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...