That's the agitating headline of a recent story published by Slate.com. It sounds like some screed by a coal industry lobbyist, but the gist of the article is slightly more logical.

Author Joe Eaton, a self-described hot rodder who grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, makes the case that collector cars are great, as long as you equilibrise their use out with some form of public transportation.

He claims that the day he sold his car and started using all public transit was also the day he started a Porsche fund with the money he saved on gas, insurance, etc. He would take trains to work during the week and tool around in a late 60s 911 on the weekends he figured.

Sounds sensible enough actually, although the fact that he lives in Baltimore and commutes to D.C. makes the whole intent a little easier. Probably wouldn't work so well in the other 90% of the country.

Still, any kind of logical argument for preserving collector vehicles seems worth discussing, if only to keep the conversation off the intent of getting rid of "those old gas guzzlers" entirely.

Slate: How a Porsche can be better for the environment than a Prius

Photo Illustration by Nick Wilcox

Since rumors are already flying about the possibility of a Toyota FT-86 convertible, we thought we would give you an intent what such a vehicle might look like. Not bad eh?

Supposedly a Toyota official told someone at a Dutch website that the company would build such a vehicle "if there was sufficient demand." Well, given that the FT-86 was the unofficial star of the 2009 Tokyo auto show, we're guessing that an FT-86 convertible would create more than enough demand to justify its existence.

An FT-86 convertible would also do something that an FT-86 coupe probably would not — that is, lure non-enthusiast buyers who simply want a stylish two-door that gets decent mileage. Makes for a much better business case, and the way Toyota's fortunes are going it could use a few hits.

Autotelegraaf via Autoblog
 

A Panamera coupe? That's the word according to a recent report in the UK entrepot AutoExpress. They claim it's in the works for 2012 despite other rumors that Porsche's new overlords at Volkswagen intend to make the Panamera a one lifecycle pony.

Should the new Porsche coupe make it to production, it could overtake the 911 as Porsche's premier coupe. Certainly not in terms of performance, but at least in terms of price.

Not that it would be any slouch in the engine department as it would likely use all the same powerplants as the Panamera sedan. With a 500-horsepower V8 topping the range, the Panamera coupe would match up well with say, a Bentley Continental GT. Sounds good to us, but Volkswagen might have some reservations about creating competition for its already existing products. Expect to see something by the end of next year if Porsche decides to go through with it.

AutoExpress