Nissan GTR

I have been meaning to do this post for a while, I will be writing about one car and one car only. My favorite car in fact, the Nissan GTR (R35).

http://padangcitycar.com/nissan-gt-r.html

This car in my eyes is the perfect "super" car. It has four seats (kind of) it gets pretty respectable mileage figures from the 3.8 litre V6 at 19 MPG. It does 0-60 in under 3 seconds (I've seen figures anywhere from 3.1 to 2.5 but the average seems to be 2.7 seconds) and it will top out near 200 MPH. Oh yeah and did I fail to mention it costs 97 grand.

So to recap it will crush an SRT Viper (which I also love) and for that matter hang with and in most cases beat a Ferrari 458. In Canada the 458 costs 347 thousand dollars, the car known as Godzilla will thrash it for under 100 grand, If their is a better performance bargain I don't know it. I mean hell, a used 2009 or 2010 model can be found for around 60k and for that money ALLOT of people will be killing themselves with it (hopefully in the next few years me as well).

This thing is a fire breathing monster (literally). Known simply as Godzilla. It is made by a company that makes primarily economy cars that no one cares about. Yes they have always made the Nissan skyline which is an amazing machine in it's own right. Nissan however stopped production of the skyline in 2002. The next generation was sold in North America as the Infiniti G35. Which was a good car but did not live up to it's predecessor, The R35 GTR seemingly came out of thin air, at least  from the general publics point of view and rewrote the handbook on what a car is capable of. It was the first car that could hit 60 in under 3.0 seconds (for this post I am excluding cars that cost over a million dollars, I am fully aware the Veyron completed that feat in 2006), It defied physics in the fact that it is not a light car by any stretch of the imagination at a bit over 3800 lbs, despite this it still lapped the Nurburgring in 7:27. The brand new nismo version just got the lap record on the ring for a mass produced car at 7:08. This car should not be able to do these things, It goes against the laws of nature and it was the first car to really do that. Technology overcoming basic physics is a wonderful thing.

Many reviewers do however think that because of all the electronics that allow the car to do these things, It is not engaging to drive and that the car is doing more of the work than you are. I unfortunately have never driven this car so I cannot attest to this fact. They have said it's like driving a Playstation. One thing I can say however is, the reviewers who I have seen make the statement that the car is un-engaging and to technical have more than likely not ever spent a significant amount of time on a game console, I and many of the GTR's buyers however have. If this car does in fact drive like a video game. That just makes me want it that much more because I will already have a feel for it. So the cars one major fault (aside from weight and apparently noise) is not in my mind a fault at all.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/07/11/2014-nissan-gt-r-review-video/

The world is becoming more technologically advanced by the day, The things that are happening that the general public has no idea about is astonishing, The Nissan GTR R35 was and is on the forefront of that, Other brands are now catching up and a super car that can't do 0-60 in under 3.5 is considered old news. we want the car to tell us everything about our driving and seat 4 and have good gas mileage and make us FEAR GOD when we hit the go pedal. The Nissan GTR did all this FIRST and is still doing it. Since it's inception it has been in the top three of more best driver's car competitions than I care to mention. 

To sum up The Nissan GTR is as close to the perfect performance car on the market as you can get. I don't know how it accomplishes the things it does, but believe, it does do them. when the car came out in 2009 it was so good people were actively trying to find fault with it (similar to the Tesla Model S today). One of my main goals in life is to own a blue GTR, So one day If you see me driving around in one wave at me and if we are at a stop sign, prepare to see the tail lights.   

        

Paul Walker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8UCI7r1Aqw

As you can probably tell by now, This is yet another Paul Walker tribute-post-blog-thing. It has been two weeks to the day since the tragic accident that took one of Hollywood's best rising stars. Since than I have watched all of the F&F movies a few times. It is still pretty weird watching them and knowing that he will never act in another one or portray Brian O-Conner again.

The first F&F came out in 2001, I was 13 at that time, just entering high school and Just starting to get interested seriously in cars. As the series progressed I grew up, finished high school and graduated college, I grew with these movies and in a way I grew with Paul Walkers acting career as did many other car enthusiasts, The older we became the better his acting got and the more we could appreciate what we were watching.

It is an interesting fact about Paul Walker that in the series he portrayed a character that was mainly interested in imports, specifically skylines and the like. In reality he was apparently enamored with American muscle, specifically Mustangs and Saleen. He was also the only main actor on set that had any significant driving experience or serious interest in cars. I believe Michelle Rodriguez actually got her license for the movie (don't quote me on that though).

Their are some eerie coincidences between Paul Walkers death and another former rising star who was taken from us far to early, James Dean. James in fact died at a much younger age (24). although the two had somewhat similar lives. Both Paul and James died relatively early in their career, Both Paul and James were active in racing, Both Paul and James loved Porsche's (one of the few foreign cars Walker loved, he had 3 GT2 rs's) and tragically Both Paul and Dean died in Porsche's. If Paul Walker really was the second coming of James Dean, He lived his life as it should have been, through cars, Love and family. He will be missed and the car world will never forget him.

