Sunday, June 28, 2009
I think that Koenigsegg is smart enough to know that, like Porsche, a supercar company needs a strong base to succeed. Porsche is, if not the wealthiest, one of the wealthiest automakers on Earth right now, and that was because they own VW, which was the third-largest automaker last year. Koenigsegg should keep Saab as what it is, a mid-range brand with luxurious pretensions. People will be more willing to buy a car made by a supercar company than by GM because supercars must justify their price with extremely high standards of quality. If koenigsegg keeps Saab in the price range it is currently, they can revive the company and keep themselves in the game by doing so. Photo from autospectator.com
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Shelby GT500 is a legendary performance Mustang that has been made, on and off, since the Sixties. It has more muscular styling, handling, and power than the regular "stock" Mustang for a serious upgrade in straight line performance as well as better cornering for the twisties. It has always been designed and built at Shelby's shop...erm, not any more.
Though the people at Shelby are supposed to have supervised design process, the new-generation "Shelby" GT500 Mustang is the first to be built at Ford, by Ford. This shatters a long-standing tradition of Shelby being an essentially separate organization, just getting the cars and some parts to tweak out. Shelby has now essentially become part of FoMoCo, and I'm surprised that I haven't heard much outcry by this point about this new development.
One major reason for this switch is probably the seemingly unstoppable fall of the economy. Shelby's small company wants the relative security of Ford, which makes Ford's toughness in these times all the more good for them. If Shelby would've made performance Dodge Chargers, they probably wouldn't have survived the K-car or these modern Fiat-induced times. Nevertheless, this new process will lose many fans among the Shelby customers, but will help keep the company alive.
Friday, June 19, 2009
A friend of mine randomly came up to me today and said "Go to the Bergstrom Automotive website now!", which was unexpected, but I did it anyways. When I got to the website, the first thing I saw for this Wisconsin network of auto dealerships was a big banner on the top of the page declaring a more than 50-car exotic car show was taking place on Saturday from 10AM-4PM central time at their 3023 Victory Lane imports dealership in Appleton, WI. There will be Bentleys, Ferraris, Dodge Vipers and many other classic and new exotic cars and racers. If you're around northeast Wisconsin tomorrow, grab some friends and check it out! Photo from Bentleyspotting.com.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
I'll be on a week-long trip with no computers, so I'll update you on the cars I see when I get back. Until then, stay alive and well!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Even though the cars are now six years old and replaced by the rarer and more advanced FXX, the Ferrari Enzo is still holding its value extremely well for a super car, or any car for that matter. I recently saw a nice, 3,000-mile example in duPont REGISTRY for $1.1 Million, which for any 2003 model-year is a high price. A used Bugatti is hardly able to make that price at best, and that's even for a 2007 or 2008, not an early one. Here's the reason why the Enzo is so expensive still, even though it's log been replaced: It is The ultimate Ferrari.
Everything about the Ferrari Enzo was taken to the max. After all, a car named after the founder of an automotive dynasty should be super. It makes 651 Horsepower at 7800 RPM, and the FXX, the newer version, makes 800 at 8500. The car was engineeres as an F1 car for the street, and they turned out to be just that. This car is also the base for the more obscure Maserati MC-12, which is slightly less powerful but also more mean-looking.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Here's the latest edition of my video reel from Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ruqm9Rz7fk: My own video of a Shelby GT500 motor at Shelby Parts and Restoration starting and revving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZEl8d-RE4M: The Thrust SSC breaking the land speed record the first time, which is less known than their 763MPH run.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD61c6cMI34: A new Ferrari California on Sunset Boulevard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNAele2PHZc: 1932 Ford promo film for some dealership.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Remember how the 24 Hours of LeMons junker racing events took off last year, and every major auto magazine or TV show had an entry? Well from the same organization comes Concours d'LeMons, a car show dedicated solely to those cars that man knows and hates with a fiery passion, such as this Pacer, which the owner turned into a "Hurst Edition". The competition's many categories include Wretched Rejects, which is for cars that've been rejected by an actual Concours event. You must have the rejection letter as proof you were rejected to be accepted into this category. There's also a category for K-cars and one for horrible kits. Be sure to go there if you can; the show is on August 15th at Toro Park in Monterey, California.
My favorite category is Most Effluent, in which the most gas-guzzling car wins, but my favorite award is the Biggest Loser award, which goes to the car that had the highest value-loss percentage over time of all the cars at the entire show. Be sure to check the competition's website at http://concoursdlemons.com/ also.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Yesterday I was in Green Bay in my silver Jetta when this slightly larger VW Passat-like car with very simple, yet elegant styling pulled onto the highway access road. As I turned behind it to get onto the highway, I noticed a word I'd never thought I'd see in the US. In front of me was a new VW Phaeton, probably modified to be US-legal or slipped through to the states on Ebay or something like that. I think the reason we don't have the Phaeton here is because it might take away from the sales of Audi in the US, not to mention that they did launch it here but sales failed miserably, but I wanted to find out what we are missing not having the Phaeton.
