I’ve got sad news for you my friend; that crossover you bought – the vehicle that combines the practicality of an SUV with the driveability of a car – it’s actually been known for generations by a different name.
You own a station wagon.
I was heading into the grocery store the other night when I saw something that made my jaw drop. A lady, apparently deciding that the cart-return was too far away, decided to give her shopping cart a solid heave… right through the sporadically parked cars in the back half of the lot.
The cart, as Wally-World carts often do, immediately hooked a left into oncoming traffic, causing a guy to slam on his brakes to avoid a collision. The lady, either too callous or too oblivious, pulled away with nary a glance at the narrowly avoided impact.
I was walking through the Dallas Cars and Coffee Saturday morning and I saw these two Mini’s parked next to each other. I’m a huge fan of Mini’s – both the original old-school Morris and the BMW re-launch MINI – but I’ve never seen the two variants sitting beside each other. Read More…
The Automotive Blogosphere seems to be filled with fan sites, empty content, and snarky comments. I have been as guilty as anyone in pushing the type of babble that permeates the big name websites, and almost all the sites have the same formula: Features on Exotics, LOL Cars (FAIL, That will buff out, Exotic Wrecks, etc.), Video Features, Top 10 lists, Caption Contests, Question of the Day, Recaps, Ebay and Craigslist car ads, and on and on and on. You get the picture, right? Sometimes, you have to ask yourself is there anything else? Why yes, yes there is, and two come to mind: Hemmings Blog, and one that I’m heavily associated with, Automotive Traveler.
Limousine Services have been getting more creative in the era of downsizing, but this particular company may have found a new niche, Armored Limousines. The Armored Limousine Service Inc., a company located within the Dallas Texas Metro Area, offers a service in which their clients enjoy being DIFFERENT & STYLISH with a sense of SECURITY. The “Limousine” is, in all reality, a stretched Armored Car, the type that is used to transport valuables between banks, that has been up-fitted with your typical, over-the-top party limo interior, complete with two-toned leather, neon and strobe lights, and a retractable stripped pole from the ceiling.
The Toyota Prius notwithstanding, General Motors and Chevrolet squandered the leadership position in alternative-propulsion vehicles that they stated to hold with the twin introductions of the EV-1, and the Chevrolet S-10EV. What, you never heard of the S-10EV? Ahhh, come, sit, and learn how GM regained it’s swagger after two truly forgettable decades of producing mostly uninspired vehicles, and introduced a truly revolutionary car – The EV-1 – along with the companion S-10EV.
Its been more than forty years since the last release of a new Shelby GT350, and its been worth the wait. Shelby and Ford first teamed up back in 1965 but only after a few years Ford took over the Shelby production and ran it into the ground before the decade was over. Ever since Ford and Shelby got back together a few years ago, the lingering question in every car enthusiasts mind was, “Where is the GT 350?” Well the the 2011 Mustang GT 5.0 was just recently unveiled and it is every thing the people at Shelby America needed to kickstart their efforts. All we know now is that base sticker price of the new Shelby will be $63,000 but expect to pay a lot more for the available upgrades. The 2001 Shelby GT350 will go from 0-60 in an estimated 4.2 seconds, but other than this there is not much known about this recently revealed car. Carrol Shelby recently said, “We’ve come full circle with the GT350….Some people will be building their hydrogen cars and electric cars and hybrids. But Shelby will not be going down that road….We’re about performance and this car is built around the latest technology from Ford and the new 5.0 liter engine.” Whatever the car delivers, expect it to be something special.
One of the best known auto-tuners from Japan, Tommy Kaira, who has modified cars such as Nissans Skyline, has unveiled their newest package for the Nissan GT-R. Tommy Kaira cars have appeared in numerous racing video games including the Gran Turismo series. Their latest project for the Nissan GT-R is called the Silver Wolf. Now whats different about the Silver Wolf compared to almost every other Tommy Kaira tune kit is that the engine is not touched. It was released by officials at Nissan when the GT-R was first released that the engine performace could not be improved anymore, any modifications would only reduce its supercar ability. What the Silver Wolf does include is a new carbon fiber widebody kit, and a custom interior with Tommy Kaira logos, along with new wheels, exhaust, brakes and suspension. Although no changes to the engine are going to be made, it is expected that the new suspension and a new exhaust will add a few horsepower to the 480 horsepower engine, as almost every Tommy Kaira packages brings out that extra little performacne that any speed junky would be looking for. If you are interested in getting the full Tommy Kaira Silver Wolf edition, just remember the body kit alone will run you $18,000, plus the GT-R’s $80,000 price tag. However, if you want to see Godzilla breathe fire, the Silver Wolf is what you are looking for.
After sweeping the title of Motor Trend’s 2009 SUV of the Year, it stands to reason that the 2010 MY lesbian moving van Subaru Forester would be worth getting my hands on for a quick spin. The larger result of my findings were surprising to say the least, and not necessarily of the pleasant variety, but it should probably be mentioned that the brevity of my experience prevented a more in-depth analysis. With only two hours to evaluate the Forester’s handling and objectively critique its performance, while the conclusions based here are fair they might differ with a longer stint behind the wheel.
That having been said, first and most notable on the list of the Forester’s unexpected features was the its odd penchant for heating up like an Easy Bake Oven. On a breezy 60 degree fall day in the Northeast while traveling at a brisk 45 mph with all four windows rolled down, one would not expect to break a sweat, but that’s nevertheless what happened. By the time I coasted into the one area in New Jersey picturesque enough for snapping a few photos (read: not cluttered with radioactive waste and/or strip malls), I was as flushed as if I’d jogged there. Maybe it was the thrashing given to the engine in sport shift (which is the automatic tranny’s only redeeming feature) and the resulting immense amount of heat the engine was giving off, or maybe it was the copious amount of glass coupled with glaring sunlight that quickly lent itself to the ant-under-a-microscope feeling – who knows. Whatever it was, not even the AC set on low could counteract it. Read More…
Lee Noble, who has not been affiliated with his brainchild, Noble Automotive, since 2006, has announced that he will be be launching a solo project. The name and the date are still very much up for debate, but sources feel surprisingly confident that Lee will deliver his Noble by 2010 and that it will, if previous Noble products are any indication, rock.
Even more surprising than the blind confidence is the fact that for a car without even so much as an internal source code, there is a wealth of information that has already been confirmed. Accordingly: Noble will be building his pet project in very limited quantities (100 to start) at the Port Elizabeth facility responsible for the Noble M12′s production. The new 2-seat Noble will feature an 8-cylinder gasoline engine capable of churning out anywhere from 400 to 600 horsepower (depending on configurations) that will be mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. It will be equipped with a space-frame chassis, double-wishbone suspension, and steel brakes; the final curb weight will be 2,645 pounds; and for the final concrete fact, it will be capable of hustling from 0-60 mph in under 3.5 seconds. Read More…