Now check out his AMAZING car collection through the words of Matt Farah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U189SwhPXKI 

       

Legendary Motor Cars Trip, The Rare And The Beutiful

Legendary Motor Cars Main hall, Nikon D5000,

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting one of my favorite places in the world, Legendary Motor Cars. LMC is located in the small city of Milton, Ontario, Canada, behind an industrial complex. If you haven't heard of the name you have probably seen the show. Dream Car Garage is filmed on location here. It is a quality program that currently air's on Sun TV.....I think. If you are in the area and have an interest in cars I HIGHLY suggest you take a trip their, a small 5 dollar donation net's you entrance into one of the most amazing car collections know to man. This post will cover a few of my select favorites from the trip and some rare gems.

   

Camaro ZL1, Nikon D5000

We start off with some thing that is not that rare per say but infinitely cool none the less. The Camaro ZL1, With a 580 horsepower blown V8, Their are few cars that will run you under 80 thousand that can match it on a strip. It also sounds Magnificent. 

1927 Deusenberg Model X, Nikon D5000

As you can see their is a damn good variety at this place. Here we have a 1927 Deusenberg Model X. This big beast has a straight 8 that puts out 100 hp, this enabled it to reach 100 mph, which in that day was like light speed. Would you wanna go 161 kph in this thing, gorgeous it may be but I sure as hell wouldn't. 

1962 Ferarri 250 GT, Nikon D5000

This is the gorgeous Farrari 250 Gt, 240 horsepower of screaming prancing horse. It has the classic Ferrari V12 also, a true masterpiece if I ever saw one.

2005 Ford GT, Nikon D5000

Not one but TWO ford GT's Both have 550 horsepower and top out at 212 miles an hour, These beauty's are one of very few cars that have actually gone up in value over the years. New you could pick one up for 150 thousand dollars. This was a relative bargain for what you got, Now if you want one and you could even find one, It will set you back minimum 210 thousand (at least in Canada) That's quite the jump. To see two in the same place is a rare treat.

1989 Ferrari F40, Nikon D5000

This is something special, An honest to goodness Ferrarri F40. One of only 1315 produced. A value of slightly over ONE MILLION DOLLARS. This car has a twin turbocharged 2.9 litre V8 that puts down a claimed 471 horsepower. The people who are in the know believe that number to be quite a bit higher in actuality. This is one of the only F40's I have ever seen and it is truly amazing. Chris Harris the British car reviewer once said that this car is the one. If he could have only one car to die with this would be it, I tend to agree.

Add caption

1968 MK III Ford GT 40, Nikon D5000

The piece De resistance, What you see here is a 1968 MK III Ford GT 40. This is one of seven ever built. In 1968 Ford built seven street legal promotional cars with a 289 V8 that was de-tuned to 335 horsepower. This is one of the original seven cars it is worth 3.5 MILLION dollars. You will never see another one. It's kind of amazing to think that a car collection like this is in Milton Ontario.

Oh yeah and the blue Mustang beside the GT40 is a one of one 1967 model that was used by to demo all the improvements for the 1968 and 1969 model year. it's worth about a Million dollars also. LMC did a full ground up restoration on it.

Are Supercars Doomed?

http://jalopnik.com/tag/super-cars

I am going to pose a question to you car lovers out there. You may not like this question, you may think I am a complete lune, Here me out though. My question is, are super cars becoming irrelevant?

You may wonder why I would ask such a question being as I am a self professed super car and speed junkie. In today's day and age with technology in cars going the way it is, speed is quite simply significantly easier to attain. for example

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130617/carreviews/130619854

I give you the 2014 Mercedes CLA 45 AMG. This car does not look like anything special, ok it looks a little sporty with its large front fascia and air inlets but tuner cars owned by 17 year olds have those. Under the hood of this car however, hides a monster. Are you ready for this, This little Mercedes which starts off at 48 thousand dollars has more power than a Porsche Cayman S and is faster than any Maserati on the market. What AMG did to this car border's on lunacy, They strapped a turbo on it's little 2.0 litre 4 cylinder engine that shoves TWENTY SIX! pounds of boost through it. That forces this little engine to put down 360 horsepower (almost as much as a 1994 dodge viper). That power propels the car to 60 MPH in 4.2 seconds which as I said before is faster than ANY Maserati that is mass produced, (they cost significantly north of 150 thousand dollars). On top of all that it gets 33 MPG combined. and seats four (five if you're passengers are small). 