For those of us who don't know, the Volkswagen Phaeton is Europe's top-quality luxury VW, one step up from the CC. For the UK market, it comes either with a diesel V-6 or the famous six-liter W-12. Surprisingly, the W-12, which takes regular gas, gets around 27 MPG on UK tests, and the V-6, being a diesel, gets a little over 37. The V-6 also has an amazing 369lb/ft of torque at only 1500 RPM; the W-12 has 413 at 2750 RPM.
In terms of luxury, the Phaeton is unmatched by any other car to come out of the Volkswagen brand, with leather, a chrome grille, heated and cooled seats, 18-way adjustment on the front seats, top-quality materials, etc. The quality is reflected in the price: the base model costs the equivalent of 70,527.27 USD, with the top version coming in equal to $120,194.66 without options. Everything is understated inside, a clock reminiscent of those on Maseratis keeps watch on the time everywhere you go. The controls are simple, visibility is excellent from the leather seats. This sedan has all emphasis on the driver.
On the outside, the Phaeton is extremely understated. VW made no effort to make this car look different from all the rest, and that has an appeal that no Bentley or Maserati can match. The front is much like a Passat, the rear has Jetta-like lines and lights. But the Phaeton is larger and has real chrome instead of plastic and metal trim. Overall, this is an understated car that meets and beats all expectations that your eyes fool you with. It's the perfect definition of a sleeper, and when that W-12 comes to life, bringing 450 horsepower to your fingertips, you can fly by any unsuspecting Bentley Continental Flying Spur or Maserati Quattroporte you want, and do it in the supreme quiet and luxury of your Phaeton's interior.
Why not have this car in the United States? It beats every Audi in every way.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
I went to Shelby Parts and Restoration in Howard again today, only this time I remembered my camera. There were also more cars today, including an all-original GT500 that they ran the engine of with no muffler. You can see the photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/36897706@N05/sets/72157619343851742/.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Random thought: Show me one GMC that isn't a re-badged Chevy and I'll show you a flying license plate.
Leave it to the former, non-Italian Chrysler to try tell us they'll have a fully-functioning electric car company many years ago, and come out with a glorified golf cart that has huge insurance costs per lack of any safety features that supposedly cost billions to develop, called GEM. Top speed? 25 MPH. Range? 40 miles. By then, nobody wants them because of their final design, and Chrysler loses money. This is one reason why the brilliant management of Chrysler failed to work. I've seen one of these vehicles after many years on the market, and I've seen over ten Smart cars since March.
Another reason this new company, Global Electric Motorcars, never took off was because they were not marketed at all. I've seen one official dealership In southern Wisconsin, but in all my trips I've not seen another nor have I seen more than one car from that company. There were no commercials, no newspaper ads. But for a website and a link to it from the Chrysler website, it was as if Global Electric Motors did not exist. This is why GEM doesn't work
One the bright side, they have a performance option that boosts horsepower to seven and an option of doors!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class has not been thouroughly updated at all since the introduction of the 100-grand SUV in 2002 with the exception of adding trim levels and technology updates. Nothing about the car makes sense. It has 382 horsepower coming out of a 5.5-liter, 32-valve V-8. It is packaged in a square, jeep-like body that absolutely ruins the power that it has. Even a hummer H2, costing nearly half the price, has more power. 0-60 in 6 seconds isn't good for any car that costs over $100,000, even if it is an SUV. And in this economy, it's even antisocial.
And yet, I see them whenever I go to Chicago and any other city. If there was any use for them, it would be off the pavement, and yet its true capabilities, as with almost all trucks and SUVs, are not ever realized. The G-Class even has an AMG version, which boosts power output to the level of the base Hummer H2. This SUV makes no sense in any way, and is just used as a status symbol. this photo is of the G55 AMG version, found at autocult.com.au.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Our local Home Depot store hosted a "Community Appreciation Day" yesterday from Noon to Six, and at the center of these festivities was a much-advertised showing of the Joey Logano #20 Toyota that ran at Talladega last year.
I arrived at about 5:30, so most of everything was cleaned up, but the car was still out and showing, so I took many photos and chatted with the man who had a Home Depot vest on but seemed to know more about the car, the shop, and NASCAR to be a real HD employee. He told me that the car had run at Talladega last year, but was now used for tuning and special occasions such as this. They had another Joey Logano car at their shop, but it was almost constantly out on exhibitions, at car shows (I think it was at the Greater Milwaukee Auto Show), and at Home Depot promotional events. Being the good writer/photographer that I am, I took many photos, and here are two. One odd thing I noticed is that the car is a Toyota, but their carrier pickup truck is a Chevy or GMC, though all logos were taken off of it. Also, one of the car's sponsors, some sort of Jet-Ski company, looks like it's part of the humongous Mitsubishi combine, which includes everything from cars to banks to construction. You can see in the top photo that it has the same type of tri-diamond logo as Mitsubishi. I see a multi-company influence here.
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