Chevy says it's a "low mileage lease," and you'll pay 25 cents a mile for each mile over 12,000 per year. Considering these are urban-minded vehicles with limited ranges, however, that doesn't seem like as pressing an issue.

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Tesla pays back $465M DOE loan, Musk says 'I hope we did you proud'

AutoBlog: Tesla pays back $465M DOE loan, Musk says 'I hope we did you proud'

We're willing to bet there are bottles of champagne popping all the way from Washington, DC to Palo Alto, CA today with the announcement that Tesla Motors has, as suspected, paid off the entirety of its $465-million Department of Energy loan.

    "I hope we did you proud" - Elon Musk

As far back as July 2012, Tesla began talking about paying the US government back early, but it was apparently the tremendous rise in the company's stock value recently that prompted CEO Elon Musk to push for the immediate repayment this week. From a price of $33.87 on January 1, TSLA has climbed to $87.24 today (down a bit from the recent highs of over $92). Details in the press releases below..

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Cadillac to recall 20,000 SRX models over wheels that could fall off

AutoBlog: Cadillac to recall 20,000 SRX models over wheels that could fall off

A potential issue with the lug nuts on 19,871 units of the 2013 Cadillac SRX in the US and Canada has lead to a recall of the luxury crossover. Those lug nuts that have a Teflon topcoat, identified by their bluish tint, could loosen and cause "creaking, rattling or grinding noises or steering vibrations."

In the worst case scenario, a wheel could fall off, but there have been no reports of that happening, nor any reports of accidents or injuries due to the issue.

This is the second recall action on the SRX over the last few months. In March, Cadillac recalled 27,000 SRX models over a transmission programming issue. General Motors will begin notifying customers with the potentially faulty parts on June 3, at which time they can take their vehicles to dealers to have the tires rotated and new nuts installed. A further 7,397 SRXs exported from North America also face the recall action.