We start with a little Mercedes that packs a big punch now we move on to a couple of cars that  inspired me to write this. These two cars are so fast and produce so much power that you frankly would not need a weekend supercar. 

http://www.boldride.com/ride/2014/bmw-m5-competition-package

What you see here is the 2014 BMW M5 Competition Package (I know quite the mouthful). This vehicle will seat five adults and costs under 120 thousand dollars. It is listed from BMW as producing a whopping 575 horsepower! In actuality If you put it on a dyno it puts down 598. Lets look at some of the cars that tops shall we. The Ferrari f40 and f50, any Porsche 911, the Lamborghini Diablo and Countache and the first generation Pagani Zonda. That is ludicrous for a car that you would supposedly use on a daily basis. lets bring this into perspective, This car weighs over 4000 pounds so it can't honestly accelerate as fast as those cars can it? If you thought that you would be wrong, 60 happens in a staggering 3.7 seconds and the quarter goes by in 11.9. So what we have here is a car that you can drive daily to work, At night go to dinner with the kids in tow and on the weekend go to the strip and spank a corvette!

Thats not the big surprise of today's vehicle line up though, if you recall I said their were two cars, for the second we go back to our friends at AMG with the E63 AMG S Model

http://www.conceptcarz.com/view/photo/994829,22409/2014-Mercedes-Benz-E63-AMG-S-Model_photo.aspx

Those German guys at AMG are completely batty, seriously they are off their meds and I love it. If you saw this car drive by you on the road you would think nothing of it right? its just another grey suited business man in the car his company told him to buy, WRONG. This car is right now in my eyes the ultimate sleeper car. As with the other two it seats 5 in luxurious comfort, costs under 120 thousand and looks passable on the road. However do not be fooled, This car is FAST. Mercedes lists it at an impressive 585 HP which is kind of insane. Put it on the dyno however and factor in a 20 percent loss of power through the drivetrain due to it being all wheel drive, and this car's 6.3 litre engine develops....wait for it...... SIX HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SIX HORSEPOWER! That is bat shit crazy! As with the BMW let's see what other vehicles that number beats. The Ferarri Enzo 660HP, The SRT Viper 640HP, The Corvette ZR1 638HP, The Lamborghini Murcielago lp 670 Super Veloce 670HP. Admittedly those cars are faster, due to the AMG's weight but not by much. This stupid thing hit's sixty in 3.4 seconds and does the quarter mile in 11.6 (the SRT Viper hits 60 in 3.5 and the quarter in 11.5).

So I pose to you again, with cars like that, is the super car doomed. I don't think it is, however if you want a super car to compete, It's going to need 8 to 900 horsepower. With things like hybrid boosting and turbocharging developing numbers like this, everyday cars are now faster than unattainable super cars from 5 years ago. It makes me wonder if the government will start mandating car company's with horsepower caps. I hope to god that doesn't happen and if it does you will hear about right here trust me. I for one like the way things are going with performance and power figures because If the everyday car has 600 Horsepower, Super cars are just going to get better.             

Rush Review

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-2305778/Rush-F1-movie-James-Hunt-Niki-Lauda-released-trailer--VIDEO.html

This post will not exactly follow my traditional style of writing about cars or news or just something that irritates me. This week I will be writing a short review on a film that in my opinion rewrites how automotive cinema should be done.  Their will be many spoilers in this post so If you haven't seen it first of all do so and than come back and read this. 

The film is Rush, you have more than likely all heard of it by now as it came out over a month ago. This movie, written by Peter Morgan and Directed by Ron Howard, depicts the intense rivalry between hotshot British race boy James Hunt, played by Christopher Hemsworth of Thor fame, and the fastidious and unrelenting Niki Lauda in the 1970's.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-09-13/rush-ron-howard-and-peter-morgan-on-the-oscar-tipped-formula-1-movie---video

 The movie starts off portraying both Lauda and Hunt in their respective formula 3 careers (where the aforementioned rivalry began). Hunt having already established himself as a force behind the wheel is at this point just waiting for his call up to the big league that is formula one, when Lauda shows up. Being the son and heir of a wealthy banking family no one gave him much of a chance, yet in the first race that is shown lauda beats hunt at his own game. The season progresses and their rivalry grows.

The next season Hunt hears that Lauda due to his family wealth and skill behind the wheel has effectively bought himself into a formula one team and not just any F1 team but BRM. Hunt is understandably not pleased with this, so he convinces his benefactor to do the same.

Lauda racing for BRM and Hunt under his own financial backing race through the season with Lauda taking the championship and Hunt loosing his financial backing by the end of the first season. That does not stop him though, he has to get back into a car or in his words "find himself a drive".
Hunt hears through the grapevine that Mclaren is in the market for a new driver. Ofcourse He goes to Mclaren right away and uses his way with words and heart to slip his way into the car.  The next season see's Lauda change teams also, to Ferrari.

