Geely’s Rolls Royce clone gets de-cloned

The Geely GE Facelift - no longer a RR Clone It’s amazing how much things have moved on in the last twelve months. A year ago we reported that China’s Geely had become the latest Chinese car maker to produce a complete rip-off clone of a Western car, in this case a clone of the Rolls Royce Phantom. The Geely ‘Phantom’ even sported a  single seat  ’Throne’ in the back so the owner could feel really important in his Chinese version of  a Western plutocrat’s carriage.

One Lap of the Web: We invented the Miata!

-- Sochi or bust! Is there anything more Russian than driving a Lada Niva to the Winter Olympics? (Flagrant corruption, perhaps.) Documentary producer Vlad Ketkovich calls the venerable Niva "the closest thing to an automotive version of the Russian soul," and we'd wager that the Niva belongs in quintessential Russian-ness next to the Bolshoi Ballet and the movie "Russian Ark." (Or "Ninth Company," if your attention span has been blown to bits.) -- A gorgeous Alfa Romeo ventures into the woods by itself.

Cars, planes--and one flying car--at Pacific Coast Dream Machines show

There's a pretty good chance that most car guys are also airplane guys, and vice versa. The organizers of Pacific Coast Dream Machines have known this for the last 20 years. So each April they gather a fine collection of both at the airport at Half Moon Bay, Calif., and open the gates.