Remember that video we showed awhile back from the short film "The Fast and the Famous," of Jay Leno driving the Sunset Boulevard-Mulholland Drive-Coldwater Canyon loop, which he called Los Angeles' Nurburgring? He was in a cherry-red Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, and he pontificated on some of the driving history of L.A. and about that time way back when he used to be funny?

Well, much like late-night comedy, someone has done something similar to Leno, but made the whole thing way more entertaining.

Pro driver Tanner Foust of the Formula Drift circuit, in conjunction with Scion Racing and Rock Star energy drink, have put together a mind-blowing video of Foust absolutely killing Mulholland Drive, drifting that treacherous stretch of asphalt like it was made just for him and no other.

Words don't do it justice: Check it out (especially the final part, at 3:19), after the jump. 

It's been reported that long before the massive global recalls, Toyota boasted to its employees that it had saved $100 million by skirting a recall all the way back in 2007 -- thanks in part, it has since been disclosed, to company lobbyists who had formerly worked for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other regulatory agencies. A new article in the Washington Post details the back-and-forth between the Japanese automaker and NHTSA -- which has itself been the target of criticism for its seemingly lax attitude toward enforcement -- and paints a picture of a company that ignored or downplayed known problems for the sake of cost savings. The NHTSA pushed for a wide-ranging recall of the company's floor mats; Toyota pushed back and eventually succeeded in limiting the scope to a minor recall of a single type of mat. Despite repeated warnings to the automaker -- some in nothing less than stark terms -- NHTSA didn't force the issue.

After two more years and 20 more deaths linked to alleged unintended-acceleration issues, Toyota changed its tune and set the course for massive floor-mat-related recalls. Then it rolled out several more recalls for everything from sticky accelerators to brake issues. In fact, it seems like Toyota has done little over the last six months but issue recalls (and, let's not forget, grovel to the public).

So how did those cost savings turn out? 

Chrysler's woes are so pervasive that, for someone who covers the auto industry day in and day out, it would almost be comical if one didn't realize how badly the situation is hurting the people who work in the domestic auto industry.

The situation has been so bad for so long that it's become fodder for punch lines. In his piece on J.D. Power and Associates' dependability study for Exhaust Notes yesterday, Lawrence Ulrich wrote:

"And some things never change: Not one Chrysler brand scored better than average in dependability."

That's been the pattern for a while; for the last several years, Chrysler has remained unloved by pretty much anyone ranking quality, desirability or safety.

So what's the beacon of hope for this struggling brand? 

For all the talk about "green" this and that at pretty much every auto show we've been to for the past couple of years, the irony is that the footprint of the average car show is anything but eco-friendly. Hundreds of vehicles have to be shipped to their destination; the weeklong events require serious power (of both the human and fuel varieties) to run; and keeping auto journalists happy with open bars during the media preview days --  well, we're not sure how the last one is bad for the environment, but you get the drift.

Our friends over at AutoWeek (who, you no doubt have noticed, contribute regularly to Exhaust Notes) have come up with a solution: a virtual car show. 

Bad news from the pump: According to USA Today, gas prices are the highest they've been since October 2008. Retail gas prices have climbed higher thanks to the combination of increased demand and the fact that the more expensive summer blends of gasoline (used to comply with emissions regulations during the so-called warm weather "driving months") are heading to fuel stations.

The current price, based on national average? $2.799 per gallon; this marks a jump of almost 19 cents per gallon in the last month, and a year-over-year increase of 87 cents. 

McLaren Automotive laid out its ambitious plans to become a competitive player in the high-performance car market on Thursday and wants to build up to 4,000 top-shelf sports car annually by the middle of the decade.

The company held a grand opening at its base in Woking, England, to celebrate the progress of the MP4-12C as it moves toward production. The estimated 592-hp supercar is expected to be exceptionally light and aerodynamic as the company takes aim at the best of Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Additionally, McLaren broke ground this month on a new production center in England that will be the centerpiece of its growing road-car business. The $61 million development will measure more than 344,000 square feet and create up to 300 new jobs. Ultimately, it will employ up to 800 people when production ramps up.

"We have long held the dream of building a range of innovative McLaren sports cars," chairman Ron Dennis said. "Sports cars that take the raw elements of Formula One principles, processes and performance and forge them into a unique package that adds the requirements of quality, efficiency, comfort and reliability--traditionally opposing goals that I know we can deliver."

 

American carmakers, especially General Motors and Ford, complain that their cars are often as reliable as anything from Japan and that the real problem is simply that consumers don’t believe them. Too many people assume these are still the companies that gave us rotten-to-the-core rust buckets like the Ford Pinto in the '70s and the Chevy Citation of the '80s.

The ongoing improvement of Ford and GM was one highlight of the J.D. Power and Associates' 2010 Vehicle Dependability Study, one of the industry’s most closely watched measures of car quality. This year's biggest surprise: For the first time in a decade, the industry’s most reliable car was from Detroit: The Cadillac DTS luxury sedan. In fact, seven of the 10 most reliable vehicles in the study were built by Ford and General Motors.

What I like about the study is that it measures problems in three-year-old cars, so it delivers a loud and clear picture of what owners really think after their car has logged some serious mileage. This year’s study surveyed more than 52,000 owners of model-year 2007 vehicles, who checked off 198 different problem areas that cover every aspect of the vehicle. Important to note is that survey-takers are not simply asked about what breaks, but also things that just bug them about their car, from a loud cabin to poor ergonomics.

 

Ask most drivers which car company commands the most loyal buyers, and you’ll probably hear a list of familiar names. Brands like Toyota, Honda, General Motors and Ford have been courting buyers for decades and have earned themselves a bevy of die-hard fans in the process. But according to Kelly Blue Book, those makes all fall short of Hyundai. The South Korean automaker officially has the most loyal buyers in all the land, and here’s why:


1. Price
Few words describe Hyundai better than economical, and buyers have come to expect a quality car at a ridiculously good price. Every vehicle in the company’s lineup starts at less than $35,000, and that’s a fact customers respond to. Even the current top-of-the-line Genesis sedan offers buyers BMW-level luxury for Honda Accord-level prices.