The rivalry is back on. Things are going similarly to the first season with Lauda up front and Hunt closely behind. However in March 1976 a race is scheduled at the green hell know simply as the ring. It was storming violently that day and Lauda did not feel comfortable racing so he called the drivers in and convinced them to vote on whether or not to race. The daring won out and the race was on much to Lauda's dismay. During the race Lauda went over a small hill grabbed some air lost control of the car and hit a wall at high speed which caused the gas tank to erupt into flame.

http://www.swide.com/sport-man/formula-1/niki-lauda-and-james-hunt-rivalry-the-real-story-behind-rush-movie/2013/9/7

This left Niki with sever burns to his head, wrists and lungs along with several broken bones which in turn put him out for a mere six weeks. He than returned (against doctors orders) to claim fourth in the italian grand prix. But with Niki gone Hunt was clear to claim victorys and he did, enough to put him in first place. The last race of the season was upon us and it was a down pour again and justifiably Luada refused to race. So all hunt had to do was get 3rd place to claim the drivers championship for the first time.

It is a compelling story to say the least, a compelling story is the basis for a good film but it is not all that is needed. Ron Howard has made his masterpiece and the writing from Peter Morgan carries the film and keeps you entranced in what is going on. What really draws you in though is the cinematography. The camera work in this movie is breathtaking, you can feel Niki Lauda's pain when the doctors are vacuming his lungs of particulate, just as you can visualize what it was like to be driving at 170 MPH through dense wet fog and hear the pounding of raindrops against the tarmac as the screeching tires crush them out of existence.

This movie will leave you with an elevated heart rate and wanting to go back and see it seven times. I am calling it right now. This film will win everything at the Oscars or at least best picture.  My final word on the film is GO SEE IT! if you have any interest in cars or movies or pretty blond hair on guys GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

8 out of 5      
   
    

The Pick-Up Truck Epidemic

I have been gone for awhile, and I apologize for this. I blame 10 hour workdays and Grand Theft Auto V. I am back though and over the last while (since I moved to the city) I have noticed something that bothers me to no end.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27417638@N07/5731919064/

This: big ass trucks in the city. Frankly, if you live within city limits do not buy a truck that won't fit in a parking space. It's really pretty simple. If you need a truck that is 27 feet long you should not live within the city and be an asshole within parking lots and while on the road.

I would like to state that I do not hate trucks or people who drive them. I personally have many friends who own pickups and I like to drive them as much as the next kid from the country. That is just it though. Pickups belong in the country. I know that farmers will have to take the occasional trip into the city to get supply's or visit family but being a dickhead is not necessary.

The farmers who just come into the city occasionally don't bother me. What bothers me is the accountant's and factory supervisor's who buy the dodge 3500 diesel just because they want to feel big and powerful or feel they need the largest most powerful truck on the market to tow their rv to Wal-Mart. They than feel the need to take up nine of the nearest spaces so they can get in and out quickly. On the way to Wal-Mart they also of course need to get 280 dollars worth of fuel and while they are doing it they have to block access to the entire gas station because they can't pull up that extra 6 feet to let a car in behind or in front of them.

http://www.generationhighoutput.com/as-much-as-i-rail-on-about-mega-lifted-trucks/

Than there is these asshats (above). These vehicles have a place. That place is not downtown Toronto. On two lane roads. In rush hour. You would be amazed how often I see these things. Half the time the big stacks in the bed aren't connected to anything because the truck isn't even diesel and most of the time they have never seen a spec of dirt. I would like to state one more time, I am all for customization like this in the right place. It serves a purpose and it can be allot of fun. The right place however is not in the suburbs.

Than there is the guy who buys every possible stick on piece of chrome or gold from Canadian Tire or Wal-Mart and than thinks his truck looks "ballin"....

http://www.cargods.com/2011/08/02/too-much-or-not-enough/

I hope to hell every time I see this that the owner is trying to be ironic or funny in some way but usually he is not and he actually thinks it looks good. This specific trend is also not applied only to trucks, people with cars do it too. This is not something that annoys me about city trucks specifically, it's just something that annoys me in general. Whoever does this, it does not look good, PLEASE STOP! and go see a therapist about your in-superiority complex. In fact, the in-superiority complex thing kinda sums up all of the stupid trends I just mentioned. 

If you have a small.....you know....you don't need to buy the biggest most obnoxious vehicle on the planet to compensate, because when you do this, you are kind of screaming to the world that you are ashamed of you're ummm wedding tackle. 

Bottom line: If you live in the city you do not need a 30 foot long truck. Even if you are in construction you don't need a vehicle that big and if you do.....commute! You are making life significantly more difficult for the people who drive normal vehicles. That will most likely fall on deaf ears because the guy in the first pic I posted knows he is being a douche. And yet, he still did it.

This is a major problem for people like me who drive small hatchbacks and frankly it's a problem for the environment and people's sanity who live in the city. It won't change - in fact truck sales in urban area's are on the rise. This baffles me. I would not want to own a truck in the city. They drink to much gas and are difficult to drive in tight spaces. I don't know why people are buying them in urban area's but they are, so I think the least they could do is not be assholes.              

Frankfurt Auto Show Retrospective

So auto show season is upon us. In fact the Frankfurt Auto Show has already passed. Unfortunately living in Ontario, the only Autoshow I really have access to without going out of the country is the Toronto show. Frankly it's not the greatest but alas I suppose it will have to do. I will however be trying to stay up on the latest news and will be posting throughout the season.

The Frankfurt show brought some very interesting concepts this year from the likes of Audi, Mercedes and Volvo of all things.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/photos-audi-quattro-concept#slide-1

My favorite concept debut from Frankfurt is what you see above. The Audi Quattro Concept.
We all know the stats but to reiterate, it has a 4.0 litre twin turbo charged V8 paired with an electric motor. These two things combined produce 700 hp and 590 lb ft of torque. Combine that with Audi's Quattro all wheel drive system (what the car was named for) and you get a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds and a top end of 190 MPH. On top of all that it gets an astonishing 94 MPG. Please GOD let Audi produce this. I will sell my first child to have one. I honestly haven't been this excited about a car's debut since the Nissan GTR...

Audi also debuted the Nanuk.

www.digitaltrends.com/cars/frankfurt-2013-10-coolest-cars-at-the-frankfurt-auto-show/

I'm honestly not quite blown away by this one. If only for the fact that it looks almost exactly like the Lamborghini Parkour. This is more than likely due to the fact that they were both penned by the Giugiarro design house, which I'm still not a huge fan of. The difference lies beneath, whereas the Parcour is powered by a Gallardo V10, the Nanuk concept is powered by a 5.0 litre turbo diesel V10 which produces 544 hp and 737 lb ft. This is all well and good except an Audi exec has already stated that if and when this does go into production it will be powered by the Gallardo V10. This saddens me because if it has the same engine as the Parkour and looks like the Parkour why not just get the Parkour

Sticking with the German brands, Mercedes debuted the S class Coupe Concept

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/frankfurt-motor-show-2013-mercedes-benz-dazzles-with-new-concept-s-class-coupe/

This is probably the best looking vehicle that debuted at Frankfurt this year. It has two 12.3 inch touch screeens and everything else you touch is calfskin leather or hand turned aluminum. The speaker grill is even modeled after desert formations in Utah, how is that for a conversations starter?

I mentioned Volvo debuted a car at Frankfurt earlier in this post. Boy did they, frankly I would like to know where this this thing came from in the depths of Volvo's design house?

http://www.americanluxurymag.com/2013/08/29/volvo-concept-coupe-hybrid/

This is a Volvo (let me repeat that) this is a Volvo. The same company that made the 850 wagon made this piece of art. This car's gearshift lever is cut from pure crystal for god sake! It also happens to be motivated by a 2.0 litre engine which doesn't sound to impressive. This is no normal 2.0 litre though it is turbocharged, supercharged AND has an electric motor attached to the rear axel which helps it produce 400 hp. That is all that is known currently but if this is the way Volvo is heading than I am super excited. Welcome back Sweden!

That is my recap of the Frankfurt Auto show. I did not cover all of the show obviously, these are just some of the notable concept debut's. If the rest of the auto show season is this good it will be a good year and the Toronto show may actually be worth going to. Keep watching this page for more news and rants about what I like and what I (and many others) don't like.            

Berlinfest, The Best German Car Show You Will Ever See.

Last weekend me and my fiance attended an event called Berlinfest in Kitchener, Ontario. Berlinfest is the largest German only car show in Canada. Boy did it live up to hype. I took allot of photo's and I do not have the space to post them all, I have selected photo's of a few cars that you don't see everyday and a few photo's of cars that I personally love. So here you go this is my take on Berlinfest 2013.

Harlequin Jetta, iphone 4S.

Among V.A.G enthusiast's this car is something special. You may not believe me but that paint scheme is stock from the Volkswagen factory. It is called the harlequin package. This is very rare actually. I'm not sure how many Jetta's were produced, but there are only 107 Harlequin golfs known to exist right now so this is a rare car.  This specific cars original colour was tornado red (you can tell by the c pillar which is not interchangeable) originally before Volkswagen swapped all the body panels around. For more on the Harlequin cars check this link out. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/03/volkswagen-golf-harlequin-vws-strangest-idea/

Volkswagon beetle, iphone 4S

This is one of the cleanest cars I have ever seen. I'm not sure if it won anything at the show but it should have.

Volkswagen Golf R, iphone 4S

This is the big daddy Golf. It has a 256 hp 5 cylinder engine and all wheel drive. I suspect this car will become rather sought after because the 6th Generation Golf R is one of the few times VW has imported the top dog golf into North America. The Seventh Generation with 296 hp is rumored not to be coming over here.

VW Jetta, iphone 4S

Mk3 VW Golf, iphone 4S

Probably the best paint I have seen on a 3rd generation golf. I used to own one and I can tell you it did not look like this. 

Porsche speedster, iphone 4S

A stanced Porsche speedster. I love this car and what they have done to it. Some people might not like it because they have "ruined" a classic, but those people were not at his show. 

BMW M3, iphone 4S

This is a picture of an E46 BMW M3 on a dyno. This particular M3 is rumored to top out at over 1000 hp! however we will never know. It put down 720 hp before it started lifting off the dyno!! They than had to stop the test. If you go on my google plus page there is a video of the test. 

Mercedes, iphone 4S

 A widebody Mercedes. I love German tuner guys. This car is awesome.

Volkswagon Beetle's, iphone 4S

I thought this picture showed an interesting comparison. On the left, stock driving height, on the right, stanced. 

E30 BMW M3, iphone 4S

 A personnel interpretation of a BMW art car. So much detail went into this.

Mk4 Golf, iphone 4S

Berlinfest, iphone 4S

What is it about the German car that enthralls so many.  I think it has to do with the community that you enter into when you are the owner of a German car (especially V.A.G). people are instantly your friend and will walk up and talk to you like they know you or you and them share something special. I own an Audi A3 and I cannot believe how many times I will walk out to a parking lot and see two or three other Audi's or Volkswagen's parked next to me. The people who own a German car (and are into cars in the first place) know they have something that will serve them well for many years no matter how hard they drive it. Once you own a German car you will forever be in love, it is an addiction. The solidity of their build is second to none and the torque of the engines is intoxicating. Above all else is the sense of pride you get when you see someone else in a tuned German car smile back at you for no other reason than a sense of family. I will probably never own another car that is not German and I am very proud of that fact. 

The Hyper "Mile" Car

The future of the internal combustion engine is shaky at best these days. Let's face it, the way things are shaping up within the next 30 years we are going to hit a tipping point, where something major is going to happen. We are not going to be using fossil fuel as the main source of propulsion anymore. This is a sad reality that I for one am having a difficult time wrapping my head around. I have covered what I think may happen in the future in an earlier post http://thedrivetrain.blogspot.ca/2013/07/whats-next.html.

This post is about a shift in the way automotive enthusiast's think. Electric cars and cars powered by alternative fuels are becoming more popular by the day. This can be attributed to any one of many things. Why they are becoming more popular is of no consequence to this post - today, I will be writing about what I think may be the future of automotive passion.

I am sensing a shift in the priority's of the automotive market place. People are realizing that they need a more efficient vehicle and car company's are realizing that people will pay for them. Take the loathed Toyota Prius for example, that car starts off at almost 30 thousand dollars and fully optioned out it will be near 50 thousand. That is not a cheap car, and to further illustrate my point I give you the Mitsubishi I-miev.

http://thestar.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341bf8f353ef014e88f821ab970d-popup

That stupid little car cost's 35 thousand dollars. I have been inside it, everything is recycled plastic and all the nobs and dials make a very irritating clicking noise. yes it is Eco friendly and fuel efficient but my girlfriends former Pontiac Sunfire had better build quality and was arguably faster.

In the next twenty to thirty years I am predicting that hyper cars such as the Lamborghini Aventador and Ferarri 458 Italia will be all but extinct because as fossil feul gets less prevalent and more expensive, vehicles that have astronomical mileage numbers will become the most sought after commodity, and people will need to pay ludicrous sums of money to own one.

In fact it is already starting and the company that is leading the charge as always is the Volkswagen Auto Group.

www.themotorreport.com.au/56007/volkswagen-xl1-plug-in-hybrid-makes-production-debut

The Volkswagen XL1 was released as a concept a few years ago, and it recently was announced as a production model. This car is rather impressive but not for it's performance numbers.

http://autochunk.com/7413/2013/02/22/261mph-vw-xl1-the-most-fuel-efficient-car-coming-to-geneva/

At a paltry 12.7 second 0-60, the XL1 won't exactly set your pant's on fire, that mileage number on the other hand is what you are going to pay for. 261 miles per gallon or if you're in Canada 0.9L/100km. That will essentially let you travel across the continent on one tank of fuel. However to bring the conversation back to where it was going. This car will cost 145 thousand dollars give or take, and they are only making 250 of them. I feel that this is the way the automotive industry is leaning.

The focus in the future will be less on high performance figures and more on high mileage figures and you will pay for it. I feel that hyper mile cars like the XL1 will take the place of hyper performance cars. I am not saying that high performance cars will vanish, in fact I think they will stay around but the prices will get higher and higher. Within the last 3 years we have had allot of cars debut (at least 4) that cost over a million dollars. I feel that is what will happen to sports cars, they will simply be unattainable for the general population and quite possibly may be outlawed within city limit's (so get one now). The hyper mile car will become the new 100 thousand dollar plus "sports car" that people lust after and cars like the Mustang and Scion FR-S will become things of the past.

I am not looking forward to this future. I am a car guy and a performance junkie. However 261 miles per gallon is definitely something to brag about and that is really what expensive cars are all about. Bragging rights.              

Speed does NOT kill

http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/04/08/more-speed-restrictions-coming-to-autobahn/

Today I will be writing a post that is a bit different than what I normally write about. I will not be writing about any specific cars in this post but rather an issue that has been bothering me ever since I started driving - speed limits and the governments obsession with lowering them.

I grew up in a small town in Ontario Canada. I loved it - I learned to drive on back roads and county roads that (if you were generous) you could call paved. The roads I learned to drive on had speed limits of 80 KPH unless otherwise posted and because there were not allot of cops around I'm not gonna lie I learned in a safe environment what not to do... I also completed the "Young Drivers of Canada" driving course which I think the Government should make mandatory that has to be passed.

I found out recently that the township I grew up in is going to lower all the speed limits on county roads to 50 KPH. This made me mad beyond belief. Things like this are happening all over this country and as far as I can find there is no legitimate proof that speed/higher speeds kill people. The autobahn is a prime example of this.

http://torquepost.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/did-you-know-german-autobahn-facts/ 
11) There were only 2.2 road user fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres on German Autobahns in 2008, compared to an estimated 4.5 per billion vehicle kilometres in the United States.

That if I'm not mistaken is over double. You would think that the government and people making these speed laws would look at statistics every once and a while. I am not saying that speed does not cause some accidents, it does. The reason for the speed in the first place is the real problem. It is too easy to get a license in this country, therefore there are a lot of stupid drivers on the roads. This causes the most accidents. Stupid people.

Speed does not kill, people kill. A person who does not know how to properly drive, placed behind the wheel of some thing that weighs 3000 lbs traveling at speeds of 50 kph and up, can cause some serious problems. I have been in an accident that almost killed me and my entire family. A women T-boned the car my father was driving at an intersection. Speed was not a factor in the collision. Distraction was - she was on her cell phone texting. People who do not have a speed limit or at least have to adhere to a speed limit that requires there full attention generally are not distracted (I am not saying it doesn't happen, it does. and when it does people die).

What I am saying here basically is that Canada (and the United States) need to stop focusing on lowering speed limits and cramming the road with policemen who make people late for work (thus making them speed faster to make up lost time). Start putting some time into cracking down on driver testing and looking for distracted and wreckless driving. The speed limit has never been proven to cause fatalities. A car driving at 160 KPH is not going to hurt anyone if the people in that car and the people around that car know how to react to it and respond accordingly. For this reason I believe that highway systems should be run like the Autobahn. Certain vehicles (transport trucks and vehicles towing trailors) may have posted speed limits all the time. The majority of vehicles on certain sections of road will pay a toll for having no speed limit (the rest of the road has one of 120 KPH). It should be illegal to pass on the right and very illegal to not give right right of way (move when there is a faster vehicle behind you). And most important of all, make Young Drivers of Canada mandatory to receive a license. We need to remove the bad, distracted drivers from the road. They are what causes accidents, NOT SPEED.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/03/01/toronto-distracted-driving.html

The Autobahn works because when the speeds are higher, things happen faster, therefore the driver does not have time to do anything else because they're brain causes them to be afraid. The speeds that this country is currently is trying to enforce are going to cause more harm than good because people are going to think they have more time to answer their phone or look in the back seat or do something that is not driving. That is what causes accidents. When you don't have time to be distracted, less people die.

The government needs to wake up and do their bloody job. Take a look at what actually causes crashes and maybe try to fix it instead of pacifying the masses and spending tax dollars that could be better spent elsewhere.

The car after the crash I mentioned

That is what happens when a driver is distracted and they T bone the car you are in...

Car Porn At It's Finest.

Gorgeous, Sexy, Amazing, Beautiful. 

I am not talking about women (although this blog could apply to them too). I am am talking about, you guessed cars. All the words you see here can be and have been used to describe cars for many decades now. There have been many discussions on what exactly is the most beautiful car in history. This post is going to be another one of those discussions.

First of all what is it exactly that makes a car Beautiful. Taking into account only looks (which is all I am focusing on in this post). The car has to make jaws drop every where it goes, being very exclusive will help in this pursuit. It has to look unique, nothing can look like it because if there is a clone out there, what is to stop some one from saying that the other car looks better. It must have a certain sex appeal, whether it attracts men or women doesn't matter. What matters is how many of each sex it attracts. First and foremost though is what I like to call the wall factor, This basically means how good a picture of this car would look hanging on your wall (simple right).

Many cars over the century old automotive landscape have fit the criteria for world's sexiest car, For this reason I cannot cover all of them. To do this my blog post would have to be about 150 pages. I could theoretically write a completely separate blog on the subject. I will more than likely revisit this at a later date, but for now let's get down to it.

http://www.creativecrash.com/3d-model/jaguar-e-type-1962-coupe-3d-model

The Jaguar E-Type. How many ten most beautiful car lists has this dame been on. For good reason, It is all but automotive perfection as far as looks go. I however do not believe it to be the most gorgeous car out there. Why? well for a few reasons. It is gorgeous but with the roof up it looks a little odd, It's hood screams....ahem....compensation. It's wall factor could be much higher in my books, I mean how many twelve year old boys have this hung on their wall, I could be wrong but I'm guessing not many. It does however OOOOZZZE sex appeal, It's curvacious hips, It's low hunkered down stance. You don't see cars from the early sixties that look like this in stock form, They didn't really exist. So as far as being unique. At the time nothing could touch it and generations to come have borrowed from it. Hell there is even a company that makes a modern version of it called the Eagle Speedster ($500,000+ dollars). So yeah it's on the list but (sorry Jeremy Clarkson) it doesn't win.

http://drewphillipsphotography.com/blog/2012/11/21/2013-srt-viper-photos-on-autoblog-com/

 I cannot in my right mind write a blog about the best looking car in the world and not include the SRT/Dodge Viper. I am probably going to take flak for this but I don't care. I know it's not pretty, it may not even be sexy. No one can deny however, this car looks BADASS!. It looks like it is going to beat the hell out of you for no reason (from the reviews I've seen, while driving, it does just that). This car does one thing very very well. It evokes emotion. From almost every angle this car looks, More than any other car, scary. The best looking car in the world should evoke some form of emotion in the viewer and the Viper does just that, so it's on the list.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1936_Cord_810.JPG

I am normally not a huge fan of 20's and 30's car's, I am more of an exotic car guy. One car that I would own in a heart beat though would be the Cord 810 convertible. This car is breathtaking. Nothing looks like it now nor has anything ever looked like it. Definitely a unique ride, The wall hang factor is not high however, again you won't see these in the bedrooms of any ten year old. The styling on this car, with the coffin hood and the breather pipes coming out the side make it look both elegant and menacing at the same time. Which is something many car's try to do but fail miserably. If only they weren't somewhere around 800 thousand dollars. 

http://www.gtoforum.com/f12/lets-see-them-67-gto-colors-39356/

This is another car that isn't so much pretty as it is; get in, sit down and shut up badass. If ever the muscle car "look" was perfected. It would have been on this beast. The sixty seven Pontiac GTO. wall hang factor is high for this one, It would and does look great on a wall. The smooth lines and the hood mounted tach along with the nostrils on the hood make this car one of the best looking bad boys in automotive history. The best looking muscle car period, in my humble opinion.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443991704577576991765602500.html

Let's face it. Horacio Pagani Knows how to design cars. The Zonda is and was gorgeous For many years. The new Huayra however. Now that is his crowning achievement. It is one of very few cars that can be called a rolling work of art. Every angle on this car is stunning. It doesn't stop on the interior either. In the automotive world there is not a damn thing that looks like this. The swept back roof line and the bug eye mirror's. The beauty is in the details in this car, The name badge is milled out of solid chunk of aircraft grade aluminum and takes twenty four hours to craft. The wheels are also made out of a (much larger) piece of aluminum, they take 4 days though. The only other car that could maybe compete with this in the details would be the Spyker C8 laviolette. I even think that may be beaten by this. it is easily on any looks based car list and could very well win if not for the next two cars.

http://www.sensethecar.com/gallery/aston-martin/2013-aston-martin-am-310-vanquish/attachment/2013-aston-martin-am-310-vanquish-7/

The 2013 Aston Martin Vanquish. This car is all but the epitome of "art-on-wheels". It was designed specifically to be beautiful. It is not the fastest car, nor is it the best handling. When you buy this car, you are paying 397 thousand dollars for a painting that you can drive to the golf course. The wall hang factor is sky high, It is the only car that looks like this and when you see it you instantly love it. It's curvy, It's sexy and it's mean all at the same time. It also sounds intoxicating. Why isn't it the best looking car than, It does everything that is required of it. The reason it is not the best looking car is because of it's big brother...

http://carsfolia.com/photo/im/aston-martin-one-77/03/

The Aston Martin One-77 is in my opinion, the most beautiful car ever made. It's exclusive, it's breathtakingly gorgeous, kids hang it on they're wall, it's unique (only 77 were made) and it evokes emotions like no other car. Who cares if it cost a million dollars and who cares if it's "trunk" can only fit a small purse (maybe). Look at it! Do yourself a favor, Google images of this car. The air vents on the front and the slats on the side. Everything about this car says touch me. For these reason's and many more. I believe this to be the pinnacle of automotive design. Aston Martin has been creating sculpture for many years, They are unrivaled at doing this. They have out done themselves with this one though. The Pagani Huayra came close but I still think the One-77 is the king of the automotive supermodels.

http://supercaars.blogspot.ca/2013/04/aston-martin-one-77.html

  Oh yeah and it can do THAT!!